Hamas War

Thursday, April 3, 2008

In The Spirit of Chana

A few minutes ago, I had a phone call asking me to participate in a poll. I agreed and began listening to the questions and choosing answers from those offered. With each question, I became more and more concerned. It seemed like one of those polls for the Left, for those fronts for groups which want to prove that we're a bunch of prostitutes--for money we'd leave our homes.

Well, I told the girl on the phone, that I've probably been living in Shiloh since long before she was born, and I find her questions offensive. Yes, I told her that I know that she's just doing her job, what she gets paid to do. I know that she didn't write the questions and the choice of answers.

But I could hear the direction the questions were going.

They started out rather innocuously.

"How would you describe your life in your community?"
excellent
good
passable
bad

"Why did you move to there?"
financial incentives
ideology
and more choces like that

"How do you see your community five years from now?"
destroyed
moved to Israel
moved to another part of "the territories" under "Palestinian" rule
no change

The questions began getting even worse, and I told her:

"I refuse to continue. I know exactly what this survey is for and where it's leading. I find it highly offensive. If I was living in Shiloh, Ohio or Shiloh, Tennessee, nobody would dare ask me such questions or ask me to leave my home."

I told her that I've lived here a long time, and this is the original Shiloh, and I have no plans nor desire to leave.

Yes, this is the Shiloh of the Bible.

This is the Shiloh where Joshua established the capital of the Hebrew tribes after the Exodus from Egypt and the 40 Years of Wandering.

This is the Shiloh where the Tabernacle stood for 369 years.

This is the Shiloh where Chana prayed for a son who would dedicate his life to the Jewish People. And this is the Shiloh where Chana stood up to Eli who accused her of drunkenness, when she prayed silently and sincerely to G-d.

We have returned to pray to G-d at Shiloh. Each of us mouths our words to G-d, like Chana did thousands of years ago. G-d is waiting to hear our prayers. Chazal, our sages, say that Chana was originally infertile, because G-d wanted her prayers to be exceptionally strong.


Today our People and and Land are suffering greatly. We need a true leader with strength of character and a goal and vision of a strong Jewish Nation in our Holy Land.


Please join us in Shiloh on Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the Month of Miracles, at 10am.

4 comments:

Hadassa DeYoung said...

Batya, Shalom!
I think I received a call today from the same poll company, one specifically targeting "my area", residents of Judea and Samaria. I refused to speak to the caller. I have seen little good come out of surveys. Shortly before the expulsion from Gush Katif, where I lived, I did agree to participate in a survey. The caller said that the survey was being conducted by the University of Michigan. I was curious - Why is the U. of Michigan so interested in Gush Katif? - and I have a weakness for the university because my father taught there for a few years. The questions started out normally and then proceeded to the question of how much force I would be willing to use against IDF soldiers sent to remove me from my house and if I would be willing to use lethal force. The survey taker did use the word lethal. I stopped the survey at the mention of force, and stated that I really didn't know to whom I was speaking and where the survey was headed. I haven't participated in a survey since.
We have more important things to do, like not repeating the mistakes we made before the expulsion from Gush Katif and the northern Shomron.
Hadassa DeYoung, K'far Darom/Elon Moreh

Batya said...

For sure they wanted the same thing. There's that group that has been harassing us all with letters and even visits to some yeshuvim.

Anita Tucker said...

Yes this is a repeat performance of the psychological warfare that was used aganst the people of Gush Katif. Someone is paying a ton of funds to fight this psychological war that will eat away at those that are a bit weaker in the communities and thin out the opposition.Efforts must be made to strenthen and give renewed faith and fortitude to each other within the Yosh communities to hold up to this cruel psychological warfare.

Praying like Chana at Shiloh is the right and only answer ! Looking Klapei Shmaya and impressing on Malachei Hasharet that we love Eretz Yisrael!
But we must make do it again next month and bring many many --not just the same few that we all meet at the tefilot at kotel --in between all the yeshivas and ulpanot students that are brought as fillers(without detracting from the proven mesirut Nefesh of these wonderful youth).
How many Orthodox adults live in Israel? --can we get half of them to come to one place at same time and yell out how much we love and care about Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael.

Batya said...

G-d wants more prayers.
Shiloh is a perfect location.