Chesler Chronicles

April 7th, 2009 4:43 pm

My Prayer for a Passover Miracle

It is time for a miracle.

Every spring, the Jewish people find themselves back in Egypt, enslaved either as pyramid-builders or, as some commentators suggest, assimilated idol worshippers. Each year, the Jews are in need of God’s intervention. They cannot liberate themselves on their own. Indeed, the highly ritualized Passover meal is meant to teach Jews that true redemption, ultimate redemption, can only be granted by God. Moses, our greatest prophet and teacher, is not mentioned in the Passover Haggadah for this very reason.

Today, the Jews of Europe and Israel, and the handful who remain in the Islamic world, face grave, even existential danger. The perverse demonization of Israel and the equally perverse de-ification of Islam is almost complete. Right now, the Islamic member states of the United Nations are busy preparing Durban Two, a document and a conference that legalizes Jew-hatred even further. Iran continues to threaten to genocidally exterminate Israel through nuclear weaponry. The European Union and the United States are appeasing, not confronting, these Islamic nation states.

Early this month, our new, young and handsome American President, Barack Hussain Obama, bowed, but only slightly, to the British Queen; in contrast, President Obama, the leader of the free world, bowed quite deeply, to the Saudi King, a tyrant who funds Islamist terrorism, both in the Kingdom and globally.

On April 6, 2009, President Obama also told the Turkish people that the United States “is not and will never be at war with Islam.” (But we need the Muslims to start telling us that). Whoa! Whom does our President believe attacked us on 9/11?

Does President Obama believe that such obeisance-diplomacy will soften the hard hearts of the Pharoanic-Islamists? Has he been advised that if he presents himself as “one of them,” (which he has just done in Ankara and in Istanbul), that Islamists will give up jihad and terrorism, renounce Islamic gender and religious apartheid, cease their Sunni-Shiia religious warfare? Does President Obama believe that if he is popular among Muslims that his popularity will somehow strengthen moderate, peaceful, dissident and feminist Muslims in their fight against Islamism?

I hope he is right. I fear he is wrong. While Moses did keep politely asking Pharoah to let his people go—God also made sure to accompany these requests with a series of devastating plagues.

Slaves are liberated by force, not by appeals to reason; slaves are never sent away until or unless the slave-holder is terrified that he will lose much more, including his own life, if he does not do so. In our country, a Civil War had to be fought and much blood shed, in order to free the African slaves.

Mr. President Obama: While you may mean well, make no mistake. Most people who live under Islamist and Islamic rule are treated like slaves. Your dhimmi-like posture endangers precisely the kind of Muslims who most need America’s support.

God, your world is in danger. Evil people–your creatures too–are now more technologically capable of destroying your Creation than ever before. Please do not allow this to happen.

God, with all due respect for human ingenuity, we (the Jews, the world), need a miracle and we need it now.

God, please have a wonderful Passover.

Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:

1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.

2. Stay on topic.

3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.

4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.

5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.

The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.

These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.

34 Comments

1. George Jochnowitz:

The Israelites who were slaves in Egypt saw the miracle of the dividing of the sea. But they never saw the Promised Land, even though it was a land that had been promised to them. They died in the desert. Their descendants fought their way into the land and won it in dribs and drabs over a period of 400 years. Not until King David did the Israelites possess the whole Promiised Land.

As for the Ten Plagues, they were merely misfortunes that befell the Egyptians. Pharaoh agreed for an occasional moment to let the Children of Israel go, but repeatedly changed his mind. He sent his army to pursue them. The Book of Exodus makes it clear that the Israelites had very little Divine help.

Apr 7, 2009 - 6:22 pm 2. David Vieira Sr.:

Seldom have I been as touched by an article as I was by your words on this Passover.
It is the same cry which has been sent over the centuries, by a people who have been stepped upon, mistreat, enslaved and destroyed over and over again, but who do still hold dear their traditions and to their God. “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem as my chief joy”.
May God give you the strength to resist the evil which is upon you. This is the prayer which I, a Christian, raise to Heaven on your behalf. God bless you.

Apr 7, 2009 - 6:47 pm 3. Cynthia:

Not only has your Passover prayer been uttered by Jew and Christians alike, but the also spoken by Jehovah Himself, in Psalm 122:6-9,
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

Now more the ever WE all need to ask God for a miracle for His creation. You stated it more eloquently than I could, we cannot liberate ourselves and we need Divine intervention, just like the Israelites cried out to God in Egypt. He heard their cries and did the impossible. God bless this Passover prayer.

Apr 7, 2009 - 7:36 pm 4. Judy, NYC:

we are in denial that this president is an islamist. even with all the evidence that our lying eyes and ears see and hear, all that is written and reported and photographed, we still can’t quite seem to come to terms with it. that’s what happens when something is so unbearable and traumatic.

reality, however, as the philosophers say (and the psychiatrists), intrudes.

facing this reality is our task, as jews and as americans, and as christian americans. the judeo christian tradition is ours, its roots in jerusalem. if our representatives are too craven to speak out, then we have to find those who are not cowards. or, we are lost here in america. and, we have lost america.

Apr 7, 2009 - 7:44 pm 5. Fern Sidman:

With all due respect to George Jochnowitz, the book of Exodus makes it exceptionally clear that the redemption of the Jewish nation from the house of bondage in Egypt was exclusively in the hands of G-d. For it was G-d who promised our foremothers and forefathers that it would be He who would redeem us and bring us to the land of Israel so that the Jewish people may walk in His ways.

There is no doubt that Dr. Chesler sees the truth. The proclivities of human beings is to assume an arrogant posture; to believe that it is they that are in total control of their destiny. It is the wise person who can bend his or her neck to the Yoke of Heaven, to shrug off his or her haughty attitude and to realize that it is Hashem who controls the world.

Every morning in our daily prayers we utter the words of the wisest of all men, King Solomon who said, “Reishis Chochma Yiras AdoShem” (the beginning of wisdom is the acknowledgement of G-d). With that a person has nothing. Even the most educated and cultured of people can sink to abysmal levels of depravity if they cannot accept the fact that they are only dust and ashes.

We are living in dangerous times, but I guess that’s nothing new for the Jewish people. While President Obama has taken his presentation of sophistical arguments and honed them in to a fine art, it is clear that the pernicious Islamic terrorists that he attempts to placate will only recoil in disgust at his obsequious platitudes and their resentment and anger will grow.

Why doesn’t President Obama address the issue of the oppression of women in Muslim countries? Why didn’t he comment on the Taliban incited public whipping of a 17 year old girl in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan for leaving her house with an unrelated man? See article below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123877116247786783.html

Dr. Chesler has good reason to be fearful and hopeful at the same time. Her brilliance is evidenced in the fact that she knows that ultimately, (despite our valiant efforts to speak the truth and to act accordingly) only with Divine intervention can humanity be saved from the evils of Islamic fascism.

May G-d continue to bless Dr. Chesler and others like her for speaking truth to power. For the hallmark of G-d is “Emes” (truth) and those who rise up to speak it shall have G-d’s countenance upon them.

May all us of be redeemed from our own personal Mitzrayim this Passover season and may our heartfelt prayers for genuine world peace pierce the Heavens !!

Apr 7, 2009 - 8:07 pm 6. Dr S McCosker:

Phyllis – be assured that I am praying. During their services in Lent, the forty-day period of preparation for Easter, Christians repeat an ancient prayer: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!

I do not know why sometimes such prayers are answered, and sometimes…appear not to be answered. But Robin Claydon of the Bible Society, in a church service I attended, told me what he was told, himself, by a group of Cambodian Christians in a camp in Vietnam, during the Pol Pot years. They (not, at that time, Christian) were fleeing through the jungles toward the Thai border, to escape the vast death camp that their country had become.

As they fled they became aware that Pol Pot soldiers were hot on their heels. They had already exhausted all their prayers; in absolute desperation they reached out beyond the horizons of their own beliefs, crying out (I cannot recall the precise words, but it was something like this): O Creator of the spirits, save us!

And then, they told Mr Claydon: “A curtain of light descended through the forest between us and our pursuers; after that, we saw and heard no more of Pol Pot; we ran on, and escaped into Thailand”.

Arrived in the camps, they had told everyone they met the story of their escape; it was when they met the Christian aid workers that people said, ‘*We* know a God who does things like that”…and told them the story of the Exodus, of the pillar of fire and cloud.

As I said, I do not know why such prayers are sometimes answered, sometimes not. But YHWH is the one who does hear, and does save.

Apr 7, 2009 - 10:55 pm 7. MiamaMan:

I am sorry, but shame on the 70% or so of American Jews that voted for Obama.

Didn’t he attend for 20 years that so-called church where Reverend Wright spewed hate against America? Did not Louis Farrakhan, of The Nation of Islam, a Jew-hater, receive from Reverend Wright an award and was called in the award a man that “truly epitomize greatness”? Did not the same Reverend Wright who was once a member of Farrakhan’s inner circle go with him to visit Colonel Gaddafi in Libya at the height of the confrontation with the US, and after they bombed and downed the Pan Am plane over Scotland, killing scores of Americans? And there is more. His alcoholic father was Muslim by birth and a Marxist. His drug use was extensive and covered up. He is a follower of Saul Alinski and a “Community Organizer”. His so-called autobiography belongs in the dustbin of history not far from Mein Kampft.

Alas, would anyone with some f****** common sense vote for this guy?

Viewing the video when he bowed to the Frankenstein from Saudi Arabia, I wanted to kick him in the rear so he could truly kiss his a**.

Please allow me to quote from a great book written around 1954 by Eric Hoffer “Reflections on the Human Condition”:

“The untalented are more at ease in a society that gives them valid alibis for not achieving than in one where opportunities are abundant. In an affluent society, the alienated who clamor for power are largely untalented people who cannot make use of the unprecedented opportunities for self-realization, and cannot escape the confrontation with an ineffectual self.”

welcome to ACORN Nation.

As the famous French diplomat and philosopher Joseph Marie de Maistre once wrote: Each country has the government it deserves.

Apr 8, 2009 - 2:34 pm 8. Pajamas Media » My Prayer for a Passover Miracle:

[...] the entire article here [...]

Apr 8, 2009 - 4:29 pm 9. Olecram:

Nice words. Amén.

To the comments of Mr. Vieira above, when he said “God bless you.” Forgive me to add, as a Christian too, that “God bless we all”, because we are on the same boat, targeted by Islamofacism.

Apr 8, 2009 - 4:55 pm 10. Delia:

Amen.

((Hugs to Phyllis)) and all people against the oppression of Islam.

God bless us all.

Apr 8, 2009 - 5:14 pm 11. Oscar the Grump:

Amen!

Apr 8, 2009 - 7:48 pm 12. Dave:

What Phyllis wants is obviously impossible.

Better direct your prayers towards Saint Rita. She specializes in the impossible.

And has come through more than once.

Apr 8, 2009 - 8:29 pm 13. Tonya:

Dr Chesler,
Thank you so much for your beautiful prayer. It was heartfelt and it does make me sad, because I too believe that we are all in danger of evil people in this world.
Your words are true.
I am a Christian and I am praying too.

Apr 8, 2009 - 8:45 pm 14. HonestJon:

7. MiamaMan: said, “Alas, would anyone with some f****** common sense vote for this guy?”

I hate to break it to you, pard, but common sense isn’t very common. It becomes even less common when you involve race, religion, or emotion. Thus: President Obama.

regards

Apr 8, 2009 - 9:50 pm 15. wayno:

Excellent article mate. Obama is as naive as the pacifists of the late 1930s’,in the face of Nazi aggression. I refuse to let my daughter’s future be a ha jib or for her to not have a career; I refuse to have my Jewish friends terrorised and vilified in the Name of God; I will call to account those of my fellow Australians who act as Dhimmis’ and compromise my country’s freedoms
shalom and a Good Passover to all of those members of the Jewish faith who read this article and a Happy Easter to all Christians

Apr 9, 2009 - 3:07 am 16. SAF:

Despite it all many of my Jewish friends who voted for Obama still think he walks on water.

Apr 9, 2009 - 4:11 am 17. Chemman:

George same set of facts but different conclusions. I see miracles, you see small misfortunes. I see the need for God to deal with a slave (welfare) mentality that would keep the Israelites in worse bondage than slavery, you see them perishing in the wilderness without reaching the promised land. I see God requiring them to learn the skills to build and hold a nation once they occupied pieces of the promised land, you see them having to conquer bits and pieces of the promised land for “no apparent” good reasons. Again same set of facts but different conclusions. Your inference from the facts are based on a set of presuppositions that preclude the right of God to perform miracles using natural things. It appears what you want for miracles is fantasy not the Author of the Universe working in his creation as He sees fit. To those of the Jewish Faith shalom and my hopes that you indeed experienced the Joys of God’s redemption during the Passover and to those of the Christian Faith may you experience God’s passover redemption this Easter Sunday.

Apr 9, 2009 - 7:55 am 18. Pastor of Muppets:

MiamaMan writes: “I am sorry, but shame on the 70% or so of American Jews that voted for Obama.”

Dear Mr. Miama Man,

Thank you very much for your concern for our people, specifically in reference to our collective vote in the 2008 United States Presidential Election.

However, we believe that after over 5000 years of flourishing in the face of oppression and violence at the hands of Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, The Spanish Inquisition, The Nazis, the Communists, and even some unfortunate modern conservative American politicians who have tried to use anti-Semitism as a way to further their own careers, we believe that we are fully capable of choosing a candidate who will best reflect not only our own interests, but the interests of the country in general.

During the 2008 election, American Jews, as all Americans, had an important choice to make. On one side, we had a Republican candidate, John McCain, who, at the onset of the economic crisis, clearly was confused in regards to the factors that caused the crisis, and offered few cogent solutions for it.

However, much more importantly, Mr. McCain noticeably allowed his campaign to be hijacked by a movement of xenophobia, racism and white-supremacy that we as a people have frequently had to deal with, and sometimes flee, throughout our long and winding journey on this earth. In the face of that racism and hate, the Jewish people clearly withdrew in disgust. At that point, we would have voted for a toaster had it been the opposition candidate instead of the Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

As all Americans, we honor the great service and sacrifice that Mr. McCain gave to our country. However, we as a people also have ears as alert as wolves’ when it comes to the subtle but unrelenting murmur of political hate speech.

Mr. MiamiMan, had your grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts cousins, friends and neighbors been shuffled off to be gassed and burned by angry men who spoke of “taking their country back from liberals”, you might know what we mean.

Clearly, you do not.

Clearly, to you, Democracy just means voting Republican, regardless of the merits or abilities of the Republican candidate.

Clearly, Democracy to you is less about the freedom to vote for the candidate of your choice, and more about the freedom to snort coke off the back of a prostitute in the bathroom of a Miami club.

We are sorry that you feel as though you personally have been betrayed by our people. However, please consider that we believe very strongly that it is your party and movement that has betrayed us. As soon as we began hearing the right wing yelling “kill him” at Republican rallies, as soon as we witnessed Fox News distorting a Jewish journalist’s face to make his nose look bigger, and as soon as we realized that your party had the audacity to believe that yelling “I support Israel more than my opponent” was the magic word to lockdown the Jewish vote, you lost us.

When you lost your conscience, when you lost your respect for us, and when you lost your ability to solve real crises without falling back on the brainless refrains of “more tax cuts”, you lost us completely, just as you lost the majority of Americans who believe that Democracy, and protecting our nation, means a lot more than just protecting your money.

And when we have to start lecturing you about the limitations of money, you might need to consider that you have a problem.

In closing, we understand how it feels to be you. As a minority group who have only in the last hundred years or so been truly “accepted” by modern Christian culture, we know full well what it means to eat a shit taco. And we have eaten it for a long time.

We sincerely doubt that living under a president Obama for four to eight years reaches even close to the level of feces that we’ve had to wade through these last few thousand years. And the fights we’ve fought against so many enemies, and the good men and women we’ve lost to win our freedoms and rights, give us every right to proudly choose whoever candidate we agree with, without fear of having to feel “shame” at the hands of some whiny, pathetic, ignorant right-wing loser from a third-rate city built on South American drug money.

We’re sure that you can muster the fortitude to eat a shit taco for four to eight years. Who knows, you may even learn to enjoy it. Our people created a whole industry out of it – Comedy, which has done pretty well for us.

So we wish you all the best, Mr. MiamiMan, as you try to make sense of your rapidly changing world while you try to choke down that chilupa that is total Liberal political dominance.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The Jews

Apr 9, 2009 - 11:15 am 19. Bilgeman:

#1 George Jochnowitz:
“The Israelites who were slaves in Egypt saw the miracle of the dividing of the sea. But they never saw the Promised Land, even though it was a land that had been promised to them. They died in the desert.”

Yeah, but they died as Free people, not slaves.

How many f+ckin’ miracles do you WANT?

Oh, and to inject some levity.

Why did Moses “wander” through the Sinai for forty years?

Wasn’t Mrs. Moses from the Sinai?

Was he just avoiding a visit to his in-laws?

Apr 9, 2009 - 3:08 pm 20. myth buster:

That generation of Israelites would have entered the Promised Land had they listened the first time they were told to enter. Their own hardheartedness and sin deprived them of entry.

Apr 9, 2009 - 8:30 pm 21. George Jochnowitz:

In order to protect poor, defenseless God from criticism, a tradition has arisen, partly in the Torah, partly in rabbinical writings, to blame the Jews for the fact that they were not taken directly to the Promised Land as they had been promised.

What does God do really well? He hardens people’s hearts against the Jews. Pharaoh is the first case we are told about. But it has never stopped. People all over the world, from Finland to Sri Lanka, hate Israel. It makes no sense. It’s a miracle–a negative miracle.

Apr 10, 2009 - 9:49 am 22. MiamaMan:

18. Pastor of Muppets:

“Clearly, Democracy to you is less about the freedom to vote for the candidate of your choice, and more about the freedom to snort coke off the back of a prostitute in the bathroom of a Miami club.”

Hey pard, you seem to know me well! Ja, ja

Apr 10, 2009 - 5:27 pm 23. joeblough:

Happy Passover Phyllis.

My compliments and best wishes.

Apr 11, 2009 - 1:46 am 24. Naftali:

#18 Pastor of Burt and Ernie:

You can make yourself sound as elegant as you wish, but that’s all nonsense, and obviously, you don’t speak for all Jews, nor have you gotten to the essence of why Jews vote Democratic. Jews vote Democratic because they always have, because like it or not, we cannot break with the thoughts and traditions of our parents and grandparents. That’s closer to the truth. Some of us go deeper and connect with our great grandparents–and these Jews return to religious tradition and place that over social tradition.

The bottom line, you can speak for yourself, but don’t speak for me.

#20 mythbuster

You’ve misunderstood the story of Tisha B’Av. If you didn’t know it was the story of Tisha B’Av, then you now have a glimpse of the many things you don’t understand about that section of BaMidbar, if you knew that it’s called BaMidbar.

#21 George

Uh, no. Seriously, a little bit of studying please.

Apr 11, 2009 - 2:30 am 25. Oregon Lady:

To Master of Puppets

As a Jew who did not vote for Obama and who watches in horror while he throws Israel under the bus and works to destroy American liberties, I would remind you that you do not speak for all of us.

And I would also remind you that we Jews have a track record of burying our heads in the sand when evil people try to destroy us. The Nazis were the National Socialist Party not conservatives. And the most virulent Antisemitic/anti-Israel voices hear today are those in the liberal corner; the most supportive from the conservative Christians you denigrate.

Apr 11, 2009 - 6:09 am 26. Lucy:

I find it off-putting that Dr. Chesler thinks 44 is handsome. If it was Paul Newman leading us to degradation, socialism and weakness he would quickly cease being the most handsome man and all I would see was a reflection of the ugliness in his heart on his face.

Apr 11, 2009 - 11:49 am 27. Jason:

#18:

What a smug, smug posting. It’s amazing how many Jews purport to speak on behalf of other Jews (like me), yet get things so incredibly wrong.

Perhaps the saddest part of your post is this:

“Mr. MiamiMan, had your grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts cousins, friends and neighbors been shuffled off to be gassed and burned by angry men who spoke of “taking their country back from liberals”, you might know what we mean.”

Give me a break. So by voting for Barack Obama, you were just doing your part to insulate against another Shoah? Do you really believe this? This comparison, which is offensive on its face, is absurd.

I echo the comments in #25. Do not purport to speak for all Jews — your opinions (fortunately) belong to you alone. And, I believe that in 2012, after four long years of Carter redux, many Jews will realize the folly of the vote in 2008, and not repeat the mistake.

Apr 11, 2009 - 4:20 pm 28. MJB:

But Obama did not kiss and hold hands with that same Saudi King as Bush did on many occasions. Nor has he turned our country’s foreign policies topsy-turvy to cater to the whims of that oily King as Bush and his father did.

Apr 11, 2009 - 4:48 pm 29. Bob from Virginia:

#27 Jason: Well said, this Jew from Virginia agrees. So far:
1) Obama’s first overseas call to a head of state was to the PA boss, M. Abbas.
2) He sent a delegation to Durban 2, the anti-Israel hate fest, and withdrew them only after negative feedback.
3) Talked about joining the anti-Israel ICC and UNHRC.
How obviously anti-Israel can you get?
Another question what would it take for most US jews to see Obama as something other than the Messiah?

Apr 11, 2009 - 5:05 pm 30. Laura:

Amen Brother.

Apr 11, 2009 - 6:55 pm 31. Zitate! « abseits vom mainstream - heplev:

[...] nie Krieg gegen den Islam führen.“ Barack Hussein Obama in der Türkei – Phyllis Chesler sagt nicht ohne Grund, dass wir diese Aussage nicht von Obama hören müssen, sondern von den Muslimen. Ob Obama dieser [...]

Apr 12, 2009 - 8:01 am 32. Michelle:

Obama handsome!!? Is Chesler nuts or what! He is not handsome at all!!

Apr 13, 2009 - 5:32 am 33. ahad ha'amoratsim:

Dear Pastor of Muppets

The angry people who spoke of taking our country back from the neocons are every bit as much to be feared as those who spoke of taking their country back from liberals. But it is delusional to think that the party in power is the sole determinant of how Jews will fare. I voted for Bush (though not for his father) only to see him make statements or decisions that were not in the interest of the US and that sold out Israel. If bad things happen to Israel (G-d forbid) Obama will be the means, not the cause. The cause will be how the Jewish people as a whole relate toward one another and toward their Protector, Who is not a human being and Who is not affiliated with any political party.

Apr 13, 2009 - 11:41 am 34. ahad ha'amoratsim:

“For it was G-d who promised our foremothers and forefathers that it would be He who would redeem us and bring us to the land of Israel so that the Jewish people may walk in His ways.”

Agreed, Fern Sidman, though I might have said our fourmothers and threefathers.

Apr 13, 2009 - 11:42 am