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One Bite of a Mitzvah – What Dave Portnoy Got Wrong

Dave Portnoy is a successful businessman with a large following online.  He sold the company he founded, Barstool Sports, for $500 million, and bought it back a few years later for $1.   Millions follow him on social media and watch his daily pizza reviews around the country, including a review of matza pizza right here in Boca Raton.


Portnoy is Jewish, something he doesn’t hide but also doesn’t regularly reference or promote.  He has occasionally displayed his Judaism, such as when Chabad put Tefillin on him or more recently, when he celebrated the defeat of an MMA fighter who had praised Hitler by putting on a yarmulka and waving an Israeli flag in the front row of the match.  Soon after October 7, he spoke out in support of Israel and has since then publicly defended Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. 

 

Yet, nothing has made Portnoy as outspoken about his Jewishness or aggressively stand up for the Jewish people like the antisemitic incident that happened at his Philadelphia bar a couple of weeks ago.  Customers who order bottle service there are offered customizable letter boards, which they can ask staff members to arrange with messages of their choice.  A student or two from Temple University who visited the bar asked staff members to arrange the letters on his sign into an antisemitic message including an expletive directed at the Jewish people.  The incident was a staff breakdown and, more importantly, an expression of hate. 

 

Portnoy took to his social media to communicate his outrage.  “I’ve been shaking I’ve been so mad.  I’m gonna make it my life mission to ruin these people, like I’m coming for your throat.”  However, a few hours later, he posted another video saying he had reconsidered his approach, and instead had decided to send the young men responsible for the hate speech on a tour of Auschwitz to learn about the impact of hate. 

 

He explained: “My initial reaction was like I’m going to burn these people to the ground, their families, everything, and it’s like you know what? Maybe that’s not the best course of action.  Maybe I can use this as a teaching moment, and like before, people just are like the Jews or any group, and the hate, let’s try to like turn a hideous incident into maybe a learning experience, as cliche and very unlike me. But I talked to both the culprits, who I know are super involved in it, talked to the families. I’m sending these kids to Auschwitz. They’ve agreed to go, that’s of course, the Holocaust concentration camps…and hopefully learn something. And maybe like their lives aren’t ruined, and they think twice, and more importantly, other people like see it’s not just like words you’re throwing around. So to me, that’s a fair outcome of this event.”

Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick applauded Portnoy for addressing the “horrific display of hate” and using it as an opportunity to educate about anti-Jewish violence, saying, “Antisemitism needs to be identified, called out, and crushed.” 

 

A few days later, Portnoy gave an update saying he had “revoked” the trip to Poland because at least one of the people involved “is no longer taking responsibility” for the sign.

 

Though he didn’t end up sending the perpetrators to tour Auschwitz, the strategy of responding to antisemitism by sending antisemites for a Holocaust education is nothing new.  In 2006, Mel Gibson spewed antisemitic remarks during a DUI arrest.  Though not mandated by a court, Gibson met with Jewish leaders and visited the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.  In 2014, two British teenagers vandalized a synagogue with antisemitic graffiti. As part of their community service, they were sent to visit Auschwitz.  In 2018, Nick Conrad released a controversial music video titled “Hang White People”, which contained antisemitic undertones. A French court ordered him to visit the Holocaust Memorial in Paris as part of a court ruling. 

 

The examples could go on and on but the question is, should they?  Certainly, Holocaust education is important.  Keeping the legacy of 6 million martyrs alive and relevant, teaching the truth about this historically unique genocide matters.  But is it the proper or effective response to contemporary antisemitism? 

 

Dara Horn, the author of “People Love Dead Jews,” thinks not.  In her article, “Is Holocaust Education Making Anti-Semitism Worse? Using dead Jews as symbols isn’t helping living ones,” she writes: “I have come to the disturbing conclusion that Holocaust education is incapable of addressing contemporary anti-Semitism. In fact, in the total absence of any education about Jews alive today, teaching about the Holocaust might even be making anti-Semitism worse.” 

 

She writes: “The Holocaust educators I met across America were all obsessed with building empathy, a quality that relies on finding commonalities between ourselves and others. But I wondered if a more effective way to address anti-Semitism might lie in cultivating a completely different quality, one that happens to be the key to education itself: curiosity. Why use Jews as a means to teach people that we’re all the same, when the demand that Jews be just like their neighbors is exactly what embedded the mental virus of anti-Semitism in the Western mind in the first place? Why not instead encourage inquiry about the diversity, to borrow a de rigueur word, of the human experience?”

 

This article was published in May of 2023, five months before the most murderous day of Jews since the Holocaust, and I fear her thesis has only been strengthened.  Teaching only about the Holocaust without teaching about the Jewish people, Jewish values and ideals, Jewish contributions to the world, Jewish culture and practice only focuses on Jews as victims.  But today’s antisemite learns about the Holocaust and sees the Jewish people as the committer of a current genocide instead of the victim, as perpetrating a Holocaust instead of experiencing one.

 

Another famous Jew has been targeted with hate for his Judaism, but he has responded in a very different way.  Michael Rapaport is an award-winning actor, comedian and podcaster. Since October 7 he has not only visited Israel countless times, he has relentlessly dedicated his online influence to advocating for Israel and the Jewish people.  Asked about how October 7 impacted him, he said, “My Judaism has changed 100%. I am more in tune with it. I’m more proud, I’m more aware, I’m more educated. I’m more proactive in every single way possible and I’m really glad about that.”

 

Asked how his belief in God has changed, he answered: “I believe in God in a different way. I believe in Hashem in a different way. I celebrate and understand him in a different way. I think we have nothing but faith. You have to have faith. That’s been one of the good things that has come from this last year for me personally.” Michael Rapaport now wraps tefillin and says about it, “Every single time is a blessing, every single time is a Mitzvah.”

 

Certainly, we must confront antisemites, hold them accountable, throw the book at them and, when possible, seek to reform them.  Educating may be a first step, but it cannot be the whole strategy.  The answer is to not focus on their education, like Dave Portnoy did, but to focus on ours, as Michael Rapaport is.  Our response to acts of antisemitism must be more Jewish pride, more Jewish practice, stronger Jewish identity, increased Torah observance. 

 

Rather than reward the hateful hoodlums with a trip to Poland, Portnoy should announce he is going to Israel.  He should put on a Magen Dovid necklace if not a yarmulka, hang a mezuzah on his home and office, engage his Judaism and Jewish learning in a meaningful way.

 

When doing one of his famous pizza reviews, before he takes a bite and gives a score, Portnoy proudly announces “one bite, everyone knows the rules.”  But the truth is, while everyone may know the rules, he does not follow them: he doesn’t take one bite, he takes several and when the pizza tastes particularly good, he can’t help himself from finishing the whole slice.

 

Describing a relationship with Hashem, Dovid HaMelech (Tehillim 34:9) taught, Ta’amu u’ru ki tov Hashem, taste and you will see that Hashem is good.  Why does he employ the word taste, why not just say see that Hashem is good? Faith begins with practice. You can’t just listen, read about or think about Hashem, you must engage, act and then you will see with clarity a life of meaning, purpose and eternity.   It begins with a taste, a little something and you will want more. 

 

We must confront antisemitism but not just with stories or tours of Jewish victimhood. Instead of focusing on educating others, educate yourself, your children and Jews all around us to be living richly proud and practicing Jewish lives.    

 

Start with one thing.  Just one bite of a mitzvah and you will want more and more. 

Called Up Yet Again

This past week, tens of thousands in Israel received the message from the IDF that they are being called up, yet again, not for a few days, but for several weeks or months.  Children will have to adjust again to being without parents.  Spouses will have to manage households by themselves.  Parents will again have sleepless nights. Employers will again struggle to manage without key personnel. And tens of thousands will again put their lives on the line and live in challenging, difficult and dangerous conditions.  While there are efforts to persuade reservists to protest and not answer the call, yet again, overwhelmingly, our heroic soldiers are showing up and doing so in record numbers, again. 

 

When the war began over a year and a half ago, Jews and Israel supporters in the United States and around the world responded by raising significant funds, sending supplies, organizing missions, tying tzitzis, sponsoring BBQs, writing letters and more.  Over time, these efforts dissipated as cease fires were observed and for many, fatigue set in. 

 

Our soldiers have been called up and despite their true exhaustion and very real emotional fatigue, they are showing up, and so must we, in our own small and modest ways.  If we care, if we are connected, we must answer in our own record numbers to resume the coordinated efforts and show of support, to get back to planning trips, to dig deeper to send more funds, to do more to help bear the pain and struggle.

 

This week we will read Parshas Kedoshim and be reminded of the obligation to love our fellow Jew as ourselves, v’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha.  What does it mean to love fellow Jews?  R’ Moshe Leib Sassover used to tell his chassidim that he learned what it means to love a fellow Jew from two Russian peasants.  Once he came to an inn, where two thoroughly drunk Russian peasants were sitting at a table, draining the last drops from a bottle of strong Ukrainian vodka.  One of them yelled to his friend, “Do you love me?” The friend, somewhat surprised, answered, “Of course, of course I love you!”  “No, no”, insisted the first one, “Do you really love me, really?!”  The friend assured him, “Of course I love you. You’re my best friend!”  “Tell me, do you know what I need?  Do you know why I am in pain?”  The friend said, “How could I possibly know what you need or why you are in pain?”  The first peasant answered, “How then can you say you love me when you don’t know what I need or why I am in pain.”

 

R’ Moshe Leib told his chassidim, he learned from these peasants that truly loving someone means to know their needs and to feel their pain.  Real love is not lip service, it is not just tolerating one another.  Love is noticing someone is having a bad day, it is feeling their pain, it is showing someone you care, even when that person is someone you barely know or don’t know at all. 

 

The morning blessings of Birchos HaShachar are said in the plural – פוקח עורים, מלביש ערומים, etc.  There is one exception – שעשה לי כל צרכי , thank you God, who fulfills all of my needs.  Why is this blessing written in the singular?

 

The same R’ Moshe Leib Sassover who taught us what it means to love a fellow Jew explains that when it comes to ourselves, we should have an attitude of “I have everything I need”.  We should feel content and satisfied.  However, when it comes to others, we must be thinking – he or she don’t have everything they need.  What are they lacking?  How can I help them?  What can I do for them?

 

Loving our brothers and sisters in Israel means recognizing their sacrifices on behalf of our people and stepping up in our own small ways to show gratitude, display support, provide relief, and do all we can to help. 

 

The great Arizal suggested that before beginning davening in the morning, one should say: הריני מקבל עלי מצוות עשה של ואהבת לרעך כמוך, I hereby accept upon myself the positive commandment to love your fellow as yourself.”  Based on R’ Moshe Leib Sassover’s insight, we can understand this to mean that before we can pour out our hearts to Hashem for all of our needs, we must pause to think about our fellow brothers and sisters and their needs.  Before we ask Hashem to be there for us, we must commit to be there for others. 

 

As you think about upcoming trips or vacations, consider going to Israel to volunteer.  As you review your finances and tzedakah opportunities, consider how you can contribute to help the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the soldiers and their families.  When you feel love for fellow Jews, express it by identifying with their pain and doing what you can to make it go away. 

Meeting with Ben-Gvir

There are few more polarizing people in the Jewish world today than Itamar Ben-Gvir. The firebrand national security minister of Israel attracts attention, protests, headlines, and controversy wherever he goes. This week, he came to America and brought all of that with him to Florida, New York, and Washington.  Many find him abhorrent and categorically reject comments he has made, policies he has pursued, and positions he espouses.  Others recognize he has some extreme views but believe he has the courage to make changes necessary for greater security and agree with much of his platform, enough that they have given him a mandate in the current government coalition.

 

Ben-Gvir’s team expressed interest in his speaking at our Shul, which I immediately declined.  This was a very simple and clear-cut calculation.  I have learned that if hosting someone will attract significant controversy, potentially from within the community and almost certainly from without, if it will draw negative attention, headlines, become time-consuming and can even alienate and offend a fair number of shul members, it simply is not worth it. 

 

Some people who read the above paragraph are undoubtably shocked and disturbed to think we would even consider giving him a platform. And no doubt some who read the same paragraph are offended and troubled that I would attempt to deny the BRS community from hearing an elected Israeli minister whose views they strongly agree with or think at least people should be open to.  Both groups are likely disappointed that I am not using this space to take a definitive position on Ben-Gvir. If you want to formulate your own opinion on him or confirm what you already think, there has been plenty written about him, including a large number of articles revolving around his trip that you can read.  I have nothing new to add and that isn’t my goal in this space.

 

While we declined the opportunity to publicly host Ben-Gvir, I did accept the request to meet with him privately. We sat together for almost an hour in my office, in which he shared the accomplishments that he is proud of and what remains on his agenda to achieve, explained what he would do to bring the hostages home, shared how he regrets some things he has said and done in his past, and talked about projects he is working on now.  I used the opportunity to both respectfully challenge him on things I find objectionable and also encourage him on what I think he could do better or more of. 

 

I had not shared with anyone that we were meeting, neither before or after, and he told me that he hadn’t either.  Nevertheless, several articles about his trip mentioned in passing that we had met, which elicited two emails respectfully questioning my judgement in having done so, arguing that the meeting alone endorses and supports a person who should be isolated and marginalized. 

 

The correspondence raised some interesting questions: Should private meetings be held to the same standard as giving a public platform?  Should we meet with those we don’t just disagree with but find objectionable?  If a journalist can meet with just about anyone because they are doing an interview or bringing a story to the public, should communal leaders not meet with controversial or objectional public officials in order to better be informed and to share feedback and criticism?  If we do have a red line of who we are willing to talk to or meet with, where should the line be set, what are the criteria to be excluded or outside the line?  If you wouldn’t meet with someone you object to, should they not be allowed to enter the campus, daven in our minyan?

 

After considering these questions, I don’t regret privately meeting Ben-Gvir, for several reasons.  Firstly, he is the democratically elected National Security Minister of the State of Israel. Love him or hate him, the position and title he carries, and representing the Israeli citizens who elected him, I believe make him deserving of an audience and conversation.  Secondly, I have a relatively broad red line when it comes to fellow Jews, particularly leaders, who want to meet and have a conversation. (That is not to suggest that I have the time or ability to meet every non-BRS member who asks for a meeting)  If someone wants to meet, not for a photo op or publicity but for a genuine open conversation, why wouldn’t I want to take advantage of the opportunity to listen and learn and to influence and impact, particularly if it was someone I have differences with or even oppose? 

 

I believe this applies to all those to the right and left of me politically and religiously, in Israel or America.  Certainly it applies to our brothers and sisters, our fellow Jews who share our core values and are devoted to the good of the Jewish people, even if we may disagree with how they believe it should be achieved.  But I even believe it applies to the worst actors in politics with whom we have almost nothing in common and couldn’t disagree more. I abhor everything Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar stand for and their stances on Israel are dangerous if not outright evil. Of course they would never be welcomed to give a speech at BRS, but if they wanted to meet with me privately, why would I pass on the opportunity to tell elected members of Congress exactly how I feel about their positions and actions? Private dialogue and respectful debate will go much further in bringing change than shunning or boycotting.

 

The Torah describes that Yosef’s brothers hated him to the point that v’lo yachlu dabro l’shalom.”  The Ibn Ezra explains, “v’lo yachlu dabro l’shalom – afilu l’shalom.”  It isn’t that they just couldn’t talk about the issues they disagreed about.  It isn’t just that they didn’t want to be close, loving brothers.  It isn’t just that they couldn’t debate respectfully.  “Afilu l’shalom” – they couldn’t even give each other a shalom aleichem.  The hatred and intolerance had grown so deep that they couldn’t stand to even extend greetings to one another or to be in a room together. 

 

Rav Yehonasan Eibshitz in his Tiferes Yonasan has an additional insight.  When we disagree with people, we withdraw from them and stop speaking to them.  We see them and paint them as “the other,” different than us and apart from us.  As our communication breaks down, the dividers rise up, stronger and stronger and we can’t find a way to break through them.

 

Certainly, there are important disagreements and no doubt there are statements and policies that people will find objectionable about others.  But there is no doubt in my mind that given the opportunity, it is better, healthier, and more productive, to communicate directly, attempt to influence, and find common ground, than sow further divide.  I respect anyone’s right to disagree, I just hope they would communicate it directly, instead of boycotting a conversation. 

This March Coach Bruce Pearl is Speaking Out Against the Madness

The Auburn Tigers are going to the Final Four, the coveted final rounds of the annual March Madness, NCAA College Championship Basketball.  For the first time, three of the final four teams have Jewish head coaches, a statistical unlikelihood.  But for Auburn’s Coach, Bruce Pearl, being in the spotlight as a Jew is much more than interesting trivia, it is an opportunity he refuses to squander.

 

Earlier in the tournament, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton, sitting in front of countless reporters in a postgame press conference that would be seen by millions, Coach Pearl opened not by talking about the game or about basketball at all, but rather—with the permission of his players—by invoking the name of Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza:

 

I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years. But for me, I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.

 

Coach Pearl invited Edan’s parents and family to the next game and continued to highlight the plight of the American held hostage in Gaza and all the other hostages as well.  He challenged all of America to know Edan’s name and fight until he is released.  Later in that same press conference, he came back to the topic of Israel and what it means to be an American Jew: 

 

This Jewish American loves his country more than anything else. At the same time, Israel is our ancestral homeland and it’s under attack. It’s under siege. All it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors.  And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It’s unacceptable.

 

Some were first introduced to Coach Pearl’s advocacy at this year’s tournament, but if you have been following him for the last several years, you know it is nothing new.  He tweets almost daily to his 165,000 followers about Israel, antisemitism, and good versus evil.  He isn’t afraid to risk turning off fans, criticism from his university or its supporters, or even his job, to stand up as a proud Jew and to speak about what he believes in.

 

A few years ago, he even brought his Auburn team to Israel, a trip coordinated by the amazing organization Athletes for Israel.  In recognition of his devotion and dedication to Israel and the Jewish people, I had the privilege to join Athletes for Israel and NCSY in giving him and his team an award on the Auburn court before the opening game of their season a couple years ago. 

 

Where does Coach Pearl’s courage and conviction come from?   How does he have the strength to speak out when too many others are silent? 

 

Three years ago, during this same time of year, at a March Madness press conference, Coach Pearl used the opportunity to talk about the war in Ukraine and the threat of Iran to Israel and the story of Purim. He spoke about how his parents named him Mordechai and he feels a responsibility like his ancestor to speak up for and fight for the Jewish people. 

 

Soon after, we hosted him on Behind the Bima to better understand his background and what motivated him to use that moment and platform for our cause.  Here are some highlights from that conversation:

 

BTB:  How do your Judaism and faith impact your coaching?

 

CBP: When I was a little younger I thought it was me, the great coach and the great motivator, and as I got as I’ve gotten older I realized, no, it’s simply God using me in the position and to affect others and affect young people and it’s all about Him and my service to Him.  And so, the secret sauce for Auburn basketball and our run to the Final Four and winning championships throughout the last five years if I could get my guys to simply do the things that God would have them do what is He going to at least put yourself in position and be blessed.   

 

BTB: Do you pray during games?

 

CBP: What I do after player introductions—and I’ve done this my entire career when they introduce me after they introduce the players—I am always crouched over a chair and I’m talking to God…and people are seeing me pray and I am not praying about the game, I am not going to tell you what I’m praying about because that’s between me and God but it has nothing to do with victory, it has nothing to do with the basketball team, but I want when my name is called I want them to see me praying.  

 

BTB: What gave you the courage to speak up?

 

CBP: When I was 15 years old and I was a freshman in high school I was the best athlete in town. I was the first kid picked on the playground the first kid picked for everything and then I had a career-ending injury.  When I say “career-ending,” I had a really bad knee injury and I was never the same athlete and I honestly believe that God said, “There’s way more to you Mordechai than just being the best athlete.”  I wasn’t kind to people, I was very limited in my friend population.  I thought a lot of myself.  I dominated you. I embarrassed you.  Because I could.  Because I was stronger than you and I wasn’t as nice.  

 

And now all of a sudden when I could no longer be that athlete it was painful, there were a lot of friends that were happy that the king got knocked off the hill but I didn’t quit and I got in the school musical and I became the class president and I’m like God, these other kids that aren’t very good athletes but they’re awesome, they’re so much fun, they’re so cool, they’re so talented.  And then I became a champion for the underdog all of a sudden. Now I was still tough and like “You ain’t gonna, you’re not, you’re not messing with these kids that aren’t athletes that are just the bandies that are acting diminished, you got to go through me right now.” I could still put my hands up and fight, I was going to be their champion, and so it just exposed me to more: there was more to life than just my ability to beat you on the basketball court or hit a home run. You know I believe these things happen for a reason and I want to be at my best when things are at the worst and I want to prepare my teams to also be at their best when things are at their worst.

 

BTB: How did you first connect to Israel?

 

CBP: I’m seven years old, it’s 1967.  My grandfather would go to bed after supper, he was up very early to work, he was always out the door working before the sun came up, but he would come home and he’d have supper and of course we prayed before all of our meals but after supper he would be pretty quick to go to bed.  He’d sit in his chair and he’d fall asleep or he’d go to bed pretty early but this one night Papa was up he was watching tv and he was crying.  I said what are you crying about?  He put me on his lap we talked about Israel.  He was afraid to go to bed during the Six Day War because he wasn’t sure when he woke up Israel would still be there. So I learned about Israel. I learned about a safe place for the Jewish people and that was that was the beginning of my love.

 

BTB: Do you pay a price for standing up for Israel?

 

CBP: When I’m out there like this does it hurt me in recruiting sometimes?  Absolutely. You know not every great basketball player that grows up in the inner city dreams of playing for a Jewish basketball coach. It does hurt me in some households. But that’s a choice I made it and I’m sure we’ve lost some kids.  My coaches have got to realize this is who you work for.  This is who I am.

 

I’ve become more and more outspoken as I’ve gotten older because I can see I’m playing the back nine right now.  They’re not going to fire me right now. I won 28 games this year, we won the SEC, and I’m in a stronger position now. By saying these things are there people that are out there that aren’t liking them at all and wish I would just shut up and are waiting for me to have a bad season or two and fire me?  Maybe there are.  But I’ll tell you this, I’m blessed to be a place like Auburn in Alabama and one of the things I don’t mind telling you is the Jews all over the world should be grateful in some way to the Evangelical Christian community who is standing with Israel in many ways in prayer and financial support and they provide us a lot of political cover here in this country.  

 

Coach Mordechai’s faith and very real and ongoing relationship with God is inspiring.  How powerful that he looked into the cameras and said, our team’s success is from God so that I could use this moment to fight for hostages held in Gaza to come home.  What an example that he can look back at his life and see a career-ending injury as a blessing and not a curse.  Coach Pearl obligates us all to use our platforms and our relationships, not only in private, but also in public, to talk about things that matter, to practice our Judaism with pride, and to do so without fear of being cancelled or fired.  

 

Mordechai is introduced in the Megillah as: “Ish Yehudi haya b’Shushan Habira – There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital.” What do you mean “a” Jewish man; there was only one? There was a large Jewish population in Shushan! The Megillah is telling us that true, there were many Jews, but most were failing to stand up for their Judaism or practice it. The Jewish community was asleep; there was only one Ish Yehudi, an unashamed, unembarrassed, unapologetic Jew.

 

As we have entered the month of Nissan, a month of redemption, salvation and freedom, let’s follow the example of Mordechai Pearl, be an Ish Yehudi, and in that merit, may we welcome all the hostages home. 

 

 

Inauguration and Extortion, Pageantry and Pain

Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images


Why are we so captivated by a presidential inauguration?

 

In 1797, after John Adams was inaugurated as second president of the United States, succeeding George Washington, he wrote to his wife Abigail, “When the Ceremony was over, [Washington] came and made me a visit and cordially congratulated me and wished my Administration might be happy, successful and honourable.”  Four years later, in 1801, the transfer of power from Adams to Jefferson was significant as it was the first transfer between political opponents.  It was uncomfortable, but it was successful. 

 

With the inauguration of a new American president, we have come to expect a peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of American democracy.  Whether you are excited or disappointed in the outcome of this election and no matter your opinion on who rose his hand to be sworn in, we should all be grateful and proud that this week we experienced a peaceful transfer of power. Perhaps what is so captivating is the celebration of the democratic process itself and the comfort we take in it.

 

As all of America inaugurated and many celebrated a new president, we may have felt like this exercise in American democracy is a given in our lives, since it is all we have ever known.  But the truth is America is relatively young.  This was only the 60th inauguration.  Just two hundred and fifty years ago, there was no democracy called the United States of America. 

 

In contrast to America’s relative youth, God promised the land of Israel to Avraham Avinu almost 4,000 years ago.  He made good on that promise when the Jewish people marched into the land with Yehoshua 3,430 years ago.  Almost 2,500 years ago, we returned to Israel with Ezra and Nechemia.  After a long and bitter loss of sovereignty in our homeland, just over seventy-five years ago, we returned to govern and defend ourselves in the modern State of Israel.

 

The Jewish connection to Israel is sixteen times longer than America has existed, and nevertheless, while America celebrated its 60th inauguration, Israel is still fighting for its very right to exist.  Over the last year and a half, our brothers and sisters in Israel have been facing enemies on seven fronts, all bent on Israel’s demise, all denying the Jewish right to the Land of Israel.  As President Trump addressed his inaugural parade, families of Israelis being held hostage for 472 unimaginable days stood behind him holding posters of their loved ones and draped in symbolic yellow scarves as the arena chanted, “BRING THEM HOME!”


While America’s leadership was attending ceremonies with pomp and circumstance and changing outfits between inaugural balls, Israel’s leaders were making impossible decisions and concessions and fighting to keep its coalition alive. 

 

The Jewish world couldn’t be more grateful or joyous to welcome Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher home from captivity, but that joy is severely tempered by the cost of their release and by how many remain behind. 

 

As Alan Dershowitz neatly put it:

 

The decision by the Israeli government to make significant concessions to the Hamas kidnappers should never be called a “deal.” It was an extortion. Would you call it a deal if somebody kidnapped your child and you “agreed” to pay ransom to get her back? Of course not. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime.

 

So the proper description of what occurred is that Israel, pressured by the United States, capitulated to the unlawful and extortionate demands of Hamas as the only way of saving the lives of kidnapped babies, mothers and other innocent, mostly civilian, hostages.

 

This was not the result of a negotiation between equals. If an armed robber puts a gun to your head and says, “your money or your life,” your decision to give him your money would not be described as a deal. Nor should the extorted arrangement agreed to by Israel be considered a deal. So let’s stop using that term.

 

Agreeing to be extorted may be the right decision but it is a deeply tragic one.  It is painful for the entire Jewish people and should be for decent people everywhere.  But it is also painful for God Himself.  When wickedness exists in the world, when it triumphs it is a chillul Hashem, a desecration of God and His name.

 

In Tachanun on Mondays and Thursdays, we ask, “עד מתי עוזך בשבי ותפארתך ביד צר?, Hashem, how long will You allow Your strength be held hostage?  How long will You let Your glory be in the hand of the enemy?”  Is there a greater galus, a darker exile, than God Himself seeming to be in captivity?

 

When I think about the majesty and excitement of a presidential inauguration, it makes me think about what we are really davening for when we ask Hashem to redeem us from this galus.  On the one hand, America’s continuous government for almost 250 years strikes as captivating, impressive, and in a way more remarkable than Israel’s 76-year history.  However, when you consider the miracle of two thousand years of dispersion, persecution and attempts at systematic extermination, the return of the Jewish people to our homeland and the revival of sovereignty and self-autonomy in our country, with all of the challenges and problems, it is hard to think of a greater miracle.

 

In the introduction to his siddur, Rav Yaakov Emden (1697-1776) describes that our very survival through galus, our mere existence, is the greatest miracle,  greater than the miracles we read about in the Torah and Tanach.  He wrote: “By the life of my soul! When I contemplated these wonders, they appeared greater to me than all the miracles and wonders that HaShem Yisbarach performed for our forefathers in Egypt, and the wilderness, and the Land of Israel.” 

 

The Talmud (Berachos 19b) quotes R’ Elazar bar Tzadok who said, “I and my fellow Kohanim would jump over coffins of the deceased in order to hurry towards kings of Israel to greet them.” And they did not say this only towards kings of Israel, but they said this even towards kings of the nations of the world, so that if one will be privileged to witness the redemption of Israel, he will distinguish between kings of Israel and kings of the nations of the world.

 

As we watch the 60th American inauguration, and pay homage to its pomp, circumstance and pageantry, we do so knowing that one day, the people being extorted and fighting for its very existence will welcome the King Moshiach and that day will put to shame the pomp and circumstance of today.

Eating Garbage

Earlier this week, I was standing right next to a large trash can in a public area when something startling happened.  A seemingly put-together man walked up, removed the lid, and began to rummage.  He found a half-eaten sandwich, pulled it out, and gobbled it down.  He then reached back in, examined the soda bottles and cans that had been disposed of, and found one that still had soda left. He pulled it out and guzzled down the little ginger ale that was left in the bottle. 

I am embarrassed to admit that my first reaction as I witnessed him literally eat garbage right next to me was to recoil with a sense of disgust and revulsion.  Something was incongruous about the way he was dressed, the fact that we were in a public, visible place, and what he was doing.  But not a moment later I caught myself and realized – how hungry must this man be to be willing to reach into a trash bin in front of many other people, pull out a half-eaten sandwich that was contaminated with garbage, and put it in his mouth.  How thirsty must he be that he would grab a stranger’s unfinished bottle of ginger ale covered in someone else’s germs and gulp it down.

 

The world produces enough food to feed all of its 8 billion people, yet 822 million people, over ten percent, are malnourished and go hungry every day.  Around 9 million people die every year of hunger and hunger-related diseases, yet over 1 billion meals are wasted every day.  I am hardly the first to recognize and point out that we must do a better job of rescuing food and getting it into the hands of those who are hungry. (There are amazing organizations attacking this issue, like Leket in Israel or Shearit HaPlate in some cities in America, but not every community yet has such programs in place.)

 

It should hurt to observe a simcha and look out at the shmorg and Chosson’s tisch in which so much food is leftover, untouched, and will eventually be wasted, then find ourselves at the main meal in which many of the guests won’t remain even though food was prepared for them and to consider how many could benefit from food that will go right into the trash.  How much food is disposed of even after eating the Shabbos and Yom Tov leftovers a few more days?  What happens to the food from Kiddush and Shalosh Seudos at shuls everywhere? 

 

I wanted to help the man who had gone through the garbage but he was gone before I knew it.  In that moment, I felt not only tremendous compassion for him, but enormous gratitude for myself and my family.  If you have fresh and clean food to eat, if each time you are hungry you are able to satiate yourself, if you don’t know what it means to have to rummage through garbage to put something in your belly, you are fortunate and blessed.  If you were in a room with nine other random people from the greater world, the chances are one of them would be hungry and malnourished enough to eat food out of the trash and if it isn’t you, be grateful, say thank you each and every day. 

 

We are fortunate to have Torah and Halacha that is designed to make us mindful.  A Beracha before and after we eat reminds us to be grateful to have access to fresh and clean food and to further express gratitude when our belly is full and our body is hydrated.  Our rabbis teach that benefiting from this world such as by eating without first making a beracha is considered me’ilah, taking sacred and holy property for oneself.  The Tosefta (Berachos 4:1) references a verse in Tehillim (24:1), “The earth is Hashem’s and its fullness.”  If you take and benefit from the world without first paying with a “thank you,” you have taken something holy and made it profane, you have desecrated something consecrated. 

 

We don’t need to wait for something extraordinary to say thank you.  Each and every day, with each and every morsel of food, there is so much to appreciate, not take for granted, and be grateful for. 

 

Last Shabbos, we hosted Michoel Gottesman of Shlomit, Israel, a community on the border of Israel, Gaza, and Egypt.  On October 7, as a member of the community’s volunteer security team, Michoel grabbed his weapon, put on his vest and helmet, and went to defend his family and his community.  Shlomit wasn’t infiltrated but the neighboring community of Prigan was and they desperately needed reinforcements.  Michoel and others answered the call, the only volunteer security team that defended a neighboring community, not only their own.  They encountered a large group of terrorists that far outnumbered them and were much better armed. 

 

Tragically, four of those heroic volunteers fell in that battle.  Michoel himself was shot.  The bullet entered from his side, in the small area not protected by the ceramic vest.  It pierced his lung, went through his kidney and spleen, exited his left side and shredded his upper arm.  He fell to the ground bleeding profusely and understood there was significant damage to his internal organs.  He calculated that he didn’t have long to live and used what he thought was his last breath to say Shema and to declare the unity of Hashem’s existence. 

 

After finishing Shema, he found that he was still conscious, still alive but thought that for sure, now he only had moments to live, enough time to think or say one more thing.  What should it be?  In a conversation at our Shul he shared that after saying Shema, he looked up to the Heavens and said, “Thank you Hashem.  Thank you for a beautiful life.  Thank you for my amazing wife, my beautiful children, my friends and neighbors.  Thank you for all that you gave me.  If I go now, Hashem, I just want to say thank you for everything.”

 

As he described what happened, I thought to myself, what a perspective and what an attitude.  Instead of saying, “Why me, Hashem, how could you do this,” while lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, Michoel chose to look at his life and to say thank you. 

 

It took two hours to evacuate Michoel and two more hours for him to be picked up by the helicopter and taken to the hospital.  Miraculously, he survived, though he spent many months in the hospital healing and many surgeries to reconstruct his arm.  He continues to need rehab three times a week.  While his body will please-God heal, he will forever carry the emotional and spiritual injuries and trauma of that day. He lost close friends, almost lost his life, but never lost his sense of gratitude. 

 

If he could express gratitude in that moment, can’t we and shouldn’t we express gratitude when everything is going well, when we have food to eat, a roof over our head, and air in our lungs?  We don’t need to wait until we think it is the last moment of our life to say thank you for our lives, the big and small, the ordinary and extraordinary. 

 

When we wake up in the morning, the very first words we say are Modeh Ani, which literally means, “Grateful am I.”  Grammatically, it would be more correct to say “Ani modeh, I am grateful,” but our rabbis understood that the first word on our lips cannot be “I.”  Instead, despite it sounding clumsy, we wake up saying “Grateful,” and with that we set the tone for our day, an attitude of gratitude.

 

With each beracha you say, be mindful to feel grateful for the food you will eat and committed to enable all to never go hungry.  Wake up with an attitude of gratitude and fill each day with a sense of “Grateful am I.”

I Didn’t Know How Much They Love Us

Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l described it as follows:

 

Antisemitism is not a unitary phenomenon, a coherent belief or ideology. Jews have been hated because they were rich and because they were poor; because they were capitalists and because they were communists; because they believed in tradition and because they were rootless cosmopolitans; because they kept to themselves and because they penetrated everywhere. Antisemitism is not a belief but a virus. The human body has an immensely sophisticated immune system which develops defenses against viruses. It is penetrated, however, because viruses mutate. Antisemitism mutates.

 

Jews comprise only 2.4% of the US population but in 2023 were the targets of 68% of religiously motivated hate crimes, a 63% increase from 2022.  Following October 7, 2023, hate incidents against Jews spiked 400%. 

 

Just this week, Hadassah published the results of a two-year survey on antisemitism.  It found that 64% of those polled reported that hate and discrimination have directly impacted their lives, relationships, and professional environments; additionally, more than half felt compelled to conceal their Jewish identity.

 

As Jews, we have always known that there are people who hate us, but it isn’t until this past year that we realized how much they hate us.  That hate is so strong, so loud, and so threatening, that it is easy to not appreciate how many love us.

 

This week, I had the privilege of offering remarks and a prayer at a large gathering that was overwhelmingly attended by a non-Jewish audience.  I concluded by saying:

Master of the Universe – do not allow us to remain apathetic or silent.  Grant us the faith in You, and the faith in ourselves, to believe that we can make a difference in securing a bright future for the United States and for Israel.  

  

Our Father in Heaven, let the hostages, Americans and Israelis be released and return home. Let Israel be victorious over her enemies. Guard the courageous members of the United States military and the Israeli Defense Forces as they guard us and protect freedom and democracy around the world.

 

Dear God – We ask that you grant peace and prosperity to the United States, to the State of Israel and to the entire world, and let us respond, Amen.

 

I received a few handshakes on my way back to my table, but what happened the rest of the evening truly surprised me.  When I made my way around the room, I was stopped over and over again by people telling me how much they pray for Israel, for the release of the hostages, and for the Jewish people as a whole.  Non-Jews from all over the country sincerely and genuinely expressed their care and their concern for our people. 

 

One young man who was attending with his mother found me to share that though he isn’t Jewish, he feels connected to Israel and desperately wants to help.  He took my contact information and asked if would be alright to follow up and if I could introduce him to an organization or effort in Israel that he can work on from his home in Houston.  A member of the security team at the event saw my yarmulka and said “Shalom.”  He shared that he has been to many parts of the world providing protection but the place he really wants to go is Israel.  A veteran of the United States Army who fought for many years for our country came over to proudly share that when he was first training, he went to Israel to practice with the IDF and told me about the gratitude he has had for the many years since. 

 

The examples could go on and on, but they all left me with a feeling that while we know there are people who hate us and have come to learn how much they hate us, we also need to know that there are people who love us and just how much they love us.

 

During his recent visit to our community, when Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik was asked about his concerns regarding the state of antisemitism in American and particularly on college campuses and among academic elites, he responded that he is steadfastly optimistic. While he agreed that rising antisemitism is cause for legitimate concern, he explained that there is no time in Jewish history where we have had more support from the non-Jewish world and we should recognize and appreciate that.

 

When that care and concern are communicated, when we are strengthened by a simple sentence or supportive gesture, we should think to ourselves, how can I pay it forward?  Is there a community, a nationality, or a people who are feeling hated and to whom I can communicate some camaraderie and concern?  Are there individuals who are feeling abandoned, forsaken, or forgotten to whom I can express support, and heartfelt prayers?

 

Commenting on our Parsha and the complicated relationship between Esav and Yaakov, our rabbis predict and foretell that “Esav sonei es Yaakov,” the descendants of Esav will hate and haunt the offspring of Yaakov.  Interestingly, the Talmud introduces this observation with the words, “Halacha b’yaduah,” it is a well-known halacha. 

 

Commenting on this phrase used only once in rabbinic literature, Rav Moshe Feinstein in a teshuva in the 1970’s writes:  

 

I have already explained concerning Rashi’s language in his Torah commentary… on the word וישקהו: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: “It is a well-known halacha that Esau hates Jacob.” And why is the word halacha relevant here? It is because just as halacha never changes, so also Esav’s hatred of Yaakov never changes. Even in those [nations] that behave well [toward Jews], their hatred [of Jews] is actually strong. 

 

Essentially, antisemitism is a fact that they hate us—it is a given that will not change.  The fact that some love us, though, is not and should never be taken for granted.  We should recognize it, appreciate it and pay it forward in showing love to others who could use it.

 

A study conducted a few years ago concluded that casually reaching out to people in our social circles means more than we realize. As one of the researchers explained, “Even sending a brief message reaching out to check in on someone, just to say ‘Hi,’ that you are thinking of them, and to ask how they’re doing, can be appreciated more than people think.”

 

Hearing people I didn’t even know tell me, “I’m thinking about Israel and I’m praying for your people,” filled me with comfort and delight. Contacting someone you know, even if you don’t know them well, to tell them they are on your mind can  make an impact you could not have imagined.

There Is No Other Hand

Can I deny everything I believe in?

 

On the other hand, can I deny my own child?

 

On the other hand how can I turn my back on my faith, my people? If I try to bend that far I will break.

 

On the other hand…

 

There is no other hand.

 

— Fiddler on the Roof

 

If you are familiar with my speeches, classes, and writings, you know I am a big believer and fierce advocate of the importance of nuance and using more careful language in our conversations, debates, and dialogues. Much of our divisiveness and disunity is the result of speaking in absolutes with too much confidence, too little nuance, and the inability or unwillingness to look at other perspectives.

 

And yet, there are certain issues, events, and people that are clear as day, and the introduction of nuance or the use of a tolerant approach isn’t noble or righteous, it is cruel and irresponsible. As Tevye memorably puts it, there is no other hand.

 

Most of the time we should strive to live in the gray, to respect that there are opinions and approaches we may vociferously disagree with but are still legitimate, within bounds, and espoused by those who genuinely believe in the safety, security, unity and eternity of our people.  One can disagree determinedly with the Satmar philosophy and its approach to the State of Israel, but you can’t argue that they work against the future or fate of our people.  The Satmar community has said Tehillim daily since the start of the war and I personally witnessed the Rebbe gave a member of our community a beracha that his son serving in the IDF be safe, secure and successful in defending our people.

 

But there are also rare times that call for a black-and-white view, to recognize that being open, thoughtful, respectful of other opinions and approaches doesn’t mean tolerating or accepting the opinions and activism of those who are working against our people, who don’t share in our fate, who aren’t consumed by our safety and well-being, even if they are Jewish. 

 

While Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts, seeking to defend millions of innocent civilians against evil enemies who seek the destruction of Israel and the death of all Jews, Senator Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, sponsored and led a campaign in support of a resolution aiming to block $20 billion in sales of U.S. arms to the Jewish state.  While he stopped short of declaring Israel of perpetrating a genocide (though he had no problem calling Israel’s actions “atrocities”), he asserted that military aid to Israel violates U.S. law prohibiting weapons sales to “countries that violate internationally recognized human rights.” 

 

Despite the Biden administration rejecting the claim and actively lobbying against the resolution, nearly half the Senate majority caucus voted in favor, smearing Israel’s war of self-defense and casting Israel as a villain on the world stage. This group included two Jewish senators: Sanders and Jon Ossoff.

 

I have spoken and written about not using my pulpit or platform to campaign for or against political officials. Again, there are times that call for a different approach. Remember these senators’ names, work to ensure they are not re-elected, and hold them accountable for slandering the Jewish state and compromising the safety and security of our people around the world:

 

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), George Helmy (D-NJ) as well as Angus King (I-Maine) and Sanders each voted in favor of at least one of the three bills, while Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) voted “present.”

 

Is it a coincidence that soon after the vote got the support of more than one third of the democrats in the Senate, the illegitimate International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, for war crimes committed in Gaza?  Is it random that a few days after a prominent Jew holding high political office led an effort to demonize the Jewish state a Chabad Rabbi in the UAE, Rabbi Zvi Kogan Hy”d was kidnapped and brutally murdered by emboldened agents of Iran?  Is it a stretch to draw a line connecting the dots between prominent Jews not only failing to support but working against Israel, and enemies of Israel acting in outrageous and despicable ways?

 

There must be no nuance in recognizing that Bernie Sanders, Jewish or not, is dangerous and his views are entirely illegitimate. In fact, one can make a reasonable argument that his Jewishness actually provides cover for non-Jewish antisemites and other bad actors, who can (and often do) point to Sanders and say, “he’s Jewish and he agrees with me.” Failure to call things as they are would be putting ourselves in danger. 

 

This danger is not limited to secular Jews. Neturei Karta, Aramaic for “guardians of the city,” are anything but protectors of our people.  Despite their external religious garb and presentation as observant Jews, they are dangerous extremists whose behavior—meeting with and hugging world leaders who seek Jewish blood, rallying in the streets to support perpetrators of evil, to name a few lovely examples—has excluded them from our people and ensured they have no portion in the World to Come.  They, too, use their Jewishness in dangerous ways and provide useful cover for antisemitism. There is no nuance in rejecting, disassociating and marginalizing them.

 

There is no other hand when it comes to the extreme progressive groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and Rabbis for Ceasefire. These groups don’t claim to be Orthodox and certainly don’t look it but they are no less dangerous and illegitmate than Neturei Karta. They use their Jewishness as a convenient tool to advance their goals of supporting Hamas and their enablers. Like Neturei Karta, they provide terrific cover, as evidenced by Rashida Tlaib and other members of the Squad being all-too-happy to rally with them, meet with them, and attend their disingenuous prayer services.

 

J-Street, a self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization, has advocated for the Biden administration to withhold weapons from the Jewish state, arguing that the United States needs to hold Israel accountable for alleged human rights “violations” before President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in January.  Instead of educating the world about how Israel has gone to unprecedented lengths to avoid civilian casualties, this “pro-Israel” organization, led by “proud Jews,” has been among the loudest voices of disinformation, miseducation, and distortions about Israel in the world.

 

Peter Beinart, a prominent writer and observant Jew who keeps kosher and learns Daf Yomi, has written shocking and shameful anti-Israel articles and columns for years, most recently taking to the New York Times to slander and attack Israel, describing the war as, “Israel’s slaughter and starvation of Palestinians — funded by U.S. taxpayers and live-streamed on social media.”  He went so far as to blame the election results on Israel and by extension the Jews. 


To be clear, I am not interested in name-calling. There has been endless debate since October 7 (and of course before then, too) about who is a “self-hating Jew,” whether certain politicians are “kapos,” and the like. To engage in those debates is to miss the forest for the trees. Coming up with the right term or label, and arguing whether or not Bernie Sanders is a self-hating Jew, an antisemite, or neither, is time not well spent. The focus should be in recognizing the behavior, calling it out, and working hard to counter any influence or voice these people have.

 

Since there have been Jews, there have been traitors to the Jewish people, including famous converts who led disputations and defectors who collaborating with enemies.  In her article, The Jews Who Fought for Nazi Germany, Ellen Feldman writes: “What was the safest place for a Jew in Hitler’s Germany? A cellar or an attic? A forest? At home with a well-connected Aryan spouse? The answer was in Hitler’s military—in the Wehrmacht, the Kriegsmarine, or the Luftwaffe—at least until the tide of war turned and all three began to suffer staggering losses.”  She documents Jews who fought alongside the Nazis against the Jews for diverse motivations and for different reasons. 

 

While their behavior is inexcusable, Jews who conspired with or aided the Nazis could at least argue they were trying to save their lives.  What could Bernie Sanders, Jon Ossoff, Neturei Karta, J-Street, Rabbis for Peace, or Peter Beinart say compels them to vilify of the Jewish state and justifies their efforts to hamper its ability to defend its people?  It is disingenuous and dangerous for these people and groups to blame Israel for the suffering—including the suffering inflicted on the Palestinian civilians whom they claim to care about—that is caused by Hamas, who started this war with a heinous, bloodthirsty pogrom, and can end it immediately by returning hostages and laying down their guns. 

 

We read every Friday night, “ohavei Hashem sin’u rah,” those who truly love Hashem hate and reject evil and wrongdoing. Dovid HaMelech does not encourage us to hate the individual, but rather his choices. However, there are times when we can’t and shouldn’t separate the person from the choices they make and if we truly love Hashem, justice, and the Jewish people then we cannot and must not tolerate or accept the perpetration of that wrongdoing.  There are times for nuance and balance and time for moral clarity and clear lines. 

 

In the days of Rabban Gamliel, Jewish traitors posed a threat to the nation.  Shmuel HaKatan was recruited to author a prayer, a 19th blessing to be added to the Amidah that their nefarious and slanderous plans be unsuccessful.  Shmuel was called “HaKatan” because he maintained his childlike innocence, purity and love.  He was chosen to write this blessing because he had no ulterior motive or agenda in doing so.  It didn’t serve him politically, financially, or socially.  Indeed, he is the one quoted in Pirkei Avos who most embodied the dictum in Mishlei (24:17), “Do not take joy in the downfall of your enemies.” He was chosen because his intent was pure and unblemished. 

 

We must remain committed to nuance in our discussions, conversations, debates, and dialogues with one another. Indeed, Shlomo HaMelech taught (Mishlei 18:21), “Maves v’chaim b’yad lashon, Death and life and in the power of the tongue.”  Our language matters and it can be the difference between life and death. 

 

But in these times when the future and wellbeing of our people is at stake, we must also have moral clarity, to hate evil, call it out, work against it, even when it is from within our people. To recognize when there is no other hand.

 

When you say V’lamalshinim, mean it. 

 

 

She is the Only Reason I am Here

After spreading a call to “hunt Jews” in a premeditated attack, vile Arab gangs chased, beat, and indeed hunted Jews in the streets of Amsterdam.  Some were rammed with cars, others kicked and spit on, still others forced to jump into freezing rivers to escape. 

 

The pogrom in Amsterdam, which took place two days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, was a harsh and painful reminder that the more things change, the more they say the same. 

 

Eighty-six years after the night of broken glass, Jews in Europe were once again abandoned and unprotected, forcing some to again try protect themselves by crying out, “I’m not Jewish.”  The same country in which Anne Frank was forced to hide and that failed to protect or hold perpetrators accountable then, once again had Jews hiding and left unprotected.  Nearly nine decades after Anne Frank, the media continues to downplay Jew hatred with the New York Times, Reuters, and the Associated Press describing the incident as “violence tied to a soccer game.”  Now, as then, Jews are made to feel alone, isolated, needing the courage to take care of ourselves.

 

While Kristallnacht is probably the most famous day of rage against the Jews of Europe in the 1930’s, it wasn’t the first and was far from an isolated event.  My grandfather operated a stand selling women’s garments in the outdoor Spandau market in Berlin, Germany. One day (not on Kristallnacht), Nazis attacked the market, destroying his merchandise and beating him.  My grandparents were living in Germany but my grandfather was a Polish national.  The Nazis passed a cruel law expelling all those living in Germany who were not German nationals.  He and his father-in-law had Polish passports, but Poland wasn’t letting anyone in, leaving them deported to “no man’s land,” along the border between Poland and Germany.  He had family who had immigrated to America who agreed to sponsor him and his family, but my grandfather was still waiting for the papers to arrive that would allow them to emigrate to America.

 

In the meantime, my grandmother moved in with her mother in Berlin, helping them run the family clothing business.  On November 9, 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old German-born Polish Jew living in Paris, assassinated a German diplomat, Enst vom Rath.  This set off one of the worst pogroms in our history, a “night of broken glass,” with rioters destroying 267 shuls throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Seven thousand Jewish businesses were damaged or destroyed and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. 

 

My grandmother’s maiden name was Grynszpan and she was therefore immediately arrested along with her baby and mother.  They were interrogated until it could be ascertained that she was not related to the perpetrator.  They were released but shaken from the experience.

 

Finally, the papers from the family in America arrived but my grandfather was still in No Man’s Land.  Only the Gestapo could give the approval for him to return so they could emigrate as a family.  Against all odds or reason, my grandmother was determined to save her family.  She identified the office she needed to visit and the Gestapo officer who could stamp the required papers.  She ran around the block several times until she was out of breath and she pinched her own checks until they were bright red.  She rushed past the guard at Gestapo Headquarters saying she was late for an important meeting and ran up the stairs to his office, pretending to have an appointment.  She pushed her way into his office and with all 4 foot 10 inches of her being, pled with the officer to stamp the paper, bring her husband home and allow them to emigrate with their baby to America.  Not surprisingly, he refused.  She walked over to the window and pointed out towards a bridge over a river.  She said, “if you don’t stamp the papers, you will have to look out this window and watch me  jump off the bridge with my baby, killing ourselves, as there is no point to living if my husband doesn’t come home.” 

 

That moment could have gone several ways and could have easily cost her her life, but the otherwise cruel officer was caught off guard by the courage, brazenness and “chutzpa” of this tiny woman and he agreed.  He stamped the papers which enabled them to sail on the SS Manhattan in April 1939.  The parents and siblings (other than one brother who had already moved to Palestine) they left behind were all murdered in the Holocaust; I carry the names of two of my grandfather’s brothers, Efraim and Chaim.  Grateful to have escaped with their child but traumatized by what they had been through, my grandparents didn’t intend on having any more children.  But after settling in Jersey City, one night my grandmother heard her daughter looking out the window davening to Hashem for a sibling.  Together with my grandparents, He answered her prayer and my father was born.

 

Of course, countless victims of the Holocaust didn’t have the opportunity to advocate for themselves and their family and countless others were brutally murdered for trying.  But after seeing the images out of Amsterdam this week, I was thinking about my grandmother, Rose Goldberg a”h, her bravery, conviction, tenacity and boldness. She was determined and stubborn.  She was courageous and daring.  She didn’t relinquish her fate or future to others, she was resolute in protecting and securing  herself and her family.  She is the reason I am here. 

 

Fast forward to today. I am the only one of her grandchildren who doesn’t yet live in Israel.  Her great-grandchildren, armed with her courage, conviction and resolve, have been among those heroically serving in the IDF, fighting in Gaza and defending our people.

 

Much of what happened in Amsterdam parallels our past but there is a fundamental and glaring difference.  This time, the Jews abandoned by the Dutch government were not alone.  IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani announced: “The targeted attacks against Jews and Israelis in Amsterdam tonight are horrific and barbaric. The images of the violence toward Jewish people in Europe are a painful reminder of our history. The IDF has an historic duty of protecting our people, wherever they are. We are preparing to deploy a mission to rescue Israelis from Amsterdam.”

 

Indeed, two rescue planes, funded by El Al, went to Amsterdam to bring home to Israel those who were targeted, attacked, and forced into hiding.  Jews around the world are not alone, never abandoned, or on our own.  We are living in miraculous times in which Hashem has granted us a country, one of the strongest and smartest militaries in the world, and an indomitable will to ensure “Never Again” truly means never again.

 

Our people’s existence is due to strong-willed, courageous people who didn’t surrender to circumstance or cower to enemies.  Avraham went to war against powerful kings to liberate his nephew. Moshe took on the Egyptian empire with demanding that its leader Pharoah let his people go. What if the Macabbees had considered the odds and facts on the ground and never revolted against the Greek oppressors?  What if Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai simply observed the power of Vespasian and never asked for Yavneh and its sages?  What if in 1948 and 1967 the brave men and women of Israel had truly accepted the impossible chances of overcoming the many nations, people, and resources that sought to obliterate them?

 

The past 13 months have taught us that the world respects us and fears us when we show strength, might and Jewish pride, not when we cower, apologize, or take orders from others. 

 

Perhaps, instead of instructing Jews to avoid Paris or “dangerous” European cities, hiding Israeli real estate events in America or moving them to Zoom, or taking off yarmulkas in public places, we should be demanding that police in every city protect us. Maybe it is time to coordinate with law enforcement to protect ourselves. 

 

Don’t post and share images of Jews being beaten up, kicked, and spit on.  Make images of IDF soldiers eliminating evil terrorists viral.  Tell the story of the pager attack on Hezbollah over and over to anyone who will listen. Remind others of the targeted assasination of Deif, Nassrallah and others whom America couldn’t find or take out. Make sure everyone knows that Israel flew into Iran and took out their missile defense throughout the country with seeming ease. Let the picture of Israel’s rescue planes landing in Amsterdam be seared in the mind of any country that won’t protect us. 

 

Don’t hide your Jewishness. Don’t cower or live in fear. Be responsible but be a proud and practicing Jew. 

 

Let antisemites pay a price and face legal consequences for attacking a Jew. Instead of our fearing them, let them fear us.

 

A House of Celebration and Houses of Mourning

When my cousin’s daughter asked me to officiate her wedding in Israel the week after Sukkos, how could I say no?  Her mother, my beloved first cousin, passed away at a young age from cancer.  She loved Israel and at several points in her too-short life wanted to live there but never had the chance to realize that dream.  Her daughter, passionate about Torah, the Jewish people, and Eretz Yisroel, moved to Israel shortly after getting up from shiva.  She enlisted, rose to be an officer in the IDF, and proudly wore her olive green IDF skirt throughout.  She met her husband, an amazing young man who, like her and like Avraham Avinu before them, got up, left his family to answer the call of Lech Lecha, and went to settle in Hashem’s land.  After learning in Yeshiva he too served in the IDF.  These two beautiful souls finding each other and committing to building the Jewish people in the Jewish homeland was truly a special occasion not to be missed.

 

And now, at a magnificent chuppa with the hills of Yerushalayim as the backdrop, I had the tremendous honor and privilege to marry them. But there was something I needed to do first.

 

In Koheles (7:2), Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of all men, taught, טוֹב לָלֶכֶת אֶל בֵּית אֵבֶל מִלֶּכֶת אֶל בֵּית מִשְׁתֶּה בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא סוֹף כָּל הָאָדָם וְהַחַי יִתֵּן אֶל לִבּוֹ, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of celebration; for that is the end of every man, and a living one should take it to heart.”

 

As Israel’s longest war in its history continues to rage on across multiple fronts, we tragically, regularly continue to see and hear the most dreaded words: “Released for publication.”  Heroic, seemingly ordinary but truly extraordinary soldiers continue to make the ultimate sacrifice, their families paying the ultimate price to protect, defend and fight for the Jewish people.  Indeed, as our rabbis taught two thousand years ago (Berachos 5a), Eretz Yisroel nikneis b’yesurin, the land of Israel is acquired and held with sacrifice and struggle.

 

I paid a shiva call to the family of Rav Avi Goldberg Hy”d.  A tent was set up to accommodate the countless visitors who came from all over: friends, family, political leaders, and “strangers” like me who came to comfort, share in the pain and pay tribute to this incredibly special man.  It was heartbreaking to see his children clutch framed pictures of him.  It was moving to hear his wife Rachel talk about him and offer a heartfelt plea for all segments of Am Yisroel to share in the burden of this war.  R’ Avi loved and excelled at music, using it to arouse the souls of many, and so the family requested music be part of the shiva.  Accompanied by a guitar and a violin, the many packed in the tent joined in a slow, stirring niggun.  At that moment, eyes closed and swaying in unison, all those gathered were singing the song of the Jewish people, the song of pain and of joy, a song of eternity.

 

That day, I was scheduled to meet with R’ Avi’s brother Eliezer about another matter.  We indeed met, but instead of at a coffee shop or in an office, it was with him sitting in a low chair and my desperately trying to find words that would be meaningful.  He shared about his brother’s special character and impact and I communicated that I represented not only myself, my family and our community, but I was there on behalf of all Am Yisrael around the world sharing in their pain and expressing our boundless gratitude. 

 

I shared the same message at the second shiva call, to the family of Sammy Harari Hy”d.  Sammy came to yeshiva for his gap year and decided to stay and serve in the IDF and build his life in Israel. His dedication to our people and to our country was unwavering.  He was 35 years old and lived in Tzefat with his wife, Anna, and their three children.

 

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of celebration.” Commentators explain that Shlomo HaMelech encouraged going to a shiva home over a simcha because a simcha is prospective.  We share our hope, dreams and ambitions for the future of this new couple, this Bar Mitzvah boy or Bat Mitzvah girl, this new baby.  A shiva home is retrospective, reflective of the legacy, influence and impact the person made.  Each of these precious soldiers, our kedoshim who are now sitting next to the Kisei HaKavod, directly adjacent to Hashem’s throne, leave the highest legacy of having been moseir nefesh for the Jewish people. 

 

On this short trip, I also visited Hadassah Hospital to spend time with injured soldiers.  Unlike previous trips in which the injured were young soldiers in the middle of their mandatory service, each of those I visited this time was a reservist, these were people who had left their family multiple times to fight, often on different fronts. 

 

In one room were three men who had been injured less than a week before in Lebanon.  Hezbollah fighters saw them coming and released gas in the house they were entering.  In many countries, gas companies add a chemical with a distinctive smell to alert people to a gas leak but natural gas has no odor and so these soldiers had no idea they were entering a home filled with gas.  Protocol calls for opening fire when entering an area with terrorists.  When these soldiers entered the home and the first one opened fire, it ignited the gas, causing an explosion.  The terrorists were positioned nearby and opened fire after the explosion.  One of the soldier’s legs was literally on fire while he continued to shoot back and fight the terrorists. 

 

Hanging next to his hospital bed are the remnants of the uniform, a testament to the miracle of his being alive.  These soldiers had bandages on their legs, fingers and one had burns on his face.  One of them has four children, the youngest two months old, born during his service.  Another got married in between serving his reserve duties.  They all spoke with faith, determination, gratitude, positivity and a message to Jews everywhere that it is time to come home and be part of this destiny. 

 

In another room was a soldier who was injured on Yom Kippur night in Lebanon.  His father shared that he was so badly compromised, losing so much blood, that at one point they felt he wouldn’t survive and no more resources or time should be spent on him.  Nevertheless, they continued and there he was recovering and improving, eager to return home to his wife and children.  The soldier mentioned that in his life he had donated a lot of blood, never knowing that he was actually making a deposit for one day needing to take a withdrawal to save his life. As hashgacha had it, his uncle is a friend of mine, someone I went to Yeshiva with. 

 

In a third room was a soldier injured on the border with Syria.  He was the quietist, and seemed to be struggling the most physically and emotionally, but after spending a few minutes, showering him with love, as we were leaving his room, he perked up to call to us and say, “Am Yisrael Chai.”

 

On this trip, I spent time with my heroic friend who fought in Gaza, saw and experienced horrific things, and has been suffering with diagnosed PTSD.  Despite support, medication, and therapy, he continues to have panic attacks, and it isn’t unusual for him to wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, drenched in sweat and with a racing heart. 

 

He shared with me that he had recently been in the park with his children when they saw a young boy on the playground crying.  He approached the boy asking what is wrong, is he hurt.  The boy responded, no I am angry and there is nothing you can do about it. He asked the boy what happened and the young boy explained that his father is back in milu’im, reserve duty, and his uncle picked him up from school instead of his father and he is very upset about it.  My friend said, are you hungry, let’s go buy a treat and the boy said, no I am not eating.  He asked, why not and the boy said, I don’t want to eat until my father comes home and we can eat together.  After spending some time showing some love and support, the boy calmed down and went home to get something to eat. There are literally thousands of children in Israel like this young boy, some expressing their feelings, many not, and we cannot lose sight of how many families continue to feel the impact of this war on a daily basis.

 

This past year I have been fortunate to have gone to Israel for numerous missions, visiting army bases, hospitals, hostage families, displaced families, and doing all kinds of volunteering. As Yom Tov here ended and I prepared for this trip, I thought, perhaps naively, that I was going for a wedding and to see my family.  I thought that the chamals, cheder milchamah, the wartime volunteer command centers were closed, the volunteer opportunities had grinded to a halt, but I was terribly wrong.  There is still so much to do, so much love to show and share, so much support, financial, emotional to provide, so many people to spend time with.

 

The director of Hadassah hospital told me that visits have slowed down but there are still so many soldiers recovering and in rehab who cherish the chance to tell their story, to receive some love and to connect with Jews, particularly from outside of Israel.

 

It has now been more than a year. Fatigue may have set in for many, but it can’t for our soldiers.  They are still fighting on multiple fronts, their families continue to have to experience and navigate their absence while they serve.  For the new orphans and widows there is nothing old about this war. 

 

They are doing their part.  We must continue to do ours.  A member of our community visited an army rest area outside Gaza over Sukkos. One of the tables still holds a letter a child wrote that we delivered back in March. 

 

Continue to write letters to soldiers.  Continue to learn and daven for those serving and all those injured physically and emotionally. When planning winter vacation or your next trip, consider going to Israel to visit hospitals, those still displaced from the north, or army bases. 

 

We daven and long for the day that we go to Israel only to attend simchas and happy occasions. 

 

 

 

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

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