Well it has been 9 days since the election, and for the most part I have been ducking down and covering my head. I had expected that the reaction from the bulk of the frum (and mostly Republican) crowd would not be good. However I do not think I was prepared for the serious hand wringing and cries of woe that seemed to be comming from everywhere. Couple that with the extreme jubilance in the Black community and what I have going on is practically a political bi-polar case.
I have been a Democrat my entire voting life and I see no good reason to change my convinctions. I would even go as far as to say I lean towards being a Democratic Socialist. This is mainly because I feel that it is a crime that the most prosperous country in the world does not provide bare basic health care for it's citizens or equal access to higher education to those across economic classes. And of course, outside of politics, there the aspect and essence of holding pride in being a member of the Black American sub-group. Therefore, Barack Obama's victory was truly one for me to embace. More so than a Kerry or Clinton win would have been.
Of course, the dark cloud looming is that of the [general] spirit of the frum community I am a part of. I feel like I just discovered that I'm pregnant, but I'm in the company of someone who can't conceive. I start to second guess my ability to empathize; to truly put myself into their shoes. And why am I saying "their" anyway? I am suppossed to be them! Or at least moving that way. Yes I realize that there are frum Democrats. But if they are born Jews, no one would be able to questions their "underlying motivations" like is the case with a potential ger.
I am also being exposed to a lot of information from many fronts right now. Of course those imparting that information are quite passionate and bias about sharing it. A favorite frum blog of mine linked this article which discloses that Obama aides have ties to Hamas. Yet I had to search myself for this article which came out the following day where the aides deny this claim. Then on the other side of the fence you have stuff like this where Black people have somehow developed the ability overnight to take certain liberties to step all over the self-esteem of White people. Yes, I am proud that this country elected a Black man (well 1/2 Black man) to it's highest office. But it is just not nice to turn around and stick out your tongue and thumb your nose at the rest.
From Psalm 146, it says:
אַלתִּבְטְחוּ בִנְדִיבִים בְּבֶןאָדָם, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ תְשׁוּעָה - Put not your trust in princes, nor the son of man, in whom there is no help...
And from Psalm 141, it says:
כִּי אֵלֶיךָ, יְהוִה אֲדֹנָי עֵינָי בְּכָה חָסִיתִי, אַלתְּעַר נַפְשִׁי - But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
Therefore it is attested to that the Jews main allegiance is to the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. I do love Israel; no question. And the State of Israel is a key development in Jewish history. However the well being of Eretz Yisrael rests on Hashem ultimately; and on the Jews auxiliarily. In addition, the Jews are designated to be the moral compass for the world. So how could so many frum Jews gloss over the major social accomplishment that was achieved a little over a week ago. Black Americans fought for equality to be recognized as full human beings in their own right -- for so long, and so hard. How could other Jews not share in our joy?
Only Hashem knows the full picture. Perhaps I am wrong in my criticisms and saddness. Maybe Hashem desires to hear more tefillos from his people, so he brought this on. I myself will try to remember (bli neder) to keep those who are angry and fearful in my prayers that they will have peace in themselves again.
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5 comments:
Keep in mind that 78% of Jews enthusiastically voted for Obama. That's a higher percentage than any other religious group. Maybe you're hangin' with the wrong set of Jews.
:)
Yep; I heard that statistic. It was probably reversed in the Orthodox Jewish community however. Unfortunately I don't think we can get any reliable statistics regarding how Orthodox Jews voted; but most were very pro-McCain.
These folks are plain wrong about Obama and their attitude is frankly insulting to people of color.
It would seem to me that a group of people who themselves have experienced horrible injustices should be highly sensitive to the struggles of others and supportive when any group reaches a historic milestone that, frankly benefits everybody. This is generally true of liberal, secular Jews but oddly, sorely lacking among more Observant Jews, who are often obsessed with their own suffering and blind to the suffering of non-Jews.
Yes, these people most definitely are wrong. Two things happened however that have lifted my spirits a bit since I made this original post. The first is that this article was distributed on a mailing list I'm a member of. This school is in your neck of I believe. Yasher koach to this prinicpal for discussing this and the Jewish Week for writing about this. The second happened on motzei Shabbos when I attended a shiur on the parsha. It was given by a local frum man in the Pittsburgh community. He said that he was appalled by the language used by some in the frum community in the light of this election. They referred to Sen. Obama on terms of utter disrespect and lack of sensitivity. Never mind the fact that he had the potential (and now will be, with the help of Hashem) the leader of this country, but he is already a sitting senator! He is waiting for some Rabbonim to speak out on the matter; to point out the gross errors that the frum community made and gives us something to work on. Given this was just one man in Pittsburgh, I was very proud that he came out and said this in front of a group. I can now be rest assured that being frum does not equal being brainwashed! (B"H)
Your blog is the first one I have ever read.
Obviously, I have never responded.
Though I am a son of a survivor, I am an atheist, who considers himself being a Jew by birth, if you accept such definition.
Yet, I very much admire your journey, though I do not understanding the reason you have chosen it.
Just so you know, I voted for Obama.
In short, I feel that the Jews you wrote about are just ignorant, stupid racists.
IGK
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