Hi –
Hope you’re having a great day!
… We’ve all heard it. And we know it’s true.
“Two Jews, three opinions!”
(And some say, four!)
Jews have very strong opinions. And hardly ever seem to agree.
And inIsrael?
Forget it!
Two Jews?
About 5,795,000 opinions!
There’s almost nothing everyone agrees about inIsrael.
But there’s an exception.
The N.Y. Times reported that all sectors of Israeli society seem to agree on one thing.
Bringing babies into the world is a high national priority!
Israelis the world capital of in vitro fertilization.
Israelprovides free IVF procedures for up two “take home babies”.
And there is no opposition to it!
As the mother of Eitan, an IVF baby said…
“It’s something that characterizes life here. The value placed on life.”
The article describes the “transfer room” where embryos are implanted into the patient.
And what did the director of one of the largest fertility centers call it?
“A holy room”!
… There’s a puzzling portion in the Torah dealing with war. (Deuteronomy, 20: 1-9)
Before we go to war an announcement is made. Certain people are sent home.
Who?
A man who has built a new home but has not lived in it.
Or has planted a vineyard and not eaten its first crop.
And a man who is about to get married!
It sounds strange!
We could think of much more pressing situations than these!
And how many soldiers are likely to be in these categories?
It doesn’t seem like a practical or fair way of dealing with extenuating circumstances!
… The Torah is making a point.
About the kind of People we should be.
And what our priorities as a nation should be.
There will be times that we will be forced to go to war.
And war means people dying. It means destruction.
But we have to be extremely careful about one thing.
We should never become warriors!
Our goal as a People has to be totally different.
It has to be life. Has to be building.
So before going to war?
We make a statement.
“Our enemies are forcing us to fight. And we will do our best to fight evil.
But we would rather be builders!”
No country in the world declares this as much asIsrael.
And it’s not just talk.
They literally “put their money where their mouth is”!
They do it by leading the world in creating life!
And we should be proud!
All the best,
Rabbi Moshe Katz
Director
ChicagoTorah Network
2832W. Touhy Avenue
Chicago,IL60645
P 773. 761. 0400 ext. 201
F 773. 761. 9262