Let's Not Prejudge-but! Chapter 2

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.

Previously I had written about my concerns regarding the attempt by the then president-elect to reach out to the American Muslim community in particular and the Muslim world in general. I prefaced my remarks by stating that I am not in favor of mixing religion and politics but there are times when faith should be the guide by which we live and a means by which we treat each other with respect because we are all God’s children, not black or white, Jew or Gentile or Muslim.

Now that concern has been elevated to fright. There is no rampant anti-Semitism but there is a feeling in the left wing liberal community that we owe an apology to the Muslim world for all the so called missteps made by America. Our president has gone so far as to determine that we need to “restore” the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago.( excerpted from an article written by the renowned columnist Charles Krauthammer).

I would encourage everyone to read his column titled “Overture to Muslims by Obama slights U.S.” It lays out in detail the responsibility borne by this country to save and even salvage many of these countries under the Muslim banner. Have we forgotten the saving of Kuwait when all the other Arab and Muslim countries did not or would not or could not take care of their own? Saudi Arabia which receives billions of dollars of military hardware cannot muster the will or the ability to defend itself let alone a neighbor.

President Obama should rightfully acknowledge his heritage but not at the expense of the country he took an oath to defend and protect. Extending a hand and expecting, as he so masterfully described, an unclenched fist is a noble idea. But extending the hand of this country, that experienced the devastation of 2001, without the respect for our integrity and rightful place in the world as the leader in human rights, is outrageous to say the least.

The president of Israel is insulted at a gathering of world leaders by the delegate from Turkey, a Muslim country with whom Israel has had the most cordial relations appears to be an attempt by the Muslim world to not only insult a sovereign country but to denigrate the concept of world unity as espoused by the president of the United States and may even be motivated by his outreach efforts.

The world is in turmoil. People are starving and homeless. There is hopelessness everywhere. No jobs. No health insurance. No confidence in the future. Most of the people responsible for this chaos are still in charge and get bail-outs while the struggling masses remain at their mercy. The auto industry full of arrogance begs for help while the oil companies rake in billions. Why can’t the oil companies redeem the auto industry?

And yet with all we are going through we still need to find a scapegoat-someone to blame for our misery. We bend the truth to fit the tragedies. I would not be surprised to one day wake up and find that Israel is behind tornadoes and hurricanes and earthquakes. It is amazing that with all that we have been experiencing we still find the time to blame all the ills on Israel for not giving back land it inherited from barbarians who knocked on the door of annihilation and found an answer they will never forget.

Sometimes I wonder of Meir Kahane was not right: That the answer to this continuing bad dream is total and permanent separation. If someone hates you so much and will never turn the other cheek then perhaps it is an impossible dream. And all the wishing and attempts at reconciliation are useless.

All the George Mitchells and Hillary Clintons and Barack Obamas will never change reality they will only perpetuate the myth. Some people are not meant to be connected. Some people need to have distance in order to survive. We see it in everyday relationships. People marry but also divorce. Families celebrate milestones but also have detractors. Countries may have common goals but they are still separated by borders.

Over the centuries wars have been fought to connect one to the other only to discover that differences make for critics and then unity is replaced by detachment. Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, the list is endless. All saw their responsibility to bring oneness out of many become disastrous and fatal. We are different and yet we are the same. Human beings have struggled with this issue from time immemorial. Even God understood as He created man and woman. Both different but dependent on one another.

Creation was not intended for one kind of this or one kind of that. Look all around – there are different animals, different species of vegetation, different climates, different DNA. And that is the ultimate truth in separation.

If I were to write a letter to the president of the United States it would flatly state that the lessons of history are still fresh in our minds. Appeasement is an invitation for disaster. We need to learn to live together while not forgetting our differences. The open hand is an invitation not a declaration. Clenched fists need to be neutralized so that they do not strike a blow that begets another blow. Learn to accept separation as a way of life not a testament to failure. Send you envoys to affect peace by fulfilling the wishes of the parties involved.

If I were to write a letter to the president of the United States I would encourage dialogue but with the understanding that talk alone is not the panacea to completion of a dream. Every country on the face of the Earth has aspirations and not all of them fit neatly into our understanding of life and liberty. Sanctimony is not a method of encouragement. You were not elected because you are different but because you shared a vision and that vision gave us hope. Be proud of your heritage but remember that this pride gave you the courage to achieve the dream of so many. You reached the mountain top and you were able to see the future. Never forget that you arrived on the backs of many who died and sacrificed for that dream to become reality.

Yes, I am frightened. Yes, I am concerned for our people. Yes, I understand that we cannot allow the past to just become a moment in time because that would dishonor the tragedies.

So I pray each and every day that the vision of God to allow us the opportunity to become one with Him will see the light of day in our time. We are a resilient people. We are survivors. We are here because our dream of freedom became fact not fiction. We will be here long after those who torture and maim and distort will be gone. That is the one truth everyone can rely upon.

BM

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.

“He may be called a man who restrains his desire to do evil.” Zohar


Time and again events take place that make us wonder about the goodness of people. We have witnessed over the last several years the ugly face of greed and its affect on society. There was a time when morals and ethics were ingredients in the formula of human success. We are believers in good winning over evil; that light will defeat darkness so that all will know peace and contentment because of the efforts of work and honesty in that work.

Then we read about corruption on such a large scale that we begin to wonder about the goodness and mercy that is part of humanities makeup. Our very beings are threatened because we see no appreciation for Godliness. We seemed to have sunk into an abyss robbing us of life’s meaning- and it is dark and lonely. It is an empty space that has no ending – a black hole that drags even the greatest among us into its center.

It is difficult to judge people because each of us has some dark secret. And when that secret sees the light of day there is no telling what will be the result of that revelation. We are laid bare and vulnerable to possible embarrassment and disgrace. And we are concerned about what others may think of us but give no thought to Gods knowledge of our misdeeds. Perhaps if we thought more about our being answerable to God we would fulfill the essence of the Zohar

When studying the Talmud we learn about “Patur B’Dinei Adom and Hayav B’Dinei Shamayim.” The lessons learned indicate that there are times when we do things that may be considered excusable by man but are deemed inexcusable by God. And the converse, of course, is true as well.

So, while we try not to judge we are taught that to have an effective society there must be judgments as well as reward and punishment. That is the sum total of a disciplined culture.

I am at a loss as to how to react to recent events which have dishonored our people and our God. I am at a loss as to how to display compassion while feeling the hurt of so many who were the victims of such gluttony. “Do justly” Micah commands because it is part of the duty of human beings to walk the path of humility and understanding. What is justice in this instance?

BM (I can’t get myself to write his name), cast a dark shadow on our people. Those who would do us harm have been given a weapon much more deadly than the sword. We are a people known for our veracity. We are a people known as deliverers of the “Word” and keepers of the “Promise.” And now we are a people, who by association, seem to be no better than the worst among us and maybe even more so.

The great Kabbalist, Moses Luzzatto was quoted as saying: “A person who walks his path in life without regard to ethical standards is like a blind man who does not know his journey is along the bank of a river.

The person can at any moment succumb to the dangers of a wrong step and the odds are more certainly toward his being hurt than escaping harm.”

We have now witnessed the unthinkable. We cannot escape the harm that is with us. And like the blind man who does not know his journey is dangerous because of indifference, we too have been led on a journey that will give us anxiousness and despair and unhappiness for a long time to come.

BM – they are initials that will haunt us. He certainly will be judged but perhaps “Hayav B’Dinei Shamayim” will be the ultimate judgment.