I would like to give some תוכחה. I aspire that it should be לשם שמים.
One thing I believe many in the Frum community could use more of is historical perspective. For most of the five thousand years since Avraham Avinu, we have had a ROUGH TIME. We have lived under so much oppression and were lucky if we were treated like dogs [who are at least kept alive] and not straight out killed for the "sin" of existing.
75 years ago the Holocaust ended. We have all seen footage, read books and articles and met survivors. The should give us a very immediate sense of perspective about our good fortune today.
We have to remember that we are GUESTS in Galus. [The idea behind דינא דמלכותא דינא is that we have to keep the law of the land because we are guests and can only stay on condition that we keep the rules - עי' איציק. תלמודית ערך דינא דמלכותא דינא]]. A guest is thankful that the host opened up his home. I once had a Shabbos guest who would act as if it was his home. He would start by coming an hour-hour and a half after we asked him to come. Then he would take over the Shabbos table as if it was his house. I wish I was a big enough Tzadik to say that it didn't bother me but it did. When I am a guest at someone else's house I try to behave myself and follow the house rules and style. If they sing zmiros I sing too with their tunes [even though I might prefer other tunes]. If they don't sing - I don't sing either. If the host wants to say a dvar Torah - I listen and don't offer one of my own unless asked. If the meal is going too long [my personal taste is shorter meals - life is short. Lots to do..], I sit there respectfully even though I can think of many other places I'd rather be. I try to be engaging as opposed to my usual boring self. That is a guest.
As guests in Gentile America we should be filled with gratitude that we have full rights. It is an act of brazenness to publicly flout the laws with great pomp and circumstance [someone sent me a video of this happening]. It doesn't matter that other people aren't keeping the law and we are being discriminated against. Just say "thank you" to the government that they allow us to practice our religion to our hearts delight, fund our schools, provide a police and fire department to protect us etc. etc. Why arouse their ire?? It is both stupid and morally wrong.
The same goes for a public protest demanding the opening of summer camps with chants of "no camp no peace". Who do they think they are? Antifa? The decision was made - right or wrong - to close the camps in order to preserve public health. Thank G-d the Jews own Woodburn [I can still taste the pizza, ice cream and knock hockey games] and other Catskill locations for the summer months every year. This year things have to be different. Why walk around DEMANDING what you are not entitled to in the first place? This is not our home. We have an Orthodox Jew as the right hand man to the President. We have endless power and money. We are accepted to the best universities. We work for and often run the top firms in all areas or commerce. We take over non-kosher hotels all over the world for Pesach and Succos and turn them into large, fully stocked Jewish bungalow colonies with limitless kosher food and entertainment galore. We move into neighborhoods in large numbers, put up Eruvin, build mikvaos, open up shuls and kosher eateries all over the place, thus making the Gentiles who live there feel uncomfortable that their neighborhoods are being turned into Jewish shtetls, often causing them to move out [and hate us. Note: It is a free country and we have every right to live where we please. Baruch Hashem. Freedom of religion is one of the tenets of this great country. We don't force anyone to leave. They do so by choice. But not before their doors were knocked on 20 times with Jews asking to buy their homes]. We go to court and sue [with our top Jewish lawyers] when they give us any trouble. We have so much going for us despite our status as guests. We should be filled with a sense of gratitude instead of entitlement.
So PLEASE Yiden!! ENOUGH CHILULEI HASHEM!!!! The Gemara says that there is no atonement in this world for this infraction that it seems one almost can't go to any news site without seeing.
You want to live at HOME? Chazal are very clear. For Am Yisrael, OLAM HABA is home. For Esav and his chevre Olam Hazeh, is home.
תני ר' אליעזר אומר: כשהיו יעקב ועשו במעי אמן, אמר יעקב לעשו: עשו אחי, אנחנו שנים לאבינו, שני העולמים לפנינו: העולם הזה (העוה"ז) והעולם הבא (העוה"ב). העוה"ז יש בו אכילה ושתיה ומשא ומתן וקיחת אשה והוליד בנים ובנות, אבל העולם הבא אין בו כל המידות הללו. רצונך, טול אתה העוה"ז ואני אטול העוה"ב. ומנין שכך הוא? שנאמר: "ויאמר יעקב מכרה כיום את בכורתך לי". כיום זה בחר לך, כיום שהיינו בבטן. ולמה קורא העוה"ב בכורה? מפני שהוא ארוך וזה קצר.
"הנה אנכי הולך למות", מיד כפר בתחיית המתים – מה חיים שיש בהם רוח ונשמה מתים, וכיון שמתו, מנין שיחיו? ולמה אצטער אני שלא אעשה תאוותי בעוה"ז ולהמתין לעולם שאין בו שכר טוב? מיד נטל עשו בחלקו העוה"ז ויעקב נטל בחלקו העוה"ב
Eretz Yisrael? Here [where this is being written] we are ALSO guests. The difference is that we are the EXCLUSIVELY INVITED GUESTS of the Host.
