Shabbat Shalom, to my American readers and to everyone else around this stunning, ever-transforming globe of ours. I have decided to use this Shabbat entry to discuss something different than the Torah portion. The greatest lesson we can learn from the Torah is that, as Jews, we are citizens of the world. We seek shalom, peace, and its advancement wherever it is lacking. That is why I would like to take this time to talk about our fellow pursuers of peace in Iran.
This past week has been an historic one in the Middle East. One of the most vocal opponents to Israel and the rights of Jewish people has been Iran, but that itself has been a horrible misrepresentation of the people who live there. Iran takes its name, a modern invention, from a philosophical solidarity with the Aryan concept, a word itself stolen from the fair-skinned and dominant people of the Middle East and Northern India. But just because the over-vocal leadership of that country, which saw a revolution just 30 years ago, has espoused an anti-Semitic and strongly anti-Israel sentiment does not mean that the 40 million people who inhabit that land share the same views.
For several days now, hundreds of thousands of people all over Iran have contested the allegedly fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They don't cry for war or blood like the increasingly lopsided depictions of people in the Muslim world. In fact, the protesters hold up peace signs and demand freedom, even holiness. When we as Jews observe our fellow human beings crying for "Solh" in Farsi or "Salaam" in Arabic, they cry for "Shalom", for Peace. The young people, the woman, the educated and the progressive individuals in Iran are indeed our brothers and sisters. Pray for them, as Jews, Americans and human beings. Speak out for them. Join the protest.
I have followed the fallout of the Iranian elections very closely and the first thing that came into my mind when seeing the massive response was a sentiment we as Jews utter every year at Passover. We say that, just as we were slaves in Egypt so many years ago, just as we defied injustice in Mitzrayyim, so should we pursue the rectification of injustice wherever we find it. Today, injustice abounds in Iran and the people, like Israelites under Pharaoh, have begun to throw off the weight of oppression. It is no less dramatic than that and no less important.
It is difficult to claim historical importance in our own time. We are so used to the clarity of hindsight, of recorded history, that we sometimes forget to think of today as being a moment in history of which future generations will speak. I firmly believe that we are living in a time of great historical importance. As Jews, as lovers of peace, stay informed about the developments in any place where change is on the horizon. It's not difficult to find inspiration in the potential growth of the blossoming global community. Don't just pray for our friends in Iran, learn the details of their struggle and raise awareness about their cause. When they make their voices heard, and they most certainly will, they'll need allies on our side of the world.
Shabbat Shalom, Salaam and Solh to all who read this today and to all who fill the streets of Tehran.