Thursday, July 13, 2017

We Want G-d!! - Jews And Baseball - Be Proud

This is a snippet from a speech given by President Trump in Poland:

But there is a courage and a strength deep in the Polish character that no one could destroy. The Polish martyr, Bishop Michael Kozal, said it well: “More horrifying than a defeat of arms is a collapse of the human spirit.”

Through four decades of communist rule, Poland and the other captive nations of Europe endured a brutal campaign to demolish freedom, your faith, your laws, your history, your identity -- indeed the very essence of your culture and your humanity. Yet, through it all, you never lost that spirit. (Applause.) Your oppressors tried to break you, but Poland could not be broken. (Applause.) 

And when the day came on June 2nd, 1979, and one million Poles gathered around Victory Square for their very first mass with their Polish Pope, that day, every communist in Warsaw must have known that their oppressive system would soon come crashing down. (Applause.) They must have known it at the exact moment during Pope John Paul II’s sermon when a million Polish men, women, and children suddenly raised their voices in a single prayer. A million Polish people did not ask for wealth. They did not ask for privilege. Instead, one million Poles sang three simple words: “We Want God.” (Applause.)

In those words, the Polish people recalled the promise of a better future. They found new courage to face down their oppressors, and they found the words to declare that Poland would be Poland once again.

As I stand here today before this incredible crowd, this faithful nation, we can still hear those voices that echo through history. Their message is as true today as ever. The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out “We want God.” [Applause]


[And we skip to the end]


PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. So, together, let us all fight like the Poles -- for family, for freedom, for country, and for God. 

Thank you. God Bless You. God bless the Polish people. God bless our allies. And God bless the United States of America. 
Thank you. God bless you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)


Now, obviously the credit for this very well received speech goes primarily to Trump's talented speechwriters. But in the end - it was he who delivered it. He is not a very spiritual man but understands how important it is to be perceived as such. 

If only some of our secular politicians in Israel would feel the same way.....
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On that note: I recently saw a picture of Netanyahu meeting with four Orthodox Shomer Shabbos Jews. Only one - Ron Dermer [Israeli Ambassador to the US and a childhood friend and bunkmate of mine in camp - GREAT ATHLETE!!!] was wearing a kippah. The other three weren't. 

Why??

What do they have to be ashamed of??

Netanyahu should ALSO wear a kippah. His grandfather was a Rav, his daughter is Charedi as are her children. So - get with the program. A kippah shows that you are proud to be identified as an Orthodox Jew [besides showing that there is a G-d above you]. We have nothing of which to be ashamed. Jews or people of Jewish descent have been recipients of all six Nobel awards, including 41% of economics, 28% of medicine, 26% of physics, 19% of chemistry, 13% of literature and 9% of all peace awards [crazily out of proportion to our numbers]. More importantly - we gave the Western world the entire ethic [which they mistakenly call "Judeo-Christian" - we came first] on which its civilization is based. 

When I am in NYC I see men come to shul in a baseball cap, then remove it and put on a kippah and then when they leave they put their baseball cap on [except for those who go bareheaded]. WHERE IS THIS BASEBALL GAME EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE PLAYING??

Be proud. You are a Jew. As the British Statesman Benjamin Disraeli said in reply to a taunt "Yes, I am a Jew, and when the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon".

MEN! Wear your kippot with pride!! Ladies! Wear your long skirts and covered hair with a sense of privilege. 

There is no people like ours!!!