Sparks

Lessons of Thanksgiving

2011-11-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Throughout our history, the Jewish People has always championed causes of religious pluralism and a reverence for the rule of law, whether for Jewish law or the legal systems of the countries in which we have resided. The holiday of Thanksgiving serves as a foundational narrative for both the value of religious pluralism and the creation of the greatest legislation enacting the freedoms of religious practice that have ever been known to humanity; for those of the United States of America.

Thanksgiving is unique among our country's national holidays. Its roots are found neither in the ritual traditions of the Christian faith nor in the events or personalities of our country’s national history. In this sense, Thanksgiving is indeed reflective of a formative, pre-American narrative. It is a root-narrative shared alike by every migrant group that escaped persecution and coercion elsewhere to seek freedom. All Americans can derive important lessons about the freedoms we cherish from the story of Thanksgiving.

The first lesson is that laws are an expression of human experience, at least as much so as they may create the context for our future experience. We often imagine that our laws themselves protect our freedom. But, the Pilgrims flight from the religious persecution and coercion of Europe, in search of an opportunity to practice their faith freely, reminds all Americans that our underlying historical narratives of persecution and liberation are at the heart of all legislation that guarantee our freedom. Therefore, one important lesson of Thanksgiving, intuitive to the Pilgrims and transformed into legal codification by our nation’s founders, is that it is only to the extent that we remember our stories of liberation as Americans that we are likely to protect the laws that, in turn, protect our freedoms. No law stands forever unless it is reaffirmed; unless we remind ourselves of its purposes. Our legal protection does not depend upon the law itself, but rather upon our acute awareness of our collective national narrative, beginning with those who preceded the birth of our nation and inspired its great, new vision of freedom.

The second important lesson of Thanksgiving relates to the essential social contract that is implicit in American citizenship. This social contract must reflect an uncompromising commitment to religious pluralism in our society. There are two principles that must always comprise America’s pluralistic social contract: (1) Every faith community deserves its freedom of religious belief and practice in our country; (2) Likewise, all faith traditions must champion the value, practice, and legal tradition that protects religious freedom in America in order to ensure that any of us continues to enjoy the blessings of such freedom in our country.

As Americans of any faith, we must always remember that the social contract of religious pluralism requires of us not only to defend the freedoms afforded our own and other faith communities but also to demand of ourselves and of others that we and they do the same. There is an assumed “legal consideration” among all parties to the American pluralistic social contract whose enduring existence cannot be assured without our equal pursuit and implementation of both of these important components.

Thanksgiving is a festival of gratitude. In the Jewish tradition, we refer to this value as hakarat ha-tov – literally “the acknowledgment of the good” bestowed upon us by our Creator and/or by our fellow human beings. To be grateful, however, is not simply to feel a feeling or to recall with symbolic ritual a sense of gratitude dating back to the past and even felt sentimentally or substantially in the present. It is vital that we remain committed to the religious freedom enjoyed by all faith communities and committed to laws by our nation’s founders; it is equally important that we insist that such commitment is shared by all other faith communities - and their leaders, in word and in deed. Along with the retelling of the American story, from the period prior to our nation’s birth and onward, nuanced and broad adherence to both principles of the social contract of religious pluralism will ensure that our freedoms endure. In this regard, to be vigilant is to grateful.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay, located at 5721 Crestridge Rd., in Rancho Palos Verdes. To learn more about the synagogue's extensive children's and adult programming, or to attend religious services, please consult Ner Tamid's website, www.nertamid.com, or call (310)377-6986.

A Closer Look At Gilad Shalit's Return Home

2011-10-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

Now that Gilad has returned home safely, it is time to understand with careful and thoughtful wisdom that it was neither Israel who paid the higher price in this transaction nor was it is Israel who got the worst of it; Hamas needed to save itself from increasing irrelevance in the eyes of the Palestinian populace and, given the PA's strides in aiming toward Statehood without a peace accord and recognition of Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People, it was in Israel's vital strategic interests that the rivalry between the PA and Hamas be reborn and re-heated most immediately and that reunification efforts make it near impossible for a Judenrein Palestinian State comprising Judea, Smaria, and Gaza -- under PA control - without recognition of Israel come to pass. Gilad's freedom was Hamas' price to pay, and the (hopefully very) temporary freedom of movement of the evil murderers released by Israel into Hamas' custody (many of whom were heroes of Arafat's Fatah/PA - another blow to the PA's prestige), will prove to be a temporary price that Israel will pay for a long-term strategic benefit of neutralizing Abbas' PA while returning Gilad to his family and a nation held hostage almost as much as he has been. Now, however, is the time for Israel's political and military leadership to declare in no uncertain terms that there will never again be a negotiation of any sort for a hostage of Israel and that anyone responsible for any future such treachery against any Jew will pay a swift and unbearable price, along with any others who lend to them any support and/or assistance of any kind. - Moadim L'Simcha -- And, let's all ensure that such Z'manim always remain just this way, in safety and security for all of Klal Yisrael! - Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay

www.nertamid.com/rabbi

CHALLENGING OUR SPIRITUAL BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

2011-06-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

What is the purpose of a spiritual engagement? What is the value of belonging to a religious community? Whatever our religious affiliation, and even if we are only marginally connected, these questions can be helpful to ask of ourselves. Think of it this way, whether we have reason to go the doctor frequently or not (hopefully not), we should try our very best not to forgo an annual check-up, if we can help it; whether we belong to a faith community or not, we can stand only to benefit from asking ourselves: Why might one belong? What is a spiritual endeavor in a religious communal context all about in its essence?

Most often, the responses I receive to these questions center on the themes of comfort and escape. We bring comfort to those with whom we share spiritual fellowship and we are comforted when we are in need. In the spirit and harmonious melodies of worship, in the warmth of our sanctuaries, we can escape the demands, tumult, and burdens of daily life, recalibrating toward greater spiritual equalibrium.

To be sure, these are authentic and vital elements of all spiritual striving. These are among the finest qualities -- timeless values -- of religious engagement. However, the Judeo-Christian heritage demands more of us, and extends even broader opportunity to us, than comfort and escape alone. Had it not done so historically, Western religion would have offered the world nothing in the way of the revolutionary alternative that spawned Western civilization, distinguishing itself progressively from the repetitive narrowness of the pagan cultures that preceded it. Consider the following.

The Torah -- The Five Books of Moses -- offers two renditions of God’s Revelation at Sinai. The first is in real time, recording in the Book of Exodus the events as we are told that they unfolded. The second is found in the Book of Deuteronomy, as Moses revisited the occurrences throughout the Jewish People’s desert-journey toward the Promised Land. In each instance, among the Ten Commandments uttered aloud, one finds the precept to observe the Sabbath.

Quite remarkably, the reason given for Sabbath observance differs in each recounting. In Exodus, the Sabbath is to be remembered, for God sanctified the seventh day and rested upon it, having completed the creation of the world. A universal purpose is ascribed to the Sabbath. It was intended to return us all to Eden, to a time and place when, at most, one family existed in the entire world; no distinctions existed between spiritual pathways, only a singular wholeness awaited humanity’s acknowledgment and sacred celebration.

In Deuteronomy, the Sabbath is to be observed as a day of rest, for the Jewish People had been slaves in Egypt with no such opportunity. Here, a more particular purpose is ascribed to the Sabbath. Having been denied liberty as slaves, a sacred day of rest was to have been, at once, a communal and personal Jewish experience of spiritual and practical sovereignty -- every week, for all of time.

But, the reasons ascribed seem, at first glance, to be confused. The generation leaving Egypt had known slavery. Surely, they could more easily have related to a Sabbath celebrating personal and communal sovereignty. And, the generation entering the Promised Land had no recollection of Egypt at all. Surely, having been protected by God’s cloud of glory and fed by God’s mana while traveling through the desert they could more easily have related to a Sabbath celebrating God’s creative and sustaining capacity -- an appreciation of the source of all wholeness, a more universal disposition toward the Sabbath.

The message is simple, perhaps, but instructive. The generation that experienced slavery in Egypt was challenged to stretch beyond its own traumatic experience, beyond the world's brokenness, to find a contrary truth in the wholeness of God’s world. The generation that knew only of the God’s sheltering comfort was required to consider its historical past as slaves so that it might know to protect its presumed sovereignty.

If we today, the heirs of a Judeo-Christian heritage that has changed the world, are to continue to revolutionize the world toward the better, then, as each of the generations above, we must be open to the sacred messages and purposes of our traditions that challenge our spiritual basic assumptions. Our spiritual and religious experience should not merely confirm what we know already to be true; rather, it should stretch us toward greater insight and capacity to understand and then to act meaningfully and decisively in service of the world's betterment. Ultimately, even the comfort and escape that we seek and lend will depend upon and reflect the depth of our spiritual character, as we challenge ourselves -- as two ancient generations of the Jewish People did so long ago.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay. For information regarding Membership, Religious Services, Adult Classes, Pre-School, and Religious School, contact the synagogue’s office (310) 377-6986 or www.nertamid.com.

Revolution In Egypt - Tabernacle or Golden Calf?

2011-02-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Revolution In Egypt

Tabernacle or Golden Calf?

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

As Jews, our character and faith are defined essentially by the story of our ancient liberation from slavery in Egypt, informing our concern for the welfare of those who are similarly oppressed. As a minority often vulnerable to the whims of tyrannical victors of history’s coups and revolutions, we are also keenly aware of the significance of the implications for Israel’s security and that of the entire free-world of the success or failure of the earthshaking events continuing to unfold in Egypt today. Worldwide Jewry seems divided at worst and uncertain at best in determining our disposition toward the ongoing revolution in Egypt, embracing either but rarely both these two authentic Jewish concerns.

We agonize. Should we champion Egypt’s modern-day revolutionaries as allies in spiritual cause, as heroes of personal liberty and authentic human rights? Alternatively, should we respond with a self-protective skepticism, urging caution or even preventative action against the likely emergence of a tyrannical Islamist regime that might soon enough have Egypt and the entire free-world yearning for a return to the days of the “moderate” Mubarak regime? Should freedom and liberty come to prevail in Egypt without our support, will we not have betrayed the historic Jewish calling to champion the liberation of the oppressed? Alternatively, should Egypt renew passive or even active hostility toward Israel and the West would we not have betrayed our reasonable self-interests of security and stability, both as Jews and as Americans, should we have supported Egypt’s revolutionaries?

Taken together, this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa, and next week’s portion, Vayakhel, may clarify core challenges facing even the most noble of Egypt’s revolutionaries, implying an important benchmark by which both we and they might assess the evolving character of Egypt’s revolution.

This week’s story of The Golden Calf offers an interesting consideration of a newly freed Peoples’ yearning to return to that which was familiar. Having escaped tyranny, our ancestors created a God similar in form to the Gods known to them in Egypt; facing a future of possibility and uncertainty, they sculpted and scripted a God limited to that which they knew and could imagine, allowing them the illusion of safety and certainty and an escape from a future as yet undefined. Rather than leaving Egypt, they would take it with them, recreating it in the desert, or even in the Promised Land.

Next week's return to the narrative of The Tabernacle, on the other hand, represents our ancestors’ graduation to the realization that, for their future to exceed their past, they would have to painstakingly construct a solid structure that would welcome and host the unknown, the mysteriously sacred, the unfamiliar, and the uncertain; a God beyond their control with a message regarding a future to which they would be challenged to aspire.

Is the current revolution in Egypt akin to the erection of a Golden Calf or the construction of a Tabernacle? Contrary to initial reports of peaceful demonstrations aiming to replace their repressive past with a non-violent future, increasingly, credible accounts are emerging from Egypt of the rapes, beatings, mob-attacks, anti-Semitic/anti-Israel chants and grafiti, and rampant violence that occurred among those who seemed from the illusory distance of a camera-shot to constitute a peaceful resistance to Hosni Mubarak’s oppression.

Just as Pharaoh’s tyranny internalized and reflected broadly among our ancestors would have been even more secure and dangerous than the oppression instituted by a single leader and an insular group of power-brokers, a return to the Egypt familiar to today’s revolutionaries might well be worse than the Egypt we’ve known, or they’ve known, to date, and for the same reasons. A Pew opinion survey of Egyptians taken in June 2010, only eight months ago, hints at Egypt’s Golden Calf that might well be completed in the coming weeks and months, unless a concerted effort to replace it with a Tabernacle-like initiative commences hastily and courageously. Over 50 percent of the respondents backed Islamists, 50% supported Hamas, 95% welcomed Islamic influence over their politics, 82% supported executing adulterers by stoning, 77% supported whipping and cutting off thief's hands, and 84% supported executing Muslims who convert to another faith. Several other credible sources confirm that over 85% of Egyptian women endure female circumcision - genital mutilation.

A skeptical and self-protective disposition would then appear to be warranted on our part, given the percentages noted above and the savage violence perpetrated by Egypt’s modern-day revolutionaries upon reporters, foreigners, and their fellow countrymen alike. However, we might be wise, as well, to maintain a prayerful disposition, hopeful that a more moderate minority might influence the majority of Egyptians more inclined toward the familiarity and certainty of a Golden Calf to build the solid structures and institutions of democracy - a modern-day Tabernacle - allowing for uncertainty and ambiguity, for dissent and differences of faith and opinion in the context of an evermore civil society. Just as in the desert, for a People freed from Egyptian tyranny long ago, today’s Golden Calf was quick to be erected; it was and remains more about melting what was and re-molding it. However, a the construction Tabernacle requires an organized and sustained effort over a much longer period of time; it requires careful consideration o what needs to be so that the best of what might be is given opportunity to emerge and secure an enduring place at the very heart of a sustainable cultural evolution.

Rather than agonizing, we might acknowledge our skepticism for its well-valued realism while we pray for Egypt to begin building its Tabernacle of democracy. First, however, its revolutionaries may well need to confront their Golden Calf. All the while, those of us throughout the free-world ought to offer encouragement and apply pressure, each when necessary and at its appropriate moment, to ensure as best we can that an Egyptian Tabernacle is indeed constructed - for Egypt’s sake and for our own.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay

www.nertamid.com/rabbi

JUDAISM’S THREE TIMELESS INNOVATIONS

2010-09-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

JUDAISM’S THREE TIMELESS INNOVATIONS

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret
*Adapted from the Palos Verdes Peninsula News (9/16/2010)

Many of us are aware that Judaism introduced to the world, at least 2,500 years ago, the radical theological principle of a belief in one God, as opposed to the then generally accepted pagan belief in multiple gods. What may surprise some of us is that this theological innovation is but one of three fundamental principles that Judaism introduced that serve as the foundational values of Western civilization and that we might also recognize among the core principles of the Judeo-Christian heritage.

In addition to a belief in one God, central to Jewish faith and practice is the principle that protecting and saving human life takes precedence over all other Jewish precepts. In addition to the inclusion in the Torah's Ten Commandments of the prohibition against committing murder, the Talmud states that even the observances of Yom Kippur (the most sacred day of the Jewish calendar) and that of the Sabbath (the second most sacred day) must be abrogated to protect, preserve, or save human life.

This core value of the primacy of human life is drawn directly from several verses in the biblical Book of Deuteronomy, each of which suggests that the one God who created humanity could only have intended to reveal a religious and spiritual pathway that would promote and enhance life, and never to bring harm to us. The value of the primacy of human life is intended, therefore, to serve as an ever-conscious purpose for engaging in the entirety of the Jewish spiritual discipline, not merely as an implicit concern; no circumstance other than protecting our own lives or the lives of others, and only when threatened in earnest, justifies taking or risking human lives.

This value, and its nuanced interpretations, guides Jewish considerations regarding everything from health-care decisions to preemptive and reactive self-defense, and it obliges us to regard our existence in this world as intrinsically more important than any dimension of existence that might await us upon our passing from this world. How we choose to live our lives is infinitely more important than how we choose to die, unless, Heaven forbid, any of us should ever have to endure so grave a circumstance as one in which how we choose to die is the only life-choice left to us.

A third and somewhat related principle introduced by Judaism is the very notion that the future can and should be made to become more life-enhancing - more beautiful, more sacred, more just, and richer in meaning and purpose - than was the past or is the present of our individual or collective experience. Pagan societies anticipated their annual calendars in a revolving manner, with similar periods and their associated experiences thought to recur annually and eternally. Judaism envisaged at its inception, and continues today to encourage us to affirm and support, a revolving cycle of time that spirals upward, always toward the betterment of the individual and collective human conditions, and aspiring toward the evermore sacred.

Interestingly, and most relevant to the current period of the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), all three of these core values - God’s Oneness, the Primacy of Human Life, and our Commitment to a Better Future - are symbolized by the Shofar (the ram’s horn) that is blown throughout Rosh Hashanah and at the conclusion of Yom Kippur in Jewish synagogues worldwide.

The Shofar first appears in our tradition as Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, erroneously hearing the call of pagan deities to cause harm to human life -- to his son, Isaac -- to satisfy “the gods.” God then intervenes, demanding of Abraham that he substitute a nearby ram as his sacrifice instead of Isaac. This formative narrative in the Book of Genesis introduced the Jewish value of the Primacy of Human Life by rejecting forevermore any notion of human sacrifice as a means to any desired spiritual end.

As God revealed to the Jewish People at Mount Sinai the Divine legislative foundation of Western Civilization - the Ten Commandments (each of which aims to uphold or achieve one or more of the three core values or principles noted above), the Shofar’s sound accompanied our ancestors’ most powerful, consequential, transcendent, and collective experience of the Divine Presence. Thus, the sound of the Shofar and the Oneness of God remain today bound inextricably in a shared and timeless Jewish experience. The One God calls to us, urges us, demands of us, and comforts us - each and all toward valuing and enhancing life, and building a better future. God's Oneness also presupposes a central locus, One Place, unto which the Jewish People turns forever to find its spiritual center, the heart of the Land of Israel, Jerusalem. It was unto this place - the historic locus of the Holy of Hollies - that we have turned throughout our history to find direction and hope, and it remains so today, as we face eastward in our sanctuaries and turn eastward with our hopes and prayers, as much as the center of the Jewish experience rebuilds in the State of Israel today.

Finally, the Shofar is envisaged by the biblical Prophets to herald the onset of a Messianic Age, an era understood in a more contemporary context to be earned by virtue of a comprehensive and uncompromising human endeavor to eradicate tyranny and terror and introduce true understanding among Peoples with real differences in culture and faith. For the Prophets, these human strivings are inspired by God's ethical urging and spiritual call, and driven by our commitment to God's teaching of the Primacy of Human Life. The Shofar then symbolizes an era of true and sustainable peace, one based upon an evolved and shared consciousness on the part of all humanity of these three foundational and revolutionary Jewish innovations. Of course, the Shofar does not act as a magical cure, but rather awakens us to action, allowing our prayers to begin our journey of concern and responsive deed beyond the sanctuary, throughout the year.

On Rosh Hashanah, along with all other Jewish communities around the globe, we will awaken to the call of these three sacred values and principles, as we blow the Shofar together as a community. At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, we will conclude the High Holy Days, united as ever with our People, with a final sounding of the Shofar. Turning toward Jerusalem, as always, we will pray fervently that the concluding Shofar-sounding will stir our hearts to hear evermore the moral-calling of the One God, strengthening evermore our commitment to the Primacy of Human Life with all of its profound and significant implications, and inspiring us evermore in our efforts to work, given our Commitment to a Better Future, for the Jewish People and for all of humanity.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes. To learn more about the synagogue’s inspirational Services and classes, please go to www.nertamid.com or call (310) 377-6986.

THE BLESSINGS OF GOD'S BROKEN PROMISES - Ki Tavo

2010-08-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Parashat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)
by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid (nertamid.com), an inclusive synagogue on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

All too often, we are confronted with life's unfairness. How could someone so kind suffer so terribly? How could someone so ruthless enjoy wealth earned at the expense of the vulnerable and powerless? How is it that with greater or lesser frequency -- and for better or worse -- our own fate does not align with our virtue? Our despair or relief at such moral inequities reflects our intuitive expectation of just consequences for our choices and behavior. Given the Torah's repeted assurances that adherence to God's mandates begets material reward -- and acting otherwise begets punishment -- such inequities often give rise to personal crises of faith.

The latter half of this week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo, appears to present one of the Torah's clearest and most confounding recountings of God's promise of just consequences for our actions: "All these blessings shall come upon you and take effect, if you obey the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 28:2). What follows thereafter is a list of concrete and material blessings, guaranteed as consequences of our adherence to God's commandments. Several paragraphs later, a lengthy list of gruesome punishments follows a promise of severe consequences should we fail to live our lives in accord with God's commandments.

Our personal experience and our observations of others might appear to suggest that God's promise of an equitable world, as the Torah presents it, is a broken promise. However, a midrashic interpretation of one of the material rewards guaranteed in this week's Torah portion for good behavior might hold an important key to uncovering the blessings of what we might mistakenly construe as God's broken promises.

Among the blessings guaranteed in the Torah portion is the following: "You will be blessed in your comings and in your goings" (Deuteronomy 28:6). The plain meaning of this verse seems obvious; our daily interactions and transactions will be blessed with peace and success, if we are to observe God's commandments.

A fascinating midrashic alternative offers a different interpretation: If we live our lives in accord with the Torah's precepts, then just as we are welcomed into this world with joy and celebration (our ”coming”), recognized for the hope and miraculous wonder that each new life represents, we will be similarly celebrated upon our departure from this earth for the good that we will have done along the way (our ”going”).

At first glance, it might appear that the author of this commentary was troubled, as we often are, by the discrepancy between the plain and obvious meaning of God's promise on the one hand (that we would benefit materially and in this lifetime for the good we do) and the reality we live and observe on the other hand (that actions and consequences do not align fairly anywhere near as often as we would like). The central purpose of this midrashic commentary, perhaps, was to avoid a theological dilemma by avoiding one of God's most obvious and problematic broken promises.

It seems unlikely, however, that so obvious an attempt to avoid theological complication could have sufficed for our ancestors any more so than it might satisfy us today. There might, however, be several deeper messages in this midrashic commentary, as relevant to us today as they were to Jews 1,500 years ago or longer.

First, and more generally, God's greatest blessings may be obscured by a more literal reading of the Torah and its promises. These assurances might never have been intended to offer guarantees of God's equitable control of the outcomes of human choices, but rather to share with us wisdom and guidance so that we might both seek and seize opportunities to achieve ethical heights and spiritual depth, and inspire others to do so.

Second, and more specifically, the more likely consequences -- not promises -- of a life lived as much as reasonably possible in accord with God's teachings of Torah are far greater and more important than any literal interpretation can grasp. Not only might we earn the respect and appreciation of our peers for our attempt to live in such accord -- so much so that we might be celebrated upon our departure from this world as we were welcomed so joyously upon our arrival -- but we are more likely to inspire our children to live in such accord, as well. For this reason more than any other, I believe, the Midrash teaches that we will be celebrated upon our passing as upon our arrival; the single most important consequence of a life lived in accord with the Torah's precepts is that our children will know what about our lives is most worthy of celebration, and they are then more likely to merit a celebration of their own Jewishly inspired and connected achievements among those who will one day remember them.

May we all be so blessed, by God's broken promises.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret Spiritual Leader Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay www.nertamid.com

THE MOSQUE AT GROUND ZERO

2010-08-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Isaac Jeret on "The Radio Rabbi"
Interviewed by Rabbi Barbara Aiello

CONGRESSMAN DANA ROHRABACHER'S RECENT SPEECHES ON THE HOUSE-FLOOR SUPPORTING & DEFENDING ISRAEL

2010-06-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

CONGRESSMAN DANA ROHRABACHER'S

RECENT SPEECHES ON THE HOUSE-FLOOR

SUPPORTING & DEFENDING ISRAEL

I - REP. DANA ROHRABACHER DEFENDS ISRAEL AGAINST OBAMA, IRAN, & PALESTINIANS

U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) addressed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 11, 2010, scolding Iran for its belligerence in pursuit of nuclear weaponry and supporting Israel's endeavors to stop Iran as a matter of American self-interest and moral virtue. In this powerful speech, the Congressman admonishes the Obama Administration for pressuring Israel and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, into further concessions absent of very significant concessions due on the part of the Palestinians, given the numerous acts of good-will and concessions that Israel has undertaken unilaterally to date: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UPX-DrHGOg

II - REP. DANA ROHRABACHER DEFENDS ISRAEL ON HOUSE-FLOOR AGAINST FLOTILLA ACCUSATIONS

U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) addressed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, issuing a passionate defense of Israel's right and need to blockade the Hamas-controlled Gaza-Strip. In his powerful remarks, the Congressman admonishes all who refuse to acknowledge the facts of this situation and informs the public of the true intentions and actions of the Flotilla organizers and "activists" as they planned and executed a brutal attack upon Israel's Navy Commandos who were armed with paint-guns, expecting to interdict misguided peace-activists but confronted instead a trained and armed band of mercenaries and terrorists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beuCodiQ20A

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com/rabbi

DEBUNKING THE FLOTILLA INFILTRATION

2010-06-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

DEBUNKING THE FLOTILLA INFILTRATION

On the evening of Thursday, June 3rd, Rabbi Isaac Jeret was interviewed by the Desert's #1 talk-show host, "Bulldog" Bill Feingold on KNEWS Radio. A regular guest on the program, Rabbi Jeret was invited as the featured guest on this broadcast, to discuss the Flotilla that aimed to infiltrate the Israeli Military Blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, stemming the flow of ammunition and missiles to the Hamas-terrorists who brutally govern the territory and use it as a launching pad for deadly and indiscriminate attacks against Israeli civilians.

The interview is divided into three segments, each presented individually as an Mp3 file, downloadable in seconds: http://www.nertamid.com/rabbi/audiovideo.html

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay

www.nertamid.com/rabbi

URGENT ISRAEL UPDATE - IMPORTANT INFORMATION & A CALL TO ACTION!

2010-06-04T12:03:00.001-07:00

June 4, 2010 / 22 Sivan 5770

Dear Friends:

So many of us have been following the news this week, reading and watching confusing reports about events that occurred off the shores of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, as Israel's Navy interdicted an infiltrating "Flotilla," aiming and intending to break Israel's military blockade of Gaza. I write to you this morning (1) to share background resources and information regarding the reasons for both Israel's blockade of Gaza and its interdiction of the ships attempting to infiltrate this past week, (2) to share facts and their sources that clearly and unequivocally negate wide-spread fiction regarding how and why infiltrators were killed and Israeli commandos seriously injured in the course of the interdiction, (3) to encourage everyone in our community to advocate passionately on Israel's behalf in light of the degree to which Israel has been maligned this week and has had its reputation slandered in the media worldwide and, thereby, in the court of public opinion, and (4) to suggest some meaningful ways in which we can conduct our advocacy most effectively.

To begin, however, I want to encourage anyone and everyone who considers himself/herself a supporter of Israel to please attend and participate in a community-wide demonstration of solidarity with Israel this Sunday. The One With Israel Rally will be held at 2:00pm outside the Israeli Consulate at 6380 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. It is important that each of us be counted among Israel's visible and proud supporters at this vitally important juncture, as Israel rightly perceives itself to be more isolated and vulnerable than ever. Sunday's One With Israel Rally is sponsored jointly by the Israeli Consulate, the Jewish Federation, the Israel Leadership Council, StandWithUs, AIPAC, the Israel/Christian Nexus, numerous synagogues including our own, and a host of other local, regional, and national Jewish organizations. Numbers are critical - please make every effort to attend and be counted among Israel's supporters!

What follows below is a review of facts, sources, and resources related to each of the issues raised at the outset of this email. Please take the time to review these facts and resources carefully, to become better informed, to become active on Israel’s behalf, and to pass this email along to your friends within our community and beyond.

Together, we can make a significant difference on Israel’s behalf. Israel needs us now.

With every blessing for a Shabbat Shalom – for all of us and all of Israel,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

I - WHY IS ISRAEL MAINTAINING A MILITARY BLOCKADE OF GAZA?

1. Aided and trained by Iran, Hamas, recognized by our own country and most of the free-world as a terrorist-organization, has transformed the Gaza Strip into a launching pad for terror attacks, kidnappings, and indiscriminate rocket, mortar, and missile raids against Israeli civilian targets, still holding as hostage kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (four years this month!) and firing thousands of bombs and missiles at Israeli civilians since its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2005 (four missiles were fired into Israel yesterday):

- DANIEL GORDIS ON THE BLOCKADE AND THE OPERATION: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/opinion/03gordis.html
- GILAD SHALIT IN CAPTIVITY (Hamas has not allowed anyone to visit Shalit, including the Red Cross, violating the Geneva Convention and a host of other international legal requirements): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUR5HIHkYUs
- AN INFORMATIVE INTERVIEW OF A JEWISH MOTHER OF FOUR CHILDREN IN THE SOUTHERN ISRAELI CITY OF SEDEROT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c-Rk1bGYKs&feature=related
- KASSAM AND GRAD MISSILES AND ROCKETS FIRED BY HAMAS AT ISRAELI CIVILIANS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dZfYmIPUJg
- ISRAELI HOMES HIT BY HAMAS MISSILES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7GYr5fPM7k
- ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (May 25, 2010): Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza

2. The only way to ensure that Hamas, a sworn enemy threatening Israel’s civilians and pledged to Israel’s destruction, will not further terrorize Israeli civilians (and even Palestinians who disagree with them) is to deny them the weaponry to carry out their attacks. A military blockade of the Gaza Strip is thus a necessity for Israel’s most basic security.

3. As Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, asserted yesterday, the larger picture of this entire event indicates that Iran wants very much to be able to deliver freely to the Gaza Strip military hardware and technology that requires an open port. Manipulating public-opinion to open the port on Iran’s behalf would constitute a rather typical Iranian maneuver. However, alongside an Iranian port on Israel’s southern border, Iran seeks to bog Israel down under diplomatic scrutiny so that it cannot challenge the Iranians’ pursuit of a military nuclear capability, diplomatically or otherwise. Imagine a world, then, in which Iran had both a military nuclear capability and an open port on Israel’s southern border, held by Hamas-terrorists who seek Israel’s destruction. Quite clearly, then, as an existential matter, Israel must enforce this embargo.

II - WHY DOESN’T ISRAEL ALLOW HUMANITARIAN AID INTO GAZA? WHY WOULD ISRAEL INTERDICT A “FREEDOM FLOTILLA”?

1. In actuality, not only does Israel allow great quantities of humanitarian-aid into Gaza, but Israel transports between 10,000 - 15,000 tons of such aid and supplies into Gaza weekly, paying for most of it:

- 15,000 TONS OF AID FROM ISRAEL TO GAZA DAILY: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/HumanitarianAid/Palestinians/MFA_Spokesman_Gaza_flotilla_24-May-2010.htm
- ISRAELI MEDICAL AND HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK8h7gM8EQo&feature=PlayList&p=DC43001A3FBF67DA&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=32
- ISRAELI CONVOY OF FOOD AND MEDICINE TO GAZA – WHILE HAMAS TARGETS ISRAELI CIVILIANS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8SNdkFBsI&feature=related
- HAMAS DENIES FLOTILLA-AID INTO GAZA: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=177320
- HAMAS FIRES AT ISRAEL AS ISRAEL DELIVERS AID: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Gaza-+Israeli+aid+and+Hamas+attacks+8-Apr-2008.htm

2. Previous convoys purportedly carrying humanitarian aid for the benefit of Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been proven to have ferried ingredients and equipment intended for Hamas' use in manufacturing bombs and other weapons to kill and maim Israeli civilians and Hamas has used humanitarian cover (in Mosques and hospitals!) to conceal and deploy large caches of weaponry:

- ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE TWO TONS OF EXPLOSIVES INTO GAZA – IN SUGAR SACKS: http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3494131,00.html
- WEAPONS DISCOVERED IN GAZA MOSQUE IN JANUARY, 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zd55Zhj5gQ&feature=PlayList&p=CED2C9FBC1BA7B79&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=31

3. Widespread propaganda about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused in any way by the Israeli military blockade or otherwise are contradicted not only by the massive humanitarian effort on Israel’s part described and documented above, but also by brave reporters, such as Tom Gross, willing to publish stories about Gaza that conform neither to the politically-correct view of the conflict (demonizing Israel) nor to the storyline spoon-fed to reporters by Hamas with the expectation that reporters and news-agencies will report what they are allowed to see in order to maintain access at all for their next story: http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001114.html

4. The organizing group of the infiltrating “Freedom-Flotilla” was anything but the leadership of a “Freedom Flotilla” of “peace-loving activists.” Headed by the Turkish-based and Saudi-funded, IHH (Turkish acronym), a so-called “Human-Rights group” with known (direct) ties to terrorist-groups, including Al-Qaida and Hamas, the infiltrating vessels were purchased with private Turkish funds, solicited personally by Turkish Premier, Erdogan. Moreover, it is now coming to light that over 50 of the “activists” on the Mavi Marmara, the ship upon which Israel’s rescue mission of its stranded and virtually unarmed commandos became necessary (see below) were either mercenaries or terrorists, trained specifically in hand-to-hand combat, armed with knives, bats, chains, pipes, stun-grenades, and fire-bombs – most of whom boarded the ship in Turkey en-route to Gaza without passports and with the full knowledge of Turkish authorities. It appears, both from soldiers’ accounts and based upon remnant shell casings and other evidence found on the ship that these terrorists on-board had heavier weaponry with them as well, including firearms:

- DOSSIER ON THE IHH: http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7544
- DELVING DEEPER INTO THE IHH: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/terror-finance-flotilla
- TERRORISTS CLOAKED AS HUMANITARIANS: http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/03/jihad-in-humanitarian-clothing/#ixzz0ptROpWE4

5. Israel informed the Flotilla-organizers in advance that it would not allow their ships to reach Gaza and asked them to dock in Ashdod (in southern Israel, roughly 15-20 miles north of the Gaza Strip), promising to truck all aid on the ships immediately to Gaza upon inspection. The organizers flatly declined the offer.

6. Israel requested that the Flotilla organizers take with them some provisions and aid for Gilad Shalit, Israel’s soldier kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas. The request was flatly denied.

III – IS ISRAEL’S MILITARY BLOCKADE OF THE GAZA STRIP LEGAL?

1. A MILITARY BLOCKADE IS LEGAL: “The belligerent right of blockade is intended to prevent vessels and aircraft, regardless of their cargo, from crossing an established and publicized cordon separating the enemy from international waters and/or airspace.” The Commander’s Handbook on the Law Of Naval Operations, Section 7.7.1. (U.S. Department of Defense, July 1, 2007)

2. A MILITARY BLOCKADE CAN BE ENFORCED IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS: “Attempted breach of blockade occurs from the time a vessel or aircraft leaves a port or airfield with the intention of evading the blockade, and for vessels exiting the blockaded area, continues until the voyage is completed.” The Commander’s Handbook on the Law Of Naval Operations, Section 7.7.4. (U.S. Department of Defense, July 1, 2007)

3. A BLOCKADE IS LEGAL EVEN IF TRANSPORTING HUMANITARIAN AID: “Neutral vessels and aircraft engaged in the carriage of qualifying relief supplies for the civilian population and the sick and wounded should be authorized to pass through the blockade cordon, subject to the right of the blockading force to prescribe the technical arrangements, including search, under which passage is permitted.” The Commander’s Handbook on the Law Of Naval Operations, Section 7.7.3. (U.S. Department of Defense, July 1, 2007)

4. IS IT LEGAL TO BOARD SHIPS AND CAPTURE THOSE ABOARD WHILE ENFORCING A BLOCKADE? “Neutral merchant vessels and civil aircraft are liable to capture by belligerent warships and military aircraft if engaged in any of the following activities: Resisting visit and search; Carrying contraband; Breaching or attempting to breach blockade; Violating regulations established by a belligerent within the immediate area of naval operations. Neutral vessels or aircraft attempting to resist proper capture lay themselves open to forcible measures by belligerent warships and military aircraft and assume all risk of resulting damage.” The Commander’s Handbook on the Law Of Naval Operations, Section 7.7.10. (U.S. Department of Defense, July 1, 2007)

5. THE HELSINKI PRINCIPLES ON THE LAW OF MARITIME NEUTRALITY: http://www.achgut.com/dadgdx/index.php/dadgd/print/0016515

6. ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal+Issues+and+Rulings/Gaza_flotilla_maritime_blockade_Gaza-Legal_background_31-May-2010.htm

IV – DID ISRAEL USE EXCESSIVE FORCE, OR EVEN COMMIT A MASSACRE, AGAINST THE INFILTRATING FLOTILLA?

1. Israeli Navy-Commandos, trained extensively to deal with civilian infiltrators in a most non-confrontational and non-violent manner, successfully commandeered the first five of the six infiltrating ships without incident, boarding them while armed with paint guns to stain and thereby identify anyone offering (unlawful – see above) resistance. The sixth ship, the Mavi Marmara, flying a Turkish flag, seemed, prior to boarding, to present a situation similar in circumstance to the first five ships. As the first five ships, no-one appeared to be on deck and many infiltrators appeared to have been asleep. However, as Navy-troops began to drop from a helicopter by rope, one by one, onto the top-deck of the ship, crowds of violent infiltrators, armed with chains, metal-rods, long and sharp knives, wooden bats, fire-bombs, and stun-grenades emerged swiftly, in a coordinated manner, to confront them. It is now understood that they were an organized militia, pre-arranged in formation below deck, awaiting the virtually unarmed troops (the Israeli troops were armed with paint-guns and concealed handguns while, as mentioned above, it has now come to light that the infiltrators were trained mercenaries and terrorists, armed with considerably heavier and accessible weaponry than Israel’s troops were). As each soldier landed on deck, he was surrounded and violently beaten and stabbed by groups of 15-25 “activists.” One soldier was thrown overboard onto the lower deck, causing a severe fracture of his skull. Two soldiers were shot. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) now confirms that several commandos were dragged below deck, representing an attempt to kidnap them, hold them hostage demanding safe passage to Gaza, and then likely transferring them to Hamas control. As I compose this email, two young Israeli defenders remain in critical condition due to the violence perpetrated against them by the organized and armed mob aboard the ship.

2. As a consequence of Israel’s (perhaps, naïve) restraint, allowing its commandos to board with minimal firepower and one-by-one, in the hope of ensuring minimal confrontation with the infiltrators, Israel’s Navy was then forced to conduct a Rescue Operation to respond to the violence seriously endangering the lives of its troops already on-board. What began as an attempt to board the ship most peacefully, ended in a rescue mission against a Flotilla mob that had organized in advance to maim, kill, and even kidnap Israeli commandos whom they had ambushed successfully.

3. No, Israel did not use excessive force. To the contrary, few if any Armed Forces in the world would have allowed their troops to engage in any mission, with any measure of risk, sporting as little firepower as that with which these commandos were provided. This was done to minimize the risk to the infiltrators aboard the ship. And, even in the course of the rescue raid, one might consider the significant restraint employed by Israel’s young but principled commandos who, by virtue of their extraordinary restraint, killed only nine trained, armed, and actively resisting, mercenaries/terrorists, despite the fact that they comprised an angry mob of over 100 that threatened them with mortal danger and continued to beat their wounded fellow soldiers. Given the circumstances, the minimal number of casualties among the armed infiltrators is truly remarkable, and those who jumped to swift and harsh judgment of the Israeli boys who boarded the ship might reconsider their assessments at a later date. Unfortunately, the damage done to Israel’s reputation as a peace-loving and life-affirming nation will already have impacted significantly upon Israel, unless each of us does our part to help.

4. Here are some resources to consult that support the points made in the three paragraphs above:

KNIVES, BATONS AND ATTEMPTED LYNCHINGS - DONT YOU JUST LOVE PEACE ACTIVISTS? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglasmurray/100041868/knives-batons-and-attempted-lynchings-dont-you-just-love-peace-activists/
BOATLOADS OF BLOODY-MINDED PACIFISTS: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/boatloads-of-bloody-minded-pacifists/story-e6frezz0-1225874166305

Close-Up Footage of Mavi Marmara Passengers Attacking IDF Soldiers
Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.

Flotilla Passengers Fire Live Ammunition at IDF Soldiers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGuwUGaI9o

Gaza flotilla participants created war atmosphere before confronting Israel
Participants chanted Islamic battle cry invoking killing of Jews and called for Martyrdom
Article by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, May 31, 2010

The Israel Navy warns flotilla that the Gaza region is closed to maritime traffic, and invites the ships to enter Ashdod port to transfer humanitarian aid.

MFA Spokesman on Gaza Flotilla - 24 May 2010

True Human Rights Activists don't hug Vicious HR Violators May 27, 2010

Beating the Hell Out of Israeli Naval Commandos BBC Footage posted by user LetsFreeGaza, May 31, 201

IDF Spokesperson 2nd video taken from helicopter

Israeli Navy Commander Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom Briefs Forces Set to Intercept Gaza Flotilla

Peace Activists or Violent Agitators: How the Media Narrative on Flotilla Incident is Shaping Up

IDF forces met with pre-planned violence when attempting to board flotilla
Previously, Israel Navy warned the flotilla that the Gaza region is closed to maritime traffic.

First Hand Report from the Flotilla: A Brutal Ambush at Sea
YNet News reporter Ron Ben-Yishai tells his first-hand account of the skirmish on board one of the boats in the flotilla. The Navy commandos descended on to the boat where they were met by 20 armed demonstrators who immediately began to assault them.

V – WHY IS ISRAEL TAKING SUCH A BEATING IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND IN THE UNITED NATIONS IF THE FACTS ARE ON ITS SIDE? WHY IS TURKEY, ISRAEL’S ALLY SINCE 1949, TURNING SO STRONGLY AGAINST ISRAEL? IS THE UNITED STATES SUPPORTING ISRAEL IN THE U.N. AND OTHERWISE IN THE CURRENT CRISIS?

Please consult the following important resources:

FREEDOM FLOTILLA FLOTSAM (Mowbray): http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/1/freedom-flotilla-flotsam/

THE TURKISH TEMPTATION (WSJ Editorial): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363704574503460584848456.html

THOSE TROUBLESOME JEWS (Krauthammer): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060304287.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

LOSE / LOSE FOR TURKEY / ISRAEL (Cagaptay): http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=177376

MCCAIN BLAMES OBAMA FOR INCREASE IN HOSTILITY TOWARD ISRAEL: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/100961-mccain-obama-helped-create-environment-for-flotilla-controversy

VI – HOW CAN ACTIVATE ON ISRAEL’S BEHALF MOST EFFECTIVELY?

1. Email your representative in Washington. Respectfully request that s/he make a statement from the House/Senate floor and/or to the press supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, denouncing Hamas as a terrorist group, and supporting Israel’s right and obligation to interdict infiltrating ships for the clear and obvious sake of Israel’s security. Click here to go to AIPAC’s activist-page to use AIPAC’s web-resource to send your email: http://www.aipac.org/694.asp#36246

2. Send a Letter To The Editor in support of Israel. Log-on to The Israel Project’s website to use their online-tool to assist you: http://www.theisraelproject.org/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.3639297/k.216F/Write_a_letter_to_your_local_newspaper/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?tr=y&auid=6436569

3. Call my assistant, Pat Richman at (310) 377-6986, and register for the May 2011 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Discounted rates are available through my synagogue until the end of July. Alternatively, log-on to AIPAC’s website and register directly: www.aipac.org

4. Show your support for Israel’s soldiers and bolster their morale. They are fighting the good fight, trying perhaps too hard to appease a world ready to condemn their efforts at every turn. They are as much our children as are our own. Please consider making a contribution to the Friends of Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) by calling (310) 305-4063 or on the on-line: www.fidf.org

5. Show your support for StandWithUs, an important grass-roots organization working hard to get the word out on Israel’s behalf: www.standwithus.org

6. If you are on Twitter or Facebook, consider posting one of the following posts (linked to articles and videos), prepared by StandWithUs. Just cut-&-paste them and you’re ready to go:

FACT: Israel transfers 15K TONS supply of human aid EVERY WEEK 2 GAZA http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza
FACT: terrorists use AID DELIVERIES 2 smuggle ingredients 4 BOMBS in SUGAR SACKShttp://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla RT

QUOTE: “They are going to have to FORCEFULLY STOP US” (organizers) http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

FACT: flotilla REFUSED 2 supply aid 4 captive in isolation, GILAD SHALIT http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

FACT: 5 boats boarded, protestors complied/ safely let 2 shore http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc#freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza RT

FACT: funding from Islamist organization IHH/ links 2 FUNDAMENTALIST JIHADI groups http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla

FACT: protestors carried out PRE-PLANNED VIOLENCE: threw soldier off top deck http://tinyurl.com/2dxhrhc #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

FLOTILLA: TURKEY has BLOOD on its hands, NOT Israel http://tinyurl.com/255ksq2#freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

FACT: HAMAS responsible 4 suffering of Palestinians/Israelis: RACIST CHARTER http://tinyurl.com/2e8xlbw #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

EVIDENCE: Weapons found on-board ship, proving PRE-MEDITATED VIOLENCE http://tinyurl.com/2worvzz #freedomflotilla #flotilla

EVIDENCE: Knives used 2 attack IDF sailors (prepared B4 IDF boarding ship) http://tinyurl.com/28y4wre #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

EVIDENCE: footage of weapons found on ship (prepared B4 IDF boarding ship) http://tinyurl.com/275utno #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

TESTIMONY: soldier describes violent mob aboard ship (w/ English sub.) http://tinyurl.com/3xg83xq #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

EVIDENCE: footage of activists ATTACKING soldiers- UN-PROVOKED VIOLENCE http://tinyurl.com/3yqws7n #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

EVIDENCE: activists ATTACKING Israeli boarding UN-PROVOKED VIOLENCE http://tinyurl.com/3yxp62j #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

EVIDENCE: B4 departure: Activists chant INTIFADA songs, praise MARTYRDOM http://tinyurl.com/2bkseol #freedomflotilla #flotilla #gaza

7. Attend the One With Israel Rally, referenced above, on Sunday at 2pm, across from the Israeli Consulate (see above)

Whatever you choose to do, please do something listed above. Get involved. Together, we can make a difference – Israel needs us now.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Jeret

Rabbi Isaac Jeret's Speech - Republican National Committee Dinner

2010-05-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Isaac Jeret's Speech

Republican National Committee Dinner

Washington, D.C.

May 11, 2010

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you Chairman Steele for your generous introduction - it is indeed my great honor to be here with all of you this evening. I address you this evening not only not only as a leader in the Jewish community, but, most importantly, as the son of a father who survived five treacherous years in Nazi Death Camps, his entire family - my family - tortured and murdered simply for their faith. Sixty-five years ago this month, my father was liberated from the Matthausen Death Camp by courageous young men serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Had my father's life not been saved by the American Army, we should all understand that I would not be here this evening, privileged to address this distinguished gathering. I thank God for America - the torchbearer of light, in a world of darkness!

Indeed, the Jewish community has learned over the course of the last 2,000 years that when tyrants speak words of hate and genocide and then succeed in attaching such menacing rhetoric to the technological means to bring them to fruition, they do keep their word; they perpetrate evil unimaginable and unfathomable to decent people, leaving in their wake a world of wreckage and despair that can never truly be repaired but can only be prevented from recurring in the future.

Sixty-five years ago, we defeated just such an evil. In its wake, a new evil with similar designs has emerged. And, we can intervene to stop it; the future is now!

There is a cold wind blowing in the world, emanating from the evil regime that rules Iran. It threatens not only the State of Israel, not only our own country, but the entirety of Western Civilization. We stand at an historic moment of truth. History is watching us, relying upon us to prove that we have learned its important lessons. Will our country allow Iran to procure the capability to develop nuclear weapons? Will we stand in the way of Israel's military efforts to deter Iran if and when Israel deems such intervention to be necessary for its preemptive self-defense? If challenged, by Iran or anyone else, will we act in our own defense or in defense of any of our allies the world over who depend upon us for their safety and security?

This night, as every night, I pray, ladies and gentlemen.

I pray that our country recommits itself to the doctrine that peace with our enemies results from an unmistakable understanding on their part that we are willing to use our superior strength whenever and wherever necessary to protect and defend ourselves and our allies;

I pray that our allies will thereby, once again, have every reason to know and trust that the United States of America will stand by their side unflinchingly, not because of what benefit they may offer to us materially, however great their contributions might be, but rather because of who they are; because the world's beacon of Freedom defends causes of Liberty and defeats those who cast shadows upon its inspired light;

I pray that a majority in the House and the Senate emerges in November that champions these traditional and historic American values and principles and calls upon the President of the United States to abide by them in the discourse and conduct of American foreign-policy;

And finally, I pray that neither we, nor our children, nor our children's children after them ever again revisit the day, that a President of the United States, the leader of the free-world, bows down to another human being, let alone to dictators, despots, and even kings who sponsor terrorism and brutalize the men, women, and children of their own nations; thirty months from now, when we elect a new President of the United States, we will ensure that the torchbearer of light never again bows to perpetrators of darkness.

Together, today, we can begin to bring about such change - with God's help - we can remember who we are!

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay

www.nertamid.com/rabbi

INSPIRED GIVING

2010-02-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

Inspired Giving

Parashat Terumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19)

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

*(Reprinted from the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles)

People in need of assistance have approached me over the past 18 months in numbers I have not seen before in my service as a rabbi. The economic downturn, which is still very much our reality, has rendered many a giver of tzedakah (charity) a new recipient and has made the circumstances faced by many existing recipients all the more desperate.

Many people still blessed with sufficient means to assist those in need have stepped forward, seeking to learn where and how they might contribute their funds to make the most important and needed difference. While such dedication is nothing short of inspirational, needs exceed available means to assist and Jewish institutions and organizations struggle to manage expenses to remain solvent.

The economic downturn is not the only financial challenge faced by the Jewish community. Bernard Madoff did such broad and deep damage to Jewish institutions, and to numerous committed philanthropists who support them, that the generation emerging in the Jewish community might come to be known in the future as the post-Madoff generation. Our era might be defined by its challenge to sustain the Jewish present as much as by its call to ensure the Jewish future — an unexpected departure from the financial hurdles of recent generations and one entirely unpredicted fewer than two years ago.

But challenges and even crises often present important opportunities. This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, may well include an important message for each of us in the Jewish community to understand and respond to the opportunities amid the challenges presented by Madoff’s betrayal of his own people.

As Moses led the Israelites in their journey toward the Promised Land, and after God’s revelation at Mount Sinai, the Torah teaches us that God instructed Moses to solicit voluntary gifts from the Israelites, with their decision to participate remaining voluntary and their degree of generosity a matter of personal choice. The purpose of this “campaign” was to enable the entire community to work together to build a Tabernacle, a central locus for God’s presence among the people: “They shall build for me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).

The particular phrasing of the instruction to construct the Tabernacle offers some important insights and charges, as important for us in the post-Madoff era as they were for our ancestors living in relative austerity while journeying to freedom and purpose in the Promised Land.

Per the commentary in Avot D’Rabi Natan, one of the earliest compilations of rabbinic literature, “Great is work, for even The Holy One of Blessing did not abide among Israel until they worked.” It wasn’t enough that a Tabernacle be made to exist; it was vital that a collective undertaking — a broad-based, voluntary commitment — be assumed by the Jewish people, each as he was moved, to build not only a symbolic locus for God’s presence, but, thereby, a community worthy of God’s presence and one that could therefore enjoy God’s presence throughout.

The charge to assume a voluntary, collective endeavor whose success depends upon everyone working together is as important today as it was in the desert. The call to each and every one of us to consider carefully the consequences of our own commitment and financial generosity — or the lack thereof — echoes through time to eras such as our own today. The obvious insight of the verse itself, that our earnest invitation to God to reside in a space we build together among us, is a reminder that any Jewish achievement in any era can endure only to the extent that it involves and engages a sizeable proportion of the community, which is committed and dedicated to give more as it is needed.

The grand opportunity in the post-Madoff era is to make the Jewish community and the welfare of the Jewish people, here and abroad, the primary beneficiary of our personal and communal commitment and generosity. In our era, we can no longer afford to see a mere 10 percent of all Jewish philanthropy allocated to assisting other Jews and supporting Jewish organizations and institutions that serve Jews primarily. Due to near catastrophic loss of funds thanks to Madoff, a constant percentage will mean a severe decrease in vital services and necessary subsidies provided by Jewish schools, synagogues, pro-Israel organizations, Jewish welfare service organizations and international Jewish relief efforts.

If we rise to the occasion, the Madoff challenge can serve as an important opportunity for us to recalibrate our priorities and remind ourselves that we need everyone, in every way, to maintain the Jewish present, let alone ensure the Jewish future.

If we all choose to contribute together, to sustain it together and to build it together, the Jewish present will inspire an even greater Jewish future — just as it did so long ago in the desert.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com

Israel's Unique Humanity - In Haiti!

2010-01-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

ISRAEL'S UNIQUE HUMANITY - IN HAITI!

Dear Friends:

The events in Haiti are tragic and one has to search far and wide for inspiration in the face of a human tragedy of such magnitude.

While the genuine inspiration provided by the State of Israel and its IDF (the Israel Defense Forces), as evidenced in the links below, pales in comparison to the broader catastrophe at hand, it is nonetheless important and worthy of our attention. It will stand forevermore as a source of pride for every Jew and every Zionist - alongside Israel's rescue team that responded heroically to the recent and devastating earthquake in Turkey and the Israeli field hospitals in Kosovo that are still today acclaimed for their superb medical care and tireless efforts to repatriate families after the Serbians were expelled almost 12 years ago (and alongside, as well, countless other similar but less publicized humanitarian interventions by the IDF).

Only this time, CNN recorded the unique humanity exhibited by the Israelis - and broadcast it to the world. With this link, let Israel's humanitarian resolve be recalled and admired by all - always:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/18/dnt.cohen.haiti.patients.dying.cnn

But, there's more. Witness the miracle of birth amidst the rubble, as three babies are born at the IDF Field-Hospital in Haiti, one of them named ISRAEL in thanks to the young men and women of the IDF!

http://israelsoldiers.org/fidf_haiti_baby.html

Finally, and recorded as events unfolded, view the heroic efforts of IDF personnel, saving the life of a 52 year-old man buried beneath the earthquake's rubble:

http://israelsoldiers.org/fidf_haiti_rescuse.html

The State of Israel's response to the tragedy in Haiti reflects the sacred commitments of every Jew and every Zionist, everywhere. When Israel's humanitarian values, particularly those of the IDF, are next called into question by detractors, let us stand together in defense of Israel and in advocacy on Israel's behalf with at least as much passionate resolve as the pride we took moments ago when viewing the links above.

May Israel's efforts, and those of all free nations who love life and have committed themselves to Haiti's aid, meet with the greatest possible success. May our prayers on behalf of those in desperate need be heard.

B'Shalom - With Blessings of Peace,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Chairman of the Rabbinic Cabinet

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces - www.fidf.org

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Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader

Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay

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Blog: rebisaac.blogspot.com

Twitter: rebisaac

Website: www.nertamid.com/rabbi

Website: www.FIDF.org

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Reclaiming Heroism In An Age Of Skepticism

2009-12-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

Reclaiming Heroism In An Age Of Skepticism

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

December 1, 2009

*Reprinted From The Palos Verdes News

Just the other day, I received a SPAM email from a company selling cell phones. Typically, I delete such emails immediately upon noticing them. This time, accidentally, I opened the email. Staring me in the face, glistening beautifully on my computer-screen, was a brand-new HTC HERO cell-phone. It was exquisite. Though I have absolutely no need for a new cell-phone, I found myself clicking on the various images of the phone, taking in the colorful display and a range of functionality that could lead one to believe that it might even fly. Finally, I looked again at the name of the phone. The HERO.

Many of us have long-lamented our society's coronation of sports icons as "heroes." True, children have always had imaginary heroes and, for boys in particular, they have often been famous and gifted athletes.

However, for several decades, many of us have retained our childhood identification with the sports-heroes that were created for us by the media or in our own minds far more seriously than we might have in past generations. Gone are the days of presidential heroes (thank you, Richard Nixon), or military heroes (thank you, Vietnam - however one chooses to assess that war), or historical heroes (thank you, unqualified Deconstructionism). Beleaguered by the moral and ethical failures of the heroes we were accustomed to and the arenas in which we were used to finding them, we turned to the sports-arena to find them or keep them.

Well, friends, we may now truly have entered the post-Michael-Jordan era; the age of the technological HERO! Our athletic heroes revealed for the steroid-relapses, criminal convictions, spousal abuses, and drug addictions, we need to find someone - or something - to look up to, to respect, and to reflect back to us the best of who we are while challenging us all to be the best that we can be. Welcome to the age of the HTC HERO!

The sad absurdity of it all is that, because we have been disappointed by betrayals of the public trust, we, the public, have elected simply to disappoint and betray ourselves by turning to sources of darkness rather than light - to the point of branding objects rather than people - as our heroes. Instead of fixing the problem, we've compounded it.

And yet, annually, the Jewish tradition reminds us, with Festival of Hanukkah and the Maccabbean Heroes that heroes do exist and that they must be appreciated and remembered if their lessons are to be learned and their character retained for future generations.

Real heroes exhibit courage. Yes, they feel fear, but they transcend their fear to meet the challenges and opportunities at hand. Real heroes champion and even fight for causes that benefit people beyond themselves. Real heroes learn from their mistakes and improve themselves; they aren't perfect, they are flawed, but they try their best to be as good as they can be. Real heroes aren't for every moment; what matters is that they show up when their rare or even lone moment arrives. Real heroes bring light unto darkness, they inspire others to do so alongside them, and their inspiration toward the better lasts as long as their lights continue to be lit by those who remember them and the good for which they stood.

May the Lights of Hanukkah burn as brightly as those of the Maccabees so many years ago and may the light of liberty and sincere tolerance that we can all bring together to our world with courage and conviction glisten timelessly, far beyond our computer screens and cell-phones, pointing us while summoning us toward an ever-better, and brighter, tomorrow.

*Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid, located at 5721 Crestridge Road in Rancho Palos Verdes. Learn more about the Congregation and its upcoming programming at www.nertamid.com or by calling (310) 377-6986.

Key To Peace

2009-10-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

KEY TO PEACE

By Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Commentary on Parashat Lech Lecha

October 28, 2009

Reprinted from: THE JEWISH JOURNAL OF LOS ANGELES

In most instances, families relocate due to a measure of dissatisfaction with where they live currently and a degree of hope for where they might arrive. The Torah portion of Lech-Lecha presents the beginning of the epic Israel-bound family journey of the Jewish people. It is distinct in various respects from all other family relocations recorded in the Book of Genesis or elsewhere in the Torah. A journey that continues still today, it retains central purposes that date back to Abraham’s formative travels even as its unfolding, historic itinerary inspires travelogue entries and reflective commentary with each passing day of the Jewish present.

A comparison of all other family relocations in the Book of Genesis to Abraham’s formative journey to Israel reveals its uniqueness. The departure of Adam and Eve from Eden was at least as much about leaving Eden as arriving elsewhere. The builders of the Tower of Babel were scattered from the Babylonian region of Shinar rather than being sent anywhere else in particular. Noah fled the flood. Abraham’s, Jacob’s, Joseph’s and Jacob’s other sons’ journeys beyond what would come to be known as the land of Israel were initiated due to mortal dangers they faced living in Canaan.

However, Abraham’s journey to Canaan is not presented in the Torah as an escape from anywhere, for any reason. Its purpose is identified solely with the merits and blessings associated with its commanded destination.

To ensure that Abraham, his descendants and all who would later read this story understood the unique purpose of Abraham’s relocation-journey and its enduring implications, God pronounced to Abraham that his descendants’ destiny would be bound inextricably and forever to the special land to which God would guide him and that great blessing would accompany this bond. To ensure that the precise territory constituting the Israel that would exist was just as unambiguous, God articulated the territory’s borders and had Abraham walk the entire land.

Ever since, the Jewish people have been bound to the land of Israel as heirs to God’s promises and blessings to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their families. Jews have lived in Israel, with a continuous presence, for at least 2,500 years, possibly dating back as far as the time of Joshua. And, the Israel in which Jews have resided throughout most of this period — the same Israel promised biblically to our forbears — includes Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nablus and Ramallah, areas assumed by many to constitute the heart of a future Palestinian state.

Any honest broker of peace between the State of Israel and her Arab neighbors must acknowledge publicly a fundamental historical truth and require Arab and Muslim leaders to do the same, for most Israelis to feel that their claim to Israel is affirmed and that their security is an overriding concern. This fact and its implications derive from Abraham’s formative journey and were ignored by President Obama in his Cairo speech and since then.

The land of Israel promised biblically to the Jews and inhabited by Jews more so than anyone else since then includes Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as much as Tel Aviv, Haifa and Eilat. Consequently, the Holocaust and violence prior to it may have been why many Jews fled Europe, and it might have been why most nations voted in 1947 to allow for a Jewish state, but it constitutes neither the reason nor the purpose underlying the historic Jewish return to Israel. Jews didn’t happen upon Israel in 1948, settling for a location that seemed easy and safe. Rather, those who returned home to Israel, before or after the Holocaust, did so despite the significant challenges they knew awaited them.

Public recognition of the historic and continual Jewish claim to the entire land of Israel by President Obama and, following his lead, by Arab and Muslim leaders genuinely seeking peace with Israel is a prerequisite, both theoretically and practically, to any final agreement in which Arab and Muslim leaders would accept a permanent and Jewish State of Israel, regardless of its final borders. It would acknowledge that what constitutes “occupied territories” for Israel’s enemies are “disputed territories” to most Israelis. In truth, given that Israel “occupied” Judea and Samaria in a defensive 1967 war aimed at destroying the Jewish state, referring to them as “disputed” rather than simply annexing them should seem generous on Israel’s part.

Arab and Muslim leaders could join with Israel’s leaders in a mutual recognition of historical claims rather than denying Israel’s right to exist. Israel would be invited to give away land that is rightfully its own rather than returning it, as though anyone lay greater claim to it, in exchange for an enduring peace.

An honest accounting of history may be the key to determining whether there exist today authentic voices of compromise among Arab and Muslim leaders and whether Israel should see fit to forgo its historic and legitimate claim to any portion of its land, at this juncture, in pursuit of peace. President Obama can turn this key.

Invocation - AIPAC Summit Gala Reception

2009-10-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

INVOCATION

AIPAC SUMMIT CONFERENCE – GALA RECEPTION & DINNER

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

La Costa Resort / San Diego, CA

October 19, 2009

She-Hekheyanu V'Ki-manu V'Hee-gee-yanu La-Z'man Ha-Zeh ... God has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us unto this moment ...

With this magnificent blessing, Jewish families and communities have marked throughout the ages occasions of celebration and moments of purpose, acknowledging the uniqueness of each for the individuals participating and the precise circumstances at hand, neither of which would ever have aligned before, as they would never arrive again, and the specific consequences of their interaction unknowable before beforehand and impossible ever to generate again.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are blessed to live in the greatest country ever imagined in the course of human history. And, indeed, every American endeavor of enduring virtue has benefited greatly from the unique wisdom, born of the unique experiences of the vast array of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses who sought refuge on America's shores.

Only several decades ago, our country's Jewish community was the epitome of these tired, poor, and huddled masses, often barely escaping the tyrannical and genocidal clutches of hateful ideologies and tyrants whom, we learned from our unique historical experience as Jews, far more often than not, tend to seek to enact their threats against the objects of their hate and scorn if ever they achieve the means and are afforded the opportunity to do so.

My friends, as leadership is valuable and significant only in situational context, so is wisdom. Thus, when we enter ™the halls of Congress, visiting with respected leaders and their knowledgeable staff-members, sharing our passion for the U.S./Israel relationship, lobbying our representatives regarding important legislation, and urging an appreciation on the part of our elected officials for the nuances of the Jewish State's noble struggle to survive so many thousands of miles away, we do so not as American citizens biased and clouded by a dual allegience, and thereby unable to see clearly that which is in our country's best interests, as cynics and even bigots would suggest of us. Rather we do so, first and foremost - and always, as proud and devoted Americans, contributing our unique wisdom - born of our own experiences over the last 2,000 years of our exile from our Homeland - to the task of ensuring that America identifies swiftly and with clarity who our friends are, who our mortal enemies are, and what we must do, right now, to ensure that we defend our country and those with whom we ally ourselves in the spirit and challenge of liberty and toward the strategic virtue of defending it against those who seek its destruction and our own.

Barukh Ata Ado-nai Elohei-nu Melekh HaOlam Shehecheyanu V'Kee'ma-nu V:ee-gee-yanu La-Z'man HaZeh ... Blessed are You, God, our God, Sovereign of all time and space, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us unto this moment - and, Who may well have brought us here to America for this very moment, a moment requiring the wisdom earned of a unique Jewish historical journey, a moment in which our country may need Israel as much as Israel relies upon the United States, a moment that needs us - right now - to make the difference that only we American Jews can make. - Amen!

The Immorality of Palestinian “Resistance;” A Response To President Obama’s Speech In Cairo

2009-07-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

The Immorality of Palestinian “Resistance;”

A Response To President Obama’s Speech In Cairo

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

July 16, 2009

There are many, throughout the Jewish world and beyond, who have reacted to different portions of President Obama’s speech delivered in Cairo in early June. Numerous responses have focussed upon the President’s assertion that the State of Israel is a consequence of the Holocaust, omitting the historic connection of the Jewish People to the land of Israel, with many challenging this notion (for good reason) and others more forgiving of the President. While there are many other sections of the President’s speech to which one might respond (and others have responded accordingly), there are two specific paragraphs, communicated in succession, that caught my attention beyond all others. Together, they carry a message that our Biblical tradition cautions us against, and that we, as Jews and as Americans, ought to consider carefully for its implications.

Referring to the Palestinian Arab’s pursuit of a Palestinian State, and the efforts of Arabs and other Muslims to assist them in their pursuit, the President communicated the following:

“Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding.

This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia, to Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed, that's how it is surrendered.”

The moral-equivalence assumed by the President to exist between the Palestinian Arab’s pursuit of a Palestinian State, on the one hand, and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, on the other hand, serves, in actuality, to undermine his condemnation of Palestinian Arab violence against Israeli civilians that he deplores (above) for its lack of morality. For President Obama, Palestinian violence against innocent Israelis is immoral because of whom it targets, although the “resistance,” if unarmed, is a cause of moral virtue; Terrorism against Israeli civilians is morally unjustified only in that it is directed at those who are innocent, but the cause that it aims to further is a worthy one. Finally, President Obama presents terrorism against civilians as absolutely immoral; it appears from his quote that one could never justify "armed resistance” against civilians.

Interestingly, Iran’s tyrannical leadership, its terrorist-proxies - Hamas and Hezbollah, and the PLO-derived and Fatah-party ruled Palestinian Authority all employ the term “resistance” when referring to their openly stated hope and intention to destroy the State of Israel, either in stages that commence with the establishment of a Palestinian State (as in the case of Fatah and it allies) or simply by waging all-out-war against Israel via terror, conventional warfare, or a nuclear attack. Hamas actually incorporates this terminology into its charter, calling for Israel’s destruction, that of world-Jewry, and that of the United States - each and all via “resistance.”

Setting aside for the moment the obvious problem of the President’s usage of the very term (“resistance”) employed by the Western World’s greatest enemies when referring to its intention to destroy us, is it true that Terrorism is absolutely immoral? Is it true that one might never imagine a situation in which Terrorism is, even possibly, morally justifiable? According to the Palestinian Arabs and many of their supporters, any and all forms of “resistance” are justified. Their argument is that the innocent Palestinian Arab civilian-population cannot defend itself against Israeli aggression and ongoing attempts at ethnic-cleansing (an absurd but increasingly common accusation against Israel); the Palestinian Arabs have no armed forces and no defensive capability against the supposed Israeli war-machine. How can one blame the otherwise helpless Palestinians for “responding” to Israeli aggression with attacks against the only targets that they can hit - Israel’s civilians?

Furthermore, as Israel itself notes regularly and correctly, Israel’s army constitutes the majority of its 18-21 year old young-adults, drafted into service without significant protest among Israel’s citizenship and serving alongside reservists, the majority of whom are adult-men who continue their reserve-service into their 40’s. As such, the distinction between army personnel and Israel’s civilian-citizenship might be seen as a distinction without a difference; a substantial portion of Israel’s civilian-citizenship might appear to be complicit in Israel’s “aggression” against Palestinian Arabs, perhaps rendering some or all Israeli civilians reasonable and justifiable targets of Palestinian terror.

In truth, contrary to President Obama’s condemnation of Terrorism as absolutely immoral, one can indeed make a case for ongoing Palestinian "armed-resistance” against Israel, supported financially, materially, and logistically by Iran, Syria, and other “freedom-loving” nations, so long as one accepts as basic assumptions either the veracity of the Palestinian Arab’s historical narrative or their recounting of Israeli oppression. After-all, while unarmed protests worked in South Africa against Apartheid and in the United States against segregation, had these methods failed, would armed resistance against civilians (if available as an option) have been unjustified? Had the citizenship of the United States been proven to have been complicit in enforcing policies of segregation (which many were, particularly in the South) or had white South Africa been proven to have been similarly complicit in enforcing Apartheid policies (which it was, overwhelmingly), and had civil-disobedience failed to achieve its desired end, would not “armed-resistance” against civilians have been the logical and justifiable next step in attempting to put an end to American and South African oppression of blacks in either country?

In actuality, wittingly or unwittingly, by likening the Palestinian Arab’s cause to the anti-Apartheid and Civil Rights movements, President Obama has indeed justified Palestinian violence against all Israelis - whether army-personnel or otherwise. All one needs to do to justify such “armed-resistance” is to show that unarmed resistance has not worked to bring about the outcome sought. After all, the President has clearly stated that the goals of the “resistance” are worthy!

This is not the first presidential gaffe of this general sort. For President Bush, America’s “War on Terror” sought to defeat a formidable enemy, that of Terrorism itself, rather than the Islamist Expansionists who employed it against the United States, and continue to seek to do so. This, too, amounted to a presidential failure to identify that which truly deserves absolute condemnation. Only, President Bush’s failure to identify as the enemy in “The War on Terror” the Islamist Expansionists who employ the Terror as a tactic could never have been confused with any affirmation on his part of their objectives; clearly, President Bush found the cause of the Islamic Expansionist to have been morally repugnant.

The problem with Palestinian Arab “resistance,” is that it is wrong whether it is conducted with or without violence; it is immoral and even criminal when conducted with violence - against any Israeli or Jew, anywhere in the world. It is the cause that is fundamentally objectionable, thereby relegating any means by which it might be achieved unjustifiable. The Palestinians have no legitimate claim to the land that they seek as a sovereign state. The truth is simply not on their side. It is because of their baseless claims against Israel that their violence, against any Israeli anywhere, is entirely unjustifiable.

In this regard, I will not, in this piece, aim to prove the lack of legitimacy of the vast majority of Palestinian Arab claims. However, it suffices to say the following, as has been stated by many an Israeli statesman over the past sixty-one years: If the Palestinian Arabs and their Arab and Muslim supporters were to lay down their weapons unilaterally, recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State, and pursue a path toward peace, Israel’s use of any violence in its defense would be unnecessary and would therefore cease. On the other hand, if Israel were to lay down its weapons unilaterally, its annihilation would occur within hours, if not sooner, at the hands of its Palestinian and otherwise Arab neighbors and its Muslim foes worldwide.

Who’s violence is more effective does not reflect or determine the perpetrator and victim in any conflict. Rather, one should hope that the victim, Israel in this case, would be more effective in its self-defense than the Palestinians and their supporters might ever be in their aim to destroy Israel.

It is the Palestinian cause that lacks any moral underpinning; while Israel may choose to cede territory for the creation of a Palestinian State, its reasons for doing so would be either because of its benevolence and compassion for a population abandoned and betrayed by its Arab and Muslim brothers or because of Israel’s assessment that it is simply in Israel’s best interests to do so -- or both. One would hope that President Obama might one day soon reconsider his distinction between “armed-resistance” and any other sort of “resistance” on the part of Palestinian Arabs and their supporters, affirming the immorality of either when employed toward a morally unworthy aim.

One Great Day; Two Great Celebrations

2009-07-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

One Great Day;

Two Great Celebrations

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

July 4, 2009
(Updated: July 4, 2011)

Each year, on the Fourth of July, Jews residing in The United States of America, as well as those residing in The State of Israel, have reason to celebrate a great day, commemorating, not one, but two great events that occurred on this single day, spanning a distance in time of exactly 200 years. America's Founding Fathers, and (ultimately) its inexhaustibly committed soldiers and founding citizens, declared into existence the world's first independent, democratic country on this very day, 235 years ago. As well, only 35 years ago today, the boys of TZAHAL -- Israel's Defense Force (the Sayeret Matkal unit, to be precise) -- freed 100 Jewish hostages from the Entebbe Airport, where they were held after their plane was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and their German accomplices.

Courageous and benevolent Americans, motivated ever-since by our country's founding generations and forever-more by America's Divinely inspired message of freedom and liberty, have championed causes of human dignity the world over in the most recent century and prior. Both the very ideals that America represents and the reality that it constitutes continue today to awaken a deep yearning for liberty in the hearts and souls of decent human beings throughout the world who seek at minimum to secure a free and better future for themselves and their families. The intellectual courage, spiritual fortitude, and physical bravery of those who thought and fought to breath life into a new, free, and dignified way of living, on the soil of the New World, exemplifies and models still today the necessary vision to dream of liberty, the courage to fight for it, and the conviction to defend it. The State of Israel is the world's finest and most authentic present-day example of this remarkable, life-affirming phenomenon.

This week, I find myself reflecting concurrently upon two great heroes, men who typified the spirit of liberty shared by Americans and Israelis alike; George Washington and Yonatan Netanyahu. The former was, of course, the brave General, and thereafter the founding-President of the United States of America, who dedicated his life to birthing and nurturing our great country in its most formative years. The latter was a hero of Israel's desperate self-defense in the north against Syria during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and served later and most heroically as the Unit Commander of Sayeret Matkal, the Israeli Special Forces Unit charged with developing and executing the plan to free the hostages at Entebbe Airport in 1976.

Though his younger brother, Benjamin, serves today a second term as Israel's Prime Minister, Yonatan's future ended tragically on July 4, 1976, as he sacrificed his life at Entebbe Airport. He died very much in service of his country's self-defense against forces of evil who claim openly for all to hear that their greatest strength is their de-emphasis of the importance of each individual human life and their resulting willingness to die, and even to kill their own, in order to achieve the death and maiming of Israelis and all Jews everywhere and the annihilation of Israel. They claim that Israel's greatest weakness is its unwillingness to deem acceptable even a single death of its citizens and that this weakness will ultimately bring Israel to its end. The values shared by George Washington and Yonatan Netanyahu would argue otherwise, no doubt, and their conviction, courage, and moral clarity in defense of those who would value and dignify human life is exactly that with which we must respond today.

George Washington and Yonatan Netanyahu are bound together in an eternal bond of life-affirming human liberty and dignity, just as The United States of America and The State of Israel must remain today bound by shared visions and values. The bond between Washington and Netanyahu was fashioned by their heroic acts in the course of their lives, though they lived centuries apart in time, as each championed ideologies and defended civilizations that value supremely each and every human life. Their eternal bond is cherished, no doubt, by our God, The One who loves life as God’s own creation and sustains all life every moment of every day.

On July 4th, Americans of all religions and races are joined in spirit by Israelis as we celebrate together a revolution of Liberty that began on the western shores of the Atlantic Ocean and spread not only from sea to shining sea, but, nearly two centuries later, to a tiny strip of blessed land, reaching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan Valley and from the northeastern peaks and plateaus of the Golan Heights to the crystal-blue of the Red Sea. Indeed, the very vision that inspired America was one born of our Jewish forbears who learned from God and His servant Moses at Sinai the primacy of the value of all human life and dignity, who were reminded of these values in the compelling teachings of The Prophets, and who studied it throughout the ages, and continue to do so, as expounded upon by the Talmudic Sages and in subsequent teachings. The Divinely inspired vision that guided our Founding Fathers as they birthed our country and the modern-day miracle of Israel are born of a single Source.

Today, we celebrate freedom and, as we do so, we champion all who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to bless us with every reason for our celebration. This week's Torah portion, Balak, reminds us that, if we are true to our most sacred values and to the essence of a heritage that champions above all else Life and Liberty, the words and deeds of those who seek to bring us harm can only serve to strengthen us in blessing (Mah Tovu O-ho-lekha Ya'akov ...). Our history's lessons and our future's hopes call upon us all to redouble our efforts to ensure that the eternal bond of Life and Liberty, envisaged and forged by great men such as Washington and Netanyahu, and inspired by The Creator and Sustainer of all life, remains an eternal bond, indeed. We must dream with vision, we must be prepared to fight with courage, and we must always defend with conviction. Great heroes have paved the way for us, God continues to entrust us, and the rest is up to us.

God Bless America, Am Yisrael Chai!

Seeing The Light

2009-06-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Seeing The Light

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

June 10, 2009

Torah Commentary: Parashat B'ha'alotecha

Reprinted from: The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles

In a series of magnificent discourses on this week’s Torah portion and, more generally, upon the construction and dedication of the Tabernacle’s menorah, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, derived two interdependent perspectives on the Jewish people, from which we can derive similar approaches to understanding humanity. During this pivotal moment in the encounter between Western civilization and the Muslim world, it behooves us to consider the interdependence of these two perspectives to avoid unwarranted risks carrying potentially grave consequences.

Rabbi Schneerson, referred to as the Rebbe by his Chabad followers, reflected on the interpretations of B'ha’alotecha’s opening verses by medieval commentators Rashi and Ramban.

Rashi noted that at the outset of Beha’alotecha, God’s charge to Aaron to dedicate the Tabernacle’s menorah follows the dedication of the Tabernacle itself, recorded in last week’s Torah portion, Naso.

To link the two accounts meaningfully, Rashi refers to a midrash, explaining that God sought to console Aaron, given that neither he nor the kohanim (priests) were invited to bring their own offerings during the Tabernacle’s dedication, whereas the leaders of Israel’s tribes, other than the Levites (to whom the kohanim belonged), were so invited.

Perplexed by the midrash underlying Rashi’s reasoning, Ramban wondered why Aaron would have needed consolation, given the numerous Tabernacle and Temple rituals reserved for the kohanim and given that the kindling of the menorah was not exclusive to the kohanim subsequent to its dedication.

Ramban concluded that the lighting of the menorah in the Tabernacle during its dedication was not Aaron’s consolation. Rather, God consoled Aaron by associating his priestly descendants with the menorah as an eternal ritual object, enduring long after the destruction of the temples later to occur, by virtue of the chanukiyah’s kindling throughout the ages commemorating the miracle of Chanukah.

The Rebbe expounded upon a subtle differentiation between the above interpretations. If Aaron’s consolation was his kindling of the menorah, our reflections upon this passage should center upon the menorah’s lights themselves. However, if Aaron’s consolation was the endurance of the menorah, then the menorah’s unique construction, rather than the lights it was designed to contain and support, should be our focus for contemplation.

Drawing upon Rashi’s commentary several verses earlier, the Rebbe noted the uniqueness and independence of each individual light of the menorah, suggesting that these same qualities characterize the Jewish people. Noting that the menorah was sculpted from one solid piece of gold — and Ramban’s derivation that chanukiyahs must be constructed similarly — the Rebbe reflected on the virtue of Jewish unity as the menorah’s fundamental message. The Rebbe concluded that diversity must be grounded in mutual concern and appreciation, and that unity cannot stifle individual aspirations.

Taken together, and applied to humanity more generally, the Rebbe’s reflections can offer guidance as the Western world seeks mutual understanding, reconciliation and peace with the Muslim world. A genuine appreciation of our common origins, of the singular Source from which we all derive, is a prerequisite to the harmony we might achieve through the diversity of humanity’s religious expressions, ethnic and cultural identities or national aspirations.

The radiance of our unique and respective lights could only be understood then to be enhanced by the light of others.

However, there is great danger in confusing and equating as equal to our own the light of adherents and leaders of ideologies that do not appreciate such underlying and overriding pluralistic values. In our rush to compromise with those who see compromise as surrender, we may likely strengthen the more extreme factions among those who seek to extinguish our light, even at the expense of their own, by presenting our light as negotiable. In the name of such compromise — and self-deception via a false mutuality of understanding — we could also come to see misguided merit in abandoning those with whom we share most an understanding of the origins and purposes of our light.

Moreover, we might well render our own destruction unnecessary by forgetting, or worse, by repudiating the very pluralistic values that differentiate our light, rendering us indistinguishable from those who seek to extinguish us.

Some lights so yearn to join with others to illuminate the darkness that they may risk their own extinction. Other lights, however, may well consider extinguishing all light altogether, even their own, toward achieving a world all their own, even if it exists in a sea of darkness. We would be wiser and safer to see the light and remember this distinction.

Catholic Students Learn About The Jewish Passover

2009-04-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

CATHOLIC STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE JEWISH PASSOVER

*Reprinted From The Los Angeles Times

In an effort to promote understanding, a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest host a Seder to teach high schoolers about the similarities and differences between the religions.

April 06, 2009|Jeff Gottlieb

It wasn't so much that about 85 high school kids were in a synagogue for a Passover Seder; it was that there was hardly a Jew in sight.

But that was the idea for this gathering, to teach Catholic high school students about the holiday that commemorates Moses' leading the Jews out of Egypt and slavery.

"Your faith wouldn't have existed if we weren't rescued from Egypt," Rabbi Isaac Jeret told the students who gathered at Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes last week.

This marked the third year that Catholic students went to the synagogue to learn about Passover, what Jeret called "for the Jewish people, our master story." He said the event "is one of the most important things we do in this synagogue each year. . . . We explore how different and similar our faiths are."

The Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, in charge of ecumenical affairs for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who sat next to Jeret, said the archdiocese has engaged in many programs with Jews recently. "All are an effort to grow an appreciation of each other," he said.

Elsewhere, Catholic students also are attending Seders. This year, for example, all 1,200 students at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance attended Seders in the gym.

"We were looking to our elder sisters and brothers in faith," Smith said.

Neither Smith nor Jeret, the son of a Holocaust survivor, airbrushed the Catholic Church's past anti-Semitism. Matzo, the unleavened bread eaten on Passover, has led to "some of the darkest moments of history between our people," Jeret said. He told the students about "blood libels," when Jews were falsely accused of killing Christian children to use their blood in matzo.

"The result was many Jews were killed at the hands of the Church," Jeret said.

Smith, whose full shock of gray hair falls to his shoulders, later added, "The history between Catholics and Jews has not always been pleasant. We're still working on that."

The Ner Tamid Catholic Seders grew out of the close relationship between the synagogue and Catholics on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

In early 1999, at a conference at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, a Catholic unexpectedly proposed marching from the center to Ner Tamid to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, when German mobs attacked Jews, burned and vandalized synagogues and destroyed Jewish-owned stores in 1938.

About 1,000 people took part in the 1 1/4 -mile candlelight procession, and another 1,000 met them for the program at the synagogue. At Ner Tamid, the Catholics presented the synagogue with a sculpture made of unbreakable glass.

Out of that march came the Dawn Unity Group, dedicated to continuing the interfaith dialogue in Palos Verdes. The group holds four programs a year.

Passover, an eight-day celebration, begins this year at sundown Wednesday. Seders, in which the Passover story is read from the Haggada, usually are held in homes, not synagogues.

At last week's event, the Catholic youths sat at tables, with ceremonial foods set in front of them: matzo; charoset, a combination of apple, nuts, wine and cinnamon; horseradish; parsley; salt water; a roasted lamb shank bone; and a roasted egg. The males wore skullcaps that many Jews put on while praying.

Before the Seder began, Smith explained the significance of Passover from a Catholic perspective -- that as a Jew, Christ would have celebrated Passover and that the Last Supper was a Seder, something most students were not aware of. He pointed out that Catholics have adopted some of the symbols of Passover. For example, the four glasses of wine drunk at the Seder (at this one, the youths drank apple juice) became the chalice of wine that Catholics believe is the blood of Christ. Matzo is similar to the Communion wafer eaten at Mass.

In addition, according to the Passover story, when the Pharaoh refused to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, God rained down 10 plagues on the Egyptians. The 10th was the slaying of the first-born son. Jews placed lamb's blood on their doorways so the angel of death would know to pass them by.

Smith explained that the lamb was sacrificed so its blood would spare the Hebrew people in Egypt. "Early Christians identified Christ as the lamb being sacrificed," he said. "Christ becomes our paschal lamb."

Interfaith Seders are not unusual, and they come in many shapes and colors. Although one hope is that the Ner Tamid Seder will help demystify Judaism, what makes it different from other interfaith affairs, the rabbi said, is that the Catholic students are not paired with Jews. This gives students a chance to explore the similarities and differences between the religions in a more comfortable atmosphere.

"There is a conscious charge to do it for the Catholic community," Jeret said. "What it means for Catholics is the focus."

Michael Zapata, 18, said he was surprised by the similarities between the religions. "It gives me a different point of view," he said.

Andrew Knox, 15, said, "It gave me a better understanding of Jewish traditions and what influenced them."

But Jews still seemed a mystery to many of the students.

Edward Desouza, 14, said he hadn't known that the Old Testament is the Jewish holy book.

The group seemed surprised when Jeret told them there were just 13.2 million Jews in the world, compared with 1.2 billion Catholics and 1 billion to 1.5 billion Muslims. "I thought there would be more," said Joren Lagmay, 14.

For Bob Rothman, chairman of the Dawn Unity Group and a former Ner Tamid president, the Seder was a success.

"Part of the importance is having a priest explain to Catholic kids how this relates to their faith, that it is the Last Supper, the Jewishness of Jesus," he said. "This is why we do it. If people would understand that much, then we would be a lot closer together."

jeff.gottlieb@latimes.com

RECLAIMING PASSOVER PRIORITIES

2009-04-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

by Rabbi Isaac Jeret

The Passover seder has evolved and changed throughout the ages. Many of us might not know that the "four questions" were originally "three questions," and one of the three -- preparation of the paschal lamb -- is no longer asked.

Until recently, most Jews read the same haggadah at their seders. Today, different denominations have published haggadahs that include new passages, omit older ones and rearrange the order. And many of us have created and printed personal haggadahs each year for our own family seders.

But the single greatest change to the seder in the American Jewish experience might be our prevailing focus on a more universal theme and message related to liberation.

Whereas the particular Jewish experience of subjugation and liberation was once the central expression of the seder, the persecution of others and their need for liberation has influenced the great majority of the changes to both the haggadah and the seder experience for American Jews.

In discussing this phenomenon with people planning seders over the last several years, they've often shared their concern that their non-Jewish guests or family members might feel excluded, if not offended, should their seders focus too much upon the historical Jewish experiences of subjugation and redemption or the threats facing Jews today. Some have shared that they omit entire passages in the traditional haggadah that reference the Jewish experience of persecution and liberation beyond that of the exodus from Egypt.

Ironically, I've found over the years that non-Jews attending seders come with the expectation, and often the hope, of experiencing a particularly Jewish occasion. When we opt to universalize the theme to the exclusion of the unique historical Jewish experience, we may be responding to our own discomfort with a particularized focus on our history of persecution or our desire to concern ourselves with the welfare of Jews living with less freedom than we might enjoy today. In doing so, we might be avoiding or even denying our own vulnerability, as a miniscule minority among the world's population.

Over the last several years, and this year in particular, world events leave us little room for such self-indulgence. While it is admirable indeed, and very much in keeping with fundamental Jewish values championing life and liberty, for us to be sure to include in our seders our commitment to the liberation of all human beings, Iran is only several months away from developing a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the State of Israel, home to the world's largest, youngest and only growing Jewish population. Iran's radical Islamic leadership has expressed openly its aim to wipe the State of Israel off the map and, if we do not act immediately and decisively, it will soon have the means to do so.

We can make a difference, even at this late hour. And we can start at our seders.

We can encourage our guests or our fellow attendees to become involved in a nationwide undertaking to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. We can begin by consulting the Web site of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at http://www.aipac.org/theiranianthreat.asp. We can download and distribute at our seders, and to our friends and relatives nationwide for distribution at their seders, important background material on this issue and links to legislation pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate that deserve the strongest support of our representatives in Washington, D.C. Via the AIPAC Web site, we can all lobby our representatives to support these initiatives. Each of us, and all of our guests, should be encouraged to contact AIPAC's offices as soon as possible after the seder to learn how we can all be even more helpful in this sacred and urgent mission to keep the means to annihilate the State of Israel out of the hands of those who seek such an end.

As for our non-Jewish guests, wouldn't we be doing them a great disservice were we to ignore this issue at our seders as one of central concern to us as Jews? Shouldn't they know that both the painful and the miraculous lessons of our history help us determine when and how we must act in the name of Jewish self-preservation? If we reclaim our Passover priorities, priorities that demand our Jewish self-concern shamelessly when warranted, more than a few of our non-Jewish guests might well join with us in our urgent endeavor to keep Iran from harming our brothers and sisters in Israel. As we invite them to expand the base of support that will be required to ensure that Iran's aims are never achieved, we might well be surprised to learn just how much they may feel included in our seders, enlightening us about why they accepted our invitations to attend our seders in the first place.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay, a warm and inclusive synagogue-community on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in Los Angeles, CA. For more information about Ner Tamid, call (310) 377-6986 or visit www.nertamid.com.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com

PURIM'S REAL HERO

2009-03-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

The story of Purim, so simple at first glance, is anything but simple when examined more closely. Recounted in the Bible's Scroll of Esther, it appears on the surface to be a story of how the Persian Jewish community, approximately 2350 years ago, was condemned to annihilation by the decree of the King Ahashverosh and then saved by the selfless and courageous efforts of two Jews, Mordechai and Esther. The Persian king's decree had been engineered and manipulated by Haman, the king's most trusted advisor. The classical commentaries of the Jewish tradition view Mordechai and/or Esther as Purim's heroes. And, contemporary commentators point to the fact that they each took personal initiative, rather than awaiting Divine intervention for their People's deliverance, to explain the absence of even a single overt reference to God in the entire Scroll of Esther.

However, appearances can be deceiving. Taking nothing away from Mordechai and Esther, there aren't enough days in the year to celebrate the courageous undertakings of Jews who acted throughout history to save our People from disaster. And, to omit any direct reference to God simply because people chose to act first and pray later seems to deny God's hand in the successes and deliverances that we might ever achieve; an unlikely expression on the part of ancient Jewry on the whole and, some would argue, an unfortunate one on our part today. Is there room to understand Purim as a reminder that faith in God is not a prerequisite to Jewish participation, and even to Jewish heroism? Of course, there is. However, should this, in and of itself, constitute sufficient reason to elevate Purim's apparent heroes beyond so many other heroes of Jewish history who acted similarly in the face of equally grave circumstances while achieving comparable success? No, it shouldn't.

So, if there is a unique hero of the Purim saga, one worthy of Biblical mention and from whom we might learn enduring lessons, who was s/he? And, might this hero shed greater light upon God's absence from Purim's story?

It seems to me that Purim's true hero turns out to be the very man who decreed the annihilation of Persian Jewry in the first place. Yes, King Ahashverosh, the man whom history would rightly have tried and convicted for a genocidal attack upon his own Jewish subjects had he failed to annul his decree upon Esther's impassioned plea on their behalf, is indeed our hero! No, his annulment of the decree constituted nothing heroic; of course, this was simply the just and reasonable thing to do. However, when the king's motivations are considered more carefully, they may reveal how he was indeed Purim's hero, they may offer important insights into God's absence from the Scroll of Esther's recounting of the Purim story, and they may constitute collectively an accessible and virtuous model for today's leaders of the free-world, as the West struggles to acknowledge a serious existential threat posed by Expansionist Islam.

Had King Ahashverosh been motivated to annul his decree against his Jewish subjects solely due to his love for his beloved Queen Esther, his intervention might well have ended with the reversal of his decree alone. While he might never again have trusted his advisor, Haman, to the degree that he once did so, his love for Esther was hardly reason enough to order his Royal Army to engage in all-out war against the militia that Haman enlisted to destroy the Jews; shouldn't he have reasoned with them or even folded some of them into his own army rather than initiating what could easily have become a civil-war? Furthermore, as the Scroll of Esther recounts, the king allowed the Jews of Persia to rise up against Haman's militia, fighting alongside the king's army, in their own self-defense. Didn't the king risk anarchy among the various subjects in his kingdom by allowing the Jews to do so, rather than using his own army exclusively to render Haman's network harmless. After all, wouldn't such actions among one group of subjects encourage other groups to take matters into their own hands, as well?

It is possible that King Ahashverosh's decisions were motivated by more than his love for Esther and her People alone. Ahashverosh might well have realized that the Jews were the canaries in the mine-shaft, his own monarchy constituting Haman's next target. He might well have wondered whether some officers and soldiers of his own army were compromised by Haman's manipulations. Allowing the Jews to fight alongside his army might have discouraged those among the Royal Army who were less loyal from breaking ranks with officers and troops more loyal to the king's monarchy. Furthermore, empowering the Jewish population to defend itself alongside the king's forces might have encouraged even greater loyalty among his Jewish subjects, long into the future, as they might have come to understand that their fate and that of the monarchy had become bound inextricably.

As for God's absence from the story of Purim, King Ahashverosh might well have been motivated by self-interest in his determination to save his Jewish subjects and confront Haman and his militia with decisive force, having understood the broader implications of Esther's more focused concerns for her People. Decisions and actions motivated by self-interest do not necessarily constitute acts of faith. Seeing as there is no evidence at all that King Ahashverosh was a man of faith, it should not surprise us at all that God is not mentioned in the Scroll of Esther; Purim's real hero acted upon the most basic human instinct of self-preservation, though he achieved a Divine, just, and even righteous purpose.

The Neville Chamberlains of history might likely deem King Ahashverosh a war-monger; to the Jewish People, he is perhaps worthy of distinction as a heroic figure, having taken decisive action before it was too late. Today, most ironically, as Iran (modern-day Persia) inches ever-closer to developing the nuclear arsenal that its Expansionist Islamic leadership threatens to utilize to wipe the State of Israel off the map, leaders of the Western World might be well-served to take note that Iran is completing a nuclear infrastructure that will allow it to produce approximately fifty nuclear weapons annually - almost fifty times the arsenal necessary to destroy the tiny State of Israel. We would all be wise to learn from the decisive action that King Ahashverosh took against Haman's militia, protecting the canaries in the mine-shaft, empowering them to protect themselves alongside the king's own forces, and thereby both ensuring evermore their loyalty to the monarchy while protecting the monarchy from an ominous and impending threat.

The leaders of the free-world might take a page out of Esther's Scroll, learning from Ahashverosh's decisive but self-interested actions to determine how they may secure our own civilization, one far more just and worthy than the fate that the Hamans of the world might ever seek to perpetrate upon the Jewish People - and, thereafter, upon everyone else.

*To listen to recordings of Rabbi Jeret's sermons and classes, and to consult a schedule of upcoming Services, classes, and other programming at Congregation Ner Tamid, please click on the following link: www.nertamid.com/rabbi

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com

Hardening Hearts; Protecting Our Freedom

2009-02-01T01:05:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2009
Parshat Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)
By Rabbi Isaac Jeret

(Reprinted from the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles)

To the contemporary reader, the story of the ancient Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is every bit as compelling as it was to readers centuries ago. And much like the rabbis as far back as 2,000 years ago, there is an aspect of this story that remains troubling for many of us today — God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, effectively compelling Pharaoh to continue to subject our ancestors to slavery, even when Pharaoh might have chosen to do otherwise.

God’s actions appear to interfere with the integrity of the story and its message, allowing Pharaoh an excuse for his continued tyranny and even rendering Pharaoh a sympathetic victim. Is it not God who, having hardened Pharaoh’s heart after the first five plagues, bears sole responsibility for both the continued enslavement of our ancestors and the resulting destruction of Egypt?

This week’s Torah portion, Bo, begins with God’s charge to Moses to call upon Pharaoh yet again, introducing the eighth plague. In the Torah’s recounting of the narrative, God tells Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart ... that you may recount in the hearing of your sons and your sons’ sons how I made a mockery of the Egyptians ...” (Exodus 10:1-2).

But why would God want to make a mockery of the Egyptians? And why would God want succeeding generations to hear, and presumably retell, the story of how God did so? A commonly referenced talmudic answer to this question, attributed to the sage Resh Lakish, suggests there is a limit to God’s patience in awaiting one’s repentance; that given Pharaoh’s refusal to free the Israelite slaves after the first several plagues, God was unwilling thereafter to accept Pharaoh’s change of heart. However, this interpretation runs counter to many meaningful rabbinic sources who suggest that the gates of penitence and repair remain open, always, to the sincere of heart. Would Pharaoh have been insincere in his change of heart? We’ll never know, because God did not permit him the opportunity to correct his horrific subjugation of our ancestors, according to this interpretation. Wouldn’t our ancestors have been better off knowing with absolute certainty that Pharaoh and Egypt deserved their fate? Shouldn’t God have cared to find out?

Another interpretation suggests that God’s intent was to clarify for the Egyptians that there is a God to whom even their own king would succumb; that God is the redeeming force in the universe; that once unleashed by God, freedom’s will ultimately overcomes those who enslave and torment others, or seek to do them even greater harm, and that such designs will lead to the obliteration of all aggressors. However, wouldn’t this point have been made just as powerfully and, perhaps, to a more enduring pedagogical effect, if Pharaoh had been granted the opportunity to see the error of his ways and then transform the Egyptians into a liberating People themselves? Surely this would have made for a story of enormous consequence, potentially encouraging the abolition of all tyranny in the world.

Well, no.

Liberation, as with security, is rarely — if ever — achieved without confronting with decisive power those who aim to terrorize, subjugate and destroy others.

It strikes me that the primary audience for God’s excessive pursuit of Pharaoh, even to the point of hardening his heart, was the slaves and not those who enslaved. It was the Israelites whose grandchildren were intended to hear and repeat this story, not the Egyptians. Perhaps, as a liberated people, there was a lasting lesson to be learned from overcoming a persistent and stubborn enemy with evil intent. Perhaps the challenge of outlasting tyrannical adversaries and their desire to conquer and even to destroy liberty and humanity is one with which liberated societies have an inherent difficulty, especially when tyrants and their followers or proxies extend a false hand toward reconciliation. Perhaps God prolonged Pharaoh’s refusal to free our ancestors, hardening his heart for all to see and retell, so we might never confuse the contrition of those sincerely repentant with the manipulation of those bent on our destruction. Perhaps God was helping our ancestors avoid a tendency to which free but weary people might be forever vulnerable — that of compromising with a seemingly repentant tyrant who might then survive to torment them, with even greater effect, in the future.

Two weeks ago, our brothers and sisters in Israel unilaterally ceased their fire against a treacherous enemy whose leaders state openly that their ideology values death over life, an enemy who seeks the destruction of Israel and the marginalization, at best, of all Jews everywhere. Israel stopped shooting in order to honor the new path of respect and shared interests that our new president aims to pursue with the Muslim world. The new administration seeks to pursue diplomacy with the Muslim world as a preferred strategy toward our own nation’s security, turning away from the perceived errors of ongoing confrontations with our adversaries.

We might be wise to remember what might have been God’s most important lesson of the exodus for our generation: There are those, like Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, Hezbollah, Iran, and other states and terrorists-groups of the Muslim world whose hardened hearts no longer merit our olive branches, and extending them might make us more vulnerable and encourage evermore their evil designs, as they perceive our weariness for exactly what it is. For our own country’s sake, for Israel’s sake and for that of the entire free world, I pray this Shabbat that our new administration, led by a president who has instilled hope in so many, remembers God’s lesson that, as free but weary people, our willingness to compromise with evil may leave us unable to confront it in the not-too-distant future, when it will have grown stronger and we will have grown wearier and, by consequence, even weaker.

Sometimes, the best response to a hardened heart -- is with a hardened heart.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid, a warm, welcoming and inclusive congregation, affiliated with the Conservative branch of judaism and located in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. For more information, visit www.nertamid.com/rabbi

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com

Radio Interview regarding Israel's war w/ Hamas

2009-01-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

Upon returning from my recent trip to Israel, I was interviewed about Israel’s war with Hamas by KNEWS RADIO’s “Bulldog” Bill Feingold on Monday evening, January 12th. Click on this link to listen to the interview.

http://www.nertamid.com/rabbi/audiovideo.html

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com

2009/1/6 -- DAY #10c: United As ONE …

2009-01-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

This day (Tuesday) was one of the more difficult days of my journey to Israel. Beginning with the subdued dedication of the synagogue at the Beit Hachayal in Be’er Sheva and continuing with hospital visits with Israel’s wounded soldiers and their families; the pain of war was palpable in every interaction and experience. The day would conclude quite differently.

Upon returning to Tel Aviv, I joined a dear friend with whom I was delighted to have reconnected just a few days earlier and attended a rally in support of Israel's southern citizens and the IDF in the center of the city. Approximately 5,000 people were expected to attend. Tel Aviv is at the heart of one of the more liberal regions of the country. The steadfast solidarity expressed by the diverse crowd that gathered was encouraging and energizing.

Popular Israeli bands warmed up the crowd. The Deputy Mayor of Ashdod, a city hit hard by Grad-type missiles in the course of Hamas’ war against Israel’s civilian population, spoke eloquently of the unity that was both required and exhibited throughout Israel, during this difficult time. A young soldier, having recently concluded his three years of armed-service in the IDF, reflected upon his service in Lebanon and exhorted the crowd and all of Israel to strengthen with their spirit and without qualification all of Israel’s boys serving in defense of the country. He shared that, from his own experience in Lebanon, he understood, and wanted everyone to understand, just how important it is for Israel's soldiers to know what almost 90 percent of all Israelis feel: Israel is, indeed, entirely behind this the boys of the IDF and in solidly supportive of fighting -- and truly winning -- this war.

The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel then urged those gathered, from Orthodox to secular, to pray, expressing his belief that no group of Jews has a license on prayer or a monopoly on God’s ear. I was stunned when he went out of his way to engage the crowd in a prayer on behalf of Jews world-wide who might be in peril or might need support; yes, Israel, even at war, expresses its care and concern for the entirety of the Jewish People, wherever we may be! This was one of the most unselfish and inspiring moments of prayer that I have ever experienced.

Finally, two young girls from Sederot, 9 and 11 years of age respectively, addressed the crowd. They shared their personal stories of their own survival of Hamas and other Palestinian terror; stories that neither of them should have been old enough to have been told about, much less to have lived. Their hope for a future of peace and tranquility were nothing short of courageous. Finally, the nine-year-old girl said the following: “Im K’var, Az Kvar! – If we have already taken the initiative to fight this war, let’s win it!” The crowd roared. I found myself choking back tears, hearing in the sweet voice of this adorable little girl both the return to a peaceful existence that victory would facilitate for her and her family and the utter terror and devastation that would obtain for them with any lesser result.

I left the rally, heading to dinner with my dear friend, holding these two little girls, their traumatic memories, and their courageous dreams of peace and quiet - all close to my heart. Li-El, his father, his entire family, and every soldier and family that I visited with earlier this day continue still to weigh heavily on my soul (see my earlier posts today to this blog). Back in Los Angeles, I have two boys of my own. If a ship had sailed 50 years ago from Europe, southeast into the Mediterranean Sea, instead of westward across the Atlantic Ocean, my two boys could easily have been this evening two boys from Sederot. Where we are, at any moment in time - as Jews in particular given our wanderings at the hands of our oppressors -- is nothing but an accident of history; that is, unless we aspire, or somehow manage, to be in the one place where we can shape our own history and master our own destiny as a People, rather than anywhere else, where the cauldrons of history have tended to mold our fate, and all too often leaving bereft and forgotten in our hour of desperate need.

This night, and whenever we so demand of ourselves as a People, we are all ONE; in our dreams, in our fears, in our love, in our yearnings, in our passions, and in our hopes -- in our conviction and in our solidarity. Such Achdut -- such unity -- is achievable only and ultimately when we are at home in our Homeland, and especially so when we are blessed, for even a moment in time if not forever, to share it all -- all that matters most to us, with those who matter most to us; when we're blessed to share all that we love, in the place that we love, with those whom we love.

Hear, oh God, Your People is Israel, Israel is ONE

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com