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Lighting Up the World
US President Harry Truman receives a menorah gifted by visiting Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and Abba Eban, Israel’s envoy to Washington. Photo: National Photo Collection of Israel / Government Press Office
JNS.org – A fellow was shipwrecked on a faraway island and barely managed to survive. Finally, after a long time, a ship passed by, and he managed to attract its attention. Some sailors in a small boat came to rescue him. But before he boarded, the officer in charge said, “Here’s a few recent newspapers. First, have a look at what’s going on in the world and then you can decide if you really want to rejoin civilization.”
After the ghastly Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, instead of being condemned, the monstrous perpetrators are championed around the world. A “court of justice” seeks to tie the hands of the victims who have responded in self-defense. The entire Middle East powder keg is in danger of blowing up any minute. There’s also a raging war in Ukraine and trouble spots dot the landscape of the entire world. Antisemitism is exploding internationally on a level not seen since the Holocaust.
Our generation is so lacking in wisdom, morality, logic and level-headedness that one can only wonder if any sound leadership will ever emerge. Maybe we should all find a quiet little island to escape to.
But we have been taught that it’s our mission on earth to change the world for the good. No matter how evil or corrupt society may be, it’s our job to make a difference. Call it tikkun olam or a “Light unto the Nations,” but we are here to make a positive difference.
But how? We are small and the world is big. The task seems so monumental and overwhelming as to be an impossible dream.
So let me tell you a true story.
This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, recounts that, back in the wilderness, Moses was instructed by God to build the sanctuary and all its sacred vessels: the ark, altar, table, menorah and more.
The menorah, the golden candelabra, was to be constructed from one solid piece of gold, hammered out and sculpted with many decorations on each branch.
The intricate design of the menorah puzzled the great leader. So, according to the Midrash, God told Moses: “Don’t worry. You just throw a piece of gold into the fire, and I will do the rest.”
Miraculously, the beautifully designed menorah came out of the fire. This explains why the Torah uses the word tayaseh, “shall the menorah be made,” a passive tense, rather than “shall you make the menorah.” It does so because Moshe didn’t actually make the menorah himself. Rather, it was made for him by God.
But was fashioning the menorah really so difficult and complicated? Betzalel, Moses’s chief designer, was a master craftsman. Much of the work in the sanctuary required exceptional skills and creative talent, but the workers still managed to do it. Indeed, the cover of the ark with the winged cherubs was also made of one solid piece of gold. Why did the menorah, in particular, present such a quandary for Moses?
My saintly teacher and mentor, the Rebbe, shared a profound interpretation: Moshe was not so perplexed by the physical instructions for building the candelabra as he was by its stated mission—to illuminate the world. The light of the menorah was to symbolically light up the entire world, far beyond the confines of the sanctuary. The seven-branched candelabra corresponded to the seven continents of the world and its light was to reach them all.
So, Moses pondered: “The world is so full of darkness, paganism and depravity. Barbaric nations surround us—Egyptians, Canaanites, Amalekites. How will a little candelabra illuminate so much darkness?”
Thus, God told Moses, “You put the gold in the fire, and I will do the rest.” This means: While you personally may not be able to change the world, remember that you are not alone. I will help you do it. I am with you. Your candelabra is not “made in China,” it is made by God. It is a Godly tool, a divine device, and God can achieve infinitely more than any human being.
And so it is today. Yes, it is a dark world. Dark and gloomy indeed. And it can be very depressing to all good people. The evil, the hate and the outpouring of such venom on the streets of the world’s capitals are all too much to bear. But always remember: You are not alone. Your efforts are not limited by your mortal constraints. God Himself empowers all decent and upright people with superhuman strength to defeat darkness and to light up the world with the power of good.
Some 125 million people watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Whether they were more interested in the football or Taylor Swift I’m not sure. But for 30 seconds a ray of light pierced the noise, penetrated the escapist indifference and shone a courageous message of decency and dignity; of virtue, integrity and sensitivity. It made the world stop, think and take notice of what is right and what is wrong. Thank you, Robert Kraft, for spreading so much light.
The Ethics of the Fathers teaches us, “It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” We may not be able to finish the task of changing the whole world, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. If every individual did his or her share, who knows how much we might achieve? One good deed goes a long way. Every Shabbat candle helps banish the darkness.
Whatever corner of the world we brighten, it will help illuminate the entire world. It is a gargantuan effort, but God is with us.
The post Lighting Up the World first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syrian Rebels Sweep into Aleppo, Army Says Dozens of Soldiers Killed
Syrian opposition fighters gather at Saadallah al-Jabiri Square, after rebels opposed to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of Aleppo, Syria November 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano
The Syrian army said on Saturday dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack by rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
The surprise attack, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was the boldest rebel assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.
The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many millions, has ground on since 2011 with no formal end, although most major fighting halted years ago after Iran and Russia helped Assad’s government win control of most land and all major cities.
Aleppo had been firmly held by the government since a 2016 victory there, one of the war’s major turning points, when Russian-backed Syrian forces besieged and lay waste to rebel-held eastern areas of what had been the country’s largest city.
“I am a son of Aleppo, and was displaced from it eight years ago, in 2016. Thank God we just returned. It is an indescribable feeling,” said Ali Jumaa, a rebel fighter, in television footage filmed inside the city.
Acknowledging the rebel advance, the Syrian army command said insurgents had entered large parts of Aleppo.
After the army said it was preparing a counterattack, airstrikes targeted rebel gatherings and convoys in the city, the pro-Damascus newspaper al-Watan reported. One strike caused casualties in Aleppo’s Basel square, a resident told Reuters.
Overnight, images from Aleppo showed a group of rebel fighters gathered in the city’s Saadallah al-Jabiri Square, a billboard of Assad looming behind them.
Images filmed on Saturday showed people posing for photos on a toppled statue of Bassil al-Assad, late brother of the president. Fighters zipped around the city in flat-back trucks and milled around in the streets. A man waved a Syrian opposition flag as he stood near Aleppo’s historic citadel.
The Syrian military command said militants had attacked in large numbers and from multiple directions, prompting “our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers.”
The rebels also took control of Aleppo airport, according to a statement by their operations room and a security source.
Two rebel sources also said the insurgents had captured the city of Maraat al Numan in Idlib province, bringing all of that area under their control.
The fighting revives the long-simmering Syrian conflict as the wider region is roiled by wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where a truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday.
With Assad backed by Russia and Iran, and Turkey supporting some of the rebels in the northwest where it maintains troops, the offensive has brought into focus the conflict’s knotted geopolitics. Fighting in the northwest had largely abated since Turkey and Russia reached a de-escalation agreement in 2020.
RUSSIAN, TURKISH MINISTERS TALK
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, discussing the situation in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
“Both sides expressed serious concerns at the dangerous development of the situation,” the ministry said. They agreed that it was necessary to coordinate joint actions to stabilize the situation in the country.
Turkish security officials had said on Thursday that Ankara had prevented operations which opposition groups wanted to organize, in order to avoid further tensions in the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lavrov in a phone call that the rebel attacks were part of an Israeli-US plan to destabilize the region, Iranian state media said.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in opposition-held parts of Syria, said in a post on X that Syrian government and Russian aircraft carried out airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in rebel-held Idlib, killing four civilians and wounding six others.
Two Syrian military sources said Russia has promised Damascus extra military aid that would start arriving in the next 72 hours.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which spearhead the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that control much of northeastern and eastern Syria and have long had a foothold in Aleppo, widened their control in the city as government troops left, a senior YPG source said.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade, said the rebels’ speedy advance had been helped by a lack of Iran-backed manpower to support the government in the broader Aleppo province.
Iran’s allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war has expanded through the Middle East.
The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas of Idlib province, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army.
The post Syrian Rebels Sweep into Aleppo, Army Says Dozens of Soldiers Killed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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IDF Hit Over 12,500 Hezbollah Terror Sites in Lebanon
Smoke billows over Khiam, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces struck more than 12,500 Hezbollah terrorist sites in Lebanon during the nearly 14-month war that began when the Iranian proxy opened fire on the Jewish state a day after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of some 1,200 people.
The terrorist assets destroyed include 1,600 command and control centers and 1,000 weapons storage facilities.
The IDF also confirmed killing some 2,500 Hezbollah terrorists, although the military estimates the actual figure is closer to 3,500. According to a joint assessment by Israel’s Channel 12 and the Institute for National Security Studies, the fatalities include at least 11 brigade-level commanders, 37 battalion commanders and 46 company commanders.
The figure is more than 10 times the number of Hezbollah terrorists killed during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between terrorists and noncombatants, reports 3,823 killed and 15,895 injured during the conflict.
Hezbollah’s chain of command was also devastated, as highlighted by the Sept. 27 targeted killing of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Other high-ranking officials killed include Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor; Radwan Force commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Wisam al-Tuwail; Ali Karaki, commander of the Southern Front; and Fuad Shukr, the terrorist group’s chief of staff.
Furthermore, some 80% of Hezbollah’s stockpile of 150,000 to 200,000 rockets and 70% of its drone arsenal were destroyed during the war.
Hezbollah launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones at Israel during the war.
Nearly 70,000 residents of northern Israel have been internally displaced due to the cross-border attacks from Lebanon. During “Operation Northern Arrows,” the Israeli military’s name for the northern war, 45 Israeli civilians and 79 IDF soldiers were killed, according to the most recent data from the Alma Research and Education Center, which monitors the northern fronts.
Israeli authorities estimate property damage to exceed $273 million, according to Reuters, while Channel 12 and INSS reported that according to World Bank estimates, Lebanon suffered $8.5 billion in damages and economic losses during the war—$3.4 billion in physical infrastructure damage and $5.1 billion economic losses.
An analysis of satellite data by The Washington Post in early November revealed that nearly a quarter of all buildings in 25 Lebanese towns and villages near the Israeli border were damaged or destroyed. At least 5,868 buildings were affected, with almost half located in the heavily impacted areas of Aita al-Shaab and Kafr Kila. Approximately 80% of the damage occurred after Oct. 2, 2024, coinciding with Israel’s ground offensive.
The post IDF Hit Over 12,500 Hezbollah Terror Sites in Lebanon first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Taking a Snap: Biden Photographed Conspicuously Holding Anti-Israeli Bestseller
US President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
i24 News – US President Joe Biden was spotted on Friday leaving a bookstore with a copy of a tendentious history book that paints Israel as a colonial imposition on the “indigenous” Palestinian population.
The lame-duck president left a Massachusetts bookstore holding a copy of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017” by former Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. It is one of the most popular academic volumes laying out the Palestinian narrative.
Formerly affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Khalidi has a track record of endorsing Palestinian terrorism and dismissing the notion that anti-Israeli activism can be linked to antisemitism.
The post Taking a Snap: Biden Photographed Conspicuously Holding Anti-Israeli Bestseller first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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