Kahane Codes - Bereshit Shmot

Kahane in the Parsha Vayechel/Pekudei 351

Vayechel/Pekudei and Parsha Para (2011/12) Most years when Yayechel/Pekudei coincides with Parsh Para we read the Maftir which explains the details of Para Aduma that Moshe gave Israel then we read the haftorah from yechezkel. The Maftir explains the details of the strange ceremony of the Para Aduma. The Kohen Gadol takes the bull that is pure red and never pulled a yoke and slaughters it outside the camp. The Cohen Gadol becomes impure as well as the slaughterer and he goes to a mikva and also must immerse his clothes in the mikva. Then another clean man can take these ashes and sprinkle them. The Maftir explains the ritual from ancient times and the Haftorah explains its significance in modern times. I was told once by Rabbi Matisyahu Glazerson that the Para Aduma is Israel from the dung to the head it is completely burned; the lowest and highest places. On one hand the cow is pure and on the other hand it has never pulled a yoke. Israel is compared to a bull that must be harnessed to the yoke of Hashem. It seems on one hand the bull seems to be alluding to a sinner who is disconnected to Hashem and on the other it is a very unique cow with not even one discolored hair. The Rav was one of the few who dared to explain the Holocaust and more than that criticized those who do not explain it for adding to the Chilul Hashem. Every Jewish soul is holy because this is their essence regardless whether they pull the yoke or not. The sages with long beards and the Jew married to a gentile all suffered the same fate. It is the Cohen Gadol who leads the bull out to be slaughtered and becomes contaminated. I suggest that this may allude our own Jewish leadership that has misled us and been contaminated as well. Then comes a pure man that sprinkles these ashes and and administers the solution while again becoming contaminated. I suggest that this second man alludes to the passage from the Haftorah which tells us Hashem will be sanctified again in the eyes of the world and will bring us a new heart. The leader who went down with the cow cannot be the same leader who explains the new Torah, which is the original Torah. In order to do this he makes himself a target by saying things that are politically incorrect. He becomes persecuted and chased away like something unclean. The Cohen who sprinkles the cleanliness becomes unclean, as the contemporary sage who is sacrificed in order to revive the Torah. He becomes unclean and eventually sacrificed because of our sins. However it is only through him that Hashem is glorified and we learn to feel with a new heart. The Torah of Yoseph was closer to his father than any of the other Rosh Yeshivas. Instead of learning from the Rav he was despised like Yoseph because he was like a mirror that reflected our inaction and apathy. The elixir of Torah that the Rav sprinkled us with is the faith that we can and must do things that seem impossible. Judaism is not just a practice of rituals done in the privacy of ones home but is a National expression of Hashems will. He single-handedly expressed that will and by repetition made it part of a dialogue that eventually became a new reality. This reality is still evolving from his footsteps. When I see his name in this weeks Parsha this is how I understand it. (see below) ‫ יצ נוה ֹקיה נוה‬-‫שר‬-‫ נא ל‬,‫את כח מקת מהתו נרה‬,‫ ב ז ם‬2 This is the statute of the law which the LORD ‫ליך‬-‫תא ל‬, ‫ ֹקו יי ֹקקחו‬,‫תאל‬, ‫תני יי קֹש נר‬, ‫ קֹב‬-‫אל‬-‫תבר ל‬, ‫ מד‬:‫ר‬,‫תלא םמ‬, hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, ‫לשר‬- ‫נא‬ ,‫מום‬ ‫ נבה‬-‫תאין‬, ‫שר‬-‫נא ל‬ ‫נפ נרה נא כד נמה ֹקת ימי נמה‬ faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which .‫ל‬,‫ םע‬,‫ללי נה‬- ‫ נע נלה נע‬-‫לא‬,‫ם‬ never came yoke. 352

‫הן; קֹוהו יציא‬,‫םכ ת‬, ‫א ֹקל נע נזר מה‬-‫ ל‬-‫ל‬-‫ לא‬,‫אתנה‬,‫תלם ם‬- ‫ ג ונקֹ מת‬3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, .‫םא נתה ֹקל נפ נניו‬, ‫ קֹו נש מחט‬,‫נה‬-‫ ימחוץ מל ממ נח ל‬-‫ל‬-‫םתנה לא‬,‫ א‬and she shall be brought forth without the camp, and she shall be slain before his face. ;‫לא ֹקצ נבעו‬- ‫ ֹקב‬--‫ מי נד נמה‬,‫הן‬,‫םכ ת‬, ‫לא ֹקל נע נזר מה‬- ‫ ד קֹו נל מקח‬4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood ‫במע‬-‫של‬--‫ ימ נד נמה‬,‫תעד‬, ‫מו‬-‫הל‬-‫םא ל‬, ‫תני‬, ‫נ מכח קֹפ‬,‫ ם‬-‫לאל‬- ‫ ֹקו יה נזה‬with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood toward .‫ פֹקענ ימים‬the front of the tent of meeting seven times. -‫ת‬-‫םרנה קֹו לא‬,‫ע‬-‫את‬-‫ ל‬:‫תעי נניו‬, ‫ ֹקל‬,‫ מה נפ נרה‬-‫את‬-‫ ה ֹקו נש מרף ל‬5 And the heifer shall be burnt in his sight; her .‫רף‬,‫ יפ ֹקר נשה יי קֹש ם‬-‫ מעל‬,‫ נדמנה‬-‫לאת‬- ‫ קֹב נש נרה קֹו‬skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall be burnt. ;‫ו ֹקש יני תו נל מעת‬--‫אזוב‬,‫רז ֹקו ת‬-‫לא ל‬- ‫עץ‬,‫ ת‬,‫תהן‬, ‫םכ‬, ‫ ו ֹקו נל מקח מה‬6 And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and .‫ר מפת מה נפ נרה‬,‫תוך ֹקש ת‬-‫אל‬-‫ ל‬,‫ ֹקו יה קֹש יליך‬hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. ,‫ ֹקו נר מחץ קֹב נשרו מב ממ יים‬,‫תהן‬, ‫כ‬,‫לבס קֹב נג נדיו מה ם‬- ‫ ז ֹקו יכ‬7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he -‫ מעד‬,‫תהן‬, ‫כ‬,‫תמא מה ם‬, ‫נה; ֹקו נט‬-‫ מה ממ נח ל‬-‫לאל‬- ‫םא‬, ‫ ניב‬,‫ קֹו מא מחר‬shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he .‫ב‬-‫נהענרל‬ may come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. ‫ קֹו נר מחץ‬,‫תבס קֹב נג נדיו מב ממ יים‬, ‫ קֹי מכ‬--‫םא נתה‬, ‫תרף‬, ‫ש‬,‫ ח ֹקו מה ם‬8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in .‫רב‬-‫ נה נע ל‬-‫ עמד‬,‫מתא‬, ‫ קֹב נשרו מב נמ יים; קֹו נט‬water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. ‫ ֹקו יה יני מח‬,‫פר מה נפ נרה‬-‫תא ל‬, ‫את‬,‫ ת‬,‫ ט קֹו נא מסף יאיש נטהור‬9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ‫ ֹקב נמקום נטהור; ֹקו נה ֹקי נתה מל נע מדת‬,‫נה‬-‫ ימחוץ מל ממ נח ל‬ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the ‫ מח נטאת‬--‫ינ נדה‬ ‫תמי‬, ‫קֹל‬ ,‫לרת‬- ‫למ‬- ‫קֹל ימ ֹקש‬ ‫תאל‬, ‫ יי ֹקש נר‬-‫תני‬, ֹ‫קב‬ camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the .‫יהוא‬ congregation of the children of Israel for a water of sprinkling; it is a purification from sin. ,‫ קֹבגנדניו‬-‫לת‬-‫ א‬,‫פר מה נפ נרה‬-‫תא ל‬, -‫לאת‬- ‫תסף‬, ‫םא‬, ‫לבס נה‬- ‫ י ֹקו יכ‬10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer ‫תגר‬, ‫ ֹוק מל‬,‫תאל‬, ‫תני יי ֹקש נר‬, ‫רלב; ֹקו נה ֹקי נתה יל קֹב‬- ‫ נהענ‬-‫ מעד‬,‫מא‬,‫ קֹו נט ת‬shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the .‫עו נלם‬ ‫ ֹקל כח מקת‬--‫ֹקבתו נכם‬ ‫מה נגר‬ even; and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. Bamidbar (19:2-10) When Parsha Parah coincides with Vayechel/Pekudei the regular Maftir is replaced by the passages above. When Parsha Parah coincides with Vayechel/Pekudei the regular Haftorah is replaced by a section from Yeheskel. Below I have highlighted some of these passages. 353

‫ד נני‬,‫כה נא ממר נא ם‬,‫ ם‬,‫תאל‬, ‫ יי קֹש נר‬-‫תבית‬, ‫מר ֹקל‬,‫כן לא ם‬,‫ כב נל ת‬22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus :‫אל‬,‫ית יי קֹש נר ת‬,‫ בת‬,‫שה‬-‫םע ל‬, ‫כם נא יני‬-‫א ֹקל ממ מע קֹנ ל‬,‫ ל ם‬,‫ קֹיה יוה‬saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye ‫מבגו יים‬ ,‫לתם‬- ‫יח מל קֹל‬ ‫לשר‬- ‫נא‬ ‫ נק קֹד ישי‬-‫ם‬,‫לקֹ תש‬-‫יכי יאם‬ have profaned among the nations, whither ye .‫תם נשם‬-‫ נבא ל‬-‫שר‬-‫נא ל‬ came. ,‫ מה ֹקמ כח נלל מבגו יים‬,‫שֹק ימי המ נגדול‬-‫לאת‬- ‫ כג ֹקו יק מד קֹש יתי‬23 And I will sanctify My great name, which hath ‫ישכ נִא שנ‬ been profaned among the nations, which ye have -‫י‬ ‫מהגו יים‬ ‫ֹקו ני ֹקדעו‬ ;‫ֹקבתו נכם‬ ,‫תם‬-‫יח מל ֹקל ל‬ ‫לשר‬- ‫נא‬ profaned in the midst of them; and the nations ‫ה‬,‫כם‬-‫ ֹקב יה נק ֹקד ישי נב ל‬,‫ד נני קֹיה יוה‬,‫ קֹנ כאם נא ם‬,‫ ֹקי נוה‬shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord .‫הם‬-‫תני ל‬, ‫תעי‬, ‫ֹקל‬ GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. ‫ ֹקו יק מב ֹקצ יתי‬,‫ מהגו יים‬-‫כם ימן‬-‫א קֹת ל‬-‫ כד קֹו נל מק ֹקח יתי ל‬24 For I will take you from among the nations, -‫לאל‬- ,‫לכם‬- ‫לא קֹת‬- ‫תבא יתי‬, ‫תה‬, ‫ נה נא נרצות; קֹו‬-‫כם ימ נכל‬-‫לא קֹת ל‬- and gather you out of all the countries, and will .‫כם‬-‫ מא קֹד ממ קֹת ל‬bring you into your own land. :‫תם‬-‫ ו ֹקט מה קֹר ל‬,‫לכם ממ יים ֹקטהו ירים‬- ‫לי‬,‫ כה ֹקו נז מר ֹקק יתי נע ת‬25 And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ‫הר‬,‫ נא מט ת‬,‫כם‬-‫תלי ל‬, ‫ יגלו‬-‫לכם ו ימ נכל‬- ‫תתי‬, ‫כל כט קֹמאו‬,‫ ימ ם‬ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and .‫כם‬-‫לא ֹקת ל‬- from all your idols, will I cleanse you. ‫תתן‬, ‫לא‬- ‫ ֹקורו מח נח נד נשה‬,‫תלב נח נדש‬, ‫לכם‬- ‫ כו ֹקו ננ מת יתי נל‬26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new ,‫כם‬-‫ ימ קֹב מש ֹקר ל‬,‫לבן‬- ‫א‬-‫תלב נה ל‬, -‫את‬-‫םר יתי ל‬, ‫לכם; מו נה יס‬- ‫ ֹקב יק קֹר קֹב‬spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give .‫נב נשר‬ ‫לב‬,‫ת‬ ,‫כם‬-‫נל ל‬ ‫קֹו ננ מת יתי‬ you a heart of flesh. When I see the letters Kahane hidden inside 'I am the Lord' (Ki Ani Hashem) it means to me that through Hashems disciples He is sanctified. How is God sanctified before our eyes? When the Rav was on radio talk shows there were often non-Jews who called in and said 'Why aren't there more Jews like you?' By daring to stand against the majority to do Hashems will and fight for Jewish causes the Rav sanctified God before the eyes of the world and the Jewish people. It was Mordechai who refused to bow to idolatry that started the whole Purim story rolling. It was Moshe who brought more suffering on the Jews by his defiance to Pharaoh that eventually led to our liberation. And in our time it is Meir Kahane who rocked the boat and refused to bow to world pressure or Israeli pressure and wake up comfortable Jews with uncomfortable questions. He and his son suffered countless imprisonments for the Jewish people. It is now the Jewish people who are imprisoned and his Torah is the key that will set us free. These keys are now in the hands of leaders like Dr. Michael Ben Ari and Moshe Feiglin. Rabbi Kahane and his son Binyamin paid the price with constant harassment and martyrdom so that now a new generation of Moshe Feiglin's and Ben Ari's even Leiberman's can be given positions to influence without the same hatred. The reason is that by forging Hashem's path and paying the ultimate price, the Rav gave us a new heart. He demonstrated for us how to be a real Jew. He gave us a heart less doubtful and less fearful and showed us the path to freedom. He was the freest person ever to be in 354

a jail. His courage inspired thousands of Jews to be a little bit like him. The Kohen who sprinkles the life giving mixture becomes contaminated himself as he gives life to others. He becomes unclean and abandoned and then sacrificed. But through him Hashem is glorified and we learn to feel with a new heart. (see also Parsha Chukat) Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Chur (Shmot 38:22) Bezalel as a young boy understood the deepest secrets of how to craft the utensils in the Mishkan. Rashi explains to us that the unusual addition of the grandfathers name (Chur) indicates that Betzalels divine spiritual gift was the special reward for the self-sacrifice of Chur . I often ask the question why is Chur given such a small remez (hint) in the Torah? During the Chet Haegel Aaron fearing that soon he will be stoned, tries to manipulate the people to buy time for Moshes return. Aaron is criticized for this by Moshe. 'What did this people do to you that that you brought a grievous sin upon it? (Shmot 32:21). Chur on the other hand did not play games. He told the people straight that they were sinning and must stop. He was stoned. This story, however is not written in the Torah. You will only find this in the Midrash. I once asked Yekutiel, one of the leaders of the movement, how this works. How does a grandson inherit Torah secrets because the grandfather died a martyrs death? He said to me that if I am alluding to the Rav's death I should understand that it is not simply the way he died a martyrs death that was important but that his whole life was one of self- sacrifice. He did not seek a martyrs death yet every day he went out to do and say what had to be done and said without fear knowing that one day he may pay the ultimate price for his actions, but he could not stand idly by. This is the definition of a Tzadik. Why is Chur not mentioned but his grandson Betzalel shows us the details of the inner Temple? One might ask why there is so much written about Avraham and Yacov but less about Itzchak who was the perfect sacrifice. One might ask why the secrets of the Zohar was received by a student of Rabbi Akiva who also died a martyrs death. He continued to follow in the path of his Rav and because of this became a fugitive. In his isolation he wrote the Zohar. I will remain with the question. It seems to me, however that those who sacrifice every day for the Jewish people like a Rabbi Kahane are on a different level that than the rest of us, even though they demonstrate to the rest of us what is humanely possible. The later generations that attach themselves to these great leaders attach themselves to the greatness and are rewarded in their way for continuing the work of Creation. Better to be the tail of a lion than the head of a fox. 355

Chuk Parah and Chuk Pesach (2018) Why does Chuk Parah come before Chuk Pesach? Is Chuk Parah more important than Chuk Pesach or is Chuk Parah a prerequisite for Chuk Pesach? On a simple level one who is sprinkled by the ashes of the Parah Aduma becomes ritually pure so that he may approach the Bet Hamigdash and partake of the Pesach sacrifice. On a more mystical level we need first our body and our life breath before we can attain higher spiritual levels. What however do these ashes really do? Our Maftir reads: ‫ נימות‬-‫לשר‬- ‫פש נה נא נדם נא‬-‫לנ ל‬- ‫תמת ֹקב‬, ‫ג מע ֹקב‬,‫נ ת‬,‫ מה ם‬-‫ יג נכל‬13 Whoever touches the dead, even the body of --‫תמא‬, ‫ ימ קֹש מכן ֹקיה נוה יט‬-‫את‬-‫ ל‬,‫םא יי קֹת מח נטא‬, ‫ קֹול‬any man that is dead, and does not purify himself- he has defiled the tabernacle of the LORD--that ‫ שכי למי‬:‫אל‬,‫ימ יי ֹקש נר ת‬ ,‫מה יהוא‬ ‫פש‬-‫לנ ל‬- ‫מה‬ ‫ֹקו ינ ֹקכ קֹר נתה‬ soul shall be cut off from Israel; because the ‫ אט למא‬,‫ לז תרק אע אליו‬-‫ שנ אדה ל לא‬water of sprinkling was not been thrown upon him, he shall remain contaminated; his ‫ הט רמ אאתו בו‬,‫עוד‬--‫שי רה היה‬ contamination is still upon him. (Bamidbar 19:13) How do we understand our impurity and purity that is thrown upon us from the blood and ashes of this cow? Many years ago I asked Rabbi Glazerson about the meaning of the Parah Aduma. He explained that it represents all of Israel - from the head to the dung - that is all burned on the altar. This seems to be reminiscent of the Shoa. In the Shoa all of the Jewish people went up in smoke regardless of their physical position or spiritual level. On the other hand the passage says this cow is a temima (without blemish) alluding to Israel as also being all temumim. How can we be both as low as dung and also without blemish? In addition how do we understand this impurity (caused by being in contact with death) and purity that is thrown upon us from the blood and ashes of this cow ? If the Parah Aduma alludes to the Shoa and the Shoa was instrumental in bringing about the Modern State of Israel then I suggest there is another way of understanding the connection between Chuk Parah and Chuk Pesach. Pesach is the time of the birth of our Nation. It is a time of Malchut (Kingship). Does Malchut appear out of nowhere or is it a transformation? I suggest that Kingship is something that evolves from a nation state. First we need our own country and Prime Minister. Eventually that Prime Minister makes way for a King. That first king may be a shepherd grazing his sheep today in Yehuda or Shomron. The Mai Nida (water of sprinkling) is 'thrown' upon us. I suggest that in the same way the State of Israel is thrown upon us. Within this State you have tremendous growth and beautiful things along with ugly things; from the head to the dung, just like the Parah. On the other hand there is something without blemish. The very fact of being part of an independent nation state is a purifying factor. A Jew living in the Land of Israel is less contaminated, even though there is every level of contamination within it. The word Mai Nida is in fact the same letters that spell Medina (nation state). It seems to me that just as the Mai Nida and Chuk Parah prepares one for the Chuk Pesach so does the Medina prepare us for Kingship and Malchut. Now that the Nation has prospered and grown physically its time to arrive at the next stage with the addition of a Sanhedrin and Jewish King. The Medina was thrown upon us and it has purified us, and now it’s time to ascend to the Har Habayit with our King and Cohenim. 356

The Temple and the Eved The Art Scroll Chumas writes: “The Torah's frequent repetition of the parts of the Tabernacle and mention of the nation’s role in its construction indicates Gods love of Israel and His regard for its activities to serve Him. Similarly God's respect for such loyalty is indicated by the attention the Torah lavishes on Eliezer's diligent search for a wife for Isaac (Or Hachaim; see Rashi to Genesis 24:12).” 1 What is the connection between Eliezer and the manner in which we donated our belongings to build the Temple? Eliezer selflessly served Avraham and did his bidding without question. Despite his secret desire that Itzchak would marry his own daughter he swallowed his pride and sought the wife that Avraham had requested. In the same manner, the Israelites who were not Cohanim and would not be serving in the Temple accepted their role and secondary position knowing full well that this acceptance would in fact bring them blessing, as it did Eliezer. Eventually the world will also wish to serve Israel for the blessing that it brings. But first Israel must serve God. Serving God does not just mean keeping Jewish rituals, it means a Jewish response in every level. The greatest leaders of Israel were true servants. They served a higher authority despite the consequences. They taught us how to lead by how to serve. Moshe walked out one day and saw a Jew being beaten to death by an Egyptian and asked how this can be? He slew the Egyptian. The Jewish leadership instead of thanking him denounced him to the authorities. David saw Goliath and asked how can this be? He got up and slew Goliath. He also became an outcast and fugitive from the Jewish government. And in our own time Rabbi Kahane. “As editor of the Jewish Press, the Rabbi began receiving numerous letters from American Jews lamenting the often unbearable levels of antisemitism, and the lack of any official help or even acknowledgment of the problem. The Rabbi heard many “horror stories” of beatings, muggings, extortion, threats and vandalism, and was appalled at the lack of any response by the relevant authorities. He turned to the major Jewish organizations to inform them of these incidents, and found to his chagrin that they were “aware of the problem,” but preferred to either react “quietly,” or – more often than not – deny the problem altogether. The answer he was given – that “we know about it,” but “it's better not to react” - brought him to the conclusion that a new Jewish organization must be formed – a grassroots organization, which would really engage with the problem in a way that the “respectables” were too afraid to.” (from 'The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane.' Lenny Goldberg) [The JDL was born.] 'In 1969, the JDL received its first major publicity when a black militant named James Forman began demanding compensation from churches and synagogues, for the slavery and other injustices committed against the black people (of course, it didn't matter to Forman that the Jews had historically suffered similar oppression and discrimination, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the slave trade). Foreman contacted Temple Emmanuel, a reform synagogue, and announced that he would be arriving on Friday night to highlight his grievances, and demand compensation (read “extortion”). The reform “rabbis” took these demands seriously and reluctantly prepared for 357

his arrival. Rabbi Kahane, however, realized that Temple Emmanuel was only the beginning, and soon other less wealthy synagogues would be forced to pay up to Forman thugs. The JDL announced that if Forman showed up, they would “break both his legs.” Jewish Defense League members stood in front of Temple Emmanuel with sticks and chains to await Forman's arrival. He never showed up. The media (along with the rest of America) were stunned at such an “un-Jewish” response from a Jewish organization; but although this reputation garnered them much hatred from Jewish Establishment groups, it also gained them the admiration and respect of the Jewish public in general.' (Ibid) Rabbi Kahane was not just another Tzadik who did good deeds and charity. He was not another great scholar who came out with chidushim. I see his name in the Torah associated with Hashem in many places because, like a prophet he fulfilled Gods desire by fixing that which is broken and leading the way for others. Not only did he correct Jewish leadership locally but globally with Russian Jews and most importantly in Israel where his Torah is still alive and continuing the battle for Jewish survival and National redemption. When he arrived in Israel in the 1970's he was persecuted not only by the American authorities, Jewish Leaderships in the USA, but also the Government of Israel. He was put on trial behind closed doors and the Rabbi now began to wake up the entire Nation of Israel. “ In reaction to the denial of his basic democratic right of freedom of expression [The Rav] announced that he would not take part in the trial. His supporters distributed mimeographed sheets in Hebrew and English to the press and to the public headed, 'Rabbi Meir Kahane's Statement to the Court Explaining His Refusal to Participative Further in the Proceedings of his trial.”His statement to the court read: I love and respect the Jewish State of which I am a proud citizen and I would like, too, to respect its laws and courts. But any law and any government must earn the respect of citizens by respecting the rights of those citizens, and a state is not a ruthless master, but rather the servant of its citizens. This unfortunately is not true in Israel today, and my case is a flagrant and frightening example of this tragic fact. I was arrested by the Jewish State and kept in isolation for a month for attempting to fight for Soviet and Iraqi Jewry who both faced physical extermination – as the Israeli government suddenly became Brezhnev's keeper. I attempted to do that which I have done for years, that which the Israeli government both refused to do and also fought, damaged and harmed – the fight for Soviet Jewish freedom to emigrate to Israel. I willingly admitted this and looked forward to a free and open trial in which I could explain the entire background of the Soviet Jewry issue – and the totalitarians demanded that I be silenced and barred from speaking. It is vital that this entire story be told – in order to show that the real motivation of the Israeli government in bringing me to trial was to curry favor with the Nixon administration and not anger the Russians...and – above all – in order not to have the glare of publicity force change in the policy of the leaders of the government. In a free society, A TRULY FREE SOCIETY, this right would have been unquestioned, respected, and I would have been allowed to present my testimony and call my witnesses. If the State differs with those witnesses or that testimony it has the right to challenge, cross-examine and call its own witnesses. This is what is done in a free society. 358

Instead, the prosecutor – a functionary who is at the beck and call of the few, totalitarian-minded who have run Israel for so long that it has become, for them, a private domain – brings into court a pathetic document signed by the prime minister herself, ordering me not to give testimony based on facts, dates, and people; not allowing Soviet Jewish immigrants to testify and commanding the court not to hear all this. ...If there is a problem of security here, it stems only from the threat to it by an arrogant, power-intoxicated clique that has run the government and the people of this country not for 25 years, but for 50 years, and which – thanks to a people that is so apathetic and indifferent to its own fate – believes that there is nothing that it can do which will cause it to lose power. ...I want the Jewish world to remember what happened during the Holocaust period of Kastner and what is happening today with Soviet Jewry, as the Israeli Labor leaders bow to Nixon pressure and attempt to weaken the Jackson amendment...and refuse to aid Soviet Jewish activists. I want the whole world to know this, NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO HURT ISRAEL – I STAND SECOND TO NONE IN MY LOVE FOR THE COUNTRY TO WHICH I CAME TO LIVE FROM A LAND OF COMFORT. I want rather to do this because the State of Israel is being corrupted and destroyed by the signers of totalitarian orders and the destroyers of individual liberties of those who defy them. The totalitarians are not used to genuine opposition in this country. In general, people here are docile, cowed, frightened or bought, and the opposition itself is a pale caricature of the term. Let it be known that there are some who are different. I therefore am respectfully refusing to participate in the proceedings in which I cannot present my case to the world and which, for me, became a mockery and a 'lynch.' I fully expect the government and the court to punish me stiffly and savagely - this is the way of the people who run the State. So be it. But the Jews of Israel and the world must know the truth... [Later at a press conference the Rav's supporters] distributed a three-page 'Declaration to the Court' in Hebrew and English, which he had written in June 1973 while in Jerusalem Central Prison. A moving expression of his beliefs, it began: I am a Jew, and I consider that to be the most important thing in the world. I do not say this out of some kind of foolish secular nationalism or chauvinism; I do not repeat what a Bulgarian or a Pakistani or a Frenchman would say about his own nationality; there is nothing sacred about nationalism at all. But to be a Jew is not the same as being a member of any other nation, and it has nothing to do with nationalism. To be a Jew has a special; unique meaning ONLY because there is a G-d and He has chosen us as His special, unique and particular people – over and above, separate from all the others. ..And from this concept comes a sacred commandment, a holy obligation...“Thou shalt not stand idly by they brother's blood.” This is not a request or a call for charity – it is a demand, an obligation. I am charged with writing letters urging the commission of violent acts against the 359

Soviets and Iraqis in an effort to save the Jews of those countries. I admit without hesitation to writing those letters and I have left it to my learned attorneys to argue the legal question of whether letters which never reached their parties for whom they were intended, or even the country to which they were sent, can constitute a crime. What I wish to discuss here is the far more important question of why I wrote those letters, so the world will understand what is at stake here and what must be done in the future so that we not stand someday as those Jews of 30 years ago – the generation of the Holocaust – and be found guilty with them of treason to the Jewish people. [The Rav] spelled out the logic behind JDL acts for Soviet Jewry and the logic behind his actions, and then summed up: I am not a criminal and I believe that there is not one Jew in the street who thinks that I am. I am, however, a Jew who believes in the Divine mission of the Jewish people – the Chosen of G-d – and in the obligation, from which there is no escape, to love and hear the cry of a fellow Jew in distress... ...I do not want to go to jail and I do not seek to be a martyr. Yet I rejoice that I have had the opportunity to love my people even at the risk of jail and I have not proven faithless to the task. (Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought by Libby Kahane p.400-p.401) These are the actions and words of a true Jewish leader who is a true servant of G-d. There was no other leader to compare the Rav to. He stood on one side and the whole world was on the other side. Just like Avraham who angered the authorities for unmasking its idols or Moshe who demanded freedom not only from the masters but the servants as well. Their example would cause others to live up to a higher standard. Rabbi Aryeh Julius was arrested for bringing an ad about the [above mentioned] trial to the offices of Ma'Ariv. Incensed at this totalitarian tactic, [the Rav] announced that he would read the 'criminal' ad at the press conference. The arrest of Rabbi Julius aroused [the Rav] to issue an emotional 'Statement to the Press:” I weep for Israel, the people of Israel, and the Jewish people. This is a State that was a dream and is turning to ashes. The leaders who allowed hundreds of boys to fall last Yom Kippur because of their fear of offending the gentile...followed in the footsteps of the totalitarian Soviets...How many crimes have been committed in the name of security!...They arrested our people for placing ads in the newspaper and for handing out leaflets to protest their policies ....I intend to violate the Soviet-type law of Golda Meir in every way. I have handed out literature, I will hand it out. I have told people what the Israeli government has done against Soviet Jews and will do so. A law is not holy simply because it is there. A law can smack of tyranny and this one stinks to high heaven. ...It is a tragedy of Israel that the press is a pale caricature of what a press in a free country should be. There is no initiative, no courage, no drive to expose. All these create the elements of a totalitarian state... [The Rav] feared the worst: ...They can silence me with a bullet (and how many others have gone that way) but short of that, let them know that I am continuing to speak to people here and give them the 360

facts. (Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought by Libby Kahane p.403) [A few moments before he was assassinated in November 1990] in this last lecture, the Rabbi (rather eerily) practically eulogizes himself – uncharacteristically summing up his accomplishments, unwittingly hinting to his being shot. Here are some excerpts from his last speech: “..and indeed my whole life has been ideas which were eventually adopted by other people and succeeded. For example, today, Jewish defense is an accepted thing. The concept of a patrol in neighborhoods is an accepted thing today. But if you were around in 1968 when I came out with this revolutionary concept of 'Jewish defense” - the attacks against me and the venom... Eventually, it was accepted and it was adopted.” “And of course, Soviet Jews today – it's a pleasure to see how everyone takes credit for it. I saw that big ad of the UJA, 'We Did It'. Today, everybody talks about the Soviet Jewish issue and how they were helped; and that’s fine. But it was only because we came up with the idea at a time when no one wanted it and they attacked us and we never backed off from it. We never backed away. The ADL handed names of JDL members to the FBI. It didn't stop me.” “ And if today the concept of transferring Arabs is accepted today, it's only because from 1971 when I first said it and kept saying it, and there was wall to wall hatred from Left to Right...You keep saying it, you keep saying it, you keep saying it and eventually more and more people start to “get” it...We really have won the war. The idea has won. Now it's our hope to implement it, and in a sense, that's probably easier than having to convince them to accept the idea.” ...Now [ed:back to the subject of emergency aliyah] it has to be spoken about and people will be upset and angry and fight and so on because they don't want to hear it. I remember once speaking in Roslyn, Long Island, and I said that “it” could happen here too, and suddenly someone jumped up and shouted, “It's not true, you're a liar.” He had a thick Jewish accent, and I saw he was a survivor, and then I understood what he was really saying: “I went through that; don't tell me it could happen here. I don't want to hear it”. That's what he was telling me. That's the tragedy. So you shoot the messenger...If you love Jews enough, you say the painful things which will save them. No concern what they will do to you, that's not relevant..” ('The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane.' Lenny Goldberg p.226-227) 361

The Cornerstone of the Temple 2020 It seems to me that the cornerstone of the Temple is vindication. What do I mean by that? Rav Kahane describes the family background of Betzalel. His grandfather Calev stood against an angry mob and was almost lynched. Bezalele's father Hur also stood against the mob and was killed by them. He came from a family that had a different spirit. ,‫לרת יעמו‬- ‫ח‬-‫קב נה ֹקי נתה רו מח מא ל‬-‫ע ל‬,‫ ת‬,‫לב‬,‫ כד ֹקו מע קֹב ידי נכ ת‬24 But My servant Caleb, because he had another -‫לשר‬- ‫לרץ נא‬- ‫ נה נא‬-‫לאל‬- ,‫א יתיו‬,‫ מו נה יבי ם‬--‫ מא נח נרי‬,‫לא‬,‫ מו קֹי ממ ת‬spirit with him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land where he went; and his ‫לש ננה‬- ‫ יו יר‬,‫ קֹו מז קֹרעו‬,‫נבא נש נמה‬ seed shall possess it. (Bamidbar 14:24) There are very few people that can stand against an angry mob and proclaim the truth of Hashem's Torah. The Kahane family in our own time also has this 'different spirit.' The family of Betzalel must have been considered extremists who stood on the opposite side of the whole Nation and yet by doing so sustained them all. The fact that Bezalel was chosen and clearly displayed the rare gifts needed to build the Temple was a great vindication for this family. It also points out a valuable lesson regarding quality versus quantity. I commented last week regardind Rav Shmuel Sackett's suggestion to bring the Pesach Sacrifice to stop the corona and the reference to Gideon as well that discusses reducing his army to a refined few. It seems that those who truly wish to see the Temple rebuilt to the extent of going up to the Mount and facing angry mobs are of a different spirit. They do not reflect the majority or even the minority, they are of a different spirit. It is precisely this spirit that is needed. When this spirit will be accepted and allowed to fulfill the Korban Pesach, by this allowance in itself it will not only be a vindication for those who stood at the forefront and cried out for years in warning to come home before its to late, and to expell our enemies, it will also bring a vindication for all of Israel for the King to return to us and for His anger to be appeased. In their desire to restore true law and order which begins on the Mount, this small remnant and a small allowance from the masses will provide a type of vindication. From upon the shoulders of those who carried the authentic Torah of the past will come a great blessing to our Nation and their dedication which appeared as fire and brimstone in the past will be understood as tremendous love that stood in the shadows of Hashems wings. Those who see the future by understaning the ramifications of our actions and our inactions will be transformed on that day into artists and artisans that can interpret the authentic Torah just as Betzalel who stood with Moshe. This different spirit is the cornerstone and the father and son that were despised will be that cornerstone 'The stone ('even'/Av&Ben) that the builders despised has become the cornerstone' (Hallel). Only a handful are needed to do the Korban Pesach. If they are allowed to, however, this will be a great vindication for those who fought for years on the front lines to bring our people home physically and spiritually and will result in a tremndous blessing for Israel. If only it were so. 362

363

Notes 364

Notes: Prologue 1. Rabbi Meir Kahane : His Life and Thought Volume One: 1932-1975 by Libby Kahane ( p. 209) 2. Ibid (p.210) 3. Ibid (p. 76) 4. With All Your Might – Rabbi Nachum Kahana – (p. 37) 5. For more details see: The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) – Numbers (p. 903) 6. AHASHVEROSH, ISRAEL AND THE \"RULE OF LAW\"; THE MOSSAD'S MISTAKE; HOW SHOULD THE JEWISH STATE DEAL WITH THE IRANIAN THREAT? Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 25, 2010. 7. Binyamin Hagaddah Pg 114 8. Binyamin Hagaddah Pg 114 Bereshit 1. 9 Remember the former things of old: that I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me; 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying: 'My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do'; (Isaiah 46:9/10) 2. Parashat Noach raises the following question: Why did G-d wipe out all of the beasts, birds, and crawling things in the flood? If man sinned, why should the animals suffer? Rashi explains: \"The entire creation is for man, and when man is wiped out, who needs all these?\" That is, the purpose of the creation is not simply to exist, but rather to actualize the destiny of the Creation. The moment there is no purpose (which is the case after G-d wiped out man, for whom the world was created), then the animals must perish since there is no longer a reason for their existence. (See: Binyamin Kahane commentary on the Chumash – Parsha Noach) 3. The letters of this word can be rearranged to spell (B'Avraham) meaning that God created the world for the sake of Avraham, (Midrash) because he was the epitome of kindness, one of the pillars of the world (Zohar). 4. The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) – Bereshit (p. 29) 5. Ibid - Miketz (p. 249). See also Ner – Parsha Ki Sissa – Kahane Codes – Volume 1 (p. 207) 6. The Midrash Says – Devarim – (p.258) 7. Rabbi Meir Kahane : His Life and Thought Volume One: 1932-1975 by Libby Kahane Chaia Sarah 1. Shla – Shnei Luchot HaBrit 365

Vayetze 1. With All Your Might – Rav N.Kahana (p. 151) Miketz 1. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Vayigash 1. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 315 2. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 317 3. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 323-324 Tezaveh 1. The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane – by Lenny Goldberg (p.250) * See Below Vayekel 1. The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) (pg 516) 2. The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane (Lenny Goldberg) Pg. 205 3. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 323-324 * “What was most disappointing to the Rabbi was not the ban (he was proud that he stuck to the truth without compromising his ideals), but the abandonment of his movement by so many. Donators suddenly viewed him as a 'loser'. From their perspective, without the Knesset, there was no “agenda,” and funds dried up quickly. In a touching article called “On Victory and Defeat,” the Rabbi described his feelings through a parable. Here are some excerpts: “A tale is told about a Hassidic tzadik, righteous man. As was the custom in the early days of Hassidim, this man chose a life of wandering and poverty so as to experience a life of want and need and thus, understand the suffering of the unfortunate. One Friday the anonymous tzadik happened to be in a small town, and as the Sabbath approached, he came to the home of the towns wealthy Jew,. When the rich man came to the door, the tzadik – who appeared as a typical pauper – asked if he could be granted lodging for the Sabbath. The wealthy Jew 366

scornfully said there was no room and turned the tzadik away.”. “Years passed and the tzadik was now a famous rabbi and teacher, beloved by thousands and famed throughout the land. And once again on a Friday, the eve of the Sabbath he arrived in the same town. This time, however, his presence was heralded with much fanfare, as he arrived in a magnificent coach pulled by six white horses. The wealthy Jew – the same one who had driven away the “pauper” years ago – hurried to the hotel where the tzadik was staying and begged to honor him by offering the hospitality of his home for the Sabbath. The tzadik replied that he would give his answer within the hour and after the rich man left, the tzadik turned to his aide and said: “take the carriage and horses and bring it to the home of the wealthy man.” The rich man, looking through his window, saw the carriage and horses coming and was overjoyed. The tzadik was honoring him by staying at his home! But when he rushed out to greet the tzadik, to his chagrin, he found the carriage empty. Rushing back to the hotel he asked the tzadik in dismay: “Rebbe, why did you send me an empty carriage and horses? I asked you to come for t he Sabbath.” And the tzxadik replied: “I sent what you really wanted. Some years ago I came to your house to stay for the Sabbath and you turned me away. Now, you say you wish to have me. I asked myself: Am I not the same man I was then? What has changed today, what do I have now that I didn't have then? A Carriage and horses. Apparently, that is what you really wanted..” “I must confess to being surprised. And a bit disturbed. Surprised to see so many good Jews depressed and despairing, asking: 'What now? Kach as been banned from the Knesset; what is going to be?' Upset to see that so many have turned the means into the end, they have made the Knesset – which was always only a tool – into the goal. Is the banning of Kach from the Knesset the end of the world? More, has it made Kahane a different person and my teachings any less true? Was the support of Kahane meant for me, or for my carriage and horses – the Knesset...” The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane – by Lenny Goldberg (p.250) More Info: [email protected] kahanecodes.com 367

The Banned Torah of Binyamin Kahane (H'YD) 368

369

Bereshit 370

The \"Idea\" Preceded the Creation of the World (1992) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg Chazal say that \"Torah\" preceded the creation of the world, as Rav Yehoshua Ben Levy says: Torah preceded the creation of the world by 2,000 years.\" The same Midrash then compares the creation of the world to the building of a palace, and says: Just as a king of flesh and blood consults with an architect when constructing a palace, Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu, too, looked at the Torah and created the world. What is the idea behind these Midrashim? Being immersed in the mundane matters of our physical and materialistic world, it is easy to forget one of the fundamental principles of Judaism: The entire array of rituals were given to us by G-d as external expressions which symbolize very special inner concepts. If this internal idea is distorted by the Jew, then his act, the \"mitzvah\", loses its significance, for it no longer manifests its true meaning. This is precisely the Jewish problem of today. Our two thousand years of exile amongst the gentiles has turned us from a nation to a \"religion\". We have become practitioners of Jewish ritual without grasping the inner concept,and worst of all: Our Judaism has become rote and nothing but lip service. We have become the type of people who declare in synagogue how G-d is omnipotent, and immediately afterwards ask how can we survive if America won't give us money. This is the tragedy - that the religious world believes in \"mitzvot\" instead of G-d. For this reason the Sages point out to us that the \"idea\" - that is, the Torah, actually preceeded the act of creation. For the \"mitzvot\" are the external, material deeds, and without an understanding of their inner significance, the mitzvot are left sterile, like a body without a soul. As a result, the Jew fulfilling the mitzvot becomes a mere robot and practitioner of ritual. We see this idea again in the building of the Tabernacle, which is also compared to a small \"world\". G-d first commands Bezalel to build the ark, for it is the symbol of the Torah, and only afterwards does G-d command him to build the altar, the symbol of the act or \"mitzvah\", once again proving that if one does not start from the basics, from the Torah, his sacrifices have no significance. For this reason Rabbi Kahane, ZT\"L, HY\"D, chose the name \"The Jewish Idea\" for the special yeshiva he began. He wanted a Yeshiva which did not only learn \"religion\", so to speak, like \"gemara\" and \"halacha\", but one that connected the ritual to the deeper concepts which stand behind the dry halacha. Thus, in addition to the \"regular\" subjects, the Yeshiva also stresses learning Tanach and Midrash, the sources from which the Jew draws authentic Jewish ideas and concepts. Not for nothing did the sages set down for us the following rule: \"Five years old, learn Tanach\". Before a Jew learns the ritual, he must first learn how to think like a Jew. Only then does the Torah he observes become an authentic one. 371

\"Bereshit - Creation or Annihilation\" (1999) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg IN A GIVEN GENERATION, THE ENTIRE CREATION AND EXISTENCE OF THE WORLD MAY BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS ONLY. WHILE MILLIONS OF OTHERS MAKE ALL THE NOISE AND GRAB ALL THE ATTENTION, THEY ARE IN REALITY INSIGNIFICANT RUBBLE. We begin the book of Bereishit, and we could hope that, at least in the beginning, things would run smoothly. But no: In Parashat Bereishit, we meet one disaster after another - the snake, the murder of Abel, the complaint of Lemech; from the very first day of the world's existence, God's plan of a perfect creation goes awry. Then, to top things off, we conclude the parasha with G-d's decision to destroy the entire world. Evil dominates to such an extent that the Almighty regrets that He created man, and decrees upon the world total wipeout. One must wonder: We had just read about the creation of the world and of man, evoking within us feelings of optimism and great promise. And then, behold, before even finishing the very first parasha of the Torah, everything is doomed! There is a Goal When God created the world, He created it for a purpose, a specific destiny. Man has free choice to fulfill this destiny or not to, and in any particular generation, there may be many who cling to its destiny, or there may be few. Therefore, the moment God reached the conclusion that this evil generation has no chance of fulfilling its purpose in the world, He has no other choice, so to speak, than to destroy it (after giving several grace periods to do \"t'shuva\"). We see a similar idea in our answer to the following question: Why did G-d wipe out all of the beasts, birds, and crawling things? If man sinned, why should the animals suffer? Rashi explains: \"The entire creation is for man, and when man is wiped out, who needs all these?\" That is, the purpose of the creation is not simply to exist, but rather to actualize the destiny of the Creation. The moment there is no purpose (which is the case after G-d wiped out man, for whom the world was created), then the animals must perish since there is no longer a reason for their existence. Here, too, the moment the deeds of man prove that there is no longer a possibility for him to fulfill his destiny, his existence is no necessary, and he perishes. Noach: The Reason for the World But we are still left wondering: All that creation, just for annihilation? All those generations before the flood (a span of 1,654 years) were for nothing? Do the verses at the end of Parshat Bereishit not convey to us a bleak message of destruction and high hopes that have gone up in smoke? The answer is no. Harsh though these verses may be, a verse appears at the very end which turns everything around: \"But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord\". In contrast to all the previous verses which give the impression that the creation had been in vain, this verse proves otherwise. And while this lonely verse may appear to be only a small comfort to a world gone astray, the truth is that this one verse is everything. Even if we are speaking about one individual - he is the one who counts. Noach is the justification for the world's continued existence. To understand this deeper, we will bring down what the \"Meshech Chochma\" (Rabbi Meir Simcha from Dvinsk) says regarding another matter entirely. It is written in Tractate Sanhedrin (111 a): \"Rabbi Sima'i says: The exodus from Egypt is comparable to the entry into Israel - just as two out of six hundred thousand entered the land [since out of all the 600,000 who left Egypt, only Yehoshua and 372

Kalev entered the Land of Israel] so, too, did two out of six hundred thousand leave Egypt\". All That Just For Two People?! And the question that begs to be asked is: What does the gemara mean when it says that only two out of six hundred thousand left Egypt. Did not all 600,000 leave?! The Meshech Chochma answers as follows: \"This means that all the signs and miracles wrought against Egypt, the ten plagues, the splitting of the sea - all was worthwhile so that two out of six hundred thousand would be able to fulfill the Divine purpose. And just as everything which was done in the desert was done for the benefit of two people (out of six hundred thousand), similarly, G-d has no qualms about changing nature and exercising His Power and Providence for His children and the world at large - even if they are not worthy of Divine Providence - for the benefit of a few. And hundreds of thousands of evil people will perish for the benefit of a few righteous individuals who believe in the Blessed One's Providence.\" In other words, since the goal of the exodus from Egypt was entry into the land of Israel, and only two people actually entered, it is as if only two people really left Egypt. All the miracles were for them only! This is what we stated earlier. G-d created the world for the sake of those who will eventually fulfill the world's destiny, and He is not deterred by the possibility that there may be just a very few out there who are willing. All the rest are considered a \"klipa\" (extraneous residue), and sad as it may sound (and we see from the verses that God is, indeed, sorry about it), they can, and will, perish. Ray of Light And so we see that though it may appear that the significant people in our world are those who make all the noise and attract all the attention, it is not they who are the focus of the creation and our reality. What really counts is that small ray of light that sometimes is not paid much attention to, but illuminates the world with the light of the world's true destiny. That same \"But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord\" is the ray of light which repels the darkness of his generation. He proves that despite the destruction, the Creation was not labor in vain. 373

Noach 374

PARSHAT NOACH SLOW TO ANGER OR ZEALOUS? Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg At such an early stage in the Torah and the history of mankind, the flood pours down and destroys the entire world. One must ask: How does such devastating global annihilation jibe with Hashem's attributes of mercy, slow to anger, and His desire to bestow good upon His creation? Is there not a contradiction here? It is interesting that while many people have \"problems\" with the commandments of wiping out Amalek and cities of idol worship, war and vengeance, no one gets upset when G-d Himself personally obliterates the entire world. Is this not food for thought? THE FATE OF THE WORLD WHICH LOSES ITS WAY There is no doubt that the terrible flood which wiped out the world so early in the history of mankind should send a message home to all those who believe in G-d and His Supervision over the world. And the message is the following: There is a purpose to the world, and without this purpose, there is no reason for man's existence. The world was created for a reason - the crowning of G-d as King by all mankind and observance of His commandments. When mankind strays from this intended path, they in effect forfeit very existence. At such a point, physical annihilation is not very far off. For after the people stray from their intended path, what possible reason is there for the continuation of their physical existence? It is true that after the flood, G-d swore He would not bring complete destruction to the world ever again. Nevertheless, the lesson of the flood remains with us for future generations: An entire world, bursting with vitality and vigor, was completely destroyed because it failed to serve it's purpose in service to it's Creator. It is a lesson taught to us from virtually the very outset of the Torah, for it is so basic. WHAT PATIENCE! Should one who studies the incident of the flood come away with the impression that Hashem is an angry and zealous G-d? Is this the message of the flood? In order to answer these questions, further investigation is necessary. Our sages teach us that G-d blessed the generation of the flood with awesome physical abundance, the likes we have never seen since. G-d wished to provide His new creations with a bounty of sustenance, and bestowed good upon them for 1,500 years. (Let us remember that the flood occurred 1,500 years after the creation of the world.) However, the sad rule, \"And he became fat and rebelled\" became a reality in a most extreme fashion. Precisely because of their great strength, wealth and feeling of indestructibility, the generation of the flood grew arrogant, committing every sin imaginable. In spite of all this, G-d waited and waited, hoping all the while that His children would do \"tsheuva\". But the situation only got worse. 375

So G-d turned to Noach, the only righteous person at the time and informed him that He is bringing an end to it all. Well, not exactly yet. What He did was tell Noach to warn mankind that if they don't do \"tsheuva\", He will bring down a flood to destroy the world in...120 years! That's a long time! What patience! Only when this, too, didn't help did it \"grieve Him in His heart\", and He destroyed the world. And so, what do we have here? \"A G-d of vengeance\", or \"abundant mercy\"? The answer is clear: At the beginning, G-d reveals Himself as a G-d of compassion and slow to anger. Only after all lines have been crossed, does He reveal Himself as an \"angry and jealous G-d\". Is there a contradiction here? Not at all! G-d is merciful, and there is nothing that remotely compares to His level of mercy. But he isn't a \"friar\" (sucker)! That is what our sages in Trachtate Baba Batra (50) tell us: \"He who says that G-d forgoes, shall forego his life\". There is a limit to how much G-d is willing to take, so to speak. G-d bestows upon us an abundance of good, shows us the right way, and is slow to anger. And then His creations rebel against Him? At that point, G-d says: Sorry, (and it grieved Him in his heart - Breishit 6:6), but there is a limit. Flood! While G-d may have \"unending patience\", we must realize that even \"unending patience\" ends. If we insist on rebelling against Him, He will exact punishment. And his \"chesbon\" is precise to the letter - he forgoes nothing, provided we do not do \"tsheuva\". TWO LESSONS FROM THE FLOOD 1. G-d desires only to bestow good for his creations, and even turns a blind eye to sinners for long periods of time, pushing aside His attribute of Judgment which would call for the immediate destruction of the sinner. Indeed, as the verse goes, \"slow to anger and abundant in mercy\"! 2. There is a purpose for man in this world, and without this purpose, there is no reason for man's existence. When man strays from the intended path beyond the point of no return, the mercy runs out. A \"G-d of Zealousness\"! This is what the prophet Nachum spoke of (1:2): \"The Lord is a jealous and avenging G-d; The Lord revenges, and is full of wrath; the Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He keeps wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means acquit the wicked\". The Nations United - A Danger to Humanity (1991) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg And the Lord said: Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language and this is what they begin to do, and now there will not bewithholden from them anything which they they purpose to do.\" (Bereshit 11- 6) What is G-d \"worried about\" here? Is not the unity of mankind a good thing? Today there is no shortage of people who spend their entire lives attempting to bring international peace and unity to the world. And here in our parsha we are witness to the achievement of this lofty goal - and behold, G-d does not see the situation in a positive light to say the least. The answer to this question is expressed in the words of our sages in the following Mishnah (Sanhedrin, Ch. 8): \"The coming together of the wicked is bad for them and bad for the world\". When 376

the goyim get together with peace, harmony and understanding prevailing amongst them; when they share common goals and aspirations - precisely at such a moment it is bad for them and for the world. For the wicked only gather together for the sake of carrying out evil goals, and unity amongst them can only help their diabolical schemes to succeed. Naturally, the maliciousness of their intentions is not always obvious for all to see. After all, what did the generation of the Tower of Bavel in all their unity want, other than to settle the world (\"and they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there\"), bring progress and advanced technology (\"Come let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly, and they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar\"), and provide urban planning and development (\"Come let us build a city and a tower...\")? What is so bad about these things? Only in the continuation of the verse do we get our answer: \"... and let us make us a name\" (Chapter 11, verses 3 and 4). Behind all their deeds and their unity was the brazen arrogance in their thinking that mankind is omnipotent, as well as a narcissistic aspiration to leave their mark in the annals of history. Such egoism represents a rebellion against The Master of the Universe, and thus He annulled their evil council. This idea was what Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was expressing when he heard Rabbi Yehuda praising the evil Roman Empire for their construction of the marketplaces, bridges and public bathhouses: \"Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai answered him: 'Everything that they rebuilt, they rebuilt for their own needs'\". (Trachtate Shabbat 33) The very essence of the Jewish People is the antithesis to that of the goyim. While the goyim aspire to make a name for themselves in the world, the Nation of Israel aspires to make a name for G-d in the world. Therefore, what the gentile considers to be evil and destructive, the Jew sees as positive and progressive, and vice versa. \"The scattering of the wicked is good for them and good for the world, (the scattering) of the righteous is bad for them and bad for the world\". (Mishnah Sanhedrin, Ch. 8) The scattering of the gentiles is considered a \"tikun\" for the entire world, and thus the generation of the Tower of Bavel was punished. In contrast, the scattering or exile of the People of Israel causes damage to the world, and only their reunification and establishment of sovereignty on their soil can rectify this flawed situation. And so, while unity of the gentiles brings about destruction to the world, the unification of the Jews brings about salvation to the world, for the salvation of the world can only be attained through the Jewish People, because only through us can G-d's Name be sanctified. Therefore, if we want to know when the unification of the gentile will be a positive thing, let us understand that this is only when their unity is derived from their subservience and connection to the People of Israel, and their recognition that \"The G-d of Israel is King and His Kingdom Rules All\". In recent years we have been witness to the breaking down of barriers between nations. The east and west have united, Germany has united, and a united world front stands mobilized at the fingertips of the U.N. Former foes America and Russia have ceased hostilities, and the entire world is uniting under the umbrella of democracy. Let us never live in the sweet illusion that this unity is something that works to our advantage. In an instant this combined front can come and demand from us impossible concessions. This is not some far out vision of doom, for our prophets already spoke about Gog coming upon us - and how can one ignore it! But the fact is that inherent in the unity of the goyim is also the awesome potential for us to bring redemption gloriously and swiftly - if only we have no fear, trust in G-d, and willingly become a \"nation that dwells alone\". By doing so we will merit to see the bursting of the bubble of Gog in our gates, and a redemption without needless suffering. 377

\"They Shall Know That There Has Been a Prophet Amongst Them\" (1997) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg For 120 years, Noach fulfilled G-d's commandment and built the ark, all the while warning the people in his generation about the impending flood. When people would pass by his house and ask what he was doing, he would reply, \"The Almighty said that He is bringing a flood upon the world\". The people reacted with vicious mockery.(see Breishit Raba, 30:7) The question that can be asked is the following: For 120 years, Noach warned of the flood. And what came out of it? At first glance, absolutely nothing! In the end, the flood wiped out the entire world, except for whom? Except for Noach and his family. Not even one person was convinced to do \"tsheuva\". Not even one! Noach's \"life endeavor\" of 120 years was a waste of time. Or was it? The story of Noach provides us with a concrete illustration as to what the true role of the chastising prophet is. Certainly, the major goal of the warnings and admonishment are to direct the people onto the proper path, in the hope that they will do \"tsheuva\" immediately . But in contrast as to what one might think, if the prophet does not succeed in bringing the people to \"tsheuva\", this does not necessarily mean that he failed! A deeper look will reveal that the rebuke in itself has value. If we look at the prophets of Israel, we will notice an amazing fact: Generally speaking, they were a dismal failure. It seemed as if they influenced no one. The people were not interested in hearing them, and did not change their evil ways. Does this mean that there was no value in the warnings of the prophets? Of course not. After all, the words of the prophets are inscribed forever in our Holy Bible. The answer to this question can be found in G-d's words to Ezekhiel when He appoints him as prophet (chapter 2): And He said to me, Son of man, I sent thee to the children of Israel ... that have rebelled against me... and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord G-d. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to hear, (for they are a rebellious house,) so they shall know that there has been a prophet amongst them\". And afterwards (3:7): \"But the house of Israel will not hearken to you...\" Can this be? If G-d knows that they won't listen, why send Ezekhiel out and put him through such humiliation and abuse? And so a new concept is learned here. The saying of truth has value, even if it has no apparent influence at that particular moment. What is the value? \"So that they will know that a prophet was amongst them.\" Even if immediate results are not seen, the value of the warnings are that they manifest the bringing in of G-d's word into the world. The prophet who expresses G-d's truth is giving expression to G-d's actual presence in this world. It is showing us that the world is not \"hefker\" (chaos). There is justice in the world. By so doing, the prophet, in essence, sanctifies G-d's Name. We must realize: Even when it seems that the people are not listening, it is still an obligation to say the truth. Firstly, for the reason given in the Gemorah: \"If before You (before G-d) it is known (that they won't listen) - for them (the righteous who are supposed to rebuke), who says it is known?! (Shabbat, 58 - see in greater detail). In other words, we can never be sure whether or not our words will have an influence, and therefore, we must say them. But even more than this, we must realize that the words may have an impact tens or even hundreds of years down the road, as is written about the prophets whose influence upon the people they spoke to was not apparent, yet: \"Prophecy which is needed for future generations is written down\". Our teacher Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY\"D, saw his major role as one of a\"prophet\" who must warn and rebuke the people. That is, to say the truth of G-d; the same truth which no one else dares to express, 378

thanks to 101different excuses (\"it's not practical\", \"it's not realistic\"). And while at a specific point in time it may appear that all efforts are in vain, such is not the case in the long run. For in the long run, it is going with the truth all the way which makes the real impact on the nation and on the course of history. 379

Lech Lecha 380

PARSHAT LECH-LECHA A Fearless Leader - Six Years Since the Murder Rabbi Kahane, HY\"D (1996) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg The following article was written for the 6th year's Yohrzeit for Rabbi Kahane. When people think of Rabbi Kahane, ZT\"L, HY\"D, they remember a daring and courageous leader who did not know the meaning of fear. His many years of standing in the front lines for Jewish causes in Israel and abroad, confronting empires and well-oiled establishment bodies and enduring along the way constant hatred and antagonism which endangered his very life, inspired admiration in the eyes of most Jews (even if more often than not their admiration was kept in the closet!) For good reason the Rabbi was perceived in such a way. More than anything else, the Rabbi warned us about the illness of our generation - FEAR OF THE GENTILE. It wasn't so difficult for the Rabbi to come up with such a diagnosis. After all, whenever he spoke to Jews (\"religious\" ones as well), he was always confronted with the same line: \"You're right, but what will America say?...\" And thus, there was the need to stress in a big way the subject of trust (\"Bitachon\") in G-d and the prohibition of fearing mortal man. It is fear that has caused us to constantly give in and surrender, to the point where fear of going to war has become a legitimate component in our political thinking. But one who studies the Torah outlook on war (parshat Shoftim) will reveal that the central theme concerning war is the prohibition of being afraid! The midrash (Tanchuma, Shoftim) even says: \"Your forefathers did not fear them - and they were victorious!\" In other words, the key to victory is lack of fear, and faith that \"Your G-d is with you!\" As an example, the midrash brings down the war in our parsha between Avraham against the four kings: \"Do not fear Avraham, I will protect you\" (and this is the source for the blessing in the silent prayer, \"The shield of Avraham\"). And so, when Avraham went out to war to sanctify the Name of G-d and save Lot who represented at the time the side of Avraham and G-d, he fearlessly went out with only 318 men against four powerful kings, and was ready to die in the process - \"I will go out and fall on Kiddush Hashem\". (Midrash Raba, Lech Lecha) This concept is also the \"halacha\", as the Rambam brings down in Hilchot Milachim (7:15) \"And when entering into war, one must lean on the Saver of Israel in time of stress... and one must not fear or be intimidated, nor should one think of his wife and children...and he who starts to ponder these things at war time and frightens himself - has transgressed a negative commandment!..\" The Rambam continues: \"And if he did not win and did not perform in the war with all his heart and soul, than he is like one who spills everyone's blood!\" These shocking words apply to the collective no less than they apply to the individual Jew. If an individual who cannot overcome his natural fears is considered a sinner who has spilled the blood of all Jews, what can one say about leaders whose very mindset and national policy is based on fear of war, fear of the gentile, and tie the hands of the soldiers while they are being shot at!? And so, before Succot last year we saw our soldiers lay bleeding to death before the very eyes of their comrades in battle who sat helplessly by screaming for help, and the help never arrived, because it would have meant having to kill mobs of Arab rioters and murderers - this is all because of the fear of the gentile reaction! If an individual is considered a spiller of blood, what can one say about LEADERS, other than they are 381

downright murderers!! On the other hand: \"And he who fights with all his heart and all his soul without being afraid, and all his intention is to sanctify G-d's Name, it is guaranteed that he will not suffer damage nor will bad come unto him...\" Thus is the case for the collective as well. If we fight under the headline of \"Kiddush Hashem\", \"Emunah\", and a willingness to wipe out the enemy who is desecrating the Jewish G-d and nation, we are guaranteed to win, and the gentile won't dare open his mouth! Rabbi Kahane, HY\"D, predicted all the events that are happening now. One who reads the things he wrote 15-20 years ago could think he was reading words of prophecy. But no. Rabbi Kahane simply dared to open his eyes and see, refusing to be blind like so many others who were afraid to open their eyes, lest they come to conclusions which would make life uncomfortable for them. While others were afraid, Rabbi Kahane was not. He fought - and in the end fell upon the altar of the Jewish Nation, with the confidence that his words were not wasted, and in the end the truth will win out. And if the majority of Jews still don't dare to open their eyes and understand, we the few, the students of Rabbi Kahane will continue to cling to his way, and to carry the torch of truth until we bring the revolution and the Messiah. 382

383

Vayera 384

PARSHAT VAYERA A Forbidden Pact: The Precedent (1997) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg The following is a \"drasha\" by Rabbi Kahane on Parshat 'Vayera' - \"the words (of the righteous) ARE their memory\" - for the 7th Yohrzeit. There is a particular Rashbam in \"Parshat Vayira\" which Rabbi Kahane brought down constantly. The Rashbam asks: Why is the story of the pact between Avraham and Avimelech adjacent to the story of \"Akeidat Yitzchak\" which follows immediately thereafter, and opens with the words, \"And it came to pass after these things...\" - words that the sages tell us come to express a real connection between these two events? The Rashbam gives the following answer: \"After the pact that Avraham made with Avimelech, (a pact) with Avraham's grandchildren and great grandchildren, he gave him seven lambs. And the Almighty became enraged by this, for behold, the land of the Philistines had been given to Avraham ... and the Almighty commanded them, 'thou shalt not allow a soul to live'. Therefore, 'Hashem tested Avraham' - to teach him a lesson... That is, you were proud of the son I gave you, and made a pact between your sons and their sons (of the Philistines)? - go now and offer him as a sacrifice, and find out how useful your pacts are!\" In other words, the Rashbam explains that this pact, including the very impressive ceremony of the seven lambs, was a sin. And why? Because the content of the pact was, \"now therefore swear to me here by G-d that youwill not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son\". In other words, this was a \"not to attack\" pact between the offspring of Avraham and the offspring of Avimelech. And what does an agreement \"not to attack\" mean here? It means that the offspring of Avraham will not be able to attack and conquer the land of the Philistines, which is a part of the land of Israel. By making such a commitment, Avraham is relinquishing a part of Eretz Yisrael! (according to Trachtate Sota, (9-10), only after the Philistines broke the original treaty, Israel was able to fight them and take their land from them.) Let us understand what the Rashbam is saying here. After all, the Jewish People had not yet even come into the world, and so obviously, the Land of Israel was not in their hands. And what did Avraham do? In order to avoid conflict with the notoriously unpredictable Avimelech, Avraham made an agreement with him. What is the big deal! Yet, Avraham is chastised nonetheless: You should have taken into account that such an agreement would tie the hands of your children, preventing them from conquering the land the G-d promised to your seed in the future! If so, what can one say when the issue under discussion is not an agreement which forbids us to conquer the land of some goy which is presently under his control, (like the agreement with 'Jordan'), but rather what is under discussion is an agreement to turn over parts of the land of Israel which G-d gave us and is already under our control?! Can there be a Hillul Hashem greater than this? Let us go another step further. After all, the principle we have discussed here is, thank G-d, close to the hearts of many Jews who understand the absurdity and the sin in the giving up of parts of Israel to our enemy. But what other sorts of pacts or agreements with a gentile, that does not include concessions? 385

We have become used to thinking that this is a wonderful thing! What huge efforts our foreign ministry makes in order to establish ties with the most obscure of countries. What great pleasure is derived when another \"Zimbabwe\" or \"Honolulu\" is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Israel... Is it so simple that such a thing is permitted? Here is what the sages think about it in \"Eliyahu Raba\", chapter seven: \"Man must remember in his heart that he must not make partnerships with a goy, and not to make a pact with him, as we found with Avraham Avenu, who made a partnership (with Avimelech) ... and from here they said: there is not a nation in the world which does not enslave and torture Israel more than a few hundred years, and it is all because Avraham made a pact with a goy. From here it was said: whoever makes a partnership with a goy...\" See in it's entirety. The above Rashbam also brings down Midrash Tehilim, which mentions several tragedies which struck us, because of the seven lambs that Avraham gave to Avimelech: Israel lost seven wars, seven righteous Jews were killed, seven tabernacles were destroyed, and other tragic events. Let us accept upon ourselves this national isolation, not as some evil decree, but rather as Rabbi Kahane put it at the end of his book, \"On the Emunah, and on the Giula\": \"A nation that shall dwell alone - is it a curse? On the contrary! Inherent in our isolation is the salvation of the Jew and the sanctification of his G-d.\" Who Sees and Who is A Donkey? (1999) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg (the following was broadcasted on Artuz 7 for the ninth Yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir Kahane) The midrash \"Pirke Divre Eliezar\" deals in length with the \"Akeidat Yitzchak\", and relates the following: \"On the third day they arrived at Zofim (Avraham, Yitzhak, and the two boys) When they arrived at Zofim, (Avraham) saw the \"Schina\" (Divine Presence) on the top of the mountain, as it is written, 'on the third day Avraham raised his eyes and saw the place from afar'. What did he see? He saw a pillar of fire leading up from the ground to the heavens. He said to Yitzchak his son: My son, do you see anything on those hills? He said, yes. He said to him: what do you see. He said: I see a pillar of fire leading up from the ground to the heavens.And Avraham understood that the boy was desired by Hashem to be an offering. He said to Yishamel and Eliezar: Do you see anything up in those mountains? They said: no. He considered them donkeys and said to them, 'sit here with the donkey'. He said to them: Just like a donkey doesn't see anything, you don't see anything either.\" A tremendous lesson is learned here. After all, why is Yitzchak so special for seeing the pillar of fire? Why is this in itself enough to make him worthy of being a pure offering to God? By the same token, why are Eliezar and Yishamel at fault for not seeing the pillar of fire? Perhaps they have poor eyesight? Is it not a bit harsh to call them donkeys for this? Obviously, we are not talking about ordinary seeing.Avraham is determining who has the power of sight, who has the eternal spark - and who is the donkey, static and transient, here today and gone tomorrow. And Avraham discovers that indeed, Yitzhak is the one who sees, the man of vision. He sees things which the pragmatic, myopic, \"now\" people do not. Yitzhak is not frightened by the pillar of fire which 386

seems so distant, apparently unattached to the realities of the day. This is why Avraham tells Eliezar and Yishamel to sit in their places. He considers them donkeys, the sages tell us. The donkey sees the food two feet in front of his face, and no further. Anything beyond that does not exist for him. It is only he who has elevated himself above donkey status who sees the TRUE reality. My father and teacher, Rabbi Meir Kahane, z\"tl, H\"yd, -- saw. He did not see things which others could not see, but rather what they did not WANT to see, because it simply scared them. For it is always more pleasant to look at the here and now, the practical, the immediate benefits. The tragedy is that there was no Avraham who was able to appreciate and recognize the fact that, yes, here is a man who sees. And so, all those immersed in their donkeyism shouted at the extremist who saw so many strange things. They so opposed him that they simply decided to take the pillar of fire which he saw, and make it illegal. Today we live in a time when pragmatism dominates our thinking. He who is not practical, who doesn't face \"realities\", who isn't willing to compromise on his ideals and forego Kiddush Hashem here and there - HE is told to sit on the side, because he doesn't understand \"politics\". A severe sin indeed. If you don't understand \"politics\", you are guilty of the crime of seeing the pillar of fire. You are guilty of not allowing people to live in their illusions and with their compromises. The \"seers\" are supposed to put their pillars of fire and their visions on the side. Let us learn this lesson today, on the Yahrzeit of my father, H\"yd, the man who was ready to pay the price for seeing the pillar of fire - the price of the walk to the Akeida. Let us finally see the pillar of fire, and not succumb to the plague of pragmatism which threatens to turn us all into donkeys who only see the straw in front of their noses. Let us remember that we are not the descendants of the donkey Yishmael and Eliezar, but rather the descendants of the seers - Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. 387

Chaye Sarah 388

PARSHAT CHAYE SARA There is no Placing Trust the Gentile (1992) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg The negotiations between Avraham Avenu and Efron the Hitite in this week's parsha provide great insight regarding how a Jew must approach any negotiation or bargaining situation with the Arabs. There is an old saying: \"You cannot trust the gentile even forty years in the grave.\" Though such a saying might sound somewhat crude, it expresses a healthy and natural understanding that has been acquired through several thousand years of experience. Through the parsha concerning Efron, the sages teach us about the hypocrisy of the gentile and convey to us the vital lesson that \"the wicked they promise a lot and even a little do not do.\" For here is Efron promising the world: \"Listen to me. I have already given you the field. I have also given you the cave that is there. Here, in the presence of my countrymen, I have given it to you. Bury your dead.\" (Breishit, 23:11) But in the very next verse, Efron takes 400 shekels, a hefty sum, without blinking an eyelash. So much for his generosity. Big Talk, No Action As the parsha illustrates, Efron starts out incredibly big-hearted, expressing an unlimited willingness to give. He behaves in such a manner that no one could possibly doubt his sincerity. Or so it appears. But Avraham is not naive, and he well understands the true nature of Efron and others of his ilk. He knows that the greedy Efron has no intention of giving up something without making a profit, and all his smooth talk and flattery is void of content. Thus, Avraham makes it immediately clear (in the very next verse) that he is not looking for handouts, and wants to pay full price. The ball is now in Efron's court, and he certainly does not react as one would expect after such initial \"righteousness\" and generosity. He takes the money. Indeed, much, much more than the actual value of the cave, and all this without even the slightest guilt or effort to justify his original piousness. Efron's own words at the conclusion of the bargaining process best express his very special brand of hypocrisy and decadence: \"My lord, listen to me. What's 400 silver shekels worth of land between you and me? Bury your dead.\" On the verse, Rashi comments: \"Between lovers like you and me, what is it important...\" Avraham accepts the verdict without a flinch. He never expected any favors or any \"chesed\" from the gentile in the first place. His sole intention was to acquire the cave, without developing any \"special relationship\" with his neighbor. With this singluar goal in mind, he gets what he wants, and ignores all the rhetoric and hollow words of Efron the Hittite. The Moral of the Story What is the lesson for us? The Jew cannot trust and must never expect to build any relationship between himself and the Gentile. Between Jews and Gentiles there is an unbridgeable gap. No agreements, no \"faith-building\", and no \"normalization\". All the more so when dealing with the Arabs, who are especially endowed with the characteristics exemplified in Efron. Any attempt to be \"nice\" and to make \"peace\" with him will just create illusions that will eventually explode in the Jew's face. The only healthy approach is to distance ourselves as much as possible from dialogue and deals. Only thus will we prosper. Only thus will we avoid dangerous and unnecessary illusions. 389

The Temple Mount, The Cave of the Patriarchs, Joseph's Tomb (1995) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg \"Rabbi Yehuda Bar Simon said: It is one of the three places where the nations of the world would not be able to deceive Israel by claiming: You are thieves (since it was acquired with money). And they are: The Cave of the Patriarchs, the Temple Mount, and Joseph's Tomb. The Cave of the Patriarchs, as it is written: 'And Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver...'; The Temple Mount, as it is written, 'So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold coins by weight'; Joseph's Tomb, as it is written, 'and he (Yaakov) bought the parcel of ground....at the hand of the children of Hamor, the father of Shchem' \". (Breishit Raba, 89) \"Would Not be Able\"? Three questions arise from the above midrash: And on the rest of the Land of Israel the gentiles CAN say that we are robbers? What does it mean, \"they will not be able\"? We see that they are quite able in undermining our claim to those three places. Indeed, precisely those three places are where they concentrate their struggle! On the verse in Psalms (111), \"The power of His works He has declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nation\", Rashi writes: \"so that the nations will not be able to say you are robbers when you conquer the seven nations\". And so, we see that Rashi says that on ALL OF ISRAEL \"they cannot say\" that we are thieves! The key to the answer of all the above questions is the following: The truth is that it is not really important what the gentiles say - the problem is what the Jews will say! We will now see how this is the exact message that the Torah and our sages gleaned to us through their words. The Message is Meant for the Jews The Torah knew that when the gentile would rise up against the Jewish\"thieves\" and \"occupiers\" and \"conquerors\", there was liable to be some guilt feelings that the Jew might have about the justice of his cause. Perhaps the gentile is right that we stole his land? Perhaps he has anethical argument? And so the sages come to tell us: Look, there are three places that even according to simple logic the gentile cannot open his mouth about, for they were purchased with money. And in any case, this justified claim makes no impression on them. On the contrary, it is precisely in these three places where they center their struggle against us! What does this teach us? That it isn't justice or ethics which motivates them, nor is it a dispute over property that can be resolved. Rather it is a national - religious struggle! Now the sages come and explain: Just as you know that in these three places their claims are not justified, by the same token you should not get excited about the rest of their claims on other parts of the land of Israel, since \"the entire world belongs to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, He created it and gave it to whomever it was right in his eyes, Of His own will He gave it to them and of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us!\" (The first Rashi in the Torah) This now explains Rashi in the aforementioned Psalm, that \"the nations of the world WON'T BE ABLE to say you are robbers\". Not that \"they won't be able to say\" it. On the contrary, they'll say it all the time. But the \"won't be able to\" is not directed to the gentile, but rather to the ears of the Jews! That they must know that G-d gave us the Land, with an obligation to conquer and expel. And so it is said: \"The power of His works He has declared to His people in giving them the heritage of the nations\" - the answer is intended for \"His people\". The gentiles are not being addressed here, either because they will not listen anyway, or perhaps it simply is not important what they think. Our Eyes Are Upon Those Three Places 390

Every year, Parshat Chaye Sarah is \"Shabbat Hebron\". But this year, events have caused a situation where we are forced to concentrate on all three places: Hebron, Shchem, and the Temple Mount which have become symbols of the Arab-Israeli struggle in the Land of Israel. And there is a good reason for it. Today, when everything is slipping away, we must hold tight to all the sides, for we have learned that they are all connected to one another. How is that? Behold, the struggle for the Hashmonean tunnel which the Arabs claimed hurt THE TEMPLE MOUNT (\"theirs\"), brought about the battle in Judea and Samaria, concentrating mainly in JOSEPH'S TOMB. All this pressured the government to step up the HEBRON evacuation, and to give in to the Arab construction of another mosque on the TEMPLE MOUNT! Indeed, the battle for the Land of Israel has reached its climax, and those three locations which the \"gentile won't be able\" to contest are, in fact, the most hotly contested! Everything You Wanted to Know About Ishmael… (1997) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Daniel Pinner For some peculiar reason, many regard the Ishmaelites somewhat sympathetically, even fondly. After all, what Jew does not have nostalgic memories of the cafes of Jericho, of the hot coffee of the Arab market, the spices and colors of the “Arab” sections of the Old City (Jerusalem, Jaffa…)? This is not the place to psychoanalyze precisely why now, in the midst of a war against the Ishmaelites for our very survival, Jews still think of the enemy as “our cousins”. Unfortunately, this is not the first example of this in our history. It gets worse when all kinds of self-proclaimed Jewish “religious authorities” paint the pastoral picture that “we are all sons of Abraham”. In the case of the Machpelah Cave, for example, we hear many good-natured people (from our side, of course, for no Arab is willing to compromise) who are quite comfortable with the Machpelah being shared among all of “Abraham’s children”. They are broad- minded enough to recognize that there is sufficient room there for all of us. So let us see what our sources really say, and thus understand how distorted this attitude is. The Ishmaelites: Sons of Abraham? To start at the beginning: the Ishmaelites’ hatred for Israel begins with their progenitor, the Ishmael of Genesis, and his hatred for his half-brother Isaac, and his jealousy of his being chosen to be God’s nation even while Ishmael was disqualified and excluded from “the seed of Abraham”. In Sanhedrin 59b, regarding circumcision, it is written: “It is Abraham whom the Torah originally admonishes: ‘You must keep my covenant -- you and your offspring throughout their generations’ (Gen. 17:9)… What about obligating the Ishmaelites [in circumcision, since they are Abraham’s seed]? It says, ‘It is through Isaac that your seed will be called’ “ (Gen. 21:12). The Torah states explicitly that only Isaac, and not Ishmael, will be called Avraham’s seed. The Midrash Tanchuma (Va-yelech 2) says: “The vineyard” (Isaiah 5:1) is Israel;… “He weeded it” this is Abraham, who threw out the refuse such as Ishmael… And the Mishnah says explicitly: “A Jew who takes on oath… not to enjoy any benefits from anyone who is descended from Abraham -- the prohibition applies to Israel, but not to other nations” (Nedarim 3:11) The Talmud asks: And what about 391

Ishmael? - and the answer: The prohibition does not apply to Ishmael, because “it is through Isaac that your seed will be called” (Genesis 21:12). That is to say, the Ishmaelites are not called the “seed (i.e. descendants) of Abraham”. And when the Ishmaelites stated their claim to the land of Israel, Gevia ben Pesisah gave a similar reply (see Sandhedrin 91). We see from these sources that Ishamel was at best, the rejected son of Abraham. The Cruelest of Them All But more than this: The Ishmaelites’ horrendous treatment of Jews in their lands, throughout the millenia of exile in Arabia, is the diametric opposite of the supposed “tolerance” that so many of us have been brainwashed into believing was the case. In fact, the Ishmaelites were more vicious than almost any other nation. Already a millenium ago, the Rambam in Iggeret Teiman wrote to the Jews of Yemen: You dear brethren, know that God has unfortunately cast us down among this people Ishmael, who plot great evil against us and hate us…; You know that no nation has threatened us, and no nation has done more to subjugate and to humiliate us… Even King David, when he saw through ruach hakodesh all the troubles slated for Israel, began to wail and lament the wicked Ishamaelite nation: “Woe is me, that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell besides the tents of Kedar!” (Ps. 120:5)… The Ohr ha-Chayyim ha-Kadosh (Leviticus 6:2) similarly said: Worse than the Egyptian exile…is the exile among the Ishmaelites; fortunate is he who has not seen it! They enslave the Jews and embitter their lives…The Jew is robbed of what he has and ordered to pay what he does not have, and he must drink this cup until death. And later on (Deuteronomy 13:18) he continues: As we have been told in Ma’amar ha-Melech, the Ishmaelites, this gang of murderers, have tremendous lust for killing people, they have totally lost any semblance of compassion, and they have become cruel. We conclude with two sources that foresaw Ishmael’s evil scheming in the Land of Israel immediately before the Redemption: The time will come when God will heed the scream of the nation, caused by what the sons of Ishmael will do in the Land of Israel in the last days; this is why he is called Ishmael [God will hear]… (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 32). And the Zohar says: In the future, the sons of Ishmael will rule in the Holy Land when it is empty, for a long time… And they will prevent Israel from returning home…and the time will come when the sons of Ishmael will arouse fierce wars throughout the world (Zohar, Genesis 119). But in fact, this entire article has been unnecessary, since you already knew it anyway just from the day-to-day reality of life. Did we really need all these Torah-based sources to prove the hatred and cruelty of the accursed Ishmaelites, and their vicious fight against Israel’s Redemption for more than a hundred years past?! The determination to ignore reality, to “explain” their hatred, is truly incredible. We have offered all the above to counter the years of propaganda, which is more insidious now than ever before. Listen, O you who are deliberately blind: We have not quoted “fanatics” from the “extreme right”; we have not even opened the books of “Kahane” to reach these conclusions. Rather, this is what our sages spoke of, centuries and millenia ago. But tragically, one who refuses to see will not be convinced even by a thousand quotes…or even by a thousand murdered Jews. And this is the reason that the Ismaelites do not have to resort to cunning to camouflage their diabolical plot: what they plan to do, they state openly and we refuse to listen. O deaf ones, listen; O blind ones, look that you may see: who is blind as My servant [Israel], and deaf as My messenger (Isaiah 42:18). 392

393

Toledot 394

PARSHAT TOLEDOT WORLD WAR ONE AND FOREVER (1994) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Yitzhak Newman, ZT\"L The war in Rivka's womb is pretty intense. In one corner is Yaakov, who at this early stage is already waging the battle for Divine truth. And in the other corner is Esau, who is already denying God; who basically sees the purpose of the world as a place to fulfill his needs and passions. Good versus Evil This turbulence in Rivka's stomach is how it all started. It is the beginning of the most essential war, an eternal one that has run the course of history. We are talking about the war of good versus evil. This is the real war which dwarfs all others. Whether one wants to accept it or deny it, this is the perpetual conflict that is taking place behind the scenes of history. In a war so basic, of such substance, there is no lull. These two fetuses, who embody the good and the evil, are not able to stand one another even in their mother's womb. The bitter dispute is already underway, \"and the children clashed inside her\". No Co-Existence This war is the beginning of what later on will be known as the war of Yaakov and Esau. It has already been written: \"The halacha is known: Esau hates Yaakov\". It is an inherent, natural hatred, one that cannot be extinguished. Our sages add something else, to make things even clearer. They tell us that if someone comes to you and says: Jerusalem and Edom (which is the kingdom of Esau) are both thriving - do not believe him; both are destroyed - do not believe him; one is thriving and one is destroyed - believe him. The sages are conveying us an awesome message here -- There is no Peace With Evil There are those who feel the time has arrived for \"world peace\", for co-existence between nations, religions and races of all kinds. The Torah comes and says: No way. No way can there be peace with Esau. These are two opposites. One is good and one is evil. And there is no co-existence between good and evil! A revolutionary idea? Hardly. Certainly not for someone who learns Torah properly. For the Jewish People, there is no aspiration to make peace with Esau. On the contrary. According to Jewish tradition, God is not complete and His throne is not complete until Amalek has been wiped out from the world. And who is Amalek? Amalek (Esau's grandchild) is an extreme manifestation of Esau in this world. Peace at the proper time, and war at the proper time. Yes, we all want peace, but peace only with good, and with good, decent people. With evil, not only aren't we interested in peace, but the Torah even commands us to wage an all out war against it, \"and you shall burn out the evil from thy midst!\" Nothing less than that. For the war against evil is not a personal war, but rather a mission that God gave us the moment we breathed the air of this world, and even beforehand... 395

Living for the Moment Vs. Eternal Values (1993) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Yitzhak Newman, ZT\"L In parshat Toledot we find two opposing world views expressed respectively by Jacob and Esau. One world view sees physical pleasure as the ultimate goal. It stresses the present. It downplays the consequences of one's actions. It's motto: \"Live for Today!\" The other world view stresses spirituality and places the service of G-d at the center of man's existence. Man must take account of his actions, for the future depends on it. Esau's brusque demand (Genesis 25-30): \"Let me swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red (pottage)\", expresses the first world view. Esau uses his intellect to search and figure out ways to satisfy his desires. His intellect is subject to his body. This point is emphasized again (Ibid:35): \"And he ate and drank and rose and went on his way.\" It is precisely this \"Living for Today\" which makes Esau weak and susceptible to Yaakov's offer to buy his birthright. After all, what is a birthright - a vague honor, an ambiguous title which only has real implications for the distant future - compared to a steamy pot of lentils after a hard day of hunting? And so, this bestial quality is exploited by Yaakov - \"And Esau said: Behold, I am going to die; and what profit shall the birthright be to me?\" (25-32) Yaakov is exactly the opposite. He plants seeds today and he will reap the harvest tomorrow. He does not give in to passing desires. He has the ability to see the future and plan for it. His intellect is master over his body, and his G-dly image is plain for all to see. He patiently waits until he receives the blessing fifteen years later. This behavior stands in sharp contrast to Esau, who at this point is finally exposed before his father Yitzchak and hysterically bursts in to tears: \"he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry\" (27-34) and said: \"for he has tricked me these two times: he took away my birthright; and behold, now, he has now taken away my blessing.\" (27-36) Here we see the infantile irrationality the moment his illusions explode. For Esau realizes, albeit, too late, the consequences of \"living for today\". For a fleeting pleasure he sacrificed something truly valuable. The illusion of materialism is shattered. His brother receives eternal blessing and he - a lousy pot of lentils. All this is quite pertinent in helping to understand the present state of Israel and the peace (re: suicide) process. It is the same Esavian plague which causes the \"peacenicks\" to be so eager to throw away it's birthright, and it's homeland for a figurative pot of lentils; empty and vague promises of \"peace\" when all of history and common sense point in the opposite direction. Just as Esau was already fully formed from birth(the Hebrew word for Esau means \"made\" or \"formed\", as Rashi says: for at birth he was formed and completed with his hair as one of many years), so do the peacenicks come with ready-made plans for a peace \"now\". But similar to Esau, this approach is void of any real content, for they forsake the future and eternal aspect of the Jewish Nation. We, the children of Yaakov, approach life according to the covenant that was promised to us. Peace? Only \"if in my statutes you walk\". Any other way will lead to tragedy, and all other answers will blow up in the faces of the \"now\" people, who will burst into an exceeding and bitter cry as did their original predecessor, Esau. 396

THE CLOWNS IN EVERY GENERATION (1997) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg The rabbis tell us that when Yitzchak was born, \"the clowns of the generation\" claimed that Avimelech was Yitzchak's real father. They even had a convincing argument: for so many years, Sarah had not become pregnant from Avraham. And behold, while Avraham is an old man, she suddenly becomes impregnated shortly after being taken by Avimelech. Logical conclusion: there is no miracle here, but rather Sarah has been impregnated by the evil Avimelech. The rabbis tell us that in order to refute this argument, G-d formed Yitzchak's face identical to that of Avraham's, to make it clear that: \"Avraham begot Yitzchak.\" THE QUESTIONS Three questions on this midrash: 1. why do the rabbis refer to these slanderers and scorners as \"clowns of the generation\"? It seems that their claim, as evil as it may be, is not based on frivilousness or buffoonery, but rather on rationality and logic. 2. If they are just \"clowns\", why do we pay so much attention to them; to such an extent that the sages immortalize them, and G-d Himself intervenes to refute them? 3. From the midrash, it appears that their claim was not some joke. On the contrary, it seemed to be a serious matter of concern for them to prove that Avraham was not Yitzchak's father. What do they care? Of what interest is it to them? Our sages speak of \"clowns of the generations\" in several other places. For example, in the midrash Eicha Raba it says: \"The clowns of the generation would utter with their mouths and hint with their eyes saying, 'the prophesy which he (Ezekhiel) prophesizes is only for the distant future'\". The clowns of the generation in this case were the leaders who feared that the prophet's warning of the impending destruction would enter the hearts of the masses. Instead of debating the issue at hand, they latched onto a \"weak spot\" in his prophesy, and used it in order to destroy the credibility of the prophet: Behold, so much time has passed since you've been warning us, and nothing has happened -- there is still more time to party! And so again, if their claim is rational and viable, why are they termed \"clowns\"? CLOWNING AROUND IS SERIOUS BUSINESS To understand this, we must first realize that a clown is not some prankster with a funny hat and floppy shoes. The \"clowns of the generation\" which our sages describe are people who have a purpose. In order to nullify the truth which they cannot accept, they grasp onto certain points and make a joke out of them. But as time passes, all the ideology and seriousness that once cloaked them becomes undone, since their goal all along was to undermine the truth in order to continue in their ways of sin and falsehood. AVRAHAM'S WAR AGAINST THE WORLD Avraham is the symbol of the \"Ivry\" (Hebrew). \"Ivry\" comes from the root \"the other side\", meaning that the entire world stood on one side (miever), and he stood on the other. When the sages tell us that he destroyed the idols, it is not just a story: It means that while spreading the idea on the One and True G-d, Avraham waged war against the false beliefs and leaders that existed in his time, shattering them. Yitzchak's birth expressed the continuation of this legacy, and the miraculous way in which his birth came about was a proof of G-d's strength and the righteousness of Avraham's cause. For many years the people of Avraham's generation would mock him by saying: You have no one to carry on your legacy! 397

Your teachings will be forgotten! You have no future; you are \"washed up and sterile\". Then suddenly, G-d's ancient promise is actualized and Sarah bears him a son to continue. At this point, his enemies are in danger: Avraham is revived, and his teachings will continue as his G-d promised. In order for their ideology to survive, the opponents of Avraham must launch an offensive. They find something; something logical that can be \"clowned\" with. There is no doubt that the clowns of Avraham's generation were men of stature. Their involvement in the \"Who is Yitzchak's real father\" scandal was of a serious nature. However, all this was only a cover for their real motive: the war against Avraham's ideas; the idea of the true G-d. PROFESSIONAL CLOWNS This tactic is alive and well today in Israel. The hellenists most powerful weapon against Judaism and Eretz Yisrael is -- clowning and mockery. In the media sit people who have perfected it to an art. In the guise of \"journalism\", they mock and scorn, cloaking their vicious slander in the garb of \"rationalism\", \"pragmatism\", \"enlightenment\", etc. These are the \"clowns of the generation\", whose goal is to destroy all values by setting down the axiom that there really are no \"values\", other than the one value whose very essence is anti-value. And what is that? Democracy. In essence, democracy says that anything goes, and that there are no absolute values or objective truths. Anything running counter to this \"value\" is made into a laughing stock. Mitzvot? G-d? That's for the primitive (as a first stage), and for the racist (as a second stage). 398

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