Ain Hachi Nami
In the Ain Hachi Tsunami shtikel, I casted my doubts upon the self proclaimed prophets who used the opportunity of over 200,000 deaths to broadcast their divine powers. The following are excerpts from rabbi B. Bleich's article. This is the link
http://www.ou.org/other/5765/tsunami5.htm
.….Are there any words to describe the anguish of the mother holding onto her two children -- who had to choose between them -- so that she might have a free hand in order to cling to the floating raft that promised her deliverance?
Is there any language that can adequately convey the terror of the Israeli tourists who discovered that the killer waves had swept their 11-month-old baby right out of the hotel room?
The mind reels. The tears flow. This is not supposed to be the way the world works. And yet this is our reality. Just as the biblical Noah, we witnessed the devastation of a torrential flood -- but this time we received no advance warning. In Noah's time a greater percentage of world population was stricken -- as only Noah and his family were spared -- but in raw numbers the contemporary tragedy probably ranks on a higher scale. Survivors are already called modern-day Noahs. The boy who clung for two days to a coconut tree is today's version of the biblical ark.
But it is precisely in this equation that I perceive an extremely troubling element. And it has already begun to raise its despicable head in some ostensibly "religious" publications. How could this have happened? It seems there are those who do not hesitate to assume the mantle of the prophet, to publicly assert their knowledge of divine intent as clearly as if God spoke to them "face-to-face" as He did with Moses. In the aftermath of tragedy, the false prophets of our times don't waver even for a moment as they pronounce judgment upon all of the victims.
Never mind that in the Bible it was God Himself who explained what He did. These defenders of the faith think it's necessary to always defame those who suffer in order to preserve the idea of divine righteousness. But bad theology is even worse than bad behavior. We can generally get over the hurt that comes from other people's actions. It's much harder, though, to recover from the kind of misrepresentations some people spout, ostensibly in the name of religion, that distort our proper understanding of God and His ways…….
…… The truth, as any serious student of the Bible can tell you, is that catastrophes don't always necessarily imply divine retribution. Sometimes yes, but sometimes not. The paradigm of suffering in the Bible is Job, a man blessed to have a book named after him. But when Job's friends witnessed the terrible things that befell him, they could only come to one conclusion: The man they thought was pious obviously had to be a fraud. Their "words of comfort" were nothing less than condemnation…..
…… How easy is to judge someone else. How simple to assume that "the punishment fits the crime," even if we have no cause to believe that the victim is guilty.
But of course the "friends" of Job were wrong. They lacked a key piece of information. What Job endured had nothing to do with sin. In fact he was a saint -- so saintly that God wanted to test him, because "God trieth the righteous." He was to demonstrate to Satan the strength of the pious, the conviction of the holy, and the fortitude of those who may question but still never abandon their faith. Far from proving Job's guilt, the suffering was a sign of his unique stature in the eyes of God.
The misguided theologians were clearly condemned. "My wrath burns against you," God said to them, "for you did not speak properly about Me, as my servant Job has" (Job 42:7).
In an ironic twist at the end of the book, God continues his reproach of the "friends" by telling them: "And my servant Job shall pray for you. It is only for his sake that I will show consideration, not to do terrible things to you; for you did not speak properly about Me" (Job 42:8)….
http://www.ou.org/other/5765/tsunami5.htm
.….Are there any words to describe the anguish of the mother holding onto her two children -- who had to choose between them -- so that she might have a free hand in order to cling to the floating raft that promised her deliverance?
Is there any language that can adequately convey the terror of the Israeli tourists who discovered that the killer waves had swept their 11-month-old baby right out of the hotel room?
The mind reels. The tears flow. This is not supposed to be the way the world works. And yet this is our reality. Just as the biblical Noah, we witnessed the devastation of a torrential flood -- but this time we received no advance warning. In Noah's time a greater percentage of world population was stricken -- as only Noah and his family were spared -- but in raw numbers the contemporary tragedy probably ranks on a higher scale. Survivors are already called modern-day Noahs. The boy who clung for two days to a coconut tree is today's version of the biblical ark.
But it is precisely in this equation that I perceive an extremely troubling element. And it has already begun to raise its despicable head in some ostensibly "religious" publications. How could this have happened? It seems there are those who do not hesitate to assume the mantle of the prophet, to publicly assert their knowledge of divine intent as clearly as if God spoke to them "face-to-face" as He did with Moses. In the aftermath of tragedy, the false prophets of our times don't waver even for a moment as they pronounce judgment upon all of the victims.
Never mind that in the Bible it was God Himself who explained what He did. These defenders of the faith think it's necessary to always defame those who suffer in order to preserve the idea of divine righteousness. But bad theology is even worse than bad behavior. We can generally get over the hurt that comes from other people's actions. It's much harder, though, to recover from the kind of misrepresentations some people spout, ostensibly in the name of religion, that distort our proper understanding of God and His ways…….
…… The truth, as any serious student of the Bible can tell you, is that catastrophes don't always necessarily imply divine retribution. Sometimes yes, but sometimes not. The paradigm of suffering in the Bible is Job, a man blessed to have a book named after him. But when Job's friends witnessed the terrible things that befell him, they could only come to one conclusion: The man they thought was pious obviously had to be a fraud. Their "words of comfort" were nothing less than condemnation…..
…… How easy is to judge someone else. How simple to assume that "the punishment fits the crime," even if we have no cause to believe that the victim is guilty.
But of course the "friends" of Job were wrong. They lacked a key piece of information. What Job endured had nothing to do with sin. In fact he was a saint -- so saintly that God wanted to test him, because "God trieth the righteous." He was to demonstrate to Satan the strength of the pious, the conviction of the holy, and the fortitude of those who may question but still never abandon their faith. Far from proving Job's guilt, the suffering was a sign of his unique stature in the eyes of God.
The misguided theologians were clearly condemned. "My wrath burns against you," God said to them, "for you did not speak properly about Me, as my servant Job has" (Job 42:7).
In an ironic twist at the end of the book, God continues his reproach of the "friends" by telling them: "And my servant Job shall pray for you. It is only for his sake that I will show consideration, not to do terrible things to you; for you did not speak properly about Me" (Job 42:8)….
posted by Shragie at 2:56 PM
3 Comments:
Do you want us to be somehow surprised at the insensetive rantings of the selfrighteous selfappionted leadership of popular religions. "know ,that not all that speak in MY name have ME in mind"
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hitlers 1st move as Furher was gun registration his 2nd was gun confiscation we are in a shit load of trouble
Weapons Confiscation Is Only the Beginning
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
January 24, 2005
Last Thursday, the civilian head of Hebron's security apparatus, Yoni Bleichbard, who is EMPLOYED by the Defense Ministry was notified that his weapon's license, permitting him to carry an M-16 rifle, had been voided and that he was now classified as 'weapons-negated.' The reason: unknown. The source of the decision: Central Command or higher. The result: yesterday, Yoni was forced to 'return' his rifle to the authorities that be. In other words, Hebron's security chief is forbidden to carry the primary tool of his trade, that tool which is used to offer protection and defense, should the need arise, to any of the Hebron community's hundreds of residents or thousands of visitors.
So, you might ask, perhaps Yoni is a suspected criminal, and is too dangerous to be allowed to walk around with a weapon. Perhaps, except that Yoni has not been recently arrested, indicted, tried or convicted of any serious crimes. Not only isn't Yoni suspected of "Jewish terrorism." To the contrary. He has proven his heroism. Two years ago, when terrorists struck, killing twelve men, including nine officers and soldiers, and three Kiryat Arba civilians, Yoni was one of the first people on the scene, and put his life on the line to save others. Working together with other security personnel, Yoni attempted to weed out the attacking Arab murderers, while also intentionally putting himself in the line of fire, carrying wounded out of the battle zone. It is difficult to image greater courage or bravery.
Yet, late last week Yoni was notified that he is relieved of his weapon.So too were the security officers of Yeshivat Shavei Hevron, Kiryat Arba and southern Hebron Hills community Ma'ale Hever.
But don't let anyone tell you that this is political. Of course not. It's strictly security-related. For sure.
For general background purposes: It should be clear. First of all, our security is in the hands of the Almighty. Without Him, nothing would help. That having been said, practically speaking, our day-to-day security is deposited with multi-branched Israeli security forces, divided between the army, the police, the border police, intelligence, etc. It is their job to make sure we are safe. That is, of course, a collective 'we,' basically including all citizens of the State of Israel. In Hebron, and throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the security presence is necessarily higher and perhaps more blatant than elsewhere. Due to the abundance of 'security activity,' the Defense Ministry, through the Israel Defense Forces, appoints local civilians, all of whom have served in combat units in the army, to work with them. These men work night and day, patrolling, organizing and training civilian emergency teams, coordinating emergency medical needs, and also act as pipelines between the residents of their communities and local military commanders. I can personally testify to the fact that Yoni Bleichbard works from very early in the morning to very late at night, and is virtually always on call, seven days a week. At the very least, a walkie-talkie, beeper, and cell phone are always at hand. And up until yesterday, an M-16.
To be clear: weapons in Yesha are, unfortunately, the norm. I can remember, when I first came to Israel in 1974, seeing men my age walking around the streets of Jerusalem with Uzis (the pre-M-16 era). It was, for me, coming from suburbia USA, a very strange sight and it took me a long long time to get used to it. Seeing a pistol on a cop's belt, no big deal. But an automatic machine gun in the hands of 19 and 20 year olds, in the middle of Jerusalem it blew my mind.
However, over the years I learned. There is little, if any, choice. People have to be ready to defend themselves. Just as a person in a jungle must be armed for reasons of self-protection, always prepared for a lion, tiger, or any other four-legged wild animal, so too, Israelis must be ready, except that here the beasts have only two legs. In Yesha, over the years, civilians may apply to carry weapons via the Interior ministry or through defense channels. The latter may license and issue an Uzi, M-16, or other such weapons, to properly prepared civilians, all of whom have either served in the army or have undergone weapons training.
Despite leftist claims of Yesha-residents 'militancy,' I can assuredly state that an overwhelming majority of weapons-licensed civilians, probably even more than a majority, somewhere in the 90 percent plus category, have never ever used their rifles, excepting army-regulated target practice. As opposed to our Arab neighbors, with very few exceptions, Israeli civilians do not use their guns to randomly attack; rather a weapon is a means of self-defense only. In this sense, guns save lives, Jewish lives.
It is possible that the confiscation orders concerning Yoni's weapon, and those of the other three security personnel mentioned, is a mistake. Mistakes do happen. However, that assumption is, in my book, very naֳ¯ve. Somebody is playing games with us and with our lives. Four Hebron-area security chiefs aren't ordered to hand over their weapons 'just like that.' And it certainly wouldn't surprise me if the orders originate very high up.Years ago, following the Rabin assassination, I wrote a couple of articles dealing with 'Witch-hunts.' Anyone who remembers that time period knows that it was excruciatingly difficult. Yet I presently have a feeling that the post-Rabin witch-hunts will be nothing compared with what Sharon has in store for us and weapons-confiscation is only the beginning
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