Here's One Who Sees the Threat
Thanks to Arlene from Israel I learned about a certain rabbi's sermon that was given in Atlanta, Georgia, which really hit the mark as far as recognizing that "giant elephant in the room" to which no one ever refers. The Rabbi is Shalom Lewis of Congregation Etz Chaim , and he gave this powerful sermon for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. I am excerpting portions here, but you absolutely must read it in its entirety which you can do by going to the synagogue's website (click on the link above). The Rabbi (as any good rabbi would do) begins his sermon with a story. This, however, is a disturbing story which serves to illustrate his point: that the world is topsy-turvy, that black is white and white is black, that good is thought of as evil and evil, good. Many years ago a Chassid used to travel from shtetl to shtetl selling holy books. On one occasion he came to a wealthy land owner and asked if he would like to purchase a book of Torah teachings. The banker ...