INTIMIDATION TACTICS

18 Adar Bet 5774

The War-Against-Torah-Jews proceeds on many levels.

In the Samarian community of Har Brachah, missionary Christians have been given a place to live and work in exchange for free labor in the vineyards. They've even been given the go-ahead to set up a tent-church for worship to their false god.

In order to make room for these people, Jews were forced off their hilltop - all except for one hold-out. In order to spiritually strengthen this Jewish man, one day out of the month, Rav Yehudah Richter of Elon Moreh holds his Torah class on this hilltop with this lone hold-out against anti-Torah forces.

Yesterday was the second class. At the first class, the yishuv sent over a security truck to check out what was going on. At yesterday's class, it got a little more intense, even though they knew from the first time that a Torah shiur was being held for under an hour and afterwards everyone left uneventfully. Yesterday, a security truck was again sent over to check everything out. About five minutes later, four IDF soldiers approached. The Rav continued as if nothing was happening. At the end of the shiur, as the students prepared to leave, someone appearing to be officially connected to the yishuv (in kippah and tzitzit no less) began photographing everyone's faces and then their license plates - all without apology or even asking if they minded. As the cars were leaving, a police car pulled in and passed them on the road, stopping as it passed the first car which carried the Rav, who advised his driver to just act normally. No one tried to stop them.

This just shows us to what lengths the evildoers are willing to go against Torah-true Jews. There are two reasons for this. 1) On the physical level, they see people like Lapid and Bennet succeeding and they think the power is with them; 2) on the soul level, they understand that their time is short to do all the damage they possibly can before Hashem calls a halt to it all.

At times like this, I always hear Hashem's charge to Yehoshua ben Nun ringing in my head: 

"...be very strong and courageous, to observe, to do, according to the entire Torah that Moshe My servant commanded you; do not deviate from it to the right or to the left, in order that you may succeed wherever you will go. This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth; rather you should contemplate it day and night in order that you observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful, and then you will act wisely. Behold, I have commanded you 'Be strong and courageous,' do not fear and do not lose resolve, for Hashem, your God is with you wherever you will go."