The Life of Ariel Sharon

Of course, the big news item here in Israel is the passing of Ariel Sharon.  There surely will be pieces in the press over the next few days and weeks; pieces praising Ariel Sharon and pieces execrating him.  The fact is that Ariel Sharon did so much for Israel and the Jewish people, and so much to harm us as well.

Sharon's great shift was a great personal disappointment to me, and it has, over the past few days, been the subject of much introspection.  I really, really do not know, though I cannot help but ponder along the lines of his lack of faith.

[It is noted that while faith in G-d and religious ritual adherence, while correlating highly with one another, are not necessarily one and the same.  There are plenty of Jewish people who do not even attempt to keep such of the 613 of G-d's commandments (Mitzvot or Mitzvos or Mitzvoth) as apply to them (not all apply to all Jews; some apply only to women or to men, some only apply in the holy Land of Israel, some only apply when the Temple is standing, et cetera).  Conversely, there are more than many are willing to admit who observe the ritual but who severely lack faith.].

Everyone must do their part, and Israel needs a strong military to defend it.  But in the end, it is not the Israeli Defense Forces who protect the people and land of Israel, but it is G-d.  Ariel Sharon (and, for that matter, Moshe Dayan) exhibited many indicia of a deficient faith in G-d;  how they really viewed things is no longer ascertainable to any mortal human.

And never mind the pundits of the press, whose musings and screeds you will read in the coming days; it is G-d and not they who will pass the true judgment on the life of Ariel Sharon.