Basic Concepts: "Good and Evil"

23 Sivan 5778

Good and evil, male and female, Jew and Gentile - all of the walls of separation are under attack by those who war against God and His Torah. The lines of division are being blurred so much today that it is causing mass confusion. In some quarters, the only "evil" that is recognized are those who would put restrictions on mankind's behavior and who refuse to assimilate into the amalgam.

In the battle of foreign culture against G-d's concepts of morality and faith, with the constant struggle to distort the Divine truth, no distortion is more widespread or dangerous than that which stems from "moral" opposition to G-d's concepts by the many evildoers who consider themselves far more righteous than their Creator. In our day, such persons have proliferated due to the foreign culture which has penetrated G-d's sanctuary.

...In the war declared against G-d by those who rebel against His word, on the one hand they brazenly question G-d's nature and infinite greatness. As King David said, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no G-d.' They deal corruptly, they do abominably, there is none that does good" (Psalms 14:1). Indeed, in their arrogance, "They have set their mouth against Heaven, their tongue walks the earth" (Psalms 73:9). They have dared to fashion their own culture, their own way of thinking, their own approach to morality, while scornfully ridiculing G-d: "They say, 'How does G-d know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?'" (Psalms 73:11).

On the other hand, these rebels, and all others for whom the laws and moral code of G-d are so unacceptable as to be tortuous, falsify the truth, and the result is distortion.

The impure have entered the sanctuary of G-d's moral code and made their own rules, with light being turned to darkness, darkness into light, and falsehood overriding truth. Of all their distortions, none is more dangerous than that applied to the terms "good" and "evil." Through them, all the other traits are necessarily falsified as well, for they stem directly from good and evil. As a result, the world is sunken in a morass of falsehood, with wickedness and evil praised and goodness and justice abhorred.

...Like an architect building a building with blueprints and designs, G-d created the world according to the Torah, i.e., the traits, virtues and ideas of G-d, inherent in the Torah, and all so as to create "good." G-d, Who is entirely good, gazes into the Torah of which our sages said (Avot 6:3), "There is no good but Torah: 'I give you a good doctrine, forsake not my Torah'" (Prov. 4:2).

...The very concept of "good" necessarily raises the issue of its opposite, its contradiction, its enemy, "evil." Just as light is necessarily the opposite of darkness, and sweetness the opposite of bitterness, so is goodness the opposite and sworn enemy of evil. Since G-d created the world for the sake of the completeness and perfection of goodness, there is clearly no room in it for its opposite, evil, let alone for the evildoer.

...Since a person is obligated to choose good and reject evil absolutely, and this requires separation and not mixing, it therefore says (Gen 1:4), "G-d divided the light from the darkness." G-d assigned them separate spheres so they would not serve together, but there would be a noticeable difference between them. ...Rashi comments (Gen. 1:4), "G-d saw that it was good, and it was not fitting for light and darkness to serve together. He therefore established day as the realm of one and night as the realm of the other." Thus, G-d established the concept of good and evil and He separated between them. With this He established a fundamental principle for Creation and for Israel - separation - without which the world cannot survive. The very separation is what defines and makes possible a clear recognition of the difference between good and evil. This prevents the two being confused, from which falsification is born.

...The idea of separation serves to ensure that the desirable be kept apart form the undesirable. How much more so must truth be kept separate from falsehood and goodness from evil. Such separation serves to defend the identity and purity of good, to save it from distortion and falsification. Truth and goodness will never be threatened by those who reject them. Yet an existential danger threatens goodness, truth, and all G-d's traits, from the falsifiers, those who blur distinctions, calling evil, "good" and good, "evil."

[Source: Or Hara'ayon, Chapter Six: "Good and Evil," pp. 119-125]

An excellent (horrible) example of this...

Shema Yisrael: The Jewish Pledge of Allegiance

22 Sivan 5778

Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.

(Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.)

The Shema is one of only two prayers that are specifically commanded in Torah (the other is Birkat Ha-Mazon -- grace after meals). It is the oldest fixed daily prayer in Judaism, recited morning and night since ancient times. It consists of three biblical passages, two of which specifically say to speak of these things "when you lie down and when you rise up." This commandment is fulfilled by including the Shema in the liturgy for Ma'ariv (evening services) and Shacharit (morning services). Traditional prayerbooks also include a Bedtime Shema, a series of passages including the Shema to be read at home before going to bed at night. (Source)

Eisav's "pledge" with God as an afterthought...

Beyond David and Goliath

22 Sivan 5778

"Some with chariots and some with horses..." Or should we say some with kites and some with balloons. 

THIS....

IS NO MATCH FOR THIS...

Who ever said Hashem doesn't have a sense of humor?  Real Jews do not put their trust in technology. "Some with chariots and some with horses, but we - in the name of Hashem, our God - call out." (Psalm 20)

Basic Concepts: "Accepting the Yoke of Heaven"

21 Sivan 5778

Continuing the process of examining and internalizing the basic concepts which are integral to authentic Torah Judaism...

G-d's ways, His mitzvot and attributes, must be accepted by a Jew precisely like a king's orders by his servants, without provisos, without injecting alien reasons for complying, and regardless of whether or not one "agrees" with them emotionally or intellectually. The moment someone does a mitzvah because he agrees with it or personally consents to it, it is no longer a mitzvah. He is no longer obeying G-d's command. Rather, he is following his own thoughts and heart.

If someone does so, he is not just failing to fulfill his task in the world of suppressing his evil impulse and vanquishing his ego. Quite the contrary, since he is performing the act out of intellectual or emotional "agreement," he is only reinforcing his own arrogance and conceit, contradicting his reason for existing on this earth, and, in fact, that of the world itself.

...The essence of Torah is to learn, to know, to become familiar with Divine attributes, concepts and ideas and to walk in G-d's ways - to cling to Him. Ritual observance is only the external expression of the internal idea.

...Clinging to G-d, accepting the yoke of Heaven, demands full submission and readiness on a Jew's part to accept upon himself all the details of the mitzvot, especially the Divine concepts, values and attributes, precisely as G-d commanded; although some of them may conflict with his world view or his innate feelings. G-d, and not man, establishes religious concepts, ideas and commandments. He defines precisely what is kindness, justice, uprightness, and mercy. It is entirely possible that a person will disdain some command or Divine value, or that one of them will conflict with "kindness and mercy" as he sees them. In his false perception, G-d's ways may border on "cruelty." Yet if someone rejects Divine attributes and concepts as our Father in Heaven determined them to be, then despite his continuing to fulfill the rituals, he is not a "mitzvah observer." He cannot be labeled "one who fulfills G-d's commands. Such a person does as he sees fit. He is a slave to himself, pronouncing that he is G-d. He denies Hashem's existence.

[Source: Or Hara'ayon, Chapter Five: "Accepting the Yoke of Heaven," pp. 76-79]

Compare this to the prevailing religion of our day...

...The humanist religion worships humanity, and expects humanity to play the part that God played in Christianity and Islam, and that the laws of nature played in Buddhism and Daoism. Whereas traditionally the great cosmic plan gave meaning to the life of humans, humanism reverses the role and expects the experiences of humans to give meaning to the cosmos. According to humanism, humans must draw from within their inner experiences not only the meaning of their own lives, but also the meaning of the entire universe. This is the primary commandment humanism has given us: create meaning for a meaningless world.

Accordingly, the central religious revolution of modernity was not losing faith in God; rather, it was gaining faith in humanity. It took centuries of hard work. Thinkers wrote pamphlets, artists composed poems and symphonies, politicians struck deals - and together they convinced humanity that it can imbue the universe with meaning.

...For centuries humanism has been convincing us that we are the ultimate source of meaning, and that our free will is therefore the highest authority of all. Instead of waiting for some external entity to tell us what's what, we can rely on our own feelings and desires.

...Humanism has taught us that something can be bad only if it causes somebody to feel bad. Murder is wrong not because some god once said, "Thou shalt not kill.' Rather, murder is wrong because it causes terrible suffering to the victim, to his family members, and to his friends and acquaintances. Theft is wrong not because some ancient text says, "Thou shalt not steal." Rather, theft is wrong because when you lose your property, you feel bad about it. And if an action does not cause anyone to feel bad, there can be nothing wrong with it. If the same ancient text says that God commanded us not to make any images of either humans or animals (Exodus 20:4), but I enjoy sculpting such figures and I don't harm anyone in the process - then what could possibly be wrong with it? 

[Source: Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari, chapter 7 - "The Humanist Revolution," pp. 259 - 264.]

Despite whatever religion they profess, the vast majority of the world's population are now devotees of "humanism," thanks to the pervading culture. In stark contrast to that, Rabbi Kahane writes from the Torah perspective...

...Thus, before a person accepts upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot, he has to know that they are commandments. That is, he should perform them by dint of G-d's being Supreme King of kings, not because of his own intellect or feelings.

Therefore, man's first undertaking must be, "Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One" (Deut. 6:4). This constitutes a declaration of unconditional submission to and acceptance of G-d's sovereignty. Then and only then can a Jew accept upon himself the yoke of mitzvot found in the second paragraph of the Shema, having the clear knowledge that the mitzvot he fulfills are based on an acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.  

[Source: Or Hara'ayon, Chapter Five: "Accepting the Yoke of Heaven," p. 81]

Now, we can begin to see how Western culture, which now pervades the entire world, is in direct opposition to the Torah and no one who follows it can possibly be practicing authentic Torah Judaism, even if they do slap an "Orthodox" label on it!

Now, we can see why the argument over conversion favors letting people call themselves Jewish if they feel Jewish or if they feel a connection, not to HKB"H, ironically enough, but to Jews, to Judaism (as they perceive it) or to the secular, anti-Torah State.

Now, we can understand the freedom with which many "Orthodox" rabbis are giving away Judaism to the masses of gentiles who want the privileges of being Jewish without the obligation. They want to observe Shabbat and other mitzvot because it makes them feel good, it makes them happy, not because they are commanded.

The mass of humanity wants to be completely free of restraint unless it is self-imposed by their own choosing. They are unwilling to have God's will imposed upon them externally. They are unwilling to accept the yoke of Heaven. As such, they are not fit to live in the kingdom of God which Mashiach will establish on this earth.

The End of the "Non-People" Called Palestinians

21 Sivan 5778

The other day I quoted one of my favorite passages from Yeshayahu HaNavi:

[The restored nation of Israel] shall fly of one accord against the Philistines in the west, ...they shall plunder the children of the East; upon Edom and Moab shall they stretch forth their hand, and the children of Ammon shall obey them. (Yeshayahu 11.13)

I have long held that this describes the third messianic war before Gog uMagog - the first in 1948 returned us to our land, the second in 1967 returned us to Jerusalem and the third will return us to the Temple Mount. 

Note that we have Gaza in the "West," the West Bank in the "East" and "Edom, Moab and Ammon" make up present day Jordan - all of which incorporates all of the areas currently occupied by "Palestinians."

We've had flare-ups in Gaza many times (too many times) over the years, along with the intifadas and ongoing terror attacks "over the Green Line." But suddenly, we have reached the point where Jordan may be becoming destabilized enough to allow this prophecy to come to full fruition, resulting in this third messianic war that will end any prospect of a State of Palestine forever.

Jordan Rocked by Biggest Protests in Years as Demonstrators Rally Against Austerity Measures

This is the key element that has been missing until now. Once again, we have a clear sign that time is growing very, very short. The revelation of Mashiach must be very close now.

***

The Prime Minister's acceptance or rejection of this recommendation will seal the deal, as far as I am concerned, about whether he has an ounce of good left in him or if he is completely sold out to The Other Side.

Nissim Committee’s Conversion Recommendations Under Broad Attack at Moment of Publication

The Nissim Committee’s report on conversion was submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning and it appears to already be on its way to the garbage heap of Israel’s legal history. Following the sharp attack on the report’s conclusions by the country’s Chief Rabbis, numerous other rabbis and politicians have been joining in the criticism of the Nissim proposed national conversion legislation – with many calling for its “burial.” [Halevai!!]

...A forum assembled on Sunday by the Chief Rabbinate was shocked by the fact that the authority over state conversions – which so far has only been usurped by local rabbinical courts – will now be yanked completely by the state, the prime minister’s office, to be exact. Both chief rabbis as well as many chief rabbis of Israeli cities warned repeatedly about the halachic pitfalls of the idea of switching the process from rabbinical clerks to state clerks.

Rabbi Mordechai Sternberg, dean of Yeshivat Har Hamor, said: “This entire law is saying that conversions are a public and not a religious issue, and rabbis should not be allowed to intervene. This concerns the honor of the rabbinate and the honor of the Torah.”

I'd love to be proven wrong about Netanyahu, but I don't hold out much hope for him. These are the kinds of actions that will bring the Erev Rav regime to its well-deserved end.
_____________________________
Related: See also Chief Rabbis on the Conversion Report: An Opening for Assimilation and Destruction of Judaism; (h/t Yeranen Yaakov)

A Clear Sign the Time Is Growing Very Short

20 Sivan 5778

We know from our sources that converts were not accepted during the reigns of King David and King Solomon. The reason given is that when times are good for Am Yisrael it is impossible to ascertain a potential convert's true motives for expressing a desire to convert. The same holds (or did historically) for those suspected of wanting to convert for the sake of marriage, so anyone already romantically involved with a Jew would also not be taken under consideration for conversion.

How much more so as we approach the age of redemption when our sages tell us, once again, the option for conversion will end. But, there are those who misunderstand the signs of the times, as well as those with malicious motives, and reckon (wrongly) that the doors are now swinging wide to accept all the goyim as some type of "quasi-Jews." Anyone who "feels" he is a Jew or who "feels" a kinship with the Jewish people (or the State of Israel) must be allowed to identify as such!

Conservative movement outraged by reports that Israel is blocking Ugandan Jews

The head of the Conservative movement’s rabbinical organization sharply criticized Israel for reportedly deciding not to recognize Uganda’s Jewish community, whose members converted under Conservative auspices.

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, who leads the Rabbinical Assembly, said the Conservative movement was “shocked and extremely outraged” at the decision, which she called “unlawful.”

This is the clearest sign yet that we are at the very end and in reality the door is swinging closed... forever.

The War on Torah Extends to Europe

20 Sivan 5778

Report: French Education Ministry to Forbid Religious Clothing at Public Schools

The director general of the French Education Ministry issued a series of regulations that will be implemented next year in public schools across the country, including the prohibition on wearing a kippah or a long skirt.

...According to the directives, which were aimed first and foremost at the Muslim students and indirectly affecting Jewish students as well, a number of regulations will be enacted, including forbidding girls to wear long skirts on a regular basis, and prohibiting the wearing of a kippah or a hat, a wig or a handkerchief on a regular basis. Head coverings will be allowed only as a fashionable item, and not as a permanent garment for religious reasons.

... Many French Jewish children still learn in the public school system, but these new rules will presumably cause many families to transfer their children to the private Jewish schools.

'No future' for Orthodox Jews in Britain, says Rabbi Aaron Klein

...Earlier this year, one of the most influential strictly Orthodox rabbis in the UK, the Gateshead Rav, Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, warned that state interference in religious was “the most serious issue” facing British Jewry since Edward I expelled the Jews of his kingdom in 1790.

Some of the proposed changes would be “impossible” for Charedi schools to meet and overnight they could become “illegal institutions,” Rabbi Klein wrote.

Over the past two or three years, many Charedi schools have been pulled up by inspectors for not talking about same-sex relationships as part of the requirement to teach “British values” of respect and tolerance.

...According to documents produced by the DfE in support of the consultation, the proposed changes could result in the closure of more "ultra-Orthodox" Jewish schools.

But the government papers go on to say; "Even though children may have to move schools, or go to a different school, and this might not be the school of the families’ choice, the enforcement action would ultimately be to the benefit of children... because they are entitled to attend a school which offers a satisfactory education, whether that is another independent school or a state school. Places are available in the state sector for any child of compulsory school age living in England."

Danish MPs to vote on under-18s circumcision ban

Bill to criminalize male circumcision is still alive in Iceland

Flanders ban on ritual slaughter is legal, says court

Slovenia's Constitutional Court Rules ban on Halal Slaughter Legal
The act on animal protection does not only prohibit Islamic ritual slaughter but any type of slaughter without stunning. [This would include shechita.]

"The Redemption: With or Without Repentance"

18 Sivan 5778

Excellent shiur. I could not agree with this more.  Shabbat shalom!



BONUS: