Rabbi Pruzansky's Blog

(First published at Israelnationalnews.com)

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s critics and haters are outraged that he is planning on visiting Washington DC next week and addressing Congress; then again, they are outraged when he wakes up every morning and when he goes to sleep at night. They claim that he is going for personal reasons, to improve his political standing, and to distract from his failures.

There are cogent reasons why he should go; nevertheless, it is a bad idea at an inopportune and will not yield any positives for Israel.

Certainly, there is a political benefit. Most Israelis will welcome the PM being cordially greeted by members of Congress. Pundits focus on the factoid that with his fourth speech before Congress, Netanyahu will exceed Winston Churchill’s record of the most congressional addresses ever delivered by one foreign leader, but who really cares about this record, aside from the pundit class? The average citizen does not care. There is an Israeli interest in shoring up Congressional support (that does not necessarily require a prime ministerial visit) and ensuring the steady provision of weapons already promised, contracted for, and voted on by Congress but which the Biden administration has admittedly slowed. Nevertheless, all this comes at a price.

The Netanyahu visit to Washington will attract the usual assortment of crazies, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish haters, some of them even claiming to be Jews. The media will duly report on the protests and give free publicity to the haters. Many Democrats in Congress will boycott Netanyahu’s speech, as they have done for the last two speeches, simply because they dislike him and his policies, and are less than supportive of Israel. How the oleaginous Chuck Schumer masks his contempt for Netanyahu behind his phony smiles would be intriguing to see, but it is not worth the trip. What is worse is that PM Netanyahu would fly to a United States that is a tinderbox, already on edge even before the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

In a polarized America, Israel has become another wedge issue, mainly dividing Democrats against themselves. But Netanyahu will be forced to parrot the old cliché that Israel enjoys bipartisan support, which is partly true and these days partly false. The Republicans overwhelmingly support Israel, in our war against Hamas, the conflict with Iran, and the Jewish national story. Democrats, by and large, do not, with Democratic congressional support for Israel far exceeding Israel’s support among the Democrat rank and file.

More egregiously, the White House meeting with Joe Biden does not bode well for Israel. Biden, in any event, is a spent force, barely functioning, desperately clinging to ever-diminishing moments of clear-headedness even as his party shows every sign of abandoning him as their nominee. Visiting Biden at this time is not just a bad look politically; it is almost an invitation to American pressure, which Netanyahu, defying his historic pattern, has mostly (though not completely) been able to deflect in the recent conflict. A visit now will almost guarantee a cease fire before Hamas is destroyed and a hostage deal that frees hundreds of terrorist murderers to again plague our cities and citizens. With Hamas near defeat, such a deal will only resuscitate this band of butchers and earn them plaudits from the Arab street instead of the ignominy they deserve. It will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

But perhaps the most troubling aspect of a Netanyahu visit now involves necessarily wading into the volatile American presidential campaign. Consider that in his planned Congressional address, Netanyahu will have to thank Biden for his assistance, make an obligatory mention of his trip to Israel at the start of the war, and downplay Biden’s insults, heavy handedness, criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war, and the shenanigans with the weapons deliveries.

It should be obvious to all that any praise of Biden will offend Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Biden for his tepid support of Israel, even blaming Biden’s weakness and disrespect on the international scene for Hamas’ attack. Praising Biden – which is the polite thing to do – undercuts an important part of Trump’s appeal to Jews. If nothing else, Trump has a long memory and will not forget this. And it also emboldens Biden in his attacks on Israel as Netanyahu’s tribute will give Biden cover for future recriminations. What benefit is there to Israel for Netanyahu to sit with Biden to hear about the panacea of the two-state delusion? Or for Netanyahu to listen to Biden opine for the umpteenth time that Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon on Biden’s watch? None that I can see, and Biden has never ruled out Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon the day after his watch ends, which might even be in several weeks’ time. And to think that the US will take military action to thwart an Iranian bomb is a fool’s errand, and we have been down that rabbit hole for well over a decade.

Conversely, Netanyahu should (and would) praise Trump for all he did for Israel as president – moving the embassy to Jerusalem and formally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and negotiating the Abraham Accords which transformed the Middle East in ways that were unimaginable pre-Trump. But Netanyahu’s celebration of Trump’s support for Israel will enrage Biden. Trump has been outspoken that Israel should “finish the job,” meaning defeat Hamas, whatever it takes; Israel would never hear Trump grumbling about loss of enemy civilian life, for which concern Israel has paid a heavy price in dead soldiers and prolonged the war.

Indeed, saying anything nice about either person infuriates half of the American populace. Is there a way to thread the needle – to say something that will be perceived as gracious to both men without offending either man or his supporters? I don’t see how.

It is a mistake to go now. Nothing will be gained and much can be lost. If the point is to demonstrate that the United States-Israel relationship is strong, that sounds great but is unnecessary. If it were that strong, it would neither need constant stroking nor an untimely visit.

Perhaps the turmoil in the United States will force a postponement. It should be inconceivable that Netanyahu visit the US and not meet with Donald Trump. As I recall, during Biden’s visit to Israel, he did meet with Israel’s opposition leaders. But in the current environment, such would not be appreciated by Biden, as a snub would not be appreciated by Trump.

It is a maelstrom in the United States. Mr. Prime Minister, don’t go. Wait until after the US elections. Otherwise, there is a greater possibility that relations will be harmed than that they will be improved. Maintain the tie with Churchill another few months and visit DC when Israel can gain tangible strategic benefits from an address to Congress and a pop-in at the White House.

It is undoubtedly true that “an eternal people are not afraid of a long journey,” but the moral flabbiness of the West does infiltrate the psyche of many Israelis as well. We do not seek war nor do we glorify war but “war fatigue” is a real phenomenon. In the West, people grow tired of war because generally their material lives are satisfying and they would rather indulge their physical desires than fight for abstract values. In Israel, there is weariness because of the persistent loss of young life, because life here is also blessed, and because – let’s face it – there is a lack of confidence that the security situation will markedly change if and when this round of hostilities ends.

To our detriment, many people entrusted with our security have long stopped speaking in terms of victory and their management of our wars reflects that resignation. Little effort is made to fundamentally change the security situation. That would entail a completely new reality, in which we no longer tolerate rockets and missiles fired at our cities and towns (whether or not they are intercepted by the Iron Dome) and, indeed, no longer even accept as normal the need for checkpoints to prevent terrorists from coming to murder us. That is not simple but it is manifestly doable as wars have traditionally been conducted before effete liberals imposed on the West rules of war that guarantee neither victory nor defeat and serve to embolden the barbarians to wage incessant war until their goals are achieved.

It is thus fair to ask: what are Israel’s objectives in this war and how close are we to attaining them? And what are Hamas’ objectives in this war and how close are they to attaining them? The answers are sobering.

Our government has repeatedly declared that Israel has three aims: the elimination of Hamas as a military and political force, the safe return of all our hostages and repatriation of the bodies of the murdered, and the preclusion of Gaza as a future threat to Israeli civilians.

To be sure, some of these goals are in the process of being achieved, even if the first two have always been somewhat incompatible. Our soldiers – with G-d’s grace and their extraordinary dedication, competence, and bravery – have dealt a severe blow to the enemy’s capabilities, although they have not yet finished the job. They have been hampered, and not for the first time, by a government that has vacillated under American pressure, and that has produced too many starts and stops to conduct an aggressive campaign to victory. The enemy has repeatedly been given the opportunity to regroup, has foolishly been supplied with assistance by our generosity, has for months (until recently) been allowed to replenish their weapons stockpiles through the Rafiach tunnel system, and has effectively used its “citizens,” few of whom are innocent, as “human shields” and won the hearts of many Westerners already ill-disposed to our existence.

More than one hundred innocent hostages have been freed in exchange for hundreds of bloodthirsty terrorists and eight have been freed in heroic rescue attempts. It is unknown how many hostages are still alive; their lives mean everything to us and less than nothing to Hamas except as pawns. It is likely true that, as trading pawns, Hamas values the lives of the hostages more than it values the lives of the Gazans who elected them to power.

The first two goals have been partly achieved but by no means has the mission been accomplished. Dozens of hostages still remain in harsh captivity and Hamas terrorists are still active. The third objective – foreclosing the possibility that Gaza will be a base of terror against Israel – is far from concluded. When occasional rockets are still launched from places that the IDF was supposed to control then we know that the enemy still lurks, still hates, and still lusts for our blood.

What are Hamas’ objectives, beyond its oft-stated goal of destroying Israel? Hamas also has three, perhaps four, objectives: murdering as many Jews as it can, using hostages in order to gain freedom for its imprisoned terrorists, and surviving. A fourth might be blackening Israel’s name across the world but that seems to be an aspiration that emerged from the conduct of the war rather than an objective in its original attack.

In achieving its goals, Hamas has, unfortunately, fared better than we like to think. It murdered more Jews in one day than at any time since the Holocaust and retains control over dozens of other Jews that it can brutalize and murder at will. It still has rocket and missile capabilities that can terrorize Israeli cities and make life complicated. Sad for the Jewish people and civilization itself, that is a Hamas success.

Hamas also survives and Israel has shortsightedly fostered the notion that defeat of Hamas in Gaza is tantamount to defeat of Hamas, period. That notion is false. Hamas today thrives in Jerusalem where it follows the same playbook it did to assert control over Gaza – dominating societal institutions such as mosques, welfare, education, employment, culture, sports, and the like, and then indoctrinating and radicalizing recipients of its largesse. In this endeavor, as in Gaza for years, it is subsidized openly by Qatar and Turkey. Hamas also dominates the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, one (good) reason why the Palestinian Authority has not held an election in twenty years. The PA correctly senses it will lose. And Hamas maintains its political base of power in countries around the world – and as is obvious from the violent anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protests in the United States and Europe, it is a burgeoning though surreptitious force there as well.

Furthermore, thus far, Hamas has gained the release of hundreds of its terrorists and will continue to up the ante and dangle our hostages as bait to free savage, barbaric murderers of Jews now imprisoned in Israel – to free them and again set them loose to try to murder more Jews. Israel has long failed to counter this diabolical strategy, achievable in two ways: first, executing convicted terrorist murderers (and attempted murderers) and, second, prohibiting the exchange of terrorists for hostages. Both concepts have been bandied about for years and legislation has been introduced but never enacted. Both would neutralize that tactic. Failure to authorize these measures has been gross negligence and has made us vulnerable to the hideous methods of the terrorists. The fear – expressed by some Israeli politicians for years – that the death penalty for terrorists would lead to harsh treatment for captive Jews is, in retrospect, tragically myopic.

Let it be said: a deal that frees vicious murderers of Jews even in exchange for our innocent hostages endangers even more Jewish lives down the road, and that road is not very long. It literally helps Hamas fulfill one of its primary war aims, renders it a hero in the Arab world, and will ensure its survival.

The unpleasant reality is that, at this point, Hamas seems closer to achieving its war aims than does Israel. It already murdered more than 1500 Jews, it has gained and plans to gain the release of its even more incarcerated terrorists, and since it hides among civilians, does not always wear uniforms, is not always identifiable, and has bases outside of Israel, it will likely survive as well, even in Gaza.

How can this trend be reversed? It doesn’t help to pummel more buildings or even destroy more tunnels, although such is obviously justifiable. Gaza already is filled with rubble. Defeat for Hamas – indeed, defeat in the Arab world generally – is defined as loss of territory. The stark reality is that the only way to ensure that Gaza is never again a base of terror against Israel is to depopulate Gaza. Its population is already radicalized. Sinwar can be killed tomorrow (we hope) and Gaza will remain radicalized. A new Sinwar will arise the day after. There is no shortage of homicidal maniacs to take his place. But the depopulation of Gaza – say, at first to Europe, which absorbed five million Syrian refugees in the last decade – will be perceived as a defeat for Hamas and its humiliation among the Arab populace. Add to that the resettlement of Gaza by Jews – and that is the picture of victory.

The truth is, anything else, even coming from our leaders, is empty spin and rhetoric. Plans to bring in the PA (G-d forbid), some assortment of friendly local Arabs, foreign entities, etc. are all nibbling at the edges and paving the way for the return of Hamas. Biden’s plan to rebuild Gaza from afar will inevitably rebuild all the tunnels and the terror infrastructure. Alternatively, resettlement of this hostile population also spares further harm to the “civilians” whose humanitarian interests are an overriding concern to the West, and apparently to Israel, despite the ubiquitous danger they pose to our well-being.

How that is to be done is of less import at this point that a consensus that this is the only decent, humanitarian way forward, the only approach that preserves Israel’s interests and even improves the plight of the Gazans. The question is, in this regard and in all matters relating to war, in the modern era: does the will to win exist? And the answer has far greater implications than we can imagine because the situation in the north and the homelessness of 80,000 Israelis should be intolerable to any self-respecting sovereign government.

The great American economist and social scientist Thomas Sowell once wrote that “if you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.” We have indulged barbarism far too long – bombs on buses and in markets, suicide bombers, stabbings and shootings, and now mass murder, rapes, torture, burning, dismemberment, and kidnapping.

The more we tiptoe around the reality of barbarism and shy away from confronting it with the full force that it deserves, the more we encourage it and the further we are from achieving our objectives in this war. Those who fantasize about accommodating barbarism were the originators, proponents, and administrators of the “conceptziyah” who brought upon us the failures of Oslo, the flight from Lebanon, the Gaza Expulsion, and the catastrophe of October 7.

The West is replete with politicians who, whatever they say publicly, are prepared to “accept barbarism” in exchange for the illusion of quiet, the temporary cease-fire. They are ones who are now clamoring for a cease-fire so that Hamas, not Israel, can achieve its war aims. They are afflicted with war fatigue because their primary interest is not our physical survival but their own political survival. An eternal people know better.

The Torah – the source of Jewish morality in its pure form, untainted by Western values – teaches us otherwise about the perennial war against evil, the conduct of such a war, our rights to the land of Israel, and the rights of the enemy population that seeks to murder us and strangle our national life. We should no longer settle for the half-measures of secular politicians that simply seek to push off the next debacle but seek workable solutions that remove these “pins in our eyes and thorns in our side” (Bamidbar 33:55).

The existing approach cannot achieve our declared war objectives. As such, that approach must and should change, and it is not too late to change it. All we need is the faith, spirit, and willpower to do it.

(These are questions I answered in the Jewish Press forum entitled “Is It Proper?” All the rabbinic responses and more can be read at Jewishpress.com)

Is it proper for the average person to learn Kabbalah?

The popular notion of Kabbalah – the Kabbalah of red strings, holy water, and incantations – has attracted a following in recent years among Hollywood celebrities and others. This type of “Kabbalah” resembles self-help, pop psychology and other quick fixes to one’s personal problems and is wholly unrelated to Kabbalah as traditional Jews understand it. Nevertheless, it does induce searchers and simple people, and has often parted them from their money.

Traditional Kabbalah is, essentially, a look behind the mask of the physical world in order to gain deeper insights into creation, G-d’s Providence, and even our fundamental obligations. Because it employs graphic, anthropomorphic imagery, it can easily mislead the average person into misconstruing G-d’s nature, something that borders on idolatry and is a cardinal sin. As such, the Shach (Yoreh Deah 246:6) records the well-known opinion that one should not study Kabbalah until at least age 40.

Nevertheless, Rema (Yoreh Deah 246:4) cites Rambam’s famous statement that “a stroll through the orchard” – i.e., the study of esoteric areas of Torah – should not be undertaken until after the student “has filled his stomach with meat and wine,” meaning a complete understanding of the basic laws of the Torah. (Interestingly, Rambam actually states “bread and meat” – real Torah substance – rather than just “meat and wine.”) The “full stomach” provides not just a grounding in the sources and a concomitant commitment to Torah and mitzvot but also presupposes that one has acquired proper methodology of thought.

Both are indispensable to understanding Kabbalah – and both are generally not the provinces of the average person. Thus, little will be gained from the study of Kabbalah and much can be lost. It is much more effective and meaningful to focus on the revealed Torah, whose “measure is longer than the earth and broader than the seas” (Iyov 11:9) and could not be fully grasped if we lived several lifetimes.

Is it proper to listen to secular music?

Music taps into a dimension of the soul that might otherwise not be reached, a sensual experience that ideally serves a spiritual function. Music, as the Vilna Gaon was quoted as saying, can open for us new vistas in Torah. Such is its power. And therein lies the problem.

There are halachic prohibitions that are implicated regarding secular music, in terms of provocative content, dissemination of poor values, performers with depraved lifestyles with whom the listener might identify, kol isha, and the general issue of music after the Churban. Modern music, for the most part, is a cultural wasteland. To the impressionable, secular music can be devastating.

Yet, the landscape is not totally bleak. I don’t know much about secular music today but in a more innocent time there were songs that reinforced good values. I recall one song from the 1970’s, Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” about parents and children not spending enough time with each other. At first, the young son says, “When you coming home, dad?” and the father responds, “I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, you know we’ll have a good time then.” By the end of the song, the aged father pines for a visit from his grown son, and says, “When you coming home, son?” and the son answers, “I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, dad, you know we’ll have a good time then.”  And then it dawns on the father, “And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me, he’d grown up just like me, My boy was just like me.”

I’ve listened to that song as a child, father, and grandfather, and it never fails to move me. That is good mussar regardless of the source. And if all secular music were like that, there would be no concern at all.

Is it proper to attend a non-Jewish university?

My alma mater – Columbia – has been in the news recently. (Both the billionaire Robert Kraft and I have halted our donations, although presumably Columbia will suffer more because of his decision.) Certainly, the overt and dangerous Jew hatred that prevails on many campuses today should weigh heavily in any decision, but my discomfort with secular college preceded the latest contretemps.

Simply put, parents who send their children to secular colleges are endangering their spiritual survival, and this is true even with the Jewish programming, organizations, and activities that try to fill the gaping void. Some students emerge unscathed; many, maybe even most, do not. It is like bungee jumping with a frayed rope. I lived off campus, so I was spared some of the tawdry excesses of the 1970’s, which in any event would be considered prudish, even monkish, by today’s standards.

College today is a moral cesspool and the cathedral of wokeness. It is a place where religion is mocked and tradition is ridiculed, where shattering norms is encouraged and challenging the world view of one’s parents is expected. Add to that today’s violent assault on Jewish identity and the increased presence on campuses of groups that openly hate Jews and Israel and face little or no consequences for doing so and it is clear that attending a secular college – for most people – is irrational and quite hazardous, spiritual and physically. We can try to construct a Jewish cocoon but in most cases that will not succeed.

Alexis de Tocqueville said it best: “The safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law and the surest pledge of freedom.” College today has no religion and no morality, and thus no law, no security, and no freedom. It is true that in the past a degree from an Ivy League school had cachet and made connections. Parents, and employers, should wise up and realize that today, in large measure, it denotes closed-mindedness, moral obtuseness, intellectual laziness, and a rejection of all that is holy and virtuous.

Is that worth an annual tuition of $90,000? Hardly.