Rosh Hashana - The Jewish New Year
This week an extraordinary and disturbing event happened. I was driving late at night and stopped to buy gas. While I was filling up the gas tank a late model sports car pulled up and a well dressed man came out and asked me if I was Jewish. I told him yes and that I was a rabbi returning from a hospital chaplaincy call. “Why do you Jews kill innocent people?” he asked. I didn’t know what he was talking about until he pulled out a picture and article of Israeli soldiers surrounding a building in the Gaza area. Around the building were school children and women. He went on to tell me that Israel’s policy of attacking the Hamas leadership and threatening to kill Arafat is cruel and unjust. “You Jews are monsters.” He jumped into his car and sped off.
Upon hearing the unsavory remarks I remembered the following story:
A Jew was riding in a buggy and in his pocket he had a big sum of money which he had to deliver to the Duke. Along came a man and asked for a ride. When in the buggy the man pulled a gun and forced him to give up the money. The Jew pleaded with the man and said, “My dear man, I don’t care about the money, it is not mine anyway. It belongs to the Duke. But the Duke may not believe that I was held up. He will accuse me of taking the money for myself so I would like to have some good proof that I was held up.”
“What would you want me to do?” asked the man.
The Jew answered, “I will hang my coat on a tree and you will shoot holes in it. This way the Duke will believe me.”
“This I will do,” the man said. The Jew put his coat on the tree and the man shot a few holes in it. The Jew pleaded, “Please, make a few more holes.” The man answered, “I would like to, but I have no more bullets.”
“Is that so” said the Jew, “You have no more bullets?” The Jew grabbed him, slapped him, took away the gun and the money and threw him out of the buggy. And as the Jew rode away the man yelled after him, “look at the Jews, what cheats they are.”
This is exactly what we have today. The Palestinian Arabs have murdered us, persecuted us, and robbed us of our beloved land of Israel and holy city of Jerusalem. Now that Israel has managed, with the help of the Almighty, to establish a safe haven for Jews they condemn us and censure us.
The nations of the world need to look upon the Israelis who dwell on their own soil not as monsters but as children of David who “smote a lion and a bear” when his sheep were attacked by them.
Every time Israel signs a peace agreement with the Palestinian Arabs they break the agreement by planting bombs. Israel has given the Palestinians millions of dollars in help, they have provided medical assistance, schooling, food and even guns to arm the Palestinian policemen. Now, what has Israel received in return? More threats and actual terrorist bombings destroying the quest for peace.
The free world suffers from three bad leaders. They are Arafat, Hussein and Bin Laden. They speak in the name of religion and preach freedom while they kill and cause havoc all around the world. Just review the latest statement by Arafat, praising the terrorist bombers who killed many children and innocent families who are just trying to live a good and safe life in Israel. Listen to what Sadaam Hussein and Bin Laden say in their latest videos – how the hatred pours forward.
It is high time for the world to recognize who the real monsters are.
On Friday night, September 26th Jewish people worldwide will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. They will gather in their houses of prayer and ask G‑d for a good and blessed year full of peace and joy.
According to Jewish tradition the holiday of Rosh Hashanah is the day that Adam, the first man, was created. He was not Jewish, Christian or Muslim. He was created by G‑d to accept a higher mission than the beasts. He was to live in the world and preserve the peace. It would be wonderful if all mankind would celebrate the New Year by inviting G‑d to enter their hearts. After all it’s mankind’s day of birth so on this Rosh Hashanah I wish you all a happy birthday. May it be a year of peace with our soldiers safely coming home.