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Who Calls the Shots?
An archaeologist works on a sarcophagus, around 2,500 years old, from the newly-discovered burial site near Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis, during a presentation in Giza, Egypt, Nov. 14, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mohamed Abd El Ghany.
JNS.org – I think it’s incredible how the weekly Torah portion can often give us the most powerful lessons for life.
One of the most dramatic, emotionally moving biblical stories occurs this week in Vayigash when Joseph and his brothers reunite. After more than 20 years of not seeing each other and having no contact, the brothers come down to Egypt to buy grain during a time of famine and must negotiate with the viceroy of Egypt. Unaware that he is their long-lost brother, Joseph leads them in a complicated charade designed to test their character and commitment. When Joseph realizes that they are indeed remorseful over selling him as a slave all those years ago, he finally reveals his identity.
Shock and humiliation! Can you imagine how the brothers must have felt at that moment of truth? How deeply ashamed they must have been. Their little brother of 17 is now in his 30s and is the most powerful ruler in the region. And they had bowed down to him, fulfilling those irritating dreams of his youth.
But Joseph is not the vengeful type. Quite unbelievably, he bears no anger or resentment whatsoever. It was all part of God’s vast, eternal plan, he tells them. He comforts them and promises to look after the whole family if they all come to Egypt. They do, and the rest is history.
Joseph’s exact words were:
“Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me here; it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For it is now two years that there has been famine in the land, and there are still five years to come in which there shall be neither plowing nor reaping. God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival in the land and to sustain you in an extraordinary deliverance. So, it was not you who sent me here, but God who has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.”
What an amazing perspective on life! All the troubles and travails that Joseph experienced first as a slave and then as a prisoner in the dungeons of Pharaoh were part of a divine plan, and look how well it turned out. He was now the viceroy of the superpower of the day. The young “Hebrew” boy, initially disdained and looked down upon, rose to prominence overnight when he correctly interpreted the pharaoh’s dreams. And thus, he tells his brothers not to worry or feel embarrassed. It was all part of the grand heavenly plan.
How well we could all learn from Joseph’s perspective on life.
There is something called Divine Providence. It is Jewish theology and part and parcel of our belief system. We really can’t know exactly how it works, but the point is that everything is by Divine design.
Do you have any idea how comforting it is to know this?
How do people who don’t believe that God is running the world ever find comfort if they lose a loved one?
If it was an accident or if they think that the hospital or the doctors messed up, do they wallow in their anger and bitterness for life? Or do they accept that somehow, for reasons unbeknownst to them, it was meant to be?
If it happened, it must be part of God’s vast, eternal, unknowable and infinitely mysterious plan.
And, if we know that it was not random but that it was meant to be and part of the great plan of life, then we can possibly find comfort. But if it is random, then why me? Why him? Why her? If there’s no rhyme or reason to life, how can we possibly handle it when things go bad?
That’s why the great religious scholar Chofetz Chaim, once said, “To the skeptic, there are no answers. To the believer, there are no questions.”
If you believe that God runs the world and that every single thing that happens is part of His Divine plan, then we need not ask any questions. We are secure in the knowledge that whatever happened was not random but planned, purposeful, destined and meant to be. One day, in hindsight, we may find the answers. Or, perhaps, we will only know why these things happened when we get to heaven.
And it extends from the big issues of life and death right down to the small stuff. If we suffer a burglary, if we break a leg or stub our toe, we can handle it because it’s all meant to be. There is no such thing as an “accident” or a “coincidence.”
When disappointing things used to happen to my late mother, she always had a Yiddish saying as her response, Zol zein ah kapparah, literally, “May it be an atonement.”
But what it conveys is that if something negative happens, and it’s a pain in the neck, a hassle, or if it’s damaging and disappointing, it’s still OK. I can handle it. Why? Because nobody’s perfect. If I deserved some kind of punishment, so let this little misfortune be my atonement.
Have you heard Yiddish-speaking people say those deeply philosophical Yiddish words, nu, nu, or nisht geferlach, or in Hebrew, Lo norah, meaning “It’s not so terrible.” It’s not that serious. It’s not the end of the world. Life will carry on. Don’t sit down and cry, and don’t become disillusioned or depressed.
If we know that it is meant to be, then we can handle it. This attitude brings such contentment and peace of mind. What do you do for peace of mind? How do you handle the stresses in your life?
Do you shout at your spouse and kids? Do you go and hide in your cave? Do you go out for a drink … or two?
Or maybe you do something healthier, like going for a run or working out in the gym. Or maybe you box and take it out on a punching bag instead of the people in your family.
Perhaps you book yourself into a spa or wellness resort. Maybe you try and get it out of your system by meditating or doing yoga. Maybe you are wealthy enough to pick yourself up and go on vacation to the Bahamas or Hawaii or the Greek Islands.
Well, this rabbi here is telling you that if you can develop the conviction that everything that happens in life—and I mean, EVERYTHING—is part of the vast eternal plan of Almighty God, then you will have peace of mind. You won’t need to go anywhere, and it’s free of charge.
Let’s learn from Joseph so we can find comfort and peace of mind. One change of mindset is all it takes.
The post Who Calls the Shots? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Majority of New York City Hate Crimes Targeted Jews in 2024, New Data Shows
Anti-Israel protesters target a synagogue in Queens, New York on July 14, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in New York City last year, according to new data issued by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
On Monday, the NYPD released its end-of-year crime report, which recorded a precipitous drop in crime overall but also the disturbing numbers on antisemitic hate crimes. Out of the 641 total hate crimes tallied by the NYPD, 345 targeted Jews, which, in addition to being a 7 percent increase over the previous year, amounted to 54 percent of all hate crimes in the city.
As The Algemeiner previously reported, antisemitic hate crimes in 2024 posed a major threat to the quality of life of New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community, which was the target in many of the incidents. In just eight days between the end of October and the beginning of November, three Hasidim, including children, were brutally assaulted in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. In one instance, an Orthodox man was accosted by two assailants, one masked, who “chased and beat him” after he refused to surrender his cellphone in compliance with what appeared to have been an attempted robbery.
In another incident, an African American male smacked a 13-year-old Jewish boy who was commuting to school on his bike in the heavily Jewish neighborhood. Less than a week earlier, an assailant slashed a visibly Jewish man in the face as he was walking in Brooklyn.
Days after the week-long antisemitic hate crime spree, three men attempted to rob a Hasidic man after stalking him through the Crown Heights neighborhood.
The explosion of hate continued a trend. In 2023, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City, according to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jews.
Other major cities and states have recently reported increases in antisemitic hate crimes.
In Los Angeles County, antisemitic hate crimes rose 91 percent in 2023, from 127 the prior year to 242 in what the LA County Commission on Human Relations (LACCHR) described as “the largest number of anti-Jewish crimes ever” in the city.
Additionally, the state of Massachusetts saw more antisemitic hate crimes in 2023 than at any time since government officials began tracking such data eight years ago, according to a report issued by its Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS).
A striking 119 antisemitic hate crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies, EOPSS said, a total which, in addition to eclipsing 2015’s total of 56 incidents, amounts to a 70 percent increase over the previous year. Antisemitic hate crimes also constituted 18.8 percent of all hate crimes reported in 2023, a figure which trails only behind the percentage of hate crimes which targeted African Americans.
The report added that 68.9 percent of the antisemitic incidents involved property destruction or vandalism, a total of 82, while another 19 percent involved intimidation. Some physical assaults, six, were recorded or reported to the police.
“The local increase reflects national trends. Our data showed that over 10,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the US since Oct. 7, 2023, an over 200 percent increase compared to incidents reported to us during the same period a year before,” Peggy Shukur, vice president of the ADL’s East Division, told The Algemeiner when the information became public. “Behind every one of these numbers are people who have experienced the harm, fear, intimidation, and pain that reverberates from each of these incidents. The fact that numbers increase by 70 percent is a grim reminder that antisemitism continues to infect our communities in real and pervasive ways.”
Overall, anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US spiked to a record high in 2023, and American Jews were the most targeted of any religious group in the country, according to a report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in September.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Trump Vows ‘Hell Will Break Out in the Middle East’ if Gaza Hostages Not Released by His Inauguration
US President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his threat to seek retaliation against Hamas if the Palestinian terrorist group does not release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.
“If [the hostages] aren’t back by the time I get in office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas. And it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out,” Trump told reporters.
Trump made the comments during a wide-ranging press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. He stood alongside Steve Witkoff, the recently appointed special envoy to the Middle East for his incoming administration.
“They should’ve never taken them. They should’ve never been the attacker of Oct. 7, but there was. Many people [were] killed. They’re no longer hostages,” Trump added.
On Oct. 7 of last year, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages to Gaza during their invasion of southern Israel. During the onslaught, 45 Americans were killed and 12 were abducted.
About 100 hostages, both dead and alive, remain in Gaza, including seven Americans. Three of them — Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Edan Alexander — are thought to still be alive. Three others — Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judi Weinstein Haggai — are believed to be murdered by the terrorist group, with their bodies still in the Palestinian enclave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed last month that Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and his body was taken by terrorists into Gaza. Neutra was initially presumed to be among the living captives.
In total, 100 hostages remain in Gaza, and at least a third of them are believed to be dead.
Trump said on Tuesday that families of hostages have approached him in tears, desperately begging for a deal to secure their loved ones’ release from captivity.
The president-elect emphasized the importance of dispatching a “great negotiator” to broker a ceasefire deal to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and free the remaining hostages, gesturing to Witkoff. Trump added that although he does “not want to hurt the negotiations,” he believes that reiterating his threats to unleash “hell” across the Middle East will incentivize Hamas to reach a deal in the upcoming weeks.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to take aggressive action to secure the return of the remaining hostages. He has previously promised that Hamas will have “hell to pay” if the terrorist group does not release those still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But i’’s all talk, and no action!” Trump posted last month on the social media platform Truth Social. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he added.
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US Lawmaker Says Washington Funding Taliban, Pens Letter Urging Trump to Halt Aid
US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Dec. 5, 2024. Photo: Mattie Neretin / CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) recently penned a letter to President-elect Donald Trump claiming that Washington is “funneling” money to the Taliban government in Afghanistan and calling on his incoming administration to stop such foreign aid, citing the Taliban’s extensive history of supporting Islamist terrorism.
“I write to express my strong concerns with foreign aid being funneled to the Taliban and my desire to work with your administration to stop tax dollars from going to terrorists,” Burchett wrote in the letter dated Jan. 2. “It was brought to my attention the US State Department, under the Biden administration, was funneling money to the Taliban.”
Burchett claimed that after questioning US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the top American diplomat “admitted that non-governmental organizations paid nearly $10 million of foreign aid to the Taliban in taxes.”
The lawmaker said that sending foreign aid to the Taliban undermines US national security, arguing that American government agencies are incapable of tracking how the Islamist movement spends US dollars.
“The larger issue, which Secretary Blinken failed to acknowledge, is the shipments of cash payments in United States dollars to Afghanistan’s central bank,” Burchett wrote. “These cash shipments are auctioned off and after that, they are nearly impossible to track. This is how the Taliban is being funded and plans to fund terrorism around the world.”
We have got to quit funding the Taliban under @realDonaldTrump. $40 million a week to our enemies is a slap in the face to those who served. pic.twitter.com/MVgMnSo1Gn
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) January 6, 2025
The lawmaker did not provide any direct evidence in the letter to support his claims, although the US has provided extensive aid to Afghanistan. According to an October 2023 report from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US has provided nearly $2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Afghans since mid-August 2021, making Washington the largest humanitarian donor in Afghanistan. It is unclear how much of that money has ended up in the hands of the Taliban, which the US and other countries have designated as a terrorist group.
“The United States of America should not fund its enemies abroad. I implore you to take action to put an end to wasteful foreign aid spending and to support efforts in Congress to put Americans first,” Burchett wrote. “I look forward to working with you during your second term as president.”
Burchett added that he plans on reintroducing legislation that would require the State Department to “discourage foreign countries from providing financial or material support to the Taliban, and to report on direct-cash assistance programs and Taliban influence over Afghanistan’s central bank.”
He claimed that while the bill — first introduced in 2023 — passed the US House “unanimously,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Following the release of Burchett’s letter, billionaire and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk, who will serve in the Trump administration as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, sparked a debate online regarding the allegations.
“Are we really sending US taxpayer money to the Taliban?” Musk wrote on X on Monday.
The distribution of American taxpayer dollars to Afghanistan has emerged as a hot-button issue for Republicans in recent months. In December, US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) blasted Blinken over the transfer of US dollars to the country.
“There’s an American citizen out there, literally woke up this morning losing 30% of their paycheck. And a good percentage of that is going to the Taliban or other programs abroad,” Mast said. “And this is something that we all need to think about, and we will be thinking about deeply for the next two years. There’s a joke that’s made often out there about kids going to college to learn basket weaving, and what a joke that would be. But the United States right now is literally sending tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban. 14.9 million, to be exact, to teach Afghans how to do carpet weaving.”
“Even worse, by the numbers, we spent $9 billion to resettle 90,000 roughly Afghan refugees here since the fall of Afghanistan. My simple Army math tells me that’s about $100,000 a person. That’s absurd. So my question for you. We do not even have an embassy in Afghanistan. We have no diplomats there. What are we doing giving them $1?” Mast continued.
The Taliban infamously provided a safe haven for al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks and was accused of sheltering Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group afterward. A US-led military coalition subsequently removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001.
In 2021, however, the Taliban once again seized power in Afghanistan, amid US President Joe Biden’s military withdrawal from the country.
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