“Beware of what I command you today: Behold I drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivvite and the Jebusite. Be vigilant least you seal a covenant with the inhabitant of the land to which you come, lest it be a snare among you. Rather you shall break apart their altars, smash their pillars, and cut down its sacred trees. [...]Lest you seal a covenant with the inhabitant of the land, and they will stray after their gods and slaughter to their gods; and he will invite you and you will eat from his slaughter. And you will take their daughters for your sons, and their daughters will stray after their gods and entice your sons to stray after their gods.” (Ex. 34:11-16)
G-d established the Jewish People as a holy nation, chosen, treasured and lofty, His select anointed. Their task was to accept the yoke of His kingdom, sanctify His name on earth as Supreme King and subjugate their pride, selfishness and evil impulse by accepting and preserving G-d's attributes and values, His laws, judgments and statutes.
G-d knew that such a nation could not maintain its perfection unless it were set apart from the foreign culture of the nations.
G-d, therefore, established for His holy nation a holy land. It would be a vessel to house the Jewish People and their society, the Torah state G-d obligated them to create, and to separate them from the straying nations and their culture which both errs and leads others astray. After all, whatever separates between Israel and the nations necessarily separates between holiness and the non-holy.
Thus, Eretz Yisrael, once Israel were chosen to be G-d's people, became the only holy place on earth, while all other lands are impure. G-d established this distinction, because He wished His people Israel to be set apart from the rest of the nations. He, therefore, established that the Divine Presence would not rest outside of Eretz Israel, that there would be no blessing for the Jewish People except in Eretz Yisrael itself, and that all holiness and all mitzvot would be confined to Eretz Yisrael. It is clear that even inside Eretz Yisrael, G-d wished Israel to be set apart from the non-Jew and from his culture and wished the Land to be free of their influence.
There are two components to this separation.
On the one hand, Israel must leave the exile and live only in their special land, lest they be influenced by the nations and their culture. On the other hand, even in Eretz Yisrael itself, Israel must separate themselves from that evil culture.
Regarding Eretz Yisrael [...], non-Jews are divided up into two groups. The first is non-Jewish nations who were in the Land when Israel arrived there to conquer and occupy it. The second is all the rest of the non-Jewish nations, including idolaters, descendants of Noah, and foreigners and alien residents. The Torah saw a twofold danger in the nations who dwelt in the Land before Israel arrived to conquer it, namely the seven Canaanite nations. On the one hand, like all the nations, the Canaanites constituted a spiritual danger to Israel, who had been commanded to establish a Divine, Torah-oriented state in Eretz Yisrael, isolated and set apart from the abominations of alien cultures.
Moreover, the Canaanites posed a unique danger in that they viewed Israel as conquerors who had taken their land. They would hate Israel forever and would forever dream of revenge and seek opportunities for reconquest. Following is the great commentator Abarbanel (on Ex. 34:11-12, see top of article):
Verses 11-12 inform us that since G-d is driving out the Amorites and the other nations, it is improper for Israel to forge a covenant with them. If a nobleman helps someone by fighting his battles and banishing his enemies, it is morally inappropriate for that person to make peace with them without that nobleman's permission. So, too, with G-d driving out Israel's enemies, it is inappropriate for Israel to forge a covenant with them, for that would profane G-d's glory.
This is especially so considering that this friendship and this covenant will not succeed. With Israel having taken their land, there is no doubt that they will constantly seek Israel's downfall. This is why it is said, “[the land] where you are coming.” Since Israel came to the land and took it from its inhabitants, and they feel that is has been stolen from them, how will they make a covenant of friendship with you? Rather the opposite will occur. “They will be a fatal trap for you.” When war strikes you, they will join your enemies and fight you.
How exalted and true are Abarbanel's words! This is the real reason for the approach taken by Halachah to the seven nations. G-d understood the mentality of these nations. He knew that they would view Israel as conquerors and thieves and would forever relate to them with resentment and hatred.
The Torah explicitly commanded, at least regarding driving out the Land's inhabitants, because if they remains via a peace treaty, they will become “barbs in your eyes... causing you troubles in the Land.” (Num. 33:55. Not in vain are the words “yerushah” - inheritance, and “horashah”- driving out, so similar in Hebrew. G-d knew that without driving out the nations of the Land, the Land would not be an inheritance for them. Rashi explained the same way: (on Num, 33:52-53):
“Vehorashtem”: Drive them out. “Vehorashtem et ha'aretz”: If you first “clear out the Land of its inhabitants”, then - “viyeshavtem bah” - you will be able to survive in it.
Otherwise, you will be unable to survive in it.
And Or HaChaim writes (Ibid., v. 55):
“They shall cause you troubles in the land” (Num. 33:55): Not only will they hold on to the part of the land that you have not taken, but the part which you have taken and settled as well. “They shall cause you trouble” regarding the part that you live in, saying, “Get up and leave it.”
Here is the plain truth before us, and it will defeat those who warp and distort the Torah. The Torah commanded us not to hesitate about annihilating the nations in the Land, lest they harbor enmity and seek revenge for Israel's taking the land they viewed as their own. Certainly, Israel did take it from them, but that has no importance, because G-d, Master of all the earth, promised the Jewish People – and them alone – the Land. G-d “uproots some inhabitants and brings in others” (Pesikta deRav Kahana, page 123). G-d uprooted the Canaanites and brought in Israel, “that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws. Praise the L-rd!” (Ps. 105:45).
It follows that those same laws that applied to the seven nations apply to all the nations that live in Eretz Yisrael in every age. This includes those of our day, who view Eretz Yisrael as their own land and soil, and who view the Jewish People as a nation of conquerors, robbers and thieves. That same danger looms over the Jewish People and its control over Eretz Yisrael in our time as then.
After all, what difference is there as far as G-d's warning that “those who remain shall be barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, causing you troubles in the Land” (Num. 33:55), between the seven nations and between any nation that dwells in the Land, views it as its own, and then Israel come and conquer it from them? Surely, it will feel that same hatred and that same fierce will for revenge as did the seven nations, as explained by Abarbanel (quoted above).
This logic appears already in Or HaChaim (on Num. 33:52):
“You must drive out”: Although the verse said of the seven nations, “You shall not allow any people to remain alive” (Deut. 20:16), here, the Torah is talking about other nations found there besides the seven. It therefore was careful to say, “all the Land's inhabitants,” meaning, even those not of the seven.
Any fair and honest person, who has accepted G-d's yoke upon himself, knows from simple logic that this is the truth, that today's Ishmaelites – as far as their dwelling in the Land – are considered like the seven nations (and in this regard, lacking any reason to distinguish between the seven nations and others, the same laws apply).
As far as the seven nations, inhabitants of the Land, we learn (Jerusalem Talmud, Shevi'it 6:1):
Joshua sent three proclamations to Eretz Yisrael before Israel entered the Land: “Whoever wishes to leave, should leave; to make peace, should make peace; to make war, should make war.”
Joshua gave the seven nations three choices:
to leave the Land, to fight – and if so, to be killed – or to make peace, via absolute surrender, with taxes, slavery and abandonment of idolatry, steps constituting an admission that the L-rd is G-d, Supreme King of Kings, that He has given their land, the Land of Canaan, to His people Israel, and that henceforth it is Eretz Yisrael.
It seems clear that the possibility of “making peace” was given to these nations only before Israel entered the Land. After all, if they agreed to peace only after Israel entered and began to be victorious and conquer the Land, then their overture was obviously insincere and motivated only by fear. We must then suspect that they are only waiting for the right moment to revolt.
Tosafot adds:
The option to “make peace” must have only been available before Joshua began his first war. Rahab, too, accepted Judaism upon herself before they started the war. R. Yehuda and R. Shimon argued only about whether Canaanites outside the borders could be accepted afterwards.
Yet those within the Land could not be accepted once Joshua had started the war, and “You shall not allow any people to remain alive” applied to them. Their options were either to fight and die or to flee the Land. Once again, this was for the simple reason that we do not believe them, due to the clear, reasonable suspicion that those who fought and only after defeat proclaimed their desire to make peace, are not sincere. They are doing it only out of fear, because they have no choice.
It is patently clear that for that same reason, we cannot tolerate the Ishmaelites' presence today in Eretz Yisrael. Not only did they not submit before the war began in which they were defeated, but they murdered, burnt and tried to wipe out the Jews who arrived in Eretz Yisrael years and decades beforehand. In this way they are no different form the seven nations.
Clearly, the Ishmaelites, too, think that Israel, who arrived in the Land and wished to establish a Jewish state there, are thieves.
They, too, will always harbor resentment against Israel and will never resign themselves to us, but will await the “right moment” to rebel.
As for their ostensibly having submitted nowadays, that is only out of fear and the inability to claim victory for the time being. Moreover, their “submission” lacks legal force, because according to G-d's decree, any non-Jew given the right to ask to live in Eretz Yisrael must accept hard and fast conditions in accordance with the Halachah, namely tribute and servitude.
This applies whether he is actually from the seven nations or classed as such (i.e. those in the Land before Israel arrived to take it from them), and assumes that he asks before war breaks out. It also applies where he is from another nation, i.e. from outside the Land. The reason for these conditions is both because of the danger he poses to Israel's security and the danger of his influencing Israel with his alien culture.
The conditions are as follows: 1) acceptance of the status of ger toshav, resident alien, with abandonment of idolatry and acceptance of the seven Noahide laws; 2) tribute 3) servitude.
Because an argument has arisen among medieval scholars regarding [the status of] ger toshav, let us leave it aside until we explain the two others, tribute and servitude, regarding which all agree that without these, a non-Jew cannot live in Eretz Yisrael. As the Torah explains, these two conditions are the main ones applying to the non-Jew who wishes to dwell in Eretz Yisrael, because these serve to ensure in advance the security of the Jewish commonwealth. Thus, either the enemy is banished or annihilated, or subjugated through tribute and servitude. This is why in Deuteronomy 20, where the Torah discusses the laws of conquest, it first sets forth these two conditions. If there is no security, Israel will be unable to establish a stable regime as a center of Torah and holiness.
The question of peace in the Middle East is a question of the Arabs and the world acknowledging the total sovereignty of the Almighty. There can be no compromise on this. It is only a peace that comes with Arabs submitting to the yoke of the heavenly kingdom that will be a permanent one and the Jew who gives up part of his land as a compromise, violates the entire purpose of the rise of the Jewish State and the demand of the Almighty that the nations acknowledge Him as King. There can be no retreat from land because that is in essence a retreat also from the Kingship of the L-rd.
No, not hatred of the other nations, but and understanding and deep assurance of belief that the Jews are indeed the blessed recipients of Divine truth; that that truth is a thing to be studied and acted upon and lived every moment of the Jew's life and that he and his children and theirs must live in a society of Divine holiness that is unique and untouched or influenced by the profanity and commonness of the other nations. Not hatred for others, but deep pride and thanksgiving that we are the Chosen.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D, last two paragraphs excerpted from an article (couldn't identify it now) from Barbara Ginsberg's blog "Rabbi Meir Kahane's writings" and from Rav Kahane's "Uncomfortable questions for comfortable Jews".
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Shabbat Hagadol - Before Redemption - Rav Meir Kahane
(From the Haftarah)... For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the wicked people and all the evildoers will be like straw... (Malachi 3:19)
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of Hashem. And he will turn back [to G-d] the hearts of fathers with [their] sons and the hearts of sons with their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction. (Malachi 3: 23,24)
Then you will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves G-d and one who does not serve Him. (Malachi 3:18)
Before us, then, there is a fundamental principle regarding the future of the Jewish People:
Redemption can come by one of two ways. If we merit it, through repentance and deeds worthy of it – especially faith and trust in G-d, without fear of the non-Jew – it can come through G-d hastening it, quickly, immediately, “today, if we hearken to His voice”. Not only will it come quickly, but with glory and majesty, without the suffering or Messianic birth pangs of which both Ula and Rabbah said (Sanhedrin 98b), “Let it come without my seeing it”. If we do not merit this, however, then the Messiah will certainly come and the Redemption with him, but only later on, “in its time”. This redemption will be accompanied, G-d forbid, by the terrible suffering of Chevlei Mashiach, Messianic birthpangs.
We seem to have two contradictory redemption processes before us; [...] but there is no contradiction. Rather, both are possibilities. That is, either can happen, but not both. As for which it will be, that depends on the Jewish People and their deeds. If they prove worthy, they will merit redemption “in haste”, glorious and majestic, without Messianic birth pangs.
Otherwise, a different process will occur, a process that does not have to be – complete redemption through unparalleled suffering, and all because of our sins and our stubbornness. Only the blind and those who refuse to see will fail to understand that today we are right at the very heart of the Ikveta DeMeshicha, “the footsteps of the Messiah”, the beginning of the redemption.
This State of Israel is the beginning of G-d's wrath against the nations who do not know Him and who have profaned His name with scorn and derision.
Yet, it is clear that a redemption whose beginning is based exclusively on redemption “in its time”, on, “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel” (Ezek. 36:22), on, “Not for your sake do I do this, says the L-rd G-d. Be it known unto you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel (Ezek. 36:32) has concealed within it tragedies and Messianic suffering from the Supreme King of Kings; and whoever says that G-d concedes shall concede his life (Bava Kamma 50a).
There will be no “hasty” redemption (Isaiah 60:22), glorious and majestic, devoid of dreadful suffering, unless the Jewish people return to their Father in Heaven, accept His yoke, and chiefly, unless they trust in Him completely and are ready to sanctify His name through self-sacrifice. The redemption which began despite our sins in order to sanctify G-d's name before the nations in might and splendor, has, in the hands of an “ungrateful, unwise nation” (Deut. 32:6), turned into a profanation and a blasphemy carried out precisely by those whom G-d sought to redeem. If the beginning of the redemption and the state served to sanctify G-d's name, then the only way to move on to “hasty” redemption is to continue reinforcing the Kiddush Hashem which the state's very establishment constituted. The Divine imperative is continued Kiddush Hashem through trusting in G-d, and liquidating the Chilul Hashem without fear of the non-Jew, without fear of flesh and blood. Every retreat, every submission, every concession to the non-Jew, every hand raised against the Jew, every attack, let alone murder, of a Jew in the Land, every taunt and curse by a non-Jew in the Land is a Chilul Hashem. Now, instead of continuing to reinforce the Kiddush Hashem process, the Jewish people retreat and profane G-d's name.
Whoever does not allow Jews to live everywhere in the Land, whoever ties their hands and prevents their taking the revenge of G-d and Israel against the nations who curse and revile G-d, profanes G-d's name and profanes the great miracle and the powerful dream realized by G-d at the start of the redemption.
A time will come when G-d sees that to the nations and most of Israel, it seems that “His power is gone” - He is impotent. He will see that for many Jews and non-Jews, He is “nothing”, non-existent, Heaven forbid. For many others who pay lip service to His existence, He will appear “hindered”, powerless to act, a king “caught in tresses” (Song of Songs, 7:7), without connection or relevance to the world. He will see that there are masses of Jews who keep rituals, who keep the practical mitzvot by rote, yet who in times of danger, at the moment of truth, abandon their faith and trust in G-d. For them, G-d will become like one “abandoned”, and no Chilul Hashem could be greater. G-d will then wish to sanctify His great name, transformed by faithless heretics to “nothing, hindered, and abandoned.”
Listen well, my friend, to a great axiom of redemption. Ostensibly, those who ridiculed the mourners of Zion, who mocked those who believed in redemption, were the nations. Clearly this is so, yet also countless Jews do not believe, and they ridicule those who look forward to redemption, and, in general, the whole concept of redemption and the Messiah.
Do not let your brother, friend or the rabbi to whom you feel closest lead you astray by saying that redemption will come without suffering or tragedy, for that is impossible without repentance and trust in G-d through bold deeds without fear of the nations.
Redak's quotation from Isaiah is part of the following (Isaiah 26:20-21):
Come, My people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a brief moment until the wrath is past. For the L-rd shall leave His abode to punish the earth's inhabitants for their sin. With this, G-d informs Israel that before redemption comes, before G-d leaves His abode to punish the nations for their sin, there will be a moment of wrath; that is, a period of wrath and suffering. This clearly is referring to the war of Gog and Magog.
Although it says, “Hide yourself for a brief moment”, and Redak commented that they would “suffer briefly”, woe to us for that brief moment, for it will include Jerusalem's conquest and accompanying atrocities, [...] and the nations' conquest of Eretz Israel for nine months, and in G-d's eyes, that, too will constitute just a “brief moment”. Who can measure the suffering and anguish which that moment will generate, if it comes through redemption “in its time”? All the same G-d, Who has control over time and place, has the power to transform that “moment” into a very short time, if redemption comes “in haste”. This is a major principle regarding the Messianic birthpangs, and we must not forget it.
If Israel heed G-d's voice and follow in His ways, He will subdue Gog and Israel's enemies “kim'at”, like the kim'at rega, the “brief moment” of Isaiah 26:20. Then, redemption will come quickly and “forever”.
Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, says Hashem, Master of Legions… (Malachi 3:7)
And this is a repetition of the same promise that is given in Zechariah 1:3, in a tremendous oath! The redemption will come to the extent that we long for it and demand it.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of Hashem. And he will turn back [to G-d] the hearts of fathers with [their] sons and the hearts of sons with their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction. (Malachi 3: 23,24)
Then you will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves G-d and one who does not serve Him. (Malachi 3:18)
Before us, then, there is a fundamental principle regarding the future of the Jewish People:
Redemption can come by one of two ways. If we merit it, through repentance and deeds worthy of it – especially faith and trust in G-d, without fear of the non-Jew – it can come through G-d hastening it, quickly, immediately, “today, if we hearken to His voice”. Not only will it come quickly, but with glory and majesty, without the suffering or Messianic birth pangs of which both Ula and Rabbah said (Sanhedrin 98b), “Let it come without my seeing it”. If we do not merit this, however, then the Messiah will certainly come and the Redemption with him, but only later on, “in its time”. This redemption will be accompanied, G-d forbid, by the terrible suffering of Chevlei Mashiach, Messianic birthpangs.
We seem to have two contradictory redemption processes before us; [...] but there is no contradiction. Rather, both are possibilities. That is, either can happen, but not both. As for which it will be, that depends on the Jewish People and their deeds. If they prove worthy, they will merit redemption “in haste”, glorious and majestic, without Messianic birth pangs.
Otherwise, a different process will occur, a process that does not have to be – complete redemption through unparalleled suffering, and all because of our sins and our stubbornness. Only the blind and those who refuse to see will fail to understand that today we are right at the very heart of the Ikveta DeMeshicha, “the footsteps of the Messiah”, the beginning of the redemption.
This State of Israel is the beginning of G-d's wrath against the nations who do not know Him and who have profaned His name with scorn and derision.
Yet, it is clear that a redemption whose beginning is based exclusively on redemption “in its time”, on, “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel” (Ezek. 36:22), on, “Not for your sake do I do this, says the L-rd G-d. Be it known unto you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel (Ezek. 36:32) has concealed within it tragedies and Messianic suffering from the Supreme King of Kings; and whoever says that G-d concedes shall concede his life (Bava Kamma 50a).
There will be no “hasty” redemption (Isaiah 60:22), glorious and majestic, devoid of dreadful suffering, unless the Jewish people return to their Father in Heaven, accept His yoke, and chiefly, unless they trust in Him completely and are ready to sanctify His name through self-sacrifice. The redemption which began despite our sins in order to sanctify G-d's name before the nations in might and splendor, has, in the hands of an “ungrateful, unwise nation” (Deut. 32:6), turned into a profanation and a blasphemy carried out precisely by those whom G-d sought to redeem. If the beginning of the redemption and the state served to sanctify G-d's name, then the only way to move on to “hasty” redemption is to continue reinforcing the Kiddush Hashem which the state's very establishment constituted. The Divine imperative is continued Kiddush Hashem through trusting in G-d, and liquidating the Chilul Hashem without fear of the non-Jew, without fear of flesh and blood. Every retreat, every submission, every concession to the non-Jew, every hand raised against the Jew, every attack, let alone murder, of a Jew in the Land, every taunt and curse by a non-Jew in the Land is a Chilul Hashem. Now, instead of continuing to reinforce the Kiddush Hashem process, the Jewish people retreat and profane G-d's name.
Whoever does not allow Jews to live everywhere in the Land, whoever ties their hands and prevents their taking the revenge of G-d and Israel against the nations who curse and revile G-d, profanes G-d's name and profanes the great miracle and the powerful dream realized by G-d at the start of the redemption.
A time will come when G-d sees that to the nations and most of Israel, it seems that “His power is gone” - He is impotent. He will see that for many Jews and non-Jews, He is “nothing”, non-existent, Heaven forbid. For many others who pay lip service to His existence, He will appear “hindered”, powerless to act, a king “caught in tresses” (Song of Songs, 7:7), without connection or relevance to the world. He will see that there are masses of Jews who keep rituals, who keep the practical mitzvot by rote, yet who in times of danger, at the moment of truth, abandon their faith and trust in G-d. For them, G-d will become like one “abandoned”, and no Chilul Hashem could be greater. G-d will then wish to sanctify His great name, transformed by faithless heretics to “nothing, hindered, and abandoned.”
Listen well, my friend, to a great axiom of redemption. Ostensibly, those who ridiculed the mourners of Zion, who mocked those who believed in redemption, were the nations. Clearly this is so, yet also countless Jews do not believe, and they ridicule those who look forward to redemption, and, in general, the whole concept of redemption and the Messiah.
Do not let your brother, friend or the rabbi to whom you feel closest lead you astray by saying that redemption will come without suffering or tragedy, for that is impossible without repentance and trust in G-d through bold deeds without fear of the nations.
Redak's quotation from Isaiah is part of the following (Isaiah 26:20-21):
Come, My people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a brief moment until the wrath is past. For the L-rd shall leave His abode to punish the earth's inhabitants for their sin. With this, G-d informs Israel that before redemption comes, before G-d leaves His abode to punish the nations for their sin, there will be a moment of wrath; that is, a period of wrath and suffering. This clearly is referring to the war of Gog and Magog.
Although it says, “Hide yourself for a brief moment”, and Redak commented that they would “suffer briefly”, woe to us for that brief moment, for it will include Jerusalem's conquest and accompanying atrocities, [...] and the nations' conquest of Eretz Israel for nine months, and in G-d's eyes, that, too will constitute just a “brief moment”. Who can measure the suffering and anguish which that moment will generate, if it comes through redemption “in its time”? All the same G-d, Who has control over time and place, has the power to transform that “moment” into a very short time, if redemption comes “in haste”. This is a major principle regarding the Messianic birthpangs, and we must not forget it.
If Israel heed G-d's voice and follow in His ways, He will subdue Gog and Israel's enemies “kim'at”, like the kim'at rega, the “brief moment” of Isaiah 26:20. Then, redemption will come quickly and “forever”.
Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, says Hashem, Master of Legions… (Malachi 3:7)
And this is a repetition of the same promise that is given in Zechariah 1:3, in a tremendous oath! The redemption will come to the extent that we long for it and demand it.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Parashat Metzora – Insights from Rav Meir Kahane's 'Peirush HaMaccabee'
The Kohen shall command; and for the person being purified there shall be taken two live, clean birds; cedar wood, crimson thread, and hyssop. (Lev. 14:4)
The Kohen has to take two birds, and slaughter one of them such that its blood drips into an earthenware vessel with flowing water, and dip cedar-wood, hyssop, crimson thread, and the other bird into the flowing water which is mixed with the blood of the slaughtered bird. He then sprinkles this over the metzora (“leper”) or the house seven times, after which the live bird is set free.
Now the whole subject of the metzora carries tremendous morals: the Talmud says: These afflictions come because of seven things: lashon ha-ra’, blood-shed, swearing false oaths, sexual immorality, arrogance, robbery, and stinginess (Arakhin 16a).
A person who sinned by committing robbery and being stingy is condemned to sitting alone outside of the camp, thereby losing money because he is unable to work; and sometimes, his house becomes afflicted and has to be destroyed.
And if he shed blood, he is reminded of this sin by having the bird’s blood sprinkled over him;
he is afflicted with bodily suffering as a punishment for having afflicted bodily suffering on someone else.
As a punishment for pursuing sexual immorality he becomes physically repulsive, such that no woman will want him.
As a punishment for having spoken lashon ha-ra’ and thereby causing division among people, he is now divided from everyone else and dwells alone.
It goes further: he guarded his tongue neither from lashon ha-ra’ nor from swearing falsely; so the Talmud says, What makes the metzora unique, that the Torah commands him to bring two birds to purify himself? – G-d said: His actions were the actions of a chatterer, therefore the Torah enjoins him to bring [birds which are] chatterers as a sacrifice (Arakhin 16b). And for his sin of arrogance he brings the wood of the cedar tree, one of the tallest and proudest of all trees, together with hyssop, one the smallest of all plants, on which the Midrash explains: Why is the metzora cleansed with the tallest of the tall and the lowliest of the lowly?... – Because he is afflicted with tzara’at for having aggrandised himself like a cedar tree; so when he humbles himself like a hyssop, he is cured (Pesikta Rabbati, Parah 14, 60b). The sinner thereby purifies his sin which was as red as the crimson thread and makes it as white as snow. It seems to me that his arrogance is the source of all his sins, and all the other sins are a result of it, as I shall show immediately.
These two birds represent important concepts. The Torah commands him to bring two birds, live and pure (Leviticus 14:4), which the Midrash expounds upon: Rabbi Yosé the Galilean says: Specifically a bird which lives outside of town. And which bird is this? – A swallow (Sifra, Metzora 5:14). And the Sifra further says: The birds must be live, and not slaughtered; pure, and neither impure…nor non-kosher (ibid. 1:12). The swallow, whose Hebrew name is צִפּוֹר הַדְּרוֹר, tzippor ha-dror (literally “bird of freedom”) which must be a clean fowl, serves to symbolise the person: every person is born pure, clean of all sin, unblemished; like the swallow, the tzippor ha-dror, the bird of freedom, free to go in any direction he desires, free to choose good or evil. If he does good, he will live and receive his just reward; and if he does evil, he will be punished. And the way to achieve the good is through humility and modesty, whereas arrogance and callousness lead to denying G-d and shaking off His yoke. And this being the case, it is good for a person to be modest and humble and quiet, not to raise his voice and his head – because what is he? – Dust and ashes, decay and maggots! And what are we?! (Exodus 16:7). G-d will punish anyone who transgresses His commandments, thereby transforming his pure and beautiful and wondrous soul into something ugly. And since it is impossible to see the ugliness of a soul, G-d afflicts him with tzara’at, making him physically ugly for all to see, symbolising the ugliness of his soul (and sometimes, G-d afflicts only his garments or his house, for him to see his soul reflected therein). And he – this man who wanted to aggrandise himself above all others – is then forced to humble himself, to dwell in solitude, this man – who wanted only bodily pleasures – suffers bodily afflictions. Thus he takes two birds; one of them he slaughters, and the other one he sets free. Two birds, symbolising his free choice – good or evil.
The Abravanel comments there: The purpose here is to indicate that both the birds were previously alive – and at G-d’s command and word one of them died. Such it is with humans: one can fall sick and die, while another one remains alive. Everything depends upon G-d’s decree. And this is why He commanded [the Kohen] to slaughter the bird into earthenware vessels, alluding to the human who is as an earthenware vessel, fashioned by the hands of the Potter, blessed be He… And the bird is slaughtered over flowing water in the vessel to symbolise the Torah…because the bird who was slaughtered died because of the Torah which was not kept properly… And the Torah says that in the end “he shall send out the live bird free over the field” (Leviticus 14:7) – that is to say, to roam free in its natural habitat – symbolising that the purified person returns to the camp, there to roam free as and when he pleases, no longer to be confined.
And I would add to this final detail that what this means is that he is hereby given a new opportunity for free will – if he will only learn his lesson.
Source: "Peirush HaMaccabee" on Shemot, Chapter 2, English translation by Daniel Pinner
The Kohen has to take two birds, and slaughter one of them such that its blood drips into an earthenware vessel with flowing water, and dip cedar-wood, hyssop, crimson thread, and the other bird into the flowing water which is mixed with the blood of the slaughtered bird. He then sprinkles this over the metzora (“leper”) or the house seven times, after which the live bird is set free.
Now the whole subject of the metzora carries tremendous morals: the Talmud says: These afflictions come because of seven things: lashon ha-ra’, blood-shed, swearing false oaths, sexual immorality, arrogance, robbery, and stinginess (Arakhin 16a).
A person who sinned by committing robbery and being stingy is condemned to sitting alone outside of the camp, thereby losing money because he is unable to work; and sometimes, his house becomes afflicted and has to be destroyed.
And if he shed blood, he is reminded of this sin by having the bird’s blood sprinkled over him;
he is afflicted with bodily suffering as a punishment for having afflicted bodily suffering on someone else.
As a punishment for pursuing sexual immorality he becomes physically repulsive, such that no woman will want him.
As a punishment for having spoken lashon ha-ra’ and thereby causing division among people, he is now divided from everyone else and dwells alone.
It goes further: he guarded his tongue neither from lashon ha-ra’ nor from swearing falsely; so the Talmud says, What makes the metzora unique, that the Torah commands him to bring two birds to purify himself? – G-d said: His actions were the actions of a chatterer, therefore the Torah enjoins him to bring [birds which are] chatterers as a sacrifice (Arakhin 16b). And for his sin of arrogance he brings the wood of the cedar tree, one of the tallest and proudest of all trees, together with hyssop, one the smallest of all plants, on which the Midrash explains: Why is the metzora cleansed with the tallest of the tall and the lowliest of the lowly?... – Because he is afflicted with tzara’at for having aggrandised himself like a cedar tree; so when he humbles himself like a hyssop, he is cured (Pesikta Rabbati, Parah 14, 60b). The sinner thereby purifies his sin which was as red as the crimson thread and makes it as white as snow. It seems to me that his arrogance is the source of all his sins, and all the other sins are a result of it, as I shall show immediately.
These two birds represent important concepts. The Torah commands him to bring two birds, live and pure (Leviticus 14:4), which the Midrash expounds upon: Rabbi Yosé the Galilean says: Specifically a bird which lives outside of town. And which bird is this? – A swallow (Sifra, Metzora 5:14). And the Sifra further says: The birds must be live, and not slaughtered; pure, and neither impure…nor non-kosher (ibid. 1:12). The swallow, whose Hebrew name is צִפּוֹר הַדְּרוֹר, tzippor ha-dror (literally “bird of freedom”) which must be a clean fowl, serves to symbolise the person: every person is born pure, clean of all sin, unblemished; like the swallow, the tzippor ha-dror, the bird of freedom, free to go in any direction he desires, free to choose good or evil. If he does good, he will live and receive his just reward; and if he does evil, he will be punished. And the way to achieve the good is through humility and modesty, whereas arrogance and callousness lead to denying G-d and shaking off His yoke. And this being the case, it is good for a person to be modest and humble and quiet, not to raise his voice and his head – because what is he? – Dust and ashes, decay and maggots! And what are we?! (Exodus 16:7). G-d will punish anyone who transgresses His commandments, thereby transforming his pure and beautiful and wondrous soul into something ugly. And since it is impossible to see the ugliness of a soul, G-d afflicts him with tzara’at, making him physically ugly for all to see, symbolising the ugliness of his soul (and sometimes, G-d afflicts only his garments or his house, for him to see his soul reflected therein). And he – this man who wanted to aggrandise himself above all others – is then forced to humble himself, to dwell in solitude, this man – who wanted only bodily pleasures – suffers bodily afflictions. Thus he takes two birds; one of them he slaughters, and the other one he sets free. Two birds, symbolising his free choice – good or evil.
The Abravanel comments there: The purpose here is to indicate that both the birds were previously alive – and at G-d’s command and word one of them died. Such it is with humans: one can fall sick and die, while another one remains alive. Everything depends upon G-d’s decree. And this is why He commanded [the Kohen] to slaughter the bird into earthenware vessels, alluding to the human who is as an earthenware vessel, fashioned by the hands of the Potter, blessed be He… And the bird is slaughtered over flowing water in the vessel to symbolise the Torah…because the bird who was slaughtered died because of the Torah which was not kept properly… And the Torah says that in the end “he shall send out the live bird free over the field” (Leviticus 14:7) – that is to say, to roam free in its natural habitat – symbolising that the purified person returns to the camp, there to roam free as and when he pleases, no longer to be confined.
And I would add to this final detail that what this means is that he is hereby given a new opportunity for free will – if he will only learn his lesson.
Source: "Peirush HaMaccabee" on Shemot, Chapter 2, English translation by Daniel Pinner
Monday, March 28, 2011
Shabbat HaChodesh - Do you trust G-d? - Rav Meir Kahane
On the tenth of this month, every man must take a lamb for each extended family, a lamb for each household... Hold it in safekeeping until the fourteenth day of this month. The entire community of Israel shall then slaughter [their sacrifice] in the afternoon. They must take the blood and place it on the two doorposts and on the beam above the door... Eat the meat during the night, roasted over the fire. Eat it with matzah and bitter herbs. Do not eat it raw of cooked in water, but only roasted over fire, including its head, legs and internal organs.
(From this week's Maftir reading, Ex. 12:3, 6-9)
The whole Passover sacrifice in Egypt revolved around trusting in G-d and sanctifying His Name in face of terrifying dangers. After all, the lamb was an Egyptian idol. The Egyptians “revered” and worshiped it, and it was holy to them. One can imagine their wrath when they saw how the Israelites were taking it and degrading it by tying it to the bedpost from the tenth to the fourteenth of the month, and then slaughtering it and consuming it festively.
By all rules of logic, the Egyptians should have been expected to attack and annihilate the Israelites. Let every Jew who stays in the exile ponder what the nations would do to Jews living under their rule if those Jews were to publicly treat their faith with contempt. Yet precisely such faith and trust did G-d demand of Israel – faith and trust that He could defend them against their foes.
Following is Mechilta (Bo, Mesechet DePischa, 5):
“Hold it in safekeeping” (Ex. 12:6): Why was this said? Because it says, “Take for yourselves sheep” (Ex. 12:21), Israel said to Moses, “Could we sacrifice the sacred animal of the Egyptians before their very eyes and not have them stone us?” (Ex. 8:22). Moses responded, “From G-d's miracle for you when you took the sheep [ i.e., the Egyptians' inability to do anything while you bond their deity for four days], you can deduce G-d's reaction when you slaughter it.
And Pesikta DeRav Kahana teaches (Parashat HaChodesh, page 55):
This teaches that they were tied to the Israelites' bed posts starting from the tenth of the month, and the Egyptians would come in and see them, and become incensed. R. Chiyah, son of R. Ada of Jaffa said, “Take for yourselves sheep” (Ex. 12:21): “Every Israelite must take an Egyptian god and slaughter it before an Egyptian, and let whoever is angered by it, speak.”
In remembrance of this bitachon [trust] and Kiddush Hashem, and by virtue of it, G-d split the Jordan for Israel, and its merit protected them in Haman's day, for everything Israel did with the lambs indicated their trust in G-d. Following is Pesikta DeRav Kahana (Ibid.): “The taking of the lamb stood by them at the Jordan, and its consumption protected them in Haman's day.”
Moreover, G-d established the steps involved in the Passover sacrifice in remembrance of the greatest bitachon that there could have been – our Forefather Abraham's readiness to slaughter his son Isaac at Mount Moriah. Following is Midrash Chadash on the Torah (220, quoted in Torah Shleimah, Ex. 12:6, letter 70):
In accordance with Abraham's response to “Take your son”(Gen. 22:2), so did G-d tie the ram for him at that very moment [i.e., when G-d saw that Abraham was ready to trust Him and slaughter his son, He immediately prepared and bound the ram to replace Isaac]. Abraham delayed for three days, as it says, “On the third day” (Gen. 22:4). G-d therefore said to Israel, “Go early and tie the animal as of the tenth, so that you will be remembered before Me like your ancestors.”
Thus, true trust in G-d by the Jewish people is tied exclusively to their self-sacrifice in face of danger of death. This expresses itself also in G-d's command that they place the lamb blood on the two doorposts and the beam above the door. Here, there is a controversy over whether they placed the blood on the outside or on the inside. In Mechilta (Ibid., 6), R. Yishmael and R. Natan comment that the blood was placed on the inside, yet R. Yitzchak differs, saying, “Certainly they put it on the outside, so the Egyptians would see it and become livid with anger.” Yonatan translated verse 12:7 according to R. Yitzchak, saying, “They shall take of the blood and place it on the two doorposts and the beam above the door, from the outside.”
All this was to magnify our trust in G-d while we were provoking the Egyptians. This is also the reason for the manner of consuming the sacrifice, commanded by the Torah: “Do not eat it raw ... but only roasted over fire (Ex. 12:9). Following is Da'at Zekenim MiBa'alei HaTosafot (Ex. 12:9):
Ibn Ezra interpreted G-d as saying: “Since you are sacrificing the deity of Egypt, you might say, 'Let us not roast it fully, lest the Egyptians notice'.
It therefore says, 'Do not eat it raw.'
Lest you say, 'Let us cook it and hide it in a pot,'
it therefore says, 'Do not cook it in water'(Ibid.).
Lest you say, 'Let us cut off the head and legs to make it unrecognizable,'
it therefore says, 'including its head, legs and internal organs' (Ibid.).” Clearly, G-d wished to establish for Israel the principle of trusting in Him against all the power of mortal man. He wished to emphasize that there is no power on earth that can stand up to Israel when Israel does G-d's will, and that we should not fear the nations at all, even the strongest king or kingdom.
A fundamental principle of trust in G-d is that complete faith and trust in G-d include a person's readiness to sacrifice himself, to give up his life, for the sake of Kiddush Hashem, where such a duty exists. Many righteous, G-d fearing people who indeed trust in G-d, have succumbed in this matter of completeness of trust in G-d, i.e., regarding their readiness to sacrifice their lives for this trust. Even Aaron the Kohen, holy from the womb, the first Kohen Gadol of Israel, who was the symbol of faith and trust in G-d, as we shall see, failed in this matter of self-sacrifice, such that he needed rectification for what was lacking.
Shemot Rabbah (41:7):
At that moment [when Israel sought to fashion an idol because Moses was delayed], Chur faced them and said, “Headless people [referring to their having no memory, or having incurred a death penalty]! Do you not remember what miracles G-d performed for you?” They immediately accosted him and killed him. Then they turned to Aaron ... and said: “Just as we did to that one, so shall we do to you.” When Aaron saw that it was so, he feared, as it says (Ex. 32:5), “Aaron saw and he built an altar [mizbe'ach] before him.” What is meant by “mizbe'ach”? “Motivated by the slaughtered one [min hazavuach] before him.”
Aaron had a reason for doing this.
As our sages said (Sanhedrin 7a):
Aaron saw Chur lying slaughtered before him, and he said, “If I do not heed them, they will now do to me what they did to Chur. Through me will be fulfilled (Lam. 2:20), 'Shall a Kohen and Prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the L-rd?' and their sin will never be rectified. Better they should worship the calf. Perhaps they will find atonement through repentance.”
Even so, Aaron sinned by doing this.
This is the substantive difference between Aaron and Chur. Certainly, both trusted in G-d, but Chur trusted in G-d completely. Such trust includes willingness to sacrifice one's life for G-d's name and for the sake of preventing His name from being profaned. Chur took hold of this faith and trust and it led him to perfection: he sacrificed his life for Kiddush Hashem.
By that same merit, G-d chose precisely Betzalel to construct the Tabernacle, the earthly seat of perfection. Certainly Betzalel was not chosen because of his artistry or expertise, for he was only thirteen at the time, as our sages said (Sanhedrin 69b), and he lacked experience in craftsmanship. Yet it says in Shemot Rabbah, 48:8, “'I have filled him with a Divine spirit [and with wisdom]' (Ex. 31:3): Where was all this wisdom from? From G-d. And all of Betzalel's Divine spirit ... and understanding were from G-d as well.”
Rather, he was chosen by virtue of his grandfather Chur, who sacrificed his life for Kiddush Hashem, thereby demonstrating complete and perfect faith. Betzalel, therefore merited to construct the complete and pure place where the Divine Presence was confined. This was the reason it says, “I have selected Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah” (Ibid., v.2).
Only very rarely does the Torah mention someone's father and grandfather. The reason for it here, however, is that Chur's name had to be mentioned, for only by his merit was the thirteen year-old lad selected to be the architect of the Tabernacle.
Most certainly, when G-d [...] decrees that we must perform some deed, one must not look for reasons, however pious they may be, not to do that deed. Rather, if G-d or Jewish law requires us to fulfill some decree, then we must sanctify His Name and sacrifice our lives for it, this being the fullest expression of Kiddush Hashem and bitachon. It says, (Lev. 22:32-33), “Do not profane My holy name. I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I am the L-rd who is making you holy and bringing you out of the Land of Egypt,” and our sages comment (Torat Kohanim, Emor, 9), “Sacrifice yourself and sanctify My Name,” and (Ibid.), “I took you out of Egypt on condition that you sacrifice yourselves to sanctify My Name.”
Self-sacrifice is the ultimate proof of trust in G-d, it is bitachon in its fullest form. Let a Jew not evade his duty, claiming that today there is no Divine revelation, no heavenly voice or prophecy of any other sort by which G-d could decree the need for an act of self-sacrifice. Surely, the whole Torah, all the deeds of our ancestors and of the judges and prophets, and the words of our sages, were meant to be a lamp unto our feet and to show us the path we must follow. These deeds and G-d's ways were set down in our sages' homiletics as eternal guidelines, presenting our duty regarding how we must act when there is no Divine Revelation.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
(From this week's Maftir reading, Ex. 12:3, 6-9)
The whole Passover sacrifice in Egypt revolved around trusting in G-d and sanctifying His Name in face of terrifying dangers. After all, the lamb was an Egyptian idol. The Egyptians “revered” and worshiped it, and it was holy to them. One can imagine their wrath when they saw how the Israelites were taking it and degrading it by tying it to the bedpost from the tenth to the fourteenth of the month, and then slaughtering it and consuming it festively.
By all rules of logic, the Egyptians should have been expected to attack and annihilate the Israelites. Let every Jew who stays in the exile ponder what the nations would do to Jews living under their rule if those Jews were to publicly treat their faith with contempt. Yet precisely such faith and trust did G-d demand of Israel – faith and trust that He could defend them against their foes.
Following is Mechilta (Bo, Mesechet DePischa, 5):
“Hold it in safekeeping” (Ex. 12:6): Why was this said? Because it says, “Take for yourselves sheep” (Ex. 12:21), Israel said to Moses, “Could we sacrifice the sacred animal of the Egyptians before their very eyes and not have them stone us?” (Ex. 8:22). Moses responded, “From G-d's miracle for you when you took the sheep [ i.e., the Egyptians' inability to do anything while you bond their deity for four days], you can deduce G-d's reaction when you slaughter it.
And Pesikta DeRav Kahana teaches (Parashat HaChodesh, page 55):
This teaches that they were tied to the Israelites' bed posts starting from the tenth of the month, and the Egyptians would come in and see them, and become incensed. R. Chiyah, son of R. Ada of Jaffa said, “Take for yourselves sheep” (Ex. 12:21): “Every Israelite must take an Egyptian god and slaughter it before an Egyptian, and let whoever is angered by it, speak.”
In remembrance of this bitachon [trust] and Kiddush Hashem, and by virtue of it, G-d split the Jordan for Israel, and its merit protected them in Haman's day, for everything Israel did with the lambs indicated their trust in G-d. Following is Pesikta DeRav Kahana (Ibid.): “The taking of the lamb stood by them at the Jordan, and its consumption protected them in Haman's day.”
Moreover, G-d established the steps involved in the Passover sacrifice in remembrance of the greatest bitachon that there could have been – our Forefather Abraham's readiness to slaughter his son Isaac at Mount Moriah. Following is Midrash Chadash on the Torah (220, quoted in Torah Shleimah, Ex. 12:6, letter 70):
In accordance with Abraham's response to “Take your son”(Gen. 22:2), so did G-d tie the ram for him at that very moment [i.e., when G-d saw that Abraham was ready to trust Him and slaughter his son, He immediately prepared and bound the ram to replace Isaac]. Abraham delayed for three days, as it says, “On the third day” (Gen. 22:4). G-d therefore said to Israel, “Go early and tie the animal as of the tenth, so that you will be remembered before Me like your ancestors.”
Thus, true trust in G-d by the Jewish people is tied exclusively to their self-sacrifice in face of danger of death. This expresses itself also in G-d's command that they place the lamb blood on the two doorposts and the beam above the door. Here, there is a controversy over whether they placed the blood on the outside or on the inside. In Mechilta (Ibid., 6), R. Yishmael and R. Natan comment that the blood was placed on the inside, yet R. Yitzchak differs, saying, “Certainly they put it on the outside, so the Egyptians would see it and become livid with anger.” Yonatan translated verse 12:7 according to R. Yitzchak, saying, “They shall take of the blood and place it on the two doorposts and the beam above the door, from the outside.”
All this was to magnify our trust in G-d while we were provoking the Egyptians. This is also the reason for the manner of consuming the sacrifice, commanded by the Torah: “Do not eat it raw ... but only roasted over fire (Ex. 12:9). Following is Da'at Zekenim MiBa'alei HaTosafot (Ex. 12:9):
Ibn Ezra interpreted G-d as saying: “Since you are sacrificing the deity of Egypt, you might say, 'Let us not roast it fully, lest the Egyptians notice'.
It therefore says, 'Do not eat it raw.'
Lest you say, 'Let us cook it and hide it in a pot,'
it therefore says, 'Do not cook it in water'(Ibid.).
Lest you say, 'Let us cut off the head and legs to make it unrecognizable,'
it therefore says, 'including its head, legs and internal organs' (Ibid.).” Clearly, G-d wished to establish for Israel the principle of trusting in Him against all the power of mortal man. He wished to emphasize that there is no power on earth that can stand up to Israel when Israel does G-d's will, and that we should not fear the nations at all, even the strongest king or kingdom.
A fundamental principle of trust in G-d is that complete faith and trust in G-d include a person's readiness to sacrifice himself, to give up his life, for the sake of Kiddush Hashem, where such a duty exists. Many righteous, G-d fearing people who indeed trust in G-d, have succumbed in this matter of completeness of trust in G-d, i.e., regarding their readiness to sacrifice their lives for this trust. Even Aaron the Kohen, holy from the womb, the first Kohen Gadol of Israel, who was the symbol of faith and trust in G-d, as we shall see, failed in this matter of self-sacrifice, such that he needed rectification for what was lacking.
Shemot Rabbah (41:7):
At that moment [when Israel sought to fashion an idol because Moses was delayed], Chur faced them and said, “Headless people [referring to their having no memory, or having incurred a death penalty]! Do you not remember what miracles G-d performed for you?” They immediately accosted him and killed him. Then they turned to Aaron ... and said: “Just as we did to that one, so shall we do to you.” When Aaron saw that it was so, he feared, as it says (Ex. 32:5), “Aaron saw and he built an altar [mizbe'ach] before him.” What is meant by “mizbe'ach”? “Motivated by the slaughtered one [min hazavuach] before him.”
Aaron had a reason for doing this.
As our sages said (Sanhedrin 7a):
Aaron saw Chur lying slaughtered before him, and he said, “If I do not heed them, they will now do to me what they did to Chur. Through me will be fulfilled (Lam. 2:20), 'Shall a Kohen and Prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the L-rd?' and their sin will never be rectified. Better they should worship the calf. Perhaps they will find atonement through repentance.”
Even so, Aaron sinned by doing this.
This is the substantive difference between Aaron and Chur. Certainly, both trusted in G-d, but Chur trusted in G-d completely. Such trust includes willingness to sacrifice one's life for G-d's name and for the sake of preventing His name from being profaned. Chur took hold of this faith and trust and it led him to perfection: he sacrificed his life for Kiddush Hashem.
By that same merit, G-d chose precisely Betzalel to construct the Tabernacle, the earthly seat of perfection. Certainly Betzalel was not chosen because of his artistry or expertise, for he was only thirteen at the time, as our sages said (Sanhedrin 69b), and he lacked experience in craftsmanship. Yet it says in Shemot Rabbah, 48:8, “'I have filled him with a Divine spirit [and with wisdom]' (Ex. 31:3): Where was all this wisdom from? From G-d. And all of Betzalel's Divine spirit ... and understanding were from G-d as well.”
Rather, he was chosen by virtue of his grandfather Chur, who sacrificed his life for Kiddush Hashem, thereby demonstrating complete and perfect faith. Betzalel, therefore merited to construct the complete and pure place where the Divine Presence was confined. This was the reason it says, “I have selected Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah” (Ibid., v.2).
Only very rarely does the Torah mention someone's father and grandfather. The reason for it here, however, is that Chur's name had to be mentioned, for only by his merit was the thirteen year-old lad selected to be the architect of the Tabernacle.
Most certainly, when G-d [...] decrees that we must perform some deed, one must not look for reasons, however pious they may be, not to do that deed. Rather, if G-d or Jewish law requires us to fulfill some decree, then we must sanctify His Name and sacrifice our lives for it, this being the fullest expression of Kiddush Hashem and bitachon. It says, (Lev. 22:32-33), “Do not profane My holy name. I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I am the L-rd who is making you holy and bringing you out of the Land of Egypt,” and our sages comment (Torat Kohanim, Emor, 9), “Sacrifice yourself and sanctify My Name,” and (Ibid.), “I took you out of Egypt on condition that you sacrifice yourselves to sanctify My Name.”
Self-sacrifice is the ultimate proof of trust in G-d, it is bitachon in its fullest form. Let a Jew not evade his duty, claiming that today there is no Divine revelation, no heavenly voice or prophecy of any other sort by which G-d could decree the need for an act of self-sacrifice. Surely, the whole Torah, all the deeds of our ancestors and of the judges and prophets, and the words of our sages, were meant to be a lamp unto our feet and to show us the path we must follow. These deeds and G-d's ways were set down in our sages' homiletics as eternal guidelines, presenting our duty regarding how we must act when there is no Divine Revelation.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
Monday, March 21, 2011
Parashat Shemini - The Meaning of Life - Rav Meir Kahane
The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them. A fire came forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died before Hashem. (Lev. 10:1-2)
Dear friend, open your mouth wide and I will fill it with a major, albeit harsh, principle from the Torah of life: Since life on this earth is only a vestibule for the banquet hall which is the World-to-Come, only an instrument of G-d whose purpose is to bring man and the world to holiness and the yoke of G-d's kingdom, and since true life occurs only in the World-to-Come, the world of truth, it follows that in order to attain this goal and teach people fundamental lessons, G-d sometimes shortens peoples' lives.
Sometimes, those who pass away are righteous, innocent persons, even children and infants, and the fools and the “dead” who move around among us see in it only cruelty, or even lack of logic, direction and Divine conduct in the world.
Life was given to man as a loan, a loan that he must pay off when the time comes, and that he is not entitled to refuse. As our sages said (Avot, end of Ch. 4):
Perforce you were formed and perforce you were born; perforce you live, perforce you shall die, and perforce you have to give a strict account before the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
The two sons of R. Meir and his wife Beruriah died. Our sages describe how Beruriah acted before revealing the tragedy to her husband (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei 964):
Beruriah set food before R. Meir. After he had eaten she said, “Master, I have a question to ask. Someone previously gave me a deposit to take care of for him. Now he has come to reclaim it. Should I return it or not?” R. Meir replied, “Daughter, if someone has a deposit, is he not obligated to return it to its owner?” She then said, “I would not return it without your knowledge.”
Taking his hand, she brought him up to the bedroom. She pulled back the bed sheets and he saw his two sons lying there deceased. He began to cry and said, “My sons, my sons! My teachers, my teachers! My sons in proper behavior. My teachers in that they would enlighten me with their Torah.” At that moment she said, “Master, did you not tell me that we must return a deposit to its owner? 'The L-rd gave and the L-rd has taken away. Blessed be the name of the L-rd' (Job 1:21).”
Life is nothing but a deposit from G-d. It is decreed that one should live a specific length of time, and during that time he should fulfill the mission incumbent on him. Like anyone guarding a deposit, a person must guard his life, neither damaging nor making improper use of it. When the time comes, he must return it to its owner.
Man's life on earth is exceedingly short; it passes in the blink of an eye.
On the one hand, it is qualitatively of enormous importance, for only through it can a person fulfill the duty for which he was created.
On the other hand, however, how brief and transient life is! It is compared to “the potsherd that breaks, the grass that withers, the flower that fades, the shadow that passes, the cloud that vanishes, the breeze that blows, the dust that floats, the dream that flies away” (U'Netaneh Tokef).
Our true, eternal existence is in the World-to-Come, not here on earth. As our sages said (Avot 4:16), “This world is like a vestibule before the World-to-Come. Prepare yourself in the vestibule so that you may enter the banquet hall.”
This carries both encouragement and a warning, and we must assimilate the whole message with pure acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. A person must understand his mission on earth and the idea that life was given only to fulfill that mission. He must understand how brief and transient life is and how much emptiness pervades it. Once he understands these things, he will recognize that he need not fear either the day or moment of death as long as he pursues life by accepting the yoke of Heaven and being constantly ready to sanctify G-d's name through self-sacrifice. If someone has attained immortality by doing G-d's will, what does he lose if he suddenly leaves this world? One should not delude oneself into viewing longevity as an end in itself. The main thing is life's quality: how a person lives. Does he attain true life as defined by G-d? When a person exists on this earth without accepting the yoke of Heaven and without readiness to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, that is not “life” at all, but a bestial existence.
By contrast, if someone's life was cut off in its prime through his sacrificing himself, that person was alive before, he is still alive now, and he will remain alive forever in the World-to-Come. The wise person who understands G-d's ways and Torah will thus never fear. He will always be ready to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, and precisely in this way, to continue living.
When G-d wishes to demonstrate how great, awesome and just He is, He shows no favoritism even to the righteous. He killed the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous (and not only did He kill them, but He took their souls on the most joyous and holy day, that of the Tabernacle's dedication). What great suffering was caused to Aaron, their father, and Elisheva, their mother!
Dear reader, let us consider our grave duty to fear G-d. As explained above, G-d will sometimes take a person before his time to teach a profound idea that will sanctify His name. G-d's doing so involves no cruelty whatsoever. On the one hand, life on this earth is short and fleeting. It is not eternal. If someone dies young, as much as a tragedy it is for his relatives and friends, he is really only leaving this earth a few years before he would have anyway.
On the other hand, someone whom G-d kills to teach that person's nation and contemporaries and the world a Divine lesson that will sanctify G-d's name, thereby ascends to greatness. Our sages said (Vayikra Rabbah 2:1), “Ten things are called precious... From whence do we know that the death of the saintly is among them? It says, 'Precious in the sight of the L-rd is the death of His saints' (Ps. 116:5).” Thus, those saints who die to sanctify G-d's name are precious, and their death is precious.
G-d suffered greatly for having killed Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous. As our sages said (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:23):
“Nadab and Abihu died before the L-rd” (Num. 3:4): The Torah's mentioning their death in several places teaches that G-d was sorrowful because Aaron's sons were dear to Him. Likewise it says, “I will be sanctified through those close to Me (Lev. 10:3).
Vayikra Rabbah (20:10) says, “The death of Nadab and Abihu was twice as hard on G-d as it was on their father.” R. Eliezer HaModai says (Sifri, Pinchas 137):
Consider how dear the righteous are before G-d. Wherever it mentions their death it mentions the sin that led to it as well. Why does it go to such lengths? To avoid giving mankind the pretext to say that righteous men died because they had acted corruptly in secret. Thus, in four places it mentions the death of Aaron's sons, and in each it mentions their sin to make known that they had no sin but this.
One should be aware that in all four places where G-d mentions Nadab and Abihu's sin, He points to the strange fire that they brought in the Holy of Holies. This was their sin, as noted in previous sources.
When they saw the fire descend, they became excited and followed their own Halachah that it was a mitzvah to bring regular fire as well. They wished to stress the connection between G-d's holiness and that of man. At the root of all this was their desire to enter the Holy of Holies, to commune there with G-d, and to offer an incense that would be accepted.
Although Nadab and Abihu were righteous and wished to come close to G-d, the outcome of their deed was the diminishing of G-d's glory and of Israel's reverence for Him. Hence G-d made Nadab and Abihu an eternal example, an everlasting reminder of the crucial principle that we must demonstrate fear of G-d through reverence for the Temple: This is what G-d meant when He said, 'I will be sanctified through those close to Me, and thus glorified before all the people.' Aaron remained silent (Lev. 10:3). Besides the general reverence all are obligated to feel, there are concrete limitations on a persons' entering the Temple, depending on who he is. If he is and Israelite, his being pure or impure has a bearing, as does the type of impurity, itself. If he is and ordinary Kohen, his being physically blemished, not cutting his hair or wearing torn clothes has a bearing. If he is the Kohen Gadol, he faces other limitations when he enters the Holy of Holies once each year.
Although the reason for these limitations is the levels of holiness within these boundaries, entering in opposition to that holiness indicates a lack of fear of G-d, the levels of holiness having been fixed chiefly so man would experience that fear.
What emerges from all this is that G-d gave us life to perform a specific task, and created man to fulfill that task and bring the world holiness, purity, humility, fear of Heaven and acceptance of G-d's yoke. This being the case, when the times demand it, G-d might also remove someone from this earth to teach a specific idea. We need not mourn such a person. Rather we must stand silently as did Aaron and accept sentence. We must transcend our natural sorrow and be joyful about this exalted soul.
G-d's holy ones are likewise adored and lauded through this, for by their early deaths they complete their role on this wretched earth in holiness and acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, and there is nothing greater than that. No exit from this earth could be more exalted.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D
Dear friend, open your mouth wide and I will fill it with a major, albeit harsh, principle from the Torah of life: Since life on this earth is only a vestibule for the banquet hall which is the World-to-Come, only an instrument of G-d whose purpose is to bring man and the world to holiness and the yoke of G-d's kingdom, and since true life occurs only in the World-to-Come, the world of truth, it follows that in order to attain this goal and teach people fundamental lessons, G-d sometimes shortens peoples' lives.
Sometimes, those who pass away are righteous, innocent persons, even children and infants, and the fools and the “dead” who move around among us see in it only cruelty, or even lack of logic, direction and Divine conduct in the world.
Life was given to man as a loan, a loan that he must pay off when the time comes, and that he is not entitled to refuse. As our sages said (Avot, end of Ch. 4):
Perforce you were formed and perforce you were born; perforce you live, perforce you shall die, and perforce you have to give a strict account before the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
The two sons of R. Meir and his wife Beruriah died. Our sages describe how Beruriah acted before revealing the tragedy to her husband (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei 964):
Beruriah set food before R. Meir. After he had eaten she said, “Master, I have a question to ask. Someone previously gave me a deposit to take care of for him. Now he has come to reclaim it. Should I return it or not?” R. Meir replied, “Daughter, if someone has a deposit, is he not obligated to return it to its owner?” She then said, “I would not return it without your knowledge.”
Taking his hand, she brought him up to the bedroom. She pulled back the bed sheets and he saw his two sons lying there deceased. He began to cry and said, “My sons, my sons! My teachers, my teachers! My sons in proper behavior. My teachers in that they would enlighten me with their Torah.” At that moment she said, “Master, did you not tell me that we must return a deposit to its owner? 'The L-rd gave and the L-rd has taken away. Blessed be the name of the L-rd' (Job 1:21).”
Life is nothing but a deposit from G-d. It is decreed that one should live a specific length of time, and during that time he should fulfill the mission incumbent on him. Like anyone guarding a deposit, a person must guard his life, neither damaging nor making improper use of it. When the time comes, he must return it to its owner.
Man's life on earth is exceedingly short; it passes in the blink of an eye.
On the one hand, it is qualitatively of enormous importance, for only through it can a person fulfill the duty for which he was created.
On the other hand, however, how brief and transient life is! It is compared to “the potsherd that breaks, the grass that withers, the flower that fades, the shadow that passes, the cloud that vanishes, the breeze that blows, the dust that floats, the dream that flies away” (U'Netaneh Tokef).
Our true, eternal existence is in the World-to-Come, not here on earth. As our sages said (Avot 4:16), “This world is like a vestibule before the World-to-Come. Prepare yourself in the vestibule so that you may enter the banquet hall.”
This carries both encouragement and a warning, and we must assimilate the whole message with pure acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. A person must understand his mission on earth and the idea that life was given only to fulfill that mission. He must understand how brief and transient life is and how much emptiness pervades it. Once he understands these things, he will recognize that he need not fear either the day or moment of death as long as he pursues life by accepting the yoke of Heaven and being constantly ready to sanctify G-d's name through self-sacrifice. If someone has attained immortality by doing G-d's will, what does he lose if he suddenly leaves this world? One should not delude oneself into viewing longevity as an end in itself. The main thing is life's quality: how a person lives. Does he attain true life as defined by G-d? When a person exists on this earth without accepting the yoke of Heaven and without readiness to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, that is not “life” at all, but a bestial existence.
By contrast, if someone's life was cut off in its prime through his sacrificing himself, that person was alive before, he is still alive now, and he will remain alive forever in the World-to-Come. The wise person who understands G-d's ways and Torah will thus never fear. He will always be ready to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, and precisely in this way, to continue living.
When G-d wishes to demonstrate how great, awesome and just He is, He shows no favoritism even to the righteous. He killed the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous (and not only did He kill them, but He took their souls on the most joyous and holy day, that of the Tabernacle's dedication). What great suffering was caused to Aaron, their father, and Elisheva, their mother!
Dear reader, let us consider our grave duty to fear G-d. As explained above, G-d will sometimes take a person before his time to teach a profound idea that will sanctify His name. G-d's doing so involves no cruelty whatsoever. On the one hand, life on this earth is short and fleeting. It is not eternal. If someone dies young, as much as a tragedy it is for his relatives and friends, he is really only leaving this earth a few years before he would have anyway.
On the other hand, someone whom G-d kills to teach that person's nation and contemporaries and the world a Divine lesson that will sanctify G-d's name, thereby ascends to greatness. Our sages said (Vayikra Rabbah 2:1), “Ten things are called precious... From whence do we know that the death of the saintly is among them? It says, 'Precious in the sight of the L-rd is the death of His saints' (Ps. 116:5).” Thus, those saints who die to sanctify G-d's name are precious, and their death is precious.
G-d suffered greatly for having killed Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous. As our sages said (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:23):
“Nadab and Abihu died before the L-rd” (Num. 3:4): The Torah's mentioning their death in several places teaches that G-d was sorrowful because Aaron's sons were dear to Him. Likewise it says, “I will be sanctified through those close to Me (Lev. 10:3).
Vayikra Rabbah (20:10) says, “The death of Nadab and Abihu was twice as hard on G-d as it was on their father.” R. Eliezer HaModai says (Sifri, Pinchas 137):
Consider how dear the righteous are before G-d. Wherever it mentions their death it mentions the sin that led to it as well. Why does it go to such lengths? To avoid giving mankind the pretext to say that righteous men died because they had acted corruptly in secret. Thus, in four places it mentions the death of Aaron's sons, and in each it mentions their sin to make known that they had no sin but this.
One should be aware that in all four places where G-d mentions Nadab and Abihu's sin, He points to the strange fire that they brought in the Holy of Holies. This was their sin, as noted in previous sources.
When they saw the fire descend, they became excited and followed their own Halachah that it was a mitzvah to bring regular fire as well. They wished to stress the connection between G-d's holiness and that of man. At the root of all this was their desire to enter the Holy of Holies, to commune there with G-d, and to offer an incense that would be accepted.
Although Nadab and Abihu were righteous and wished to come close to G-d, the outcome of their deed was the diminishing of G-d's glory and of Israel's reverence for Him. Hence G-d made Nadab and Abihu an eternal example, an everlasting reminder of the crucial principle that we must demonstrate fear of G-d through reverence for the Temple: This is what G-d meant when He said, 'I will be sanctified through those close to Me, and thus glorified before all the people.' Aaron remained silent (Lev. 10:3). Besides the general reverence all are obligated to feel, there are concrete limitations on a persons' entering the Temple, depending on who he is. If he is and Israelite, his being pure or impure has a bearing, as does the type of impurity, itself. If he is and ordinary Kohen, his being physically blemished, not cutting his hair or wearing torn clothes has a bearing. If he is the Kohen Gadol, he faces other limitations when he enters the Holy of Holies once each year.
Although the reason for these limitations is the levels of holiness within these boundaries, entering in opposition to that holiness indicates a lack of fear of G-d, the levels of holiness having been fixed chiefly so man would experience that fear.
What emerges from all this is that G-d gave us life to perform a specific task, and created man to fulfill that task and bring the world holiness, purity, humility, fear of Heaven and acceptance of G-d's yoke. This being the case, when the times demand it, G-d might also remove someone from this earth to teach a specific idea. We need not mourn such a person. Rather we must stand silently as did Aaron and accept sentence. We must transcend our natural sorrow and be joyful about this exalted soul.
G-d's holy ones are likewise adored and lauded through this, for by their early deaths they complete their role on this wretched earth in holiness and acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, and there is nothing greater than that. No exit from this earth could be more exalted.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D
Monday, March 14, 2011
Shabbat Zachor - The awful sin of Amalek - Rav Meir Kahane
“Remember what Amalek did to you, on the way, when you were leaving Egypt, that he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindmost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. It shall be that when Hashem, your G-d, gives you rest from all your enemies around, in the Land that Hashem,
your G-d, gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven – you shall not forget!”
(Deut. 25:17-19, Maftir of Shabbat Zachor)
Amalek’s sin is the great and eternal sin of those who refuse “to know Hashem” and to accept His yoke upon themselves, and who thereby desecrate His Name. The Children of Israel were on the way, and the word ba-derekh (“on the way”) appears here twice, indicating that they were both on the way out of Egypt and on the way to the Land of Israel: both of these components together prove G-d’s power and might in the eyes of the nations, so that they would accept the yoke of His sovereignty. And now Amalek, the foremost and most brazen representative of “I do not know Hashem” launches himself against Israel, in an attempt to demonstrate both to Israel and to the rest of the world that G-d has no power, and that He is not the G-d of history. (Peirush HaMaccabee, Sefer Dvarim, Chapter 25)
This is the key to understanding why G-d was more angry at Amalek than at any other nation. . This was the awful sin of Amalek, regarding which it is said (Ex. 17:16), “The hand is on G-d's throne. The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations”.
Our sages also comment (Pesikta Rabbati, Ch. 12):
“The hand is on G-d's throne”: R. Levi said in the name of R. Chama of the school of R. Chaninah, “So to speak, as long as Amalek's offspring are on earth, G-d's name is not complete [In the verse, “G-d” is represented by the short form yud-kei], neither is His throne complete [represented by kes rather than kisei]. Once Amalek's seed is uprooted, G-d's throne is complete and His name is complete”.
King David said, “Enemy! The waste places are come to an end forever, and the cities which you did uproot, their very memorial is perished” (Ps. 9:7). What follows? “But the L-rd is enthroned forever. He has established His throne for judgment.”
Amalek set out to annihilate Israel, as our sages said (Tanchuma Yashan, Yitro 4), “Why was it called 'Amalek'? Because it is am lak, 'the nation that licks'. Amalek set out to lap up Israel's blood like a dog.”
Even more than this, however, Amalek came openly to insult G-d and blot out His name. Mechilta (Ibid., Parshah 1) comments regarding (Ex. 17:8), “Amalek arrived”: “Amalek came openly. In all their other attacks they came in stealth...but not here.”
Amalek attacked G-d's throne, as our sages said (Tanchuma, Ki Tetze, 11):
One verse reads, “You must obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Deut. 25:19), and another reads, “I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Ex. 17:14). How can the two verses coexist? Until Amalek attacked G-d's throne, Israel were commanded to obliterate them. Henceforth, however, G-d said He would do so Himself. Can flesh and blood attack G-d's throne? Rather, because they destroyed Jerusalem, of which it says (Jer. 3:17), “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the L-rd”, G-d said He would obliterate them.
Amalek's sin is the waging of brazen warfare against G-d, as they did when Israel left Egypt.
Yet when any other nation, as well, curses and fights G-d, Amalek's sin clings to them and they become like Amalek.
Thus, although Amalek, the nation, did not destroy Jerusalem, our sages say that Jerusalem's destruction constituted Amalek attacking G-d's throne. This teaches that whoever attacks G-d's throne is called Amalek. We must understand and remember this principle for our own times.
Since, in the nations' eyes, Israel's weakness and lowliness, and their suffering at the nations' hands, are interpreted as G-d's weakness and inability to save His people, and that is a Chilul Hashem, it follows that Israel's power, exaltation and victory over their own enemies and the blasphemous enemies of G-d is a Kiddush Hashem.
[For illustration, this is a quote from one of Rabbi Kahane's earlier popular books, “Listen World, Listen Jew” pp. 120-122]
Do you want to know how the Name of G-d is desecrated in the eyes of the mocking and sneering nations? It is when the Jew, His people, His Chosen, is desecrated! When the Jew is beaten, G-d is profaned! When the Jew is humiliated – G-d is shamed! When the Jew is attacked – it is an assault upon the name of G-d!
What he [the non-Jewish persecutor] is really saying is: “There is no L-rd, there is no G-d of Israel and if there is, He is an impotent and helpless god. For if He truly existed as the Omnipotent and All-powerful Sovereign of the Universe, His people would not be in exile, they could not be at my mercy, they could not be beaten and shamed and humiliated by me.”
This is the desecration of G-d's name.
Every pogrom is a desecration of the Name. Every Auschwitz and expulsion and murder and rape of a Jew is the humiliation of G-d. Every time a Jew is beaten by a gentile because he is a Jew, this is the essence of Chilul Hashem.
An end to Exile – that is Kiddush Hashem.
An end to the shame and the beatings and the monuments to our murdered and our martyred. An end to Kaddish and prayers for the dead.
A shaking off of the dust of the Exile and its shame and a return to a Jewish state of our own created with the fire and the spitting of Jewish guns.
A Jewish fist in the face of an astonished gentile world that had not seen it for two millenia. This is Kiddush Hashem.
Reading angry editorials about Jewish “aggression” and “violations” rather than flowery eulogies over dead Jewish victims. That is Kiddush Hashem.
The State of Israel came into being not because the Jew deserved it, but because the gentile did. It came into being not because the Jew was worthy of it but because the Name of G-d had reached its fill of humiliation and desecration. “I do this not for your sake, O House of Israel, but for Mine holy Name's sake which ye have profaned among the nations”. [...]
G-d established a principle that as long as Israel possesses a sovereign government with the power to blot out Amalek's memory, it is a mitzvah and a duty for them to do so.
For this reason our sages said (Sifri, Re'eh, 67):
Israel were commanded regarding three mitzvot for when they entered the Land: to appoint a king, build the Temple and destroy Amalek's seed. I would not know which one comes first if not for Scripture saying, “The hand is on G-d's throne. The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations” (Ex. 17:16). As long as a king sits on G-d's throne, we destroy Amalek's seed. How do we know that “G-d's throne” refers to a king? It says (I Chronicles 29:23), “Solomon sat on G-d's throne to reign”.
We must understand that today, with G-d kindly having restored our land and sovereignty, we must once more share with Him in blotting out Amalek if its existence is clear to us.
[Asides from current events like Arab attacks on Israel, Iran’s threats and other brazen attempts to delegitimize or coerce Israel, there is one more aspect of this in our times, mentioned by Rabbi Kahane in another one of his popular books, “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”, p. 271]:
Jewish self-respect and honor must be resurrected with an end to the humiliating obscenity of carefree political relations with the Amalek of our times, Germany. Was there a greater abomination than that of Israel establishing relations with Germany less than a decade after Auschwitz? And for money reparations, of course! Today, there is not the slightest feeling of guilt on the part of the Israelis who happily travel on business or vacation to Munich and Frankfurt and Hamburg; many of whom live there. There is no guilt on the part of a state that regularly sends youth on cultural and sports excursions to walk on the land stained with Jewish blood. There is no guilt felt when Jewish and Israeli leaders [...] travel to Germany and eat and drink with the Germans at state dinners, or when a high-ranking German official arrives in Israel and the Israeli army band plays the German national anthem, “Deutschland Uber Alles” as the new Hebrews stand at attention with respect. The Germans owe us reparations. The money does not absolve them of one sin, of one crime, of one murder. But they owe us reparations for property and we owe them nothing. Political and cultural ties will be cut with the Germans and they will be expected to fulfill, to the letter, their obligations to the Jewish people.
G-d will go forth to avenge His great name, profaned among the nations, and to avenge the Jewish People, through whose humiliation and distress at the hands of the nations His name was profaned.
The Prophet Obadiah was an Edomite convert, as our sages say (Sanhedrin 39b): “Obadiah was an Edomite convert, illustrating the adage that, 'the axe comes from the very forest.'” Rashi explains, “From the forest, itself, comes the wood for the handle of the axe that chops it down.
Such was Obadiah to Edom and David to Moab, David being descended from Ruth the Moabite.
Who, as much as Obadiah, a former non-Jew, knew the nations hatred of the Jewish People! Addressing the redemption, Obadiah prophesied (Obadiah 8-12, 15): Surely, says the L-rd, on that day I shall destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the Mount of Esau. Your mighty men, O Yemen, shall be dismayed, such that everyone from the Mount of Esau shall be cut off by slaughter. For your violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, that strangers took his force captive and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, you too were one of them.
You should not have looked on the day of your brother, the day of his misfortune, nor rejoiced over the children of Judah on the day of their destruction. [...] For the day of the L-rd is near upon all the nations. As you have done, so shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return upon your own head.
As long as exile and servitude were decreed for Israel, G-d restrained Himself. Hence, the fools thought He did not exist, and they mocked the Jewish people (Ps. 115:2): “Why should the nations say, 'Where is their G-d'”? Yet His silence in the face of His name being profaned was a heroic act.
G-d, despite His silence, has not forgotten the insult, there being no forgetting before His throne of glory. Revenge is concealed with Him for the future, sealed up in His treasury, and vengeance and retribution are His.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY”D, with quotes from his books “Peirush HaMaccabee, Sefer Dvarim” (translation by Daniel Pinner), “Listen World, Listen Jew” and “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”.
“Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you and all who despised you shall prostrate themselves at your feet.” (Isaiah 60:14)
your G-d, gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven – you shall not forget!”
(Deut. 25:17-19, Maftir of Shabbat Zachor)
Amalek’s sin is the great and eternal sin of those who refuse “to know Hashem” and to accept His yoke upon themselves, and who thereby desecrate His Name. The Children of Israel were on the way, and the word ba-derekh (“on the way”) appears here twice, indicating that they were both on the way out of Egypt and on the way to the Land of Israel: both of these components together prove G-d’s power and might in the eyes of the nations, so that they would accept the yoke of His sovereignty. And now Amalek, the foremost and most brazen representative of “I do not know Hashem” launches himself against Israel, in an attempt to demonstrate both to Israel and to the rest of the world that G-d has no power, and that He is not the G-d of history. (Peirush HaMaccabee, Sefer Dvarim, Chapter 25)
This is the key to understanding why G-d was more angry at Amalek than at any other nation. . This was the awful sin of Amalek, regarding which it is said (Ex. 17:16), “The hand is on G-d's throne. The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations”.
Our sages also comment (Pesikta Rabbati, Ch. 12):
“The hand is on G-d's throne”: R. Levi said in the name of R. Chama of the school of R. Chaninah, “So to speak, as long as Amalek's offspring are on earth, G-d's name is not complete [In the verse, “G-d” is represented by the short form yud-kei], neither is His throne complete [represented by kes rather than kisei]. Once Amalek's seed is uprooted, G-d's throne is complete and His name is complete”.
King David said, “Enemy! The waste places are come to an end forever, and the cities which you did uproot, their very memorial is perished” (Ps. 9:7). What follows? “But the L-rd is enthroned forever. He has established His throne for judgment.”
Amalek set out to annihilate Israel, as our sages said (Tanchuma Yashan, Yitro 4), “Why was it called 'Amalek'? Because it is am lak, 'the nation that licks'. Amalek set out to lap up Israel's blood like a dog.”
Even more than this, however, Amalek came openly to insult G-d and blot out His name. Mechilta (Ibid., Parshah 1) comments regarding (Ex. 17:8), “Amalek arrived”: “Amalek came openly. In all their other attacks they came in stealth...but not here.”
Amalek attacked G-d's throne, as our sages said (Tanchuma, Ki Tetze, 11):
One verse reads, “You must obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Deut. 25:19), and another reads, “I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Ex. 17:14). How can the two verses coexist? Until Amalek attacked G-d's throne, Israel were commanded to obliterate them. Henceforth, however, G-d said He would do so Himself. Can flesh and blood attack G-d's throne? Rather, because they destroyed Jerusalem, of which it says (Jer. 3:17), “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the L-rd”, G-d said He would obliterate them.
Amalek's sin is the waging of brazen warfare against G-d, as they did when Israel left Egypt.
Yet when any other nation, as well, curses and fights G-d, Amalek's sin clings to them and they become like Amalek.
Thus, although Amalek, the nation, did not destroy Jerusalem, our sages say that Jerusalem's destruction constituted Amalek attacking G-d's throne. This teaches that whoever attacks G-d's throne is called Amalek. We must understand and remember this principle for our own times.
Since, in the nations' eyes, Israel's weakness and lowliness, and their suffering at the nations' hands, are interpreted as G-d's weakness and inability to save His people, and that is a Chilul Hashem, it follows that Israel's power, exaltation and victory over their own enemies and the blasphemous enemies of G-d is a Kiddush Hashem.
[For illustration, this is a quote from one of Rabbi Kahane's earlier popular books, “Listen World, Listen Jew” pp. 120-122]
Do you want to know how the Name of G-d is desecrated in the eyes of the mocking and sneering nations? It is when the Jew, His people, His Chosen, is desecrated! When the Jew is beaten, G-d is profaned! When the Jew is humiliated – G-d is shamed! When the Jew is attacked – it is an assault upon the name of G-d!
What he [the non-Jewish persecutor] is really saying is: “There is no L-rd, there is no G-d of Israel and if there is, He is an impotent and helpless god. For if He truly existed as the Omnipotent and All-powerful Sovereign of the Universe, His people would not be in exile, they could not be at my mercy, they could not be beaten and shamed and humiliated by me.”
This is the desecration of G-d's name.
Every pogrom is a desecration of the Name. Every Auschwitz and expulsion and murder and rape of a Jew is the humiliation of G-d. Every time a Jew is beaten by a gentile because he is a Jew, this is the essence of Chilul Hashem.
An end to Exile – that is Kiddush Hashem.
An end to the shame and the beatings and the monuments to our murdered and our martyred. An end to Kaddish and prayers for the dead.
A shaking off of the dust of the Exile and its shame and a return to a Jewish state of our own created with the fire and the spitting of Jewish guns.
A Jewish fist in the face of an astonished gentile world that had not seen it for two millenia. This is Kiddush Hashem.
Reading angry editorials about Jewish “aggression” and “violations” rather than flowery eulogies over dead Jewish victims. That is Kiddush Hashem.
The State of Israel came into being not because the Jew deserved it, but because the gentile did. It came into being not because the Jew was worthy of it but because the Name of G-d had reached its fill of humiliation and desecration. “I do this not for your sake, O House of Israel, but for Mine holy Name's sake which ye have profaned among the nations”. [...]
G-d established a principle that as long as Israel possesses a sovereign government with the power to blot out Amalek's memory, it is a mitzvah and a duty for them to do so.
For this reason our sages said (Sifri, Re'eh, 67):
Israel were commanded regarding three mitzvot for when they entered the Land: to appoint a king, build the Temple and destroy Amalek's seed. I would not know which one comes first if not for Scripture saying, “The hand is on G-d's throne. The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations” (Ex. 17:16). As long as a king sits on G-d's throne, we destroy Amalek's seed. How do we know that “G-d's throne” refers to a king? It says (I Chronicles 29:23), “Solomon sat on G-d's throne to reign”.
We must understand that today, with G-d kindly having restored our land and sovereignty, we must once more share with Him in blotting out Amalek if its existence is clear to us.
[Asides from current events like Arab attacks on Israel, Iran’s threats and other brazen attempts to delegitimize or coerce Israel, there is one more aspect of this in our times, mentioned by Rabbi Kahane in another one of his popular books, “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”, p. 271]:
Jewish self-respect and honor must be resurrected with an end to the humiliating obscenity of carefree political relations with the Amalek of our times, Germany. Was there a greater abomination than that of Israel establishing relations with Germany less than a decade after Auschwitz? And for money reparations, of course! Today, there is not the slightest feeling of guilt on the part of the Israelis who happily travel on business or vacation to Munich and Frankfurt and Hamburg; many of whom live there. There is no guilt on the part of a state that regularly sends youth on cultural and sports excursions to walk on the land stained with Jewish blood. There is no guilt felt when Jewish and Israeli leaders [...] travel to Germany and eat and drink with the Germans at state dinners, or when a high-ranking German official arrives in Israel and the Israeli army band plays the German national anthem, “Deutschland Uber Alles” as the new Hebrews stand at attention with respect. The Germans owe us reparations. The money does not absolve them of one sin, of one crime, of one murder. But they owe us reparations for property and we owe them nothing. Political and cultural ties will be cut with the Germans and they will be expected to fulfill, to the letter, their obligations to the Jewish people.
G-d will go forth to avenge His great name, profaned among the nations, and to avenge the Jewish People, through whose humiliation and distress at the hands of the nations His name was profaned.
The Prophet Obadiah was an Edomite convert, as our sages say (Sanhedrin 39b): “Obadiah was an Edomite convert, illustrating the adage that, 'the axe comes from the very forest.'” Rashi explains, “From the forest, itself, comes the wood for the handle of the axe that chops it down.
Such was Obadiah to Edom and David to Moab, David being descended from Ruth the Moabite.
Who, as much as Obadiah, a former non-Jew, knew the nations hatred of the Jewish People! Addressing the redemption, Obadiah prophesied (Obadiah 8-12, 15): Surely, says the L-rd, on that day I shall destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the Mount of Esau. Your mighty men, O Yemen, shall be dismayed, such that everyone from the Mount of Esau shall be cut off by slaughter. For your violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, that strangers took his force captive and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, you too were one of them.
You should not have looked on the day of your brother, the day of his misfortune, nor rejoiced over the children of Judah on the day of their destruction. [...] For the day of the L-rd is near upon all the nations. As you have done, so shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return upon your own head.
As long as exile and servitude were decreed for Israel, G-d restrained Himself. Hence, the fools thought He did not exist, and they mocked the Jewish people (Ps. 115:2): “Why should the nations say, 'Where is their G-d'”? Yet His silence in the face of His name being profaned was a heroic act.
G-d, despite His silence, has not forgotten the insult, there being no forgetting before His throne of glory. Revenge is concealed with Him for the future, sealed up in His treasury, and vengeance and retribution are His.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY”D, with quotes from his books “Peirush HaMaccabee, Sefer Dvarim” (translation by Daniel Pinner), “Listen World, Listen Jew” and “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”.
“Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you and all who despised you shall prostrate themselves at your feet.” (Isaiah 60:14)
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