Wow! I had never suspected your backstory. In many ways, we have chosen a similar path. I'm another former gentile who expected to live my life in academia, but ended up Jewish in Israel.
My own life has been rather more prosaic than yours; I got married and started having kids, and decided I needed to lock in on a dependable trade, so I studied nursing and kept on having kids. In a way, I'm sort of honoring my own family roots, as my dad was a professor of anesthesiology, and my extended family has produced enough nurses to staff a hospital ward.
I'm a Safta now, an RN, but with way too extensive an education in humanities.
Very pleased to make your acquaintance. It's reassuring to see that I'm not the only crazy person here. And to think I only read your substack because of politics.
Very sincerely,
Chana Siegel, AKA "Constance Irving", AB magna cum laude, Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. RN Henrietta Szold School of Nursing, Hebrew University.
Forgive me if I call you Chana. :) Isn't that a hoot? You went to school in NC. Are you a southerner? Though brought up in Mass, I was born in Columbia, SC where most of my extended family still resides. So maybe we have that in common. I have an upcoming post that deals with SC.
My current nom de plume is from another substack I follow, where I am trying to annoy a self-important commentator who is signing himself "Azmaveth Fishburg". Never mind.
What a journey, so much to absorb. I have been pondering the lessons of the Old Testament for all of us, humanity, especially over the last 13 months. In that history, turning away from Him precedes the times of "seemingly the entire world set against Israel and/or the Jewish people", while "basic issues of identity, unresolved since time eternal" are every person's condition while turned away. From a Christian perspective, we can (and will) never be truly at home in this world; we yearn for the holy, press on toward the mark, salvation that is 'imperishable, undefiled, and unfading' that only is 'ready to be revealed in the last time'. Thanks for your writings.
So, from an invite to hear Kiddish - to becomming a religious zionist and settler in gaza. It doesn't naturally follow so I must conclude that the God of Israel picked you...and when God picks you... I can't really explain my own return to repentence (hozer l'tshuva) any better. What ever happened to Berg?
Ehud, I somehow did not realize how much we have in common, from being raised to protestant, to deep dives into James Joyce, to a refusal to read “Gravity’s Rainbow.” Even your first kiddish reminded me of my first one, and I also struggle with the seemingly opposed pulls of literature and religion. And I also don’t think I would’ve appreciated those rubber phalluses. Very glad to have read this article and got to know you better!
Beautiful tale you weave. Really let's people into you, your thoughts, your appraisals in the moment and afterwards. I had no idea what I was stepping into, but grateful the algorithm put your post on my feed.
I know what you mean about the serendipity of the substack algorithm. It is wonderful to hear it mentioned in the context of one’s own writing. Thank you!
Thank you. For a second my nascent dyslexia took over and I saw “Thoroughly loved reading and peeking into your little mind.” If you think about it that is a wonderful put-down. Save it for when you need it!
I love a story. That was simply the best story . . . Thank you, Ehud. What is it that draws us? I grew up reading, no TV. So we kids were well read. To this day I’d rather curl around someone’s story than have a device on. And we seem so similar. Coming from a dual—perhaps a duel—home with Jewish on my father’s side, my Mema’s rabbi suggested conversion. That was the most precious door to walk through. I’ll be heading back to Israel to stay. My hope, sooner than later. Meanwhile, awaiting your words on Elisha and always, your story in a sequel. 😎
Wow! I’ve reread your story a few times to fully comprehend . Very enlightening . Will pass it on to many.
As a child of Holocaust survivors, that were in the Łódź ghetto and Auschwitz on my mothers side and forced labour camps, forced death marches and Dachau on my fathers side your journey gives me a sense of happiness in a world that has rekindled its zest to annihilate us.
btw, I read A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe several years ago. I remember the book well for 2 reasons 1. I lived in Georgia for 2 1/2 yrs (Athens at UGA for my MS degree), and 2. the young man in the book who worked the job as a "selector" filling orders at the warehouse for supermarkets had the exact job I had for 4 summers working at the warehouses that supplied Shoprite Supermarkets in the NE US. (72-76)
Not the same, but closely related. Kaddish is by definition Kiddush HaShem. It is so interesting to me that you brought this up, as I had considered developing the article in that direction. There is much food for thought there. Run with it!
Thanks, Ehud. Of course they are not the same. I was only equating them in the sense that there is no real reason for the one to be any better known than the other, notwithstanding that that is in fact the case.
I'm so glad you finally wrote and shared this, Ehud. I've frequently wondered how a Protestant from Martha's Vineyard could make the long journey to becoming a Jew in Israel. Thank you for filling in many of the blanks.
I've always been fascinated and inspired by Jewish converts: What do they see in this tradition that I've overlooked? What would compel someone to fly Air Judaism when other airlines have a much better safety record? Most of all (and as you know from our previous exchanges): Why make aliyah? This probably helps explain why I'm sympathetic to your friend Bill Berg, who seems happily at home somewhere near Atlanta. He and I look at the same information, the same historic evidence, and the same Story -- and we reach a very different conclusion than you do. That's not a complaint or an accusation. Just an observation that continues to puzzle me. ... Could we both be right? Can we hold two seemingly contradictory truths in our minds at the same time? The Jew in me says: Yes, absolutely. It's one of our gifts.
In a recent comment on Gavriella Zahtz's Substack , you wrote:
"You are where you are meant to be. Clear the mine fields. Many are to follow you. Think of them. Make the thought of Israel beautiful for them. They are afraid, Gavriella. You know fear. You overcame it. Help the poor beautiful Jews of the Diaspora. Show them the way."
This obviously strikes a nerve in me. There's a disturbing certainly to your framing and characterization that feels almost fundamentalist. In fact, you and I both know plenty of fundamentalist Christians who want nothing more than for diaspora Jews to pack their bags and "go home." My hope is that you haven't traded a Christian determinism for a Jewish one, though it often sounds that way. I can't think of anything less deterministic than being a Jew. We are chosen AND we choose. Not unlike a marriage.
Perhaps the greatest diaspora Jew of all time -- Moses -- never set down roots in the Promised Land. He knew that some people needed to conquer and settle the land, but he would not be among them. It's also worth remembering that life in the diaspora has never been more or less dangerous than life in the land itself. Two times in the land, two times in exile -- and both have been less than ideal.
Also: The Story ("In the beginning...") begets The Promise ("the land that I will show you...") which begets possession of the land itself. First things first.
All that said, thank you again for opening this window on your life. And for taking us all along for that Patriots game in Foxborough. (I read "Blessing Israel," too. . :-)
P.S. The odds of my one day seeing a football game at Gillette Stadium are probably better than the odds my making aliyah. But who knows? I'm not a determinist. The situation can change. It always does.
Alan. All that and I haven't yet written what brought me to Judaism. I'm writing that now. More or less a part two. I had hoped that in how I presented Bill Berg it would be clear that I absolutely understand a Jew who chooses the Diaspora, and not only that, I continue to love and cherish my Jewish brethren wherever they may be. Having said that, it is not Jewish fundamentalism to say and believe "next year in Jerusalem." That is Judaism 101, and you know it. And you also know that to change that, by saying for example "next year in Jerusalem...figuratively," the burden is upon you to posit an alternate story, as you yourself have been telling us.
I had hoped that it would be clear that Bill Berg "won" the confrontation between us. In the world that we want to live in, there is no room for coercion, only persuasion. My younger self (those events took place over forty years ago) may have seen himself as a latter-day Moses or Elijah shouting out the word of Zionism and hearing my own echo ringing throughout the crooks and crannies of Mount Carmel on that early morning, but the burden of proof for that story lay upon me, and the Jews at the foot of the mount, or in this case, the Jew at the foot of the mount, after the Holocaust and now after Oct.7, were not in the mood to say "We shall do and and we shall hear!" Rather, the fully understandable answer was and is more along the lines of: "I'm not fully on board with the program." The Jews at Mount Sinai heard the words of the Almighty directly. Bill Berg did not.
Regarding what you call my "disturbing certainty." I'll put it this way. Do you remember a while back when some rapper said it was time to go "Defcon 3" on the Jews? What shook us was the outpouring of online support for him. It was open season on the Jews. I wrote back then strenuously against this phenomenon. (See my "Against Antisemitism and several adjacent posts). I was calling for an immediate Jewish exodus from the US. There, I admit, I wrote with what even I called at a later date "disturbing certainty." I intended to leave that whole line of thought behind. I was convinced that I had overreacted. Then: Oct 7. Or, more pertinent to diaspora Jews, the aftermath of Oct.7.
Are you yourself not thinking: "What will I do if it gets worse?" Or, what do I do if it reaches the level of certain parts of France and England where no policeman dares to enter? What if it gets worse than that?
Their may be many Jews thinking like that now. Let's say 20% of American Jews are 20% sure that antisemitism will get worse. Wouldn't it be prudent to start thinking about a Plan B?
I'm kind of like a "black hat" Jew on that one. Let's wait until it descends from the heavens. And let's wait until a voice from heaven says "start up the animal sacrifice."
Your “next year in Jerusalem” riff is almost a word-for-word echo of what I say at the end of every Passover seder I’ve attended over the past 35 years: “For almost 2,000 years, our mantra of ‘next year’ was nothing more than a wish because we didn’t have the ability to return. But now we do, yet we still say ‘next year’ as if something is still standing in our way. Why are we saying something we clearly do not believe?”
At this point, you would say: “Pack up and go!” But I experience this tension and ask myself: What exactly is going on? Why are roughly half of my Tribe in the land and half are still outside of it? What’s G*d telling us right now?
You write: “The Jews at Mount Sinai heard the words of the Almighty directly. Bill Berg did not.” That’s because the Jews at Mt Sinai had only three choices: Conquer the land OR go back to slavery in Egypt OR die in the desert. Bill Berg has another choice: He can litigate complex commercial real estate deals in Atlanta. You might think that’s the equivalent of Mitzrayim, but Bill doesn’t and neither do I. (That said, rooting for the Braves does seem like a form of slavery to me — all that tomahawking — but I acknowledge this is a subjective judgment.)
You write about DefCon3 and how your initial reaction was to scream at diaspora Jews: Get out now! Then you calmed down… but then, you write, Oct 7 happened. And then the aftermath. What’s the logical conclusion to this mess? That Jews in Israel remain vulnerable to the very danger that Israel was supposed to eliminate AND that diaspora Jews remain vulnerable to the very danger that Israel was supposed to eliminate. In the United States, ignorant college kids rally for Hamas and Jews get beaten up here and there; in Israel, 1200 Jews are slaughtered and everyone lives on edge, always ready to run to a bomb shelter or for the next war. Seems clear to me which situation is more dangerous.
All that said, I’m not blind to the looming danger here. The situation could get bad, and fast.
You write: “Are you yourself not thinking: "What will I do if it gets worse?" … Wouldn’t it be prudent to start thinking about a Plan B?”
My Plan B is Israel (I think). But to repeat what I said at the top: What’s Plan A? What’s the Story we’re in the middle of right now? How has the Plot changed in the past 75 years, and how should we as Jews play our role in it?
I look to Moses: He remained outside the land, but fully realized that someone must conquer it. And that’s precisely where we are: You’re in the land, and I am not.
You challenge me: “the burden is upon you to posit an alternate story, as you yourself have been telling us.”
Here’s my Story, radically abridged: the G*d of Israel, the G*d of History, needs a people to represent him in history. Enter Abraham and his extended family. (The monotheistic torch was available to whomever chose to pick it up and run with it, and Abe did.) … The G*d of Israel also needs some benchmark to prove that He is The One. If the people of Israel survive, then the G*d of Israel is still in the game and his Name is still in the mix; but if His people disappear, then His voice from Sinai will fade away along with any Earthly hope for redemption.
But He adds an extra historic benchmark that will make it obvious to the nations of the world that He is the one true G*d: The promised land. The moment when His people enter the land and settle there, His promise is fulfilled. When the Israeli flag goes up in 1948, G*d says: “Nice job, guys. Really well done. It was a long road back, and you went through hell to get here, but you did it. And the great thing is: Everyone else can see it happen. The establishment of the Third Jewish Commonwealth is a sign to all with eyes that can see and ears that can hear that Hope is not a mirage, that human history has a point and a purpose, and that one day the world will be One and My name will be One. Gotta admit, tho: This fact that I’m still a Presence is driving people absolutely nuts! LOL.”
Shorter version: The proof that the G*d of Israel exists is that the people, the nation, and the land of Israel are still in the chat. We haven’t gone away because we never abandoned G*d… and He never gave up on us.
That, I think, it why Christian Zionism is such a potent force. They see our Story as an affirmation of their Story. …. BTW: It was a Christian Zionist who made me a believing Jew. I tell the story here: https://outofbabel.substack.com/p/welcoming-the-stranger
When I asked you about the Third Temple, you wrote: I'm kind of like a "black hat" Jew on that one. Let's wait until it descends from the heavens. And let's wait until a voice from heaven says "start up the animal sacrifice.”
Applying your logic re: “next year in Jerusalem” — we’ve already heard a voice from heaven tell us “to start up the animal sacrifice.” He said it once and doesn’t care to repeat Himself. You, the Black Hatted one, refusing to break ground on the Third Temple makes you sound like the Orthodox Jews who rejected the Zionist project because they were waiting for a signal from G*d; only the Messiah could lead us home. So… don’t be like those anti-Zionist Jews; be like Jabotinsky & Ben Grunion and Build That Temple! :-)
I kid, of course. Such a project would require razing the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which would aggravate the neighbors. All hell would break loose. And so you and I stand at the base of The Wall, staring up at the Golden Dome, wondering: What now?
What’s yours? “All diaspora Jews return to Zion…” and then what?
Here’s an idea: What if the Orthodox rabbinate in Israel declares that all of us diaspora Jews are heretics. They reclassify us as non-Jews. Membership in the Club is immediately cut in half. The best part: All the Jews have already come home! There’s no one out here holding up The Show. The Ingathering is finally complete! Now what?
I don’t believe that what’s really needed is that all the Jews return to Zion. I think most of the pieces are already in place for a big spiritual breakthrough without another 7 million Jews assembling in the Promised Land… and without building the Third Temple.
The way I read this Story, G*d is just sitting there, waiting for us to turn back to Him. We’ll exhaust every possible alternative, of course, but we’ll get there… eventually. I hope.
The beauty of this last comment of yours is that it allows me easily confer upon it the right of being the last say in the discussion. Meaning, I think that we could leave this to sit just as it is and both sides will have received a fair hearing. But no…we’re not going to settle for that, are we? Let me think about what you have written here. I’ll get back to it as soon as I can.
No pressure and no rush. As I think you wrote to me some time ago: "One of us is right and one of us is wrong, and soon enough history will give us the answer."
If you are not familiar with the book TEMPLE by Robert Cornuke you may find it interesting. Long story short — the Temple Mount may actually be the location of the Roman fortress of Antonia during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Not the location of the second temple. The information that has been compiled is compelling.
It may not be necessary to build on the Temple Mount to build the third temple where it belongs. There is a lot of excavation under way. The authorities are, I believe, keeping informed.
For me — both fascinating and exciting.
The exchanges between you and Ehud are very enlightening. Thank you for making such personal communication available to us.
Thank you, TMC, for your message… and for reading my chat with Ehud. I always learn something new from him. Re: the site of the Temple — interesting but I’m not sure it would change my reading of history. We’ve had two different temples, and each one has been destroyed. Shouldn’t we be getting the message by now?
Looking forward to Elisha.
Wow! I had never suspected your backstory. In many ways, we have chosen a similar path. I'm another former gentile who expected to live my life in academia, but ended up Jewish in Israel.
My own life has been rather more prosaic than yours; I got married and started having kids, and decided I needed to lock in on a dependable trade, so I studied nursing and kept on having kids. In a way, I'm sort of honoring my own family roots, as my dad was a professor of anesthesiology, and my extended family has produced enough nurses to staff a hospital ward.
I'm a Safta now, an RN, but with way too extensive an education in humanities.
Very pleased to make your acquaintance. It's reassuring to see that I'm not the only crazy person here. And to think I only read your substack because of politics.
Very sincerely,
Chana Siegel, AKA "Constance Irving", AB magna cum laude, Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. RN Henrietta Szold School of Nursing, Hebrew University.
"...so I studied nursing and kept on having kids." Now that's what I call locking in on a dependable trade! :)
Forgive me if I call you Chana. :) Isn't that a hoot? You went to school in NC. Are you a southerner? Though brought up in Mass, I was born in Columbia, SC where most of my extended family still resides. So maybe we have that in common. I have an upcoming post that deals with SC.
My current nom de plume is from another substack I follow, where I am trying to annoy a self-important commentator who is signing himself "Azmaveth Fishburg". Never mind.
😁
What a journey, so much to absorb. I have been pondering the lessons of the Old Testament for all of us, humanity, especially over the last 13 months. In that history, turning away from Him precedes the times of "seemingly the entire world set against Israel and/or the Jewish people", while "basic issues of identity, unresolved since time eternal" are every person's condition while turned away. From a Christian perspective, we can (and will) never be truly at home in this world; we yearn for the holy, press on toward the mark, salvation that is 'imperishable, undefiled, and unfading' that only is 'ready to be revealed in the last time'. Thanks for your writings.
And thank you for reading!
So, from an invite to hear Kiddish - to becomming a religious zionist and settler in gaza. It doesn't naturally follow so I must conclude that the God of Israel picked you...and when God picks you... I can't really explain my own return to repentence (hozer l'tshuva) any better. What ever happened to Berg?
He's still practicing law in the Atlanta area. There is a link to his professional page at the bottom of my post.
Ehud, I somehow did not realize how much we have in common, from being raised to protestant, to deep dives into James Joyce, to a refusal to read “Gravity’s Rainbow.” Even your first kiddish reminded me of my first one, and I also struggle with the seemingly opposed pulls of literature and religion. And I also don’t think I would’ve appreciated those rubber phalluses. Very glad to have read this article and got to know you better!
Thomas, thanks for the comment. More to come on Joyce and the opposite pull.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that anyone who converts to Judaism is absolutely crazy and absolutely brilliant.
That’s it. In a nut’s shell.
Thanks for sharing your fascinating history. Looking forward to Elisha.
Beautiful tale you weave. Really let's people into you, your thoughts, your appraisals in the moment and afterwards. I had no idea what I was stepping into, but grateful the algorithm put your post on my feed.
I know what you mean about the serendipity of the substack algorithm. It is wonderful to hear it mentioned in the context of one’s own writing. Thank you!
Wow. Thoroughly loved reading and peaking a little into your mind.
Thank you. For a second my nascent dyslexia took over and I saw “Thoroughly loved reading and peeking into your little mind.” If you think about it that is a wonderful put-down. Save it for when you need it!
That’s hilarious! Thank you for the laugh!
I love a story. That was simply the best story . . . Thank you, Ehud. What is it that draws us? I grew up reading, no TV. So we kids were well read. To this day I’d rather curl around someone’s story than have a device on. And we seem so similar. Coming from a dual—perhaps a duel—home with Jewish on my father’s side, my Mema’s rabbi suggested conversion. That was the most precious door to walk through. I’ll be heading back to Israel to stay. My hope, sooner than later. Meanwhile, awaiting your words on Elisha and always, your story in a sequel. 😎
Thank you for your kind words. I’m working on the next installment.
Wow! I’ve reread your story a few times to fully comprehend . Very enlightening . Will pass it on to many.
As a child of Holocaust survivors, that were in the Łódź ghetto and Auschwitz on my mothers side and forced labour camps, forced death marches and Dachau on my fathers side your journey gives me a sense of happiness in a world that has rekindled its zest to annihilate us.
Keep up your great work.
I’m assuming you’ve done your DNA?
Thank you Howard. This is the first part of a three part series. I hope you enjoy the rest.
btw, there is a story behind the DNA test, also coming soon!
We're not all Jew haters 👋
(from a gentile)
I know that! I intend to write about that in the near future. It is just now we are at war and the focus is upon them.
btw, I read A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe several years ago. I remember the book well for 2 reasons 1. I lived in Georgia for 2 1/2 yrs (Athens at UGA for my MS degree), and 2. the young man in the book who worked the job as a "selector" filling orders at the warehouse for supermarkets had the exact job I had for 4 summers working at the warehouses that supplied Shoprite Supermarkets in the NE US. (72-76)
But aren't Kaddish and Kiddush the same thing, in essence?
Kiddush celebrates God as the Living God and the God of the living.
And Kaddish too celebrates God as the Living God and the God of the living. (Latter-day usages and emphases notwithstanding.)
Hmmm... Silly me. The two are actually quite different. Kiddush is recited in Hebrew, but Kaddish in Aramaic.
Worlds apart!
Not the same, but closely related. Kaddish is by definition Kiddush HaShem. It is so interesting to me that you brought this up, as I had considered developing the article in that direction. There is much food for thought there. Run with it!
Thanks, Ehud. Of course they are not the same. I was only equating them in the sense that there is no real reason for the one to be any better known than the other, notwithstanding that that is in fact the case.
I'm so glad you finally wrote and shared this, Ehud. I've frequently wondered how a Protestant from Martha's Vineyard could make the long journey to becoming a Jew in Israel. Thank you for filling in many of the blanks.
I've always been fascinated and inspired by Jewish converts: What do they see in this tradition that I've overlooked? What would compel someone to fly Air Judaism when other airlines have a much better safety record? Most of all (and as you know from our previous exchanges): Why make aliyah? This probably helps explain why I'm sympathetic to your friend Bill Berg, who seems happily at home somewhere near Atlanta. He and I look at the same information, the same historic evidence, and the same Story -- and we reach a very different conclusion than you do. That's not a complaint or an accusation. Just an observation that continues to puzzle me. ... Could we both be right? Can we hold two seemingly contradictory truths in our minds at the same time? The Jew in me says: Yes, absolutely. It's one of our gifts.
In a recent comment on Gavriella Zahtz's Substack , you wrote:
"You are where you are meant to be. Clear the mine fields. Many are to follow you. Think of them. Make the thought of Israel beautiful for them. They are afraid, Gavriella. You know fear. You overcame it. Help the poor beautiful Jews of the Diaspora. Show them the way."
This obviously strikes a nerve in me. There's a disturbing certainly to your framing and characterization that feels almost fundamentalist. In fact, you and I both know plenty of fundamentalist Christians who want nothing more than for diaspora Jews to pack their bags and "go home." My hope is that you haven't traded a Christian determinism for a Jewish one, though it often sounds that way. I can't think of anything less deterministic than being a Jew. We are chosen AND we choose. Not unlike a marriage.
Perhaps the greatest diaspora Jew of all time -- Moses -- never set down roots in the Promised Land. He knew that some people needed to conquer and settle the land, but he would not be among them. It's also worth remembering that life in the diaspora has never been more or less dangerous than life in the land itself. Two times in the land, two times in exile -- and both have been less than ideal.
Also: The Story ("In the beginning...") begets The Promise ("the land that I will show you...") which begets possession of the land itself. First things first.
All that said, thank you again for opening this window on your life. And for taking us all along for that Patriots game in Foxborough. (I read "Blessing Israel," too. . :-)
P.S. The odds of my one day seeing a football game at Gillette Stadium are probably better than the odds my making aliyah. But who knows? I'm not a determinist. The situation can change. It always does.
Alan. All that and I haven't yet written what brought me to Judaism. I'm writing that now. More or less a part two. I had hoped that in how I presented Bill Berg it would be clear that I absolutely understand a Jew who chooses the Diaspora, and not only that, I continue to love and cherish my Jewish brethren wherever they may be. Having said that, it is not Jewish fundamentalism to say and believe "next year in Jerusalem." That is Judaism 101, and you know it. And you also know that to change that, by saying for example "next year in Jerusalem...figuratively," the burden is upon you to posit an alternate story, as you yourself have been telling us.
I had hoped that it would be clear that Bill Berg "won" the confrontation between us. In the world that we want to live in, there is no room for coercion, only persuasion. My younger self (those events took place over forty years ago) may have seen himself as a latter-day Moses or Elijah shouting out the word of Zionism and hearing my own echo ringing throughout the crooks and crannies of Mount Carmel on that early morning, but the burden of proof for that story lay upon me, and the Jews at the foot of the mount, or in this case, the Jew at the foot of the mount, after the Holocaust and now after Oct.7, were not in the mood to say "We shall do and and we shall hear!" Rather, the fully understandable answer was and is more along the lines of: "I'm not fully on board with the program." The Jews at Mount Sinai heard the words of the Almighty directly. Bill Berg did not.
Regarding what you call my "disturbing certainty." I'll put it this way. Do you remember a while back when some rapper said it was time to go "Defcon 3" on the Jews? What shook us was the outpouring of online support for him. It was open season on the Jews. I wrote back then strenuously against this phenomenon. (See my "Against Antisemitism and several adjacent posts). I was calling for an immediate Jewish exodus from the US. There, I admit, I wrote with what even I called at a later date "disturbing certainty." I intended to leave that whole line of thought behind. I was convinced that I had overreacted. Then: Oct 7. Or, more pertinent to diaspora Jews, the aftermath of Oct.7.
Are you yourself not thinking: "What will I do if it gets worse?" Or, what do I do if it reaches the level of certain parts of France and England where no policeman dares to enter? What if it gets worse than that?
Their may be many Jews thinking like that now. Let's say 20% of American Jews are 20% sure that antisemitism will get worse. Wouldn't it be prudent to start thinking about a Plan B?
So much to say in response, but first, a question: Should we rebuild the Third Temple where the Second Temple once stood?
I'm kind of like a "black hat" Jew on that one. Let's wait until it descends from the heavens. And let's wait until a voice from heaven says "start up the animal sacrifice."
Plan B?? I’m still talking about Plan A! :-)
A few thoughts…
Your “next year in Jerusalem” riff is almost a word-for-word echo of what I say at the end of every Passover seder I’ve attended over the past 35 years: “For almost 2,000 years, our mantra of ‘next year’ was nothing more than a wish because we didn’t have the ability to return. But now we do, yet we still say ‘next year’ as if something is still standing in our way. Why are we saying something we clearly do not believe?”
At this point, you would say: “Pack up and go!” But I experience this tension and ask myself: What exactly is going on? Why are roughly half of my Tribe in the land and half are still outside of it? What’s G*d telling us right now?
You write: “The Jews at Mount Sinai heard the words of the Almighty directly. Bill Berg did not.” That’s because the Jews at Mt Sinai had only three choices: Conquer the land OR go back to slavery in Egypt OR die in the desert. Bill Berg has another choice: He can litigate complex commercial real estate deals in Atlanta. You might think that’s the equivalent of Mitzrayim, but Bill doesn’t and neither do I. (That said, rooting for the Braves does seem like a form of slavery to me — all that tomahawking — but I acknowledge this is a subjective judgment.)
You write about DefCon3 and how your initial reaction was to scream at diaspora Jews: Get out now! Then you calmed down… but then, you write, Oct 7 happened. And then the aftermath. What’s the logical conclusion to this mess? That Jews in Israel remain vulnerable to the very danger that Israel was supposed to eliminate AND that diaspora Jews remain vulnerable to the very danger that Israel was supposed to eliminate. In the United States, ignorant college kids rally for Hamas and Jews get beaten up here and there; in Israel, 1200 Jews are slaughtered and everyone lives on edge, always ready to run to a bomb shelter or for the next war. Seems clear to me which situation is more dangerous.
All that said, I’m not blind to the looming danger here. The situation could get bad, and fast.
You write: “Are you yourself not thinking: "What will I do if it gets worse?" … Wouldn’t it be prudent to start thinking about a Plan B?”
My Plan B is Israel (I think). But to repeat what I said at the top: What’s Plan A? What’s the Story we’re in the middle of right now? How has the Plot changed in the past 75 years, and how should we as Jews play our role in it?
I look to Moses: He remained outside the land, but fully realized that someone must conquer it. And that’s precisely where we are: You’re in the land, and I am not.
You challenge me: “the burden is upon you to posit an alternate story, as you yourself have been telling us.”
Here’s my Story, radically abridged: the G*d of Israel, the G*d of History, needs a people to represent him in history. Enter Abraham and his extended family. (The monotheistic torch was available to whomever chose to pick it up and run with it, and Abe did.) … The G*d of Israel also needs some benchmark to prove that He is The One. If the people of Israel survive, then the G*d of Israel is still in the game and his Name is still in the mix; but if His people disappear, then His voice from Sinai will fade away along with any Earthly hope for redemption.
But He adds an extra historic benchmark that will make it obvious to the nations of the world that He is the one true G*d: The promised land. The moment when His people enter the land and settle there, His promise is fulfilled. When the Israeli flag goes up in 1948, G*d says: “Nice job, guys. Really well done. It was a long road back, and you went through hell to get here, but you did it. And the great thing is: Everyone else can see it happen. The establishment of the Third Jewish Commonwealth is a sign to all with eyes that can see and ears that can hear that Hope is not a mirage, that human history has a point and a purpose, and that one day the world will be One and My name will be One. Gotta admit, tho: This fact that I’m still a Presence is driving people absolutely nuts! LOL.”
Shorter version: The proof that the G*d of Israel exists is that the people, the nation, and the land of Israel are still in the chat. We haven’t gone away because we never abandoned G*d… and He never gave up on us.
That, I think, it why Christian Zionism is such a potent force. They see our Story as an affirmation of their Story. …. BTW: It was a Christian Zionist who made me a believing Jew. I tell the story here: https://outofbabel.substack.com/p/welcoming-the-stranger
When I asked you about the Third Temple, you wrote: I'm kind of like a "black hat" Jew on that one. Let's wait until it descends from the heavens. And let's wait until a voice from heaven says "start up the animal sacrifice.”
Applying your logic re: “next year in Jerusalem” — we’ve already heard a voice from heaven tell us “to start up the animal sacrifice.” He said it once and doesn’t care to repeat Himself. You, the Black Hatted one, refusing to break ground on the Third Temple makes you sound like the Orthodox Jews who rejected the Zionist project because they were waiting for a signal from G*d; only the Messiah could lead us home. So… don’t be like those anti-Zionist Jews; be like Jabotinsky & Ben Grunion and Build That Temple! :-)
I kid, of course. Such a project would require razing the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which would aggravate the neighbors. All hell would break loose. And so you and I stand at the base of The Wall, staring up at the Golden Dome, wondering: What now?
And I voice from the heavens says: Go talk to your brother Ishmael. https://outofbabel.substack.com/p/freud-was-wrong
That’s my Story.
What’s yours? “All diaspora Jews return to Zion…” and then what?
Here’s an idea: What if the Orthodox rabbinate in Israel declares that all of us diaspora Jews are heretics. They reclassify us as non-Jews. Membership in the Club is immediately cut in half. The best part: All the Jews have already come home! There’s no one out here holding up The Show. The Ingathering is finally complete! Now what?
I don’t believe that what’s really needed is that all the Jews return to Zion. I think most of the pieces are already in place for a big spiritual breakthrough without another 7 million Jews assembling in the Promised Land… and without building the Third Temple.
The way I read this Story, G*d is just sitting there, waiting for us to turn back to Him. We’ll exhaust every possible alternative, of course, but we’ll get there… eventually. I hope.
The beauty of this last comment of yours is that it allows me easily confer upon it the right of being the last say in the discussion. Meaning, I think that we could leave this to sit just as it is and both sides will have received a fair hearing. But no…we’re not going to settle for that, are we? Let me think about what you have written here. I’ll get back to it as soon as I can.
No pressure and no rush. As I think you wrote to me some time ago: "One of us is right and one of us is wrong, and soon enough history will give us the answer."
If you are not familiar with the book TEMPLE by Robert Cornuke you may find it interesting. Long story short — the Temple Mount may actually be the location of the Roman fortress of Antonia during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Not the location of the second temple. The information that has been compiled is compelling.
It may not be necessary to build on the Temple Mount to build the third temple where it belongs. There is a lot of excavation under way. The authorities are, I believe, keeping informed.
For me — both fascinating and exciting.
The exchanges between you and Ehud are very enlightening. Thank you for making such personal communication available to us.
Thank you, TMC, for your message… and for reading my chat with Ehud. I always learn something new from him. Re: the site of the Temple — interesting but I’m not sure it would change my reading of history. We’ve had two different temples, and each one has been destroyed. Shouldn’t we be getting the message by now?
But most of all, thank you for thoughtful reply, and thank you for this on-going dialogue.