By Sheila Orysiek
SAN DIEGO — A few thousand years ago a rag-tag band of shepherds cum runaway slaves were wandering around in a desert wasteland led by an enigmatic figure – Moses. No one is sure from whence he came, the origins of his name or where he went. The people told a story of how he led them for forty years looking for a Promised Land.
Though the forefathers of these shepherds were promised they would be a mighty host, their numbers remained miniscule, never more than one half of one percent of the total human population. However, through the centuries the stories these obscure people related about themselves (not that different from stories other groups relate about their beginnings) traveled well beyond the environs from which they originated. Today approximately three billion of the Earth’s human inhabitants believe these chronicles to some degree.
Underpinning the storyline is the belief in a singular Deity and being “chosen” by that Deity to witness and deliver a message – a recurring warning against evil. “Chosen” does not mean immunity from evil – either as a victim or as a perpetrator. But, it does mean being a constant voice against evil.
Fast forward to March 3, 2015. A Prime Minister of Israel is standing, by invitation, in the well and under the dome of the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives – at the very center of power of the most powerful nation in human history. The fact that Israel, after two thousand years, is once again a reconstituted nation with a physical home, is a miracle. He and his nation are the descendants of the survivors of centuries of efforts to obliterate them. Yet, there he stands – another miracle.
The Chamber is filled – and could have been filled yet again several times. The Prime Minister came to speak about a growing evil. Some in the audience cheer – a disbelieving few jeer – but listen they do. As he looks out across the Chamber – what does he see? A sculpture on the wall, not of the mighty potentates of history – but of Moses. And, so, quoting Moses, Israel fulfills its ancient Covenant and delivers the message:
Evil cannot be ignored.
One cannot lie down with evil.
One cannot sign treaties with evil.
Evil cannot be trusted.
Evil equates diplomacy with capitulation.
When evil declares it wants to kill – believe it.
Evil must be fought.
Don’t be afraid.
As I watched Prime Minister Netanyahu address a joint session of Congress it was not politics or even the visual impact of the occasion which captured me. I was struck by the circularity of history.
I ask myself – after thousands of years – from an unremarkable wandering band of ex-slave shepherds to a Prime Minister – Israel is once again warning the world of a growing evil – can this epic jointure of history possibly be a coincidence?
I think not.
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Orysiek is a freelance writer who specializes in arts and literature. Comments may be made in the space provided below this article or sent to the author at sheila.orysiek@sdjewishworld.com