Feeble minded or Depressed

In Israel, the Palestinians believe that: 1) its their land and the Jews have no right to be there, certainly no right to sovereignty, and 2) at minimum, they are eventually going to defeat Jewish sovereignty and perhaps kick out the Jews or kill them.  

In America, where I am a citizen, I don't worry that an Algonquin is going to come down the street and knife me.  The Algonquin no doubt believe that the land I live on belongs to them, but they don't believe they are going to be able to reconquer or take back America from the descendants of the Europeans who, hundreds of years before my ancestors arrived on these shores, came and thru a combination of disease and genocidal threats, and genocide itself, took over the land that used to belong to their ancestors.  

It is physically greater to be an American than almost anything else.  Gas costs $1.60 per gallon, thanks to the lousy investments made by someone to pay for the technology to extract the oil from the ground.  My wife bought new skirts for my girls for less than $3.00 per skirt.  I wonder how the person who sewed the skirt together is living. A morally pure person would play the victim, never the oppressor.  But who in America or the "west" really doesn't benefit from the way the world is arranged.  Also, I know if the show was on the other foot, the other would be the oppressor.  

Its so rich when American Jews criticize Israel and accuse Israel of genocide.  Israel's problem is that it is completely unwilling to even create a credible threat against the Palestinians.  Instead, to maintain security, they maintain a network of Palestinian informers and Jewish secret police.  Its either that or throwing themselves on the mercy of the Palestinians, in the hope that a democratic bi-national state doesn't result in their expulsion or death.  As long as the Palestinians believe they are going to win, there is no reason to believe there is going to be a two-state solution, or any good solution (from the Jewish point of view) to the conflict.  

The three purposes of a person's life

• To lift the "veil of ignorance"; to acquire wisdom, understanding and knowledge of our creator and "his" world, thru our creators conduct of the world and how he uses his various powers and characteristics.  To see what is really going on.
• To be tested and pass our tests successfully, by using all of our circumstances, means and situations as opportunities to serve G-d, in three ways: in our thoughts, in our words (and writings) and in our deeds.   
• To emulate the Angels through our development and manifestation of tolerance and self-control, not rebelling against G-d but rather bearing life's burdens with patience and intelligence.

(paraphrased from Rabbi Avigdor Miller, Chovos Halevavos shiur, Cassette 30)

Paradigm list

The different paradigms under which Israel negotiates with the Palestinians and the Palestinians negotiate with Israel make it almost impossible to come to peace terms.

As I understand it, the Palestinian paradigm is that they have a legal right to 100% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and that the descendants of any non-Jewish person who lived in Palestine prior to 1948 and who fled the fighting has a legal and human right to return to their ancestors home in Israel.  Furthermore, any peace treaty they agree to is grudging, since in reality the Jews have no right to this land and are thieves.  The Jews aren't really blood descendants of the Israelites of the Bible,  neither are they blood descendant's of the Judeans of 2,000 years ago; even if they were, Jewish claims to the land are superseded the long Arab majority presence in the land and by Islam itself.

The Israeli paradigm is that Jews have rights in all of "pre-1948 Palestine", and that while they are willing to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank in Gaza Strip, this is for pragmatic reasons, to consolidate a peaceful, prosperous Jewish state, not because they are legally compelled to do so. Furthermore, since Jewish leaders accepted a UN partition plan in 1947 and Arab leaders didn't, and because Arab armies aggressively attacked in 1948, 1967 and 1973, and would have killed every Jewish person there if they had won, the idea that the Palestinians have any legitimate legal entitlement is seen as preposterous; there has to be some price the Palestinians have to pay for having attacked and lost.

The Palestinian approach to negotiations is that they have rights they are not willing to abandon and while they might make some concessions to get a peace treaty, they are not going to concede much, since what is rightfully theirs is rightfully theirs.  To Israel, the whole point of peace is to get something that is better and more valuable; worth trading for land captured in a defensive war in 1967.

If Israel and the Palestinians ever successfully negotiate a peace treaty, it will be because one or both sides abandon their paradigm.   It is anybody's guess what circumstances would cause one or both of the sides to change paradigms.

Who do I admire

If I could be like any other person in the world, who would I be like?  Who do I truly admire?  I'm not talking about a celebrity or public figure who I would want to be like because of the amount of money they have, but rather whose personal traits would I like to emulate?

I would like to be like somebody who is a true eved Hashem, but not someone whom other people are uncomfortable to be around.  I wish I radiated love.  I wish I had true restraint and personal control over myself, so that all of my actions were driven by avodas Hashem and I had no desire or interest in wasting time.  I would like to emulate someone who dresses well, looks good and is physically fit and healthy. 

My love would be a deep concern for the other people I interact with every day.  I would truly want the best for them, and would take action to facilitate their achivement of the best.  I would be a giver and receiver, but not a taker. 

I would be sensitive to the people around me, choosing my words carefully, and being a listener.  Yes I want kavod (honor), but I would achive honor by serving others and by not pursuing credit for things. 

I would have rock solid principles that I would never compromise, but I would be patient and accepting of life as it comes.  However, I would give up my life if I had to.  I would be a deep thinker that can see the consequences of my actions many steps down the road from where I am now. 

And I want a swimming pool for my house.  I want to spend Sundays with my family enjoying the outdoors and each others company, talking and laughing.

I keep thinking of Rabbis David Silverman and Ilan Feldman in Atlanta.  Also my Rabbi Shmuel Berkowitz.  I haven't interacted enough with Rabbi Silverman and Rabbi Feldman to know if my perceptions of them are correct.  My only hesitation with Rabbi B is that he doens't meet the requirements in the last sentence of the second paragraph.  Also, Rabbi S and Rabbi B don't have pools; I don't know about Rabbi Ilan. 

I also should list Rabbi Leib Keleman who is the teacher of my Mussar Vaad.  I admire the way he is involved with all sorts of outdoor activities and yet still is a pure servant of Hashem.     

The Jews Achilles Heal, part 2

Rabbi Motty Berger said in the name of the Chiddushei Harim and Sfas Emes the same medrash and explained that "do not approach the mountain" relates to the first two commandments.  Us Jews have trouble with "I am G-d" and "You are not!"

The question

Was the Torah given to us by Hashem, or was it made up by the Jews?  If it was made up, the authors certainly have a lot of blood on their hands.  Hitler thought that the Torah was made up by the Jews, and thought that its effect on his society was such a "disease" that every person with at least 1/4 Jewish ancestory needed to be killed to eradicate its influence.  Western (secular) society today believes the Jews made it up, but that to a certain extent (less and less each year) we need to pretend that it came from Hashem.  Most secular Jews act like they believe their (our) ancestors made it up.  They think that the more outragous and weird the culture becomes, the better it is, so they lead the charge, in many cases.  But G-d forbid when the pendulum swings the other way, and our society looks to find those who were responsible for the outragousness and weirdness.  Woe to the Jews who never deeply investigate this question. 

A Jew who believes, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Torah was given by Hashem can either strive and struggle to serve Hashem, or can commit suicide, either quickly or slowly.     There is no middle ground.  If Hashem "divinely influenced" the Torah, that is another way of saying that the Jews made it up. 

Why should I have hakaras HaTov to Hashem?

Why should I have hakaras HaTov to Hashem? After all, he created me! Yes, he freed me from slavery in Egypt, but he also made me a slave in the first place. I didn’t ask to be created.


It seems to me that the world we live in presents an ideal “playing field” or “movie set” for the battle between our Yetzer HaTov or intellectual desires or “best intentions” and our Yetzer HaRah or physical or emotional desires. I would be hard pressed to say that the world is very well designed for any other purpose that I can think of. It doesn’t seem well designed for hedonism, since we quickly get bored with any particular kind of pleasures, and we often get hurt or burned. It doesn’t always reward the person who plays by the rules or puts in the most effort, although I think that effort in the right direction is often well rewarded. Striving for money…there are plenty of rich people out there who are unhappy. Depression and anxiety are very common.

However, since Hashem gave us the Torah, we can serve him no matter what situation we are in. All a person has to do is 1) know the halacha and 2) implement the will and strength to do it. There are people alive today or who were alive in the recent past who are or were like angels, following the will of Hashem with beautiful middos and assuredly not suffering from depression or anxiety.

I believe that we chose this life, or we would choose it if we had complete information. I believe that Hashem created us to benefit us by letting us “play the game” or “be in the movie”. Life is a benefit when one strives to be an eved Hashem. He has given me many benefits, advantages and blessings, from before I was born until now. I choose to have Hakaras HaTov, because I believe that Hashem has decided to benefit me by putting me in the life situations that I am in.

Jewish control of the media

If the Jews controlled the media, we would never see the word "Jewish control of the media" in print, would we? The real issue that bothers those who talk about "Jewish control of the media" is the fact that Jewish donors make up an overwhelming proportion of those who donate to Democratic candidates and the Democratic party, and that when a Democrat, as is their right, decides to not support Israel, some of that financial support disappears.

The Jews Achilles Heal

Ben Manevitz shared a dvar torah with me. When Hashem offered the Torah to the nations of the world, each nation asked what was in it and He responded. When he offered it to the Jews, we said "we will do and we will listen and attempt to understand". But if we had asked what was in it, what would Hashem have responded? What is our national trait that we have to overcome to receive the Torah?

The answer is what the Torah brings just before giving us the Torah at Mt. Sinai. He commanded Moshe to command the bnai Yisroel "not to touch the mountain, not to approach the mountain, lest they will die".

Jews long for closeness with Hashem, just like others love murder and sexual perversion. We want to climb the mountain, but Hashem is warning us to follow his directions, to relate to Him His way, following His commands. When we do what we want to do, what we think is best, that is when we get into trouble.

What is wrong with Reform and Conservative Judaism?

Recently, Gary Rosenblatt mentioned in his column in the New York Jewish Week that the idea that orthodox Jews don’t respect or appreciate the Jewish devotion of “serious” Reform or Conservative Jews. It got me thinking about what exactly is wrong with Reform or Conservative Judaism. To understand this, I contrast the devotion of these Jews with the devotion to Roman Catholicism of the late Cardinal Lustiger, who converted from Judaism and became the Archbishop of Paris. Instinctively, I know that there is a huge difference between a Jew who involves him or herself with the heterodox movements and those who convert to another religion.

The main difference that defines and differentiates orthodox and heterodox Judaism is that orthodox Jews believe that they have covenantal obligations to Hashem. The covenant is found in the book of Exodus, chapter 19, verses 4-6, with our acceptance in chapter 19, verse 8 and in chapter 24, verse 7. Crucially, we believe that the entire Torah explains to us how to fulfill these obligations. Satmar Chassidim and talmidim of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah may disagree about the application and fulfillment of these obligations, but both agree that the commandments in the Torah are obligatory as a result of our covenant with Hashem. A Jew, or all Jews, may fail to perfectly fulfill their covenantal obligations, but more fundamentally, a Jew needs to first recognize that there is a covenant, that he or she is a party to it, that Hashem has perfectly fulfilled and fulfills every day “his” covenantal obligations, and that they are obligated to respond by fulfilling his/her obligations as commanded in the Torah.

According to my understanding, Hashem created the Jewish soul with a drive for connection to him. Since the Jewish soul comes from an entity, a “general soul” called Knesseth Yisroel, the drive often manifests as a desire to connect to the Jewish people. A serious commitment to one of the heterodox movements is a strong expression of this. However, even the institutions of the Orthodox community struggle, and often fail to elicit improvement in the fulfillment of each individual’s covenantal obligations to Hashem. How can organizations affiliated with movements that institutionalize the denial of the “ways and means” by which we fulfill our covenantal obligations to Hashem be places that I should respect and appreciate? I feel pain when I think about the condition of my own soul, and sadness when I think about the efforts that serious heterodox Jews make. It is hard enough to fulfill a mitzvoth with the proper kavannah, and mitzvoths require kavannah. When the Jew is being taught that he or she is not even obligated, how can his/her acts of service be acceptable to Hashem?

Still, the service of Jews who practice within the framework and according to the teachings of the heterodox movements is motivated by a Jewish ruach, a desire to connect to Hashem through Knesseth Yisroel. My understanding is that the heterodox movements accept that there is a coventental relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem, even as they deny that there are specific obligations that go along with the covenant which are described in the Torah. A Jew who practices a non-Jewish religion has veered much further from the mark than has the Reform or Conservative Jew, as non-Jewish religions either deny that there is any covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem at the present time, or deny that the Jew can fulfill his/her end of the relationship without adopting beliefs and/or practices that do not fall within the framework of Judaism.

The roar of the lion

Rav Kook in Oros Teshuva says that the people of the world, the peoples of the world are crying like a lioness giving birth, crying and screaming and roaring and trying to escape her cage. When Hashem created the world, that was the biggest death there ever was, says Rav Kook. Constricting "Elokus", the G-dly, infinite energy into "Olamiyus", the time and space limited "world". Rav Kook, writing in the 1st decade of the 20th century, said that the current of teshuva was gushing, the peoples more and more desiring something better, something holier, something more G-dly.

I think that the "goyim", the nations of the world, sense, as I have posted previously, that the Jews are interfering with this process. They may not realize that this is "metaphysical", that we, the Jews accepted a responsibility from Hashem at Mount Sinai that we struggle to fulfill and mostly fail to fulfill. They do realize subconsciously that the Jews are connected to what is "wrong" with the world. This causes them to roar and to cry and to scream.

Many times during the 20th century, the lion escaped from the cage and reaked havoc.

On Sunday, I attended a talk by Professor Yisroel Aumann, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for his work on Game Theory. He explained Game Theory to us in the context of relations between nations. He said that according to Game Theory, nations have to create credible threats to get their opponents to cooperate. When a nation broadcasts that it doesn't want to play anymore, the opponent swoops in for the victory. As he put it, "the best way to make peace is to prepare for war. " One problem is that it is much easier for dictatorships to make credible threats than for democracies, where it is hard to get the supermajority needed to make the types of game-changing threats that are needed to bring the goals, whatever they are, to fulfillment.

When I look at what is going on with Israel and the USA, I wonder what Netanyahu is doing. I agree that he is "right" about the settlement issue, but I don't understand what his contingencies are. Is he prepared to unleash extreme responses to what may come at Israel? Does he think that the possiblity of what may come at Israel is not that serious? I see a fright train coming at us and I don't see us taking counter-actions that will be effective. And I hear the old Motown song from the 1960s in my ears, "Nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide". When the walls close in, we can only have faith in Hashem and in the ultimate outcome that we believe.

The sharp end of the world

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/world/middleeast/28westbank.html?fta=y

My thought, when reading this article, is that Israel is the fulcrum, the sharp end, on almost all international issues of interst. Here is a gay, possibly communist Israeli Jew who loves helping the Palestinians. He is alienated in so many ways

This is what happens when a good person, a Jew, living in the holy land, is separate from Torah and Avodas Hashem...
Teshuva is the answer.

How to become President in four months

Barack Obama on Sarah Palin:

"...At least one savvy politician—Barack Obama—believed Palin would never have time to get up to speed. He told his aides that it had taken him four months to learn how to be a national candidate, and added, “I don’t care how talented she is, this is really a leap.”

From http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908

I look at the way the liberal media HATES her and George W. Bush - It is scary how open they are with their hate.

The work of the Jew

Xposted at: http://www.beyondbt.com/?p=1247#comment-358468

The starting point is the realization that Hashem created and continues to create and sustain a very good world, and he created us to bestow upon us the greatest possible good. As a receipient of good, when I perceive the incredible dimensions and levels of this good, I realize that I am chayiv (obligated) to try to pay back the One who gave me the good. Hashem gave us the Torah to teach us how to pay “him” back.

Note that the opposite of the word Chayiv is the word Patur, which means exempt. The most passive form of the word Patur is Niftar. The implication is that the best, most active way to live is to be chayiv. We need to realize that to be chayiv is a most tremendous blessing. Interestingly, one could say that the first “free choice” is the choice to accept that one is chayiv.

The destruction of human life

When I read this piece (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/653avhtm.asp), I said to myself, this is so bad, so evil. This is the complete failure of any moral education. What a disaster.

The Jews control the world

http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/06/another_fascinating_letter.php

Dear Jeffrey,

In the classic sefer "Nefesh HaChaim", Rav Chaim of Volozhin explains that when Jews fulfill their halachic obligations or commit transgressions, it has powerful effects in the upper worlds that filter down into our world. Classic Jewish belief is that we do control the world, albeit through our good deeds and, G-d forbid, the opposite. I personally believe that this knowledge is in the unconscious of every single human being. Therefore, it does not surprise me that there are people whose experience of the world leads them to claim that the Jews control the world.

Jeffrey, when you look at Jewish history, the survival of the Jewish people for over 3,500 years, the fact that both Christianity and Islam built themselves on a Jewish foundation...how do you account for this?

Judge Sotomayer...

...should be confirmed. Although I am probably as much on the conservative side of the political spectrum as Judge Sotomayer is on the liberal side, I believe that the President should have his judicial picks confirmed, as long as they are qualified, as Judge Sotomayer clearly is.

No President should have to do what President Bush had to do, which is to first nominate someone clearly unqualified so that when the replacement candidate is named, the energy has already been expended opposing the original pick and the replacement pick can be confirmed.

More on anti-semitism

Why anti-semitism? My theory is that people hate G-d, pure and simple. Life is hard, you have to get up every day, you get angry, 'pleasures' don't really provide pleasure, 'entertainment' is not so entertaining...what kind of G-d would do this to us? And yet, everyone knows that the
G-d of Israel is G-d; when the founders of the Christian and Islamic religions wanted to root their religions in a foundation of truth, they based their religion on the G-d of Israel, then added that G-d had changed his mind about the Jews, which of course he didn't.

Everything concerning Jews is big and important. We are constantly in G-d's 'eye' and we are the subject of his 'attention'. We are truly his royal family on earth. He wants us to serve him and we don't. We, just like everyone else, find it painful to live under G-d 'thumb'. We also hate G-d (G-d forbid). So...

Non-Jews hate Jews, except for Jews who are truly pure and holy and righteous.
Jews Hate Orthodox Jews, except for Orthodox Jews who are truly pure and holy and righteous.
Orthodox Jews hate Jews who are more Orthodox than they are, unless these Jews who are more religious than they are are truly pure and holy and righteous...

...and very few of us are successful at achieving purity and holiness and righteousness. May G-d bless me and you with a "arousal from above" to be successful in our quest to be pure, holy and righteous.

Reforming Health Care Jbirdme's way

Here is my proposal for reforming health care in the USA:

Catastrophic coverage run through private insurance with a upper limit (8% of income) with Medicaid to expand to cover those who cannot afford the upper limit . This coverage would kick in when someone, in a calender year, has spent over $5,000 or $7,500 on any healthcare related expense. It would cover hospitalization, visits with physicians (incl. nurse practitioners and physician assistants), medications and "durable medical equipment". To reach the $5,000 or $7,500 limit, any healthcare expense that is covered by a Section 125 plan would be included, even though many of these expenses would not be covered by the catastropic insurance itself.

Expansion of the Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)/Rural Health Clinics (RHC) to allow communities and providers to offer affordable healthcare with strings attached. FQHC's, otherwise known as community health centers, offer comprehensive healthcare to low income communities, with the Governement subsidizing through grants and cost-based reimbursement. RHC's allow private physicians in rural, underserved areas to obtain cost-based reimbursement for Medicare. I would expand/reform these programs beyond rural and low income areas to provide cost-based reimbursement for all patients based on the patients being charged according to a sliding scale based on income. If a person has insurance, the sliding scale would apply to the copay, deductible, etc. In both the FQHCs and RHCs, the cost-based reimbursement would have an upper limit per visit, as they do now.

Reform of the malpractice system. Yesterday, I read an article that says that overuse and unnecessary use of the healthcare system is driven by physicians paid for treating illness, not maintaining health. I think these costs are driven by fears of malpractice. Someone who wants to sue his physician should have two choices: 1) a healthcare court which gives awards based on the injury, not on the supposed 'neglegence'; and 2) use a regular court, but the plantiff must prove the 'negligence' according to a very high standard, and if the physician successfully argues that his care was based on the correct use of a national guideline or other evidence-based practice, the plaintiff loses.

Expansion of HSAs. A person should be able to save $ tax free for any healthcare cost that would be covered by a section 125 plan.

Creativity The most important outcome of this would be to open up the healthcare system to true market forces and allow the "vendors" to package healthcare services in ways that are currently not covered by health insurance. This is where I think the American version of national health care can be better than France's, Germany's, Australia's and anyone elses healthcare system.

Accountibility

On Sunday, I heard a prominent Rabbi say that the reason why we keep having boom and bust cycles in our economy is because of a lack of accountibility (read: liability), which is built into our system. The entire idea of a corporation is to shield the actual owners of the company from liability for the negative consequences and monetary losses resulting from the actions of the company.

So...what would replace corporations? Instead of stockholders buying shares, would investors trade "partnership shares" that would carry liability? I don't think most prudent individuals would want to carry liability unless they were personally involved in the operation of the business. So, capital would be raised primarily from loans, or loan-like instruments which offered some variable upside like a stock, but left the liability with the borrowers.

And what about the people who have lost lots of money recently due to their investments going sour? Why wasn't the risk of losses enough incentive to not invest in companies where one doesn't really know what is going on or how profits were really being earned?

In a recent post, I complained about the $500,000 limit on executive salaries for companies who receive 'bailout' funds from the Feds. I now see an upside to this...most companies will think long and hard and look elsewhere before taking bailout money.