Rav Benyamin Kahane ZTL HYD writings

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Writings of Rav Benyamin Kahane ZTL HYD
 I would like to get all (as much as possible) of Rav Benyamin Kahane's writings in one forum thread. Soo post anything and everything you can find from the Rav on this thread, also provide link when possible,

 Just noticed- I believe these are all or almost all of Rav Benyamin Kahane's writings here

 http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/
 (Maybe someone as well can go through them and copy/paste them unto the forum soo they are copied and stay on the internet and or copied and printed)

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Parashat Noach - Creation annihilated? - Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane

And He blotted out all existence that was on the face of the ground - from man to animals to creeping things and to the bird of the sky; and they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noach survived and those with him in the Ark. (Gen. 7:23)
Parashat Noach raises the following question: Why did G-d wipe out all of the beasts, birds, and crawling things in the flood? If man sinned, why should the animals suffer? Rashi explains: "The entire creation is for man, and when man is wiped out, who needs all these?" That is, the purpose of the creation is not simply to exist, but rather to actualize the destiny of the Creation. The moment there is no purpose (which is the case after G-d wiped out man, for whom the world was created), then the animals must perish since there is no longer a reason for their existence. Here, too, the moment the deeds of man prove that there is no longer a possibility for him to fulfill his destiny, his existence is no longer necessary, and he perishes. But we are still left wondering: All that creation, just for annihilation? All those generations before the flood (a span of 1654 years) were for nothing?

The answer is no. Harsh though this verses may be, a verse appears at the very end of Bereshit which turns everything around: "But Noach found grace in the eyes of G-d". And while this lonely verse may appear to be only a small comfort to a world gone astray, the truth is that this one verse is everything. Even if we are speaking about one individual – he is the one who counts. Noach is the justification for the world's continued existence.

G-d created the world for the sake of those who will eventually fulfill the world's destiny, and He is not deterred by the possibility that there may be just a very few out there who may be willing. What really counts is that small ray of light that sometimes is not paid much attention to, but illuminates the world with the light of the world's true destiny.

But...

For 120 years, Noah fulfilled G-d's commandment and built the ark, all the while warning the people in his generation about the impending flood. When the people would pass by his house and ask what he was doing, he would reply, "The Almighty said that He is bringing a flood upon the world". The people reacted with vicious mockery. (Bereishit Raba 30:7)

The question that can be asked is the following: For 120 years Noach warned of the flood. And what came out of it? At first glance absolutely nothing! In the end, the flood wiped out the entire world, except for whom? Except for Noach and his family. Not even one person was convinced to do "teshuva". Not even one! Noach's "life endeavor"of 120 years was a waste of time. Or was it?

The story of Noach provides us with a concrete illustration as to what the true role of the chastising prophet is. Certainly the major goal of the warnings and admonishment are to direct the people onto the proper path, in the hope that they will do "teshuva" immediately. But in contrast as to what one might think, if the prophet does not succeed in bringing the people to "teshuva", this does not necessarily mean that he failed! A deeper look will reveal that the rebuke in itself has value. If we look at the prophets of Israel, we will notice an amazing fact: Generally speaking, they were a dismal failure. It seemed as if they influenced no one. The people were not interested in hearing them, and did not change their evil ways. Does this mean that there was no value in the warnings of the prophets? Of course not. After all, the words of the prophets are inscribed forever in our holy Tanach.

The answer to this question van be found in G-d's answer to Ezekiel when He appoints him as a prophet (chapter 2) "And He said to me, Son of man, I sent thee to the children of Israel...that have rebelled against me...and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord G-d. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to hear, (for they are a rebellious house), so that they shall know that there has been a prophet amongst them ". And afterwards (3:7): "But the house of Israel will not hearken to you..." Can this be? If G-d knows that they will not listen, why send Ezekiel out and put him through such humiliation and abuse? And so a new concept is learned here. The saying of truth has value, even if it has no apparent influence at that particular moment. What is the value? "So that they shall know that there has been a prophet amongst them". Even if immediate results are not seen, the value of the warnings are that they manifest the bringing in of G-d's word into the world. The prophet who expresses G-d's truth in giving expression to G-d's actual presence in this world. It is showing us that the world is not "hefker" (chaos). There is justice in the world. By so doing, the prophet in essence sanctifies G-d's name.

(Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane" HY"D - end of commentary on Parashat Bereshit and commentary on Parashat Noach)

http://meir-kahane.angelfire.com/noach.html/

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Parashat Chayei Sarah - Whose Hebron is it, anyway? – Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane

(Plus added background-article from the writings of Rabbi 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 Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY”D

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Parashat Vayetze - No Tranquility for the Righteous - Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane

“Yaakov went out” and “Yaakov sat”.
“And Yaakov went out” - This seemingly innocent opening of our Parasha is really not as simple as it may appear. Think about it: From where is Yaakov going out and where is he going to? He is departing from Yitzchak and Rivka's warm home, from the cozy tent (as the verse says, “he dwelt in tents”), from a pure and wholesome environment (and Yaakov was “tam”, meaning wholesome or pure). And where is he headed? To a cold, cruel world of murderers and swindlers. Yaakov, a wholesome, pure man, whose only desire is to serve G-d, finds himself fleeing from his brother who wants to kill him. He is on the way to a place he is not at all familiar with. Sure, it's his uncle. But what kind of uncle is this? Lavan the Aramite, the cheat and scoundrel. Does Yaakov really need all this grief?

Remember, Yaakov tried to avoid all this in the first place. It wasn't his idea to steal the blessings, which was what got him into this mess in the first place. It was his righteous mother who incited him to do it. Yaakov wanted to sit in his tent, to bask in the radiance of his father, to absorb Torah from him, to elevate himself spiritually. And now? He is alone and unsure of his destination, with but a stick in his hand. This is a situation he never dreamed he would find himself in. And again, where is he headed? To his uncle. If only he knew what waits for him there. With brothers and uncles like that, who needs enemies? How are we supposed to understand this? Why does G-d wish to see Yaakov go through all these difficult circumstances? Esau, Lavan, and let us remember his greatest sorrow of all – the loss of Yosef. Why doesn't G-d allow this righteous man, whose entire life's goal is to sit in the tent of Torah and serve G-d – why doesn't G-d allow him to fulfill his aspirations? Instead, this man of enormous potential must waste his thoughts and his efforts in scheming how to avoid his murderous brother. Is this not a waste of talent? Isn't there a more optimal way this spiritual giant can use his time? What is the reason for all these trials and tribulations which befall Yaakov, turning his life into one of brutal hardships, a life he himself sums up as: - “few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.”

In order to understand, “And Yaakov went out”, we must understand “And Yaakov sat”, which is two Parashot ahead of us. On this seemingly mundane phrase “And Yaakov sat”, the sages tell us: “Yaakov desired to sit in peace, but there sprang upon him the troubles of Yosef. When the righteous desire to sit in tranquility, the Almighty says: Is it not sufficient for the righteous that which is prepared for them in the world to come, but they seek to sit in tranquility in this world too!”

What is so wrong about wanting to sit in tranquility? Don't the righteous deserve it? This is basically the same question we have been asking all along. And the answer is a resounding, No! The righteous are not supposed to sit in tranquility. Yaakov was put on this earth to be a “And Yaakov went out” man, and not a “And Yaakov sat” type of person. This is a novel idea in this generation. For up to now, we have been taught that the complete Jew is one who spends all his time learning in the Beit Midrash. Not true. There is a time for sitting in the Beit Midrash and a time to go out to the people. People are suffering. There are ideals that must be fought for. There are problems that must be solved.

Therefore, it is wrong to think that Yaakov “went to waste” wandering and investing energies to foil con-men and murderers. All these experiences, which may seem as needless aggravation and wastes of time, bring the Jew to loftier heights. A Jew who must face all this while remaining steadfast in spreading G-d's word and doing the right things; the one who takes on the wicked - and does it all out of a connection to G-d and guidance from the Torah he is engrossed in during every moment available to him – such a Jew reaches far greater heights than the one who dismisses himself from such “politics”, and sits only in the Beit Midrash. Yaakov is a symbol for the sons who succeeded him, the nation of Israel. Yaakov does not sit in tranquility. The days of Messiah have not yet arrived.

Jew! In this world there are problems which are sometimes difficult, and one must deal with them, and if necessary, fight them. This is part of your destiny. Why do you think there is Esau and Lavan in this world? For you! They did not sprout up by themselves. G-d created them! They exist in order to harass the wholesome Jew. They exist to test him. And the tests are difficult ones. True, you do not have to go and look for tests. But don't worry, they will find you. Each one according to what has been designated for him. But take comfort, Jew: In the end, these tests and trials mold you and give you the chance to reach greater heights, and to prove your faith and trust in G-d. And that's what being a Jew is all about.

The “gedolim” of all generations, who are our guiding light from the days of Avraham until today – they are people who never fled from struggles. When Yaakov starts to fatigue, and it happens, G-d throws all kinds of challenges his way – events which awaken him from the cocoon of tranquility he tries to curl himself into. They awaken him and say: Yaakov, Yaakov, there is no rest in this world! Don't worry, don't take it too hard – if only you knew what awaits you in the next world! And then he is awakened, inspirited, anxious to do battle. We are amazed to see Yaakov, this pure and simple man being forced to deal with the devious Lavan, and overcoming him. Sure, Yaakov is “tam”, but when he leaves his tent, he knows how to deal with evil...

From "The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, HY"D ", commentary on Parashat Vayetze

http://meir-kahane.angelfire.com/vayetze.html/

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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

http://meir-kahane.angelfire.com/vaera.html/

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Pesach – Seder night’s secret meaning - Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane

It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining at the [Seder] table in B'nei Brak, and they were recounting the story of the Exodus from Egypt all that night, until their students came in and told them: “Our Rabbis! The time has come for the recitation of the morning Shema!” (From the Pesach Haggada)
It happened. Rabbi Maimon suggested a nice idea regarding the historical background of this episode. Even though it is not clear whether it is historically accurate, it sheds essential light on understanding the milieu in which these five sages lived and were active. Rabbi Maimon asks: why did these four great Tannaim leave their homes on the Seder night to travel to B'nei Brak, the home of Rabbi Akiva. Indeed, according to the Talmud, each of the other four Tannaim had houses of study in other cities. More than this: given that they wanted to sit together – why at the house of Rabbi Akiva, who was considered the student in relation to the others? His explanation is that this episode occurred during the period of preparation for the revolt of Bar Kochba – whose arms-bearer and one of the leaders of the revolt, was Rabbi Akiva ( Mishne Torah, Hilchot Melachim/Laws of Kings 11:3). It should also be noted that the Rambam writes that the other sages of the generation also supported Bar Kochba. Accordingly, when these five sages sat in B'nei Brak, precisely at the place of Rabbi Akiva who was at the center of the revolt, they engaged not only in recounting the Exodus from Egypt in the past tense, but – and principally - the “Exodus from Egypt” of their own time. As is well known, the first redemption was a portent for the final Redemption. This means that in order to understand the fundaments of the final Redemption – which is predicated on faith, self-sacrifice and Kiddush Hashem – the fundaments of the first redemption must be learned thoroughly. Therefore, studying the first redemption, and studying the final Redemption, are one and the same thing! As is known, the Bar Kochba Revolt occurred about 60 years after the destruction of the Second Temple. Nevertheless, the belief and the understanding that it was possible to bring the Redemption today, if you would hearken to His voice still beat in the hearts of these leaders of Israel.

For regarding the last exile (as opposed to the Babylonian exile [of 70 years]), no fixed period was ever predetermined. And so, they sat throughout that night, discussing the present revolt, whose purpose was to usher in that day which would be greater than the Exodus from Egypt (See the Talmud, Berachot 13a). For if one sits and tells of the Exodus from Egypt as belonging only to the past, and does nothing for the current Redemption – then what value is there in all the stories he tells on the Seder night? For him, the recitation of the Haggadah really is, as Rabbi Yehuda ha-Levi described it, “like the twittering of a starling”! And in this context, it should be noted that Rabbi Menachem Kasher, in his book ha-Tekufah ha-Gedolah (“The Great Era”), writes that in this generation, the obligation of the Seder night is to relate not only the story of the Exodus from Egypt, but also the miracles of our generation – those miracles of the beginning of the Redemption, which were greater even than the miracles of the Hasmoneans. These miracles, and the events that the Jewish nation has undergone for a century past, can also bring the Jew to faith. As with the Exodus from Egypt, we again saw that out of total despair and terrible humiliation, we arose and revived our nation – after everyone had already eulogized us. And in the same vein, we can add that we should not only sit and recount the miracles, but rather – like Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues – we should sit and discuss the future continuation of the Redemption process. We must ponder how to advance the Redemption, how to smooth the road to Redemption, and how to continue in the path of Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiva in order to bring the Redemption that is knocking at the gate – immediately, quickly, and without unnecessary suffering – for it is not enough to sit and wait for the Mashiach, we must actively bring him. According to this explanation, the sages did not notice that the time for the morning Shema had arrived, not just because they were engrossed in deep discussion, but also because, for reasons of secrecy, they were sitting in a place that sunlight would never reach.

Our Rabbis! The time has come for the recitation of the morning Shema! This call can also be explained as hinting at something deeper. The recitation of the Shema is the symbol par excellence of the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, which brings one to self-sacrifice. Rabbi Akiva said, when he was executed by the Romans, that he had always been concerned that he might not have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of sacrificing his very life for Kiddush Hashem: When will my chance come to fulfill it? And his soul departed with the word echad (“one”). Hence, these students were telling their rabbis: Our Rabbis! The time has come to accept unto ourselves the yoke of Heaven, and to go forth and to revolt against the Romans who oppress and humiliate the Jewish nation and desecrate the Name of Heaven. We can thereby bring the Redemption, even at the price of supreme self-sacrifice. For one of the conditions for redemption is self- sacrifice. Indeed two of the sages mentioned here, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon, are among the Ten Martyrs; and several of the Ten Martyrs were students of these sages. The Romans killed them for violating their decrees and, as already mentioned, for their active involvement in the Bar Kochba revolt. Significantly, one of the decrees of the Romans in that generation was the prohibition of reciting the Shema. Rabbi Meir said: Once we were sitting in front of Rabbi Akiva in the Beit ha-Midrash; we were reading the Shema, but we were not reciting it audibly, because of a Roman soldier who was standing by the door. (Tosefta Berachot 2:13) Apparently, this statement is a similar encoded hint of resistance to Roman occupation, along the lines of the commentary on the preceding section.

The time has come for the recitation of the morning Shema. These five Tannaim were sitting and discussing the “Exodus from Egypt” of their generation, i.e. planning how to bring about the final Redemption; and, as we just explained, this is of paramount importance. How, then, can the recital of the Shema take precedence over this? There are two answers: First, Judaism demands precision in the tiniest details of the mitzvot, and one who treats the small details (which might appear to be of secondary importance) lightly, will eventually treat the major principles lightly. Unfortunately, we have seen this in our generation: Some of the greatest thinkers in the nationalist movement abandoned the details of the mitzvot, according them secondary importance, preferring to deal with the “truly important” issues. But ultimately, since the absolute values of Torah did not define their framework, they began to compromise; and having begun to compromise on minor nationalist issues, their compromises became progressively greater, until they conceded those “truly important” issues as well – and, eventually, lost their entire ideology.

Second, the commandment of reciting the Shema is, as we have already said, a declaration of the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, which is the foundation of all – and it is also the way to bring the Redemption. We must always remember this: when working to bring the Redemption, we must always remain within the framework that G-d has dictated. It is He who establishes the rules and conditions for the Redemption. And the truth is that some of the central conditions of the Redemption fundamentally oppose the ideals of Western culture, which – unfortunately – greatly influence even those who speak highly of the Redemption. We must remember that to bring the Redemption, the first basic condition is acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. And this demands that we accept G-d's dictates in the nationalist sphere, too, whether we understand His reasons, or not, whether they are “acceptable” to us or not; for we are not “nationalists” - we are servants of Hashem.

Self-sacrifice has always been the central condition for hastening the redemption; and so is it in our days. The primary repentance that G-d demands for hastening the Redemption and preventing the terrible sufferings of the birth-pangs of the Mashiach is a return to genuine trust in G-d, tried and proven by our willingness to endanger ourselves for the sake of those mitzvot which appear “dangerous”. These mitzvot include annexation, and open and unabashed settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel; driving the Gentiles out of the Land without fear of what the nations (including America) will say; removing the foreigners from the Temple Mount and implementing our sovereignty there.

May we merit to properly fulfill the mitzvah of telling the Passover story, and to act upon the practical conclusions derived from learning about the first Redemption. Have a happy and kosher Passover.

Excerpted by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Haggada of the Jewish Idea” by Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane HY”D (English edition, translated by Daniel Pinner)

http://meir-kahane.angelfire.com/pesach.html/

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Parashat Chukat – The Legitimate Rights of the Ammonites - Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane

The modern concept of “Jewish occupied territories” rears its ugly head in Parashat Chukat and our Haftarah of the Shabbat. In our Parashah, the kings Og and Sichon prevent the Jewish People from passing through their borders on their way to the Land of Israel. Not only that, but they even wage war against us – and lose. The children of Israel conquer their land and do not let go. Interestingly enough, the following idiotic idea never dawned on either of the parties involved: O.K., we tried to annihilate you and we did not succeed, so just give us back what you conquered from us during our attempt to wipe you out, and in exchange we promise not to try to wipe you out again. No, such a proposition was never raised. When you lose, you lose, without dictating conditions afterwards.
“Land for Peace”: And what if Sichon would have come to Israel and demanded “land for peace”? What would have been the reaction then? To answer this question, we are forced to move the clock ahead another 300 years until we arrive at the Haftarah of our Parashah. That is precisely what happens. The king of Ammon brazenly demands that Israel return to him the territories that were conquered, and if they refuse, there will be war. The difference between him and the Arabs of today is that the king of Ammon is a lot more “moderate”. He personally has no previous “record” of hostility towards the Jewish People. He simply makes a very limited albeit uncompromising request. “Because Israel took away my land when they came out of Egypt, from Ammon as far as the Yabbok and the Jordan.” (Judges 11:13) The king of Ammon does not want everything. He does not seek the liquidation of the Jewish entity. He simply wants that which was taken from him. He is simply demanding to exercise the historical right of his people. And then, as if he jumped off the pages of the Tanach into today's reality, he concludes in the following manner: “Now, therefore, restore those lands peacefully.” (Judges 11:13) “Peace”. That magic word. What normal Jewish leader can refuse such an offer? After all, it is not an illogical claim; the lands were taken from them. They once even had a sovereign empire with a capital and an army there. And most importantly, here is a genuine opportunity for peace: “No more war, no more bloodshed.”

“Not one Inch”: But Yiftach's answer is a real knockout. He recounts all the relevant past history, and then concludes: “So now the L-rd of Israel has driven out the Emori from before his people Israel, and you should possess the land?! Will you not possess what your god Kemosh gives you to possess? So likewise that which the L-rd our G-d has voided before us, that shall we possess.”(Judges 11:23,24) This is the reaction of a true Jewish leader. A reaction of emunah [faith]. The land is ours not because of any “historical claim” or because we are strong, but rather because G-d gave it to us. And pay attention how Yiftach even mocks the Ammonite god “Kemosh” - take what he gives you, but from us you will get nothing – not an inch.

“How to subdue the Enemy”: How can we begin to understand the minds of those Jews, particularly religious ones, who do not grasp all this. The cursed Arab enemy has initiated war after war against us in an effort to obliterate us, and he has failed each time. Each time G-d has granted us great miracles to overcome them, yet we insist on being ingrates, not recognizing the miracles. Only when we understand that our true right to the land is based on the ultimately ethical concept that G-d gave it to us – only then will we get the results that Yiftach achieved, “thus the children of Ammon were subdued by the children of Israel.”

http://meir-kahane.angelfire.com/chukat.html/

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Rav Binyamin Kahane's last letter
In memory of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev and his wife Taliya Kahane, HY"D
whose 9th yahrzeit was this week

Take Your Own Destiny In Your Own Hands...

Binyamin Kahane's parting message was for the settlers to take matters into their own hands. The daily murder of Jews coupled with the futility of the IDF caused Binyamin to come to the conclusion that the settlers will inevitably have to fend for themselves - and that's a good thing.

Binyamin had already met with key people in the Samarian area ("Gav HaHar" - which includes the settlements Tapuach, Yizhar, Ittemar, Har HaBracha, Elon More) to help implement his plan - he felt that these settlements were more apt to agree with his approach, more willing to cut the IDF umbilical cord. He had just begun a "speaking tour" at various settlements to bring this idea over. The fact that he started going "public" after so many years of spreading ideas "quietly" is proof of how much he believed in this idea. In his last "shiurim", in his parasha sheets and during his speaking tour in the States, he also emphasized this message, tying it in with Hanukah: "The miracle of Hanukah was that Jews were ready to fight".

Below is the letter he planned to circulate among the settlers. It was read at his funeral by Rabbi Yehuda Richter:

"To my dear brothers and friends living in the mountains of Judaea and Samaria:

The situation currently facing us demands that we courageously re-assess all that we have believed until now. The issue before us is no longer just the fundamental problem of Chillul HaShem and Jewish humiliation; more, it is now a simple issue of straightforward security that involves each and every one of us.

Living in the mountains of Judea and Samaria, we are truly fortunate in that we comprise a community that, for the overwhelming majority, fears its God, loves its nation unstintingly, and is prepared for self-sacrifice. At this time of unrelenting strife, violence and an all but declared war, this faith grants us an insuperable advantage over those who live in ostensibly safer areas.

The capitulation of Joseph's Tomb - on Shabbat T'shuva, the Sabbath of Penitence (!) - shocked us all to the very depths of our souls. But, truth to tell, few if any of us were really surprised, particularly after the IDF gave the broadest possible hints of their intentions just a few days earlier.

The situation today is difficult and complex. On the one hand, we are fully prepared - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - to retain Jewish control over the Jewish homeland, maybe more prepared than any other sector in Israeli society. On the other hand, the IDF is being exposed - with all the good-will - as a confused body, lacking direction and ideology and, above all, with no faith in God.

Additionally, we daily witness Jews throughout the land rising spontaneously, the plain meaning of which is that they are sick of the current government and the situation that it has wrought, and that they yearn for a determined leader who will steer the state along a truly Jewish path. Together with this, simple actions of individual Jews from all the settlements (such as blocking roads to Arab vehicles) are more successful in casting fear over the Arabs than the IDF with all its APC's, jeeps, bullet-proof vests, inconsequential patrols, and bewildered commanders. And in the light of all these facts and their implications, we the inhabitants are determined to remain; we refuse to surrender our hold over our land, even as we refuse to acquiesce in the continuing humiliation of the Nation of Israel and the desecration of the Name of God.

My suggestion is as follows: Based upon the facts that I have outlined above, all the settlements on the mountain-ridge running north-south along the length of Judea and Samaria must conjoin with each other, forming a united leadership. This will immediately broadcast an unequivocal message to the IDF: "Just as you abandoned the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem - so, too, please abandon us. Abandon the entire mountain range whereon we live". This must be stated politely, calmly and rationally. "Clearly, you do not want to be here. You obviously do not understand what you are doing here. You have no overall aims whatsoever, beyond the idiotic aim of 'enforcing order'. There is no purpose at all, under these circumstances, in forcing you to remain here. We who live here are ready and willing to take full responsibility for this area upon ourselves. Just allow us this responsibility. As we all know, the government fully intended in any event to abandon virtually all this region to the Arabs, if only Arafat would have deigned to agree to their designs. So please, hand over this land to us. By the grace of God, here in these mountains we have wonderful youth and highly-trained military personnel whose morale is high; they will gladly accept this responsibility upon themselves. Ultimately they will take to their duties enthusiastically and, what is more important, with the faith in the God Who gave us this land. Just leave us the arms (and even if not, we will nevertheless succeed...), and HaShem will be our strength".

Without the slightest doubt, the Arab denizens will be terrified merely at hearing this news: authority here will no longer rest with the shackled Army which has for so long been the punching-bag of Arab hooligans. Rather, those "monstrous settlers" (and, thank God, the Arab media portray us as the devil incarnate, if not worse) will now take charge.

Without the slightest shadow of doubt, such a step would clear the air here. There will be a complete about-face: this news will, for the first time in too many years, attract youths in their hundreds - at least! - who would come here to help. At long last there will be genuine yishuv ha-aretz (settling of the Land of Israel) and the beginning of Jewish sovereignty over the Land of Israel. This will put an end to the confused stammering and steadfast search for ways of handing over the land to the enemies of God, which have been the greatest obstacles to the Mitzvah which we are fulfilling here with our very being. Can we even begin to imagine the inspiration that this earth-shaking news would give to so many Jews, both 'secular' and 'religious', in Israel and abroad? It has been far too long since we experienced that deep and stirring feeling of Jewish national pride.

This is truly revolutionary! But it is far less revolutionary than the changes that have been wrought in the reality of Israel in the past few weeks, and we have nothing to lose. Even if the IDF does not accept this proposal - as can be expected, at least in the initial stage - then, at the very least, the military command and the government will realize that there is an additional and serious force on the ground, a force which they ignore at their peril.

Furthermore, for reasons of its own security, the IDF will want to prove that it can protect civilians; consequently, it will act more determinedly - at least, so far as it is capable within the limitations imposed by fear of the gentiles and of the Left which shackles it.

None of this entails separating ourselves from society. To the contrary, we will remain part of Israeli society, willing at a moment's notice to re-join, by agreement, that state which has, until now, refused for 33 years to annex us. We speak here not of separation, but of additional Jewish sovereignty over a part of the Land of Israel which has been too long abandoned. We act for the good of the Nation of Israel, for the good of the State of Israel, for the sake of our families' safety. Above all, we act for the sake of Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of the Name of God, and eradicating its desecration until the hour of Final Redemption comes."

With grave concern and Ahavat Yisrael,

Binyamin Kahane

http://tzipordror.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-12-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=5

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Parashat Shemot - Jeopardizing all our accomplishments - Rav 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

http://tzipordror.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Parashat Ki-Tavo (and Parashat BeChukotay, for that matter) bring us a list of blessings if we go in God’s way and a list of curses, if we do not. But the list of curses is totally disproportionate in number to the list of blessing ! In Parasha Ki-Tavo, 14 verses of blessings are brought down, followed by a list of no less than 54 verses of curses! And so we want to address the question: Why so many curses? Where is the balance? After all, there are entire “hashkafot” (outlooks) which are built around the need to be optimistic, to dwell on the positive, etc.

Many criticized Rabbi Meir Kahane, z”tl, for his “prophecies of doom”. What a downer he was – warning of tragedy and holocausts if we do not do the right thing. In his book, “They Must Go”, for example, he brings down in full gory detail, the 1929 slaughter of the Jews in Hebron by Arabs. Indeed, he was a “pessimist”. In urging American Jews to make aliyah, instead of stressing the “positive aspects” of the mitzvah for a Jew to live in Eretz Yisrael, the rabbi chose to take the “negative approach” to stress the physical danger facing the American Jew. He wrote an entire book called “Time to Go Home” which warned of the potential holocaust which hovers over American Jewry. Why? Why didn’t the rav stress the wonderful attributes of Israel and the obligation of the Jew to live there in his efforts to convince Jews to emigrate to Israel? Because apparently, the rabbi knew, as does our parsha, that the way to motivate Jews into action is to shock them, to shake them up out of their indifference.

And so our parsha brings down curses in rapid-fire fashion, so that the Jew will internalize what will happen if he does not go in God’s way. To frighten the Jew into action, into “tshuva”.

Who Says that “Yiyeh Tov”?
The famous Israeli slogan, that “everything will be OK” (Yiyeh Tov) is therefore a misleading one. Our parsha is telling us quite clearly: If we do good (obey Hashem’s commandments), then it will be good. And if we do bad (do not obey Hashem’s commandments), then it will be bad.

In this context, Binyamin Zev Kahane, z”tl, added that the known custom where the ba’al kore shifts into high gear and lowers his voice when reading the curses (“tochacha”) is a dangerous thing. Why? Because although the original intention of this custom was so that the curses don’t fall upon us, today, there is something else that stands behind our speed reading rendition of the tochacha. And what is the reason: We simply don’t want to hear the bad. We want to maintain our illusions that “Yiyeh Tov”. We are ostriches who look away, hoping that the problems will go away.

Easy to Imagine Good, Difficult to Imagine Bad Rav Binyamin Kahane used to give another reason for the disproportionate number of curses in relation to blessings. When the Torah begins to speak of material blessing and abundance, the Jew has no problem picturing the material good in his mind. He can already picture for himself the nice house, garden and posh living room, and there is no need for the Torah to elaborate further. But when it comes to the bad, the very opposite is true. The Jew doesn’t grasp that evil will befall him, and when it does, he thinks that it will not get continue or get worse. In our parsha, the Torah comes and tells the Jew: You think it was bad up until now? Well, you haven’t seen anything yet, because it is going to get worse. Until we get to the verse, “the tender and delicate woman among you…her eye shall be evil towards her afterbirth that comes out from her…”

We see this same phenomenon today. After horrible terror attacks, there follows a brief period of quiet. During that period, the Jew begins to convince himself that the worst is over. It just can’t get any worse. But apparently, it can…

“Hashem’s Salvation is in the Blink of An Eye”
The intention here is not to depress anyone. On the contrary: if we go in God’s statutes and fulfill His mitzvot, it will be good! The Torah promised, and the Torah is not some politician who doesn’t make good on his promises.

Walking in God’s statutes means more than keeping the Sabbath and eating kosher food. It includes the statute to expel the enemy of the land, and to stand firm in one’s faith that God will protect us if we indeed walk in his statutes. May God give us the courage to do the right thing, sothat He may bestow upon us all the blessings written in His Torah.

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/ki-tavo-why-so-many-curses/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Excerpts From the Hagadda of the Jewish Idea

Introduction to the Haggadah of the Jewish Idea
The purpose of the Haggadah of the Jewish Idea is not to add yet another Haggadah to the collection of Haggadot already available to the public. It’s purpose is rather to present the concepts of the authentic Jewish Idea in general, and in particular the concept of faith in G-d, on this holy night of the year: the Seder night, which was ordained as the night which would define the faith of the Jew. There is no task more important today than that of rectifying those most fundamental Jewish concepts, including – indeed, in particular – among b’nei Torah, Torah scholars. For indeed, on one hand the long exile has caused us to forget the very soul of Judaism and the Jewish idea; and on the other hand, foreign cultures have penetrated deep, including into the halls of Torah, and have emasculated our ideology. So widespread have these phenomena become, that few today are capable of differentiating between hametz and matza, between Jewish ideas and foreign ideas.

Similarly, at the core of the necessity for this Haggadah stands the fact that many Jews sit at the Seder table in order to fulfill the mitzvah of the night, to recount the Exodus from Egypt, but find themselves entirely dependent upon “vortim” which have only the slightest of connections with the message of Pesach, or indeed the teachings of Judaism in general. I hope that this Haggadah will serve to aid all who are interested in expounding on the Exodus on the Seder night. “And all those who labor in it greatly are praiseworthy.”

This Haggadah was written according to the principles which I learned from my father and teacher of blessed memory, may G-d avenge his blood. Having said that, I have cited as primary sources his various books (in particular The Jewish Idea and the series of commentaries on the Bible, Perush Hamacabee) only when I quoted from them directly, or when I set forth an idea according to a specific source in his writings; however, I have not cited my father’s works when I concatenated several different sources, nor when I expounded upon a general trend of thought which appears in his writings… Having said that, it is important to emphasize that almost the entire commentary is based upon his words, and of course upon the principles of his teachings. And I hope that my work will cause no one to stumble.

During the months of work writing this commentary, I was “honored” to be harassed by the authorities, especially when they chose precisely this time to carry out an intensive interrogation against me; I was accused of the “crime” of writing various commentaries on the Torah – “incitement” by their definition. Indeed, even this very work was saved from falling into their clutches by the grace of G-d; I was but a step away from being forcibly prevented from publishing this commentary in time for Pesach of this year 5757 (1997). However, it was precisely this fact which ultimately gave me the added strength and impetus necessary to complete this work, to publish this Haggadah, and to spread the authentic Jewish Idea among the Jewish People – in spite of those who desire to delegitimize and to ban the truth, and to prevent us from speaking that truth.

In closing, I hereby thank all those who helped me in this work: David Cohen, one of the outstanding Torah scholars in the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea in Kfar Tapuach, who toiled unstintingly in preparing the practical and halachic sources for the Seder night so that every detail be written accurately; he neither slumbered nor slept until he prepared a complete addendum (which is at the end of this Haggadah), which gives in a concentrated form the sources for all of the halachot throughout the Haggadah, as well as additional halachot and glosses. I also thank two other members of our Yeshiva – Uri Amit for donating his time to check the entire commentary and to provide his enlightening comments; also of course to the artist Avinadav Vitkin who was good enough to place his unique talent at our disposal. I also thank the anonymous benefactor who placed at my disposal his personal computer for the specific purpose of compiling this work, after the Israeli police saw it fit to confiscate my own computer from my house during the preparation of this Haggadah.

I conclude with the prayer that all those who study and learn this work will be enriched, and will be brought closer to the clear and straightforward concepts of Judaism in general and of Pesach in particular. I also pray that it will encourage them to study and to relate to the authentic concepts of Judaism throughout the year.

Binyamin Zev Kahane

Adar II, 5757 (March ’97)

* * *

“Why Is This Night Different?..”

If he has a son, the son asks. In contrast to Hanukah and Purim where we are commanded to “publicize the miracle” (and include everyone), on Pesach, the publicizing of the miracle starts first of all with the children. And this is for the reason we mentioned (in the introduction) – that here the goal of the publicizing of the miracle is that the father, at the first available moment, will pass down the principles of faith in the G-d of Israel and the exodus of Egypt to the small son, so as to continue the unbreakable chain. And how tremendous is the fact that the Emunah of Yisrael, despite it’s depth, is simple enough in its basis, that it can be conveyed from father to small boy, by means of a simple story appropriate for a child. This is the significance of the questions which appear here. And it is incumbent upon us to arouse each child, according to his ability, to ask more and more questions. Because the idea is better internalized if he asks and gets an answer, than if he just gets the answer (without asking). And from here one can learn that even if there are no children, the adult should provoke questions for himself and others, in order to sharpen the understanding.

On this night we add another link to the chain of our tradition, conveying the concrete basis of the faith through all the generations, because in such a way can the new generation ITSELF see things properly, despite the fact that “officially”, thousands of years have passed since the event took place. And, behold, he did not see it with his own eyes. But the passing down of the message from generation to generation in such a concrete and precise fashion makes it EXACTLY AS IF HE SAW IT. Just as no one doubts historical events which took place two hundred years ago, since everything is known and passed onward by humanity, so, too can the events of over 3,000 years not be doubted, because the people passed it down in the same way, each one to his children. And this is the difference between Hanukah, Purim, and Passover. For only on Passover was each one commanded to see himself as if he left Egypt, since this fact is the basis of our faith, and without it, our faith would not have survived in such a precise manner after so many thousands of years, hundreds of generations, and countless tragedies and exiles. In such a way, the child is not only connected to his father, but also to the father of his fathers who lived hundreds of years ago and thousands of years ago, each one being a special pipeline for this message which is intended PERSONALLY FOR HIM! On this night, the Jewish child will also receive upon himself his responsibility for the next generations, to continue the chain and the pipeline, and he will understand that if he does not connect himself to the Jewish People, there is no reason for his existence.

* * *


The Four Questions:

The Torah speaks to the Jew in the language and style he understands and can relate to. It even adjusts itself to different types of people. As the midrash in Yilkot Shimoni says, (Dvraim, 776 ): “That you should go with the strict types according to their understanding, and with the moderate types according to their understanding.”

But there are two limitations:

You cannot change the Torah around as you see fit to do so. Adjustments for different people and different situations are already found in the “halacha”, and if it is not in the “halacha”, no man has the authority to change and adjust matters, even if he feels that he is “saving” the Torah.
Even if it is possible conveying the message in different ways to different people, if in the end it doesn’t work and that particular Jew still doesn’t want to listen, he is not dismissed from the Torah, and we are not dismissed from telling him words of Torah. The famous saying, “In the same way that it is a mitzvah to say something that will be listened to, it is a mitzvah not to say something that will not be listened to”, has nothing to do with the essence of the message, and one cannot dismiss someone from mitzvot from the Torah for such a reason. On the contrary, “And whether they listen or refuse to – let them know that a prophet was amongst them”. (Ezekhiel, 3) You just tell them Torah, even if there is a need to “blunt his teeth”, as the Haggadah eventually tells us we should do to the evil son. And even if he blunts OUR TEETH, we will not shut up, as G-d told Yishiyahu, “my children are rebellious. If you accept it upon yourself to be humiliated and beaten by my children, then you may go as my messenger; and if not – you will not go as my messenger…” (Shmot Raba, 7:3)
* * *

“Tonight We Recline”
This is one of the things we do to show that we are “Bnei Horin” (free men). In other words, there is a need for the Jewish People, who are a Holy Nation and a Priestly Kingdom, to partake in symbolic actions which give them the feeling of who they are and what they’re all about! We are not slaves! We have a destiny which is loftier than all destinies! Thus, we should respect ourselves as free men, and behave accordingly – not out of personal pride or ego, G-d forbid, but rather out of a national pride, that we belong to a nation which is the Nation of Hashem, and Hashem’s honor is our responsibility! This symbolism is expressed in our sitting in a reclining position – and how important it is to take the concept out of the framework of mere symbolism. It is incumbent upon us to LIVE like free men in a practical sense. We must shake off the shackles of bondage, and stop educating our children as if they still live in some ghetto, always worried about what the goy will say and think. If we do not do this, then these actions fall to the level of empty, sterile acts of ritual, no more meaningful than the rote manners of a trained monkey.

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“Because He passed over” – The salvation in Egypt began with separation; that is to say, with the Jews’ willingness to demonstrate the practical difference between themselves and the gentiles by daubing the blood of the slaughtered ‘G-d’ of Egypt on their doors, without fearing the Egyptians’ reactions, as we explained in the Midrashic interpretation of the phrase in your blood you will live (above). And this willingness to set themselves apart (havdala) in spite of the apparent danger is the proof of faith. And just as in the first Redemption, so too in our days: the Redemption depends upon our willingness to adopt those same concepts of separation, concepts which stem from acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, without fearing being labeled “racist”, a tag both Gentiles and Jews will attempt to apply. It is no coincidence that the biggest internal struggle within Jewry today, the struggle between Judaism and Hellenism, centers around the concept of separation. It is no coincidence that the argument as to whether or not to vomit the Arabs out of the Land of Israel no longer centers around the question of whether it is practicable or advantageous, and not even whether it is morally justified or not; rather, the entire argument today is one of “racism” even though race should be utterly irrelevant in a confrontation against an enemy, when that confrontation is not defined in racialist terms. The fact is that the redemption depends upon our separating from the nations, and principally upon the Jews’ readiness to adopt this concept [of havdala], with all the halachic and practical implications that it carries.

* * *

The Sons
… and in answering the wise son, we tell him all the halachot, (for this too he requested to know) right up until the last one, which is the Afikoman. And there is a stress here that it doesn’t suffice explaining to him the general idea of Judaism, but rather the halacha, up to the last detail is also needed. This is to teach all those who stress “nationalism” and other aspects of the Jewish idea, but abandon the fulfillment of the halacha and all it’s details. Here we tell the wise son that as much as he gains wisdom in understanding the essence of Judaism, remember that all this is worth nothing if he forsakes the fulfillment of the practical mitzvot and it’s details. In any case, without a doubt the basis of the answer is the story of the exodus from Egypt (“We were slaves…”) which is the base of our faith, and if we believe in this, then we will come to understand that the Torah is truth and it is an obligation to fulfill it, because slaves we were to Pharo in Egypt, and now we are slaves to G-d…

The evil son – “What does this service mean to you?”
The Tanchuma (Shmot 5) says that the evil son says, “Let us be as Egyptians”. And this is the key to understanding this son. He wants to dismiss himself from the yoke of belonging to Am Yisrael and all this “service”. Thus we can understand why he says “to you”. After all, at first glance there should be no connection between throwing away service to G-d (mitzvot), and alienation from the Jewish People which is expressed by his saying, “to you”. But the author of the Hagadah sees the essential connection. Only for a very short time can there be a reality where one can feel a connection to his people without a connection to Torah and mitzvot. And so we see in these times how those who raised the banner of fighting against religion, lost their connection to Zionism, where as those who remained truly faithful to nationalism were those who strengthened their connection to religion.

“Had he been there, he would not have been redeemed”
Why? Because he would have died during the plague of darkness in which all the “Jewish criminals” died. Who “merited” such a nickname? Those WHO DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE EGYPT. And this fortifies what we said earlier: The connection between the evil son who throws away the service to G-d and his alienation from Am Yisrael. And what could symbolize the alienation from Am Yisrael more than his lack of willingness to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, which is the base of the nation; the place which unites the nation and gives life to it and it’s Torah.

“… consequently you must blunt his teeth and reply to him…”
There is no behaving towards him with “Darke Noam”, and we don’t say, “you are our brother”. For the good of the rest of the Jewish People, we must act harshly towards him. He who willfully takes himself out of “Clal Yisrael” and rejects the people and land of Israel must be dealt with harshly. Without a doubt, this harsh treatment will convince others who are borderline (like the son who does not know how to ask) that it is not worthwhile to go in such a way, and thus encourage them to go in the way of the wise son, thereby saving themselves.

The simple son: The Yirushalmi and Rambam call this son, “foolish”. What does the simple son understand? “With a strong hand did Hashem take us out of Egypt”. Anyone is capable of grasping this message of Emunah. True, not everyone can reach high levels of understanding the way of G-d, but anyone can, even the most foolish of people, even he who is totally cut off from anything spiritual, even a gentile – is capable of grasping G-d’s existence through G-d’s strong Hand and Omnipotence. The truth is, that the Torah answers the wise son in the same basic way at the beginning, but with him, the answer is expanded upon greatly with all the details….(Dvarim 6) The simple son won’t understand this, so we mention to him G-d’s strong Hand, and this is sufficient for leaving an impression upon him that will bring him to real emunah. And an important thing here: The real Emunah, despite it’s awesome scope, does not demand deep wisdom in order for one to accept it (despite the fact that the wisdom certainly deepens the understanding). Any Jew can reach a real and simple level of truth which will obligate him. After all, if this were not so, the Almighty would not be able to expect anything from the foolish!

* * *

“FOR NOT ONLY HAS ONE RISEN AGAINST US TO DESTROY US, BUT IN ALL GENERATIONS THEY RISE UP AGAINST US TO DESTROY US.”
Here there is a double stress on “to destroy us” – The goal of the goyim is not just to distress us, but rather our very existence is what bothers them. And so it is in this generation, where a piece of territory or another is not what interests them, but rather the annihilation of Am Yisrael, and this illogical hatred of the nations was bred at Mount Sinai.

“BUT IN EVERY GENERATION THEY RISE UP AGAINST US TO DESTROY US”
What a flat statement to make! And the question may be asked: Was there not a generation where they did NOT rise up against us to destroy us? But there are different methods to wipe us out. There are those who try to wipe us out physically, like Haman and Hitler; and there are those try to wipe us out physically through trickery, so we that we won’t prevent the attempt to do so. Then there are those who try to destroy us spiritually by assimilation, like Greece. In any case, the rule that Esau hates Yaakov holds in every generation, as we see in this statement.

POUR FORTH YOUR WRATH UPON THE NATIONS…
These verses have been inserted towards the end of the Seder night to encourage us: Do not despair! The redemption will surely come! And it is significant that the rabbis chose specifically these verses for this encouragement, and not verses of comfort which speak of the redemption itself. Apparently, from living themselves under cruel Roman occupation, they understood that the greatest encouragement of all is the defeat of the persecutor. Unfortunately, when we speak of those who persecute Jews, many of us today ignore this central concept of vengeance. There are those who are filled with desire for revenge on a personal level, even though this is expressly forbidden (“do not take revenge against the sons of your people” – Leviticus 19:18), while at the same time self-righteously objecting to revenge on a NATIONAL level – which is a mitzvah.

CHAD GADYA (One single kid)
- The Vilna Ga’on explains chad gadya as being a parable of Jewish history throughout the generations up until the final Redemption; the author of the Ma’asei Nissim similarly interprets it. The end of this song brings us to the End of Days: Then came the ox these are the nations (principally Edom [Rome], who is symbolized by the ox); then came the slaughterer and slaughtered the ox this is Mashiach ben Yosef, who will wreak vengeance upon those nations who did evil to the Jews; then came the Angel of Death and slaughtered the slaughterer for Mashiach ben Yosef will be killed in
his war; finally, then came the Holy One, blessed be he, and slaughtered the Angel of death for the final stage of the redemption will be that G-d Himself will come with Mashiach ben David and redeem us and death itself will be forever cancelled. It is appropriate at this point to expand on the subject of Mashiach ben Yosef, for there are certain commentators who see the four cups of wine of the Seder night as paralleling the four Mashiachs, or the four Redeemers, one of whom is Mashiach ben Yosef who is pertinent to our present era of the beginning of the Redemption, referred to by the Vilna Ga’on (in Kol ha-Tor) as meshicha de’at-chalta (the Mashiach of the beginning). There are several sources that speak of the four Redeemers. The Midrash ha-Gadol (Exodus 6:7), for example, says: “For the four future Redemptions, G-d will raise up four Redeemers: Eliyahu, Mashiach ben David, Mashiach ben Yosef, and the High Priest.” In other midrashim, Mashiach ben Yosef is referred to as mashu’ach milchama (anointed for war). The reason for this is that his task is to fight against the nations and to conquer the Land of Israel, and thus he begins the process of Redemption. Only subsequent to this can Mashiach ben David come and complete the Redemption, the principal purpose
of which is spiritual redemption. Even though, as already mentioned, Mashiach ben Yosef is destined to be killed, this is not, nonetheless, inevitable. For if the Redemption is “hastened”, if the Jews repent of their sins and bring about the Redemption by being worthy of it, and recognize Mashiach ben Yosef and his task for what they are, then all these processes will be far quicker and more miraculous, and Mashich ben Yosef will not have to be killed. However, a Redemption that happens “in its time” comes about slowly, stage by stage, as the Jews refuse to carry out those actions crucial to bringing about the complete Redemption immediately. Mashiach ben Yosef thus faces tremendous difficulties, most of them internal Jewish problems, since the Jews will not recognize him. This is alluded to when the progenitor of Mashiach ben Yosef, the biblical Yosef (Joseph) himself, was approached by his brothers in Egypt: “and Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did recognize him” (Genesis 42:8 ). That is to say, Yosef’s love of Israel commits him to his
people, even when they “do not know him”. Those who “do not know him” are led by the erev rav, the ‘mixed multitude’ of non-Jews who left Egypt with the Jews (Ex. 12:38). It is against them, according to the Vilna Ga’on, that Mashiach ben Yosef’s main battle will be, since it is they who prevent the Holy Nation from believing in G-d and recognizing the conditions which will hasten the redemption; thus they both weaken the nation from within, and strengthen the nation’s enemies from without. Who is Mashiach ben Yosef? In every generation there is a ‘candidate for the post’ of Mashiach ben Yosef, as well as one who could be Mashiach ben David. It is the actions of the generation, and the subsequent judgement of G-d, that decide upon their being revealed. In any event, he who has the soul of Mashiach ben Yosef strives in every generation to bring the physical Redemption nearer; but it is only in our era that the generation has merited to see its implementation. We can but pray that all we have learnt about the Redemption will be actualized soon, swiftly and painlessly, that we may merit a ‘hastened’ Redemption, that our merits may bring Mashiach ben David, who will complete the process of redemption. Amen.

* * *

The Ten Plagues:
Couldn’t G-d have taken us out of Egypt without all this violence? After all, G-d is Omnipotent, and certainly he could have taken us out Egypt with “Darke Noam” or even by way of a “peace process”. After all, it would seem that what is most important is that the Jews got out of Egypt – for what all this cruelty and vengeance?

The answer is that the goal of the exodus of Egypt was not just that the people of Israel go free, but the major goal was that G-d-hating gentiles and desecrators of His Name who “did not know G-d” (as Pharo said upon seeing Moses the first time), — would know G-d. But the gentile does not grasp the existence of G-d, and certainly won’t accept the concept that He chose the Jews as His people, by way of “awe and spiritual elevation” or through pure intellectual understanding. Only by the way of him seeing and feeling Hashem’s Might and Power can the most obtuse of gentiles understand G-d’s existence and choice of Am Yisrael. And when the gentile insists on not believing in Him, and defames and fights against Israel thereby desecrating the Name of G-d, and empties the Name of G-d from the world, so to speak, then G-d unleashes His arsenal against him, so that “he will know that I am G-d”.

* * *

“Because He Passed Over The Houses…”
The salvation from the Egyptians started with the “havdala” (the separation) – that is the willingness of the Jewish People to show their differences between them and the gentiles in a practical way. It was exemplified by the placing of the blood from the slaughtered Egyptian deity on their doorposts without fearing the Egyptian reaction. This readiness for havdala displays proof to one’s emunah. And just as in the first redemption, so it is in our days, where the redemption is dependent on Am Yisrael’s willingness to adopt upon themselves concepts connected to “havdala”, through the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven., and without fearing that we will be labeled as “racists”. And it is not for nothing that the internal struggle today between the Jewish People and the Hellenists centers around this concept of “havdala”. Nor is it a coincidence that the entire question of whether to vomit out the Arabs or not, ends up being centered around – not whether it will work, and not even ethics, bur rather around “racism”, which at first glance has nothing to with anything. But the truth is that the redemption is dependent upon our separating ourselves from the nations, and most essentially our readiness to adopt for ourselves all the practical halachot which derive from the concept.

* * *

“Terach The Father Of Avraham…”
Why is Terach mentioned here as the father of Avraham? After all, Avraham is in a certain aspect a convert, and “a convert is like a new-born baby”, and so according to halacha, one should not relate the convert to his father. But perhaps it is to teach us a lesson that family lineage is not something important. For we see that the “gedolim” of our nation did not come from the purest of lineages. David came from Ruth the Moavite, and in the gemara, we see how the rabbis discussed whether or not a Moavite can ever convert to Judaism at all. And David himself came from Peretz, who was born from the problematic relation between Yehuda and Tamar. And with all this, King David is the father of the dynasty of the Messiah of the Kingdom of Israel. And if the Father of the Nation, Avraham, came out of a family of idol-worshipers, then certainly we shouldn’t be more stringent than the halacha demands when checking the lineage of other people. Rather, we must check who is the person HIMSELF. To such an extent that, “A bastard who is a scholar precedes a Cohen Hagadol who is an ignoramous.” (Mishnah, Horayot 3:8 )

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/excerpts-from-the-hagadda-of-the-jewish-idea/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Two Funerals: Rabin and Kahane

The fact that the Yohrzeit dates for Yitchak Rabin and Rabbi Kahane are so close (the non-Hebrew date is the same) is no coincidence. The sages also compare two funerals, one of a righteous leader, and one of a wicked leader. The following was written by Binyamin Zev Kahane for the third Yohrzeit of Rabbi Kahane:

“and they shall look towards me, regarding those whom the nations have thrust through. And they shall mourn for him (that is slain) as one mourns for an only son, and shall be in bitterness over him, as one that is in bitterness for a firstborn. ON THAT DAY THERE SHALL BE A GREAT MOURNING IN JERUSALEM, LIKE THE MOURNING OF HADADRIMMON IN THE VALLEY OF MEDGIDON.(Zechariah, 12)

Rashi: “Our rabbis interpreted this to be on Meshiach Ben Yosef who was killed”

Targum Yonatan: “At that period of time the mourning over the loss of Jerusalem will match the mourning over the murders of the King of Israel Ahab son of Omri who was killed by Adarimon the son of Tavrimon, and the King of Judah Yoshiya son of Amon who was killed by Pharoh in the valley of Megidon.”

The funeral of Rabbi Kahane, HY”D, left a deep impression on its participants. According to estimates, between 100,000 – 200,000 people walked from the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood to the cemetery Har HaMinuchot. (This does not include the 30,000 – 50,000 people who escorted the coffin in the US before it was flown to Israel). It is also important to point out the heterogeneous mix of the participants, from all levels and circles of Israeli society: religious (all kinds), secular, Sephardi and Ashkenazy. Everyone escorted the coffin, crying over the great leader who fell – the leader who the people didn’t merit to give the power or support to so that he be able to save them.

Many prestigious rabbis, including the great “Mikubal” Rabbi Getz (RavHaKotel), ZT”L, called Rabbi Kahane Meshiach Ben Yosef who was killed, bringing the above-mentioned verse from Zacharia as proof, which according to chazal speaks of the great funeral of Meshiach Ben Yosef.

And behold, a year ago exactly, (according to the non-Jewish calendar), five years after the death of Rabbi Kahane, the Prime Minister Rabin was murdered. The media fanned the flames in creating a nationwide atmosphere ofmourning, presenting it as the funeral of funerals. Indeed, more realistic estimates spoke about 30,000 to 40,000 who passed his coffin (or tried to). In any case, more important than the numbers was the impression that these funerals left people with. This is what reminded many of the above “Targum Yonatan”, comparing the funeral of Meshiach Ben Yosef to two of the biggest funerals of the past – the funeral of the righteous King Yoshiya who created a Torah society for his kingdom, and the funeral of the wicked King Ahab who caused the Jewish people to sin.

It is as if the verse hints to two huge funerals that will occur close to the time of redemption – one of a righteous person who symbolizes Meshiach Ben Yosef, and one of a wicked person who symbolizes the opposite – that is, someone who fights against the cause of Meshiach Ben Yosef.

The struggle between “the students of Yoshiya” and the “students of Ahab” is in full swing. And most of the people, despite the constant incitement and brainwashing, are still on the side of Yoshiya, as witnessed by their massive spontaneous participation six years ago to honor the memory of a leader who really felt the pain of the people, and went out to his brothers to see their suffering – and tried to save them. May his memory and actions protect us, Amen.

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/two-funerals-rabin-and-kahane/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

An Open Letter to the Designate Prime Minister

Dear Mr. Netanyahu,

It is no secret that I was not one of those who placed a lot of stock in the elections in which you were elected as Prime Minister. It is no secret that we see in Likud an “equal partner” in the horrid deterioration of the State of Israel in all areas over these last two decades. Indeed, for this reason, many thought that Likud’s fall four years ago and the coming to power of the evil left as a result of Likud’s bumbling policy would cause Likud to disappear from the political map. So many thought that the choice the next time around which would stand before the nation would be a clear one – the choice between an extremely un-Jewish state or a Jewish one.

But behold, in spite of it all, G-d decided to give you and your way the chance to fix the damage you caused. Such being the case, I can only say to you: Binyamin Netanyahu, you have been given a golden opportunity. Go forward and take advantage of it – and save the Jewish people from tragedy! Because your coming to power in itself does not solve anything. In these last two decades, the state of Israel has been like a chariot of horses-racing towards the precipice, and such a situation does not make distinctions between Labor and Likud governments. On the contrary, Likud leaders set some pretty awful precedents to exasperate the situation.

In order to halt Israel’s calamitous decline, it will not be enough simply discontinuing past policies. You will have to act boldly and assertively to immediately steer the chariot 180 degrees in a different direction.

There is no doubt that the first issue which must grab your immediate attention is the same issue that only by a miracle did not prevent you from becoming Prime Minister in the first place. Obviously, I am referring to the Arab vote. I don’t have to tell you how close you were to having your dreams shattered in these elections. It was a matter of an infinitesimal percentage point. You know full well how the Arabs swarmed to the polls against you, in order to help the left. You were too close to losing to possibly ignore this critical matter, Mr. Netanyahu. Surely it was not a coincidence that precisely this subject almost prevented you from becoming Prime Minister. This was a hint to you and your government that you can not possibly continue the defeatist policies of past administrations in refusing to deal with the Arab demographic time bomb which endangers the very existence of the nation. These elections, Mr. Netanyahu, proved that the Arab citizen within the green line is infinitely more dangerous to the existence of Israel than the Arab in the territories.

Mr. Netanyahu, I hope you do not think that we can rely on miracles over and over again, allowing the fate of the Jewish People to hang in the balance, dependent on the Arab vote, all out of some phony “humanism” or fear of “what will the gentile say”. Even if the destiny of the nation doesn’t worry you, your personal destiny and that of your party should at least awaken you from your slumber.

You have many difficult tests ahead of you. They include the disposing of the leftist media , halting the insanity of the Supreme Court, releasing Jewish political prisoners, and canceling the administrative detention arrests against lovers of the Jewish Nation. But without a doubt, your handling of the Arab problem will symbolize in which direction you are headed – towards saving Israel as a Jewish state, or towards it’s annihilation; towards saving Jews from terrorist bombing (which did not start with the left, and will not disappear with their departure, but rather with the departure of the Arabs amongst us!) or to a continuation and even an exasperation of terror if you indeed insist on carrying on like your predecessors in the Likud in ignoring the problem.

Remember, Mr. Netanyahu, when my father, Rabbi Meir Kahane, (may G-d Avengehis Blood) raised the issue, your party ignored it. Not only did they ignore it, but due to political fear, even took the lead in the banning of his party. You, in fact, were not involved in that, and I say that to your credit, despite the fact that you, too, have not passed up the opportunity in recent years to condemn and defame us. Obviously, we are willing to let by gones be by gones. But the historical errors your party has made must be corrected. And let us not even mention the cancellation of the obscene decision to declare “Kach” and “Kahane Chai” as terrorist organizations.This, too, will be one of your tests.

Remember! Many good Jews supported you, only because they wanted to see the fall of the wicked leftist government. The normal, healthy part of the nation pleaded and prayed for your victory, and you owe them a great deal.You owe them that they won’t blow up in buses. You owe them hope – hope for a true and secure Jewish state even if it means you must act brazenly and with great courage, something which you often claim to possess.

It is an understatement to say that I have great doubts you will be up tothe task, since he who brings on the malady usually cannot cure it. Nevertheless, me and my friends are willing to forget about everything and give you full credit. And so we call out to you: Do not fear! Fear not the gentile, and fear not the leftists!

In closing, designate Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, you worked arduously to reach power, and you attained your goal. If it be your wish that your victory will not be some passing euphoria, then free yourself from the root of all the problems that have plagued every Israeli government – the need to find favor in the eyes of the world. If you go along the straight and true path with courage, and devote yourself to making this country no longer dependent on the gentile or internal enemy, then your administration will be firmly established.

But if you prefer proving that your campaign slogans are indeed your true policy – you will quickly fall, and we will be the first ones to stand in your way. Just like we did not fear the harassments of the last administration, or the Likud government before it, we will not fear your reaction either, even though I know that it is liable to be harsher than what we have gone through until now.

Go with courage on a clear path of Judaism, and G-d will be with you!

With Love of Israel, Binyamin Zev Kahane

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/an-open-letter-to-the-designate-prime-minister/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

BZK: Bibi At Washington Summit

This article was written in 1996 by R. Binyamin Zeev Kahane. Just as Bibi went to Washington to beg for a peace process, so today he does the same thing. How ironic. How sad.

Without a doubt, many are confused in how to assess Binyamin Netanyahu’s performance at the recent Washington summit. Did he withstand the pressure or did he succumb to the pressures in Washington? Should he be applauded or should Jews take to the streets to demonstrate against him? This is the question we will relate to.

Two paths lie before Israel today, and there is no third path. The first way is one of concessions and capitualtion, which is basically the path of the recent Israeli governments. The end result of this path is clear: The complete falling apart of Israel, since the Arabs will never be satisfied with what they are given and will always want more, and why should they not?After all, they can always demand more, and world support will be there for them, just as we see today.

The other path is the Jewish path. Not giving in, but rather sanctificationof G-d’s name and obeying the commandments of G-d. It is a path not of giving away territories of Israel, but rather expulsion of the hostile Arabs in our midst as the Torah and logic dictates. The recent riots by the Arabs were expected. Our enemies received over the last few years territory, sovereignty and recognition as a nation in the land of Israel as a preliminary step to the establishment Palestine. Their self-confidence rises as the process continues, and when they see that Israel deviates from the path of surrender and concessions, they immediately rise up against us with the weapons we gave them. After all, the weapons were given to them in order to realize their national aspirations, and that is exactly what they used them for when they fired at our sodiers.

Indeed, the pressure forced Mr. Netanyuahu into a meeting with his new friend. And the PM says he feels a warm connection to Mr. Arafat. The question now is: What was agreed between them? I have no way of knowing, but one thing is for sure: Netanyahu is not abandoning the path of capitulation. It must be understood that the problem is not the Oslo Accords. The problem is the very essence of the fact that Israel is willing to surrender territory. Once this axiom is established, it really does not matter if it is called “Camp David”, “Oslo”, “Madrid”, or anything else. Therefore, I have absolutely no expectations from Netanyahu, for I have no expectations that he will have the courage to go in the path of Jewishness. And thus, he is locked into the path of tragedy and suicide.

In the end, it is impossible to play both sides of the fiddle, and Netanyahu can’t adopt for himself just a portion of the “peace process”, for it is all or nothing. Either one goes all the way like Rabin and Peres did and Netanyahu is starting to do, or one does not go down this path at all. It is impossible to go half-way with the Arabs, for the minute one tries to draw the line, the Arabs will put on the pressure in their familiar fashion. Simultaneoulsy, there will be immense world pressure, and if Israel tries to stand up to the pressure, the pressure will intensify. They will say that Israel is destroying the peace process and is inciting the entire region. Then, Israel will make more concessions. The pressure will return over and over again, and Israel will always state that they can’t go ahead and ruin the peace process now, after having already surrendered so much. And then we will see the bitter result, G-d forbid.

Therefore, all this talk about Netanyahu’s “tough” stand in Washington, and his “victory”, so to speak, is utter nonsense, because he has no other way other than the path of surrender which he has obligated himself to. And so, what does it matter if he flexes an occasional muscle here or there? The Arabs could always rise up and the world can always pressure and Netanyahu will capitulate. And the reason is simple: HE HAS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE. This is the point. If he has no alternative, then indeed there is no choice other than to go the path of Oslo, and to take that path RIGHT TO THE END. But he who believes that there IS an alternative – a Jewish alternative of faith in G-d which is measured by one’s willingness to expel the Arab enemy from within us – only such a person can save us from nightmare of the first path.

And so, nothing can be expected from Netanyahu. If the shooting by the Palestinian police on our soldiers cannot influence him to change direction and opt for the Jewish path, nothing will. Without faith in G-d, it is impossible to opt for such a path. For without faith in G-d, one needs Clinton, the U.N. and “world support”.

Thus, the salvation can only come from those true believers in the Almighty, believers who cling to G-d’s path. The mission is theirs.

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/bzk-bibi-at-washington-summit/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Left Up to Old Tricks

A day does not pass where PM Netanyahu is not attacked by the left for being a right-wing warmonger. It is simply mind boggling. It doesn’t seem to matter what Mr. Netanyahu does — he can warmly shake the hand of Arafat; he can speak to him as an old friend; he can agree to give up Hebron; he can throw out hints to Syria about making concessions; he can continue to harass the “extreme” right and allow the leftist media to remain in control – all this is just a partial list of Netanyahu’s vain attempts to satisfy the left. Yet nothing seems to help. They continue to defame him as a stubborn, militant, extremist, etc., etc.

Yosi Bellin out did everyone when he suggested that the Prime Minister be boycotted during the Knesset meetings! That is, to leave the Knesset whenever Netanyahu speaks! Not to cooperate with him!

There is a precedent to all this. When Rabbi Kahane was in the Knesset, they boycotted him. The left and right would exit the Knesset hall whenever the Rav made his speeches (though most made sure to listen to his words from outside the hall…). And behold, now the Prime Minister (!) Netanyahu, is experiencing the same hatred. None of his groveling efforts to appease the left can help him. The sheer hatred towards anyone who even APPEARS IN THEIR EYES to represent something Jewish or nationalistic is so vicious.

And so Binyamin Netanyahu – perhaps at this critical hour you will understand that it is better to change your ways, and to be courageous enough to return to what so many people thought you were supposed to be.

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/left-up-to-old-tricks/

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Update on Political Prisoners

Benyamin Ze’ev Kahane wrote this article in 5756 (1996), fifteen years ago. What has changed? Have the authorities stopped arresting Jews for the crime of teaching Torah that opposes the government and its policies? Tell that to Rabbi Ginsburg, who 15 years after this article was written, has been imprisoned again for writing a well researched and sourced halacha book “Torat HaMelech”, and Rav Dov Lior who was also imprisoned for writing a hakdama (recommendation) for the said sefer. Maybe we should also mention Haim Pearlman, who was sent to prison and possibly tortured for showing the whole nation what a joke Shaba”k really is (the joke’s on them — he was released, and they are still losers). Today there are still many Jews languishing in Israeli prisons for various crimes such as self-defense, ‘sedition’, and incitiment. Think about how you could help these proud and strong Jews in their difficult struggles, today.

There is no more appropriate time than Passover, which is the Holiday of Freedom (“Chag Hacharut”), to mention the 30 political prisoners who languish in Israeli prison AND ARE NOT FREE MEN – because they wanted to see their people free men.

And now, the newest crime at the top of the agenda of the Israeli authorities is the speaking of truth. Binyamin Kahane was sentenced to four months for “rebellion”, and most recently Baruch Merzel was sentenced to three months imprisonment for the uttering of a single word, calling Faisel Husseini (“Ya mach shmo”) a “murderer” in a court room!

And Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzberg Shlita joins the list of rabbis who have been tossed into jail. He joins Rabbi Moshe Levinger Shlita who was sentenced to prison for 7 months for performing a mitzvah, and he also joins Rabbi Ido Elba Shlita who has already sat a year and half in prison for a Torah essay he wrote.

The edicts which the authorities have set down against Torah have become harsher and harsher. For they know that the real danger to their power is the Torah truth which these rabbis are willing to express. But on this Passover Holiday, we come to teach the tyrants a lesson: While you may be able to imprison our bodies, you cannot break our spirit! You will not subdue the truth – you will only sharpen it through your falsehood. For it is the speaking of the Jewish truth which is the front-burner issue in the struggle for redemption today.

http://rabbikahane.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/update-on-political-prisoners/

[Israel Chai]

I can't stop reading the ones on the angelfire site. Thanks for this!