A Bitter Month

Tomorrow on the Hebrew calendar is Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan… the new month of Cheshvan. It is often called MarCheshvan, the bitter month of Cheshvan because it is void and empty of any Jewish religious holidays.

Yet we rejoice to welcome in the second month of our new calendar. There are many good reasons, First of all, “modeh ani l’fanecha….” I give thanks unto You O Lord my God who has restored my soul unto my body and caused me to reach this glorious day (and new month).

Every day for a Jew is a day of thanks-giving, praising our God and thanking Him for renewed life.

On the political side of the coin, this Cheshvan will be an extra Mar-Cheshvan, for we remain a people without a coalition and without a government and without much hope of change.

In Benny Gantz’s frustrated meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu, there was no agreement. The fault lies solely with Netanyahu.

He is the elected leader of the Likud party while in a coalition with all the ultra-orthodox religious parties and in fairness he should not represent his vote as one for the 55 members of his bloc. He should represent Likud and Likud only.

If he had been willing to put aside his religious bloc we could have been successful in forming a new government but because of his stubbornness we remain “un-governed”, unhappy and frustrated.

Benny Gantz had nothing in his platform to relinquish. Without the ultra-religious zealots, he and Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman could have been successful in compiling a working coalition and we, the citizens of Israel, could have a unity government.

Alas, stubbornness prevailed and we remain “orphans” without a working government.

One of our major problems is the ridiculous number of political parties, some large but most very small.

Twenty-nine different parties is totally ridiculous. No other nation in this century has been so stupid.

We need only very few parties: right-wing, left-wing, religious, Arab, and central. We can survive with 5 parties and put the remaining 24 out to pasture.

Terrorist parties like the Kahanists should not be recognized as a legal party. It is based upon racism and hatred of our Arab citizens, taught by the former “father” Meier Kahana, an American terrorist who brought his vitriol on his Aliyah to Israel.

Likewise, the Arab Joint List is comprised of four separate parties. Those who oppose the Jewish State, those who aid the Palestinians, those who seek the destruction of the Jewish State to be replaced by a one-State government, have absolutely no right to be members of our national Knesset. They must be declared supporters of Arab terrorism against Jews and their Balad party should be eliminated.

At the present unhappy moment it seems that we will have to go to a third bout of elections, 3 in one year! Unheard of among the normal nations of the world.

Cheshvan this year is truly a Mar-Cheshvan.. a very bitter month. Hopefully it can be sweetened, if not by sugar or honey, perhaps by a saccharine elected government.

Is it possible that we can see our Zionist dreams.. those of Yosef Trumpeldor, Vladimir Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin… the trio of our greatest heroes in Israel’s pantheon… be realized in our days?

Perhaps, if so, MarCheshvan can become simply the month of Cheshvan once again.

How pleasant it would be to taste the sweet again by discarding all that is bitter !

With sincere goodwill the BITTER can become the BETTER!!!