MK Moshe Feiglin’s Speech at the Jerusalem Convention Hall Conference: 14 Tevet/Jan. 5

Dear Friends,

Before anything else, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank those of you who are here tonight, and those who could not get here in the freezing cold. I thank the tens of thousands of volunteers and supporters who have been with me for years.

All of you, throughout this long journey that began twenty years ago with the establishment of Zo Artzeinu, continued with Manhigut Yehudit, registration for the Likud and the challenge of leadership –have changed the face of Israeli society and Israeli politics.

We cannot even begin to imagine the State of Israel without you. You changed the face of the ruling party and in a dialectic process, you brought about a major revolution in the Religious Zionist party. You are responsible for the way the Likud looks today and for the Jewish Home phenomenon, as well. “It’s all because of you.”

All these important achievements, however, are just stepping stones. The most important challenge and achievement is still before us. We must remember at all times that while we made changes here and there and while we enjoyed major accomplishments – one fact remains:

Only here, in this hall, are the political people who hold the keys to dealing with the challenges facing Israel today.

There is no leadership in Israel – except for the people sitting here – that knows how and is capable of dealing with the rock thrown in Taibeh, the knife in Jerusalem, the missile from Gaza and the nuclear bomb in Iran.

There is no leadership in Israel – except for the people sitting here – that knows how and is capable of transforming the State of Israel into a truly Jewish state of liberty; a state of liberty that does not degenerate into a state of all its citizens and Zuabis.

There is no leadership in Israel – except for the liberty-people sitting here – that knows how and is capable of lowering the costs of housing and food.

There is no political leadership in Israel – except for the people sitting here – that has not been consumed by the peace industry that was built here, becoming subservient to the Oslo mentality and language.

No other leadership talks about One State for One Nation in One Land.

There is no leadership in Israel – except for the people here – that is truly democratic; that knows how and is capable of establishing true liberty, both personal and national, in Israel. Liberty that comes from Judaism and does not seek to replace it.

Liberty that comes from within our Jewish identity and doesn’t seek to erase it.

Liberty that emanates from the deep understanding that we are all the children of our Father, our King; servants to the Creator of the world alone.

This fetus, which holds the keys to the future of the State of Israel in its hands, was born from the struggle of Zo Artzeinu against the Oslo Accords.

It developed ideologically in Manhigut Yehudit.

And like the Nation of Israel that grew out of the crucible of Egypt, our fetus grew  politically within the womb of the Likud.

Many times I have thought that the time had come to emerge from the womb and be born. But I hoped that the Likud would bring us directly to the premiership. Slowly, I understood that it apparently is incapable of doing so.

Like every living thing, a new birth is necessary here; a period of independent maturation from which will grow, soon, with G-d’s help, faith-based leadership; leadership of liberty for the Nation of Israel.

Many people are angry at the Likud and Prime Minister Netanyahu. It may be difficult for you to integrate this, but I am not angry at all. On the contrary: I love my new Likud friends and I highly regard Netanyahu and his family.

I am not angry at PM Netanyahu.

True, he changed the rules again in the middle of the game.

True, he is not really democratic.

True, he executed a perfectly planned political take-down against me.

True, he also had the observers removed from the ballot counting and who knows what went on there afterwards…

But I am really not angry at Netanyahu.

This fetus, Manhigut Yehudit, which is the only political hope for Israel, is already in its tenth month. Dr. Netanyahu simply induced the labor.

He did it professionally and effectively and I send him my best wishes. I truly do.

Now, the young child will grow independently and with G-d’s help, sooner than we may think, will lead our nation to its destiny.

Let us quickly review the history of this special group:

It all began with the Oslo Accords.  You knew exactly where Netanyahu’s hug for Arafat, which turned all of us – Right and Left – into robbers in our own Land, would lead. That hug gave our enemies the most important weapon of all: Justice.

Zo Artzeinu embarked on a determined struggle against the Oslo catastrophe, exemplifying the meaning of individual liberty, drawing the borders of obedience and highlighting the fact that the State belongs to the People and not vice versa.

In the election of 1996 we went all out for Binyamin Netanyahu and against all odds, he won the premiership from Shimon Peres. But it didn’t take long for Netanyahu to hug Arafat, giving the Oslo Accords the legitimacy of the National Camp.

The entire country, both Right and Left, began to talk the Oslo talk.

The Right also got used to the Oslo paradigm, paying lip service to our ideals with the proposal to annex the territory in Area C in 40 years from now…

The horrifying result was not far behind.

Suicide bombings in all of Israel’s cities.

Buses blowing up.

Tractors running over people and cars.

Massacre in a synagogue.

And worst of all, the loss of the legitimacy for the existence of our State, which came on the heels of the loss of justice.

The building freeze in Judea and Samaria sent the price of housing on an upward trajectory and the sum expense of security and containment of the Oslo reality has reached one trillion shekels.

Nevertheless, until this very day, despite the fact that everyone understands that Oslo was a horrible mistake, all the parties of the National Camp – except for the Zo Artzeinu group – have remained captive to the language and erroneous assumptions of Oslo.

Everybody talks about:

‘The Palestinian nation’,

Two states,

Terrorist release,

And they have for all practical purposes surrendered the Temple Mount and the heart of Jerusalem.

Yes, both the Likud and the Jewish Home opposed the bill that would have required the agreement of 80 MKs in order to conduct negotiations on Jerusalem. “We are already conducting those negotiations,” Tzippy Livni admitted from the Knesset podium.

Only one MK from the Coalition voted in favor of the bill: the same MK that came from within this group and did not become a servant to the Oslo mentality.  Only you have remained outside the servitude. Only you have remained free in order to once again lead our Nation to its destiny!

After the Likudunder Netanyahu’s leadership adopted Arafat and the Oslo Accords, we understood that the solution for the crisis was not merely to exchange a leftist government with a rightist government. Israel needs leadership with deeper foundations than the superficial differentiation between Right and Left. Am Yisrael needs faith-based leadership.

From that moment and until this very day, we are careful to remain focused on our only goal:

Faith based leadership for Israel.

We then embarked on a long process of clarification.

How is a modern Jewish liberty-state conducted?

Economy? Education? Security? Health? Foreign Affairs?

How does it relate to the convert, to the orphan, to the widow, to the elderly?

Thousands of articles and a number of books were written.

We also searched for ways to actualize the idea.

At the beginning, the Likud, which had enslaved itself to Oslo, did not occur to us at all. But the Likud had a very positive core of nationalism open to every Israeli. No less important, the Likud was the ruling tool of the National Camp. Only from within it was it possible to develop the leadership mentality of the faith-based public.

Today, after 15 years, that leadership mentality is alive and kicking. On the other side of the coin, there are no other ruling parties of other Camps.

Let us not forget: Only one Knesset mandate for Lapid instead of Likud in the previous elections would have made him the prime minister. Tomorrow, we may find Kachlon in that illustrious position.

The Likud has become an aging party; the average age of its members is above 60. Like the other parties, it is completely based on the side of the problem. It does not have the mental agility to truly contain the necessary change and to go over to the side of the solution that exists within it.

That is why it fights us incessantly.

We invested great effort to belong.

Always, despite all the dirty tricks and lost votes we smiled, remained loyal and continued.

There is not and was not anybody more loyal than we were to the Likud.

But like a battered wife, one-sided loyalty is not fidelity; it is dependence.

We do not feel battered or dependent.

We are liberated!

When I entered the Knesset, it seemed for a moment that perhaps, despite all that had transpired, we could realize our ultimate goal from within the Likud.

Israel began to be exposed to the Jewish liberty alternative upon all its aspects.

Initially, it didn’t understand what that Right was doing in the pubs of the Left.

How could it be that Feiglin, without surrendering his principles even one millimeter, and while waging a resolute struggle for those principles, could work with Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg, be friends with Dov Hanin and even with some of the Arab MKs whose names, for the sake of their security, I will not mention?

Suddenly they understood that we have a well-thought-out plan, broad and all-inclusive; a plan that includes everyone and affords identity, liberty and meaning to every Israeli.

Identity, liberty and meaning.

Over the last year, however, I began to feel that the system as a whole and the Likud in particular was learning to contain me and my message and simply continue onward. I began to feel that despite our vision, I was in danger of becoming part of the problem instead of the alternative and the solution.

Dear Friends,

I must relate to the Temple Mount.

The entire idea of liberty, making G-d – and not humans – King, the entire destiny of our Nation, the physical and metaphysical place from which we draw meaning and the robustness of our lives – is the royal palace, the holy Temple Mount.

Do you know who really ejected Tzippy Hotobeli and myself from the Knesset?

It is not Netanyahu. It is a terrorist named Hijazi. His name, by the way, testifies to the place from where his family came: Saudi Arabia.

Hijazi shot Rabbi Yehuda Glick. He tried to murder the return of the Nation of Israel to the Mount and to the Home.

The entire country, headed by Netanyhau, decided to flee Hijazi.

I attempted to delineate the opposite path, but it did not help.

They fled and invited many, many more Hijazis to try their hand.

Both inside and outside Israel.

For if there is no Mount, there is no home. Not in Jerusalem and not in Tel Aviv.

Everybody fled. Except for two people who nonetheless dared and ascended the Mount.

Yours truly and Tzippy Hotobeli.

Two Knesset Members raised a mirror to the face of Israel’s leadership. That leadership cannot look in the mirror, so it decided to break it.

The bullets that were directed against our connection to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were the opening shots which, in a speedy process, removed us from the Likud.

But like a boxer thrown to the floor, I promise you that I am not going anywhere. I am back on my feet and back in the ring. Back in order to win.

I need you to be with me!

The activists, the supporters, the donors and especially – the young people!

I turn to the soldiers, the students, the young couples: I know that you are the first to understand the message. You are the generation of liberty in the desert. You know and deeply feel that those who have become accustomed to slavery do not bear a great message or hope for the future.

Young people – join me!

I will come to your universities and yeshivot.

To the kibbutzim and settlements.

I will reach out to you in the center of Israel and the periphery.

I will meet you in the pubs and in the parks.

Together, we will build a Jewish liberty-state for our children.

There are two things that we must do now:

We must leave the Likud and establish a political movement that will make itself accessible to Israeli voters. With G-d’s help, it will quickly lead the Nation.

Quite a few proposals were made to me from various directions, which, on the surface, ensure my place in the next Knesset. I am weighing all the possibilities, but am not willing to be a party of rating and ‘atmosphere’ with no content.

If we have to give up on the coming Knesset in order to build ourselves well and fundamentally, we will do so.

We will take the time that we need to build ourselves in the proper and most exacting way.

We will consult, build the right connections and the right tools.

There are many interesting things taking shape. I cannot reveal it all at this point.

But I do promise you one thing:

I am here for you and with G-d’s help, together we will establish Jewish leadership and a Jewish liberty state.

For us and the future generations. And we will perfect the world in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thank you very much.

The end of the monopoly of Israel's "demographers of doom"

Excerpts from "The Weight of the Demographic Factor in Israel's Strategic Considerations on the Palestinian Issue"

By Kobi Michael, Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) 

"The demographic issue has become a source of profound controversy in Israel. Many see the demographic processes as a threat to the future of Israel as a state that is both Jewish and democratic, thereby necessitating rapid disengagement from the Palestinians, whether by means of a negotiated settlement or unilateral steps. Others dispute the need for panic, pointing instead to data indicating much more moderate trends: the Jewish majority will continue and even grow, both in the State of Israel proper and in the whole of the western land of Israel, certainly if the Gaza Strip is excluded….

"…In 2013 the Institute for Zionist Strategies published an updated, comprehensive study…. The most significant differences [from the "demographers of doom"] indicate that the number of Palestinians in the PA is lower by 0.7-1.3 million than the number presented by the more alarmist approach and the data of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Moreover, the data shows a Jewish majority in all of [the area west of the Jordan River] today and a more significant majority in the coming two decades, especially if the Gaza Strip is excluded from the equation.

"This study contends that despite the forecasts of a demographic disaster, the Jewish population of the land of Israel has grown significantly over the last 120 years. According to the report, in 2012 the population in western Israel reached 10,755,000 (differing from Prof.  DellaPergola's 12 million), which included a greater Jewish population of 6,332,900 (i.e., those who are eligible for Israeli citizenship according to the Law of Return though not necessarily Jewish according to religious law, or individuals unaffiliated religiously who nonetheless align themselves with the Jewish people); 4,109,000 Muslims (2,726,000 in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank); 181,000 Christians (52,000 in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank); and some 132,000 Druze. The rate of the expanded Jewish population is 59.14 percent of the total population of the western land of Israel [and a 66% Jewish majority in the combined area of Judea, Samaria pre-1967 Israel]….

"The study indicates a decreasing trend in the annual growth of the Arab population and a much more drastic decrease starting in 2030. It attributes the decrease in Arab annual growth and rates of reproduction to improved educational levels, the expansion of urbanization and modernization trends, the emigration of Arab youth abroad, and the aging of the Arab populations, leading to an increase of death rates. In fact, the continuation of the trend, alongside the increasing natural growth rate of the Jews in Israel, leads to equal rates of natural growth of Arabs and Jews….

"Similar assessments may be found in the work of Yoram Ettinger and Guy Bechor, who speak about erroneous demographic notions. According to Ettinger, the inflation of the number of Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is a Palestinian reaction to waves of Jewish immigration to Israel meant to scare the Jewish population and Israel's leadership; [according to the first Head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics] it is 'a civil intifada.' Ettinger also speaks of false demographic projections. In 1967, for example, the demographic establishment called on Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to withdraw from Judea and Samaria lest the Jews become a minority by 1987. In August 1988, Arnon Soffer warned of an Arab majority by 2008. Soffer and DellaPergola had ruled out further significant waves of Jewish immigration, but nonetheless more than one million immigrants arrived from the Commonwealth of Independent States. Ettinger sums it up as follows: 'The claim that the Jews are doomed to become a minority west of the Jordan River and that geography must be conceded in order to save demography is either phenomenally mistaken or scandalously misleading.'

In December 2013, Ettinger presented the findings of a comprehensive demographic study…. These findings support the trends he had previously identified and findings presented in a comprehensive study conducted by the Institute for Zionist Strategies. The three key points of the study are:
a. The number of Arabs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is 3.1 million, not 4.4 million as claimed by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics;
b. The number of Arabs in the West Bank is 1.7 million, not 2.7 million as claimed by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics;
c. In the area west of the Jordan River (excluding the Gaza Strip) there is a solid Jewish majority of 66 percent benefiting from emerging demographic trends….

"For many years, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics ignored data on net-emigration, instead noting thoroughly unrealistic positive net-immigration data (50,000 annually)…. However, data actually indicates Palestinian net-emigration of some 20,000 annually….

"The data provided by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on deaths is much lower than what is reasonable by any demographic standard. This is a familiar pattern, attributable in part to the Palestinians' desire to continue enjoying the support of international organizations provided on a per capita basis.

"More than 300,000 Arabs carrying blue Israeli identity cards live in Jerusalem. They are counted twice – once by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics [as Israeli Arabs] and once by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics [as West Bankers]. This is also true of [over 100,000] Palestinians who become Israeli citizens or residents as a result of family reunifications…."

Explaining the Past - looking to the Future

By Shmuel Sackett

As I am sure you know by now, yesterday's Likud primaries didn't work out the way we expected.

We worked very hard at advancing Moshe to a high point on the Likud list, but Moshe managed only to win spot #27 – considered an unrealistic spot in the March 17^thgeneral election.

I must state that Moshe was not the only good, solid Knesset member that Likud members rejected; Tzippy Hotoveli – a Deputy Minister in the current government – won just one spot before Moshe (#26), which is ALSO considered very unrealistic.

To understand what happened to Moshe, please read this quote from the Maariv (NRG) website:

"Two weeks ago, we reported about a deal being worked on against Feiglin. The goal of this deal was to insure that Feiglin receive an unrealistic spot on the Likud list and it succeeded exactly as planned. The deal was orchestrated by Prime Minister Netanyahu and implemented via Knesset members Chaim Katz, Yariv Levine, Zev Elkin and Danny Danon"

How nice…

While we understand the system and realize that every candidate has to worry and push him/herself, we will never understand why candidates actively work AGAINST others in the same party.  Thanks to the hard work of these politicians, the current Likud list contains two former members of Kadima and SIX people who SUPPORTED the Gaza Expulsion Plan.

Do the members of Likud really prefer these people to Feiglin and Hotoveli?

Based on yesterday's results, our strategy team sat today (at my house) for over 4 hours to discuss our next move and we are happy to report that we have set forth a very serious action plan.

We will be revealing this plan to our membership on Monday night – 7PM – in a hotel in Jerusalem. (Exact location is being worked on)

At that time, Moshe will deliver the keynote address and will explain our direction.  Without revealing the plan, allow me to simply state the following:

While we do not plan on taking the Likud to court for (yet again) election cheating, nor will we be challenging the results in any way, we do not plan on "taking a breather".

Our future is clear and bright and our focus of building alternative leadership remains our top priority.  We will continue our dream of turning Israel into a strong and proud Jewish State and we will not rest for a minute until that goal has been achieved.

Please do not feel bad or sorry for us.  Hashem only does good things – even though it may not seem clear at the time.

The events which we have been reading in the recent Torah portions, specifically about Joseph and his brothers, seem very odd and difficult, yet when the master plan was revealed, it all came together.  We are there as well.

Yesterday's setback will only be temporary and we promise to IMMEDIATLEY bounce right back up and keep moving closer to the goal.

A lot of rumors will be flying around and we do not plan on denying any of them!

On Monday night, things will be made very clear and we are certain you will love the direction we have chosen.

Thank you for your support, trust and confidence.

Stay on the team – we still have a job to do!

Europe is Gone

By Rabbi Berel Wein, INN

What can one say about Europe? I imagine that if one wants to be bitterly truthful then one could easily say that Hitler has in effect triumphed. He branded the Jews as the root of all troubles and proclaimed that the “final” and only solution to the “Jewish problem” was to eradicate all Jews from the face of the earth.

And as we all know, he followed through on his genocidal program. A great deal of Europe, its leaders, intellectuals and common folk, willfully and almost gleefully cooperated in this genocide. Many did so actively while many more Europeans did so passively.

Once the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed after the war ended, this irrational and pathological hatred of the Jews went underground. After all, it was too shameful to admit that the continent that prided itself on the advancement of civilization could be guilty of such organized, government-sponsored inhumanity and cruelty. So, most Europeans shielded themselves from any true feelings of guilt by simply stating that they were ignorant as to what was occurring.

The Vatican and other Christian churches aided many Nazis and other war criminals in escaping from Europe and settling rather comfortably in other continents, notably South America. As penance for their atrocious behavior, many European countries, though not all, voted for the establishment of the state of Israel and granted the nascent nation diplomatic and sometimes even economic recognition and help.

And there the matter seemed to rest during the decade of the 1950s. But the state of Israel, always being the burr under the world’s saddle, would not let the matter rest then. The wound was too deep and raw and the world would not be allowed to so easily forget what had happened.

So, Israel captured Adolf Eichmann and placed him on trial for his crimes against the Jewish people and humanity. The trial, which lasted almost a year, revealed in a stark and graphic way what had happened to the Jewish people on European soil from 1939 to 1945. Thus it was not only Eichmann and the Nazis that were the defendants in that most bruising and bitter trial, but in a very real sense, Europe itself was on trial.

To use a Christian phrase, Europe is sorely in need of redemption.

Eichmann was justifiably found guilty and executed for his crimes, subliminally Europe was also judged to be guilty and complicit in the horror of the Holocaust.

Europe has never forgiven Israel for that trial and verdict. It is well aware that it is guilty but can never own up to this guilt. Therefore, in line with its time-honored obsession with the Jewish people and its innate necessity to scapegoat Jews for all of Europe’s problems, Europe has turned its enmity in an unremitting fashion against the Jewish state.

Israel should be pilloried and boycotted, delegitimized and isolated, while the noble Palestinians – fomenters of worldwide terrorism, intifadas and recurring wars – are worthy of diplomatic recognition, media support, financial aid and moral justification. This is Europe’s revenge against the Jews for surviving the Holocaust and thereby instilling the unease and guilt that Europe feels towards Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state.

To use a Christian phrase, Europe is sorely in need of redemption. Catholic countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Spain have not digested the lessons of history vis-à-vis the relationship of the Church and the Jews over the centuries. The liberal Left refuses to deal with its history of oppression and anti-Semitism that Marxism, the Soviet Union and the Left generally has inflicted on European and world Jewry. Thus it again bans circumcision and kosher slaughter, all in the name of some lofty ideals of infant and animal rights.

All of this naturally occurs in the background of rampant child abuse and slaughter of humans, the repression of women, the elimination of minorities and the other pernicious facets of intolerant social norms, which characterize Palestinian and Islamic society. Perfidious and hypocritical as it is, Europe nonetheless claims the high moral ground for itself, sneering condescendingly at the United States and feels justly entitled to be the moral judge over the state of Israel.

Europe regrets not so much the Holocaust itself, but that the Jews survived it and because of it were allowed to create a nation state for themselves. Therefore it will allow for the creation of Holocaust memorials and museums but objects that somehow the state of Israel be included in the Jewish story that it depicts.

Hamas is no longer a terrorist organization as far as Europe is concerned, but Israel should be hauled before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Even George Orwell would be astounded to see how skewed the vision and policies of Europe are today. Only time will tell if Europe is ever able to right its perverse attitude towards Jews and Israel. History teaches us that it will be doomed somehow if it does not do so.

Subordinate to G-d

A Torah Thought for Parshat Vayechi 

By Rabbi Mordechai Rabinovitch

The book of Genesis closes with a rather sad exchange between Joseph and his brothers. Following the decease of Jacob, the brothers are afraid that with their father now out of the way, Joseph will take vengeance on them for all that they did to him. They therefore tell Joseph that before his death, Jacob instructed them to tell Joseph to forgive them.

On hearing of the brothers’ suspicions, Joseph weeps; and the brothers in turn, prostrate themselves before him and declare themselves his servants. At that point, Joseph tries to reassure the brothers that he has no evil intentions towards them, and will see to it that their families are supported. According to the conventional interpretation, he says to them: אל תיראו כי התחת א-להים אני “Do not be afraid; because, am I in place of G-d?”. Rashi (following the midrash) explains that Joseph is saying that even were he to want to harm them, he would not be able to do so. The brothers wanted to harm him, yet G-d directed things such that good came of it and the whole family survived the great famine. So how can I harm you, says Joseph, unless G-d wants to do so? Am I, Yosef, in place of G-d?

Onkelos, however, reads Yosef’s statement as an assertion, not as a question: Do not be afraid (of me) because I am subordinate to G-d. Joseph is asserting that he is under the dominion of G-d, and is not asking the rhetorical question whether he is in place of G-d. In other words, Yosef argues to the brothers that their fear that Yosef will take vengeance upon them is unfounded, since he is a G-d-fearing person, he is subordinate to G-d. And a G-d-fearing person, even if he is in a position of great power, does not seek to exact vengeance from brothers who have done him a wrong.

Whether Yosef is asking a rhetorical question, or whether he is making an assertion, there is an important lesson here for kings, prime ministers, and leaders. Do you understand that you are subordinate to G-d? With elections in Israel just around the corner, and all kinds of pretenders to the throne marketing themselves as would-be Prime Ministers, we wonder whether any of these candidates understand that they are not “deities” – they are not in place of G-d, but instead are subordinate to him; they are subordinate to G-d.

Mashiach Didn't Call Us

By Rabbi Yisrael Rosen Dean of the Zomet Institute

"After Yosef was in Egypt for a long time... Why didn't he send a note to his father to let him know where he was and to console him? ... Even if it would take a whole year wouldn't it have been worthwhile to let him know, to show respect for his father? ... He did everything at the appropriate time, so that his dreams would be fulfilled." [Ramban, Bereishit 42:9]. The Torah portion of Vayechi contains the end of the most dramatic event in the Tanach, and perhaps in world literature as a whole (we must be careful in making such a comparison!). This is the affair of Yosef and his brothers, of Yaacov and his sons. Every child and adult is excited and finds tears in his or her eyes whenever we take a renewed look at the Torah or study it in depth. The whole book of Bereishit takes place in a dramatic atmosphere with common elements that are contrary to proper educational goals or that lack in modesty – the murder of Hevel, the expulsion of Yishmael, the stealing of the blessings, the intrigue of Lavan and Yaacov, and the events of Yosef and his brothers. And there are also events that are related to sexual encounters – Avimelech and Sarah, Reuven and Bilhah, Yehuda and Tamar... and among the others we should not forget Yosef and Potifar's wife. Some of these events end with repentance or with a victory of good over evil using tactics of intrigue. Tanach – How should we Study it? I am not raising the simplest question: What does the heavenly Torah want to teach us? And that is because I do not really have a logical answer for this question. If this were "world literature" it would present an opportunity for panel discussions on such topics as, "What were the intentions of the author? ... What insights were we meant to have as a result of reading this story?" As far as I am concerned, the answer to these questions is not a matter for straightforward interpretation or for amateur psychological attempts but rather belongs in a much more highly exalted realms – Midrashic meaning, hints, and mystic secrets. The key of the Divine message lies in the insight of the sages ("That which happened to the forefathers is a sign for the descendants" [Tanchuma 9]) as quoted by the Ramban with respect to the first move of the first Patriarch in Eretz Yisrael. ("'And Avram passed through the land' [Bereishit 12:6] – I will tell you a general principle which you should understand in all the passages that follow with respect to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov. And this is an important matter.") This includes a message that we cannot interpret all the signs of the events of Bereishit on our own. They are intertwined with events of the nation of Yisrael in exile, in redemption, and in the days of the Mashiach. In what follows I will pursue my arguments against the approach of teaching "Tanach at Eye Level," which does not "speak" to me. In the halls of those who espouse this approach, they have been bothered by a question (which was also raised by the Ramban, as quoted in the heading of this article): Why didn't Yosef the viceroy send a message to his father that he was in Egypt? How about a carrier pigeon? Or a telegram? Or WhatsApp? Something, anything? Years ago, my colleague, Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun, suggested a novel reply to this question (Megadim 1). Yosef was not aware that his father did not know what had happened, and he made no contact because he decided that his father had cut him off as "the black sheep of the family," just as his ancestors had done in the expulsion of Yishmael and the rejection of Eisav. Yosef embedded this "desertion" in the name of his son Menasheh, "For G-d has made me forget the entire house of my father" [Bereishit 42:51]. This is indeed a charming theory, but it does not sit well! Another colleague, Rabbi Yaacov Medan, disputed this idea (Megadim 2), rejecting and disproving many of Rabbi Bin Nun's proof texts. Rabbi Medan prefers the suggestion given by Abarbanel and others, that Yosef's purpose was to cause the brothers to repent for their actions ("But we are guilty..." [Bereishit 42:21]) and to check their attitude towards Binyamin. But I am still not convinced! Is this enough to justify the suffering of Yosef's father, who mourned nonstop for his beloved son, who was missing? Another colleague, the late Rabbi Chanan Porat, suggested an educational idea: Yosef, the righteous one, allowed himself to be put in a terrible position in order to protect his brothers. He did not send a message in order to avoid their being cursed by their elderly father if and when he would find out who had harmed Yosef. A fantastic idea, but it leaves me unconvinced! Do you really think that the great strategist Yosef was not able to invent some clever cover story that would allow him to let his mourning father know that "Yosef is still alive?" A respected professor also joined the psychological consortium by adding a diagnosis to the mix: Yosef was struck dumb by his traumatic experience! And I will not trouble you with other ideas which do not offer any reasonable moral explanations of the events. Realms of the Mashiach These commentaries on the Tanach, who measure the figures in the Torah "with the Amma of a man" [Devarim 3:11], defend their approach by disparaging the Ramban, who discussed this matter (as quoted above). His reply ("so that his dreams would be fulfilled") is not moral, educational, or psychologically valid unless we postulate that Yosef had a tremendous ego. However, the Ramban's idea is rooted in the realms of Midrashic interpretation, hints, and mystic secrets, as I noted above, which, appropriately, interpret Tanach "at its own level." In the words of the Ramban about "the fulfillment of the dreams" I hear an echo of the Mashiach, running parallel to the realm of the Mashiach of Yosef, whose actions are concealed and misty according to the wishes of He who establishes the course of history. The visionary response of the Ramban is rooted in the idea of "a sign for the children," although do not know for certain just what the sign means. Perhaps this is a sign from heaven: "Mashiach will come, he will not announce his arrival in advance!" And for all of you who still feel that an explanation for these dramatic developments is in order based on logic, educational considerations, and human traits, I point you to a passage in Rashi: "'And he mourned for his son for many days... and his father wept for him' [Bereishit 37:34-35] –Yitzchak wept for the suffering of Yaacov, but he did not mourn himself because he knew that Yosef was alive," but he did not tell Yaacov. I will be happy to have anybody give me a human and logical explanation for this behavior!

Mashiach from the House of King David: HaRav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Va’ye’chi 5775

BS”D  Parashat Va’ye’chi 5775  Rabbi Nachman Kahana THE MASHIACH WILL BE FROM THE HOUSE OF KING DAVID The Book of Shmuel (1-16,12) describes the physical features of David which Shmuel noticed when they first met:  והוא אדמוני עם יפה עינים And he was red (complexion) with beautiful eyes. The midrashic compilation Yalkut Shimoni (Shmuel 124) explains that the “red” that Shmuel saw was an inborn cruel streak which would lead to bloodshed, thus disqualifying David from ascending the throne of Israel. Then HaShem told Shmuel “with beautiful eyes” meaning: the “eyes” of Am Yisrael are the Sanhedrin. And that David, who would indeed eliminate countless of our enemies, would do so only when sanctioned by the Sanhedrin. TAP – The Action Project On the thirtieth day of the Har Nof massacre, here in Yerushalayim, a memorial meeting was called for under the auspicies of “Women to Women – United to Change the World”. It was to honor the memory of the four murdered rabbis: Moshe Twersky, Kalman Levine, Avraham Goldberg and Aryeh Kupinsky, by two local Arabs while the rabbis were at prayer, and to inaugurate “TAP – The Action Project”. TAP was created for the stated purpose of “small actions make big changes”, whereby the “little” things in our personal behavior have an influence of what befalls a Jew in his life. Up to now, it’s all very nice; in the spirit of the Mussar Movement and all who follow it. Based on the assumption that just like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings in the State of South Dakota can cause a Tzunami in the South Pacific, so too one little “lashon hara” in Boro Park or Har Nof can create havoc in the Crimean Peninsula. The memorial meeting did not end without significant decisions. The Action Project adopted the 5 following MIDDOS (personal character qualities): The Mirror – redefining ourselves The Prism – redefining how we see others The Gift – moving beyond our perceived limitations The Shield – protecting and maintaining our values The Up Arrow – connecting ourselves to God. Their brochure sums us the initiative with the following: “All you need to do is to choose one mida… you are now part of TAP. The action project where small actions make big changes, and together, IY”H, WE WILL SEE AN END TO THE TERROR AND PAIN OF GOLUS VERY SOON”. Very negative vibes ascend from this initiative. For it implies that the two murderous Arabs were just instruments in HaShem’s tool chest; whereas the real cause of the massacre was our unsatisfactory spiritual level. But if we improve then “IY”H, WE WILL SEE AN END TO THE TERROR AND PAIN OF GOLUS VERY SOON”. How much bloodshed must the Jewish nation suffer before we realize that just as HaShem permits the free will of good men and women to be exercised in this world, so too does real evil have its chance to spread its carnage? Evil strikes at the very righteous as well as the non-observant Jew. It was the evil of man that sent millions of God-fearing Jews to their death; even those who abided by the 5 or 10 or 20 middos in their lives. We are not at fault! At fault are the Arabs and their Christian allies who would see the demise of all Jews in the world. And they might have their way if we do not kill them first. Applying the Concepts of TAP to History It is painful when comparing the “holy, gracious” women of today with our “uncouth, primitive” mothers of yesteryear. Where were today’s noble women of Har Nof when the army of Israel returned from killing Galyat and the Phillistines, and our mothers sang (Shmuel 1 18,6-7): ויהי בבואם בשוב דוד מהכות את הפלשתי ותצאנה הנשים מכל ערי ישראל לשיר והמחלות לקראת שאול המלך בתפים בשמחה ובשלשים: ותענינה הנשים המשחקות ותאמרן הכה שאול באלפיו ודוד ברבבתיו When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Shaul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” And just to think that if we would have had better middos all that bloodshed could have been prevented. Galyat could have lived to a ripe old age, and the thousands of Phillistines who were needlessly murdered by the Jews could have returned home and lived in peace with their Jewish neighbors. Moreover, the encouragement given to David’s aggressive tendencies had even more tragic results. When David was being pursued by King Shaul, David’s father Yishai, his mother and 7 brothers fled to the King Of Moav for protection; since Yishai’s grandmother Ruth was from the royal house of Moav. The Moabites summarily proceeded to murder them all, except for one brother who escaped. Upon ascending the throne David conquered Moav and proceeded to collectively punish the murderous Moabites, as is related in Shmuel 2 8,2: ויך את מואב וימדדם בחבל השכב אותם ארצה וימדד שני חבלים להמית ומלא החבל להחיות ותהי מואב לדוד לעבדים נשאי מנחה: David defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute. David randomly ordered the execution of two thirds of the Moabites, and not surprisingly the incident ends with the words, “So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute”. And surprisingly, the Jewish nation was never troubled by the Moabites again. One might raise an eyebrow at David’s behavior. Would it not have been more in the spirit of the Mussar movement and the yeshivishe world to analyze why his family was murdered, and then decide that the family was at fault for not conducting themselves in accordance with the 5 TAP middos? As in the words of their brochure: “All you need to do is to choose one mida… where small actions make big changes, and together, IY”H, WE WILL SEE AN END TO THE TERROR AND PAIN OF GOLUS VERY SOON”. Had Yishai and the family adopted the conduct of TAP, the Moabites would not have harmed them? But please don’t misunderstand me. I know full well why these women could not call for the government to enact revenge on the murderers’ families, but prefer the “high road” of mussar in our battle against the murderous descendants of Yishmael. Because they protect their children from serving in the holy army of Am Yisrael, and it would be hypocritical to demand active punishment by the army while they hide their children under their beds, lest they be drafted to serve the nation. So it should not come as a surprise that the Mashiach will be from the “House of King David” and not a product of a guilt-ridden galut world outlook. Now to the Parsha In his departing words to his twelve sons, Ya’akov deals very harshly with Shimon and Levi. Since the particular qualities of every one of Ya’akov’s sons were transmitted genetically to the future descendants of that tribe, our grandfather Ya’akov is in effect criticizing the fundamental nature of the Kohanic and Levitic families. This is a very serious matter which requires explanation. Ya’akov castigates them for their anger which brought about the death of one man as it says: כי באפם הרגו איש “Ki Be’Apam Har’gu Eesh” – in their anger they killed a man. There is an apparent contradiction in this matter. Rashi, based on the midrash, points out that Shimon and Levi killed not only one man. They decimated the entire city of Shechem, so why did Ya’akov say they killed “a man”? Rashi answers that in Ya’akov’s mind the entire population of Shechem was valued as no more than “one man”. Now if Ya’akov held the idolators of Shechem in such low esteem, why was he so angry at Shimon and Levi? Moreover. The most flowery and complimentary blessing was given to Yosef. However, Yosef was to have an illustrious descendant, Yehoshua Bin Nun, who killed not one man, nor one city, but hundreds of thousands of Canaanites who stood in the way of God’s dictate to Am Yisrael’s to possess our inheritance – Eretz Yisrael – with the command לא תחיה כל נשמה. But Ya’akov does not relate to what this off-spring child of Yosef would do, rather he castigates Shimon and Levi for killing one Shechemite. How odd? When one is suspected of carrying a contagious disease, the first medical act is to isolate the carrier. Ya’akov exposes the character fault of zealousness and anger of Shimon and Levi. So why did he say to them in chapter 49,7: אחלקם ביעקב אפיצם בישראל I shall divide them among the children of Ya’akov and disperse them among the children of Israel” This is a disturbing reaction on Ya’akov’s part when observing the “character fault” of his two sons. Indeed, Rashi even quotes the Gemara which says that the major function of the tribe of Shimon was to be the teachers of children all through the land, and the tribe of Levi was to bring forth those who serviced the Holy Temple! Now if their faults were so notorious, why did Ya’akov make them the molders of the minds of our young children, and why did he elevate the tribe of Levi to such an exalted position? I suggest: When Dina was assaulted in Shechem, nine brothers barely reacted; whereas Shimon and Levi went through the town killing all its people. Ya’akov said that in light of the other brothers’ passivity, the punishment of Shechem appears to be the work of a “lunatic” rightist fringe group which does not represent the main stream ideology of Judaism. Shimon and Levi were correct in their belief that Judaism states that whoever raises a hand against a Jew that hand will be punished. But the passivity of the brothers created a perception that Shimon and Levi did not represent Torah thought. Ya’akov blesses Shimon and Levi that they should disseminate the ideal among the entire nation, that malice done to any Jew would not go unpunished. When this becomes the norm of the nation, the “world” will perceive this conduct as part of the Jewish national character, to eliminate evil immediately when it raises its ugly head. To this end Shimon becomes the teachers of the future generations and Levi its spiritual leaders. Ya’akov is not angered at Yehoshua Bin Nun, the descendant of Yosef. Quite the opposite, because in Yehoshua’s time the lessons of Jewish pride had already taken hold in the hearts of the nation; that anyone who violently stands in the way of our Jewish historical destiny will be defeated. The “slavery” experience in Egypt was necessary to inculcate the lessons of Shimon and Levi; that we must never again be “guests” in the lands of others, but free people in Eretz Yisrael to obtain the power and national will to destroy any adversary who would rise up against us. If today we are being taunted by the “world” as mistreating the Arabs in our midst it is because there are less than four hundred thousand Jews in Yehuda, Shomron and the other liberated areas, so we are viewed as fanatical imperialists, etc. If there was unity in our struggle for Eretz Yisrael and millions would have filled the liberated areas, the message would be that Hashem’s chosen people have returned home to continue the never ending relationship with the Creator. But unfortunately the lessons of Shimon and Levi with the agreement and blessings of Ya’akov were lost in the two thousand year “slavery” in galut, except for the few who cherish the concept of Jewish pride, and devote their lives in sanctifying Hashem’s name in Eretz Yisrael and the world. Shabbat Shalom, Nachman Kahana Copyright © 5775/2014 Nachman Kahana

MK Moshe Feiglin: We Will Continue to Advance Faith-Based Leadership for Israel

As the votes in the Likud primaries were counted on Thursday morning, MK Moshe Feiglin wrote the following on his Facebook page:  “I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all the volunteers, donors and friends who enlisted in my campaign and worked with extraordinary self-sacrifice for our message. I admire all of you and you have my solemn promise that despite the shadow looming over the integrity of these primaries – and no matter what the results – we will not remove our eyes for one moment from our goal. We will continue to joyously and tirelessly advance our message of faith-based leadership for Israel.”

Inflated Palestinian Population Figures Lie Behind Talk of 'Demographic Time Bomb,' Says Yoram Ettinger

By Ben Cohen, Senior Editor, The Algemeiner, December 30, 2014

The latest demographic survey of the Palestinian population by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics overestimates the number of Palestinians resident between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan by around 1.2 million, a leading Israeli expert on demography has told The Algemeiner.

Ambassador Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli diplomat who now works as lecturer and consultant and is well-known in policy circles for his research on Palestinian and Israeli demography, said that the Palestinian statistics, released yesterday, "are inflated by more than 1 million in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and by almost 400,000 in Gaza.”

According to the Palestinian statistics bureau, there are over 6 million Palestinians living west of the Jordan; Ettinger calculates the number at 4.8 million.

The inflated numbers are a key factor behind the current claim that Palestinians will outnumber Jews living in Israel and the Palestinian territories by 2016. Similarly false claims have been made in previous years, triggering the politically-loaded conclusion that Israel, in supposedly becoming a country where a Jewish minority rules over an Arab majority, has effectively emerged as an apartheid state.

Ettinger identified several methodological flaws in the official Palestinian count. "According to their own records, they include over 400,000, mostly in Judea and Samaria, who are abroad for more than a year,” he said. This contradicts, Ettinger said, the "international standards” which dictate that a person who lives outside his or her country for more than a year should not be included in a count of the resident population.

"The only entity that doesn't follow this practice is the Palestinian statistics bureau,” Ettinger said.

The 300,000 Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem who carry Israeli identity cards comprise a similar problem in terms of population count, Ettinger observed, as they are "counted twice, in the Israeli count of the number of Israeli Arabs, and the Palestinian count of the number of residents of the West Bank.” The 105,000 Palestinians who received Israeli citizenship between 1997 and 2003 by virtue of marrying Israeli Arab citizens – a pathway canceled by an Israeli Supreme Court decision in 2003, which denied automatic citizenship through marriage to residents of several Arab and Muslim countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel – are also "doubly counted,” Ettinger said.

All these numbers, Ettinger emphasized, grow every year, "because many of these people produce children who are added to the numbers.” In October 2014, he noted, the Palestinian deputy interior minister even said that "100,000 children born to overseas Palestinians had been added to the overall count.”

When it comes to migration patterns, Palestinian statistics are equally problematic, Ettinger said. Since there is no net immigration into Palestinian areas, population surveys assume no net emigration – yet, Ettinger pointed out, data collected by the Israeli border police, who control all 13 land, sea and air exit points into Israel and the Palestinian territories, demonstrates that in 2013, net emigration stood at 20,000, with similar numbers recorded over the four previous years. Significantly, this does not include Gaza, where no count has been conducted since the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, but Ettinger asserted that "those who deal with Gaza say the number of emigrants is much higher, as a result of war, instability and the disintegrating economy.”

Once adjustments for the Palestinian errors are made, Ettinger said, a different picture of Arab settlement emerges: 1.7 million in the West Bank (as opposed to the 2.83 million claimed in the Palestinian survey, which includes eastern Jerusalem) and 1.4 million in Gaza (instead of the 1.79 million in the Gaza Strip claimed in the survey.) Interestingly, the Palestinian survey gives a lower account of the number of Palestinians resident in Israel – 1.46 million, as opposed to the 1.7 million claimed in the Israeli count – though this is likely connected to the manner in which residents of eastern Jerusalem are counted by Palestinian and Israeli sources respectively.

With 6.5 million Jews resident in Israel, Ettinger said, there is a clear Jewish majority of 66 percent in Israel and the West Bank – that figure dips to 58 percent if Gaza is factored in. Moreover, he said, birth patterns are now weighted towards the Jewish population: the Palestinian fertility rate has dropped from 5 babies per mother in 2000 to 2.9 now, while the Jewish birth rate "is slightly over three and increasing.” Among the reasons for the drop in the Palestinian birth rate is the growing popularity of contraception, increasing access to higher education, and a trend towards urbanization, which means that Palestinian women are marrying later in life.

The Jewish population has additionally been boosted by favorable migration patterns – according to Ettinger, Israel "is now benefiting from the highest number per capita ever of returning expatriates” – and increasing fertility among the secular Jewish population. This includes the descendants of the 1 million Jews who came to Israel from the former Soviet Union during the 1990s, whose fertility rate exceeds two children per family, as well as the burgeoning Israeli middle class, who twenty years ago would have had one or two children per family, and who presently have three or four.

While Ettinger's revisions are unlikely to stall the continual talk of a "demographic time bomb” toppling Israel's Jewish majority, his calculations are, he said, regarded as far more reliable by experts on demography. The prevalence in the media of the Palestinian figures is, he argued, partly down to the international protocol of regarding statistics assembled by national authorities as beyond reproach. "It is assumed that central statistics bureaus are above politics,” he said.

MK Moshe Feiglin After Firebomb Attack on Girl: Save Israel from Itself

On Friday, MK Moshe Feiglin visited  Avner Shapira, the father of the 11 year old girl, Ayalah, who is in serious condition in the hospital following a firebomb terror attack on their car  Thursday evening. Avner was also injured in the attack. “It is beyond heartbreaking,” said Feiglin. “An 11 year old girl attacked by a firebomb straight into her face.”

“I am not angry at the terrorists,” the girl’s father told MK Feiglin. “It also does not interest me if they catch them or not. We are in a war. It is a national war, not a personal battle. Just as when I serve in the army, it does not interest me who exactly shot the shell from the Syrian tank, so the personal identity of the terrorists does not concern me. We are in a war and the reaction cannot be pseudo-criminal.”

“We have a beloved state that needs to be shaken awake, restored to its original path and saved – from itself,” said MK Feiglin.

Please pray for the recovery of Ayalah bat Rut.