Have you ever seen a boxer warm up by pounding one fist into his other open palm? No, he wasn't trying to smash himself; he was warming up to pound his opponent.
Back in my active military days, we'd perform manuevers and dry runs of missions against other Special Forces squads; sometimes we got carried away and kicked the daylights out of each other. In the end though, our united spear would pierce the enemy.
The arch-enemy of the Jewish people today is assimilation. Intermarriage and Xmas trees in Jewish living rooms concern me 100 times more than the Hamas, the Hizbulla, or that baboon in Tehran who's threatening our people every other day. Why? The last 3 decades of the American Jewish holocaust has claimed 100 times more victims than five-and-a-half decades of Israel's ongoing struggle with the Arabs.
So, when I saw assimilation and Jewish self-hatred knocked out with one of the best written blog-post punches I've seen all year, I had to congratulate the author; Here's what I wrote:
B"H, 29.12.05
Shalom, Dov Ber!
Your post from Dec.7 - "A self-hating Jew, etc" - is sharp enough to slaughter a chicken; it's absolutely superb, and one of the best pieces I've seen all year. Blessings and best wishes for a joyous Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Chanuka. Warm regards from Eretz Yisroel, Lazer Brody
For those who may not know, Dov Ber's razor-sharp pen has been dangerously close to my jugular on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, Dov Ber responded to the above letter with the dignity that didn't surprise me:
29.12.05
Thank you for the complimentary words.
I know we've had our differences, R' Lazer; I hope you know that all disagreements between us are in the spirit of the Ramban and the Ibn Ezra. (l'havidl)
See more here: http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2005/02/great-moments-in-torah-commentary.html
Warm wishes from the United States of America, DovBear
For background material on "ritcha d'oraissa", see the above post and learn how two Orthodox Jews can confront each other with flaming swords in the mutual search for truth. I answered Dov Bear as follows:
B"H 30.12.05
I never doubted otherwise.
It's impossible for two Jews of our respective Hashkafas (outlook, philosophies - LB) not to collide every once in a while. Throughout our history, not only the Rambam and the Ibn Ezra (as you so adeptly wrote), but the Rambam and the Ra'vad, the Ramban and the Ma'or, the Shach and the Taz, just to name a few. So, we're in good company; just as an army needs both a Navy and an Air Force, Hashem needs both Dov Ber and Lazer. The clincher comes down when we're faced with an enemy from the outside - then, we're brothers that fight side-by-side under the same flag.
You can therefore quote me in any forum as saying: Dov Bear has fantastic attributes - candor, loyalty, truth, courage, a razor-sharp mind, and he flatters no one. So what if we think differently? He's a brilliant writer and analyst, and he'd be anybody's dream chavrusa (Talmudic study partner - LB).
Many lightweights use 'Machlokess' (disagreement - LB) among the orthodox as an excuse for not observing the Torah. The world needs to know that we can drop bombs of "ritcha d'oraissa" (anger, or fire of Torah - LB) on each other's heads, but yet we have no argument about Shabbos, kashrus, tefillin, and family purity. When the going gets tough, i.e. in the face of an outside enemy, man - do we pull together!
Please don't let our friendship get in the way of smashing me whenever you see fit. Take care and G-d bless, with success and nachas in everything you do. Yours always, Lazer
I therefore have bad news for the enemies of the Jewish people in general, and the enemies of Orthodox Judaism in particular: Curtail your premature joy when you see Orthodox Jewish bloggers like Dov Bear and Lazer sparring - this is intramural, between two brothers. We have no disagreement as to all 613 mitzvas of Torah or the importance of learning Torah. Our slashing swords unite in our fight against assimilation and in our efforts for the future of Orthodox Judaism. The two fists that look like they're pounding each other are actually the hands of the same fighter. Orthodox Jewish unity is for real.
G-d willing, in the coming days, we hope to publish the eye-opening continuation of the Dov Bear - Lazer dialogue.
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