It is time for Muslims to begin a deep self-examination

WaPo ^ | Yasmine Bahrani

[theBuckwheat]

“...whose name Israel means wrestle with Gd.”

But to what end? When Jacob wrestled with God, it was to secure his birthright blessing.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And... (Gen 32)

[aposiopetic]

OK, so Isaiah 1:18 provides an example (”let us reason together”)of another sort of wrestling.

[theBuckwheat]

A person who is a student of Torah is willing to reason with a person who asks an honest question. Should the answer not be acceptable, he knows to leave the conversation peacefully. Torah can only be accepted by those who want to accept it.

Compare and contrast to conversions to Islam made under extreme duress. It sickens me the way that secular people refuse to make the delineation, even as the knife is starting to slit their throat.

[Yaelle]

Well, as we see it today, in Judaism it is ok to be angry at Gd, to talk, pray, and struggle with Him and His plan or His creation. On the one hand Gd has honored us to be part of His plan to make the world better; it is what we are put here to do. But on the other hand, this life is DIFFICULT. There are a lot of times when we turn away from Him or at the very least struggle with our tasks or our mistakes. And we should. Children assert themselves with good, loving parents as well. Gd welcomes our struggles and is there for us. Gd put a tiny spark of Him into us (made in His image isn’t about looks) and knows we will give Him some (pardon my French) crap. Lol.