My recent Florida vacation provided a weekend to reflect on the power of things desired but not seen. Checking in to the hotel, we immediately noticed a preponderance of religious Jews – beards, fedoras, sheidls, and Yiddish. The daily activity board listed the Lag B’Omer wedding of Sarah Rivkah and Yehezkiel Michael, Harry’s Bar Mitzvah, the Geula Living Conference, and several other events. The wedding would start that evening with a bedecken ceremony: the groom’s chance to see his bride’s face before marriage. This tradition hearkens back to the biblical account of Jacob’s first wedding. Having failed to check under the veil, Jacob had been tricked into marrying Leah instead of his beloved Rachel. Jewish tradition has urged grooms to see for themselves ever since.
On the second day, we had trouble getting our car from valet as three white, Secret Service-type SUVs filled the entry drive. Barack Obama was coming to - or already inside - the hotel! Sure
enough, protesters had been stationed at the bottom of each driveway: “Obama – Bad for the Jews” and “Don’t Count on Us if you Don’t Count our Vote!” Nobody would confirm or deny his presence and we could not actually see him anywhere. However, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune had just checked in and told us the campaign usually housed him in the same hotel as the candidate. Sometimes Senator Obama strolls the lobby to meet and greet guests after his speaking engagements. My sons were hell-bent on seeing him. Secret service agents would cluster. The boys would pick up the scent. We’d move toward their spot. No sign of Obama. We couldn’t see him even if all evidence indicated he was there.
It was exactly the subject Obama came to address: the sense among Jews that we can’t see his kishke (gut) level commitment to Israel even if the evidence (like an AIPAC thumbs up) indicates he is a Zionist friend. Not seeing his kishkes makes us not trust him. That’s exactly what many Floridians had told The New York Times. Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly he was surprised by this. He wished Jews could stop worrying about things not seen (and often not true) and embrace his candidacy. He needed to court the Jewish vote and win some hearts.
I was about to conclude that it just doesn’t work that way in our community. Not even the bride
gets a free pass until she’s actually seen. Then I picked up some literature from the The Geula Living Convention, a program organized by Chabad’s Jewish Women United for the Redemption. It is one of the few cases where the unseen can elicit a higher level of trust and behavior than that which is seen. They believe the late Lubavitcher Rebbe was, in fact, the Messiah and we are now living in the time of the final redemption. Their conference included sessions on “The Rebbe as King Moshiach,” “Nullifying Negativity,” and one with a nutritionist on Eating Right for Redemption Living.
If only I could see Obama for a minute, I would tell him the secret: Don’t court Jews like a romance, claim messianic status. Don’t promise the redemption ("Yes We Can") assure them it already occurred ("Yes It Is").
It’s all about how you manage what is seen and what is not.
On the second day, we had trouble getting our car from valet as three white, Secret Service-type SUVs filled the entry drive. Barack Obama was coming to - or already inside - the hotel! Sure
enough, protesters had been stationed at the bottom of each driveway: “Obama – Bad for the Jews” and “Don’t Count on Us if you Don’t Count our Vote!” Nobody would confirm or deny his presence and we could not actually see him anywhere. However, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune had just checked in and told us the campaign usually housed him in the same hotel as the candidate. Sometimes Senator Obama strolls the lobby to meet and greet guests after his speaking engagements. My sons were hell-bent on seeing him. Secret service agents would cluster. The boys would pick up the scent. We’d move toward their spot. No sign of Obama. We couldn’t see him even if all evidence indicated he was there.It was exactly the subject Obama came to address: the sense among Jews that we can’t see his kishke (gut) level commitment to Israel even if the evidence (like an AIPAC thumbs up) indicates he is a Zionist friend. Not seeing his kishkes makes us not trust him. That’s exactly what many Floridians had told The New York Times. Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly he was surprised by this. He wished Jews could stop worrying about things not seen (and often not true) and embrace his candidacy. He needed to court the Jewish vote and win some hearts.
I was about to conclude that it just doesn’t work that way in our community. Not even the bride
gets a free pass until she’s actually seen. Then I picked up some literature from the The Geula Living Convention, a program organized by Chabad’s Jewish Women United for the Redemption. It is one of the few cases where the unseen can elicit a higher level of trust and behavior than that which is seen. They believe the late Lubavitcher Rebbe was, in fact, the Messiah and we are now living in the time of the final redemption. Their conference included sessions on “The Rebbe as King Moshiach,” “Nullifying Negativity,” and one with a nutritionist on Eating Right for Redemption Living.If only I could see Obama for a minute, I would tell him the secret: Don’t court Jews like a romance, claim messianic status. Don’t promise the redemption ("Yes We Can") assure them it already occurred ("Yes It Is").
It’s all about how you manage what is seen and what is not.
Note: This posting does not represent an endorsement or statement of support for any political candidate.... or messianic pretender.
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