Shabbat shalom, may this Sabbath bring clarity and wisdom, and lead us all to a deeper personal relationship with the Holy One, Blessed be He.
As odd as it may seem, there may be some potential good that comes out of this ceasefire deal, as it may help us all to gain clarity and to awaken to the nature of evil, and the power of good and God. Specifically, when Iran or its proxies violate the deal, what will the U.S. reaction be, and how will Israel defend itself? It is possible, although unlikely, that Trump is trying to fake everyone out and that he really understands what is going on in the Middle East and the dangers of Iran for Western Civilization. Given the look of disdain on Marco Rubio’s face as Trump was signing, it is doubtful, but possible.
But it is important to contrast Rubio’s attitude as a consistent supporter of Israel with what we saw of JD Vance on Thursday. Vance is performing on the circuit of talk shows and interviews to try to justify this ceasefire deal to the American people, as well as promote his new book. I have to quibble with him on a few points.
In a press conference today, Vance ended his conference by degrading Israel and trying to say that Israel only exists because of the United States and Donald Trump ( which he has said before). He ignores that Israel has existed for 3,500 years as a gift from God, not JD Vance or Donald Trump. He also said that two-thirds of the weapons that defend Israel are American in design and production, which isn’t accurate.
Vance spent his speech time, as he has much of the time during the last week, talking about the economic benefits for Iran and how it will “behave” properly so that it can be part of the international economic world. His repeated statements to that effect ignore two important factors. 1: Iran is not only a part of the international economic world, but it is also a leader in it because of its control of oil. 2: The theology of the people who run Iran, the clerics, is passionate, life-consuming, and has nothing to do with economics. Iran is controlled entirely by their Islamic theology.
To understand how Iran really views this deal, we need only look to the words that Ayatollah Khamenei wrote on Thursday, his first message to the Iranian people since the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. “As you know, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Presidents of Iran and the U.S. The U.S. President is the one who, out of weakness and need, used all available means to achieve this goal,” he claimed. According to him, “I had a different opinion (regarding the memorandum of understanding), but I gave my approval considering the commitment President Pezeshkian gave me to preserve the rights of the Iranian people and the resistance front.” And Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref added in a statement on Thursday, “This success is a new beginning of a significant leap forward for Iran, and the establishment of the country’s status as a major global power.” For Iran, this MoU is a huge victory.
Yet Hezbollah again attacked Israel on Friday morning, wounding one IDF soldier seriously and four lightly. And Israel responded by striking Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon.
More and more, it seems that Israel needs to remember that no human ally is guaranteed, and that they have and always will have God as their one true ally. Throughout Jewish history, we have seen threats to our existence arise when we stop remembering that our relationship with God is of paramount importance and instead rely on alliances with men and foreign nations. This story of our people has happened over and over again, and still we rely on men rather than God all too often.
Our ancestors trusted their relationship with the Greeks, trusting that the Greek commitment to learning, wisdom, and justice would lead to a safe Israel. It was only when the Seleucid Greeks tried to destroy our spiritual well-being and force Jews of the time to pray to their gods that the Maccabees rose up and led a revolution for freedom in ancient Israel.
Fast forward to medieval Spain, where the Sephardic Jews believed in the Convivencia that appreciated Jewish wisdom, until it was replaced by the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of all Jews from Spain. German Jews had existed for centuries, and Germany was the birthplace of the Reform Movement of Judaism in the 18th century by rabbis and Jews who felt they were more German than Jewish. They believed that all of Germany felt that way as well, until Hitler rose to power and brought with him the Holocaust. Many of us have Persian friends, whose families have lived in that region for over 2,500 years. And those families were shocked that the nation of Iran could turn against them so quickly, and they would be forced to leave Iran in the late 20th century after the revolution.
Whether this MoU becomes a full agreement or not, and whatever happens as a result, there is a teaching that every Jew must hold on to. We are blessed and privileged to live in America, which has always been good to us. But we must always remember to rely on our relationship with God, not men.
May we all take this Shabbat to deepen our awareness of our personal relationship with God, and to remember and experience the truth of the Talmudic statement that “Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except being in awe of Heaven.”
Shabbat Shalom and Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
June 19, 2026
4th of Tammuz, 5786
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