“Es Donnert und Blitzelt in der Chechoslovakai”

 It Thunders and Lightnings in Czechoslovakia

 

When there was a thunderstorm in my early childhood and I was frightened, my mother would comfort me by the above phrase – making believe that the storm was far away and could not hurt me.

The storm is here now, right before our eyes.  Jewish beliefs have become minimized; intermarriages are common, our people do not adhere to the “Hine Matov” but disrespect their “brothers”, vote for their enemies, and hang apart instead of together.  It is not only within our ranks; the whole country seems to be suffering. No longer do we feel safe. Our economic base is teetering.  Our dollars are weaker than those of other countries; a war that was a must after September eleventh two thousand one has  become a second Vietnam, with many being maimed and killed.  There is an inflation and a depression both at the same time – a unique occurrence that leaves our nation, our people, in dire straits.  An Afro-American preacher damns our country in his sermons and his follower Barack Obama wants to be president!

Isn’t it ironic that wisdom, values and scholarship are ignored and the individual who has and can raise the largest sums will likely be the so called leader of our country?  What are we thinking?  We are listening to empty speeches that are often well delivered without content by politicians who have acquired great skills in rhetoric without true substance.  As Jews we have learned much from the Haggadah and the description of the four sons:  The Chochem (the wise son), The Rosche (the wicked), Tom (the simple one) and the last son is the one who does not even know how to ask what is necessary.  We must listen carefully to the wise ones to their messages, the content, for the good of us all.  Those of us who recall history or those of us who have heard the ominous wicked unconscionable rantings of Adolf Hitler and the screaming deceptive rhetoric that emanated from his oral cavity into loudspeakers, listen carefully and are not deluded by loud empty promises of “change”.  We must consider the basis, quality and meaning of such change and consider how the process will lead to positive results.

We must all examine our thoughts, our knowledge and our actions and make decisions on facts, on rational thinking and what history has so clearly taught us. If we follow the wisdom that is within us and choose for the collective as well as the individual good, and follow the tenets of our values and the healthy freedoms that are available to us, we will again find peace in this our great country that is America.

 Lehitraot.