By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — Sir Winston Churchill said, “A nation that forgets its past has no future.”
A remarkable story from the Talmud has profound implications for today’s times. It reads:
Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until one does not know how to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordecai. The Gemara relates that Rava and Rabbi Zeira prepared a Purim feast with each other, and they became intoxicated to the point that Rava arose and slaughtered Rabbi Zeira. The next day, when he became sober and realized what he had done, Rava asked God for mercy, and revived him. The next year, Rava said to Rabbi Zeira: Let the Master come and prepare the Purim feast. He said to him: It is not every day that miracles occur. I must politely decline your invitation.
Rabbinical stories, like biblical stories, about drinking, often convey a profound moral message: the loss of sensibility. Perhaps the Talmudic story wishes to show us what can happen when people abandon their rational faculties and common sense. Even wise men can act foolishly. Yet, there appears to be a deeper moral that is less obvious. Escaping a certain death can arguably be seen as something miraculous. Or if one wishes to interpret the Talmudic story from an agnostic perspective, we could say that Rabbi Zera was lucky. Learning from experience is the best way to avoid dangerous situations. Such reasoning is fine and good for people who are keenly aware of their mortality. The Stoics defined wisdom as phronesis, which means practical wisdom and prudence. Stoic thinkers believed that a sign of wisdom is the ability to understand and differentiate what is good, what is bad, and what is indifferent to human life. Prudence, or “practical wisdom,” enables us to make logical decisions and sound judgments based on our knowledge and experience.
Rabbi Zera illustrates a man who developed prudence. Had he returned the following year, had anything dangerous happened to him, he would have only himself to blame. Indeed, anyone who behaves this way is unworthy of experiencing any miracle, for God does not suffer fools. Rabbi Zera demonstrated his ability to learn and adapt himself to new circumstances in Darwinian terms. Learning how to avoid danger is the key to a species’ survival.
In September 2013, a month after Iran’s newly minted “moderate” President Hassan Rouhani took office, he and President Barack Obama had a conversation. It was the first top-level conversation between the two countries in more than 30 years.
Throughout the time Iran courted Obama, they continued supporting the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and backed Hamas, which launched countless attacks on Israel. Iran continued supporting other terrorist groups throughout the Middle East. It is eager to confront its Sunni rivals, most notably Saudi Arabia, by supporting its enemies. Without the least bit of shame, the Ayatollah continued his promise to destroy the United States, (a.k.a. the “Great Satan,” and the “Little Satan”—Israel). It is eager to annihilate Israel. The Ayatollah promised that “We will never stop supporting our friends in the region and the people of Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Lebanon.”
The entire Middle Eastern world breathed a sigh of relief during the Trump Administration. In May 2018, President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal before reinstating economic sanctions against Iran and threatening to do the same to countries and firms that continue buying its oil. Iran’s economy fell into a deep recession.
Then with the Biden administration, suddenly, the United States frantically reengaged Iran while offering to remove Iran’s pariah status that had dogged Iran since its inception as a terrorist state. The situation in some respects is more dangerous than before.
Negotiations over a new nuclear deal with Iran have stalled.
Iran has made no promise to desist from continuing its military buildup and proxy wars against the United States and its proxy-terrorist activities seeking to undermine Saudi Arabia, Israel, and its neighbors. In the event Iran declares itself a nuclear power, it will plunge the entire Middle East into a new nuclear arms race. Try imagining Hezbollah and Hamas with nuclear weapons.
The Middle East has always been a powder keg in the last 80 years. The current deal would only make it bigger and shorten the fuse.
The Iranian mullahs still aim their missiles and drones toward their enemies. The United States will never see anything good come from an Iranian nuclear state. Israel made a promise that “Never Again,” means “Never Again.” Until now, we have been fortunate to survive until now, but we cannot continue relying on God to save us and the world from its own foolish mistakes.
Sadly, the ghost of Neville Chamberlain has taught many Western countries little or nothing about the resolve of rogue countries seeking to dominate the world.
Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista. He is the author of Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria, Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentary, and The Forgotten English Torah Commentator (2022). He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com