Lord of the Universe, I beg You To Redeem Israel, But If You Do Not Want To Do That, Then I Beg You To Redeem The Gentiles
Rabbi Israel Hopstein
The Maggid of Kozhnitz(1737-1814)
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The tendency prevalent in much of the contemporary Torah world… of almost total obliviousness to non-Jewish suffering is shamefully deplorable..
The insouciance springs, in part, from failure … grounded in a blend of ignorance and prejudice, to appreciate the scope and value of Gentile Avodat HaShem anpirituality.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein. Ztz”l
Former Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Israel
“Whither Philanthropy”, 2010
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Prayer
אדון כל המעשים, ריבון כל העולמים,אבינו שבשמים,
רחם על כל אלה הסובלים מרעידת האדמה בנפאל,
חמול על מעשיך ,הביטה ה’ וראה צרתם ושמע צעקתם,
חזק את ידי המצילים
נחם את האבלים
רפא נא לפצועים
מנע מגיפה מעולמיך
וכן יהי רצון
ונאמר אמן
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About Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo is the Founder and Dean of the David Cardozo Academy and the Bet Midrash of Avraham Avinu in Jerusalem. A sought-after lecturer on the international stage for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, Rabbi Cardozo is the author of 13 books and numerous articles in both English and Hebrew. He heads a Think Tank focused on finding new Halachic and philosophical approaches to dealing with the crisis of religion and identity amongst Jews and the Jewish State of Israel. Hailing from the Netherlands, Rabbi Cardozo is known for his original and often fearlessly controversial insights into Judaism. His ideas are widely debated on an international level on social media, blogs, books and other forums.
I really appreciated getting these two quotes. Unfortunately I am familiar with what Rav Lichtenstein is talking about. But if you look at the totality of the Jewish people, the concern for non-Jews manifested in positive actions and not just words is disproportionately good. Let’s hope that if the cruelty of the non-Jews towards us for over 2000 years wears off, it will be easier for all parts of the Jewish people to resume our understanding of what our relationship with non-Jews should be.