Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Mystery of the Jews

I send this not to everyone on my list but to those who know me to be as egalitarian as it is possible for me to be. Those who know me know I do not select myself or my people, the Jews, for chosenness because it leaves out too many others who have been productive contributors to the humanitarian advancement of man despite great odds.

I would be lying, though, if I said there is not a secrete place in my heart for my people, the Jewish people, who remain remarkable for one important thing: survival and defiance of the odds against it for over 3000 years despite so many attempts at brutal eradication and extinction all over the globe.

It is in the spirit of that fact that I send a Youtube that was sent to me entitled "The Mystery of the Jews." Do I think there was divine intervention for the survival of the Jewish people and our so called chosenness by a God whom I do not know even exists? To that I say as Tevya in "Fiddler on the Roof" said: "Dear God why can't you choose someone else for a change?!" I post this video here or below which I will admit, though questioning and doubting much of the religiosity in it, still grabbed at my heart.

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-most-fascinating-video-ever-made-about-the-jewish-people/


A Letter to a Friend

Hi Kayhed. I loved the sentiments in your letter "There should not be a place for hate" published in the "Framingham Patch" cited here or below T'were your thoughts heeded by all a more perfect world would result.

What you say I have adopted as my own set of principles. No matter what the threat, and admittedly there are many, I do not waiver from a humanitarian impulse. I must for what reputation does a human being leave if they are not for love, kindness, generosity and peace. All the major forces like Mohamed -- peace be on him, Jesus, and the Hebrew Bible contain many verses of peace. One must just look for them. The Hebrew Bible states "Be kind to the stranger because you were once strangers in a strange land." Biblical texts contain violence, too, if one seeks it out but there is kindness, goodness and love if one chooses those above hate, violence and chaos.

"The Talmud recounts that a Gentile once approached Hillel with the request that Hillel convert him to Judaism. This Gentile did not want to go through a lengthy regimen of learning, so he told Hillel; “I want you to teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.” Hillel’s response endures as a lesson for the generations." Hillel taught “Do not do unto others that which you hate done unto yourself – that is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary, go and study it.” Cited here: https://yourphariseefriend.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/do-not-do-unto-others/

All religious texts contain elements of violence but it is up to others in each tradition to teach the opposite which can be found in those texts as well. I repeat, one must just look for them.

I do know that man does better when he/she learns to work with others. Violence and war beget more violence and more war so that culture never advances, indeed, never can advance.

I have dedicated my life in retirement to writing for humanitarian causes as I want that legacy even if it appears in only one small corner of the universe to stand for who I am and to help those I could.


We must press on no matter the set backs, no matter the difficulty and no matter the hate directed against us. Martin Luther King taught: “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”

I am with you!

Best,
Natalie
http://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/letter-there-should-not-be-place-hate-usa-0

NOT ANYMORE

  I wrote this last week and for the most part sat on it because I did not want my writing to imply anything against Israel. As stated agai...