About a year ago, on a trip to Israel, Saul Blinkoff, one of our trip leaders was speaking to us. He quoted one of his Rabbis, the great Rabbi Noah Weinberg (z’l), the founder of Aish HaTorah, who taught him that “If you don’t know what you’re willing to die for, then you don’t know what you’re living for.” Powerful words and a powerful and deep thought. We spent the rest of the trip grappling with what that means in general and to each of us. It’s something that has stayed with me since then and something that I ask myself on a regular basis.
In this crazy world that we live in today, with all the Jew hatred we see around us, take a few minutes and ask yourself that question. What are you willing to die for? When you come up with the answer, make the choice to LIVE for it. Almost 30 years ago, I began a career working on behalf of the Jewish people. From Hillel to the Federation to the JCC/Federation to today, working with clients in Israel, I have spent the vast majority of my professional life. I write and speak out because so many Jews before me were willing to die so that I could live, so many are fighting right now to ensure that my children and future grandchildren will be able to live, that I must actively live.
My friend Saul, who spoke that wisdom to us in Israel last year, is also a Hollywood Filmmaker (Disney, Dreamworks, Netflix). He has a great podcast that I encourage you to subscribe and listen to. He began his career with Disney. On that trip, he gifted us all not just a prayerbook, but one where he personally drew Mickey Mouse for us. He told us the story of how when he was illustrating the Winnie the Pooh movie, he made sure to put a mezuzzah on Winnie the Pooh’s doorpost, joking that he made him “Winnie the Jew”. We all have the ability to pick the things that matter to us, the things we would die for, and live for them. I do that with my family. With my children. I’d willingly die for them so why would I not take advantage of the chance to live for them. I take advantage of the time I get to spend with them because no time is guaranteed.
I feel the same way about my values. They matter to me. They define who I am and how I live. I’m willing to die for them. If that’s the case, then I’d better live for them. That means actively making choices that align with my values, even when they aren’t popular. Even when they aren’t easy to follow. Even when there are consequences for living them actively. Especially when they are difficult to follow through with or there is risk involved in standing by them.
Saul talked about this an much more on Ben Platt’s podcast. It’s worth the 30 minutes to watch and listen, to take in what he says and ask yourself deep questions. Especially the big one. What would you die for? And if you’d die for it, why aren’t you living for it right now?
In the podcast, Saul talks about the barbecue with the families from the kibbutz and the dancing with the children on our soldiers. That was my trip. Here’s a video of us dancing with the kids. It is something I will never forget. These families were attacked on October 7th. They had to relocate to Netanya from the Gaza envelope. They left their homes and their lives behind, moving to an apartment building in a different city. Many of the husbands were not there, called up to serve in the IDF to defend Israel and the Jewish people. Yet they were living life. Robustly. I watched a sweet toddler riding his tricycle. Kids playing ping pong. And, as you see in this video, dancing on our shoulders.
They literally went through what they would die for – living in the South of Israel in the Gaza envelope. It’s clear they know what they will live for and are doing so. There is much we can learn from them.
The older I get, the more I find I can learn. The more I find I must learn. Today’s world doesn’t value learning. Look at how poor our education system is. Look at how few people actually want to take the time to learn facts – instead they’ll get their information and knowledge from a TikTok video made by somebody who knows nothing. Judaism is all about learning. What’s going on in Israel and in the United States takes effort to learn. To investigate. To question.
In this critical time, remember the words from the Mishna. “Find yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend.” There many types of teachers. You can find a Rabbi or a Jewish educator. Ask the hard questions. You can find some experts who write regularly. Read what they write, listen to their podcasts. I have done both. Every week I learn from my friends Harry Rothenberg and Ari Shabat through their video blogs. You can subscribe via email to Harry’s and by whatsapp to both Harry and Ari’s. I read Michael Oren, who has both a substack and writes in the Free Press. I read John Spencer’s substack which you can subscribe for free or get a paid subscription. I am a paid subscriber to The Free Press, with it’s many articles and different points of view. I read Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside, delivered to my email each morning. I get the Bernie News Network on WhatsApp, with so much information every day it is usually overwhleming. You don’t have to be like me in terms of how many teachers you choose to have. Start with one. Get a taste of what real, accurate, challenging information is like. Things that make you think, not parrot back a position somebody else tells you to take.
Keith and Harry at the Dead SeaAri Shabat teaching us in Israel
Once you start down this path, your mind and spirit will thank you.
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and set for deportation. This was because of his criminal actions, although many on the left have made this a free speech issue. I have found this to be beyond appalling. They won’t stand up when Hamas invades Israel and murders, rapes, beheads, and kidnaps civilians. They won’t stand up when Hamas uses human shields. They won’t stand up when Hamas and Hezbollah fire rockets at Israel on a daily basis for almost an entire year. They won’t stand up when the UN and UNRWA have employees that participate in the October 7th invasion, rape, murder, and kidnapping. They won’t stand up with UNRWA is found to be hiding hostages in their hospitals and schools. They won’t stand up when Hamas strangles two children under the age of 5, brutally murders their mother, and brutalizes their bodies to attempt to hide how they murdered them.
They will stand up when a Jew hater who breaks the law is arrested and is going to be deported. They will stand up to defend an institution like Columbia University who violates Title VI and doesn’t protect Jewish students when some of their Federal funding is cut. It disgusts me. It infuriates me. It makes me want to throw my arms in the air and wonder if there is a future for Jews in the United States. When it is also done by Jews, I wonder how can they be so stupid. How can they look at our history and repeat the same behavior in 1930s Germany? How can they repeat the behavior that led to the destruction of the first and second Temple?
Senator Chuck Schumer has become one of the worst. I heard him speak at the AIPAC Policy Summit in 2024 didn’t believe a word that he said because of his actions. I heard his speak at the rally in DC before the JFNA General Assembly in November 2024 when his words were so irrelevant that the audience didn’t listen to a word he said. Where the audience openly booed him. A man who previously claimed that he was “Schumer the shomer,” which means guardian in Hebrew. He promised the Jewish people that he didn’t just have their back, he also had their front. Schumer promised that he would always stand sentry before the Jewish community. What he didn’t say is that he would have our back so he could stab us in it. He would have our front so he could catch us as we fell after he stabbed us in the back. He would stand sentry and do nothing as people tried to kill us, tried to finish what Hitler started, and actively defend those who attempted this genocide.
Schumer’s statement about Mahmoud Khalil is a perfect example of this. He covers his behind with pithy statements that mean nothing and that he did nothing about. He cites the 8 month pregnant wife as significant while having ignored the pregnant wife of US citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen who was taken hostage on October 7th. He ignores the Title VI violates, he ignores the requirements of the immigration status Khalil has and the violations of that agreement, he ignores the process of deportment that is currently ongoing and instead defends the Jew hater and the behavior that terrorizes Jewish students.
Schumer embarrassingly wrote:
I abhor many of the opinions and policies that Mahmoud Khalil holds and supports, and have made my criticism of the antisemitic actions at Columbia loudly known. Mr. Khalil is also legal permanent resident here, and his wife, who is 8-months pregnant, is an American citizen. While he may well be in violation of various campus rules regarding how the protests were conducted last year, that is a matter for the university to pursue, and I have encouraged them to be much more robust in how they combat antisemitism and maintain a harassment-free campus that protects the safety and security of Jewish and other students. The Trump administration’s DHS must articulate any criminal charges or facts that would justify his detention or the initiation of deportation proceedings against him. If the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law to justify taking this severe action and is doing it for the opinions he has expressed, then that is wrong, they are violating the First Amendment protections we all enjoy and should drop their wrongheaded action.
Seth Mandel wrote this scathing piece about Schumer in November 2024. Who would have imagined that it would get worse. Who imagined that if the piece was being writing in March 2025 Schumer would look even worse.
Of course we have one of our favorite Jew haters, Rashinda Tlaib, chiming in. She makes sure to use the words, “bring him home”, appropriating the language used for the hostages taken by Hamas. Hostages that Tlaib doesn’t care about. Khalil wasn’t illegeally abducted, he was legally arrested. He was taken to appropriate facility and it is public knowledge. He will have a deportation hearing and based on the results of that hearing, he will either be deported or he won’t. That is our rule of law. It is being applied based on the actions of Khalil. Tlaib doesn’t care. She doesn’t believe in the rule of law when it comes to Jew haters and Jews. She is an utter disgrace to the US House of Representatives and the United States but gets defended by those who hate the Jews.
The Senate Judiciary Democrats pile on to the Jew hatred and defense of terrorists and those who not only hate Jews but act on that hatred. They wonder why the country didn’t re-elect them in the last election and have no introspection. David Hogg, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), doubles down on the positions that led to the Democrats losing. He continues the lie of ‘abduction’ instead of arrest. He ignores the actual process related to deportation and Khalil’s immigration status to apply false regulations that do not apply. It is not a constitutional violation. It is not a first amendment issue. It’s not based on freedom of speech, it is based on what he did. Just like you are not allowed to yell fire in a crowded movie theater, there are limitations to speech, especially when you have a green card and are not a citizen.
“Immigration law does allow the federal government to deport noncitizens, even people who are green card holders,” over certain offenses or certain kinds of behavior, said Adam Cox, a law professor and immigration expert at New York University. The key is applying the law and as of now, the government has done that. This is the process. The government will have to prove their case, show that he committed these offenses or was involved in this specific type of behavior. The demands of Schumer, Tlaib, the Senate Judiciary Democrats, David Hogg, and so many others, are to not apply the law and instead treat him differently because his target is the Jews.
Maya Sulkin of The Free Press (and the daughter of friends of mine) discusses the realities of Khalil’s actions clearly. “This is someone who has been the engine behind so much of the violence we have seen on campus since October 7th”. Watch and listen to her explain the realities. While the mainstream media will highlight the Jew haters in Congress calling this freedom of speech and the protesters who hide their faces and don’t understand the law calling it freedom of speech, this is about inciting violence. About taking away the rights of others.
So lets look at the actual law, not just throw out ‘free speech’. The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act states that if the Secretary of State has “reasonable grounds” to believe than a non-citizen poses “potentially serious adverse foreign policy and national security interests of the Unites State of America” they have grounds to deport that individual. No crime has to be committed and no criminal conviction is required. This includes anybody with a U.S. visa or a green card. That is Mahmoud Khalil’s immigration status and what the government, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is asserting. Note that it’s not up you or me to determine the reasonable grounds nor what the adverse interest may be, but only the government through the Secretary of State.
The facts matter. Understanding freedom of speech matters. Applying the law in an appropriate manner matters. As we have seen with the Jew haters, they don’t care about the law. They don’t care about following the rules and regulations except when it benefits them. They make things up and create their own reality in the face of the law and in the face of fairness. Khalil has been deeply involved in the unrest at Columbia since October 7, 2023 including the April 2024 takeover of Hamilton Hall in which maintenance workers were held against their will and the building was damaged. He was actively giving interviews to the Hamas-aligned Quds News Network with openly pro-Hamas signs and supported the right to resist ‘by all available means.’ The right to free speech is core to our country but there are limits as the supreme court has ruled. The law says that the government has the right to revoke his immigration status and green card and deport him if they deem him a serious risk to our national security. Like it or not, that’s the law. If you don’t like it, change the law, don’t choose to not apply it and lie about it.
Meanwhile, anytime there is an opportunity to criticize Israel or the Jews, you can count on Peter Beinart to speak up. He makes his own realities and somehow continues to be given a platform. Beinart, a self-hating Jew, is always on the wrong side of every issue when it comes to Israel and the Jews. I met him in 2015 when he spoke in Seattle. I listened to what he had to say to understand his point of view. What I came to understand is that he hates Israel. He hates the Jews. He will side with our enemies and the Jew haters EVERY SINGLE TIME. Now he chooses to use the holiday of Purim, about to be celebrated this week, as a reason to slander Israel and the Jewish people. He disgusts me. Somehow he thinks that when they kill us all, they will spare him because he was on their side. He doesn’t bother to learn the lessons from history that they hate us all.
Yet there are those who get it. There are those who actually stand on a moral high ground. Senator John Fetterman continues to speak out. He is unwavering in his fight against evil. He has recently begun to discuss the cost of being principled. How other Democrats shun him. He doesn’t care. He will do what is right regardless of the consequences. He earns my respect regularly and that respect grows each time he stands up and speaks out. I hope that he inspires others to do so. I hope that his principles inspire you and others to also speak out for what’s right. Not to believe the lies. To get educated.
We are in a war between good and evil. Hamas and their supporters are evil. As long as we allow evil to exist, it will continue to grow. Good doesn’t defeat evil by simply making it a little smaller. Good defeats evil by eliminating evil. We know that Hamas hates Israel and the Jews. Don’t forget that they call Israel and the Jews, “little Satan”. It is the United States they call “Great Satan”. People like Mahmoud Khalil go after Israel and the Jews because they can. Their ultimate target is the United States and the West. We have our laws for a reason. Let’s make sure we enforce them. The fools who defend those who want them dead can kick and scream and cry all they want. They are on the wrong side of history. Time for you to choose. Do you want to ensure your freedom or do you want to empower those who want you dead to make that happen. This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. This isn’t a Biden or Trump issue. Look at the words of Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They know it is an existential threat to us all. Fight evil with all you have because if evil wins, we all lose.
Two weeks ago I attended the General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Bari Weiss, one of my favorite journalists, spoke there. Bari’s publication, The Free Press, is amazing and I am proudly a paid subscriber. It’s some of the best money I have spent as the content is balanced, fair, interesting, compelling, and diverse.
Bari talked about a number of things that resonated with me and that I have spoken and written about at length. Here are a few of them
“If you see what just happened in the Netherlands and think, That can never happen here, I urge you to take a very hard look at our history.
We need to get serious about who our allies really are. And to be able to say that some of the best defenders of our community, like New York Rep. Ritchie Torres and Free Press columnist Douglas Murray, are not Jews. And some of the biggest sellouts are.”
In my last blog I took to task Bernie Sanders, Jon Ossoff, and Chuck Schumer – three Jews who have sold out the Jewish people. I highlighted John Fetterman, President Biden, and Marco Rubio – three non-Jews who defend the Jewish people. I’ve written about Douglas Murray and Ritchie Torres, more non-Jews, who actively defend the Jewish people. I couldn’t agree with Bari more – we need to recognize our allies and realize that they are often not Jewish while the Jewish ones are often not our allies. As Bernie Sanders tried this week to both limit weapon sales to Israel and to have the U.S. begin funding UNRWA, tied closely to Hamas, once again, we need to realize that being Jewish doesn’t make you an ally.
“We need to talk about a legacy press that our community still reads religiously, but which lies about the things we know to be true. The mainstream press would have you believe that the hunt in Amsterdam was a scuffle between football hooligans. It is no less a lie than insisting Sieg heil! merely means Hail Victory!”
The legacy press continues to spread lies. They continue to tell the story they want to tell rather than the truth. Watch any mainstream media (MSM) news program. It’s not news, it’s their narrative. There is a reason these are no longer in the news department and are now in the entertainment department. It’s about getting viewers, not telling the truth. It is about telling the story that they think the most people will want to see and hear, not the facts. When I watched Senator Jon Ossoff’s statement about why he voted to limit military aid to Israel, the amount of lies and falsehoods he presented as facts was astonishing. He is a smart man, well educated, and as a U.S. Senator, you would think he is knowledgable. Yet he presented the lies of Hamas, told through the MSM. He reiterated the lies of Bernie Sanders. As long as we continue to allow the MSM to outright lie to us, not only will they lie, the Jewish people and Israel will be at risk.
“History is back. The Old World is not coming back. It is on us to build the new one—and to ensure that it is free.“
I have been talking about this for a decade. The rise of antisemitism. When I was in Seattle we began getting swastikas painted on buildings. It was excused by many in the Jewish community and most of the non-Jewish community as outliers. One offs. Not a systemic problem. We now see that isn’t true. As Bari says, History is back. The question is what are we going to do about it? Are we going to stand up and fight? Are we going to defend ourselves or hide? Are we going to fall into the old trap of history and try to just ‘go along to get along’, which we know doesn’t work? I choose to fight. I choose to build a new one. What will you choose.
Watch and listen to Bari’s full talk below. It is outstanding and worth your time.
In May, I went to Israel with a bunch of guys on a Momentum trip. It was a small group of about 25 guys and we bonded both because of the intimacy of the group size as well as being in Israel during the war, seeing Kfar Aza and the Nova site together, listening to parents of hostages and those who were attacked on October 7th.
One of the guys on our trip, Mikey, does a video on Instagram and it’s always outstanding. Yesterday, he talked about how 37% of Jewish kids sympathize with Hamas. Not with the Palestinians. Not with the people of Gaza. But with the terrorist group Hamas. He addresses, in a different way, what I have been talking about for a while. We have failed with our youth and with our leadership. We have not taught them what they need to know. We have not ensured they understand what it means to be Jewish, the value of being Jewish, or what it means to be a Jewish leader. They don’t understand the importance of Israel to the Jewish people nor do they understand that Israel is 3,000 years old, not only since 1948.
If we choose to do nothing, we will continue to fade away. It’s up to us to make different choices. It’s up to us to decide that real leadership training and development is worth the investment. It’s up to use to decide that real Jewish education is something we value and will invest our time and money into. Listen to Mikey and hear his passion and the power of his words. I hope they inspire you like they inspired me.
My friend Ari Shabat just returned from Israel. It was his first time back since October 7th and he got to see, feel, and experience the devastation of Kfar Aza, Nova, and visit Kibbut Alumim. As I have written, it is a powerful experience and something that cannot be adequately explained. It must be experienced and felt individually. Before I went for the first time, I was told that it would be like going to Auschwitz a few months after it was liberated. I didn’t really understand that analogy until I experienced it. Nova felt like visiting a memorial to my children and their friends. Standing in a circle, singing Jewish songs, at the Nova site, was incredibly healing. It is why I urge people to go to Israel and truly see and feel what it is like. To understand how the Israelis are coping with life after October 7th, 13 months into a brutal war.
Ari also does a weekly video and this week he talks about how as Jews, we experience loss and sadness. How we push forward while we process grief. We know there is life to live and missions to accomplish and we can’t let our grief stop us. Israelis have been doing that for 13+ months. The families of the hostages have been doing that for 414 days. We as Jews in the United States can’t afford not to be doing this as well. One of the things I love about Ari is how he ties life today to the Torah. In this week’s video, he uses the Torah portion and Abraham as the inspiration. It’s well worth the 3+ minute watch. If you like it, you can subscribe to the WhatsApp group.
Then there is New York and Montreal. This video was in Times Square. The mob is chanting Gaza, supporting Hamas, Iran, and terrorism. This is what we face in America today. Think about what Bari Weiss. Think about ‘it can’t happen here’. It is happening here.
This is Montreal last night. This isn’t Gaza. This isn’t Europe. This is Montreal. This is today’s Canada. We can choose to pretend that the world is safe for Jews or we can open our eyes and see what is happening around us. I have friends who were just a few blocks away as this was happening. Do we really want to put our heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening? Do we want to be like Senator Jon Ossoff and defend those that want to murder us because we think it isn’t happening? Do we want to be like Senator Bernie Sanders and take our personal dislike for a single person, in his case Prime Minister Netanyahu, to risk the safety of Jews everywhere?
As Bari Weiss said, history is back. We have seen pogroms. We have have seen genocidal attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. What will it take to open your eyes? When will you realize that we are facing an existential threat because we are Jews? Will it take one of your loved ones being harmed, kidnapped, or murdered? Will it take you being attacked personally? Or will you wait until the very end? I hope today is the day you wake up. I hope today is the day you take action. Don’t wait until it is too late.
The murder of Alexei Navalny (z”l) on February 16, 2024, has received a lot of attention. Navalny, one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony for his crimes of standing up to Putin.
In his death, Navalny has taught us a great deal of powerful lessons. The more I have read about him, the more I am in awe of his dedication, commitment, ethics, and values. After being poisoned and recovering, he returned to Russia to continue his fight for the Russian people, despite knowing he would be arrested and imprisoned. Why would he return, knowing brutal imprisonment and likely death would be the result? In an Instagram post on Jan. 14, 2022, he wrote, “The question ‘to return or not’ never stood before me, mainly because I never left. I ended up in Germany, having arrived in an intensive care box, for one reason: they tried to kill me.”
Within weeks of his arrest, he sent a note to his friend and mentor, the journalist Yevgenia Albats. It read:
Zhenya, everything is O.K. History is happening. Russia is going through it, and we are coming along. We’ll make it (probably). I am all right, and I have no regrets. And you shouldn’t, either, and shouldn’t worry. Everything will be all right. And, even if it isn’t, we’ll have the consolation of having lived honest lives. Hugs!
I think about the courage and commitment it takes to think that everything will be alright, and if it isn’t, you still lived an honest life. Far too often today people need to be right. People need to win. People refuse to do what’s right because it’s not what is expedient or because it affects their ego. Navalny shows us that living that way isn’t worth it. It’s better to live honestly, where your word means something, where the focus is on the bigger picture, the long view. It is the famous line from Star Trek, The Wrath of Khan, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” Far too many people focus on the needs of the one and neglect the needs of the many, of the larger community, of those that are impacted by the consequences of taking care of the needs of the one.
Spock and Kirk – the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
The Free Press posted his 2014 speech to the judges upon conviction of bogus charges. As I read it, I was struck by the power of both his words and that he addressed the panel of judges directly, calling them out on their behavior. When he said,
“I call you “people who look the other way.” Do you even notice that you are constantly looking down? You’re looking the other way. I am talking to you but you’re looking down all the time. None of you have anything to say.”
As I read the article, I could feel the shame of the judges as they were called out. He wasn’t willing to allow people to behave in an unethical or immoral manner without being made to face the choice that they made to sell out their values. Navalny was not afraid to hold those accountable who had not done what they were supposed to do. They did what Putin wanted. But as the Klingons in Star Trek would say, “You have no honor”. Navalny stresses the importance of honor. The criticalness of integrity. He understood and tried to communicate how without any of these things, life is hollow. Those who judged him had no honor or integrity because they didn’t stand for or live by their values. The lesson to us is to remember that. When we make choices in our personal and professional lives, do so with honor and integrity. Don’t look at the small picture of what it may do for us, look at the bigger picture of what it does for the world. Make sure you are able to live with yourself based on the choices and decisions that you make.
Later in the speech, he said,
“But, in spite of all of this, it’s important to me to address you, the people who will watch or read my last words. It’s more or less pointless, but the people who look the other way are also a battlefield. On one side of it are the crooks who have seized power in our country, and on the other are people who want to change this. We are fighting over the people who look the other way, the people who shrug their shoulders, the people who are in a situation where all they have to do is not do something cowardly, who do it anyway.”
In today’s world we are fighting over the people who just have to not do something cowardly, and they can help change the world. Stand up to hate. Stand up to terror. Stand up to lies. It’s easy to be a coward and go along with another leader tells you. It’s easy to be a coward and look down, avert your eyes, as injustice is done. Navalny, through is actions and his words, is teaching us all not to be cowards, not to just go along, shrug your shoulders, and allow the wrong thing to be done, even when we know it’s the wrong thing. He is telling us that our job isn’t done because people don’t care. Our job is to make them care. It reminds me of the famous line in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers) that reads,
“It Is not up to you to finish the task, but you are not free to avoid it.”
It is not our responsibility for their choice of action or inaction. It is our responsibility to do what it takes to encourage them to take action. To act honorably. To act with integrity. In today’s world, too many people accept the status quo. They believe the lies they are told without asking any questions or doing any research. They take the simple way out, the way the judges in his case took the simple and easy path rather than the honest and difficult one. Navalny continues,
“There’s the famous quote from Dragon: “Yes, everyone was taught to be evil, but why did you have to be top of the class?” I’m not just talking about this court. A huge number of people are either forced to act like cowards or act like cowards without being forced or even asked to. They just look the other way and try to ignore what is happening. We are fighting for these people. We are trying to get them, you, to admit that everything that is happening in our society is based on endless lies.”
He isn’t giving up on those who are acting as cowards. He isn’t willing to write off this group of people who just go along, put their heads down so they don’t have to watch, and allow the lies to take root. Navalny is telling us that not only do they deserve a chance, but we need them to fight off the crooks, the bad people, often times our leaders. He is telling us that it is our job to inspire the masses who keep their head in the sand, don’t want to make waves, and let things be.
In today’s world, with the rising antisemitism and overall hatred, what could be more important? We live in a world where it has become challenging to have difficult conversations because people only want to be heard, not to listen. People want to be right, not to be informed. Navalny is telling us what Ghandi told us, that we have to be the change. We have to be the ones who will brave the tough discussions. We have to be the ones who will speak out. Who will take the risk? Who will work to inspire others to lift up their head, see the realities around us, and join in being the changemakers? He finished the speech by saying,
“Thank you, everyone, for your support. I know for a fact that when they isolate and imprison me, another will take my place. Nothing I did was unique or special. Anyone can do what I did. Live not by lies.”
I think this is perhaps the most important part of his entire speech. Many people hold him up to be a hero. To make him into something unique and special. And while he was unique and special, it was because of what he chose to do. We all can choose to do that. We all can stand up to injustice. We all can look for the greater good. All of us have the opportunity to not be silent and bury our heads in the sand. When I read this, I hear him saying that even when he is gone, he can be replaced by many others. It’s our job to make sure we are included in the group that is going to make a difference. That is going to stand up and speak out. That isn’t going to allow the lies to go unchallenged. That isn’t afraid of the consequences to speak up and take action because we know the consequences of being silent are so much worse.
I think of my Uncle Ralph Preiss who grew up in Berlin in the 1930s. He was there during Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass). He tells, with great emotion even today, the story of him being told in 1st grade that he could no longer pledge allegiance to the Fuhrer (Adolph Hitler) because as a Jew, he was not his Fuhrer. The praise he gives to President Quezon and the Frieder Brothers (from Cincinnati) who did all they could to save Jews from the Nazis by getting them to the Philippines. They spoke out and stepped up and saved many lives as a result. They didn’t put their head in the sand and pretend nothing was happening. Instead, they took action to save Jews. Many of us have seen Schindler’s List but few of us know anybody who was saved by Schindler. I am grateful to President Quezon and the Frieder brothers for saving my Uncle Ralph.
My Uncle Ralph Preiss telling his story on International Holocaust Rembrance Day in 2021.
Alexei Navalny gave his life for what he believed in. In his letters to Natan Sharansky from the gulag, printed in The Free Press, he clearly knows what is in store for him, yet he and Sharansky are able to joke and laugh because they both fought for something far greater than themselves. Just like his 2014 speech, in his first letter to Sharansky he writes,
“Nonetheless, the “virus of freedom” is far from being eradicated. It is no longer tens or hundreds as before, but tens and hundreds of thousands who are not scared to speak out for freedom and against the war, despite the threats. Hundreds of them are in prisons, but I am confident that they will not be broken and they will not give up.”
In 2014 he talked about somebody taking up after him. Here he writes about tens and hundreds of thousands who are willing to speak out for freedom. The virus of freedom that Putin is trying to eradicate is instead growing. This is what happens when we take the risk and stand up for what we believe in. When we do the right thing and live with integrity, even if it makes it harder for us individually, as it makes it better for the entire community. Navalny may no longer be among the living, but his ideas and ideals live on far beyond him. And more and more people are now picking up the responsibility from him, taking it on themselves, and working to make the world a better place. Just like those in Russia that he writes about, we have that same responsibility in the United States. We cannot be silent. We cannot stand by while antisemitism and hate continues to grow. We cannot put our heads in the sand, hoping that it will go away or they won’t notice us and will leave us alone. We saw how that worked in the Shoah. We have thousands of years of history that show us how it doesn’t work. Navalny is reminding us, once again, that silence only helps those who want to harm others.
Sharansky, in his response to Navalny, had a passage that struck me deeply.
I was very angered by the question of a certain European correspondent the day after your return to Russia. “Why did he return? We all knew that he would be arrested in the airport—does he not understand such simple things?” My answer was pretty rude: “You’re the one who doesn’t understand something. If you think that his goal is survival—then you are right. But his true concern is the fate of his people—and he is telling them: ‘I am not afraid and you should not be afraid either.’”
Sharansky, who himself spent 8 years in the gulag for standing up for what he believed, understands that survival, while important, is not the most important driving force. Standing up for your beliefs, for what is right, having morals and ethics, living with integrity, is far more important. Showing others, through his own example, that they don’t have to be afraid and that they can make a difference is what matters. Sharansky did it himself. He will also be a hero to me as his struggle in Russia happened when I was a child. I remember him being sentenced to the gulag for wanting to be a Jew and wanting to move to Israel. I remember his release and the celebration that occurred upon it. And I remember meeting him in DC and truly feeling like I was in the presence of somebody great. The lesson from Navalny and reiterated by Sharansky is that we can all be that person. Both Navalny and Sharansky play down their own heroism to play up the role that each of us needs to take to better the world. We can, and should, learn from their teachings.
The time I met Natan Sharansky. I was with my best friend, Todd Sukol.
The final letter from Navalny to Sharansky had a simple but powerful line that resonated for me. He wrote,
“But I continue to believe that we will correct it and one day in Russia there will be what was not. And will not be what was.”
He doesn’t talk about in his lifetime. He doesn’t talk about survival. He doesn’t even talk about himself. It’s all about the future of the country and the people who live there. His concern isn’t for his well-being but for the greater good. The selflessness in this line is so incredibly powerful and inspirational. When I read what he and Sharansky wrote about taking action, I can relate to that and it inspires me to so. When I read this line, I see true greatness. Few of us can truly look beyond our own lives, sacrificing our lives, in order for a brighter future that is not promised but we believe in. It’s an inspiration to do better. It’s a reminder that the world existed before us and will exist after us. What matters is what we do while we are here, not how long we are here. We get to decide that.
In Sharansky’s final reply to Navalny, he quotes he first verse of Nikolai Zabolotsky’s poem “Ne pozvolai dushe lenitsa” writing,
“Do not let your soul be lazy, to not pound water in mortar, the soul is forced to labor, both day and night, both day and night.” In Russia, people struggle with this, but you do it effortlessly.”
The brilliance of these two men who understand that the world is greater than themselves is astounding. The way they are able to communicate, not only to each other but to the world, the importance of taking action and not sitting by idly, is inspiring. Each of these men spent years in the gulag, in the arctic circle, living in terrible conditions, yet expressed no regret for their actions, no fear for the possible outcome of death, working to inspire others to follow their lead to change the world. As the poem expresses, we cannot let our souls be lazy, we cannot just stand by and do nothing while the world implodes. Our soul, our very beings, are forced to do the hard work all day, every day, to improve the world. We often talk about Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, and do so with periods of activity. Both Navalny and Sharansky remind us that the job is not to do occasional acts to repair the world, it’s to constantly be living and acting in a way that does repair the world. In that final sentence above, Sharansky recognizes that this struggle and effort is not easy for people and most struggle with it. He complements Navalny, who like Sharansky, were able to do it with such dignity and deep belief, that it looked effortless, even though they both know it’s anything but.
Alexei Navalny (z”l) was and is an inspiration to us all. While many of today’s youth only know Sharansky from his time in Israel, as a member of the Knesset, as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and who he has become after his release from Russia, he was Navalny in the 70s and early 80s. These two men teach and inspire us to be better human beings and to do better. They remind us through not just their words but also their actions that freedom is not free, that to have the world we want to live in requires sacrifice and effort. They tell us point blank that if we want to sit back and let others do the work, the work will not get done.
My friend Ari Shabat finishes his weekly video blog on the torah portion by saying “This Shabbat, I’m going to think about……”. I’m going to copy him this week. This Shabbat I’m going to think about the things that I am doing to improve the world and the things I am willing to stand on the sidelines while others do the work. I’m going to focus on what I can and should be doing to live with integrity, in line with my values, and to truly be involved in Tikkun Olam all day, every day, like the poet that Sharansky quoted wrote. Today I am going to do what I can to make the world a better place.
About 6 months ago I began subscribing to The Free Press. The articles have been great and each Sunday there is a focus by Douglas Murray called, “Things Worth Remembering” that in year one focused on poetry. I have to admit that for most of my life, poetry hasn’t been something that I really got. Yet getting this weekly article about a specific poem that really dug into the words began to inspire me. I went from glancing at it, to skimming it, to reading it and really enjoying it. The Free Press announced that year two of the column will now focus on great oratory of the ages.
I’ve also written about how behind I am with popular music. So, as I catch up on music, I thought I’d imitate the Free Press and use Sunday as a day to be inspired by music. Today’s song is from 2017, so I’m only 6-7 years behind the curve on this one. It’s by Scotty McCreary and called ‘Five More Minutes”. The words remind me of the past and inspire me for the future.
Eight years old, couple cane pole sittin’ down by the creek. Lines in the water, watchin’ those bobbers, seein’ that red sun sink. Mama’s on the porch yellin’, “Supper’s hot! Y’all come and get it!” We yelled, “Five more minutes.”
As a child, we played outside every day. Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, it didn’t matter how hot or cold it was, we were outside playing. The rules were when the streetlights came on, we had to head home. And every day, when the lights came on, we kept playing until at least one of our mothers who open the front door and yell at us to come inside for dinner. And just like in the song, we would groan and beg for just five more minutes. We never really wanted just five more minutes but that was what we asked for. As an adult, I look back on those days with such gratitude. We had no worries. We played all sorts of games outside with everybody in the neighborhood. The only worry we had was watching for the streetlights to turn on. There are many days that I wish for just five more minutes of that childhood without the pressures of life. As my children grew up, I wanted to give them to same type of experience. While the world had changed and technology meant they weren’t outside all afternoon like we were, I still wanted to give them the opportunity to ask for just five more minutes. I smile when it’s dinner time and my now young adult sons will ask for just a few more minutes to finish their game before they come to eat.
The joy of childhood is precious, and we lose it far too often. While as adults we have responsibilities beyond coming home for dinner when the streetlights turn on, we can find our own ways to do the things that bring us similar joy to we experienced in childhood. In the times we live in, bringing some childhood joy to our lives is critical to maintain our sanity.
At sixteen, it was 12:03, standin’ at her front door. And Katie’s dad said “Midnight,” but we needed just a little more. Yellow light flippin’ on and off interruptin’ that good night kissin’. We wanted five more minutes.
As a teen, it was no longer just come in for dinner when the streetlights came on. After dinner it was going out with friends. First it was just in the neighborhood and as we got older and could drive, it was midnight and later. It was exciting and thrilling. The night brought lots of opportunities, especially with dating. I remember many times sitting in the car or at the front door with the ‘goodnight kiss’, knowing that her dad was waiting inside to make sure she got home by curfew. And like the song, we always wanted just five more minutes. High school was all about the five more minutes of whatever we were doing, other than school. Dating, parties, youth group conventions, vacations – we always wanted just a little bit more.
When I look back, I find myself thinking about how to get that extra time with the things I love. Going to sporting events with my kids, the theater with my wife, vacations with my wife and with the family, concerts, spending holidays together, and so much more. I remember growing up hearing about how time was the most precious commodity we have and thinking how young I was and how much future was ahead. In my mid 50s, with 60 around the corner, I look back and appreciate the way I spent some of my time and think of the missed time that I can never get back. I treasure the time I got to spend with my grandparents and how integral all four of them were to me into my mid-20s and early 30s. I think of my great-grandma Rose and the time I spent with her. I think of my parents, my siblings (including my wife’s sisters and her family), my cousins, my in-laws, and my close friends.
As I look at the next two decades of my life, I want to focus on that extra five more minutes with the people I love and the people who matter to me. Time truly is the most precious possession we have, and I am grateful to be at a place in my life and with my career where I don’t have to sacrifice the time because of work, finances, or ego. I want to remember what it felt like being a teenager when I treasured every minute on a date, while being out with friends, and with everything that I did. Somehow when building a career and raising a family, these things get lost, and it is too easy to never recover them.
Time rolls by, the clock don’t stop. I wish I had a few more drops of the good stuff, the good times. Ah, but they just keep on flyin’. Right on by like it ain’t nothin’. I wish I had me a-, a pause button. Moments like those, Lord knows I’d hit it. And give myself five more minutes.
As a kid, time seemed to drag on. I remember being told that as I got older, the days would go slow and the years would go fast. I didn’t believe it nor did I truly understand it. I was young. Invincible. The future was mine and so much ahead of me. I remember turning 30 and thinking how old I was, because I grew up in shadows of the ‘don’t trust anybody over 30’ generation. I wanted a fast forward button, not a pause button. Fast forward through high school so I could be independent and move away to college. College was fun but I wanted to fast forward to building a career. Being single was fun but I wanted to fast forward to getting married and having children. Time was plentiful so why would I want to slow life down?
My fraternity brothers at one of our formals. Truly the best of times that went way too fast.
My friend Aric, who is like a brother to me, and his now wife Carol Ann. We joke that if it was ‘my turn’ when we met girls that she would have been my wife instead of his. It feels like yesterday but it was more than 30 years ago.
High school. Hard to believe this was almost 40 years ago. It feels like yesterday. We lost my friend Ellen (z’l) in the Penn Sweatshirt and sunglasses last year. Time goes too fast. I’d like 5 more minutes with my friend.
How naïve we are as young people. We think we are indestructible. We think we will live forever. We think nothing bad will happen. I would love to go back and use the pause button as my grandparents’ beach cottage every summer with extended family. I want to use the pause button on our family Thanksgiving touch football games and our family Passover whiffle ball games, especially when my grandparents would play in one way or another. I’d use the pause button when we celebrated both sets of grandparents 50th wedding anniversaries on the same cruise and when we celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary on another cruise. I’d hit the pause button on all the time I spent with my cousin Eric growing up together. I’d pause my wedding and honeymoon. I’d use it when my kids, Evan and Matthew, were little to get more of them as small children. When I look at the pictures that we have of them when they were both under 6, I wonder where the time went and how it went so quickly.
Family picture on my parents 50th anniversary cruise
My parents and their grandchildren as we celebrated their 50th anniversary.
The family in Curacao at the oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere. We had so much fun together celebrating my parents.
My cousin Eric and me at ‘the cottage’ cooking breakfast. We had amazing times together and at the cottage before his early passing. We had life plans that never happened.
While we don’t have a real life pause button, we do have the ability to treasure every moment and not miss them. I think of driving Evan to Tennessee to start graduate school and his college football coaching career and how I treasured every minute of the drive, moving him in, and shopping for the things he needed. I think of the times I went on college recruiting trips with Evan and when I took Matthew to visit and explore potential colleges. Going to theater with my wife and Matthew, sporting events with Evan and Matthew, and our special fantasy baseball ‘Get Together’ weekends with our ICBL brothers each year and smile as the memories are vivid and I enjoyed every minute. Recently I attended my friend Jeremy’s wedding and had the honor of officiating their marriage. Every minute of the time we all spent together was special and treasured. We have the ability to step back, slow down, and appreciate the gifts we have in our life. Too often, we look back and realize ‘we missed it’. I made the decision when my dad died that I wasn’t going to miss anything any longer. It was the experience that taught me the importance of time and how to treasure it. To live life as if there was a pause button so I appreciate all the moments.
Jeremy and me before the wedding. A memory I will never forget.
Evan, Matthew and me on the field before the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during a recruiting vist to UF.
Alison, Matthew, Carla, and me at the Orlando Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker. These are highlights we take advantage of while we can.
At eighteen, turned my helmet in and walked to the fifty-yard line. Just the coach and me after we lost eighteen to nine. And I cried, “Man, next time to get in here, I’ll have to buy a ticket. Can’t you give me five more minutes?”
My oldest son Evan played high school football and started all four years. We went to football camps together his last two years of high school. As a family, we didn’t miss games and the opportunity to watch him play. I’ll never forget his last high school football game as we walked the field arm in arm, as he was honored on senior night. I’ll never forget the look on his face after the game, a big win, and the connection he had with his coach. I remember the feeling I had at that moment, knowing I would never watch him play high school football again and that not only was his life changing, but mine was as well. We stayed on the field after the game for a long time to soak up every minute we could. And I remember thinking as we walked off the field how I wish I could have had just a little more time, just five more minutes, of that experience as it ended forever. When he told me that he had decided not to continue playing college football and instead wanted to start his coaching career early, while he was in college, I was devastated. He was fine with his decision and didn’t regret ending one stage and moving onto the next step in his career. I wasn’t ready. I was looking forward to watching him play, to celebrating his achievements, and struggled with the way it was changing my life. I was still able to watch him coach at UCF and then in high school and with the semi-pro Orlando law enforcement/first responders’ team. It was still an awesome experience, but a very different one. As he started his professional career coaching college football, it was an incredible experience watching him coach.
Evan and Coach Carter sharing emotion after his final high school game.
Evan and Coach Carter. A great mentor
Evan tackling as a freshman. His first tackle ever was NBA star Dejounte Murray.
Family picture on the field after his freshman season
Evan played in the band at halftime 3 of his 4 years of varsity football. This was a classic – we need more cowbell! Matthew is in the back as they played in the band together.
Evan in uniform at UCF
Evan in the locker room before the game
Evan with his conference championship ring. A forever treasure.
Evan snapping in practice. He was a great long snapper.
Evan with the UCF conference championship trophy. What a memoryEvan as the head coach of the Orlando Guardians of the National Public Safety Football League. They played teams like FDNY and the Chicago Fire Department.
Watching Matthew, my younger son, graduate high school was another seminal moment. I would now only have kids in college. Attending his graduation, Magna Cum Laude, from Seminole State, was an incredible experience. When he graduates UCF in another year, I will no longer have any kids in college. It’s another major life transition and when he moves out of the house as well, I know I will want 5 more minutes of kids living in my house. It’s another reminder of how precious time is and how important it is not to waste the time we have.
Matthew graduation night – he graduated Magna Cum Laude, truly impressive.
I was invited to the White House Hanukkah party in 2022. Matthew came with me and we had a great time. Another special moment we will both remember forever.
At eighty-six, my grandpa said, “There’s angels in the room.” All the family gathered ‘round, knew the time was comin’ soon. With so much left to say I prayed, “Lord, I ain’t finished. Just give us five more minutes.”
My dad died on September 6, 2022. I had gotten him moved to Advent Health about three weeks prior and my mom moved in with us while he was in the hospital. I visited him every day while he was in the hospital and got to spend quality time with my mom every morning and evening. Those three weeks are precious to me, both for the time I spent with my dad and the time I spent with my mom. When I think of them, I tear up, because they were some of the most meaningful days of my life. I look back at some of the pictures from those three weeks and smile with a mixture of happiness and sadness. My dad eating real food I had delivered when he got out of ICU into a private room – I can still hear him talking about how good it was because the hospital food was so bad. The picture of him and my mom walking hand in hand in the hospital hallway. They were married for 56 years and together for 65+. The last picture I took of my dad, lying in his bed, with a sweet smile on his face. I remember kissing him goodnight, telling him I loved him and would see him in the morning. My mom got the call from the hospital around 1:30 am that morning that he had died. We went to the hospital together and sat with him, just the three of us, while we waited until it was not too early to call my brother and my sister as well as my Aunt Sheila, his sister. Writing about it brings tears to my eyes once again.
When I look at this picture, I can hear my dad’s voice talking about how good the food was and how much he enjoyed it. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity I had the last 3 weeks of his life.
My mom and dad walking the hospital hallway. So many special moments during those 3 weeks that I will treasure forever.
The last picture I took of my dad. He looked so sweet and peaceful. I gave him a kiss, told him I loved him and that I’d see him the next morning. He died a few hours later. Every time I look at this picture it brings tears to my eyes. How I wish I could have 5 more minutes.
As we sat in the room with him after he had died, I remember wishing I just had one more chance to talk with him, to tell him again how much I loved him, to be able to ask his advice and hear his wisdom and knowing that would never be possible. I wanted those five more minutes. I have no regrets with my dad, I just wanted more. I wanted those five more minutes. And today, there are plenty of times when I want to pick up the phone and call him, talk for five minutes, and pick his brain and get his advice. Once again, it’s an example of the precious nature of time.
I choose to invest my time with my family. With my sons, my wife, my mom, siblings and siblings-in-law. I want to do my part to ensure that when the time comes, my children have no regrets. They don’t wish they had just done something more with me. They don’t regret missing out spending time together.
Celebrating my mom’s birthday with the family. I don’t miss these opportunities.
The family celebrating Alison’s 50th birthday
Dancing with my mom at a family Bar Mitzvah.
I think of the lost time with my family members who died too young. My Uncle Joe. My cousins Eric and Todd. I think of the time missed with my friends who have died in the past few years and how they won’t be around any longer. I always think of my dad, who died in September 2022, and who I miss daily. We have no guarantees in life, and we get to choose our priorities. I’ve reached a place in my life where my priorities have shifted. It’s far more rewarding to do what I can to minimize the impact of wanting those five more minutes at the end.
Yeah, sometimes this ol’ life will leave you wishin’. That you had five more minutes. Five more minutes.
Priorities are the key. We live in a culture that values money, status, and titles. We often sacrifice things like time with family and friends in our effort to make money, obtain a better title, or because our identity is tied to our job. In the end, like the song says, those priorities “will leave you wishin’ that you had five more minutes.” Our society puts pressure on us to meet their priorities. Over the past 18 months, since my dad got sick and then died, I have been reviewing my priorities. Asking myself what is really important. What do I really value? It’s been a complete reset in many areas.
October 7th only highlighted this even more. I have seen the 47-minute Hamas video and it’s horrifying. I have four friends who had family members taken hostage. Of the 6 hostages, 4 have been released. There are still 2 held by Hamas, now for 126 days. I have friends who lost family members at the music festival. Friends who lost family serving in the IDF. Friends who are serving or have children currently serving in the IDF, worried every day about their safety. I wear my dogtags every day. My Magen David (star of David) every day. I put a new piece of masking tape on my shirt, over my heart, every day, updating the number of days the hostages have been kept.
Besides being a great song, Five More Minutes teaches an important lesson. It reminds us that in the end, all we really want is more time. No matter how much money we may have, no matter how much power and influence we may have, no matter what our titles are or what we have accomplished in our careers, the one thing we all want is just five more minutes. At the end of the day, we have the choice to set our priorities. I choose to do what I can to want, but not need, those five more minutes.
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