Page 3 - The Jewish Voice - January '23
P. 3

The Jewish Voice, Page 3

                                                       From the rabbis




      The True Cause of Anti-                           you” (Genesis 27:37). When Esau persists, Isaac blesses him     was struggling with was none other than himself as he faced his
                                                                                                             Our sages explain that Jacob was indeed alone. The man he
                                                        with a unique loophole: “Only when Jacob will transgress the
      Semitism and its Powerful Cure                    Torah, you will be able to persecute him” (Genesis 27:40).  own identity crisis. All night long, Jacob was grappling with his
                                                           Amazing!                                        inability to be true to himself as it dawned upon him that he had
      By Rabbi Dovid Vigler                                The Bible is making it crystal clear that anti-Semitism is only   been trying to imitate Esau since his earliest youth — at birth,
         The world’s oldest hatred                      possible when Jews stray from their identity as Torah Jews. If   he was holding his heel (Genesis 25:26); Jacob purchased the
      has once again reared its ugly                    we’re serious about overcoming anti-Semitism and creating a   birthright from Esau (Genesis 25:33), Jacob dressed in Esau’s
      head — this time in the highest                   safer world for ourselves and our children, it’s time for us to   clothes (Genesis 27:15), stole Esau’s blessings (Genesis 27:35),
      offices of the United States.                     experience some deep inner reflection. The Torah is our Divine   identified himself as Esau (Genesis 27:19), and even married
      One  rabid  anti-Semite  has                      Shield — an Iron Dome if you will. Are we allowing the haters   Leah, who was destined for Esau (Genesis 29:17, Rashi). He
      recently announced his bid                        to hurt us by negligently removing our own bulletproof vests   was given his very name, “Jacob,” since he was clutching onto
      for the presidency and all four                   and exposing ourselves to their slings and arrows?   Esau’s heel.(Genesis 27:36).
      members of the anti-Semitic                          It’s time to stop shooting the messenger. Yesterday it was      Indeed, Jacob finally realized that he hadn’t been true to
      “Squad”  were  reelected  to                      Henry Ford and Farrakan; today it’s Kanye and Ayatolla   himself all along. And that’s why the Torah tells us that he
      their positions in the mid-term                   Khameini. Bringing them down won’t stop others raising their   emerged from this encounter “limping” (Genesis 32:26) — he
      elections. As Jews, we have                       ugly heads with ever more brazen animus. It’s truly a game of   wasn’t stable in his own shoes. With clarity and fortitude, Jacob
      good reason to grow anxious, but what can we truly do about it?  whack-a-mole. As one anti-Semite is neutralized, another raises   decided to no longer try to be Esau — from this point on he
         Since time immemorial, we have speculated on the reason   his ugly head. This is never going to stop from the outside until   would be Jacob. As long as Jacob wasn’t being Jacob, he was
      they hate us. But you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to   we change something drastically from the inside.   hated by Esau. The moment the Jew has the courage to embrace
      realize these explanations are nothing but an excuse: They      Anti-Semitism cannot be dismissed simply as an irrational   his Jewish identity fearlessly, the enmity of the anti-Semite melts
      said we were hated because we were rich, but we know we   hatred, because it’s so much more than that — it’s congenital!   away and the curse is transformed into a kiss.
      were just as persecuted when we were poor. They claim to   Since Esau nearly four millennia ago, the hatred persists.      The Torah is not just a history book. It’s the guide to our
      abhor us because we were segregated, but they killed us   It can only bear fruit when we are spiritually weak. Our   lives. The story of our forefather Jacob is our personal story.
      too when we were integrated. They despised us for being   sincerest efforts to mitigate our provocation of the gentiles   Like Jacob, we have been persecuted for as long as we can
      capitalists, yet they couldn’t tolerate us when we were   by trying to assimilate and hide our Jewish identity so they   remember. And like Jacob, the hatred will end not in the halls
      communists either. They were hostile to us when we were   won’t notice us or be offended by our behavior is, ironically,   of the UN, Washington, or the New York Times but in the
      strangers in their land, but now they are cruel to us when we   the precise cause of their ability to rise up against us.  conviction of our hearts and the commitment of our souls to
      finally have our own homeland. They claimed they kill us      It’s time for us to stop playing defense when it comes to   our own faith and heritage.
      because of the settlements in Israel, yet the very same groups   anti-Semitism. Instead of allowing the anti-Semites to define our      It’s time to stand up for ourselves and for our Torah. It’s
      murdered us before a single settlement was ever built in 1967.   Judaism, it’s time for us Jews to define our own Jewish identity.   time for us to stop apologizing for being the Chosen People
         Any attempt to cure anti-Semitism by appeasing those who   It’s time for us to love Judaism more than they hate Judaism. It’s   and to start acting like we are the Chosen People. No game
      hate us is truly the definition of insanity — expecting different   time for us to believe in our own Torah more than they reject it!  was ever won just by playing defense.
      results while doing the same actions we’ve already done before.      We see this truth at play in the dramatic confrontation      We have chosen to spell anti-Semitism with a small “a”
      It’s time for fresh thinking — it’s time to think out of the box   between Esau and Jacob. After 36 years of running away from   and a capital “S” because we refuse to allow them to define us.
      and set the record on anti-Semitism straight, once and for all.  Esau, Jacob is finally preparing to face his bloodthirsty brother   From this day forward, we will define ourselves. We will show
         All we need to do is look into the Torah, where the   who marches ominously toward him with 400 mercenaries.   ourselves, our neighbors, and our children that being Jewish is not
      reason for anti-Semitism is made abundantly clear at the   Yet, when Esau finally confronts Jacob, inexplicably he kisses   a death sentence or a social pariah status. Being Jewish is about
      very beginning of it all. Nearly 3,700 years ago, the Torah   him (Genesis 33:4). What suddenly changed?   the love we radiate on Shabbos, the wisdom the Torah provides
      introduces us to the very first anti-Semite — Esau, brother of      The night prior to the showdown, the Torah tells us one   us, and the serenity we celebrate as the Chosen children of G-d.
      Jacob. After Jacob given the blessings of Isaac their father,   of its most enigmatic narratives: that Jacob was “alone and      Rabbi Dovid Vigler is spiritual leader at Chabad of Palm

      Esau begged Isaac for his own blessing too. Isaac was unable   struggled with a stranger all night long” (Genesis 32:25). If   Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze Radio Show.
      to do so because “I have already made him a master over   he was with the stranger, then clearly he wasn’t alone!  Email him at rabbi@jewishgardens.com.

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