Parashat Pinchas 5784
by HaRav Nachman Kahana
Dear Reader: If you are a die-hard patriot of the galus land where you live, the following is not for you; so, skip to part B.
Ten years ago, I wrote in a whisper to prepare for the day. Five years ago, I wrote in a voice a few decibels higher to prepare for the day. Now my voice is hoarse from screaming, to prepare for the day that will be followed when there will be no one to listen “SEND YOUR SONS TO ISRAEL!” To yeshivot, universities, the army, to a kibbutz, or even to just relax on the beach in Tel Aviv. They will be indebted to you their whole lives.
Why?
China, Russia, Iran, Islamic Jihad. Millions of homeless refugees filling your streets and gardens; internal threats to peace and democracy by growing Arab and Moslem residents; economic uncertainty, etc. Each of these factors when taken alone and certainly in unison, will force democratic governments to upgrade their military, initially by increasing military conscription.
Your sons, and later on also your daughters, might plan for a spring in Paris, but will find themselves in Marine boot camp on Paris Island, South Carolina, or other bases where Jews will be very welcome.
As events continue to evolve on the international stage, the draft is inevitable.
I recently read a report entitled: “Europe turns to conscription as threat of wider war with Russia grows” by Radina Gigova, CNN.
“Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many, including Kyiv, were skeptical that a major war could return to Europe. More than two years on, another shift once unthinkable is underway on conscription.”
“Several European nations have reintroduced or expanded compulsory military service amid Moscow’s mounting threat, part of a range of policies aimed at boosting defenses that are likely to be scaled up even further.” (Including Germany which has already taken steps to radically increase its military – NK)
“…The risks for a larger war in Europe have been rising after Russian President Vladimir Putin finally resorted to open conflict in Ukraine, pursuing his aim to recreate the Soviet empire, said Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.), who served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.”
“So we’ve now got a war in Europe that we never thought we would see again,” said Clark, who led NATO forces during the Kosovo War. “Whether this is a new Cold War or an emerging hot war is unclear,” he continued, but “it’s a very imminent warning to NATO that we’ve got to rebuild our defenses.”
True, the next president of the US will probably be Mr. Donald Trump, who has a tendency towards isolation, letting the European countries “break their heads alone”. However, the distance between Western Europe and the US east coast measuring 3,461 miles (5,570 km), and the distance between the west coast and Asia measured at 5,311.76 mi (8,548.45 km) are now measured by the minutes it takes for an intercontinental ballistic missile to make the hit. Even an ostrich has a limit to how long he can hide his head in the ground!
Part B: THE DAY THE WORLD BEGAN TO DIE
Barring incidents of accidental death or premeditated murder, when is the moment that can be pinpointed as the beginning of one’s death process?
Some claim that we begin leaving this world at the very moment we are born. Others set the time at around 18 years of age, when the body begins to lose more cells than it produces.
Whatever the answer, the exception was Moshe Rabbeinu, regarding whom the Torah writes (Devarim 34:7):
ומשה בן מאה ועשרים שנה במתו לא כהתה עינו ולא נס לחה
Moshe was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not dim nor was his strength weakened.
The Torah testifies to the fact that Moshe was as physically vigorous and mentally astute at the age of 120 as he was as a young man, and he showed no sign of aging.
So, when did Moshe Rabbeinu’s death process begin?
We can define the exact moment when in parashat Pinchas, Zimri ben Salu challenged him in the matter of the princess Kazbi bat Tzur, and Moshe stood by not knowing what to do. At that moment, Pinchas recalled what he had learned from Moshe himself; that in these circumstances the sinners must be killed.
When Moshe lost his intimate connection with HaShem, just at the moment when the nation needed him most, that was the sign from HaShem that the end was drawing near, and the time for a new leader in the liberation of Eretz Yisrael had begun.
On Friday the 19th of July, the UN’s International Court of Justice (?) delivered its advisory opinion with respect to the legal consequences arising from the “policies and practices of Israel in Judea and Samaria, the Golan and East Yerushalayim”.
Their “learned, objective” legal decision was that Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories is in violation of international law. So that, “The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible”, meaning that Israel must evacuate all of its settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem (soon to be a million people) and pay reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
The ICJ said Israel’s “policies and practices amount to annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, which it said was against international law, adding that Israel was “not entitled to sovereignty” over any part of the occupied territories.
Among its other delusional conclusions, the court said Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied territories constituted “systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin”. It also said Israel had illegally exploited the Palestinians’ natural resources and violated their right to self-determination.
The court also advised states to avoid any actions, including providing aid or assistance, that would maintain the current situation.
Our Prime Minister swiftly issued a blunt statement rejecting what the court had determined: “The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land – not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage of Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank). No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly, the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be disputed.”
No other country has yet to protest these decisions. The court’s findings will now go to the UN General Assembly, which will decide how to respond.
The court’s findings and the silence of the world community are declarations of war against the omnipotent Creator. Rashi (Bereishiet 11) writes that the generation of the tower of Babel declared war on the Creator by seeking to terminate all connection with spirituality. Today, the world in its silence, turned its back on the Torah (Bible) and on the fact that the Jewish people lived here and controlled the land for close to 1500 years before being exiled by the Romans. And never a day passed when the Jews did not pray for our return to Zion. And there was a continuous presence of Jews in the land for all the years of our exile.
On the day of July 19, 2024, the world began to lose its soul, and will soon pay for it with its body.
AM ISRAEL CHAI עם ישראל חי
Shabbat Shalom
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5784/2024 Nachman Kahana
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