Sometimes, the heavens themselves broadcast the truth for all to see.
The rabbis say that when the manna – the mystical food that could take on any taste – fell from the skies as the Israelites traveled through the desert, it would land in direct proportion to the righteousness of the recipients. For those who were truly persons of virtue, it would land right at their tent-opening; others would find it somewhat farther away; and those who had committed serious sins would have to trek quite a distance to pick up their portion. Thus, their true character was openly revealed.
A similar wonder had occurred when the firstborn of Egypt were struck in the 10th plague. Says the Midrash, anyone who was a firstborn – from either the father or the mother – would die. And so, when a seemingly-second or third child suddenly perished, it shockingly revealed to the husband his wife’s hidden infidelity, as well as the depth of Egypt’s promiscuity.
So, too, this cataclysmic war we are now waging is shining a bright spotlight on certain truths that may heretofore have been concealed or ignored but now are exposed in living – or dying – color.
We are seeing, in all its horror, the face of evil. We may have read, or heard, of the cruelty experienced by Jews of past eras, but we never viewed it up close and personal. Yes, the Torah speaks of Amalek, the Talmud describes the torture and execution of the sages, the books of Eicha/Lamentations and the prophet Jeremiah focus on the destruction of the Temple, but these are distant history and largely abstract for us.
And while we know about the horrors of the Inquisition, and the Holocaust has been the subject of countless books and movies, there is no equivalent to the graphic videos of the Simchat Torah massacre, made by the Hamas monsters themselves and widely distributed.
Only those equally despicable as the perpetrators could fail to acknowledge this pure evil displayed before our eyes and actually applaud the victimizers. Sadly, there is no lack of these accomplices, from fellow Palestinians to ignorant Ivy League students (no, this is not a contradiction in terms), who have come out in force denying history, fabricating reality, and just outright lying about any fact or figure that makes clear the depravity of Hamas and the moral superiority of Israel and the IDF. They march in huge numbers, screaming vapid slogans and expressing hate for people they don’t know while expressing solidarity with a non-nation with whom they have nothing in common.
The many media manipulators are masters of fake news: Gaza, they claim, is an occupied “open-air prison,” even though Israel departed from it entirely, even (foolishly) handing over to them the means to make it economically flourish. The “poor” Palestinians just want to be “free;” even while they reject every offer of a peaceful settlement and their leaders steal billions from hapless donors. “Israel bombs hospitals,” even as we escort babies to safe shelters while under fire from the terrorists. These charges are exactly the indictments that avid antisemites want to hear, and no amount of evidence or education will change their malevolent minds.
The Hamas supporters disguised as Jews
But there is another phenomenon that this war has uncovered that I want to highlight: the preponderance of fake Jews. You may have seen them scattered about the protests; they wear caps – similar to the one the pope wears; they may have on a shawl with some white threads attached to it. Some even have more elaborate Jewish costumes – long robes and black hats, available for purchase online or at selected stores in Jewish neighborhoods. And you might hear them chanting a song or two in a language that sounds something like Hebrew.
But be aware: These people are not Jews! They may be disguised as Jews, they may have Jewish names, they may claim to be Jewish – but they are not Jews!
Now, we certainly do acknowledge many diverse denominations of Jews. There are Orthodox – Ultra, Modern, or just plain – Jews, Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, Reconstructionist Jews, Humanist Jews, Hassidic Jews of many types, even Black, Hebrew, and Israelites Jews. And these Jews have a wide spectrum of beliefs, representing every possible position on virtually every subject. In fact, like snowflakes, no two Jews are exactly alike. We differ on politics, religion, food, and sports; we even argue with our own selves from time to time. But we still maintain a bond with other Jews, and we do not completely sever our connections because we hold fast to a sacrosanct rule: Once a Jew, always a Jew.
This means that no matter what another Jew thinks or feels, no matter how far he or she may have strayed from what we consider mainstream Judaism, these Jews – assuming they are born Jewish or converted to the faith – remain Jewish forever. They may deny their Jewishness or abdicate their belief in God, but Jewish law does not permit them to opt out. An apostate Jew, who seeks to missionize other Jews, may be ostracized – in halachic terms, “put into herem” – and be denied certain rights in the synagogue or in the community, even denied burial in a Jewish cemetery, yet he or she is technically still a Jew and cannot be “un-Judaized.”
However. Being that we are an exceptional people, there are exceptions to every rule, including this one. And it is crystal clear to me that “Jews” who support Hamas, who tear down pictures of kidnapped children, who march with Iranian Holocaust-deniers, who call for Israel’s destruction and the murder of its citizens are not Jews. They cannot be Jews.
The Talmud affirms this in more than one place. For example, Yevamot 79a (I am grateful to Rabbi Baruch Taub for pointing this out) quotes King David as proclaiming: “The nation of Israel is indicated by three signs, or characteristics: mercy; bashfulness or shame; and kindness. Only one who possesses these three traits is fit to be a part of our people.” If they fail to meet this test, then it is clear that either they never were Jews or, even if their ancestors may once have been Jewish, somewhere along the line they parted ways and today they are completely outside the fold.
The fake Jews we see marching, who pretend to be authentic, are specifically marked by their lack of the qualifying virtues: They espouse, even glorify, cruelty and not mercy; they are arrogantly proud rather than ashamed of their depravity; and they certainly are not kind to anyone except the murderers. They are many things – choose your preferred curse – but they are definitely not Jews in the eyes of heaven.
Now, I am not expecting any of the lunatics out there to be fazed by this condemnation; they are beyond help, beyond hope. But it is important for us Jews – doubly repelled by the thought of Jews seeking the extermination of other Jews – to be reassured that none of our kind could ever sink this low. Ignore the titles; members of Jewish Voice for Peace are neither Jews nor seekers of peace, and a pig in a yarmulke is still a pig.
We will persevere in our struggle because we are on the side of right and justice and truth; we are the light, and they are the darkness. We cherish life, while they worship death. We are Jews, the nation of Israel, promised eternity by God. And just as we overcame the once-mighty empires of Egypt, Babylonia, Rome, the Third Reich, and Communist Russia, we will certainly see the demise of the Hamas Palestinians, Hezbollah, the ayatollahs, and the fake Jews who follow them.
Am Yisrael chai.
The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. Contact him at jocmtv@netvision.net.il.