Recently I came across a book on the Ethics of Our Fathers, written by Rabbi Yehoshua Falk, a Rabbi who lived in New York in the middle of the nineteenth century. When Rabbi Falk reaches the well-known statement, "Always pray for the well-being of the government," he describes at length why we in America must be extremely thankful for all the kindnesses of our great government. He details many facts of benevolence, from the open door policy to the blessing of freedom granted to all. The obligation of being loyal to our country is applicable today more than ever, when our government is fighting a just war against forces of evil who want to terrorize and harm innocent people, all in the name of Allah. However, at this time, we have a challenge and a paradox to deal with that did not exist in 1860: the well-being of our sisters and brothers in the land of Israel. The question we must answer is an obvious one. On the one hand, we must make it clear to the government of the U.S. that its policy toward Israel is extremely important to us and that the Jewish state must be allowed to defend itself from those who have proven that peace is not their goal. On the other hand, we wish to show that we feel proud to be loyal Americans who are thankful to this great Country. My personal feeling is that, historically, those countries and empires who were good to the Jews and let them live their life in peace and practice their tradition benefitted themselves as well, because whenever a country turned on the Jews, it was the beginning of its demise. In the book of Genesis, Chapter 26, we find the patriarch Itzchak settling in a land called Grar, being very successful with his crop, and as a result becoming extremely wealthy.The locals are jealous, and the king sends Itzchak away from the land. However, some time after his expulsion, the king comes to Itzchak and wants to make a pact with him. Itzchak asks the king, "Why do you come to me now? You hate me, and sent me away." The king replies, "We saw that G-d was with you." What the king realized was that although Itzchak became rich, the entire country was blessed by his presence in an even more important way. Through the merit of being just to him, it, too, benefitted. It acted as a community of the righteous, and as the king realized, it is in the merit of this righteousness that a nation is preserved. Unfortunately many leaders have made the mistake of turning on the Jews. When we pray that the U.S. should be compassionate to Israel or when we lobby for a policy supporting Israel, our concern is not just for Israel, but rather for this country as well. We want this country to continue to be great and prosperous, and as students of history we learn that a positive attitude toward the Jews is an essential ingredient for a healthy future. Hoping and praying for peace for all
