Category Archives: Jewish philosophy

Betrothal, Betrayal, Forgiveness, and Refinement

Moses was a great, but reluctant leader. Born to Hebrew slaves, he was raised in the royal courts of Pharaoh. When tasked by G-d to lead his people up out of Egypt and to advance towards their destiny, he made excuses.

On the one side, Moses was “the most modest of men”, and yet was guided by a strong moral compass. When he finally acted, he inspired greatness in others.

On the other, these twelve tribes had a well-deserved reputation as ”a stiff-necked people”, with a propensity to retributive violence and passion.  They also had an unique ethical tradition centered about one, incorporeal, unlimited, god.  A loving, mysterious, and jealous god.

Any earthly leader of these people had to be, even if he had to be pushed into it, strong-willed to the point of ruthlessness.

These sons of Abraham and Sarah had been freed from nearly three hundred years of bondage in a pagan land.

They had seen miracles wrought on their behalf, over and over, to break the will of Pharaoh. They saw Egypt’s finest soldiers swept away in the Sea.

They complained and were given an oasis of water and dates to ease their travels. They had been fed with quail and manna in the desert. They were protected by day by a pillar of cloud and by night by a pillar of fire.

They had been attacked by Amalek and, despite ignoring G-d, and thereby delaying their response, had defended themselves, with at least partial success.

They had spent forty days refining themselves to receive the Torah at Sinai, and came directly before the Creator, to learn how to serve him, and thus how to teach the World by example.

First and foremost, they learned that He was G-d. He was One. There was no other. Period.

In all this we witness the birth of a Nation like no other, with a destiny like no other.

Yet a mere forty days later, many of these same people had turned their back to G-d.

While Moses was receiving instruction from G-d, and the Tablets of the Law were fashioned, an idol of gold had been fashioned and sacrificed to, and many were preparing to return to Egypt in an orgy of debasement.

Golden Calf

Still, Moses pleads with G-d that they not be utterly destroyed. G-d relented, leaving Moses to resolve this rebellion.

Moses destroyed the Golden Calf, grinding it fine dust, and scattering it upon the water. The people drank of the water in a trial and judgment for their sin.

He rebuked Aaron for his weakness in allowing the people to prevail upon him in returning to idolatry. Finally, Moses called to those of the people who still were loyal to G-d to come to him.

Seeing those who still were immersed in sin before G-d, Moses ordered Levite warriors to cut down some three thousand rebels in their midst. In so doing, the Levites, having proved their integrity, above tribal or familial loyalty, became ordained as priests to G-d, until the End of Days.

Levites

At Sinai, G-d had (figuratively) taken the Israelites as his beloved, much like a wife. He revealed himself in ways unique to their bond. He plots a course with her for their life together. A great adventure. He placed himself directly at her guard, forgiving slights, providing for everything and destroying those who threaten her.

Then, barely through the honeymoon, G-d finds his bride has turned away and sought out others… former suitors, and a path of debasement. He withdrew, still in love, but deeply betrayed. He hid his essence away once again.

The next morning Moses told the assembled Israelites that he would again plead with G-d to spare those remaining. Moses told G-d that if what had been done was not enough, that if G-d still intended to destroy these people and start over, that he, Moses should be blotted out, as well.

G-d responded that “I will erase from my book whoever has sinned against Me.” G-d then struck the people with a plague to drive the point home.

He also told Moses that from here on an angel would go ahead of the people, rather than G-d’s own “Presence” (the Shechinah), the pillar of cloud in the day and the pillar of fire in the night that had thus far guided and protected the Israelites in the desert.

Moses informed the people of the departure of the Shechinah from their before their encampment. The people, realizing the severity of their betrayal mourned and feared its loss.

Moses then moved his tent about one thousand yards away from the others, and referred to it as the “Tent of Meeting”. The Shechinah then returned and rested above the Tent of Meeting, signifying when it did, that G-d was meeting with Moses. The Israelites, seeing this, did not dare approach, but rather bowed down from the entrances of their own tents.

Moses asked G-d to reconsider his distancing from the people. G-d responds by expressly prohibiting idolatry again, and details a series of specific commandments binding on the Israelites.

God instructed Moses to carve a second set of Tablets to replace those Moses had broken in fury and despair. God then affirmed that he would resume being slow to anger, and quick to forgiveness, towards the people.

Over the next forty days and forty nights on the mountain, G-d reiterated his Covenant with the Israelites to Moses, in detail.

G-d declared that he will drive the current inhabitants of the land promised to Abraham and his descendants (Amorites, Cana’anites, Chitites, Perizites, Chivites, and Jebusites) out of this land for the entering Israelites.

G-d warned Moses against the Israelites making any agreements with the prior inhabitants, nor mixing with them. All altars and monuments to their false gods were to be destroyed. The Israelites were to take possession of, and dwell in, this land, as people apart.

At Moses’ instruction a beautiful Tabernacle was constructed to serve as a portable “resting place” for G-d as the Israelites prepared to enter and secure their land. Elaborate and precise orders of sacrifices and services were established.

Aaron and his family, as a subset of the Levites became ordained into a priesthood to conduct these services correctly. The remaining Levites are tasked to support them in their duties. The Tabernacle is erected and the Shechina now rests there.

levite_encampment-2

Soon thereafter, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, deviated from these precise orders, and bringing “extraneous” fire “each in their own pan”, not as commanded by G-d, were instantly themselves consumed by fire. Such was the dangerous power of this Tabernacle and that which “rested” there.

nadab_abihu

All in all, six hundred thirteen mitzvot, specifically binding on this new Nation, were taught to the people at Sinai, in critical preparation for their great mission; to be a light unto the Seventy Nations of Mankind.

Each of the twelve tribes was given duties and well trained in their execution. This rabble of miraculously freed Hebrew slaves was being crafted into a well-oiled and sophisticated machine.

The town of Kadesh Barne’a; the mountainous gateway to the Land of the Edomites, was only eleven days march from Mount Sinai. Just beyond that lay their goal.

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These “Stiff-Necked” People: Who? What? Why?

How did it come to this?

Who are these “Stiff-Necked” people, just freed from hundreds of years of enslavement under the Pharaohs of Egypt?

How did they end up there?

Why are they now free; granted the escape of millions of people from the absolute control of a regional superpower?

Why are these ragged and debased people given protection, guidance, and even nourishment through a series of dramatic and unrelenting miraculous interventions? All lead by a convicted murder who, after years on the lam in the desert, returns as their spiritual and physical shepherd?

Why?

The Israelites had lived in their tribal lands in what is now most of modern Israel, and adjacent portions of today’s Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, since a very unusual man and his wife traveled all the way from Ur Kasdim, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, through mountains and deserts, to purchase and settle their family and make a home.

abraham_journey

This man, Abraham, rebellious son of an idol maker, challenged all the prevailing beliefs of the time, asserting that all of the universe was from the act of, and under the absolute dominion of, but ONE, unique, all encompassing, incorporeal, limitless, G-d.

This man, Abraham, was directly communicated to by this G-d, first, while being raised hidden in a cave, as a young child, and many times thereafter.

Abraham was a descendant of Shem; the youngest son of Noah a witness to the Great Flood, and the Covenant  renewed at its end

Shems’s grandson, Eber, unique among his siblings, refused to participate in the construction of the Tower of Babel, and thus he retained not only what he learned from Shem, but the original language in which he was taught. This language is Ivrit, what we call in English, Hebrew.

Abraham was the great-great-great-grandson of Eber.

Eleven generations of this family in all had been taught by Shem, before he died. From Shem, via Eber, through Abraham, all the way to Jacob.

Abraham and his wife Sarah braved many challenges, and yet prospered. Together they developed a reputation among the great and small alike for intelligence, morality, and gracious hospitality to all who sought out their tents. Abraham and Sarah recognized that all mankind’s blessings, indeed all of existence, came from G-d.

So, when challenged by G-d with a terrifying, soul-wrenching test; to sacrifice his adult son, Isaac, to this same G-d, both father and son were nonetheless willing. At the last moment, Heaven stayed Abraham’s hand.

Abraham and Issac Rembrandt van Rijn, 1634
Abraham and Issac
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1634

This event, known as the Akedah, established an eternal promise, from G-d himself, to Abraham, Isaac and (through Jacob) their descendants to have title to this good land forever. So long as they loved G-d, and followed his guidance, they would multiply and prosper. A nation of priests; witness to the World that Hashem is G-d and He is “One”.

Indeed, through Isaac and his children, and their children, and their children, the message, devotion to G-d, and their promised prosperity was solidified. So was the unquestioned title to their land. Their HOME. The People of Israel dwelt in the Land of Israel.

Thus it was, that, facing a terrible drought, the children of Jacob; now known as Israel, sought permission of their neighbor, the Pharaoh of Egypt, to feed and water their livestock ,to sojourn, in the outlying fields of Goshen, on the Nile Delta, only a few days walk from their home, TEMPORARILY.

Next: Seduction, Debasement, and Slavery on the Nile

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The Watchmen (and women) on the Wall

My colleague Y.B. has nailed it. Again.

 

There are those that see what is happening around them and see the pattern, and see it for what it is, they recognize that pattern. Then there are those that see the pattern and because it is ugly they tell themselves they can’t possibly be seeing exactly what they are seeing and pull the covers back over their head and top it off with a pillow. Then there are those that see the pattern, look at it for two seconds and ask what time “American Idol” comes on that night. Ok, if it were National Finals Rodeo I could maybe understand a little, maybe, but sure not much. That is sad, very sad. Then there are those that see the pattern, know exactly what it is, and in fact maybe helping to contribute to it but deny that it is a pattern and vilify those that point it out. They spend their resources assuring the nervous that all is well, it’s just fine,nothing to see here, move along.

 

A few random things, a NY city Council man David Greenfield went on a trip to Israel, while there he went to Ramallah. While there, after a visit with the American Consul-General in Jerusalem at his Ramallah office he and the group prepared to go back to their transportation. He was asked to remove his Kippah. He refused.

“I walked into Ramallah with my yarmulke on, of course,” he said. “I was pulled aside by security personnel and was told that I should not wear my yarmulke when I was leaving the building.” The surprised Greenfield asked why he was being told this, and the answer was that “there was a security situation on the ground” and that it was not safe.”I specifically asked them if it was unsafe for me or for the group – they said it was definitely not an issue for the group but they could not guarantee my personal safety. I explained for them that for me it’s a very significant issue and that quite frankly, had I been told this in advance, I never would have agreed to come to Ramallah.”I was told that the US government was providing security and as an official, I expected them to keep up their end of the deal,” he said, adding that the request to have him remove the kippah had come from the Palestinian hosts.

Councilman Greenfield certainly gets it. This is a response he presented at a meeting. He gets it very well.

Then there is this speech by the French Prime Minister.

He gets it.

Then we have those that have walked the streets of Europe wearing a Kippah, to show reactions.

 

 

And in Paris for ten hours, but this one just loops, it’s not really that long.

 

 

We have the 51 Democrats that are Anti-Semitic and Anti-Israel. They whined that they didn’t like how John Bohner invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to give the speech. Well, I don’t like Bohner. But I suspect he was correct, if he went through the White House aka the House of Hussein, there would be no speech. I’m pretty confident that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon it will affect the US as well as Israel. But barry is too busy trying to be buddies with the people that want to kill US than to allow mere facts to interfere with his enjoyment of his rainbow stew. This link has the speech embedded in the web site. Nancy Pelosi showed she could edge 20 steps closer to Prozac and a padded room when she called the speech “Insulting and condescending.” It would seem Democrats are far more invested in towing the barry boat than living in reality. They do not get it, and they also attempt to mislead the uninformed that vote for them. There is a very real threat.

 

I have a very sweet lady in a class I take and we had a conversation about guns. She told me she and her husband absolutely respect the Second Amendment, but they belong to the Brady campaign and they just think that all guns need to be registered to stop crime. Class was over and we were all leaving, but I suggested she do a quick internet search for the “Nuremberg Laws”. I pointed out that Hitler could easily keep Jews from owning weapons to protect themselves because they already had a list of who owned what. So when Hitler decided Jews could have nothing to do with firearms, or own them, they knew where the were, duck soup, round up. She doesn’t get it, at all. But she said she still loved me, and I still think she is a lovely lady. An easy target, but a lovely lady. That “Nuremberg Laws article is pretty interesting by the way. Some compare and contrast in it.

 

So knowledge and interpretation certainly play a role in what you see, and how you see it. But another aspect is your attitude about it. I recently had a very brief discussion with a Rabbi. It involved my wish that Moshe Feiglin would have been returning to the Knesset. He seemed to think that wasn’t such a great thing. I said I just think Jews should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, and I do, and I mean right now yesterday. His comment was “When the Messiah comes back”. Really. Because this attitude of accepting little scraps of freedom, the little bits of the Jewish identity people are allowed to retain, the areas where it is safe to walk or as Y.B. pointed out, worship should all be determined by others? The Southern Cowgirl in me rears up and says “OH HELL NO”!

 

Because when you see attacks on a persons religion, on their ethnicity on their belief system when it harms no one else, you can just about bet the farm that not long after follow the physical attacks. WHY does it need to get to that point?

 

There are people who see what is happening, they see what is coming. And while the current regime uses government agencies to go after those that speak out, they still must.

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and sayto them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a manfrom among them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword comingupon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone whohears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes andtakes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound ofthe trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if hehad taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees thesword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned,and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in hisiniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.~~Ezekiel 33: 1-6

These people are called Watchmen.

 

There is a name for those that attempt to mislead people into thinking everything is fine too, or should agree to things that have been disastrous in the past and would be again. And this song keeps going through my mind when I think about them. Yesh lanu tayis.

owl and late mouse
What’s for dinner?

 

Keep your eyes open, and choose carefully who you listen to.

 

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Sorry, Reb Margolin… You are (mostly) full of crap.

In the wake of the Islamic terrorist attacks on the French, culturally-leftist (Do I repeat myself, here?) publication, Charlie Hebdo, and the aligned slaughter at Hyper Cacher, Chabad Rabbi, and European Jewish Association Director, Menachem Margolin advised against mass emigration of his charges from France to Eretz Yisrael. In doing so, he directly disputed with many Jewish leaders, including Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, styling such “Aliya” (literally, “going up” or “ascending”) as an ill-advised “Pavlovian” response.

Currently, the estimated Jewish population in France is somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, and falling fast. This represents perhaps 10% of the quickly growing Muslim population in France. Both nativist and Islamic attacks on Jews throughout Europe have been climbing steadily. The leader in this trend is France, followed, arguably by Britain and the Scandinavian countries.

In France, there are more than SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY neighborhoods classified officially as “sensitive”, or unofficially, as “No-Go” zones for the police. These areas have been effectively excised from the country, and are managed exclusively by the most radical (some say Islamically observant) Muslim individuals and groups. Nearly every horror seen in the international press associated with Islam happens also within these neighborhoods; “Honor” Killings, “Grooming” Gang-Rapes, Torture, Slavery, Violent and Racist Assaults, Child Marriages… on, and on, and on.

The rest of Europe dare not be smug, either. They all have their own, albeit, smaller variations. They have their “No-Go” zones, their “Honor” Killings, Rapes, etc. Each of their governments and lick-spittle press desperately tries to hide, mischaracterize, or deny what is happening. Their police and courts have been neutered by decades of politically correct policies aimed at maintaining their social(ist) welfare systems and industries in the face of declining native birthrates and the harsh mathematics that must implode any Ponzi Scheme. Europe is in a pickle… and the Jews will be the first victims (it is a tradition), but hardly the last.

I understand the problems Rabbi Margolin has to deal with.

First, as a shaliach (emissary) of the Rebbe, not unlike a captain on a sinking ship, he is duty-bound to serve the religious needs of every Jew within his reach. If every single other Jew has left France, save one, then he helps that one Jew. He should be literally the last one to leave.

Second, while a shaliach does this holy work, he must try to obtain critical cooperation from the civil authorities. Openly calling for mass “Aliya” frames France, or any other country similarly situated, as a “failed state”. Better to remain silent on the question, and quietly, but vigorously help anyone so inclined.

The ideal scenario would be one where soon, and much to everyone’s surprise, all the Jews are gone, and are learning Hebrew in their new, albeit modest, home, in the hills of Judea and Samaria.

Third, there is the belief that “Aliya” to the schizophrenic modern State of Israel need not be at the top of one’s priorities. That increasing observance of Torah and Mitzvot will hasten the coming of Moshiach. Upon his arrival, the stage is set for all the Jews of the world to (perhaps supernaturally) return home to Israel, anyway.

All well and good, but last I looked, at the Passover Seder, and many-many other times of prayer, we do not long for the return to ,  nor say “Next Year in Crown Heights” or “Next Year in Williamsburg”, or “…Monsey” or “…Lakewood”… or Paris. There is no avoiding the mitzvah of returning home… to the Land of Israel,  in order to do even more mitzvot, including those that can ONLY be done there.

Besides…dead Jews are very limited in the kind of mitzvot they can perform. Live ones, eh, not so much!

In his favor, Rabbi Margolin called on the government to “ease” the availability of gun permits (oh, how I bristle at the Idea of asking, nay, begging, government for permission to have the tools to stay alive). He also threw a bone to the general rectitude of “Aliyah”, but desperately tried to sever it from practical concerns like continuing to be alive.

All in all, he should have just shut up.

~~~~~

An afterthought…

Any Jews reading this from the U.S. or Canada and thinking it doesn’t apply equally to each and every one of YOU (and your kids… and grandkids) had better damned-well reconsider. The same issues are already here. Yes, you may have some time to get a little more for your house or business, than those poor slobs in Europe, but don’t dawdle. The last time we did, the price was very, very high.

And to those “Rabbis” and “Jewish Community Leaders” who openly oppose “Aliya” for any Jew, especially now, you should be profoundly ashamed of yourselves. What are you thinking?

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The Politics of Power

I’m miffed at Bibi Netanyahu at the moment, AND Danny Dannon. In fact, I’m so miffed at them, I’m not going to answer their emails! Just on the off hand chance they have a clue who I am and they would actually email me in the first place. As you may be well aware, Bibi is the Prime Minister of Israel. He is from the Likud party, as is Danny. Danny is even more right wing than Bibi, This is not a bad thing to my way of thinking.

 

So right wing is good, right? Supporting actual Israelis against the likes of someone like Haneen Zoabi.

 

A couple of years ago I did an interview with a Navigation Unit Commander for a tank battalion. Of course the topic of Israeli politics came up. That’s one of the nice things about doing interviews, you get to ask what you want to know. I remember him saying that in the Knesset you will have some of the members saying things like Israel should be bombed off the face of the earth. I’m sure I looked appalled when I asked “WHY on earth would you let someone like that be in the Knesset? They should be arrested for treason!” He looked equally appalled and informed me “Everyone has a voice, everyone gets a say”. I remember thinking, with MK s like this, who needs to worry about obama or the other muslims? I understand what he’s saying, but yesh! One of those type of MK s is the Zoabi mentioned in the video. She has done such notable things as side with those on the illegal flotilla a few years ago, she also sided with the rioters on the Temple Mount, and the cowards that kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers in the summer of 2014. She stated “They are not terrorists, even if I do not agree with their actions, these people do not have any escape, any escape.” Precious isn’t she? In March 2009 she stated that she was not worried about the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. She suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran would act as a counter-power to Israel. Yep, a real peach.

 

I can well understand why Danny and Bibi wouldn’t want someone like Zoabi or her Balad Party (left wing) having a lot of influence in the Knesset. So Danny and Bibi are strong, conservative, pro-Israeli, right? Welllllll, that’s probably a loaded question, and here we go.

 

Ever heard of a political party called Manhigut Yehudit? It means “Jewish Leadership”. It would be the political party I would most wish to be a part of. The irony here, is they would most likely have nothing to do with the likes of me. I’m not Jewish or Israeli, at least by most people’s definition. Ever hear of Moshe Feiglin (hope your Hebrew is better than mine)? These guys are RADICALS! They believe in the Jewish state that Jews should be allowed to pray at the Holiest site in Judaism! Can’t you just hear the sound of air being sucked in through teeth? I know! They also believe things that are an anathema to left wingers, such as, gasp, religion in schools! Yes, Jewish education for Jewish children in a Jewish state! And a modern and open economy based on Jewish values, and transferring power to local governments, less taxes! Oh the shock and horror! But more astounding is Israel needs to defeat its enemies not to flee them. WHAT? Minorities Must Abide by the Law, why that’s RAAACIST! Why, folks, I believe what we have here is the Israeli version of the Tea Party. Well, except Manhigut Yehudit was formed in 1998.

So, it would seem natural that Manhigut Yehudit would fit right in with the Likud, wouldn’t it?

Well, imagine my shock and surprise to find out that Bibi and Danny Dannon along with some others conspired to keep Moshe from returning to the Knesset! Now is where I hit the deep water. I read that Moshe and another MK I really like, Tzipi Hotovely had been given unrealistic seats. Moshe at #27 and Tzipi at #26. People like me maybe shouldn’t have Israeli news feeds on their phones, I dunno. So when I read this

Hotovely is the only religious female MK on Likud’s roster. In any case, the Likud’s “leading woman” is shaping up to be Miri Regev – who is also an advocate for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount. Regev is in the fifth spot, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, and ministers Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz. The former leading woman in the party, Limor Livnat, has bowed out of politics.Gila Gamliel, who is currently Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, is in the 10th spot.Meanwhile, Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin is out of the realistic zone for election to the 20th Knesset. Former MK Ayoub Kara has outflanked him and pushed him to the 36th spot.

My first thought was “huh?” What does this mean? So I did what I always do when I’m in over my head, and I know it, but I don’t want to back off. I picked up my phone. “Can we talk about Israeli politics and the elections? I’m confused and I don’t understand some of this stuff”. I think I heard a deep sigh, which wouldn’t be all that remarkable except I had sent a text message, not made a phone call. But the answer was “Of course”.

Some of my first questions were HOW can a person like Tzipi Hotovely not be wanted in the Knesset when she makes sensible statements in March 2011 about

Israeli Author Amos Oz being naive, after he sent a Hamas leader a copy of his auto-biography, writing that Oz would lack even the instinct to distinguish between Mordechai and Haman.In July 2011, Hotovely met with Glenn Beck. She told him that “this [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict isn’t territorial…This is a religious battle led by Islam. We can’t ignore this basic truth.”

Or Moshe Feiglin,

“Why should non-Jews have a say in the policy of a Jewish state?… For two thousand years, Jews dreamed of a Jewish state, not a democratic state. Democracy should serve the values of the state, not destroy them….””Israeli citizenship to Jews only [and] the immediate expulsion of any person of another people who claims any sort of sovereignty in the Land of Israel.””We are busy fighting for Yesha, and refuse to recognize the more dangerous front against the fifth column inside Israel.” “We established a state so that we could stop being different and start being normal. If only Jews can be Israelis, then we will never be normal. . . .The fundamental solution is leadership that is not looking for normalcy. The solution is leadership that emphasizes our Jewish identity. Paradoxically, it is only when the Arabs understand that the Israelis do not need them to help them to forget that they are Jews – will we be able to live here in peace with non-Jews who unequivocally accept the fact that Israel is a Jewish state.”It appears that the Israeli Arabs identify with our enemies. There are laws in this country that deal with treason and they should be applied when required. If Israeli Arabs are found helping our enemies, they should be stripped of their citizenship. In addition, if they are citizens, they should not be exempt from paying taxes; they should serve in the IDF, or at least in Sherut Le’umi, the National Service. . . . .If they are against us, we must make every effort to ensure that they leave. If they collaborate with our enemy, they must be removed.

WHO wouldn’t want him in the Knesset? Well, while I’m admitting right up front, I have an as yet imperfect understanding of Israeli politics, the short version is people don’t vote for a person after the primaries, they vote for the list the party puts up. Sometimes the party will change the list they publicized after they are elected. On top of that, to get a majority number of 61 seats, sometimes the party with the most seats will form collations with other parties to get the 61 out of 120 seats. To do this there are payoffs usually involved. You want the “Pirate party” (kid you not) to join your collation of “We are all Friends” or “Meretz” to make it to the magical 61 seats? You will probably promise their people posts. Now these are all Left Wingers. But what if someone from the Pirate Party is appointed to a position in finance. And what if the Pirate Party appointee turns out to be like Ragnar Danneskjöld from Atlas Shrugged and supports lower or no taxes and full unfettered capitalism. Think how betrayed the big government, more control, less Israel first voters are going to feel. And apparently there can be all kinds of machinations that take place. Reminds me of a caucus I went to a few years ago. The Ron Paul people had the 2nd most amount of people turn out, and yet that candidate received not a single delegate when the deals were done. The list appears to have been made up by Karl Rove types. Moshe & Tzipi would be a threat, they believe in Israel and Israelis first and foremost. They believe they should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. So, since they (Likud leadership) view them as a threat to getting the votes of the “moderates” and “independents” they put those troublemakers further down the list. Much like in America when we see “Moderate” candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney put up as viable “conservative” candidates. And the Karl Rove, talking head types tell us they are the only type of candidates that can win. Similar to Republican attacks on the Tea Party.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/16/this-is-how-far-rush-limbaugh-thinks-the-republican-establishment-may-go-to-get-rid-of-the-tea-party/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/10/24/republican-establishment-planning-attack-on-tea-party-in-2014/

So, the Tea Party, like Moshe, who thought he could change Likud from within, are finding out, maybe not so much. Moshe is planning on forming a new political party. I think our Tea Party is going to have to begin to stand on their own. I don’t know that they can afford to keep trying to work from within to reform a party that elects John Bohner as speaker of the house. Bohner has proven time and again he will not fight barrry. He is lots of hot air, all hat and no cattle. Both Bibi and the Republican Party talk about being “inclusive” and the “big tent” and wanting to have more groups of people brought in, unless of course, they are true conservatives. Then, um, well, no. they want no part of that!

But this isn’t only a National problem, look at just a couple news stories out of Missouri in the last few days.

HB 188 which would be very harmful to grassroots issue based groups, say for example Second Amendment rights groups. This bill would require groups to disclose their membership lists. Kind of a lousy political environment for making a list of Second Amendment supporters available to the government isn’t it? Especially when you have a sort of Governor like Jay Nixon.

A bill introduced by Rep. Caleb Rowden to force more disclosure of political spending received a significant endorsement last week when incoming House Speaker John Diehl said it is a priority for inclusion in a package of changes to state ethics laws.Rowden’s bill would require corporations or other entities formed under state business laws to report the sources of their funds when spending to influence elections exceeds 25 percent of their annual budget. The bill, said Rowden, R-Columbia, is intended to exempt entities with a wide range of activities from disclosure while putting a spotlight on those with a primary purpose of influencing elections.

And this abomination is brought to you by freedom loving Repub, er RINOs.

Yep, the US and Missouri at least show a flair for the same nonsense.

But what about a Zoabi type character, is there such? Why, yes, yes there is! Missouri has State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Little Maria recently said on Twitter

“LET ME BE CLEAR. When you exercise your #WhitePrivilege, don’t think I’m not going to remember. I will use it for the future. Uncomfortable?”

No, she’s not the anti-gun Senator that was arrested for being drunk and carrying at the “peaceful” Michael Brown protest. That was Jamilah Nasheed.

 

Missouri sure has some “special” politicians. But I bet if you dig around and turn over some rocks you can find the same type of politicians in every state.

 

What is the end result of all the “specialness”? Well, you get laws that prohibit Jews from praying at the holiest site in Judaism in a Jewish state. You get laws that are horrid, and then the Police who are charged with enforcing the laws get stuck enforcing crap laws. Because these morons were elected by “We The People”. Although I will admit there could well be vote fraud.

These Politicians think theirs is the power, they believe in the Politics of Power. And that’s who they choose to represent. They have forgotten that they were elected to represent “We The People”. And as long as we continue to tolerate people that run on campaign promises of what the people are asking for and then sell out at the earliest opportunity, this is what we will have.

I’ll end with this music video of Moshe Feiglin, partly because I just like it. I love looking at the scenery and thinking did I walk down that street? And partly because I like the message, we need to stand together. Where politicians seems to be doing nothing but dividing us, we need to force them to unite to accomplish what “We The People” are telling them we want.

 

 

 

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Prelude to Rededication

Matisyahu

Once again the Children of Abraham were in peril… but not for the reasons you might think.

The king of Babylon had allowed their return to Israel, and even allowed the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. One empire defeated another and soon Alexander the Macedonian came. His visit foreshadowed things to come.

An apostate sect known as the Samaritans had long challenged a core element of Jewish belief; the three-part revelation of Torah (Mystical, Oral, and Written). They had come to the point of militating for the destruction of the Holy Temple and the wholesale murder of the Priests and Levites. Alexander, on his way to leveling Gaza and engaging the Egyptians, was about to do their bidding.

Learning of this, a High Priest donned garments reserved for the holiest event of the year; conducting ritual sacrifices, on behalf of the entire people on Yom Kippur. He and a group of dignitaries went out to meet Alexander in a small town.

Upon their approach, even Alexander’s commanders expected the great slaughter to commence, but instead Alexander dismounted and bowed down to the Priest. Alexander explained that before commencing his long series of campaigns a man came to him in his dreams, looking exactly as this man, and had advised him in ways critical to his subsequent success.

The High Priest told Alexander that they had no intent to undermine him and only asked that the Jewish people be allowed to worship G-d in the ways they were intended and to live in peace. Alexander agreed and was taken on a tour of the Holy Temple, and all of the functions explained. The Samaritans had failed.

But, then Alexander, believing the panoply of gods to be essentially meaningless and interchangeable, and more than a bit impressed with himself, declared that he wanted a giant statue of himself erected in the Temple.

Horrified, but wise, the High Priest gently explained that they could not do that within the Temple, as it would deny the fundamental precept that Hashem Elokeinu is G-d and that there is nothing and no one else. Instead, the High Priest suggested that every male child born in to the Priests’ families during the next year be named Alexander. That way Alexander’s name would live on and be known even better than by a mere statue.

As was the practice, Alexander left administrative control of his conquered lands to his generals. These Syrian-Greeks came to be known as the Seleucids. They, in turn sought out local leaders to act on their behalf in day-to-day affairs. In Israel, the Seleucid Generals worked through the High Priest. There were a series of appointed Seleucid Generals, and a series of High Priests.

Sadly, this dual-loyalty relationship corroded the integrity of the Priesthood. Likewise, the material wealth, power, and sophistication of the Syrian-Greeks seduced the Jewish People, away from their Covenant with G-d. They increasingly emulated the Syrian-Greek, culture, appearance, and even worship. When a High Priest who might oppose this evolution arose, he was replaced, and/or murdered.

Ultimately, in greed and power-lust, a true madman arose to rule. He was named Antiochus. He styled himself Antiochus Epiphanes, seeing himself as a god in the form of a man.

A series of edicts followed. Observing the Sabbath was prohibited.  Possession, much less study from, of a Torah Scroll was a capital offense. Brit Milah (ritual entry into the Covenant of the Jewish People with G-d) , aka circumcision was banned. If a circumcised male child was found, both the child and its parents were put to death.

Temple sacrifices; the focal point of communal interface with G-d at his “place” on Earth, was banned. The Temple itself was defiled and filled with idols. The monies used to support the Holy Temple services and the families whose job it was to conduct them, not to mention the destitute, and infirm, had been seized.

These things were entirely approved of by the vast majority of now thoroughly assimilated Jews. A Greek gymnasium had been erected in Jerusalem. Nude athletics were commonplace. The veneration of physical beauty was now elevated and the purification of the soul, in service to G-d, was despised.

At towns throughout the land Jews lived as Greeks and worshiped as Greeks. The G-d of Israel was for bumbling rustics and dying old people.

Once, a Syrian-Greek patrol was out looking for renegades who continued to worship at tiny rural altars to Hashem Elokeinu, the True G-d. They found such a place and demanded that they both stop and that instead they worship as the Greeks. A young man rushed to abide and started to sacrifice to the Greek gods.

Witnessing this was one of those “old rustics”, a Hasmonean named Matityahu ben Yonatan. The weight of his world upon him, in an uncontrollable rage, he drew his sword, slew the young man and many of the Syrian-Greek patrol. He loudly declared, “All those who stand for G-d, follow me.”

A revolt against one of the mightiest empires on earth, and more importantly, against the spiritual suicide of his people, had begun.

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‘Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof’: Jewish Justice Precludes Pacifism

“Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” we are instructed in Deuteronomy 16, 18-20. Translated this means, “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” The repetition is for emphasis. (The biblical narrators were super hot writers.) This tells me that Jews are enjoined against pacifism.

Do you agree?

“Violence breeds only violence” is a pacifistic plum line one hears a lot. This particular New Age guff equates reasonable punishment with violence. While it can include violent methods, reasonable punishment is not the same as violence. When we follow an unprovoked act of aggression with a proportional act of retribution, and when we punish only the guilty—no collateral damage—then we are doing justice, not violence. We do justice not only for the purpose of vindicating those harmed or killed, but because justice, like liberty, is the foundation of a peaceful and orderly society. To ignore the imperative of justice is to be in revolt against the natural law; the law of reason, which precedes and transcends man-made law.

Besides, if man is said to have been created in the image of God, then refusing to defend this awesome representation of the Almighty on earth would seem somewhat sacrilegious, surely.

David B. Kopel’s deductive leap of logic sanctioning a certain war, which shall not be mentioned or discussed here, is wrong, in my opinion. However, “The Torah and Self-Defense,” in which Kopel “surveys the Torah’s teachings on the right and the duty to defend oneself and others,” is well-worth reading.

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Tikkun Olam

“The Ghetto Mentality” by Y.B. ben Avraham of Zelman Partisans is provocative and worthy of further debate (pilpul). For now, I offer a comment about tikkun olam:

Those with messianic complexes, especially neoconservatives, should reconsider what is meant by tikkun olam. Starting with the barefaced Thomas Friedman, Jews and non-Jews alike have bastardized this beautiful, but modest, Jewish obligation. In an attempt to lend spiritual credibility to hubristic insolence, Friedman once praised Tony Blair for “always [leaving] you with the impression that for him the Iraq war is just one hammer and one nail in an effort to do tikkun olam, to repair the world.”

Developed by the scholars and sages of a dispersed people, tikkun olam was intended as a humble and modest thing – it is the duty of the Jewish individual to help, bit-by-bit, to bring about a better world in unassuming, day-to-day righteous acts.

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