How we get to the Eighth Day

by Rav Binny Freedman

Screaming and yelling; and then then freezing air when my blanket was thrown off finally woke me up; it was 3 am and for some reason the light was on in our tent; we had seven minutes to get dressed in full uniform and be outside in perfect rows of threes or… there was no or. No one wanted to risk finding out what would happen if we were not standing at attention outside when the sergeant arrived.

We had finally been allowed at 1 am, to go to sleep after an incredibly long day in basic training, and for some reason we had been awoken again a mere two hours later; I was so tired I could barely stand. And then ‘Sergeant Itzik‘ showed up. It could not get any worse; he was a sadist, no doubt about it; we knew we were in trouble as soon as he opened his mouth, we just had no idea why.

“Did you check your pakalim?”, he yelled.

(Pakalim are the individual extra equipment charges each soldier had: different soldiers were responsible for the platoon’s stretchers, machine gun, shoulder carried anti-tank weapons, the radio and so on.)

One by one he checked out the individual pieces of equipment to make sure they were ‘ready for battle‘, while his yelling got louder and louder. Then he got to the jerry cans: “Did you take care of the jerry-cans?”, he screamed.

He went over to the first jerry can and gave it a kick and the heavy thud of his boot hitting the full jerry can was the answer to his question. Then he kicked the second jerry can, and the hollow sound his boot made as he sent the obviously empty jerry can hurtling into the air is a sound that still haunts my dreams. I was responsible for one of the two 20-liter jerry-cans full of water (one of two in the platoon) which meant I had to make sure it was full and well secured.

Obviously the jerry can had not been filled. I could sense rather than see the dread that immediately descended upon the entire platoon. We were obviously in for a long night. I looked at my buddy who was responsible for the other jerry can who was thinking exactly what I was thinking: ‘I know I filled that jerry can before hitting the sack…’.

No way had one of us forgotten to fill it; we both remembered filling them the night before. It took me a while to figure out our commanders had obviously emptied out one of the jerry cans… At which point I really started to struggle with what it was all about and whether there was any point to all of this running around. Images of my friends back in college in the US were swimming through my brain as it dawned on me we were totally at the mercy of these sado-masochists with three stripes on their arms. What after all was the point?

This week we read the portion of Shemini (literally ‘The Eighth’), so named because the portion begins with the eighth day of the consecration service for the erecting of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

On this day for the first time in history, the Jewish people will have a Mishkan, which was the predecessor to what would one day be the Temple. In addition, it was also the first time we would actually have Kohanim, the priestly class. After all, before there was a Tabernacle or a Temple we had no need of Kohanim right? So one can certainly understand this eighth day as a holy day worthy of special ceremonies and offerings.

But why is it called the eighth day? Why not give it a name of its own like ‘Inauguration day’? Obviously the meaning of this day is only when it is seen as the conclusion of whatever happened on the previous seven days. And in fact, in last week’s portion (Tzav) these seven days leading up to the consecration and dedication of the Mishkan are described as a very special set of days, known as the ‘Seven yemei miluim, or days of inauguration.

And there was a special procedure each of these seven days as the Kohanim and with them the Jewish people, prepared for the inauguration of the Mishkan. And, it seems, without these days of preparation there would not have been an eighth day, or dedication of the Mishkan.

On a practical level, each day Moshe would build the Mishkan with Aharon and his sons at the beginning of the day and go through the daily service in the Mishkan, and then at the end of the day they would take it apart, only to build it again the next morning, only to take it apart again at sunset. They would repeat this routine day after day, for seven days, until the eighth day when it was erected and dedicated.

Obviously the Kohanim and the Levites were preparing for their role by learning how to take care of the Mishkan. But it still leaves us with the question as to why this was necessary, especially as this is something we find nowhere else. When we are given mitzvoth we do not get a ‘practice period’ before obligation sets in, so why the need for this seven-day process, and why is our portion called Shemini,implying the unique nature of this eighth day only stems from the seven days of inauguration which precede it?

So there is a verse at the conclusion of the actual building of the Mishkan which may shed light on this process:

תֵּ֕כֶל כָּל־עֲבֹדַ֕ת מִשְׁכַּ֖ן אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כְּ֠כֹל אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֖ה כֵּ֥ןעָשֽׂוּ׃

כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה כֵּ֤ן עָשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֵ֖תכָּל־הָעֲבֹדָֽה …

וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כָּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְאֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה

Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting; and the children of Israel did according to all that G-d commanded Moses, so did they.… According to all that the G-d commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the G-d had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them. (Shemot 39:32,43)

Obviously, when reading these verses, once cannot help but be reminded of the verses describing the conclusion of the six days of the creation of the world :

וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָֽם׃ וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃

And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made. (Bereisheet 2;1 )

Most people think that G-d created the world in six days. But a close look at the verse makes it clear that G-d completed the creation on the seventh day! But what was it Hashem created on the seventh day? On the seventh day G-d created rest: the ability to stop and consider what all the creative activity was about; what it was for.

What indeed was the Mishkan (and subsequently the Temple, the Beit ha’Mikdash ) all about? Essentially, it was the paradigm par excellence of the impact the right environment can make.

Three times a year we were obligated to stop what we were doing and take a break to go up to Jerusalem. And in Jerusalem in the Temple, as in the Tabernacle in the desert, we had the opportunity to experience an environment that was so special, so infused with meaning, so full of the beauty of the entire Jewish people coming together that one almost could not help but be impacted and moved.

Indeed, this was the place where a person could really sense and feel the presence of G-d; where one had the chance to experience a sense of awe; of wonder, and hopefully be changed forever.

This was the eighth day, the day that stands alone (like the festival at the end of Sukkot, known as Shemini Atzeret: the eighth day which is its own festival) and is beyond the natural and above time.

But before we can arrive at the spiritual heights of that eighth day, we must first experience the seven days of inauguration (the shiva ye’mei miluim) which remind us of the week, culminating in Shabbat. Because if the six days of the week are all about what we do, Shabbat is all about why we do it; it’s about purpose and meaning, and making sure we do not get so busy with all of our labors that we forget why we are here, and what all that labor is for.

And if the Mishkan was all about attempting to experience a state of spiritual ecstasy, and connect to G-d, the seven days of the inaugural process remind us not to forget why we are building the Mishkan, and what it’s really all about.

That empty jerry-can flying through the air challenged me to think less about what we were doing, and more about why we were doing it. This is probably the most critical issue of our day. On a personal level, we may have gotten the routine of what we do; but have we lost the why and what for? And on a National level, having built, with G-d’s help, a magnificent State of Israel from a tent camp of refugees, into an economic and military super power; will the next generation stay connected with why we need a Jewish state and what its meant to be all about?

That is how we will get to the eighth day ….

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

Rabbi Ari Kahn on Parashat Shmini: Is Suffering Correlated with Sin?

The Yishai Fleisher Show - Strength from the Holocaust

First, Malkah Fleisher on entering the post-Pesach and post-Corona period, and realizing that the Holocaust means living out our ancestors dreams. Then, Yishai lets off Yom HaShoah steam on the problem with Euro-journalists. And finally, Rav Mike Feuer on holy food and why God cares that pig ain't kosher.

Why Arab MKs Hate the State

by Victor Rosenthal

On Tuesday, Israel’s 24th Knesset was sworn in. They were asked to commit to “…be faithful to the State of Israel and to fulfill with devotion [their] cause in the Knesset.” The majority of them responded “I commit,” but four Arabs and one Jewish communist did not. The Arabs, members of the Hadash (communist) and Balad (“land” parties) said that they would commit to struggle against “occupation and apartheid” or “racism and racists.” The declarations were not accepted and the five were escorted out of the chamber. They will forfeit some privileges of Knesset membership until they make the proper declaration, as specified in the Basic Law for the Knesset. I have not been able to determine if they will also not get paid, although I’m not holding my breath.

This is not anything new. Arab MKs in 2013 left the ceremony before the singing of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva. Then-MK Hanin Zoabi of the Balad party explained that “as an Arab woman born in this country, the anthem oppresses me and humiliates me.” The song expresses the “Jewish spirit yearning … to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.” Zoabi and other Palestinian nationalists reject the idea of a Jewish state; their official platform calls for a Palestinian state in Judea/Samaria and the “return” of the descendants of the Arab refugees of 1948 to the area of pre-1967 Israel and the establishment of a binational state. They consider themselves the “true owners of the soil,” and so the sentiments expressed in Hatikva are offensive to them.

All the Arab parties and the Arab-Jewish communist party are explicitly anti-Zionist. Balad is funded by Qatar; Mansour Abbas’ Ra’am party – which ironically (and in my opinion, outrageously) may end up supporting a Netanyahu coalition with its votes – is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent and patron of Hamas. The Basic Law for the Knesset says that “negation of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state” disqualifies a candidate from standing for election to the Knesset. If it were enforced, probably none of today’s Arab MKs would qualify.

About 20% of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, mostly the descendants of Arabs that did not flee the area that became Israel in 1948. Some are residents of eastern Jerusalem who accepted Israeli citizenship when it was offered after the 1967 war (although most refused and remain permanent residents who can vote in municipal elections but not national ones). Arabs are an essential part of Israel’s economy and cultural life.

And they are not going anywhere. Meir Kahane argued that if they were not removed from the country, they would overtake the Jewish majority demographically; but as time has passed and the Jewish and Arab birthrates have tended to converge, this worry has receded. On the other hand, if it turns out that the political positions of the Arab MKs are representative of the population, then the presence of a large minority that opposes the existence of the Jewish state as such is exceedingly dangerous. Is there in fact such a minority?

It’s not a simple question. Several surveys in recent years show a large majority of Arab citizens of Israel are happy with their lives here, and would not choose to live in another country – certainly not in the Palestinian Authority or Gaza. Surprisingly, a recent poll shows that one-third of them even approve of the performance of PM Netanyahu, whom the Jewish Left constantly accuses of anti-Arab racism.

On the other hand, a large majority assert that they oppose the definition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people as expressed in the Nation-State Law, and would prefer a state of all its citizens. But it seems – and anecdotal evidence supports the idea – that the economic and physical security that they find in Israel overrides ideological considerations.

This situation is not ideal, but is probably the best that can be expected. The ideological disagreement comes from the traditional Palestinian narrative, in which they see themselves as the aboriginal inhabitants of the land who were pushed aside and had their land violently stolen from them by a wave of European Jewish invaders. This story imparts a serious blow to the honor of the Arab community, honor that some of them believe can only be recaptured by the violent expulsion of the invaders. This is sometimes understood as a loss of honor to the Muslim ummah as well, in which case there is a strong religious imperative to regain it. The combination of these beliefs can inflame their holders to commit acts of violence, even suicide terrorism.

While most Arabs in Israel are not extremists, the narrative powerfully influences their collective consciousness. Sometimes this is expressed in ways that shock us, as in the recent welcome given to a terrorist who was released after 35 years in prison for the gruesome torture and murder of a young Jewish soldier.

The Palestinian narrative is taught in the Israeli-Arab school system, and by left-wing Jewish and Arab teachers in universities. It pervades Arab culture: theater, poetry, and music reflect it. Although hatred for Jews and the glorification of martyrdom in the service of the cause is not part of official curricula as it is in Gaza or the Palestinian Authority, it is part of the conventional wisdom in Arab communities that anti-Israel terrorists are heroes and heroines even if their actions are thought impractical. And the Palestinian narrative is an essential part of the ideology of Arab intellectuals, including members of the Knesset, whether or not it is connected to a religious, Palestinian nationalist, or pan-Arab message.

Could there be an Arab consciousness that is truly accepting of the fact of a Jewish state, a consciousness that understands that there is nothing fundamentally illegitimate about the state, and one that can see the decision to live as a minority in a state that belongs to someone else as not shameful?

That would require teaching a new understanding of the history of the state that sharply contradicts the existing Palestinian narrative. It would need to take into account the actual history of the Jewish people and the Palestinian Arabs in the region, rather than the myths that have been created for political purposes. It would have to describe the migrations of the various groups that make up today’s Palestinians, and not make up stories about Philistines and Canaanites. It would need to accept that Jews lived in the region for thousands of years, and built a Temple in Jerusalem (and incidentally that Jesus was a Judean). Finally, it would need to drop the ideas that Palestinians are victims of Jewish colonialism, and that they are indigenous and we are not.

Unfortunately, the academics that would teach this version of the story, a version that could be accepted by both Jews and Arabs because it is true, are rare indeed. The post-modern view that all narratives are equally true (or false) is common today. The politicians that would adopt it would be forced to give up political advantage gained by stirring up resentment and hatred, placing them at a disadvantage to those who didn’t (which is why all Arab MKs at least pay lip service to Palestinian nationalism).

I don’t expect this to happen, at least not today with today’s cast of characters, both Jewish and Arab. So the best we can hope for is an increased pragmatism, an understanding that everyday life is more important than ideology. It’s not perfect, but we can live with it.

Yom HaShoah 5781

by HaRav Nachman Kahana

In our long history many people left the Jewish nation in unnatural ways which can be classified into two categories: those who were murdered or underwent forced conversion, and those who willingly assimilated among the goyim. The net result of the two categories is that our nation has dwindled numerically. Had we not been forced into exile because of our sins, we would probably be today more numerous than even the Chinese who are close to one and a half billion, far far from the 14 million estimated Jews of today.

We have undergone enormous suffering at the hands of Christianity and Islam over the last 2000 years, with the epitome of our suffering during the 6 years of the European Shoah.

The Israeli Chief Rabbinate added to the already official fast day of the tenth of Tevet, the General Kaddish Day for those whose day of death in the Shoah is not known, and the 27th of Nissan which the government of Israel has proclaimed as the official day of mourning for the victims of the Shoah.

I as a survivor of the American Shoah wish to make a proposal to the large orthodox organizations in the galut like the RCA, OU and Young ISRAEL:

Since the time that Jews began converging on the shores of the United States towards the end of the 19th century, the number of Jews who left the holy nation of Israel is much higher than the number 6 million who were murdered in the Shoah. It is estimated that between 70 and 80 percent of non-orthodox marriages are mixed in the US today. In total had there not been assimilation and intermarriage the Jews of the US would number today in the tens of millions rather than the 5 million or so of whom half are non-Halachic thanks to the reform and conservative movements.

So, we olim from the US can consider ourselves survivors of the US Shoah.

My suggestion to the leaders of orthodox Jewry is to dedicate a day as Jewish Assimilation Shoah day. It would entail fasting and the addition of Tehillim after the regular tefillot, with shiurim by rabbis and calls to the assimilated to return to the holy fold of Yehadut.

And also calls to make aliya after 73 years of the Medina which is sufficient time to pack one’s bag.

Shabbat Shalom,
Nachman Kahana
https://nachmankahana.com

Copyright (C) 2021 Rabbi Nachman Kahana. All rights reserved.

The Jewish Nation – HaShem’s Instrument

BS”D
Parashat Shemini 5781
by HaRav Nachman Kahana

Parashat Shemini closes with the dietary laws, stating specifically those species of animal life which may be eaten; and parashat Tazriah opens with the halachic ramifications (laws) for a woman who has given birth to a child.

Rashi explains that the Torah did this in ascending halachic order of kedusha (sanctity) from the humble animal world to the privileged status of a Jewish person. We will return to this be”H.

In this week’s parashat Shemini my attention was drawn to two specific personalities: Aharon HaKohen in the parasha, and Yehoshua bin Nun whose yahrzeit (date of death) falls in this week on the 26th of Nisan. Although the specific crises facing these holy men were vastly different, both were made to bear profound burdens which would have felled lesser men.

Aharon HaKohen had just lost two of his oldest and most competent sons while they were serving in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Yet he was commanded by HaShem to complete his tasks despite his great personal tragedy.

The Torah describes Aharon’s irreconcilable personal trauma in two thunderous words “Va’yiedom Aharon” – and Aharon remained silent.

Yehoshua bin Nun was commanded by HaShem to fulfill an impossible mission: he was to follow Moshe Rabbeinu as the leader of the Jewish people. How does one replace the irreplaceable?

How can Yehoshua direct the elders who are whispering behind his back, “The face of Moshe was like the sun, the face of Yehoshua is like the moon”?

How can Yehoshua assume halachic authority when the Torah is called ‘Torat Moshe’ (the Torah of Moshe)?

How can he lead the people of Israel into the land so holy that even the illustrious Moshe did not merit to enter? And will the army of Israel do battle with forces many times mightier than they at the command of Yehoshua?

Yehoshua was so discouraged, that twice in chapter one of the Book of Yehoshua, HaShem sees the need to encourage him with the call חזק ואמץ – be strong and brave of heart.

Where did Aharon and Yehoshua find the inner strength to overcome their great burdens, and complete their tasks?

They transcended their individual, emotional limitations caused by sadness and pain, feelings of inadequacy and mortality, by realizing that they were the instruments of HaShem, and instruments don’t weep.

Aharon had to discharge the service that was intended to complete what was only begun during the six days of creation – to connect the metaphysical, spiritual universe with the lowly physical world through the “umbilical cord” of Torah and mitzvot within the holy womb of Eretz Yisrael.

Yehoshua was no longer just the loyal student and attaché of the great leader. His self-image had to change. He was propelled into a role which he never dreamt could occur – to replace the irreplaceable, to advance from being led and to assume the role of leader. He was no longer the son of Nun; he was now the father of the nation. No longer a pawn in the many pieces of HaShem’s nation, but the instrument of HaShem to replace the glorious instrument which had become broken and left behind in a valley near the Mountain of Nevo.

The Instruments of HaShem Today
In Eretz Yisrael, the 27th of Nissan was proclaimed by the government as the national day of remembrance of the victims and the murderers of the Shoah.

At the close of the Second World War, the Jewish people found themselves at the nadir of our history. When the truth of what had befallen our people became apparent, that one third of our nation was murdered, a profound sense of despair and demoralization descended upon our people. Many Jews sought escape from the fact of that they were born Jewish, in shame and embarrassment. “Where was God?”, was the question most asked. But the rabbis had no answers. One answer surely is “Where was man?”

HaShem, in His infinite wisdom, caused us to rise above our self-pity and national depression to become instruments in His world plan. The Jewish people were mobilized to do the impossible – to re-create a national home in our ancient land for the millions of Jews who were to turn their backs on the galut [exile] and return home. There was no time for self-pity. There were hundreds of thousands of survivors languishing in the camps of Europe, and anti-Semitism was being unleashed against the Jews in many Arab and Moslem lands. A State had to be carved out from the mountain of rocks and in the barren sands of the Negev. His Royal Majesty’s mandate over Palestine was in effect, and the Royal Navy blockaded the coasts in order to prevent the threat of the broken bodies and spirits of Jews who thirsted to feel the holy land under their feet. Arabs murdered Jews at will in Eretz Yisrael, in the best case with the apathetic indifference of His Majesty’s soldiers, and in most cases with their active weapons support and logistical help.

In these circumstances no thinking, breathing, feeling Jew could wallow in the luxury of self-pity. The instruments of HaShem were put to work.

The British were expelled from the land. The Arab marauders were held at bay and the seven Arab armies which invaded the emerging Jewish State were miraculously driven back. Millions of Jews were absorbed into society and the “image of God” was restored to them.

Again, the knowledge that we were the instruments of HaShem allowed the Jews of Eretz Yisrael an achievement of the impossible – to return home after 2000 years of varying degrees of Shoah.

Today, we are again facing challenges which would bring lesser nations to their knees. We are being threatened – almost daily – by Hitler’s evil heirs in Teheran, while the world lazily yawns. The Jews in Eretz Yisrael, numbering less six and a half million, are being pitted against a world that echoes the words of Canada’s PM Mackenzie King when asked after the Second World War how many Jewish survivors he would let into the country, he responded “None is too many”.

On this background, the Jews of Eretz Yisrael will again be called to serve as the instruments of HaShem by rising above our parochial tzarot (problems) in His service.

As stated by Rashi in his commentary on parashat Tazria, the sequence of HaShem’s Torah as the blueprint for the world is to deal with the animal elements in nature first, followed by the Halachic laws for the Jewish nation.

So, too, in human affairs. The animalistic drives of men will have to be dealt with first and only then will the world be ready to receive the holy teachings of the Torah.

There is yet much to be done before the completion of HaShem’s plan, which began on the six days of creation. The secret of our strength is the knowledge that we are HaShem’s instruments in that completion.

Order of the day – BE HERE and Remember JLMM – Jewish lives matter most.

Shabbat Shalom,
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5781/2021 Nachman Kahana

Rav Kook on Parashat Shemini: The Bracha of the Kohanim

The Mishkan inauguration concluded with a blessing from the Kohen Gadol:

“Aharon lifted his hands towards the people and blessed them. He then descended from preparing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.” (Vayikra. 9:22)

When Was the Bracha Recited?
From the Torah’s account, it would seem that Aharon blessed the people before he completed the service in the newly dedicated Mishkan. The Chachamim, however, explained that the actual order was different. First, Aharon completed the offerings and descended from the mizbeiach. Only afterward did he bless the people (Torat Kohanim, Megillah 18a).

If the birchat kohanim was performed at the end of the Mishkan service (which nowadays is recited at the end of the Amidah prayer), why does the Torah imply a different order?

The True Honor of Kohanim
When discussing the contribution of the kohanim to the Jewish people, and the corresponding honor they receive, we must distinguish between their current state and their future potential.

We may respect an individual kohen for his scholarship and piety, but the true honor we bestow to kohanim is in recognition of their holy influence over the entire nation. We honor them primarily for their future potential, for what a kohen should and can be - “for he is an emissary of God of the hosts” (Malachi 2:7). Even if the kohen is undeserving of such honor in his present state, “You must strive to keep him holy... he will be holy for you, since I am holy” (Vayikra. 21:8). His holiness is due to his potential benefit to the nation, as a member of the sanctified family.

(This, by the way, is similar to the honor we give to rabbis and teachers. We respect them for their erudition and also as representatives of the institution of the rabbinate. This honor is in recognition of the overall contribution of the rabbinate to the welfare of the people. The rabbi on his part should realize that he is primarily honored for what he ought to be, and should do his best to fulfill this expectation.)

Two Roles of the Kohanim
The function of the kohanim is not only to serve in the Temple. The kohanim are also expected to teach and elevate the people, as it says, “From the kohen’s lips they will guard knowledge, and they will seek Torah from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7). These two roles are interrelated, since the source for their spiritual influence on the people originates in the holiness of their service in the Temple.

There is one duty of the kohanim that combines both of these roles: the birchat kohanim. This bracha is part of the Temple service, and at the same time, reflects their interaction with the people. The kohanim recite the blessing with outstretched arms, a sign that their efforts to uplift the people are an extension and continuation of their holy service in the Temple.

Bridging the Past and the Future
The blessing also forms a bridge over time, connecting the past with the future and the actualized with the potential.

The kohanim can best fulfill their mission to uplift the people after they have participated in the Temple service and experienced the unique elevation of soul gained through this holy public service. Their blessing will then reflect the highest level of influence and inspiration the kohen is able to impart. Thus, the blessing indicates the present state of the kohen, while being based on his past service, and extending - like his outstretched arms - to his future potential influence.

Now we can resolve the apparent contradiction between the Torah’s account and actual practice. The text implies that the kohanim complete their service after blessing the people. The service referred to here is not their service in the Temple, but their role in uplifting the people, which is truly their primary mission. In practice, however, the priestly blessing needs to be based on the holy services that they have already performed. Therefore, it is recited only after they have completed their service in the Temple.

The Impact of Prayer
A similar phenomenon is found at the end of the Amidah prayer, when we say, “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable before You“ (Tehilim 19:15).

It would appear more logical to recite this plea before praying. In fact, the verse does not refer to the prayer about to be recited, but to our heartfelt aspiration that we should be able to apply the influence of this prayer on the coming day. Like the priestly benediction, this request forms a bridge between two states. It is based on the prayer service just performed, but it looks forward to the future influence of this spiritual elevation on our lives.

(Gold from the Land of Israel (now available in paperback) pp. 187-189. Adapted from Olat Re’iyah vol. I, pp. 284-285; Otzerot HaRe’iyah vol. II, pp. 211-212 by Rav Chanan Morrison)

The inauguration of the Mishkan (video)

"G-d! May Your favor rest upon us”

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

The moment of climax for which all the people were waiting after the Exodus and the receiving of the Torah was the moment when the Divine Presence was supposed to reveal itself at the end of the Tabernacle’s erection and the sacrifices of the eighth day of Installation. The longed-for moment arrived, but the Divine Presence did not descend nor reveal itself. The result was that Aaron was embarrassed and the Israelites were mortified, frustrated, and sad. As Rashi comments (Vayikra 9:23):

“When Aharon saw that they had offered all the sacrifices, and all the rituals had been performed, and still the Divine Presence had not descended for Israel, he was pained, and thought, ‘I know that G-d is angry with me and it is because of me that the Divine Presence did not descend!’ He said to Moshe: ‘Moshe! Your efforts have resulted only in my entering the Tabernacle and being embarrassed!’ Moses immediately entered with him, and they begged for mercy, and the Divine Presence descended for Israel.”

And what was their blessing to the people (Vayikra 9:23)? They said, “G-d! May your favor rest upon us!” (Tehilim 90:17), and, “May it be Your will to cause Your Divine Presence to rest on our handiwork.” Immediately, "G-d's glory was revealed to all the people. Fire came forth from before G-d and consumed the burnt offering and the choice parts on the altar. When the people saw this, they raised their voices in praise and threw themselves on their faces” (Vayikra 9:23-24). In other words, the people's mood was transformed 180 degrees, and they rejoiced and praised G-d.

From here we may derive that it is not enough to erect the Mishkan and to bring offerings. Rather, we must seek G-d’s mercy for His favor to rest upon us. This recalls the following story:
“Rav Yishmael ben Elisha entered the Holy of Holies to burn incense and he saw “the L-rd of hosts sitting on His exalted throne. G-d said to him, ‘Yishmael, my son! Bless me!’ He answered, ‘May it be Your will that Your mercy should vanquish Your anger, and You should treat Your sons mercifully and go beyond the letter of the law for them.’ G-d then nodded in assent.”

This source serves to teach that “we should not take a layman’s blessings lightly” (Berachot 7a).
Today, how fortunate we are and how good our lot that we have merited to be part of a generation in which the Jewish People are rising up to rebirth after two thousand years of exile. We see with our own eyes the ingathering of the exiles and the flourishing of our country. The Third Temple is being rebuilt before our very eyes. We are still at the very height of a process at the end of which most certainly the Divine Presence will descend and reveal itself to all Israel, just as it did at the Mishkan's erection on the eighth day of the Installment, and just as it did with the building of the First Temple in Shlomo HaMelech's day.

Until then we must recite the prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d, “O G-d, may Your favor rest upon us! Establish for us the work of our hands, the work of our hands establish” (Tehilim 90:17).
May the work of our hands be complete. Let it not – G-d forbid – cause a mishap. And may the result be to have G-d’s favor upon us, G-d’s Presence and His consolation (see Rashi and Metzudat David, ibid.).

Looking forward to complete redemption,
With blessings for a good summer for all of Israel,
Shabbat Shalom.

Silence is not only Golden

by Rabbi Pinchas Winston

Shabbos Night
FOR ABOUT A year now, I have been going for an early morning walk, kind of my pre-dovening hisbodedus (meditation). It is still dark outside, and very quiet. I started going for exercise at first when my runner went on the fritz, but I continued after it was fixed because I realized that it had something my runner can’t give me: the sound of silence.

Just this morning before going out for my walk, I saw a booklet at the shul in which I doven. I usually drop my tallis and tefillin off at my shul before walking, so I can return straight there on my way back. The book was titled, “How Cell Phones Try to Take Over Our Lives,” or something to that effect. I didn’t have time to look through it much, but I got the gist of it and used my imagination for the rest.

We are living in one of the noisiest, most distracting non-war generations ever, literally an era of sounds. Rarely a minyan happens without some cell phone going off “accidentally,” and seemingly always during Shemoneh Esrai. Then there is the person who likes to hear their phone beep every time a text message or e-mail comes in, disturbing those around them.

And somewhere off in the distance there is always a truck, or even a car, beeping in reverse, while someone close by plays on some kind of device that also makes weird sounds. Thank God for Shabbos, without which the sounds would continue seven days a week, as they do for those who do not observe Shabbos. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people going to libraries just to find some silence.

This makes mindfulness more difficult. It is hard to be in the zone when so many external things are happening all around. It is possible to concentrate when it is noisy, but much easier to do so when all is quiet. I think this is what I enjoy most about my morning walks—I don’t have to try to concentrate. It happens automatically.

As a result, I have come up with some nice insights, thank God, while walking in the quiet of early morning. In fact, I try to have a question in mind before I start on my way so that I can think about it as I walk. Invariably, I usually come up with any answer, which I quickly jot down in my note book once I return to shul. It’s a very rewarding experience, and one that I look forward to each day, even when tired. I have even gone on my walks in the rain.

Shabbos Day
THE TALMUD SAYS that if a person wants to truly learn Torah, they should make themself like a midbar—a desert:

If you make yourself into a midbar, then your Torah will remain. (Eiruvin 54a)

The simple explanation is that a desert symbolizes humility, being ownerless and a place that everyone tramples. Nothing much grows there, and though it has its own kind of beauty, it is not one that draws people there in droves. If anything, it reminds people of death more than life.

But this is not a contradiction of the fact that Torah is called a “tree of life.” Ironically, to access this tree of life the Talmud also says, one must make themself like a dead person, as the Rambam, explains:

Words of Torah do not endure for those who are lazy concerning [studying] them, and not for those who study amidst pleasure and eating and drinking. Rather, [it endures] for the one who gives up his life for them (words of Torah) and constantly strains his body, not giving any sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids. The Rabbis said, in a manner of allusion [regarding the verse], “This is the law if a man should die in a tent” (Bamidbar 19:14), that the Torah only endures for the one who dies for it in the tents of the wise…The Rabbis have said that a covenant is established that anyone who exhausts himself in his Torah study in the Bais Midrash will not forget it quickly. And anyone who exhausts himself in Torah study in private will become wise, as it says: “To the modest will come wisdom” (Mishlei 11:2). (Yad, Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:12)

The Rambam is clearly taking about self-sacrifice for Torah, and like anything in life, the more of yourself you give to know it, the more you are able to acquire it. He has also added the need to limit the pursuit of material pleasures because Torah is a spiritual pursuit, and as the Talmud says, the pursuit of one is usually at the cost of the other (Brochos 5b). This is why elsewhere the Talmud says that Torah comes from the mouths of the poor (Nedarim 81a).

This is, of course, 100 percent true and a golden rule of learning Torah, though people still try to eat from both “tables.” But perhaps there is another aspect that is being overlooked, one that has to do with another quality of a desert and deserted places in general: quiet.

Interestingly enough, the word for “noise” is “ra’ash,” spelled Raish-Ayin-Shin. They happen to be the three letters for “rasha,” which is an evil person, because evil people tend to make a lot of noise. As it says in the Talmud regarding Ephron who sold Ma’aras Hamakpelah to Avraham (Bereishis 23:16), evil people say a lot but do little.

And when its says “evil” people, it doesn’t have to mean the worst people in the world. Evil is a broad term that can also refer to actions alone, and not necessarily to the person doing them. Killing a person accidentally is also a level of evil, though the person who did it is not necessarily evil. There are people who do evil, and then there are the people who personify it. There is a difference.

On my walk in the mornings, I often walk by some teenagers who hang out in the streets at that time. They probably have good hearts and are just very confused about life, intellectually, emotionally, or both. You can feel their struggle for identity from 50 feet away, especially when they insist on talking and yelling at the top of their lungs, though people in the houses around them are still asleep. Somehow doing that makes them feel more secure.

Silence is not only golden. It can also be a sign of righteousness and wisdom.

Shelosh Seudot
THIS IDEA MAY actually open the door to a new answer to an old question regarding the prophecy Moshe Rabbeinu had about the future Rebi Akiva. The story goes like this:

When Moshe ascended on High, he found The Holy One, Blessed Is He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters [of the Torah]. He asked: “Master of the Universe, who is preventing You [from giving the Torah without these crowns]?”

[God] told him: “There is a man who is destined to be [born] after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name. He is destined to derive from each and every thorn [of these crowns] mounds upon mounds of laws.”

[Moshe] asked [God]: “Master of the Universe, show him to me!”

He told him: “Turn around.”

[Moshe] went and sat at the end of the eighth row [in Rebi Akiva’s bais midrash] and did not understand what they were saying. His strength weakened, [thinking his Torah knowledge was lacking]. When [Rebi Akiva] arrived [at the discussion of] one matter, his students questioned him: “Rebi, from where do you [derive this]?”

[Rebi Akiva] answered them: “It is a law [given] to Moshe at Sinai.”

[When Moshe heard this], his mind was put at ease, [knowing that this too was part of the Torah he was going to receive].

[Moshe] returned to before The Holy One, Blessed Is He, and said to Him: “Master of the Universe, You have a man [as great] as this and You still choose to give the Torah through me?!”

[God] answered him: “Shtok—Be silent! This arose b’mach-shavah—in the mind before Me.” (Menachos 29b)

“Be silent! This arose in the mind before Me”?! Really?

It was one thing for God to tell Moshe, “Good question, but this is what I have decided to do.” But why the “shtok—be quiet”? Even if Moshe had overstepped a boundary by questioning the way of God, he did it out of modesty, not chutzpah. It sounds as if God was reprimanding him.

Kabbalah has a better answer. God did not lose His patience with Moshe but instead told him, “I’d love to give you an answer to your question, but it exists on a very high spiritual level called “Machshavah.” It is too sublime to be expressed in words, so you’ll have to do without it.” “Shtok alludes to this.

However, maybe it means something else now. Maybe God was telling Moshe that the profound understanding he sought could only come through a desert-like silence, not words. Words convey information from the outside to the inside. The answer Moshe sought, being incredibly profound, could only come from within, like prophecy itself, as it says:

After the earthquake fire, not in the fire was God, and after the fire a still small sound. (I Melachim 19:12)

When a person blocks out the noise of the outside world, they can suddenly “hear” godly insights, profound and sublime ideas that are always there but which get blocked out by all the outside noise. The “masters of silence” have known this for a long time, and have spent considerable time in meditation for this reason. But the extent to which a person can access such “quiet” knowledge also depends upon the level of one’s soul, and Aharon HaKohen had a very high soul.

Melave Malkah
PERHAPS THIS IS why Aharon not only remained quiet at the moment when his sons Nadav and Avihu shockingly died, he was “domeim.” The verse does not say, “vayishtock Aharon—and Aharon was quiet,” it says “vayidom Aharon,” a word which means “quiet” as well, but on a more profound level.

There are four levels of reality according to Kabbalah: Domaim, Tzomayach, Chai, and Medabehr, literally: Silent, Growing, Living, and Speaking. They refer to four “worlds”: Mineral, Vegetation, Animal, and Human. A desert falls into the category of Domaim, being mostly sand and almost zero vegetation. It is certainly not a place for most animals, and humans find it inhabitable.

But, as mentioned, deserts have their own beauty. If the sun and living conditions are not a threat, there is something very peaceful and settling about a desert. It is certainly a place where a person can hear themself think, being cut off from all the distractions of bustling cities.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why God chose to give His Torah in the desert, and not in Egypt or even in Eretz Yisroel. The isolation from the rest of society made it easier to focus on the matter at hand. It created a sense of historic uniqueness, which was crucial for Kabbalas HaTorah.

I’ve seen this difference on a much smaller scale. I have been part of a Shabbaton held in a downtown hotel, and one that was held out in the country at some lodge. The teachers were the same as was the material. The food was just as good. But the atmosphere was entirely different, being away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. It’s just the way people work.

Maybe this is the deeper meaning of “vayidom Aharon.” It is telling us that Aharon’s response to the terrible crisis was not only not to go to pieces, which would have been understandable, but in the opposite direction. He silenced himself and shut out the entire world so he could access the great calm necessary to put the events of the moment into Divine perspective.

This would explain why, as Rashi explains, God spoke to him alone shortly after. It wasn’t just a reward for his loyalty at such a difficult moment, but actually the result of it. He made himself as quiet and humble as a domaim-desert, and the result was that the word of God came to him, from within.

Sometimes people work so hard to find answers to difficult questions in the noisy world around them. In the week’s parsha, we see how those answers are more likely to come from within us, accessible only when we achieve the profound level of personal silence necessary to hear them.

Israel's troubling 'Green Pass' post-coronavirus system

by Cheryl K. Chumley

Israel is almost completely opened for business. But to participate in the post-coronavirus bustle, you need a Green Pass, a government-sanctioned document that says the carrier has been vaccinated.

And that’s troubling, to say the least.

This post-coronavirus world is more and more moving to be all about the collective, zero about the individual.

According to a report in The New York Times, individuals who show a Green Pass — the government’s downloadable special OK for the vaccinated — can stay in hotels, dine inside restaurants, attend events of mass gatherings, to include religious services and sports’ games, visit places of tourism and cultural significance, gather for weddings and funerals, work out in fitness centers, swim in swimming pools, vacation in crowded places and more.

Those without the pass?

Maybe not.

Maybe they have to stay home.

This is troubling on several counts.

One line, from The Times: “[W]hen you book a table at a restaurant, they ask, Do you have a Green Pass? Are you vaccinated?”

Waiters have become the gate guards for individuals’ personal health choices. Waitresses have become watch guards for the government’s vaccination program.

“Achinoam Nini, a prominent singer-songwriter who goes by the stage name Not, announced a performance for Green Pass holders only, at a venerable auditorium in Tel Aviv,” another line from The Times reported.

Celebrity singers have become the proving point for good health.

That’s bad policy by itself — allowing businesses to discriminate based on perceived health risks of their customers. Would the same fly for AIDS patients? How about for those with the flu? And if not — why not?

But worse is the cultural shift toward collectivism, at the expense of individualism. Worse is the societal change that governs by fear.

When confronted with her discriminatory “Green Pass-holders Only” concert plans, Nini wrote on Facebook: It’s for the common good.

That, and the logic that has become increasingly, worrisomely part and parcel of the entire coronavirus vaccination discussion: “I also oppose a forced vaccine, but I encourage a vaccine and believe in it,” she posted.

In other words, you can choose not to take the shot. But the consequences of not taking the shot is to cede all other freedoms. In the end, how is that a choice?

This is the language of dictators.

This is the viewpoint of the Biden White House.

This is how freedom crumbles.

The oligarchy of the coronavirus world is coming on strong. And for those who choose not to obey — well, get ready. Prepare. Stand firm. In this rapidly emerging Orwellian world, that’s one and the same as choosing to rebel against government. Depending on government’s move, it could get very ugly out there.

Kamala’s Husband Hosts the Virtual Passover From Hell

by Daniel Greenfield

After twenty minutes of dead air, Biden's Virtual Passover got underway. Biden, who can only be counted on to remain coherent for short stretches of time before launching into a random tirade, only showed up briefly. And that was the only good thing about Virtual Passover.

Virtual Passover, like the Biden administration, makes no sense. But the Biden administration can’t be expected to ruin every aspect of our lives, without also ruining Passover.

Kamala Harris had been delegated to take over the border crisis, and so her husband, Brentwood entertainment lawyer, Douglas Emhoff, took over the job of ruining Passover.

Dubbed a “Virtual Passover Celebration”, it was not a celebration, it had nothing to do with Passover, but it was virtual. The one thing that the Biden administration can be relied on is to be virtual. And by being virtual, to offer nothing real. Passover wasn’t going to change that.

Hosted by “Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff”, also known as the father of Kamala’s obnoxious stepchildren, his scripted speeches proved that everything he knows about Judaism he learned from leftist anti-Israel radicals and late night reruns of The Nanny.

Emhoff started out by touting Sharon Brous and IKAR.

Brous is an anti-Israel leftist who heads up IKAR, dubbed by Variety as a "trendy, progressive congregation" whose members include Steven Spielberg. If your synagogue is profiled in Variety, it’s pretty bad: if it’s “trendy and progressive”, it’s even worse. That means IKAR is also exactly the kind of synagogue a Brentwood entertainment lawyer like Emhoff would promote.

Then, Emhoff gave an insider’s wave to his own mention of IKAR.

Brous had delivered the inauguration prayer for Obama and the inaugural prayer for Biden calling for "a justice driven, multiracial democracy.” Now she was back to ruin Passover.

Sharon Brous is a member of the councils of J Street, and the New Israel Fund: because the only clergy with Jewish last names that are allowed at Biden events are anti-Israel.

When Jews came out against the antisemitic and pro-Farrakhan leaders of the Women’s March, especially Linda Sarsour, Brous falsely claimed that the criticisms were, “a deliberate smear campaign from the far right to delegitimize the march itself.”

“A much greater problem would be if the Jewish community stepped out of activism because we’re afraid that someone on the stage has a position on BDS different than our own,” she complained. To Brous, it would be a “much greater problem” to treat the efforts to destroy the Jewish State as more important than her extremist politics which align her with antisemites.

When Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib were barred from entry to Israel, Brous spewed a hateful unhinged rant, falsely claiming that American Jews "have spent years in hive mentality, pouncing on indications of anti-Semitism among Israel’s critics", accused the Jewish State of a "52-year military occupation of millions of Palestinian people" and ranted that American Jews must "hear Palestinian voices and see what the Israeli government is so intent on members of Congress not seeing." A terrorist spokesman couldn’t have said it any better than Brous.

Having Brous attend a Passover celebration is like inviting a medieval blood libeler to a seder.

Literally.

Brous signed on to a letter attacking Israel for banning a JVP BDS activist, a hate group that provided space for antisemites, including activists associated with claims that Jews drink blood.

It’s hard to think of anyone that belongs at a seder less than Brous: except maybe Pharaoh.

But before Brous could spew all over the non-seder, Emhoff began by lecturing attendees at a virtual event about the importance of socially distancing and wearing masks.

Nothing says freedom like telling people what to do.

“Passover,” Emhoff then intoned with the dead smile and lifeless cadence of a late-night infomercial host making an unconvincing pitch for a supplement made out of dried kangaroos, “has always been one of my favorite holidays.” Then he relived memories from Nanny reruns of attending a seder in Brooklyn with “plastic cushion covers” and “gelatinous gefilte fish”.

With the obligatory Jewish stuff out of the way, Emhoff shifted over to the “power of the Passover story” in the fight for justice. Naturally, not in the modern day Israelites trying to keep the aspiring killers of their sons from the Gazan vicinity of Egypt from getting to them.

Emhoff insisted that Passover is about the “search for justice”. It’s not. If he had opened a Bible, or a Haggadah, the traditional text of the Passover seder, he would have noted a lack of calls for social justice, and a lot of praises of G-d for liberating the Jews from bondage through miracles.

But attendees at IKAR can’t be expected to actually know anything about Judaism.

In the theology of Tikkun Olam, every Jewish experience and holiday must be universalized, with the relentlessness of Marxist dogma, into class struggle and identity politics. Passover, like Purim, Chanukah, Yom Kippur, and Thursday must be about the search for justice. Emhoff, whose Judaism consists of distant memories of gefilte fish can’t be expected to know any better.

In his opening address, Emhoff failed to mention G-d, but made Women’s History Month the focus of his talk. He complained that Judaism neglected the “midwives who saved Moses” by refusing to implement Pharaoh’s sex-selective post-partum abortion decree. Had those midwives been in California, Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra would have locked them up.

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, had made a special point of targeting Jewish families, had addressed the KKK and counted future Nazi eugenicists among her supporters, warning that if "the sickly and weak" are "allowed to propagate”, they will “produce a race of degenerates.”

Pharaoh couldn’t have said it any better than Kamala’s favorite infanticide organization.

But Emhoff was just reading from talking points prepared by the National Council of Jewish Women which, as I exposed in a previous article, has, like Brous, a history of supporting Sarsour, and other antisemitic leftists. His conclusion is that Passover is about “unsung heroes”, just like “the pandemic”. But there’s just one unsung hero in Emhoff’s speech. G-d.

Douglas Emhoff may not believe in G-d. His daughter’s spokesman has insisted that, “Ella is not Jewish.” But then it might be nice if Doug would spare us all the tales of gefilte fish and plastic seat covers while mangling the beliefs of a religion he has no connection to beyond his last name, and using it to promote some of the worst enemies of the Jewish people.

When Moses first confronts Pharaoh, the Egyptian tyrant declares that he does not know of a G-d. Emhoff doesn’t seem any more aware of the existence of a higher power than Pharaoh.

Then Brous came on, all but screaming at the camera that the mission of the seder was to “imagine a more just and loving world”. But there wasn’t much love on the menu. Passover, the radical cleric insisted, was a “political story”. I doubt that Brous believes that there’s an apolitical story anywhere in the world and, like her ilk, can’t think of religion in other than political terms.

Brous’ religion is politics, her deity is social justice, and her messiah is a community organizer.

And so there followed an extended bout of yelling at the camera about justice and oppression, interspersed with meaningless New Age Obamaisms with an audience of one potted plant.

Not Biden. He hadn’t joined the zoom seder yet.

“We all belong to one another,” Brous declared.

That’s the opposite of Passover which is instead the story of the birth of a particular nation through the belief, not in Emhoff’s “all faiths”, but the faith in a particular G-d.

G-d doesn’t just take the Jews out of slavery, but to bring them to Israel. It’s understandable that Brous seems less interested in addressing that awkward part of the Passover story.

But we can be thankful for one small Passover miracle, at least Brous didn’t repeat her Yom Kippur rant in which she falsely claimed that, “The treatment of the Palestinian people, the restriction of their rights, the daily humiliations and the stubborn expansion of settlements threatens to destroy not only Zionism, but to make a mockery of Judaism.”

The only one making a mockery of Judaism is Brous and her extremist political agenda.

The virtual celebration that celebrated nothing closed with Kamala Harris showing up to thank Brous for “all her work”. It was unclear if she meant her work supporting Sarsour or Omar.

The Passover from Hell echoed everything that Jews had come to expect from Obama’s Jewish events, from the anti-Israel clergy to the exploitation and erasure of Jews from their own religion. From Emhoff to Brous, there’s only ever one message, which is that thousands of years of Jewish religion, history, and thought are reducible to the 19th century ideology of the Left.

Pharaoh had set out to kill the Jews. The Left has done plenty of killing, but it also erases Jews. And, worse still, it makes Jews complicit in that erasure. Pharaoh did not allow the Jews to forget that they were slaves. Their modern enslavers convince many Jews that freedom is slavery, and that slavery is freedom, that survival is death, and that suicide is Jewish morality.

Passover is the celebration of G-d’s redemption of the Jews from slavery to freedom. The Biden virtual seder is a call for the Jews and for all Americans to leave behind freedom for slavery.

Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.

Virtue Shaming

by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

Is it time to take a stand?

A British Court ruled last week against an actress who was fired from the production in which she appeared because the lexical archeologists found a comment from her Facebook page several years ago that referred to homosexuality as a sin. For that breach of today’s immoral norms, she was fired and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in attorney’s fees for the prevailing side.

Welcome to the world of virtue shaming, the attempt to denigrate, harass, persecute, cancel and eliminate any person who adheres to traditional morality. It is unacceptable, it has to stop and it will only stop when good and decent people begin to fight back and call it what it is.

Meanwhile, a saner American court last week ruled in favor of a college professor who refused to refer to a male student as “Miss,” for, among other reasons, the offense to his Christian beliefs. The Sixth Circuit Court decided that Shawnee State University improperly sanctioned him on First Amendment freedom of speech grounds. Simply put, a professor – by extension, any person – cannot be ordered by any official body to defy reason and common sense and refer to a male as a female or vice versa. If it were otherwise, the court reasoned, “a university president could require a pacifist to declare that war is just, a civil rights icon to condemn the Freedom Riders, a believer to deny the existence of G-d, or a Soviet émigré to address his students as "comrades." That cannot be. This professor, now authorized to sue his university, was also the victim of virtue shaming.

How did we ever reach this stage when virtue shaming dominates public discourse? Intimidation of traditional Jews and Christians is rampant, threats and boycotts abound, and rational discussion is impossible.

Thus it has become objectionable, even deplorable, to speak favorably of a two parent family, of children having a father and a mother, of G-d creating a male and a female, and of the moral norms that guide such relationships. Those moral norms have been the underpinnings of Western civilization. They are being eroded because virtue shaming has become so extant that good and decent people have internalized that they must be doing something wrong. So they cluster in small groups, hide their professions of faith, keep it amongst themselves, endure the deluge of cultural offerings that disparage the beliefs they cherish – or just surrender.

The external censorship is appalling enough; what is worse is the self-censorship, the tap-dancing around truth, common sense, and time-honored traditions in order not to run afoul of the gods of decadence and amorality. The ideals of “live and let live” and even of tolerance have been turned on their heads. The virtue-shamers want to live but not let us live. They demand tolerance for themselves and revel in the intolerance they direct at others. They seek not just to cancel people but to stifle any discussion of morality. They seek to erase G-d from society, unless it is a god of their own making that, somehow, endorses whatever they want to do and whatever norms they want to abrogate.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast that involved a discussion by an Orthodox rabbi and his son who had declared himself a homosexual and married. The objective was to enable other families to learn how to deal with this “trauma,” as the father described it, and that goal is fair and important enough. But the moderator at the beginning ruled out any discussion of “the theological implications or policy considerations” of these relationships. In other words, there was to be no discussion of Jewish law, Torah, sin, right and wrong, morality, or the effect of such relationships on the individual or the Jewish community.

That is fine per se; there can be parameters to the discussion of any issue. The problem is that no one is ever allowed to rule in any discussion of “the theological implications or policy considerations” of the same sex lifestyle, its practitioner’s place in the Torah world and the problems of same sex marriage. Such discussions are deemed inherently insensitive and repugnant. Consequently, traditional voices that deem homosexual conduct a sin and same sex marriage harmful to society on both religious and secular grounds are always drowned out. There is a pervasive fear of speaking about Torah morality, the ideal family unit, proper and improper conduct. We no longer heed the Talmudic dictum (Masechet Sotah 47a) of “smol dochah v’yamin mekarevet,” push away with the left hand and draw near with the right. Rather than dochah or mekarevet, we are only told to be mekabel, mekabel, mekabel – we must accept, accept and accept, and never is to be heard a discouraging word.

We are informed by the practitioners of virtue shaming that we are not allowed to speak about sin, overcoming certain predilections or tendencies, or the explicit prohibitions involved – and those who speak about them are insensitive, causing pain and suffering, potentially killing people, and driving them away from the community. We are told that we have to accept everyone on their terms (except people of faith) and that we are guilty of something if traditional values remain divinely ordained and thus meaningful guideposts to our lives. We are accused of being judgmental if we speak of marriage as the precondition to intimate relationships or parenthood. That too is virtue shaming.

But of what do we have to be ashamed? Nothing at all.

Here, in Israel, the Noam Party is routinely labeled as “extremist…radical…anti-LGBT…anti-Reform,” etc. It is a handy but duplicitous way to characterize its platform, which essentially promotes traditional Torah values, and avoids actually discussing what those values are and their merits. A recent article in Jerusalem Post was typical, castigating Noam for “seeking to amend government protections for women” without even attempting to explain how and why they would want to do such a thing. Instead the article mostly featured invective, diatribes and tirades – and absolutely nothing from a Noam spokesman.

I have no idea what their objections are. The journalist did not feel it was relevant to include in the article. It related somehow to UN Resolution 1325 (on which an Israeli law is based). Perhaps it was the demand in the Resolution to mainstream women in combat? I have no clue. Some feminists objected to the Resolution as it portrayed women as “perpetual victims.” Maybe that was it? I don’t know. The article was both a poor example of journalism and a perfect example of virtue shaming. Is opposition to women in combat an opinion that is now beyond the pale of public discourse? Is opposition to same-sex marriage an opinion that is beyond the pale of public discourse? Is support for traditional marriage and the family, or recognition of the obvious reality that there are two genders – male and female – opinions that are unworthy of public discussion? If so, then any Jew who faithfully adheres to the Torah is subject to virtue shaming, and its consequence: attempted silencing.

Here is how to end virtue shaming: every time it happens, call it out for what it is. Make it a new category of victimhood in a world that loves victims (almost as much as it loves catch phrases). When you hear it, or it is directed against you, tell your critic (actually, yell at your critic) “Stop virtue shaming! Stop criticizing people who love the Torah, embrace its morality and try to live according to its precepts.”

Sensitivity is a two-way street. Those who do not hesitate to trample on the feelings of traditional Jews have no special claim to sensitivity, and especially not when they engage in virtue shaming. But sensitivity is compatible with tradition and faith; it should not be wielded as a weapon of suppression.

We have values transmitted to us by G-d. We are proud of them. We try to uphold them. Let us not allow ourselves to be shamed by those whose newfangled values are currently in vogue but whose day will also pass. Let’s call out virtue shaming every time it happens, and it will stop.

And the world will be a better place for all.

Arrogance in the Service of Hashem

by HaRav Mordechai Greenberg
Nasi HaYeshiva, Kerem B'Yavneh

The sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them. A fire came forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died before Hashem. (Vayikra 10:1-2)

Many interpretations are offered as to the sin of Aharon's sons. It seems, though, that the common denominator of them all is excessive self-pride, which is prohibited, especially for a priest who stands in service before G-d. Thus, it says in the Talmud Yerushalmi, "There is no [self-]greatness in the palace of the King." The Chovot Halevavot similarly writes (Sha'ar Hakenia ch. 6):

He should throw aside any self-glorification, haughtiness, and self-concern at the time of his service of G-d ... as the Torah writes about Aharon – despite his greatness, "He shall separate the ash." (Vayikra 6:3) G-d commanded him to take out the ash each and every day, to inculcate humility and to remove haughtiness from him. Similar to this, Scripture says about David, "leaping and dancing before Hashem." (Shmuel II 6:16)

Due to this arrogance they ruled before their teacher, sated their eyes of the Shechina, offered an alien fire, and thought that they were worthy of leading the people. [The Gemara Sanhedrin 52a and the Midrash teach that they said, "When will these two elderly people (i.e., Moshe and Aharon) die, and you and I will lead the generation." G-d said to them: "Do not boast about tomorrow."]

Ramchal (R. Moshe Chaim Luzzato) similarly writes in his work, Adir Bamarom:

He should not seek to achieve wisdom in order to reach greatness, but rather his service should be completely pure ... If not, he should be very careful, lest he ruin and not improve, and will be cast off like Acher (Elisha b. Avuya), or will be harmed like Ben Zoma. His heart should not sway him to say that G-d is yielding ... A person should not dare draw close to this great service without being called ... Rather, he should sit lowly as all other people, and should not become haughty over his brethren to raise himself to [a place] inappropriate for him, and he will receive reward for refraining just as for doing.

On a different point in the parsha, the Gerer Rebbe interpreted homiletically the Gemara in Kiddushin (30a), "The vav of gachon (belly) is the middle of the letters of the Torah." He said: A Jewish person who already learned half the Torah is liable to take credit, to pat his belly contentedly and say, "Rejoice, my insides, for I have learned much Torah." However, Chazal say, "If you learned much Torah – do not take credit, since you were created for this." (Avot 2:8) We are telling him that he should be humble, and not pat his belly, but rather he should crawl on his belly.

This same idea is said in the name of his grandfather, the Chiddushei Harim. The Gemara (Bava Batra 146a) asks on the pasuk "All the days of a poor man are bad" (Mishlei 15:15) – But there is Shabbat and Yom Tov?! The Gemara answers: "As Shmuel, who said that a change in [eating] habit is the beginning of a stomach ache." I.e., although the poor person enjoys special food on Shabbat and Yom Tov, the very change for good causes him bad later on, since his stomach is not used to it. However, the Rebbe explained as follows: The "poor" person refers to one poor in wisdom; all of his days are bad and lacking satisfaction. The Gemara asks, but on Shabbat and Yom Tov every person acquires additional da'at and rises a little from his level, and therefore he should be satisfied then! The Gemara answers that a change in habit is the beginning of a stomachache. Precisely because he feels himself elevated and more intelligent than usual, he gets a stomachache, i.e., he begins to pat his belly and to say, "Rejoice, my insides," which is, once again, something bad.

It says this it is proper to shed tears during the Torah reading about the death of Aharon's sons, and then his sins are forgiven. One who takes to heart the loss of Aharon's children, and this arouses him to repentance, is forgiven for all of his sins, "For thus said the exalted and uplifted One, Who abides forever and Whose Name is holy: I abide in exaltedness and holiness, but I am with the despondent and lowly of spirit." (Yeshaya 57:15)

Lessons of the Holocaust

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Beit El

Dedicated to the memory of R. Avraham ben-tziyon ben shabtai

In order to learn a lesson from, the horrific Holocaust, one has to understand the Nazi anti-semitism. Throughout the generations, the Jewish nation was persecuted by different nations all with the intent of having the Jews abandon their religion. This was the ambition of the Christians, this was what they hoped for during the days of the Inquisition and this was the Muslim ambition. Not so the Nazis, they did not regard the Jews only as a religion but as a race of a certain nature that cannot be altered. The Nazi reasoning held that the Jewish race bears a power that endangers the entire world, being as the intention of the Jews is to dominate the world. The Nazis claimed the Jews were taking over the economy, the country money and were controlling the political system. Despite their differences both the Jewish multi-millionaires and the famous revolutionists, had one goal in mind: Conquering the world. The Nazis charged the Jews of being parasites and manipulators, and symbolized ceaseless destruction. This was Hitler's point of view; He declared the Jews cannot assimilate amongst other nations, because the only way to be a German is to suppress the Jewish character - which is impossible. A Jewish imposter, who passes-himself-off as a non-Jew pollutes the Ari and pure German blood.

This savage point of view inevitably resulted in the desire to destroy our nation. We remember other governors who wished to destroy the Jewish nation. They only wished to destroy but never performed any significant move, the Nazis not only wished but also carried out their wish.

The Nazi attitude may seem senseless and totally incomprehensible, but even so we cannot ignore it or regard it as an exception that will never repeat itself. This incomprehensible thing happened, with disastrous results, we cannot hope it will never reoccur - we must take all the possible measures so as to ensure that the Holocaust does not repeat itself.

Anti-Semitism is an unfortunate reality. There is envy and hate for the Jews wherever they may be, in the Land of Israel or in the Diaspora. In the present situation the Jews abroad are wealthy and successful, but there is a problem; On the one hand they act as part of the country they live in, whereas, on the other hand they feel different than all the other citizens - a separate nation. This situation does not justify anti-Semitism but it still causes a certain level of alienation. The Diaspora Jews split their loyalty between their own nation and the one they live amongst. Furthermore, these Jews have the possibility of immigrating to Israel and not having to suffer from the unfortunate alienation.

The solution therefore is inevitable: So as to prevent the anti-Semitism in the Diaspora, the Diaspora Jews must immigrate to Israel. The immigration will also solve the problems of the state of Israel; The State will become stronger and will be able to cope with the anti-Semitism, till the complete restoration of the Jewish Nation.

Leadership Through Self-effacement

by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zt"l
Rosh HaYeshiva, Mercaz HaRav
Rosh Kollel, Eretz Hemda
Chaver, Beit Din HaGadol Yerushalaim

A powerful mix of positive and negative emotions rushed over Bnei Yisrael on the eighth day of the inauguration of the Mishkan.

Moshe assured the people that this was the day when Hashem would appear to them with His glory (Vayikra 9:4), as the culmination and indeed the raison d’être of the construction of the Mishkan (Shemot 25:8). The hopeful wait was not easy, as the construction process was followed by seven days when Moshe did the right service, while the shechina (Divine Presence) did not yet appear. Moshe explained to them that for the shechina to come, his brother, Aharon, had to assume the role of kohen (Rashi to Vayikra 9:23).

The humble Aharon hesitantly took up his post and did as he was commanded. After bringing the korbanot, he uttered a blessing, which Chazal tell us was the following: "Let it be His will to dwell the shechina in the work of your hands." In other words, Aharon was saying: "It is not my doing, but the work of your hands. The Mishkan will be the Divine dwelling place to the extent that you prepared a proper place for Him with the proper intentions - not to show off or to have a lovely edifice. It was crucial that you did everything ‘as Hashem commanded Moshe.’" This is representative of the general need to nullify one’s desire before Hashem’s and to understand that man is not capable of grasping everything that Hashem knows or does. Some things man must accept without questions but must lower his head in humble submission.

Indeed this worked, and the shechina came down to the Mishkan to the excited but awestruck nation. However, amidst the elation, a bitter pill had to be swallowed. In contrast to the idea of submission to the Divine Will, Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, had decided to take their troughs and bring forward a "foreign fire." This was the opposite of what was needed. Instead of a service of self-nullification, they decided on a path of self-expression. Instead of waiting for the fire to come from above, they brought their own fire, and indeed a fire came down to consume them.

Aharon’s turn came to practice what he preached and to accept fully Hashem’s decree without qualms. He was to continue his service without even showing the signs of mourning, as this was what was required of someone with his level of dedication. After Aharon succeeded in continuing in powerful silence (ibid. 3), he merited that Hashem spoke to him directly to teach him the laws he needed for his continued service.
This power of self-effacement and ignoring one’s self-interest when involved in serving Hashem is something that found expression in later leaders. The regular haftara of Shemini tells how David danced before the aron in a wild manner that could have embarrassed him (and should have, according to his wife, Michal) (Shmuel II 6:14). It is the willingness to give up oneself for Hashem that is the secret recipe to earning the privilege of leadership in Israel for the time and for posterity.

Is there justice?

by Rabbi Dov Berel Wein

After the seven days of excitement and joy upon the consecration of the Mishkan and the installation of Aharon and his sons as the priests of Israel devoted to the service of God and humans, tragedy strikes the family of Aharon and all of Israel. The commentators to Torah as well as the Talmud itself searched for the causes that created this sad situation. They attempted to answer the omnipresent question of life – why do bad things seemingly happen to good people? And there is a corollary question involved here as well – why did tragedy strike then and there?

Far be it for me to venture into explanations where greater people than I have been troubled and found it difficult to properly answer these questions. The will of God remains inscrutable to all of us in all times and in all circumstances. Yet Judaism, in its essence, remains a religion of logic and rationality, all rumors to the contrary notwithstanding.

Maimonides bids us to attempt to understand and explain all of God’s commandments and human events to the best of our rational abilities. So, these most basic questions of human existence and personal and national purpose, of reward and punishment and Divine justice must command our attention, even if at the end of our search we still will come up somewhat short on satisfying answers. The questions underlying the events described in the parsha of Shmini go to the heart of Jewish faith and worldview. They require investigation and serious analysis.

A review of the opinions expressed in Talmud and by the commentators, do not at first glance reveal any major transgressions on the part of Nadav and Avihu. True, Aharon’s role in helping create the Golden Calf may explain his being brought to grieving for his two eldest sons, but it was Nadav and Avihu who died, not Aharon.

Their sins seem to be only minor human foibles that are common to almost all of us – unwillingness to bear the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood, personal ambition to lead the people and overzealousness in their worship of God and in the service of the Mishkan by introducing a ritual of different fire on the altar not commanded by God. We see here, once again, that the Torah places great emphasis on the small things in life, on the details and not only on the grand sweep of things.

Small mistakes often lead to great tragedies. And the Torah teaches us that personal failures that can be tolerated in most humans are magnified and are not overlooked when they occur to people in positions of power and leadership. The scale of Heavenly tolerance, so to speak, is a sliding one, dependent on the status, accomplishments, abilities and public position of the human person being judged.

There is a special sin offering reserved for the leader of Israel. The accepted usual sin offering is insufficient if we are dealing with the sins of leadership. This is one of the key lessons of this parsha. God’s justice is personal and exacting. Nadav and Avihu are the prime examples of this truism.

America Switches Sides

by Victor Rosenthal

The US is “recalibrating” its relationship with Saudi Arabia (read: withdrawing support in its struggle with Iran and its proxies). It has removed several Patriot antimissile batteries from the area, ended the permanent stationing of an aircraft carrier in the region, and eliminated surveillance systems that were operating there. It stopped providing arms for “offensive” Saudi operations in Yemen (the Saudis say they are defensive), and canceled the designation of the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization. The Iran-supported and controlled Houthis, in turn, have recently stepped up their attacks on Saudi Arabia, using Iranian drones and missiles. Last month, the Biden Administration also released a report about the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that accuses Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman of ordering the grisly affair.

Part of the arrangements for the Abraham Accords, the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries, was that the Trump Administration agreed to sell advanced F-35 stealth aircraft to the United Arab Emirates. Israel, surprisingly to some, did not object. But within a week of his taking office, Biden’s administration froze the deal, and is not expected to reinstitute it. Apparently this has not damaged the relationship between Israel and the UAE, but one wonders about the motivation. The only obvious beneficiary here is Iran.

Biden has also begun to recalibrate the relationship with Israel. Although his administration makes the usual noises about concern for Israel’s security, it has returned to the idea of a two-state solution “based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps and agreements on security and refugees.” It has restarted aid to UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency which, instead of solving the problem of stateless descendants of the Arab refugees of 1948, perpetuates it as a weapon against Israel. It is in the process of finding a way to restore direct aid to the Palestinian Authority without violating US law (the Taylor Force Act) which requires the PA to first stop paying convicted terrorists and their families. It has expressed its intention to reopen the PLO office in Washington and the US consulate in eastern Jerusalem, the unofficial “US Embassy to Palestine.”

Recently, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi that “Israelis and Palestinians should enjoy ‘equal measures’ of freedom, security, prosperity and democracy.” On the surface, this is puzzling. The Palestinians are ruled by the PA, which is just the murderous PLO dressed in fancy clothes by the Oslo Accords, and Hamas, a vicious terrorist gang without even the patina of legitimacy possessed by the PLO. Neither of these regimes are sovereign states, and both live on funds provided by foreign donors; in the case of Hamas, the support is provided explicitly to encourage its warfare against Israel. Both are misogynistic, homophobic, dictatorial, corrupt, and of course antisemitic regimes. If Blinken thinks that these things should change, why did he not address his remarks to the PA and Hamas leadership? Why tell it to Israel’s Foreign Minister?

I suggest that what Blinken actually meant was that in his mind Israel and “Palestine” are equally legitimate. This in turn implies that “Palestine” should have an equal measure of sovereignty with Israel. This goes significantly farther than either the traditional position of Israel – which, since Rabin, has never gone past envisioning a Palestinian entity with significant limitations on its sovereignty – and that of the Trump Administration, whose two-state plan required the Palestinians to meet certain “governance criteria” before receiving statehood.

While the US administration would claim that the change in policy helps the Palestinian people without hurting Israel, it’s unfortunate that the nature of Hamas and the PA/PLO make the conflict a zero-sum game. As their repeated refusals to accept statehood or to abjure terrorism make clear, the primary objective of the Palestinian leadership has never deviated from the expulsion or killing of all the Jewish inhabitants of the land between the river and the sea.

Recently the Wall St. Journal published leaked information about Israel’s sabotage of Iranian tankers carrying oil to Syria in violation of international sanctions on Syria and Iran. Apparently this has been going on for the past 2-1/2 years and has cost Iran billions of dollars, money which could be used to supply weapons to Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies. The leak has been attributed to the Biden Administration, which wanted to “[neutralize] background noise which the Americans think might soon hamper the renewal of negotiations with Iran about the United States’ return to the nuclear agreement.” But the result may be an escalation of hostile actions between Iran and Israel. In essence, Biden’s people chose to harm Israel in order to improve its relations with Iran.

At the same time, Biden’s people have backed down on the demand that Iran first stop enriching uranium to 20% before talks on returning to the JCPOA could begin. It seems that, like the first time many of the same people negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran, they are hungry for an agreement, so much so that they have already started down the slippery slope of concessions. As all Middle Easterners, even Israelis, know, this is not how to make a deal in the shuk. They may think “this time it will be different,” but they are fooling themselves. I don’t know precisely why they are so hungry, but I am absolutely certain that displaying their hunger at the outset is a recipe for taking a beating at the end of the day.

In Plato’s Republic, Polemarchus argues that true justice consists of helping one’s friends and hurting one’s enemies, in particular by making oneself an ally in war with one’s friends against your common enemies. Whether or not this is justice in any sense (Plato thinks not), it is a fundamental principle of international relations, where “friends” and “enemies” are defined in terms of national interests. It seems that Biden (or whoever is making decisions in his administration) has decided that American interests lie in taking the side of Iran over that of the developing alliance between Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others who are threatened by Iran. Friends become foes, and former foes, friends.

Judging by the actions of the Iranian regime until now, it is hard to believe that an international agreement led by the US – which is removing the military assets that would buttress compliance! – will prevent the regime from achieving its goal of obtaining nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. Indeed, as we saw with the previous agreement, the deal may act as a shield for nuclear and missile development, as well as a deterrent to Iran’s enemies to act against it, without significantly slowing Iran’s nuclear progress. The ending of sanctions makes a huge amount of money available to the regime, which – again, as was manifest after the 2015 deal – may be used to export terrorism and build up Iranian proxies for warfare against Israel or other states.

The worst-case scenario is that Iran will obtain and use nuclear weapons directly against its enemies or as a shield for conventional aggression. Another possibility is that Israel and her anti-Iranian alliance will find themselves compelled to use force to prevent Iran from going nuclear, precipitating a very destructive regional war. It could also happen that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and possibly other states would feel obligated to acquire nuclear weapons themselves as a deterrent.

If the new administration had chosen to continue Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, along with supporting the regional alliance against Iran, Israel’s special operations, and the strong domestic Iranian opposition, it might have been possible to bring down the regime. But that is not the path they chose.