To be honest, I'm getting tired of writing/posting these negative
posts rants about the agreement to free Gilad Shalit and bring him home to Israel. I'm not the only writer, political commentator, blogger who has been writing about the dangers of the price Israel is going to pay for him.
Arlene Kushner has expressed similar thoughts, as have
DovBear,
Carl and numerous others.
The
IDF site gives the hoped for time-table of Shalit's release. What will really happen? We'll be a lot wiser in the future.
There's something so suited, so timely that the hoped for release is during the Succot holiday when we're commanded by G-d to leave the security of a permanent home with a secure, solid roof. The succah is distinguished by and defined by its roof. We must be able to see the sky. There's no real physical protection.
As much as many of us invest in our succah, it does not need to be made of wood or bricks. It can be very flimsy.
All that counts is the roof. Yosefa Wruble discusses the Jewish Laws about
succah in this Matan, Al HaPerek shiur/class. (Men and women can
sign up for the fantastic Al HaPerek course for learning the entire
Tanach, Bible.)
It's not rare for it to rain during the Succot Holiday.
S'chach, the special roof, doesn't provide physical protection. In many parts of the world it ends up physically impossible to eat in the succah. It's rainy, stormy and even snowing. Even here in Shiloh, we've had years when our
s'chach has blown away, although our succah walls have stayed standing.
Many neighbors have had to search for their succot after storms, since the aluminum frame and fabric many people assemble are not very secure.
Good intentions aren't always sufficient for keeping the mitzvah of Succot. And good intentions in terms of freeing Gilad Shalit won't guarantee that his
promised/hoped for return home will go as planned. And good intentions by the government won't guarantee us security and safety from the released terrorists.
This agreement to free Gilad Shalit is like a flimsy succah built on a cliff... or just a fake.
3 comments:
The following is from a conversation which I had with Rabbi David Bar-Hayim:
During the days of Hazal the formula of not paying an excessive amount for a Jewish captive was an appropriate one since otherwise those seeking ransom (the equivalent of pirates) would understand that taking Jews prisoner was a profitable endeavor.
Nowadays, we face a situation which Hazal were not addressing- the existence of a sovereign Jewish state faced by enemies sworn to its destruction who exploit the taking of captives and the subsequent negotiating process as a means of weakening and demeaning us.
Under such circumstances no such deals whatsoever are appropriate insofar as they further our enemy's designs.
Shalom!
We didn't make deals in Entebbe. Why are we making deals now, when Gaza is our backyard, literally?
HaRazieli, interesting point
Hadassa, We're just acting weaker and weaker.
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