On Sunday night, May 19, Rabbi Joey Haber, Rav of the Magen David Shul (in Flatbush) and well-known speaker, spoke on behalf of Chazaq at the Torah Cener of Hillcrest on the topic of “Anti-Semitism, the Jewish Perspective.” The shiur was l’ilui nishmas Eliyahu ben Stam, Liza Brachah bas Ketziya, Rabbi Michael Haber z”l, and HaRav Menachem ben Chanah.
Rabbi Haber shared that a student from Brooklyn College told him that on October 9, Jewish students made a vigil to commemorate the 1,200 people murdered in Israel. It was a peaceful vigil with candles. That day, pro-Palestinian protesters were yelling across from them, so he told Rabbi Haber that they had to stop the vigil. Rabbi Haber exclaimed, “A day or two after we were murdered, they’re screaming at us?”
He shared that, at first, he thought this would be similar to the BLM protests after Covid, and it would die down and disappear after a few months. Instead, now it’s heightened to a new level. Universities in our own yard, which Jews frequented or donated to, have people yelling crazy things.
He shared that he witnessed a protest like this in Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. Angry chants of “Free Gaza” filled the air. “Am I in New York?” he asked himself. I was afraid to go to the corner where it was taking place.
This anti-Semitism is here now, and it isn’t really going away. He then said that he would share a deeper perspective on what is really happening and the best response to it.
He explained that there is more going on than just anti-Semitism. He shared a quote from Mishlei: a golden ring in the nose of a pig. He explained that in today’s world, things are beautiful on the outside but there is nothing more disgusting.
The above pasuk, he said, is an appropriate description for our generation. Life looks great today. We have houses with all sorts of appliances, plumbing, and all the amenities. Today, it’s easy to learn and to grow. Underneath, we are in a generation that could be compared to a pig. How much money was gambled on the Superbowl in 2021? The answer is $4.3 billion. In 2024, $23 billion was gambled. “The world has completely lost its mind!” He said that 80 million people in the United States gambled on the Super Bowl. Gambling went up 57% this year.
Then, there is the issue of drugs, which you can smell on the street now. There is so much chaos underneath. He added that young men who own an unfiltered device, and they are unmarried, are pretty much guaranteed to be seeing horrible things on that device.
“The chaos and what our young people are seeing with their own eyes is so hard to comprehend!” He said the greatest comparison is the Sin of the Golden Calf. According to the Midrash, the skies became dark and Satan made it appear like Moshe was lying in bed, dead. He said, “I feel we are experiencing this in our world today.”
He saw another frightening statistic: that 80 percent of young adults have some form of mental illness. Twelve million Americans tried to commit suicide this year. “We’re in a country descending into darkness.”
He explained that there is so much more than anti-Semitism going on. There are drugs, gambling, watching inappropriate images, and mental health challenges. He noted that, since 2011, with the introduction of social media, both anxiety and depression in teens went up 90 percent, and in preteens: 150 percent.
He stated that social media equals anxiety, depression, jealousy, anger, and frustration.
When klal Yisrael saw that Moshe was late, this created doubts and there was room to believe crazy things.
He lamented how, today, the definition of marriage is not just a man and a woman marrying. There are also all kinds of pronouns for people. He said, “The world has fallen off a cliff. What is really happening is that the fabric of this country is falling apart on every level.”
The college students at these protests are not normal people. They’re exposed to gambling, inappropriate media, and drugs, and there are mental health issues as well. The protests are really anti-human.
So, what do we do? At an Agudah Convention in 1923, Rav Moshe Shapiro spoke. He said that, after the Flood, Noach cried hysterically. The Zohar teaches that he asked, “Hashem, don’t you have mercy?” Hashem replied. “You’re a fool. Now you realize. I warned you for over 100 years, and I said I will destroy the world.”
Avraham, on the other hand, stood up for his generation. Noach just took care of his own family. Rav Shapiro said that that the Jewish world today is in trouble. (He was speaking then in the 1920s). Will you build your own ark and hide, or will you stand up like Avraham?
Rabbi Haber said that this same calling is happening to Jews today. “Be like Avraham,” he said. Everything society is doing, and its values, are so contrary to Judaism. Society today is chaos. We need to develop strength and confidence. We need to make sure, as Jews, that we are resolute and reach out to others.
We need to make sure to see us as proud, and to make sure that our communities, our neighbors, our families, and our nation are strong. We need to learn and teach Torah. Don’t bring any of the outside world nonsense into your home. Make sure that we as a nation are confident in being ourselves. We believe that we are normal and the world is nuts.
We need to know that we hold high values that are timeless and beautiful. Sadly, today, in secular society, people don’t want to get married and build a family.
“We are the only ones with ideals that make us so powerful and strong.”
He noted that there was a video form Penn State University that showed a Palestinian protest and there was a Chabad rabbi with one student, and the rabbi was putting t’filin on the student. This is us. We don’t need to yell and scream.
We need every non-Jew to see us proud and resolute, and that we know our cause is just and our ways are powerful.
Hashem gave us a chance to live the most beautiful life. The world is showing us the alternative. You have chaos as the other option – literally, a life in the mud.
“I am gifted. I have the blessing to follow Torah with its timeless values, and I can transmit this to my children.
He said that only Hashem can save us from anti-Semitism. Our part is to stand tall and confident and assist one another. We were given the opportunity to be a prince or princess and to live in the palace of the King.”
This shiur can be viewed on TorahAnytime.com.
By Susie Garber
