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Rav Benyamin Kahane ZTL HYD writings

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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

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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

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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/

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