Where Is the Justice?

26 Shevat 5786
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Mishpatim/Sheqalim - Mevarchim 

This is the question so many people are asking in our days.  Justice is hard to find, but the righteous soul craves it like water in the desert.  

The Midrash ha-Chefetz begins its commentary on Parashat Mishpatim with an exposition on the Jewish concept of mishpat (justice): “Scripture says about justice, ‘Hashem, Master of Legions, will become exalted through justice’ (Isaiah 5:16). Great is justice, which He gave only to Israel who are especially beloved by Him, as it says ‘He tells His word to Jacob, His laws and His justice to Israel (Psalms 147:9). Great is justice, which hastens the redemption, as it says ‘Preserve justice and carry out righteousness, because My salvation is soon to come and My righteousness to be revealed’ (Isaiah 56:1). Great is justice, for which the mashiach is praised, as it says ‘he will judge the destitute with righteousness’ (Isaiah 11:4)”.

...The Lekach Tov continues: “Praised is the Name of the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, that He created His world with justice, and built the foundations of the world on justice, and established His Throne with justice. He judges all and judges alone… And he commanded His servants to judge in righteousness… ‘Hate evil and love good, and at the gate establish justice’ teaches us that one who judges righteously is called good, while one who perverts justice is called bad. ‘Judge in your gates with truth, justice and peace’ (Zechariah 8:16) teaches that the prophets warned Israel about judges… None of the prophets added anything to…or took anything away from the Torah which Hashem our God gave us by the hand of Moshe our Master, and indeed the final prophecy ever was, ‘Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant…’ (Malachi 3:22)”.

...And it is in the merit of justice that we inherit the Land of Israel. As Moshe would tell us forty years later, in his final days: “So now, O Israel, hear the laws and the judgements which I teach you today to do, so that you will live and you will come and inherit the Land which Hashem, God of your fathers, gives you” (Deuteronomy 4:1). And again: “Justice, justice shall you pursue, so that you will live and you will inherit the Land which Hashem your God gives you” (ibid.16:20), on which the Midrash says: “If you pursue justice, you will live and inherit the Land; and if not, you will not inherit it” (Tanhuma, Shoftim 8).

[Excerpted from Parashat Mishpatim: By justice we inherit the Land of Israel by Daniel Pinner in 5774.]

~ SHABBAT SHALOM UMEVORACH ~

Now They've Gone and Done It...

25 Shevat 5786 

[FOLLOW UP:  Criticism of IDF Draft Policy: Claims Army Ignores Hundreds of Chareidim Seeking to Enlist While Expanding Arrests]

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I'm pretty sure TIPTB (The Israeli Powers That Be) never saw this one coming. 😊

Dati Leumi Talmidim: “We Want The Same Army Conditions The Chareidim Receive”

Rabbi Dror Aryeh, a Rosh Mesivta in Sderot Yeshiva, said that talmidim at his yeshivah are considering filing a petition to the Supreme Court demanding equality between combat units, with Dati Leumi talmidim receiving strictly gender-segregated units like the Chareidi Chashmonaim Brigade.

The IDF also promised gender-segregated units to Dati Leumi talmidim, but the promise has not been fulfilled, and a “mixed-service agenda” seeped into the battlefield during the recent war in Gaza.

In an interview with Kan Moreshet, Rabbi Aryeh referred to the remarks he made at an emergency conference of Dati Leumi Rabbanim in the wake of the IDF’s intention to advance a pilot program to integrate women into the front-line combat units of the Armored Corps’s tank crews

In his remarks, he said that the implementation of the army’s gender separation regulations was violated during the war, creating situations in which male and female soldiers stayed in close quarters with no gender segregation, contrary to existing directives.

Rabbi Aryeh also addressed proposals for separate combat units, saying that talmidim at Sderot Yeshiva are considering filing a petition to the Supreme Court in the name of equality. “The demand is, ‘What is given to Chashmonaim should be given to us too,” he said.

He clarified that this is a cry stemming from a sense of responsibility and not an attempt to dismantle the army.

He emphasized that the lack of gender separation is not only a halachic issue but a professional one as well. “They take the victims of this agenda and insert them into the combat units, and it also harms the kedushah of the machaneh.” He added that the entry of women into combat units is effectively discriminating against soldiers who are makpid on halacha.

He concluded his remarks by stating that the main demand is a principled one, noting, “We are a Jewish army,” and emphasized the need for Siyata Dishmaya and preserving the kedushah of the machaneh as an inseparable part of the IDF’s ability to meet security challenges.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The staunch position taken for the honor of the Torah and Hashem's Name is paying unexpected dividends.  Baruch Hashem!! 

The War With Amalek and the Month of Adar

23 Shevat 5786 

Iran/Hezbollah/Hamas/Houthis - these are Amalek, along with all their champions and supporters.  That makes this pending war - the one hanging over our heads -  The War with Amalek, which is necessary to bring in the messianic age. Here is a reminder...

Rambam taught (Hilchot Melachim 1:1): Three mitzvot were commanded to Israel on their entering the Land: to appoint a king, as it says "You must appoint a king" (Deut. 17:15); to annihilate Amalek's descendants... and to build the Temple.

1. Establishment of a True Jewish Government

2. Elimination of the Threat of Internal Enemies

3. Reconstruction of the Beit Hamikdash

[This is a logical conclusion based upon the fact that the second cannot be accomplished without benefit of the first and the third cannot be accomplished without benefit of the first two.]

Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook is quoted in Torat Eretz Israel, p. 283:

When people approach me with this proposition [to rebuild the Temple], I say: ...Just as there is a precept to build the Temple, there is a sequence to its fulfillment.  The Gemara says, "Israel was commanded with three precepts when they entered the Land:  To appoint a King; to annihilate the seed of Amalek; and to build Hashem's chosen house.  And the Gemara continues, And how do I know which comes first?  You have to say raise up a King.  And how do I know whether to build the Temple first, or to annihilate the seed of Amalek?  You have to say first annihilate the seed of Amalek.  The Gemara is speaking of the initial entry into the Land and of the construction of the first temple, but the Rambam decides that this is generally true.  'Israel was commanded with three precepts upon entering the Land...the King's appointment precedes the war with Amalek, and the annihilation of Amalek precedes the building of the Temple.'  This is a clear order not a haphazard arrangement."

So, here is the answer to why this war keeps being delayed.  The Erev Rav regime does not have the spiritual strength to pull this off.  Deep down, they know this is going to be the end of them.  Same goes for Eisav/Edom.  No wonder Trump is "in no rush."   But, HKB"H has a set time for it...

The complete obliteration of Amalek will occur at the time of the final redemption, immediately preceding the month of Nisan.  (Book of Our Heritage, p. 394)

I find it fascinating that Rav Kitov says "the complete obliteration" and those are the same words used by Trump to describe the "victory" of the "12-Day War".  Not!

Eisav can't do it and neither can the Erev Rav, so if this is really to be the final war that decides the fate of Amalek,  Mashiach must arise as a King of Israel between now and the end of the month of Adar - the traditional month of War with Amalek!!

It's also the reason Iran will have to start the attack sequence.  ("And Paras will go and destroy the world," meaning the Old World Order - the World of Lies.)  Neither Eisav/Edom nor the Erev Rav regime ruling in Eretz Yisrael have the spiritual power to do this.  But, like the bee that dies after it stings a perceived threat, Iran will also fall.  

This year, significantly, Ramadan coincides with Adar and remarkably, so does Lent!  

Rosh Chodesh Adar is two days and while the Hebrew, as well as the Islamic, calendar begins the evening before, the Gregorian (Chr*stian) calendar does not.  Therefore, the date that all three share in common is Wednesday, February 18, 2026.

The month of Adar culminates with Rosh Chodesh Nissan on March 19, 2026, as does Ramadan.  But while Nissan raises us up to a yet higher level of spirituality and kedusha, the same does not exist in Islam.  

The high point of our month of Adar is reached at the full moon on Purim while the holiest day of Ramadan occurs on an "odd-numbered night" during the final ten-day period.  It is known as Laylat al-Qadr - the Night of Power.  It commemorates the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad.  This year, in Iran, it is expected to be observed on March 16, 2026, the 27th day of Ramadan.

The Lenten Season also begins for Chr*stians.  "It is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter."  (Wikipedia)

It's as if each of the three so-called Abrahamic faiths will be making separate offerings to God at the exact same time.  But, rather than gain merit from their fasting and abstentions, they incur more Divine wrath as this service is being offered to a false god, not to the Master of the World.  

In contrast, our joy increases and we celebrate with noise and laughter, feasting and sweet treats.  We thereby demonstrate our steadfast confidence in HKB"H, that the promised redemption will come at its most appropriate time.

Interesting side note:  "If the ...[12-Day War] had developed into WW3, we would have been fighting in Tammuz and possibly Av, but Trump ended it on Erev Rosh Chodesh Tammuz.  Now it is going to happen in Adar. Our Heritage says if a Jew has a court case, he shouldn’t have it in Av but should have it in Adar."

Second interesting side note:  "The combat phase of the first Gulf War lasted from January 17, 1991 to February 28, 1991 (2 Shevat - 14 Adar).  ...The combat phase of the second Gulf War took up where the first one left off - March 20, 2003 to April 9, 2003 (16 Adar Bet - 7 Nissan).

Are these two of the three wars at the End of Days?  And is the War between the US and Iran to be the third?  Will it also be in Adar?  And since it is connected to Jerusalem, will it be on the 15th of Adar - the Jerusalem Purim?   

The children of Ishmael will cause great wars in the world and the children of Edom will gather against them and wage war against them, one on the sea, one on the dry land, and one near Jerusalem.  And they [the children of Edom] will rule over them [the children of Ishmael], but the Holy Land will not be given over to the children of Edom. [The children of Edom is the Christian West, for Edom is Rome (see Num. 24:19, Rashi) and Rome signifies Greece-Rome and the Roman Catholic Church, the foundations of Western Civilization.]

At that time, a nation from the end of the earth will be aroused against evil Rome and wage war against it for three months.  Nations will gather there, and [Rome] will fall into their hands, until all the children of Edom will gather against it [that nation] from all the corners of the world. Then G‑d will be roused against them. This is the meaning of: "For G‑d has a sacrifice in Botzrah". (Isaiah 34:6) And afterwards, it is written: "That it might take hold of the ends of the earth..." (Job 38:13) He will destroy the descendants of Ishmael from the land, and break all the powers of [all the nations' guardian angels] Above. There will not remain any power of any people on earth, except the power of Israel alone. This is the meaning of "G‑d is your shade upon your right hand". (Psalms 121:5)

May we merit to see it all and survive it all!!!! 

"No accountability. No self-reflection. Just ambition."

22 Shevat 5786

This is a follow-up to  "They Have No Shame!!!".  Just because there are others just as bad and even worse than Netanyahu, that does not amount to a defense of his continued failed leadership.  It just proves that the entire regime is a failure and must at all costs be replaced in its entirety.

The Audacity of Naftali Bennett 

February 9, 2026 

A VINNEWS Op-ed by Shira Miller

Naftali Bennett has a gift for dramatic rhetoric. On Sunday evening, the former Prime Minister launched a blistering attack on Benjamin Netanyahu, comparing him to Forrest Gump — “a weak, pitiful, helpless nebbish who just happened to stumble into events.” It was a clever sound bite, delivered in a slick, pre-recorded video statement timed to maximize media impact. It was also breathtakingly hypocritical, coming from the man whose own political choices helped set the stage for the very catastrophe he now decries.  (Continue reading here.)

I used to think of Bennett as Bibi 2.0, but I have revised that opinion.  I judge him more accurately to be a (Ehud) Barak 2.0.  Criminals all!!!   

"Home Is Where the Heart Is"

22 Shevat 5786 

Is America Home Sweet Home?
Rabbi Richter

They Have No Shame!!!

21 Shevat 5786

I don't know if the Sages said this somewhere, but if they didn't, they should have...

He who has no shame can never repent.

This is the hallmark of what serves as "leadership" in our days - pompous liars who spend all their time shifting blame to others instead of accepting responsibility and getting about the job of correcting their errors.  

Not only do they have no shame about having led the country into catastrophe, they go further and have no shame in denying any blame for it.  It is  shameful to see, but they don't feel it. Consequently, they see no need to change, and if not stopped, they will lead the nation into even worse circumstances.   

“We Should Have Acted”: Netanyahu Says He Wanted To Reconquer Gaza Before Oct. 7 But Was Blocked By Intel Chiefs

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Thursday that he repeatedly considered conquering the Gaza Strip in the years leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, only to be blocked time and again by Israel’s security establishment, which warned the move would trigger a long, costly war with little international backing and no viable alternative government to replace Hamas.

In newly released responses to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, Netanyahu lays out a sweeping account of internal cabinet and security debates stretching back nearly a decade. The documents paint a portrait of a prime minister who says he consistently pushed for aggressive action against Hamas, and a defense establishment that repeatedly urged restraint. 

Report: Netanyahu turned down 11 chances to kill Hamas leader Sinwar in 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down 11 chances to kill Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, months before the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack, Channel 12 reported Wednesday, citing a senior defense official.

Netanyahu’s office vehemently denied the report, saying the premier was in favor of taking out Sinwar, but “security leadership stopped it.”

Gallant: Netanyahu is a ‘liar’ who undermined security chiefs, has built false narrative of Oct. 7

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a liar” and accused him of stitching together a false narrative surrounding the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in order to evade responsibility.

...“Netanyahu’s first priority is himself, then his government, and then the country,” Gallant said, adding that the premier “takes credit for actions after they are completed, if they succeed. If they don’t succeed, it’s someone else’s responsibility.” 

Just because Gallant is no better than Netanyahu does not mean he is wrong.  It's just so much easier to identify the wrongdoing of others than to admit that we have erred and need to change.

This blame shifting is tragically not unusual or rare.  In fact, it was a problem for the very first king of Israel.  [Shmuel Aleph, perek 13 and 15]  He was more concerned with keeping public approval rather than following the instructions of HKB"H.  It was he, who in his failure to destroy Amalek, has brought us to this day.  

Now, why did you not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but you flew upon the spoil, and you did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord?"

And Saul said to Samuel, "Yes, I did hearken to the voice of the Lord. I did go on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and I brought Agag, the king of Amalek alive, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

And the people took from the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the ban, to sacrifice to your God in Gilgal."

[First he denied any wrongdoing and then he shifted the blame to the people. When he finally found the courage to admit his wrongdoing, it was already too late.]

And Samuel said, "Has the Lord (as much) desire in burnt offerings and peace-offerings, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than a peace-offering; to hearken (is better) than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Since you rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you from being a king."

And Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I transgressed the Lord's command, and your words, for I feared the people, and I hearkened to their voice.

And now, forgive now my sin, and return with me, and I shall prostrate myself to the Lord."

And Samuel said to Saul, "I shall not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being a king over Israel."  (Shmuel Aleph 15.19-26)

May Hashem have mercy on his people and replace this failed leadership with the Son of David HaMelekh!

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It's not just Israeli leaders either.  Substance does not matter; only the optics count.

Iran Leaks Trump's Secret War Proposal

A senior Iranian parliamentarian has claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump sent a backchannel message proposing a limited military strike on two targets inside Iran, with Tehran responding only symbolically so the incident could quickly end.

Mahmoud Nabavian, a hardline member of Iran’s Majlis and deputy chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the allegation during a television interview on Iranian state TV (Ofogh channel).

According to Nabavian, the message was conveyed through a third-country intermediary shortly before the latest round of indirect U.S.-Iran negotiations. Trump allegedly requested: “Let me strike two locations in Iran, you respond [lightly], and then the story ends.”

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ALSO RELATED:   Begging Trump: Netanyahu, and the Sunset of Israeli Sovereignty  The Illusion of Sovereignty: How Netanyahu’s Quest for Political Survival Transformed Israel into an American Protectorate

"Two Forms of Kiddush Hashem"

19 Shevat 5786

Erev Shabbat Kodesh

Parashat Yitro 

(Excerpted from Parashat Yitro: Two forms of Kiddush Hashem by Daniel Pinner)

...Pharaoh and Yitro, then, are the two paradigms for Kiddush Hashem.  They were both forced to recognise the falseness of polytheism, both were forced to acknowledge that Hashem, God of the Hebrews, is the sole true God.  They achieved this understanding in very different ways – the one through his evil, the other through honest enquiry; the one against his will, the other whole-heartedly and joyfully; the one by attempting to exterminate Israel, Hashem’s nation, the other by hearing about their salvation and rejoicing in it; the one by being destroyed by Hashem, the other by embracing Him.

But despite their polar differences, both these men, both leaders of their respective nations, became tools through which God’s Name became sanctified in this world.

~ ~ ~ 

Paras Provokes Edom

17 Shevat 5786 

Seventeen is the gematria of "Tov"!  Today is Tov shel Shevat!