HaMizrachi Weekly (UK Edition) - Parashat Vayetzei 5784

VAYETZEI5784 What Has Happened to the Western World?

Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK Today in America it is Thanksgiving Day. Every year, the fourth Thursday in November is held as a national holiday. The history of Thanksgiving goes back to the Pilgrim Fathers in the 1620’s but they were eventually enshrined into American law by Congress in 1782, 6 years after independence. The proclamation ended with:

We do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe and request the several states to interpose their authority, in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF NOVEMBER next as a day of SOLEMN THANKSGIVING to GOD for all His mercies; and they do further recommend to all ranks to testify their gratitude to God for His goodness by a cheerful obedience to His laws and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Today, we see a very different America.

Since October 7th, we have been shocked at what we have seen.

Yes, we must be grateful for the support of President Biden and the incredible contributions of the Jewish and pro-Israel communities. However, the scenes on college campuses, in progressive circles and in the streets of many cities, have shown an America that would make the Founding Fathers turn in their graves.

Today, families across America are sitting down to their turkey, and asking the question - how has it got here? How did it go so wrong?

How can it be that BLM, the organization seemingly created to fight against racism is promoting the slaughter of Jews. After deleting a post with a Paraglider with a Palestinian flag, they posted ‘'We stand with Palestine & the people who will do what they must to live free.’

How can it be that members of Congress are seemingly supporting Hamas. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, on Friday expressed this dramatically by posting a video featuring footage of various protests mixed with clips of the president stating his support for Israel. The video ends with this message: “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

How can it be that so many young Americans seem to hate their country. The fact that so many young Americans showed their support for Osama Bin Ladens letter to America, written a year after 9/11, which went viral last week. The origin of the missive’s new popularity has been pinned by various media outlets on a video posted on Tuesday by a TikTok influencer with 12 million likes on her profile.

“I need everyone to stop what they’re doing right now and go read. It’s literally two pages — go read ‘A Letter to America’,” the influencer wrote. “Come back here and let me know what you think. Because I feel like I’m going through like an existential crisis right now, and a lot of people are. So I just need someone else to be feeling this too.”

I read and watched many of these young people, it was scary and shocking, young Americans AGREEING with Bin Laden as he explained his hatred of Israel, America and the west and his justification for 9/11. Understand this, young Americans are finding agreement with the man who masterminded the greatest terrorist attack on American soil.

So, how can it be?

The answer we can find, not just from our Parsha, but first fromDaf Yomi!

We have recently started Bava Kamma, which deals with liability and compensation for damages inflicted on people or property. There was a case a few days ago, which got me thinking about the current situation in the West and America in particular.

The Gemara gives a case:

Rabba says: If one threw a vessel from a roof and another came and broke it with a stick as it was falling, the one who hit it with the stick is exempt from all liability as we say to him that he broke a broken vessel. Bava Kamma 17b There are two people in this situation, the one who threw the vessel and the one who broke the vessel. The Gemara rules that the thrower is liable for the breakage, not the one who actually broke the vessel. The reason given, is simply that had he not intervened the vessel would have shattered anyway as the Gemara says ‘ He broke a broken vessel.’

So many of these young people, on marches, on campus, on the streets. They didn't create this hate, they have been brainwashed by an ideology taught by their teachers, their professors and a corrupt media. Spouting an ideology that divides the world into oppressors and the oppressed. In this warped world view, Israel is always wrong and needs to be opposed and in many cases removed. They are breaking a broken vessel. Their leaders are liable.

Last Monday more than 100 Columbia University professors signed a letter in defence of students seeking to 'recontextualize' the Hamas attacks on October 7. A Cornell University professor called Hamas terror attack ‘exhilarating’ and ‘energizing’ to which he received applause and two professors in Arizona in their class were recorded saying inexcusable statements. One said that ‘Hamas appeared to be an anti-Zionist group rather than an antisemitic one’, while the other compared Hamas to the African American revolutionary Black Panther Party in that it was a "resistance group."

As Melanie Philips points out this week, these liberal leaders are causing so much damage.

The Palestinians’ principal weapon is the liberal west, which can be relied upon to disseminate their propaganda and demonisation of Israel. The fact that this has become the cause of causes for progressives helps explain the shocking support for or indifference towards the genocidal chanting against Israel and the Jews on the streets of London and other western cities. If the west were to wake up and tell Palestinian leaders that until they stop their incitement to destroy Israel and wipe out the Jews they will receive no funding, recognition or support of any kind, this terrible conflict would end. And so too would the intellectual corruption that has knocked the west off its moral compass and brought it to the edge of the civilisational precipice.

So, we know where the problem is coming from, but how to understand the warped world view? How can it be that people from the West, people like us, can have such a twisted ideology?

For that we turn to the parsha: In Vayeitzei we are introduced to one of the greatest enemies of the Jewish people:

Now it came to pass when Lavan heard the report of Yaacov, his sister's son, that he ran towards him, and he embraced him, and he kissed him, and he brought him into his house. Bereishit 29:13 Rashi immediately introduces us to the character of Lavan ‘That he ran towards him’: He thought that he (Yaacov) was laden with money, for the servant of the household (Eliezer) had come here with ten laden camels.

‘And he embraced:’ When he (Lavan) did not see anything with him (Yaacov), he said, “Perhaps he has brought golden coins, and they are in his bosom.” ‘ And he kissed him’: He said, “Perhaps he has brought pearls, and they are in his mouth.” (from Bereishit Rabbah 70:13) We learn about the extent of Lavan’s plans from the Haggadah.

Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. Pesach Haggadah Lavan, outwardly he is our friend, we are his ‘bone and flesh’. Yet he deep down harbours an intense dislike to our existence. He does not want to commit genocide, he has no inclination to kill the family, but ideologically he wishes to destroy Yaacov, to not allow the Jewish people to emerge, to make everyone like him. Rabbi Sacks concludes that without Hashem’s intervention, Lavan would have refused to give Yaacov and family their freedom to become Bnei Yisrael.

Laven is a classic virtue signaller, look at me, I am wonderful, I take care of my nephew Yaacov, I gave him a family, I gave him a job, I am a good person. He is whiter than white! Lavan!

We now have to deal with so many Lavan’s of 21st century, the pathetic virtue signallers who jump onto every cause, and they tell us…

‘We love Jews, of course we recognise Israel’s right to exist, we are appalled by any type of violence.’

How many times have we heard these words from the media, tv and movie

personalities, politicians.

They may love Jews, but they hate Israel.

They may recognise Israel's right to exist, but not to defend itself from a genocidal death cult.

They are appalled by any type of violence, unless it is against the State of Israel.

Chazal formulated the principle that ma’asei avot siman lebanim, “What happened to the fathers was a sign for the children.” They saw that various episodes in Bereishit could only be understood as a forerunner, a prefiguration, of later events. We are very much seeing that now!

In many ways a ‘Lavan’ enemy is worse than open enemies. At least with those who preach hatred openly, we know where we stand. Not so with the scourge of the Western World. Who profess support to all causes that blight the world….just not when it concerns the Jewish people. Yet they will tell you, of course we are with you….

The solution for us? The start of next week’s Parsha.

Yaacov tells his messengers to take a message to Eisav:

And he commanded them, saying, "So shall you say to my master to Eisav, 'Thus said your servant Yaacov, "Im Lavan garti - I have sojourned with Lavan, and I have tarried until now. Bereishit 32:5 Rashi famously explains:

Another explanation: ‫ ַגְּרִתּי‬has the numerical value of 613. That is to say: I lived with the wicked Lavan, but I kept the 613 commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.

We too live with Lavan, we see them on shows and broadcasts, we hear them on the radio and podcasts and we read them in our newspapers.

And Rashi links us back to 1782, the first official Thanksgiving.

To testify their gratitude to God for His goodness by a cheerful obedience to His laws The answer has always been the same, to connect ourselves strongly to His laws, His Torah and His Eternal values and live our lives accordingly. To call out evil when we see it and to continue to recognise and speak out against the enemies of the Jewish people and civilisation.

That is always the challenge.

That is how we live with Lavan.

And that is how we win.

Am Yisrael Chai

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