February 2009
ISRAEL---CONTINUALLY IMPLODING AND PERSEVERING
BY
SY SCHECHTMAN
As
a very literate young teenager almost eons ago, I have always maintained just a few glowing embers of that adolescent time of unrest and
growth. One image is that of
Fort Zinderneuf an outpost in the
Sahara desert of the French Foreign
Legion in pre World War One. The legionaires were usually depicted as romantic misfits
from all over and many Arab
French confrontations occurred. In one such instance the French commander, a brutal and sadistic but very effective
sergeant, ordered every dead French soldier propped up with rifle and full military regalia,
gun aimed at the ready. With
the remaining gradually dwindling force
running from post to post, and firing,
to make it appear that the
battle was being won by the beleaguered and far outnumbered French troops. Ultimately this ruse worked and
the Arabs retreated as the sound of the relief bugle calls of
the rescuing reinforcements is heard.
I feel, somehow, a warming
kinship with this as a paradigm of the
perception of the grossly over inflated Jewish
presence in the world. The Jews are a bare two tenths of one percent of
world population, and most demographers
of world wide historical trends
estimate that in the last two thousand years we have merely doubled our size---from about 6 or 7 million to about 15 millionwhile
other major religions of the west have increased to multi millions of adherents, --Catholics,
Protestants, Moslems most with
beginnings much later than when monotheistic faith was first proclaimed in Genesis 19, when God first spoke to Moses on Mt.
Sinai.
And there are only about six million
Jews today in the United States, and
most estimates of Jewish population
world wide two thousand years
ago had a population of similar size.
But Jews now, as
evidently in the Zinderneuf incident
with the French and the Arabs in the story above, were so active and in your face that
many people thought they saw a horde of Jews when a mere small local multiplicity made them, at
times, uneasy. I suspect that this is true with at least an other very successful
minority group---the gay and lesbian minority. Their somewhat unusual life style and culture makes them relatively
more newsworthy and perhaps more threatening. And thus the origins of anti Semitism,
perhaps, many centuries ago. Indeed, at the time just before the
Christian era two millennia ago, the Jews were the most pesky entity under Roman rule, on the verge of
rebellion often because of their
strange monotheistic, somewhat fanatic, obeisance their one God,
Adonai.
Indeed at that time almost the entire western civilized worldmost of which
was under Roman domination, was aware
of the ultimate Roman struggle against the Jews at Masada in about 80AD. Christianity at that
time was just an infant rumble of dissident Jews---Christs fellow Jewish companions. The fires of Anti Semitism today have been artfully fanned by the Christ
Killer canard , too, but down through
the centuries most people had perceptions of a well
financed, powerful subversive group
that was a potent threat to both rich and poor. Indeed, Hitler had the Jew
as both the vile communist (as in
Soviet Boshevik Russia) and the vile
capitalist money bags scheming to
subvert the innocent pure Nordic Northern white human being, especially the pure Nazi New German that
Hitler was creating in his thousand year
Reich.
It is true that, scripturally
speaking, the Jews came first. Before there had been a welter of
deity, ranging from the glorious technicolor of Hindu pantheism down to the dualism of Persian Ahura Mazda and Zorastrianism. Then , with the marvelous concision of the unity of God ---ethical monotheism--embodying
all the moral good possible, the
Jews captured the high ground for mankinds
soul and imagination. And his ultimate
salvation by doing the holy deeds prescribed (mitzvoth) in the holy scriptures. First the Hebrew Testament (the Old Testament)
Then the Gospels of Christ ----about 1200 years later, (the New Testament) and about 600 years later, the Koran, Muhammids Revelations of his holy discussions with God (Allah). However, a prime sticking point is the core of this revelation to the Jews in Exodus 19 Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed all the earth is mine but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
This declaration with distinct overtones of Jewish chosiness and superiority did not sit well with the sister religions of Christianity and Islam, whom the Jews preferred to definitely designate as daughter, later derived manifestations of the one true living God. The primacy of the Jews, too, as those who were Gods first love, was not a happy fact to either Christian or Muslim. And hence the Gentile story of Christs genesis and fulfillment is the New testament, thus superceding the Jewish Mosaic revelation and Mohammid, about six hundred years later is considered, by his followers, as the last and most authentic revelation of the One God now Allahto humanity. The Jewish Credo stops far short of either of the other two in salvation glory, being mostly an epic of the enduring beatitude of idyllic earthly life in some mortal form when humanity is worthy. When brotherhood at last is universal and our behavior is just and righteous. Thus the Messiah will appear, no immortal but perhaps another like Moses, who in his consummate holiness spoke to God almost face to face, and whose final resting place is still unknown. Christ said my kingdom is not of this world and it was many eons before his devout followers gave up on the fervent bliss that on his second coming he would judge and glorify the righteous with eternal life. This failure of return has been subsumed by the promise of eternal heavenly bliss at the end of individual mortal life in most Christian sects. In Islam, as we know now for many of its followers---the Jihadists--- that there is a firm eternity in place, but the means of attaining it has many non believers mystified if not horrified.
Essentially Judaism preaches morality and that your eternal reward is a good mortal life. More or less, that virtue is its own reward. And attaining a good name and reputation. And the loving memory of your progeny and community. And that your eternal soul returns to the bosom of God. However, for most of humanity this is not enough. As we go through mortal life we experience or witness many factors we can not control; death and /or debilitating disease or economic disaster, always being prime concerns. Thus undue and inexplicable suffering for even ostensibly virtuous people can not be accepted without the ultimate release of post mortal being. Some form of delightful existence after mortal death and the end game of suffering usually attached to this process, which in our limited dim earthly conception we call heaven, or paradise. Where we will get our eternal reward for doing what we are sure were Gods true dictates on earth, transcending the ultimate, dreadful painful end play of losing ones actual physical life.
For the Jew, however, whose history on
earth has been almost constant persecution through pogrom, anti Semitism, and crushing holocaust, where Nazi
outright slaughter killed about a quarter of existing Jews worldwide in the extermination camps in Germany, Poland and other sites in eastern Europe, there is a remarkable vacuum of options. His enthusiasm for the future is confined
to merely this mundane earthly
planet. His long range plan is doing
the eternal good in this life
life
only to merit the good that must inevitably inhere to such conduct for his progeny on earth and innumerable
friends made in advancing the
good cause of human growth and achievement.
An extension of virtue as its own reward, o the golden rule---Do unto
others what they should do unto you.
And for while, indeed, Jewish History seemed on track on this fruitful earthly path. In the great biblical story of the Exodus Jews threw off the bondage of Egyptian slavery, and under Moses inspired leadership, with Gods direct help, escaped to freedom. There are then many tales of hardship and setbacks on the way across the desert, and when they at one crucial point are reluctant to cross the Jordan river into the Promised Land, doubtful of the wisdom and efficacy of the Lords command to do so, God loses patience with this stiff necked and unbelieving people---for whom He has already performed countless miracles---and makes them wander in the desert for forty long years, until the next more faithful generation can accomplish their mission into the land of milk and honey.
After another century or so of
consolidation among the indigenous people,
and many Jewish folk heros such as Gideon, Debra. Samson, Jeptha,
who helped lead the people locally (Judges) the Jewish 12 tribes in the land began to flourish. Apparently a helpful power vacuum between both North and Southa relatively weak Egypt
and Mesopotamiawas in place, and
forceful Jewish leaders arose to organize and unify the confederation of tribes
into a small but strong nation; first to fight a new local threat, the invading Philistines from the west, led by King Saul, then by David who ruled for over 20 years and his son
Solomon who ruled for 40 years in
relative glory. Much of Israel gloried in Solomons reputed wisdom and literary
skill. His name is appended to many the poetic and literary epics in the Hebrew
Bible. Among his other credits (?) is that he is reputed to have had a
harem of one thousand wives and
concubines. Also Solomon was famous
as a diplomat as well as a domestic lord. While his father King David was famous for being a warrior as well as a statesman, founding,
among other important thngs, the
city of Jerusaleum,
his son Solomon was the consummate diplomat and peaceful leader; he ruled for 40 years and needed no battles
to enlarge his small empire. Probably his harem like domestic
situation contributed to the peaceful
enlargement of his regime
through treaties and innumerable betrothal arrangements and the sin of many
intermarriages. Also we know, however, from references in
the Bible, to the imposition of forced labor and higher taxation to finance many of Solomons expansionary projects. His elaborate temple in Jerusaleum was one
of thewonders of the ancient world,
and he evidently had a navy for
international commerce and a visit from the Queen of Sheba, an illustrious black African potentate who sought out Solomon for his famed wisdom and perhaps as a
possible mate. Ultimately, however,
there was internal rebellion and the kingdom split in two, and the relatively powerful Jewish
empire, which received tribute
financially and much respect from
contiguous tribes and municipal entities, became itself two hostile entities divided against its own
core Jewish interests. The nNorthern
Kingdom ---Samaria ---- was conquered in 721 BC by Assyria and in 586
Babylonia overcame the sSourthern
Kingdom of Judah. Both of these sad
events contributed to nourished
the growth
large and everlasting source of the
Jewish diaspora which flourished throughout the near east so much that by about the
year 300 BC the
first translation of the Hebrew scriptures into a Greek dialect occurred---the
Koine-- become
available as the Jews, scattered but not completely
disaffected, still believed in their unique concept of the one omnipotent God
who ruled the world and guided
mankind. Many such Jews still tithed their income though far
away, sending back funds to the tiny rebuilt Temple in the postage size state
of Judah.
However, after the fabled but
flawed Solomonic reign followed by the antagonistic split Kingdoms, the
gradual implosion of Jewish hegemony in the material world was underway. There were respites and revivals, such as at the beginning of the so called
Christian era, when a Jewish anti hero, Herod, ruled in Israel and cooperated
with the oppressive Roman ruling legions.
Herod rebuilt Solomons ancient temple and also other impressive
monuments, but he also
levied heavy taxes and oppressive edicts on the backs of the
Jews of Jerusalem, as Solomonm did
late in his regime. Jewish unrest
simmered and erupted from time to
time and Rome actually restructured
its far flung legions to
concentrate on the fractious Jews of Palestine in about 70AD. The final
Jewish uprising was the famous siege of
Masada, to quell the Jewish hero, Bar Kochba, who at that time was hailed by the sainted
Rabbi Akiva as the new Messiah. The Jewish assault failed
and Roman patience was at an
end. The Second Temple was
destroyed and the Jews dispersed world
wide.
During this crucial time a minuscule event happened
which in
time proved
utterly very consequential. The
infant Christ was born in Bethlehem
and a movement begun somewhat later in
Jerusalem and beyond began claiming
that he was the Son of God and the new Messiah . A holy immaculate conception for His mother Mary and
the logical successor to late Jewish
leader Moses and his followers. (Moses a mortal whose gravesite was never found and Christ whose body disappeared from his burial tomb
after 3 days). By the time of the Roman wars with the Jews this nascent movement was competeing activelycompeting actively
with tradtionaltraditional Jewry for adherents andadherents and the fact that the Romans routedRomans routed
the Jews after much effort around 13573 AD gave the gentile New Testament much validity as to whose God was
stronger. Indeed this new
movement, initially a new Jewish
offspring, branch was aided
mightily by the
conversion of Paul----, who as a previously a
committed Jew, Saul, , now awas definitely anti
Christian. Now Paul rallied the neutral, uncommtted , and pagan
people outside of Israel people
to this cause, claiming that the Mosaic code and the onerous ritual and prayer
codes , and circumcision, were not necessary; by accepting Christ as the Saviour and only Son of God personal salvation was assured.
From the During the few
hundred years asas the Jewish decline began, from Solomon on, and accelerated through the events of
Jewish defeat and dispersal, the
great literary prophets of the Bible appeared, commenting and explicating
on the troubled path of the
Jewish people, as the downward historical path accelerated. It was never that God had broken His
covenant with the Jews but that the Jews had gone a whoring after other
peoples gods. Thus idolatry, as
with Solomons wives and Ahabs Jezebel and her
the priests of Baal among the more
notorious examples, anbut d
above all the ignoring oof the ethical codes of justice and
morality
emphasized
throughout the
Hebrew Scriptures..
Isaiahs famous cry to bring me
no more vain oblations and Micahs
He has told you O Man what is good,
And what the Lord requires of
you: Only to do justice, and to love
goodness, And to walk modestly with
your God; then will your name achieve
wisdom. Orf
the cries of Amos I loathe, I spurn
your festivals, I am not appeased by your
solemn assemblies. If you offer me burnt offeringsor your meal
offerings---I will not accept them; I
will pay no heed .to
you gifts of fatlings. Spare Me the sound of
your hymns, and l
Let me not hear
the music of your lutes. But let justice well up like
water, righteousness like an unfailing stream.
It was man who had failed God, not the reverse. If humanity had but lived up to being
his brothers keeperof being
just and humanetheir sad lot would improve. The latter prophets---Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Amos,
Hosea, Micah, etc.-- held out this
lifeline from God to the Jews. Now to the saving remnant
now all in the diaspora. The implosion of the Jews was seemingly
complete, but a seemingly miraculous
revival began. Infinitely
slowly but with the patient persistence
of the possessed, devoted , and even perhaps
obsessed; With no
homeland, no central temple, no leader
of any credibility, they still had the word of God in their holy
Torah. They
became traveling
missionaries throughout the large diaspora world with the traditional toast
from deep in the hinterlands Next
year in Jerusalem. God is also portrayed in exile, waiting in the wings, as it were, for his first loved people to return to their mission to
be a
nation of priests and a holy nation.
But
they now had strong local leaders and teacherstheir rabbis--,who lived and married and reared families
alongside the laity. No more off putting
priesthood as a cold intermediary between man and God. Now weekly prayer and learning sessions in a growing number of synagogues, In essence they were saying Have Book, Will Travel if that is Gods will to spread the
Holy Word. And throughout the ensuing centuries they refined and improved their understanding of
Gods word with the elaboration of the
Talmud, a
multi volume compendium of every aspect of daily living with the Bibles holy conduct regimen as an
essential guide to
righteous human
living.
So we have had
much implosion and exile and still tenacious persistence for over the last two thousand years, even unto the miracle of redeeming the fervent and seemingly idiotic, frenetic diaspora chant
next
year in Jerusalem pledge.
But it as if we are now at intermission time in the history of Israels rejuvenation, redemption, and somewhat
questionable salvation.. We have
lived successfully in Jerusalem for
over half a
century, living in the fabulous place of our storied
and troubled ancient land. Not, however, as welcome occupants whose
presence is safe and secure. But actually as
intruders who have claimed the land by
historic and biblical right. And also by the legal fiat of the United Nations Partition Plan which the Arab
nations never agreed to. Most dubious is the promise of
the prophets that Gods covenant was still
in place and could be redeemed by the Jews righteous conduct. This has been almost completely obscured by the bereaved cries of the devout believers of
the Death of God, the Eclipse of
God, or that God is hiding His
face to the continued two millennia long Jewish
implosion in spite of the of all their
persistence and great contributions to universal well
being. Almost literally they have been the despised and
rejected by Man as Christ
was in his suffering. And now the level of anti Israel hatred is elevated by oil rich Iran, now on the
threshold of nuclear bomb capability,
vowing the complete distruction of Israel. Maimonides, in his great 13 principles of faith, stated
as principle number 12, that though he
tarry he believed with perfect faith and
confidence in the coming of the Messiah.
In a somewhat dubious more secular way I believe in his coming too. Prayerfully yet hopefully. But humanity is most
probably not yet ready to be their
brothers and sisters keepers
and protectors; to render unto others only what one would do to one self. Probably now the only deterrent is some version of
the Soviet American MAD standoff---Mutually Armed
Deterrence. To still carry a big stick but still speak somewhat
softly. And then, perhaps far down
the line, some form of intermariage and quasi if not complete assimilation. In the immortal words of Winston Churchill if at all possible, always jaw, jaw, and
not war, war.
G