This is the End, Beautiful Friend

  The end is near. Though I do not take pleasure in saying it, I’ve known this was coming for many years. I’ve fought this truth for so long, not wanting to believe what I saw, what I felt, what I knew. Our world as we knew it is gone, never to return. The amount of civil unrest, discord and visceral anger and hate has come to rear its ugly head. Riots in many major cities, not just here in the US, but all over the world. Did this happened because of the shut down? Yes and no. Could it have been avoided? No. Humanity is on the brink of great change. And great change does not come silently nor peacefully, for that matter. The Great Awakening is upon the world and nothing can stop it. And nothing should stop it. 

  We are uncovering some very disturbing truths about those whom we’ve trusted to protect our interests, those whom we’ve elected to represent us, those whom we’ve regarded in high esteem. And these disturbing truths are far darker than many can accept. But just because they are difficult to accept doesn’t make them any less true.       

   Once you open your eyes, your heart and mind, you will no longer be able to deny these truths. Some will refuse to accept them, claiming they are “conspiracy theories”, some will stare in disbelief, and some will fight against them. But, in the End, denial is not a river in Egypt and only serves to distract from reality. I take no pleasure in knowing what I know. I do not celebrate these truths, quite the opposite. I acknowledge them, even though they make me sick. They are disgusting, repulsive truths of corruption and acts of pure evil. Once the light shines upon these truths, the world will be in shock. And nothing can prepare you for the heinous crimes committed by people we’ve trusted for years.     

  What I will say is this, G-d has been very busy calling all His Warriors and Wrestlers to Service. In Kabbalah, it is said there are always 36 souls on the earth that are “Righteous and truly Holy”, here to do G-d’s work. I believe, and I know I’m not alone, that in this time, there are actually closer to 36 million on this earth, here “souly” for the purpose of Saving Humanity. And that we have all been called to our unique duty, based on our talents and gifts to work in unison to pull us from the ashes and make our world a better place. The work will not be easy for any of us, but it is vital that we do this work. 

  My duty is to teach. The Manual of Moral Instruction , as my parsha, is no accident. As everything I do and experience is no accident, this duty was placed in my lap in the same manner, intentionally and very consciously. And I take this responsibility very seriously. Though I feel that I am not qualified to take on such a task, I must let go of my doubt and trust that I will rise to the task and do it with complete conscious intention and clear vision of the end result. 

Good vs. Evil- The Ultimate Battle

  Doing some research on hate crimes in the US last year. According to the FBI, out of just over 4000 incidents reported, 2017 were against Jews, a 12% increase from 2018. About 1/2 of the hate crimes committed last year were against .2% of the population. Let me say that again, about 1/2 of the hate crimes were committed against less than 1% of the population. In NYC alone, which accounts for more than 1/2 of the hate crimes committed in the US, more than half of those crimes were against Jews. Out of the 213 crimes, 69 resulted in arrests. Of those arrested, 40 were white, 25 were black, 2 were Hispanic and 2 were Asian. 

   We, in the Jewish community, know all too well what discrimination and hate look like. We’ve been battling it for over 3000 yrs. and we’ve learned a thing or two when it comes to combating discrimination and hate. So why did BLM destroy Jewish communities in NYC, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and other cities across the nation? And then there’s Antifa. Arian Brotherhood shit. You think we Jews don’t know?

  I had a conversation last year with a fellow Jew asking about what we do when we leave our safe quiet small community. How do we protect ourselves? She said something o never thought she’d say. “We hide our Jewishness. It’s how we’ve survived for over 3000 yrs.” And she is right. We never stop being Jews. We never apologize for it either. But, we do recognize when we’re in dangerous situations and adjust our behavior accordingly. It’s as simple as acting with respect, manners and morals. It is to not bring attention to ourselves, to not question authority in the moment, there’s always time for that later. It’s to blend in as best we can. We also teach our children to love, not hate. We teach that all of humanity is precious in the eyes of Hashem. 

  Does the black community do this? Do you teach your children to love, despite being hated? Do you teach your children that no matter what, we are all one with G-d and His Love is the ultimate love? Do you practice what you preach? Do you teach you children that despite your position in life you can always be better? That opportunity is in your mind. And that what you chose to focus your thoughts on is what becomes your reality?

   The reality is more that we have been fed a biased narrative and believe that crimes against blacks, especially by white is at an all time high, yet I haven’t found a single report to back that up. I do however find plenty of reports stating that anti Semitic crimes rose by 20-50%, depending on what region of the country your talking about. In NYC, it’s up 20%, with 53% of all hate crimes reported being Anti-Semitic, LA up by 100%, and Chicago’s up by 46%. Yet hate crimes against the black community either fell or rose by a much smaller percentage. 
  The point in all this is to highlight the very real and growing popularity of hate. How will we ever evolve past this? How will we move beyond finger pointing, name calling and unadulterated rage? Very simply, the answer is LOVE.  
  Love isn’t about romance, intimacy or sex.  Love is about seeing an individual for who they are, seeing their story, seeing their past, and accepting their flaws, for they are, like you, only human. And when you give LOVE, the greatest reward is watching that person flourish, knowing you had a small part in that success without feeling bitter or envious of it. Love is about giving and never expecting anything in return, for the act of selfless giving in and of itself, is the ultimate reward. Doing what is right, even when unpopular, is not always easy, but worth every ounce of energy you put into it. Love is about mindful, conscious living. It’s knowing just how you affect the world in which you live and doing what you can to make that affect positive and impactful. Love can be as simple as holding the door for someone, even when they don’t acknowledge you. It can be as complex as running into a burning building to save someone. Love, you see, is listening to your gut and following it’s direction. It’s hearing the messages you receive and honoring them. Love is morals, justice and courage. Love is faith and kindness. Love is selfless sacrifice and endless hours of caring for one who cannot care for themselves. 
   It is not enough to read this and internalize it’s message. It must be spoken, it must be shown, it must be honored. We are in a war for the survival and success of humanity. This is the ultimate Good vs. Evil, and I for one am on the side of Good. I will fight for it until my dying breath. I will continue to do what is right for no other sake than it being the right thing to do. I challenge everyone to do the same and together we will rebuild a world in which we can all be proud.