Spark of Jewish Experience

*Why did Eisav’s angel aim at the leg in hurting Yaakov?

*Why is Amalek, Eisav’ descendants so hated by G-d?

*It was only when Yosef was born, did Yaakov decide to move his family and leave his father-in- law Lavan’s house. What was so special about Yosef?

It was during the 1960’s and early 1970’s when antisemitism was on the rise, the Jewish Defense League was establishing itself as a strong arm Jewish group protecting Jewish citizens of New York after a slew of biased attacks.  Finally Jews can walk the streets safely without looking over their shoulder. Our people felt proud to have such an option coupled with the fact that they were surprisingly victorious in the Six Day War against the Arabs. One of the slogans that were pronounced   by the high energetic charismatic leader, Meir Kahana, was “Never Again”. This was implying that no one can start with the Jews. No more!!! The import of the slogan was that Jews would never again allow themselves to be slaughtered indiscriminately by those who hate them. It was not only the scope of the Holocaust and others like it throughout our history that would never again be repeated, but the idea behind those atrocities – that Jews should be killed merely for being Jewish – would also never again be tolerated.

 Well, the slogan has been proven wrong and even empty. Jews are being killed merely because they are Jews. They are being killed in cafes and banquet halls, outside synagogues and in the study halls of yeshivas, walking on the streets and driving their automobiles. The Jews who are being killed are old and young, Zionists and anti-Zionists, Left and Right, haredi and secular, militants and peaceniks.

 They are being killed wherever they can be found – in Gaza and the West Bank, Hadera and Netanya, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They are being killed in locations and neighborhoods that were Jewish-owned and populated before Arizona and New Mexico were admitted to the United States.

 The trend over the past century and especially in our current twisted times has been to try to discover the motives that drive people to kill other people. The victims being killed are many times unknown to their killers and are personally innocent of any guilt in their death. Their fault lay in being of a certain race, nationality, religious belief and even simply (and unfortunately) being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When a terrorist attack strikes our country, our community, our home, fear sets in. Why? What is so traumatic about a terror attack? What differentiates terrorism from every other form of death? Why has the US government dedicated billions of dollars and resources to search for and eliminate terror cells throughout the world?

If we look at statistics, in the past 10 years, there have been roughly 8,000 people throughout the world murdered at the hands of terrorists. Yet in the last year alone, over 38,000 people were killed in the United States just from car accidents.

Logically, if terrorism scares us so much, we should be ten times as scared to get behind the wheel of our car. We should be petrified when our eighteen year old child goes behind the wheel for the first time. It’s not for nothing that car insurance for young adults is high; they’re reckless at that age. Driving on the freeway should be a terrifying experience to be avoided at all costs. And yet the majority of us do it, day after day, without a second thought. How many people stop and wonder if perhaps they should take public transportation to avoid the possibility of being killed in a car crash? How many people ensure that their family members never all travel together in the same car, lest they be in a crash?

                              

What is the source for this unique fear that the terrorists have put in our hearts?

Terrorists have not succeeded in the mass fatalities they would like to claim are possible. However, they have succeeded in one very important thing. They have accomplished something perhaps even more destructive than killing our bodies. They have managed to erode our sense of security, our hope, and our faith.

The negative force of terror has been with us since the dawn of human history. The names and faces and national identities of the terrorists change from place to place and from era to era, but the primordial force that drives them has a single name. It is Amalek.

The Torah teaches us that “G-d is at war with Amalek for all generations” (Exodus 17:16). “In every generation,” say our sages, “Amalek rises to destroy us, and each time he clothes himself in a different nation” (Me’am Loez, Devarim vol. 3, p. 977).

Amalek doesn’t just kill us-Amalek makes us doubt.

Our first encounter was long ago. Since that time, there have been many others. Yet our mission and commandment remains the same:

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt. That he encountered you on the way and cut off those lagging to your rear, when you were tired and exhausted; he did not fear G-d. Therefore . . . you must obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget.” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

 The Jews left Egypt by the miracle of G-d seen by the entire world. The Israelites seamed invincible. No one would dare to start with them. They were protected by G-d; they were the chosen nation. Amalek ruined the moment. They ruined the fine imprint of G-d. They diffused the G-dly moment and cast doubt that G-d is supreme.

Amalek’s danger is not in their ability to kill. Cars kill more. Amalek doesn’t just kill us-Amalek makes us doubt.

Cars do not seek to destroy us. Amalek plans and plots and aims to hurt us, to maim us and to murder us. And every time they do, they make us doubt more.

They make us doubt if we are safe, if we are secure, if we are taken care of. They try to paralyze us and make us think twice before continuing on with our daily lives. They try to show us how vulnerable we are and how nothing is as it appears. They make us doubt the very reality of ourselves, our lives, our G-d.

As the Torah commentaries point out, the numerical value of the Hebrew word Amalek equals that of the word safek, “doubt.”

 Amalek succeeded to instill this unsafe fear to a friend of mine, Jack Brooks. Jack canceled a trip to Israel in the summer of 2001 citing “it’s not safe to travel to Israel at this time”. However, if the Master of the Universe wants something to happen to you, it’ll happen whether it is in Israel or in Kansas City, Missouri. Interestingly, one morning, Jack, already engulfed in his work for about an hour, after coming at about eight, feels what presumably an earthquake is. A bit alarmed, at the slammed doors in the offices on his floor being abruptly shut, his supervisor not answering his page, he runs to look out the window.  Shockingly, he sees the adjacent tower engulfed in flames and people jumping out the windows. Looking down to the ground he sees tiny red spots. Apparently, the people in the Tower 1 jumped to their death trying to avoid the tremendous heat from what presumably was an explosion.

 It was seconds later when he felt another abrupt shake up. The lights and power went out, Jacks head’ immediate response “Get out!!” He runs to the staircase and vigorously pries open the door. There was smoke gushing from the stairwell. Helping others who were having a hard time go down the stairs he joined many in a rush to get out of the building. There was one direction going down the smoke filled stairwell, however there were firefighter trying to go up, against the current of people. In hindsight, we presumably know what happened to many of those firefighters.

 It seemed forever going down, however, there was a light at the bottom. Fifteen minutes after Jack escapes from tower 2, the building collapses in flames.

Jack Brooks was a part of history surviving 9/11 reciting Gomel in synagogue the following Shabbat. The following summer Jack booked a trip to Israel enjoying a wonderful vacation in the Holy Land.

This week’s parsha has a peculiar incident where Yaakov battles the evil angel of Eisav.  The Torah says they battle all night and in the morning Yaakov overcomes the angel. Victorious, however, he is left with a wound in his leg, thigh.  The obvious question is why the leg out of all the places? What’s the significance the Torah mentioning the thigh – leg?

When the Torah states – honor your parents for you will have a long life, long life means your life will be extended through your children. They will follow your philosophy; they will pass down your legacy. They will cherish what was important to you.

One of the important aspects of continuing ones legacy, after one passes on, is for the son to say Kaddish.  The children proclaim G-d’s authority in the world through the recitation of the Kaddish.  By doing so, it’s raising the spirit of the parents since the deceased parent cannot perform any mitzvoth. The parent’s first eleven months after death is crucial for that period determines where the soul will rest. Therefore, the children are described as being the legs of the parents. They, hopefully, will walk them, the parents who are idle, helpless, into Gan Eden. Therefore, as it is described by the Sages, the children are the legs of the parents.

However, sometimes, to our frightening nightmares kids don’t turn out quite what we expect.

This is what the angel of Eisav is focused on. This is what he is determined to destroy. He wants to destroy the legs, the children, by placing “doubt”, breaking the communication between parent and child, breaking the tradition, the chain that is crucial for our survival. By demoralizing that state of peace of mind, the tranquility, although we might be strong in dealing with our commitments, however, Amalek is targeting the youth. It’s no guarantee that they have the same sentiments.

RESULTS FROM FEAR

By creating fear, one does not maximize his potential. It debilitates him. He is scared to leave his home, to go to the park, to go where he wants to go, to think outside the box – he is constrained. He has doubts!

On an unfortunate recent terror attack in Israel my mother called her sister to ask her what the matzav-situation there is. How were they coping with all that terror?

My Aunt said to my mother that she can’t talk now, she’ll call later, and her kids are taking her out to a restaurant for her birthday. My mother retorted back “but isn’t the country on high alert?” She answered back “yes it is, but that isn’t going to stop us from doing what we want to do and what we enjoy. We need to live life and cannot let these animals dictate our lives”. “We can’t let them win”.

 However, our family history is one tainted with a terror attacks. I had a second cousin who was killed and never found in a plane explosion in 1974. In the early 1970’s planting bombs on airplanes was the choice method of terrorists.

 My grandfather was thrown off the train because he was Jewish, in Russia by terrorist, paralyzing him. He wasn’t able to make the planned escape to Israel with the family. Back in the 1930’s the only way to leave Russia was to be smuggled out of the country, an ordeal that my grandfather, in his condition would not have been able to do.  My father was raised in Israel without a father.  The cruel act had an impact on our family, on my father. One can choose to ignore what’s happening around you, that’s easy when you’re not targeted, however, when one is the target, they are tainted for life.

One very impactful way to combat terrorism is hinted in Yaakov’s sudden departure, after twenty two years, from his evil father-in-law’s house.

As soon as Yosef was born, Yaakov decided, it was time to leave Lavan’s house. Why Yosef and not any of the other brothers? What’s so special about Yosef? It’s inevitable that he will meet Eisav as soon as he leaves. Is there a connection between Yosef and Eisav?

Yaakov knew that Yosef has the power to overcome Eisav. Eisav is the epitome of impurity while Yosef is KEDUSHA-purity. Also the tribes will ask Eisav, “Why did you pursue your brother Yaakov?”Eisav will answer,” Hey, why did You pursue your brother Yosef?”, therefore silencing them. However, Yosef will ask “Why did you pursue Yaakov?”, and he will be unable to respond “My brothers mistreated me and I responded with kindness.” Thus he will succeed in silencing Eisav.

For this reason:  the Jewish people have the ability to overcome and destroy Eisav and all his power and terror. It’s the act of forgiveness, an act to look the other way that will enable to neutralize the enemy. Yosef’s priority was to unify the Jewish people, for that is the ticket to negate Eisav’s influence.

For this reason, the miracle of Purim, where Haman, who was descendant of Eisav, threatened to destroy the Jewish people, it was Mordechai and Esther who were the descendants of Yosef who led the ability to save the Jews from Eisav. It’s no coincidence that the Sages say that at the time of the miracle of Purim the Jews were never so united more than any other period. Perhaps, that’s the antidote, the peace among us, where then we can proclaim: “Never again!”