silence is not always golden

This article by Dennis Prager is a must read.  Prager talks about the test American Jews and Christians face given what is going on around us -- the test of whether we will speak out or whether we will remain silent.  Two short paragraphs to whet your appetite.

America is being taken over by violent mobs; a vast amount of destruction and stealing has taken place (with little police intervention and the apathy of our political leaders). Why aren’t all clergy delivering thundering sermons about the Seventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal”? Does it now come with an asterisk?

A central part of a major American city has been seized and occupied by people who hate America and its values, including its Judeo-Christian values. Heard any clergy (aside from some evangelical Christians) speaking out against it?

Where indeed is the voice of our clergy?  Rather than speak out in protest, they have in the past endorsed candidates whose values are antithetical to all we believe in.  For example, one of the few things the two factions of Satmar agreed on is their endorsement of Bill DeBlasio.  "Bill De Blasio Gets Agudah Leadership' Endorsement" reads this Yeshiva World headline.  What exactly did they find appealing about this man?  Was it his stance on LGBTQ issues?  Abortion?  His anti-police rhetoric?  His support of a far left progressive/socialist agenda?  What possible benefit does DeBlasio bring to the table that would outweigh his stance on these items?  What is the price for our principles?  Just standing in the same 4 amos with this man is the chilul Hashem.

Our leaders and clergy have been steamrolled over and they are only first starting to wake up to the damage that has been done.  Agudah now has two lawsuits pending in NY State, one regarding reopening summer camps, one regarding more fully reopening shuls.  I will be very surprised if either lawsuit succeeds.  You can't put the cat back in the bag!  The time for action was on day #1, when Cuomo closed down the shuls, when DeBlasio was threatening to permanently close down any place of worship that reopened.  Even if you thought shuls should close, it should have been on our own terms -- not dictated by government.  Not by allowing the state to usurp our right to free worship.  Our leaders surrendered without even a whimper, without firing a verbal shot, with their powder still dry.  We were told to be good citizens and comply with the law.  No one told the protesters looting in Manhattan to be good citizens and comply with the law, did they?  But that's what we are told by leaders of our community.  That's why the NYC Police have time to come to Williamsburg to put locks on playgrounds while mobs loot and destroy the rest of the city -- because they know we are good citizens and won't fight back.  That's why firecrackers can go off all night in our neighborhoods and the police will do nothing.  Given the choice of taking action and risking your life or your career or doing nothing knowing full well that the Jews wont protest, can you blame the police for sitting on their hands?  We are good citizens and wont make a fuss.  It will all blow over, don't make waves, follow the rules, or it will be a chilul Hashem.  I say feh to such rhetoric.

The chilul Hashem is our silence in the face of all that is happening around us.

Dennis Prager again:

Religion doesn’t have all that much impact on most religious people. During comfortable times, it provides two essentials to a happy and fulfilled life — community and meaning — but when tested, it often fails like an umbrella that fails to expand just as it starts to rain.

We are in the middle of a thunderstorm and our umbrella is worthless.