What if the worst tragedies could be the very things that unite us? That's exactly what we're exploring in this profound discourse with Lori Palatnik, as we grapple with the dolorous events in Israel, deciphering the divine message within. This isn't just about choosing between right and wrong; it's about understanding free will as a moral choice of significant depth. We delve into the stark contrasts between anti-Semitism and the intent to annihilate, a conversation that may be tough, but is incredibly necessary.
Bolstered by an enduring faith, the Jewish people exemplify resilience in adversity. We discuss this tenacity and the importance of leading lives laden with purpose and meaning. Stories of individuals demonstrating extraordinary courage, making Aliyah in these challenging times, further underscore the strength of faith. Throughout this discussion, we stumble upon an unexpected blessing - dementia, and its potential silver linings. This episode culminates in a powerful discourse on unity - an essential ingredient in rebuilding Israel with love and support. Join Coach Ratner and Lori Palatnik for this compelling conversation that promises to illuminate, inspire, and provoke thought.
What if the worst tragedies could be the very things that unite us? That's exactly what we're exploring in this profound discourse with Lori Palatnik, as we grapple with the dolorous events in Israel, deciphering the divine message within. This isn't just about choosing between right and wrong; it's about understanding free will as a moral choice of significant depth. We delve into the stark contrasts between anti-Semitism and the intent to annihilate, a conversation that may be tough, but is incredibly necessary.
Bolstered by an enduring faith, the Jewish people exemplify resilience in adversity. We discuss this tenacity and the importance of leading lives laden with purpose and meaning. Stories of individuals demonstrating extraordinary courage, making Aliyah in these challenging times, further underscore the strength of faith. Throughout this discussion, we stumble upon an unexpected blessing - dementia, and its potential silver linings. This episode culminates in a powerful discourse on unity - an essential ingredient in rebuilding Israel with love and support. Join Coach Ratner and Lori Palatnik for this compelling conversation that promises to illuminate, inspire, and provoke thought.
This is the Living and Clearing Podcast. I'm Coach Ratner. This is Lori Palatnik. It's great to see you today.
Lori Palatnik:Thank you for thank you for giving this opportunity.
Coach Ratner:Yeah, I want to get a message out to the world of positive message. We're going through a very tough time here in Israel and the Jews throughout the world, and when it's in positive message, I want to. I want to do what I can to make the world a better place. That's all I can do, right.
Lori Palatnik:Everybody has to listen to what's going on in the world and in world history. I have to respond based on their talent, their unique talents and skills, and the fact that you're using this, your platform, to inspire and to inform is very, very important.
Coach Ratner:So I actually I want to discuss with you too. It's very important. I want to know what the deeper message is here. That's, you know, like this is a major tragedy and there's for everything that happens in the world. God's the name of the message. What is God trying to tell us by sending us this tragedy?
Lori Palatnik:Nobody, nobody can say this is why this happened, this is why God made this happen? No, of course not. We have a speculation and I'm here to tell you that God did not make it happen. God did not create man to be people. God created man with total potential for good and gave us a gift. And what is that gift? Free will. Free will is not chocolate, ice cream, vanilla ice cream. I'll choose chocolate. That's choice or license. Free will is making a moral decision Good versus evil.
Coach Ratner:She's saying free will is only based on moral decisions and not on moral decisions.
Lori Palatnik:Free will is making moral decisions right from wrong, right from wrong Whenever you have to. You like his choice. You made a thousand choices today, of course, should I get up, should I just do this? Be with this person? Like you, made a thousand choices. You could have chosen to pack up your family and leave Israel, and people have. I'm not here to judge people's choices. That was their choice you have to make. Every life is choice. God says I get, I put choices before you. Choose life. Choosing life does not just mean choose to breathe, choose life, choose awareness, choose to strive, choose to accomplish. Choose life. The Germans in World War II, cholus, nippon. Hamas was founded upon evil.
Coach Ratner:Their charter says destruction of the state of Israel.
Lori Palatnik:It's, and I want you to know that the soldiers are not just fighting for the state of Israel.
Coach Ratner:They're fighting for not just Jews around the world. They're fighting for humanity, morality, so it's not just the state of Israel.
Lori Palatnik:This is not country versus country. They don't just want to wipe out the state of Israel, they want to wipe out the Jewish people Duck. There's a difference between anti-Semitism and this evil. Anti-semitism is they don't like you, they hate you, they're not going to hire you, they know what they're going to marry you. There's a difference between that and I want to annihilate you.
Coach Ratner:You know we just had in a Torah portion of the past. We work mass means, you know Hamas means it's used to two different ways.
Lori Palatnik:Not this past week, it's this week, this week, in Partius Noah. Partius Noah. It talks about Hamas, about violence, about this and robbery.
Lori Palatnik:In this week's portion. Okay, so nobody can say this is why God did this. First of all, people ask where was God in the Holocaust? Where was man? Where was humanity? The Almighty is going to help us to make sure that good is triumphant over evil. This is going to happen. We're going to do and it's unbelievable unity. We're going to see a lot of unity right now amongst the Jews of the world. In your family and in my family, we don't all agree politically, religiously, but we don't all share the same values. But we're a team, yeah, and we have each other's back.
Coach Ratner:And we love each other.
Lori Palatnik:And somebody called me from Toronto and said, lori, there are no more reformed, conservative or orthodox Jews in Toronto. We're all Jews, we're only Jews, we're only Jews. We're a family, a highly dysfunctional family. But up there, that's what's going on in Israel right now. People there's no politics, there's. People are putting left and right aside, people are putting religious and non-religious aside. We're a family and it's not an existential threat, not only to this country, but to the Jewish people around the world. And you're right and all of humanity, because this is evil and evil must fall. Yeah.
Coach Ratner:The Moss Leader Kenneady said this is not just a war on the Jews, it's also a war on the Western world.
Lori Palatnik:This is not country versus country or government versus government. This is good versus evil and people should understand that. It's very hard for us, especially the Jewish people, to accept that there's evil in the world. It's very hard, but there is.
Coach Ratner:Where they say a liberal is someone who just hasn't gotten mugged yet. I mean, I, sir, is a liberal wise guy. I'm going yeah.
Lori Palatnik:I? I don't want to go there. Yeah, at all. I don't want to go liberal, conservative. There's nothing to do with that. It's hard for us. It's not about being liberal, it's being.
Lori Palatnik:It's like we know that, that we're here for a purpose. We're here. The the jewish people are supposed to be a lay down to the nation right and we're. If there's darkness in the world and that's what evil brings, that means that we're not doing our job, but we have the potential to do our job. One candle, one flame can light up a whole rule of darkness. That's all it takes.
Lori Palatnik:So, all of us, what is our response? We have to respond on all fronts Practically, physically, third-year, which will live. You have to look, and every person has to look within themselves. What are the unique gifts, talents and skills that the Almighty has given me resources, connections and Take all of that and channel it into the situation now, just like you are taking your, your, your voice, your broadcast, your podcast and and interviewing people and putting out messages, because you know this is really. You have a unique gift and this is what you you're going and you're going to use it for good.
Lori Palatnik:So each and every one of us out there has to look within ourselves. What do, what can I do? So let's go spiritually and practically. Spiritually, it says prayer is an expression of the heart. If it didn't copy of your heart, you didn't pray. You may have gone into your house of Borscha, stood up where you're supposed to stand up, sit down, lean who's to sit down, and sometimes, when I was growing up, my goal was not to be sitting when they're standing, not standing where there's, let me sure to say the right word for that time, that's Simon says.
Coach Ratner:Yeah.
Lori Palatnik:The congregation will now be working today. Friend is an expression of the heart Holding out from the depths of your heart. A soul In your own language, in your own words Words. What could possibly be greater than words from the heart?
Coach Ratner:Words from the broken heart.
Lori Palatnik:And going on. Our hearts are trophy and that means our prayers are the most brutal prayers of our lives, of our lives. So comment, but also be courageous. Your voice should be lifting to heaven, but your voice should also lift out. You need to call up and call out To the world and be correct. Don't to be proud, whether you're Jewish or not Jewish, to stand for Israel, because you're standing for good versus evil. The atrocities are beyond, beyond.
Lori Palatnik:I was there yesterday. I went down to the borders to bring food and end and end supplies and pictures from children from America to the soldiers and maybe you can clip it in here, like the handing down, going to them the food and supplies. They were so grateful. But when I handed them a colorful picture Of a child from America that thousands of people have scanned and sent to me I'm calling it hunts for heroes and when I handed that to them, they're, they lead up, they their, their smiles were, were unbelievable Because they, because they said, if the people are with us, we can do this. They said we know it's going to be from heaven. They told us that. They said, like Most of the, the soldiers I met yesterday were not religious.
Lori Palatnik:And it's not just that, there's no atheists in a bumps hole, they know. They said it's going to be from the people. I couldn't have it and that's how we're going to win. And they are. They are, their spirit is high and I say hi, hi, mace, life, that's what they like. It's like, the spirit is this kind.
Lori Palatnik:And I said to them and this has been the the battle cry since the beginning this on the israel high, the jewish nation led all israel high and their spirit is high. It really is. And part of on israel high, you know, what I'm going to say also Is we can't be sitting ship, but we can't be depressed and warning. Right now we have to act and I want to share how important it is that life does go on. There are and maybe you can clip it in there are people getting married on army bases and they're singing and they're dancing on the army base. It is. So is that appropriate? Now? That is the greatest thing we can do Is that on the Israel High, the Jewish people are going to go on and they're going to live. Happiness is taking pleasure in what you have. It's counting your blessings Taking pleasure. Don't forget during these times to take pleasure. Our Rabbi, rabbi Noh Hoimburg, of Blessed Memory, taught us that pleasure is the fuel to get through the pain.
Coach Ratner:Yes, it is.
Lori Palatnik:If you don't take a lot of pleasure in life in these counting your blessings, look around, no matter what is going on. There is so much to be grateful for. There is so much to be grateful for Simcha, joy this is the digit happiness and joy. Joy, simcha is knowing that there's going to be future happiness. It's very future-oriented Because when the Jewish people use the word Simcha, simcha when there is a Britmila, a Briss, when there's a bar, but Mitzvah, I'm going to a Simcha when there's a wedding. So the joy that you feel at a wedding or at a bar but Mitzvah, or at the Britmila, is not the moment. It's not wow, great food, oh, wow, this is-.
Coach Ratner:Wow, they dated for nine months to be married. Big deal, Great music.
Lori Palatnik:It's not the moment, it's the potential of this moment. It's not the moment now. It's the potential of this incredible life event. A Britmila. It means, like this child is coming into the Covenant, they're being part of the Jewish people. A bar, but Mitzvah know I'm responsible for the Mitzvah. I have a responsible Jew and what am I going to do with that? A wedding, the potential of this Kaffa and the family that they're going to build to be part of the Jewish people and what could come from this Kaffa. That's what Simcha is. Our Rabbi taught us. Even in your greatest pain, even when you're in mourning you're sitting, Shiva, or you're in mourning for a loss of a loved one he says you have to have one trap still on Simcha there will be future happiness, Life will go on. And he said, if the Jewish people, thinking of 3,600 years of history, had not always had one trap on Simcha, we would have given up a long time ago.
Coach Ratner:Because if you can't keep your eye on the pleasure, you can't handle the pain and you're quick. That's the way it works. Life works. Anything you do in life Business, marriage, kids, whatever you're doing you can't keep your eye on the pleasure and you're not going to be able to handle the pain. And so the only way you get through situations like this, like I do now, is I have to keep my own the pleasure. And you know, it's funny, I'm in the middle of writing a book on low self-esteem and actually using some of my concepts I'm writing about to help me get through this. I've just. Firstly, I've been struggling. I've only been in Israel for four years. I'm not Israeli, I'm not, I don't speak the language, so it's been hard for me to be. It's been hard for me, and I actually have everyone in my county. It's been the hardest for me, but I've been using my. You know, doing this right now is part of my cure. You know, filming, probably this is where Dr Eel Thyself.
Coach Ratner:Yeah, dying of good messages exercising. We're in three and a half miles. Today. I'm at the yummy dinners every single night. I bought a bag of some food I'm bringing home to bake some juice and water and choke some pasta. Tonight, you know like I'm trying to do, say Night, I'd like to come. Yeah, yeah, you're very welcome to Thank you. I'm a very I like my cook. The end of food, isn't it so? So you talked about the spiritual morality part of it. What about the you know? What about the practical part of it? Now, I know, going down to the army yesterday and passing out there are so many organizations doing so much good.
Lori Palatnik:First of all, I have never, ever been more proud to be a Jew in my entire life. And what you're saying and what you're sharing with me, the test of Amunah faith, the test of betapone, of trust, the test of standing for Israel and being a Zionist is not when everything's going great, yes, the end. No, it's now. Yeah, it's now. Yeah. The Almighty wants to know. Do you really believe it, how much do you want to hear it and what are you willing to do for it? There Our Rabbi also taught us when you know what you're willing to die for now, you know what you're willing to live for. So you would ask a CEO of a corporation would you give your life for your company? No, no.
Lori Palatnik:Would you give your life for your kids? Of course, oh, you wouldn't die for your company, but you seem to be living for your company. You would give your life for your children. How much time do you spend with your children?
Coach Ratner:Sure.
Lori Palatnik:You're willing to die for Israel? Live for Israel. You're willing to die for the Jewish people? Live for the Jewish people. All of us have to ask ourselves what would I be willing to give my life for? I know who wants to die. No, that's not what this is about, though. This is not about being a martyr.
Lori Palatnik:My brother, at the height of the Second Intifada, when things were very bad here and buses were being blown in 2001, he made aliyah. He moved his family to Israel. My mother was beside herself. My mother was like I'm on the boat with my mother. How can he do this? And he's putting them in danger. And I said to my mother and I meant it, and I made it. God already knows when it's our time. You're not fooling God, though. My brother Randy, who I love very much, could die when it's his time, hit by a bus, a TTC bus in Toronto, and his death is meaningless. Or he can die as a Julian's real, and his death has meaning. I hope and pray that I'd live in good health, mind and spirit, till 120 a day.
Lori Palatnik:But I want as my greatest fear that I'm not living my life and my potential in meaning and I hope that even my life has meaning and even my death has meaning. I'm not going anywhere. We were in Toronto when the war broke out. We were there for the holiday of Sukkot. I was living in a big, beautiful mansion that my friend let me use. She was away.
Coach Ratner:I'm not Note to people. If you have a big mansion somewhere for Sukkot next year, lower your weight.
Lori Palatnik:So why did we go there? My mother's elderly, she's 90. Can I tell you what I Again, we have to be candid or blessing right now and taking pleasure. Normally my mother's decline and her dementia would be. It's a source of pain. Now it's a blessing. She has no idea the worst going on. She has no idea that her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Israel right now and that what is happening Good bond shelters.
Lori Palatnik:If she didn't have dementia and she was watching the news. Now, what she watches? She has this thing that's called aura. It's a frame you can upload. We all upload from all over the world pictures of our children. She watches it all day long. That's what she does. That's how she watches. All day long she watches the pictures of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and it's ungrateful. Usually that's people from yeah, ungrateful that she's unaware. Even that is giving me pleasure. It's a blessing right now that she has to mention. So we have to be counting our blessing. We have to be very grateful.
Lori Palatnik:And I have to tell you, if I was in, there was no question when the war broke out that I was coming back, and it wasn't easy because all the flights were candid. Yes, unless you were flying L out, the nation, l out. People leave that. They got for L out and they had an 60 flights last week. And this is the only war. I want you to understand that this is historic. But no war breaks out in a country and more people come into that country than leave. People are getting on planes not just because this is my home and I'm going back. They're coming to CERC, they're coming to fight. They're coming to stand with Israel. It is the most unbelievable. People are leaving their families. It is incredible when Because when your family meets you and your family home meets you, you're going to be in Israel. I hear.
Coach Ratner:Yeah.
Lori Palatnik:I'm here. It is so inspiring. So when Even my All my kids, who gathered with us in Toronto for the holiday, except for my son who lives in Israel well, I, because it's white, because it's bad things to do, so even he said and called dump, maybe you shouldn't come back, there's a war I said what coming? Yeah, there's no question, we're coming. And even my daughters I had two daughters, we have five kids, three live in Israel, two live in the States, my daughters in the States and maybe shouldn't go back. I said what coming? What coming? I, there was no question that if I was and I think your wife would feel the same way If I was stuck in America right now I couldn't get back to Israel, if I couldn't get a fight and it wasn't easy I'd be building a boat.
Lori Palatnik:Yeah, this I've asked myself. I've been in it one time Deep inside my heart and soul, and I never shared this with anybody since I was 10 years old. What would I have done in the Holocaust when I was finally aware of reading books and I would became obsessed with it? And I, what would I have done? Would I be a naive, good, polite Canadian? And they said, okay, pack up your goods and we're going to send you to a place, and it's a work camp, and work will set you free and, and believe them, would I jumped off the trains, would I bond the train tracks, would I fought with the partisans in the woods, would I have hidden or would I have time I think about it almost every day of one month.
Coach Ratner:You know I think about if I woke up the Dean, gaza and I have a child above the mass carers, how would I, how would I look at the world Like what I do? I believe my father believed, because I think he should be. Well, where I finally get clarity in my late teens, early 20s, to look at the world and go online and read, say and understand what I make. Popular sky knows there are some who are from terrorist families and they've gotten to come out and spoken against them.
Lori Palatnik:Listen, very few people can be Abraham, Abraham and Binoop to stand up against his own society. But we are a product of our society, but we have to be thinkers and even within this world that I'm telling you that I live, sometimes I've an outlier than we are.
Coach Ratner:I think.
Lori Palatnik:But hey, but everybody has to think and everybody has to choose, like choose to think, choose to question, choose to strive, choose to have the courage. Just because everybody's saying one thing, Maybe that's not true.
Lori Palatnik:I know, but that takes courage to rise up against and to be a thinker. It's not easy and sometimes it's lonely and the Jewish people are set apart in that way, but we are. We have a mission in this world. You know, when I tell my kids like when you're, you'll be hired for a job, all my kids are young adults and they're you know. They're applying for jobs and getting jobs and switching jobs and I always tell them that, whether what job do you get?
Lori Palatnik:Don't ever take a job without a job description, because if you take a job without a job description at the end of the year like it's our annual review, they're like you know what he's, just didn't cut it. Like we're going to let you go. You look, what are you talking about? I did this, this, this, this. They go, yes, but are we hiring you for that? That net? So if you have a job description, that means you know what your job is, you can be assessed. Are you doing your job? You have a mutual definition of what we're supposed to be doing here. The Jewish people were given a job description I'm outside night, or Ligoyen Light unto the nations. We're supposed to be a moral beacon to the world, but some of us don't know that we have a job description, that we think that we're here to make bagels.
Coach Ratner:Or to make people laugh.
Lori Palatnik:We do need bagels and we do need comedians, but we're supposed to be an example to the world. If the world is dark and the world is evil and if the world is choosing evil and standing with evil, that means we're not doing our job.
Coach Ratner:You know, my wife has a new class she teaches. It's called the I don't know the exact type, has to do with M&M's M&M's candy to the hellish specialty of P&M's and it's based on morality and monotheism. Morality and monotheism this is what Jews bark the world. Yeah, the M&M's.
Lori Palatnik:So we were charged with the mission and we have to fulfill it and it's this is our test, this is the test of our time. So, again, to bring light into this world, to bring good into this world, into what you see as evil. Everybody has to decide what to do. I was there yesterday, on the front lines, really, four kilometers from Gaza, and there are young men and women, and mostly young men with big guns and who are just the unbelievable spirit and the conviction of this just war is so palpable, so incredible. So support them, support organizations that support them. Send me pictures of your children, get your children to write, to make a picture, and again we'll put it up like the examples of it lights up their world To see that children outside of Israel, children of the world, are there for them, that they're praying for them, that they're, that they look for them. It is so beautiful to see, but there are so many different. Maybe we can, you can, post when can they send the pictures to?
Lori Palatnik:So they, right now, I'm just, I'm I'm telling people to email no, no, no, and I want to be inundated. Just send it to my email, which?
Coach Ratner:is.
Lori Palatnik:But I'm not going to tell you my email, right? Because I have unbelievable trollers and haters. I spend a lot of time like reporting people and blocking people. It's unbelievable what people are saying and I'm not going to say where it's coming from, but you can imagine where it's coming from. So I can't just put my email out there because it's that you can imagine what would happen.
Coach Ratner:So you can send it to the Living in Clarity podcast at gmailcom. Ah, that is the Living in Clarity podcast at gmailcom and I'll take it with the alert. And I'll send you the Lori's email.
Lori Palatnik:So what you do is get your kids to make pictures and or send me the pictures, actually not forward to them. Yeah, yeah, send the pictures and scan it and send it to send it to Daniel and you'll send it to me and I'm going to make sure that the soldiers get them. Somebody sent me one in Spanish. I'm going to make sure the soldiers who speak Spanish, because the Jews have come from the far part of the world here, so they're Russian speaking and Spanish speaking and Portuguese speaking, and of course, they'll be everybody.
Lori Palatnik:Incredible, incredible, and it's so and they're one. They're one. It's the most poof thing. The brotherhood, the sisterhood, it's just incredible, incredible, incredible. And there are many organizations and maybe I can give Daniel like examples who are doing incredible work. They did. They think it's really soldiers. It's really soldiers. United Hatsala, fidf, friends of the idea.
Lori Palatnik:Yeah, who are, who are who are supporting the soldiers in a real way and who are on the front lines. There's many organizations that are doing great work. Be careful not to give to people Like, don't get scammed, or anything. And you can contact Daniel and I'll give Daniel other examples and he can send them to you and send me the pictures. And momentum.
Lori Palatnik:I'm the founding director of Momentum, an organization that has brought tens of thousands of Jewish mothers and also fathers from all over the world, from 36 different countries, to Israel over the years. So we are mobilizing them. They are on fire. They're on fire. We need not to tell them what to do. They immediately because they loved Israel. And that's what I want to end with. Rabbi Destler says in his work Strive for Truth. He asked the philosophical question does lovingly to giving or just givingly to loving? I love you, so I get to you, or the more I get to you, the more I love you? And the Jewish answer is the more I give, the more I adopt. That's why babies are born helpless, so you're giving Happy to have me how we flood together.
Lori Palatnik:No. So givingly to loving. So what's going on now? People are giving to each other, supporting each other, and people are giving to Israel. So I tell that we supposed to have thousands of participants this fall coming to Israel under momentum and we're talking about doing a solidarity trip or unity trip, and so stay tuned. But what am I saying to the thousands of participants when you come, when this is over God willing probably the beginning that are in our trips in 2024, these are going to be the greatest trips that we have ever had. Why? Because you spent the time giving to each other and giving to Israel. So you're going to be the most loving cohort and you've already fallen in love with this land. It's going to be the most powerful time because we're going to come and we will rebuild On Israel.
Coach Ratner:Lori, it's just amazing, amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for watching the Living in Clarity podcast. I'm Coach Ranner. This is Lori Paladnik. See you next time.