No surprise here: According to the United Nations, the most evil country in the world today is....... Israel.
Just a few days ago, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women wrapped up its annual meeting in New York by condemning only one country for violating women’s rights anywhere on the planet – Israel, for violating the rights of Palestinian women.
On the same day, the U.N. Human Rights Council concluded its month-long session in Geneva by condemning Israel five times more than any other of the 192 UN member states.
This week’s Torah potion lists non-kosher birds, one of them being the Raah.
The Talmud explains “Rabbi Abahu said, the Raah bird is the same as the Ayah. Why is this bird it called "Raah?" Because it sees exceedingly well.” And then the Talmud illustrates the Raah’s the amazing eyesight “We have learnt that this bird stands in Babylon, and sees a carcass in the Land of Israel!”
The Talmud is not only illustrating the keen vision of the Raah; it is also explaining to us why it is not kosher: “This bird stands in Babylon, and sees a carcass in the Land of Israel!”
When you gaze at the land of Israel, you can see many things, including many positive and heartwarming items; yet what does this bird see? Only corpses!
There is something very unkosher about seeing only carcasses.
Is Israel a perfect country? Of course not. But if you look at Israel and see nothing but carcasses then you’ve got the problem, not Israel.
It’s okay to criticize Israel. There is much to comment and argue about. But when one has nothing but criticism for Israel, when there is nothing good to say about Israel, when Israel is portrayed as the most evil country on earth—then you know it has nothing to do with Israel; rather, the organization spewing the hate is treif.
The same holds true in life in general. Some people only see carcasses. They look at their spouse, family, community members and all they see are flaws, deficiencies and negative attributes.
While some see the good in everybody and everything, others manage to somehow see only the evil. They can always show you how everyone has an “agenda,” and everyone is driven by ulterior motives; there are smelly carcasses everywhere.
It is all a matter of perspective. Each of us has to choose what we are going to see—in ourselves and in the world around us.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Benjy
