WATCHING THE CRAZINESS ON OUR CAMPUSES
Like most Jews, I am watching in horror at the blatant anti-semitsim going on our campuses, lawmakers supporting them, and heads of schools tolerating (and even supporting) this vile hate. It is both disgusting/repulsive (the moral dishonesty) and scary as it feels like pogroms of a time long gone making a comeback.
Where are we to find hope, strength and most importantly, solutions?
The Besh't says, we are meant to learn from every experience, and nothing is by chance, which means that the fact that his craziness has exploded over Pesach, means there is something in the Story of Pesach to guide us through this mess.
One of the things that is most disturbing is that we are watching people who are willfully ignorant or just swept up by the masses feeling like they are fighting some noble culture war. Everyone wants to "fit in" so often, we go along with the herd without challenging what it is we are hearing. It is the double hiddenness. The not knowing of information, and the not knowing that you are even lacking information. As the expression goes, "you don't even know what you don't know."
This was Egypts problem in their denial of Gd and their full throated embrace of everything other than Gd. Idol worship at the highest level. Knowledge and belief in Gd requires us to use our mind and ask questions, challenge the norms and endeavor to seek more and aspire to higher. Of course it requires faith where answers aren't satisfying our hungering curiosity, but there needs to be yearning for more. The Jews, sadly fell in with that lot of idol worship and loss of Gdly spirituality and thus had to schlepped out of Egypt. (No they didn't leave Egypt, they were taken out of Egypt.)
In a lot of ways, this is what we are witnessing on the college campuses. Utter lack of curiosity to find out more. To inquire about facts, desire to really get to the heart of the matter. The organizers are simply anti semitic Jew haters and most of the useful idiots are simply sheep following the alleged culture war herd.
What to do about it and how to stay positive?
What we as Jews need to do, is the same thing we have always done, stand loudly and proudly as a Jew. Don't cower, don't remove your Jewish identifying items, add new ones. Put on a Yamukah or pull out that star of David. Do thinks that identify your Judaism to yourself like saying the Modeh Ani or Shema daily. It is time for us to create our own outcome - with Hashem's help of course - and not wait for others to do it for us. They won't. We can and will be successful when we stand proud.
THE WORLD RESPECTS JEWS WHO RESPECT THEMSELVES!
As far as finding inspiration during these dark times, like all the enemies of Israel and the Jews, who are now holidays with named food items after the protagonists, soon again there will be Hamastashen or Hezbolioli pasta (not to be eaten on Pesach) to commemorate the haters of the Jews.
AM YISROEL CHAI AND HAPPY PESACH.
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman - Article written by my brother Rabbi Nechemia Schusterman of Chabad of Peabody, Massachusetts