Truth is Painful
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

November 24, 2015, Israel

You would think that some things are obvious, that certain truths are held to be self evident; not in today's world.

In fact lies and deceit are as old as mankind.

Just as we learn self-defense to defend ourselves against knife attacks we also must learn self-defense to defend ourselves against lies and propaganda. We must begin this training very young or else we will never know the truth from a lie. Education matters.

When a Jewish child begins his education he starts with the Torah, the five books of Moses. He needs to know his history, he must know who he is and from whence he came. He must establish a strong identity. When he begins his study of the Talmud it is with the tractate of "The Middle Gate",  Bava Metzia (in Aramaic).


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CHAPTER I

MISHNAH

TWO [PERSONS APPEARING BEFORE A COURT] HOLD A GARMENT  ONE OF THEM SAYS, 'I FOUND IT', AND THE OTHER SAYS, 'I FOUND IT'; ONE OF THEM SAYS, 'IT IS ALL MINE', AND THE OTHER SAYS, 'IT IS ALL MINE',

“Two are holding on to a garment...”  The child learns that two are disputing the ownership of a garment. The rabbis explain that this is not directly related to the rest of the discussion but it establishes important principles; ownership and truth.

"It is noted that the item under discussion in the mishnah is the tallith. In the early centuries CE, this was a large, rectangular piece of cloth with ritual fringes (tzitzit) worn as an outer garment by men (roughly analogous to the Roman toga). It survives in the present day as the tallith koton (“prayer shawl”). The tallith is used as an example here for three reasons. First, since the tallith was an outer garment, it common for men to remove it before doing physical labor (as with a coat or jacket in modern times).

Thus, it was not uncommon to find a lost tallith, blown away by the wind or simply forgotten by its owner. Second, whilst the tallith might be woven of stuffs of different textures and/or colors (although not, of course, of different materials), it was essentially just a piece of cloth. In chapter 2 of Bava Metzia, we learn that Torah law requires us to return a lost object to his owner, provided that it has such identifying features as to make us reasonably certain that the claimant is in fact the owner, and not someone seeking to claim it for his own gain. A tallith is quite likely to be lacking such identifying features, and thus may be justly claimed by the finder. Third, a tallith, being as mentioned before, essentially just a piece of cloth, is thus capable of being physically divided without destroying its value, as would be the case if the item under dispute were, e.g., a live donkey."

The young Jewish child learns that absolute truth does exist. The child learns that what belongs to another must be returned to its rightful owner. The concepts of truth and ownership become embedded in the child's mind. I can still recall learning these concepts myself back as a young boy in the Shilo elementary school in Kiryat Ono. Can you imagine the impact?

But not everyone was raised this way. Not every boy fell asleep after reciting the bed time prayers with his dear mother. The prayer proclaiming the unity of God and the people of Israel.

It seems that no matter how obvious something is, no matter how clear as day, it will still be subject to being twisted beyond recognition.

The Jews have been victims of such lies for millennium.

A few years ago a certain group spread lies about Jews, nearly the entire world bought it, hook line and sinker. A people that has contributed more than any other nation of similar size, been awarded more Nobel prizes, been recognized for more inventions, has been victimized beyond recognition. And most of the world buys it.

So we came home. And now in the Land of Israel, known as the State of Israel, it continues. An Arab woman comes with a knife, she comes to kill, she has every intention to kill. Yes, she may be a mother of three, she may be a doctoral student at the university but she is also a terrorist and today she came to kill.

But she was stopped. She was stopped because we have become very very careful and alert. She was stopped by a police officer. He warned her to stop.

She did not listen.

He warned her in her own language.

She did not listen.

He shot in the air.

She did not listen.

So the police officer responded correctly. He shot her dead. She came with the intent to kill and the knowledge that she might face opposition. Her fate is her own doing.

It was all caught on film, every aspect of it. You would think that all would agree, but...there is a "Counter Argument", it goes like this.  A sweet innocent women, a wife and a mother of three, a doctoral student at the university, was on her way home when she was brutally murdered by the cruel Israeli "Occupation Forces" (Since they believe Jews have no right to be here, or anywhere).

After the "murder" the Israelis put a knife next to the "victims'" lifeless body. Of course the video is dismissed, that is the way of propaganda, ignore all truth long enough and people will agree with you.

The truth is painful. The truth might expose that your entire cause is a fake and a fraud, that in fact you have no case at all, no claim at all. I understand this is difficult to accept. I recall a story of a man, an old man who lived his entire life as a devoted Communist when finally at a ripe old age he came to understand that it was all a waste of time, a big lie that he bought into. He felt his life was wasted. But I disagree.

I admire that man. His life was not a waste because at the end of his life he became a shining beacon of truth. Without having lived eighty years with a mistaken ideology he would not have become the hero that he became, to see the truth, to admit the truth, after eighty years. That is powerful. That man is a hero.

Truth can be painful. But it must be faced, otherwise you live your life as a lie.

This is our policy with IKI Krav Maga, and this is why we are constantly improving our techniques. We have a technique, we like it, we believe in it but...we are always keeping our eyes open. Sometimes we see it is too difficult for most people to learn this technique. Sometimes we see it applied on the street and we notice there is need for change or improvement. Whatever the reason everything is always under observation.

So IKI Krav Maga continues to live a life in pursuit of truth, on and off the training mat. There is not other way to live.

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