Insight: Some Things Never Change

DAVID J. GLENN

The other day I was davening on my apartment’s terrace (covered on the top by the terrace one flight up), wearing a tallis and tefillin. I had an oness which prevented me from attending shul that day

When I was in the middle of Shmonei Esrei, I heard some boys in the building next to mine yelling and knocking on their window for my attention. “Hey, Jewish! Why aren’t you answering? Hello????”

Of course, I couldn’t answer them even if I wanted to, since I was in the middle of Shmonei Esrei.

They kept yelling and knocking, thinking I was simply ignoring them (which, actually, I probably would have, anyway).

They obviously didn’t know that I COULDN’T answer them.

It reminded me of an incident recounted in Kansas in the 1870s, when some cowhands saw a father and his three sons davening in a field with tallis and tefillin.

Similar to my experience 150 years later, they yelled, “Hey, what are you doing? What are those little boxes on your head? Why aren’t you answering?”

The mother tried to tell them that they were not permitted to answer, but the cowhands hadn’t a clue. They were insulted by the four “ignoring” them, and had a horse drag one of the sons across the rocky field. He later died of his injuries.

Thank Hashem, I didn’t suffer any such fate. But really, how far were the boys in the next-door building removed from the mindset of those cowhands a century and a half ago, or the Germans 80 years ago. Or the Greeks or Romans or nearly everyone else millenia ago? Or Palestinian sympathizers right now?

We’ve been humiliated, tortured, killed ever since Avraham first looked at the stars and knew of Hashem.

We will continue to be, no matter the time and place.

And, as always, we will prevail.