Tisha B'Av Thoughts

This probably isn't the most kosher thing to say on Tisha B'Av, but I'm sick and tired of being mournful.

I'm tired of living with the stigma of the Holocaust. I'm tired of being forced to think through the ghetto mindset. I'm tired of living Oslo. I'm tired of being perceived as the weakling, the scapegoat, the great nothing of this world. I'm tired of it-- sick and tired-- and I'm not going to take it anymore!

Stop living out the lifestyle thrown to us by the gentiles of this world, and start living the heritage G-d has given you, Israel! Start being proud to be a Jew! Start being proud to be the light unto the nations, the chosen ones of HaShem! START BEING PROUD OF YOUR SUCCESSES AND YOUR BLESSINGS! Quit mourning for a Temple that is long gone and start planning for a Temple that will soon be rebuilt!

Isaiah 49 is one of the most powerful and timely prophecies in the Tanak. An excerpt from it reads:

"But Tziyon says, 'ADONAI has abandoned me, Adonai has forgotten me.' an a woman forget her child at the breast, not show pity on the child from her womb? Even if these were to forget, I would not forget you. I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, your walls are always before me."

On my wall hangs a print done by a Jewish artist based on the words in bold. It depicts two Orthodox men davening at the Kotel and, to me, it represents two different ideas. Firstly, that HaShem is constantly watching, standing before us and hearing our prayers. Secondly, and perhaps more poignantly, while the Kotel is the most holiest site in all of Judaism, it is still a wall-- a boundary, a border, a division-line. Our walls are before HaShem; while He is constantly seeking us, we are still resting behind walls of separation-- physical, spiritual, ideological.

I'm tired of praying to a wall. I am not a worthy creature, but I am one who is after G-d's own heart, and, therefore, refuse to build a wall, however holy it may be, between G-d and myself. I refuse to see my people settle for a wall. Aren't we supposed to emulate our righteous ones? Didn't our most righteous one, Moshe Rabbenu, see HaShem face to face? Shouldn't that, therefore, be the goal of Am Yisrael? After all, we are waiting for Moshiach, aren't we? What will we do when He reigns in Jerusalem, wall him in out of fear of unworthiness? I don't think so.

What is this fear that plagues us as a people? Is it a fear of being unworthy? Probably-- at least that's part of it. The religious fear that they are unworthy of HaShem. The secular fear that they are unworthy of the world. STOP STIGMATIZING YOURSELF, ISRAEL! We are the chosen ones of G-d! Humility is in order, but we must remember that while HaShem says, "If you fear me and my armies, you need fear nothing else," He is also the G-d who Moshe praised by singing, "In your love, you led the people you redeemed; in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode." (Exodus 15:13) He loves us! What does it matter what the rest of the world thinks when we have HaShem on our side?

Stop accepting the walls, Israel. Stop putting up boundaries between yourself and your G-d. Stop ascending to such great heights, only to resign yourselves to stopping halfway up the mountain. For once in your life, put your stiff-neckedness to good use and be proud of your relationship with your G-d! Stop being the people of mourning, and start being the nation of joy.

By David: Protect me, God, for you are my refuge. I said to ADONAI, "You are my Lord; I have nothing good outside of you." The holy people in the land are the ones who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them. Those who run after another god multiply their sorrows. To such gods I will not offer drink offerings of blood or take their names on my lips. ADONAI, my assigned portion, my cup: you safeguard my share. Pleasant places were measured out for me; I am content with my heritage. I bless ADONAI, my counselor; at night my inmost being instructs me.

I always set ADONAI before me; with him at my right hand, I can never be moved; so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety; for you will not abandon me to Sh'ol, you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss. You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.

Psalm 16

A co-worker just asked me: "What if Israel doesn't win?" You want to know what my answer was? BUT WE WILL.

News:

Evidence Mounts that Kana "Massacre" Was a Fake [Israel National News] Check it out. It's a complete factual lowdown citing multiple sources in the mainstream and alternative medias. Too much to just blockquote, I'd rather you read it all.

Temple Mount Faithful Hold Cornerstone Ceremony [Israel National News] The Temple Mount Faithful wanted to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple today, but they weren't allowed to get onto the Mount. Something about Muslim lunatics wanting to murder them in the name of Allah or something...yeah, that's it. One activist was arrested at the Kotel after he tried to prevent other Jews from getting to the wall, arguing that if we could not ascend to the Temple Mount, then we shouldn't be able to get to the wall, either. Reasoned as this argument may be, wouldn't it just have been easier to, I don't know, slay a few ticking time bombs instead? I mean, after all, the Macabees didn't exactly defer to the authority of Greece, nor did they just walk right in and take the Temple back. I'm not advocating violence or lunatic actions here, but I am saying that we're going to have to put up a fight for this thing sooner or later, and we'd best be fighting with our enemies, not each other. But, who knows? Maybe we just need a breather before we destroy the enemy completely. Speaking of which...

Iranian president: Israel's destruction solution to Mideast crisis [YNet]

"Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate ceasefire must be implemented," Ahmadinejad said, according to state-run television in a report posted on its Web site.

Translation of Muslim Doublespeak: Yeah, we hate the Jewz and we are going to totally wipe them out ...later. After we remove our tails from between our legs. Seriously, dude-- Jews with guns! I thought Oslo removed that threat for us!

Well? Helloooo, Israel? Are you going to turn to HaShem yet, or what? I had to find this news story out via ISRAELI sources, because my hip, trendy, sophisticated American 24-hour cable news didn't think it was worthy of any air time. When the international community doesn't come out demanding a swift and complete attack on Amadinnerjacket and his lunatic country, you know Israel stands alone. You can't just toss statements like these off with the classic PC line, "While I disagree with your beliefs and lifestyle, I respect your choice to live that way." KILL THE NUTCASE! KILL HIM BEFORE HE KILLS US! DUH!

When the JPost headlines page has all of 12 new headlines since you last looked at 11 pm the night before, you know the IDF is keeping a tight rein on reports coming out of the war zone. Good.

Tisha B'Av
Israel
Judaism
Jewish
Jew
Kotel
Temple Mount
Qana