Passover and a Warning to America Eileen F. Toplansky
“Our current leaders’ indifference to this existential threat as well as the spurning of core American beliefs and values are endangering our children’s future and undermining our very existence as the land of freedom and opportunity.”
The Jewish holiday of Passover is now being celebrated around the world. The Haggadah is the guidebook that helps Jews understand the circumstances of slavery while they grapple with profound questions and ideas that animate the holiday.
Because questions are vital to the understanding of Passover, rabbis of old would create commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures. These are known as midrash. In its broadest sense, a midrash is an interpretation or interweaving of Jewish historical events in order to see a larger picture. A midrash can span very different time periods, yet ultimately there is a logic to be found as Jews seek to understand G-d’s intentions.
Centered on the liberation of the Jews from the cruel hands of Pharoah, the holiday examines how G-d helped the Jewish people through their tribulations. Indeed, Pharoah had issued an edict that ordered that all Israelite male children be murdered by being drowned at birth. It is clearly stated in Exodus 1:22 that “every boy that is born, you shall throw into the river and every girl you shall keep alive”
As explained in the Studies on the Haggadah from the Teachings of Nechama Leibowitz
the midrash known as Vayikra Rabbah 27:11 goes back in time and reads as follows:
Esau said ‘Cain was foolish in that he killed his brother during the life of his father. Didn’t he know that his father would continue to have children? I will not follow suit, rather when the day of mourning for my father approaches, “I will kill my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41).
Continuing in the explanation
Pharoah said: ‘Esau was foolish. Didn’t he know that his brother would have children during the lifetime of his father? I will not follow suit, rather I will kill them on the barstool from under their mothers,’ as it says: “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22).
The midrash then goes on to state that
Haman said ‘Pharoah was foolish. Didn’t he know that the girls would marry other men and have children? I will not follow suit, rather I plan “to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all of the children of Israel, both young and old, little children, and women, on one day’ (Book of Esther 3:13).
Finally, the midrash concludes by describing Gog and Magog who are evil forces opposed to the people of God .
Gog and Magog in the time to come will say the same thing ‘The previous ones who busied themselves with designs against Israel were foolish in that they did not realize that Israel had a protector in heaven. I will not follow suit, rather I will first engage their protector and afterwards I will engage them.’
So, what is the point of this interpretation about murderous evil people from different eras? Moreover, what is the difference between Esau, Pharoah and Haman on the one hand, and Gog and Magog on the other?
As Nechama Leibowitz points out
the midrash demonstrates the historical progression of cruelty and sophistication among the enemies of the children of Israel. According to the midrash, the intention of all three of those protagonists was not simply to destroy one particular individual, but to prevent these individuals from bearing future descendants. They differed, however, in their methodology, each adopting a progressively harsher approach in order to destroy the Children of Israel.
Esau, Pharoah and Haman believed they could annihilate the children of Israel through physical means.
But,
Gog and Magog understand that the strength of the children of Israel lies in their faith. Therefore, [Gog and Magog] will first try to undermine the ideology before engaging in a physical attack.
Now take a moment and replace the word Israel with America and the radical woke ideology becomes glaringly apparent.
Reflect upon the radical Democrat party who exults in the destruction of children’s impressionable minds. Consider the Leftist who scorns genuine religious belief in a Supreme Creator. Understand that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and Critical Race Theory are the quintessential means by which American values and ideas are destroyed from within.
While our enemies certainly engage in saber rattling, they are also clearly winning the culture war. The Left has assiduously undermined the magnificent ideas of American democracy so much so that the children of America have no idea of the true nature of their birthright.
Consequently, in a recent poll, “patriotism is declining in importance to some Americans compared to years past [.]”
Survey results showed 38% of respondents said patriotism was ‘very important’ to them, down ‘sharply’ from when the Wall Street Journal first asked the question in 1998. Back then, 70% of people thought patriotism was ‘very important.’
In fact, “differences are so dramatic, it paints a new and surprising portrait of a changing America.” This is precisely what communists have worked towards for the past 70 years. Furthermore, “[a] Gallup poll from last year showed 38% of U.S. adults said they are ‘extremely proud’ to be American, the lowest since Gallup started asking the question.
This didn’t just happen overnight. Like termites, leftist Marxist progressives aka Communists have infiltrated every aspect of American life. Students are taught that the freest country in the world is racist, and that our country’s Constitution is to be shredded.
Moreover, “[e]lite law schools have become training academies not so much for effective and competent lawyers, but instead for militant transformational radicals with a law degree.
The next generation of lawyers at these schools isn’t focused on learning contracts, torts, civil procedure, and evidence as much as they are learning how to destroy treasured American institutions such as tolerance, liberty, and free speech.
The law students shouting down free speech at Stanford today are the leftist activists of tomorrow.
Our arch enemy China knows only too well that undermining our traditions and our ideas is a surefire way to bring America to its knees.
Our foes are gloating as they view the assault on our southern and northern borders, the incredible indoctrination of youngsters in schools, the attacks on religion, and the outright lies about our origins and foundational ideas.
In addition to spy balloons, Tik Tok and Confucius Institutes are doing an excellent job of demoralizing our people.
China’s use of ‘hard power,’ such as its aggressive weapons buildup, its suppression of free speech and assembly in Hong Kong and throughout the mainland, its stern warnings that Taiwan must not chart an independent course, . . . , [certainly] draws the headlines and attracts the attention of policymakers.
But,
Meanwhile Confucius Institutes, financed by the Chinese government and supervised by the Chinese Communist Party, are molding attitudes about China.
The Confucius Institutes pretend to be a Chinese version of cultural institutions like the Alliance Française or the Goethe Institute, but they are in reality a propaganda machine funded and directed by the Chinese government. Based on the findings of its 2017 report, the National Association of Scholars recommends that ‘all universities close their Confucius Institutes.’
Some of America’s most distinguished schools kowtowed to Communist China, including Columbia University’s Global Center in Beijing, which cancelled talks ‘it feared would upset Chinese officials.’ North Carolina State University canceled a visit by the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s revered religious leader.
In acknowledgement of the Institutes’ threat to academic freedom and opposition to telling the truth about China’s persistent violation of human rights, the Trump administration proposed that American colleges and universities be required to disclose any financial ties with Confucius Institutes. (Some schools accept as much as $1.7 million annually.)
Despite the bi-partisan criticism of the Institutes, the Biden administration withdrew the Trump proposal—sending a global signal that, . . .‘the Biden administration will not take Confucius Institutes seriously.’
The “Confucius Institutes are the modern equivalent of a Trojan horse, from an authoritarian adversary out to undermine America’s leading role in Asia and around the world.”
Our current leaders’ indifference to this existential threat as well as the spurning of core American beliefs and values are endangering our children’s future and undermining our very existence as the land of freedom and opportunity. It is Gog and Magog in action.
Let the Passover midrash be an undeniable warning to Americans.
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