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October 22, 2023

Ecclesiastes is typically read on the shabbat (sabbath) of the weeklong holiday of Sukkot. This means that, as Jews in Israel were being slaughtered by Hamas terrorists hopped up on poor man’s cocaine (Captagon), synagogues around the world were reading Ecclesiastes.

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Ecclesiastes 1:9 (Kohelet in Hebrew) contains the oft-cited passage, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Just as the seasons come and go in a seemingly endless cycle, so too do the events in history.

What irony that such Jew hatred would manifest itself in a pogrom in southern Israel, hearkening back to the pogroms in Eastern Europe. What has been, will be.

When you really think about it, it’s remarkable how far we have come as a species. And then something like this happens to remind us of how far we still have to go.

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It could be just a coincidence of calendars and a good day to massacre Jews. Or was G-d trying to remind us of the lessons of Kohelet? In my mind, one of Kohelet’s lessons is that we can be cynical and yield to the fact there is nothing new under the sun and let the good and the bad repeat and dictate our lives, succumbing to what is anticipated, repetitive, and mundane; or, we can find meaning in the repetition and fight for something more sublime.

Image: Israeli flag by www.slon pics.

We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head. Sure, it ebbs and flows like the tide with periods of calm and tumult. But no matter how loudly we plea with humanity that it must never forget and, instead, learn from past evils, hating Jews seems to flow more than ebb.

We live, we die. We laugh, we cry. We prosper, we fail. We kill Jews. We let them live.

The outpouring of support from leftwing individuals, groups, institutions, and media, who generally don’t hesitate to criticize Israel, has been unexpected. It goes to show there is a line even they won’t cross when Hamas has crossed a line we cannot unsee.

But don’t get too cozy with that. Whether it’s Bill Maher agreeing with conservatives about Biden’s frailty or Democrats standing in solidarity with Israel, they are not making a long-term commitment; it’s just a moment in time.

And, to wit. It took only a few days before Biden and most Democrats demanded Israeli restraint, compliance with the laws of armed conflict, and approval of $100 billion in “humanitarian” aid to Hamas—hamstringing Israel’s ability to protect itself. What’s the point of cutting off water, electricity, and supplies to Hamas if Joe Biden sends it all to Gaza as “humanitarian” aid?