I Don't Know and I Don't Care
By Sylvia Mandelbaum
I put my life into Gush Katif. My whole world collapsed. It's me against the world. Who am I? I am a solution person. What's the solution? I don't know and I don't care.
I used to care but look at where it got me. What happened that I don't care? Did it happen to me or to the rest of the world? Did I change or did the world change? Answer me. What changed?
Tell me why I don't care. I don't care enough to analyze it. That's a terrible attitude.
Because I don't have enough people to care with me. Everybody takes what they can take and scram away. What happened to all the people? They went to the other side – to the winners who are sitting on my land now. They want it back their way.
You can't say leave it to G-d. G-d needs helpers too. People don't understand that. They think it will happen by itself. It doesn't happen by itself.
There is always loss of blood. People don't want to give their sons anymore. And I don't blame them.
Our spirit is gone. We no longer have a spirit.
I'm not a philosopher. I'm a simple resident. My place is here.
9 comments:
the important thing is to keep trying. if we give up and say "it won't do any good" then it certainly won't. my mother likes to tell the story of the two frogs that fell into a bucket of cream. the frog that gave up and said "it won't do any good" - just drowned. the one that kept trying to swim, churned the cream into butter, and he was able to jump onto the lump of butter and hop out of the bucket. we might not get immediate results for our effort, and in Israel it is difficult to change things with the leftist news media and leftist courts against us. but if we don't even try then we will get *zero* results. only by trying to change things, can we eventually bring about the necessary changes.
Leah, you are so right. Sylvia is tired, and I'm sure it's hard for her friends to see the changes.
Leah, what an inspiring message in your response. And to Sylvia, we don't always see the immediate fruits of our efforts - but with time the planted seed takes root.
It is not our responsibility to complete job, but neither are we free to avoid trying. (loose translation)
Batya, thanks, and you have a good point. yes, we need people like Sylvia to share their wisdom with us, and then it is up to younger people like ourselves to take action.
to "Anonymous #1", thanks for your kind words. and yes, it sometimes takes a while to see the results of our efforts.
to "Anonymous #2", yes, that is a good translation of a quote from the Pirkei Avot in the Mishna, that is true about many things in life.
בעז"ה
Dear Sylvia,
I too invested much of my life in Gush Katif, 14 years, which is more than a third. It is true that many people do not care what happened/happens to us, but they are either ignorant or evil and will in the end meet their punishment. However, many others do care. Most importantly, Hashem is still watching over us, even though we sometimes find it difficult to see how. We're in the month of Adar, which is an excellent time to remember the "hester panim" that the Jews experienced in the time of Esther. Unfortunately today as then too many Jews "join in the feast of Ahashverosh" – siding with foreign governments and not remembering their Jewish heritage. We must believe that a Mordechai will arise in our day and lead all Jews to hold their heads high with Jewish pride. It is becoming clearer and clearer to all that the expulsion was a mistake. Please don't lose hope that we will someday return home. Purim is coming soon... venahaphochu!
Hadassa DeYoung,
K'far Darom/Elon Moreh
Of course you're tired of fighting, Sylvia. Who wouldn't be, after all you've gone through?
But this is not acceptable on a national level, and yet I constantly hear that our army is tired of fighting, our government tired of fighting. That means "We're tired of being different and we're tired of being right" and that's dangerous. It seems that only the religious Zionist youth are still able to say "We have the energy and we remember what it is we are fighting for."
Dear Sylva,
I hear you are tired . There has been a devastating loss. I feel you are dealing w/ where you are now in life and you know you accomplished a lot. The world will never be the same because of what you and others did. It is ok to be tired; you worked hard and grief leaves its scars. Gd is with you and all the heroes. Definitely you are one of HaShem's helpers, dear Sylvia. You have inspired many others and for all the years you lived in GK you brought love of the land , Torah and Ha Am into the universe. You have been a productive kli for HaShem to bring His shefa. Gd brought you to Israel and to GK. We dont know the details of His plans for us or for GK but there are youngsters growing up who have holy seeds of hope. It is Adar and in the blink of an eye all can change. Even if you are not involved w/ that change on a physical level when it comes, your soul, heart and mind will be bound to those who make it happen. Have a wonderful day. Gd bless you. Love, Rahel Sherman
I wanted to send her love. It’s ok for her to be where she is. It is where HaShem put her.
Rahel Sherman
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