Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Golden Calf: Another Perspective on Glenn Beck

by Heshy Rosenwasser - Israel National News
It is particularly galling that Beck, a non-Jewish entertainer, is given the Knesset podium as a pulpit when REAL Jewish teachers of REAL Torah - Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, are almost arrested.
The people and state of Israel, and the Jewish community around the world, is mesmerized by the appearance of television commentator Glenn Beck in Jerusalem, both for his address to the Knesset and for his 'Restoring Courage' rally near the Temple Mount. Love him or hate him-it is impossible to avoid him.

Beck has been given the red-carpet treatment by Knesset members Danny Danon and Nissim Ze'ev, who showed him around the country and invited him to speak before the Knesset's Immigration and Absorption Committee. Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger has gone so far as blessing Beck's rally.

Have we gone mad?

Continue reading at: Israel National News

25 comments:

lisa said...

I would beg to differ with Mr Goldwasser, at least insofar as there is a connection between Glenn Beck's reception and the unfortunate incidents that occurred involving the two rabbanim mentioned. I also think that there is merit to his visit, and the baby and the bathwater are not the same. Beck is being very very careful not to tread on Jewish toes, not to present any xtian agendas, etc. I think that this must be treated respectfully, and if there is any merit in the rally and other events, we should also accept the good wishes of good gentiles.

Yechi Hamelech said...

I think the author of this is mad. Glenn Beck stand more for Israel and Jewish pride than most Jews do. He is showing to the world what the world has done to Jews with its autrocities He is totally a Righteous Gentile. What is happeneing to the Rabbis is a sign that we are in a deep galut. I know alot of people especially the Dati Leumi have a hard time with this next statement but until Moshiach comes we are all in Galut. We arent a Jewish country yet and this guy Glenn Beck is only trying to bring some light into a dark galut. I DONT FEEL he should be chastised or mocked for it but praised. With the rabbis its not time for there voices to be heard yet these are Great Rabbis but They Have to be smart also listen Lets look at the Rebbe he is and was the most revered person in our lifetime he stood more for Israel than anyone else but everyone feared him because he is The Moishe. These Rabbis also have to stand strong against the darkest party of Golus. Be happy and Proud that there is a Glenn Beck in this world.

Anonymous said...

I think that Hashem sends all kinds of messengers to accomplish His mission. We don't know what will come of this yet, but as long as Glen Beck respects and maintains the boundries of what our Rabonim say is acceptable, it should be okay. The question is, what DO our Rabonim say? Rabbi Metzger so far seems to be on side. Has there been any Rabonim against Glen Beck's agenda?

Anonymous said...

God bless yitro a parsha is named after him and hes the only man moses ever prostrated himself too . Watch what you say Devorah there is a difference between christianity and christians . Like theres a difference between judaism and jews .

Devorah said...

Anonymous, what are you referring to when you wrote "watch what you say"?
I haven't actually said anything at all here.

Anonymous said...

what difference are you talking about , judaism and jews?
what if glen beck is a wolf in sheep's clothing? and do you know how many missionaries will be using these photo ops and videos as acceptance of xtianity. how they will remove words and phrases to make it sound so and unwitting xtians may think the jews have endoresed jc via glen beck and stick to xtianity and feel it is not necessary now to give it up. have you all ever thought of the far reaching consequences. and since when did the jews need nods from gentiles, when you are directly under the care of Hashem.

Jean-Marie Rondeau said...

Mr Beck rant against those who protest for a fair deal for all in their society says it all.

It seems to me Isaiah's Messiah brings more government not less.

You know: the collective good versus private greed unlimited.

Dov Bar-Leib said...

What does the Restoring Courage rally have to do with Rav Lior's and Rav Yosef's arrests? Beck's rally is perfectly decent. The arrests of Rav Lior and Rav Yosef are just another act of indecency by the Erev Rav. MKs Danon and Ze'ev though have nothing to do with the arrests of the Rabbanim. Can you imagine that Nissim Ze'ev of Shas would ever countenance the arrest of the son of Rav Ovadiah Yosef? The entire premise of the writer is totally meshugah. And I fail to understand what this has to do with the Golden Calf. No one is worshiping Glenn Beck or treating him as the Messiah. Just a hearty thank you is in order. Remember Hakaras HaTov. It would be nice if we could collectively have some of that. By the way, please don't jump on the fact that his first event on Sunday is a completely Xtian event. One would expect that of a Xtian to have a Xtian event on a Sunday. The rest of his events will be about G-d and human decency not Yoshke. So if you want to participate, just stay away from the Sunday event. The rest of the events will be kosher. Besides the Sunday event will be in Caesaria. So that should be easy.

Anonymous said...

I consider Rosenwasser's comments and opinions absurd.

To say it is "Galling that Beck... is given the podium... when there are ... teachers of real Torah... [who are] almost arrested," is utter nonsense. This is typical fragmented logic, that isn't logical at all. Beck isn't teaching Torah. He's proclaiming to the Nations that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people - proclaiming this truth for the sake of truth. What does this have to do with Rabbi's being arrested?

And "mesmerized?" ...I don't think so! Amazed, maybe, that anyone from amongst the nations would be so concerned about proclaiming this basic truth! But not mesmerized, as though they were being brainwashed into believing something that isn't so.

To ask the rhetorical question "have we gone mad" ...well from Rosenwasser's comments it's obvious that someone has gone mad. When courtesy and decency are extended to visitors supportive of Israel's position, and this is perceived as "insanity," or when someone's motives are questioned beyond the plain, obvious meaning of their words, or they are demeaned because of age-old, knee-jerk suspicions, or their good will trampled on by the uniformed and uneducated, who have no reason to speak except to hear their own voice or see their own words in print, then yes, we have gone mad. The author proves that point at least, as does the rainbow man who believes that somehow this will translate into justification for missionary work by other parties. PLEASE - spare me the aggravation.

80% of the Jewish people in America not only vote Democrat on a regular basis, when the party has never been supportive of Israel - or worse - voted for Obama - worse still - continue to support him! Now that's "galling. That's a far better example of how certain Jews are mesmerized, and by a sick twisted proponent of Islam no less!

Yet Beck is likened to Shabati Tzvi with talk of glaring inconsistency in his message! What inconsistency is there in what Beck says? An entertainer? Entertainers are popular. Beck is one of the most hated and reviled men in the world - all because he dares to speak the truth. When it comes to truth he does not sacrifice anything to promote his own popularity.

Some people are just dumb. And some opinions are dumb. But then there's dumb and there's dumber - and this one by Rosenwasser is a prime example of the dumber variety. To state that Beck should "go back to where he came from" makes me wonder what side of the bed he got out of on the morning he wrote his diatribe.

Does the author have a shred of decency? Maybe Yitro should have gone back to where he came from - hey - come to think of it - that's exactly what he did! Makes you wonder why doesn't it?

I certainly hope this post isn't considered in any way "respectful" of Rosenwasser or his comments. In my humble opinion, Rosenwasser deserves the same level of contempt and suspicion that he has shown this stranger. How dare this stranger have the temerity and audacity to believe that Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Who does he think he is proclaiming this to the world?

Yes, Mr. Rosenwasser, some of us have gone mad, try looking in the mirror!

Anonymous said...

Devorah I'm 100 % against missionaries, in my youth I used to beat them up . That's another story . As for Israel it's a secular society-- hedonism, gay rights, against the settlements, in bed with the anti semitic EU. All I'm saying Devorah, I have christian friends, that doesn't make me a worshipper of jc . Israel lacks courage, lacks strength, lacks dignity and yes has no excuse not to act like a sovereign nation because it IS sovereign ie, the Jews have returned! So all im saying Devorah is we need friends . Yes even edomites can be friends Yehudah Hanasis good friend was the roman ceasar .

Devorah said...

Thank you everyone who has commented, I published this story because I wanted to know what people think, as I was confused by another blogger's rant against him. As I don't really know much about Glenn Beck or any other American in the public eye, I thought I'd let other people sort it out for me, which you have done, so thanks again.

Sgad said...

just throwing this out there i usto watch the glen beck show until he once said that christians stood at mount sinai and from there on i said this dude is dangerous true hes pro israel but i remember briefly when the ihh flotilla was going on i watchen a clip of his and he said the charedi way of living is ruining israel economy and compared it to americas fall also i think him coming to israel has to do with him losing many vieweres and ratings its a way to put him back on the map what im trying to say is hes not sooooo good as people think read between the lines as they say

Anonymous said...

Rainbow, you ask what if Beck is a wolf in sheep's clothing? Well, let me ask you and the other readers this: How do you know he is not a sheep or a sheep in wolf's cothing? How do you know that many orthodox Jews are not wolves in sheep's clothing? To have baseless hatred for christians and jump to accusations is absolutely disgusting. Do you really think God is going to hate and punish someone for their theological errors? Are they really expected to know any better? I don't care how religious or ultra orthodox someone is, if they are making such slanderous and unfair accusations and have such strong baseless hatred, then all their religiosity is a sham. There is one blogger who specializes in this type of hate mongering and makes such excuses like "Esau must hate Yaakov" to justify their own hatred. If that blogger is reading this, I say to you, you are the Esav in yaakov's clothing. Shame on you!

Devorah said...

Agreed, Anonymous. That blogger is no longer on my blog roll.

Anonymous said...

We should be suspicious of esau but if they respect us they deserve respect back . Thats what I do as I wear my big white nachman of breslov kippah as I walk through the city ,boston . As for there religion ask God why he let jc do amazing miracles with the shem hameforash ?!if someone has that power oviousely many people will think hes god ! Ask God why he did it ?

Anonymous said...

To anonymous who replied to my email, rainbow. if devorah feels my reply could be printed, i accept it or if its not, i still leave it to her better judgement, no ill feelings.
firstly i have been a very staunch xtian for 40 years in a country where there are no jews, no synagogues, and no form of judaism. only in the mid 90's the internet came. there may arrive here jews from other countries other than israel, we would not know about it as they dont walk openly with kippa etc.

i am NOT SAYING he is bad or a wolf. ...please read carefully. i said....WHAT IF. was what i wrote. can anyone be really sure as Only Hashem Knows the hearts of man.
from time eternal till today we have seen how missioanries work. NO harm in being careful. i wish some readers had the same faith in their own jews that they show they have in the xtians. you know once a jew who converted to xtianity when to the rebbe and spoke to him about jesus and the rest of it. and gave him a xt book. the rebbe took it and after he left threw it into the waste paper basket. because if he did not take it, he may have given it to a jew who might just have been influenced. so we must understand that even if WE are not influenced we must always look out for others who might be. please if you wish to comment on my comment, read carefully before talking of baseless hatred and all that because that is NOT in my comment. i know noahides who went back to xtianity when they saw jews acknowledge xtian missionaries and when they saw jews fighting or calling each other names saying they were better of with jesus christ.

in the vanguard said...

Glenn Beck strikes me as a devoutly honest guy.
He believes Jews to be the canary in the miner's tunnel, where the tunnel is the world at large, and as the treatment of Jews goes, so follows the treatment to the rest. He has keen insight into history and how it can repeat itself. Perhaps he doesn't quite get it what Rut said, "Your Hashem is my Hashem", which he quoted, but what nonNoahide does get it? I understand the concern many Jews secretly hide in their bosom, for we've been connived many times before, but there's no cause, I believe, NOT to give this good man the benefit of the doubt.

He is also a man of courage. He has no fear to stand together with Jews and Israel, although so many in the U.S. would recoil from this thought. Personally, my feeling is, I wish we had many more of his type in America. especially today with anti-Semitism on the rise because of Hussein O's class warfare and racist strategy.

Anonymous said...

regarding what anonymous wrote about jc and his miracles. did he really perform them? every single one of them? and did he speak those words or were words added to his original speech. and did a jc actually exist according to how xtians relate to it. if we want to know more on miracles and why sometimes good things happen to people who we feel do not deserve it, the Book Tanya has some enlightening explanations.

Tata said...

I ran across this blog after googling Glenn Beck Torah Code. As I write this, my husband is on a plane on his way to Isreal, to support and stand with the Jewish people, along with Glenn Beck. We're from Indiana-he was raised in the Pentocostal church and I in the Catholic. We now attend a Church of Christ in our town. We're not wealthy--my husband works in a body shop, and I stay at home to raise our family. We believe that the Jewish people are the chosen people-period. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that Isreal belongs to God's chosen people, and we believe it is right to stand with Isreal. We believe Glenn Beck is doing the right thing, and with no ulterior motive. I know this must be hard for people who have suffered as much as the Jews have suffered to believe, but there are many, many Christians who are willing to stand up for the nation of Isreal and do whatever it takes to make sure nothing like the Haulocaust can ever even begin to happen again. We know there is evil in the world, and we know people of all faiths and nations MUST be vigilant to protect Isreal. What has happened to the Jewish people throughout the ages at the hands of evil people is heartbreaking, and doubly so because it did not have to happen. I hope what I write to you gives you an idea of how many people in the world feel about Isreal and how we belive in showing the world that we, at least, will not stand by and watch idly while Isreal is attacked. I cant tell you how many people openly mocked my husband for wanting to go to Isreal, but I can tell you there were many more who agreed with him and wished they could go too!
God Bless you all-
Roberta Biggs

Devorah said...

Thank you Roberta.
I have put in a request for an official Glenn Beck Torah Code from Rabbi Glazerson, if he does one I'll publish it.

Tata said...

As I await word from my husband that he arrived safely, I started thinking maybe I crossed the line in writing what I did. Ive been reading your blog and notice that not many gentiles comment on it. Not wanting to offend anyone, Id like to ask if it's OK for me to post comments, ask questions etc? And thanks for your reply re the Torah code.

Devorah said...

You're welcome to comment here Tata.... I don't know who is reading this blog... anyone can comment.

in the vanguard said...

Although now I am having second doubts about Beck. I don't remember what it was, but once he came out with some stupid comment. Still, his show showed him to be really smart, and I shook off his position (of that forgotten point) because we can't all be right on every subject.

Now I read this article regarding what Mina Fenton says:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/147095#.TlPOL3Z0L9o

... and again I wonder if Beck is simply very good natured and really does want Jews to prevail in their fight against terror, or is a sinister thought (from a Jewish standpoint) provoking him forward. So far I still tend to believe he's just naive about the real concerns Jews have regarding christians who want to usurp the Jewish religion, to supplant it with their own.

Devorah said...

Dershowitz supports Beck rally
Ahead of major Jerusalem event on Wednesday, US law professor says he believes controversial commentator's motives are genuine.

Devorah said...

Glenn Beck in Caesarea: "Love the Jewish People as They Are"

At Beck’s Caesarea event, Rabbi Riskin called him a "deeply patriotic American, a true friend of Israel."

The debate over whether former FOX News talk show host and Conservative commentator Glenn Beck is good for the Jews or bad for the Jews goes on in advance of his “Restoring Courage” rally to be held in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon.

Moshe Feiglin, head of the Jewish Leadership faction inside the Likud, recently wrote.

“I must admit that when a friendly non-Jew starts to quote the Bible, I get a bit nervous. It is not just the long history of anti-Semitism that has developed a genetic mutation in the noses of Jews, giving them great sensitivity to anything that smells of Christianity - but also my own personal experience with avowed lovers of Israel and the settlers who took great pains to mask their Christian motives.”

But David Ha’Ivri, head of the Shomron (Samaria) Liaison Office, rejected the criticism of Beck on Tuesday, saying he is a “unique Gentile” who loves Israel and Jews.

Full article at: Israel National News