Jewish Slavery Today: HaRav Nachman Kahana on Parshat Tzav Shabbat HaGadol 5775

BS”D  Parshat Tzav Shabbat HaGadol 5775 Rabbi Nachman Kahana Can Your Imagination Place You at the Exodus? When the Bet HaMikdash stood there were four Torah mitzvot which were applicable at the Pessach seder: To relate the Pessach saga to one’s offspring, to eat matza, to eat the Korban Pessach, and to eat marror (the four cups of wine and the reciting of Hallel are rabbinic additions). Today in the absence of the Bet HaMikdash only two Torah mitzvot prevail: To relate the Pessach saga to one’s offspring and to eat matza. However there appears in the hagadda text the word “chayav” (obligated) with regard to an act which is not formally a Torah requirement, nor a rabbinic one – but it goes to the heart of the Pessah seder, it is: חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו שיצא ממצרים (on this night) Every person (man and woman) is required to perceive himself as if he was present at the Exodus from Egypt. As binding as it is, this obligation is only as vivid as one’s imagination. However, my wife and I (and others), have gone through a life experience which at the Pessach seder induces an authentic feeling of the enormity of the historical episode. The Exodus can be summarized in two words: anticipation and exuberance. The Jews at the time were commanded that on the 10th of Nissan to choose an animal from the sheep or the goat families which had not yet reached one year old. They were to slaughter the animal on the 14th of Nissan and place some of the blood on the two door posts and on the lintel. That night every family or group was commanded to eat the sacrificial meat, while fully dressed including shoes and a walking stick in hand, in preparation of the command to immediately leave Egypt. The anticipation and anxiety were matched only by the feeling of exuberance at the thought that soon they will be leaving behind 210 years of slavery to return to the land of their fathers – Eretz Yisrael. In the spring of 1962, the date for our aliya was the 24th of Sivan. The anticipation was excruciating: every minute dragged on like an hour and every day like a year. The 24th of Sivan finally arrived. Our families and friends at the airport. The wait for the signal to alight the Boeing 707 which was to be our “eagle wings” to freedom from the galut. Finally the call for all passengers to board the plane, where Israeli music and Ivrit filled the air. The landings in Paris and Rome. The beginning of the plane’s descent after passing over Cyprus. The thin green-brown line of Eretz Yisrael visible on the horizon. The touch down of the wheels and the first breath of the holy air. Four steps on the soil of Eretz Yisrael and kneeling down to kiss the earth. These are the memories which at the Pessach seder are conducive for me to feel as if I was now leaving Egypt with Moshe Rabbeinu. But with one difference. The Jews of Egypt left behind 210 years of torment, whereas one who goes up to the Land today leaves behind 2000 years of torment. There is no way to thank HaShem for enabling my wife and I to come home and raise our family here. They are serious integral members of society, making great contributions to Torah education, engineering, the military and medicine. Our great grandchildren are the family’s 7th generation in Eretz Yisrael, Baruch HaShem. Jewish Slavery Today Last Shabbat was Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the day we commemorate the Mishkan’s functional beginning in the desert. It was a day that was blessed with ten crowns, as cited in the Midrash (Sifrah, Shmini 1): היום נטל עשר עטרות ראשון למעשה בראשית, ראשון לנשיאים, ראשון לכהונה, ראשון לעבודה, ראשון לירידת האש, ראשון לאכילת קדשים, ראשון לאיסור הבמות, ראשון לראשי חדשים, ראשון לשכון שכינה בישראל, ראשון לברך את ישראל. This day acquired ten crowns: the Month of Creation (R. Yehoshua in Rosh Hashana 10b), the first Nasi (head of the tribe of Yehuda) offered his sacrifice, the day Aharon and his sons became Kohanim, the first day of sacrifices, the day fire descended from heaven, the day the first sacrificial meat was eaten, the day external sacrifices (outside the Mishkan) became prohibited, the first of the 12 months, the day the Holy Spirit descended onto the Mishkan, the day Kohanim first blessed the nation. It was also a day of great tragedy for the nation, when Nadav and Avihu, the two eldest sons of Aharon lost their lives while offering the Ketoret sacrifice, when two beams of fire descended upon them from heaven. For us, last Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Nissan brought about two tragedies. One was the death of seven holy children in Brooklyn NY by fire. On the theological level there is nothing one can say. On the human level we should learn from this tragedy to love our children. Hug them and kiss them, and thank HaShem every moment for giving them to us. May HaShem in His great mercy find a way to comfort them in their time of agony. Now one might claim that the second tragedy is on a radically different quantum level of sorrow, and should not be mentioned in the same breath with the death of the seven children. Perhaps, but perhaps the contrary is true. The other tragedy is the “invasion” of 20 goyim into a shul in London where they wreaked havoc. And instead of 20 dead anti-Semitic bodies on the floor, each terrorist walked out with nary a scratch. In the larger picture the death of the children will remain a great personal tragedy for the family and their close friends, whereas the fact that 20 goyim can enter a shul on Shabbat, smash and destroy whatever was in their way, and then walk out alive is a call to thousands of other goyim to replicate this act and not just to destroy siddurim but to murder tens and hundreds of Jews. There is also a vast difference in the aftermath of the two tragedies. The bodies of the children were brought to Eretz Yisrael for burial, whereas the Jews of London and other places in the galut will not decipher the message from HaShem and will remain there under the “protection” of their gentile governments. I recall my brother Rav Meir hy”d telling me of an incident that occurred in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn. There were repeated anti-Semitic acts, such as smashing car windows, by blacks of the area. Meir sent groups to police the neighborhood to prevent these acts of terror. Several local religious leaders organized a meeting to protest what Meir had done. One Chassidic Rebbe got up and said without shame, that his father was beaten by the goyim and so was his grandfather, and if need be then he too will be beaten by them. And the decision was taken to tell Meir to stop policing the area. A pattern of conduct regarding the reaction of Jews to life threatening episodes is apparent. Two Arabs enter a bet knesset in Har Nof, Yerushalayim and murder four men, as they were praying. And if not for an off duty policeman who gave his life to capture the terrorists, they could have murdered another 10 Jews and escaped, because the people in the bet knesset were from the galut or had received galut education in their yeshivos. Twenty goyim enter a bet knesset in London and after wreaking havoc are able to leave as they came, without the Jews breaking their bones or better yet sending them from this world. When a rabbinical leader in Brooklyn says in public that he is willing to be beaten up by goyim, because that is the fate of a Jew in his galut eyes. When young Jews do not defend themselves physically on college campuses all over the US. Then the Jewish people there are very very sick with a terminal illness called “galut”. Avraham Aveinu was a warrior, who led an army of 318 men in defeating the four foreign kings. Ya’akov prepared his meeting with Aisav with the possibility that he and his sons would have to fight the enemy. For Shimon and Levi who destroyed the city of Shechem it was not the first time in their lives that they picked up a sword. The Torah students of Moshe fought in the desert, and the soldiers of Yehoshua were all talmidai chachamim. The soldiers of King Shaul who destroyed Amalek and the soldiers of King David were Torah learners. The men of the Macabees who drove the Greeks from the land were Torah scholars, as were the soldiers of Rabbi Akiva who knew how to kill the enemy. As we stand now several days before Pessach, it is clear that the reality of the Jews in chutz la’artez is that the galut experience has returned them to the psychological state of slavery.  Shabbat Shalom, Nachman Kahana Copyright © 5775/2015 Nachman Kahana

Victory or Last Warning to Likud

By Steven Shamrak

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu celebrated, what he called, a "major victory" in the last Israeli elections.

"Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud. A major victory for the people of Israel !" he wrote on his official Twitter account. Soon after the election exit polls were announced, Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and congratulated him. "They agreed to begin accelerated negotiations for establishing a national government and working in cooperation for the security of the state of Israel and the nation of Israel ."

In a desperate last ditch moment before election Netanyahu stated: "Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel. This is the true reality that was created here in the last few years."

This was enough for many Jewish voters to shake off a political apathy, like one of them told me "we have already seen this movie", and come out in support of Likud. Netanyahu must not forget why people voted for him this time. It could be the last time Jews of Israel believe in Likud!

Israeli voters had enough with continuous political deception and arrogance. They saw it in the name of the fake Zionist party, 'Zionist Union', created by veterans of political prostitution, who do not care about the future of Israel or the Jewish people, only their self-interests. Israelis have had enough of it! A new political movement is on the rise in Israel. It could be the last election when Likud and the anti-Zionist left were given final notice - serve your country, respect the ideals and aspirations of Jewish people Israel was created on or get lost!

Prior to the election, CNN presented a list of key issues Israel needs to resolve. Here they are wit my comments:

1. Repairing relations with the United States - The US has the long history of patronizing the Jewish state and undermining its future. It would be prudent that the next President of the United States, no such expectation from Obama, to take steps to repair relations with "the best friend" of the US, because Israel has done its most to prove its true friendship to American people!

2. Confronting Iran - The existential danger for Israel from nuclear armed Iran is real! As any self-respecting independent state, Israel must do what is right for its people. There is nobody to rely on - just look how long it takes for 'advanced' democratic powers to deal with problems in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria - and with their deeply ingrained anti-Semitic attitude, the best Israel can hope is that they'll stay neutral on this issue when Israel take action!

3. Solving problems with Palestinians - The problem has artificially been created and fostered since 1947 by the United Nations and all 'Jew-loving' states, must be exposed as the anti-Israel ploy it is. The fake Palestinians were invented to discredit the legitimacy of the Jewish state! There are Zionist solutions to the problem - it is time for the government of Israel to start implementing them.

4. Addressing growing social inequality - For too long, the Arab-Israel conflict and Israel's security were used as an excuse by the governments of Israel to neglect internal economic and social problems, and the appalling inequality of Israeli society. By ending occupation of Jewish land by the enemies, Israel will be able to put more resources to build prosperity and social equality.

5. Reversing Israel's isolation on the world stage - International anti-Semites will never stop hating Jews! Only a strong, independent and self-assertive Jewish state will be able shut them down. It was seen after the "Six Day War" and the Yom Kippur war, when even traditional European anti-Semites had began respecting Jews. But it did not last long as Israel did not consolidate its victories, only squandered them under the pressure of its trans-Atlantic 'friend'!

Moshe Feiglin: New Zehut Party Will Allow Israelis to Choose their True Identity

“In the recent election”, said Moshe Feiglin, “Netanyahu pulled out the card that – as long as there is no true alternative to his premiership – will always win every sure loss for him. He pulled out the same card that carried him to victory in 1996 against all odds (against Shimon Peres). He pulled out the Jewish identity card.”

“In 1996, his campaign slogan was “Bibi is good for the Jews”, Feiglin continued.

“In 2015, his message was that the Left and the Arabs are bad for the Jews.

Those are the two sides of the same, Jewish identity coin.

Identity is the deep and determining foundation of every essential conflict in Israeli society. Netanyahu understands that well and knows how to pluck on those heartstrings when he is in dire straits.

In truth though, it is just deception.

Our role is to allow the Israeli public to choose identity. Not only in the elections, but in the most true and fundamental way, on the basis of a clear blueprint, positivity and relevance to every aspect of our national life. Jewish identity applies to Israel’s foreign affairs, to housing, education, health and every aspect of Israeli society.

We must allow ourselves the liberty to be ourselves and to choose our Jewish identity,” Feiglin concluded.

Moshe Feiglin: Full Israeli Sovereignty in All Parts of Israel

In a television interview Sunday evening, Moshe Feiglin said that the false assumption of Oslo has shattered again and again – leaving blood and tears in its wake. “The occupation must end,” said Feiglin. “The Left says to give the Land to foreign entities. My proposal is to declare full sovereignty over all of the territory in our hands. The Arabs who are living in Judea and Samaria, can make the same choice that they made in 1948: Those who prefer to live here in peace may do so and begin a citizenship process, while those who wish to leave will receive Israeli aid to do so. Those who do not want Israeli citizenship may receive temporary resident status.”

“There is no demographic problem, as the Left claims,” Feiglin pointed out. “Within ten to fifteen years, there will be an 80% Jewish majority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Israel is first and foremost a Jewish state.”

“What is Israel’s goal?” asked Feiglin. “If it is peace, then the Left’s path has not proven itself for it has brought violence and war upon us. If our goal is security, then the Right’s path has not proven itself, for it has only led to the need for more and more soldiers to protect Israeli interests.

We must emerge from this vicious cycle and recognize the fact that Israel is our Land – our Jewish Homeland,” Feiglin concluded.

Why the Likud Won the Elections

By Shmuel Sackett

One week before elections I wrote an article that said the following; “Likud will win the elections… Bibi is the strongest contender and will emerge victorious.” While this seems obvious now, it was far from obvious when I wrote those words. At the time, Likud was trailing Labor in the polls by 4 seats and every expert was predicting a victory for the joint team of Herzog and Livni. In the end, it was not as the polls and experts stated as Netanyahu coasted to a convincing and decisive victory, even greater than I thought. My prediction was Likud at 26 seats while the final tally was actually 30. How did this happen?

The answer is really quite simple. Throughout the entire campaign, pollsters kept asking the public 2 basic questions: Who are you voting for and which party chairman is most qualified to be Prime Minister? The second question is actually a bit amusing since in Israel, you only have one vote for a party. You do not vote for the “Prime Minister”! You vote once for a party and the biggest party is the one whose leader becomes the Prime Minister. I am simplifying the system because there are exceptions to this rule but that is how it works 99% of the time: You vote for a party ONLY. Therefore, when pollsters asked these 2 questions, it was really shocking to see that while Labor was leading in all of the polls, it was Bibi who the public preferred as Prime Minister almost 2-1!! This made absolutely no sense to me. How can you state that you will be voting for Labor (led by Herzog) when you really prefer Likud (who is led by Netanyahu)??? I therefore concluded that, when answering the pollsters, people simply stated what they felt in their stomach, that Likud had led this country long enough and that it was time for a change. However, on Election Day, it wasn’t that gut feeling or the emotions that decided who to vote for –  it was the intelligence. People realized that a State of Israel led by Prime Minister Isaac “Bujey” Herzog would be a disaster and – contrary to their emotions – they used their brain ad not their heart and voted for Likud which insured the continued leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This proved the point that I have been saying all along. Israelis are concerned about leadership. While each party has its own strengths and ideology, at the end of the day, the concern for the average voter is not how many seats his/her party will win but who will lead our great and special nation. This is why Moshe Feiglin and I started a group called “Manhigut Yehudit – The Jewish Leadership Movement” back in 1998 because THAT is where the battle lies – in the leadership of the Jewish State! What does it matter if the Agudah party moves from 7 seats to 15, if the leadership of the country is against Torah? What does it matter if Bayit Yehudi gets 17 – or even 20 seats, if the leadership of the country is pro-Palestinian state? All these things mean very close to nothing because they wind up being relegated to “influencers” as opposed to “leaders”. The name of the game – and this was proven in these elections – is NOT how big your party will be but who will LEAD the nation. Please engrave this on your forehead because if you are interested in Israeli politics, you need to understand and digest this point.

When I made my prediction, most of my friends called me crazy but after the elections they started referring to me as Jimmy “The Greek” Sackett! They asked how I knew Likud would win and I told them what is written above. I explained this concept of leadership and how vital it is to the average Israeli, from bus-driver to college professor. The problem, however, is that most Israelis see Netanyahu as that great leader when in fact, he is simply just better than Herzog. This void of leadership is what must be filled in the coming years and with Hashem’s help, this is exactly what will be done!

Enhanced Jewish-Arab coexistence in defiance of odds

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

Israel's March 17, 2015 general election shed light on the increasingly local – rather than national/regional - order of priorities of the 1.7 million Israeli Arabs; the intensifying Israelization/localization of their self-determination; the widening cultural/ideological gap between Israeli Arabs and the Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza; the deep fragmentation within Israeli Arabs (despite the current Joint Arab Slate); their growing appreciation of Israel's civil liberties and expanded trust in Israel's political system; and the gap between the worldview of a growing number of Israeli Arabs on the one hand and most Arab Knesset Members on the other hand.

According to a February, 17, 2015 public opinion survey, conducted by Tel Aviv University's researcher Arik Rudnitzky, a project manager at the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, the top prioritiesof Israeli Arabs are employment, education, healthcare, neighborhood crime and women's rights (43%), ahead of enhancing the status of the Arab community in Israel (28.1%) and the Israel-Palestinian conflict/negotiation (19%).

Moreover, the survey concluded that 61.3% of Israel's Arab sector considers the Knesset an effective arena to address their concern.  Only 12.2% dismiss the Knesset as a platform to advance the fortunes of Israeli Arabs.

A February 17, 2015 poll, conducted by Stat Net indicated that 77% of Israeli Arabs prefer Israeli – over Palestinian – citizenship, and 64% are optimistic about Jewish-Arab relations.  Unprecedentedly, 60% of Arab voters would like the Joint Arab Slate to partake in Israel's coalition government.  While 30% would join only a coalition government led by Labor (the Zionist Camp Party), 28% would join a coalition headed by either Labor or Likud. Contrary to most Arab Knesset Members, 70% of Israeli Arabs care more about their socio-economic status than about solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They are more concerned about the standard of living among Israeli Arabs in the city of Ramla, than about the nationalistic aspirations of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.  Similarly, the 2014 special election for the mayor of Nazareth featured a resounding victory (62%:38%) by Ali Salam – who focused on civic challenges in Nazareth -  over Ramiz Jaraisy, who highlighted his identification with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

According to Rudnitzky, the dramatic increase in the turnout of Arab voters from 56.5% in 2013, 53.4% in 2009 and 56.3% in 2006 to about 64% in 2015 reflects the widening interaction/integration between Israel's Jews and Arabs, and the growing Arab confidence in the Israeli political system. This is in contrast to the lowest ever 18% Arab turnout during the 2001 election.  Current political Arab involvement aims at peacefully coexisting with – rather than confronting - the Jewish majority.  In 2015, most Israeli Arabs strive for political and civic national self-determination, and improvement of their civic status, within the boundaries of the Jewish State. A growing majority of Arab voters appreciates Israel's democracy, especially when observing the flaming Arab Tsunami on the Arab Street throughout the Middle East, devoid of civil liberties, replete with violent intolerance towards minorities and each other.

Will the current trend of Israelization/co-existence withstand the tectonic pressures on the Israeli Arab Street, which are fueled by the savage, intra-Muslim rampage from the Persian Gulf through northeast Africa: Islamists VS secularists, pro and con women equality, local VS national preoccupation, integrationists VS separatists, civil liberties VS Sharia', etc.?

Against the backdrop of 1,400 years of no intra-Muslim peaceful coexistence, and in view of the endemic civic majority-minorities restlessness in most Western democracies, one should not underestimate the evolving political, cultural, economic Jewish-Arab coexistence in the Jewish State, one of the world's leading democracies, which confronts clear and present lethal dangers: daily terrorism and war launched by the brethren of its Arab minority.

Moshe Feiglin Wishes Netanyahu Success

That’s it. The elections are behind us, the Nation has spoken and above and beyond all differences of opinion, we must remember that Binyamin Netanyahu (whom I will not call ‘Bibi’) is the Prime Minister of Israel. He was elected by a clear majority – despite the blatant interference of foreign interests.

Over the coming years, I will do all that I can to create national leadership that is connected to Israel’s identity and destiny. Because without destiny, we will not have our existence, either.

I have criticized Netanyahu in the past and I will continue to do so. But at the beginning of this new week, I would like to wish Binyamin Netanyahu and his partners the utmost success. This is our one and only state, this is our elected prime minister, his success is our success and his honor is Israel’s honor.

Spiritual Leadership and Political Leadership

By HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

From the dawn of the history of the Jewish People in their land, already in the days of the First Temple, the national leadership was composed of both spiritual and political leadership. Sometimes, the political leader was also a spiritual person, like Joshua ben Nun or King David. At other times, the leadership was divided up between political leadership and spiritual leadership, as in the days of King Saul and the Prophet Samuel, or King Hezekiah and the Prophet Isaiah.

Right now, Israel is undergoing crystallization and rebirth after two thousand years of exile, and the national leadership is likewise changing from the religious-spiritual leadership which led the nation in the exile, when we had no state or army. We have switched to political leadership, whose main preoccupations are the existential, military and economic aspects of the State of Israel. In years past, and most particularly in recent times, we bear witness to the renewed strengthening of the religious, spiritual leadership, with tens of thousands of Jews heeding the rabbis more and more. Also, some of the politicians understand that the way to the hearts of the masses must pass via the rabbis. 

Indeed, a change has taken place in Israeli society. Vast numbers are returning to tradition, returning to the synagogue, returning to the Sabbath and to the weekly portion, returning to the sources, returning to themselves, and as a result of all this, they are returning to G-d. Also the political leadership, which desires to be elected and which takes public opinion polls in order to sense in which direction the wind is blowing, understands very well that they have to take into account the view of the spiritual leadership. 

The day is not far off when our nation will return to the natural, normal, state of affairs that existed in Biblical times, when the political leadership will occupy itself not just with existential, military and economic issues, but will take responsibility as well for the spiritual state of the nation. Noble leaders will rise up and will bestow upon us some of their pristine spirit. They will exalt and strengthen the spirit of the people and our eternal request will be fulfilled: “Return us to You, O L-rd, and we will return. Renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21). 

Looking forward to complete redemption,
Shabbat Shalom
Chodesh Tov

Above Time

A Torah Thought 

By Moshe Feiglin

On this coming Shabbat we will be reading the Torah from three separate Torah scrolls – a rare occurrence in our ritual Torah reading. The first Torah scroll will be for reading the weekly Torah portion, Vayikra, the second for the special reading for Rosh Chodesh, the new Jewish month of Nissan that falls on Shabbat and the third, for the reading of Parashat Hachodesh, read once a year on or prior to the first day of the new month of Nissan.

Rashi explains that even before the Jewish People left Egypt, G-d showed Moses an image of the new moon, explaining that upon the sighting of the new moon in the sky, the new month is declared and sanctified. From that moment, the Nation of Israel became a nation that operates outside the dimension of time. We are not servants of time; on the contrary, we determine time. And true to form, those who search for proof of the existence of the Creator find it first and foremost in the meta-historical existence of the Nation of Israel; an existence that runs against all natural and historical odds.

“Why didn’t the Torah open with the first commandment to sanctify the months?” Rashi asks on the very first verse in the Torah. After all, the main focus of Torah is the commandments. Rashi answers that the first verse of the Torah, “In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the earth,” is the basis for our right to the Land of Israel. But why couldn’t the Torah, as the guidebook of the commandments, open with the first commandment, and then follow with our right to the Land of Israel at some later point?

The above-time status of the Nation of Israel is essential and deep, but it cannot manifest without the Land of Israel. In order to sanctify the new month, the witnesses were required to travel to the court on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in the Land of Israel. Only there would the new month be declared. The Talmud teaches us that no rabbinical court outside the Land of Israel can sanctify the new month. All the yeshivas in Sura and Pumbedita, in Warsaw and in Vilna, in New York and London cannot help. However, the Talmud continues, three of the simplest herdsmen in the Land of Israel can gather as a court of Jewish law on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and sanctify the new month.

In his commentary on the first verse of the Torah, Rashi was not explaining why the Land of Israel was first instead of the commandment to sanctify the new month. He was explaining why we need the Land of Israel at all. He was teaching us that the Land of Israel is the platform for the commandment to sanctify the month – and all the other commandments, as well. Outside the Land, the commandments are nothing more than faint shadows of the full spectrum of Jewish life meant to be lived according to the Torah in the Land of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom

The Miracle of the Elections of 5775: HaRav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Vayikra 5775

BS”D  Parashat Vayikra 5775  Rabbi Nachman Kahana The Nation’s Mandate to Perform Three Duties The last chapters in the book of Shoftim (Judges) relate two incidents which occurred between the time of Yehoshua Bin Nun’s passing away and the appearance of Shmuel as the reigning prophet; a period of approximately 400 years. 1- Pesel Micha (the idol of Micha). A man named Micha, established a sanctuary for avoda zara in the town of Gerev, in the tribal area of Binyamin. However, not being versed in its ceremonies, he required the services of a “talmid chacham” in avoda zara. While searching for the “right” man, a Levite passed his door. One thing led to another, and Micha offered him a handsome salary if he would serve as the priest for the avoda zara. The Levite’s name was Yehonatan ben Gershom ben Menashe. The letter “nun” in Menashe is enlarged in order to hide his true identity. If we remove the letter “nun” from the name Menashe, we are left with “Moshe”. Yes! The Levite who dedicated himself to avoda zara was the grandson of Moshe Rabbeinu! 2- Pilegesh B’Givah (the concubine in the city of Givah). A man and his concubine were passing through the tribal area of Binyamin on their way home in the tribal area of Efrayim. At the approach of darkness, they decided to spend the night in the town of Givah in Binyamin. Several of the town’s people took the woman and assaulted her to the point where she died. When the leaders of Binyamin refused to place the criminals on trial, a civil war broke out and untold numbers of Jews from among all the tribes of Yisrael were killed. At the war’s end, the tribe of Binyamin was nearly eradicated – with a mere 600 men surviving with all the others of the tribe no longer alive. These two incidences, as ugly as they were, were not exceptions in the history of our people at that time. By and large the nation kept the Torah; however, many adopted the ways of idolatry to the great sorrow of the judges and prophets of the times, and aroused the ire of HaShem. In the chapters dealing with these two episodes, we are told how and why the Jewish people at that time had fallen to such a debased, irreverent immoral level (Shoftim 17.6): בימים ההם אין מלך בישראל איש הישר בעיניו יעשה In those days there was no monarch (ruler) in Yisrael, and every man did what was right in his own eyes Now since the adversities and frustrations of life function like a centrifuge, distancing people from the established central norms of society to the periphery of abnormal behavior, HaShem commanded that the Jewish nation should function around a strong national religious central authority which would consolidate and enforce our Torah values. The national leadership would be comprised of four authorities, predating the modern form of “checks and balances”: The Sanhedrin; Kohen Gadol; The salient Prophet of the time, and a King to administer the nation’s civil affairs. When we entered the Land with Yehoshua, HaShem mandated the nation to perform three duties: To appoint a king. The king would then be obligated to draft a national army to destroy Amalek. To construct the Bet Hamikdash. Question: Why did it take 400 years after the death of Yehoshua for the nation to appoint the first King – Shaul, and 50 years after his demise to erect the Beit Hamikdash of King Shlomo? The answer lies in the solution to a difficulty that arises in last week’s parasha “Ki Tisa”. Moshe Rabbeinu stayed on Mount Sinai longer than the time the people had expected his return. Many claimed that Moshe had died and they forced Aharon to bring them a “god” who will lead them, as the pasuk says (32,1): וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר ויקהל העם על אהרן ויאמרו אליו קום עשה לנו אלהים אשר ילכו לפנינו כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו: And the people saw that Moshe was late in descending from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Arise, make us a god who will go before us. For the man Moshe who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” When they believed that Moshe would no longer lead them, why did they not ask Aharon to fill Moshe’s position, but rather sought a “god” to lead them? The answer goes to the fundamental nature of the Jewish people till this day. We are an intensely independent people – collectively and individually. In the eyes of the people, Aharon was the continuation of the established teachings of Moshe where the nation is bound to a strong, authoritative central theocracy. The Mishkan, Kohanim, batei din (courts of law), Halacha. When Moshe was supposedly no longer, and the intimate connection between the nation and the Creator was eliminated, the people saw their opportunity to vastly democratize the nation’s systems, leaving more room for the individual to think and act independently. No rigid halacha; no Kehuna; no monarchy; no coercion, just “make us a god who will go before us” – before us, but not amongst us. It was their desire to democratize the nation to the extent of near spiritual and social anarchy, where the by-words would be, “don’t tell me what to do”. Where every man will be at liberty to choose how much of “god” he wants. With no limits on who can marry whom. With the right of every person to define what is a family – one man and one woman; even two men and two women, or even two women with a child that came from a test tube. It would signal a release from the responsibilities of being God’s “chosen nation”. No Eretz Yisrael. No religious uniformity. No limits on sexual behavior. Just “make us a god who will go before us” – before us, but not amongst us. Moshe returned and with him Jewish democracy was restored, but according to the limitations established by the Torah. A Lesson Learned Regarding Para Aduma The tahara process of Para Aduma necessitated by an encounter with a corpse was understood by only Moshe Rabbeinu. The Gemara (Yoma 14a) states that even the wisest of men, Shlomo Hamelech, after investigating the natural and supernatural aspects of Para Aduma threw up his hands, exclaiming that the matter was beyond his understanding. To understand that which the wisest of all men was incapable is certainly beyond the reach of mortal man, but that is what makes the matter all the more enticing – to try and succeed where others have failed. When studying the matter of Para Aduma the following thought occurred to me, which might allow us a direction in making the matter just a little less obscure. The atomic table contains (to my last knowledge) 115 elements, some natural, some artificial. However, according to the Zohar’s table of elements there are only 4 which due to the qualitative and quantitative mixtures produce every physical object in the universe: afar – dust or soil mayim – water aish – fire ru’ach – wind  The Torah relates that at the early dawn of mankind there were 4 major holocausts: 1) One third of mankind was killed when Kayin murdered his brother Hevel 2) The deluge in the time of Noach 3) When the five centers of culture – Sedom and Amora and their three sister cities were destroyed 4) When the army of the super power of Egypt was destroyed in the Red Sea. Each involving one of the 4 elements: 1) Tradition states that Kayin murdered his brother with a rock and then buried him in the ground, over their dispute on ownership of Mount Moriah. All on the background of soil and dust. 2) Humanity was destroyed in the time of Noach through the second element “mayim” water. 3) The advanced cities of Sdom and Amora were decimated by the third element “aish” fire. 4) The waters of the Red Sea (Parshat Beshalach) were split by the fourth element “ruach” when a great wind raged all night and then the wind blew again to restore the waters to their natural state. Para Aduma utilizes all of these elements: 1) Fire burns the para, 2) which turns into “ayfar” ashes or dust; 3) the Kohen then mixes the ayfer with water. 4) He does not pour the liquid on the person coming to be tahor, but flings it on him using the wind which the Kohen creates by the force of his arm. The lesson to be learned from this is that when each element is taken separately it brings death and tuma; however, when taken together through the Para Aduma the joint forces of all the elements bring tahara and life. The lesson is applicable to our time: unity of the Jewish nation based around a common Torah and common values. A land where the nation can give forth the fruits of its genius, creates an atmosphere of tahara, while disunity produces strife and tuma. The Miracle of the Elections of 5775 Freedom and democracy, like all good things in life, are positive and sweet only when they are kept within acceptable bounds. The non-observant call themselves “chofshi’im” – free people. They are the non-spiritual heirs of those who desired the Eygal Hazahav – people who yearned to be absolutely free. To maintain a Jewish Medina requires a society which is “traditional” – at the least. Shabbat. Kashrut. Family Purity. Charity and good works. The resettlement of Eretz Yisrael. Military and social services. The past elections in Israel saw two major camps “slugging” it out. The Likud which represents a nationalistic, ideological perception of the Medina; vs. Hamachaneh Hatzioni which is willing to compromise every ideal for the here and now, including the establishment of the 23rd Arab country right in the heart-land of Eretz Yisrael. In the episode of Akeidat Yitzchak (the binding of Yitzchak; parashat Vayeira 22,6) the Torah relates: …שוישם על יצחק בנו ויקח בידו את האש ואת המאכלת וילכו שניהם יחדו: And he (Avraham) took in his hand the fire and the knife to slaughter his son, and they went together.” To whom is the Torah referring when it says “and they went together”? It cannot be Avraham and Yitzchak, because two pasukim later it says again “and they went together”. I suggest that “and they went together” in the pasuk of the fire and the knife refers to the very same fire and knife. At that moment Hashem brought down a decree that for now, as far as the Jewish nation is concerned, fire and knife will always go together. If we abide by the Torah, it will be the shechita knife of the sacrifices in the Bet HaMikdash, and the fire on the altar. But if we rebel against our spiritual calling, exile will ensue and we will be punished by fire at the hands of Christianity, which will burn our books, our homes and eventually our bodies; and the Arab descendants of Yishmael will kill us with their swords. However, we were witness to a third usage of the fire and the sword. If not for Godly intervention which aroused people to vote for nationalist parties, the others were prepared to use a political knife to dissect the Holy Land which would result in the fires of war. Baruch HaShem the vast majority of Israelis love this land. They have proven that they are willing to fight for it and even to offer the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life for our return to our Biblical homeland. The majority of Israelis desire to maintain their status of God’s chosen people, and are proud to be part of the greatest ongoing miracle of the past 2000 years. These are the people who would never even consider compromise over the Land; certainly not over Yerushalayim. These are the Jews who are not interested in “make us a god who will go before us” – before us, but not amongst us. They desire the Torah as given to Moshe Rabbeinu, to be fulfilled in HaShem’s holy land. And pray and live for the day when we will be able to fulfill the three mitzvot given to the nation at the time of Yehoshua: to appoint a king, to destroy Amalek and to build the Bet Hamikdash. Shabbat Shalom, Nachman Kahana Copyright © 5775/2015 Nachman Kahana

Initial Election Results Analysis

By Moshe Feiglin

Israel’s election results clarify two basic facts:

Fact number one: It has once again become clear that the Jewish public in Israel is divided between a large majority whose Jewish identity is the dominant factor in its life (the “Jews”) and a minority for whom its Israeli identity is the dominant factor (the “Israelis”). Netanyahu’s personality is more akin to the “Israelis”, but he is the leader of the “Jews”. That is why he succeeds in leading the country, despite the fact that he is not particularly well-liked by either camp.

Fact number two: At the moment of truth – when there is danger of losing the ruling position – it became clear that the new National Religious Party (Jewish Home) is not essentially different than the old version. The Jewish Home never really thought of itself as a leadership alternative. And so, the Religious Zionist public has once again served as nothing more than the emergency vote stockpile for the Likud. With the votes for the Likud and those who voted nonetheless for the Jewish Home, Netanyahu will be able to implement whatever policies he chooses, as per whatever pressure is brought to bear upon him. We all know what direction that pressure is going to take.

Just prior to the 2013 Israeli elections, I wrote a long article in which I analyzed all the parties that were running at that time. The article said that political parties are like stocks: they have their absolute value and the momentary value at which they are ‘traded’ in the political market. It is interesting to re-read that article in light of the current election results. Here are some quotes from the article in which I related to the Jewish Home party:

“For about twenty years, the NRP stock has been traded way below its true value, which I estimate to be about 8 to 10 mandates.”

“The Jewish Home is now being traded for 13 mandates and counting. It can certainly get more in the elections. But in the future, it will shrink back to its real value.”

“If the Likud continues to lose height in the polls until its continued rule is in danger, the Jewish Home voters will rush to vote Likud because the Jewish Home really does not supply the merchandise.”
Read the entire article at  http://www.jewishisrael.org/?p=4136

Moshe Feiglin to Netanyahu: Allow me to Visit the Temple Mount on my Son’s Wedding Day

Jerusalem

25 Adar, 5775

March 16, ‘15

To Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel

Re: Request to Visit the Temple Mount on my Son’s Wedding Day

Dear Sir,

With G-d’s grace, my son, David, will be getting married tomorrow. David is the son who was critically injured in a car accident five years ago.

Words cannot express our excitement and gratitude with which our hearts are filled for the miracle that we have merited, as David, who was on the threshold of death is now about to wed and establish his own home.

Our disagreement over your policies on the Temple Mount and their implications for Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem is no secret. Your injunction prohibiting Knesset Members – the representatives of the sovereign –from visiting the Temple Mount is an outrage and unacceptable to me. Nevertheless, I expected that my discreet request of the police in this special situation would receive a positive answer.

From the answer that I received and the short amount of time that remains, I understood that I have no choice but to turn to you directly and openly, as a citizen to his prime minister.

I request and demand that you allow me to fulfill my right to visit the Temple Mount together with my son on his wedding day, as is the right of every citizen of Israel.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that I cannot make up at a later date.

Respectfully,

Moshe Feiglin

Shabbat and the Holy Temple: A Torah Thought for Parshiot Vayakhel-Pekudai

By Moshe Feiglin

And Moses gathered all the congregation of the Children of Israel and he said to them: These are the things that G-d commanded to do them. For six days you shall work and on the seventh day, it will be holy for you, a Shabbat of Shabbats for G-d, whoever does work on it will be put to death. You shall not burn fire in your dwellings on the day of Shabbat. (From this week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, Exodus 35: 1-3)

The commandment to observe the Shabbat is often woven together with the commandments of the Temple. What is the connection between the two?

The Temple is the royal palace. Its purpose is to make the Creator King over His world. The Shabbat also revolves around recognizing that G-d is King over His world: “It is an eternal sign for for six days G-d made the heavens and the earth.”

G-d created man in His image. Man is like his Creator in his ability to create. Man can imagine a reality that does not yet exist and bring it into reality. No living being other than man has this ability. A bird can build a nest, but it is already burned onto its “hard disk.” The bird will never build a triangle nest, or paint it in psychedelic colors. Man imagines a five-pronged fork – something he has never seen – and produces it.

What usually happens then is that man decides that not only is he made in G-d’s image, but that he is god, himself. This danger is more pronounced in developed cultures; the type that produced Mozart and Tchaikovsky. This is where the Shabbat comes in. On this day, we do not produce anything. The 39 root categories of production that formed the daily service in the Temple are forbidden on Shabbat. This is our testimony to the way the world works; Who is the Creator and who is merely created in His image.

It is no wonder that the culture that produced Mozart and Tchaikovsky attempted to destroy the Nation of Israel. He who has already decided that he is the creator, the sanctity of life has no meaning and he can no longer live in a world with a nation that testifies to G-d’s existence.
Shabbat Shalom

In the Eye of the Hurricane: HaRav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Vayak’hel-Pikudei

BS”D  Parashat Vayak’hel By Rabbi Nachman Kahana The last five parshiot of the Book of Shemot are: Teruma, Tetzaveh, Ki Tisa, Vayak’hel and Pekudai. Teruma and Tetzaveh, deal with the Mishkan and its implements. The third – parashat Ki Tisa interrupts the sequence and describes the events of the iniquitous, disastrous episode of the Aigel Hazahav (the Golden Calf). And the last two – Vayak’hel and Pekudai, return to the subject of the Mishkan and its implements. The schematic breakdown of the parshiot is: Mishkan, Mishkan, tragic episode of idolatry, Mishkan, Mishkan. Why did the Torah interrupt the sequence of the Mishkan with the episode of the Aigel Hazahav? I submit: The Torah, through the sequence of these five parshiot, was informing the Jewish people of what awaited them in the future. The instructions in parashat Teruma allude to the 479 years of the Mishkan before the Bet Hamikdash was established in Yerushalayim: 39 years in the desert, 14 years at Gilgal, 369 years at Shilo, and 57 years in Nov and Givon. Tetzaveh alludes to the 410 years of the Bet Hamikdash of King Shlomo on the Temple Mount. The disastrous, sinful act of idolatry in parashat Ki Tisa alludes to the destruction of King Shlomo’s Bet Hamikdash for reasons of idolatry and the 70 years of exile. Parashat Vayak’hel alludes to the Bet Hamikdash built by Ezra and the Jews who returned with him from Babylon and Persia. Parashat Pekudai alludes to the magnificent Bet HaMikdash built by Hordus (Herod). The Temples of Ezra and Hordus stood for 420 years before being destroyed by the Romans and the subsequent 2000-year exile of the Jewish people from our holy land. This tragic period of death and destruction in the galut of our physical, religious and moral being is alluded to by the break between the books of Shemot and Vayikra. Vayikra also called Torat Kohanim (the Kohanic laws) alludes to the return of Am Yisrael to the Holy Land and the rebuilding of the Bet HaMikdash which will usher in the long awaited Messianic period. Am Yisrael is now standing at the threshold of the new age of the book of Vayikra, and HaShem’s miracles in Eretz Yisrael are announcing: “Prepare – it is not far off.” The present time is one for profound celebration, for it is ushering in the beginning of our redemption and salvation. After 2000 years of unspeakable calamities to our nation, HaShem has recognized and honors the unflinching loyalty of His people and has returned us to our ancient Holy Land. To remain true to the Torah after the Shoah is worthy of the highest rewards by our Father in Heaven. He has restored our sovereignty over a large part of Eretz Yisrael and over Yerushalayim. He has protected us in times of war and has made us prosperous in times of peace. We are creating a Torah empire here the likes of which has not existed anywhere for over 2000 years. What is transpiring today in the lands of our enemies is a miraculous sign of HaShem’s protective wing over His children in Eretz Yisrael. In the Song at the Sea (Shirat Hayam, Shemot 15:7) the survivors sang: וברב גאונך תהרס קמיך תשלח חרנך יאכלמו כקש “With Your infinite genius You destroyed those who rose up against You. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like straw” One would think that instead of: “With Your infinite genius You destroyed those who rose up against You,” the wording should be: וברב כחך With Your infinite strength You destroyed those who rose up against You But indeed, “With Your infinite genius” is absolutely more accurate. Because it describes how Hashem, in His infinite genius, time and again frustrates the diabolical plans of our enemies in ways which are totally unpredictable, yet keeps His hidden presence intact. Just consider what is happening in our region so suddenly and unexpectedly. The Arabs will be fighting each other for years to come. Sunnis vs. Shiites and both against the Alawis. Arabs against Iranians. Libyans against each other. Christian Copts vs. Moslems in Egypt. Everyone against everyone in Lebanon and Syria. The Sunnis of Iraq against the Shiites of Iraq and all of them against the Kurds. The Turks against the Kurds, and the former Southern Moslem states of the USSR against Russia and against themselves. The flood of Arab refugees from North Africa into Europe, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman, Somalia and more. And within the midst of all this, in the Eye of the hurricane, stands the tiny State of Israel – prosperous and happy in the knowledge that HaShem has spread over us His holy cloud of protection, as in the time of our forefathers’ sojourn in the desert. Indeed, the greatest of life’s experiences is to be a Jew living today in Eretz Yisrael. Shabbat Shalom, Nachman Kahana Copyright © 5774/2014 Nachman Kahana