ארץ אשר לא במסכנת תאכל בה לחם לא תחסר כל בה ... (ח-ט)
MASHAL: A speaker once got up at an international forum and said the following: I know a woman who is in desperate need of help. She is a victim of domestic violence, in an abusive relationship. She is regularly attacked and her life threatened. Any time she tries to fight back, community leaders tell her that she is wrong to do so and urge her not to fight back. They say she must deserve it for some reason. Go home and keep quiet and try to appease the other side by giving in.
She listens. She gives up sentimental gifts that were given to her by her parents. All in the name of peace. She listens to what the leaders say, for all she wants is to live in peace. Enjoy her home. Enjoy her family. After each domestic explosion, things calm for a short period of time until she’s attacked again. She asks why. The answer? Stop complaining. Stop causing the violence. She is totally confused. Her attacker is treated well and given assistance when he complains. No one is helping her. Everyone is blaming her. How can they be so ignorant? How can they blame a woman who is being attacked for the sole reason of just being alive?
Always blamed. Always her fault. For what? For providing him with a home that she literally built from nothing? For feeding him? For taking care of him? But no, his anger is her fault. That’s what everyone is telling her. But she knows the truth. She’s stopped trying to convince people otherwise. She’s tired of the attacks. She’s ready to live without fear, to fight back despite everyone telling her not to. She asks her friends to pray to Hashem for her. Provide her with merits because she knows the fight may be ugly, but that Hashem and her ability to be close to Him, is her only weapon. And with that, she will prevail. She will survive. She will prosper.
NIMSHAL: Her name: The LAND OF ISRAEL. But, as is true for many women, the world severely underestimates her strength.
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