To Love or not to Love!
Posted by Aryeh ben Avraham | Labels: Eretz Israel, Love Your Neighbour, Mitzvoth, Talmud, Torah | Posted On Sunday 18 November 2007 at 14:18
Just a few days ago the press informed of a Jewish woman, her kids and their few belongings, being dislodged or evicted from the apartment she was living in, by the owner.
The news also stated that an Arab yes an Arab gave her lodging.
What the news did not say, was that no Jew offered her help or any kind of assistance in those terrible moments she was undergoing.
This matter did not give me any peace at all, every now and then it would creep in to my mind making me think about this distressed Jewess.
Can you just for a minute put yourself in the shoes of this distressed Jewess, what must she have been going through in the middle of the street with her kids and their few belongings, not knowing what to do or where to go.
Now also, just imagine what Hashem must have felt when he saw that none of His children ¿us Jews? approached this Jewess and offered to take her and her kids to his house or any other kind of help or assistance.
We also know perfectly well that Hashem does not go around twisting our arms to have us do His Will, and He certainly was not going to leave His daughter stranded on the street with her kids to suffer and feel ashamed and humiliated; so He made an Arab yes an Arab help her out in this difficult situation.
What can we learn from this incident, I would say a lot.
It is more than obvious that we are heading in the wrong direction, that is alienated from Hashem, that we no longer hear Him and are living just thinking on ourselves, I, Me, Myself; feeding our egos to such a point that we are no different from the gentiles.
It seems that we no longer want to comply with one of the most important Mitzvahs:
Leviticus = Vayikra - Chapter 19
18. You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; "you shall love your neighbour as yourself". I am the Lord.
"Giving comes from the holy side of the spiritual spectrum, while taking comes from the impure, dark side".
With all this is that we are living presently, the Arabs wanting to take control over Jerusalem, Jews evicted from their houses in Holy Land by Jews, the constant missile attacks from the Palestinians and Hizballah,the Government's insensible attitude toward the need of the poor in the Eretz Israel, and please do not forget all those children in Eretz Israel that are not able to eat a decent hot meal every day and even go without eating some days and many other things that we just do not want to see and prefer to ignore as long as it does not affect us.
The serious part of this, is that we start asking why Hashem is allowing all this to happen, it is more than obvious that we are alienated from Him and the He is telling us to return to Him and Torah.
The Talmud Yerushalmi - Yoma 1:1 - states:
R. Yochanan bar Tora said, "We find that the First Temple was destroyed because the Jews committed idolatry, adultery, and murder. But at the time of the Second Temple, we know that they studied Torah diligently, observed mitzvot meticulously, and possessed all of the good character traits. [Nonetheless, they were exiled] because they loved money and hated one another for no reason; and groundless hatred is worse than these three cardinal sins."
As Jerusalem comes to risk, we must stand together in strength and loving kindness for each other. Otherwise, the enemy from within will win before the enemy from without.
It is a spiritual fact, that the day that in Eretz Israel "love your neighbour as yourself" prevails within us, we shall be an example for the nations of the world and the enemies of the Jews will not prevail any longer and the front door will be wide open for Masiach to come.
Blessings
