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Tzemach Yehudah Richter

Someday We Will All Be Together. The Time Is Now. It’s Up To Us.

BS”D

Someday We Will All Be Together. The Time Is Now. It’s Up To Us.

I look at the events since the opening of this year’s US Congress, and I think to myself “Is this the new reality of what America has become? Stronger economically, but weaker in protecting its citizens from Hate, Anti-Semitism and Terrorism that is currently plaguing the entire world. And allowing certain members of Congress to continue to talk against Israel, Jews and the USA and letting those hateful speeches go unpunished. The worse part of it its happening inside the very building that was the most likely target of Flight 93. My Blog is intended to address those of us who want to make a serious effort to correct this situation and those Congress members responsible for it to be removed from their seats immediately.

And to those of you who say I should not be concerning myself with events in the US, since I no longer live there. I will respond by asking you why are those Congresswomen who are supporting Palestinians, not more concerned about doing their jobs for the people in their district. Rather they continue their hatred against Jews and Israel, And the joke is those same Congresswomen have families living in America, why don’t they along with all their families pack their bags and go live amongst the same people they are so concerned about and love so much in Gaza?

Added to all this is the fact that Omar knew she was guilty of  the money fraud she committed, made the government waste taxpayers dollars on the investigation and then only has to pay a small fine. What about demanding Omar repay thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted doing the investigation? If Omar is a lawmaker she should have immediately admitted her guilt. She continues to ignore the law, and this is another reason to demand her immediate resignation.

So what do we do together to stop all of this nonsense, Congress has failed to act and it is obvious the solution must lie elsewhere. I have given this a lot of thought, and whichever way I look at it; the solution must come from all of us acting together in unison, to fight these forces of Amalek. But how do we do it? Good examples exist from all those kiruv movements that have sprung up all over the world. They have provided Jews the chance to strengthen their Torah and Mitzvah observance, which is a primary element in Judaism.

In my case, I have Lubavitch to thank and Rabbi Moshe Feller, who I mentioned went to present Sandy Koufax with tefillin after he refused to pitch on Yom Kippur during the World Series in 1965. In Shul this past Shabbat, I was reminded about a second person who also benefited from Rabbi Feller’s determination.

His name was Velvel Greene, who was a professor at the University of Minnesota, and later made Aliyah to Beer Sheva. It was his son in law who was called to the Torah for Maftir, and since I never attend that Shul during Shacharit on Shabbat, this was a rare occurrence for me and came only from Hashem.  The story goes that Velvel Greene received a call from Rabbi Feller requesting a meeting. Rabbi Feller knew he was correct in approaching Velvel Greene, because he was taking his example from the Chabad Rebbe who knew that if you introduce mitzvahs and Torah to any Jew who is not aware of them, then your efforts will be paid back by Hashem himself, sometime in the future. For two reasons, it’s for that person’s own good, and for your own good as well to strengthen your belief every day that Hashem runs the world.

This is necessary in order to stand up to the evil speech from evil people calling for our demise. Therefore, I want to remind you that on the Shabbat a few weeks ago after the earthquake here, I received two messages while davening with my tallis over my head. One was discussed previously, while the second was not. The message I received was that I had to pay close attention to the Richter Scale, which was developed by Charles Richter in the mid-1930.

Because I read Shoftim on my Bar Mitzvah that has made me extra sensitive to everything related to the Richter Scale. The Hebrew meaning of Shoftim is judges, and in Israel a Shofet is a judge in the secular court as I understand, while a Dayan is a judge in the Religious Beit Din. My last name in German also means Judge, so just like in the Haftorah where 4 times words are repeated, my Haftorah parsha had an extra meaning, and I look deeply into anything and everything which may occur.

So when we came home to our Shabbat meal, before I could comment, my daughter Miriam says the earthquake measured 4.6 on the Richter Scale. I asked her where did she get that figure from and she said the radio a few days before Shabbat. I had heard other figures but not that one. So remembering that for each number on the scale, the energy release is 10 times greater than the number below it, I took out the decimal point and tried to analyze what the number 46 could mean. I did not have to think long, because I immediately took that number away from the current year and arrived at 1973 – The year of the Yom Kippur war. So I thought, could Hashem be giving us a warning of another attack this year by the Palestinians?

Now if my history is correct, the day that Israel was declared a State in 1948, the Arab nations launched an immediate attack the following day. And in the Yom Kippur war it was also a surprise attack by the Arabs. So the difference I see between those attacks and the Six Day War in 1967, was that Israel had a warning of a coming attack, and therefore did not delay attacking first. So let’s say my analysis is correct and we are due to have another attack this year, then what must we do to prepare ourselves?

I feel that the answer is simple, the attack is not coming from our Palestinian neighbors this time, but instead taking place right in the halls of Congress. And what is being done to defeat this sly enemy, it seems Congress is doing absolutely nothing. This is despite the verbal assault on Jews, Israel and America that is coming from three of its members. So I think it’s quite clear that it’s now up to us.

I promised to discuss the sign that appeared on Eastern Parkway, which said “Hitler Is Coming” but I also want to discuss a similar sign that recently appeared on the campus of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Very close to the Golda Meir library. I think these two signs are related. Before continuing any further, I want to include a few personal notes.

I previously mentioned I had passed a security clearance and when basic training and MOS training were over, I would return to my base at Fort Snelling as a qualified Morse Code Interceptor. On my first week back at base the Commander explained that as Reservists we had to attend four – four hour drills each month. And one of those drills will be on Shabbat. So I went to my Commander and explained I was becoming Shomer Shabbat and could not work on Shabbat. His response to me was that I am sorry Private Richter, those are the rules, no exceptions.

So what was I to do? Fort Snelling was not an active base, it was only used as a facility for Reservists to do their monthly drills. And furthermore, it had no Army Chaplains on base, so that meant I would have to find help elsewhere. That opportunity came up when we went to Summer Camp, at a base in Texas. I could not find any Jewish chaplains, but the Catholic Chaplain was a very kind and considerate officer. He heard my problem and was very concerned and wrote my Commander a letter, the main points of which follow-

I have met Private Richter, and he voiced his concerns to me about attending drills on his holy day of Sabbath. You are no doubt aware that the US Army accommodates all soldiers and their religious beliefs and therefore as I see it, you have three choices-

  1. Allow Private Richter to follow his religious beliefs and do not require him to come for drills on his Sabbath.
  2. If you do not agree, you must find Private Richter another unit that will accommodate his religious beliefs
  3. If you do not agree with either of the two points above, you must arrange for Private Richter to have an Honorable Discharge from the Army.

The Chaplain outranked my Commander, who could not argue with him since he knew the Chaplain was right. The end result was that the Commander would not feel comfortable with me being an exception to his rule and therefore he found me a new unit, where I was an office clerk. I learned a valuable lesson from this experience which was not being afraid to be loyal to Torah or do Mitzvahs. At the end you will always be rewarded. It was also a blessing in disguise that I remained in the Army since I had many more opportunities to meet people and learn from them about the beauty of being a Jew.

A very funny story came out from all of this, in one Summer Camp another year, we also went to Texas and I worked in the Accounting Office. There was a civilian woman who worked there as well on a full-time basis as this was an active Army Base. The woman and her husband were not Jewish but were very respectful to all of us, and at the end of camp right before we were due to come home, this couple invited all of us to their restaurant where they specialized in chicken. I told her I could not come because I only eat kosher chicken and she was very sorry to hear that. Around two weeks later, I received a letter in the post, since we did not have email yet, that she was very sorry I could not join the rest of the soldiers for the special farewell party she had prepared for everyone. But she wants me to know I am more than welcome to stop by anytime in the future for a meal. There is only one more thing she wanted to know. What was the recipe for Kosher Chicken? I sent her back a very warm letter explaining the meaning of Kosher.

So I sacrificed my opportunity to work in an Intelligence unit because I wanted to keep Shabbat and do mitzvahs. I am convinced that is why Hashem is giving me the ability to look at everyday events and making an educated guess at their meaning, something I have always enjoyed doing.

 

 

 

 

 

That incident makes me think, what is the recipe for Peace in the Middle East and between Jews and Palestinians. Why don’t the Arabs just follow what the American Indians did, put down their weapons, make peace, and then there will be a genuine peace. But that is not going to happen anytime soon, since their main goals are to destroy Jews and Israel. And now I bring in the discussion about those two signs. Regarding both of them, they both relate to the Nazis. The Swastika was originally a sign of peace but the meaning became one of evil after the Nazi leader finished redesigning it.

The genuine recipe for peace depends on the Palestinians, as Alan Dershowitz puts it, if the Arabs stop attacking Jews there will be peace. Nothing more needs to be said.

That swastika appearing on the U of W campus is not the exact same one the Nazis used. That campus is in the same city Milwaukee where Golda spent many years of her youth. In the publication the Hollywood Reporter an article entitled Hollywood Executives Condemn ‘Hamas Terrorists’ in ADL Ad published August 19, 2014 by Tina Daunt, there is a full page ADL Ad containing a quote made by Golda Meir regarding her formula for peace in the Middle East.

The movie A Woman Called Golda also contains the same basic quote, which boils down to one sentence. Golda, who is played by Ingrid Bergman, appearing in her last movie, was visiting Milwaukee, where she had an opportunity to speak before children who attended her old school. In one of the scenes toward the end of the film, Golda is asked the question – When will there be peace in the Middle East?. Her answer was perhaps the best and only peace plan that will work – “When The Arabs Will Love Their Children More Than They Hate Us”.

Golda’s one sentence statement summarizes it all. It’s the Palestinians that have to change their attitude. Unless that happens, no peace plan will ever work!!!

Now let’s switch to the sign appearing on Eastern Parkway near the Children’s Museum. That sign appears to be right in the middle of my journey between Chabad Headquarters 770 Eastern Parkway, and  Hadar Hatorah right up the block after crossing Kingston Ave.

And a few days ago, I noticed a story coming out of Brooklyn, that the Notorious BIG was getting a street named after him. That street is located in Bedford-Stuyvesant which is right across the street from 770 Eastern Parkway, and one of the neighborhoods I first went through on a march with my fellow yeshiva students to put on Tefillin at Brooklyn College. Remember who Notorious BIG was, he was one of the main supporters of the song “It’s All About The Benjamin’s” that Congresswoman Omar loves so much. And if she loves that song, then she loves what Notorious BIG stands for as well and the neighborhood from where he came from.

When we marched through that neighborhood I will never forget it. A group of religious Jews wearing black hats, jackets, beards and carrying our tefillin on the way to do a mitzvah to put on tefillin on Jews of all kinds who had no idea of what Tefillin were. And who do you think accompanied us? Of course, at that time racial tension was so high, we needed to be escorted through that neighborhood by the NY Police Dept. Has that since changed, and have those blacks grown to love their fellow Jews on the other side of Eastern Parkway, I doubt it. When we were marching I just will never forget all those eyes staring at us as if we had invaded their neighborhood. No smiles, no friendly waves and no friendly welcome.

And I always wonder what would have happened if those police were not there to march besides us, just like if Israel takes away protection for its citizens. And this is the perfect example of who Omar wants to mix with. In fact, it most likely was Omar herself, with her verbal attacks on Jews,  who has caused some of those people in that neighborhood to attack Jews recently living in Crown Heights. And if Jews are so terrible as Omar said, where are all the attacks that Jews have started in Notorious BIG’s neighborhood? Of course none, Jews have been, are and will be people who want peace with their neighbors.

But the most important point is to look at that sign that appeared outside the Children’s Museum. Just like I said there once was a swastika with good connotations, I also think that this is referring to a Hitler which also meant good and not bad. That person I am referring to is none other than Charlie Chaplain who appeared in the movie the Great Dictator.

Charlie Chaplain played both the Nazi dictator and a Jewish barber. It was a film which Chaplain later said he would not have made, had he known the horrors that were taking place in Europe at that time.  And I say it was Hashem that wanted Charlie Chaplain to make that film because of all the key things that the film represented. That applied then, as well as now and into the future.

Amazing facts came out of this film. But those are for another time to discuss and analyze, the most important part of this film is the speech Charlie Chaplain gave which appears below when he was dressed as the Nazi dictator-

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor.
That’s not my business.
I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone.
I should like to help everyone if possible.
Jew – Gentile – Black Man, White.
We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.
We want to live by each other’s happiness.
Not by each other’s misery.
We don’t want to hate and despise one another.
And this world has room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want.
Our knowledge has made us cynical.
Our cleverness, hard and unkind.
We think too much, and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.
More that cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities life will be violent, and all will be lost.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together.
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men – cries out for universal brotherhood – for the unity of us all.
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world – millions of despairing men, women, and little children – victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say – do not despair.
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed – the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people.
And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. …
Soldiers!
don’t give yourselves to brutes – men who despise you – enslave you – who regiment your lives – tell you what to do – what to think and what to feel!
Who drill you – diet you – treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.
Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men – machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts!
You don’t hate!
Only the unloved hate – the unloved and the unnatural!
Soldiers!
Don’t fight for slavery!
Fight for liberty!
In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” – not one man nor a group of men, but in all men!
In you!
You, the people have the power – the power to create machines.
The power to create happiness!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.
Then – in the name of democracy – let us use that power – let us all unite.
Let us fight for a new world – a decent world that will give men a chance to work – that will give youth a future and old age a security.
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power.
But they lie!
They do not fulfill that promise.
They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise!
Let us fight to free the world – to do away with national barriers – to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.
Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
Soldiers!
in the name of democracy, let us all unite

After reading this, I don’t have to say anything more.

I would like to end off by saying we must now unite to eliminate the evil in this world and maybe just maybe, in the not too distant future-

SOMEDAY VERY SOON WE WILL ALL BE TOGETHER

About the Author
Born and raised in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. Married to a South African, we lived in Johannesburg from 1979 to 1996. Made Aliyah with our seven children on Parshat Lech Lecha. BSB Accounting Degree from the University of Minnesota. Investment Portfolio Manager /Fundamental And Technical Analyst. Wrote in-depth research on companies, markets, commodities for leading financial publications. Served in the US Army Reserves Semi Retired spending quality time with my wife, children, grandchildren and attend Kollel while analyzing current events as they relate to Torah and Mitzvahs.
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