Expecting Miracles
Hanukkah on Bondi Beach. Manchester Yom Kippur prayer. Paris Holocaust Memorial vandalised. Washington, DC Embassy shooting. Rabbi murdered in United Arab Emirates. Crown Heights stabbing. Synagogue Arson in Athens.
Because October 7, 2023? Uh, no. Because Jews.
Name a country where Jews have contributed and thrived, and I’ll show you marches and swastikas and physical attacks that seemed unimaginable on May 8, 1945, the day that Germany unconditionally surrendered. But even more stunning? Show me a country where Jews have not lived for hundreds of years and I’ll still show you marches and swastikas and calls for globalizing the Intifada.
Because October 7, 2023? Uh, no. Because Jews.
The Chelmesque madness at play is that we, the victims, have been tagged the oppressors! For the first time in my life, I heard that American friends did not place menorahs in their windows for fear of repercussions. Jewish restaurants are under siege and their patrons are terrified—yes, TERRIFIED—of potential ramifications that might accompany an evening out. And don’t anyone dare tell me that I’m exaggerating. Because when a Torah observant college student cannot safely wear a kippah or tzitzit while attending classes at a previously erstwhile respected Ivy-League institution, both that institution and our entire society have lost their way.
Allow me to let you in on a little secret, one that separates the hand-wringers from the arm-wavers: Jews cherish life and Israel intends to survive, thrive and light the way. That “eternal-victimhood” thing has run its course and, despite the West’s furious downward spiral into the hands of hate-mongers, gay bashers, wielders of child-shields, wife killers, public executioners, suicide bombers, female genital mutilators, loathers of civil-discourse and free enterprise, Israel will flourish. It is the reason she was reborn, infused in 1948 with defiance and righteous purpose; a Phoenix risen from the ashes of the twentieth century’s greatest shame.
Israel wants to live while, seemingly, the West wants to die. For what other reason would civilized nations permit —no, EMBRACE—a tsunami of aberrant values that stand in direct opposition to the ones that birthed their flawed-but-democratic societies? Countries that once stood proud against tyranny and oppression have unfurled the red carpet, paying terrified homage to these most ungrateful houseguests who not only defecate in the homes of their naive hosts but, in fact, play their demise. The irony is nearly comedic, were it not for the accompanying tragedy. To dumb it down a tad, the wolf is no longer at the door; he has moved in and is pushing you aside. Tacit blessings were all he needed.
Limping out of the charmingly-named Holiday of Lights, it is imperative to realize that despite pluralistic attempts to morph the holiday into a ‘Jewish Christmas,’ Hanukkah was born of a refusal to assimilate and, ultimately, disappear. What has happened to us that we are uncomfortable with saying “No”? Parents struggle with it, educators may pay a price by employing it and clergy keeps watering down doctrine until it is diluted to feel-good ambiguity.
Standing at the cusp of a new Gregorian year, we have an opportunity to make miracles happen. Not waiting for some magical splitting of the Red Sea or discovering a small flask of pure oil that inexplicably lasts for eight nights. The relationship with G-d is one of partnership, a relationship where miracles are not awaited but forged. Courage, coupled with moral vision are critical for the societal challenges that lie ahead. Wimps need not apply. Our existence depends on such bravery.
Take a page from Israel. Being liked is less rewarding than being alive.
New York native Andrea Simantov has lived in Jerusalem since 1995. She writes for several publications, appears regularly on Israel National Radio and owns an image consulting firm for women.
