Tragically, however, we of the enlightened 21st century have given up our weapons and allowed those who are bent on destroying us to seize them.
As I’ve noted in previous columns, Muslims pray five times a day. We Jews are commanded to pray three times a day. But how many of us do even that? Painfully and shamefully we must confess that the vast majority of our people do not pray at all.
It seems prayer has become the possession of the observant minority. Somewhere we lost the gift of prayer bequeathed to us by G-d. Many may protest, “Of course we pray, but in our own way, not the Orthodox way.” But our Torah does not recognize such delineations.
We have one set of commandments, not three or four. Yes, we may have different traditions, customs, and ceremonies but the principal aspects of Jewish law are the inheritance – and obligation – of every Jew. Shabbos is Shabbos; kosher is kosher; Yom Tov is Yom Tov. And prayer is prayer.
Let us learn the teaching and the legacy that our father Jacob imparted to us and make our prayers so powerful, so beautiful, and so sincere that they will reach all the way to Hashem’s Throne.
Let us put an end to the rancor, resentment, pettiness, jealousies, and, yes, hatreds that divide us. If Hashem will see us reaching out to one another with love, He will reach out to us with love.
It is so simple and yet so hard. It is so near and yet so far. But if we only will it, we can bring Redemption to our people and the world.