Wouldn’t It Be Nice?

I suppose miracles still exist. We are just too blind to see them. Or even to care. The other day the telephone rang in the Oval Office. The president of the Republic of South Korea was on the line anxious to share some good news with President Trump.

It seems that the dictator of North Korea, Kim Un Jung, has proposed a meeting with himself and the presidents of South Korea and the United States. The “Rocket-man” has seen the light and proposes a cessation of developing nuclear weapons. Is it China who persuaded him or is it the heavy sanctions causing so many North Koreans to suffer from lack of food and basic necessities?

It makes no difference. One should not look a gift horse in the eye. If Kim and Donald want to sit down face to face, enjoying North Korean non-kosher food, mazal tov.  It’s a miracle. “Rocket-man” and “Mad-man”, holding carefully their chop-sticks and picking up one grain of rice at a time from blue Chinese bowls with enameled dragons is an indication that it will be a very lengthy conversation.

Naturally, if Trump brings his Jewish son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, he would be invited to recite the prayer of Shehecheyanu, thanking God that the three leaders have lived to see the day and to seize the moment.

Now, wouldn’t it be nice if Bibi received a phone call from Ayatollah Khameini inviting him to Teheran to discuss ways of ending deadly threats?

And wouldn’t it be nice if Mahmoud Abbas would decide to recognize Israel as the Jewish State and to accept the proposed Trump peace plan?

And wouldn’t it be nice if our Prime Minister could end his fourth term and go out in a blaze of glory? And wouldn’t it be nice if he mustered up the courage to admit that he had not acted in accordance with law and that charges of bribery, fraud, corruption and breach of the public’s trust were not to be found as “nothing”?

And wouldn’t it be nice if the haredim decided to be patriotic and send their sons to the army to protect and to secure the land in which they live and the food, health care and all rights of citizenship be accepted with honor, respect and decency?

In many European and South American countries, it has for centuries been acceptable for the president, king, military commander of those nations to take a mistress for extra conjugal relations. And why not?

Abraham, our patriarch, took Hagar while also married to Sarah. It was an acceptable practice among the kings of Israel.  David had his Michal and Bathsheba. And his son Solomon had 1000 wives, most of them concubines and daughters of neighboring kings. It was a clever way to keep the peace. One generally does not go to war against his father-in-law.

And now, President Trump is being sued by a beautiful pornographic film star for having sex with her after a round of golf. She was paid $130,000 for hush money, not to reveal the facts. He is not happy about the hush money and Melania, his loving wife, is not happy with the betrayal.

In the Pirke Avot, the tractate in the Talmud known as the Ethics of the Fathers, asks and answers a question.

“Aizehu ashir? Ha samayach b’chelko”… who is a rich man? One who is happy with what he has.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live our lives by those words.  But the nature of man is to always want more than he has. Give a man a million shekels or dollars and he will ask “why not two million”?

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world of harmony, tranquility, respect, honor, friendship and peace?

Perhaps North Korea will be the start of a new revolution… a revolution of love and understanding.

Now….. wouldn’t that be nice?