Politics

My morning minyan in Herzliya is similar to other minyanim around the world: Eighty percent of the people come to daven while 20 percent come to collect tz’dakah. Our shul has a very simple policy: Solicitations are permitted only after davening has concluded. Every now and then, an aggressive collector tries to avoid this one rule by telling me (I’m the gabbai, by the way) that he can’t wait, but I do not show him mercy. “Sorry, fellow, no walking around the shul until we’re finished.” One of my buddies once said the following to a guy: “Excuse me, I don’t bother you when you daven, so please don’t bother me!” Clever line, which works with some of those guys.

This past week, a skit on Saturday Night Live (SNL) caused a storm in the Jewish world. Michael Che Campbell, a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer on the show, said the following (as part of his skit): “Half the folks in Israel have already gotten the COVID vaccine. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.” Many Jewish groups immediately screamed “anti-Semitism!” and have demanded an apology from the producers of SNL and the executives at NBC. In my humble opinion, no apology is necessary. On the contrary! Israel needs to send a “Thank You” card to SNL for publicizing that fact. Yes, Israel takes care of Jews first…and we are very proud of that!

How do you feel when someone or something you love is attacked, maligned, or defamed? Obviously, your first reaction is to scream, “How dare they!” You immediately jump into your defensive mode while simultaneously preparing your revenge attack… and then reality sets in. You sit quietly for a moment and think, “Maybe they’re right? Do their words have any merit? Maybe I’m not seeing the whole picture?”

Over the years, many people have asked me, “Shmuel, I’d love to live in Israel, but what about my job? What about the kids in school? How do I know I’ll be happy with my new neighborhood? Will I adjust to the different medical system? How will I manage?” To all these questions, I have the same answer: “Hashem speaks Hebrew!” Huh? Let me explain what I mean.

Jews put a lot of focus on the past. We just concluded Pesach where we read, discussed, and even sang about what happened to our people over 3,300 years ago. Every Shabbat we read portions of the Torah, about Noah’s Ark, Yosef and his multicolored coat and even about Moshe hitting the rock. We celebrate Chanukah (which happened around 2,200 years ago), Purim (2,500 years ago) and are getting ready to celebrate Shavuot – the day our Nation received the Torah… 3,333 years ago (yes, I did the math!)

How should a Jew conduct his or her life? We have always been told to daven to Hashem for everything we need, but also to make the necessary effort to “make it happen.” So, what comes first? Do we first pour out our hearts to Hashem, or do we take action and then daven?