Seidemann: Uprooting trees and our preconceived notions

From the other side of the bench

by David Seidemann

Issue of March 19, 2010/ 4 Nissan 5770

What a weekend. While napping on Shabbos afternoon, the neighbor’s 50 foot Spruce is uprooted by the 75 mph winds and crashes into the roof of our house. It rolls down the slope, damaging our gutters, cascading against the front façade to bring down our lights, before falling diagonally across the property, barricading us behind our front door until Sunday morning.

A neighbor flags down a police car and two Nassau County cops were nice enough to check on us, making sure that no one was hurt. And with all the uproar, that still was not the most noteworthy event of the day.

By now even the Geico caveman should be able to figure out the Arab plan: ignore the Bible, archaeology, ancient history, modern history, and the rules of engagement in a defensive war. Sell the world on a lie and the anti-Semite will believe it to be the truth. Tell the world that there are such people as the Palestinian Arabs and the anti-Semite will believe it to be true. Tell the world that there is such a place as East Jerusalem and the anti-Semite will believe it. Then tell the world that East Jerusalem has always been the home of the Palestinian Arabs and the anti-Semite will believe that, too.

The Arabs spend years inventing lies and perpetuating them becomes the point of their negotiations. Joseph is buried in Joseph’s Tomb; Rachel is buried in Rachel’s Tomb. They and Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are all buried in Jewish burial sites purchased or acquired thousands of years before there were any Muslims or Arabs. Yet, miraculously, those sites are now and always were Muslim properties.

Were we really that foolish to build our holy Temple on a Muslim site, or to bury all of our forefathers on Arab land? Yet, that is what they would have the world believe. It doesn’t make a difference how counterintuitive the argument. The anti-Semite, anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist will never believe, no matter what they are shown, that our claim to the land is legitimate and theirs is fantasy.

A group of assassins rid the world of one of their ‘leaders’ in Dubai and the enemy’s response was laughable: Those cowardly Israelis, sending 17 assassins to kill one terrorist. I now understand the argument of disproportionate force that is often leveled against Israel. I guess the Arab way is better: send one homicide bomber to kill dozen or more Israelis. Would that make them happier?

And assuming there was such a people as Palestinian Arabs, and assuming there was such a place as East Jerusalem, and assuming that East Jerusalem once was, and in the future will be, the capital of a Palestinian Arab country, would Jews be forbidden from building and living there? Would that be any less racist than telling blacks not to build in a white neighborhood or prohibiting whites from building in a black neighborhood? Is that not apartheid?

Those problems were not resolved this past Shabbos. But a different problem was addressed, if not resolved, at my table. Amid the wind and rain an unlikely union took place at our home. To my immediate right sat an officer in the Israeli army. He grew up in a non-observant home and has no immediate plans to become observant but made the blessings over the wine and challah like a pro. He lamented that this will be the fourth year in a row that he will not be home for the Seder with his family; he will be restricted to his base in the north. He shared with us what he could tell about his activities in Operation Cast Lead. We were so proud to host him.

To his right sat a Belzer chassid from Monsey with his wife and three children. Wearing traditional chassidic garb, he was bright, sharp and erudite about Jewish law, American politics, American history, Israeli politics and Israeli history.

We sat together for over two hours: my family, the chassidishe family, and the Israeli army officer ­— each learning more about the other’s way of life. Preconceived notions were uprooted like trees, worlds turned upside down as the chassid told the soldier how proud he and his fellow chassidim were of all Israeli soldiers. The officer was visibly moved; his voice cracked when he retorted that he always thought chassidim only wanted to do was throw rocks. And I had a lump in my throat as I watched the faces of my children as they saw two worlds collide, two worlds that should never have been separated, that came together over chopped liver and cholent.

The insurance adjusters will assess the damage to our home. There is a lot of work to do in restoring it to its proper condition prior to the storm. And when the repairs are done we will know that they cannot guarantee that another storm will not occur in the future. We cannot control nature. We cannot necessarily control the anti-Semite as he create havoc in our world. But we can fortify our own home. We can get our own house in order. We can strengthen the bond between brothers and maybe, that bond will be able to repel an outside attack like never before.

After we said the grace after meals the Israeli army officer shared with us that that was not his daily practice. He left our home with a handshake and a hug. His parting words were, “I don’t always pray myself, but I now know that you people pray for me, and I thank you, one million times over.”

What a weekend.

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein. He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com