Some Simcha For Shabbat

Children Of Israel Are Never Alone

Hey, beloved tribe.

Last week was really hard for me for a lot of different reasons. I just felt low on so many levels. When weeks like those — which are an inevitable part of life — come around, I have this very simple visual I rely on to pull me through. I picture a wheel much like the one on the classic American game show Wheel Of Fortune.

You spin that wheel and you might get a few hundred dollars. You might get several thousand. You could hit the jackpot and get a million. Or you could go “bankrupt” or lose a turn. If you spin that wheel enough times, it’s a statistical guarantee that you’ll get every one of those outcomes eventually.

As simplistic as it is, I’ve come to think of every day as a spin of the wheel. Once in a while, you’ll get a day that’s virtually perfect, pure gold. Most are a mix. And of course, some are terribly dark. On my worst days, I tell myself, “The wheel of life will turn again. It will land in a good place again.”

And while we still have plenty to worry about and will for quite a while, there have in fact been an influx of good things during the last few days. I promised to write about these today if I could, so — especially since this community was so comforting during my days of struggle — here is some uplifting content to take with us into Shabbat.

First, I’ve gotten an untold amount of joy this week from rap and hip-hop artist Azealia Banks.

Azealia Banks

Celebrities understandably have so much fear around voicing an opinion that goes against the societal tide. So many are terrified of being dragged or cancelled. But Azealia seems to have not one fuck left to give. And it gives me such an inexpressible lift to see that kind of fearlessness in action. Here is one of her recent tweets on the topic of the Israel-Hamas war:

And she also busted out with this:

And this:

Honestly, there are so many great ones, it’s hard to narrow them down to just a few, but here’s a couple more:

And finally, just in case anyone in her social media feed failed to grasp the main point, there’s this:

I just love her unapologetic willingness to go against the grain. That kind of fire and conviction is contagious.

Another deep source of joy for me has been the spectacular flame war between our Sociopath-In-Chief and his putrid ghoulish former sidekick, Elon Musk.

I trust we’ve all seen the incendiary exchange on X by now. Elon went after Trump’s hideous “Big Beautiful Bill,” calling it an abomination.

Trump retorted in a press conference that Musk was just upset because the EV (electrical vehicle) credit was removed from the bill. He also accused Musk of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Musk fired back that Trump could never have won the election without him, concluding his tweet with: “Such ingratitude.”

Trump mused online that the best way to save the government “billions and billions” of dollars would be to terminate Musk’s governmental subsidies and contracts.

Musk dropped what he referred to as “the big bomb” and tweeted that Trump is in the Epstein files, which is why they haven’t been released. He also announced that he would immediately decommission Space X’s Dragon, which NASA uses to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. AND he endorsed a post calling for Trump to be impeached, even floating the idea of starting a third political party as an alternative to the GOP and the Dems.

Fam, never has a divorce been more enjoyable. It has cost both men a lot of money, though Musk’s financial hit has been much higher, to the tune of tens of billions against Trump’s loss of $100 million. May it go on and on; may they beat each other to death.

And while the internet is a cesspool, it is also utterly, unremittingly brilliant, and the memes have not disappointed. So far, this one is my favorite:

Moving along to yet another Good Thing:

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is out of that hellhole in El Salvador and on his way back to the U.S. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he will be facing what are almost certainly Trumped-up (pun intended) charges of “illegal alien trafficking”. And yet, at least he is out of CECOT, which reportedly no one ever leaves alive — even though it was supposedly impossible to bring him back — and now at least he will face some semblance of due process. I devoutly hope that can still be had here, and that he gets a trial that can and will exonerate him. Meanwhile, a precedent has been set for bringing someone back, which Trump desperately hoped to avoid. Please, let’s keep the pressure up and get Andry Hernandez Romero — the gay stylist — back next.

And finally, I was overjoyed when Ukraine managed to strike deep into the heart of Russia in such a costly (to the latter) way that was simultaneously and relatively inexpensive to themselves. The attack, which was dubbed Operation Spider’s Web, put the lie to Trump’s sneer to Zelensky that the Ukrainian president “had no cards” to play in this war. In fact, Ukraine used a combination of cheap (around $600) drones and cutting-edge AI to decimate Putin’s bomber fleet, destroying dozens of aircraft worth as much as $100M each.

Though Russia has retaliated, launching massive air strikes in response, nothing can make the message sent — that Ukraine is a formidable enemy, capable of doing very extensive damage with stunning ingenuity and efficiency — less indelible.

All these redemptive glimmers gave me a renewed sense of hope: that there are still public figures with a grasp of history and minds of their own, who aren’t afraid to say what they think; that sometimes karma exacts a price from terrible people; that relentless public pressure can prevail even in the face of crumbling democracy; that sometimes the underdog can make a Goliath reel.

I hope you find all this as uplifting as I do as we go into our Sabbath. Let’s bask in the light that remains to us and kindle still more of it. Heartfelt love to you all, and I’ll try to be back with you early next week.

Shabbat Shalom.

Am Yisrael Chai.