Freezing rain has come after blasting heat and drought. The cold is blown in by hurricane like winds. It is so cold it cuts right through us! The only place of comfort is to tuck myself in bed under a heavy comforter and an electric blanket. That is how I feel this winter after complaining of the constant heat and dry weather that shriveled most of the grape vines and even some of the fruit trees. Will they revive? Better yet, will we survive? Seems like an odd question for one who lives in a closed house with heat and air conditioning, yet somehow this cold cuts through even when the heater runs all day. Maybe this is not just about weather…

Maybe what is spelled out by the weather reveals the situation in the Middle East. The tight fisted wind and cold speaks of hopelessness, people who may be fighting to survive. I am not speaking of those who preempted this war. No! They should feel the full bite of the cold and misery but some are fighting for freedom and nobody seems to care. Thousands have died and all hands are slack. Seems they are giving up. And why shouldn’t they, except–it may be better to die at the cruel hands of the regime than live without freedom. What is freedom anyway? 

Will God help these people when America and all of Europe close their eyes to the suffering. But why was so much ado made over Gaza? Shall we speculate? Does Gaza offer something that the other nations want to control? Is Iran somehow not significant at this time? 

America usually has not fought for the causes of justice and righteousness, that is…not without a rich dividend and Gaza is a rich dividend. How so? Several things. 

• A centralized footprint in the Middle East
• An ideal port in the Mediteranean 
• Israel’s Natural gas discovery off the coast of Gaza.

Maybe more deals are in the offing… 

But why trust America as someone who is going to haul us out of a jam? Is there no faith in the God of Israel anymore? 

Or is it that Israelis have allowed leadership to take over that has their own interests in mind? 

Why are we looking to the nations to protect and provide for us while we smuggly  refuse to help others in distress–Iran, Sudan…anybody else? Is it that we are as guilty as the other nations? Are Israel’s leaders trading off the divine principle of justice in exchange for whatever material and military benefits may be offered? And what about power and absolute power? What may become of us if we refuse to do what is right and good? 

May I ask again, why nobody did anything for several hours on October 7 when it was announced beforehand by several sources? What may have been the game that was being played? Do we have to get permission from America to defend our people?

May I continue to ask, even to an empty sky, why Israel did not go in and finish the job in Gaza right after the attack on October 7? Whom did we need to get permission from? Have we sold out so fully to Big Brother America that we cannot even protect our own children? Like the Bible says…”they have sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes.” Amos 2:6-8.

So is there any hope for those of us who see these things? Should Jews really look to Israel as a safe place when the government turns around and taxes what we struggle to earn to pad their own pockets, using the excuse of buying better military equipment and  fancier jets?

What is the Almighty God of the Universe going to say to these leaders? Most of them deny His existence, whether by their actions in uniting with the nations for support or outright atheism. 

It is true that the world is not a safe place for Jews right now. And many are choosing the impossible dream of making Aliyah with the hope that they will at last find safety, but is this only a Pipe dream? 

And what of the prayers of the righteous? Do they go anywhere or perhaps are those righteous being separated by the Master of the Universe–Separated to save for a coming king who will set things right? But is this a Pipe Dream as well, or can we count on it. Sometimes it seems like the line from Shakespear’s famous Sonnet 29: 

 “And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope…”

But then, this is not what I believe, but I admit that I am tempted to feel this way. Where is Heaven at this time when so many have left all to come to the promised land? 

Ariella Casey