Ariel Sharon is going to be slowly awakened over the next few hours. Here’s one of the posts that disappeared yesterday: a prayer from Ha’aretz.
Say a prayer for the prime minister.
Say a prayer for the man who could not be broken.
Say a prayer for our shattered present. Say a prayer for our shuttered common future.
Pray for the man who could not be stilled. Pray for the man who could not be swayed.
Say a prayer for the future only he knew.
Say a prayer for the people he has left behind. The Jewish People, the people he loved, at times despite himself, despite them. The people who could not bring themselves to love him.
Pray for those of us who once embraced him, and came to curse him.
Pray for those of us who once cursed him, and could not bring ourselves to forgive him.
Pray for those of us who once cursed him, and came to love him.
Pray for those who call themselves religious and see in this, the hand of God.
Pray for those who call themselves non-religious and need now to pray.
Pray for the leaders who, unable to replace him, will now succeed him.
Pray for a miracle. Pray for all of us. Pray that we may know to heal each other.
Pray for this land. That it may know the peace that he never will.
_____________________________
In response to many requests, the Prime Minister’s Hebrew name is Ariel Ben Shmuel v’Dvora
My shul used a substantially edited version of this, and I’m curious whether the edits were seen anywhere else, or whether the Rabbi made them herself. Namely the following line was added, “We pray for the man who, late in his life, had the courage to become someone else – even when that transformation contradicted what and who everyone thought he was.” I found that line rather upsetting and inappropriate. There were other edits, too, but this was the one that upset me, even more so upon learning it was added to something published in Haaretz, not written off the cuff by the Rabbi.
The printout credited, “With thanks to Bradley Burston,” so I’m certain they started with the Haaretz piece.
If anyone wants to suggest I overreacted, I’m interested in hearing that, too.
No, I don’t think you overreacted. Your rabbi chose to editorialize about Sharon’s policies–while asking the congregation to pray for him.
That is cynical at best. I leave the worst to your imagination.
I think that this covers most of us. Personally, I regarded him as a politician (which in itself is an insult) but I neither embraced him nor cursed him. He acted as he thought best, and whether I thought that he was right or wrong, I prayed that the results of what he tried to do would be desirable (from the human viewpoint).
However, the statement
gives the wrong impression. Someone who is religious, of course sees the hand of G-d in what happened. However, that does not say that we see it as a punishment of Ariel Sharon for his actions. We are not prophets and we do not have access to a prophet to tell us what the reason behind his stroke was.
Free will means that G-d will not strike anyone who does bad with a lightening bolt immediately.
King Menashe ruled for 55 years and it led to the destruction of the first Temple and the Kingdom of Judah. Boaz died immediately after Ruth became pregnant and it led to King David and will lead to the Mashiach.
There is a concept that a person lives as long as he has not yet completed his task in the world. Whether he lives or dies, Ariel Sharon’s fate is in the hands of G-d.
All we can do is pray that we (as individuals and as a society) make the right choices, Whatever happens, we can say Baruch Dayan Haemes
I read it as editorializing on his character while praying for him, which is infinitely worse in my book. I’m still (very) generously chalking it up to not realizing the implications of those words [yes, it’s a big stretch], and I’m witholding further judgements until I get a response to the strong email I sent today. I doubt more than a handful of people in the congregation (if that many) had the reaction I did, so we’ll see what happens.
Sabba Hillel, there are religious Jews who are saying exactly the opposite and aligning themselves with Pat Robertson by saying that the stroke was punishment for acting against G-d. I don’t think the writer is giving the wrong impression–it’s the Jews who are celebrating the stroke who are doing that.
I much prefer your interpretation. That’s the G-d that I believe in.