Steve Kramer: 5785: A Good Year for the Jews?
Will the new year be better than the previous horrible one? It’s hard to believe that it won’t be, given the last year’s continuous warfare. At this juncture, Israel has ruptured Hamas in Gaza, leaving the major problem of our hostages held by the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar [See Note on his elimination below], as well as the remnants of the Hamas fighting forces. Undoubtedly some terrorists will survive, but there is no possibility that a major attack on Israel will come from Gaza, now or in the foreseeable future. This outcome was said not to be possible because “You cannot defeat an idea.” (Tell that to the losers of WW2 or the leaders of the Soviet Union.)
In Lebanon, while Hezbollah is not yet defeated, its leadership has been decimated, its inventory of thousands of rockets and missiles has been greatly decreased (destroyed or fired), and Israel has the upper hand on the ground. Israel endures many rocket and drone attacks while Islamist Iran continues its machinations to destroy Israel (and the West) using its proxies. Our war goals have not yet been achieved, especially with our hostages still in Gaza. But life goes on throughout Israel, despite the war entering its second year.
Our synagogue in Kfar Saba, Hod Ve Hadar, has no standard rabbinical sermon during services (there’s no formal rabbi). Instead there’s always a discourse related to the weekly parsha (Torah selection) by one of the many Jewishly-well educated, bright members. Much of the thoughts I mentioned below were expressed in Yom Kippur by attorney Naomi Leitner, who made Aliyah from the US many decades ago.
Naomi brought up the famous rabbi, Yohanan ben Zakkai. Who was Ben Zakkai and what is he renowned for? During the Roman rout of Jerusalem and the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 CE, the renowned religious leader faked his death and was carried out of the doomed city in a coffin. Naomi told us that he was “… anxious about the future of the Jewish people, anxious about the continued existence of the spiritual heritage which is the bedrock of our civilization,” Naomi told us.
The Babylonian Talmud (Jewish civil and ceremonial law) and tells the tale: the esteemed R. Yohanan saw the suffering and degradation of the Jerusalemites, whose sects (Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, Sicarii) were battling each other as well as the Romans. In 68 CE he faked his own death and was placed into a coffin which was carried out of the city to the tent of General Vespasian. In Vespasian’s presence, at the city gates the coffin was opened to ensure that it contained a corpse. R. Yohanan stood before the general and exclaimed, “Peace be upon you, O Emperor of Rome!” Vespasian retorted, “But I am not an Emperor! At that very moment, a messenger from Rome came and told Vespasian that the Emperor had died and that the Roman nobles had appointed Vespasian to the throne…”
With that, Vespasian told the rabbi that he would honor anything he requested. R. Yohanan said, “Give me Yavne and her scholars!” What was the meaning of that? The visionary teacher saw the necessity to replace the soon-to-be-demolished Temple, a specific location for honoring God, with a portable benchmark, the study of Torah, which would allow Jews to worship the One God from any location. Yavne was the first, but not the last, location for this historic venture.
Naomi continued, “Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai and his disciples prepared a foundation of laws, rules, and customs that are part and parcel of Jewish life to this very day. Our Judaism is the Judaism of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. He saved the teaching of the Torah and together with it, the Jewish People, from the fate that was the lot of all the nations, and all the cultures, that lived here in the Middle East at that time. They all disappeared from the stage of history – but here we are! We are still here.”
When the Torah scrolls are paraded among us in synagogue, we all rise. I have come to understand the maxim that, “The Jews didn’t save the Torah, the Torah saved the Jews.” Of course, I’m no Torah scholar and neither are most Jews, but by preserving the Torah and reading it serially every year, for century after century, one realizes that without it, the Jews would most likely have disappeared long ago, as all the empires that sought to destroy us have disappeared. The Torah and its teachings, not lox and bagels, is our religious and cultural touchstone.
Given the war that Israelis have endured for more than a year, Naomi segued to the Israeli soldiers who have fought so bravely, the civilians who have mobilized, volunteering in myriad ways, and Diaspora Jews who have endured expressions of hatred, violence and threats while demonstrating, donating, organizing, and volunteering. Summing up, Naomi said that we can be proud of our fellow Israelis and Jews around the world and proud of our congregation’s efforts supporting our soldiers.
So, we enter the Jewish year 5785 with renewed vigor, trusting in God to preserve us Jews, who though small in numbers are strong in faith and incredibly optimistic about the future. This is proven by our State of Israel, somewhat of a giant slayer. We punch way above our weight, near the top of so many categories, including fertility. There’s something positive to be said for people who lead all other Western countries in bringing children into the world. Let’s have faith that the Jewish people will continue to have the resolve, power, and resilience to continue our 3,800-year journey.
I want to wish all my readers a safe, healthy, and happy new year. Let’s all pray for the destruction of the Jihadist regime in Iran which is planning the destruction of the Jews in Israel and worldwide.
Note: Yahya Sinwar, the Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau and its Military Wing in the Gaza Strip has been liquidated in an operation, one not specifically aimed at him! An arch fiend and demonic strategist, Sinwar was above ground instead of hiding as usual in one of the many tunnels under Rafah, next to the Egyptian border. Besides destroying the Jewish State, Sinwar’s ambition was to die as a shahid (Islamic martyr) fighting Israel. Israelis are understandably overjoyed that this demon is dead. This breakthrough may lead to a Hamas surrender.
In 2011, Sinwar was exchanged after more than 20 years in Israeli prison for multiple murders in a lopsided exchange: more than 1,000 terrorists were released for the return of one kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit. While in prison, Sinwar learned Hebrew, educated himself about Israeli ways, and was operated on for cancer. The full report of the operation that killed Sinwar is forthcoming, Israelis are relieved that the hostages which usually surrounded him for his “insurance” weren’t with him. Rescuing the remaining 100+ Israeli captives is priority #1 for Israelis since the Hamas organization has lost most of its power and its leadership is all but eliminated.
