Rav Kook's Ein Ayah

[The gemara continues to look at Aramaic words, looking at similarities to other words.]

Surprising Source of Happiness
(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 8:25)

Gemara: Shotita (a myrtle branch, used in dancing before a bride and groom) is similar to shetuta(silliness).

Ein Ayah: Happiness in life, which is so good and critical for a person, cannot always come by taking a clear look at what is happening in the world. Sometimes what a person sees will make him disappointed and make him declare that everything is of fleeting value [as Shlomo bemoans in Kohelet]. Matters of eternal value, which are really what makes life worth living, such as wisdom and justice, and all the good that is hidden in the light of the Torah, do not always succeed in bringing happiness to a person’s spirit. That is because a person is naturally coarse and sees a lot of the dark sides of nature.

How does one, especially a righteous person, overcome the tendency toward being morose and tap into the divinely desired state of happiness, despite all the problems? For that Hashem created shetut– silliness, lack of deep thought, and excitement of seeing the “shine” of something that makes people happy.

Even though these stimulants are fleeting, at the time they are used, they bring happiness and allow happiness to take root in the makeup of one’s life. Then one can elevate his spirit and search for joy in matters that are permanent and eternal. This is especially true regarding the foundation of truth in the world, where happiness is connected to divine wisdom, in whose abode happiness dwells.

Shotita is a special myrtle that was set aside for bringing joy to a bride and groom, which is a type of joy that epitomizes the idea of happiness about life, despite the challenges that it brings. Shetut causes the inability to distinguish between matters in a way that allows happiness, and therefore it reaches a height that great human wisdom cannot.

Cleanliness of the Hands for All
(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 8:26)
Gemara: Meshichla (a big cup) represents the idea of mashi kula (all wash).

Ein Ayah: Cleanliness is always connected to purity and sanctity, whose purpose is connected to the internal element of the soul, as the pasuk says: “Your encampment shall be holy” (Devarim 23:15). The purity of the body and of the hands, which are external matters, lead one to the recognition of the purity of ideas and the good character of the heart, which brings one to involve himself in proper deeds with holy trepidation.

It is not only the uniquely pious among the nation who need to be clean. The entire community of Hashem elevate themselves to the level of one with a pure spirit. Each person should be involved in external activities that lead him to the proper internal characteristic.

Ritual washing of the hands is a matter of general importance. Whoever does not take the mitzvaseriously deserves to be removed from the world (Sota 4b), whether he is rich or poor, whether he lives a life of luxury or a simple life. External purity has impact within the depth of the soul, and every internal matter of life is a legacy to all of humanity, just like air and sunlight belong to everyone. Indeed a large cup is something that reminds us of the washing of the masses.

Rav Kook on Parashat Vaeira: The Leadership of Moses and Aaron

The psalmist offers a surprising comparison between the prophet Samuel and the greatest leaders of the Jewish people, Moses and Aaron:

“מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן בְּכֹהֲנָיו, וּשְׁמוּאֵל בְּקֹרְאֵי שְׁמוֹ; קֹרִאים אֶל-ה', וְהוּא יַעֲנֵם.”
(תהילים צ"ט:ו)

“Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who invoke His name - they called out to God, and He answered them. (Psalms 99:6).

This verse appears to put Samuel on equal footing with Moses and Aaron. With all due respect to Samuel’s greatness, can he truly be compared to Moses, about whom the Torah testifies, “No other prophet like Moses has arisen in Israel” (Deut. 34:10)?

And yet, the Sages taught that Samuel was in fact “the equal of Moses and Aaron” (Berachot 31b). How can this be?

Two Motivations of Observance

People commonly find value in observing Torah and mitzvot, not in terms of their intrinsic worth, but as a way to acquire a content, balanced lifestyle. “Its ways are pleasant ways, and all its paths are peace” (Prov. 3:17). An individual - and a society - following in the path of Torah will live a life of peace and tranquility. Individuals who are genuinely religious do not lose themselves in anger or pride; they abstain from lying and cheating, and take care to respect others.

However, an innate love of God smolders in every heart. When we are filled with a lofty spirit of pure love, we are inspired to serve God. Tzaddikim are constantly motivated by this altruistic devotion. But for most people, these are special moments, spiritual highlights. During most of their lives, they need to be encouraged to observe mitzvot, and this happens when they are exposed to the Torah’s beautiful ways and practical benefits.

Two Types of Leaders

Moses and Aaron were both extraordinary leaders, but they guided the Jewish people in significantly different ways. Moses needed to be on a high spiritual level at all times, one suitable for receiving prophecy. His mission was to instruct the people in the proper path. To accomplish this goal, Moses lived his life removed from the worldly concerns of the common man.

Aaron, on the other hand, “loved peace and pursued peace” (Avot 1:12). He was part of society, involved with the people and their problems. Aaron brought the Torah down to their level, demonstrating its beauty in a way they could appreciate.

Moses and Aaron were thus very different types of leaders. Moses taught the intrinsic value of Torah according to its absolute truth. The Sages described Moses’ approach of unyielding authenticity with the phrase, “Let the Law pierce the mountain” (Sanhedrin 6b).

This absolute truth is appreciated by tzaddikim at all times, and by the rest of the people at inspired moments. Aaron’s task was to promote receptivity to these special moments, as he encouraged the people to elevate their daily lives.

Samuel’s Leadership

And what about Samuel? During his tenure as leader and judge, he performed both of these roles. A prophet like Moses, he spread the spirit of altruistic service of God among the spiritual elite, and for the masses at inspired times. And like Aaron, Samuel strengthened Torah observance throughout society, teaching the Torah’s pleasant paths and demonstrating how mitzvot beautify and ennoble life.

Thus, in his leadership style, Samuel was “the equal of both Moses and Aaron.”

(Adapted from Olat Re’iyah vol. II, pp. 18-19)

Chalav Nochri– Between Kashrut and Hiddur

by HaRav Eliezer Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Har Bracha

Towards sundown of Monday evening, the 16thof Tevet, my beloved and dear cousin Tzur Hartuv suddenly died. All his family and loved ones were shocked, tearful, grieving, and pained. May it be His will that through the building of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel, his wife and widow, his parents and brothers be comforted, and merit to raise sons and daughters, grandchildren and granddaughters, to Torah and mitzvoth.

Tzuri, as he was affectionately called, was the first to encourage me to write the laws of kashrut in the framework of ‘Peninei Halakha’, and to clarify the differences between kosher and mehadrin. As usual, he explained the need for this with compelling and heartening reasons. May the words of Torah in this column be for an elevation of his soul, and the fulfillment of his desire.

Chalav Nochri

Our Sages forbade Jews to consume milk that a non-Jew had milked, lest the non-Jew had mixed chalav tamei (milk produced from a non-kosher animal) with the chalav tahor(milk produced from a kosher animal) (Avoda Zara 35b). This, despite the fact that the chances of this happening are very low since the vast majority of milk that people drink, is chalav tahor. In addition, there is a difference between chalav tamei and chalav tahor, namely, the color of chalav tahor is white, while the color of chalav tamei is yellow, and therefore, if the milk is white and does not taste differently, even if the non-Jew mixed it with chalav tamei, from the Torah it is batel b’rov (nullified by majority) by the chalav tahor. Despite all this, our Sages were very strict and forbade the milk of a non-Jew, lest he mixed with it chalav tamei. Apparently, our Sages were stricter about this prohibition – as they were about additional foods of non-Jews – than on other food prohibitions, because of the general goal to distance Jews from foods of non-Jews as a barrier against assimilation.

However, when a Jew is careful that the non-Jew has not mixed chalav tahorwith chalav tamei, the milk is kosher. If it is known for certain that the non-Jew has no non-kosher animals, it is sufficient for a Jew to observe that the non-Jew has not brought milk from another place during the process of milking. But if the non-Jew has a non-kosher animal, the Jew must supervise that he milks from a kosher animal. There is no need for him to see all of the milkings, rather, it is enough that the non-Jew knows that the Jew is supervising him not to milk a non-kosher animal and mix its’ milk with chalav tahor, and that he can easily be seen, for instance, if the non-Jew stands up he will see him milking, or that at any moment the Jew can come in and see what he is doing (Avoda Zara 39b; S. A., Y. D., 115: 1).

When there is No Fear of Chalav Tamei

The poskimdisagree on the question of the scope of the prohibition. According to the first approach, only when there is a reasonable fear that the non-Jew will mix chalav tamei with chalav tahor, is the milk that a non-Jew milked forbidden. But in a place where no non-kosher animals are raised, or if the milk of a non-kosher animal is more expensive, there is no fear that the non-Jew will mix chalav tamei with chalav tahor, and it is permissible for a Jew living in such a place to consume milk milked by a non-Jew (Tashbatz, Rashbash, Pri Chadash, R. Chaim ben Atar). This was the minhag (custom) in most of the communities in North Africa and Yemen.

According to the second approach, even where there is no reasonable fear that the non-Jew will mix chalav tamei with chalav tahor, as long as there is some concern, even the most distant, it is forbidden for a Jew to consume milk that was milked by a non-Jew. In practice, since occasionally non-kosher animals were brought from place to place, and at times the non-Jews thought they would benefit by mixing chalav tahor with chalav tamei either to preserve it for a long time or to improve its taste, the poskim prohibited all milk milked by a non-Jew. An exception is milk that was milked in a closed place where it was impossible to bring in chalav tamei, in which case the poskim approved of its kashrut despite being milked without the supervision of a Jew. This was the minhag of many communities in the vicinity of Eretz Yisrael and in Ashkenaz (Chida, Beit Meir, Chochmat Adam).

According to the third approach, even when there is no fear that the non-Jew will mix chalav tameiwith chalav tahor, the milk milked by a non-Jew is forbidden. The reason for this is that on the basis of fear the non-Jew might mix chalav tameiwith chalav tahor, our Sages decreed a complete ban on any milk milked by a non-Jew without the supervision of a Jew, even if there is absolutely no fear. Some poskim instructed along these lines in practice (Chatam Sofer, Chelkat Yaakov).

Milk of Reliable Companies

Many poskim believe that since there is no fear, even remotely, that large companies marketing milk and milk products will include chalav tameiin their milk, in the opinion of most halachic authorities, even if the milk was milked by non-Jews without Jewish supervision, the prohibition of chalav goyim (milk milked by a non-Jew) does not apply to their milk, for this is the opinion of the first two approaches we learned, which the majority of Jews followed.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Iggrot Moshe, Y.D., 47-49) added that according to the strict approach, in countries that are regulated by law, it is possible to act leniently in regards to dairy products of companies that declare the milk and dairy products they market are produced from the milk of kosher animals. The reason being that if they deceive, they are liable to be fined; and no less severe – consumer confidence in their products may be affected, and they may lose many customers. Thus, the general supervision in these countries is considered similar to the supervision of a Jew supervising that chalav tahoris not mixed with chalav tamei, and consequently, according to all approaches, their milk is permitted. Therefore, in view of the difficulty in obtaining Chalav Yisrael outside of Israel, Rabbi Feinstein permitted relying on the credibility of the supervised companies, and this is the policy of the largest kashrut organization in the United States, the OU.

Those who are Stringent Concerning Dairy Companies

On the other hand, there are those who are stringent for two main reasons: 1) perhaps government supervision is not strict enough, and even if it is, lest people learn from this to act leniently even in places that are not properly supervised. 2) They accept the approach that holds that the prohibition of milk milked by a non-Jew is a complete prohibition (third approach), and therefore, even if there is no fear that chalav tamei will be mixed in, the milk is forbidden because it is milked by a non-Jew. According to this view, government supervision is not considered to be the supervision of a Jew permitted by our Sages (Chelkat Yaakov Y. D. 34; Mishnah Halachot 4: 103). Before explaining the practical halakha, I will continue to the question of avkat chalav (powdered milk).

Powdered Milk

Another controversy arose over avkat chalav, i.e., milk that had its fluids evaporated by heat until there remains only powder. Powdered milk is used to flavor products such as chocolate, when the concentrated taste of milk and its ingredients is desired, without the extra volume of the liquid. It is also possible to preserve powdered milk for a long time, and when necessary, to add water and obtain a drink similar to regular milk, with almost all its nutritional components. Regarding the prohibition of meat and milk, powdered milk has the same halakha as regular milk, but regarding the prohibition of chalav goyim, the poskim disagree.

The majority of poskim are lenient, since the gezera (decree) was on milk, and not on a new product made from it. And just as the poskimhad to make an additional decree on cheese, without which cheese would have been permitted, similarly, without a special decree on powdered milk – as long as it is known to have been made from the milk of a kosher animal, it is permitted to be eaten.

Some poskim are strict because in their opinion the gezera of milk also applies to powdered milk since powdered milk is the milk itself without its fluids. The reason our Sages had to make a special gezeraon cheese is that cheese can only be made from the milk of a kosher animal that is capable of curdling, and therefore it was necessary to decree a special gezeraon cheese made by non-Jews for other reasons. However, powdered milk can also be made from chalav tamei, and thus the gezera of milk also applies to it.

The Practical Halakha for Dairy Products

In the principle disagreement over milk and powdered milk produced by large and regulated companies, the halakha goes according to the lenient opinion, because this is the opinion of the majority of the poskim of the Rishonim and Achronim and their reasoning is convincing; additionally, the general rule is that in disputes in Divrei Chachamim (rabbinical ordinances), halakha follows the lenient opinion. As for powdered milk, there is more room for the lenient position, since some of the poskim who are machmir (strict) in regards to chalav nochri, are lenient when it comes to avkat chalav. However, the Jewish nation is virtuous, and as long as the strict opinion does not involve high costs, the custom is to be meticulous in regards to the opinions of all the poskim, as is the custom of all Rabbinates in Israel concerning chalav nochri. But in chutz l’aretz (outside of Israel), when it is difficult to obtain chalav Yisrael, the principle halakha goes according to the lenient opinion.

Additional Questions about the Kashrut of Milk

The issue of the kashrut of milk and dairy products is more complex since there are two more problems: 1) safek treifot, i.e., the possibility that in the wake of surgeries cows undergo, it may render them treif. 2) The combining of additional powders produced from milk. I will explain in further detail:

Today, it is customary to perform various operations on animals, such as the cesarean section of an animal having difficulty giving birth, or the puncturing of the abdomen to remove dangerous gases. Although following these operations cows live longer than 12 months, some poskim say such operations render them treif, and consequently, their milk is forbidden to consume. In practice, in every cowshed that is not supervised by halachic supervision, chances are there are cows considered treif according to the stringent poskim, and the amount of kosher milk is not sixty times as high, and thus, the milk and powdered milk produced from such cowsheds are forbidden in their opinion.

The second problem is that there are other powders made from milk, such as casein that contains milk proteins, and lactose-containing sugars from milk and some poskim believe that when they are made from residual liquids of cheese, the prohibition of gevinat goyim (cheese produced by non-Jews) applies to them.

In practice, concerning both of these questions, the principle halakha goes according to the lenient opinion. In regards to the fear that cows are treifot– in the opinion of many poskim, such surgeries do not render the cows treif– the fact is, they live for more than twelve months. And even if we relate to this question as a safek (doubtful), since from the Torah the milk of treif animals is batel b’rov ragil (nullified by a regular majority), halakha goes according to the lenient opinion even if there are not sixty times as much. Also, in regards to powdered milk produced from the residual milk of cheese, it is doubtful whether the prohibition of gevinat goyim applies to them, and in a safek Divrei Chachamim, halakha goes according to the lenient opinion.

Halakha Summary

It is possible to grant kashrut certification to milk and dairy products that have been milked by non-Jews for large and regulated companies, and this is the practice of various kosher organizations, including the OU.

Those who wish to be strict are meticulous on all four issues mentioned, and this is the definition of mehadrin kosher dairy products.

In the regular kashrut of the Rabbinates in Israel, it is customary to be meticulous on an intermediate level – they are strict in regards to milk milked by non-Jews, and follow the principle halakha in regards to powdered milk of non-Jews, as well as the two other issues.

Moshe Feiglin Debates Former Meretz Chairwoman on Radio 103 FM: Less Laws, More Liberty

Moshe Feiglin debated former Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon today on the cannabis, prostitution and smoking bills. He made the following points:

Laws are not supposed to fashion culture and public consciousness, as former Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon said, but rather, to express culture and public consciousness. Israel’s Knesset is the world legislative champion and a Knesset Member is considered successful if he legislates more laws than others. My party’s goal will be to nullify laws, not to keep legislating new laws.

The guiding light is liberty. The three bills we are discussing here are legalization of cannabis, prohibition of prostitution and prohibition of cigarette ads. Legalization did not pass the Knesset, because it would have nullified an existing law prohibiting cannabis. On the other hand, the prostitution and cigarette bills did pass, because they add legislation.

I am in favor of legalization. For some people, it is not just a matter of liberty, but literally of life and death. And I deeply oppose prostitution and wholly dislike cigarettes. But I opposed those bills because they compromise the basic principle of liberty. Everybody knows that smoking is harmful. Let people decide if they want to smoke or not.

In order for real culture to be created, we need true liberty, and not “paternalistic legislation” to “educate” society, as Zehava Galon proposed.

People are Beginning to Understand

by Moshe Feiglin


People are beginning to understand. Former GSS (Shabak) Chief Yuval Diskin wrote on Monday in the Kalkalist newspaper (underlined in photo above): “Today there are no parties that represent values. And the new politics does not have to be build on messiahs, but rather on people who will presents a significant ideological alternative.”

Popular media personality Guy Lerer wrote (underlined in photo above): “Cloned political parties based on former generals are actually the true waste of votes”.

The Bennett-Shaked “New Right” Party: Still in Netanyahu’s Pocket

by Moshe Feiglin



Now the Right in Israel also has a Tzippy Livni. The “New Right” party, headed by Ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, has been born.

Similar to the new Gantz party on the Left, for the Right as well, it makes no difference how the votes will be divided. At the end of the day, all of them – beside Zehut – are in Netanyahu’s pocket.

Does the “New Right” have a different alternative?

Despite the repeated attempts to copy Zehut, Bennett and Shaked’s new party has no purpose or message – and will be more of the Netanyahu-Bennett-Shaked same.

Bennett is not just any old Knesset Member who resigns and establishes a party. He is a leader who has betrayed his constituents, a commander who has betrayed his soldiers while blaming them for his fiascos. For instance, why couldn’t Bennett have refused Rabbi Druckman’s request that he remain in the government this past November, after his ultimatum to quit if Netanyahu would not make him Defense Minister following Lieberman’s resignation?

Bennett is the man who betrayed his constituents and joined the celebration over the torture of Religious Zionist youth under false pretense in the Duma affair.

This is the man, this is his message, this is the New Right.

On January 29th, the date of Zehut’s Open Primaries, we will begin to truly change politics in Israel.

Zehut is not a party of religious and secular. Zehut is a party in which those concepts no longer exist.

We have had enough opportunistic imitation and smoke and mirrors.

We have had enough Lapids, Gantzes and Bennetts.

The time has come for purpose.

The time has come for liberty.

The time has come for ZEHUT.

Trusting in GOD

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Beit El

A CRITICAL MIDRASH
The midrash teaches that although God had told Moshe that Pharoah was not going to allow the Jews to leave Egypt (as it says in the verse in Shmot [3:19]: "And I [God] know that the King of Egypt will not let you go, and not even when I punish him with a strong hand...") Moshe remained oblivious. According to our sages, Moshe acted inappropriately when he responded to Pharoah's escalation of violence and oppression by turning to God and saying (Shmot 5:22) "Why have You done badly to Your people?" The midrash asks: "What right did he have to doubt God - especially since He told him earlier that He would harden Pharoah's heart as a punishment for ruthlessly oppressing the Children of Israel"?

It is for this reason, the midrash concludes, that the first verse of our Torah portion begins: "And Elokim spoke to Moshe". The name "Elokim" refers to God's attribute of strict judgement; its use in this context conveys Divine dissatisfaction with Moshe's impatient appeal to God. But, say the rabbis, since Moshe acted in response to the harsh suffering that the Jews were undergoing - midway through the same verse, God softens his stance by speaking to Moshe using the attribute of Divine compassion or mercy: "And He said to him: I am Hashem." This Hebrew four-letter name, according to Jewish mystical teachings, refers to God's quality of mercy and compassion.

TRUST IN GOD
We Jews are called upon to have a pure, simple faith in God. This pure faith is what the verse in Yeshaya 26 referred to when it said: "Trust in God forever, because God is the Rock of Ages." The renowned Maharal of Prague explains that the term used by the prophet calls upon us to have a boundless faith in God. Even when human reason would seem to dictate that there is simply no chance, no hope - that all is lost - that according to the rules of nature, there is just no way out - even then, "Trust in God forever." Why? "Because God is the Rock of Ages." He is the Creator of everything. Our sages tell us that God created both this world and the World-to-Come with the two letters of his shortest name, the Hebrew letters"yud" and "heh." All of nature is thus subject to His rule. If so, explains the Maharal, one who trusts in God links himself to an entity - God - who transcends the laws of existence as we have come to know it.

Many people probably ask themselves: "Even when we do trust in God at times, salvation does not necessarily come"!

Two responses can be offered to this query: First, each person must ask him or herself whether or not his or her trust in God was complete and absolute; only a complete sense of bitachon (trust) allows one to supersede the limits of mundane physical reality. Second, our trust in Hashem does wonders, even if it appears to us from our limited human perspective that it has been pointless. Superficially, the world seems to be deteriorating more and more - starvation, wars, nuclear armament, the diplomatic and security situation of the Land of Israel and the like. A broader perspective, however, indicates that even the most difficult periods of time are there to serve a greater long-term goal.

A LONG-RANGE PERSPECTIVE
In other words, it is misleading to analyze processes when they are only half-complete. "Trust in Hashem forever," the prophet advises. Trust in God must be absolute; we must be aware that God is good, desires only good, and is All-Powerful. All of the difficult circumstances that one finds himself in can be overcome via the power of the spirit. He prays to God to extricate him from both personal and national problems. When a person is full of trust, he brings about the bestowal of Divine bounty and improves the world. Sometimes results are evident quickly, while other times, they are perceptible only after a very long time. True "bitachon" in Hashem, means not to stop swimming in midstream, but to boldly continue onwards...

After the Holy One, Blessed be He, informed Moshe Rabeinu that He will harden Pharoah's heart, Moshe understood that God would cause Pharoah to refuse to let the Children of Israel leave Egypt. And yet, Moshe did not think that the situation would worsen! And even if it may be somewhat worse, it would never be this bad! Or so he thought. This is why, when the situation deteriorated, and Pharoah intensified his pressure on the Jews, Moshe turned to God and questioned and complained. The midrash quoted above reproves Moshe for this inappropriate attitude.

The midrash concludes by saying that since Moshe responded the way he did "because of the suffering that the Children of Israel were undergoing at the time." Even though Moshe spoke inappropriately, the Divine attribute of mercy overtook the Divine attribute of strict justice. Initially, "and Elokim spoke to Moshe" - the attribute of strict Justice appeared to reprove Moshe, and in the end, "And He said to him: 'I am Hashem'- a reference to the attribute of mercy.

SILVER LININGS
We sometimes encounter a particular Divine attribute only to misinterpret it. Moshe Rabeinu, for instance, sees that God is hardening Pharoah's heart, and believes that this is an example of the application of the attribute of strict justice. Hashem responds to him by saying: "You feel that the situation is too harsh? You're not understanding the depth of what is happening here! What you are witnessing is really the attribute of mercy disguised as the attribute of strict justice." Hidden within the immediate event of the hardening of Pharoah's heart, there is great compassion. Moshe failed to grasp that this mercy had to evolve slowly, through a chain of events, starting with the hardening of Pharoah's heart.

The obligation to look at events more "deeply" is really a call to express "bitachon" or trust in Hashem. "Trust in God forever." Even when we experience and witness hardships, we must always recall that God is the greatest of all possible goods, and everything that He does is for the best. This is true both on the universal and personal levels. This was true in the past, and remains true today. In line with the idea of history moving towards a process of redemption for the Jewish people and the rest of humanity. All of the challenges that have faced the Jewish people throughout the generations - though not to be minimized - have merely been the expression of the attribute of mercy disguised as the attribute of judgement. The greater the hardship, paradoxically, the more intense the mercy latent within.

THE TRUE TEST
The hardship that faced the Children of Israel at the very last moment of the exodus from Egypt was overwhelming. When you expect that eventually, you will be helped, it is hard, but possible to tolerate the present situation. But when Moshe Rabeinu came to the nation and informed it that Hashem had sent him to deliver the people, and the people already began feeling that redemption was imminent, it was - from that point on - significantly more difficult to endure hardships. "We thought that redemption was here, and all of a sudden - our plight worsens! " Although the intensification of the oppression coupled with the promise of redemption was devastating, this is how Divine Providence must sometimes work. We are expected to draw from the depths of our religious belief and trust in Hashem in those cases. No hardships can take away our trust in the Creator of the World. "Trust in God forever, without bounds"!

Our trust, or bitachon, must become more sophisticated than it is now. When someone trusts in God, he may think "that everything will be okay." People often imagine that it will be okay according to their own perceptions. If, for instance, I pray for a sick person to become well, and the patient does not get better, I think that things are not "okay." But this view constitutes a serious flaw in our understanding of what it means to trust in God. When things do not work out the way you expect, it is forbidden to think that your trust was in vain! It's just that, apparently, what you wanted was somewhat more than what Hashem was willing to give now. The reason that you weren't given what you wanted now - is not that your request wasn't heard, and your trust in God was for naught, but rather that you deserve actually more than you asked for! You will eventually receive much more - now it is hidden - but it will ultimately come. Whenever a person senses that his requests are not being granted, he should say to himself: "God presumably has better things in store for me..."

Self-Destructive Stubbornness

by Rabbi Dov Berl Wein

Stubbornness can be a virtue or a terrible character defect. When it is a virtue we deem to call it tenacity. When it is a defect it is just plain foolish counter productivity. Pharaoh’s stubbornness as exhibited in this week’s parsha is an example. His advisers inform him that Egypt is headed for disaster because of his stubbornness but he refuses to give in to the reality of the series of plagues that threaten to decimate Egyptian society. Of course the Torah tells us that his tenacity was reinforced by the fact that God hardened his heart. The commentators, especially Maimonides, judge that to mean that the Lord gave him the courage of his convictions not to be influenced by the events transpiring in his country but to continue on his evil path of continuing to enslave the Jewish people. Hardening his heart did not influence Pharaoh’s choices in the matter. It merely allowed him to transform his previous seeming tenacity into ultimate foolishness and disaster. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and other such leaders displayed this same reckless stubbornness over the past century, resulting in the destruction of societies and the deaths of tens of millions of people. Pharaoh thus becomes the paradigm for the self-destructive trait of foolish stubbornness. The Jewish people are also characterized as being a stubborn people. This trait has served us as well when we were and are tenacious in preserving our values and traditions. It is a foolish trait of ours when we continue the policies and misbegotten certainties that have always led to our tragedies and misfortunes.

Rashi and Midrash teach us the source of Pharaoh’s suicidal stubbornness. It lay in his belief in himself as a god - of being arrogant and convinced of his own infallibility. People who are never wrong never have to change their policies, beliefs or behavior. I am reminded of a sign that I once saw on the desk of a prominent public figure that said: "Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind is already made up!" He was joking about it (I think) but that danger lurks in all of us. Once we are convinced of the absolute rectitude of our position, we not only are tenacious in maintaining it, we become downright blindly stubborn regarding it. Moshe meets Pharaoh at the river’s edge where he went to perform his bodily functions. Pharaoh is exposed there as not being really a god but only a mortal man. Moshe means thereby to teach Pharaoh that his justification for his stubbornness - his sham sense of infallibility - is itself false. A little humility on the part of Pharaoh would have saved himself and Egypt a great deal of grief. That is why the Torah stresses that the desired quality for true leadership is humility. Moshe becomes the paradigm for humility just as Pharaoh - his arch-nemesis - is the paradigm for arrogant stubbornness. This lesson of wise tenacity versus foolish stubbornness exists in all areas of human life and society - family, community, national policy and personal development. May we be tenacious enough in life to avoid foolish moments of harmful stubbornness.

Respect Hashem’s Least Expected Partners

by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l
based on Siach Shaul, p. 202-3

"[Hashem] commanded [Moshe and Aharon] to Bnei Yisrael and to Paroh, King of Egypt" (Shemot 6:13). Rashi provides two explanations of what was supposed to be done in relation to Paroh. The second had to do with the various actions Hashem had spelled out. The first one is actually to treat Paroh with respect.

There is no contradiction between the two. The efforts toward liberation had to go on without fear. They had to tell Paroh to free Bnei Yisrael even if there did not seem to be real hope that he would listen. Efforts proceeded even as Paroh and his advisors scoffed, "I do not know Hashem" (see Shemot Rabba 5:14). Yet, Hashem still referred to him as "Paroh, King of Egypt" and upheld his honor in saying that "all your servants will come to me," (Shemot 11:8) even when it was really referring to Paroh himself (see Rashi ad loc.).

A key to Bnei Yisrael’s proper attitude to the emerging liberation is hinted in the code passed on by Yosef, as a harbinger of the redeemer: "pakod yifkod Elokim etchem," (Hashem will certainly remember you) (Bereishit 50:25). How was Moshe’s use of this language a proof of the veracity of his message, when any number of people had access to it? The important thing was actually the content of the message. When the savior comes, he will invoke Hashem’s Name alone in describing the liberation. He will not mention any political, diplomatic or strategic ideas. This is something unique to the savior of Israel.

There were other approaches that abounded at that time, even though they are not mentioned explicitly in the Torah. The Israelite officers adopted an approach of appeasement of the kingdom. They were against expressing the nation’s dream and demand of freedom and preferred waiting for a change of heart in the Egyptian leadership. They effectively had the viewpoint of pakod yifkod Paroh etchem, as if there could be Jewish freedom along with foreign dominion. They did not realize that the people who schemed the enslavement of their nation and who were using Moshe’s demand in a cynical way would not change their tune on their own.

A group of young Israelites, whom we refer to as the Sons of Ephrayim, adopted a very different approach. They reached such a level of despondency that they basically took the suicidal step of leaving forcefully without divine support. They acted with disdain toward the kingdom and denied the dangers which eventually led to their slaughter by the sword.

The reason to treat the kingdom with respect was not out of true regard for the personalities involved. Rather, it is because the Egyptian kings were an instrument through which Hashem chose to bring the troubles that He decreed on Bnei Yisrael. Just as Hashem is extolled by means of the righteous so is he extolled by the actions of the wicked (Shemot Rabba 7:4). Therefore, a monarchy that was chosen by Hashem should not be disdained. It is not due to regard to them but to Hashem who chose them. At the same time, respect for them did not preclude the clear demand that Hashem made of them to let His people go.

Hamas at 31: As Committed as Ever to Israel's Destruction

by Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Shaul Bartal



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Hamas’s 31st anniversary was marked with a string of terror attacks and an official statement by the organization’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, rejecting any recognition of the legitimacy of Jewish statehood. This provides further proof, if any were needed, of the impossibility of reaching a long-term arrangement with the organization.

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Our Iranian War

by Victor Rosenthal

Last Tuesday night Israel hit several locations in Syria, assumed to be weapons depots which possibly contained a shipment of Fajr-5 rockets from Iran. But it’s also being reported that “senior Hezbollah personnel” were hit, shortly after boarding a plane for Tehran, where they were planning to attend a funeral for an Iranian ayatollah. There is even a rumor – probably not true – that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s “Quds Force,” was present and was killed in the attack. If only!

Soleimani is a legendary figure in Iran, and the Quds Force is responsible for extraterritorial activities of the IRGC, including aiding terrorist groups like Hezbollah and various Iraqi militias, as well as carrying out terrorist operations all over the world. The Quds Force has been accused of providing the explosively formed penetrators used in IEDs with deadly effectiveness against US troops in Iraq. As a strategist and commander, he is highly competent and dangerous, and should be a prime target in an Israel-Iran war.

The beginning stages of the war are already underway. The Iranian regime’s strategy seems to be to first improve its strategic position as much as possible without triggering open hostilities: it has built up Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal – and continues to try to improve it by retrofitting accurate guidance systems. It is preparing to manufacture guidance systems and/or rockets on Lebanese soil. It dug attack tunnels under the Lebanese border with Israel, which the IDF is exploding or filling with concrete as I write. It is working to improve its supply systems to Hezbollah via its newly secured land bridge through Iraq and Syria (the small American force that Trump has promised to withdraw served as a partial deterrent to the use of this route, which is one reason Israel sees the withdrawal as a problem). The regime supports Hamas and other terrorist groups in the territories. And it is continuing to prepare for the day that it can openly deploy nuclear weapons. Ultimately, its goal is to see Israel destroyed by its proxies, underneath its own nuclear umbrella.

Israel’s approach so far has been to try to interdict the shipment of advanced weapons, destroy attack tunnels, and to keep up pressure on Iranian attempts to establish herself militarily in Syria. Israel is aggressively collecting intelligence on the location of Iran’s and Hezbollah’s assets in Lebanon and Syria, so that in the event of war she could quickly destroy rocket launchers and other targets. Probably there are also targets in Iran herself, such as nuclear facilities.

I hope so. Iran would like to see the next war fought on Israel’s territory. It would like to see the casualties on its side being Lebanese, Palestinian, and Iraqi, not Iranian. It would like to see Israel wounded, but itself come out unscathed. It is up to Israel to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Israel’s greatest weakness is her lack of strategic depth. There is nowhere to fall back to, and an invasion from Lebanon or Syria would quickly reach populated areas. Israel is no Russia, which on several occasions has been able to count her enormous size and bitter winters as her greatest allies.

This is one reason why “2-state solutions” are unacceptable, even if the Palestinian Arabs were trustworthy (which they are not). I have a relief map on my wall that I point to when anyone talks about the various 2-state ideas. It shows how the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley (more precisely, the hills on our side of it) are natural barriers to invasion, and provide a strategic advantage to whoever controls them. It also shows the importance of the hills in Judea and Samaria, which overlook the most heavily populated parts of Israel.

The Golan Heights are particularly important. Had Israel not been in possession of them at the start of the Yom Kippur War, Syrian tanks would have rolled through Israeli cities and towns, with murderous results. More recently we would have had to deal with raids by ISIS and similar groups.

There is currently talk of a Munich-like Syrian peace deal in which part of the arrangement would include the return of the Golan to Assad’s Syria! In order to prevent this, Israel and some American politicians would like to see the US recognize Israel’s permanent ownership of the Golan. In the final analysis, only Israel’s steadfastness and willingness to fight can protect her, but it would certainly help to have the diplomatic backing of the US.

When the war finally does heat up, Israel must bring it to Iran’s homeland. But Iran is a big and populous country, and Israel does not have the ground forces to invade it. We are certainly capable of launching a full-scale nuclear assault, but this would contradict our strategic doctrine, which calls for the use of nuclear weapons only in retaliation for an attack against Israel with nuclear or other WMD, or as a last resort when the country is in danger of being overrun. There would be moral concerns about killing 28 million Iranians. One can also guess the likely response of the international community.

However there is another option, which is an attack aimed to destroy infrastructure, such as electrical grids, industrial plants, government offices, financial centers, oil fields, pipelines, refineries, transportation and communications facilities, and so on. Bombing of key targets could be combined with cyberattacks and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. If done carefully, such a campaign would directly kill few people, but could create chaos and effectively destroy the Iranian economy to the extent that it would take decades to recover. I believe that Iraq is still suffering the effects of infrastructure bombing carried out in the first days of the US-Iraq war in 2003.

Israel is quite capable of carrying out such an attack, and this capability could serve as an effective deterrent, one which is much more likely to be employed than a massive nuclear attack. Iran directly controls Hezbollah, and the regime must be made to understand that an attack by its proxy against our homeland would result in an immediate response against its own.

In the meantime, I hope we are carefully tracking the movements of Qassem Soleimani. He has plenty of American, Israeli, and other blood on his hands. It would be a shame (for the regime) if anything happened to him.

Israel’s Brain-Gain; No Brain-Drain

by Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

1. According to Adam Reuter, Chairman of “Financial Immunities” and author of the 2018 Israel - Island of Success (Globes Business Daily, Dec. 19, 2018): Israel is not afflicted by brain-drain, but benefits from brain-gain.

While Israel’s establishment documents net-migration of higher-education Israelis, it fails to document the massive influx of higher-education Olim (Jewish immigrants). About 2/3 of the Olim - 18-years-old and older - have gone through higher education. For instance, in 2015, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported a brain-drain of 1,360 higher-education Israelis, ignoring the 14,870 higher-education Olim, who arrived in 2015, 48% of whom possessed graduate degrees and PhDs.

While the ratio of higher-education Israelis (compared to the entire population) ranks third in the world, following Japan and Canada, the ratio of higher-education Olim is significantly higher than the rest of Israel’s population. Over 25% of the Olim are experienced in the critical areas of hightech, engineering, computer science, medicine and health.

From 1980-2010, 30,000 higher-education Israelis emigrated (the total of exiting, minus returning Israelis), while 290,000 higher-education Olim arrived from the USSR, France, the USA, etc.. Considering the 25,000 higher-education Olim who emigrated, there was a net brain-gain of 235,000 from 1980-2010.

From 2010-2018, some 105,000 higher-education Olim arrived (out of a total of about 198,000 Olim), while 22,000 higher-education Israelis emigrated - a net brain-gain of 83,000; an annual net brain-grain of 9,000.

From 1980-2018, there has been a net brain-gain of 315,000 higher-education people!

Moreover, from 2010-2016, 4,000 PhD Israelis returned to Israel with enhanced experience and networking, providing tailwind to economic growth.

2. Israel’s 2018 economic indicators according to Bank of Israel: Israel’s public debt to GDP ratio: 60.4% in 2017, 66.1% - 2014, 71.1% - 2010 [225% - 1985], compared with the European Union – 81%, Britain – 85% and the USA – 105%.
GDP growth – 3.7%, GDP per capita - $39,600, unemployment rate – 4.1%, inflation rate – 1.2% [445% - 1985].

3. Israel’s ultra-orthodox Jewish population has been increasingly integrated into Israel’s economy, as documented by Eli Paley, the founder and Chairman of the Jerusalem-based Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Institute for Public Affairs. The Haredi Institute – in cooperation with top (secular) Israeli hightech entrepreneurs - is dedicated to the enhancement of the Haredi integration into Israel’s hightech sector. The latter is the major driving force behind Israel’s economic growth, but is threatened by a growing shortage of skilled developers.

The goal of the Institute is to increase the number of Haredi persons in the hightech sector, while moving them from low-tech to high-tier positions.

The Haredi community has expanded from 4% of Israel’s population in 1980 to 11% in 2018, while accounting for approximately 20% of the younger-than-nine population.

While 18% of the working Haredi women possessed academic degrees in 2006 (compared to 7% of the Haredi men), the volume grew to 24% in 2016 (compared to 11% of the Haredi men).

A recent study, by the Institute, on The Quality of Life among Israel’s Population Groups, documents a rise in the employment rate among Haredi men from 40% in 2008 to 52% in 2018, while the employment rate among Haredi women surged from 57% to 75% over the past decade. However, despite the rise in employment, the majority of Haredi Israelis remain employed in lower-level positions.

According to tests and evaluations conducted by the Haredi Institute, the graduates of Haredi seminaries - in the computer science track - demonstrate talent, strong work ethics and ambition equal to the secular population.

Israeli politics just got more complicated

by Victor Rosenthal

Two Israeli politicians, Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett, announced yesterday that they will leave the party they have led for the past six years and form a new party, called Hayamin Hehadash (The New Right).

Recent polls say Shaked, who is Justice Minister in the present Likud-led coalition, is by far the most popular minister (Hebrew link) in the government, while Bennett, the Education Minister, comes in second.

Shaked and Bennett were formerly members of PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, but joined with what was then called the National Religious Party to create the Beit Hayehudi (Jewish Home). The idea was to build a party that would appeal to both secular and religious Israelis on the right side of the spectrum: those who favor Jewish settlement in the territories, oppose a Palestinian state, and are hawkish on security issues.

They didn’t succeed. Although in 2013 Jewish Home got a respectable 12 seats in the Knesset, it dropped to only 8 in 2015. Bennett and Shaked did not succeed in broadening their base in the secular community, and it became clear that they would never have a chance to lead a government as representatives of a purely “religious” party. And as a small minority in Netanyahu’s government, they felt that they had little or no influence on its decisions.

Israeli coalition politics are more complicated than they may look, because a party has to get 3.25% of the vote in order to get into the Knesset at all (if they receive less, the votes may be distributed according to preexisting agreements, or they may simply be lost). There are always parties on the extreme right and left, as well as special-interest parties, which do not pass the threshold.

Ayelet Shaked has distinguished herself as Justice Minister, by working to reduce the extreme left-wing bias of the legal establishment, especially the Supreme Court. Israel does not have a constitution. It does have a series of Basic Laws, one of which deals with the judiciary system. However, the Basic Laws are broad, and interpreted according to legal precedent, often established by the Supreme Court; and I and many others believe the Court has taken for itself far more power than is healthy in a democracy. Naftali Bennett has been very critical of PM Netanyahu on security matters, calling for stronger measures against the rocket and arson attacks from Gaza. He also criticized the government’s failure to deal with the threat from Hamas’ cross-border tunnels prior to the 2014 war.

They will certainly draw votes from those who previously voted for Jewish Home, but their main source of support will have to be from Likud voters. There are some who simply dislike Netanyahu for various reasons but see no reasonable alternative. Some lean right, and would vote for a party to the right of the Likud, but have not wanted to vote for an explicitly religious party. Personally I like the idea of a party that is firmly right-wing on security matters and which can walk the sometimes fine line between respect for Jewish tradition and religious coercion.

Until now Netanyahu’s poll numbers have been solid, but he faces a concerted media and legal campaign against him. He is accused of corruption on four separate matters (which, in my opinion, are either picayune or politics as usual). The police and state prosecutor have recommended that he be indicted on three of them, and the decision is in the hands of Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit. Every time Netanyahu or his wife is interrogated by the police, the subject matter of the interrogation is leaked to the media, which gleefully reports it. There are demonstrations in front of the home of the Attorney General, calling on him to indict Netanyahu, and a demonstrator even followed Mandelblit to a synagogue where he was saying Kaddish for his mother.

The PM says that even if he is indicted, he will not resign, and that the law does not require him to. On the other hand, there is no doubt that if it happens, his opponents will challenge his right to keep his job in court. It is impossible to predict exactly what will happen, but the idea that somehow Netanyahu could be knocked out, leaving an opening for the Left to come in, is frightening for the majority of Israelis – who believe that the Left is not only incompetent but positively dangerous.

Some who are critical of the decision of Bennett and Shaked to start a new party raise the specter of 1992. In 1992, a very close election ended up with a coalition of the Left in power, after several small right-wing parties did not make the cut to enter the Knesset (at that time, the cutoff was 1.5% of the vote). Both the technical issue of the cutoff and the political problems caused by dissention on the Right led to Rabin’s left-wing coalition and the Oslo accords – a disaster from which the nation has yet to recover.

Netanyahu effectively used the fear of another 1992 to convince voters in the last election (2015) to vote for the Likud rather than Jewish Home, despite the fact that Bennett promised to support Netanyahu in coalition negotiations, and despite surplus vote sharing arrangements that keep votes for marginal parties from being lost. Regardless, a unified Right is more likely to succeed than a fragmented one, and I know several people who voted for Netanyahu while preferring Bennett in their hearts.

Where Bennett and Shaked’s new party could change the equation is if it can draw voters from the center – from parties like Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu, or the new centrist parties started by Orly Levy-Abekasis or former chiefs of staff Benny Gantz and Moshe Ya’alon.

The constellation of parties is still fluid, and I’m sure the pollsters are feverishly trying out all of the combinations. My dream is a strong coalition, firmly on the right on matters of security, but without the Haredi (“ultra-Orthodox”) parties. Although it is true that around 12% of Israelis identify as Haredim and certainly deserve a voice in governance, in my opinion the Haredi parties have proven to be excessively narrowly focused on immediate benefits for their constituents, and too ready to sacrifice the good of the nation for those interests. The recent struggle over national service for Haredim is an example.

But at this point nothing is certain, except that on April 9, I and my fellow citizens will go to the polling place (it’s an official holiday), show our national ID card, and place a pre-printed paper ballot in a box. Humans will count the ballots. There won’t be any chads, hanging or otherwise. And in 2015, about 76.1% of voting-age Israelis votedin national elections.

It could be better, but compared to the US, where turnout was only 55.7% in the hard-fought 2016 contest, that’s not bad at all.

American Jews and Their Israel Problem

by Kenneth Levin

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Jewish anti-Zionism emerged in central Europe in the early nineteenth century as a response to anti-Semitic claims that Jews were unfit for many civic rights because they constituted a separate nation. Central European Jewish immigrants to the United States later in the century brought their anti-Zionism with them and made it a staple of Reform Judaism in America. The influx of pro-Zionist eastern European Jews, together with the Shoah and the founding of Israel, resulted in a dramatic rise in pro-Zionist opinion among American Jews, including within the Reform movement. But the persistent predilection to appease anti-Jewish opinion by seeking to accommodate anti-Jewish indictments has always had some negative impact on support for Israel among American Jews. In recent decades, as groups within the wider society with whom many American Jews identify have become increasingly critical of and even hostile towards Israel, major segments of the Jewish community have chosen cultivation of their links with those groups over the defense of the well-being of the Jewish state.

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The Shamrak Report: Is Palestine a Country? and more...

If you are so sure that "Palestine” is a country that goes back through “most of recorded history," I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of Palestine:

When was it founded and by whom?

What were its borders?

What was its capital?

What were its major cities?

What constituted the basis of its economy?

What was its form of government?

Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?

Was Palestine ever recognized by a country whose existence, at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation?

What was the language of the country of Palestine?

What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine?

What was the name of its currency?

Choose any date in history and tell - what was the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, GB pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date?

And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?

They say true Zionism does not pay - Please, prove it wrong!

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Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak

I am not against Arabs, Christians or even Muslims. I am just pro-Jewish and support Zionism – Jewish national independence movement! Israel can easily stop terror and change the future by recognising and resolving mistakes of the past. Decisively defeating enemies would be the best first step!

"Sinai Option - Road to Permanent Peace!"

Please, read and distribute!

Ceasefires with Fakestinians do not Work - Removal Will!

The first Palestinian rocket launch since Nov. 13 landed on Friday in Shear Hanegev after ten balloons from Gaza, some with explosive devices attached were located next to a kindergarten and dismantled in the Sdot Negev Council region. An IDF helicopter blasted a Hamas position in reprisal. Gazan rioters again clashed violently with Israeli forces along the Gaza border – although in smaller numbers than usual. They claimed one killed and 5 injured from Israeli fire. So will the next $15m monthly instalment of Qatar funding, for buying a Palestinian “ceasefire,” be allowed to pass into Gaza in January? The two instalments delivered until now have earned Hamas more than $652,000 for every day of ‘calm’.(For how long will Israel allow financing of the enemies instead of removing them from the Jewish land?)

Early Election Delays Trump’s 'Peace Process'

Israel’s ruling coalition moved to dissolve the country’s parliament after its members disagreed over a bill to draft ultra-Orthodox men (good excuse as any) into the military. The decision to bring the election forward to April from November could complicate the Trump administration’s hopes to begin a (another useless) peace process between Israel and the Palestinians in the coming months. (Interestingly, nobody is upset about it!)

Hezbollah Leaders Killed in IAF Attack

Israeli fighter pilots have allegedly targeted senior members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in a surgical strike. An earlier strike targeted at least three weapons depots used by Iranian and Hezbollah forces in areas west of Damascus. An arsenal of Iranian Fajr-5 missiles was being stored in at least one of the weapons warehouses.

Turkey Plays Both Sides

Erdogan spokesman says Turkey’s purchase of Patriot missiles will not affect its deal to acquire S-400 missiles from Russia.

Trump Outplays Erdogan

President put down Erdogan's threats of military operations to “deal with” the Syrian Kurds, as soon as the Americans were gone. Trump tweeted: “I just had a long and productive call with President Erdogan of Turkey. We discussed ISIS, our mutual involvement in Syria & the slow & highly coordinated pullout of US troops from the area. After many years, they are coming home.” In other words, the US was slowing down the troop withdrawal from northern and eastern Syria to such time as it suited the administration – not Erdogan and his plans.

Quote of the Week:

"Control your own destiny or someone else will." - Jack Welch, a former Chairman and CEO of General Electric

Pleading for My Land!

by Herbert Pagani, November 11, 1975

http://www.factsofisrael.com/blog/archives/000215.html

(He was a French/Italian poet and singer, communist and Jewish, popular in the 70’s. He eventually became an enthusiastic Zionist and wrote the text below.)

Last Night, I was in the subway when I heard two ladies say:

"Did you see these Jews with their stories at the U.N.? What jerks! "

It’s true. We are jerks. For centuries we have been the world’s jerks. It’s in our nature, what can you do?

Abraham with his single God, Moses with his 10 Commandments, Jesus with his second cheek always available for a second slap, then Freud, Marx, Einstein, all were intruders, revolutionaries, enemies of the Order.

Why?

Because no order, whatever the century, could satisfy them - since they were always excluded. To call everything in question, to see further, changing the world to change their destiny, such was the destiny of my Ancestors.

This is why the defenders of all established orders hate them.

- The anti-Semite of the right blames the Jews for having executed the Bolshevik revolution. It’s true: there were many of them, in 1917.

- The anti-Semite of the left blames the Jews for owning Manhattan. It’s true: there are many Jewish capitalists.

The reason is simple: religion, culture, and the revolutionary ideal on the one hand, stocks and banks on the other, are the only transportable values, the only possible country for those that do not have a country.

And now that there is a country, Anti-Semitism reappears from its ashes... - Sorry! From OUR ashes - and it’s called anti-Zionism! It used to be applied only to individuals; it is now applied to a country.

Israel is a ghetto - Jerusalem is Warsaw... The Nazis who besiege us speak Arabic! And if their crescent is sometimes disguised in a sickle, that’s simply for better trapping the liberal leftists of the world.

I, who am a Jew of the left, I don’t care about a certain left that wants to free all men of the world at the expense of some of them - because I am precisely one of these!

I support class struggle, but I also support the right to be different. If the left wants to count me among its members, it cannot exclude my problem.

And my problem is that since the Roman deportations of the 1st century after Jesus-Christ, everywhere we went we were expelled, dishonoured, banished, tracked, denounced, crushed, burned and converted by force!

Why?

Because our religion - i.e. our culture was dangerous! Some examples:

· Judaism was the first to create the Shabbath, the day of God, i.e. the day of weekly mandatory rest. You imagine the joy of the Pharaohs, always late in building the next pyramid.

· Judaism prohibits slavery. You can imagine the sympathy of the Romans, the most significant wholesalers of free labour of the Antiquity.

· It is said in the Bible: "The earth does not belong to man, but to God." From this sentence a law is created, the automatic handing-over of real-estate every 49 years. You imagine the effect of such a law on the Popes of the Middle Ages and the builders of empires during the Renaissance.

It was imperative that the people do not learn the truth.

They started by banishing the Bible, then there were the libels: walls of defamation that became walls of stone that were called ghettos.

Then it was the Inquisition, the flames and later the yellow stars.

Auschwitz is only an industrial example of genocide, but there were thousands of hand-made genocides. It would take me three days only to name all the pogroms of Spain, Russia, Poland and North Africa.

By continuing to flee and to move, the Jew went everywhere. One extrapolates: he ends up being from nowhere.

We are among the people like the welfare child. I don’t want to be adopted any more. I don’t want for my life to depend on my owners’ mood any more. I don’t want to be a “citizen-renter” any more.

I have enough of knocking at History’s doors and waiting until I’m told: "Enter". I enter and I yell! I am at home on earth and on earth I have my land: she was promised to me, she will be mine!

What is Zionism? It’s reduced to a simple sentence: "Next year in Jerusalem."

No, it’s not a slogan of the Club Med. It's written in the Bible, the book that has sold more copies and has been misunderstood more than any other book in the world.

And this prayer became a roar, a roar that is over 2000-year-old, and the fathers of Columbus, Kafka, Proust, Chagall, Marx, Einstein, and even Mr. Kissinger, repeated this sentence, this roar, at least once a year, on Passover.

Then, is Zionism equal to Racism? Don’t make me laugh! Is "Soft France, dear country of my childhood" (“Douce France, cher pays de mon enfance”) a racist anthem? Zionism is the name of a struggle for freedom!

In the world, everybody has its Jews. The French have theirs: they are the Breton, Occitans, Corsicans, and the immigrant workers. The Italians have Sicilians; the Americans have their Blacks; the Spaniards their Basques.

We, we are EVERYBODY’S Jews.

To those that tell me: "And the Palestinians?" - I answer: "I am a 2000 year-old Palestinian. I am the oldest oppressed man in the world."

I will negotiate with them, but I will not yield my place to them. There’s enough space there for two people and two nations. The borders are to be determined together. But the existence of one country cannot in any case exclude the existence of the other. And the political options of a government never called into question the existence of a nation, whatever the nation.

Then why Israel?

When Israel is out of danger, I will choose among Jews and my Arab neighbours, those who are my brothers by ideas.

Today, I must be united with all of my people, even those whom I hate, in the name of this insurmountable enemy: RACISM.

Descartes was wrong: "I think, therefore I am" doesn’t mean anything. We have been thinking for 5000 years, and we still don’t exist!

I defend myself, therefore I am!