Beha'alotecha 5785

The headlines in the Jerusalem Post read:

U.S. Jews Will Be Under Attack For Next Decade, Intelligence Expert Testifies To Congressional Subcommittee

What follows is quite frightening to think for not only ourselves but for our children, our grandchildren and for America itself.

(Washington, D.C.) “America’s Jewish community is under attack, and we need to take decisive action to save lives and mitigate the escalating threats,” intelligence expert Kerry Sleeper testified to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence on Wednesday. “The threat of targeted violence being faced by the Jewish-Israeli community is complex and continues to evolve; this threat will likely persist for at least the next decade,” he said. Sleeper, who is the Deputy Director of Intelligence and Information Sharing at the Secure Community Network (SCN), urged the subcommittee to develop a task force to protect the Jewish community from threats in light of the recent attacks on Jews in the U.S. and the threats to national security. Sleeper testified that in every analytical brief since October 7, 2023, “SCN has warned of this rising threat[against Jews and Israelis], exacerbated by online incitement from Iranian-linked groups and designated foreign terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS.”

Our Torah reading, Beha’alotecha, contains a phrase that is quite familiar. We recite and sing these words just before we take the Torah out from the Aron Hakodesh:

וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה

“Vayehi beensoa ha-aron, vayomer Moshe.”

“When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say:”

The words that follow are ones that beseech God to protect the Israelite nation then, and the Jewish people now:

  קוּמָ֣ה ה׳ וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃

“kuma Adon-ai veyafutzu oyvecha, me-sanecha, me-panecha”

“Advance, O Adon-ai ! May Your enemies be scattered,

And may Your foes flee before You !” (Numbers 10:35)

Rashi comments on this verse stating that anyone who hates the Israelite nation, in truth hates God. If they are our enemies, then they are by nature God’s enemies.

One of my study partners asks: if we read Rashi’s commentary correctly, then how can those who claim to be God fearing and God loving hate and rally against the Jewish people and against Israel at this time?

The headlines from the Jerusalem Post are frightening to say the least. They are in bold letters. So the question might be how should we reflect and prepare based on this statement? Is it simply enough to know that the United States government has set up a congressional subcommittee to understand the level of anti-Semitism that now exists in America?

At our congregational meeting this week, one of the questions that was asked was about the cost of security that we now have to maintain just to feel somewhat safe and protected while we join together for services and programs. Unfortunately, we all understand that need.

Just recently in Boulder, CO, we had a deranged individual attack peaceful marching Jews calling for the release of the remaining hostages. This week, the FBI thwarted a Pakistani national living in Canada who planned to cross over the border prepared to annihilate as many Jews as he possibly could.

One commentary, Sforno, suggests that out of fear, the enemies of God will flee from our midst. But we are seeing today, that those who are the enemies of the Jewish world, are the same who portray themselves as God loving and God fearing. And they are not frightened away. They become more defiant as each day passes by without a solution to the tragic events taking place in Gaza at this moment.

Thomas Friedman recently returned from a visit to Israel. In an opinion article this week he maintains:

“If instead, though, Israel goes ahead with Netanyahu’s vow to perpetuate this war indefinitely — to try to achieve “total victory” over every last Hamasnik, along with the far right’s fantasy of ridding Gaza of Palestinians and resettling it with Israelis — Jews worldwide better prepare themselves, their children and their grandchildren for a reality they’ve never known: to be Jewish in a world where the Jewish state is a pariah state — a source of shame, not of pride.” (NY Times, June 10)

Clearly our words of prayer when the Torah is taken out of the Ark are not ones that are actually going to change the genocidal calls and actions taking place or being thwarted by authorities before they happen. For centuries Jews have uttered Moses’s words as a hope that God will protect us in this world from the enemies that want to destroy us. We offer these words as the Torah is being taken out, to display our faith in God and God’s faith in us. It may not provide the real answer. But at least we can voice in prayer to God, that somehow those who maintain a love for God will understand that it includes a love of all people, including us. And we hope for the future of our children and grandchildren herein America and around the globe, that the words of Thomas Friedman and that of intelligence expert Kerry Sleeper will be what wakes up the world to the truths of anti-Semitism. But as Thomas Friedman clearly points out, as long as the war in Israel and Gaza continues, we need to be mindful of the hatred that will continue to be fostered not only against Israel and Israelis, but all Jews.  It is not only frightening but terribly tragic to see a world that has been turned upside down.

I wrote this Rabbinically Yours prior to the Israeli attack on Iran last evening. We pray for the safety of all those in the IDF who are involved in this military action. We pray that their mission is successful. We pray for the safety of all those who dwell in Israel and for Israel’s ability to protect herself from any retaliation by Iran and any organization that they sponsor. We can only hope that we here in America and Jews throughout the world will not be the target of those who support Iran, Hamas, and her allies with rallies and violence.

As we read in our Torah reading for this Shabbat and as we voice in prayer as the Aron Hakodesh is opened as we prepare to bring the Torah into our midst:

קוּמָ֣הה׳ וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃

“kuma Adon-ai veyafutzu oyvecha, me-sanecha, me-panecha”

“Advance, O Adon-ai ! May Your enemies be scattered,

And may Your foes flee before You !” (Numbers 10:35)

May those who are God fearing and loving understand the truths.

Bring them home now!!!

Am Yisrael Chai!!!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi K