Yes, we are sending our son back to yeshiva in Israel. My friends, dont cancel your Israel plans. NOW is the time to be there with our brothers and sisters. It is the most meaningful and important thing you can do. Great Q and A by Emuna Braverman: Dear Emuna, My husband and I booked tickets to go to Israel this summer for a family celebration. I’ve never been and I was very excited but the news there makes me very nervous. We have two small children. How can I expose them to that frightening situation? I want to cancel our trip but my husband is adamant. It is causing tremendous stress in our home. Help! Scaredy Cat Dear Scared, I’m sorry but my sympathies are with your husband for too many reasons to list in a short response. I read recently that the late Senator Daniel Moynihan once said that “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts.” Whatever you read on the news, the fact is that you are in much greater danger when you get into your car in any major city in America than when you go to Israel. Your emotions may tell you something else but this is the objective reality. Number two; there is something so powerful about being with the Jewish people when they feel threatened. It is a trip you will never forget. You will marvel at both the sense of “life as normal” and the streets filled with other tourists and the sense of unity and courage that keeps a people like ours going. When my son was in the Israeli army, I always told myself that while I of course didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, if it had to (God forbid) I’d rather it happened while fighting for the Jewish people than from a run-in with a drunk driver on the streets of LA. You are involved in something deeply meaningful for yourself and your family just by getting on that plane. Number three, the Almighty runs the world. Going to the land of Israel is not like walking down a dark alley in the inner city at 1 a.m. It is not relying on a miracle. It is an acceptable risk (like getting into those aforementioned cars every day) and it is the Almighty who decides our futures, not us. We can’t protect ourselves or our children from their ultimate fate, nor does a decision to go to Israel hurry it along. I want to share with you my favorite midrash. King Solomon’s servant came rushing home, white-faced, from the market. “Please master,” he begged. “I saw the Angel of Death in the marketplace. Lend me your horse. I need to ride to the Shomron.” King Solomon agreed. Later that day the King was walking in the marketplace and also ran into the Angel of Death. “Why did you scare my servant?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to scare him,” the Angel replied. “I was just surprised to see him here because I have an appointment with him tonight in the Shomron.” The Almighty runs the world – and that should be a comfort to all of us.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 06:20:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015