Connect with us

RSS

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.orgI 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.

Continue Reading

RSS

Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust

An antisemitic slur spray-painted on the ruins of a former synagogue in Dukla, Poland. Photo: World Jewish Restitution Organization

Two Jewish sites in Dukla, Poland, were vandalized over the weekend mere days after Polish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Grzegorz Braun claimed gas chambers at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were fake and repeated an antisemitic blood libel in a live radio interview.

Vandals spray-painted the word “F–k” followed by a Star of David on the ruins of a former synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and a memorial commemorating Holocaust victims located at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery in Dukla was defaced with a swastika and the word “Palestine,” according to the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). The memorial honors Jews of Dukla and the surrounding areas who were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.

The two Jewish sites in Dukla are cared for by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), which was established in 2002 by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the WJRO to protect and commemorate Poland’s Jewish heritage sites.

“These hateful acts are not only antisemitic, but they are also attempts to erase Jewish history and desecrate memory,” said WJRO President Gideon Taylor in a released statement on Tuesday. “Polish authorities must take swift and serious action to identify the perpetrators and ensure the protection of Jewish heritage sites in Dukla and across the country.”

“The vandalism of Jewish sites in Dukla—with swastikas and anti-Israel slurs—is not an isolated act,” insisted Jack Simony, director general of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), in a statement to The Algemeiner. The nonprofit focuses on preserving the memory of the Jewish community in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in town.

“While we cannot say definitively that it [the vandalism] was sparked by Grzegorz Braun’s Holocaust denial, his rhetoric contributes to an atmosphere where hatred is emboldened and truth is under assault,” added Simony. “Braun’s lies are not harmless — they are dangerous. Holocaust denial fuels antisemitism and, too often, violence. This is why Holocaust education matters … because when we fail to confront lies, we invite their consequences. Memory must be defended, not only for the sake of the past, but for the safety of our future.”

On July 10, a ceremony was held commemorating the 84th anniversary of the 1941 Jedwabne massacre, when hundreds of Polish Jews were massacred – mostly by their neighbors – in the northeastern town in German-occupied Poland. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and faith leaders including Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Israeli Deputy Ambassador Bosmat Baruch. Groups of anti-Israel and far-right activists — including MEP Braun and his supporters – tried to disrupt the event by holding banners with antisemitic slogans and blocking the vehicles of the attendees, according to Polish radio.

Hours later, during a live radio broadcast, Braun falsely claimed the Auschwitz gas chambers were “a lie” and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum was promoting “pseudo-history.” He also claimed that Jewish “ritual murder is a fact.” Polish prosecutors launched an investigation into Braun’s comments, they announced that same day. Under Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in Poland.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum issued a swift condemnation of Braun’s remarks and said it intents to pursue legal action. The Institute of National Remembrance — which is the largest research, educational and archival institution in Poland – also denounced Braun’s remarks, saying there is “well-documented” evidence supporting the existence of gas chambers. His comments were also condemned by the Embassy of Israel in Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and the US Embassy in Warsaw, which said that his actions “distort history, desecrate memory, or spread antisemitism.” AJCF called on the European Parliament to consider disciplinary measures against Braun, including potential censure or expulsion.

Auschwitz Jewish Center Director Tomek Kuncewicz said Braun’s comments are “an act of violence against truth, against survivors, and against the legacy of our shared humanity.” AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson called the politician’s remarks “blatant and baseless lies,” while Simony described them as “a calculated act of antisemitic incitement” that “must be met with legal consequences and universal moral condemnation.”

The post Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Photo Credit: ADL.

Following a vote by the National Education Association (NEA) on July 6 to end its relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 400 Jewish communal groups, education organizations, and religious institutions have come together to call for the influential teachers union to change course.

“We are writing to express our deep concerns about the growing level of antisemitic activity within teachers’ unions, particularly since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023,” the letter to NEA President Becky Pringle stated. “Passage of New Business Item (NBI) 39 at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly this past weekend, which shockingly calls for the boycott of the Anti-Defamation League, is just the latest example of open hostility toward Jewish educators, students and families coming from national and local teachers’ unions and their members.”

In addition to the ADL, signatories of the letter included American Jewish Committee (AJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, #EndJewHatred, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith International, CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis), Combat Antisemitism Movement, Democratic Majority for Israel, StandWithUs, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Zioness Movement, and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).

The group told Pringle that “we have heard directly from NEA members who have shared their experiences ranging from explicit and implicit antisemitism within the union to a broader pattern of insensitivity toward legitimate concerns of Jewish members – including at the recently concluded Representative Assembly. We are also deeply troubled by a broader pattern of union activity over the past 20 months that has targeted or alienated Jewish members and the wider Jewish community.”

The letter to Pringle included an addendum providing examples of objectionable rhetoric. These named such incidents as the Oakland Education Association (OEA) putting out a statement calling for “an end to the occupation of Palestine” and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) accusing Israel of genocide.

The coalition of 400 organizations urged the NEA to “take immediate action” and suggested such steps as rejecting NBI 39, issuing a “strong condemnation” of antisemitism within the union, drafting a plan to counter ongoing antisemitism in affiliate chapters, and opposing “any effort to use an educator’s support for the existence of Israel as a means to attack their identity.”

ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X that “Excluding @ADL’s educational resources from schools is not just an attack on our org, but on the entire Jewish community. We urge the @NEAToday Executive Committee to reverse this biased, fringe effort and reaffirm its commitment to supporting all Jewish students and educators.”

The post Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him?

Zohran Mamdani Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s surge in New York City politics, a disturbing trend has emerged: prominent Jewish leaders are being urged to join “Jews for Zohran,” a newly formed effort to legitimize a candidate whose record and rhetoric are alarmingly out of step with Jewish communal values.

In a city that’s home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — and where antisemitic incidents are on the rise — this is a profound mistake.

Mamdani has refused to explicitly condemn the slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” which has been widely understood as a call to violence against Jews. His defenders insist it’s a symbolic plea for Palestinian rights. But nuance offers little comfort when the phrase glorifies violent uprisings, and is routinely chanted alongside calls for Israel’s destruction.

Institutions such as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and watchdogs like StopAntisemitism.org have made it clear: attempts to sanitize violent language must be firmly rejected.

Mamdani’s vocal support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is equally troubling. BDS does not merely critique Israeli policy; it seeks to economically isolate and politically delegitimize the Jewish state. When a candidate stands against the most visible symbol of Jewish survival — Israel — while brushing off violent slogans as misunderstood metaphors, we must ask what message this sends to our communities.

The answer should be clear. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of over half the city’s reported hate crimes last year. From Crown Heights to Midtown, visible Jews have been harassed, assaulted, and mocked. Mamdani was flagged by national antisemitism monitors in December for promoting material that mocked Hanukkah. This is not abstract. This is personal, present, and dangerous.

Yes, Mamdani has pledged to increase hate crime funding from $3 million to $26 million. But that’s not enough. The Jewish community — especially now — needs more than budgetary gestures. We require moral clarity, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel powerfully stated: “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself….”

Moral clarity demands more than financial promises, it requires principled rejection of rhetoric that endangers Jews. Belonging isn’t forged by slogans; it’s proven through sustained empathy, shared responsibility, and unwavering commitment to safety.

Calls for Jewish leaders to publicly support Mamdani, including those made to officials like Brad Lander and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), aim to provide political cover for a candidate whose worldview clashes with core Jewish values. These aren’t harmless endorsements. They’re symbols. And symbols matter.

Endorsing Mamdani sends a troubling signal: that political convenience or progressive branding outweighs communal safety and historical memory. When Jewish leaders align with someone who flirts with the delegitimization of Jewish statehood and refuses to condemn slogans rooted in violence, they are telling our adversaries that our moral lines are negotiable.

New York’s Jewish community has long been a moral compass in American politics. What happens here echoes across the nation. If our leaders can be cajoled into supporting a candidate like Mamdani, what message does that send to Jews in swing districts, smaller cities, and across college campuses? It normalizes equivocation. It emboldens the fringe. It tells the next generation that Jewish dignity is up for debate.

This is about more than Mamdani. It’s about whether Jewish pride and Jewish safety remain non-negotiable pillars of our political participation. Some have argued that this is simply politics as usual — that strategic alliances are part of coalition-building. But the Jewish people know better than most that what begins as a small compromise can metastasize into a much greater danger.

Former Democratic Councilman Rory Lancman said it best: “If ever there was a time to put principle over party, this is it.” He’s right. And that’s why this moment requires Jewish leaders to speak not just as political actors, but as moral stewards.

Jewish leaders are free to engage with any candidate they choose. But engagement is not endorsement. One can listen, challenge, and debate without aligning oneself publicly with a candidate whose positions cross communal red lines. Outreach does not require complicity.

If Jewish political figures join “Jews for Zohran,” they risk helping mainstream dangerous ideologies. They risk fracturing communal unity even further at a time when Jewish communal unity is our best defense. They risk allowing today’s ambiguity to become tomorrow’s regret.

Jewish history teaches us the cost of silence, of appeasement, and of looking away. We cannot afford those mistakes again — not in this city, not in this era; history is beginning to repeat itself and we cannot allow that to happen.

To every Jewish leader now weighing their public stance: choose principle. Choose safety. Choose the kind of moral leadership our tradition demands; reject the logic of “Jews for Zohran.” The stakes are too high — and the message matters.

Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

The post Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News