by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath - Spiritual Director of Chabad of NDG and Loyola Campus

For the past few days, my world has been saturated with the news of President-Elect Barack Obama. Most of the statements I have heard were very negative or very positive – not much in the middle. Surprisingly, however, both extremes followed a similar theme: “It's the end of the world as we know it.”

As a Chabad Rabbi, my initial thoughts were against the President-Elect and much of his platform. Weighing his policy towards Israel, a land dear to myself and my brethren, and envisioning a world gone mad held in the palm of his hand, truly pierced me to the core.

Op-Ed: Why Obama’s Win is Good

by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath – Spiritual Director of Chabad of NDG and Loyola Campus

For the past few days, my world has been saturated with the news of President-Elect Barack Obama. Most of the statements I have heard were very negative or very positive – not much in the middle. Surprisingly, however, both extremes followed a similar theme: “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

As a Chabad Rabbi, my initial thoughts were against the President-Elect and much of his platform. Weighing his policy towards Israel, a land dear to myself and my brethren, and envisioning a world gone mad held in the palm of his hand, truly pierced me to the core.

While I am trying to find a glimmer of hope and comfort amidst the turmoil, millions are dancing, parading, and speaking of a new world. I am a believer and I am all for hope. But is there really anything left to believe in? What is the message?

The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe frequently said, “think good and it will be good”. The Lubavitcher Rebbe expounded on this, “A person’s bitachon – the absolute assurance and conviction that G-d will make things good – becomes the conduit and vessel which draws down G-d’s blessings. Thus, positive thinking is much more than a method for weathering negative occurrences; it actually makes positive results happen.”

Now I can see how Obama’s win is good. He has rallied a nation to believe again. People have hope and conviction that tomorrow will be better despite the current terrible state of things. What gives me the right to snub the spirit of jubilation and goodness with my negative feelings just because I don’t like the political agenda? Who gives me the power to smash the walls of positive thinking?

In addition to adding positive actions to the world, we have a duty to supply positive thoughts and words as well. We have the power to change our reality. We have the power to bring about something so powerful that negative forces will run for their lives. And we can do it with our thoughts alone.

We are on the brink of change. All we have to do is have faith. I firmly believe that G-d would never do something which isn’t absolute good. There is only good and potential good – nothing else.

So, to those who support our President-Elect, congratulations and keep up your joy and good spirits, good things are on the way. To those who don’t support him, I urge you to think good and speak good. Whatever is about to happen over the next few days, weeks, months or years is not in your control. Let G-d handle it. He’s got it covered. He knows what is truly right.

Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

Not only is that “Change We Can Believe In”, that’s “Change We Need!” and “Yes We Can!”

This Op-Ed reflects the views of its author. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CrownHeights.info nor of its Editors.

A reader that wishes to make his or her voice heard on any topic of their desire is welcome to submit his or her Op-Ed to News@CrownHeights.info.

37 Comments

  • shmuly

    Bravo! Well Said. I was not in support of him but you have echoed my exact sentiments of the past few days.

  • This Shliach needs Shlichus School

    What the Blazes in H&ll is this Shliach talking about politics? Will any Jew on your campus be any less of a Jew without your commentary? Why can’t Rabbi’s and Shluchim stop gushing all over the next President. You might make a few liberals happy, but do you think 3 Jews will come to your Chabad House because of this?

    Did you have the same jibberish to say … that optomistic feelings will change things for good when liberal lefties are voted as Prime Minister in Israel?

    The same Rebbe you quoted “think positive and it will be positive…. You are where your head is!

    Get your head back into Shlichus, and not into politics.

  • me myself and i

    Theres an old story about a rabbi who sees a jew on shabbos eating a traif burger in the street.

    The rabbi asks Excuse me do you know that it is Shabbos?
    Do you know your eating traif?
    Do you know your walking and eating?
    Do you know this is all against the torah?

    to which the man replied. “Yes I Do”

    The rabbi lifted his head to heaven and said Wow hashem look at this man he is so honest…

    Yisroel i love it well said

    The Hussain is Full of hope and Positive change, what that is and who that is we wont talk about lets just look up to heaven and say Wow G-d look at this man hees so positive

  • Gershon

    everyone says about crown heights that “oh your so racist”. well, how could we NOT be if for the past year the blacks in our community have been terrorizing our lives?

  • concerned citizen

    It is true that whatever g-d does, he does for the best, but it doesn’t mean that things won’t get bad first. Why are there terrorist that kill innocent jews? Why did million of Jews perish in the holocaust? We will never be able to figure out an answer or even comprehend these questions. My thoughts on Obama are not positve and they don’t have to be positive in order for me to believe in the fact that G-d does everything for the best. I just think that everyone should be cautious of the President elect and that everyone should always keep Israel and the Jewish people in their thoughts.

  • Dovid S.

    P.S. Rabbi Yisroel Bernath is from Chicago… We can’t all root for the home team.

  • Let-s be realistic for one time please

    I agree with the author. While I did not vote for Obama, when we talk like there is no G-D but only a President of the United States and now the world has ended blah blah, it makes us look stupid and like cold hearted bigots with an IQ of 2.

    We also have to remember that while he might have been better with the press, Bush and Condi Rice were TERRIBLE for Israel. Bush denies Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran. Under Bush, the head of CENTCOM did not visit Israel, in order to appease the Arabs. Bush pushed with all his might and the State Department’s hand, the Palestinian election even though Hamas was running, Bushed PUSHED the GAZA EXPULSION, and Deducted U.S. Aid due to the security fence, and continues to dole out money to the P.A. every six months. He reneged on aid to Israel for the expulsion to pay for Gaza Jewish expellees and will not let Israel properly fight Hamas in Gaza. And he will not move the Embassy to Jerusalem in order to appease the Saudis.

    Let us not forget it was Bush who brought the U.N. actively into the Lebanon War and pushed Israel to agree to 1701 with the increased French Peace Keepers and Hizbullah not disarming. Basically under Bush, Israel lost a war

    To say “Bush is good for Israel” is a joke and makes us Jews who believe in G-D look stupid and naieve.

    If you speak to the settlers who ACTUALLY live in Israel and were directly affected by this Administration’s policy, unlike us in Crown Heights who just like to complain about the dems, they laugh when we in the States call Republicans “PRO ISRAEL”

    Let us also be realistic and realize that much of Frum Jewish Brooklyn depends to some degree on state of federal aid. For all of you on Medicaid or food stamps who make fun of the goyim taking social programs, by condemning the dems….you look stupid.

    In ending, Obama won and that is it. Complaining on Shabbos at shul will be a physical and spiiritual waste of time. All we can do is daven for the best and daven that Obama gets it right and helps the Jews.

  • yeh right

    I’m glad you think he will be good and there will be change. the only change your getting is two dimes and a nickel for a quarter!

  • Gershon

    You are unfortunately sadly mistaken & taken in by the phony change etc..The mainstream media & probably you as well. have ignored his background who he has associated himself with etc.In the words of Former President Bill Clinton,Obama is nothing more than a Chicago thug. his win is very bad for this country.You & many Shluchim & Gvirim will be negatively affected. Higher taxes mean Shluchim will be getting less or no money from many donors.If you are poor & pay no taxes you will benefit by his Robin hoodesque tactics of Stealing from the Rich, giving to the poor.I will mean more people out of work etc. How do you ignore rEv. Jeremiah Wright his pastor of over 20 years, His association with Screwy Louie Farrakhan,Bill Ares the unrepentant Terrorist from the 60’s & 70’s,Yasir Arafat’s chief of Staff Kalil Jabrini or what ever the name is.He will kow tow to Ahmenijad & other terrorist. /Force Eretz Yisroel to commit national suicide by giving up more of my land & yours.This & more wil you get from Barack Hussein Obama!!

  • ObamAberration

    BS“D

    This is another ridiculous example of the new McChabad; nebulous nonsense that sounds more like McTikun Olam than our uncompromising stand when it comes to moral issues – and our refusal to get involved in politics.

    We, as individuals with Torah values, must rain on this Obama parade the way the Chassidim of old rained on the Communist parade and the way the Rebbe and his shluchim rained on assimilation, secularism, ”conservative“ and ”reform“..

    We must make sure, as individuals, to do what we can to make sure that this historic error is reversed, and yes, we should think good that in 2010 and 2012 America will come back to its senses.

    For me, an American living in a formerly Communist country where the scars of Communism are still visible, this is the closest I can imagine feeling to the way Chassidim felt the morning after Lenin seized power in the Soviet Union. I fear that the next time I come to visit, I will see what I saw when I was a boy during the Carter years and even as kids there was a sense of fear and disillusionment as we watched adults around us – teachers, parents, relatives – lose jobs and lose hope. We also saw a ”pistachio is smaller than a banana“ Islamic Republic take our countrymen hostage and our government unable to free them.

    This Obama travesty is the same kind of populism that led to the failed Orange Revolution here in Ukraine which has accomplished nothing and now worsens the impact of the global financial crisis as there is no clear leadership and nothing but political infighting. It is empty sloganeering having a numbing effect on the fast food, fast information generation who did not take time to understand the truth that lay not very deep under the slick veneer (and an alternative that was just as shallow, for similar reasons, especially as far as the vice presidential nominee, who turned out to be a third wheel, was concerned).

    The only consolation I and others who still think like proud American Torah Jews have is that we know full well Obama cannot change the Constitution to implement any policies that would please the likes of Ayers and Wright. Note that his Middle East envoy, Robert Malley, an Arab with a disguised surname, is far worse than the notorious Obama crony Rashid Khalidi as far as radical ideas and connections are concerned (I knew Khalidi personally so I know of what I speak).

    The change Obama and his handlers would like to bring is the change Carter brought in his day; the change that resulted in total failure and near collapse.

    Thinking positively means believing the American people will wake up fast and not allow him and his radical allies to ruin this malchus shel chessed, not that Obama will change what is, with all its faults, the best system in the world at present. It does mean avoiding panic and not joining those who call for American Jews to flee to E”Y or other locations out of misplaced fear – but it also means being vigilant and not laying down should any undue events or statements come forth.

    And those of us who have shychus to the Chabad name should stay out of any form of political analysis or endorsement when in our official positions and should refrain from mentioning Chabad in any public forum during political discussions – as if shluchim in Canada do not have far better things to do than discuss politics in the US on online forums. Our job is to help Jews, not to worry about raining on the parade of those who were misled. Chabad organizations may well be called upon to provide Jews who are victims of his tax and spend policies (and I don’t want to think of what other damage this “change” can do to Jews in particular, both in E”Y and in the US) with social and financial assistance in due time, and if we are thought of as politically biased in any way, we will lose our effectiveness and they will lose out on what they need because of our short-sightedness.

    The only one who speaks for Chabad is the Rebbe, and let Moshiach come now and rescue us from the moral, social and financial crisis so we can see him and be led by him once again!
    Yes, the Rebbe said to think positively as per the Tzemach Tzedek’s famous vort – but thinking positively does not mean going with the flow when a clear error in moral, social and political direction was made. It means thinking positively the way we did vis a vis the Soviet Union; that something built on falsehood will not survive and that any damage done by it is but a test that we can and will pass with flying colors.

  • ObamAberration

    BS“D

    To Let’s Be Realistic:

    Like many who drank or are drinking the Kool Aid, you forget that Bush was NOT running in the last election and will never run again. McCain was not Bush redux – but Obama sure reminds me of Carter who was the biggest disaster ever for the US and really fouled up the Middle East situation.

    And you also forget that the President of the US is not the Prime Minister of Israel, and that the US needs Arab oil – whereas we need Moshiach because no candidate is truly ”good for the Jews”.

    And it is time we stop depending on federal aid; we’re not as bad as a couple of other communities in town but the potential for chilul Hashem is enormous the moment one starts with entitlement programs. Time to get to WORK and to manage money properly – enough laydigeyers driving to 11 AM shacharis on workdays in their leased SUV’s.

  • levi

    It shows how little you know.
    You should read a book called The US Presidents & the Jews.
    Read it! Than come on commet on Republicans and Israel.
    Democratic Presidents have been terible for Jews & for Israel since 1900.
    Good Presidents:
    Theodore Roosevelt (R)(2 Million Jews entered America during his Presidency)
    Dwight Eisenhower(R)
    Richard Nixon (R)(Even though he wasnt good as governor, as president was excellent, if it wasnt for Kissingr who controlled him he would have done even more for Israel)
    Gerald Ford (R)( gave Israel so much financial aid)
    Ronald Reagan ( very involved in Russian Jewry)

    The Terrible Presidents for Jews:
    Woodrow Wilson(D)(made Immigration quota for Jews that made it impossible for Jews to come to America)
    FDR(D) (turned a blind eye on Holocaust (documented that he knew and couldn’t have prevented over 2 million Jews being killed)
    Harry Truman (D)( Never used the word Jew, instead called us KIKes
    Jimmy Carter (D)( he loves Hamas)
    Bill Clinton (D)( he still thinks Arafat wants peace. Well she blame Emmanual for that one too)

    Learn your American History bc

  • observe

    Thank you lets be real..
    People dont think for themselves around C”H but rather let the unqualified decide for them. obama is a better bet for isreal then bush and many others.
    I think people’s opinions here are affected by what they have been taught living in Ghetto.
    I urge you to keep on writing ..please!

  • bob

    While it’s nice to hear this call for unity and positivity, Chabad should be ashamed of itself for being so partisan this entire election.

  • reality check

    I can agree on ur statements to just let it be and be patriotic but the statements of obama that have no substance…you are a fool to think that he can make change-unless that is what he plans on begging for as the economy sinks lower into recession. his friends are bad pple. and extreme libs are not too good either.

  • MADD

    Rep. Paul Broun GeorgiaAtlanta, GA – Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.
    “It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”
    Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

    Advertisement:

    “That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.”
    Obama’s comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado about building a new civil service corps. Among other things, he called for expanding the nation’s foreign service and doubling the size of the Peace Corps “to renew our diplomacy.”
    “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set,” Obama said in July. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”
    Broun said he also believes Obama likely will move to ban gun ownership if he does build a national police force.
    Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons. As an Illinois state lawmaker, Obama supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms generally.
    “We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential.”
    Obama’s transition office did not respond immediately to Broun’s remarks.

  • batya

    BS”D

    rav ginberg speaks on lech lech and then some:

    A change of scenery leads to new understanding and to new insight into your previous surroundings. Moving around also lets you find new horizons, new challenges, and new directions in life.
    You might say that this is what happened in the American elections recently. For a long time there were only white presidents, and after a while people got used to it and wanted change, something new. After a while even the white seems black and then you want something black, because it seems to be shiny and new.
    On the plane back to Eretz Yisrael, we saw in the Jerusalem Post that it said that “America wants change, too bad that Israel doesn’t.” Indeed, we have to be mobilized by this idea and inspired by it.

  • Leaving it all behind ...

    Sorry, but I disagree. The temperament in this country has changed. A young girl was walking to Bais Rivkah last week when a black child accosted her and said, “I should hit you with a rock, Whitey. WE are in charge now.” If this were truly a win for the blacks, then he would have been elected REGARDLESS of his skin color, not BECAUSE of his skin color. We all know that a lot of blacks voted for him because he is black. And we all know that some whites voted for him because of his skin color. But all along, they said it wasn’t about race. Yet as soon as he got elected, suddenly it became about race. Nope, I am not buying it. These are VERY scary times we live in. I have heard from numerous people that it is highly recommended that all Yidden make sure to have passports for all family members. People have even been urged to have a gun for protection. Does this sound like a normal society we are living in? We have already contacted Nefesh B’Nefesh. We no longer feel safe in this country and we are ready to go home.

  • chulito

    I think that is going to be very good for Ydden, and Moshiach is coming during Obama’s Presidential time

    and we need a change in many things, we have to let Moshiach to come

  • Sydney03

    Rabbi Bernath,
    Please clarify how Obama’s policy towards Israel “pierce you to the core”. Everything I heard <b>HIM</b> say(not commentators like Limbaugh who take things out of context and sometimes flat-out lie) was good for Israel.

  • Hitler also wanted a new world

    what he gonna do with us
    if you where never in israel is the last chance to get there soon the country gonna close done is going for cleausure and it gonna be given the arab so…

  • ObamAberration

    BS“D

    To Batya:

    Skin color has NOTHING to do with it. People fell for Obama because of his demagoguery and his mysteriously well financed campaign. Those who voted for him because of his skin color are just as racist as anyone who opposes him based on skin color alone.

    However, seeing the story from Leaving It All Behind does remind me that the analogy I used to 1917 and the Orange ”Revolution“ should have been supplemented by an analogy to how I actually did feel waking up in NYC the morning after Dinkins was elected.

    In fact, the day after Dinkins got the Democratic nomination I started to carry tear gas (it was somehow being sold legally then). After the election, as the effects of his misadministration multiplied, I started to carry a wrench with me to the ATM. And my fears were not misplaced; although BH I was never really physically attacked, my apartment and car were robbed and my insurance company warned me that I was becoming a high insurance risk.

    However, unless you have always felt your place in this world is E”Y, there is no reason to run. I did leave the US during the Dinkins administration for completely unrelated reasons, but if you are just running in fear, you will find E“Y very disappointing.

    Like the Argentinian and French Jews who ran to E”Y during bad times in their homelands and have now returned because things are better, you will be back in the US as soon as the storm passes, and you will not be better off for having run. (On the other hand, Argentinian Jews in Florida seem to be staying put as they have prospered there).

    Obama cannot change the Constitution, he is not Hitler or Lenin (YMSvZ both of them), and just as Dinkins was followed by Giuliani, Obama will be hampered by a conservative Congress in 2010 and replaced by someone similar to Reagan in 2012.

    It is interesting, though, that Obama was elected the week of parshas Lech Lecha…

  • VOTE FOR HAMAS!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

    Obama adviser denies Hamas meeting

    Nov. 11, 2008
    JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
    The office of the President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday denied a report by Arab sources which claimed that a secret meeting was held between Hamas and Obama’s aides in the Gaza Strip prior to the US general elections.

    “This assertion is just plain false,” Obama’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Denis McDonough told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

    Earlier, Hamas political adviser Ahmad Yousef claimed on Tuesday morning that before the US general elections, a secret meeting was held between officials from the group and President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers in the Gaza Strip.

    “We are maintaining contact with them”, said Yousef who disclosed no further information as to the nature of the meeting.

    In an interview with the London-based Al Hayat newspaper, Yousef reportedly said that contact between Hamas and Obama’s advisers was first established over the Internet.

    “We first made contact on the Internet and then met with some of them here in the Gaza Strip. They advised us not to reveal this information lest it influence the elections or become manipulated by [Republican candidate John] McCain’s campaign”.

    Yousef added that he personally had friendly relations with a few of Obama’s advisers whom he had met when he lived in the US.

    “Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will draft a congratulatory letter to Obama for his victory in the elections,” added Yousef.

    This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910089501&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
    [ Back to the Article ]
    Copyright 1995- 2008 The Jerusalem Post – http://www.jpost.com/

  • Shoshanna Walker

    This is a very nice thought, and I even agree with this article ON CONDITION THAT Obama will verify that he is a natural born US citizen, especially in light of the fact that there is documented evidence to the contrary. Up until now, he has resisted all requests, including in court cases which are pending, to provide birth documents proving he is a natural born citizen. As you may or may not recall, US president has to be a natural born citizen according to our Constitution. Everything hinges on that, if he is not eligible, then he is a liar, and he will be flouting our Constitution as he swears to uphold it during his inauguration. If he is that dishonest, and he will be our first UNCONSTITUTIONAL president, then there is no reason to think well of him or to forgive him.

  • lubavitcher in baltimore

    yes we need change but not this guy he’s very ati semetic.
    I have on the fron door to my house a 8×10 laminated paper with the previos rebbi’s word TRACH GUT VET ZEIN GUT. i am a very positive person but i am afraid of this kind of change it feels like change for the not good.

  • i didn-t vote for obama either

    i agree with the author
    but thank you for all the comments
    i had a good laugh!!!

  • LT

    It shows how little you know.
    Democratic Presidents have never been good for Jews!!!!!!
    For some reason Jews will hold on to dear life to being a Democrat.
    Its incredible the way we are.
    You should read a book called The US Presidents & the Jews.
    Read it! Than come on commet on Republicans and Israel.
    Democratic Presidents have been terible for Jews & for Israel since 1900.
    Good Presidents:
    Theodore Roosevelt (R)(2 Million Jews entered America during his Presidency)
    Dwight Eisenhower(R)
    Richard Nixon (R)(Even though he wasnt good as governor, as president was excellent, if it wasnt for Kissingr who controlled him he would have done even more for Israel)
    Gerald Ford (R)( gave Israel so much financial aid)
    Ronald Reagan ( very involved in Russian Jewry)

    The Terrible Presidents for Jews:
    Woodrow Wilson(D)(made Immigration quota for Jews that made it impossible for Jews to come to America)
    FDR(D) (turned a blind eye on Holocaust (documented that he knew and couldn’t have prevented over 2 million Jews being killed)
    Harry Truman (D)( Never used the word Jew, instead called us KIKes
    Jimmy Carter (D)( he loves Hamas)
    Bill Clinton (D)( he still thinks Arafat wants peace. Well she blame Emmanual for that one too)

    Learn your American History bc

  • DEMOCRATS ARE SELF HATING JEWS.

    Great article.
    Jews should stop trying to be so Liberal (Deomcrats)
    Jews have always felt that being that way will make them fit in.
    The thing is that Non_Jews dont want Jews to be that way. They are sick and tired of the fact that we try so hard to be like them.
    Throughout History we’ve trying being the Liberals and whenever we did that we failed.
    Russia,Germany,Spain, Even during the Second Beis Hamikdosh.

    The day will come when there will finally be a Democratic President who clearly Hates Jews, and there will still be Jews not sure if they should vote againt them.
    And that will be bc there will be Jews that are in this persons cabinet that will be Jewish. So that means he cant be an Anti-Semite.

  • Anon

    it high time that all of you psudo arm chair inttellectual political commemtators give it a rest, ALTS IS MIN HASHOM AYIM. lets just wait and see. No more doomsday predictions.
    If he’s good then good and if not he’ll be out in four years. Once public policy goes down the tubs then its time for mourning. Untill then stop speculating it runs counter to common sense

  • Anonymous

    I really don’t understand why shluchim should be discussing politics, period. It’s controversial and irrelevant. If a Torah-observant Jew speaks badly about Obama and offends someone, and that person changes their opinion about what Torah represents, it’s a grave problem. Many Jews are liberal and support Obama–what a C”H if they feel unwelcome because of the negative rumors about Obama.

    Let’s focus on increasing the amount of Torah and mitzvos in this world, not on politics.

  • Sholom

    “Hope is delayed disappointment”… Thanks Dr. Laura. I’m certain all of the Holocaust survivors felt that way.

    Now for some more effective quotes to counteract the sneering cynicism and and pompous self-righteousness of hopeless Dr. Laura and her minions:

    “I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.

    — Elie Wiesel
    ”Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

    — Andy Dufresne, Shawshank Redemption

  • Fellow Shliach

    Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, sorry to say, you speak like an idiot.
    What pushes you to share your ignorance with the whole world and to drag “Chabad” in with you?
    Have you ever heard the saying S’Yag Lachochmah Shtikah???

  • Trying to think positive

    I Think that many of you are simply missing the point. He knows that Obama is not good for us…but he is saying that the power of your thoughts can make a miracle and change nature!!!
    His hope and change is rediculous….but our thoughts can turn bad things into good things!!And no it doesn’t have to get bad before it gets good!!Our belief can prevent it!