THE DAUGHTERS OF MIDIAN AND THE SONS OF HAMAS by Rabbi David Cohen-Henriquez Amongst all the images and videos transmitted in the parallel media war, we recurrently encounter a very striking image: that of fundamentalist Muslim mothers dressing their children in a terrorist costume. There are many videos of mothers declaring their greatest dream is for their sons or daughters to become martyrs in their holy Jihad. Sometimes these images remain just children’s role-playing games and fantasies, while some other times they become horrible realities. We have been struggling with the same type of enemies since the dawn of our nation: those who use their women and their children to attain their nefarious goals. These are people whose appreciation for Life and the value of Human Dignity, even of their own children, is much lower than ours, sometimes even non-existent. At the end of last week’s Torah reading, after the failed attempts of the prophet Bilaam to bring the downfall of the Israelites, the Midianites send their own daughters and sisters to seduce the men and through ritual harlotry bring them to their pagan religion. Pinchas, Aaron’s grandson, in an act of zealotry kills the Midianite princess Cozbi and one of the Israelite tribe leaders while they defiled publicly the camp defying God and Moses. For his zealous act Pinchas is granted a covenant of peace. Although Pinchas was rewarded, this story made our rabbis and leaders very uncomfortable, and they condoned his actions. Already as early as in Psalms the story is recounted with Pinchas not killing but interceding in prayer. We have to admit the anger of Pinchas sometimes crawls in our thoughts when we see how much of the world keeps a blind eye, and only open their mouths and criticize the Jewish State when Israel wants to defend itself after receiving attacks with an almost stoic patience. The frustration makes us wonder about total annihilation of Hamas and their allies. Dark thoughts sometimes cross our minds. “Israel could finish with all of them it in 10 minutes”, we sometimes hear. “Wipe them out, all of them. Finish this once and for all” But immediately we remember we have an “operating system” that regulates these very human passions that cross our hearts, and it is called Judaism. The very reason they want to destroy us is because we run under that “operating system”, that “core processor” of values that allows us to view and experience reality in a very different way and it has been the foundational pillar, not only of Israel, but also of all Western Civilization. Yet we encounter the Western world with a double morality. Many support exclusively the Palestinian cause, calling Israel a colonialist state, or they support both sides, yet it is more rare to hear a strong non-Jewish voice supporting Israel’s view. Of course we are all human beings on both sides of this conflict, we are all made of flesh and bones and we bleed when you cut us and we cry when you destroy our homes. Nobody should experience war and death. The question is: do you ally with those humans who dedicate their whole energies as a nation to protect their children, to build bunkers, hospitals, and even send food and medicine aids to their enemies, or do you support those who dance in the streets and shoot guns in the air when they hear one of theirs has killed three teenagers, who behead their captive enemies, who hide among civilians and use their children and their women as human shields when the opposite side goes out of their way to announce a military incursion will be happening at that house. What side represents your values, as a human being, and as a civilization? Our war is not with the Palestinian people. They also face the same enemy we do. Our war is a cultural war against those who don’t appreciate life and don’t see its’ intrinsic sacredness. Pray, not for the destruction of lives, but to help eradicate the evil that dwells inside so many men and women. Save Israel AND the Palestinians from the toxic presence of Hamas and fundamentalists. May we be recipient of the covenant of peace that Pinchas received without succumbing to rage and acts of war.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 17:06:38 +0000
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