Rav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Naso 5771

BS"D Parashat Naso, the Kohanic Blessing, Yom Yerushalayim and Chag HaShavuot 5771

A:

The following is an excerpt which deals with the Kohanic blessing, taken from my book "With All Your Might":

"Kohanim recite their daily blessing over 450 times a year in Eretz Yisrael; quite a bit more than in the galut, where it is said about 10 times a year. The arithmetic is quite simple: 4500 mitzvot for a kohen in 10 years in Eretz Yisrael, as opposed to 100 times in 10 years in chutz la’aretz, and 9000 times in twenty years as opposed to 200 for a kohen in the galut.

Questions:

1) Is there a qualitative difference between kohanim, or is everyone "tuned into the same frequency" and the community receives a "standard" blessing regardless of the kohen’s religious status?

2) Birkat kohanim begins with a bracha: baruch ata...le'varech et amo yisrael be'ahava — "...to bless His nation Israel with love." Why must we emphasize that this mitzva is fulfilled with a conscious feeling of LOVE? Are we not commanded to do every mitzva with love?

3) It is unacceptable to stand with one’s back to the aron (the Holy Ark which contains the Torah scrolls); the chazan and community always face the aron. Why then do the kohanim stand with their backs to the aron?

4) Before turning to face the community, the kohen’s hands are closed; but when reciting the blessing, his fingers are opened in the required fashion. What is the meaning of this?

5) At the end of the birkat kohanim, the verse says ve'ani avorchem — "and I (HaShem) shall bless them." Rabbi Akiva, in Tractate Chulin, explains that HaShem is saying to the kohanim that after they bless the community, HaShem will bless the kohanim. Why does the Torah state that HaShem will bless the kohanim who perform this specific mitzva? Are we not all blessed by HaShem for every mitzva we perform?

6) There is a mitzva in the Torah obligating the community to give preference to kohanim in the performance of mitzvot (birkat hazimun, called to the Torah first, etc.). Why this preferential treatment?

7) At the end of the bracha, the kohanim recite a prayer stating, "Master of the universe, we have performed that which you have decreed upon us..." After the opening bracha where the kohanim are commanded to bless in "love", this highly emotional act now turns into a "decree". Decrees and love don't go together!

There are many more questions!!

I suggest:?

When we become bar or bat mitzva, an "account" is opened in our names in Olam Haba. As we keep mitzvot, the account keeps growing so that after 120 years we withdraw the capital together with its accumulated Heavenly interest.

When a kohen recites the birkat kohanim, there is no general pool of goodness and blessings to which he connects and retrieves for the community’s benefit. The kohen gives his own personal bank account of Gan Eden to the community; and at the end of the blessing, the kohen’s "account" is totally depleted.

Now all the questions are resolved.

There is a qualitative difference between one kohen and another; for the more righteous the kohen, the greater his Gan Eden, and hence a more bountiful blessing for the community.

The opening blessing is based on "ahava". Is there a greater expression of love than when one relinquishes his Gan Eden for another person? This is the ultimate act of love!

We face the aron, because, at every moment in our lives, we are "depositing" our mitvot into Olam Haba; but now the kohen is withdrawing from his Gan Eden, so he stands with his back to the aron.

Prior to the blessing, the kohen's hands are closed as a sign of possession; but as he turns, he opens his hands as if to say, "I no longer possess what I had until now".

The verse says v’ani avorchem — "and I shall bless them" — because HaShem is saying, "Do not worry. Empty out your Gan Eden for the sake of My children, and I will bless you (the kohanim) many times over for the giving of your Gan Eden."

We give preference to kohanim in the performance of mitzvot, because we, the community, will get the reward of the kohen when he releases his Gan Eden to us.

At the end of the bracha, kohanim recite the prayer "Master of the universe, we have performed that which you have decreed upon us..." recognizing the fact that the kohen has no choice in the matter. He cannot say, I will keep my Gan Eden and not bless the people. It is a decree to which he must conform.

When performing his duties, a kohen relinquishes his spiritual gains for the good of his fellow Jews. When HaShem sees this ultimate act of love of the kohen, He joins in the act of love by answering the sinner’s request, and kohanic intervention of tahara and atonement; just as a father is overwhelmed with pride and happiness upon seeing unity and love among his children".

When HaShem informed the Jewish people that He intended to appoint them as a mamlechet kohanin - a kohanic nation, when in fact only about 5% of us are kohanim, He was referring to the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael. For it is here that a Jew is required to be prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice for HaShem, as indeed kohanim do here every day with their kohanic blessing.

B:

I wish to bring to your attention the prophecy of Yechezkel in chapter 32 verse 17, which is hidden from the understanding of people like us and needs to be interpreted by the great commentators.

The Malbim writes in his commentary on the above verse:

It will come to pass in the end of days, after the Jewish people will return to the land of Israel, that the nations will come together in order to capture Yerushalayim. The prophet names the nations who will come. Gog, the king of Meshech, and Tuval from the north and west who are uncircumcised and called "Edom," who are the descendants of Yefet living now in Europe. And Paras, Kush, and the House of Turgama who are all circumcised and adhering to the belief of Yishmael, will join with the children of Edom to attempt to capture the Land of Israel from the Jews.

But when they arrive, they will create chaos among themselves and make war on each other. That is, Edom will make war on Yishmael because their beliefs are different.

And there God will judge them in sword and blood as stated by the prophet Zecharia chapter 14.

And here the prophet (Yechezkel) relates how they all will be lost; and singles out Egypt, Ashur and Elam who adhere to the religion of Yishmael and are today circumcised. He then mentions Meshech, Tuval and Edom, their kings and princes from the north who are all uncircumcised. And between them will there be a war. The first to be utterly destroyed will be the Egyptians, who are the closest to the Land of Israel and will come forward first and fall. Then the Assyrians and Persians will come to avenge their ally and they all will be destroyed.

I suggest that if the Malbim lived today, he could have been more specific:

It will come to pass in the end of the exile and the Jewish people will return to the land of Israel, that many nations will come together in order to attempt to capture Yerushalayim.

The nations who will come are from the north and west and include the European Union and the nations which comprised the former Soviet Union who are all uncircumcised and called "Edom," the descendants of Yefet living now in Europe and adhere to the Christian faith. And Iran, the Arab peoples, and the House of Saud who are all circumcised adhering to the faith of Yishmael, will join with the children of Edom to attempt to capture the Land of Israel from the Children of Israel.

But when they arrive, they will create chaos among themselves and make war on each other. That is, the Christians from Europe will make war on the Muslims because their beliefs are different.

And there God will judge them in sword and blood as stated by the prophet Zecharia chapter 14.

And here the prophet (Yechezkel) describes how they will be lost. He singles out Egypt, Syria and Iran who adhere to the religion of Yishmael and are circumcised. Then Meshech, Tuval and Edom, their kings and princes from the north, who are uncircumcised, and between them will be a war.

The first to be utterly destroyed will be the Egyptians who are the closest to the Land of Israel who will come forward first and fall; then the Syrians and Iranians will come to avenge their fallen ally and they all will be destroyed.

We cannot blame the Malbim for generalizing, because he wrote his commentary in the 19th century, when the return of the Jews to Eretz Yisrael was only a dream. Quite the contrary; he was graced with the Godly spirit when he so rightly explained Yechezkel’s words as accurately as he did.

I would fill in some missing details which might seem today as far-fetched, but could be tomorrow’s headlines.

The Iranians will soon achieve nuclear capability as nuclear proliferation becomes a fact of life. The West and Islam, confronted on a collision course towards mutual destruction, will meet in order to discuss ways of defusing the ticking timebomb. They will be utterly frustrated in their attempts to find mutual grounds for understanding, except in one area - their mutual enmity and hostility towards the Jews in general, and specifically the Jews in Eretz Yisrael.

The need of the nations to function together will give rise to the mutual goal of ridding the world of the maverick, renegade State of Israel and its archaic, heretical beliefs.

They will field a volunteer army of millions of Christians and Moslems who will march hand-in-hand in an updated version of the Crusades; but, this time, they are certain that the communion between Rome and Mecca will arouse their Gods to bless their "pure" intentions.

Here, in Eretz Yisrael, bewilderment will share the stage with dread. Many will try to leave, but there will be nowhere to go. The emergency "hot-line" request to Washington will go unheeded, after the President informs our Prime Minister that the US has no choice but to be neutral in this situation; since the decision was taken by the General Assembly of the UN where we have no veto power.

The sky will become clouded by the ascending dust caused by the multitudes making their way to Eretz Yisrael, with each person filled with ardor, ecstasy and zealousness to do the will of their god.

At this point the two chapters of Yechezkel come together - chapter 1 which we will read next week on Shavuot with its description of the fiery Serafim, Ofanim and Chayot Hakodesh, and chapter 32 which describes the multitude of nations on their way to destroy what God has blessed.

This is what the Gemara, at the end of the first chapter of Tractate Berachot, is referring to when it predicts that the miracles of the future will outshine the unbelievable miracles of the Egyptian exodus.

Shabbat Shalom

Nachman Kahana

Gerry Ziering's Monthly Zionist Letter

June 1, 2011

We have just had the joy of celebrating Yom Yerushalaim. Visitors from all over the world were here to celebrate along with multitudes of our youth from all around the country. The celebration is for the reunification of Jerusalem after the 1967 war; the reunification of the eternal capital of Israel. As I walked from the center of town toward the old city I saw crowds of school children who had all coalesced on the capital to show their unmitigated love for Jerusalem, to stand shoulder to shoulder with all those who had come before them and made this great day possible, to remember the fallen in the war that liberated Jerusalem. Yom Yerushalaim is not just another day on the calendar for us. It is a day when we stand tall, a day in which we exult in our lot, to be fortunate enough to be back in our eternal capital and to state with our actions that Jerusalem will forever belong to the Jewish people. As I sat down by the kotel I admired the strength we have in our diversity. A new oleh from France sat beside me studying his Hebrew. Two female Ethipian chayalim in uniform strolled through the kotel plaza, Russian immigrants and Israeli Chareidim headed to the Kotel to pray and I could hear the English conversation of Jews from North America who were here with their yeshivot to rejoice in the moment. As I entered the tunnel at the Kotel to daven mincha, minyanim were forming all around me. What a marvelous sight to see so many different types of Jews from so many places with one thing in mind.... to pray and thank Hashem for being part of such a glorious people and for having Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. After all that Am Yisrael has gone thru over the last 2500 years and continues to go through, it is a well deserved day of exultation.

We are such an extaordinary people, despite being under siege in a sea of hostile neighbors. Our economy is booming, the cities are growing with transportation networks including new roads and trains. There is a state of the art high tech industry and cultural events are proliferating. Personally , I believe there are more people working for charity organizations per capita in this country and this city(Jerusalem) than any other country or city in the world.

Jerusalem is a city where every morning you wake up and say Modeh Ani and truly thank G-d for being alive. To have the privilege to breathe the mountain air and to participate first hand in the life of the Jewish nation whom G-d chose to be its messenger to the world, is nothing short of incredible.

I thought to take a couple of Rav Kook's writings to express the feelings of many of us who have made the choice to join our lot with our brothers and sisters who are living in the holy land. Rav Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine. He was the founder of the zionist yeshiva, Merkaz HaRav, a Jewish thinker, halachist and Torah scholar. He was a true Ohave Yisrael.

The Land of Israel
The land of Israel is not some external entity.
It is not merely an external acquisition for the Jewish people.
It is not merely a means of uniting the populace.
It is not merely a means of strengthening our physical existence.
It is not even merely a means of strengthening our spiritual existence.

Rather, the land of Israel has an intrinsic meaning.
It is connected to the Jewish people with the knot of life.
Its very being is suffused with extraordinary qualities.

The extraordinary qualities of the land of Israel and the extraordinary qualities of the Jewish people are two halves of a whole.
Eretz Cheifetz I

Exile and Mediocrity
We experience exile and mediocrity because we do not proclaim the value and wisdom of the land of Israel.

We have not rectified the sin of the biblical spies who slandered the land. And so we must do the opposite of what they did: we must tell and proclaim to the entire world the land's glory and its beauty, its holiness and its honor.

Then, after all these praises, let us hope that we have expressed at least one ten-thousandth of the loveliness of that lovely land: the beauty of the light of its Torah, the exalted nature of the light of its wisdom, and the holy spirit that seethes within it.
Eretz Cheifetz

Gerry Ziering

Why Film A Jewish Response to Obama?

By Moshe Feiglin

Is Obama really listening to Moshe Feiglin? Not likely. However, when the truth is clearly stated and a wide audience in Israel and throughout the world sees and hears it, a new reality is created.

We know that the most senior politicians in the Likud follow every word that Manhigut Yehudit publicizes. We know that the more that our views are heard and viewed by more and more people, the more influence we have on the heads of the ruling party. And a new consciousness is a new reality!

Can Netanyahu do more than he is already doing? Apparently not. From within the existing consciousness, Netanyahu is negotiating the diplomatic tightrope most impressively. But the resolve that he displayed when he faced Obama is intrinsically bound up with the balance of power that Manhigut Yehudit created within the Likud. Unlike previous face-offs with the White House, the PM's office released a critical reaction immediately following Obama's speech, consciously creating a crisis with the US. We have never witnessed a similar display of determination and conviction from an Israeli PM and we praise Netanyahu for it, with hope that it is not a passing phenomenon.

While Netanyahu is doing a good job within the existing consciousness, my speech was designed to create a new consciousness. The claim that we cannot retreat from the 1967 borders because they are indefensible, the recognition of the sovereignty of another people in Israel's heartland and most of all, the inability to understand and integrate Jewish destiny in this Land - leave no chance to win the game that all of Israel's modern leaders have played.

Until the Six Day War of miracles, our existence was legitimized by the world by 'merit' of our suffering and the memory of the Holocaust. After the Six Day War, however, the existential questions began to surface. The new generation in Europe does not feel responsible for what previous generations did and as far as they are concerned, Israel is continuing the Nazi legacy while the 'Palestinians' have inherited the victim status.

For its part, Israel does not understand the change and continues to attempt to deal with the existential questions by using the 'afflicted' tactics. As far as the world is concerned, however, if the Jews are in Israel for no reason other than to defend themselves, wouldn't they be better off in a place where they are not threatened, like Uganda, for instance?

My video-speech illuminates Israel's relations with its neighbors, the relations between the nations in the Middle East and the world and the relations between the US and Israel on a completely different plane. It makes no mention of necessity, but does emphasize our right and obligation in this Land - in its entirety. It gives a much more logical analysis of what is really happening in the Arab states, shows the direction developments are likely to take and gives a real understanding of the new reality that is currently endangering the entire world. The speech gives real hope to all seekers of liberty throughout the world and of course, for the well-being of Israel.

From within the current reality, we do not have better answers than the existing leadership. But this consciousness will necessarily lead to a dead end. From there, it will be just a short way to the new, faith-based consciousness. It is at that crucial intersection that Manhigut Yehudit must be waiting to lead Israel into the new reality. No other leadership will be able to do it.

Would you buy a used car from Israel's Left?

By Philip Brodie

Since Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to the US Congress last week, Leftists in Israel have announced that the EU and the US should pressure Israel to withdraw back to 1949 borders ( called, euphemistically, the 1967 lines). At the same time, Opposition leader Tzipi Livni calls for Israel to move quickly to a two-state solution.

However, something is missing from these calls--details. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but every time Leftists call for peace and withdrawal, they never discuss details. Have you noticed that? But if peace is our goal, we had better ask questions—and get answers-- before we sign anything.

You wouldn’t buy a used car without asking detailed questions. Why would you sign a peace accord that way?

Here are some questions the Left needs to answer:

1. We see the word, ‘peace’ in the news virtually every week. Sometimes, in a good week, we could see the word ten times. It’s wonderful. We have so many Israeli columnists who love peace. The problem is, I can’t seem to find the same enthusiasm in our designated Arab peace partners. Instead, what I see from them are such words as, ‘there will be no Jews in our new State,’ ‘we will destroy the Jewish entity’, ‘we will not recognize the Jewish State', and ‘Jerusalem is ours’.

Question: How do you explain to the Israeli public that what appears to be an obvious disconnect between what Israel says about peace and what the Arabs say really means we have a trustworthy peace partner?

2. The Arabs have declared that they want a Jew-free State. This would mean removing up to 400,000 Jews from the West Bank. This is a problem because the Charter of the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi Germany’s leaders, after World War Two, stated clearly that the deportation or complete transfer of a population can be both a war crime and a crime against humanity—and the UN endorses this concept.

Question: Given the fact that we are already in trouble at the United Nations, why is it a good idea to tell the UN to help the Arab commit a government-sponsored crime against humanity?

3. Recent history tells us that the Israeli government has not yet successfully rehoused, retrained and re-employed some 8,000 Jewish Gush residents who had been removed from Gaza in 2005.

Question: If Israel cannot successfully move 8,000 people, how are they going to do a better job moving and rehousing up to 50 times that number?

4. Every month, we see in news reports that the government has budget difficulties. Apparently, our government is not exactly flush with cash.

Question: How will our government pay for moving up to 400,000 Jews?

5. My friends have trouble buying a house. They say real estate prices have skyrocketed because there aren’t enough houses to go around.

Question: What will happen to real estate prices—and our economy—if, suddenly, there were 90,000 displaced Jewish families looking for a place to live?

6. The Arabs demand that Israel must move back to pre-1967 borders. Members of the IDF Command have claimed that such an arrangement would make defending ourselves almost impossible, for a variety of reasons.

Question: How do you explain to the public that the IDF Command is dead wrong?

7. The Arabs claim that there can be no peace with us unless we accept their ‘law of return’. This will bring up to 6 million Arabs into Israel.

Question: Where does the money come from to support the sudden influx of 6 million new immigrants who have no jobs, no place to live, cannot afford to pay for health care and have never been to Ulpan?

8. It seems that every time our government appears serious about peace, Mr Abbas of the Palestinian Authority seems to hold up another map of a new state of Palestine that displaces Israel.

Question: How do you explain to the Israeli public that these new maps mean peace for Jews?

9. Whenever someone on the Left says, 'peace', someone on the Right says, 'peace is not possible', and when someone on the Right says that, the Arabs publish something that sounds like they want to kill Jews.

Question: How do you explain to the Israel public that (1) the Right is wrong, and (2) the Arabs are not really talking about killing Jews?

10. Our religious heritage teaches us that the land of Israel belongs to G-d.

Question: how do you justify giving away something that your own religion says does not belong to you?

Peace is wonderful. Nevertheless, before you jump to join the Left, I have a suggestion: don’t buy anything until you get satisfactory answers to these questions.

You don’t buy used cars without details--and you don’t buy ‘peace’, either

"Lift Up Your Voice": In honor of Yom Yerushalayim

By HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, ZT"L

Passover and Shavuot - Bound Anew

In the cycle of the years, in the order of the generations of Israel, there exist two holidays that are uniquely bound to one another - Passover and Shavuot. It is the bridge-like link of the Counting of the Omer that bonds these two festivals together.

In this very same period we have merited the appearance of two more days of significance which possess similar meaning, a meaning which is especially relevant in our times and brings to life the ancient traditions of the giving of the Torah and the Exodus from Egypt: The fifth of the Hebrew month of Iyyar - Israel's Independence Day, a day of pride for the Jews, both in Israel and in the Diaspora; and the twenty-eighth of Iyyar - Jerusalem Day, a day which symbolizes freedom, holiness, the union between the Jews and their Torah, and the union between the Jews and the holiness of the Land of Israel. The two holidays that were, and continue to be linked to one another - Shavuot and Pesach - are bound anew by virtue of Independence and Jerusalem Days.

Two Levels: A Jewish Approach

"I am God your Lord. I brought you out from Egypt, where you were slaves. I broke the bands of your yoke, and led you forth with your heads held high" (Leviticus 26:13). Scripture makes use of the Hebrew word "Komamiyut" in order to express the term "heads held high." The word "Komamiyut," though, lends itself to other understandings as well. The sages of the Talmud interpreted it to imply "two levels." These two levels reflect a distinctly Jewish approach. It is our plea and our hope, the dearest of values: that the great House of Israel should consist of two levels. The first level is that of the state, a level of independence and physical freedom. The second is a spiritual level that rests upon the physical existence and rises above it, sustaining it and giving it validity, meaning, and purpose. The one cannot exist without the other.

We existed in the lands of the Diaspora as well, but as Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook zt"l explains at length, that was an abnormal existence That was an existence of the upper level without the lower level, a spiritually erect existence without national vitality. That is not a normal existence. That is not natural. That is not the way God wants the Jews to appear in the world, and that is not the way God wants the Jews to present themselves. Two levels together constitute the true stature of the People of Israel.

On the twenty-eighth of Iyyar, this bond revealed itself once more. For almost twenty years, we were cut off from our life source; we were cut off from the Wailing Wall, cut off from the most holy of places - Jerusalem. We saw her from far off, yet we could not touch her cold stones, those stones which evoke the tears of every Jew, regardless of background. We witnessed this for ourselves when the paratroopers, who merited being the first to reach the Wailing Wall, kissed those cold stones. They claimed that their tears came forth without their even realizing it, without knowing what drew them to the Wall or what it was about her stones that moved them.

There was a wall in the heart of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, at that time, was divided in two and cut off, until at last the wall fell, the wall that divided between Israel and the holiest of places. It fell, and we hope that it will never return. We pray that a wall like that one will not rise again. We hope that a wall will rise, but not a wall that divides Jerusalem. Rather, "a wall of fire surrounding her, and I will be the glory in her midst" (Zechariah 2:9).

"Lift up your voice with strength"

The Prophet Isaiah speaks words of prophecy and words of consolation,
"Go up onto the high mountain, bearer of good tidings for Zion; lift up your voice with strength, bearer of good tidings for Jerusalem; lift it up and do not fear, say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!'" (Isaiah 40:9).

"Lift it up and do not fear." Yet, what was there to be afraid of? Why did Isaiah need to encourage the nation so at that time? When the Prophet Isaiah prophesized of the second redemption - which, had the Jews been worthy, would have been the final redemption - there was concern that they would be afraid to say, "Here is your God!" Therefore, Isaiah had to encourage the Jews, saying to them, "Do not fear, say to the cities of Judah..." - Announce it loudly, do not be embarrassed. "Lift up your voice with strength, bearer of good tidings for Jerusalem."

There is Zion and there is Jerusalem. Zion represents the Jewish kingdom. Zion is the City of David. It is the seat of the kingdom. "Go up onto the high mountain, bearer of good tidings for Zion." Zion is the state, the government. Zion is the kingdom, and as such, it is recognized though its flag. The kingdom must be recognized from afar; its presence must be felt. "Go up onto the high mountain, bearer of good tidings for Zion."

Jerusalem is holiness. The kingdom serves as a mere foundation for her. Jerusalem is the upper level. We see that the government celebrates Independence Day with drums, flags, and parades. Jerusalem day, though, bares a different, calmer character. A more inverted nature. It possesses more of a meditative, contemplative nature. "Lift up your voice." Here, concerning Jerusalem, there is a need to speak up, a need to encourage. Here there is a need to infuse new spirit into those dry bones.

"Lift up your voice with strength." With strength. With that very same strength which we find being revealed in the passage, "The voice of God is with strength" (Psalm 29). Back then, each and every one of us felt and knew that not our strength and not the power of our hands were responsible for what had come about. It came as a surprise, that the little Jordanian king should have seized the opportunity. When he noticed that we were busy on the other front, he too awoke. I remember those days. I recall walking home from "Heichal Shelomo." I remember shots from the direction of the Old City slicing the air from time to time. They were the shots of the Jordanian legion who, seeing their opportunity, pounced at the heart, the center, the seat of Jewish rule, thinking "Destroy it, destroy it to its very foundations" (Psalm 137:7). It was at that point, with no desire whatsoever, and with great difficulty that we were dragged into confrontation. Yet God was at our side, for, "The voice of God is with strength." That was the strength that we possessed. "Lift up your voice with strength, bearer of good tidings for Jerusalem." Today, too, we must make it known and emphasize that it was divine strength that assisted us. We did not initiate the war. Israel never looks for war. Today as well, we are not interested in war.

Yet, we cannot part with our life source, the site of the Holy Temple. Our prophets and sages dreamed concerning this place. This is the place from which the Torah must go forth. We refuse at all costs to relinquish it, and all such plans will end in failure. No such plan will ever succeed in materializing. Jerusalem will remain with us forever, and the Land of Israel will reach the boarders that God promised us. So it was and so will it be, and God will be with us. This is the message which Jerusalem's liberation carries for us. This is the message that Jerusalem Day delivers us as it links up with Independence Day, and fills it with spirit and soul.

"The word of God will stand forever"

At present, the national spirit is worn and something must be said. "Do not fear!" says the verse. What precedes this passage? "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:9). Why the broken spirit at present? Why are our hands irresolute? Do we not see that God has been guiding us continuously right up until present? Can we possibly be lacking the ability to sense and understand this? At that time, the period of Koresh's rule when Isaiah was prophesizing concerning the return from Babylon to Zion, there was a moment of awakening, during which Koresh was being referred to as Messiah. It appeared as if we were about to receive a state and everything that accompanies it. Then, suddenly, adversaries slandered and spoke against Jerusalem. Consequently, a royal decree was received, ordering the discontinuation of the building of the Holy Temple. It was then that Isaiah the Prophet spoke, saying, "Who are you that you fear a mortal man and the son of man who is made like grass?" (Isaiah 51:12). "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever." This is the lesson that we must remember today as well; this is the message of Jerusalem Day and Independence Day.

There are those who would like to fold up the Israeli flag and to diminish her borders in retreat. Yet, they are not aware of the true implications, that, as our sages teach: "flight is the beginning of the end." We must stand firm with the resolve of the eternity of Israel. That which was in our power until now will continue to be so.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they who love you shall prosper" (Psalm 122:6). The peace of Jerusalem will be accompanied by the peace of all the Jews. May God place peace upon us, so that we merit witnessing the unification of hearts as we witnessed the unification of Jerusalem.

May God allow us the merit bringing the entirety of the People of Israel back to the entirety of the Land of Israel, speedily in our days, Amen.

Rav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Bamidbar 5771

　

BS"D Parashat Bamidbar 5771

TWO DAYS IN THE MONTH OF IYAR

A: Monday, the 19th of Iyar 5771

It is 2:00 PM and I am sitting in my study, peering out of the window onto the main square in the south-eastern part of the Old City of Yerushalayim, pondering the past, present and future.

The square holds the newly rebuilt Churva bet knesset (synagogue) with its imposing white dome. The square is where Jews congregate when coming to the Old City, from the very elderly to the very young, and unwittingly, the beautiful, uplifting words of the prophet Zecharya (8:3-8) comes to mind:

כה אמר ה' שבתי אל ציון ושכנתי בתוך ירושלם ונקראה ירושלם עיר האמת והר ה' צבאות הר הקדש:

כה אמר ה' צבאות עד ישבו זקנים וזקנות ברחבות ירושלם ואיש משענתו בידו מרב ימים:

ורחבות העיר ימלאו ילדים וילדות משחקים ברחבתיה:

כה אמר ה' צבאות כי יפלא בעיני שארית העם הזה בימים ההם גם בעיני יפלא נאם ה' צבאות:

כה אמר ה' צבאות הנני מושיע את עמי מארץ מזרח ומארץ מבוא השמש:

והבאתי אתם ושכנו בתוך ירושלם והיו לי לעם ואני אהיה להם לאלהים באמת ובצדקה:

Thus does HaShem say: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty, the Holy Mountain."

Thus does HaShem say: "Once again elderly men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.

The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."

Thus does HaShem say: "It will seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, and seem marvelous to me," declares the LORD Almighty.

Thus does HaShem say: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.

I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness."

　

On days like today, one can almost feel the closeness of the Mashiach. Because exactly 63 years ago on this day - the 19th of Iyar 1948 - the Old City of Yerushalayim fell to the Jordanian Legion under the command of Glubb Pasha, better known in his homeland England as Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb.

　

On this day 63 years ago, the two eminent batei knesset (synagogues) which distinguished the skyline of the Old City - the Churva and the Nisan Bak synagogue - were blown up, and in the ensuing days all the homes, yeshivot and Jewish property in general were destroyed.

Of the few defenders of the Old City, most were killed in the fighting. Those that survived wee taken prisoners.

So, I sit here in the comfort and serenity of my study, overlooking HaShem’s step-by-step return to Zion, through the laughter of the young boys and girls and sighs of nachat (nachas) from the elderly. The Churva is rebuilt, the Nisan Bak shul will soon be rebuilt, and the beautiful apartments are home to 600 families, with many hundreds of students attending the yeshivot and ulpanot here.

And a childhood memory comes to my mind (as I recorded in by book With All Your Might 2):

"The ‘Churva’ Synagogue is magnificent by any standard. Twice in the past, it was destroyed by Arabs. In 1724 by the locals, then rebuilt in 1864 by Am Yisrael, destroyed again in 1948 by the Jordanian Legion led by British officers.

I have a very personal connection with this bet knesset.

My father z"l was the rabbi of the Sha’arei Tefila synagogue in Flatbush. The synagogue’s main sanctuary was in use on Shabbat and holidays and the bet midrash on the lower floor was used for weekday services. On the eastern wall of the Bet Midrash was a beautiful fresco (oil mural painting directly on the wall) of the Old City of Yerushalayim.

When I was four years old, my father brought me to the bet midrash, seated me in front of the painting and said (perhaps prophetically), "This is your place".

The painting depicted the Jewish Quarter with all its interesting domes and intriguing alleyways, but the eye-catching subjects were the main synagogues - the Churva and Tiferet Yisrael (Nisan Bak synagogue).

At some point in my young life, I was determined that one day I would live there. In 1948, when I was 10 years old, I learned that the Old City had fallen and was destroyed by the enemy. The following morning, I went to pray at my regular place, but I could not imagine that everything I saw in the fresco was gone, taking with it my dream to live there one day.

The years came and went. In 1962 my wife and I came on Aliya (return to Israel). We would frequently go to Mount Zion from where it was possible to get a small glimpse of the old Jewish Quarter. Destruction - not a stone on a stone was left.

The Six Day War broke out on Monday June 5, 1967. Two days later, on Wednesday, the Israeli flag waved from atop the Temple Mount and, in the words of General Mota Gur when his troops reached the Mount, "Har Habayit Be’ya’daynu" - "The Temple Mount is in our hands."

A short time later, the government established the Company for the Reconstruction of the Jewish Quarter, and the mechanism was put in motion for the return of Jews to the Quarter.

My family merited by HaShem to move into the Quarter in 1976, in the fulfillment of my dream and my father’s statement to me many years ago, "This is your place."

The homes, yeshivot, shuls and shops were rebuilt, but the grand bet knesset "HaChurva" still lay in ruin and destruction.

This Tuesday, rosh chodesh Nisan 5770, after two days of ceremonies, the restored bet knesset was opened to the public for prayers. The huge breathtaking dome, the frescos, the glorious marble and stone works - I am certain that this will be the last imposing structure to be built in the Old City before the building of the Bet Hamikdash.

My wife and I went to the first minyan (prayer quorum) at 5:00 AM. There was not an empty seat in the building.

At the chazon’s (cantor) repetition during the shacharit (morning service) the Kohanim, myself included, ascended the bima (stage) to bless the assembled.

The Torah was taken out from the holy ark and placed on the reader’s table.

At that moment, I heard my name called out, "Harav Nachman ben Harav Yechezkel Shraga Hakohen", to be the first person called up to the Torah in 62 years.

As I approached the Torah, I envisioned that little boy sitting in front of the painting of the Churva long, long ago in time and far, far away in a foreign land, now being called as the first kohen to resume the holy service in the Bet Knesset, whose destruction by the Jordanians was to presumably end continuous Jewish presence in the Old City of Yerushalayim."

Yerushalayim is engraved in our souls, in our minds, in the oceans of blood that were shed by its Jewish defenders from the time of King David until the heroic battles of the Six Day War.

The holy city, with its many terms of endearment, is cited over 650 times in the TaNaCh (24 books of the Bible) and many times in our tefilot (prayers), while it is not mentioned even once in the unholy Koran, and was abandoned many centuries ago by the Christians in favor of Rome and other cities in Europe.

It was the hope of Jews over the last 80 generations to return to the city that housed the Holy Temples, the political capital of the Jewish commonwealths and as stated by our father Ya’akov (parashat vayaitzeh) "sha’ar ha’sha’mayim" - "Gateway to Heaven".

But, we are not alone in the desire to be the sovereigns over the Holy City.

The Christians of Europe, under the patronage of their Popes, embarked on crusades to conquer Jerusalem from the Moslems, while not neglecting to slaughter countless numbers of Jews on the way.

Upon arriving in Yerushalayim, the City of Peace, they slaughtered the Jews who were here, and laid down the religious-ideological platform which served as fertile ground for Hitler’s murderous orgy of six million Jews centuries later.

Islam sought and seeks to replace Yitzchak with Yishmael as the chosen one of HaShem. They too murdered many Jews in their desire to possess the Temple Mount, where Avraham was commanded to offer his son Yitzchak as a sacrifice, in their attempt to distort the Bible and the facts of history.

In our time, 63 years since the establishment of Medinat Yisrael, the religious leadership of Christianity and Islam are still in a state of shock and outrage at the Jewish people who not only refuse to die, but are returning to Eretz Yisrael to continue to cling to HaShem’s holy Torah.

Christians and Moslems will continue to apply political, economic and military coercion on the Medina in their mutual desire to prove that we are not HaShem’s chosen people. But as stated in parashat Shemot, the more the Egyptians dealt cruelly with the Jews the more did we increase; so too with our beloved Medina, the more pressure applied to us, the more we increase in every way.

This process will continue until a breaking point between Christianity and Islam. At that time, the differences between our enemies will come to the fore, and they will mutually destruct.

These are the thoughts that come to my mind as I sit in my study and perceive Hashem’s Hand at work, as He weaves the threads of history into the magnificent tapestry known as Jewish history.

B: Tuesday, the 20th of Iyar 5771

Today, our Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (ha’Levi) addressed a joint session of both houses of the US Congress.

It was a good speech coming from a man who is undeniably patriotic but whose patriotism is anchored in many waters except the most fundamental one - the Creator of heaven and earth demarcated the borders of the Holy Land and commanded the Jewish people to live in all its far flung areas. As in the words of the great RaMBaN (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) in his comments on the Sefer HaMitzvot of the RaMBaM (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon):

שנצטווינו לרשת הארץ אשר נתן הא-ל יתעלה לאבותינו לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב ולא נעזבה ביד זולתנו מן האומות או לשממה

"We were commanded to inherit (to possess) the land that was given by God to our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov, and not to leave it (any portion of it) to any other peoples or even to lay it fallow."

But despite this "oversight" on the part of our PM, it was picked up by the Vice President of the United States who accorded it a very meaningful response. Right in his opening sentence, our PM turned to the Vice President and said nostalgically, "Mr. Vice President. Do you remember when we were the new guys on the block?" And the Veep smiled, and with his hand made a cross on his chest.

Our PM touched on all the right points, which when taken together add up to the impossible chance for peace between us and the Arab occupiers of our lands. His speech was politically correct not to bring up the matter of the lands which once belonged to the American Indians and to Mexico but were severed from them by brute force and are now occupied by a country called The United States of America.

Our PM was chosen by HaShem to present our case before the US Congress and the world - and I was not. But had I been so chosen I would have said something to the effect:

When a Jew presents a Halachic problem to a rabbi, the rabbi searches for the answer in our later halachic works, such as the Shulchan Aruch. If there is no reference to the matter in that Halachic literature, he turns to the responsa literature (She’ailot v’Tsuvot) of earlier rabbis. If the matter is not discussed by the earlier rabbis, or in the Mishna or Gemara (Talmud), the rabbi has no choice but to find some direction in the Torah (Bible) itself.

The great national dilemmas that are facing us today have, to my knowledge, no precedents in the Halachic literature, so we I turn to the incidents recorded in the Bible itself, and perhaps find some direction of thought.

This week’s Torah parasha, Bamidbar, records the preparations which were made in order to enable Am Yisrael to return to and settle the land of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov - Eretz Yisrael - on tribal lines. It was at that junction in our history, that the Jewish people who came from the far flung Auschwitzes, Treblinkas and Buchenwalds of the then Egypt as an unruly, undisciplined boisterous mob, re-discovered their family ties of the holy tribes of Reuven, Shimon, Levi etc.

We entered the land under the leadership of Yehoshua Bin Nun, defeated the Canaanites and distributed the land according to the method described in the Torah.

About 200 or so years after entering the land, the King of Amon, demanded the return of lands which were captured by the Jews on the eastern side of the Jordan before crossing the river, or face a bloody war.

Yiftach, who was the military and political leader at the time, rejected every one of the demands and went to war.

The Book of Judges (Shoftim chapter 11) relates:

וישלח יפתח מלאכים אל מלך בני עמון לאמר מה לי ולך כי באת אלי להלחם בארצי:

ויאמר מלך בני עמון אל מלאכי יפתח כי לקח ישראל את ארצי בעלותו ממצרים מארנון ועד היבק ועד הירדן ועתה השיבה אתהן בשלום:

ויוסף עוד יפתח וישלח מלאכים אל מלך בני עמון:

ויאמר לו כה אמר יפתח לא לקח ישראל את ארץ מואב ואת ארץ בני עמון:

כי בעלותם ממצרים וילך ישראל במדבר עד ים סוף ויבא קדשה:

וישלח ישראל מלאכים אל מלך אדום לאמר אעברה נא בארצך ולא שמע מלך אדום וגם אל מלך מואב שלח ולא אבה וישב ישראל בקדש:

וילך במדבר ויסב את ארץ אדום ואת ארץ מואב ויבא ממזרח שמש לארץ מואב ויחנון בעבר ארנון ולא באו בגבול מואב כי ארנון גבול מואב:

וישלח ישראל מלאכים אל סיחון מלך האמרי מלך חשבון ויאמר לו ישראל נעברה נא בארצך עד מקומי:

ולא האמין סיחון את ישראל עבר בגבלו ויאסף סיחון את כל עמו ויחנו ביהצה וילחם עם ישראל:

ויתן ה' אלהי ישראל את סיחון ואת כל עמו ביד ישראל ויכום ויירש ישראל את כל ארץ האמרי יושב הארץ ההיא:

ויירשו את כל גבול האמרי מארנון ועד היבק ומן המדבר ועד הירדן:

(כג( ועתה ה' אלהי ישראל הוריש את האמרי מפני עמו ישראל ואתה תירשנו:

הלא את אשר יורישך כמוש אלהיך אותו תירש ואת כל אשר הוריש ה' אלהינו מפנינו אותו נירש:

ועתה הטוב טוב אתה מבלק בן צפור מלך מואב הרוב רב עם ישראל אם נלחם נלחם בם:

בשבת ישראל בחשבון ובבנותיה ובערעור ובבנותיה ובכל הערים אשר על ידי ארנון שלש מאות שנה ומדוע לא הצלתם בעת ההיא:

ואנכי לא חטאתי לך ואתה עשה אתי רעה להלחם בי ישפט ה' השפט היום בין בני ישראל ובין בני עמון:

ולא שמע מלך בני עמון אל דברי יפתח אשר שלח אליו: פ

ותהי על יפתח רוח ה' ויעבר את הגלעד ואת מנשה ויעבר את מצפה גלעד וממצפה גלעד עבר בני עמון:

וידר יפתח נדר לה' ויאמר אם נתון תתן את בני עמון בידי:

והיה היוצא אשר יצא מדלתי ביתי לקראתי בשובי בשלום מבני עמון והיה לה' והעליתהו עולה: פ

ויעבר יפתח אל בני עמון להלחם בם ויתנם ה' בידו:

ויכם מערוער ועד בואך מנית עשרים עיר ועד אבל כרמים מכה גדולה מאד ויכנעו בני עמון מפני בני ישראל: פ

12 Then Yiftach sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?"

13 The king of the Ammonites answered Yiftach’s messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."

14 Yiftach sent back messengers to the Ammonite king,

15 saying: "This is what Yiftach says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.

16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh.

17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.

18 "Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.

19 "Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’

20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.

21 "Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country,

22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

23 "Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over?

24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.

25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?

26 For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time?

27 I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Yiftach sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came onYiftach. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites...

32 Then Jiphthach went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands.

33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

My speech before Congress would have stressed the following points:

1- There is not, nor was there ever a nation called Palestinians.

2- The entire area between the Mediterranean and the Jordan and between the Jordan and the Euphrates is divinely given Jewish land, which is being occupied at the present time by non-Jews.

3- There will not be two political states, but only one - the State of Israel, where full citizen rights and privileges will be bestowed exclusively on Jews, with limited non-citizen privileges given to gentiles who could live here after declaring that the Holy Land is the exclusive possession of Am Yisrael.

4- There will begin mass building in Yerushalayim and in every area of Shomrom, Yehuda and the Golan, to meet the demands of millions of Jews who will soon join us.

5- Judaism is the only officially recognized religion. Non-Jewish Missionary work is prohibited with a death sentence imposed on perpetrators. All external signs of other religions i.e. statues, crosses mosques are banned.

I would not get the 31 standing ovations given to our PM, but it wouldn’t matter, because even if I would they would be muffled by the applause of infinite angels in the Shamayim.

Shabbat Shalom

Nachman Kahana

　

Words of the Prophets Coming Alive

By Michael Fuah

"And the number of the Children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, that cannot be measured and cannot be counted and instead of being said to them, 'You are not My nation," it will be said to them, "the children of the Living G-d."(From this week's haftarah, Hoseah 2:1)

We are in the days between Independence Day and Jerusalem Day. After two thousand years of exile, we are living to see the realization of the words of the prophets. The Nation of Israel is returning to its Land, and our Land, in turn, gives us its abundance.

Unexpectedly, though, the physical process of redemption is not immediately accompanied by a symmetrical spiritual awakening. This situation cannot continue and at a certain stage Israel must recognize the fact that it is G-d behind our success. The path to this consciousness can be very unpleasant, as Hosea describes later in this chapter. But there is a better alternative, in which the Nation of Israel recognizes G-d and motivated by love for Him, renews its conscious connection with Him, as described by Hosea in the verses that follow.

There is also a third possibility, in Hosea chapter 3:
"For many days the Children of Israel will dwell, there will be no king, no minister, no ritual sacrifice, no pillar and no ephod and trafim. Then the Children of Israel will return and seek Hashem their G-d and David their king and they will come trembling to Hashem and His goodness in the end of days."

The feeling of emptiness and void will motivate the Nation of Israel to seek spiritual meaning for their unique existence in the world. We have the merit and the obligation to choose the path upon which we can complete the spiritual process of redemption. Let us choose the proper course of action and pray that we will accomplish this in joy and in the correct manner!

Shabbat Shalom