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Smile For Purim. It’s A Mitzvah!

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answered Binyamin’s ques-
n Purim, it’s a mitzvah to
tion with “Ani lo yodeah” (‘I
be happy, which sparks
don’t know’ in Hebrew), which
the question: How do
frustrated poor Binyamin, who
you turn on happiness with a
complained, “That’s not fair. You
flick of the switch? It also gets
know I don’t speak Spanish!”
you wondering the age-old
If there aren’t any kids around
question about what came first
to bring you a smile, are there
— not in terms of poultry this
Rochel Burstyn
siblings? I still tease my sister,
time, but happy people. Were
who, when she was a teenager,
they always smiling, which
asked me to send her something
made them happy? Or are they
in the mail, with specific instruc-
naturally happy, which made
tions to “make sure to write ‘par avion’
them smile more?
Either way, one tried-and-true method on the envelope… I don’t know what it
means, but it goes so much faster than
to be happier is to “fake it till you make
air mail.” She didn’t believe me when I
it.” Find things to smile about and hope-
told her par avion meant “air mail” in
fully it will stick around and make you
French!
feel happier, too.
That same sister got injured a few
Do you have little ones in your life?
They might test your patience, but other years ago and really smashed up her
wrist after slipping on black ice while
times they’ll crack you up with their wit
taking out the garbage one winter night.
and wisdom. The other day, I was think-
(She has refused to take it out since.) She
ing aloud about my dinner plans and
told me that after her injury, a warning
my 2-year-old dissolved into tears, say-
was texted to all in her New York area
ing, “But I don’t want veggies … I want
that “12 injuries have occurred in the
vegetables!” (Conveniently forgetting
last 10 minutes because of the ice.”
she doesn’t like them, whatever they’re
“Did you hear that?” I said to my other
called.)
sister Miriam. “Brocha’s a statistic!”
Then there was the time Raizel

“I know,” Miriam said. “Brocha was
always very good at math!”
No one else around to laugh at?
Sometimes you just have to laugh at
yourself. Many, many moons ago, when
I was working at my first secretarial job,
one of the techs was checking if the fax
machine was working at a different loca-
tion. He asked me to fax a piece of paper.
“Can I write on it?”
“Yes, but don’t write anything inappro-
priate or embarrassing.”
So naturally I wrote “anything inap-
propriate or embarrassing” on a paper
in large letters and, cracking myself
up, promptly faxed it through … only it
turned out I didn’t quite know how to
really use the fax machine and had sent
it through the wrong way so they only
saw the faint words backwards! Ooops!
Even when you make a mistake like
that, if you’ve made people smile or
laugh, how can it be all bad? I’d say
it’s worth it, get your jollies, go ahead,
laugh … And then spread the smiles and
laughter, because it’s Purim and it’s a
mitzvah!
Hope you have a very happy, smiley
Purim! •

commentary

Israel’s Strategic Achievements And Challenges

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recent study by the National
Power Index ranks Israel among
the 10 most powerful nations
in the world. The study ranks
countries by comparing their
economy, military, diplomacy,
technology and population.
The NPI ranking illustrates
the high quality of life in the
Jewish state.
If you are thinking of mak-
ing a trip to Israel, know
Kobi Erez
you’re not alone. More tour-
ists than ever visited Israel in
2017, with an estimated 3.6
million tourists visiting.
Israel has also made strides in inter-
national relations. President Trump
announced the U.S. formally recognizes
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital of Israel and
Vice President Pence said the U.S. will
move its embassy by the end of 2019.
Likewise, when it comes to the con-
flict with the Palestinians, the current
U.S. administration clearly maintains
that Palestinian terrorism is the main
obstacle to peace while previous
American administrations blamed
“Jewish settlements” for being the key
hindrance to any peace treaty.
According to Israeli cabinet mem-
bers, the close relationship between the
current leaders of Israel and the U.S. is a
strategic asset for the Jewish state. Israel
is freer than ever to exercise its policies
in the region.

Along with these successes, Israel
is facing a variety of threats. The
Palestinians’ daily efforts to murder
Jews are deterred by the IDF, for
the most part, but are still suc-
cessful in some cases.
Talk about actual peace is rare
and, instead, Israel is left with
two options: to annex a large
part of Judea and Samaria, an
area where 50,000 Palestinians
and 360,000 Jews live; or to give
this land to the Palestinians and
form a new border.
If the second option sounds
familiar, it’s because it is: Israel
attempted that exact plan when it
disengaged from Gaza in 2005. The
result was three wars with Hamas and
a humanitarian crisis when Hamas
used international funds meant for the
people of Gaza to invest in weapons
and terror tunnels.
The most serious threat to Israel
comes from Lebanon, where the terror
oganization Hezbollah is headquartered
and, for all intents and purposes, rules
the country. Hezbollah is sponsored
by Iran, and it threatens Israel with its
stockpile of more than 120,000 missiles.
In Syria, with Russia’s help, Iran is
attempting to create a territorial conti-
nuity from Tehran to the Mediterranean
Sea, and it’s getting closer to that goal,
especially after receiving billions of dol-
lars from the nuclear deal with the U.S.

If a war does begin in the north,
Israel will be up against three major
players: Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.
Israel realizes the level of this threat
and has promised to “bring Lebanon
back to the Stone Age” and to end
Assad’s regime in Syria if a war starts.
Of course, these are consequences
that Iran would be happy to face for
the chance to destroy Israel, especially
because until now, Iran believed that its
homeland would not be affected.
This is why Israeli officials are now
starting to threaten attacks on Iranian
soil if Israel is attacked by Iran’s proxies.
There are two red lines Israel will not
tolerate being crossed, and these are
the delivery of precision-guided missiles
to Hezbollah by Iran and the establish-
ment of a substantial Iranian military
force in Syria. In the case of these
events, Israel has promised to attack.
Of course, as we well know, things
in the Middle East can change very
quickly. Arab Sunni states like Saudi
Arabia and allies like the United States
might also be on a collision course
with Tehran, which would help Israel in
fighting the Shiite regime. Israel realizes
that military confrontations are inevita-
ble, but for now, its goal is to delay any
potential wars as long as possible with-
out compromising Israel’s security. •

Kobi Erez is executive director of the Zionist
Organization of America-Michigan Region.

jn

February 22 • 2018

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