Don’t Shoot Until Punched: using what we have within

In this episode, I share a powerful interpretation of the story of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Durdaya from Living Time: Rabbi Shagar’s profound approach to the Jewish holidays. Rabbi Shagar blends Hasidic and philosophical ideas, creating sermons that dive into each holiday’s texts, mitzvot, and custom. I start with a joke. I heard a long time ago about an Israeli whocaptured by a tribe of cannibals. The chief tells him, “We’re going to eat you, but as a gesture of kindness, we’ll grant you one final request.”The Israeli thinks for a moment and says, “Okay, I want you to punch me—hard, right in the face.”The chief is confused but agrees. He winds up and delivers a powerful punch to the Israeli’s face.Immediately, the Israeli reaches into his pocket, pulls out a gun, and shoots all the cannibals. The chief, lying on the ground, barely alive, gasps, “If you had a gun all along, why didn’t you shoot us earlier?”The Israeli replies, “Well, I didn’t want to be condemned by the UN as being an aggressor.