In the News: Bernie Quigley on Moshe Feiglin

Bernie Quigley on The Hill writes about Moshe Feiglin. Take note of Mr. Quigley's time-proven insight, which defines Jewish history over the millennia: "Just when you think it’s all wrapped up, something happens and it all changes."

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/religion/90925-temple-mount-next-year-in-jerusalem

Temple Mount: Next year in Jerusalem
By Bernie Quigley - 04/07/10 08:29 AM ET
Just when you think it’s all wrapped up, something happens and it all changes. Like when the glorious arrival of the millennium was officially declared at Barack Obama’s Democratic nomination, biblically staged at Mile High stadium. Then barely 12 hours later Sarah Palin showed up and ruined everything. We may face another such turning, but on a quantum scale, if and when Israelis begin to rebuild the Temple Mount.

As Wikipedia reports, according to Judaism, the Temple Mount is the place where God chose the Divine Presence to rest, and it was from here that the world expanded into its present form and from where God gathered the dust used to create the first man, Adam. It is also the centermost place from which the Western churches emerged. And it was the central office of Knights Templar, from which they take their name. Viewers of the TV show “Lost” have reasonably speculated that the show’s temporal mysteries are ultimately sourced at a mythic Temple Mount.

Haaretz reports that the Our Land of Israel party (Eretz Israel Shelanu) said it intended to mount an extensive bus campaign, with the slogan "May the Temple be built in our lifetime," along with an artist's rendition of the completed temple.

"The mosque on the temple mount is temporary," said Baruch Marzel, one of the party’s leaders, referring to the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques, "and it's only a matter of time before the Temple which the entire people of Israel are waiting for will be built."

The fate of Israel is tied to party elections this month. If Moshe Feiglin’s Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) group, the largest faction in the Likud, comes into power, Israel will be “a Jewish state” instead of “a state for Jews.” In any event, the day is just ahead. Time is quickly passing when the “authentic” Israeli leadership we have long viewed on Jim Lehrer’s “The News Hour” appears to hail from a suburb of Philadelphia.

Youth wants to know: How does Sarah Palin feel about Manhigut Yehudit? Mitt Romney? Rick Perry?

Moment Of Truth

By Moshe Feiglin

Bibi's problem is not how to safeguard Jerusalem. According to the Makor Rishon newspaper, he has already committed to retreat to Israel's pre-1967 borders - including Jerusalem - with the exception of minor border adjustments. The newspaper, generally associated with Netanyahu, quotes three highly reliable American sources to verify its report.

Bibi's problem is not how to safeguard Jerusalem. His problem is how to sell his surrender to the public. Netanyahu bought the time that he needed for internal politicking with his ten month building freeze.
But now, much to his chagrin, the Likud has woken up from its hibernation. The last thing that Bibi needs now is elections for the Likud Central Committee, which are expected to boost the right wing MKs and ministers of the party.

Bibi's tried and true solution? Change the rules. Two weeks ago, Israel's High Court accepted Netanyahu's appeal against holding elections for the Likud Central Committee on time as per the Likud constitution. Instead, Bibi proposes to change the constitution and postpone elections for the new Likud Central Committee for at least two more years - an eternity in Israel.

If Bibi gets his way, the elections for the Likud's governing body will likely never take place and Israel's large Jewish majority will have lost the only political tool that it has to determine its fate. All the power will be concentrated in the hands of the High Court and the radical left, which will continue to ensure that Netanyahu does their bidding. If Bibi wins this upcoming vote, he will quickly transform whatever will remain of the Likud into a new Kadimah, just as Sharon did, five years ago.

How long can Israel survive if it is not motivated by its Jewish majority? How can it retain its national and territorial integrity when it is manipulated by the small minority that is estranged from its Jewish identity but firmly in control of Israel's power hubs in the courts and media? How much longer can the State of Israel possibly last with Shimon Peres, Dorit Beinish, the heads of the justice system and the news editors running the country? Can it save itself from the "mother of all expulsions" that Bibi is preparing for us?

It is vital to Israel's future to preserve the Likud as the party that genuinely reflects its Jewish majority.
If Bibi wins this vote, G-d forbid, we will find ourselves stranded on a narrow strip of beach, waiting for the American ship that will come to save us.

And it will come.
Just like America came then, to bomb Auschwitz.

And Aaron was Silent

By Moshe Feiglin

And Moses said to Aaron: 'This is what G-d spoke, saying, with those close to Me I will be sanctified and before all the nation I will be glorified,' and Aaron was silent. (From this week's Torah portion, Shemini, Leviticus 10:3)

Aaron's silence in the face of his tragedy is a chilling prelude to Holocaust Day, which will be observed this year on Sunday night and Monday, 28 Nissan / April 12. His silence is as close as we can get to an answer to the "Why?" that plagues us.

And Aaron was silent.
Silence.
The words stop here.
Even thoughts stop.
Every attempt to explain falls short of the plane on which the question was evoked.
All that is left is emunah, faith in G-d, without which life is meaningless.
Emunah and acceptance of G-d's decrees.
And silence.

***

There may not be an answer to the "Why?" But the answer to the "How?" is crystal clear.
The physical destruction of the Jews in the Holocaust was preceded by the destruction of their honor and their right to exist. Der Sturmer preceded Auschwitz. Before people or an entire nation can be destroyed, they must first be stripped of their basic human image. They must be made illegitimate. A long and fundamental process in which the Jews of Europe were transformed into objects of derision was the necessary prelude to their physical destruction.

Today, the State of Israel is in the throes of the same process. Achmadinijad - the modern-day Amalek - was the first to publicly talk of Israel's destruction and to make the actual preparations to carry out his evil scheme. This type of rhetoric should have been brought to a rapid end by his elimination. The fact that Achmadinijad was not assassinated has delegitimized Israel and transformed Iran into America's new ally.

While Israel's senior ministers face international arrest warrants, Achmadinijad and his ministers freely travel the world. Western academia entertains the question of how the world will look without Israel (you can guess the answer) and Biden gets insulted when we dare build in our capital.

Once again, the Jews are an international pariah and once again we face the threat of destruction.

If you honestly answer the "How" question, it is easy to understand that although the year is 2010, what we are really experiencing is a re-run of the 1930's.

Netanyahu's mortifying conduct has encouraged the wolves of the world to sink their teeth into Israel. If Israel does not prove that it is capable of defending itself and exacting a steep price from those who seek to destroy it, the sand in its hourglass will quickly run out, G-d forbid.

Shabbat Shalom

The Churva: A Preview of Things To Come

By Jason Gold

Standing in the middle of the newly re-built Churva Shul in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City this Shabbat Chol HaMoed many thoughts play across the mind. I stand in awe of the beauty of this magnificent structure, as well as its grandeur and majesty with the previous commerative arch now built into the structure. I recall the people standing in line for hours, the line stretching across the Rova, to look and to pray inside. I also recall how perfect the date of the Chanukat HaBayit was, Rosh Chodesh Nissan and how this is the third version, so to speak, of this shul. Twice before, the Churva shul was destroyed. The first time was after the followers of Rav Yehudah HaChasid ran out of money to pay back the Arab landlords in the 18th century. The second time was during the 1948 war of independence by the Jordanian army following the re-building of the Churva by the students of the Vilna Gaon. And so it is this beautiful shul that has enraged the Arabs and Obama at the audacity of the Jews to re-build a place of worship in their own section in their own capital city. And yet powerless to stop the building or the dedication despite their rage, they vent their wrath on the Israeli Prime Minister, continuing the humiliation of his Washington visit by decreeing he dare not attend the Chanukat HaBayit but rather send taped greetings and make sure that his Chief Rabbi absolutely deny any intention to build the third Beit HaMikdash. And still the people come by the thousands, to look, to be awestruck, and to pray. On the surface one has to wonder what the fuss is all about. After all, the Jews did not build this in the Arab Quarter. They did not expand out of the Rova to do this. This was not Ramat Shlomo, this was not the territories. So why would one re-built shul cause such consternation? The answer lies under the surface. Despite a weak and disconnected-from-faith Israeli leadership, the Arabs and the world know on a collective and perhaps subliminal basis that the Jews are not going anywhere. That inexorably, slowly and perhaps even against the will of the current leadership, Israel will do what it takes to maintain a semblance of sovereignty in its own land and not become a banana republic. That this is the last gasp of the anti-Israel forces before things begin to change. And make no mistake, the winds of change are blowing. Bibi is fighting for his political life within his own party. The Likud high-ranking nationalists will not let him give in so easily despite his lack of backbone, causing him to try and bring in leftists to dilute the nationalist influence. The left can see that their days are numbered as the Labor and Meretz parties begin their journey to political irrelevancy. All of this sets the stage for the coming of the faith-based revolution and leadership that will restore the pride of the Israeli nation and Am Yisrael. Chazal tell us that all shuls contain a spark of the Beit HaMikdash; a "Mikdash M'aht". On its third and Gd willing, final iteration, perhaps nothing exemplifies this better than the Churva Shul. A Mikdash M'aht indeed. And if you think the screaming was loud now, just wait until the first shovel goes into the ground on Har HaBayit for the third and final iteration of the Beit HaMikdash. The cacophony of the world - be it an Obama, be it the Arabs, be it the Europeans, will be deafening. Their actions? Impotent in the face of the power and faith of Am Yisrael. Buckle up. It gets bumpy from here on in.

An Oldie but Goodie by Shmuel Sackett: Pesach in Cancun

By Shmuel Sackett International Director, Manhigut Yehudit Adar, 5768 March, 2008 I just finished reading a Jewish newspaper that a friend sent me from the States and I am totally confused!!! This paper had over 20 pages of ads from various Pesach programs and I can’t make up my mind. Please read my dilemma and if you can help me, email me your advice at Shmuel@jewishisrael.org. I would greatly appreciate it. My first choice was actually one of the many hotels in Florida. My favorite one advertises a “Hawaiian Luau Night”. What a great Pesach experience… matzah, marror and a good old-fashioned Hawaiian Luau. I was about to make my reservation but noticed that the ad did not say “non-gebrokts”. Hey, Luau or no Luau, I insist on non-gebrokts only! What do you think I am… some kind of modern Jew??? The next ad I liked was about Pesach in Greece. The ad boasted, “an enlisting atmosphere of Torah”. Think about that. A few months ago we celebrated Chanukah when the Greeks did not allow Jews to study Torah and now Jews are traveling on Pesach to Greece to have “an enlisting atmosphere of Torah”. Boy, have times changed! My wife refused to go to Greece. Why couldn’t I marry a true Eyshet Chayil? So, I had to look further. The next ad was for a beautiful hotel in Cancun. WOW!!! Pesach in the Caribbean!! How holy is that???!!! To make things really exciting, the ad said the following; “Chassidishe and Bais Yosef Shechita”. I have to admit that I have no idea what that means but it sounds very “machmir” and we all know that machmir is good. Can you imagine being machmir in Cancun? As my kids would say: COOOOOL!! Well, we found out that it’s too hot in Cancun so we kept looking. Let’s see; there was Pesach in Los Cabos that said “Glatt Kosher and Scuba Diving” (but is the “Glatt” in Los Cabos also Bais Yosef?), Pesach in Italy on the Italian Riviera, Pesach in Las Vegas that boasts a “World championship golf course, 18,000 square ft European Spa and a Fully stocked Bais Medrash” (but how far is the Bais Medrash from the European Spa? I hate walking on Pesach) and Pesach in Disney with “100% hand Shmurah matzah, Daf Yomi and totally non-gebrokts” (does Mickey know that too??). I’m telling you this is hurting my Shalom Bayis! I want Greece but my wife absolutely refuses. She wants Los Cabos. (Where is that any way???). Two of my kids want Disney while my frum son insists on Chassidishe shechita which would leave us only with Cancun! My daughter tells me that the Rav of the shul we used to dovin in is the Scholar-in-Residence in Spain where the ad says “No Kitnios”. But when I demanded to know how fully stocked their Bais Medrash was she could not answer me!!! I’m telling you… kids today just don’t get it! So what do I do? I called my Rav back in New York and asked him what he felt. He said that he’s going to Disney and if I book through him I can save 10%. Any suggestions?