19 Aug WHY SO MUCH ANTISEMITISM?

At the recent Question
& Answer session
for the Irgun Shiurei
Torah, (which you can
see on TorahAnytime.
com), I fielded the
following question:
Why would Hashem
allow such a blatantly antisemitic
mayoral candidate, like Zohran
Mamdani, to succeed and prosper,
in New York City, one of the major
havens for Jews in the diaspora?
I would like to elaborate on this
disturbing question. The Beis HaLevi,
zt”l, zy”a, amongst other luminaries,
explains that there is a direct corollary
between when Jews get too close to
their gentile neighbors and the rise
of antisemitism. This dynamic is
apparent throughout history, starting
with the Jews in Egypt, who should
have been loved by Egyptians since
Yoseif saved them from certain
death by famine. Yet, as soon as we
started to assimilate and stopped
circumcising ourselves, the Medrash
tells us, “Miyad hapach libam lisno

amo – Hashem immediately changed
the hearts of the Egyptians to hate our
nation.”
So too, the golden age of Spain,
which lasted hundreds of years,
came crashing down with the flames
of the Inquisition, when Jews got
too comfortable with their gentile
counterparts. Today as well, the ugly
serpent of assimilation is slithering
amongst us and that releases the
pressure valve of antisemitism which
ensures that we stay apart.
Another reason for the proliferation
of antisemitism is the jealously that
our lifestyle sparks in the hearts of
the gentiles. This was seen during
the horrors of the Chmielnicki revolt,
when poor Polish peasants erupted in
fury against the Jewish upper classes.
Today, with the ever growing presence
of ostentatious Jewish wealth, the
jealousy of our gentile neighbors is
stoked. Rav Avrahom Yaakov Pam,
zt”l, zy”a, was very sensitive to this.
He recommended that when we open
our curtains on Chanukah so that our
menorahs can be seen, we shouldn’t

open them wide, lest our gentile
neighbors see our fancy chandeliers,
breakfronts, and paintings.
But, there’s another point I brought
up in the Q & A that garnered a lot
of attention. We know that Hashem
judges the world midah k’neged
midah, measure for measure. It would
seem to me that in a variety of areas
we are not careful enough to avoid
making a chilul Hashem, a desecration
of Hashem’s Name amongst the goyim
and, yes, even amongst ourselves.
Perhaps as a punishment, Hashem
inflicts us with leaders that desecrate
us. Us, our people, and our G-d.
Some might ask, what chilul Hashem
are you talking about? Let’s take the
nauseating driving habits of some
of our brethren. An older person is
driving cautiously, perhaps with his
cruise control set at the speed limit,
while a late model Escalade starts to
tailgate him. When the older driver
doesn’t move faster, the Escalade starts
honking and flashing his headlights.
Finally, our hyped-up driver in the
back crosses the double line and
passes, all the while honking in fury.
If this were an isolated incident, I
wouldn’t even mention it. But, it
happens all the time. Furthermore,
it happens even in inclement and
dangerous weather.
What about the person who acts as
if he owns the road and turns right
in front of an oncoming car? As
if it were a video game! As if the
road were his and the other drivers
just better slow down. And, what
about the people who double- and
triple-park, park by hydrants, block
handicapped spaces, and wheelchair
access paths?
Then, there’s the honking. Just
because there are two vorts in the
same neighborhood and there’s some
gridlock after midnight, honking
is obviously the wrong thing to do.
But, nonetheless, you hear it all the
time. What about the behavior we
see in supermarkets? People are
blocking aisles, talking on their
cellphones or walking through the
fruit section tasting things as they go
and handing things to their children.
Pedestrian behavior can also be
atrocious. People with cell phones
sauntering into traffic as if they own
the road and let everyone else slow
down for them. People walking three
abreast on the side of country roads
making cars swerve around them

and going into the opposing traffic
sometimes even with a baby carriage!
Another area that needs immediate
correction is the behavior of so many
yeshiva boys with their English
teachers. In many schools, the English
teachers are treated with disdain and
disrespect. This is the exact opposite
of the spirit of kiddush Hashem. A
yeshiva bochur coming from the
learning of Chumash, Mishnayos or
Gemara should be on the lookout for
how to leave a Torah fragrance in the
eyes of his gentile or not-frum English
teachers. When the opposite occurs,
it surely does not give nachas to the
Ribono shel Olam.
Let’s remember that the Torah
admonishes us to be an ohr l’goyim, a
light unto the nations and an example
how to behave. It never tells us that we
should act with a sense of superiority
and entitlement.
May Hashem bless us that we should
collectively improve in all of these
areas and, in that merit, may He save
us from antisemitic enemies and
may He shower us with His Divine
protection and goodness.