Who will live, and who will die.

We are between the high holy days of Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. They are the most important dates in the Jewish calendar. 

It is the period where Jews search their souls, a period of introspection. It is the time when G-d reminds us how to lead our lives, and the time when G-d seals our fate for the coming year.  It is the time when G-d gets to decide who will live and who will die. Who will prosper and who will perish.

Nobody can deny that it was the Jews who gave the world the Ten Commandments and the Torah, the rich guidebook of Jewish values and morality.

Despite everything, you will hear little, even perhaps in your own country, that we Jews of Israel know how to guide our country by high moral Jewish values. Too many people question this with false narratives. We do not need to be lectured on morality by those who have lost the light of truth, or who have strayed so far from their own origins.

We are a nation with the spirit of biblical heroes. Heroes like Moses who led the Jewish people out of oppression and to the land that G-d had promised us. Heroes like Abraham to whom G-d made a Covenant that the land would be the birthright to a mighty nation, the Jewish nation.

He satisfied us with His Commandment which we cherish and adhere to. But He not only insisted we live moral lives and be a shining light unto nations. He demanded that we protect and safeguard the land He gave us. As He tells us, it is not sufficient to pray. He insists we become a nation of doers. This has meant that we must maintain our guard against those who wish to destroy us, and that we must fight to defend ourselves.

Too many people wish to deny us that right. Look at our history and see that this is true. Today we are threatened by people who subscribe to a hateful doctrine. Some that come to mind are Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the BDS Movement, ISIS, even the Palestinian Authority.

This hatred goes back into the dark ages of history, yet the hate festers until today. The first people that Mohammed’s hordes beheaded were the Jews of Khaybar and Medina. Today, they are beheading still. The Jews are always the first. They are never the last. First they come for the Saturday people. Then they come for the Sunday people.

If you have any doubt about aura that surrounds the Jewish nation think on this holy decree.

“I will bless those that bless you. And I will curse those that curse you.”

At this significant time we, the people of Israel, ask you to join with us and pray for peace and wisdom to descend on our neighbors so that they can reap the benefits of our bounty. But let them be warned that we are decreed to defend ourselves. This is our G-d given right and duty.

Barry Shaw is the author of ‘Fighting Hamas, BDS & Anti-Semitism’ www.createspace.com/533306