Author Topic: the shofar and the wall...  (Read 3082 times)

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Offline nikmatdam

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the shofar and the wall...
« on: September 07, 2007, 04:03:57 PM »
article from the  chabad israel center of l.a. magazine sept. 2007...

editors note: the holy temple in jerusalem was twice destroyed ~ by the romans in the year 69 ce and previously by the babylonians on the same date (tisha b'av) in 423 bce... one wall remains standing as a living symbol of the jewish people's ownership over the land of israel and the city of jerusalem ~ the kotel hamaaravi or "western wall"...

what follows is an excerpt (translated from the hebrew) from the memoir of rabbi moshe segal (1904-1985)... a lubavitcher chassid who was active in the struggle to free the holy land from british rule...

article: in those years, the area in front of the kotel did not look as it does today. only a narrow alley separated the kotel and the arab houses on its other side. the british government forbade us to place an ark, tables or benches in the alley; even a small stool could not be brought to the kotel. the british also instituted the following ordinances, designed to humble the jews at the holiest place of their faith; it is forbidden to pray out loud, lest one upset the arab residents; it is forbidden to read from the torah (those praying at the kotel had to go to one of the synagogues in the jewish quarter to conduct the torah reading); it is forbidden to sound the shofar on rosh hashana and yom kippur. the british government placed policemen at the kotel to enforce these rules.

on yom kippur of that year (1930) i was praying at the kotel. during the brief intermission between the musaf and mincha prayers, i overheard people whispering to each other: "where will we go to hear the shofar? it'll be impossible to blow here. there are as many policemen as people praying..." the police commander himself was there, to make sure that the jews will not, G-d forbid, sound the single blast that closes the fast.

i listened to these whisperings, and thought to myself: can we possibly forgo the sounding of the shofar that accompanies our proclamation of the sovereignty of G-d? can we possibly forgo the the sounding of the shofar, which symbolizes the redemption of israel? true, the sounding of the shofar at the close of yom kippur is only a custom, but "a jewish custom is torah!" i approached rabbi yitzchak horenstein, who served as the rabbi of our "congregation", and said to him:

"give me a shofar."

"what for?"

"i'll blow."

"what are you talking about? don't you see the police?"

"i'll blow."

the rabbi abruptly turned away from me, but not before he cast a glance at the prayer stand at the left end of the alley. i understood: the shofar was in the stand. when the hour of the blowing approached, i walked over to the stand and leaned against it.

i opened the drawer and slipped the shofar into my shirt. i had the shofar, but what if they saw me before i had a chance to blow it? i was still unmarried at the time, and following the ashkenazic custom, did not wear a talit. my request must have been strange to him, but the jews are a kind people, especially at the holiest moments of the holiest day, and he handed me his talit without a word.

i wrapped myself in the talit. at that moment, i felt that i had created my own private domain. all around me, a foreign government prevails, ruling over the people of israel even on their holiest day and at their holiest place, and we are not free to serve our G-d; but under this talit is another domain. here i am under no dominion save that of my Father in heaven; here i shall do as He commands me, and no force on earth will stop me.

when the closing verses of the neilah prayer ~ "hear o' israel", "blessed be the Name" and the L-rd is G-d" ~ were proclaimed, i took the shofar and blew a long, resounding blast. everything happened very quickly. many hands grabbed me. i removed the talit from over my head, and before me stood the police commander, who ordered my arrest.

i was taken to the kishla, the prison in the old city, and an arab policeman was appointed to watch over me. many hours passed; i was given no food or water to break my fast. at midnight, the policeman received an order to release me, and he let me out without a word.

i then learned that when the chief rabbi of the holy land, rabbi avraham yitzchak kook, heard of my arrest, he immediately contacted the secretary of the high commissioner of Eretz Yisrael (the commissioner was sir john chancellor... nik.ed) and asked that i be released. when his request was refused, he stated that he would not break his (own) fast until i was freed. the high commissioner resisted for many hours, but finally, out of respect for the rabbi, he had no choice but to set me free.

for the next 18 years, until the arab conquest of the old city in 1948, the shofar was sounded at the kotel every yom kippur. the british well understood the significance of this blast; they knew that it will (would) ultimately demolish their rule over our land as the walls of jericho crumbled before the shofar of joshua, and they did everything in their power to prevent it. but every yom kippur, the shofar was sounded by men who know (knew) they would be arrested for their part in staking our claim on the holiest of our possessions.

(my commentary to follow)... shabat shalom... nik. out...   

   
« Last Edit: September 07, 2007, 05:04:34 PM by nikmatdam »
"i am nikmatdam... humble and imperfect servant of Hashem... and i yearn for redemption but i absolutely ache for Divine justice and vengeance..."

Offline nikmatdam

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Re: the shofar and the wall...
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2007, 12:21:58 AM »
i will post my comments to this story soon and if it still illicits no response from any of you i will stop bothering to post here and move on... sorry that nothing i have to say interests any of you... nik. out...
"i am nikmatdam... humble and imperfect servant of Hashem... and i yearn for redemption but i absolutely ache for Divine justice and vengeance..."

Offline Ultra Requete

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Re: the shofar and the wall...
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2007, 03:00:04 AM »
That was interesting story, but do you belive that sound of shofar was more important to creation of Israel than armed strugle of Lehi or Irgun or the work done by Jewish Agency? British already showed (like in Ireland) that they are more easily swayed by use of force than preyers and reason. It's the same story with current Israeli goverment who give up the land to terrorist A-rabs but plans to kick out the non resiting settlers from their homes in Yesha.
Jeremiah 8:11-17

11 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace.

12 Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the LORD.

13 'I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.'

14 Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.

15 We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror.

16 The snorting of the enemy's horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there.

17 See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you, declares the LORD.

Love your Enemy
And Heap Burning Coals on his Head!!!
http://net-burst.net/revenge/love_and_wrath_of_God.htm

Offline nikmatdam

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Re: the shofar and the wall...
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2007, 01:11:55 PM »
yes i do... spiritual struggle against repression especially for torah is a powerful weapon and it definitely has its plusses... it garners Hashem's sympathy and support and it has the koach to inspire jews to revolt for THE cause of our existence thruout history... (torah, Hashem, fellow jews and eretz yisroel)...

as for the lechi and irgun they were great and made a tremendous impact and made an enormous contribution toward our freedom but the jewish agency are the same slime as today ruling israel by fiat and with an unjewish agenda... they are all pigs... nik. out...
« Last Edit: September 09, 2007, 01:14:41 PM by nikmatdam »
"i am nikmatdam... humble and imperfect servant of Hashem... and i yearn for redemption but i absolutely ache for Divine justice and vengeance..."

Offline kahaneloyalist

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Re: the shofar and the wall...
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2007, 08:57:46 PM »
That is a beautiful story, what else did Rabbi Segal do to free Israel from British occupation?
"For it is through the mercy of fools that all Justice is lost"
Ramban

Offline nikmatdam

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Re: the shofar and the wall...
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2007, 09:16:43 PM »
don't know... first i have ever heard of him or of this maesa... shana tova... nik.
"i am nikmatdam... humble and imperfect servant of Hashem... and i yearn for redemption but i absolutely ache for Divine justice and vengeance..."