It has been a while since I heard a good racial joke. I was starting to get concerned about our society forgetting the art of humor designed to demean black people. My worries have been put to rest few months ago when some Telshe Yeshiva students asked me giggling if I watched presidential inauguration. I could not get the joke, until they repeated it few times, until I finally understood that they were saying in-nigeration.
I was somehow comforted but still worried that this kind of attitudes are only found amongst the students but are no longer promoted by Rabbis at the higher echelons of Jewish education. That was until I heard Rabbi Rockmill of Ohr Somayach speak in our shul on Shabbos. In his speech he talked about failures of all systems of government including Socialism, Communism, and now Capitalism succombing to socialism. In the end he sealed his case for imminence of world destruction and arrival of Machiach by mentioning that now "we have one of them, you know, what do you call them - basketball players in the white house."
Dear Rabbi, I honestly think the world you were looking for was "shwartze" or worse. It would be difficult to persuade me that our president's choice of a sport of basketball was what you were after. That what you really meant was that polo-playing presidents are much better. It is striking and disappointing that you interpret election of a black man for US highest office as a sign of impending doom and not as America setting aside bigotries that have permeated minds of most and still permeate the minds of many.
There were many people predicting impending coming of Mashiach and now you, through trashing our social structures and ideologies. Mashiach predictors have one thing in common and that uniting thing throughout the centuries have been how wrong they were. It is convenient to be dismissive about what other people are doing, kvetching about how politicians are selling you out and making all the wrong choices, wrap it with a sincere smile of a wise-looking rav with a white beard and you have a great package of contempt for pretty much everything non-chareidi. Thank you for your productive input and uplifting speech, we will be patiently waiting for complete destruction of the world as predicted by you.
