The Hard Facts (Part 4)

3 Marcheshvan 5787 

(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)

Yishai Fleisher speaking on behalf of Itamar Ben Gvir and Otzmah Yehudit:

"...We believe that the study of Torah, i.e. Jewish heritage, is a State value.  It is a State value.  Now, we need defense because Israel is an embattled country, so the defense is something - we can't have Torah without defense.  We can't have anything without proper defense, so that comes first.  We recognize the value of Torah and we have to find a middle ground to move forward...."

I daresay these remarks by Otzmah Yehudit's spokesperson, who was also formerly spokesperson for the Hebron Jewish Community, faithfully represent the views of most, if not all, of those who identify as Religious Zionists.  And therein lies the crux of the matter.  

Torah is far, far more than just Jewish heritage.  Braided challah and gefilte fish is part of Jewish heritage!  And claiming that it is "a" State value does not equate to it being the primary and supreme Jewish value.  And still Torah is so much more.  It is our very life...

Key Concepts in Jewish Tradition

• "Torah is life itself": In Chassidic and Rabbinic thought, the Torah is viewed as the very heartbeat and essence of Jewish existence, rather than just an external set of laws or a framework. As taught by sages like Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, the Torah is not like oxygen that supports life from the outside—it is the very substance of life.

• Tree of Life (Etz Chayim): The Torah is repeatedly referred to as a "Tree of Life" (Etz Chayim). Traditional sources emphasize that cutting oneself off from the Torah's path is akin to cutting oneself off from spiritual vitality and existence.

• Connection to God: In Jewish theology, God and the Torah are deeply interconnected. Because God is the source of all life, connecting to His Torah means connecting directly to the source of life itself ("You who cling to Hashem, your G-d—you are all alive today" — Deuteronomy 4:4).

• Elixir of Life: The Talmud (Yoma 72b) famously states that the Torah can be an elixir of life (sam chaim) or an elixir of death (sam mavet), depending on how and with what intent a person approaches it.  (Gemini)

One of the key goals of Zionism was always to make Jews into Israelis, cutting us off from our relationship to the Torah.  First to distance - lead us to this middle ground - and then to cut us off completely.

...Esau's intention... to meet each other halfway, with each modifying his conduct until they were alike (Yalkut Shimoni, Genesis 133).

Mr. Fleisher:  "We recognize the value of Torah and we have to find a middle ground...."

Religious Zionism already stakes out the middle ground.  It's a hybrid religion, combining traditional tenets of Judaism with the secular religion of Zionism.  Herzl's vision of the New Jew but with a kippah and tallit.  This is why the IDF was chosen as the vehicle to inculcate this hybrid monstrosity's "values" into all our future generations (since the founding of the State).  

What is Religious Zionism most noted for - combining Torah study with military service.  But, tell me, what does it do to the religious soldier when the military service requires him to violate the Torah he is learning over and over again throughout his service?  When they are in conflict, it is the military might that wins out.

There is a place for Torah in a Torah-based military defending the values of a Torah-based society.  There is no place for Torah in an American/EU substitute because they are antithetical.  These things can not co-exist and this is why we find ourselves in the situation we are in today.

I can't let this go without addressing Mr. Fleisher's remarks on defense.  Is Israel an "embattled country"?  Absolutely, and it has been embattled for its entire modern history.  You know this, but do you understand why?  Not because we came back to the land and not because we set up our own government.  It was and is because we did those things without establishing the Torah as the foundation for everything.  

Mr. Fleisher:  "...we can't have Torah without defense.  We can't have anything without proper defense, so that comes first."  

He has the cart before the horse.

The Torah came first at Har Sinai and it continues to be first in every time and in every way.  In point of fact, THE TORAH IS OUR ONLY DEFENSE!!  The military is simply the kli through which it operates.  The Torah itself tells us that the camp has to be pure -  it has to be a fitting vessel - and then it matters not how many soldiers you have or how mighty the enemy appears to be - "the victory will be the Lord's."

Only, we have no victory.  We have fear and death rampant in our streets and homes, because we put defense above the Torah which is our only real defense.  Remember how HKB"H held the mountain over our heads?  If we were to refuse to accept the Torah, we were to be buried under that mountain because there would be no reason for us to exist otherwise.  That has never changed!  The same holds true even today!

The State is not doing the chareidim any favors (as they imagine) by 'letting' them learn in yeshivahs.  They are in reality giving God a reason to let them continue to exist!  As it stands today, their complete disconnect is bound to bring them down to the dustbin of history.

Although Religious Zionists try to mix Torah into the military camp, it is defiled by the wickedness of the secular Zionist ethos and remains an unfit vessel.  Unbelievably, they actually seem to brag that they outweigh all other groups in the number of deaths in combat.  They are "proud" of their children's "sacrifice".  These are human sacrifices to a false god because when Israel went to war in full accord with the demands of the Torah - not one man was lost!! 

In truth, we are in an unending war with everyone because we are first and foremost at war with God.  The best of us honor the Torah, but we don't always obey the Torah.  A tragic number of us don't believe in it and some go so far as to hate it and want to wipe it out.

(Tomorrow, the final part:  What do we do?)

The Hard Facts (Part 3)

2 Marcheshvan 5787 

(Part 1), (Part 2)

'I'm not Jewish, I'm a Zionist': Viral trend surges on X as hundreds join in, 'Post' analysis finds

A social media trend in which non-Jewish users publicly declare themselves non-Jewish Zionists has spread rapidly across X/Twitter,....

The posts follow a recognizable formula: “I’m not Jewish. I’m [nationality, religion or identity]. And I am a Zionist.”

This kind of (seeming) support engenders warm feelings for these (supposedly) sympathetic gentiles amongst the beleaguered Jews. Furthermore, the growing onslaught of Jew-hatred globally just heightens those feelings and drives the grateful Jews right into the arms of their gentile "brothers."  And this is precisely the intent.  Zionism is the breach in the wall that Torah erects around God's chosen people!

...In the future Esau will wrap himself in a tallis, sit down next to Yakov and say to him, "You are my brother"....  Yakov will say to him, "My brother, you will not be like me.  I will lead you to death, I will be the pestilence that leads you to Sheol (Hoshea 13.14).  Had I upheld degrees that you promulgated against me, I would have been guilty at the eyes of Heaven.  Had I violated them, you would have killed me.  (Yalkut Shimoni, Yirmiahu 333)

That was Esau's intention when he told Yakov, "Let us travel together and I will go before you (Genesis 33.12)**.  He wanted them to join together in both this world and the world to come, to meet each other halfway, with each modifying his conduct until they were alike (Yalkut Shimoni, Genesis 133).  Indeed, Esau will even adopt certain tenets of Judaism - such as monotheism, the Divinity of the Torah, and reward and punishment - but only if Israel will give up some of its heritage.  Similarly, according to Tanna D'Bei Eliahu Zuta(19), ... 

Esau proposed. "Give up some of the mitzvos that divide us.  You will thereby enjoy this world and still have half the world to come.  Isn't that enough? (Bais Halevy, Vayishlach).

Can one see relevance in these ancient writings for the world of today?  Do we not see the pinnacle of Esau's civilization, the country that is the utmost embodiment of his values of individualism and superficiality / image, offering this bargain to sons of Yakov, and most of them have taken it.  In return, Esau has placed his political and military might in service of common goals, in support of the so-called "Judeo-Christian" values.  

Will this friendship continue when Esau sees that Yakov returns to his Law and rejects his extended hand and his conditions of friendship? (Source)

It is destined to happen.  Mashiach Tzidkeinu will reject all these efforts of Esau.  As it says: 

 "And saviors shall ascend Mt. Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the Lord shall have the kingdom."  (Ovadiah 1.21)

~ ~ ~ 

**  (Genesis 33.12)  In their new found brotherly love, Esau insisted on escorting Jacob, and offered to slow down as much as necessary to keep pace with the slow-moving flocks and family (Rashi).  Jacob, however, wanted to end the reunion as quickly as possible, whether or not Esau's kisses were sincere [see v. 5], the momentary friendship could not be expected to last indefinitely.  Obviously, however, Jacob had to cloak his rejection of Esau's offer in very diplomatic terms.  

...At Seir.  Jacob had no intention of going as far as Seir - indeed, he did not go there - he merely wanted Esau to think he would, so that, in case Esau planned to attack him later, he would be waiting for an encounter that would never take place.  [It is axiomatic, however, that Jacob, who was the very epitome of truth, would never utter a blatant falsehood.  If so, he must have intended to go to Seir at some point.]  The Sages explain that Jacob was alluding to the End of Days, when, as Ovadiah (Ovadiah 1.21) prophesied, Jacob's descendants will come to Mount Seir to render judgment against Esau's descendants (Rashi).  (Source:  Stone Edition Chumash Commentary)

Ya'aqov Avinu was able to avoid the ultimate confrontation with Eisav, but we, his offspring, can not postpone it any longer.  On an individual level, each of us must find the courage to reject Eisav's "love" and stop leading him on.  We have to mend the breach in our portion of the wall and reach out to our brother to do the same with his portion.  The myth of "Religious" Zionism must be rejected as well as the myth that anyone who subscribes to any form of Zionism is a brother, a friend or someone with whom to make common cause.  

In the End, Mashiach Tzidkeinu will meet "brother" Eisav and put him firmly in his own place. 

(Part 4)

The Hard Facts (Part 2)

1 Marcheshvan 5787

Rosh Chodesh II

(Part 1)

We all know that the enemy within is the hardest one to fight because they pretend to be our brothers and the Torah commands us to love our brothers and to establish unity among us.  The true hard fact is that any goy can be Israeli, so unless it's an Israeli Jew, no brotherhood bond exists.  And even among those who claim to be Jews, according to the Torah, if they are living in rebellion to the Torah, they forfeit the bond of brotherhood until they repent and rejoin us.  The simple hard fact is that only the Torah unites us.

All that said, it brings us to the hardest test of our exile.  We have among us a hybrid group who have one foot in the Torah world and the other in the Secular Zionist world (i.e. the Religious Zionist/Judeo-Chr*stian).  Many Erev Rav souls have taken up residence in this group in order to mislead the weak but faithful Jews.  In my experience, they are identifiable - especially in these final days of our galut - by their antipathy toward their Torah-true brothers (chareidim) and their expressions of real affection for some of the worst goyim (Chr*stian Zionists) that exist in the world.  

We need to separate ourselves from them, but that is what makes this the hardest part of our test in these days, because a very great many good, loyal and faithful Jews are inadvertently caught up in it.  We need to bring them out from the Zionist trap, too, if we can. 

Somebody keeps telling me that nobody is perfect and that includes the Gedolim of the Torah world, but it is they who are the best that we have to choose from for leadership.  The Religious Zionist camp is so infiltrated by "geulah rabbis" teaching about Mashiach who are not just pushing but driving the New World Order agenda within the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael.  

As soon as you hear the words "house of prayer for all nations," or declarations that Chr*stianity is not idolatry, or that our mission in this world is to spread Torah to the nations (i.e. missionary Judaism), these are solid clues to the real identity and allegiance of the person saying them.  We know that at the End of Days "most of the rabbis will be from the Erev Rav."  That doesn't mean some of them, just like us, may not have gotten innocently caught up in error.  But it is also true that the majority of the rabbis spreading these errors all over the internet identify as religious Zionists.  

Only the chareidi world has been safe from massive infiltration up until now because 1) they never fell into the idolatry of the State-worshipers;  2) they held strongly to da'at Torah from established gedolim who were already reaching to 100 years of life; and, 3) they remained disconnected from the internet.

This explains why their entire community has been under massive attack from the Zionist Powers That Be:  1) Serve the State rather then God; 2) Disobey da'at Torah and join the IDF, listen to women sing and mix with the opposite gender, or sit in prison; 3) COVID measures imposed cell phone usage and internet access.

Do they have their own problems, sure they do.  After all, as I am frequently advised, none of us are perfect, but some are more perfect than others and perfection is measured by how connected we are to the Torah truth.  Those who know it best have the best chance for success in defeating this internal enemy.

The problem, as always, is in how to convince our true brothers of who and what the problems are and convincing them to do something to fix it!!

(Part 3)

The Hard Facts (Part 1)

30 Tishrei 5787

Rosh Chodesh I

What is "Zion"?  Have the Zionists of today faithfully represented it???

Something to think about.  The term "Zionism" is a misnomer as its modern usage is disconnected from its historical meaning.

THE FACTS

The word Zion (Hebrew: Tzion) appears 154 times across the Tanakh. ALL of them refer to Jerusalem. Some examples...

• 2 Samuel 5:7 – "Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David)."

• 1 Kings 8:1 – Solomon assembles elders to bring up the ark from "the city of David, which is Zion."

• 2 Chronicles 5:2 – Solomon brings the ark out of the city of David, which is Zion.

• Psalm 2:6 – "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."

• Psalm 87:2, 87:5 – "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob."

• Psalm 102:13, 102:16, 102:21 – God having mercy on Zion and rebuilding her walls.

• Psalm 132:13 – "For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for His dwelling..."

• Psalm 134:3 – "May the Lord bless you from Zion..."

• Psalm 137:1, 137:3 – "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."

• Micah 4:2 – "The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

• Amos 1:2 – "The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem..."

• Joel 2:32 – "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance..."  (Gemini)

The rule and revelation of God's Presence in this physical realm were centered on the Place He chose:  The Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  This is Zion!  And it embodies everything that connects to it like the flow of Truth and Light which goes out to the entire world only from that Place.

This is what our ancesors yearned for and prayed for: "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."  But the anticipated and longed for return to Zion remains only in our prayers and our dreams.  And we are perhaps further removed from it since so many have fallen prey to the lie that what we have today in the State of Israel is already its fulfillment.

It's not by accident that the twentieth century "Zionists" did not choose to liberate Jerusalem in 1948.  Neither did they have any plan to do it in 1967.  So what did they mean when they chose the term Zionism.

In the writings of both early and later Zionists, Zion primarily refers to the historic Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), and the city of Jerusalem serving as the central geographic, cultural, and political focus of the Jewish national movement.

However, the term evolved significantly in its symbolic and practical application between the early foundational thinkers and later political builders:

1. In the Writings of Early Zionists (Late 19th to Early 20th Century)

For early Zionist thinkers, "Zion" was predominantly a spiritual, cultural, and romantic ideal of national rebirth, which later transitioned into a concrete political destination.

• Spiritual and Cultural Renewal: Early "Cultural Zionists" like Ahad Ha'am viewed Zion not just as a piece of land, but as the indispensable cultural and spiritual center of the Jewish people. In his essays, Zion was the only place where Hebrew culture and Jewish identity could be revived autonomously, serving as a spiritual beacon for the Jewish Diaspora.

• The Ultimate Target of Reconnection: Early precursors to the movement, such as Leon Pinsker in his 1882 pamphlet Auto-Emancipation, initially focused on the urgent need for a Jewish homeland anywhere secure. However, the movement quickly solidified around "Zion" because no other territory held the historical or emotional gravity required to unite the Jewish masses.

• Political Sovereignty: For Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, "Zion" represented the ultimate, internationally recognized legal sanctuary for the Jewish people. While Herzl briefly entertained alternative temporary sanctuaries (like the British Uganda Program) due to the immediate perils facing European Jewry, the First Zionist Congress firmly established that the movement's goal was a publicly secured homeland specifically in Palestine—the biblical Zion.

2. In the Writings of Later Zionists (Mid-20th Century onward)

As the movement progressed toward and achieved statehood, later Zionists shifted the definition of "Zion" from a yearned-for ideal to a practical, sovereign reality.

• The Physical State of Israel: For later political leaders and writers like David Ben-Gurion, Zion ceased to be a metaphorical dream. It became synonymous with the concrete, physical borders of the developing State of Israel. In their writings, Zionism transformed from the quest for Zion into Mamlahtimut (statism)—the duty to build, defend, and govern the actual state.

• A Socialist and Labor Utopia: Labor Zionists, including thinkers like A.D. Gordon, wrote of Zion as a place of physical and moral transformation. To them, Zion was a land to be redeemed through physical labor, agriculture, and the creation of egalitarian communities (like the kibbutz). Zion represented the birth of the "New Jew"—self-reliant, connected to the soil, and liberated from the socioeconomic restrictions of Diaspora life.

• Historical and Territorial Heritage: For Revisionist Zionists like Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Zion was defined by its historic and geographic integrity. His writings emphasized the legal and historical right of the Jewish people to their ancestral lands, viewing Zion as a bastion of Jewish national sovereignty and self-defense.

It's easy to see that the modern term Zionism faithfully represents the ideas and views of the founders and propagators of the Zionist movement, but the complete disconnect from God and Torah renders it treif as a true representation of the 3000-year ideal of Zion held fast in the hearts of every Jew faithful to the covenant with HaKadosh Baruch Hu throughout the ages.

For many, many Jews who have rejected the covenant and rebelled against our King of Kings, Zionism has become their religion - a poor and wholly inadequate substitute as a foundation for their Jewish identity.  Instead of Har Zion, they have substituted Har Herzl and instead of the Beit Hamikdash, they have substituted Yad Vashem.  Instead of admiring the knowledge and ways of the Torah scholars and gaonim, they glorify the IDF and give awards to a multiplicity of goyim without whose love and support they cannot continue to exist.

(Part 2)

"In the Beginning...Out of the Chaos"

28 Tishrei 5787
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Bereishit - Mevorchim

One of the most notable facts that we read about in this week's parashah of Bereishit is how HKB"H made order in His universe by making separations...

"...and God separated [יַּבְדֵּ֣ל] between the light and between the darkness...."

And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, and let it be a separation [מַבְדִּ֔יל] between water and water."

And God said, "Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to separate [לְהַבְדִּ֕יל] between the day and between the night,....

In each case we see the same root as the word havdalah which, as we understand from the close of Shabbat service, means to make a clear division and separation between two entities...

"...between light and darkness, between Israel [light] and other peoples [darkness], between the seventh day [light] and the six working days [darkness], between holy [light] and profane [darkness]...."

Shabbat - from its beginning and until its end - is not only a remembrance of this fact, but a weekly re-enactment of it. All of the mitzvot are about making Israel separate from the rest of the peoples of the world. They make us different. Contrary to the warped opinions of too many assimilated Jews today, this is a good thing - a wonderful thing - a thing to be celebrated - every Shabbat!

Order in the world depends on maintaining havdalah where it is called for and when it is abandoned in favor of "modern" concepts of egalitarianism and democracy, the result is a breakdown in order, i.e. a return to chaos.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

Recommended Reading from Today's News

27 Tishrei 5787

"Ronen Bar, This Is Your Legacy" 

"Timshel" Vision Magazine

Netanyahu's former military secretary breaks silence: 'The public is not being told the truth'

“VISUAL BLOOD LIBEL”: Legal Demand Seeks Removal of AI Campaign Video Showing Chareidi Robbing Bound, Battered IDF Soldier

Somebody Needs to Do It; Eventually, It Will Happen

NatCon Is Here?!

27 Tishrei 5787

A final word on the Global Prayer Event...

Glorification of Evil

On to the next chillul Hashem...

This flew under my radar.  It was going on at the same time as the Global Prayer Event.  This truly is another aspect of GoguMagog - all the nations have come up against Jerusalem at Sukkot time.

The National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) is the flagship gathering of an influential, anti-liberal right-wing movement known as the “New Right.” Launched in 2019, [founded and lead primarily by Yoram Hazony, an "Israeli-American"], the annual convention serves as an ideological melting pot where traditionalist conservatives, populist nationalists, Christian nationalists, and hard-right politicians unite. Their explicit goal is to shift the conservative movement away from standard "free market" libertarianism and globalism toward a focus on national sovereignty, strict border enforcement, and the preservation of Western cultural and religious traditions. (Gemini)

US, Israeli and European far-right figures to gather for conference in Israel

A National Conservatism (NatCon) conference beginning today [yesterday] in Jerusalem advertises a talk from the Trump administration’s anti-terrorism czar alongside speeches from far-right Israeli politicians, European figures who have faced disciplinary action over alleged antisemitism, and Christian nationalist and far-right figures from the United States.

The Jerusalem event is perhaps the most significant recent gathering to feature large contingents of Israeli nationalists alongside Christian nationalists and far-right European nationalists from a milieu sometimes shadowed by accusations of antisemitism.

...The conference runs from 6 to 8 October at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center.

~ ~ ~ 

Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference — or NatCon — in Israel on Tuesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told his audience that Israel “can and must bear a growing responsibility for its own security,” however, “I can and must show why the alliance with Israel is in America’s interests too.”

He seemed to hint at the Israeli government’s support for proposed U.S.-Israeli integration at the Pentagon, which would forge new contractual arrangements inside the military bureaucracy to accompany a phaseout of more controversial direct aid from Congress. “Israel recognizes the American friendship and support it received over the years but it’s precisely because of that the time has come to deepen the alliance, to move from dependence to partnership between two independent nations.”

In “rare cases,” he added, the two nations may have to “fight shoulder to shoulder” against a “common enemy, as we saw this year in Iran.” (Source)

~ ~ ~ 

At the same time all this was going on...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech in Greece on Wednesday, calling for a renewal of Western civilization and urging U.S. allies to stand together against what he describes as the decline of the West.

Rubio delivers urgent plea to save Western Civilization
(Start at 1:19 and remember he is speaking of those who subjugated us in a third exile)

If you'd like to hear another perspective on this, see: NATCON JERUSALEM: Israel Last on Full Display.

~ ~ ~

"I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? My help is from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to falter; Your Guardian will not slumber. Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."     (Tehillim 121.1-4)

Know Thine Enemy!

26 Tishrei 5787 

[UPDATE @ 2:24 PM]   (Global Prayer Event Live Video "from the Kotel")

It now appears that this live broadcast which is being made to look like it is situated on the roof of the Aish World Center is not, in fact, at that location.  I am now waiting for confirmation of where exactly it is coming from.  Stay tuned...

~ ~ ~

So the Global Prayer Event began at 7 am overlooking the Western Wall and is scheduled to run over 24 hours.  Anyone who plans to be in the area this evening, please be aware that the "J-man" worshipers will be heading davka to the Western Wall for prayer around 9 pm.

Despite all the denials by some, Chr*stian visitors who come for "The Feast" DO proselytize Jews in Israel and no, there is no law against it, though there needs to be.  There also needs to be more education among our people about just who our enemies are.  Listen...

DO THEY REALLY (love us)?

RELATED:  Yitzhar man indicted for spitting toward Jerusalem church door

ISRAELI JEWS Volunteer During Sukkot to PROTECT CHRISTIANS in Jerusalem’s Old City  (VIDEO)

More than 140 Jewish Israeli volunteers gave up part of their Sukkot holiday to serve as a “protective presence” for Christian clergy and visitors walking through Jerusalem’s Old City. In recent years, Christian clergy have been spat at and harassed, crosses and Christian signs have been defaced, and stickers have been placed over signs pointing to churches. Jewish scholar and Christian-Jewish relations expert Yisca Harani organized volunteers to walk alongside Christian clergy and visitors, deter incidents, document them when they occur and report them to authorities.