30 Tishrei 5777
Erev Rosh Hodesh Heshvan
Introduction | The Good | The Bad | The Ugly | The Best
We all know, whether we speak about it or not, that traits that are often looked down upon have their good uses too. Turning them around in our heads into the best thing about us is all a matter of context and direction. The problem with Jewish obstinacy (the topic of this series), translated literally from Hebrew as stiff-neckedness, is that it belongs to Jews and like anything else that belongs to Jews, it must be bad for us to have it, at least according to our many opponents. The nations, with the Muslims at their head and enabling from the United Nations and sneakiness from Xians who say they love us but really want to take our place in the world from us, have been projecting their own hell-bent self-will against us onto us with uncompromising determination and unrelenting bullheadedness with their decision that we have no history, land or anything else. Not only have they thrown away any morality they may have had before, they have now thrown out the Bible they so cherished and used against us. They had to, in order to put us in the wrong!
Now, they've done it to themselves. They have no merit to win against us because they have nothing to tie them to haShem. What our commentaries have said about the three laws they promised to keep, out of the seven they were supposed to, is now down the drain.
Said Rav Yehuda: These are the thirty righteous men among the nations of the world by whose virtue the nations of the world continue to exist. Ulla said: These are the thirty commandments which the sons of Noah took upon themselves but they observe three of them, namely, (i) they do not draw up a kethubah [marriage - CDG] document for males, (ii) they do not weigh flesh of the dead in the market,and (iii) they respect the Torah.
- Masekheth Hullin 92, Talmud Bavli
Let us use this trait of obstinacy that HaShem gave us, that we are so well-known and even notorious for, to turn away from those who hate us, wish to see us driven off the planet and will follow no law or statute except whatever will get them gain, and to cling to HaQadosh Barukh Hu during these chaotic times before the Complete Redemption comes. No matter how much or how little we know of the Torah, Tana"kh and the wisdom of the Sages, we can always cry out to Him when we need to; and as long as we are alive, we can seek to learn more (being careful about from whom we learn). We should not only learn, but apply our learning. If we see that we need to internalize the laws haShem gave us in order to carry them out here in Eretz Yisrael, then we must think about the implications of these orders from Him. How dare we go against them and decide for ourselves that some other place is our Jerusalem, our Holy Land? How dare we not take for our own all the disputed territory, and resolve the argument once and for all?
Within collective memory, we have faced the threat of utter extermination. How much worse can it get? All the threats we are hearing have already been carried out. No one will buy from us? BDS. No one will sell to us? Boycott. We will kill you all? Holocaust and dhimmitude, Al Qaeda and ISIS. Not to mention the "Palestinians," New Age movement and the Vatican.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?
The worst thing about being stubborn, obstinate and stiff-necked is that, like a mule, one cannot move you unless you want to move! And this is also the best thing, when you are moving in the right direction. Then, you are serious, determined, tenacious, resolute, decisive, earnest, persistent, and iron-willed. You have pluck, grit, fortitude, persistence and backbone. You have a SPINE.
HaShem says that He has control over everything, except whether a human being will follow Him. He already has robots — angels, who must follow directions, at least that's how R' Sprecher puts it. There is no "or else" — they just do what they're told.
What He wants from us is our willing cooperation.
Why bother? Because He only supports those who follow Him wholeheartedly. No reservations, no doubts. Question all you want, but expect to accept, and adhere to, the answer you get. You and I, Jew, are beholden to no one else, particularly the lawless people who claim our loyalty.
Here's how some pretty uppity HIJs would respond, and have responded, to our current circumstances:
Writing Jews out of Their Own History | How Rav Kook would have dealt with UNESCO | Standing His Ground and Losing His Job for the Right Reason | The Two-State Delusions...writes Michael Kuttner | 'Don't fret global opposition, annex Judea and Samaria now' |
A Healthy Winter to all my readers! I am sure some of you have even more and better ideas.
More reading:
Israel and Contemporary Forms of Western-Left Racism | Checkmating Obama | 10 Photos to Remind You that Jews Don't Fit Into a Stereotype (And Never Have) | Bread and Circuses. G-d Chose Circuses. |
And a couple more articles in 2019:
PURIM: Thanking G-d for our Struggles | Beresheet: The Nation of Israel reaches for the stars |
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