More and more, I've come to realize that being a Jew who keeps Torah and mitzvot is like living in another dimension within a dimension.
If you've been making a real effort to come close to Hashem (however clumsily) and to internalize Torah values, it colors everything you see.
It colors it with Truth.
You end up living in a dimension rich with the most beautiful colors, but this multi-hued dimension exists within a dimension comprised of varying shades of gray blah.
And you increasingly see things (including yourself) as they really are.
Mostly, it's a beautiful and enriching experience that calls for a lot of gratitude.
But when someone from the outer gray dimension makes contact and does so with the desire to invade your dimension with their depressing gray tints, accompanied by resistance to your pouring some of your colorful stuff back into their blah dimension, it just becomes an unwanted and irritating experience.
For example, I recently got an email from someone who is not Jewish, but thinks they are. The email mourned the fact that a local and identifiably Jewish institution, along with many other such institutions around the country, has now received a terrorist threat.
And I knew what was coming and what the mournful tone disguised.
So guess who my contact blamed? Trump and Pence.
(Yeah, Pence, who recently cleaned up a Jewish cemetery after an antisemitic hit.)
Never mind the facts, like how antisemitism saw its upswing during Obama's years.
Never mind that it was Obama's administration that allowed so many Jew-haters into the country.
Never mind the spiritual message that, as the End approaches, Hashem would like some more teshuvah from His beloved Nation (and for certain non-Jews, including fake converts - however innocent and well-intentioned - and smarmy evangelicals, to stop mucking around).
I would have liked to explain that it's not Trump's policies that lead to antisemitism, it is the psychotically knee-jerk opposition to Trump's policies that emboldens Jew-haters.
But I didn't bother.
There are different kinds of Jew-haters.
White supremacists, for example, see the anti-white racism and anti-male bigotry in the wake of anything Trump does or says, and they conclude that the anti-white racism, the politically correct censorship, and "reverse" chauvinism built up under Obama won't go away without their nasty "help."
And then there are the Jew-haters in the Arab world. Over the years, I learned the hard way that it is impossible to explain Arab mentality to American liberals. They don't want to hear that different value systems genuinely exist, or that someone of the opposite perception may honestly believe in their perception as the emesdikker emes (the truest Truth) as much as the liberal believes in his or her perception as the emesdikker emes.
And the truth is that if American society (or at least its media) presented a united front with their President while coming down hard on ANYBODY (regardless of race, gender, citizenship, etc.) who don't toe the line of law in America, terrorists would leave Americans alone. (It would have been better, however, if Obama's people hadn't let them and their nasty preachers in the first place.) With years of clan violence under their belts, Islamofacists are experts at spotting a breach and then exploiting it.
And in part, that's what's happening.
Of course, you can (and should) criticize a President's policies if they're bad. But as far as a big part of the Arab world goes, this media-driven free-for-all against the President (even when he's right) is the same as waving a fresh juicy carcass in front of a ravenous panther.
And I'm saying this as someone who is not pro-Trump (although I'm enjoying his presidency so far) and thinks that he ultimately will not do the right thing by Eretz Israel.
When I hear of Jews being hurt, I think I need to daven more and take on more mitzvot.
In other words, I need to do some soul-searching.
But I also think that the person who emailed me needs to do some soul-searching.
Not okay.
Really, horribly, tragically not okay.
But I can't say anything, neither politically nor spiritually.
Liberals tend to be political evangelicals. They tell you what you need to think. They aren't interested in hearing the other side. To deceive you, they approach you in an amicable manner and open a dialogue with you by asking questions.
But it's all in order to convert you to their distorted theology.
Conservatives can do this, too, of course. The difference is that:
A) The conservative position is usually the correct one and can be proven so.
B) Because everything in society and the media is vociferously against conservative values, conservatives are usually well-informed of the opposing opinions and not speaking from a place of total and complete ignorance.
Anyway, I know that anything I say in reply will simply not be heard.
I know I'll just be knocked with kindergarten-level talking points that show no real knowledge or understanding of the subject and have nothing to do with whatever I just said.
And so I just press "Delete."
And I also find myself speechless in gratitude and amazement that Hashem plucked me out of all that mind-altering Leftist muck and put me in a place where my soul has at least a fighting chance.
(And thank you very much to all of you fine frum Jews - whether FFB or BT or converts - who've used your hearts, homes, words, and deeds - whether big or small - so that people like me could make this journey in the first place.)
If you've been making a real effort to come close to Hashem (however clumsily) and to internalize Torah values, it colors everything you see.
It colors it with Truth.
You end up living in a dimension rich with the most beautiful colors, but this multi-hued dimension exists within a dimension comprised of varying shades of gray blah.
And you increasingly see things (including yourself) as they really are.
Mostly, it's a beautiful and enriching experience that calls for a lot of gratitude.
But when someone from the outer gray dimension makes contact and does so with the desire to invade your dimension with their depressing gray tints, accompanied by resistance to your pouring some of your colorful stuff back into their blah dimension, it just becomes an unwanted and irritating experience.
For example, I recently got an email from someone who is not Jewish, but thinks they are. The email mourned the fact that a local and identifiably Jewish institution, along with many other such institutions around the country, has now received a terrorist threat.
And I knew what was coming and what the mournful tone disguised.
So guess who my contact blamed? Trump and Pence.
(Yeah, Pence, who recently cleaned up a Jewish cemetery after an antisemitic hit.)
Never mind the facts, like how antisemitism saw its upswing during Obama's years.
Never mind that it was Obama's administration that allowed so many Jew-haters into the country.
Never mind the spiritual message that, as the End approaches, Hashem would like some more teshuvah from His beloved Nation (and for certain non-Jews, including fake converts - however innocent and well-intentioned - and smarmy evangelicals, to stop mucking around).
I would have liked to explain that it's not Trump's policies that lead to antisemitism, it is the psychotically knee-jerk opposition to Trump's policies that emboldens Jew-haters.
But I didn't bother.
There are different kinds of Jew-haters.
White supremacists, for example, see the anti-white racism and anti-male bigotry in the wake of anything Trump does or says, and they conclude that the anti-white racism, the politically correct censorship, and "reverse" chauvinism built up under Obama won't go away without their nasty "help."
And then there are the Jew-haters in the Arab world. Over the years, I learned the hard way that it is impossible to explain Arab mentality to American liberals. They don't want to hear that different value systems genuinely exist, or that someone of the opposite perception may honestly believe in their perception as the emesdikker emes (the truest Truth) as much as the liberal believes in his or her perception as the emesdikker emes.
And the truth is that if American society (or at least its media) presented a united front with their President while coming down hard on ANYBODY (regardless of race, gender, citizenship, etc.) who don't toe the line of law in America, terrorists would leave Americans alone. (It would have been better, however, if Obama's people hadn't let them and their nasty preachers in the first place.) With years of clan violence under their belts, Islamofacists are experts at spotting a breach and then exploiting it.
And in part, that's what's happening.
Of course, you can (and should) criticize a President's policies if they're bad. But as far as a big part of the Arab world goes, this media-driven free-for-all against the President (even when he's right) is the same as waving a fresh juicy carcass in front of a ravenous panther.
And I'm saying this as someone who is not pro-Trump (although I'm enjoying his presidency so far) and thinks that he ultimately will not do the right thing by Eretz Israel.
When I hear of Jews being hurt, I think I need to daven more and take on more mitzvot.
In other words, I need to do some soul-searching.
But I also think that the person who emailed me needs to do some soul-searching.
- Being a Noachide is fine.
- Being a Torah-observant Jew is fine.
Not okay.
Really, horribly, tragically not okay.
But I can't say anything, neither politically nor spiritually.
Liberals tend to be political evangelicals. They tell you what you need to think. They aren't interested in hearing the other side. To deceive you, they approach you in an amicable manner and open a dialogue with you by asking questions.
But it's all in order to convert you to their distorted theology.
Conservatives can do this, too, of course. The difference is that:
A) The conservative position is usually the correct one and can be proven so.
B) Because everything in society and the media is vociferously against conservative values, conservatives are usually well-informed of the opposing opinions and not speaking from a place of total and complete ignorance.
Anyway, I know that anything I say in reply will simply not be heard.
I know I'll just be knocked with kindergarten-level talking points that show no real knowledge or understanding of the subject and have nothing to do with whatever I just said.
And so I just press "Delete."
And I also find myself speechless in gratitude and amazement that Hashem plucked me out of all that mind-altering Leftist muck and put me in a place where my soul has at least a fighting chance.
(And thank you very much to all of you fine frum Jews - whether FFB or BT or converts - who've used your hearts, homes, words, and deeds - whether big or small - so that people like me could make this journey in the first place.)
RSS Feed