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The Loss of a Torah Giant



Baruch Dayan HaEmet...

HaRav Kaduri z"tl passed away this afternoon in Jerusalem's Bikur Cholim Hospital.

With the loss of another of our precious few G-D-fearing leaders, may his death serve as a Kaparah for our sins, and in his merit may HaShem see the near-hopelessness of our situation in this lost generation and bring the Mashiach that Rav Kaduri had longed for all his life...

May HaShem remember us now, in the time of our sorrow.

Prayers for Daniel Pinner

BS"D

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Tomorrow, Sunday 29 Tevet/29 January, after 7 months in jail, at 1 p.m. Daniel Pinner faces his final hearing in the Beersheba District Court, in which he could be found innocent and go home, or guilty and go back to jail - or a decision could be postponed for a thousand and one reasons, at the whim of the judge and the completely corrupt "justice" system.

At any rate, tomorrow is a fateful day for Daniel, so he asks for prayers for a good outcome. His Hebrew name is Daniel Moshe Tzvi ben (son of) Channah Malka Fayge.

I spoke to Daniel last week when he called me from Masiyahu Prison, thank G-d he is still in good spirits despite his ordeal.

For those who live in Israel, the hope is that Daniel will be witness to many, many of his friends and supporters sitting in the Beersheba courtroom tomorrow at 1p.m. to show him the support and warmth he sorely deserves during his ordeal.

Just as a reminder: You can also call his home number at 03-9068079 (from outside Israel: 972-3-9068079) and leave him a message of love and support; Daniel listens to his messages from the public phone in jail.

Daniel has written some brilliant and inspiring articles from jail, and you can see the latest one on Arutz 7 at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=5959 or subscribe to:DanielPinner-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to get the latest news about Daniel and all of his writings, as well as send messages to the him.

Whatever the decision tomorrow, I will let you know the outcome.

B'ahavat Tzedek b'Israel,

Dina
Yeshivat HaRa'ayon HaYehudi

Shake Hands with this!


"What happened!? What went wrong?! We're doomed!!!" lamented the blind, ignorant lemmings on this pivotal day in the "middle east". Last night they'd been shown to be a "close second" - today they came out a safe first. I'm talking about Hamas. Hamas - responsible for the murder of so many hundreds and even thousands of Jews. Responsible for countless terrorist attacks: suicide-bombings, drive-by shooting, stabbings, road-side bombs, car-bombs, sniper-attacks - you name it they've done it. Terrible isn't it? Isn't it?

It is!? But why I ask you? Why is it any worse than accepting the murderer Arafat? Or the murderer and holocaust-denier Abbas? Or the murderous, corrupt, lying Fatah; who - funnily (or not so funnily) enough, are ALSO responsible for countless Jewish murders and suicide bombings, drive-by shootings, stabbings, road-side bombs, car-bombs, sniper-attacks - the lot! You heard of the "Al Aqsa Brigades"? Or the PRC (Palestinian Resistance Committee)? You have? Well guess who pays their cheques? Fatah! Yes, Fatah are indeed the "Sinn Fein" of Al Aqsa and the PRC and various other smaller terrorist splinter groups. And I wonder what the reactions will be if - G-D forbid - the Israeli government continue on their path to self-destruction and begin giving in to "international" and "American" pressure; distinguishing between the "political" and "military" wings of Hamas... Chas Vechalila, lo aleinu! What an unfunny joke our country's "leadership" is.

But I call upon all those who fear G-D to not fear Hamas, and to not be at all worried about this situation. This is, in fact, a great development and a great day for Am Yisrael!

Let's give a (rather graphic) mashal (parable):

when a dog makes a "mess" on the floor, all you dog owners out there will know that to "potty-train" him and teach him to never do it again, one (to put it bluntly) shoves his face in it so he can see (and smell!) what he has done, and there's no running away from what he's done.

It's the same over here. We all knew deep down what filth we were dealing with in Arafat, Abu Mazen, Aba Ala and all the rest of them. We knew full well. But government after government tried to ignore the repugnant stench - and even shake hands with these scumbags - all the while repeating the mantra of "we'd never do deals with the "real terrorists" like Hamas!"

So pathetic.

But it appears that the Almighty has decided to play it our way in His Infinite Mercy. So here you go Olmert - shake hands with this filth! Here you go Peres, Bibi, Peretz, Beilin and the rest of the Hellenist - stick your noses in this!

This truly is a great day for us! It is the day of truth!

Now we must decide: Life or death - Kahane or Mashal - TORAH OR DESTRUCTION!

Please G-D may we merit leaders who will make the right choices, and may this be the beginning of the end for the "Road Map" and any Oslos and other contracts of death and compromise on Torah.

And may we merit in particular the Messianic era of leadership, with Mashiach Tzidkeinu leading us towards the Way of Truth - the Path of Hakadosh Baruch Hu!

Rav Kahane was right...

Rabbi Kahane was right!



Rav Binyamin Kahane z"tl h"yd, in his commentary on this week's Sedra (Shemot)8 years ago teaches us a message that is so relevant to us today. In his commentary on Shemot, Rav Binyamin talks about the very leaders who pull us towards destruction today. Like his father before him, Rav Binyamin saw with great vision what was coming for Am Yisrael. It is such a shame that no one listened to him or his father Rabbi Meir Kahane z"tl h"yd, or so much pain and suffering could have been avoided...

But it is still not too late. We must carry on the message of the Authentic Jewish Idea, and act only according to G-D's Will! Kahane Chai!



Datan And Aviram Never Die – They Simply Interchange (1997)

Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane

Translated by Lenny Goldberg


Parshat Shmot teaches us what a Jewish leader is all about. First of all, Moshe Rabbeinu embodies the positive leader, who is willing to sacrifice himself and his freedom for the Jewish People. But in this article, we will concentrate on the actions and motives of two negative leaders in Egypt. Two leaders who always looked to advance themselves, and attempted every step of the way to prevent the redemption. They did not do this openly. On the contrary, they always portrayed themselves as people who were concerned about the interests of the Jewish People at large.

These two people are Datan and Aviram. They appear several times throughout the Torah, not always in name – sometimes it is the sages who reveal to us that they are Datan and Aviram. It is quite possible that Datan and Aviram are not specific people, but rather they are a concept – a symbol of a certain type of leader.

The first time we meet Datan and Aviram, they are in the heat of a quarrel. What were these two fighting about while their brothers were in bondage? It can be assumed that they found time to bicker about some portfolio or office. And behold, Moshe Rabbeinu appears on the scene, sees his two brothers fighting, and tries to patch things up. But Datan and Aviram, who yesterday saw Moshe Rabbeinu exhibiting leadership qualities in killing the Egyptian, both smelled competition to their positions. And so, putting their own quarrel aside for the moment, they proceed to inform on Moshe to Pharo. And all this, obviously, is done out of a "national responsibility", for who knows what the ramifications of such a murderous act such as that of Moshe's could be for Israel...

The second time we run into our friends (according to the sages) is at the end of Parshat Shmot, years later. Moshe by this time has "taken over the leadership". Moshe and Aharon hold their first historic meeting with Pharo where they demand to "Let my People Go!" On their way out, they are met by a furious Datan and Aviram. They are devoured by jealousy. They, too, had once visited Pharo's palace, though never Pharo himself. They probably had only met with the Minister of Jewish Affairs where, in classic exile tradition, they would occasionally do some groveling in order to squeeze something out of him. And so immediately they attack (with "national responsibility") Moshe and Aharon: "The Lord look upon you, and judge: because you made us abhorrent in the eyes of Pharo and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us". At first glance, these are words of logic and genuine concern. Stop making things worse for us! Because of your insanedemand to "let my people go" and all the rest of your wild fantasies, Pharo has increased the burden on Israel! (Even Moshe himself at this point temporarily despairs, and says to G-d: "For since I came to Pharo to speak in Your Name, he has dealt ill with Your people.")

Let us continue following "Datan and Aviram". In the book of Numbers, they are already working as an active "opposition", as Midrash Shmot Raba explains: "They were the ones who left over the "Mann", they were the ones who said (in the spy portion) 'let us return to Egypt', they were the ones who rebelled at the Red Sea." And of course, they were active players in the Korach incident. In other words, whenever there was an opportunity to undermine Moshe and Aharon's authority, they were there, in the thick of it. The highlight of their career is during the sin of the spies, where they say: "Let us appoint a chief and let us return to Egypt." Oh, how they yearned for the good old days, when their brothers were enslaved and they were strolling in the gates of Pharo's palace...

And so, during the Korach dispute, their stance against Moshe is much more extreme and belligerent than the stance Korach adopted. They insolently attack Moshe: "Is it a small thing that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, and you have made yourself a prince over us?" Again, pangs of yearning for Egypt and for their positions!

Throughout all the generations until today, one can see that "Datan andAviram" did not die; and an important lesson can be learned from this:Sometimes a leader may have certain accomplishments under his belt, butbecause he places his own personal welfare as the priority, he can bring the nation to tragedy. For he is ready to see his people hurt and beaten, as long as his position remains intact.

The Power of Tefillah should not be underestimated...

Obviously the ideal is to be in Chevron now for this time of great peril. Great Mesirut Nefesh is called for at this crucial time for Am Yisrael.

However, all of us - whether there in body or not - can make an impact via our tefillot with the right Kavanah. Remember Eretz Yisrael in your Prayers every day...

With Kavanah for the sake of Eretz Yisrael: Tehillim 83, 130, 142

With Kavanah to awaken the merits of our Avot and Imot buried there, as well as our other ancestors: 16

With Kavanah for HaShem's help in these troubled times: 16, 20, 25, 26, 38, 54, 81, 85, 86, 87, 102, 130, 142, 143

With Kavanah to strike down the sinners: 139, 140, 141

With Kavanah for direct Heavenly involvement (for ultimately this is ALWAYS neccessary - HaShem alone controls the outcomes of all wars): 144

With Kavanah for TRUE Shalom: Tehillim 46

It is reccomended that all these be said, but of course every Perek Tehillim said with the proper Kavanah has an effect.

Also, we should all take this time to Daven for HaRav Yitzchak Khaduri shlita, who is seriously ill at the moment with pneumonia. His Hebrew name is Yitzchak ben Tufacha. Please say Tehillim 6, 30, 41, 88 and 103.

We must not lose hope - for Mashiach will come even in the darkest of hours. HaShem Yishmor!

Long Live the Youth of Israel!



Long Live the Youth of Israel!

by David Wilder

The Jewish Community of Hebron
January 16, 2006

The Jewish Community of Hebron has come under invasion by the Israeli police and other security forces. This morning, for the 2nd time in two days, dozens and dozens of police, border police and riot squad members invaded the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron.

The background: History - (See http://www.hebron.com/articles/murderedtwice.htm)


At the present:

Two weeks ago an expulsion order ultimatum was issued: Be out of the homes in the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood voluntarily by the 15th of January, or face forced expulsion, no later than the 15th of February. Hebron families refused to even consider evicting themselves from their homes.

Last week several hundred youth from all over Israel started coming into Hebron in order to show support and provide assistance to the community and the families threatened by expulsion. Being aware that the 15th of January was quickly approaching, and without any idea as to when the expulsion might be implemented, the Hebron community welcomed the youth with open arms. All help would be needed if the forces moved in. It is expected that thousands of police, soldiers and other special security forces will participate in the expulsion attempt, should it actually occur (G-d forbid.)

On Shabbat, the 14th of January, tensions ran high. The next day, Sunday, was the deadline. That next night could be D-Day. During the day several clashes were reported, between Israelis and Hebron Arabs, who started pelting people with rocks, and between Israelis and some of the security forces. During this incident an Israeli officer was hit and slightly wounded by a rock thrown by an Arab. This despite reports in the Israeli media that a Jew intentionally hit the officer with the rock. A weekly Shabbat tour of the Kasba was canceled at the last minute, with over 100 people waiting to participate. Some people started runing through the Kasba in reaction to the cancellation and this caused a brief confrontation with some of the security forces.

Saturday night: Some kids start a fire in an abandoned store. Hebron youth put the fire out.

Sunday: January 15 – tension filled the air. Would nine families find themselves without homes the next day. Late Sunday morning: a group of youth, walking through Hebron, passing Beit Hadassah in the direction of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood find the road blocked by Israeli soldiers, who refuse to let them pass. Among the security forces: Hebron military commander, Col. Motti Baruch. A discussion quickly becomes heated, voices are raised, push comes to shove. The kids want to know: why can't they keep walking? The pushing and shoving between the two sides gets rough. And then, suddenly, Col. Motti Baruch load his M-16 rifle, in the direction of the youth. All hell breaks loose.

Hebron leaders arrive at the scene and separate the two sides, pushing the youth away from the soldiers. Hebron police arrive and close off the street in both directions, declaring the gathering of youth 'illegal,' and threaten to start arresting people. The kids disappear and after a while the police leave. But the tension is so high you can cut it with a knife.

Sunday afternoon: Word filters out – the troops are on their way. A group of over 100 security forces, accompanied by horse-bound police march from Ma'arat HaMachpela to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. Marching in, they immediately take to the roofs of adjacent buildings and take down make-shift tents pitched in the neighborhood. They start chasing after some of the kids, snatching them, here and there. Several are arrested and dragged away. After a little while the action stops but the troops remain. It turns into a stand-off: the troops watching the kids on rooftops and the kids staring at the police. Every once in a while an egg lands close to one of the police. When some of the youth threaten to throw rocks, Hebron leaders call on them to stop. That's the way things remain for a few hours, until the police leave.

During the night: again, tense, but quiet.

Monday morning: January 16: calm and quiet blanket the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, site of the previous day's action. Some of the youth express a desire to head home.

Then, suddenly, late in the morning, again, word gets out: they're on their way again. The troops, the water cannon, the horses! This time over 150 people invade the neighborhood, making their way quickly into the courtyard. Riot squad members, running, break into the Beitar Guest House, and climb up to the roof. Other police line the walls of the neighborhood. Still others climb up other stairs, stationing themselves on people's porches and roofs. A chain of police line up on stairs leading to the Avraham Avinu synagogue and Beit Nachum v'Yehuda, preventing people from reaching them. After a short time the small neighborhood is full of uniformed invaders, who, after having taken up positions, do nothing else.

Why have they arrived? One of the commanders tells his troops: "we are here to show 'strength.'" When Noam Arnon asks an officer, 'what are you doing here – everything is quiet and under control?" he is ignored. When he demands to see a search warrant from police chief Ali Zammir, allowing him to break into the Beitar Guest House, which is private property, Zammir's response: "if you have a complaint, put it in writing and send it to me." The police break the locks on door's leading to building rooftops in order to take up positions. Who will pay for the damage? The police don't care.

For hours the police stand at their positions, doing nothing. Several arrests are reported, including that of a 12 year old girl who is dragged into a police van screaming for someone to stay with her, to no avail.

Finally, after hours of a second day of standoff, the security forces leave the neighborhood. Many riot squad members go down the road to Beit Hadassah and there too, stand outside, in a display of 'strength.' Eventually they too, leave.

It is clear that the primary reason for the day's police show is overtly provocative: The police, arriving en masse, hope to 'be attacked' by the 'violent hoodlums' thereby providing an excuse to beat and arrest them. However, the kids are too smart to fall into the trap. The police experience only cold and boredom.

Early Evening: Most of the youth have decided to leave. The expulsion is still pending. According to sources within the government, it will not be implemented for at least a couple of more weeks. The kids can take a break and come back again in a week or so, if they are still needed.

Many journalists asked: how can you put up with such 'violent hooligan's,' in their words. The answer is very simple. These youth are neither hoodlums or hooligans. Rather, they are some of the most ideologically motivated people in Israel today. These kids are true lovers of their land, of Eretz Yisrael. These youngsters are still crying the pain of expulsion from Gush Katif and the northern Shomron. Their hearts are still bleeding the wounds of our land being abandoned to our enemies. They hurt the hurt of thousands of homeless Jews, who committed no crime but to live in Gush Katif.

These youth want to prevent more expulsions, here in Hebron, and in Amona, and in other places throughout Judea and Samaria. Enough is enough! No more expulsions, no more homeless, no more abandoned Jewish property. Eretz Yisrael belongs to Am Yisrael, the Jewish people and no one, but no one, has the right to evict and expel Jews from their land.

And what about the excessiveness, the seeming violence?

Sixteen year-olds don’t react the same way as fifty year olds. Sometimes the reactions are exaggerated, but then again, remember what they are fighting for. In contrast, how many youth have been stabbed at Israeli nightclubs, due to 'love' or drugs or alcohol, or all three of the above? Dozens and dozens. Almost every weekend, another act of real violence, due to… a desire for what? For the good of our land, of our people, of our Torah?

When was the last time 'the troops were sent in' to prevent another stabbing, another murder? How many 'troops have been called in' to stop another terror attack, leaving more orphans and widows? How many troops are called up to prevent another Kasam missile from falling in Sderot?

Our youth, having witnessed people singing and dancing, hugging and kissing their expellers this summer in Gush Katif scream out: "NO MORE! We will not sing and dance with people who want to throw us out of our homes, off our land. They are the real criminals, not us!" And how right they are!

We should be proud that we have such youth, whose motivation stems, not from personal desire or gain, but from a true love and yearning for their land, a G-d given gift to our people.

Long live the youth of Israel!

The Mask Is Uncovered



BS"D

YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva

PARSHAT VAYECHI
14 Tevet, 5766/13-14 January, 2006



THE MASK IS UNCOVERED


"And the bewailing period passed, and Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's household, saying: If you please - if I have found favor in your eyes, speak now in the ears of Pharaoh, saying: My father had adjured me, saying behold I am about to die in my grave which I have dug for myself in the Land of Cana'an - there you are to bury me. Now I will go up, if you please, and bury my father, then I will return".

After the passing of the elder Jacob, Joseph makes his request to Pharaoh to bring Jacob's body back to the Land of Israel and to bury him in the cave of Machpela in Hevron.

A few questions need to be addressed: First, why is Joseph speaking to the house of Pharaoh, his secretary, and not directly to Pharaoh himself? Surely one who has the status of Joseph, second to the king, could go directly to the king and not through his secretary. Would the vice-president need to make an appointment to see the president? I think not. Second, why would Joseph, who had over the years literally saved the Egyptian economy and its people from starvation, and more than that, given over to Pharaoh ownership of almost all the land of Egypt, have to lower himself by practically begging Pharaoh to just let him go bury his father with the intention of returning right away to Egypt?Surely he must have built up some clout with the king for all that he has done, and could have asked for a few days
off?

I believe that the answer lies in the sentence after the funeral. When the brothers returned to Egypt: "And the brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, 'Perhaps Joseph will nurse hatred against us and then he will surely repay us all the evil that we did him'". Now why would the brothers think that Joseph would take revenge against them; surely all of that was in the past?

Rashi explains that they were accustomed to dine at Joseph's table and he would be friendly toward them, but once Jacob died he was not friendly toward them. The Midrash tells us that after Jacob died, the Egyptians began their subjugation of Israel. Joseph was worried that if he were to show favoritism toward his brothers, it would endanger them by increasing the Egyptians' hostility toward them.

Amazing as it seems that the hatred that the Egyptians had toward Israel was there all the time - just buried beneath the surface - as soon as the elder Jacob died, it all came out. Moreover, it all came out overnight. Within moments, all the goodness that Joseph had done for them over the years was quickly forgotten, so much so that Joseph, being sensitive to it, did not even go directly to Pharaoh, but thought to go through regular channels, and so his request to Pharaoh was in the form of begging.

The lesson is clear for all to see and hear, for that's how fast the tide turns in the exile: One day on top of the world, the next moment the real hatred that has always been there comes out.

But in the Land of Israel, with the Jewish people ruling their own destiny, this is not the way things are supposed to be, unless of course you bring the Galut home with you and act as if you still do not rule your own country. Thus, we find this week that the policies of the US continue to be dictated to us and shoved down our throats. And to show the new government in Israel that this is the way it is now, they did not even consult with Israel as they told the Arabs living in the State that they would be able to vote in the January 25 election in Jerusalem. Since this was the law laid
down to Israel, Ehud Olmert declared that he would allow the Arabs of Jerusalem to vote, and thus begin the process
of the division of Jerusalem, which is, of course, American policy. Could anyone imagine President Bush coming to the American people and telling them that he is allowing Al-Qaida to run in the US election?!

What a joke, but here we are being ordered to let Hamas run. How easy it is for an Olmert to be popular with the world by just doing all they tell him to do. The time has come for new leadership to arise in the Land, one that will not bow to world pressure, but will do what must be done for the good of the Land of Israel.


With love of Israel,
Levi Chazen


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Vayechi - "Fishy Blessings"


Vayechi: Fishy Blessings


Realizing that his death was not far off, Jacob gave his grandchildren, the sons of Joseph, the following blessing:

"May (God) bless the lads, and let them carry my name, along with the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. May they increase like fish in the land" [Gen. 48:16].


Yes, fish have astonishingly large families. But so do frogs and many other animals. Why were Joseph's children blessed to be like fish?

Furthermore, the phrase "increase like fish in the land" sounds like a very mixed-up metaphor. Fish do not thrive on land; they certainly do not increase there! What kind of blessing is this?

Immunity from the Evil Eye

The Talmud [Berachot 55b] explains that Joseph shared a special common quality with fish:

"The fish in the waters are concealed by the water, and thus not susceptible to the Evil Eye. So too, the descendants of Joseph are not susceptible to the Evil Eye."


What does it mean that Joseph was immune to the Evil Eye like the fish?

We explained previously that the Evil Eye is an example of hidden influences that exist between souls. An environment of jealousy and hatred can poison not only the atmosphere, but also the soul against whom they are directed. This, however, is only true for weaker souls that are easily influenced. The Evil Eye can only harm those whose sense of self-worth is not fully developed, people who need to live their lives in a way that meets the approval of foreign 'eyes.' But if we are secure within ourselves, and our life is focused on our inner truths, then we will not be susceptible to the Evil Eye of those around us. The Evil Eye has no power over those whose robust sense of self-esteem does not let others dictate what is truly important and worthwhile.

Why are fish immune to the Evil Eye?

Fish are not concerned with envious eyes above the water. They live in their own world below the surface, a secluded realm that determines the direction of their lives. Like the fish, Joseph remained faithful to his inner convictions, despite the external pressures and influences of his roller-coaster life. A foreign land, a foreign culture, family estrangement, slavery and imprisonment, temptations - none of these succeeded in leading Joseph astray. Even when he needed to contend with the hardest test of all - the incredible success, wealth, and power of Egyptian viceroy - Joseph was steadfast in his beliefs and inner convictions. Joseph remained true to his own inner world, despite his active participation in a vastly different outer world.

Just like a "fish in the land."

[adapted from Ein Ayah vol. II, pp. 275-6]

Read Divrei Torah by Rav Kook z"tl at: www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/

Rabin and Sharon: Their Journey’s End

Rabin and Sharon: Their Journey’s End

Written by Prof. Paul Eidelberg

What are we to say of a person who did not bewail the demise of Yitzhak Rabin, or who does not bemoan the political demise of Ariel Sharon—let him live to be 120? If such a person is deemed morally insensitive, must we not also deem morally insensitive those who ignore the fact that some 1,700 Jews were murdered by Arab terrorists as a result of the Oslo Agreement for which Yitzhak Rabin was primarily responsible, and that more than 1,000 of these Jews perished under the premiership of Ariel Sharon? And what of the tens of thousands of Jewish men, women, and children whose lives have been shattered as a result of the flawed policies of these two Prime Ministers?Never has Israel’s existence been so precarious, and never has this country been so degraded, as it is today, thanks primarily to the folly of these two men—who, as Prime Ministers, represented the Jewish State. But if they degraded the Jewish State, did they not thereby desecrate the Name of God? If so, must not their demise (whether physical or political) be ultimately understood in metaphysical terms?



As I see Israel, the key to their demise is to be found in their negation of the miracle of the Six-Day War. Alas, Rabin and Sharon represent a flawed generation, one that failed to translate into public policy Israel’s miraculous victory over the Arab-Islamic world.



To begin to appreciate that miracle, consider what historian Michael Oren says in Six Days of War (2002). On Day One, in little more than half an hour, the Israel Air Force destroyed 204 planes—half of Egypt’s air force—all but nine of them on the ground (while destroying six Egyptian air fields, four in Sinai and two in Egypt). “The Israelis were stunned. No one ever imagined that a single squadron could neutralize an entire air base.”



On Day Two, Col. Avraham Adan, watching the rout of the Egyptian army, was “stupefied.” “You ride past burnt-out vehicles and suddenly you see this immense army, too numerous to count, spread out of a vast area as far as your eyes can see … It was not a pleasant feeling, seeing that gigantic enemy and realizing that you’re only a single battalion of tanks.”



Moshe Dayan was no less puzzled: “Though Israel had gained command of the skies, Egypt’s cities were not bombed, and the Egyptian armored units at the front could have fought even without air support.” Gen. Avraham Yoffe said: “There was no planning before the war about what the army would do … not even a discussion. Nobody believed that we could have accomplished more or that the [Egyptian] collapse would be so swift.”



Oren quotes these generals and not once does he allude to how a religious soldier might have viewed the collapse of the Egyptian army. Secularism prevented him from quoting Leviticus 26:8: “Five of you shall chase away a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight …”



That miracle required the government—it was a national unity government—to declare Jewish sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, which the Israel Defense Forces conquered along with the Sinai and the Golan Heights. To better appreciate this miracle, a brief survey of contemporary events will show that Israel’s government could indeed have created a “Greater Israel.”

In June 1967 the United States was bogged down in Vietnam and was worried about Soviet expansion in the Middle East and penetration of the oil-rich Persian Gulf on which the entire economy of the U.S. depends. Egypt, Syria, and Libya were then Soviet clients. Israel’s stunning victory awakened Washington to Israel’s strategic value, for it resulted in the closing of the Suez Canal to the Soviet Black Sea fleet. Israel’s superb air force could also help protect NATO’s southern flank in the eastern Mediterranean.



America needed a strong and stable ally in the volatile region of the Middle East. Israel confined to its precarious 1949 armistice lines could hardly serve this function. In a declassified secret memorandum dated June 27, 1967, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended that Israel retain control of the Judean and Samarian mountain ridges overlooking its vulnerable population centers on the coastal plain, as well as control of Gaza, the Golan Heights, and a portion of the southern Sinai to secure Israel’s access to the Red Sea through the Strait of Tiran.



Viewed in this light, only a feckless and faithless government—it consisted of secular and religious Jews—would trivialize the metaphysical significance of Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War by not declaring Jewish sovereignty over the land conquered by the IDF. Instead, ten days after the war, the Government transmitted a proposal to Cairo and Damascus offering to return to the prewar borders for a peace agreement!



This made nonsense of the Six-Day War and of God’s Providence. But it remained for Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon to actively pursue a policy whose object was to undo that miracle.



Now let us pause and consider what Rabbi Akiva Tatz says about miracles in Worldmask (1995). “The purpose of miracles,” he writes, “is to benefit those who experience them.” Suffice to mention the parting of the sea at the time of the Exodus. Rabbi Tatz asks: “What would be the response of this generation if it were to witness a miraculous phenomenon? Most of us would respond by trying to find a natural explanation for it. And we would be held most culpable for that [attitude].”



This brings me back to Rabin and Sharon. In the 1992 election, Rabin promised the nation there would be no negotiation with the PLO. The following year he betrayed the nation by signing the Oslo Agreement. (See Ps. 101:7; Sanhedrin 103a.) He thus negated the miracle of the Six-Day War.



In the 2003 election, Sharon campaigned against Labor’s proposed withdrawal from Gaza. The following year he betrayed the nation by adopting Labor’s policy, which entails Israel’s withdrawal from most of Judea and Samaria. (See Ps. 101:7; Sanhedrin 103a.) Sharon glaringly negated the miracle of the Six-Day War.



Moreover, whereas Rabin referred to these areas as “tank land, not holy land,” Sharon referred to this land—specifically Gaza, Judea, and Samaria—as “occupied territory.” Rabin and Sharon spoke not as this or that Knesset member or cabinet minister: they spoke as Prime Ministers of the State. Theirs was a brazen and inexcusable denial of the Sinai Covenant.

Rabin, a general, was the reputed hero of the Six-Day War. Sharon, another general, was the reputed hero of the Yom Kippur War. Two generals, as Prime Ministers, denied the God of Israel in word and in deed. But what about the nation’s attitude toward these generals? While Rabin has been sanctified, Sharon has been lionized. What does this signify?



In poll after poll the nation (not without some justice) exalts the Israel Defense Forces above every other Israeli organization. The nation regards the IDF, not God, as the guardian of Israel. Yet the IDF, at the command of Sharon, expelled 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria. 25 flourishing communities were destroyed; synagogues were bulldozed.



It is in this light that we are to understand the demise of Rabin and Sharon. The people of Israel have depended on generals, indeed, on flawed human beings, for their security—and never has Israel been so insecure. The untimely end of these generals should teach us that Israel’s security depends ultimately on God. But that so many Israelis do not see this, that so many have failed to see the hand of God in the Six-Day War, and that so many attribute the fate of Rabin and Sharon to merely physical causes, bodes ill for Israel’s future.



But why this spiritual insensitivity of so many Israelis, especially of their ruling elites? May not the decadence of these elites be a reflection of basic shortcomings in the educators of this country—secular as well as religious?

Read this article and many more on www.revava.org

Is There all That Much to Cheer About...?

Ok, so Ben Gvir throws a party, everyone (including myself) is happy and relieved that yet another rasha is out of comission and will be unable to hurt our Nation again.

...But so what? There are plenty more out there you know. And after we suffer 100 or so days of Olmert's leftist bumbling and goyi-butt-licking, we'll have elections... and who will win? Probably the sell out Netanyahu - or less likely the extreme-socialist Peretz (as all the "Kadimaniks" throw themselves off the top of the Azrielli Mall in Tel Aviv, having already committed political suicide by putting all their eggs in the Sharon basket(case)!) ...And all the while Lapid drinks himself to sleep every night after having his seats cut by more than a half, Meretz continue to nash their self-hating teeth at every oportunity they get...

Meanwhile, the "Kahanists" can't stop arguing amongst themselves, the Chareidi parties are contemplating adding a new wing to their latest yeshiva ("if only we can squeeze some more money out of those tziyoinim! Ach - which Mitzvah shall we sell today!?"), and the NRP and NU are sitting dribbling in their (much decreased) chairs in the Knesset, after using all their limited brainpower to argue and fail to reach an agreement on a merger between their two hapless parties.

...and the arabs just have a big laugh at our stupidity.

If we don't pull our act together (and I mean specifically the Kahanists), we most certainly will have nothing to cheer about - because the time of Mashiach is nearing, and if we don't bring him through our merits then G-D will force him here - with all the painful consequences that follow in such a scenario...

Now is the perfect time. The hellenists have suffered a great loss - if we act now HaShem is certainly on our side!

HaShem Yishmor.
BS"D

YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva

PARSHAT VAYIGASH
7 Tevet, 5766/6-7 January, 2006


OH, YEAH, I LEFT BROOKLYN!

While driving over the Williams Bridge connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan in New York last month, a sign over the bridge caught my eye and I did a double-take. There, over the crossing, a sign stood out: "Oy Vey, I’m leaving Brooklyn". Of course, this sign was made to be cute, but pondering this for a moment it showed me just how comfortable the Jew is with his exile. Could a Jew really be saying that he is sad to be leaving Brooklyn? Incredible!

In my many trips to the U.S. I have found that too many religious Jews are just too satisfied, content, and happy with their lives in the exile and do not feel that something is missing. Do they take a moment to ponder that the exile was given to the Jewish people as a punishment, and the harshest of punishments at that? Obviously not, from the feeling that one gets from driving on a main street, with its Glatt Kosher restaurants from one end to the other, with their happy-go-lucky customers, without a care in the world. Or the display of Glatt Kosher tours being advertised fora wonderful Pesach in Bermuda, or Florida - anywhere but Israel. Still, there is a Planner, a Master in this world Who has been returning His children to their rightful home, and the exile will not last forever - and time is running out!

In this week's parsha, we find the Jews heading to the exile of Egypt and settling down there. This will become the symbol of all the exiles that the Jewish people will be in, and of how the Jew will not want to leave the exile's impurity until they are thrown out. "Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, they established holdings in it and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly".

The Kli Yakar comments on the verse, which will surely not be a topic of discussion by the local Rabbis, who will not risk their jobs by telling the people what he knows to be the truth. Surely, a safer topic from the parsha will be chosen for the sermon.

In any case, the Kli Yakar writes: This whole verse levels an accusation against the children of Israel. For G-d decreed: Your descendants will be foreigners (tempororary sojourners) - and they wished to be "toshavim" (permanent residents), when becoming sojourners had been decreed. Thus, the verse blames them for seeking possession of a land not theirs. So completely did they settle in, that they did not wish to leave Egypt, and Hashem had to take them out with a strong hand. Those who still did not wish to leave died in the three days of intense darkness.

If only the Jew would let the brilliant words of the Kli Yakar enter into his heart... The exile of Egypt set the stage for all the exiles that the Jew has been in and his refusal to leave any of them. Whether it was from Egypt, Babylonia, or from the exile of today, the Jew refuses to see, hear and understand, and so causes a very great Chilul Hashem by despising the land, while enjoying the exile to the hilt and sucking its bones dry.

In his introduction to his siddur, Rabbi Ya'acov Emden writes: "Not one in a thousand is aroused to take hold of it and settle there; only one per country and two per generation. No one pays it any heed or seeks to love it. No one seeks to know its welfare or looks forward to seeing it. We imagine that since we live in peace outside the Land of Israel, we have already found another "Eretz Israel" and "Jerusalem", like the first. This is the reason that Israel's dwelling in peace and great honor in Spain and other countries during the exile, was beset by so much misfortune and then banished from Spain until no remnant of Israel remained there."

How true are the words of the great Rabbi Emden, and how relevant they are to us today. Can anyone honestly say that if the majority of the Jews of the exile would be here in the Land, that things would not be different? Could there have been a "disengagement" if another million Jews had been living in Israel? Certainly, we would still be holding onto Gush Katif and Northern Samaria today, if our brothers and sisters would have been here!
Certainly, they share a large part of the guilt! It is time to see the exile for what it is, not the "promised land" but a punishment, a banishment from home. And now, as time ticks away, it is time to say: Leaving Brooklyn? Oh,
Yeah!

With love of Israel,
Levi Chazen


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Today we all know that Rabbi Kahane was right! Help spread the Jewish Idea -
Join the Jewish Idea's E-mail list and spread the word!
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BZK Memorial Event Tomorrow - Erev Heh Tevet/4th January



www.hameir.org/azkara

Memorial for Rabbi Binyamin and Talyia Kahane


This Wednseday, Jan. 4, at 6PM we will be holding the fifth Yahrzeit for
Rav Binyamin and Talyia Kahane

Speakers will include Rav Yitzhak Ginzberg and Rav Yisrael Ariel.

Rav Binyamin Zev Kahane continued the work of his father for ten years,
until he himself was murdered. He dedicated his life and his tremendous
talents to disseminating the Jewish Idea. Side by side with him stood his
wife who served as the cook of the yeshiva and a full-time secretary. Their
home was their office, which was a train station of activity. Their home
number was listed on the numerous publications they circulated. People
calling thought they were speaking to an office secretary, but they were
actually speaking to Talyia who literally put in a 24-hour day, in addition
to being a mother of six.

For more info please contact info@hameir.org

(or log onto the revava.org forum)

*******************************
Taliya Kahane, h"yd Honored

Last night was a special evening in Kfar Tapuach, as close to 200 women packed into the Jewish Heroes Museum to pay tribute to Taliya Kahane, h"yd. After a lecture by Rav Michael Ben Ari, friends and relatives of Taliya shared stories about her chesed and valor. Tzipi Kaplan (sister of Binyamin Kahane) described the chesed Talyia did in the one year she lived in Jerusalem, which included taking care of a blind neighbor, numberous visits to Rabbi Meir Kahane' s mother Sonya - and all this without affecting her role as a full-time secretary and aid to her husband Rav. Binyamin

Tomorrow, Jan 4, 5th Yahrzeit in Kfar Tapuach

Rav Yitzchak Ginsberg and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel will be speaking in Kfar Tapuach to honor the memories of Rav Binyamin and Taliya Kahane, h"yd. Ariel Zilber will provide musical accompanyment. Refreshments will be served.

And What If You Were There (By the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea)


(I know it is posted a day late now - Parashat Vayigash - but the message remains unchanged all the same)

BS"D

YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva

PARSHAT MIKETZ/CHANUKAH/ROSH CHODESH
30 Kislev, 5766/30-31 December, 2005


AND WHAT IF YOU WERE THERE....

Ever wonder how great it would be to be alive in the times of the Maccabees? Sitting around the campfire, eating latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts)... Exchanging presents and giving Chanukah gelt (money) to the kids... Oh, how I love this holiday. And how it falls out at the same time as the pagan holiday, why, that just adds to the wonderful atmosphere that there is at this time of the year, with great holiday sales going on all over... And wouldn’t you know it, why, there's Yehuda Maccabee walking down
the street now. Hey, what's that in his hand??? Oh my, a very big sword, now what on earth is he doing with that??? Oh my, he just chopped off the heads of the local Jewish Council. Oh my, why would he be doing that?? I better get out of here; come to think of it, I do not want to be here at all!

The holiday of Chanukah. Everyone loves it, and why not - it’s a nice holiday, the Jews get to eat, sing songs and play draidle. But if you lived in the time of the Chashmona'im, would you be one of the people that Yehuda and his brothers fought in their 25-year war against the Greeks - or would you be on the side of the few against the many? In truth, not many were.

More than any other holiday, Chanukah has lost its way. What once was a fight of the "tahurim"/the pure and just against the wicked - the light against the darkness - has turned into one big salad. Most people today who proudly show off their large chanukiyahs and eat their hot, oily latkes - would have found themselves on the other side of the sword, along with the Greeks running for their lives from the strong hand of the Maccabees.

Interestingly enough, we find that when our Rabbis, of blessed memory, wrote the "Al Hanissim" (On the miracles) which we recite in our daily prayer books during the days of Chanukah, they talk only about the war of the righteous against the wicked, the few against the many, good against evil. Strikingly absent is the most famous of all the Chanukah stories, the story of the small amount of oil that was found among the broken vessels and which lasted for eight days. How could our Rabbis of old leave out this most famous part of the Chanukah story?

The war against the Greeks in the Land of Israel was a very hard and bloody one, with tens of thousands of Jews being put to death by the hands of the Greeks and their mercenary army. Good people began to question if the war was really worth the huge cost. True, life under the the Greeks was unbearable, with yeshivas being closed down, Jews unable to keep Shabbat and holidays or any other aspect of Jewish life... as the Greeks tried to close down Jewish life as we know it. But still, with whole villages being razed by the Greeks, the thought came up that just maybe, the war was not really
worth the price.

With the liberation of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the answer came from on high. More than anything else, the miracle of the oil was Hashem's way of telling His people that this was the right direction - His seal of approval, so to speak, on what was going on in the battlefield. That is why our Rabbis did not place the miracle of the oil in the daily prayer books - because it came just to reinforce the main aspect of Chanukah, namely, the culture battle which the Maccabees waged against the Greeks.

The essence of Chanukah is the spirit of the Jew rising up for his religious freedom, a freedom without which it is certainly not worth living. For just to be as all the other nations, as the Greeks so much wanted the Jews to become, has absolutely no meaning. If the Maccabees stand for anything, it is that it is worth dying for the merit to live as a Torah Jew dedicated to the service of Hashem.

Now, which side of the fence would you be on if you lived in the time of the Maccabees?


With love of Israel,
Levi Chazen


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Today we all know that Rabbi Kahane was right! Help spread the Jewish Idea -
Join the Jewish Idea's E-mail list and spread the word!
jidea@netvision.net.il

Not Everyone is Included in the Four Species

From The Writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane in honor of Sukkot Organs of power at home joining the side of our enemy requires us t...