From Kristallnacht in Germany 1938 to Riots in America 2020
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
This year on the second day of Shavuos the riots began. Many ask how such a thing is possible here in America today in the year 2020. This isn’t the Europe of yesteryear. Why should there be so much violence and destruction? Haven’t we learned from the past?
There is no doubt that there are legitimate grievances to the event that allegedly sparked the riots. The event was horrendous. Every citizen in this country deserves equal rights, protection and humane treatment under the law. There are some people who are just not fit to serve as policemen. They lack the moral clarity and ethics necessary to do their jobs. This is not a statement about the police who are overwhelmingly good people who do so much for society. In truth we need some soul searching to straighten this out, but there is no doubt that rioting, looting, stealing and injuring innocent people is wrong and a completely illegitimate response. The event is not a cause for the barbaric behaviors of the masses that we have witnessed. Everyone has a right to protest, not to riot.
On the second day of Shavuos I was aroused by words of the Yom Tov prayer:
“You have chosen us from all the Nations. You loved us and desired us. You raised us from among all languages and sanctified us with your mitzvos. You brought us closer to you, our King. To serve your great and holy Name you called us.”
The Rebbe mentioned many times that when Hashem gave the Torah and mitzvos to us he also commanded us to influence the nations of the world with the seven mitzvos of Bnei Noach. The reason that Jewish people have not been actively engaged with spreading the seven mitzvos of Bnei Noach is not because it’s not an obligation. The reason is that it has been an intolerant world that made it dangerous and subject to violent reprisals against the Jewish community. The world wasn't ready to hear about the seven mitzvos of Bnei Noach. But now, the Rebbe said we are in a free society and it’s safe to share the seven mitzvos and therefore an obligation. Not only will it not cause harm, but people will appreciate hearing about them.
The first of the seven mitzvos is to believe in Hashem, the Creator of the world. To appreciate that there's a higher power, an eye that sees and an ear that hears. In 1959 when prayer was abolished in the schools the Rebbe spoke out about the great mistake and danger of removing prayer from schools, removing an awareness of Hashem from the public. This is also the reason that the Rebbe campaigned in the 1980s for a moment of silence in public schools at the start of the school day. The Rebbe explained that due to separation of church and state it's up to the parents to decide what that child should think about in the moment of silence. Nevertheless by establishing a moment of silence within the school curriculum each child will have a moment to reflect on a higher power, a Creator who wants us to live ethically. It’s not against the constitution, it's what America was founded on, a belief in G-d. The Rebbe said that if we don't educate our children this way the world will become a jungle.
The Rebbe said that he saw in Germany, a place of culture, science, music and many laws including laws forbidding cruelty to animals, cruelty and violence on a scale unparalleled in history. The reason that an advanced culture could keep their culture active and intact while at the same time creating a cruel holocaust is because their culture was secular and G-dless. This allowed a complete disconnect to develop between an awareness of a higher power and moral behavior and barbarism.
The Rebbe said then that if we don't educate our children to have a belief in a higher power and don't institute a moment of silence in public schools this is G-d forbid where we can end up. This is what we have come to and where we find ourselves today.
On kristallnacht in Germany in 1938 people stood by passively and watched the destruction and the violence. It’s no coincidence that the riots here escalated in Fairfax, the icon of the Jewish community. I saw the Watts and the Rodney King riots. They never touched a synagogue or house of prayer. The graffiti showed blatant anti semitism. It’s kristallnacht all over again. Today during the riots in America people were breaking into stores looting and burning down buildings and the police were just standing idly by. They stood idle by orders of the leadership, the mayor and the governor. These are the same people that forbade public prayer because of the coronavirus. They require many guidelines of distancing, only allowing 10 to 12 people, at the most 1/3 of regular congregants to attend davening. At the very same time they turn a blind eye to the thousands of people that are protesting without any distancing and ignoring the riots and even defending them.
Where did these ideas come from? How have we gone so far afield from simple logic and basic moral clarity and common sense? This is the product of a corrupt educational system. An educational system that says whatever you feel is what is right. When there is no G-d, no moment of silence, no awareness of a higher power, they don't feel beholden to moral standards. It has become a jungle.
A question is asked about Matan Torah. Why did Hashem have to come down on Har Sinai to teach us about simple common laws such as not to bear false witness, not to steal or murder and to honor our parents? Aren’t these things obvious and common sense? The answer is that it's only going to work if we first follow the first two of the Ten Commandments. Only if we first recognize the first two, the existence of a Creator and not having false gods will the following eight commandments be sustainable. Otherwise, over time our behaviors will devolve into indecent behaviors that defy common decency. The world will devolve into a jungle of stealing murdering mayhem, and a distorted media and propaganda that manipulates the masses. Just like we saw it in Germany so too again are seeing it again today in America.
Good and dedicated working class people are picking up the tab by dutifully paying their taxes to support a corrupt educational system. Yet often it is the professors of the universities, that have no awareness of a higher power, who are paid from taxes that are instigating riots. This is what taxes are paying for in the year 2020.
Although it looks like a dark day in America, the Rebbe may have described it differently. In 5734-1974 when a religious party in Israel agreed to enter the government even though they would not repeal the law of Mihu Yehudi- Who is a Jew, people commented that it was a dark day. The Rebbe said that no, it isn't a dark day, it's a light day. Through the actions of this religious party the matter has been made crystal clear. We now know exactly where they stand and what their intentions are.
What we have seen in the latest most recent behavior on our streets has made crystal clear how dark the world can be without a belief in a higher power and without the benefit of the Torah and mitzvos. A world with the Torah and mitzvos and the seven mitzvos of Bnei Noach is a good and kind world. Today we can see this difference, this has been made crystal clear.
The Rebbe said many times that before Moshiach there will be crystal clear clarity between good and evil. We say to Hashem this day that we've gotten the message. We don't need any more examples of how important it is to learn the Torah and do mitzvahs, it's time for Moshiach now.
A Good peaceful healthy and happy Shabbos