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The ‘Higher Plan’ at Work
Ariana Hoblin, a Jewish public-school student from Florida, tells US President Donald Trump about being bullied in middle school for her religion. It took place during a ceremony in the Oval Office when Trump signed an executive order to better protect prayer in public schools and federal funds for religious organizations on Jan. 16, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
JNS.org – Tell me the truth. Two days ago, would you have predicted a victory by former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House? Every political pundit and pollster said it was neck-and-neck and too close to call. And yet, here we have Trump elected as the 47th president of the United States.
So, once again, we see clearly that we don’t call the shots. There are always higher forces at play.
My congregants know that I often say how it never fails to impress me that the weekly Torah reading somehow always has a line or a phrase that alludes to current events happening that same week.
This week is no different.
In Lech Lecha, we read of the famous covenant where the Promised Land first became the land promised by God to our forefather Abraham and to his children for posterity.
“And He (God) said to Abram, ‘Know with certainty that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not their own … and they will be oppressed … and afterward they shall leave with great wealth.’
“On that day, God made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants have I given this land.’” (Genesis 15:13-18).
Later, God elaborates that He will make Ishmael a great nation, but the covenant with Abraham to the Promised Land will be maintained through Isaac and not Ishmael.
Now, cast your eye back to the first verse I quoted above. “Know with certainty that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not their own,” this is a reference to the long Egyptian bondage. The phrase “not their own” is considered by some commentaries to be redundant and is therefore interpreted somewhat mystically.
Why did the Jews have to go down to Egypt and be enslaved for hundreds of years? The reason was “not their own,” meaning that it was for a higher purpose: to refine the spiritual sparks found in Egypt and elevate them. The Egyptian experience was a spiritual odyssey. The Israelites may have thought that their Patriarch Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, went down to Egypt because of a famine in Canaan at the time, and then his descendants got stuck there and went into bondage. But the real reason was “not their own” making. It was part of an infinite Divine plan that was developing. It was to extract the dormant layers of Godly energy in Egypt and to build up the resilience of the Israelites.
So it has been throughout our history. We were wandering Jews. But whether it was to escape poverty or a pogrom in Poland, or the czar’s army in Russia or to find a better life for our children, there was always a higher plan for all our travels and travails. A deeper reason or a greater cause—one that was “not their own” making.
Starting nearly two centuries ago, Jews left Eastern Europe by the millions for a better future in the United States, South America, South Africa and Australia. This was God’s plan unfolding. Today, in all these regions, there are strong and thriving Jewish communities to one degree or another. The new Jewish foreign minister of Argentina, Gerardo Werthein, was just sworn in, holding the Jewish Bible, a Torah. And the non-Jewish president, Javier Milei, who appointed him, gave a little parshah shiur, Torah thought, at his induction!
Behind the mass migration of Jews across the world, we can assume that God wanted them in the specific areas that they thought they were choosing for their own reasons. But as always, there were reasons beyond what those Jews thought. Their personal circumstances and decisions were superficial, as there were deeper reasons that were “not their own.”
So it appears that God wanted Johannesburg, the “City of Gold,” to be transformed into the “City of God.” We are privileged here to be living in a community with, admittedly, smaller numbers than in the past but with a vibrant, pulsating Yiddishkeit with shuls, schools, yeshivahs, beautiful mikvahs, kosher supermarkets, restaurants and much more.
For reasons known only to Him, the Almighty decided that at the bottom of Africa, the Torah should be studied, and Jewish life should be so elevated and uplifted that it even inspired the whole world to keep Shabbat. You must know that next week’s internationally acclaimed “Shabbat Project,” which encourages Jews worldwide to celebrate Shabbat, came from our own small community in South Africa.
“The steps of man are established by God,” goes the verse in Psalm 37. We think we know where we are going, but there is always a higher plan taking us to where we need to be. I was born in New York, and for the first 26 years of my life, I never dreamed that I would make my home in South Africa. But it was meant to be, and I’ve never looked back.
How often have we all found ourselves somewhere, and it turned out that we experienced a fortuitous meeting that had important outcomes that we could never have anticipated?
Many years ago, I had a bout of double vision. I had to wear a black patch over one eye, just like former Israeli leader Moshe Dayan. I went into the hospital for tests, and my roommate was a Jewish doctor who had contracted meningitis and was also left with double vision. He, too, had a patch over one eye. I remember that when the respected Jewish medical professor came in to see us with his entourage of students, he quipped, “What is this, a Jewish status symbol?”
Thank God, my problem was a small one, and it quickly passed. But whereas I had thought that I had gone to the hospital for my medical issue, it turned out that I had a higher mission. When I prayed in the morning with my tallit and tefillin, I shared them with my roommate. It awakened within him memories of his beloved zayde, who did the same thing. I helped him, and slowly but surely, he became a fully observant Jew who went on to serve in important communal positions.
Jews are always going places for reasons “not their own.” We don’t have to become the president, but our job is to remember that there is always a higher purpose, and we have to find it and become ambassadors of our faith and our people.
The post The ‘Higher Plan’ at Work first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Child Killers’: Jewish Activists Doused With Red Paint in Germany While Hanging Up Hostage Posters
i24 News – Masked attackers doused with red paint and shoved German Jewish activists hanging up posters of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza in Frankfurt on Friday. The assailants shouted “child killers” and “free Palestine.”
Sacha Stawski, a German-Jewish activist who heads the media watchdog NGO Honestly Concerned, who’s spent decades combating antisemitism, spoke to local media about the incident.
“We attached posters with photos of the 50 hostages still in Hamas’s captivity to a fence in the Frankfurt Grüneburgpark,” Stawski told the Bild outlet. “We were branded ‘child killers,’ and I constantly heard ‘Free Palestine,’ and ‘genocide’ calls.”
The paint also poured over my glasses, making it difficult for me to identify the perpetrator,” he added.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel condemned the incident.
The small pro-hostage rally took place near an anarchist encampment housing several anti-Israel organizations. Stawski said this was announced to the camp organizers.
Meanwhile a German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin currently has no plans to recognize a Palestinian state because that would undermine any efforts to reach a negotiated solution with Israel.
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Hegseth Fires Head of Intel Agency Whose Assessment of Damage from Iran Strikes Angered Trump
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
i24 News – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites from US strikes sparked the ire of President Donald Trump.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, US media reported, citing sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
The sacking is the latest upheaval in military leadership and in the country’s intelligence agencies, and comes a few months after details of the preliminary assessment leaked to the media.
The assessment found that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months by the bombings, contradicting assertions from Trump and from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Republican president, who had pronounced the Iranian program “completely and fully obliterated,” rejected the report.
n June, Israel launched a devastating bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, missile production and military leadership, saying the operation was necessary to prevent the mullah regime from realizing its oft-stated plan to annihilate the Jewish state.
During the ensuing 12-day war, the US joined in, striking key Iranian nuclear sites.
Following the June strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, Hegseth lambasted the press for focusing on the preliminary assessment but did not offer any direct evidence of the destruction of the facilities.
“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word. This was a historically successful attack,” Hegseth said at a news conference at the time.
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Amid Rising Antisemitism, American Jews Make Aliyah to Israel Seeking Safety, Community, Impact
Olim gather at JFK Airport in New York, preparing to board Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 65th charter flight to Israel. Photo: The Algemeiner
NEW YORK/TEL AVIV — Confronted with rising antisemitism and unease in the United States, a growing number of American Jews are choosing to make aliyah, embracing the risks of war in the Middle East for the chance to build new lives and foster meaningful communities.
On Wednesday, 225 new olim arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel, and olim refers to those who make this journey.
Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York, which The Algemeiner joined.
Founded in 2002, NBN helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society, simplifying the aliyah process and providing essential resources and guidance.
In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund, NBN has helped nearly 100,000 olim build thriving new lives in Israel.
Shawn Fink is one of the 225 people who embarked on the life-changing journey earlier this week, leaving Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife, Liz, and their son.
For Fink and his family, making aliyah was driven not only by their love for Israel and desire to build a new community, but also by the escalating threats and uncertainties facing Jewish communities abroad since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“Mostly, we were frustrated with the direction the United States is taking, and the rise in antisemitism was a major concern for us,” Fink told The Algemeiner.
Like many countries around the world, the US has seen an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Oct. 7 atrocities.
According to the latest data issued by the FBI, hate crimes perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent in 2024 to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the federal agency’s counting them.
A striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, who constitute just 2 percent of the US population, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims were targeted the next highest amount as the victims of 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.
Fink explained that the increasing costs of living a Jewish life in the US — from education to kosher food — weighed heavily on his family’s decision to make the move to Israel.
While they first considered making aliyah five years ago, Fink and his family had to put the plans on hold for personal reasons — returning to the idea only in the past few months when the timing finally worked in their favor.
“We started planning it seriously in November and began the entire process with Nefesh B’Nefesh,” Fink told The Algemeiner. “It’s been a nonstop whirlwind ever since.”
For them, the current war did not stop their plans, but it did influence the cities they explored for their new home.
“The war really reinforced for us the importance of supporting Israel and our community,” Fink said. “By making aliyah, we felt we could do even more to help.”
Even though it is difficult to leave behind family and close friends, they look forward to reconnecting with friends in Israel, making new connections, and building a vibrant new community.
“Making aliyah in less than six months has been a whirlwind. I’d encourage anyone considering it to give themselves at least twice as much time, double the budget, and be prepared for plenty of unexpected starts and stops along the way,” Fink told The Algemeiner.
Nefesh B’Nefesh provides assistance to families throughout their entire aliyah journey, offering guidance before relocating and continued support once in Israel.
The Israeli government also complements these efforts with resources and financial incentives to help newcomers settle and ease their transition into their new lives.
“Once the ticket is finally in your hand and you’re waiting to board the plane, you realize that all the challenges and obstacles along the way were worth it,” Fink said.
Veronica Zaragovia was also one of the 225 olim who joined the flight earlier this week.
Similarly to Fink and his family, Zaragovia decided to make aliyah, driven not just by her love for Israel, but also by the increasing challenges of being Jewish abroad and the hope of making a meaningful impact by serving her community.
From Florida, she embarked on the journey alone, excited for all the new opportunities and possibilities that awaited her in her new home.
“I want to take pride in being Jewish and in Israel — that’s why I’m making aliyah,” she told The Algemeiner, reflecting on the move she has been planning for the past two years.
“It’s a huge concern for me that in some places in the US, I can’t — or maybe shouldn’t — wear my Star of David necklace,” she said. “I don’t feel that Jews can be fully safe anywhere in the country. The rise in antisemitism has been truly shocking and deeply concerning.”
Zaragovia, who worked as a journalist in the US, said her love for storytelling and uncovering the truth played a key role in her decision to make this move.
“After Oct. 7, I felt that the way my colleagues and other journalists were covering Israel was wrong and unfair,” she said.
“As someone whose career is built on facts and truth, I didn’t see that reflected in their reporting. That’s why I decided to make a difference by being there myself,” she continued.
Rather than deterring her decision to make a change, Zaragovia explained that the current war only reinforced it.
“It became clear that I needed to go, be there with my people, and make a difference through my work,” she said. “I couldn’t have done this without Nefesh B’Nefesh. They’ve been incredible, guiding me every step of the way from start to finish.”