(09-02-2020, 05:11 PM)RabbiO Wrote:(09-01-2020, 06:30 PM)Robis Wrote: Recently found out these lectures, they are really eye-opening and thought-provoking. Really recommend listening to these. (btw. I am new to this forum, non-jew)I would tell you what I think of Yosef Mizrachi, but my words would probably not meet the standards of this forum. Mizrachi was among those who, on the mistaken belief that a brit milah ceremony for a gay couple was taking place in the Pittsburgh synagogue when the horrific shooting began, declared that the shooting occurred because of the sin of the congregation.
To my mind he belongs on the dung heap with those Haredi rabbis who have opined that the Shoah was G-d’s angry response to either the Jewish embrace of Zionism or the embrace of Reform Judaism.
Well, I can't be a judge of why Shoah happened, but as we read this weekly parashah, we see, that if Israel strays away from Hashem, then Shoah comes. And before Shoah came, Israel wasn't at it's best point, as far as we know, not to speak about tzadikim.
We have to tolerate opinions and have to seek love and stop hating each other (if it's not a matter of purposeful heresy). Otherwise, the result, chas v'shalom, could be the same as all the previous times. I, as a non-jew really struggle with this problem too, because I have people around me, who can't see as much as, as I think, I see. It's really tempting to get into arguments (but the fire gets bigger and bigger), but I think we need to focus on things, that are more important - getting along with each other, being patient with each other, forsaking our pride, because we all the time see others lower and put ourselves higher (I'm speaking generally). Always keeping balance of course.