Who are the Baalei HaBayit? Modern Israel and the Isaac Covenant

The recent elections in Israel have resulted, Baruch Hashem, in an overwhelming victory for the political Right. Between the Likud and the Religious parties, there is a comfortable majority of 64 out of 120 seats likely to form the next government. Now 64 out of 120 might not seem like such a landslide win. But the victory for the Right is, in fact, far greater than that. 

The parties headed by Avigdor Liberman, Benny Gantz, Gideon Saar, Ayelet Shaked, and even Yair Lapid also lean primarily toward the political right. They no longer believe in the “Peace Process,” see no current prospect of a “Two State Solution,” and largely recognize that the Oslo accords were a disastrous pipe dream. However, they are in opposition mainly due to personal animosity to Bibi Netanyahu (much like anti-Trump Republicans) and/or the Haredim. If you add them to the mix, there are really only 14 seats out of 120 that are either the Arab parties or the hard Left (the far-left Meretz party did not even meet the electoral threshold. It is as if, in America, AOC and her squad had been voted out of office). It is an overwhelming victory for the Right. And the greatest – and most controversial – star that has emerged in this election is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the chairman of the Otzma Yehudi party.

Vilified, slandered, and mischaracterized as a fascist and racist and – heaven forfend – a “Kahanist,” Ben-Gvir has managed to appeal to a fundamental emotion and resolve of millions of Israelis regarding the basic rights of Jews in the Land of Israel. One of the campaign ads that one saw most often was a picture of Ben-Gvir with the question: Mi Po Baalei HaBayit? (Who are the owners here in Israel?)

It is a fundamental question.  Are we Jews the owners and landlords in the State of Israel by right, or are we foreign interlopers with no ancestral, moral, or legal right to a homeland in Eretz Yisrael?  Ought we not be required to apologize for having displaced the indigenous “Palestinian” population and stolen their land. That is certainly how Ahmad Tibi, leader of the largest Arab party (We are the Baalei HaBayit and not Ben-Gvir) sees it. But the great majority of Israelis do not see it this way, whether they say it out loud or not.

Unfortunately, far too many Diaspora Jews worldwide see the matter differently. Many liberal and non-Orthodox Jews are consumed with guilt over the suppression of “Palestinians” and the strong-arm tactics Israel has sometimes taken against its enemies. They are consequently horrified, frightened, and deeply troubled about the ascendancy of Ben-Gvir and his supporters and warn that the inclusion of Ben-Gvir in the government will endanger the status of Israel.

Sadly, too many misinformed Orthodox Jews have bought the liberal talking points and lies and slander and thus believe that Ben-Gvir and his supporters are violent, racist, and fascist provocateurs who despise Arabs and seek to expel them all in their hatred. While there are a small number of extremists who espouse such views (all sides of any political dispute have their extremist lunatics), they are not the views of Ben Gvir nor of virtually all of his supporters – nor were they the views of the person that the left has most attempted to associate Ben Gvir with, Rav Meir Kahane הי"ד.

Ben Gvir has stated, on every occasion, that he does not agree with all that Rav Kahane held and did. But a central teaching of Rav Kahane that Ben Gvir does champion is that of “Jewish Pride.” It is the notion that we need to stand up for our rights against our enemies and haters with no apologies or fear of “what will the Goyim say?” We have a right and obligation to be secure and to protect ourselves, especially vulnerable fellow Jews. We cannot let ourselves be confused by those who worry about the supposed rights of those who seek our harm.

This is even more true in Eretz Yisrael. There is, and always has been, much uncertainty about the role of Zionism and the State of Israel from the perspective of Halacha and Jewish tradition. While this is too large a topic to discuss in this essay properly, suffice it to say that due to the anti-religious attitudes and actions of many of the original leaders of secular Zionism, the State and its representatives have been viewed with caution by some, suspicion by others, and outright hostility from yet others in the Orthodox world.  (Some are even sympathetic to the terrible views of the Reshaim of Neturei Karta, who view the State of Israel as the totally illegitimate work of the Satan.)  Because of that, one simple truth that virtually all of them innately know to be true (but tend to forget) is that before our eyes we are witness to the incredible miracle of our return to Eretz Yisrael after two thousand years.

As a licensed Israel tour guide, one of my favorite experiences is to help visitors from the Diaspora begin to realize that the modern State of Israel is a vibrant, powerful, prosperous country that has been built in an incredibly short time and is the envy of many nations the world over. The roads, technology, infrastructure, military complex, and so much more have enhanced Eretz Yisrael so greatly that it is simply astounding. This is in addition to the incredible resurgence of Torah learning and observance and the fact that there is a large and growing movement, even among many secular Israelis, to bring more tradition and Torah into their lives. Therefore, it is vital to realize that although we are still in Golus and eagerly await the coming of the Mashiach and know that there are so many intractable problems that will only be solved upon his arrival, we have entered into a new – and totally different – phase of our national existence.

We are still in Golus. But it is Golus of a different kind. 

It is the time of the Isaac Covenant

I have written about this at length and cannot repeat it here; I implore all my readers to review the series of articles I wrote on this blog about the Isaac Covenant.  I argued there, primarily based on the beautiful exposition of Rav Samson R Hirsch זצוק"ל, that we are now in a time of history in which we experience the Bris Yitzchok – The Isaac Covenant. It is a time in which our relationship with the Nations of the world is not yet like that of Avraham, who we read about in this week’s Chayei Sarah. Here Avraham is given universal respect and is called, “A prince of G-d you are amongst us”. Yitzchak, we will see next week, by contrast, is successful but hated, wealthy but envied, tolerated but treated with suspicion. He is also unlike Yaakov, who was persecuted, exiled, and suffered most of his adult life. Yitzchak was strong, able to defend himself, and prosperous but not without enemies — much like we find ourselves today.

Throughout the world, Jews are successful, prominent, and influential way out of proportion to their numbers. Our existence is no longer that of our frightful past of pogroms, expulsions, and the Holocaust. We experience (growing) antisemitism and are hated and envied by many – but the relationship is far different and better, than what we experienced in the past. This is true much more so in Israel. We have our own country, one of the world’s strongest armies to defend us, huge political clout and influence, and all of the advances I mentioned above. We are still in Golus. But it is Golus of a different kind – it is the Golus of the Isaac Covenant.

One of the most important aspects of our current level of Golus is that we have a different relationship with Eretz Yisrael. We are no longer the dhimmis (second-class citizens) who lived under the Ottoman masters forced to be submissive and pay them the jizyah taxes while subject to their persecution. We are no longer subject to the White Papers of the British government, which infamously prevented desperate Jews seeking to escape the accursed Nazis from coming home. We are here and have been given the fantastic privilege and opportunity to direct our destiny in Eretz Yisrael. We are now the “Baalei HaBayit,” and all proud Jews know it and believe it and are grateful for it, whether or not they say so out loud.

To be Baalei Habayit is not to deny the role of G-d in our destiny. One Rabbi who is opposed to Ben-Gvir went to far as to publish an article entitled, We Are NOT the ‘Baalei HaBayit’!, in which he claimed that such a claim is an inversion of the Torah. He based this argument primarily on the first Rashi in the Torah, in which Rashi quotes the Midrash stating that the whole book of Bereishis is there us that when, in the future, the Nations of the world will accuse us of stealing the Land, we will know that in fact it is G-d’s Land, who gives it to those who He sees fit. He is the real Baal Habayit. While no religious person would contest the notion that G-d is the ultimate Baal Habayit, the Midrash is, in fact, teaching the opposite. In our day, He has made the State of Israel the Baal HaBayit. Much as while G-d owns everything, yet all of us assert ownership and are the Baalei HaBayit over the property He has entrusted to us, the Jewish people are now – and hopefully forever – the Baalei Habayit in Eretz Yisrael.

In keeping with that, we must stand up proudly for our rights. It is a travesty that Jewish soldiers may not respond forcefully when attacked and spat upon, that murderous terrorists are coddled in our prisons and released back to hurt us again, that Jews are prevented solely for political reasons from praying on those parts of our holiest site – the Temple Mount – that are halachically permitted, that violent haters are given license to spew their hatred and incite, and so much more. Most Ben Gvir voters, including me, do not hate Arabs; indeed I have several Arab friends, and several of the doctors and other professionals I frequent are fine Arabs – who are happy citizens of the State of Israel. People who recognize that it is a Jewish State recognize that they are privileged to live in it.

The lack of this recognition is at the heart of so many problems today. Too often in the Yeshiva world, young minds are given a warped perspective in which the State of Israel is considered a traife poison, resulting in awful displays of boys calling Israeli police and soldiers Nazis and worse. They are not taught to respect and appreciate the efforts of those who gave so much to build Israel, which results in those Israelis being offended by the Haredim, who too often behave scandalously toward them. At the heart of the tragedy, the majority of young Jews in the Diaspora have ambivalent feelings toward Israel at best and are often at the forefront of those arguing for “Palestinian rights” and championing BDS and other organizations that hate Israel. It is a lack of a proper sense of history and of Jewish Pride.

May we see the day soon that we properly appreciate the great gifts we have been given in our time and embrace the Isaac Covenant, looking forward to the Abraham Covenant with the coming of the Mashiach, speedily in our days

Toras Emes: Enough With School Shootings, Gender Dysphoria, and Penumbras

We stand before the great holiday of Shavuot – זמן מתו תורתינו – the day we finish preparing to receive the Torah.¹ The Torah is the central repository of our values.

כִּי הֵם חַיֵּינוּ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֵינוּ

It is our very life and the length of our days

While the Torah is infinite, the most significant characteristic that we use to describe it is Toras Emes, “the Torah of Truth.”

Receiving the Torah could not come at a better time, as we live in a world that is dominated by Sheker (falsehood). Of course, the world outside of Torah has always contained elements of Sheker, but I don’t remember a time in my sixty-plus years that we have been bombarded by it on such a constant basis.

Here are a few of the more well-known and egregious examples:

1. Violence in Society – There is much handwringing, and many angry accusations were made over the terrible school shooting in Uvalde, TX. Many are convinced that the root of the problem is too much access to guns, others vociferously protest that guns are necessary to protect the innocent. However, both sides avoid the Truth – the real cause of so much violence in our society – which was revealed (if you were paying attention) a few weeks ago.

Do we not understand that after witnessing literally thousands of fights and killings and beatdowns, some kids will decide to solve their own problems this way?

At the time, the talk of the town concerned actor Will Smith, who publicly slapped Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith’s wife at the Academy Awards show. The intelligentsia and exemplars of high morality of Hollywood were horrified and aghast at this terrible display of violence. “What have we come to? We must strip Smith of his awards and banish him from our midst for such a vile public act of mayhem!”

However, they conveniently forgot that the greatest purveyors of violence in our society are themselves – it is they who produce endless sick and brutal violence in virtually every movie and on most television shows. They are the ones who have fed violence to children throughout their lives: from cartoons at the earliest age, through movies aimed at kids, through grotesque amounts of violence in movies. (And I am not even speaking about horror movies whose only point is to show unbelievably sick and revolting murder, mayhem, and torture). Will Smith himself was, up to that point, celebrated for several movie roles in which he was a hitman, villain, killer, and purveyor of brutality – which was fine because it was only a movie.

Is there any real wonder why we have so many kids who decide to go into a school and start shooting? Do we not understand that after witnessing literally thousands of fights and killings and beatdowns, some kids will decide to solve their own problems this way?  I agree that it is terrible that eighteen-year-olds have legal access to assault weapons, but is that the source of the problem? It is clear as day that it is the constant diet of violence that kids constantly imbibe from the hypocrites in Hollywood that is the main cause of this sickness; not the availability of guns.

A meme that I saw circulating really makes the point.

The root of all this is pure Sheker – the opposite of what Toras Emes stands for.

2. Gender Dysphoria – is the fancy term used to provide credence to the notion that biological gender is irrelevant. One may choose one’s gender as either male or female (or neither) regardless of one’s physical body and chromosomes. While there have always been people of one gender who may have had some tendencies of the other, according to current thinking, gender is entirely fluid. It can be determined only by how the individual feels about themselves. (I hope that is the correct pronoun). It has gotten such that 

a. A middle school student was charged with sexual harassment for using the wrong pronoun 

b. A US Supreme Court nominee who was picked largely because of her gender, cannot define what a woman is.

c. Girls are subjected to having biological males share their bathrooms and locker rooms.

and there are many, many other ramifications, particularly for women’s sports.

Perhaps worst of all, utter confusion has been sown in business, academia, and governmental settings such that good and well-meaning people are afraid that any simple remark may subject them to lawsuits and being fired from their jobs.

Once again, the root of all this is pure Sheker– the opposite of what Toras Emes stands for

3. Roe v. Wade at Risk – There is endless noise going on about this potential decision; I have discussed it at length previously.  I mention it here only to make one point in this context. Those who say that the debate is about whether to outlaw abortions are engaging in Sheker. If Roe is overturned, not one abortion will automatically be outlawed.  Rather, it will then be up to the people's elected representatives, (in each State Legislature) to decide the public policy question of whether, and to what extent, abortions should be legal.  (The certain result will be that abortions will remain legal in very liberal states like New York and California and will be restricted in places like Missouri and Oklahoma.) 

The reason that passions are running so hot is because of what the debate is really about.  The issue is whether unelected judges may read their own political biases into interpreting the constitution or whether they must follow the words of the constitution and what those words meant when they were written. The fact is that the constitution says nothing at all about abortions and other cases that have been decided based on the manufactured constitutional "right of privacy".  The effort to overturn Roe is a protest against those who pretend that it does.

The constitution provides a mechanism for changing it, adding to it, or deleting parts of it, if a super-majority of the country agrees. That mechanism is called “Amendment”. The constitution has twenty-seven amendments enacted over the years – that is the only legitimate way to change it. Unfortunately, however, certain groups have gotten used to the idea that judges have the right to look into the “penumbra” of the constitution and rule that it says things that it does not. This is important to them for getting policies enshrined in the law that they were not successful in enacting through the legislature, by the shortcut of having judges pretend that the constitution says things that it does not.

That is the truth of this debate, as opposed to the pervasive Sheker that engulfs us.

I could bring many, many other examples of falsehood being promoted as the truth, such as “woke-ism” and “cancel culture”.  These are sufficient to bolster my contention that we are drowning in a world of Sheker, and we desperately need Emes in our lives.

 בָּרוּךְ אֱלקינוּ שֶׁבְּרָאָנוּ לִכְבודו

 ... וְנָתַן לָנוּ תּורַת אֱמֶת וְחַיֵּי עולָם נָטַע בְּתוכֵנוּ

Blessed is our God who created us for His glory …and gave us Toras Emes, and [thereby] implanted Eternal Life in us

Let us resolve to focus, this Shavuos, on accepting the Torah of Truth as our guide in life. We desperately need its light in the dark times in which we live

Happy Shavuos

Published in the Queens Jewish Link June 3, 2002

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1. The Torah was actually given on the seventh of Sivan.  Many commentaries deal with the obvious question - if it was given on the seventh, why do we celebrate the sixth of Sivan?  Rav SR Hirsch says that what is important about Shavuot is not that the Torah was given 3,500 years ago.  Rather, it marks the end of the period of Sefirat HaOmer, in which we prepare ourselves to receive the Torah.  That is what our Avodas Hayom is today as well.

Parshas Bechukosai: The Old Golus is Over - Short Live the New Golus!

In my current occupation as a licensed tour guide in Israel (now that COVID seems to have finally ended), it is my privilege to greet many of my brothers and sisters who can visit our Holy Land again. They are excited to be visiting Eretz Yisrael after being denied that opportunity for the past two years. 

I highlighted the term visiting, as, unfortunately, most of them have no intention of realistically considering the possibility of Aliyah and are content to remain living in the Diaspora for the time being. There certainly are some very legitimate reasons for remaining in the Diaspora for now – I had the privilege of Aliyah only some five years ago – and each person must judge what is best for their family. I only want to look at one of the reasons that I often hear, considering  Parshat Bechukosai.

The argument that I am speaking of is that “We are still in Golus because Mashiach has not yet come. Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) has little or no religious significance, as many of the founders were irreligious or even anti-religious. The State continues to be a secular state that is an affront to the Torah. The Golus is still in full force whether you live in Boro Park or Bnei Brak; we will comfortably await the coming of Mashiach elsewhere.”

At the end of the lengthy Tochacha (Admonition) section describing the long and terrible Golus that we will undergo, a verse appears that we are quite familiar with from the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf:

וְזָכַרְתִּ֖י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י יַעֲק֑וֹב וְאַף֩ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֨י יִצְחָ֜ק וְאַ֨ף אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶזְכֹּ֖ר וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֶזְכֹּֽר (ויקרא כו:מב)

Then will I remember My covenant with Yaakov; I will remember also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham; and I will remember the land. (Vayikra 26:42)

A quick analysis of this verse results in two obvious questions:

• Why the reverse order from the usual, chronological and ancestral one?
• Why are there seemingly three separate covenants listed, rather than “I will remember my covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov”?

In a masterful treatment that can only be briefly excerpted here, Rav SR Hirsch זצ"ל explained that there were three separate covenants. “The names of the Patriarchs represent not individuals, but historic archetypes through which the power of the Divine covenant becomes manifest”.

We are remarkably familiar with the lives of Avraham and Yaakov, about whom the Torah elaborates at length. The Hittites recognized Avraham in his time as נְשִׂיא אֱלֹקִים אַתָּה בְּתוֹכֵנוּ,a “Prince of G-d you are amongst us” (Breishis 23:6). Universally recognized as the supreme citizen of his time, the object of admiration near and wide, he was beloved for his ability to bring the message of G-d to the world. By contrast, Yaakov led a life of unremitting hardship and trouble. When standing before Pharaoh, Yaakov says about his life מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי, "few and unpleasant have been the years of my life" (ibid 47:9). He suffered from Eisav, Lavan, Shechem, Joseph…. a life which had little respite from difficulty.

About Yitzchak, however, we know little – he is given minimal “screen time” in the Torah. Even in Parshas Toldos, the one Parasha purportedly devoted to Yitzchak, most of it is really about Yaakov and Eisav. Chapter 26 is the only one in which we read about Yitzchak himself.

The Yitzchak we find there is a paradox. On the one hand, he is persecuted, on the other hand; he is highly successful financially. Driven from place to place, dealing with the intransigence of his neighbors, he is told, “Leave us, as you have become mighty from us (from somehow taking our wealth)!” He emerges unscathed with their grudging admiration. Avimelech and Phichol come to him to make a non-aggression pact. Yitzchak asks, “Why do you come to me; do you not hate me?”. And in a statement worthy of the UN, they say, “Let there be a pact between us, so that if you do us no harm, as we have not harmed you (What????) and we did only good and sent you in Peace (Are you Kidding???), for after all (We are forced to admit) you are blessed by G-d” (ibid 26:28-9).

In summary, Yitzchak lives a life in which he is grudgingly tolerated and respected, not loved. A life in which he has both financial success and the hostility and envy of his neighbors; without the crushing difficulties of Yaakov, but far from the glory of Avraham’s social status. He is somewhere in the middle: not in the greatest of times, but not the worst of times either.

This is reminiscent of the prayers associated with each of the Avos . Avraham is associated with the morning – a new day full of light and promise. Yaakov is associated with night, a time of darkness and fear. Yitzchak is associated with afternoon/evening, somewhere in between; not dark but not full of joyous light (Brachos 26b).

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With this background, let us see how Rav Hirsch learned the verse in Bechukosai.

As the end of the Golus draws near, a time will come that it will be evident that Hashem remembers the covenant with Yaakov. “I will be with them through all the long, long nights of their exile. I will transform even the darkest night of their exile into a shining revelation of Divine Guidance.” We will make it through the worst of times; bloodied but very much alive. Then, when the time will come that “their measure of suffering is full, when they have inscribed their loyalty to the Torah with their heart’s blood upon the pages of world history” and the covenant with Yaakov is fully realized, it will finally be time for the covenant of Yitzchak.

“During the Jacob period, they had to endure the hatred of the nations. Now, like Isaac, they will suffer the envy of the nations. . . In the midst of growing prosperity, living among nations wavering between humaneness and envy, they will have to preserve their unique character as did Isaac. They will have to employ their resources, ampler and less restricted than before, for a more perfect and multifaceted fulfillment of their unique mission in the Golus. . .”

Rav Hirsch then goes on to describe a later stage of the Covenant of Avraham, and of the Land, which we can surmise will be at the time of the coming of the Mashiach.

In a tragic comment that we can look back at through the prism of terrible hindsight, Rav Hirsch further wrote of his time in Nineteenth century Germany regarding the Covenant with Yaakov, “This stage is already behind us. As Yaakov, we have proved ourselves brilliantly”. In recognition of the opening of the ghettos and the unprecedented freedom and opportunity of Western European Jews, he felt that “Now we are facing the test of the second stage Isaac Covenant; to walk, free and independent among the nations, not to fear to be different, and to remain undeterred by envy. . . a test we still have to pass. Only then can we look forward to the last stage of Golus, in which we will win the respect of the Nations not although we are Jews, but because we are Jews . . ."

In hindsight, it is so bitter to know that this hope was tragically premature, specifically in Germany...

It should be clear to anyone with a clear view of the amazing times we live in that we are in an intermediate stage. Some call it Ikvasa D’Meshicha. Some call it Aschalta D’Geula. Rav Hirsch says that Hashem called it “Bris Yitzchak” – the Isaac Covenant.

Nevertheless, it is clear to me that we truly live in the Yitzchak age in our time. With the unprecedented wealth, power, and influence of Jews throughout the world, with the amazing resurgence and rebirth of observant Judaism, and most of all, with the great gift that is Medinat Yisrael, we have passed into a different relationship vis a vis the Nations of the world.

This essay is long already, but my prime contention is this: There are not only two binary states, namely Golus and Geulah, Exile and redemption. It should be clear to anyone with a clear view of the amazing times we live in that we are in an intermediate stage. Some call it Ikvasa D’Meshicha. Some call it Aschalta D’Geula. Rav Hirsch says that Hashem called it “Bris Yitzchak” – the Isaac Covenant.

It is a time when Jews – very much including Orthodox Jews – have reached unheard of levels of wealth, power, and influence in the countries they live in. They are very prominent among the leaders in business, government, science, academia, culture and the entertainment industry (a mixed blessing). The Torah world is flourishing as it has not in thousands of years, with hundreds of thousands learning at advanced levels, a massive proliferation of yeshivos, kollelim, Bais Yaakovs and seminaries. We live in a time of hundreds of thousands celebrating the Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi, endless availability of kosher food, and a thousand other indicia of a Golus far different than the bad old days of Poland, Galicia, and Iraq.

Moreover, without getting into the debates about the religious significance of the State of Israel, one cannot deny the miracles that are evident there every day. A strong army and security forces protecting Jews as never before. The economy, high-tech industry, infrastructure, science, and culture that have been developed in a nation of survivors after merely 70 years is nothing short of miraculous. And with all the problems, the level of Torah learning and observance dwarfs all of the major accomplishments in America and elsewhere and, again, is a vastly different type of Golus than in the bad old days of Lithuania and Ukraine.

It is the Isaac Covenant – a new and different Golus. It is a time when we must follow the way of our Patriarch Yitzchak, and only thus get through this singularly exciting, promising, and yet challenging time. It requires strength, courage, and fearlessness to face the unbelievable opportunities we have and not run from them.

It is well known that there are two possible modes of the Messianic arrival, represented by the words of Yeshaya בעיתה אחישנה, "I will hasten it, in its time".  if we merit it, it will come quickly, if we do not, it will come in its time, developing (in the words of Rabbi Hiya) קמעא קמעא - a little bit at a time.  It is plain to me that the second mode is what has been developing in Eretz Yisrael for the past one hundred years at least.

And it is a time to recognize that Hashem is waiting for us to embrace the gift that He has given us. It is time to recognize that the time that Jews were welcome and tolerated in America may be coming to a close, as we always knew it would someday. It is a time to heed the words of Rav Yehuda HaLevi in the Kuzari (2:24) and not follow the unfortunate example of the Jews who, rather than returning to Eretz Yisrael with Ezra, decided to stay in Babylon, and ignored the “knocks of G-d” in which he called on us to come back home. It is a mistake to think that everything will be exactly the same, and one day Mashiach will appear out of the blue and call us back. Although that was one possible scenario, it is quite clear that the other one is unfolding, in which the Geulah is opening up a little at a time.

Finally, I deeply believe that underlying many of the deep problems in the frum world is that in many quarters there is too much insistence on pretending that the same approaches to the problems we face - be it in relations with non-Jews, Chinuch, attitudes towards money, openness to the outside world, relations with Arabs in Eretz Yisrael - will work despite living in a vastly different world a hundred and more years ago. If only it would advise our entire approach to the world in the time we are privileged to live in - if our decisions would be based not on attitudes developed in a world that is no more, but in our current status - I believe that many of our problems in Klal Yisroel would be greatly alleviated.

It is time to recognize not that Golus is over, but that we have entered a new and different stage, which requires different responses than in the past. It is time to come home.

Published in the Jewish Press May 27, 2022

Proud Member of the Jewish Race

 All kinds of people got upset this week when actress, comedienne, and television personality Whoopi Goldberg declared that "the Holocaust was not about race. It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about". When her co-host said the genocide was "about white supremacy ... and going after Jews and gypsies and Roma," Goldberg responded that it was "two white groups of people," and thus not about race. 

The media went into a tizzy about this, with many lecturing Whoopi about the Holocaust, which was clearly predicated on Nazi views about the master race and the "sub-human" Jewish race. ABC went so far as to suspend her for two weeks to reflect on her views. (I will not speculate what they would have done had a white person claimed that much of the tensions between police and black people had nothing to do with race…). 

It certainly is interesting to observe how Whoopi — the former Caryn Elaine Johnson — feels about Judaism. When asked why she chose the obviously Jewish sounding stage name, she said, "Goldberg is my name—it's part of my family, part of my heritage, just like being black," and "I just know I am Jewish. I practice nothing. I don't go to temple, but I do remember the holidays." This, despite having no Jewish ancestry whatsoever. Unfortunately, her description of what it means to be Jewish is identical to that of millions of Jews, except for the words "just like being black." Whatever motivated her to take on this name (some report that her mother advised her that it would be good for her career), it is a moment that ought to cause us to reflect on our heritage and, yes, our race. 

For years now, the woke narrative (which Goldberg reflected) has been that racism can be defined only in one way: whites treating people with a different skin color poorly. However, "Black People can't be racist." I do not want to discuss the so-called Critical Race Theory, according to which only black people have suffered oppression and discrimination from other, more powerful racial groups. Taking nothing away from the empathy that any compassionate human being has for the suffering that blacks endured under slavery and discrimination and prejudice, we Jews have had horrific evil perpetrated against us as well. Anyone who has the slightest inkling of thousands of years of Jewish history, particularly the Holocaust, knows well that Jews have been constant victims of prejudice, evil, discrimination, murder, violence, and hatred. 

 While Jews are generally in a better position today, antisemitism and anti-Jewish hatred have been on a sharp rise worldwide. This is clear to anyone following worldwide events — especially concerning the State of Israel — and many local violent incidents and the tone of overt anti-Jewish tropes in the media and government circles. I leave it to others to expand on this; I want to make only one point. 

As Jews, we need to embrace this moment of awareness and embrace the fact that our race is "Jewish." We are not "white," nor "black," Asian, Aleutian Islander, or anything else. Our race is that we are Jewish, and we are proud of it. 

 We have as little in common racially with Anglo-Saxons or Caucasians as we do with Africans or Asians. This has nothing to do with superiority or disrespect for any human being — they are all children of God who deserve to be treated with equal kindness and respect, as long as they treat us that way. But we are a nation apart (Bamidbar 23:9). Judaism is not just a religion, nor is it merely a nation. It is a race. It consists of a covenantal people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

 We are a distinct race that has unique characteristics. They are not our skin color; over thousands of years, we have developed external characteristics that are diverse. Nevertheless, the Gemara)Yevamos 79a) states that Jews have innate racial markers (simanim). 

שלשה סימנים יש באומה זו הרחמנים והביישנין וגומלי חסדים רחמנים

In our deepest essence, we are by nature merciful, bashful, and kind. Halacha takes this so seriously that one who exhibits traits counter to this is suspected of not being of Jewish blood. (See Rambam, Hilchos Issurei Biah 19:17) .[Yes, converts have joined us as well, but the true converts have taken on these simanim and are now part of our race.] Even Hitler, may his name be blotted out, defined these as part of the Jewish nature in his horrible rantings in Mein Kampf. These traits ran counter to his idea of the mighty Aryan who would proudly assert his will and force and crush the weak and poor without mercy or kindness. We, of course, wear these traits as a badge of honor, and are proud to be known, first and foremost, as Jews. 

It is time to let the Whoopi Goldbergs of the world know that, yes, Jews are a race. A wonderful and good race, who too often have been the victims of great prejudice. We are not members of the races that subjugated Africans into slavery. We are not those who taught prejudice and racism against blacks — if anything, the Jewish people have always been prominent among those who fought for civil rights and against racial discrimination. We are a proud race, and we have no connection with, and no cause to apologize for, the evils of white supremacists, with whom we have NOTHING in common. 

For years now, when presented with a form asking me to define my race, I have consistently refused to check the "white" box. I am not white. I am Jewish, and proudly so. I encourage my fellow Jews to follow the same practice and act forcefully for Jewish Pride.

PS - Sort of in the spirit of Adar, here is yet another take on the famous Hitler meme. (Warning - Some of the language is offensive.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crKOLQF6q-0