24 Tamuz 5774
Just received this message via Facebook from my very good friend Aryeh Gallin of Jerusalem. Thought it was well worth passing on...
Israel is the canary in the world's cave. The oppression of the Jews in Germany (which did not bother anyone too much, they did business with the Nazis up till the last minute, and many of them continued during the war) preceded the entire world being engulfed in chaos. What is going on now in Israel is the same, it precedes the entire world being engulfed in chaos. That process is underway now. Only in this case, I think, it is the last chaos, the final war of Gog and Magog. If Jews and Israelis would KNOW that, they would see the unfolding events very differently. A friend of ours, a former left winger, now screams "blow up the dome of the rock." Israelis HAVE to go through this, they HAVE to see their illusions and fantasies go up in smoke. All the "garbage" MUST be cleared away before the restoration of the monarchy. The people, including the entire world, must be ready for this. That process is underway now.
I couldn't agree with you more, Aryeh. Thank you.
23 Tamuz 5774
Continued from here...
Question: What is your opinion of the big and alluring impurity in the center of Jerusalem at the site of the old train station...atrocious!
Answer: Again, I say: They want to turn us into gentiles. And most of the Jews are ready for it here in Israel. Because they are so damaged, and they have already forgotten exactly what it is to be Jewish. They just want the "fun," quotation marks. But, we need to pray strongly to Hashem, and we, the believers, we, the close ones to Hashem, need to decrease ourselves in materialism, and we need to close ourselves within our areas, within our homes, and pray to Hashem that this will pass, that it will disappear, and that we won't be negatively affected from this.
Question: It's terrifying, shocking...
Answer: There is no word for this, not "terrifying" and not "shocking," and not anything. There's no word for it. It's a plan so sophisticated, so amazing, I'm also using this word, which it doesn't appear that they can carry it out at all! But, Hashem will allow them, by a miracle, to carry it out.
You should understand that they've already been planning these things for at least two hundred years! That is to say that several generations of these contemptible ones have passed, from generation to generation they transfer the desire, their aim. And a man who knows that he won't see it in his lifetime - and nevertheless, he is ready to work toward it til the end of his life and pass the baton to someone else to continue! These are from the top - it's certainly not from father to son, because they're not getting married... But, it's passed to another contemptible one, another contemptible one who is younger...
Question: They sacrifice themselves to the Satan...
Answer: They really sacrifice their lives to the Satan, like you're saying, and in general, as we see, sacrificing also other people to the Satan... And because we, Am Yisrael, are so weak now, and we're not guilty of this, but, that's the situation, so, therefore it is very hard to live in a world which is simply "Sodom and Amorah together with the Generation of the Flood." So, therefore, we, in any case, have to grasp some strength which is only possible, and don't be afraid of them, because, in practice - what's clear at all is that it's Hashem who allows them to do it and if He allows them to do it - look, we've got nohting to fear! We have only to fear if we are not doing teshuvah.
And all the most righteous people need to do teshuvah, because there's not in this generation a tzadik who doesn't need to do teshuvah, and we, of course, every other Jew, needs to do teshuvah and come closer to the truth and throw out all the materialistic games that they have to the trash, and just to implore HKB"H and try to do His will, and to pray and to do mitzvot, and to learn Torah, etc, etc. And this is what will save us. If there's no food - then Hashem will feed us. If we have nowhere to live - He'll give us. Whatever we need - we'll have, only if we will be with Him.
Question: Until now, there were things that we gave to the Christians to use, so-to-speak, only in the upper part that is above the grave site of David HaMelech, peace be upon him, on the second floor. But, recently, they've already entered into the grave site itself! Police removed the Jews from the place and brought in there hundreds of priests into the grave site with their religious rituals! Lies!
Answer: What is astonishing in this? Didn't you know that they would also take the part underneath...?! Look, they gave it to them without any problem. The State of Israel bestowed on them a gift: "Kever David HaMelech", plus several other burial sites that they decided not to tell anyone about.
Question: Is it possible to see signs that they gave to them also Kever Rachel Imeinu...
Answer: You need to understand that they are already the owners of most or over all the area of Mt. Zion. But, also in respect to the Temple Mount, the Arabs indeed think it is theirs, but, the Edomim already are planning to get rid of the Arabs from there...
Question: Now, they are directly attacking Judaism, in the most basic things...
Answer: This just goes to show us where we are standing. And we know that they've already given, and are about to completely open it, to make it "free" to every one who just wants to convert. But, it will be for us 'people of gentiles' who are not Jews at all. So, what can be done? How can we deal with it?... Again: Hashem wants us to close ourselves up. It's up to us to fortify ourselves, to lock ourselves up, to open up religious courts only with truth, to open up synagogues only with truth, with HKB"H and without the issue of money, without the issue of funding, only with the issue of Torah. And to do the will of Hashem completely. And this is what we need. Because if not - we are going to be stamped, chas v'shalom, into the mud. And we will disappear totally when Hashem will wash away the mud, and it will return to the source from which it came.
Question: They're excavating tombs that are next to the grave site of Havakuk the Prophet, isn't it part of the direct and callous war against Hashem and His Torah?
Answer: They will pay an enormous price for it. Whoever moves these tzadikim and disturbs their eternal rest, woe to them. Don't envy them. Of course, anything which is being conducted against the Chareidim - it's a war against HKB"H, shelo neda. Also, in the Knesset, also in every place.
Question: How can we protest about all the evils, what is happening here?
Answer: The only protest- it's to pray. To assemble and to pray. To pray strongly. After the prayer, it's possible also to dance. But to dance in such a manner that it is prayer, in the manner of the soul. So that the soul rises up to Hashem in love.
Question: It appears that the Sitra Achra caught Klal-Yisrael, the heart of the Jews in iron chains inside the lie of the eigel hazahav, r"l...
Answer: Correct. First of all, these contemptible ones, since the second world war, when Hitler himself was one of them, and after the war, they helped to build the world again in a manner which is founded on a materialism which never was in the history of the world. Materialism above and beyond human imagination. And our overdone life in materialism - it's simply killing us. Lo aleinu. And the person got used to it, got used to a life of falsehood, utter falsehood. But, now, there will be like this destruction-of-the-falsehood, that we didn't dream there could be destruction like it.
Question: But, of course, we will be happy about it that all the lie is waning and will disappear...
Answer: That's for sure. We have nothing to worry about, those who are trying, who are trying to be close to Hashem, Hashem won't abandon us. Those whom we need won't abandon him... We need to see the truth, and only the truth, and not to be confused. This is the main thing. Not to be confused. A person who is not focused on the main thing, on the important things, then, he could fall, he gets dizzy because he doesn't have the essence, he doesn't have a starting point. And the moment that a person focuses on the main point, that it's the Torah, and mitzvot, and faith and trust in Hashem - then, he can't fall.
Question: How can the world continue like this. It's already the peak!
Answer: The world can't continue for long like this. Clearly.
Question: A Jewish scholar asked to clarify whether one can complete his teshuvah after the coming of Mashiach or if we have to fix everything, be completed more before the redemption?
Answer: No. It will be impossible for most people to complete their teshuvah in every single detail much before the redemption. But, what will be complete? Every single Jew will be certain, in complete faith, that only HKB"H is the Almighty, and that He exists eternally, and that He is 'The Master of the World,' and that we are His people, and that we have to do His will exclusively. And that's enough.
Question: We feel worn out... No strength...
Answer: Right, there's mental fatigue, and there's a feeling of emptiness, because the regular, normal person would get up in the morning and he had a routine, and he had a desire to get up, a will to do, because he loves to live. But, now - for what? Because we don't see a distant future. And the near future appears very, very black, so it's preferable to get back into bed and cover your head and to say: 'Wake me up when Mashiach gets here...'
Question: The days of 'bein hametzarim' are approaching...
Answer: The days of 'bein hametzarim'... Hashem help us. It won't be easy. It'll be the most difficult now. Prepare, do teshuvah, and that's what will help us.
[Finished]
23 Tamuz 5774
It has been well-publicized that it is the US who is footing the bill for the Iron Dome. Oh, but, don't think for a moment that it's coming from some feeling of kinship or kindness hiding somewhere deep in their black hearts. They stand to benefit richly from it. And as long as Israelis think that this is what is saving them, all the US has to do to bring this operation to a premature end (as they do every single time) is threaten to cut off the money. No money, no iron dome.
They have used this kind of blackmail all over the world. It's the same method used by drug pushers. Here, try this - for free. And once the person is addicted, now comes the bill. Pay up - or else. It takes a monumentally strong person to overcome an addiction. It will take a mighty strong nation to say "No!" to the United States, especially if it means also saying "bye-bye" to the Iron Dome - our US Protector.
22 Tamuz 5774
Continued from here...
Question: We see now that at this distressing time there is an awakening, the Jew returns to faith and prayer...
Answer: That's right. But, the problem here is that part of the Jews, even those from the mitzvah-observant are not usually right according to the Torah. And this is very, very disturbing. Because there are very basic things that they're not at all ready to hear from it, for instance modesty. And the falsehood is in part of the religious Jews - clearly, and even in part of the Chareidim, there are very difficult lies, which even reaches to the most degrading acts. So, therefore - it's impossible to unify with falsehood. We need to first of all unify with HKB"H. And after that with each other.
Question: Clearly, we first need to separate ourselves from the falsehood...
Answer: Right. We need to make a separation. Unity - it's only with Hashem. And that's that. And I'll repeat this: Unity - it's only with Hashem. And we need to do Hashem's will. The moment that we do Hashem's will - it's possible to unify with each other. There's no such thing as unifying with an apostate Jew. We, here in Eretz Yisrael - because we received the Torah on Har-Sinai and HKB"H gave this land to Am Yisrael, not for apostate non-believers who think they'll rule here and turn us into gentiles. "Democracy" - it's a Greek word. It's a Greek idea. Is it 'by the books' democracy here...!? This is a dictatorship of a few evildoers, and no more. This is 'The State of Israel': A group of evildoers who are against HKB"H and they are in favor of all the 'sleaze,' and all the 'no-nos' that are in the Torah - they're with it.
Question: The national-religious need to remember this - and to understand that it's all a lie...
Answer: But, like we can say about the mizrachi that the theory is not at all in place, of course, but we also have Chareidim who created for themselves a theory like this, also a complete lie. [I have no idea what he is referring to here.] And it's also not suitable for Chareidim. And we also have secular people, not apostates, secular, who perhaps they may really be able to reach the geulah shleimah, and understand and do complete teshuvah. And there are Chareidi Jews who can't do complete teshuvah. Never. And they won't reach it. Part of them are Erev Rav who are farther away and part of them are Erev Rav who are closer. But, they're Erev Rav. And it won't help.
Question: Let's talk about the matter of the Christians, and the money that they are giving here to bribe the Jews.
Answer: Right, it's very difficult to prove exactly where this money comes from, because they are a non-profit inside a non-profit inside a non-profit. And there are non-profits that belong to them that they have no problem saying that they teach Christianity, and very many Jews receive from them. We are in a very, very difficult situation from a financial aspect and many good, simple Jews are suffering very much.
And they [the xians] have a war already for many years they are fighting in. They're working to turn the Jews here in Israel into gentiles! And if it appears that it's not so terrible to take from them, then, I say that it's like putting one drop of poison in a liter and a half of water. And it's equally deadly. We're talking spiritually. Everything spiritually. Because, like we were deep into the materialism - now, we need, in the same measure, to be into the spirituality. And this will save us. Because spirituality is above materialism. We will rise above it. So, they won't be able to bother us, they won't be able to cause us any pain or any kind of problem.
Question: How do they enter into the Kedosh Kedoshim - the Holy of Holies...? Who gave them permission?...
Answer: They've entered into the Kedosh Kedoshim - because there is no Kedosh Kedoshim now... HKB"H is hiding himself so-to-speak. And we need to look for Him, and we find Him only by way of true Torah-learning, true prayer, and observance of mitzvot in the way of truth. That's the way to Him. But "Kedosh Kedoshim"...? We don't have such a place to enter into and it's just the opposite of the Kedosh Kedoshim.
The gentiles know this, they know that if they lower Am Yisrael, if they reach to the heart of Am Yisrael, to the holy places, and in a little while you will see full of gentiles that they already have at Kever Rachel, and at Rashbi, and at Shmuel HaNavi they are arriving in masses, they know that if they arrive there - they will lower the Jews. And that's the goal.
Today, if the truth be known, no one can know where the money is coming from. And there are not only these Christians, there are enough thieves and contemptible ones that we're also taking money from, because today, no one knows who the other is.
Question: When we want to know about some support if it's kosher, how can we clarify the source that the money does not come from the Vatican?
Answer: You can't know. Just tell HKB"H that He must save you and show you the right way, because you can't go to the rabbi to ask, because, also those who are saying 'chalak' not to take - that's not to say that they know exactly who yes and who no because it's with very great hiddenness. But, it won't help the Christians, it won't help them at all. The true Am Yisrael, even if he will take it from them - he will be saved!
Question: Also, within the national-religious camp there is a debate whether to take from the Christians...
Answer: Correct. Because, there is confusion, and that's exactly what they want to do - cause confusion. And they're also saying, the rabbis of the mizrachi, not to send the children to the summer camps because the 'keren leyedidut' is financed there, and they, the foundation people, requested that they will also teach Christianity there. And also, in the IDF, they're bringing ministers to speak with the soldiers, and giving them gifts and etc.,...
[To be continued...iy"H]
20 Tamuz 5774
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Mattot: The purpose of war
by Daniel Pinner
Parashat Mattot records, inter alia, God’s command to Moshe to wage war: “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Avenge the vengeance of the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered unto your people” (Numbers 31:1-2).
God was telling Moshe that he had one final task to fulfil, and upon completing it he would die. The Midianites had correctly identified Israel’s weak point: having tried and failed to hire the Gentile prophet Bil’am (Balaam) to curse them, they instead took his advice and sent their womenfolk to seduce the Jewish men (see Numbers 31:16).
“[Bil’am] said to them [the Midianites]: The God of these ones hates sexual immorality, and they crave linen. Come, I’ll give you some advice: Make tents for them and put harlots inside – an old woman outside and a girl inside, and sell them linen garments…” (Sanhedrin 106a). And then follows a long and detailed account of how the Midianite women and girls seduced the Jewish men, and used their powers of seduction to entice the Jews into idolatry.
Bil’am’s ploy succeeded to a frightening extent: “The nation began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab, and they called on the nation to sacrifice to their gods; the nation ate and bowed to their gods. Israel became attached to Ba’al-Pe’or, and Hashem’s fury flared against Israel… And those who died in the plague were 24,000” (Numbers 25:1-9).
And in this week’s parashah, God instructed Moshe to lead the nation in a war of vengeance against the Midianites.
Now Moshe could easily have delayed fighting against the Midianites, and for very convincing reasons. After all it takes time to put an army together, to select the best commandos, to train the soldiers, to build up combat units, and so forth. Then, as every military commander knows, before embarking on any mission the army must gather intelligence, determine the enemy’s strength, send raiding parties to attrit the enemy forces, prepare field command posts, and so forth.
By that time winter would already have set in, and winter with its inclement weather and short days is no time to initiate conflict. Winter is for training, consolidating forces, and besieging the enemy.
Moshe could easily have delayed the attack against the Midianites for months if not for years, and thus extended his own life. As the Midrash says, “Had Moshe wanted to live for several more years, he would have lived, because God said to him, ‘Avenge the vengeance of the Children of Israel against the Midianites; after that you will be gathered unto your people’. God made his death contingent on the vengeance against Midian. And this teaches you Moshe’s praises: he did not say, I will delay the Children of Israel’s vengeance against the Midianites so that I may live. Instead, immediately ‘Moshe spoke to the nation saying: Arm men from among yourselves for the army and they will be against Midian’ (Numbers 31:3)” (Tanhuma, Mattot 3 and Bamidbar Rabbah 22:2).
Or in the terse words of Sifrei (Mattot 157), “‘…after that you will be gathered unto your people’ – saying that Moshe’s death would be delayed for the war against Midian; yet nevertheless Moshe went about this task joyfully, as it says ‘Moshe spoke to the nation saying: Arm [הֵחָלְצוּ] men from among yourselves…’ And the word הֵחָלְצוּ means ‘hasten’”.
As Rashi summarises, “Even though he realised that his death depended on this matter he did it joyfully, without delaying” (commentary to Numbers 31:3).
It is clear enough why Moshe hastened to fight against the Midianites, even though he was thereby hastening his own death. This was a war of Kiddush Hashem (sanctifying the Name of God), and Kiddush Hashem cannot be delayed for even a moment.
But this raises a puzzling question. The Moabite-Midianite spiritual attack on Israel happened at the end of Parashat Balak (Numbers 25:1-9), followed immediately by Pinchas’ slaying of Cozbi (the Midianite princess) and Zimri (the Jewish tribal leader) who were consorting in public. Pinchas’ killing of these two immediately stopped the plague, and no more Jews died.
And then came the census (26:2-65), and the tangentially connected episode of the five daughters of Tzlof’chad (Zelophehad) who demanded their portion in the Land of Israel (27:1-11), Moshe’s conferring leadership onto Joshua (vs. 12-23), the commanding of several sacrifices and festivals (chapters 28 and 29), and laws of oaths and vows (chapter 30).
If the war of vengeance against the Midianites was so urgent – so urgent that Moshe was not willing to delay even for an instant, even though it meant hastening his own death – then why did God delay the command to go to war until now? Why did so much happen in the interim?
I suggest that if God inserted all these narratives between the Moabite-Midianite spiritual attack and our retaliation, then there must be a direct, even organic, connexion between them. Otherwise, they would have constituted an unacceptable interruption.
Let us analyse these various events one by one: –
Pinchas’ slaying of Cozbi and Zimri was an obvious prelude to the wider war, waged by the Children of Israel collectively against the Midianites collectively.
Next came the census, which was a necessary prelude to war. Even though Moshe selected 1,000 men from each Tribe (Numbers 31:3-6) regardless of the size of the Tribe (the numbers ranged between 22,200 for Simeon, the smallest Tribe, and 76,500 for Judah, the largest Tribe), the booty of war was later to be divided between those who fought in the campaign and the rest of the nation: half went to the 12,000 warriors, half was divided among the rest of the nation (Numbers 31:25-27).
The five daughters of Tzlof’chad who were so concerned to receive their portion in the Land of Israel were a tangible reminder for the entire nation of what they were fighting for. In any war, in any battle, in any military campaign – define your objective and stick to it, and ensure that there are constant reminders of what your ultimate objective is. This is sound military doctrine, taught by every military theorist from Sun Tzu to Major-General Carl von Clausewitz to Dr. John Pimlott, and the episode of Tzlof’chad’s daughters was a classic example of this.
Then Moshe publicly appointed Joshua as his successor. Again, this is sound military doctrine: in any war, facing uncertain consequences, the commander-in-chief must make it absolutely clear who his second-in-command is. The commander-in-chief cannot be available at all times, and in any time of emergency there must be no arguments as to who his replacement is.
This was even more important in the campaign against Midian. After all, since God had told Moshe that this was his final task in this world and that afterwards he would die, Moshe had perforce to appoint Joshua before the campaign. Moshe might have died immediately upon the warriors’ return from their successful battle, or even before they returned, but as soon as their victory was complete. Moshe could not have known at the time that he still had at least six weeks to live, so he had to ensure that his successor was already firmly in place, and that the entire nation would witness his appointing of Joshua so that there could be no dissention afterwards.
Then comes the series of sacrifices – the Tamid (twice-daily) offering, the Mussaf (Additional) offerings for Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh, the sacrifices for Pesach, Chag ha-Matzot, Shavuot, Rosh ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Succot, and Sh’mini Atzeret.
To understand the relevance of this series of sacrifices to the sequence of events, we have to go back to the Torah’s account of Pinchas’ killing of Cozbi and Zimri. “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Pinchas…has turned My fury away from the Children of Israel by being zealous for My zealousness in their midst… By being zealous for his God he atoned for the Children of Israel” (Numbers 25:10-13).
The Midrash challenges this: “Did he then bring a sacrifice, that the Torah says that ‘he atoned’? Rather, this comes to teach you that anyone who sheds the blood of the wicked – it is as though he brought a sacrifice” (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:3 and Tanhuma, Pinchas 1).
There is, indeed, an organic connexion between the narrative of the sacrifices and the war against the Midianites. Every Jew who went out to battle, and every Jew who stayed behind to “keep the home fires burning”, had to have the lesson of sacrifice fresh in his consciousness. Every Jew had to be fully aware that killing the enemy on the battlefield was not merely empty militarism, and the confrontation between Israel and Midian was not merely empty nationalism. Our wars are an expression of Kiddush Hashem, the enemies of Israel are the enemies of God, and the enemies whom our soldiers kill on the battlefield are as sacrifices.
Then come the laws of oaths with which Parashat Mattot begins: “Moshe spoke to the heads of the Tribes of the Children of Israel saying, This is the matter which Hashem had commanded: Any man who vows a vow to Hashem or swears an oath to accept a prohibition upon himself shall not violate his word; he shall do according to everything that comes out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2-3).
This section appears immediately before the last war that we would wage before entering the Land of Israel, and so it is appropriate to compare it with the first military campaign which this generation waged, the war against the Canaanite king of Arad: “The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the Negev, heard that Israel had come by the route of the spies, and he warred against Israel and captured a captive from it. Then Israel vowed a vow to Hashem, saying: If You will indeed deliver this nation into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And Hashem heard Israel’s voice, and He delivered the Canaanites to them, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities” (Numbers 21:1-3).
The parallels in the syntax are too close to be coincidence. 'וַיִּדַּר יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶדֶר לַה (“Israel vowed a vow to Hashem…”) in the context of the war against the Canaanite king of Arad; and אִישׁ כִּי יִדֹּר נֶדֶר לַה (“Any man who vows a vow to Hashem…”) immediately before the war against Midian.
The Midrash Lekach Tov begins its exposition on Parashat Mattot by citing “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay in paying it, because He has no delight in fools; what you vow, pay! It is better that you do not vow, than that you vow and do not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:3-4).
In that generation’s first war, the war against the Canaanite king of Arad, Israel fully fulfilled their vow when “they utterly destroyed them and their cities”. Israel must know that waging war is a serious commitment – a commitment which obligates us, as does a vow. Just as it is better not to vow than to vow and not fulfil, so too it is better not to go to war than to go to war and not to win.
And then, having absorbed the lessons of the census, Tzlof'chad's five daughters, Moshe's appointment of Joshua as his successor, sacrifices, and vows, the Children of Israel were ready to go forth to war without delay against Midian – and were ready to fight until victory.
20 Tamuz 5774
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
By now I'm sure the readers are well aware that a ground invasion of Aza has begun. To excerpt the longer shiur below...
"...regarding Israel's war against its enemies, also enemies of G-d, our sages said (Tanchuma, Shoftim 15): “When you go forth to battle against your enemies” (Deut. 20:1): What do the words, “against your enemies” add? G-d said, “Go forth against them as enemies. Show them no mercy, just as they show you none.” Our sages said, “Go forth against them as enemies,” not as friends. These evildoers will never care about your welfare, so you should not care about theirs. This is the ethical, philosophically based law of G-d. Regarding one's enemy, there is no room for love and forgiveness. On the one hand, he will not show loving pity for Israel if he has the opportunity to dominate it.
As our sages said (Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim 20:923, quoting Eileh HaDevarim Zuta): “When you go forth to battle against your enemies”: If you take pity on them, they will go forth to battle against you. It is like the shepherd who used to watch his sheep in the forest. He found a wolf cub and took pity on it, letting it suckle from the goats. His employer saw this and said to him, “Kill it! Take no pity on it or misfortune will strike the flock.” The shepherd did not heed him. When the wolf was grown, it would see a lamb or kid and kill it. His employer then said, “Did I not tell you to show no pity?” Moses said the same to Israel: “If you take pity on them, then 'Those that you let remain shall be as thorns in your eyes' (Num. 33:55).”
May the Mighty God of Israel watch over and protect every single soldier who goes forth to avenge His Honor and His Name and may the Holy One, Blessed Be He fight for them and may He be given all the glory and the praise. Amen!
_______________________________
Parashat Mattot - War of vengeance - Rabbi Meir Kahane
Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, “Take vengeance for the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterwards, you will be gathered unto your people." (Num. 31:1) Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among yourselves for the legion that they may be against Midian to inflict Hashem's vengeance against Midian." (Num. 31:3) Great is revenge for it resurrects G-d, proves His existence, and humbles the arrogant sinner so that the righteous and the world joyfully declares (Ps. 58:12), “Verily there is a reward for the righteous. Verily there is a G-d Who judges on earth.” In this regard our sages said (Tanchuma, Matot 4), “Moses yearned to see G-d's revenge on the Midianites before his death, and he would ask G-d to let him see it with his own eyes. Of Moses it says (Ps. 58:11), 'The righteous man shall rejoice when he sees vengeance.'” It says here, “Moses yearned.” He did not merely wish or hope, but he yearned. The righteous yearn to see revenge against the evil, for it proves that “there is a G-d Who judges on earth.”By contrast, whoever relents from revenge against Israel's enemies is actually giving up on avenging G-d, for whoever attacks the people of Israel is actually attacking the G-d of Israel by showing that he does not fear Divine retribution. Our sages said (Sifri, Matot 157): “The L-rd spoke to Moses saying, 'Take revenge for the Children of Israel against the Midianites'... Moses spoke to the people saying, 'Detach men for armed service against Midian, so that the L-rd's revenge can be taken against the Midianites'” (Num. 31:1-3): This is in praise of the righteous. They do not depart from the world until they take revenge on behalf of Israel, which is the revenge of Him Who brought the world into being."
G-d told Moses to take revenge “for the Children of Israel", and Moses called it “G-d's revenge,” to inform us that the two are the same. Our sages also said (Sifri, Beha'alot'cha, 84): “Arise, O L-rd, and scatter Your enemies! Let Your foes flee before You” (Num. 10:35): Can He Who created the world be said to have “enemies”? Rather, the verse informs us that if someone hates the Jewish People, it is as though he hates G-d. Elsewhere Sifri teaches (Matot 157): Moses told them, “You are not taking the revenge of flesh and blood, but of Him Who brought the world into being, as it says, 'The L-rd is a zealous and avenging G-d' (Nachum 1:2)”. To forgo such revenge is wrong, indeed, abominable! The issue here is not personal revenge, which is not only permissible to forgo, but forbidden to carry out (Lev. 19:18): “Do not take revenge nor bear a grudge against the children of your people”. Our sages said (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim, 4), “You may take revenge and bear a grudge against others [i.e., non-Jews],” and Yalkut Shimoni (Vayikra 19:613) states, “Do not take revenge nor bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you may do so against non-Jews.”
As Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane points out in his commentary on the Parasha: [...] when Pinchas and the Israeli army return from battling Midian, Moses angrily questions Pinchas: “Have you saved all the women alive?!” Concerning this, the Ramban quotes the “Sifri”: “Pinchas answered Moses: As you commanded us, so we did!” Pinchas assumed that this war was the same as any other obligatory war (milchemet mitzvah) or permissible war (milchemet reshut), whose laws are outlined in Deuteronomy 20:10. In most of these wars, only males are to be killed (with the exception of obligatory wars against Amalek or against the nations who dwelled in the land previously, where all are to be killed, including women and children). We can now understand what Pinchas meant when he said, “as you commanded, so we did.” He meant, as you commanded us in the Torah. And so when Moses saw that Israel left the females alive, he explains, “Behold, these (specifically the females) caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Bila'am, to revolt against the L-rd in the matter of Pe'or, and there was a plague among the congregation of the L-rd.” Moses is teaching us a vital lesson here: There is another category of war – a war of vengeance. As opposed to the regular wars, where the laws are pre-set regarding who is to be killed or spared (see Rambam, Hilchot Melachim, Ch. 6), the wars of vengeance are a direct response to what was done to Israel. It takes into consideration specific actions of the enemy in the past. Therefore, the way in which the enemy is treated varies from one war to another, depending on the specific circumstances. In the case of the war against Midian, which was fought to avenge what the women of Midian did, it would have been proper for the Jewish army to make the women of Midian the very first victims. And so, we have learned a principle regarding a war of vengeance – that the type of vengeance which is exacted, depends on what or who is being avenged.
[As Rabbi Meir Kahane continues in The Jewish Idea]: The Torah dons sackcloth over the distortion of the concept of revenge, which has become a a target for the arrows of all Jewish Hellenists and worshippers of the [Western] alien culture, as if revenge were negative and evil by nature. The very opposite is true! No trait is more justified than revenge in the right time and place. G-d, Himself, is called “Nokem”, Avenger: “The L-rd is a zealous and avenging G-d. The L-rd avenges and is full of wrath. He takes revenge on His adversaries and reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nachum 1:2). Our sages also said (Berachot 33a), “Shall we say that even revenge is great because it appears between two names of G-d? 'A G-d of vengeance is the L-rd' (Ps. 94:1). R. Elazar responded, 'Indeed. Where revenge is necessary, it is a great thing'” [see Rashi].“It is a great thing!” It is a great mitzvah to take the revenge of the righteous and humble from the evildoer. Whoever forgoes or rejects such an opportunity is cruel, and he denies belief in G-d. The evildoers' presence in the world and their taking control of it constitute a challenge and threat to G-d's exclusive sovereignty. It is thus imperative to rid the world of them. Therefore, regarding Israel's war against its enemies, also enemies of G-d, our sages said (Tanchuma, Shoftim 15): “When you go forth to battle against your enemies” (Deut. 20:1): What do the words, “against your enemies” add? G-d said, “Go forth against them as enemies. Show them no mercy, just as they show you none.” Our sages said, “Go forth against them as enemies,” not as friends. These evildoers will never care about your welfare, so you should not care about theirs. This is the ethical, philosophically based law of G-d. Regarding one's enemy, there is no room for love and forgiveness. On the one hand, he will not show loving pity for Israel if he has the opportunity to dominate it. As our sages said (Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim 20:923, quoting Eileh HaDevarim Zuta):“When you go forth to battle against your enemies”: If you take pity on them, they will go forth to battle against you. It is like the shepherd who used to watch his sheep in the forest. He found a wolf cub and took pity on it, letting it suckle from the goats. His employer saw this and said to him, “Kill it! Take no pity on it or misfortune will strike the flock.” The shepherd did not heed him. When the wolf was grown, it would see a lamb or kid and kill it. His employer then said, “Did I not tell you to show no pity?” Moses said the same to Israel: “If you take pity on them, then 'Those that you let remain shall be as thorns in your eyes' (Num. 33:55).”
A curse upon those who falsify G-d's attributes! Hillel clearly gave us a great principle when he said, “That which is hateful to you do not do to your fellow man – this is the whole Torah.” Yet he concluded, “The rest is commentary. Go learn it!” (Shabbat 31a). The principle has a commentary and only an ignoramus, fool or charlatan would ignore it and intentionally conceal the end of Hillel's utterance. Does this great principle apply to the way we must approach a non-Jew who is an enemy of the Jewish People? Must a Jew put himself on equal terms with a cursed, wicked non-Jew who thirsts for his blood? Anyone with the least bit of Talmud under his belt, anyone who has studied even a small measure of Shas [Mishnah] and Poskim [halachic authorities], will understand how ridiculous this is.Love thine enemy? Is he our “neighbor”, our “re'a”? Read not “re'a” but “ra”, evil! He is an evildoer, an enemy. There is no obligation to be friendly to him. Quite the contrary, our sages declared (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:4): “'Harass the Midianites' (Num. 25:17): Why? 'For they harass you' (Ibid.). Our sages accordingly accordingly said, 'If someone comes to kill you, kill him first.'” We must kill him, not love him. At the same time, we must not relate lovingly and forgivingly to those who rise up against G-d, and the law is that any enemy who rises up against Israel is considered to have risen up against G-d. The rule is this: Whoever conquers his evil impulse and his false thinking, will go on to uproot evil and take revenge on evildoers because of G-d's command, clinging to G-d's traits and without any personal interest. Then he will be called merciful and saintly for having eradicated evil.To our sorrow, and once more due to the terrible exile in which we were blinded by the alien culture, G-d's attributes have been corrupted and distorted, deliberately so by those who cast off G-d's yoke and with depressing ignorance by a large portion of the holy camp. It has reached the point in which war and revenge against the nations and the sanctification of G-d's name through Jewish victory have entirely disappeared from our agenda. Yet, in the original Jewish idea, precisely as we received from Sinai laws of the Sabbath and of separating meat and milk, so were we given laws of war and revenge, which are practical laws during this pre-Messianic era in which we live.
-
[Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from 'The Jewish Idea' of Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY"D, and from 'The writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, HY"D'.]
-
[Tzipora Liron-Pinner: Given the present sensitive situation in Israel, I feel compelled to add the following legal disclaimer - This article relates to the weekly Parasha and is posted for purposes of study. This week's Parasha (Mattot) deals with the concept of national vengeance in the framework of a war (against the Midianites) and the article explores the opinion of Rabbi Meir Kahane and Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane on the matter. The article is absolutely NOT meant to encourage any readers to resort to individual acts of "vengeance" or vigilantism or any activity that is against the law.
19 Tamuz 5774
The majority of the world has been distracted in recent days by these major events. Could The Powers That Be (TPTB) be using them as a major distraction? And if so, what is being covered up? What evil are they plotting even now?
What's happening in Syria? with ISIS? with the 'talks' on Iran? We don't really know because we've been distracted.
Obama hits Russia with more sanctions, hints at extending Iran's nuclear deadline
And then there's this...
...Today, 70 years after Bretton Woods, leaders from China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, and several other nations are hard at work in Fortaleza, Brazil creating a new development bank that will compete against the US-controlled World Bank.
This is a major step in an obvious trend towards a new financial system. Every shred of objective data is SCREAMING for this to happen.
It’s a different world. Everyone realizes it except for the US government, which is still living in the past where they’re #1 and get to call all the shots.
The consequences of missing this boat are enormous, and it’s going to be a rude awakening for anyone not paying attention.
19 Tamuz 5774
Continued from here...
Question: Those contemptible ones who worship the Satan, this is a thing that is not familiar to us from the past, like the peak of evil, the question is are they evildoers who already were in the past, renewed only now to usher in the end of the world?
Answer: It's not at all new, only it wasn't "on the surface," it was under the surface. And precisely those who do this, supposedly "started" it, but it never became extinct. Because, also, when Constantine formed the Christian religion, which incidentally, he only turned Christian at the end of his life, so it was already inside - the idolatry. It was really a part of Christianity, with the Catholics especially. And it never left. There were indeed some groups within the church, but it's already hundreds of years that these idolaters, the greatest contemptible ones, are controlling the Vatican.
Question: It's years already that we're speaking about this subject, and like today, we're getting so much data, despite this, many don't know it...
Answer: You don't understand that there are many people, but really very many, who are writing this very clearly. But, they don't want to believe. There are those who want to believe, and they understand that it's the most logical explanation for what's happening in the world now, and there are those who simply don't want to know. And they're the majority. But, the majority will disappear from the world, no matter what. Because the contemptible ones want to thin out the population in this world, so Hashem is already doing it for them. But, they themselves will be a part of the thinning out...
Question: But, the Chareidim don't understand...
Answer: The simplest way to explain: Very many Chareidi Jews - they're Erev Rav! And they can't do teshuvah at all. Period. And the rest of the Jews, even if they don't want to do teshuvah - Hashem will force them to do teshuvah. And this will be the hardest thing. And if a person wants to do teshuvah, and wants to be with Hashem - he will suffer much less.
Question: Why does Hashem let them do whatever they want... When will Hashem stop it already...?
Answer: All of the wickedness needs to be revealed. We need to see among the Chareidim as well as among the Dati'im and among the Chilonim - who are the evildoers until the moment that it will be clear to everyone.
Question: Is it still not clear?! We see it revealed and clear...
Answer: No. Not yet. How much are we saying that certain contemptible ones are organizing all kinds of things of murders, etc., etc. in order to rule over the world - it's still hard for people to grasp that there can be a thing like this. But, what they are trying to do in Eretz Yisrael - it's so enormously brazen that it has to bring down the whole world and it will bring down all the wickedness of the whole world. So, wait patiently and see the great worldwide demonstration such as never was, a historic demonstration...
Question: A tragedy the kidnapping occurred exactly on the day on which the giant "sleaze" parade in Tel Aviv took place...
Answer: What can I tell you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, if the parade of disgusting ones was on the same day - so, it's an additional clear reason. But, we know, that this world, this country, is going down so much in holiness - that it's simply beyond all limits. Every limit.
It can't be a 'Jewish State' when they're going against the Torah in such a conspicuous way. So what makes them Jews and not gentiles...? That they had a circumcision?... Now, no one needs to be circumcised. That's the law. Don't have to. And whoever doesn't want - don't! There are many 'Jews' who don't want to do a circumcision. Clear and obvious, a Jew who doesn't want to do a circumcision - he has to be Erev Rav! There's no doubt. And those Russians who did not know, then later, when they grew up and wanted to return to Judaism - they needed to be circumcised, even at late ages, and they did so happily. But, if a Jew reaches the end of his life without doing a circumcision, then he's Erev Rav. For sure.
Question: It's written in Chazal that at the End of Days, Hashem will hear the outcry of Am Yisrael because of Bnei Yishmael. Maybe we're going into that period now...
Answer: We're already in a situation like this for a lot of years. The Zionists arrived here and immediately it made problems with the Arabs, because they wanted to be "the great ones" to raise up a state and to be like all the nations... And now, they got what they wanted, but along the way they threatened the Arabs, they came to their place and they ruled. The truth is that those who were sitting quietly, so there was less murder, but Hashem wanted it like that. He has His calculations, and not us. And we simply need to know, correctly, that there is a problem with Yishmael and we're suffering from him very much, but, if we were really praying and while we had unity with HKB"H and unity with Jews, one with another, then this would weaken him very much.
But, later, when we were so into the matter of the eigel hazahav, and we had really damaged the 'kedoshim tihiyu' of Am Yisrael, so now we have an enemy that's much stronger, much more violent. Even if he appears much more cultured - he's dangerous like a snake. Because he is the snake. And we call him "Edom." And he wants to rid himself of us as well as the great majority of Yishmaelim. And according to him, he doesn't so much have to rid himself of every single Jew, he just needs to turn them into gentiles. And if he will do it, according to his belief, then he will be dominant... and he will live forever...
It's nonsense. Hashem will show them to their faces, and it will be clear to them that they will disappear. It will be clear to them that they have lost the battle, and that HaKadosh Baruch Hu and only He, is the Almighty.
What we can do - it's to feel that the end is already arriving, and that we will go and gather in synagogues or at the Kotel or, it doesn't matter which holy place it will be, and will converge en masse, and we will pray to HKB"H to save us and not allow our enemies to rule. That's what we need to do.
[To be continued, iy"H]
