Faith

We must united to combat new wave of anti-Semitism

BY RABBI IRWIN WIENER

Columnist

Anti-Semitism is alive. Today, in our cities, our houses of worship have been defiled, cemeteries have been desecrated, individuals accosted on the streets, and yes, worshipers taken hostage by crazed individuals determined to destroy the very fabric of human connection.

Anti-Semitism is alive in our schools as our children are confronted with the most blatant display of inhuman behavior. University professors, students, use hatred as a form of learning to justify this obtrusive conduct.

Age-old distortions are prevalent. It seems that all the progress made over the last several decades has no meaning. New efforts are being introduced to rekindle the flames of hate that is reminiscent of the early part of the last century, and for that matter of centuries past.

So here we go again. The difference though, is that the world is supposedly more civilized, more tolerant, more educated. his flagrant display of hostility exists because of the ramblings of mad men or the frenzy of an uncontrollable crowd. And it is for these reasons that it is so frightening.

Anti-Semitism now wears a badge of respectability because it is promoted by the organized world to placate greed and foolishly thought to assuage the danger to those participating in what has become another dark day in the history of humankind.

Those who thought this kind of vulgarity was destroyed when Nazism and Fascism were defeated should understand that evil could resurrect itself when it has a common enemy.

Watching birds reminds her of her parents, Ecclesiastes

BY LYNNE HARTKE

Guest Writer

“Some say cardinals are a message from heaven from a loved one who has died,” my sister Renae said as we headed toward the Wallace Desert Garden at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, Arizona.

Not one to look for angels with every feathered friend, I wanted to document a siting of a northern cardinal for my bird list for 2022. We had been tracking one earlier, when a groundskeeper—emptying the trash cans—had scared it away. He had assured us there were plenty of cardinals on the arboretum’s 300 acres.

While we searched for the recognizable scarlet plumage in distant foliage, I thought of the small cardinal snow globe sitting on my desk at home, an item from my parents’ estate. Dad had given it to Mom when they both were going through chemo.

Surrounded by endless white of a long Minnesota winter, Mom had often stood at their picture window, gazing at the bird feeder below, searching for the snow globe’s real counterpart.

Sometimes we all need tangible reminders to hope, our own messages from heaven.

As my sister and I neared The Grotto, an artificial water source at the arboretum, I glimpsed a flash of red through the branches. Stepping quietly, we discovered, not just a male northern cardinal, but also his mate, sporting the subdued brown feathers, along with the telltale red on her crest, wings, and tail.

The pair foraged for seeds, fruits, and insects under the shade of a mesquite before flying off with a cheer-ey cheer-ey, too-too-too.

According to The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, cardinals do not learn their songs in the nest, but rather through “song-matching.” When one-year-old males return to the breeding grounds to attempt breeding for the first time, they learn their songs from older birds occupying neighboring territories. The males retain these songs for life.

I thought of my mom standing at that picture window while stage four cancer attempted to strip her of her life song. I thought of my dad, watching her, with the eyes of a lover who had loved her for half a century. Where had he learned his song-matching? Was it trial and error? Was it from others who had gone before him?

Perhaps it was living out the advice given in Ecclesiastes 9:9 NASB, “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life.”

I am not sure where Dad learned to sing his song, but this I know: when we packed up their estate, a little cardinal snow globe sat near that picture window, flashing a reminder of a love song that would not be forgotten.

I can still hear their song.

Lynne Hartke is the wife of Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke.

Hatreds of the not-too-distant past resulted in 30 million people, six million of whom were Jewish men, women, and children killed in a nightmare of ignorance. Nothing has been learned – only refined. Same theme. Same people.

It seems that senseless hatred has returned from its slumber. Wickedness is again the order of the day. Justice remains beyond our grasp. The rules have not changed, just the players.

The savagery goes unabated because the so-called civilized world looks the other way. Some think that if we close our eyes, it will go away. And now the allies of these barbarians are learning that alliances mean nothing and that there is no immunity to this wave of inhumanity.

How can reason prevail when hate is taught in the classroom? How can the brutality end when it is fostered in the home? What can we say or do when mothers and fathers willfully and gleefully send their children to die for a cause they don’t even understand?

Recently the world commemorated the Annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Speeches and reminisces were given, and for just one moment in time we were all in tune with our thoughts and prayers.

For one fleeting moment we, civilized society, understood that humanity is required to affect a solution to death and destruction. In one single moment civilized society determined not be afraid to confront evil. In this same single moment when we came together to commemorate the destruction of evil, we were also reminded that to survive we need each other.

Our prayer should be that this fleeting moment remain a clarion call for sanity and dignity for all people. Our fervent wish should be that our leaders would find a way to bring an honorable end to this nightmare. Our hopes should rest with the world learning, once and for all, that we all suffer when one of us suffers.

Anti-Semitism is alive. And we will deal with it because we are a people who brought humanity the message of God, which includes an understanding of life. And because we are a people who have survived unimaginable nightmares. And because we are a people who reveres the dignity of the human spirit.

And because we are a people who taught and cherish the concept of mercy and justice which are the ingredients necessary to guarantee durability.

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D., is spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation.

Chandler Gilbert Arc has been serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the East Valley since 1975, providing community living, community based employment and day services and training. We help people with varying support needs to achieve their fullest potential while improving their quality of life.

When you make a donation to Chandler Gilbert Arc, it will come back to you, dollar for dollar on your Arizona State Taxes. Up to $800/family and $400/individual.

www.cgarc.org/donation Chandler Gilbert Arc

3250 N. San Marcos Pl, Chandler, AZ 85225 (480) 892-9422