What to do when the UN decides to ignore Israel's Memorial Day and debates about Israel anyway?

light of  5 Iyar 5783 | אור ה' אייר ה'תשפ"ג

Yesterday was the 19th day of the Omer count... | אתמול היה יום ה-19 של ספירת העומר

 

NOTE: It was Yom haZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) when I started this post...I finally posted it on erev Yom haAtzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day). Not quite what I would like to see for the long run, but at least I got to come home before the Great Day of G-d.

UPDATE BELOW: the words to the song on the video. Thanks, Neshama, for that great idea!

***

 

... Watch what Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan does here. 

Watch till the end, it's only 1.5 minutes long. You can fill in the blank of what you think the UN initials should stand for.

Do you think it might be time for Official Israel to QUIT THE UNITED NATIONS, finally? 

How long does it take for the Middle East's "neighborhood bully*" to stand up for himself and stop complying with the "whipping boy" role the nations have given him?

Do you think Israel's political system — the sum total of all the governments we've endured these last 75 years — could do more to prevent casualties like the ones we've seen throughout the years? We need to see the present government respect us at home at least as well as Ambassador Erdan does internationally.

For all the Israeli fallen, military and civilians alike; "Israel proper" and "territories" alike.

G-D HELP US ALL.

 

*"Neighborhood Bully" is a Bob Dylan song from his 1983 album Infidels. Words are included in the link above, an article by Avi Abelow.

UPDATE: Neshama asked me if I (and if not I, then she, on her blog) would post the words to Neighborhood Bully here on the blog. Here they are:

NEIGHBORHOOD BULLY by Bob Dylan

Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man
His enemies say he’s on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He’s the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully he just lives to survive
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He’s the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land
He’s wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He’s always on trial for just being born
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim
That he’ll live by the rules that the world makes for him
‘Cause there’s a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Well, he got no allies to really speak of
What he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of love
He buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Well, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Every empire that’s enslaved him is gone
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon
He’s made a garden of paradise in the desert sand
In bed with nobody, under no one’s command
He’s the neighborhood bully.

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health
He’s the neighborhood bully.

What’s anybody indebted to him for?
Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed
He’s the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill
Running out the clock, time standing still
Neighborhood bully.

Parashat Vayikra — The Triple Sin of Dishonesty by Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

the light of 14 Nisan 5783 |  אור י"ד ניסן ה'תשפ"ג

 

Parashat Vayikra — The Triple Sin of Dishonesty by Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

 

Parashat Vayikra addresses the situation of somebody who falsely denied on oath owing money to another person. The Torah (5:21) gives several examples, such as a situation where a person entrusted his fellow with his object, or lent him money, and the recipient later denied receiving the object or money. Another example mentioned by the Torah is "Ashak Et Amito" – where somebody hired a person to work for him, and then denied owing him wages. If the person falsely swore that he did not owe the object or money, and then confessed his wrongdoing, he must bring a special atonement sacrifice in addition to paying what he owes as well as a fine.

The Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) notes that the Torah uses three different expressions in reference to this offense. First, it says, "Nefesh Ki Teheta" – "If a soul committed a sin." Thereafter, the Torah says, "U’ma’ala Ma’al B’Hashem" – "and transgressed against G-d." Finally, the Torah describes "Ve’kihesh Ba’amito" – that the person "denies his fellow."

The Or Ha’haim explains that these three phrases refer to the three different aspects of this sin, falsely denying a debt that one owes to his fellow.

Firstly, and most obviously, "Ki Teheta" – such a person commits the sin of theft, keeping for himself that which belongs to his fellow. Such conduct constitutes theft, plain and simple, no different from forcibly seizing someone else’s possession.

Secondly, "U’ma’ala Ma’al B’Hashem" – this denial amounts to a direct offense against G-d Himself. If a person rightfully owns something, then we must believe that G-d, in His impeccable justness, determined that this person should own that money or that piece of property. If a person keeps for himself that which belongs to his fellow, then he in essence casts aspersions on G-d’s justice, challenging G-d’s decision to give the object or money in question to the other individual. The Or Ha’haim suggests that the Torah uses a double expression – "U’ma’ala Ma’al" – to allude to the two injustices that the liar is attributing to G-d: he challenges G-d’s decision that his fellow should have this property, and he also challenges G-d’s decision that he himself should not have it. This challenge against G-d’s justice is the second aspect of this offense.

Finally, the Torah speaks of this person as "Kihesh Ba’amito" – literally, "denying his fellow." He does not just deny owing his fellow the object or money that he owes; he denies his fellow’s uprightness. He essentially accuses the rightful owner of what he himself is guilty of – dishonesty, charging that he is trying to steal by falsely claiming that he is owed money or an object. The person thus not only casts aspersions on G-d – he casts aspersions on his fellow, turning him into the criminal.

Seeking to profit through dishonesty is thus a triple crime – theft, a challenge against G-d’s justice, and falsely accusing one’s fellow of wrongdoing. Each one in its own right suffices for us to avoid such misconduct; the combination of all three makes dishonesty especially egregious, and requires us to exercise extreme care to conduct all our financial affairs with strict honesty.

***

I have a couple of questions for the Rav:

—How does this triple sin of dishonesty apply to the relationship between a government and the people it serves (or rules over)? 

—Does a government have the right to, or is it allowed to, do or seek to do any of the above things the Rav wrote about at the people's expense (taxes, whether paid annually or through a general sales tax)? 

(Readers, please feel free to add your questions in the comments.)

***

A kosher and happy Pesah 5783 | פסח ה'תשפ"ג כשר ושמח