Over That Ocean

The first picture on the news Monday morning was of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer standing with his wife, Victoria Alexander, and President Trump before they entered a building on the grounds of Mr. Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.

Mr. Trump announced that one of the main items on his agenda was the situation in Gaza. It looked to be a good and interesting meeting. Britain can learn a lot from Mr. Trump and the U.S., especially when you consider that much of England is being taken over by immigrants from Islamic and African countries.

Starmer, according to Wikipedia, is an atheist, though his wife, Victoria, is Jewish and they are raising their two teenage sons in the Jewish faith. Clearly, I have no idea what that translates to or what it means. Online, wherever that information comes from, it states that Starmer himself “believes in faith.” Though I guess that means just not for him. I think I understand.

Perhaps that means he feels he has faith in the idea or the concept of having faith as his wife and children apparently do, but he himself is an atheist.

Early in their talk in Turnberry, Starmer referred to Gaza as “Palestine,” but quickly corrected himself since we all know that Palestine is a figment of the international imagination. And that of the UN, too.

The fact of the matter is that Starmer as well as other British Prime Ministers with few exceptions always viewed Israel as the “occupier” and the Palestinian Arabs as innocent victims, though the opposite was always the reality.

For his part, Trump has reiterated that while the U.S. is involved in many of these European and Middle Eastern conflicts, the reality is that the U.S. is well-protected from militant nuts and terrorists by two great oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Interestingly, the tractate the Jewish world is currently learning is Avodah Zarah, which deals with aquatic life and its parallels to human society (3b) and man’s tendency to oppress his fellow man: “Just as with fish in the sea, bigger fish swallow smaller fish; likewise with people, if not for fear of governmental authority, whoever is bigger than his fellow man would swallow his fellow man.

Those two large oceans and the huge natural barrier they provide, according to Mr. Trump, is what protects us to a certain extent from the maniacal despots running countries over there.

It occurred to me the other day that just like we have no idea what the World to Come is above, neither do we know what is really going on 20,000 leagues under the sea. I couldn’t find much information about the Next World online, but there is a great deal of information about the sea life that is doing such a fantastic job of keeping us safe here in the U.S.

Such as?

Well, for starters, there are roughly 33,000 different species of fish that we know of. In addition, there are about 350 different kinds of sharks, and none of them are in the real estate business up here on land. A different type of shark, perhaps.

The Talmud discusses which types of fish are kosher and which are not, and explicitly states that only those species with fins and scales are considered kosher while those without require you to toss them back in. On the other hand, the Gemara states that there are types of fish that start out with scales and fins that eventually fall away and there are others that have none of those characteristics at the beginning but then go on to develop them. It appears that the Talmudic position is that those with the temporary fins and scales whether early on or later are considered kosher.

Which brings us to the question of what is it about fins and scales on fish that make them kosher? Are they just a symbolic representation and indication of the kashrut of the fish or is there something about those physical indicators that plays a direct role in determining if they are kosher?

Conceivably, that is like the split hooves and cud-chewing of animals that indicates whether the animal, such as a cow or sheep, is kosher to consume or not. As we all know, a pig is not kosher even though it features split hooves. A pig walks with its hooves or feet advanced forward as if to display how proud it is of its hooves, which he believes represent his kosher status. But at the same time, we know that the absence of his ability to chew his cud establishes that pork is decidedly not kosher.

The chewing of the cud is symbolic in a way regarding the importance of thinking things over before arriving at a final decision on something important. We’ve all heard people saying things like, “Let me think it over,” or “Let me chew on that for a while.”

I believe that we know less about what is going on beneath the ocean where there is an entirely different way of life beyond our scope of understanding.

As for the fins and scales, they represent modesty and restraint of movement, with scales representing “clothing” and protection.

Fins, which enable mobility, and scales, which provide armor and protection for a fish, reflect a balance of movement and a fish that moves with purpose and direction.

The Midrash writes that fish with fins and scales tend to swim near the surface and are active, while bottom feeders (like shellfish and catfish) lack these signs. This reflects a spiritual metaphor about purposeful living versus base living.

So, in the end, those two large, beautiful bodies of water that protect the U.S. on both coasts provide protection for this greatest country in the world outside of Israel on multiple levels.

The Gemara in Avodah Zarah speaks at length about the removability of the scales and fins from some fish. And it states that so long as the fish have these scales and fins at one point in their lives they are considered kosher.

So, as you can see, there is a great deal going on beneath the oceans that are located on our two coasts and extend for thousands of miles in either direction. Yes, Trump is right that they do protect us to a certain extent from those potentially lethal hypersonic ballistic missiles that Iran has threatened to fire in our direction.

I don’t know if Starmer or Trump even think about those Iranian ICBM missiles with the cluster warheads that may be harder to stop than Moby Dick and may take down a lot of innocent civilians, but they achieved their temporary ceasefire.

Earlier in the week, it seems that President Trump has bought into the “starvation in Gaza” narrative that was created and designed by Qatar as a way to undermine and create havoc for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. But as you have seen, there are hundreds of trucks making their way every day with food and other materials into Gaza. In addition, Jordan and the Emirates began airdropping provisions into Gaza to validate the “starving in Gaza” libel.

Ultimately, the “starving Gazans” story will be proven untrue, but by then the intended damage to Israel will already have been done. Every media entity around the world, even in countries where people are really starving, are buying into the line that Israel and the Jews are starving the Arabs.

Starmer, like Macron in France, knows the real story, but their main objective is the creation of a Palestinian state. This week, Starmer said that if there is no ceasefire in Gaza by the end of September, he will recognize a Palestinian State.

We all know that that is not happening no matter how successful Macron and Starmer think they are in weakening Israel. Their countries are gradually being taken over by Muslims. In order to survive they need to cater to that segment of their population.

The whole thing sounds kind of fishy—doesn’t it?

{Horror In NYC

The first reaction was that once again it was about the Jews. A reporter on a news show said that a witness heard the shooter shout, “Free Palestine.” But it quickly became clear that this was the furthest thing from reality and only the wishful thinking of the media so they can once again make this about Israel, Palestine, Gaza, starvation, and so on.

Officer Didarul Islam

Aland Etienne

Wesley LePatner

Turns out it was more about mental illness that the government refuses to pay serious attention to. The same news station immediately reported that the shooter was of Middle Eastern descent, but that wasn’t accurate either. CNN speculated twice that it appears the killer was a white person with a mustache. It seems they were hoping they could somehow connect the shooter to President Trump.

The shooter, Shane Devon Tamura, was a half-black, half-Japanese Nevada man with a documented history of mental illness and an agenda that had nothing to do with the Middle East. The next day, Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams at a memorial rally in Bryant Park called for better gun control laws.

This is the same ludicrous assertion they invoke time and time again after every mass shooting. Guns don’t kill people—people kill people. Are we supposed to genuinely believe that a person bent on a killing spree is going to be concerned about gun laws? Of course not. It’s dumb and absurd.

One of the victims was an off-duty police officer, a second was a security officer, and two others were Jewish women from the West Side of Manhattan. The gunman was apparently headed for the offices of the National Football League on the fifth floor of the building. Instead, he took an express elevator up to the 33rd floor where he encountered Julia Hyman, 27, a five-year graduate of Cornell University who was working for Rudin Management, the owners of the building on Park Avenue. After shooting Ms. Hyman, the killer turned the gun on himself in the chest, resulting in his death. The family of Ms. Hyman has asked for privacy and those who respect their wishes have taken her photograph down.

Before he made it up the elevator, the shooter murdered two security guards in the main lobby along with Wesley LePatner, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, the company’s powerful and influential real estate fund for investors. She was 43 and leaves behind a husband and two children. LePatner was very active in Jewish life as a board member of the UJA and the Altneu Shul on the Upper East Side.

The off-duty police officer, Didarul Islam, had a wife and two children and his wife is expecting another child. The other security guard was Aland Etienne, who was also a family man. Another victim, who has as of yet not been identified, was an NFL employee who was injured by gunfire and hopefully will recover.

It’s sad but also odd that because the entire lurid murderous episode cannot be tied to Israel, Hamas, or Trump, it has faded fast from the news. But that’s just the nature of the news business. In a way, that will also give the families a chance to mourn their losses quietly and with dignity. May their memories be a blessing. n

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.