Sunday, July 16, 2006

Haven't we been here before?


2300 Years later...we’re still battling Greek Culture on the streets of Jerusalem

500 Years later...we’re still resisting Christian attempts to convert us

2000 Years later...we’re still not cutting our hair and listening to music

60 Years later...we’re still running into bomb shelters

3300 Years later...our children are still covering their eyes and saying Sh’ma Yisroel...God is One.

Is there really a past, present and future to our History?

I'm not going to pretend I know the answers.
I'm not going to say what anyone should or should not do.
If there's anything that History has taught me...it's that man's ability to will things his way usually falls short.
But I take solace in the fact that I feel like I'm part of something BIG.
Something endless.
When I read Parshas Devarim I feel like it was written yesterday.
When I delve into Jewish History I'm awestruck at this sense of belonging to a present that is one with the past and future.
And I pray that God finally reveal to us the endgame of all this...



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25 Comments:

Blogger the only way i know said...

R Tatz describes time as a 'spiral' rather than a line or circle...
spirals sort of come back on themselves rather than going from one point to another..
i heard it described in a very interesting way also - perhaps by R Tatz again -
imagine a light covered by a metal plate with an opening. you can only see the light at the opening.. this corresponds to the 'time frame' we are allowed to witness - it is sectioned, but really it is not a division, but part of a whole - if we were to remove the metal plate - we'd see time 'all at once' so to speak..
nothing is waaaay before or waaay after,, it's all happening... by Hashem there is no 'time' -
time was created specifically for us - to deal with life... we can only deal with life in sequences, but really and truly, the three weeks then and the three weeks now - take away that metal plate - and it's all there at once..

did that make sense?
hope so. let me know if not.. i found it hard to put it in words, which means i probably don't understand the concept well myself..but it is interesting..

July 16, 2006 10:22 AM  
Blogger anonym00kie said...

you put it really clearly towik, great explanation.
and david, awesome post.. as usual :)

July 16, 2006 10:37 AM  
Blogger Stacey said...

How true. It really is a continuum. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's good and bad.

July 16, 2006 10:56 AM  
Blogger A Frum Idealist said...

maase avos siman labanim.
as much as things change, the still remain the same.

July 16, 2006 12:09 PM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

thanks Mooks,
whew!
lol

July 16, 2006 12:22 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

Theonlyway...
I've seen that explaniation by Rabbi Tatz...I believe its based on the Michtav M'Eiliyahu...
But I could not have explained as well as u did..
Thanks!

anonym00kie...
Thank you..
:-)

Stacey...
Yup..but not one other nation can say that...

afi...
yes...thats true

July 16, 2006 12:58 PM  
Blogger kasamba said...

David, you have the MOST fabulous way of expressing yourself!

July 16, 2006 6:50 PM  
Blogger Pragmatician said...

good post

July 17, 2006 3:54 AM  
Blogger Shoshana said...

In all my studies of history, one thing is confirmed to me over and over again - nothing ever changes, nothing is new. We just repeat the same things over and over.

July 17, 2006 8:37 AM  
Blogger socialworker/frustrated mom said...

Thanks nice timely post.

July 17, 2006 9:17 AM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

R Tatz lives here -
so I got to see this rendition live - lol
i love his books as well.
and thanks for the 'thumbs up'

July 17, 2006 12:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Our Torah is called "living" because it is alive in every sense of the word. And the adage "history repeats itself" holds truer for the Jewish nation than for any other nation because, after all, we are the Chosen Nation and the whole world was created and is in existence because of US!!

July 17, 2006 1:04 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

Kasamba....
Thank you

prag...
thanks

shoshana....
Indeed that is the case with Jewish History..

SWorker...
Thanks

eshet...
I'd love to seee it...

theonlyway...
thats so cool...I love his stuff...
as for the thumbs up...It was deserved..
(as was the gulag on last post..lol)

itsallgood....
It really does feel like a living book...

July 17, 2006 2:09 PM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

:P (for the gulag comment!)lol

July 17, 2006 3:33 PM  
Blogger FrumGirl said...

Not to be preachy but... humanity hasnt changed. The lessons should have been learned by now. They werent. And of course towik... anything by Rabbi Tatz is profound and amazing, thanks!

July 17, 2006 6:12 PM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

FG - glad you agree!

July 17, 2006 6:42 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

theonlyway...
:-P back...lol

FG...
I dont know. I really think it's not in our hands..there's a divine hand pushing things..there are higher forces here. Obviously humanity does not learn from its mistake..but this is about our destiny as a people...our role in the world.

July 17, 2006 8:07 PM  
Blogger Mata Hari said...

very profound david. where were your eyes shifting while you were thinking about this? :)

July 17, 2006 10:25 PM  
Blogger chaverah said...

Absoluty! history repeats itself over and over and over and over, did i mention over?, again! amazing no? unfortuanly both the good and bad repeats. people through the ages have the same thoughts and feelings of longing, hope, love, hate. It will never change.

July 18, 2006 7:32 AM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

Mata Hari...
To be perfectly honest....I was laying in bed sunday morning listening to the radio about Haifa..and I heard the air raid siren..and I thought to myself..60 years later and we're still running into shelters...and the seed was planted...then the rest followed naturally

Chavera...
Apparently not. But the world is definitely moving in the right direction...albeit slowly

July 18, 2006 10:22 AM  
Blogger workingema said...

Life is all one big 'story' happening over and over again, sometimes in the same way, sometimes in a different way, but their all connected, all have similarities one way or another. That's why they say.. learn from the past...

July 18, 2006 4:39 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

workingema...
True...on an individual layer....as well
good point

July 18, 2006 9:49 PM  
Blogger Bonnie B said...

beautifully said and to be a part of something so miraculous-- you are lucky to realize this

July 20, 2006 12:17 AM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

bonnie..
true any reading of our history...will show that our very existence is a miracle

July 20, 2006 12:05 PM  
Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

I too have not been sleeping well.

We have had a very painful history, it is true in so many ways, and still, we emerge victoriously, continuing with our lives, thoughts and good deeds.

As you know, I am going to Israel in 3 weeks. I am told that in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem live goes on, with of course, a bit of trepedidation. This will be the first time in Israel, a trip that has been postponed from year to year. This time we must go, and of course, my prayers will continue.

July 20, 2006 7:27 PM  

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