RSS
In Life, Do We Really Reap What We Sow?
Reading from a Torah scroll in accordance with Sephardi tradition. Photo: Sagie Maoz via Wikimedia Commons.
There is a tradition amongst some Talmudic commentators to try to discount any narrative in the Torah that seems to reflect negatively on our founding fathers and mothers. This is partially out of profound respect for these great human beings. But it also reflects an old Pagan tradition to make well-known human saints, and to cast them as perfect — just as we tend to do with some rabbis.
In fact, the Bible itself indicates that there is no perfect human being. But the Torah is very much concerned with values.
Is “Do as you would be done by” a Jewish value? Last week, we read of Rivkah and Yaakov’s attempt to deceive Yitzchak, taking advantage of his age and blindness. This week, we read of what could be seen as Yaakov’s comeuppance.
Yaakov runs away from Esav to his uncle, Lavan. Lavan is calculating and has no problem with deception. Yaakov falls in love with Rachel. But Lavan deceives Yaakov, when he substitutes Rachel with Leah on the wedding night. He takes advantage of Yaakov’s ignorance of local custom to get him to work for free for another seven years. And then seven more without pay. He deceives Yaakov, which indicates that Yaakov was indeed regarded as deserving for his treatment of his father.
But then Yaakov, having been taken advantage of by Lavan, in turn uses his superior knowledge of animal husbandry to massively increase his livestock at Lavan’s expense. Our own behavior often results in bad and in good things happening back to us. The cycle continues. Is this all not a case of “Do as You Would Be Done by?”
In Shakespearean language, it is “Measure for Measure” — and in modern slang, “Tit for Tat”? And is this God’s will?
The fact is that the Talmud in general takes this position. In life, we see it does not always work out that way. And we have to say that this must be more of an ideal for human behavior, rather than telling us anything about God.
And yet we have all these examples of Divine intervention. The whole of Yaakov’s family flees and Lavan pursues him. During the night, God appears to Lavan and warns him not to speak unkindly to Yaakov. Notice the parallels with God appearing to Pharaoh and to Avimelech, when they took Avraham’s wife, assuming she was a sister. This puts Lavan in their company as people beyond the monotheistic tradition that God somehow communicates to. Finally, Lavan reconciles with Yaakov with the treaty of GalEd. Sometimes it may take Divine intervention rather than a person’s character to bring them around.
For some, it takes external pressure to change. On the other hand, in the case of the personalities we take as human examples, even if or when they make inappropriate decisions, they can sometimes see the issues and change things for the better.
Sometimes our logic tells us one thing, but our intuition tells us something else. Perhaps God works through intuition, too.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post In Life, Do We Really Reap What We Sow? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.