The water came back and covered the chariots and the
horsemen of the entire army of Pharaoh, who were coming behind them in
the sea – there remained not a one of them. (Ex. 14:28)
“The
ministering angels sought to sing G-d's praises [when the Egyptians
drowned at sea]. G-d responded, 'My handiwork is drowning at sea and you
would sing?'” (Megillah 10b)
Who can retell the distortions
of G-d's valor perpetrated in recent generations! The deliberate
distortion of “My handiwork is drowning in the sea”, as if we must
glumly avoid gladness when our enemy falls, has become the steady fare
of those who consume the alien culture [of the secular Western world].
G-d,
Merciful Father and Creator of all life – righteous and evil –
certainly does not sing or rejoice when His evil children die. Despite
their wickedness, they are still His, and what father will rejoice at
his son's death, even if that son be the most evil on earth? All the
same, G-d does not hesitate to kill His handiwork, as when He drowned
the Egyptians. He does not sing; He does not rejoice; but he drowns His
handiwork at sea. True, He, Himself, neither rejoices nor allows rejoicing or song in Heaven, but others, the Jewish people, He does cause to rejoice. In fact, He requires them to sing. Our sages said (Mechilta, Beshallach, Mesechta Devayehi, Ch.2):
“The
L-rd will fight for you” (Ex. 14:14): That is, “Will G-d perform mighty
wonders for you while you just stand in silence?” Israel asked Moses,
“What should we do?” and he responded, “Extol and exalt! Sing the
praises, glory and majesty of the Master of all warfare, as it says,
'Let the high praises of G-d be in their mouth' (Psalms 149:6)”...
Israel then opened their mouths and sang G-d's praises.
Because
of their arrogance and wickedness, G-d drowned His handiwork in the sea
and commanded Israel to sing praise and thanks to G-d, so as to inform
the world that “The L-rd will reign forever and ever!” (Ex. 15:18).
Forgiveness and love for an enemy? Mercy and sorrow over his death? Here is Midrash Avchir, quoted in Torah Shlema, Ex. 14:31, letter 210:
“Israel
saw the great work” (Ex. 14:31): When G-d wished to drown Egypt, Uza,
Egypt's angelic prince stood before G-d and said:”Master of the
Universe! You have been called righteous and upright...Why do you wish
to drown the Egyptians?” ... Just then Gabriel rose up, took a mud brick
and stood before G-d saying, “Master of the Universe! Shall You have
mercy on these who so harshly enslaved Your children with mud bricks?”
G-d immediately retracted, judging them strictly and drowning them in
the sea.
Sorrow over the death of the evil? Over Israel's enemies?
The Torah's very defining good and evil in real, absolute terms constitutes a declaration of war against the [contemporary secular Western] culture of the nations and of the Hellenists [secularized Jews] who adopted it. That
culture preaches that no one absolute good or evil can be determined,
since all ideas and concepts, including those defining good and evil,
are the product of human thought. Both those who deny the existence
of a Supreme, Omniscient, Omnipotent G-d Who is the source of wisdom and
truth, and those who admit the existence of a Supreme Being yet deny
Torah from Sinai, i.e., that G-d set forth a blueprint in the Torah, hold that we cannot attach special status to one “good” over another. Tolerance and pluralism are the ultimate principles of that alien culture. Since followers of that culture cannot determine with certainty what evil is, they cannot eradicate it from the world.
Mercy toward the cruel is not a good trait.
Quite the opposite, one is duty-bound to separate oneself from the
evildoer even if this is a difficult step, and even if it appears cruel.
The cruel, wicked person will influence goodness and corrupt it. There can be no coexistence between evil and upright people – only separation.
The mitzvah of eradicating evil from our midst requires us to hate it, as in Psalms 97:10, “Those that love the L-rd hate evil.” It is the duty of him who loves G-d to hate evil and evildoers,
for they are G-d's enemies. Nonetheless, in the alien [contemporary
secular] Hellenist culture, the themes of love and hatred have been so
entirely distorted that it is a terrible crime to speak of hatred as a halachic duty in the right time and place. False love finds a hundred different ways to overlook evil.
Advocates of that culture have transformed all such traits as cruelty
and revenge into an evil that must be shunned. Such is not the Torah's
way...
G-d, Creator of the universe and all that it contains, also created attributes, ethics and values. He created and defined them, assigning every single trait its time, place and purpose. As King Solomon said (Eccles. 3:1-8):
To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time
to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a
time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to
dance; a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones together; a
time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek and
a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend
and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak; a time to
love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Everything has a season. There is a time for every attribute and value. G-d created them all
and assigned each a purpose, place and time. There is a time to love –
but also a time to hate. Anyone incapable of hating those who G-d
commanded us to hate is a sinner and heretic and he brings destruction
to the world.
In the final analysis, if someone does not know
how to hate properly, he cannot love properly. Whoever is unready for
war in the right time and place, mandated by G-d, is a sinner and
heretic precisely like someone unready for peace. G-d, Who created the world, understands “the minds of His beasts”
(Prov. 12:10) in all their detail. He, Who understands and listens,
examining man's inner recesses, knows that there is a place for mercy,
peace, love, kindness and forgiveness, but simultaneously a place and a
need for “cruelty”, so to speak, for war, hatred, killing, uprooting
wickedness from the land and destroying evil from the world.
What
would one not do to save and defend one's household, family and friends
from their enemies, to rid their world of danger, to frustrate the
evildoers' designs? What would one not be ready to do to the evildoers
themselves? Precisely with this in mind, G-d, Merciful Father of the
universe, gazed down and saw the danger posed by evil and wickedness
threatening His righteous dear ones, innocent of all wrong. He
understood that it is an unpardonable sin to take pity on those of whom
it says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness” (I. Samuel 24:13), thereby facilitating their cruel treatment of the righteous and innocent. Whoever takes pity on an evildoer, leaving him free to treat the righteous with cruelty and abuse, is not merciful but cruel.
Anyone incapable of hating evil and evildoers can never love the righteous.
The
death of the wicked is infinitely preferable to the death of the
righteous, and eradicating evil is infinitely superior to eradicating
good.Quite the contrary, when G-d destroys evil and evildoers, He is
not showing kindness just to the righteous and innocent but to the
evildoer as well. He does a kindness to the evildoers when He removes
them from the world, for He thereby prevents their doing evil and
increasing their sins. This represents a great gift from G-d which
lightens their punishment in the Afterlife.
We find this regarding Enoch, of whom it says, “Enoch walked with G-d, and he was not, for G-d took him” (Gen. 5:24). The Midrash comments (Bereshit Rabbah 25:1): “Enoch was a hypocrite – sometimes righteous and sometimes evil. G-d said, 'Let Me remove him while he is still righteous.'”
This is the true, definite meaning of our sages' utterance above, “The death of the evildoers is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world.” It is beneficial to the world because the evildoers stop oppressing it.
It is beneficial to the evildoers because G-d is saving them from themselves.
G-d established a time and place for love and for hate, and in the right time and place, each is a duty and a commandment.
The
Torah never contained, and never will contain, a concept of “groundless
love”, just as the Torah absolutely rejects the concept of “groundless
hate”.
In G-d's attributes, nothing is “groundless”. Rather, there is a clear reason for all required behavior – with love and hatred warranted in their time and place. It is our duty to carry them out lawfully and as commanded, without, G-d forbid, confusing them.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane Hy”d
Monday, January 6, 2014
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Parashat Bo – No concessions! - Rabbi Meir Kahane
G-d's name cannot be sanctified through concession or compromise.
The essence of Kiddush Hashem is complete trust in G-d, without the least fear of mortal man.
The moment a person is ready to concede, when crowning G-d Supreme King would require total submission by the non-Jew [in this case, Pharaoh], his concession robs G-d of complete sovereignty.
And if his concession stems from any kind of fear, his sin is sevenfold.
After nine Plagues which brought wicked Pharaoh and his land to the brink of collapse, that evildoer finally broke down: “Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, 'Go – serve the L-rd, only your flocks and herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you'”(Ex. 10:24)
Should this not have been a source of great joy? Could Moses not agree? Israel had been slaves and foreigners for 210 years. Now the violent despot had capitulated, opening the prison gates. With the light of freedom shining on them, could it be that due to this one minor condition, “only your flocks and herds stay behind”, Moses would remain stubborn?
Must freedom and tranquility be postponed for the sake of flocks and cattle? If this small concession is the price for going out from servitude to redemption, why not pay it?
Yet Moses responded: “You yourself must give us sacrifices and burnt-offerings that we may sacrifice unto the L-rd our G-d. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not be a hoof be left behind.” (Ex. 10:25-26). G-d's main purpose in redeeming Israel from Egypt was much more profound than just to redeem them from slavery. G-d wished to prove to Pharaoh, his kingdom and his world, all of whom arrogantly proclaim, “I do not know the L-rd” (Ex. 5:2), that there indeed exists a G-d in Israel, Whose kingdom rules over all, that indeed , all life is in His hands. The point of the Exodus was for G-d's name to be magnified and exalted. Kiddush Hashem! The Torah teaches us that when Kiddush Hashem is at stake, there are no concessions or compromises. In our own modest times, who is wise enough to grasp this?
Another halachic principle applying to Kiddush and Chilul Hashem is this:
Kiddush Hashem must be performed triumphantly and shamelessly. Kiddush Hashem on a national level cannot possibly take place in secret. The very idea of sanctifying G-d's name is something that must be done before nations. When it is performed in secret out of fear, it turns into Chilul Hashem and is better off not being done at all.
After Moses rejected Pharaoh's compromise, Egypt was struck by the terrible tenth Plague, the smiting of the firstborn. “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Ex. 12:30). In panic, in the middle of the night, Pharaoh totally capitulated and called to Moses, “Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both you and the Children of Israel...Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said” (Ibid., 31-32).
Pharaoh wished Moses to leave right then, in the middle of the night! It was now clear that the oppressive foe had totally capitulated. This was unconditional victory. The men, women, children, sheep and cattle – all would leave.
Ostensibly, Moses should have agreed and right then and there marched the myriads of Israel to freedom. Yet G-d's thinking is different from our own: “G-d said to Moses, 'Shall you take My children
out at night? You shall not! Take them out openly, at midday!” (Shemot Rabbah, 18:10).
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Are we thieves that we should leave by night? We shall leave triumphantly, for all of Egypt to see!” (Tanchuma, Bo, 7). Similarly, we find in Mechilta (Bo, Mesechta DePischa, 13): Moses said to him,'We have been warned to leave only publicly:”None of you shall exit the door of his house until morning”'(Ex. 12:22).
This principle is so important that R. Akiva rules (Pesachim 120b) that the Korban Pesach, the offering brought the day before Pesach – symbol of the redemption – may be eaten until morning, when Israel “made haste” (Ex. 12:11), to recall that the true redemption was precisely then, out in the open. This goes without saying, because Kiddush Hashem demands “openness”, without slyness or stealth. Compromise, secrecy and stealth are the complete opposite of Kiddush Hashem, whose whole purpose is to demonstrate to the world that “There is no wisdom nor counsel nor understanding against the L-rd” (Prov. 21:30).
Our sages said (Sifri, Ha'azinu, 337):
Because the Egyptians were saying ...”If we see them, we will not let them go”, G-d said, “ I shall take them out at midday, and let whoever has the power to protest it do so!”It also says, “on the day after the Pesach sacrifice, the Israelites left triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Num. 33:3, Onkelos)
Should your evil impulse whisper that by virtue of Torah study and mitzvah performance we will be able to ignore the Chilul Hashem that daily visits the G-d of Israel and His land, be aware that it is not so.
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d, in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based in faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitute a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King.Israel's defeat is, so to speak, G-d's defeat as well. Israel's fear of the non-Jew proves G-d's “weakness” and inability to vanquish His people's enemies. Thus, lack of bitachon [trust in G-d] on the part of the nation [of Israel] is a sin that cannot be atoned for.
As Rashi wrote (Ezek. 39:7), “Israel's lowliness is a Chilul Hashem, for men say that Israel are the L-rd's people, yet He cannot save them” (see Ezek. 36:20)
Whenever a Jew is harmed, let alone murdered, whenever the Jewish people and the Land of Israel are cursed and reviled [...] this constitutes a terrible, unatonable Chilul Hashem.
Every attempt, and certainly every act of abandoning parts of the Land of Israel to the nations is likewise a shocking Chilul Hashem. Yet since the issue is open, caustic and deliberate Chilul Hashem [...] and there is no government and no army and no governmental body – these being obligated by the Torah to go out and protest the profanation- or that such bodies do exist but they are unwilling to fulfill their obligation, then it is certainly the individual's duty [...] to blot out, devotedly and with protest, the Chilul Hashem.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane HY"D
The essence of Kiddush Hashem is complete trust in G-d, without the least fear of mortal man.
The moment a person is ready to concede, when crowning G-d Supreme King would require total submission by the non-Jew [in this case, Pharaoh], his concession robs G-d of complete sovereignty.
And if his concession stems from any kind of fear, his sin is sevenfold.
After nine Plagues which brought wicked Pharaoh and his land to the brink of collapse, that evildoer finally broke down: “Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, 'Go – serve the L-rd, only your flocks and herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you'”(Ex. 10:24)
Should this not have been a source of great joy? Could Moses not agree? Israel had been slaves and foreigners for 210 years. Now the violent despot had capitulated, opening the prison gates. With the light of freedom shining on them, could it be that due to this one minor condition, “only your flocks and herds stay behind”, Moses would remain stubborn?
Must freedom and tranquility be postponed for the sake of flocks and cattle? If this small concession is the price for going out from servitude to redemption, why not pay it?
Yet Moses responded: “You yourself must give us sacrifices and burnt-offerings that we may sacrifice unto the L-rd our G-d. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not be a hoof be left behind.” (Ex. 10:25-26). G-d's main purpose in redeeming Israel from Egypt was much more profound than just to redeem them from slavery. G-d wished to prove to Pharaoh, his kingdom and his world, all of whom arrogantly proclaim, “I do not know the L-rd” (Ex. 5:2), that there indeed exists a G-d in Israel, Whose kingdom rules over all, that indeed , all life is in His hands. The point of the Exodus was for G-d's name to be magnified and exalted. Kiddush Hashem! The Torah teaches us that when Kiddush Hashem is at stake, there are no concessions or compromises. In our own modest times, who is wise enough to grasp this?
Another halachic principle applying to Kiddush and Chilul Hashem is this:
Kiddush Hashem must be performed triumphantly and shamelessly. Kiddush Hashem on a national level cannot possibly take place in secret. The very idea of sanctifying G-d's name is something that must be done before nations. When it is performed in secret out of fear, it turns into Chilul Hashem and is better off not being done at all.
After Moses rejected Pharaoh's compromise, Egypt was struck by the terrible tenth Plague, the smiting of the firstborn. “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Ex. 12:30). In panic, in the middle of the night, Pharaoh totally capitulated and called to Moses, “Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both you and the Children of Israel...Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said” (Ibid., 31-32).
Pharaoh wished Moses to leave right then, in the middle of the night! It was now clear that the oppressive foe had totally capitulated. This was unconditional victory. The men, women, children, sheep and cattle – all would leave.
Ostensibly, Moses should have agreed and right then and there marched the myriads of Israel to freedom. Yet G-d's thinking is different from our own: “G-d said to Moses, 'Shall you take My children
out at night? You shall not! Take them out openly, at midday!” (Shemot Rabbah, 18:10).
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Are we thieves that we should leave by night? We shall leave triumphantly, for all of Egypt to see!” (Tanchuma, Bo, 7). Similarly, we find in Mechilta (Bo, Mesechta DePischa, 13): Moses said to him,'We have been warned to leave only publicly:”None of you shall exit the door of his house until morning”'(Ex. 12:22).
This principle is so important that R. Akiva rules (Pesachim 120b) that the Korban Pesach, the offering brought the day before Pesach – symbol of the redemption – may be eaten until morning, when Israel “made haste” (Ex. 12:11), to recall that the true redemption was precisely then, out in the open. This goes without saying, because Kiddush Hashem demands “openness”, without slyness or stealth. Compromise, secrecy and stealth are the complete opposite of Kiddush Hashem, whose whole purpose is to demonstrate to the world that “There is no wisdom nor counsel nor understanding against the L-rd” (Prov. 21:30).
Our sages said (Sifri, Ha'azinu, 337):
Because the Egyptians were saying ...”If we see them, we will not let them go”, G-d said, “ I shall take them out at midday, and let whoever has the power to protest it do so!”It also says, “on the day after the Pesach sacrifice, the Israelites left triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Num. 33:3, Onkelos)
Should your evil impulse whisper that by virtue of Torah study and mitzvah performance we will be able to ignore the Chilul Hashem that daily visits the G-d of Israel and His land, be aware that it is not so.
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d, in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based in faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitute a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King.Israel's defeat is, so to speak, G-d's defeat as well. Israel's fear of the non-Jew proves G-d's “weakness” and inability to vanquish His people's enemies. Thus, lack of bitachon [trust in G-d] on the part of the nation [of Israel] is a sin that cannot be atoned for.
As Rashi wrote (Ezek. 39:7), “Israel's lowliness is a Chilul Hashem, for men say that Israel are the L-rd's people, yet He cannot save them” (see Ezek. 36:20)
Whenever a Jew is harmed, let alone murdered, whenever the Jewish people and the Land of Israel are cursed and reviled [...] this constitutes a terrible, unatonable Chilul Hashem.
Every attempt, and certainly every act of abandoning parts of the Land of Israel to the nations is likewise a shocking Chilul Hashem. Yet since the issue is open, caustic and deliberate Chilul Hashem [...] and there is no government and no army and no governmental body – these being obligated by the Torah to go out and protest the profanation- or that such bodies do exist but they are unwilling to fulfill their obligation, then it is certainly the individual's duty [...] to blot out, devotedly and with protest, the Chilul Hashem.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane HY"D
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Parashat Va'eira – Does Redemption have to be violent? - Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
But I shall harden Pharaoh's heart and I shall multiply My
signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not heed you
and I shall put My hand upon Egypt; and I shall take out My legions - My
people, the Children of Israel - from the land of Egypt with great
judgments. And Egypt shall know that I am Hashem when I stretch out My
hand over Egypt; (Ex. 7:3-5)
Throughout the episode of the Plagues and the Exodus, the concept of yad chazakah (“mighty hand”) recurs consistently. The explanation is that without proof of G-d's power, there is no way in which the Gentiles will understand the reality of His existence in the world.
Nowhere in all the prophetic writings does G-d ever suggest that He will prove His existence to the nations in any way other than through His and His nation's strength. And since the purpose of the Exodus was that “Egypt shall know that I am Hashem”, He had to demonstrate His power.
[However], if the purpose of the plagues was to force Pharaoh, and Egypt, to know Hashem, then why did G-d “harden Pharaoh's heart”?
Had He not done so, then perhaps Pharaoh would already have freed the Israelites after the Plague of blood. Certainly, after the Plague of hail when he already confessed, “Hashem is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones” (Exodus 9:27), Pharaoh would have released the Israelites, had G-d not hardened (i.e. strengthened) his heart – as the Torah testifies.
The Sforno (on Exodus 7:3) provides a clear answer to this. He explains that Pharaoh probably would have released the Israelites far sooner – but this would have been done out of fear of the Plagues, rather than unconditional acceptance of G-d and His might.
That is to say, he would have attributed the Plagues to Moses' unique witchcraft, or a thousand and one other factors – and would have released the Israelites purely in order to spare himself the terror of these dreaded Plagues. Had this happened, the entire purpose of the Plagues would have been lost.
G-d therefore strengthened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not release the Israelites merely out of fear of the Plagues. The Plagues' progression forced Pharaoh into ever-deepening realization that there could be no cause for these Plagues other than Hashem, the G-d of Israel – as Moses had said right from the start.
Rav Binyamin Ze'ev's father, Rabbi Meir Kahane, writes similarly on this in “The Jewish Idea”:
Likewise, regarding the hail, it says (Ex. 9:14) “This time I am prepared to send all My plagues against your very heart. They will strike your officials and your people, so that you will know that there is none like Me in all the world.” [...] That is, they were to bring their livestock inside because of the hail. Indeed, “those of Pharaoh's subjects who feared G-d's word made their slaves and livestock flee indoors”(Ex.9:20)
This was the first time G-d gave the Egyptians the chance to save themselves from a Plague.
Why did He do so? Were they to heed G-d, it would constitute acknowledgment that indeed the L-rd is G-d and that He, alone, controls the laws of nature. This, in turn, would be the beginning of the collapse of his nation's abominable idolatry.
The purpose of the plagues in Egypt was to sanctify G-d's name and to prove to the world that indeed Hashem is G-d, Omnipotent Creator of all.
Pharaoh had shown G-d contempt by saying (Ex. 5:12), “Who is Hashem that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Hashem.” Through the degradation and punishment of the idolatry of Egypt, Pharaoh was humiliated. Therefore, G-d warned the Egyptians that He was bringing the hail and that the princes and deities of Egypt would be unable to prevent it. The Egyptians would be saved only if they abandoned their faith in their abominations and subjected themselves to G-d through belief in Him, expressed by making their servants and flocks flee into the houses. Through this, their faith in idolatry would be destroyed and G-d's name sanctified, the whole purpose of the Plagues.
“With a mighty hand”. G-d had to direct His strength against the Jews, too in order to bring them out, for they did not want to leave. As Chazal[our sages of blessed memory] say, four-fifths of the Israelites died in the Plague of darkness. But even those who did eventually leave, did so unwillingly: G-d said, “For with a mighty hand shall he [Pharaoh] send them away, and with a mighty hand shall he expel them from his land.” Chazal's commentary on the verse, “They did not listen to Moses, due to anguish of spirit and hard labor” (Ex. 6:9), is truly astounding:
Is there any man who receives good tidings and does not rejoice?...But they found it hard to abandon idol worship. (Mechilta, Pis'cha 5, end of first paragraph)
That is, they were willing to remain in the dungeon of slavery and oppression, in order not to accept upon themselves the yoke of Heaven – that yoke which liberates man from the shackles of animalism, freeing him from bondage to those passions that dominate him. And when the children of Israel complained in the wilderness: ”We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free” (Num. 11:5), Rashi says there: “Free from the commandments”.
The truth is that the Jews were never ready to leave exile of their own free will, and when they were able to assimilate, they did.
But all these attempts were to no avail. On the contrary – precisely when the Jews tried to be accepted by Gentile society by blurring their unique, separate identity, the hatred towards them only increased. Such was the case in Egypt, as the Psalmist said: ”He turned their [the Egyptians'] hearts to hate His people, to conspire against His servants. (Psalms 105:25). So too has it been throughout the generations. And even those who do eventually leave, do so only out of necessity. Slavery, pogroms and holocausts force some of them to realize, albeit grudgingly, that there is nothing for them there – and then they ascend to the Land of Israel, as witnessed in our generation. Chazal identified this mind-set in the following words: “Among the nations you will not know peace and you will not find rest for your feet” (Deut. 28:65) – had Israel found peace, they would not have returned. (Genesis Rabbah 33:6)
That is to say, if the Jews will not return to the Land of Israel willingly, then G-d will inflict such troubles on them, that they will be forced to return. And in our days, in spite of all that has happened, most Jews have not learned the lesson.
“And Hashem our G-d brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Deut 6:21).
Since G-d secretly weeps over the lost pride of Israel, He therefore yearns to redeem them both from the actual place, as well as from the mentality of exile. Had Pharaoh given them better economic conditions, eased their enslavement slightly, flashed an occasional smile at them or the merest nod of encouragement – then they would have felt a debt of gratitude to him. Out of respect for him, they would willfully have submitted themselves to slavery, and all future generations would have effaced themselves at the mere mention of Pharaoh's name. The physical and spiritual enslavement would have been worse – our forefathers would never had left the exile of their own free will, and the exile mentality would never have left them.” (Mishna Yeshara of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane's grandfather, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Kahane).
Israel's redemption is not merely the story of one more people's national liberation. Israel's Exodus from Egypt ushered in a new era – a divine nation was established, as well as a purpose for the world. The mission of this liberated nation is Kiddush Hashem, and the erasing of the heresy of chillul Hashem, of [Pharaoh's words] I do not know Hashem.
Therefore, had Hashem Himself not brought our forefathers out of Egypt with this intention, then even had a good king freed them, it would have been meaningless, because it would not have led to the establishment of that divine nation, and the fulfillment of its glorious destiny.
The Exodus had to be implemented, directly and unequivocally, by G-d and not through any agent, because the battle here is a paradigm of all subsequent history, the basis for Israel's faith throughout their generations – the knowledge of Hashem, versus “I do not know Hashem”. It is concerning this struggle that G-d promises, “I will execute judgement against all the gods of Egypt.”
This is a religious war: the G-d of Israel versus the gods of the nations [and, one has to add, against Israel's trust in the nations!]
Just as Israel was redeemed from Egypt without having to turn to any outside party or human ally (which was precisely what the Egyptians originally feared : “If war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country”[Ex. 1:10]), so must we understand that in our generation, too, G-d is Israel's sole Redeemer – not Lord Arthur Balfour, not the United Nations, not the U.S.A.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Haggadah of the Jewish Idea" and "The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane; HY"D " and from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane
Throughout the episode of the Plagues and the Exodus, the concept of yad chazakah (“mighty hand”) recurs consistently. The explanation is that without proof of G-d's power, there is no way in which the Gentiles will understand the reality of His existence in the world.
Nowhere in all the prophetic writings does G-d ever suggest that He will prove His existence to the nations in any way other than through His and His nation's strength. And since the purpose of the Exodus was that “Egypt shall know that I am Hashem”, He had to demonstrate His power.
[However], if the purpose of the plagues was to force Pharaoh, and Egypt, to know Hashem, then why did G-d “harden Pharaoh's heart”?
Had He not done so, then perhaps Pharaoh would already have freed the Israelites after the Plague of blood. Certainly, after the Plague of hail when he already confessed, “Hashem is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones” (Exodus 9:27), Pharaoh would have released the Israelites, had G-d not hardened (i.e. strengthened) his heart – as the Torah testifies.
The Sforno (on Exodus 7:3) provides a clear answer to this. He explains that Pharaoh probably would have released the Israelites far sooner – but this would have been done out of fear of the Plagues, rather than unconditional acceptance of G-d and His might.
That is to say, he would have attributed the Plagues to Moses' unique witchcraft, or a thousand and one other factors – and would have released the Israelites purely in order to spare himself the terror of these dreaded Plagues. Had this happened, the entire purpose of the Plagues would have been lost.
G-d therefore strengthened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not release the Israelites merely out of fear of the Plagues. The Plagues' progression forced Pharaoh into ever-deepening realization that there could be no cause for these Plagues other than Hashem, the G-d of Israel – as Moses had said right from the start.
Rav Binyamin Ze'ev's father, Rabbi Meir Kahane, writes similarly on this in “The Jewish Idea”:
Likewise, regarding the hail, it says (Ex. 9:14) “This time I am prepared to send all My plagues against your very heart. They will strike your officials and your people, so that you will know that there is none like Me in all the world.” [...] That is, they were to bring their livestock inside because of the hail. Indeed, “those of Pharaoh's subjects who feared G-d's word made their slaves and livestock flee indoors”(Ex.9:20)
This was the first time G-d gave the Egyptians the chance to save themselves from a Plague.
Why did He do so? Were they to heed G-d, it would constitute acknowledgment that indeed the L-rd is G-d and that He, alone, controls the laws of nature. This, in turn, would be the beginning of the collapse of his nation's abominable idolatry.
The purpose of the plagues in Egypt was to sanctify G-d's name and to prove to the world that indeed Hashem is G-d, Omnipotent Creator of all.
Pharaoh had shown G-d contempt by saying (Ex. 5:12), “Who is Hashem that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Hashem.” Through the degradation and punishment of the idolatry of Egypt, Pharaoh was humiliated. Therefore, G-d warned the Egyptians that He was bringing the hail and that the princes and deities of Egypt would be unable to prevent it. The Egyptians would be saved only if they abandoned their faith in their abominations and subjected themselves to G-d through belief in Him, expressed by making their servants and flocks flee into the houses. Through this, their faith in idolatry would be destroyed and G-d's name sanctified, the whole purpose of the Plagues.
“With a mighty hand”. G-d had to direct His strength against the Jews, too in order to bring them out, for they did not want to leave. As Chazal[our sages of blessed memory] say, four-fifths of the Israelites died in the Plague of darkness. But even those who did eventually leave, did so unwillingly: G-d said, “For with a mighty hand shall he [Pharaoh] send them away, and with a mighty hand shall he expel them from his land.” Chazal's commentary on the verse, “They did not listen to Moses, due to anguish of spirit and hard labor” (Ex. 6:9), is truly astounding:
Is there any man who receives good tidings and does not rejoice?...But they found it hard to abandon idol worship. (Mechilta, Pis'cha 5, end of first paragraph)
That is, they were willing to remain in the dungeon of slavery and oppression, in order not to accept upon themselves the yoke of Heaven – that yoke which liberates man from the shackles of animalism, freeing him from bondage to those passions that dominate him. And when the children of Israel complained in the wilderness: ”We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free” (Num. 11:5), Rashi says there: “Free from the commandments”.
The truth is that the Jews were never ready to leave exile of their own free will, and when they were able to assimilate, they did.
But all these attempts were to no avail. On the contrary – precisely when the Jews tried to be accepted by Gentile society by blurring their unique, separate identity, the hatred towards them only increased. Such was the case in Egypt, as the Psalmist said: ”He turned their [the Egyptians'] hearts to hate His people, to conspire against His servants. (Psalms 105:25). So too has it been throughout the generations. And even those who do eventually leave, do so only out of necessity. Slavery, pogroms and holocausts force some of them to realize, albeit grudgingly, that there is nothing for them there – and then they ascend to the Land of Israel, as witnessed in our generation. Chazal identified this mind-set in the following words: “Among the nations you will not know peace and you will not find rest for your feet” (Deut. 28:65) – had Israel found peace, they would not have returned. (Genesis Rabbah 33:6)
That is to say, if the Jews will not return to the Land of Israel willingly, then G-d will inflict such troubles on them, that they will be forced to return. And in our days, in spite of all that has happened, most Jews have not learned the lesson.
“And Hashem our G-d brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Deut 6:21).
Since G-d secretly weeps over the lost pride of Israel, He therefore yearns to redeem them both from the actual place, as well as from the mentality of exile. Had Pharaoh given them better economic conditions, eased their enslavement slightly, flashed an occasional smile at them or the merest nod of encouragement – then they would have felt a debt of gratitude to him. Out of respect for him, they would willfully have submitted themselves to slavery, and all future generations would have effaced themselves at the mere mention of Pharaoh's name. The physical and spiritual enslavement would have been worse – our forefathers would never had left the exile of their own free will, and the exile mentality would never have left them.” (Mishna Yeshara of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane's grandfather, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Kahane).
Israel's redemption is not merely the story of one more people's national liberation. Israel's Exodus from Egypt ushered in a new era – a divine nation was established, as well as a purpose for the world. The mission of this liberated nation is Kiddush Hashem, and the erasing of the heresy of chillul Hashem, of [Pharaoh's words] I do not know Hashem.
Therefore, had Hashem Himself not brought our forefathers out of Egypt with this intention, then even had a good king freed them, it would have been meaningless, because it would not have led to the establishment of that divine nation, and the fulfillment of its glorious destiny.
The Exodus had to be implemented, directly and unequivocally, by G-d and not through any agent, because the battle here is a paradigm of all subsequent history, the basis for Israel's faith throughout their generations – the knowledge of Hashem, versus “I do not know Hashem”. It is concerning this struggle that G-d promises, “I will execute judgement against all the gods of Egypt.”
This is a religious war: the G-d of Israel versus the gods of the nations [and, one has to add, against Israel's trust in the nations!]
Just as Israel was redeemed from Egypt without having to turn to any outside party or human ally (which was precisely what the Egyptians originally feared : “If war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country”[Ex. 1:10]), so must we understand that in our generation, too, G-d is Israel's sole Redeemer – not Lord Arthur Balfour, not the United Nations, not the U.S.A.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Haggadah of the Jewish Idea" and "The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane; HY"D " and from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Parashat Shemot -Jeopardizing all our accomplishments- Rabbi Meir Kahane and Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
By killing the Egyptian, Moses bound himself inexorably to his nation and to his destiny. He jeopardized all his property, his glittering life-style, even his very life, if his deed would be discovered – but nevertheless, he did not hesitate. As the Mekhilta says:
[Moses] gave his soul for Israel, and they were called by his name… And where do we find that Moses gave his soul for them? – It is said…“and he went out to his brothers…and he smote the Egyptian”. So, because he gave his soul for Israel, they were called by his name
(Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael, Shirata 1, s.v. “et hashira hazot”).
Now, Moses could have thought this through carefully, and run away from the problem. He could have reasoned: Is it really worth while to endanger myself by killing this Egyptian?
Would it not be better for me to ignore this one incident, to remain the king’s son, and thereby be able to help the Israelites in the future? More than this: perhaps it is not worth killing this Egyptian, for in any case, he has already killed the Jew, so what good will killing this Egyptian do? Will that bring the Jew back to life? And in any case, maybe it is forbidden for me to endanger myself, since this is not a case of saving a Jewish life, since this Jew is already dead? And more than this: perhaps I am not allowed to kill this Egyptian, for I am not a duly constituted court, and perhaps the verse Neither is it good for the tzaddik to punish (Proverbs 17:26) applies to me. (See Berakhot 7a: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi wanted to harness G-d’s “moment of fury,” which occurs once every day, to curse a heretic and kill him, but when the time came, he dozed off. His response was that presumably this happened because Neither is it good for the tzaddik to punish.)
Moses, however, understood that this accounting is false. He understood that in a situation of hillul HaShem, all these arguments together carry no weight – even pikuah nefesh (saving of lives), which usually takes precedence over all other commandments, does not justify hillul HaShem (even for an individual in private, unless there is definite danger to life; in public, even if there is an absolute certainty of being killed).
Neither can one make a finely-balanced accounting, to the effect that “perhaps I can do better another way, in another time and another place”.
In the commentary that Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane wrote on Parashat Shemot, we find a similar concept that he also links to our present situation:
At the end of “Parashat Shemot” we find a confrontation between Moses and Aaron on the one hand and the officers of the children of Israel on the other: On the one side stood Moses and Aaron who had been assigned by HaShem to carry out a seemingly suicidal mission: to enter uninvited into the house of the king, of the imperial, menacing kingdom of Egypt, and to request that he let the Jewish slaves go free. In spite of the odds, Moses and Aaron, with faith in HaShem, went and fulfilled their mission completely. (According to our sages, all the elders that accompanied them dropped out along the way because of tremendous fear, until Moses and Aaron alone remained to face Pharaoh). And certainly Pharaoh rejected their request out of hand.
[The officers then accused them:]
“May HaShem look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hands to kill us!”.(Shemot 5:21).
And truthfully, reality proves the officers were correct.
Seemingly, just after Moses and Aaron leave Pharaoh's presence, a harsh decree is put upon the nation.
And with all this...the officers were not right! The reason (and also the lesson from this) is that there is almost never a revolution or change where the first stages do not involve a loss of accomplishment!
...And sometimes, even in the case of true accomplishments, we must know that in order to bring change, there is no choice but to lose real accomplishments, at least temporarily. Because there will always be one Pharaoh or another who will threaten that if we don't sit quietly he will nullify our achievements, “and you will lose out because of this.” But if we give in to his threats, we will remain captives in the hand of Pharaoh, we, our children and our children's children ... until the end of the generations.
...Whoever wants change needs to warmly thank the “existing officers”for their accomplishments, but say to them: now we are going further, we are going to progress.
It is possible that part of your accomplishments of some of your accomplishments will be lost, either temporarily or permanently. But this is the price to pay for reaching the greater and ultimate goal.
We were not born in order to be slaves with improved conditions in Egypt; we were born to be redeemed. We were not born to live in villas in settlements surrounded by fences, like ghettos [...], we were born to conquer and rule all of the land of Israel. [...] And if the price, more or less temporarily, is the loss of status...due to lack of participation on the part of the existing regime, or the necessity to gather our own straw to make bricks for a while, the price is worth it.
For we were not born to live with the status quo, after the fact.
We were born to establish and ideal world, as it was at the beginning!
Rabbi Meir Kahane continues in Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot:
And he smote the Egyptian, measure for measure. He killed the Hebrew, and Moses killed him. Samson expressed this same sentiment to the Jews who were afraid when they came to hand him over to the Philistines after he smote them:
And they said to Samson: Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?!
And he said to them: As they did to me, so I did to them (Judges 15:11).
This is a Jewish response – not to let the Gentile smite with impunity, for every single blow desecrates the Children of Israel and is blasphemy against G-d’s Name.
Anyone who smites a Jew must be smitten in return.
More than this: Moses’ smiting the Egyptian was the Children of Israel’s first response ever to the blows they had received, and foreshadowed all the blows, all the plagues, that G-d would yet inflict upon Egypt.
And buried him in the sand. This symbolizes the humiliation of the arrogant Gentile who, in his self-pride, thinks that he can reach the very heavens. The prophet said, Take up a lament for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him: You likened yourself to a young lion among the nations, but you are like a crocodile of the seas… With the swords of the mighty I will bring down your multitudes…and they will despoil the glory of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:2, 12).
But now, instead of ascending to heaven, the Egyptian whom Moses killed was buried in the sand, in the ground – as low as possible – foreshadowing the humiliation of the whole of Egypt.And such will be in the future, too, when G-d will destroy the nations’ pride and show the glory of His might. Enter the rock, and bury yourself in the dust because of the fear of HaShem and the glory of His greatness. Man’s arrogant eyes will be humiliated, and people’s haughtiness will be humbled, and HaShem alone will be exalted on that day (Isaiah 2:10-11).
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from Rav Meir Kahane's “Peirush HaMaccabee” on Shemot (translation into English by Daniel Pinner) and “The Writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, HY”D " – commentary on Parashat Shemot
[Moses] gave his soul for Israel, and they were called by his name… And where do we find that Moses gave his soul for them? – It is said…“and he went out to his brothers…and he smote the Egyptian”. So, because he gave his soul for Israel, they were called by his name
(Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael, Shirata 1, s.v. “et hashira hazot”).
Now, Moses could have thought this through carefully, and run away from the problem. He could have reasoned: Is it really worth while to endanger myself by killing this Egyptian?
Would it not be better for me to ignore this one incident, to remain the king’s son, and thereby be able to help the Israelites in the future? More than this: perhaps it is not worth killing this Egyptian, for in any case, he has already killed the Jew, so what good will killing this Egyptian do? Will that bring the Jew back to life? And in any case, maybe it is forbidden for me to endanger myself, since this is not a case of saving a Jewish life, since this Jew is already dead? And more than this: perhaps I am not allowed to kill this Egyptian, for I am not a duly constituted court, and perhaps the verse Neither is it good for the tzaddik to punish (Proverbs 17:26) applies to me. (See Berakhot 7a: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi wanted to harness G-d’s “moment of fury,” which occurs once every day, to curse a heretic and kill him, but when the time came, he dozed off. His response was that presumably this happened because Neither is it good for the tzaddik to punish.)
Moses, however, understood that this accounting is false. He understood that in a situation of hillul HaShem, all these arguments together carry no weight – even pikuah nefesh (saving of lives), which usually takes precedence over all other commandments, does not justify hillul HaShem (even for an individual in private, unless there is definite danger to life; in public, even if there is an absolute certainty of being killed).
Neither can one make a finely-balanced accounting, to the effect that “perhaps I can do better another way, in another time and another place”.
In the commentary that Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane wrote on Parashat Shemot, we find a similar concept that he also links to our present situation:
At the end of “Parashat Shemot” we find a confrontation between Moses and Aaron on the one hand and the officers of the children of Israel on the other: On the one side stood Moses and Aaron who had been assigned by HaShem to carry out a seemingly suicidal mission: to enter uninvited into the house of the king, of the imperial, menacing kingdom of Egypt, and to request that he let the Jewish slaves go free. In spite of the odds, Moses and Aaron, with faith in HaShem, went and fulfilled their mission completely. (According to our sages, all the elders that accompanied them dropped out along the way because of tremendous fear, until Moses and Aaron alone remained to face Pharaoh). And certainly Pharaoh rejected their request out of hand.
[The officers then accused them:]
“May HaShem look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hands to kill us!”.(Shemot 5:21).
And truthfully, reality proves the officers were correct.
Seemingly, just after Moses and Aaron leave Pharaoh's presence, a harsh decree is put upon the nation.
And with all this...the officers were not right! The reason (and also the lesson from this) is that there is almost never a revolution or change where the first stages do not involve a loss of accomplishment!
...And sometimes, even in the case of true accomplishments, we must know that in order to bring change, there is no choice but to lose real accomplishments, at least temporarily. Because there will always be one Pharaoh or another who will threaten that if we don't sit quietly he will nullify our achievements, “and you will lose out because of this.” But if we give in to his threats, we will remain captives in the hand of Pharaoh, we, our children and our children's children ... until the end of the generations.
...Whoever wants change needs to warmly thank the “existing officers”for their accomplishments, but say to them: now we are going further, we are going to progress.
It is possible that part of your accomplishments of some of your accomplishments will be lost, either temporarily or permanently. But this is the price to pay for reaching the greater and ultimate goal.
We were not born in order to be slaves with improved conditions in Egypt; we were born to be redeemed. We were not born to live in villas in settlements surrounded by fences, like ghettos [...], we were born to conquer and rule all of the land of Israel. [...] And if the price, more or less temporarily, is the loss of status...due to lack of participation on the part of the existing regime, or the necessity to gather our own straw to make bricks for a while, the price is worth it.
For we were not born to live with the status quo, after the fact.
We were born to establish and ideal world, as it was at the beginning!
Rabbi Meir Kahane continues in Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot:
And he smote the Egyptian, measure for measure. He killed the Hebrew, and Moses killed him. Samson expressed this same sentiment to the Jews who were afraid when they came to hand him over to the Philistines after he smote them:
And they said to Samson: Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?!
And he said to them: As they did to me, so I did to them (Judges 15:11).
This is a Jewish response – not to let the Gentile smite with impunity, for every single blow desecrates the Children of Israel and is blasphemy against G-d’s Name.
Anyone who smites a Jew must be smitten in return.
More than this: Moses’ smiting the Egyptian was the Children of Israel’s first response ever to the blows they had received, and foreshadowed all the blows, all the plagues, that G-d would yet inflict upon Egypt.
And buried him in the sand. This symbolizes the humiliation of the arrogant Gentile who, in his self-pride, thinks that he can reach the very heavens. The prophet said, Take up a lament for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him: You likened yourself to a young lion among the nations, but you are like a crocodile of the seas… With the swords of the mighty I will bring down your multitudes…and they will despoil the glory of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:2, 12).
But now, instead of ascending to heaven, the Egyptian whom Moses killed was buried in the sand, in the ground – as low as possible – foreshadowing the humiliation of the whole of Egypt.And such will be in the future, too, when G-d will destroy the nations’ pride and show the glory of His might. Enter the rock, and bury yourself in the dust because of the fear of HaShem and the glory of His greatness. Man’s arrogant eyes will be humiliated, and people’s haughtiness will be humbled, and HaShem alone will be exalted on that day (Isaiah 2:10-11).
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from Rav Meir Kahane's “Peirush HaMaccabee” on Shemot (translation into English by Daniel Pinner) and “The Writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, HY”D " – commentary on Parashat Shemot
Monday, October 21, 2013
Parashat Chayei Sarah - Whose Hebron is it, anyway? – Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane
(Plus added background-article from the writings of Rav Meir Kahane: "Who stole Eretz Yisrael?")
“And Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver...” (Gen. 23:16).
Rabbi Yehuda Bar Simon said: It is one of the three places where the nations of the world would not be able to deceive Israel by claiming: You are thieves (since it was acquired with money). The Cave of the Patriarchs, as it is written: 'And Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver...'; The Temple Mount, as it is written, 'So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold coins by weight'; Joseph's Tomb, as it is written, and he (Yaakov) bought the parcel of ground ... at the hand of the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem (Bereshit Rabbah, 89).
Three questions arise from the above Midrash:
1.) And on the rest of the Land of Israel the gentiles can say that we are robbers?
2.) What does it mean, “they will not be able”? We see that they are quite able and even successful in undermining our claim to those three places. Indeed, precisely those three places are where they concentrate their struggle!
3.) On the verse in Psalms (111:6), “The power of His works has He declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nations”, Rashi writes: “so that the nations will not be able to say you are robbers when you conquer the seven nations”. And so, we see that Rashi says that on all of Israel “they cannot say” that we are thieves!
The Torah knew that when the gentile would rise up against the Jewish “thieves” and “occupiers”, certain Jews may doubt the justice of their cause due to all kind of guilt feelings. Perhaps the gentile is right that we stole his land? Perhaps he has an ethical argument? And so the sages come to tell us: Look, there are three places that even according to simple logic the gentile cannot open his mouth about, for they were purchased with money. And in any case, this justified claim makes no impression on them.
On the contrary, it is precisely in these three places where they center their struggle against us! What does this teach us? That it isn't justice or ethics which motivates them, nor is it a dispute over property that can be resolved. Rather, it is a national-religious struggle!
Now the sages come and explain: Just as you know that in these three places their claims are not justified, by the same token you should not get excited about the rest of their claims on other parts of the land of Israel, since “the entire world belongs to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, He created it and gave it to whomever it was right in His eyes, of His own will He gave it to them and of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us!” (Rashi on the beginning of Genesis).
This now explains Rashi in the aforementioned Psalm, that “the nations of the world won't be able to say you are robbers”. Not that they “won't be able to say” it. On the contrary, they'll say it all the time. But the “won't be able to” is not directed to the gentile, but rather to the ears of the Jews!
That they must know that G-d gave us the Land, with an obligation to conquer and to expel. And so it is said: “The power of His works He has declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nations” - the answer is intended for “His people”. The gentiles are not being addressed here, either because they will not listen anyway, or perhaps it simply is not important what they think.
Hebron, Shechem, and the Temple Mount [...] have become symbols of the Arab-Israeli struggle in the land of Israel. Indeed, the battle for the Land of Israel has reached its climax, and those three locations which the “gentile won't be able” to contest, are, in fact, the most hotly contested.
Excerpted by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from the commentary on Chayei Sarah in “The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane. HY”D”
[Please read also this]:
Background: Who stole Eretz Yisrael? - From the writings of Rabbi Meir Kahane
G-d is Creator of the universe and Owner and Master of the earth and all that it contains:
“The earth is the L-rd's, and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 24:1). He gave Eretz Yisrael to the Jewish People as their land, to enable them to fulfill their mission of building a state and society in accordance with the laws and foundations of the Holy Torah: “He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited people's toils, that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws” (Ps. 105:44-45).
As far as Eretz Yisrael, no apologies or justifications are necessary. The Jewish People came to the land where the seven nations dwelled and took it from them by decree of the Owner, G-d.
G-d uprooted the nations who dwelled there and brought in His chosen people, Israel, because the land is His and does not belong to those who lived there as occupants.
As R. Yehoshua of Sachnin said in the name of R. Levi (Bereshit Rabbah, 1:2):
“He declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the lands of the nations” (Ps. 111:6): Why did G-d reveal to Israel what was created on the first and second days of Creation? [I.e., why did the Torah relate the entire Creation narrative when it should have concentrated on Torah law?]
It was because of the nations of the world, lest they curse Israel and say, “What a nation of pillagers you are!” Israel can respond, “Are you yourselves not pillagers? Surely it says, 'The Kaftorim came from Kaftor and annihilated the Avvim, occupying their territories' (Deut. 2:23).”
I.e., you and all the nations who claim that we, Israel, are pillagers, are hypocrites. After all, many nations took lands from nations who lived on them without any right or pretest for doing so. [Consider also America, Australia...] For example, the Kaftorim annihilated the Avvim and occupied their land. See Deut. 2 for further examples of nations who pillaged other nations and took their lands.
The point seems to be that before Israel respond to the nations with the main answer, they advance a side argument, namely: How can you and the Canaanites attempt to pose as innocent? After all, Eretz Yisrael was given to the descendants of Shem, and the Canaanites, descendants of Ham, took it from them. As Rashi wrote regarding the verse, “The Canaanites were then in the Land” (Gen. 12:6): “The Canaanites were gradually conquering Eretz Yisrael from Shem's descendants, for it had fallen to Shem's portion, when Noach divided up the earth amongst his sons.”
Afterwards comes the main argument: The world and all it contains were created by G-d and belong to Him. He is the Owner, and He gives to whomever He wishes and takes from whomever He wishes. He chose Israel to be His chosen people, His supreme, treasured nation, and He gave them the Land to be theirs and not the Canaanites'.
It likewise says (Deut. 6:10-11): To give you great, flourishing cities that you did not build. You will also have houses filled with all good things that you did not put there, finished cisterns that you did not quarry, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. You shall eat and be satisfied.
[As Rabbi Kahane further explains in Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot, Chapter 1]:
And there, in the Land of Israel, they inherited houses full of good things(Nehemiah 9:25), just as G-d had promised to give them houses filled with every type of good, which you did not fill (Deuteronomy 6:11) – you did not fill these houses, rather you captured them already filled with good. (Incidentally, this also teaches that everything that the Gentiles built and acquired when the Jews were not in Israel, they acquired illegally – in fact, by theft – because the land does not belong to them. Thus it is permitted to repossess their lands; only such property as they acquired under Jewish sovereignty is truly theirs.)
Clearly, just as G-d supervises the world and builds houses for the Jews in the Land of Israel in spite of the Gentiles and their anger, so too, when the Jews sin (!), His supervision works against THEM: They will build houses, but will not dwell in them…the great day of Hashem is near (Zephaniah 1:13-14).[...]
“For the children of Israel are slaves to Me, they are My slaves, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt – I am Hashem, your G-d.” (Lev. 25:55) – This last verse was rendered [in Aramaic] by Targum Yonatan: “The children of Israel are Mine – slaves to My Torah.”
NO ONE ON EARTH IS FREE! The children of Israel are not free, but slaves to Him and His Torah. Being such, how can we possibly own property? Surely, whatever a slave acquires, belongs to His master [...].
A Jew must realize that everything – the world, punishment, even he himself – is under G-d's exclusive domain [...].
IT IS A MITZVAH AND DUTY UPON EVERY JEW TO LIVE IN ERETZ YISRAEL, and a chilul Hashem when Israel lives outside of it.
NO NON-JEW HAS THE SLIGHTEST RIGHT TO OWNERSHIP OVER THE LAND, and any non-Jew who denies G-d's mastery and the ownership of His people Israel over the whole Land is rebelling against G-d, denying G-d's sovereignty on earth and profaning G-d's name. He has one fate – to leave the Land or to die.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” and “Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D, English translation by Daniel Pinner
“And Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver...” (Gen. 23:16).
Rabbi Yehuda Bar Simon said: It is one of the three places where the nations of the world would not be able to deceive Israel by claiming: You are thieves (since it was acquired with money). The Cave of the Patriarchs, as it is written: 'And Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver...'; The Temple Mount, as it is written, 'So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold coins by weight'; Joseph's Tomb, as it is written, and he (Yaakov) bought the parcel of ground ... at the hand of the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem (Bereshit Rabbah, 89).
Three questions arise from the above Midrash:
1.) And on the rest of the Land of Israel the gentiles can say that we are robbers?
2.) What does it mean, “they will not be able”? We see that they are quite able and even successful in undermining our claim to those three places. Indeed, precisely those three places are where they concentrate their struggle!
3.) On the verse in Psalms (111:6), “The power of His works has He declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nations”, Rashi writes: “so that the nations will not be able to say you are robbers when you conquer the seven nations”. And so, we see that Rashi says that on all of Israel “they cannot say” that we are thieves!
The Torah knew that when the gentile would rise up against the Jewish “thieves” and “occupiers”, certain Jews may doubt the justice of their cause due to all kind of guilt feelings. Perhaps the gentile is right that we stole his land? Perhaps he has an ethical argument? And so the sages come to tell us: Look, there are three places that even according to simple logic the gentile cannot open his mouth about, for they were purchased with money. And in any case, this justified claim makes no impression on them.
On the contrary, it is precisely in these three places where they center their struggle against us! What does this teach us? That it isn't justice or ethics which motivates them, nor is it a dispute over property that can be resolved. Rather, it is a national-religious struggle!
Now the sages come and explain: Just as you know that in these three places their claims are not justified, by the same token you should not get excited about the rest of their claims on other parts of the land of Israel, since “the entire world belongs to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, He created it and gave it to whomever it was right in His eyes, of His own will He gave it to them and of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us!” (Rashi on the beginning of Genesis).
This now explains Rashi in the aforementioned Psalm, that “the nations of the world won't be able to say you are robbers”. Not that they “won't be able to say” it. On the contrary, they'll say it all the time. But the “won't be able to” is not directed to the gentile, but rather to the ears of the Jews!
That they must know that G-d gave us the Land, with an obligation to conquer and to expel. And so it is said: “The power of His works He has declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nations” - the answer is intended for “His people”. The gentiles are not being addressed here, either because they will not listen anyway, or perhaps it simply is not important what they think.
Hebron, Shechem, and the Temple Mount [...] have become symbols of the Arab-Israeli struggle in the land of Israel. Indeed, the battle for the Land of Israel has reached its climax, and those three locations which the “gentile won't be able” to contest, are, in fact, the most hotly contested.
Excerpted by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from the commentary on Chayei Sarah in “The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane. HY”D”
[Please read also this]:
Background: Who stole Eretz Yisrael? - From the writings of Rabbi Meir Kahane
G-d is Creator of the universe and Owner and Master of the earth and all that it contains:
“The earth is the L-rd's, and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 24:1). He gave Eretz Yisrael to the Jewish People as their land, to enable them to fulfill their mission of building a state and society in accordance with the laws and foundations of the Holy Torah: “He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited people's toils, that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws” (Ps. 105:44-45).
As far as Eretz Yisrael, no apologies or justifications are necessary. The Jewish People came to the land where the seven nations dwelled and took it from them by decree of the Owner, G-d.
G-d uprooted the nations who dwelled there and brought in His chosen people, Israel, because the land is His and does not belong to those who lived there as occupants.
As R. Yehoshua of Sachnin said in the name of R. Levi (Bereshit Rabbah, 1:2):
“He declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the lands of the nations” (Ps. 111:6): Why did G-d reveal to Israel what was created on the first and second days of Creation? [I.e., why did the Torah relate the entire Creation narrative when it should have concentrated on Torah law?]
It was because of the nations of the world, lest they curse Israel and say, “What a nation of pillagers you are!” Israel can respond, “Are you yourselves not pillagers? Surely it says, 'The Kaftorim came from Kaftor and annihilated the Avvim, occupying their territories' (Deut. 2:23).”
I.e., you and all the nations who claim that we, Israel, are pillagers, are hypocrites. After all, many nations took lands from nations who lived on them without any right or pretest for doing so. [Consider also America, Australia...] For example, the Kaftorim annihilated the Avvim and occupied their land. See Deut. 2 for further examples of nations who pillaged other nations and took their lands.
The point seems to be that before Israel respond to the nations with the main answer, they advance a side argument, namely: How can you and the Canaanites attempt to pose as innocent? After all, Eretz Yisrael was given to the descendants of Shem, and the Canaanites, descendants of Ham, took it from them. As Rashi wrote regarding the verse, “The Canaanites were then in the Land” (Gen. 12:6): “The Canaanites were gradually conquering Eretz Yisrael from Shem's descendants, for it had fallen to Shem's portion, when Noach divided up the earth amongst his sons.”
Afterwards comes the main argument: The world and all it contains were created by G-d and belong to Him. He is the Owner, and He gives to whomever He wishes and takes from whomever He wishes. He chose Israel to be His chosen people, His supreme, treasured nation, and He gave them the Land to be theirs and not the Canaanites'.
It likewise says (Deut. 6:10-11): To give you great, flourishing cities that you did not build. You will also have houses filled with all good things that you did not put there, finished cisterns that you did not quarry, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. You shall eat and be satisfied.
[As Rabbi Kahane further explains in Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot, Chapter 1]:
And there, in the Land of Israel, they inherited houses full of good things(Nehemiah 9:25), just as G-d had promised to give them houses filled with every type of good, which you did not fill (Deuteronomy 6:11) – you did not fill these houses, rather you captured them already filled with good. (Incidentally, this also teaches that everything that the Gentiles built and acquired when the Jews were not in Israel, they acquired illegally – in fact, by theft – because the land does not belong to them. Thus it is permitted to repossess their lands; only such property as they acquired under Jewish sovereignty is truly theirs.)
Clearly, just as G-d supervises the world and builds houses for the Jews in the Land of Israel in spite of the Gentiles and their anger, so too, when the Jews sin (!), His supervision works against THEM: They will build houses, but will not dwell in them…the great day of Hashem is near (Zephaniah 1:13-14).[...]
“For the children of Israel are slaves to Me, they are My slaves, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt – I am Hashem, your G-d.” (Lev. 25:55) – This last verse was rendered [in Aramaic] by Targum Yonatan: “The children of Israel are Mine – slaves to My Torah.”
NO ONE ON EARTH IS FREE! The children of Israel are not free, but slaves to Him and His Torah. Being such, how can we possibly own property? Surely, whatever a slave acquires, belongs to His master [...].
A Jew must realize that everything – the world, punishment, even he himself – is under G-d's exclusive domain [...].
IT IS A MITZVAH AND DUTY UPON EVERY JEW TO LIVE IN ERETZ YISRAEL, and a chilul Hashem when Israel lives outside of it.
NO NON-JEW HAS THE SLIGHTEST RIGHT TO OWNERSHIP OVER THE LAND, and any non-Jew who denies G-d's mastery and the ownership of His people Israel over the whole Land is rebelling against G-d, denying G-d's sovereignty on earth and profaning G-d's name. He has one fate – to leave the Land or to die.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” and “Peirush HaMaccabee on Shemot” of Rav Meir Kahane, HY”D, English translation by Daniel Pinner
Monday, October 14, 2013
Parashat Vayeira - Isaac and Ishmael can't coexist - Rav Meir Kahane
(Bereshit
Rabbah, 53:11): “At the moment that Isaac was born, all were happy.
Ishmael said to them: 'Fools! I am the firstborn and I take a double
portion.' From Sarah's response to Abraham, 'The son of this slave woman will not share the inheritance with my son', we derive [Ishmael's attitude].”
Clearly, Sarah demanded Ishmael's ouster for the two reasons noted above: first, so that Isaac would not learn from his ways, and second, because it would be impossible for Ishmael not to be filled with jealousy over the land, which he saw as also belonging to him, and he would surely fight Isaac to take it away from him. [The matter greatly distressed Abraham regarding his son. So G-d said to Abraham, “Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad or your slave woman: Whatever Sarah tells you, heed her voice, since through Isaac will offspring be considered yours.” (Gen. 21:11-12)]. Tanchuma concludes, “from here we learn that Abraham was inferior to Sarah in prophetic powers.” Likewise, foolish, groundless love spoils the normal order of things. As Bereshit Rabbah teaches regarding Abraham's not wishing to send Ishmael away, “This belongs to 'shutting one's eyes to evil'(Isaiah 33:15)”. That is, Abraham, due to his inappropriate love, turned a blind eye to Ishmael's evil, and only Sarah saw it through her prophecy. Sarah was right in not taking the path of groundless love, and Abraham ultimately banished both Ishmael and the other concubines' sons. “Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. To the concubines' sons... he gave gifts. Then, while he was yet alive, he sent them to the country of the East, away from Isaac” (Gen. 25:5-6). Tanchuma stresses, “He removed them far from Isaac.”
Thus, there are two reasons for Abraham's banishing Ishmael and the other sons of the concubines: first, lest Isaac's sons should learn from their evil deeds; second, that these other sons who were born in the Land would forever think the Land was theirs and hate Isaac and his son Israel for taking it all for themselves. Sarah understood both reasons, hence she added, “The son of this slave will not share the inheritance” of the Land with Isaac, and since he would not inherit it, he would always hate Isaac and try to kill him. She, therefore, demanded that he be banished from the Land.
Ishmael's hatred for Israel is from ancient times and stems from Israel being Abraham's seed. Ishmael is jealous of Isaac's seed, who were chosen to be G-d's people, while he, Ishmael, was invalidated. Tanchuma (Vayelech, 2) teaches: “My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, [and he dug it and cleared away his stones]” (Isaiah 5:1-2). The “vineyard” refers to Israel. “He dug it” refers to Abraham, for G-d got rid of his refuse, such as Ishmael. “He cleared away its stones” refers to Isaac, from whom emerged Esau.
And the Mishna teaches (Nedarim 31a), “If someone vows not to derive any benefit from 'the offspring of Abraham,' he is forbidden to derive benefit from any Jew, but permitted to derive benefit from a non-Jew.” The Talmud then comments: What about Ishmael? It says, “It is through Isaac that you will be credited with offspring” (Gen. 21:12). And what about Esau? It says, “through Isaac” - but not all of Isaac.
Thus, Ishmael was removed from the category of Abraham's offspring, and he has no portion in Abraham, his offspring or his land. This they will never forget, and they have harbored this resentment all along. Already in the days of Alexander of Macadon, there was an incident described in Sanhedrin 91a: “...Another time, the descendants of Ishmael and Ketura came with Israel for litigation before Alexander of Macedonia. They said to Israel, Eretz Israel is yours and ours, as it says, 'these are the chronicles of Ishmael, son of Abraham' (Gen. 25:12), and, 'these are the chronicles of Isaac, son of Abraham' (Ibid., v. 19). ...Gevia ben Pesisa asked them, 'from whence are you bringing proof?' They responded, 'from the Torah'. He then said, 'I, too, will bring proof only from the Torah, for it says, 'Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. To the concubines' sons...he gave gifts, [and he sent them off]'(Gen. 25:5-6). If a father gives his sons an inheritance during his lifetime, and he sends them away from one another, can any of them have claims against any other?”
Here we see that over a thousand years after Ishmael's death the Ishmaelites were still claiming the land. They ignore all the arguments we put forth, just as they ignore what the Talmud states (Sanhedrin 59b) regarding circumcision: “It is Abraham whom the Torah originally admonishes 'You must keep My covenant – you and your offspring throughout their generations' (Gen. 17:9)... What about obligating the Ishmaelites [in circumcision, since they are Abraham's seed]? It says, 'it is through Isaac that you will gain posterity' (Gen. 21:12).
Thus, the Torah states explicitly that only Isaac, and not Ishmael, will be called Abraham's seed. Yet, what do the Ishmaelites or any other nation with a claim to the Land care what we say? Since they are our blood enemies and will never accept the authority of Israel and G-d, they have no place in the Land... Besides all this, we know that in the footsteps of the Messianic era, Ishmael will rise up against Israel and try to annihilate them.
R. Yitzchak said: The Torah need only have begun from Ex. 12:2, “This month shall be unto you the first of the months,” [introducing the first commandment given to Israel]. Why then did it start with the Genesis narrative?... It was so that if the nations of the world ever say to Israel, “You are thieves,” they will respond [that “the entire world is G-d's property. He created it and gave it to whoever is fitting in His eyes (Jer. 27:5); according to His will He gave it to them and according to His will he took it from them and gave it to us”] (Rashi Gen. 1:1).
Likewise, the Midrash says (Bereshit Rabbah, 1:2), “It was so that the nations would not castigate Israel and call them “a nation of plunderers”. R. Yitzchak did not say there, “because of the seven nations” but rather, “the nations of the world”, to inform us that all of the nations will join those nations who once inhabited the Land, be they the seven nations or Ishmaelites, with the claim that Israel are thieves and plunderers, and on that day, Israel shall stand alone.
It follows that those same laws that applied to the seven nations [that is, to remove them from the Land] apply to all the nations that live in Eretz Yisrael in every age.
This includes those of our age, who view Eretz Yisrael as their own land and soil, and who view the Jewish People as a nation of conquerers, robbers and thieves.
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 nations 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.
This logic appears already in Or HaChaim (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.
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.
Abraham, out of his mercy and kindness, did not wish to see the evil done by Ishmael, especially with him being his son. G-d therefore had to command him, “Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad” (Gen. 21:12).
Mercy towards the cruel is not a good trait. Quite the opposite, one is duty-bound to separate oneself from the evildoer even if this is a difficult step, and even if it appears cruel. There can be no coexistence between evil and upright people – only separation. [Likewise,] the death of the wicked is infinitely preferable to the death of the righteous, and eradicating evil is infinitely superior to eradicating good.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane, HY"D
Clearly, Sarah demanded Ishmael's ouster for the two reasons noted above: first, so that Isaac would not learn from his ways, and second, because it would be impossible for Ishmael not to be filled with jealousy over the land, which he saw as also belonging to him, and he would surely fight Isaac to take it away from him. [The matter greatly distressed Abraham regarding his son. So G-d said to Abraham, “Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad or your slave woman: Whatever Sarah tells you, heed her voice, since through Isaac will offspring be considered yours.” (Gen. 21:11-12)]. Tanchuma concludes, “from here we learn that Abraham was inferior to Sarah in prophetic powers.” Likewise, foolish, groundless love spoils the normal order of things. As Bereshit Rabbah teaches regarding Abraham's not wishing to send Ishmael away, “This belongs to 'shutting one's eyes to evil'(Isaiah 33:15)”. That is, Abraham, due to his inappropriate love, turned a blind eye to Ishmael's evil, and only Sarah saw it through her prophecy. Sarah was right in not taking the path of groundless love, and Abraham ultimately banished both Ishmael and the other concubines' sons. “Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. To the concubines' sons... he gave gifts. Then, while he was yet alive, he sent them to the country of the East, away from Isaac” (Gen. 25:5-6). Tanchuma stresses, “He removed them far from Isaac.”
Thus, there are two reasons for Abraham's banishing Ishmael and the other sons of the concubines: first, lest Isaac's sons should learn from their evil deeds; second, that these other sons who were born in the Land would forever think the Land was theirs and hate Isaac and his son Israel for taking it all for themselves. Sarah understood both reasons, hence she added, “The son of this slave will not share the inheritance” of the Land with Isaac, and since he would not inherit it, he would always hate Isaac and try to kill him. She, therefore, demanded that he be banished from the Land.
Ishmael's hatred for Israel is from ancient times and stems from Israel being Abraham's seed. Ishmael is jealous of Isaac's seed, who were chosen to be G-d's people, while he, Ishmael, was invalidated. Tanchuma (Vayelech, 2) teaches: “My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, [and he dug it and cleared away his stones]” (Isaiah 5:1-2). The “vineyard” refers to Israel. “He dug it” refers to Abraham, for G-d got rid of his refuse, such as Ishmael. “He cleared away its stones” refers to Isaac, from whom emerged Esau.
And the Mishna teaches (Nedarim 31a), “If someone vows not to derive any benefit from 'the offspring of Abraham,' he is forbidden to derive benefit from any Jew, but permitted to derive benefit from a non-Jew.” The Talmud then comments: What about Ishmael? It says, “It is through Isaac that you will be credited with offspring” (Gen. 21:12). And what about Esau? It says, “through Isaac” - but not all of Isaac.
Thus, Ishmael was removed from the category of Abraham's offspring, and he has no portion in Abraham, his offspring or his land. This they will never forget, and they have harbored this resentment all along. Already in the days of Alexander of Macadon, there was an incident described in Sanhedrin 91a: “...Another time, the descendants of Ishmael and Ketura came with Israel for litigation before Alexander of Macedonia. They said to Israel, Eretz Israel is yours and ours, as it says, 'these are the chronicles of Ishmael, son of Abraham' (Gen. 25:12), and, 'these are the chronicles of Isaac, son of Abraham' (Ibid., v. 19). ...Gevia ben Pesisa asked them, 'from whence are you bringing proof?' They responded, 'from the Torah'. He then said, 'I, too, will bring proof only from the Torah, for it says, 'Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. To the concubines' sons...he gave gifts, [and he sent them off]'(Gen. 25:5-6). If a father gives his sons an inheritance during his lifetime, and he sends them away from one another, can any of them have claims against any other?”
Here we see that over a thousand years after Ishmael's death the Ishmaelites were still claiming the land. They ignore all the arguments we put forth, just as they ignore what the Talmud states (Sanhedrin 59b) regarding circumcision: “It is Abraham whom the Torah originally admonishes 'You must keep My covenant – you and your offspring throughout their generations' (Gen. 17:9)... What about obligating the Ishmaelites [in circumcision, since they are Abraham's seed]? It says, 'it is through Isaac that you will gain posterity' (Gen. 21:12).
Thus, the Torah states explicitly that only Isaac, and not Ishmael, will be called Abraham's seed. Yet, what do the Ishmaelites or any other nation with a claim to the Land care what we say? Since they are our blood enemies and will never accept the authority of Israel and G-d, they have no place in the Land... Besides all this, we know that in the footsteps of the Messianic era, Ishmael will rise up against Israel and try to annihilate them.
R. Yitzchak said: The Torah need only have begun from Ex. 12:2, “This month shall be unto you the first of the months,” [introducing the first commandment given to Israel]. Why then did it start with the Genesis narrative?... It was so that if the nations of the world ever say to Israel, “You are thieves,” they will respond [that “the entire world is G-d's property. He created it and gave it to whoever is fitting in His eyes (Jer. 27:5); according to His will He gave it to them and according to His will he took it from them and gave it to us”] (Rashi Gen. 1:1).
Likewise, the Midrash says (Bereshit Rabbah, 1:2), “It was so that the nations would not castigate Israel and call them “a nation of plunderers”. R. Yitzchak did not say there, “because of the seven nations” but rather, “the nations of the world”, to inform us that all of the nations will join those nations who once inhabited the Land, be they the seven nations or Ishmaelites, with the claim that Israel are thieves and plunderers, and on that day, Israel shall stand alone.
It follows that those same laws that applied to the seven nations [that is, to remove them from the Land] apply to all the nations that live in Eretz Yisrael in every age.
This includes those of our age, who view Eretz Yisrael as their own land and soil, and who view the Jewish People as a nation of conquerers, robbers and thieves.
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 nations 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.
This logic appears already in Or HaChaim (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.
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.
Abraham, out of his mercy and kindness, did not wish to see the evil done by Ishmael, especially with him being his son. G-d therefore had to command him, “Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad” (Gen. 21:12).
Mercy towards the cruel is not a good trait. Quite the opposite, one is duty-bound to separate oneself from the evildoer even if this is a difficult step, and even if it appears cruel. There can be no coexistence between evil and upright people – only separation. [Likewise,] the death of the wicked is infinitely preferable to the death of the righteous, and eradicating evil is infinitely superior to eradicating good.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane, HY"D
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