Kahane Codes - Part Two Vayikra,Bamidbar,Dvarim

(Bamidbar -23:8) It seems that what the Nations cannot do to Israel we can only do to ourselves. As much as the nations try to destroy Israel they cannot. In the end they only make us greater. This is like a law written into the design of the creation. So how is it that Israel is constantly persecuted and practically annihilated? What Billam could not do by force he succeeded in doing by the power of influence. He suggested a plot to Balak to send harlots to the Israelite camp and drive a wedge between them and God. His plan succeeded and God became angry at Israel because of their indecent behavior and He took away His protective shield. The nations may influence Israel to stray from their God and in this way weaken Israel. Our leaders have the influence to bring us back together and restore our shield. But their influence may also cause further damage that may lead to terrible tragedy. The Billams of the world will try to curse us but end up blessing us. Our leaders, on the other hand, may try to bless us and end up cursing us. Bilaam didn't succeed to curse us, but he did succeed in influencing us to our detriment. Our spiritual leaders that do not succeed in blessing us, and bringing us back to Torah, rather than cursing us and causing more division, have the power to influence that can counteract the Bilaams of the world. The more division and animosity among the children of Israel, the weaker and more defenseless we become. I have said this before but imagine what would have happened at the turn of the century if the spiritual leaders saw water flowing from the ancient rock of Israel and told their followers it is time to come home rather than hit the rock? How many would have been saved? How much more spiritual influence their would have been in the State of Israel? Even today we are hitting the rock and Torah is pouring out. But it is Torah of the exile and bitter, not Torah of Israel and conquest and love of the Land of Israel. I see my view reflected in the words of the Prophet in this weeks Haftorah. ,‫ הי כעץ הב הלק המ הלך מו האב‬-‫ הנא כמה‬-‫ נז הכר‬,‫ ה כע ימי‬5 O My people, remember now what Balak king ,‫ כה יש יטים‬-‫ ימן‬--‫ נבעור‬-‫ יב נל העם הבן‬,‫ הע הנה האתו‬-‫ ו המה‬of Moab plotted, and what Balaam the son of Beor ‫ כד כעת יצ נדקות ניה הוה‬,‫ נל כמ כען‬,‫ כה יג נל הגל‬-‫ כעד‬. answered him; [despite the sin of the spies dispatched] from Shittim [I nevertheless split the Jordan for you when I brought you] to the Gilgal,that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem ( Michah 6:5) Despite our indecent behavior, or the bad influence that the exile and the various Billam's and Balaks have had on us, it is time to come home! The cure for all that ails us is right here in Israel, when we are all together. The Land itself will heal us. I have seen it happen. Even the Rabbi in the synagogue today told me he swears that my soul is different today than it was ten years ago when I first arrived here. He is probably right. 251

The article below should really be in Parsha Nitzavim, but I put it here because Billam understood the hour that Hashem became angry and these articles have to do with this anger and its cure. The Potential Holocaust and Future Redemption - Part One The original redemption from Egypt is described in the following manner. ‫ כב היד מח הז הקה‬,‫ימ ימ נצ כר יים‬ ,‫ניה הוה‬ ‫כויו יצ יאנו‬ ‫ח‬ 8 And Hashem took us out of Egypt with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, and with great ‫ו יב כז הר שע כנטו היה‬,‫ו נב האתות‬--‫ ו נב המ הרא הג הדל‬, terror, and with signs, and with wonders. ‫ו נב המ נפ יתים‬ (Devarim 26:8) In the future there will be another redemption that in many ways will mirror the original one. After being expelled twice the third redemption which we are currently in the process of, will include both the strong hand and outstretched arm, but also the anger that is still existent from the first expulsion. The description of Hashems anger (Chamat) which caused us to be expelled from Israel is an anger that continually burns from that time forward when we repeat these sins (see Bechukotai) ‫ ילי; כו נה כל נכ התם‬,‫ל הא ית נש נמעו‬--‫ נבז האת‬-‫ כז נו יאם‬27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, ‫ נב הק ירי‬,‫ יע ימי‬but walk contrary unto Me; ‫ הק ירי; נו יי כס נר יתישב מח שמת‬- ,‫כח נו הה כל נכ יתי יע המ הכם‬ 28 then I will walk contrary unto you in fury; and ‫ הש כבע‬,‫ הא יני‬-‫הא נת הכם כאף‬ I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. ‫ כחט הא יתי הכם‬-‫כעל‬ (Vayikra-26:27,28) In the Haftorah of Bechukotai we are told that the fire Israel ignited at the Churban (our expulsion) is eternal. ,‫ ו נבך ימ כנ נח הל נתך נא השר הנ כת יתי הלך‬,‫ ד נו הש כמ נט התה‬4 You will be forced to withdraw from the -‫ הב הא הרץ נא השר ל הא‬,‫ הא ני הביך‬-‫ נו כה נע כב נד יתיך האת‬heritage that I have given you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you ‫עו הלם‬-‫ שעד‬,‫נב כא יפי‬ ‫נק כד נח התם‬ ‫ יאש‬-‫יכי‬ : ‫יה הד נע הת‬ know not; for you have ignited a fire in My ‫ תו הקד‬nostrils, which shall burn for ever. (Yermiyahu 17:4) We see that this fire burns even until today. ‫ נב כאף‬,‫ כז כו יי נת ישם ניה הוה ימ כעל כא נד המ התם‬27 and the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and ‫ הא הרץכב ןח המה‬-‫ו נב הק הצף הגדול; כו כי נש יל יכם האל‬ ‫ו‬ cast them into another land, as it is this day'. ‫ שכיום שה תזה‬,‫כא הח הרת‬ (Devarim 29:27) This Chamat (Anger) is related to Hashems 'Mighty Hand' that is described in the original redemption. Rav Binyamin Kahane writes: With a mighty hand. God had to direct His strength against the Jews, too, in order to bring 252

them out, for they did not want to leave! And indeed, God killed all those who refuses to leave. As Chazal say, four-fifths of the Israelites died in the plague of darkness (see Rashi at the start of Parashat Beshallach, Ex. 13:18). But those who did eventually leave, did so unwillingly: God said, “For with a mighty hand shall he [Pharoah] send them away, and with a mighty hand shall he expel them from his land” (Ex. 6:1). Rashi writes there: “He will drive Israel out against their will.” Chazal's commentary on the verse, “They did not listen to Moses, due to the anguish of spirit and hard labor” (Ex. 6:9), is truly astounding: Is there any man who receives good tidings and does not rejoice? ...But they found it hard to abandon their idol worship. (Mechilta, Pis'cha 5, end of 1st paragraph) ….The truth is that the Jews were never ready to leave exile of their own free will, and when they have been able to assimilate, they did. But all these attempts were to no avail. On the contrary precisely when the Jews tried to be accepted by Gentile society by blurring their unique, separate identity, their hated towards them only increased. Such was the case in Egypt as the Psalmist said: “He turned their [the Egyptians'] hearts to hate His people, to conspire against His servants” (Psalms 105:25). So too has it been throughout the generations. And even those who do eventually leave, do so only out of necessity. Slavery, pogroms and holocausts forces some of them to realize albeit grudgingly, that there is nothing for them there – and then they ascend to the Land of Israel, as witnessed in our generation. Chazal identifies the mindset in the following words: “And among those nations you will not know peace and you will not find rest for your feet” (Deut 28:65) – had Israel found peace, they would not have returned. (Genesis Rabbah 33:6) That is to say if the Jews will not return to the Land of Israel willingly, then God will inflict such troubles on them, that they will be forced to return. And in our days, in spite of all that has happened, most Jews have not learned the lesson. Eventually either they will leave the exile at the last moment, or they will perish in the exile, God forbid – whether in an openly anti-Semitic holocaust, or in the terrible wars between the nations at the end of days, in which “the nations will be utterly laid waste” Isaiah 60:12. And it is precisely the Jews in the most comfortable of exiles, living in the sweetest of delusions, whose end is liable to be the most gruesome. This has been proven by history time and time again. The Midrash expresses this as follows: It is like a thorn bush: one who puts his hand into it is not harmed, because all the thorns are bent downwards; but when he comes to take his hand out, the thorns ensnare him and prevent him from taking it out. Thus it was with Egypt: in the beginning they welcomed Israel, but when they wanted to go out, they did not let them. (Yalkut Shimoni 169) (above from The Haggada of the Jewish Idea – Biyamin Zev Kahane Pg. 40,41) 253

The Potential Holocaust and Future Redemption - Part two We have discussed how the Shoa gave birth to Israel and the great mistakes of that generation. It is easy to look back on history and wonder how they could have allowed themselves to be slaughtered like lambs. Could they not have seen it coming? Are we wiser than they were? I suggest that the tragedies that accompanied the birth of Israel will also accompany (hopefully in a lesser degree) the birth of Judea and the final redemption. Although I am critical of the leadership of the past as well as the present, one cannot say that six million people died for their sins. Without a doubt those who die sanctifying Gods name earn the highest reward in Heaven and are considered as saints that offered their souls. I am able to be critical of the past however, because I live in the present and read the signs today. On September 11th I realized that the clock is ticking and it took me eighteen months (chol Hamoed Pesach) to leave the exile. I read the signs. I saw the strong hand of Hashem with my own eyes, as I exited and was brought to a new Land, to redeem my heritage. None of the victims of September 11th were sinners, as none of the six million were sinners in the Shoa. They were innocent people killed by evil people. The problem is the leadership that could have prevented tragedy by inspiring the Jewish people instead of persecuting those who tried. The only voice today that sounded the alarm and tried to wake up the Jewish people and save them in our time was Rabbi Meir Kahane. His Torah is the antidote for the fire that continually burns. ,‫ ו נבך ימ כנ נח הל נתך נא השר הנ כת יתי הלך‬,‫ ד נו הש כמ נט התה‬4 You will be forced to withdraw from the -‫ הב הא הרץ נא השר ל הא‬,‫ הא ני הביך‬-‫ נו כה נע כב נד יתיך האת‬heritage that I have given you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you ‫ ןאש כק שד כח תתם כב שא יפי‬-‫יכי‬-‫ כעד‬, :‫יה הדענתה‬ know not; for you have ignited a fire in My ‫עו הלם תו הקד‬. nostrils, which shall burn for ever. (Yermiyahu 17:4) ‫ ןאש כק שד כח תתם כב שא יפי‬-‫ = יכי‬nine hundred seventy six 976 (+1 kollel) = 977 Meir David Ben Yecheskel Shraga = 977 ‫מאיר דוד בן יחזקאל שרגא כהנא‬ Eleven years before September 11th Rabbi Kahane spoke in New York and tried to encourage aliyah. He spoke a few miles away from ground zero on a mission that he called project ZERO (Zionist Emergency Rescue Operation). He was murdered that night by the same Alkeida thugs that could have been stopped had we not despised Hashems messenger. Why particular victims are chosen and taken as sacrifices are hidden things between God and His creations. What is revealed however, is for us to understand the signs and prepare ourselves, as some did before the Shoa and as I did by leaving the exile today. The safest place to be is in the fire, in the Nation of Israel, which is also the Ark. The flood and the Redemption come at the same time. The Ark was not built in one day. Hashem sends us messengers and signs and warnings before tragedy strikes. September 11th occurred during Parashat Nitzavim in which we read: 254

‫ באל יהינו; כוהש ינגכלת‬,‫ כליה הוה‬--‫כח כה ינ נס הת הרת‬ 28 The secret things belong unto the LORD our -‫כהל‬-‫ אהת‬,‫ כל נעשות‬- ‫ה הל הנ הו ה הו כל ה הב ןהנ הי הנו כעד עו הלם‬ God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we ‫ יד נב ירי כהתו הרה כהז האת‬may do all the words of this law. Rashi tells us: Regarding those [matters] revealed to us however and to our children, [we are obligated] to destroy the evil from our midst. If we do not administer judgment over them, the majority will be punished. There are dots [in the Hebrew text] over “to us and to our children” to indicate that even with regard to the secrets, the majority were not to be punished until they crossed the Jordan. From having taken upon themselves the oath in Mt. Grizim and Mt. Eibal they became pledged for one another. To me the dots over these words have an important significance. There were eleven of these dots, alluding to the 11th of September that occurred exactly at the time the Jewish world was studying this Parsha (Nitzavim). I hope others will be inspired to return home, as I was when I read the signs unfolding around me. Israel is becomes increasingly isolated but there is much greater danger outside of Israel. As in the past Hashem will bring us home against our will when the hour is very late. From past experience we know that it is much harder to leave during war time than it is during peace time. On September 11th within a matter of minutes all travel was forbidden. It didn't matter how much money you had, no airplane was permitted to leave. These words may sound paranoid but as the Rabbi would answer 'Paranoid Jews live longer.' The Talmud brings down a passage in reference to the future redemption. :‫ ל הא ית נה היה‬,‫ ההיו‬--‫רו נח הכם‬-‫ כעל‬,‫ לב נו הה הע הלה‬32 and that which cometh into your mind shall not ‫ ינ נה היה ככגו יים נכ ימ נש נפחות‬,‫ נא השר כא התם הא נמ ירים‬be at all; in that ye say: We will be as the nations, ‫ יעץ הו הא הבן‬,‫ נל הש ירת‬--‫הה נא הרצות‬ as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. ‫ל הא כב היד‬-‫ יאם‬:‫ ננ מאם נא הד הני ניה יוה‬,‫ הא יני‬-‫לג כחי‬ 33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a ‫ ו כב ןח המה‬,‫מח הז הקה ו יב כזרו שע כנטו היה‬ mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I be king over ‫ הא נמלוך נע ילי הכם‬--‫ כשפו הכה‬you; (Yechezckel – 20:32,33) We see that it resembles the original redemption of Egypt with the addition of the Chamas (anger) that has been kindled ever since the Churban. It is my hope that we begin to understand what brings about this anger and learn to transform it by defeating our physical and spiritual enemies. The Talmud after bringing down this quote adds a similar hope. 'R. Nachman said: Even with such fury let the Merciful rage against us, but that He redeem us.' (Sanhedrin 105a) In the future we will be returned with a combination of the exodus and the churban. In part it is the redemption of Egypt over again and in part it is the fury of being thrown out of the Land as well. Let us hope that as we progress Hashems anger will become more tempered as we slowly begin to learn the lessons of His Torah. 255

Pinchas and Noach It seems to me there is a connection between Parshat Pinchas and Noach. Both Parshas are split and continue from a previous Parsha. On both Parsha's there were sinners that were destroyed and a new world order began with Noach and Pinchas. One of the major differences however are the fact the it was Hashem Himself who brought the flood upon the earth that destroyed all of the sinners. In Parshat Pinchas it is Pinchas who yields the sword against the sinners and then leads Am Israel into battle to bring vengeance into the world. Hashem created the world first in thought and last in deed. In other words the intention of Creation is for their to be a Torah that is accepted by a people and that they build His kingdom on earth and become the representatives of His hand bringing justice and peace in the world. This intention and goal was the purpose of Creation that takes time to unravel just as a child grows over time to become a man. Hashem created the world incomplete and left a part for us to perfect in order for the symmetry to exist between Heaven and earth. Just as a Jewish child is completed by the Brit Mila, the earth itself will have a Brit Mila performed on it by the Jewish people. This Brit Mila began with Avraham and evolves through time from the individual to the collective. Israel is the point where this perfection will occur and continues to evolve. This evolution continued from the individual Brit of Avraham and Itzchak and the family of Israel to the world around them in Schem where 24,000 were killed (by Shimon and Levi) to avenge Dinah. This mirrors the 24,000 from Israel that died in a plague instigated by the sin of Zimri (from the tribe of Shimon). This internal and National 24,000 continues with the students of Rabbi Akiva who began the revolution of 'return' to the Medina. In the future the final Brit will take place when our hearts will be circumcised in Parshat Nitzavim. It is interesting to note that David Hamelech was born complete (circumcised). It is in this Parsha where all seems dark from where the sparks of the Kingship of David are born. Balak himself is Ruth' ancestor who is the maternal ancestor of David Hamelech. We understand in the Parsha that even the devil himself will give us the greatest blessings as every curse turns to joy. The Shoa inspired the self sacrifice to fight and give birth to Israel and the many soldiers and scholars of Israel have been raised with the qualities of Pinchas that lead the Nation into its ultimate goal of bringing Justice and Peace into the world. Peace which has become convoluted by the Bilaams and Zimris of the world must first be clarified. Peace does not mean coexistence with evil but rather separation and destruction of evil. Then good will prosper and be rewarded. It is this continuation that appeases Hashems wrath from the time of Noach to the time of Pinchas to our own time. Hashem's anger is kindled when we lose the path and mix evil and good together. When we worship foreign gods and seek lovers that lead us away from our calling we bring upon ourselves our own destruction. From within this same convolution comes David Hamelech and Ruth who purify and clarify our confusion and lead us back to the correct path. In doing so they appease the wrath of Hashem that only the Jewish people themselves can kindle by their desire for foreign worship. The process of the Birt Mila and refinement of the world evolves in time from Noach to Pincah to a future world where it is clear what the true terms Love and Peace really mean. 256

On Plagues and Cures (2017) What is the connection between the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva that died in a plague, the 24,000 from Schem* and the 24,000 from the tribe of Shimon that died in this weeks Parsha? In order to answer this we must ask another question. How is it that such deep secrets and prophecies in this Parsha are revealed to us through vicious anti-Semites that seek our destruction? It is interesting that non-Jews, even with the greatest of gentiles prophets could only do Hashems will despite their hatred. We see this reflected in Bilaam’s donkey. If Hashem could make a donkey talk temporarily He could also make the evil Bilaam a great prophet. To understand this we need not look further than our own century. Life and death for millions was temporarily in the hands of Nazis however the Germans who zealously sought to destroy us ultimately brought about a much greater revelation of Israel in the world by inspiring the creation of the Sate of Israel. Their curse brought about the greatest blessing that we have longed for; the return of the Jewish people to Zion. Was this blessing worth the price? Of course this blessing could have come about without this curse and 24,000 of Zimri's tribe may also not have had to perish . What is the lesson to be learned? As we explained, the nations do not have the same 'free will' as the Jew. The fate of the Jew is dependent on his relationship with Hashem and the dialogue between Hashem and His people. He protects us from danger and sometimes removes this protection dependent upon the actions of Israel. As we wrote earlier in this chapter regarding the difference between Bilaam and Moshe; Bilaam said he could only say what Hashem put in his mouth. However according to Rambam Moshe was punished because he was angry which 'did not' accurately reflect Hashem who was 'not' angry. Our misrepresentation is the underlying cause that allows the reflexive gentile world to cause us harm and delays our redemption. The underlying cause of this misrepresentation has to do predominately with the degree to which we are assimilated to the gentile world and disconnected from our own. The three day journey and forty year journey is in our hands. Ulterior motives that cause subtle misrepresentations eventually lead to brash ones which results in plagues. The issue of Shimon had to do with inclusivity versus exclusivity. The issues of exclusivity and inclusivity go back to the first 24,000 as some mystical books say which was the number killed by Shimon and Levi in Schem. One might say that among Rabbi Akiva’s students there was also an issue of exclusivity and inclusivity however for a very different reason as they were unwilling to accept one another's opinions, and did not treat their fellow scholars with respect. There is a thread that connects these ideas however. If we go with the opinion that the students of Rabbi Akiva fell in the fight of Bar Kochba which was an attempt to 'rebuild' and 'return' Israel to its former glory. We can look at the generation of the Shoa and see that underlying the great destruction was a rift between those who demonstrated a love of the Land and those who scorned them as being idol worshipers, they refused to join and forbid their followers to ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *See Megaleh Amukot, Vaetchanan aspect 88, who reports this teaching in the name of the Ariza\"l; Rav Naftali Bachrach, Emek Hamelech Gate 5 chapter 69; Yalkut Reuveni (Avraham Reuven Hoshke (Sofer) (died April 3, 1673), Parshat Balak; Rabbi Menachem Azarya DeFano, Sefer Gilgulei Neshamot section 20. 257

join which sealed their fate in the Shoa. There were other scholars however like Rabbi Cook and Rabbi Teichtal that did not share this animosity. The disrespect of opinions may be reminiscent of Rabbi Akiva's students who were all tzadikim and also perished with their uncompromising opinions. Why do we continue to mourn them today unless their disputes and attitudes hold relevance to our own times. I suggest that before the Shoa there was an underlying cause to the dispute. Underlying the scorn then and today for that matter is the justification of lack of love of the Land and relying too much on the kindness of the gentile world. Although we mourn the great physical destruction there is a second silent Shoa that is leading us towards a new plague. How many millions of Jews have disappeared spiritually not from Nazis but from assimilation? How many millions have been lost through intermarriage? As we said earlier ulterior motives that cause subtle misrepresentations eventually lead to brash ones. Today’s generation does not ban Israel for not being Jewish enough but protests Israel for being too Jewish. Secular Israeli's have no problem visiting the Kotel and respecting Jewish tradition there. To diaspora Jews however, next to their reformist and assimilated culture Israels traditional Judaism seems extreme. This is how far they have fallen and this is a recipe for destruction As the gentile world again goes through changes and Jewish life in the galut is less and less secure ultimately these changes (against the will of Jew haters), will bring a greater good to Israel. In the interim it is time for Jews to see the writing on the wall and make preparations to leave the exile while the doors are still open. The greatest prophecy that is placed in Bilaams mouth is the cure for all our ills and it is this point that Rabbi Kahane brings down on this Parsha. 'Hen Am Levadad' – Behold it is a Nation that will dwell in solitude. (Bamidbar 23:9) We are a nation that dwells alone. What we consider a curse is a blessing. This is the underlying cause that creates the plagues that we find ourselves in the middle of. When we embrace our uniqueness and cherish it with the required faith to stand alone then that which we fear will no longer have relevance. On that day the world will stand with the Jewish people when the Jewish people stand with themselves. As Rav Kahane wrote in an article in 1989 called No Rest in the Exile, the ultimate halachic decision will come not from a Rabbi but from the gentile who forces us to be what we were born to become. The Secret Weapons of Good and Evil (2022) Co-existence is the great weapon of evil, just as arum (nakedness) and arumami (cunning) go together. Schem rapes Dinah and then wishes to live together with Israel. Shimon used cunning as well to wipe out Schem and put fear of God to all of the surrounding nations that will think twice before they attack Israel. The challenge evolves from a wayward woman Dinah to the generation of the wayward men of Shimon. The tribe of Shimon becomes perverted and uses the same weapon of co-existence. Why is my non-kosher Midianite different from your converted 'kosher' Midiante? Pinchas uses cunning to enter and uproot evil inside the body of Israel from the tribal level and stop the plague. And today? The whole nation is marching to the pride of any perversion you choose and co-existence with every type of evil. The plague is increasing along with the germ warfare of fear and where is Pinchas? He is already inside the palace of Pharaoh like a beloved child. When Hashem has had enough of the Great Reset, suddenly the first born elite will be surprised with the Great Awakening. 258

The Bitter Taste of Redemption (2020) What is the origin of the 24,000 of those who died in the plague this week and the 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva and the 24,000 of those killed in Schem? It seems to me that that origin is found in the beginning of the world between Parsha Bereshit and Noach a time we call Mar Cheshvan. Mar equals 240 and the above numbers are all related to it it seems. Hashem created a world and then destroyed a world and rebuild a new world. This is a pattern that has recurred throughout our history from the 1st conquest of Israel by Shimon and Levi brought about by the sin of Dinah to the re-conquest of Rabbi Akiva but failed through the sin of Bar Kochva to the elimination through a plague of the last to die in the desert before taking vengeance on the Midianites and conquering the land. The non Jew with all of his might may think that God has anointed him and indeed how many German commandants could at will kill thousands of Jews and feel that they had the power of life and death in their hands only to realize that that supernatural power was given to them just as a donkey would be given the power of speech temporarily. Ultimately the more the gentile curses and destroys the Jew the greater the Jew becomes. Hitler gave birth to a much greater Jewish reality that had not previously existed. The bitter taste of this redemption has to do with our own deeds for it is only the Jew that actually has free choice and the Jewish leader who can cause Hashems protection to be absent temporarily. Billam with all his might and hatred for the Israelites could not curse if Hashem has not cursed. He can only bring blessing ultimately. Only Moshe could be angry when Hashem was not angry. This caused a whole generation to remain in the desert and die out there. David Hamelech is recalled in this Parsha and he was born already circumcised. The process of history from the beginning of the world which was created, then destroyed and recreated again continues through the many journeys and Shoa's of past and present. Because of our sins judgment comes into the world and there are floods and fires and we are refined in the process as we reflect back on the new reality that came about through the sins of our past. The last generation, the generation of David and his men is one that has been refined and is complete and now with a double edged sword can right all the wrongs and avenge the honor of Israel and the honor of our God that wants to bring redemption in a sweet way and in a hurried way. The bitter taste of redemption like an easy or difficult birth will be sweetened only when the Jewish people make their own free choice. When they are not angrier than Hashem is towards the lovers of His Land and when they are not faithless and obsessed with the need for allies which are all lies (as Shifra Hoffman often says). When we choose to stand alone as one Nation and do what Hashem commands and decide our future based on His commands, then our enemies will flee and kings will come to make offerings in our temple. When we circumcise our hearts and are strong in faith Hashem will support us and will not leave us. When we run from Him into the arms of strangers and desire strange fruits we will taste bitter fruits. In the end we will become reluctant conquerors but that conquest could have happened through an easier path. The non Jew may be free to destroy our people only if Hashem takes away His protection because of our brazenness towards Him. The non Jew however against his desire is only a rod in Hashems hand which ultimately will make us much greater and create a better world. The Jew however has the ability to decide how that new world will come about. It can be beaten into us through the reflexive hand of the non Jew or a plague or flood or other destructive force or we may 259

choose it. By choosing it the bitter taste of Mar Cheshvan will be reversed spelling Rum, as in Rum v Nissa 'high and lifted up' (Yeshiyahu 6:1) . We will be protected by the wings of Hashem and stand just under His throne as He splits seas for us. Co-existence and institutionalizing all that which Hashem calls sinful, provocative and destructive will only bring about a plague. Removing the diseases of the soul within and expelling our external enemies is the only way to bring about True Peace and health and happiness. May we merit to have a little bit of Pinchas in our hearts so that we can turn the bitter taste of redemption into a hurried and sweet one full of wonders and great love from above. Balaks Miraglim (2021) I want to say l'chaim to the Meraglim of the Jewish people and the Meraglim of Balak. What is the difference between them? Our Meraglim know very well the will of Hashem and His commandments however they have an option of not obeying them if they so choose. Calev and Yehoshua were grateful that Hashem was causing our enemies to flee before us and had no reason to disobey. The majority of the Nation, however, had the option to 'not do' as they were commanded and still eventually arrive in Israel; although through the circuitous route of Tisha Bav. The Miraglim of Balak also know intimately the desire of Hashem and they hate Hashem because He desires this weak son who does not follow His orders. They however, unlike Israel, do not have the option of going against the will of Hashem. They know that they are only a stick in Hashems hand. However they are also clever and understand very well how to make Hashems desired son to suffer and be defeated. Israels very weakness is the strength of Balak and his hired sorcerer Bilaam. They know that they can undermine the very foundation of the world by undermining this favored son and cause the world to serve them instead of Israel and Hashem. I noticed this week something that is very connected to these ideas and often occurs around this weeks Parsha. I am embarrassed to say that in the Holy Land of Israel there is a large international event of perversion called the Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv that grows each year in its provocation against the Almighty. My dear friend Shifra Hoffman (z”tl) in her eighties would protest the incursion of these degenerate people parading in the holy city of Jerusalem with a big sign saying Gay Avek (in Yiddish meaning 'go away'). I passed people in the street on the way to this parade and could not help but notice the required dress for this particular holiday of lust which is to be as naked as possible. I pondered the word naked in Hebrew which is used by the snake in Gan Eden and has a double meaning of both naked and cunning. This, it seems to me, is the Torah of Balak which is the Torah of the serpent in the Garden. 'Be free as much as possible and do not restrict yourself in any way.' This is the wisdom of the serpent who knows very well that this freedom enslaves more and more. As the crowd lusts for immediate orgasmic pleasure, one is never satisfied and always thirsty. The death of wasted seed gives birth to emptiness. The result is the moral fabric of the world is undermined. The Chinese understood very well that the moral fabric of the west has weakened and they succeeded in overthrowing America and releasing corona as part of a world dominion plan that no one really realizes yet. While the west is occupied with panic and busy with tearing down the foundations of morality and institutionalizing perversion, the cunning powers of Balak are succeeding to overthrow, by offering freedom and promoting degeneracy which they know is the only way they can overturn the foundations of the world. 260

The sorcerer Bilaam however cannot disobey Hashem or fight with Him directly only through His desired son can they cause the foundation of the world to collapse, and it certainly is collapsing. Here in Israel Hamas works alongside these sorcerers and understands very well that we do not desire the Temple therefore they desire it. We do not wish to fight for Jerusalem therefore they fight for it. We do not wish to build in Yehuda and Shomron so they build there freely while Jewish construction is immediately destroyed by the Jewish government who constantly grovels and tries to appease the world who can never be appeased. Calev and Yehoshua could have single handedly destroyed the giants who stood in the way, and conquered the Land, however it seems that although Hashem is consoled with the loyalty of these two souls of a different spirit, He wants the rest of the Nation as well to choose correctly and not have to constantly be purified through the furnace of slavery and suffering that increase reflexively of our rebellious actions. In our Parsha the solution to the attacks on Israel comes from Pinchas. Who is Pinchas? Pichas is written with a small yud. The rabbis tell us that the reason the yud is written small is because Pinchas went against his nature to do this zealous act. He looked around and saw how the mighty have fallen and how the holy have become so defiled. He could see the destruction about to happen from this increasing provocation. I imagine him saying 'Where is Shimshon? Where is Meir Kahane? Where is Pinchas? I am not a Pinchas however somebody must do something and if I am the only one who feels this degradation then I must become Pinchas even though I am not Pinchas.' This is the lesson for us today. I suggest that the yud in Pinchas (Gematria = 10) corresponds to the minyan of ten that we have been fixing that original sin with, for thousands of years. As we establish minyans and seek Jews on the street to fill minyans to pray and beat our breasts for our sins is that really enough to make the correction that is required? It certainly helps to bring Jews together to understand their destiny however ritual and religion is not the complete picture. In the month of Elul I remember Rav Butman giving an example of what Teshuva really means. He said if you take a pin and start to press it into your hand, the point where it hurts, this is the small point of Teshuva that you must do. That small point that may hurt you a bit; the point that confronts your comfort zone, that is the point that will earn you the true reward of real Teshuva. I believe that this Chassidik thought is true not only for the individual but for the Nation as well. It is our weak points that make our enemies strong and invite them in. The riots we see in Yaffo and Lud could have been prevented many years ago. Rav Lipsker mentioned to my friend Yacov that in 1948 the Arabs ran away and we invited them back to Yaffo and Lud and offered them free places just to come back. They could pick and choose any empty place. A similar thing happened in 1967 when Moshe Dayan ran after the fleeing Arabs and begged them to return. We invite tragedy by our dysfunctional choices and are allowed to go against our Father who desires that we choose properly. When we choose improperly and then add salt to the wounds by provoking further our enemies who understand what our Father desires are able to enslave his desired son. They reward him with venom from all of the gifts that he offers for his illusory appeasement. Sarah understood that the greatest personal mitzvah given to Avraham to complete himself through the Brit Milah was not only a personal completion but a National one. Rav Butman demonstrated that the pain that one goes through and the price that one pays for that Teshuva makes it more effective and carries more weight. Sarah demonstrated that the painful message Hashem was conveying to Avraham on a certain part of his body symbolically also had to be fulfilled on the National body by removing 261

Ishmael. It was painful and difficult and went against Avraham's desire for the family to be united however Hashem commands isolation. Only from this isolation there can then be international unity 'For from the top of the rocks I shall see him, and from the hills I shall behold him. He is a people that shall dwell alone, and among the nations he shall not be reckoned.' (Bamidbar 23:9) and among the nations he shall not be reckoned - A certain Sadducee said to R. Avina: It is written (1 Samuel 7:23. \"And who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land! What is so special about you? You, too, have become intermingled with us, as it is written (Isaiah 40:17): \"All of the nations are as nothing before Him.\" He answered: One of your own has testified about us [to the contrary): \"and among the nations he shall not be reckoned\" (Sanhedrin 39b). As the foundations of the world collapse around us and we are attacked in every place that we retreat from, the solution is that ordinary people who would not consider themselves Pinchas, begin to rise to the occasion and attach themselves to that different spirit that Calev and Yehoshua had, that maintains the foundation of the entire world. Our enemies can only act reflexively, like germs that feed off of deterioration and damaged cells. A healthy body will not invite the germs to take hold of it whether an individual body or our national body. Our national weak points need to be healed by building physical and spiritual structures in Jerusalem and Yesha and removing adversaries that seek to undermine the moral foundation of our Nation. Let it be that the minyan decreed by the Miraglim grows and matures to be the true son that Hashem desires and chooses freely to transform the minyan of rituals and breast beatings to a minyan of builders waving flags of a new physical nation under God; unified and isolated in its holiness; and shining brightly to the seventy nations of the world. Biden and Balak (2022) The president of the USA is coming to visit this week of Parshat Balak. He will come as a frenemy proclaiming peace with his handshakes and hugs and alters to try and curse the Jewish people from whichever corner in East Jerusalem our enemies lead him to. Unlike Obama who waited until our elections were settled before visiting, he comes davka to seek concessions in a weak time where Lapid a custodian Prime Minister who does not represent the Nation will discuss our future with a President that does not represent his people either. Will Hashem look down and say 'there is no iniquity or perversity(‫ ) הע המל‬in Israel' (Bamidbar 23:21) or will He see Gay pride, and Perversity pride and Anti- Settlement pride? Will He see people making a good living from perversity and earning 'commission' from it? Amal (‫ = ) העמהל‬perversity, Amlaa (‫ = ) עמלה‬Commission If God forbid we have lost our unity and identity and leave a door open for the Plague of the Midianites to enter and attack our bodies that now lack immune systems, it will be for one reason only. That reason is only to make another Pinchas, and another, and another and create a new reality. Nadia Matar is also planning with her Sovereignty Movement to establish more settlements and demand sovereignty in Yehuda and Shomron and even areas in Jerusalem and the Negev that are being swallowed up as we sleep. May we be blessed with the curse of Bilaams 'Am Levadad Yishkon' for he understood this was the secret weapon that he could never overcome. To him it was a curse but to us a great blessing. Woe to the nation that may be found [attempting to hinder], when the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes the redemption of his children: who would throw his garment between a lion and a lioness when these are copulating! (Sanhedrin 106a) 262

Kahane in the Parsha Pinchas 263

Pinchas The small letter ‘yud’ in Parshat Pinchas is connected to the small ‘hey’ added to Yoseph’s name. ‫( יהוסף פינחס‬Psalms 81) These letters were given to them as gifts from Hashem for their zealotry on His behalf. (for more detailed analysis see Shnei Luchot Habrit, and Zohar on Parshat Pinchas). Yospeh was zealous in not allowing himself to be tempted by Potiphora, and Pinchas was zealous for not allowing licentiousness prevail among the Nation. They both earned crowns because of their holiness and great love of Hashem. Only one who is jealous for Hashem, can appease Hashem who is a ‘jealous’ G-d. ‘..for the very Name of Hashem is ‘Jealous One’, He is a jealous G-d.’ (Shemot 34:14) It is the reward of these tzadikim that they raise the level of awareness among the whole Nation and bring them back to the place they should be. Their ‘truth’ awakens those who were lulled to sleep, and shatters the idols that the Nation had been worshiping. They have the courage to expose the lies of fraudulent leaders both politically and spiritually and by doing so risk their own lives, but preserve the honor of a G-d who is silent but quietly waits for one to stand up for His honor. It is the actions of these men that bring out the ‘yud’ and ‘hey’ in the people as well, who are immediately raised to a higher level of consciousness from their heroic actions. This is one of the hidden aspects of the ‘yud’ and ‘hey’ that are added in Parsha Pinchas to each tribe. Our rabbis tell us that the ‘yud’ and hey’ added to each tribe signifies the inherent holiness within each tribe. For example: ‫שלנה י‬ ‫משפחת‬.....‫יהודה‬-‫בני‬... The children of Yehuda from the family of Hashelani. (Bamidbar 26:20) Each tribe is listed with the (Yud) and (Hey) in the beginning and ending of their name. The Shla makes the connection between Pinchas and Yermiyahu in their willingness to stand up while others remained seated. Yermiyahu was persecuted for daring to say things that were politically incorrect, and despite his warnings, the churban happened. Yecheskel’s prophecy continued 11 years later where Yermiyahu left off, with the hopeful signs of a rebuilt future. ‘The people that seeks You expounds each generations fate.’ (Song of Glory –Anim Zmirot-Siddur) The great leaders stood alone against the masses, but had the support of Hashem who also stood alone. He who is ‘One’ is comforted by those whose love is also ‘One of a kind’ and because they care only for the honor of Hashem despite being targeted and isolated, Hashem attends to 'their' honor and writes 'their' name in His book. Moshe became a fugitive and had to run for his life from the thankless ones he tried to save. Despite 264

their ingratitude, Moshe was prepared to give his life so that this Nation would survive, despite the fact that he alone carried the merit of the whole Nation. While the Nation was busy asking for gold and silver from their Egyptian neighbors, Moshe was busy bringing the bones of Yoseph from Egypt. Moshe understood Yoseph for he also carried the Nation on his shoulders. The Shla mentions an idea in the Zohar that connects Moshe’s earlier refusal of the Israelite mission, to the willingness of Pinchas to carry out that mission at the time of Zimri, and as well in the future as Eliyahu Hanavi, who will proclaim the Moshiach. In addition by Moshe saying : ‘Please , my L-rd, send through whomever You will send’ (Shemot 4:13) There is an allusion that Yehoshua bin ‘Nun’ will succeed Moshe in entering the Land while Moshe would not enter it. We see these allusions in the words ‘please send’ ‫נא‬-‫שלך‬ The ‘Na’ was also connected to Pinchas who was willing and able to fulfill the mitzvah of the day, and to raise the consciousness of the people by correcting the flaw that could have destroyed them. In so doing he also corrected the flaw of Nadav and Avihu, who are represented by the ‘Nun’ and ‘Aleph’ of ‘Na’. They were reincarnated in Pinchas through his act of vengeance which was in fact was an act of mercy (see Shla and Zohar on Pinchas). When Moshe said ‘please send’ he was also referring to Yehoshua Bin Nun who would be the one to conquer the Land of Israel. Yehoshua was from the tribes of Yoseph and the Nation now had come of age similar to Yosephs brothers when they finally understood why they had suffered. Chazal tells us that all of those who died in the plague in Parshat Pinchas, were the last to die in the desert. Parshat Pinchas in a way describes the times of Moshiach, for this was that perfected generation that would enter the Land and fulfill the objective of creation, namely to build heaven below to reflect the heavens above. The physical conquering of the Land of Israel by the descendant of Yoseph parallels the concept of Moshicah ben Yoseph who precedes the Moshiach ben David in setting the background and raising the level of the people to the point where they desire a Moshiach. As we have said in many places, it is this jealousy of these Tzadikim for Hashem that assuages His anger against the people. It is their sacrifice and willingness to act that is eternally rewarded, for through them the merit of the Nation increases by following their example and they are forgiven. We see that the roots of the eternal reward of Pinchas is seen in the line. ‘He brought vengeance for his G-d by his sacrifice.’ The words for his god can be rearranged to spell ‘Eliyahu’. ‫ נב ירית נכ מה כנת‬,‫ יג נו הה ני התה לו ו נל כז נרעו כא נח הריו‬13 and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after -‫ כעל‬,‫ כו ני ככ יפר‬,‫ נא השר קי ןנא לןאלההיו‬,‫ כת כחת‬--‫ עו הלם‬him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; ‫נב יני יי נש הר יאל‬ because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.' (Bamidbar 25:13) ‫ = ןלאל ההיו‬for his God ‫ = ןלאלי ההו‬to Eliyahu 265

‫ =וככש הה נהא‬and Kahane From here we see the connection with Pinchas and Eliyahu. Because he had the same character trait as Hashem who is a Jealous G-d, (jealous of the Nations obsessions with non-gods), he could appease Hashems anger in a way no other could. Like the first Hebrew, Avraham, who destroyed his fathers idols because his passion for truth was uncompromising, the G-d of Truth looks down with a special love for this one and rewards him by associating Himself with such a person. Hashem’s seal is ‘Truth’. Whether one brings down the mighty with a single blow as Pinchas did, or one orchestrates the truth as Yoseph did with his brothers, or is persecuted as Yermiyahu was, it is to those who are zealous for Hashem’s truth that Hashem is closest to, and it is on their account that Hashem forgives or punishes the Nation. The shalom that will come as a result of this truth is written with an amputated vav in the Torah scroll. Chazal tells us that this vav is diminished to allude to a future time, when Eliyahu is practically forgotten. This is precisely when he will appear to herald the coming of Moshicah. Rav Kahane was an example in our time of one whose words were so sharp they had the ability to shatter empires, and they did. He almost single-handedly, brought Russia to its knees and had millions of Jews released from behind the iron curtain. His Torah brought fraudulent Jewish leaders down from their pulpits and almost destroyed the political cliques that govern Israel. He paid the price for breaking the idols of our day by being banned, persecuted and finally assassinated. His son continued his legacy and his Torah, and was also assassinated 11 years later. The eleven years that separate their murders is connected not only to September 11, but to the 11 years that separated the prophecies of Yermiyahu and Yecheskel, the idol smashers of their day. But a Tzadik remains alive long past his death, while the reshayim are dead while they are alive and are then forgotten. Pinchas Past and Present Who is Pinchas today? It seems to me that in every generation there is a Pinchas that steers the nation and saves it through acts of self sacrifice. There may be many that feel the righteous wrath and zeal of Pinchas but do not have the courage to stand up to great adversity and put their lives on the line for the benefit of truth and freedom. It seems to me that the antithesis of Pinchas is not Zimri, but rather Korach. Pinchas did an act of self sacrifice that even went against his own character (hence the small yud in Pinchas 25:11). Because he did an act that put himself in grave danger for the love and honor of Hashem, Hashem rewarded him with priesthood. Korach on the other hand 'desired' the priesthood and was rewarded with Gehennom. As we mentioned in Parsha Balak, the story of the rock was recorded in the chapter preceding Balak. The rift within our family takes away our protection and strengthens our enemies. What our enemies could not succeed in doing we end up doing to ourselves by our internal dissent. If the story of the rock had ended differently Billam would not have had such success. There is a very practical reason for this. Due to the self-imposed segregation within our tribes we are fewer in number and weaker, and on the other hand there is a holy influence that is lacking. By the absence of this holy influence there is fertile ground for the plague of the Midianites. To illustrate this we can use examples in our own times. 266

Pinchas + Korach = Meir Kahane and Charedi Leadership According to Chazal they wanted to kill Pinchas because he had murdered a Prince in Israel. They called him an outsider who did not have the same roots as they did. How dare he meddle in the affairs of Israel and kill one of its great leaders? Yet it was he who saved Israel and stopped the plague from killing more Israelites and was rewarded with the priesthood of peace. Their are some interesting gematria's here. ‫ = זמרי‬Zimri = 258(+ letters ) = 262 ‫ = רבין‬Rabin = 262 Meir David Ben Yecheskel Shraga = 977 +1 = 978 ‫מאיר דוד בן יחזקאל שרגא כהנא‬ ‫ כא נה הרן כה הכ יהן‬-‫ הא נל הע הזר הבן‬-‫( יפי ננ החס הבן‬+letters) = 978 With these gematrias in mind the Pinchas story comes to life and we see that the Torah is not just a history book. It's not a coincidence that these gematrias allude to a story in our modern times. The man who assassinated Rabin was inspired by Rabbi Kahane who is considered by many in the mainstream as an outsider meddling in the politics of Israel. In the leftist Israeli media the American zealots inspired by Kahane are considered a danger to Israeli society as they settle in Judea and Shomron and infuse their radical Zionist ideology on a people that has lost its connection to its source. Who are these Americans that come to teach 'Zionism' to Israeli's? Who is this Pinchas whose family fattened cows for idol worship?' Just as Pinchas brought Israel back to its roots, and stopped a terrible plague, so does the Torah of Rabbi Kahane today as it matures within the Nation. Their may be bitterness towards the Pinchas of the past and the present, but this bitter medicine has the power to heal both the plague of the Midianites and the animosity of the Charedi rock hitters. The Divided Parsha I have often wondered why Parsha Pinchas is divided into two. It seems to me that there is a similar question that is asked in Parsha Bechukotai. ,‫ נעון נא הב התם‬-‫ נעו הנם נו האת‬-‫ מ נו יה נת כודו האת‬40 And they will confess their sin, and the sin of ‫ הה נלכו יע ימי‬-‫ נא השר‬,‫ נו כאף‬,‫ יבי‬-‫ נב כמ נע הלם נא השר המ נעלו‬their forefathers, for the treachery with which they ‫בנקה ירי‬ betrayed Me, and also for having behaved toward Me with casualness. ‫ נו יה יבא יתי‬,‫ יא ילך יע המם נב הק ירי‬,‫ נא יני‬-‫ מא כאף‬41 I too will behave toward them,with casualness ‫ נל הב הבם‬,‫ האז יי הכ כנע‬-‫ נב הא הרץ הא ני יבי ההם; או‬,‫ הא התם‬and I will bring them into the land of their enemies – perhaps then their unfeeling heart will ‫ נעו הנם‬-‫ יי נרצו האת‬,‫ נו האז‬,‫הה הע ירל‬ be humbled, and they will gain appeasement for their sin. (Vayikra 26:40-41) 267

Chazal asks a question here. If they have returned then why are you still punishing them? The answer given is that their teshuva is not the complete. We spoke about this in Parsha Bechukotai but it seems to be reflected here as well. The generation of Parsha Pinchas were the last to die in the desert. After these 24,000 died, no more would die and the nation would now enter the Land. I suggest the 24,00 here are related to the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva. They are one and the same, or a tikkun of each other. These 24,000 represent the forces that rebuild the sovereign Nation of Israel and ultimately its Temple. These are the forces that do not lead to the destruction of Israel and its exile but its re-construction and ultimate unification. The concept of Moshiach is divided into two elements; Moshiach ben Yoseph and Moshiach ben Dovid. Moshiach ben Yoseph conquers the Land (the body) while Moshiach ben David rebuilds the Temple (the soul) of the Nation. Both factors are always at play and working together, but in different stages. Both Yoseph and Dovid were considered outlaws deserving of the death penalty long before they were understood and recognized as the tzadikim they truly were. The students of Akiva were also outlaws as they rebelled against Rome to reconquer Israel. He left his seeds to sprout through Shimon Bar Yochai and the Kabballah of the scholar warrior. The fires of Lag Bomer would continue to burn throughout the long exile signaling our return to Nationhood that began again in the Warsaw ghetto. The men of Betar and Begin were also outlaws but later recognized as the builders of the State of Israel. The students of Rabbi Kahane are often considered outlaws and persecuted. Yet the seeds of the hilltop youth sprout from the Torah of the Rav and will bring the final revolution that will conquer Judea and Shomron. It is these shepherd kings along with their brothers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that will lead us back to the Temple and rebuild it again; not in some far distant spiritual future but physically in our times G-d willing. Although Hashem brings us back to the Land He still punished us in this in-gathering to teach us and educate us as to the sins that caused our original exile. The same question in Bechokotai can be asked here. If we have been returned why are we still being punished? The answer is that although Hashem brought us back because he decided to end the exile, we still do not understand the sins that caused and still cause our affliction. The medicine is in the Torah of Rabbi Kahane who points out the main flaws in both the secular world and the religious world. He explained the sins that led to the Shoa and continue to keep us in the physical and spiritual exile. Korach led a rebellion against Moshe's leadership, yet the descendents of Korach were great scholars and prophets. Shmuel Hanavi who crowned the first king of Israel, was a descendant of Korach. The Torah relates the sins of our ancestors not to embarrass them but to teach us about ourselves today. The Charedi empires that were swallowed up in Europe, like Korach, with no trace, have yet to admit their mistake. Once the sin is admitted, then the healing can begin. The tikkun I believe will take place like in the time of Shmuel in the State of Judea which the Charedi soldiers will support. The sin as I have mentioned many times before is 'hitting' the rock rather than 'speaking' to it. Imagine if the Charedi leaders had said in the 1920's: 'It seems like Hashem has chosen to end the exile. Although our brothers may not be observant of the Torah and may have some animosity towards it, it seems that the Land itself is turning green because of them and welcoming them home despite their lack of observance. It is a sign from above that it is time to come home. Let us go now and influence our brothers by joining them. If the Land turns green for them then even more so for we who preserve the Torah. They demonstrate love for the Land of Israel, 268

should we not learn from them and also join in this rebuilding?' Miriam, Rebels, and Bitterness The root of the great divide within our Nation is hidden within four letters. Miriam – ‫מרים‬ Bitterness – ‫מרים‬ Rebels – ‫המורים‬ Miriam came running into the sea with her drum ready for salvation with complete faith. That faith was destroyed by Moshe at the rock. Many observant disciples of the Torah were taught to have animosity towards Jewish settlers. Those who wanted to join the settlement of Israel were called rebels. Even today in Israel in some areas a Torah observant Charedi soldier needs police protection for his neighbors spit at him and call him a traitor. It is interesting to note that the sin is described as 'a lack of faith'. ‫ שי שען‬,‫ כא נה הרן‬-‫ המ השה נו האל‬-‫ האל‬,‫ יב כוי הא המר ניה הוה‬12 Hashem said to Moses and Aaron: 'Because ‫ נל כה נק ידי יש יני נל יעי יני נב יני‬,‫ תה מא שמ כנ תתם יבי‬-‫ ל הא‬you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you will ,‫כה הזה‬ ‫ כה הק ההל‬-‫ ל הא הת יביאו האת‬,‫ הל יכן‬--‫יי נש הר יאל‬ not bring this congregation to the Land that I have ‫ הנ כת יתי הל ההם‬-‫ נא השר‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫האל‬ given them.' (Bamidbar 20:12) The irony is that it is the 'religious' that lack the 'faith' of the simple Jew who wants to rebuilt his homeland as his God had commanded him. The rebels of Korach would taunt Moshe and say we who wear all techelet, do we also need one thread of techelet? Moshe answered yes, you do. The thread of Zionism, of conquering our Land was absent and libraries full of books and observances is meaningless without this small thread. The argument continues in our times although things are changing and evolving for the better. In the end the bitterness will become sweet as the Torah of wood is thrown into the bitter waters and a new Torah emerges from the difficult lessons we had to learn along the way. At Marah we also studied the laws of Chukat which seem to have no logical explanation. The impure (Zionist) heals the pure (Charedi) and the pure becomes impure as the Nation turns to ashes and is reborn again. The Torah of Chukat is something engraved on each of us, like a tattoo that cannot be erased, or a stone tablet that is etched into the heart of each Jew. We cannot escape our destiny, but we can shape it. The Torah of Rav Kahane takes some of the bitterness away and makes it sweet again for it demands of us action to change that which is in our power and that which seems to be not within our power - to create a political change - this takes real faith. The Root within the Root The root letters within the above three words is Mar (Mem, Resh). The month of Cheshvon is called Mar Chesvon (bitter Cheshvon) for a number of reasons. One of them is because there are no holidays in this month. Another reason for 'Mar' Cheshvon is because this is the month we read Parsha Noach which relates the story of the destruction of the world. Noah is like a survivor of the Shoa who must have tortured himself with the question, 'Could more have been done?' 'Did I do enough?' 'Maybe its better just to try and forget and accept that this is a question that we have no answer for. 'It was Hashem's decision.' Not only is their bitterness for the physical catastrophe that happened, but for the 269

spiritual question of where was God? The criticism of Noah in the Midrash is not 'Where was G-d?' but 'Where was Noah?' 'Could he indeed have done more?' Alternatively we ask the question if we were in his time maybe we would have done much less. If Noah lived in our time, maybe he would have done much more. The main lesson of Rabbi Kahane's Torah is 'never again'. Not 'never again' will there be tragedy, but never again will we sit idly and accept evil decrees without protesting and shaking the world and causing political change. In Parsha Noach I wrote that Mar Chesvon has an additional significance that the Rabbi was assassinated in this month. It was a bitter month when we lost him alluded to in Mar (bitterness) and (Mem,Resh) (Rav Meir). According to the Midrash on the same day we mourn the destruction of the Temple (Tisha b'Av), the Moshiach is said to be born. There is something similar to this idea here in the month of Chesvon. In this time that is the root of bitterness, the Torah of Rabbi Kahane was released into the world. His Torah is the medicine for the many doubts of faith from the Shoa to present day conflicts that addresses the flaws that prevent us from being a unified nation of scholarly warriors rather than appeasing a remorseless enemy. His Torah is now planted firmly in the Nation and is growing from Gush Katif to the Knesset to Yehuda and Shomron. Just as Pinchas was eternal, his Torah was eternal and is passed to tzadikkim in every generation continuing to revive the nation and keep the fire burning. Perhaps the missing holiday in Chesvan is waiting for a time when this rift is healed. This maybe alluded to by the yortzeit of the Rabbi 18 Chesvan which is the gematria of 'life' (Chai). Chai Chesvon - Kahane Chai. Maybe in this bitter time a new life will be born, possibly the day of independence of the new Kingdom of Judea. Defense against Amalek Mar is also the gematria of Amalek (240) and Doubt (240). The Amaleks that seek nothing but our destruction like the Nazis of the past or our Arab enemies of present are counteracted by the Torah of the Rav that clears the doubt that incapacitates us leaving us prey to our enemies. The doubts of our legitimacy, the doubts of our power and faith, the doubts that lead to compromise and betrayal of our brothers and our God are refuted by the Rav. We have always been our own worst enemy, but that does not always have to be. His Torah alludes to another gematria Spirit of God – (240) - ‫רוח יהוה‬ The Rav gave us a new heart, a new way of thinking and responding to those who pressure and persecute Israel. The only difference between the times of Moshiach and today is in our consciousness. It is the way that we perceive ourselves and our mission that determines the outcome. Mar is also in the word America, which also has the letters Keri (indifference) which we spoke about in Bechokotai. The current President 'Obama' is also the same gematria as America as well as Pharaoh (with kollel). It is possible that the final confrontation will involve America that tries to prevent Jewish destiny from unfolding. With the Torah of the Rav we will be able to stand against all odds and to the surprise of the world the two state solution will finally be implemented. The surprise is that the second State will not be Palestine but Judea. 270

Warning Signs In addition to the Shoa of the past the Rav warned about a potential Shoa again in America and Europe. We see today how the animosity towards Israel and supporters of Israel (the Jewish people) increases every year. The animosities of the past recur in the present because we need to learn the lessons and understand the correct response. Because we have not learned the lessons of the Shoa, Holocaust deniers sprout up telling us it never happened. The Rav's Torah is a wake up call for us to come home and as Jabotinsky once said 'liquidate the exile before the exile liquidates you'. The sins of the Shoa still linger and our reluctance to join Israel and be part of the light and strong arm of Israel is still a plague of assimilation that hurt us. Our divisions and doubts weaken us. The self sacrifice demonstrated by Pinchas is the remedy that is needed, even if there was a small Pinchas within our destiny will unfold without tragedies and needless suffering. Pinchas went against his nature because he could not be idle next to such desecration. The Rav also went against his nature to save Israel. We must also go a little against our nature to stand up and be counted. This is the secret of our survival and the coin of redemption that must be earned. The sins of the lovers of Midianites and the rock hitting lovers of exile is the great flaw that the Torah of Rav Kahane addresses and by addressing brings healing and rectification. There is much in our destiny that we can shape however our independence was ultimately brought about by God whether we deserved it or not. Now we must learn in retrospect why we are free and yet not free, imprisoned yet no longer enslaved. This would be a good point to share an article the Rav wrote in 1973 called Kiddush Hashem. Kiddush Hashem – By Rav Kahane Every year, on Yom HaAtzmaut, the Day of Independence in the State of Israel, the same dispute erupts. Is the Hallel, the religious thanksgiving that is traditionally said on all holidays as well as on Chanukah, to be said on this day? Essentially, what is in dispute here is whether the Day of Independence is to be considered a miraculous day, spawned by G-d, a day of deliverance as say, Chanukah? In turn, what is at the heart of the disagreement between those who say that the day is a miracle of G-d and those who say it is not is the question: Can this be the true deliverance, can a state be considered the hand of G-d when it is established, controlled and run by people who are non- observers, disbelievers, or worse? It appears to me that the question is totally irrelevant to the dispute and that the argument is based on a question that has nothing to do with the meaning and Divinity of Independence Day. It appears that most of us do not grasp the essence of the day. It is, therefore, important to consider exactly what independence is for the Jew, not only because of the true light that it sheds upon the technical place of Yom HaAtzmaut within Jewish tradition and observance, but because it teaches us that which we must know about the context of Jewish history in which we live and because it opens our eyes to the essence of the real meaning of Kiddush Hashem, Sanctification of G-d, and its absolute corollary — Jewish honor. The source for the concept of Kiddush Hashem is found in the third book of Moses, Vayikra (Leviticus 22:32), wherein it says: \"You shall not desecrate My holy name, but I shall be sanctified within the midst of the Children of Israel, I am the L-rd who sanctifies you.\" 271

The verse is immediately followed with the words, \"who took you out of the land of Egypt. . . \"and the obvious question is: what connection is there between Kiddush Hashem and the going out of Egypt? Certainly the going out of Egypt is clearly tied to certain mitzvot that logically flow from it (i.e., the Sabbath, which allows us to rest when we could not, as slaves in Egypt; the admonition against mistreating a convert who is a stranger in our midst because we too, were strangers in Egypt). But there appears to be no logical and direct connection between the going out from Egypt and the commandment to sanctify the name of G-d... Let us understand clearly and exactly, what the essence of Kiddush Hashem sanctification of G-d's name, is. When G-d's name is sanctified, then His greatness and omnipotence become absolutely and abundantly clear to the nations of the world, to those who know him not. It means that the converse — profanation of G-d's name, Hillul Hashem — is the situation whereby G-d's name is mocked, not recognized, not known, not respected and humiliated. If so how does one achieve Sanctification of G-d's Name? How is G-d's greatness and omnipotence clearly seen and understood? Conversely, how do we profane, shame and drag His name in the dust and cause it to become a mockery and disgrace? In only one way. The Name of G-d is profaned and spat upon by taunting, laughing and mocking gentiles when the people of G-d, the people Chosen by Him, that is identified with Him, that carries His zeal into ideological battle, is beaten, defeated, scorned and humiliated. The humiliation of the Jew is the humiliation of G-d; the desecration of the Jew is the profaning of G-d, His maker. The Prophet Ezekiel, in a magnificent and soul-shattering, fundamental explanation, speaks (Chapter 36:19-24) of the wrath of G-d directed at the Jews because of their sins and His driving them into Exile: \"I scattered them among the nations. . and when they came to the nations, into which they came, they desecrated My holy Name, in that men said of them, 'These are the people of the L- rd and they are gone out of His land!' \"But I had pity on My holy Name, which the House of Israel had desecrated among the nations, into which they came. \"Therefore, say to the House of Israel, thus says the L-rd: I do not do this for your sake, 0 House of Israel, but for the sake of My holy Name, which you have desecrated among the nations, to which you came. “And I will sanctify My great Name which was desecrated among the nations, which you have desecrated among them; then the nations will know that I am the L-rd G-d, when I become sanctified IN YOU before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all lands, and I will bring you to your own land.\" Jews! Read these words and understand. Understand just who we are. Understand the essence of Desecration and Sanctification! Do you want to know how the Name of G-d is desecrated in the eyes of the mocking and sneering nations? It is when the JEW, His people, His Chosen, is desecrated! When the JEW is beaten, G-d is profaned! When the JEW is humiliated — G-d is shamed! When the Jew is attacked — it is an assault upon the Name of G-d! 272

\"And when they came into the nations, they desecrated My holy Name.\" The very fact of Exile, the very reality of the Jews being driven from their land and forced to dwell as beaten strangers in foreign lands — THIS ITSELF IS HILLUL HASHEM, DESECRATION OF THE NAME OF G-D! The simple and elementary presence of exiled Jews, forced to wander among the nations, causes the gentile to point with a humiliating finger and mockingly declare: \"These are the people of the L-rd and they are gone out of their land!\" What he is really saying is: \"There is no L-rd, there is no G-d of Israel, and if there is, He is an impotent and helpless god. For if he truly existed as the Omnipotent and all-powerful Sovereign of the Universe, His people would not be in exile, they could not be at my mercy, they could not be beaten and shamed and humiliated by me.\" THIS is the desecration of G-d's Name. Every pogrom is a desecration of the Name. Every Auschwitz and expulsion and murder and rape of a Jew is the humiliation of G-d. Every time a Jew is beaten by a gentile this is the essence of Hillul Hashem! “For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the lands, and I will bring you to your own land. “ An end to Exile — that is Kiddush Hashem. An end to the shame and the beatings and the monuments to our murdered and martyred. An end to Kaddish and prayers for the dead. An end to humiliations at the hands of the gentile. An end to the gentile fist upon a Jewish face. The return from Egypt. A shaking off of the dust of the Exile and its shame, and a return to a Jewish state of our own created with the fire and the spitting of Jewish guns. A Jewish fist in the face of an astonished gentile world that had not seen it for two millennia. This is Kiddush Hashem. Jewish dominion over the Christian holy places while the Church that sucked our blood vomits its rage and frustration. This is Kiddush Hashern. A Jewish air force that is better than any other and that forces a Lebanese airliner down so that we can imprison murderers of Jews rather than having to repeat the centuries-old pattern of begging the gentile to do it for us. This is Kiddush Hashem. Listening to Yakov Malik sputtering with fury at the Jewish \"fascists\" rather than having liberal requiem masses created for our martyrdom. That is Kiddush Hashem. Reading angry editorials about Jewish \"aggression\" and \"violations' rather than flowery eulogies over dead Jewish victims. That is Kiddush Hashem. The State of Israel came into being not because the Jew deserved it, but because the gentile did. It came into being not because the Jew was worthy of it, but because the Name of G-d had reached its fill of humiliation and desecration. \"I do not do this for your sake, 0 House of Israel. but for the sake of My holy Name, which you have desecrated among the nations.\" That is the essence and the foundation of foundations. We say Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut, not because the government or we are worthy of the miracle but because G-d has decided to put an end to Hillul Hashem. The sins and demerits of the Jews who created the state are of absolutely no relevance to its creation. Israel came into being because ISRAEL IS THE ESSENCE AND THE APEX OF KIDDUSH HASHEM! Israel is the Jew who hits and is no longer hit. Israel is freedom and not bondage. Israel is living proof of the falsehood that is Christianity. Israel is Kiddush Hashem. Let us stop apologizing and fretting over world hatred and condemnation. They stem from their hatred of us, their frustration over our success, their terrible fear in the presence of the proof of the living G-d, 273

the Jewish G-d. The hatred will get worse because Jewish victories will continue and every Jewish victory is a dagger in the heart of the Jew-hater who sees his destiny turning to ashes. We will bring down more planes and liquidate more of those who seek to kill us. We will tread on every inch of the Land of Israel and build farms and houses and streets for our children to play in. And every brick will be a song of praise to G-d, and every seed will shout forth \"This is my G-d!\" And the Name of G-d will be hallowed and praised with every Jew who stands tall and proud and free until Jewish destiny will reach total fruition. \"On that day the L-rd will be One, and His Name One\" (Zechariah 14:9). Until then, no more gentile fists on Jewish bodies. September 14, 1973 (Meir Kahane: Beyond Words / Volume One / 1973 Pg.493) The Purity of the Impure (2016) There is a famous saying about a certain Jewish trait. There are those who ‘sin like Zimri and want the reward of Pinchas’. Only among the Jewish people will you find this dysfunctional zealotry. This week we saw a demonstration of this trait. I looked at the news and I saw the whole Parshat Pinchas come to life. It was the biggest ‘gay pride’ parade ever held in Yerushalyim. Where was Pinchas? There were of course many, but barricaded behind the police. Why would these people decide to march here in the holy city of Jerusalem? The same reason that Zimri stood in front of Moshe and proudly distorted the Torah. As Baruch Marzel said “Their goal is to destroy Judaism in the Land of Israel. They want Israel to be like all the other countries.” Benzi Gopstein proclaimed, \"At 5:00 p.m. this Thursday, in Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park, we will try to stop the Pride Parade, which will feature all of society's scum and filth -- the bottom of the barrel of the human race -- whose only goal is to spread their pollution and befoul the atmosphere of the holy city.” I thought of the Erev Rav and it raised a few questions in my mind. In Nedarim (Lamed Vav) there is a discussion regarding Avraham. Chazal retrace the origin of the slavery of Egypt to a lack of wholeheartedness when Avraham asks for a sign in Brit HaBetarim. Whatever faith was lacking would be refined in the furnace of Egypt. Others say Avraham made a mistake by not demanding the people from Malki Tzedek after the war of five kings. If Avraham had taken these people he could have led them in the way of Hashem. The tikkun they say was done in Mitzrayim when we left with the mixed multitude. On the other hand Moshe was not commanded to take the Erev Rav (mixed multitude) with him; he did this on his own accord. He was criticized for this. The Erev Rav were the main instigators in the Egel Hazahav and have historically caused Bnei Israel many troubles. Based on these two points of view it raises a question. Should this mixed multitude have been brought into the Nation or not? Was it good or was it bad? If we look a little deeper, we see that in Parshat Pinchas it was actually not the Erev Rav that caused this plague but the purest of the pure. Zimri was a leader of a tribe with lineage back to the forefathers of the Nation. In fact Pinchas whose zealotry saved the day by stopping the plague and elevating Israel to a higher standard, was himself from a lineage that included converts. How do we understand this? It seems to me that within my question is the answer. Is the Erev Rav good or bad? Its both. There are negative aspects of outside influences that can infect even the purest of the pure. On the other hand 274

sometimes there is a new blood that is infused within Israel that leads to the highest places of holiness. What would Israel be without Pinchas, Rabbi Akiva and David Hamelech himself? We wrote earlier that Nasso was the extension of Bamidbar. From this new National formation would now come the dedication of the Temple. Pinchas is the extension of Balak and from this refinement comes the mussaf offerings; a refinement of the Temple service from within this national entity. The final refinement of our National soul is dealing with those who sin like Zimri and want the reward of Pinchas. The clarification of true peace which according to Binyamin Kahane is not ‘co-existence’ with evil but the ‘removal’ of evil. Then there is peace. As our various streams of religiosity now share a mutual destiny of art science and spirit we have also become the reluctant defenders of evil forces against the free world. It is within this realm that the final tikkun will take place. It is also the moral decay from within that can remove our protection as avengers as we see in Parsha Pinchas. That which our enemies cannot do, only we can do to ourselves. We are living now in these last stages of our refinement as a people. The 240 of Amalek and the Mar (bitterness) of Chesvon (Rav Meir) must be transformed into Ram (240). From the lowest to the highest. “.. for the children of Israel went out with a high hand (Yad Rama).” (Shmot 14:8) Hamelech HaYoshev al Kisse RAM venissa. ‘O king enthroned upon a high and lofty throne.’ (Yishayahu 6:1) The highest level of the kings throne will be cemented by the transformation of this impurity into the finest gold. The 24,000 that were killed in the Plague mirror the 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva who are rebuilding what was destroyed. The final leg of the throne is incomplete as long as Amalek battles our body and infects our minds. The battle of Amalek was forced upon us at the height of our glory. ‘For the hand is on the throne of God, Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.’ (Shmot 17:16). In this passage the word for ‘throne’ is spelled defectively missing the letter Aleph. Because of Amalek the throne is not secure. Amalek (240), the worst of our enemies who spread through the world today with their suicide bombers and sadistic cult of death are strengthened by the doubt (240) and disbelief among Israel. Parshat Pinchas always falls around the weeks preceding Tisha Bav and the fast of 17 Tammuz. These dates will eventually be days of celebration when the final refinement of our people is complete and Amalek will be defeated. The weakest leg of the throne will eventually become the strongest. That which has wrought so much suffering will bring the greatest refinement. Today the days that are filled with sorrows of the pasts, and conflicts of Pinchas in the present will eventually lead to days of celebration. How will this last leg be fashioned? As we said earlier in Parshat Chukat; through the Mei Nidah, or Medina. In the shaping of the Medina that which is Holy will become tainted and that which was tainted will become Holy. We will rise to even higher levels than we had been. The wood of the Torah will make the bitter waters sweet as we are transformed. The Erev Rav brought the greatest catastrophes to Am Israel however a spirit from outside mixed with holiness inside can also bring the greatest remedy. The right mixture of the Mei Niddah is being administered each day as the secrets of the Para Aduma unfold. The dross will be separated so that even purity will come from the impure. 275

The Good Life in Gehinnom (2021) -‫ הוא‬:‫ ננמו יאל נו הד התן כו נא יבי הרם‬,‫ ט ו נב יני בא ילי האב‬9 And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and ‫ נא השר‬,‫ הד התן כו נא יבי הרם קרואי ) נק ירי יאי( הה יע הדה‬Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, the elect of the congregation, who strove against ,‫ הק כרח‬-‫כב נע כדת‬ ‫ כא נה הרן‬-‫ המ השה נו כעל‬-‫יהצו כעל‬ Moses and against Aaron in the company of ‫ ניה הוה‬-‫ כעל‬,‫נב כה הצ התם‬ Korah, when they incited against the LORD; -‫ כו ית נב כלע הא התם נו האת‬,‫ יפי הה‬-‫ י כו ית נפ כתח הה הא הרץ האת‬10 and the earth opened her mouth, and ‫ יאת‬,‫ כב נא הכל הה יאש‬:‫ נבמות הה יע הדה‬--‫ הק כרח‬swallowed them up together with Korah, when ‫ נל ינס‬,‫ כו יי נהיו‬,‫נח ימ ישים ו המא כת יים יאיש‬ that company died; and when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign ‫ ימתו‬-‫ ל הא‬,‫ הק כרח‬-‫ יא ו נב יני‬11 Notwithstanding the sons of Korah died not. (Bamidbar 26:9-11) Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. A Tanna taught: It has been said on the authority of Moses our Master: A place was set apart for them in the Gehenna, where they sat and sang praises (to God). (Sanhedrin 110a) My friend Yehuda asked me a question. We know the sons of Korach did not die and from Korachs descendants comes the prophet Shmuel Hanavi. If they went down into Gehinnom with their father however, how did they get out? A good question. I thought about it. Here is my reply. This week I heard a speech by Curtis Sliwa who is running for Mayor of NYC. He is definitely a Righteous Gentile and says strong words that most Jews will not say publicly. He echoes what Rav Kahane used to say about Jews defending themselves. 'If Jews don't stand up for themselves, nobody will stand up for you, he says '...'The politicians that you look to for answers cater to their real “base” and it isn’t you. In the end remember one thing. When a Jew does not understand their history they are doomed to repeat it. You can say the Righteous Gentile should stand with us but when push comes to shove our own brain cells kick in. So remember you got to say number one second to none. You've helped the Gentiles, you've helped the world, you've enlightened us, we have gotten so much from your Torah, your Talmud, your educators, your culture and tradition. We owe you, and the way we owe you is to make sure your rights aren't violated any longer and if necessary, take a bullet for a Jew because we know whats happened over the centuries.' While he was speaking at a rally in New York City standing across the street with protest signs were some Charedi Jews with signs reading: 'Jews Worldwide Condemn Unending Israeli Brutality' 'Judaism = Religion – Zionism = Nationalism' 'Authentic Rabbis Always Opposed Zionism and the State of Israel' With friends like these who needs enemies? Curtis Silwa turns to them and says 'they say they are religious, daven,Torah, Talmud, but they preach 276

a philosophy that is a double Shanda. You are the worst example of what Judaism can create. Where are you getting your dinars from. Is it Iraq? Is it Iran? Who is it that is lining your pockets. You need to explain yourself.' Mendel Kalmenson on the Chabbad website writes: In one of his discourses, the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, paints the tragic scene of a man whose infected arm was just amputated, and who breaks down in bitter tears. Why does the man cry? Rabbi Schneur Zalman asks. He no longer feels his hurting arm! Ah, but that’s precisely why he cries; because he doesn’t feel his hurting arm... Hurting is a sign of connectivity; letting go of the pain of disconnection, however uncomfortable it makes our life, sadly means letting go of connection. How can this particular Charedi group feel so disconnected from the struggle of their brothers that they march with our Arab enemies? On one hand we have self-hating Jews who desperately want to be accepted and reject their Judaism and protest Israel to curry favor with the Gentile, and on the other hand we have certain groups of religious Jews who wish to curry favor with the Gentile by claiming that Nationalism has nothing to do with them. It seems to me the hatred of their own people to such a degree comes from spite, envy, and cowardice. The nationalism they reject has a deeper motive than a disagreement with modern day Zionism. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?\" (Bamidbar 14:3) . Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.' (Shmot 16:8) There is a story that Rav Nacham Kahane tells in his book 'With All Your Might' about a less observant member of a strictly religious congregation in the shtetl. The Rabbi wasn't feeling well and so his wife went door to door to wake up the congregation for Slichot. It was a cold winter and the first door she knocked on was this man who was considered by others as not strictly observant. He saw how cold it was and that she was also not well. He pleaded with the Rabbis wife to go back home and he will wake everybody. She complied. He went door to door and when he knocked on each door people shouted 'Who is waking me so early?' He answered that it's me and it's time for Slichot. Each one scoffed. 'Look who is waking me up for Slichot?' The indignant congregants went back to sleep and the end of the story is that the only one who showed up for Slichot that morning was the less observant Jew. Everyone else was sleeping. I believe that contrary to the protest sign: 'Judaism is NOT a religion' it is the constitution of a Religious Nation. To have such anger against your Nation that does not adhere with the same strictness to the laws that you observe is similar to our story of missing the entire Slichot prayer due to spite. Korach complains that he is wearing all techelet. What does he need this extra techelet for? I suggest that without this blue thread of Zionism all the Torah and Talmud that is studied is meaningless and the animosity towards our Nationality angers Hashem. It is interesting that growing up in Hungary, the center of Satmar, was a renowned gadol in Europe named Rabbi Teichtal. He was influenced by the anti-Zionist opinions of the great rabbis around him, naturally adopting their negative outlook regarding the Zionist movement. But until the Holocaust, the issue did not concern him at all. Yet during the Shoa before he was murdered by the Nazi's he wrote the definitive book on Zionism. In the Introduction to Eim HaBanim Semeichah, he writes: 277

“Now that we have encountered unwanted days…I am unable to delve into ordinary halachic matters…since such study requires clarity of mind. Moreover, the storms of exile which have assaulted us, have banished the students from my yeshiva. I remained alone, isolated with my thoughts over the present-day destruction of the people and communities of Israel. Why has the Lord done this? What is the meaning of this terrible anger?” He goes through a transformation in his outlook: “The sole purpose of all the afflictions which smite us in our exile is to arouse us to return to our Holy Land…. I intend to publicly express my opinion, to teach and advise our people, the Children of Israel, how to hasten the future Redemption, speedily in our days.” From what he writes in the book’s introduction, we can assume that few people heeded his impassioned warning and call: “Those who have a predisposition on this matter will not see the truth and will not concede to our words. All the evidence in the world will not affect them, for they are smitten with blindness and their inner biases cause them to deny even things which are as clear as day. “Who amongst us is greater than the Spies? The Torah testifies that they were proper individuals. Nonetheless, since they were influenced by their desire for authority, and thus, they rejected the desirable Land and led others astray, causing this bitter exile, as Chazal explain…. The same holds true in our times, even among rabbis, Rebbes, and chassidim. In another place in Eim Habanim Semeicha, he writes, “I know that the humble ones who separate themselves from the building effort do so for the sake of heaven. They fear that they and their children may be harmed by joining people whose ways have strayed from the path of the Torah. “Behold, we can say about such people that although their intentions are acceptable, their actions are not, for many reasons. All Jews must be united in order to fulfill the positive commandment of the Torah of building and settling the Land…. Therefore, do as you are commanded! “Further, no harm will come to a Jew who participates in this great and exceedingly lofty mitzvah. On the contrary, if a large number of Orthodox Jews join in, they will enhance the sanctity of the Land, as I previously cited in the name of the holy Rebbe of Gur and the Ramban. Since we are commanded to build the Land and raise it from the dust, it is forbidden to be overly pious and undermine this endeavor, G-d forbid.” Korach's machloket that causes whole communities to disappear alive along with their children we have read about in the Torah and also witnessed in modern times when the Shoa caused 6 million Jews to vanish as if their communities never existed. Today the same dark clouds loom over our heads. What is our response? Have we learned anything? Have any of Korach's son's done Teshuva? My dear friend Shifra Hoffman (z'tl) spoke about an experience years ago in the USA at a convention of lawyers about Israel and rising antisemitism. It was shortly after the Nazi party was given the right to march with swastika's in the Jewish neighborhood of Skokie, Il. A judge came up to her afterwards and said: 278

'Mrs. Hoffman you're a fabulous speaker but people are going to think your crazy talking about Nazi's in America. Why should I leave? I have a wonderful life. I have a gorgeous home. I have two Cadillac's. My children go to the best university. Why should I leave the good life? She thought for a moment and answered 'Sir, what if the good life leaves you? Did you ever think about that? Shifra then turned to the audience and said 'We are so assured that we can go on this gravy train. That it will always be. But it can change in a minute. In a minute. And that minute is crucial!' Today we see the same signs on the horizon that people saw in Europe. The Amalek leader of the Nazi's in Germany wrote ' Conscience is a Jewish invention; it is a blemish like circumcision.” Unfortunately, we do not have to look far for examples of what happens to human beings devoid of conscience. Today there is a similar attack on morality and everything that the Torah represents. That which is forbidden is now institutionalized as a moral right. That which is a moral obligation is outlawed and silenced. Instead of the Aryian race today we have Critical Race Theory which is almost identical except now Black people are the Aryians and the White people are the devil. Shalom Pollack writes in the Jewish Press: Instead of hiding behind good Gentiles like Curtis Sliwa, why don’t you simply come home? America really is not your battle. You are not welcome by the Right or the Left, by White or Black. Each side thinks you are on the wrong side and has a beef with you. The tons of Jew-hatred one can see today in social media gives us a glimpse of what has been going on under the rug. It’s very crowded down there. Hashem wants to make us heroes not cowards. He wants a Jewish 'Nation', not a 'religion' or an 'assimilation'. When we run from our calling blaming Israel for disturbing the 'good life' of our exile by being too irreligious or too Jewish we are inviting the same disasters that befell us not too long ago. Moreover, they scorned the desirable land, they believed not His word (Tehillim 106:24) Rabbi Kahane writes: So terribly has the cursed exile warped our nation, that they not only see no personal duty to leave the exile but they do not at all consider it a punishment! What a perversion this is! (Or Hara'ayon, Vol 2 Pg 572 ) The Talmud likewise said (Ketuvot 110b): The Rabbis learned: One should always live in Eretz Yisrael, even in a city whose majority is idolaters, and he should not live outside Eretz Yisrael, even in a city with a Jewish majority. Whoever lives in Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has a G-d, and whoever lives outside of Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has no G-d, as it says, “To give you the Land of Canaan, to be a G-d to you” (Lev. 25:38). So where was this lovely place set apart for the children of Korach in Gehennim? Was it a beautiful home in Long Island with thousand dollar chandeliers,expensive sheitals and Glatt Kosher Puerto Rico vacations? Possibly. How did they leave this Gehennom? I believe that unlike their fathers who remained behind to protest people like Curtis Silwa, they most likely left Gehinnom on El Al planes, before the last airport closed due to the latest Plannedemic variant. 279

Only Pinchas Can Answer (2021) Rabbi Nachum Kahane asks an interesting question: Often, when the Talmud presents a halachic problem which could not be resolved, the issue concludes with the word \"TaYKU,\" which is an acronym formed by the first letters of the four words Tishbi Ye'taretz Kushyot U'sefaykot, meaning: in time,the Tishbi (Eliyahu the Prophet) Yetaretz (will resolve) Kushyot (rigorous questions) U'sefaykot (and uncertainties). Why did Rav Ashi, the editor of the Babylonian Talmud, place the onus of adjudicating halachic difficulties upon the shoulders of Eliyahu Ha'navi and not on the more authoritative Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the ultimate human law-giver? I suggest: Moshe was and will always be the ultimate law giver. But Moshe, as great as he was, lived 120 years and then left this world. Eliyahu never died and by virtue of his extended longevity was able to perceive the entire scope of Jewish experience of over 3000 years. This extended participation in all times and places of Jewish life cultivated his ability to see the Torah in all its worldly applications, hence he is the most suited to solve these problems. I would like to suggest an additional reason. The Talmud writes the following: 43:7 And Pinchas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron the priest saw, and he arose from the midst of the congregation, and he took a spear in his hand. And Pinchas saw - What did he see? Rav said: He saw the act and remembered the halachah. He said to Moses: Brother of my father's father, did you not teach us thus when you came down from Mount Sinai: If one cohabits with an Aramite woman, the zealous smite him? To which Moses responded: Let the reader of the letter be its executor! Shmuel said: He saw (Proverbs 21:30): \"There is no wisdom or understanding against the L-rd Wherever there is desecration of the Name, honor is not accorded the teacher [in this instance Moses (by awaiting his decision) - but the L-rd's honor is immediately vindicated]. R. Yitzchak said: He saw that the angel had arrived and was decimating the people (Sanhedrin 82a). The Sifri adds: When Pinchas beheld the open Chillul Hashem that took place Shittim, he burned with zealousness over the desecration of G-d's Name. And he looked about to see who, burning with similar indignation, would leap to put a stop to it. At that moment, Pinchas said: “Is there no man here who will kill Zimri? ... When he saw that all were silent, he arose himself from the Sanhedrin and killed Zimri” (Sifri, Balak 131). Rav Kahane writes: Vengeance is the inability to abide the act of abomination and injustice. It is the need to erase from the land the free perpetration of an act of evil, done without punishment. It is the need to show that in the world of the Almighty one who pollutes and defiles the world by an act contrary to its precepts will be punished. (Jewish Press 1980) Unlike the story of Aaron's sons who took 'strange fire' and failed to ask their Rav, in this situation of Chillul Hashem honor is not accorded to the teacher but rather the L-rd's honor is immediately vindicated. 280

We have already shown how the Gematia of Pinchas closely matches the Gematria of Rav Kahane. This adds relevance and dimension to the above question when we look at it from today's perspective. Questions of Chillul Hashem our Rabbis cannot answer. If they could the Chillul Hashem would be vindicated. Because they have no answers, and are at a loss, and ineffective to evil, (as in the scenario of Pinchas or Goliath when the army with all of its weapons stood powerless to the taunting of Goliath), only Pinchas or David are able to stand up and answer the questions of the day. Rabbi Kahane answered the most perplexing question of our generation that is forbidden to ask because we are told there is no answer. To those who have no answers and are doomed to repeat history - he explained the Shoa of the past that could have been prevented, and he explained the Shoa of the present that is just around the corner G-d forbid, that also can be prevented. The same self delusion and the same disbelief that 'it cant happen here' that made the optimists stay in Germany while the pessimists escaped exists today and only the willfully blind do not see this. Pinchas answers the perplexing questions of the past when he arrives again in each generation and sees the mistakes and warns the people not to repeat them - 'never again' means never again will we be led like sheep to the slaughter and will we sit idly by the blood of our brothers. He took up the cause of our brothers in Russia and he won. He took up the cause of our people in Israel occupied by a 5th column and changed the narrative from the illusion of coexistence to the realism of a 5th column that grows and must be uprooted and repatriated to any one of their 22 countries while we have only one Jewish State. We will yet find our identity and will yet win this fight too, for truth and justice of the Jewish cause. Thanks to Rav Kahane, the idea exists and will yet win the day and there will be a true peace. Only Pinchas could answer this perplexing question. The Rebbe was not able to, in the past nor the present. Only Pinchas can answer the confused questions in each generation because he is hurt by the dishonor heaped upon the Almighty and his people over and over again and he sees the embarrassment and humiliation turning into wrath as our protector leaves us. Only one who feels the shame can see how we are forcing the one who protects us to turn away leaving us vulnerable to the vile Jew haters and understands that the only solution is to repair that honor. Fighting the stick that beats us is a losing battle, without understanding who holds the stick. Fighting germs that quarantine is a losing battle, without understanding why they arrived and why they prevent our escape to Israel and seal our fate. Pinchas understands the questions in each generation and the source of the answers. Though he was mocked by his lineage still he could answer the questions of the generation that the most refined were not able to, because he felt the Chillul Hashem that others did not, and he could not bear it. Burying his head in the sand and looking the other way was not an option, and in fact we know, only brings the suffering and destruction closer to ones door. Contrary to popular belief Pinchas was not a person with a temperament that was easily angered. On the contrary he was like his father in Heaven, slow to anger; but was sensitive to the pain of his Father. The Pinchas in each generation knows that there is only one way to counteract the wrath of his Father, which is the unleashing of the wrath of His enemies, as He turns away from places He is not invited to and banished from. Pinchas invites his father back and will stand before his enemies in order to do so. Only this causes His father to turn his head and smile. In the Messianic times Pinchas will answer the questions that confuse us. Pinchas has answered. It must then be the Messianic times. 281

'Extremely' Good (2023) Many pages have been written about Bilaam's ability to predict the exact moment of Hashem's anger and to exploit it. It seems to me that one doesn't need to be a genius to anger Hashem. A son who degrades his Father or a disloyal servant who serves a foreign king, are sufficient to cause our Father and King to turn away. What does take wisdom and strength and a good heart is to know how to fix this breach between us. Those who fight in defense of our Father's honor and unmask the antagonists that poison the well with degeneracy and feel His pain and embarrassment, endear our Father to return. This act of zealousness to hit back at those who unravel the moral fiber that protects us, allowing terrorists both physical and spiritual to destroy innocent lives, is an act that is rooted in kindness. And what is the reward for such an act? Persecution, ridicule, hatred, pain and suffering are some of the rewards of those who come to defend the honor of our Father in Heaven. Chazal describe that when Moshiach initially arrives he will be tortured and cry out in pain. Hashem will comfort him and say that He too is in pain and has not sat on His throne since His sanctuary was burned. The Messiah will respond, “Master of the Universe! Now I am consoled. It suffices for the slave to be like his master.” (Pesikta Rabbati, 36) This week I spoke with two acquaintances, one named Yoseph and one named Pinchas. Pinchas told me that he always sees the broken 'vav' on the word Shalom as a picture frame of Pinchas. The 'vav' is broken because of his spear. It is interesting that the 'blemish' of this 'vav' causes the shleymut (completeness) of the Cohanim. It was taught: The service of a priest with a blemish is invalid. This is derived from “Behold I give to him My covenant of shalem” Because the vav of shalom is broken it can be read 'shalem' (Kiddushin 6b). My friend Yoseph told me that Yoseph and Eliyahu equal the gematria of Pinchas. Yoseph (152= ‫ )יו יסף‬+ Eliyahu (52= ‫= ) יא יל ה איהו‬ Pinchas (208 = ‫) יפי ננ החס‬. This answers a question regarding Rabbi Kahane. Some say he was Moshiach ben Yoseph and others say he was Pinchas. This gematria teaches us that it is really a similar idea. The one who becomes a target because of his vision and his love for Hashem's honor and his willingness to protest and put a stop to it, is the one who creates a 'real' peace which is 'complete' and not the delusional peace we make with the devil, giving him free reign to spread his disease throughout the body of Israel. [Rav Kahane = Pinchas see Pg. 265] The persecution of Rabbi Kahane is like the persecution of Hashem. As he was imprisoned and beaten and cursed, so was Hashem. The servant represents the Master and can restore the Master if we redeem the servant. To anger Hashem is not difficult however to appease Him and thereby cause the redemption to come quickly in our time with glory is a great challenge for those who 'represent'. Even for those who lack courage but support those who act, cause Hashem's countenance to shine. Those who appease forces of darkness by their indifference or worse still by their collaboration are not hard to find. May there be more good souls labeled extreme because they are 'extremely' good, to Hashem and to His people. On Rosh Chodesh Elul (Aug 13,1980), the military trial of Rabbi Kahane ended in Ramallah. He was charged with inciting the Arabs to hatred of Israel. He Writes: Pain and incredulity that I am being charged here for demonstrating against Jew-haters and for replying to their efforts to destroy Israel by replying: “There is no Palestine; those who refuse Jewish rule over Eretz Yisrael must leave.” This is my “crime.” I am pained. Israel debases itself....I came to Ramallah and Shchem to cry out the Jewish truth – There is no Palestine! - so that three should hear it. One: the All Mighty, so that He should know that there are still Jews prepared to sanctify His name, and perhaps for this he will have pity on us. Two: Jews, so that they should remember the truth to whom this land belongs. Three: the Arabs, so they should not be misled into thinking that all Jews are fools. So that they should know that if they do not accept Jewish rule, they must leave. If this is incitement – then imprison Zionism! (Beyond Words – Vol 3 pg 455-462) 282

Kahane in the Parsha Mattos 283

Collective Punishment and Collective Peace (2014) As I am writing this Israel is at war in Gaza. Over 2000 missiles have been fired into all parts of Israel in the last two weeks and by a miracle they have all been intercepted. Our evil enemy Hamas hides behind civilians and woman and children while they fire their rockets hoping for civilian casualties in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Hamas is \"committing a double war crime. They want more civilian casualties, whereas we want no civilian casualties.\" They base their headquarters in hospitals and schools and hold babies in their arms as they shoot their missiles into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem praying that Israel will strike back and be condemned for the Arab casualties that will result. The world knows that these people are despicable and immoral by their love of death and hatred of Israel however it is a moral confusion that only Israel can rectify. This moral confusion is coincidentally discussed in this weeks Parsha, regarding both the concept of collective punishment as well as the demand to believe fully in our ability to conquer the Land of Israel. On an interview with CNN this week Netanyahu said 'We use anti missile systems to protect our civilians, they use their civilians to protect their missiles. That is the difference between us.' The Collective and the Comfortable (2014) :‫נון‬-‫ יבן‬,‫ יויהו מש כע‬,‫ כה נק ינ יזי‬,‫ ני מפ הנה‬-‫ יב נל יתי הכ ילב הבן‬12 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, ‫ שא מח ןרי כיה הוה‬,‫יכי ימ כלאו‬ and Joshua the son of Nun; for they followed Hashem fully. (Bamidbar 32:12) :‫ הגד נו יל נב יני נראו יבן‬-‫ יל נב יני‬,‫ ו כוי הא המר המ השה‬6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to ‫ ןת כשבו הפה‬,‫ כו שא תתם‬,‫ הי הבאו של ימ כל הח המה‬,‫ שה שא ןחי תכם‬the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here? (Bamidbar 32:6) Today as in the past it is only a small percentage of our Nation that believes fully in our mission and is not deterred. In recent years there is a greater feeling of unity here in Israel as we run for shelters together when the sirens wail, however we still sacrifice our soldiers in house to house combat (instead of large aerial bombings) for fear of world condemnation. The culmination of Moshes teaching is summed up in this last mitzva that Moshe commands before he dies. 'Harass the Midianites and take Hashem's vengeance'. Moshes last mitzvah reverberates today. The final lessons we are learning today, are the lessons that precede the coming of Moshiach. Vengeance against the Midianites and conquering the Land 'fully' seem to be connected. A people that has forfeited its life because of its immorality and a tribe that feels it is enough to settle the Land without fighting its battles have something to do with each other. The dove of Israel will never find rest as long as her mission is not yet full. 284

In the Haftorah Yermiyahu stands against the government of Israel to proclaim Hashems will and is imprisoned for his prophecies. In our day Rav Kahane also stood and protested against the government to proclaim the commandments of the Torah and was imprisoned for it. What he warned of in the past we are beginning to see today as the people of Gaza use their children as human shields and inflame the Arabs of Israel with their Jew hatred. The Rav brought down Abarbanel (on Ex. 34:11-12 ) who writes: This is why it is said, “[the land] where you are coming.” Since Israel came to the land and took it from its inhabitants, and they feel that is has been stolen from them, how will they make a covenant of friendship with you? Rather the opposite will occur. “They will be a fatal trap for you.” When war strikes you, they will join your enemies and fight you. In other words the Arabs of Israel fit the description of the Canaanites as do any other nation that dwells in the Land before the Jews arrive. As long as we are not clear as to who our enemy is and simply try and settle the Land while ignoring the cancer that grows around us there will be no peace. Midian comes from the word Madan (Strife). It is the Sinat Chinam within (causeless hatred) that dissuades us from our cause that brings about our victories today that remain defeats. When we are clear and unified towards our cause and realize the evil of our enemy we will fulfill the final lesson that Moshe taught. In the battle of Hashem's vengeance as it was in the past so it will be in the future: “The commanders of thousands in the legions, the officers of the thousands and the officers of the hundreds, approached Moses. They said to Moses, “Your servants took a census of the men of war under our command, and not a man of us is missing”. (Devarim 31: 48,49) The Laws of Possession ,‫ הי נש יבי הה הא הרץ‬-‫ל הא תו ירישו האת‬-‫ נה נו יאם‬55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye ‫ נל יש יכים‬,‫ נו הה היה נא השר תו יתירו ימ ההם‬--‫ימ נפ יני הכם‬ let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and --‫נב יעי יני הכם נו יל נצ יני ינם נב יצ ידי הכם; נו הצ נררו הא נת הכם‬ as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. ‫ נא השר כא התם הי נש יבים הבה‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫כעל‬ (Bamidbar 33:55) ‫ נא השר ניה הוה באל ההיך‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫ התב הא האל‬-‫ יד יכי‬14 When thou art come unto the land which the ‫יוי יר כש התה‬,‫ נו הי כש נב התה הבה; נו הא כמ נר הת‬, LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, ,‫נה יתן להך‬ ‫ נא השר נס יבי הב התי‬,‫ כהגו יים‬-‫נכ הכל‬ ‫הא ישי המה‬ and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I will set a ,‫המ הלך‬ ‫הע כלי‬ king over me, like all the nations that are round about me'; (Dvarim 26:1) ‫ = תו ירישו‬Drive Out = 922 ‫ = יוי יר כש התה‬Posses it = 921 + 1 (kollel ) = 922 We can see in the gematrias the connection between driving out and settling. Rav Binyamin writes 285

about this idea in the Parsha. There is no successful settlement without first driving out the inhabitants, otherwise they will constantly be a thorn in your sides. Its not enough for Reuvain to settle in the Land of Israel, unless he takes part in conquering Israel. The same applies today. There will not be a collective peace until we drive out not only the enemies near us but those that persecute the Jewish communities by Gaza and any other places within Israel. We are all part of one body. Circumcising the Land I often wondered why the Land of Israel was given to us in this way. Hashem could have given us an uninhabited land but He chose to create this dynamic that exists till this day. I wrote about the concept in Parsha Lech Lecha. Last year I asked a speaker at Rav Kahane's haskara about this question, he told me that conquering Israel is connected to the concept of Brit Mila. I thought about it some more and it seems to make somewhat more sense. This has always served as an unusual sign on the body of Israel that is condemned by some as being unnatural. Some answer that a foreskin can cause infection, while others say that we are completing the work of creation. As it is written in the Talmud The Midrash Tanchuma (Tazria 5) cites a famous dispute between Rabbi Akiva and the wicked Roman procurator, Turnus Rufus. Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, \"Whose acts are greater, man's or God's?\" R. Akiva answered him that man's acts are greater. Turnus Rufus responded that the heavens and the earth are divine creations which man cannot equal. Rabbi Akiva disqualified this proof as out of man's realm, and thereby unfair to compare. Turnus Rufus then asked why Jews are circumcised. Rabbi Akiva responded that he knew that this question was coming, and that was why he answered the way he answered. But to prove the point itself, Rabbi Akiva brought sheaves of wheat and cakes, and said to Turnus Rufus: These sheaves were made by God, while these cakes were produced by man! Turnus Rufus insisted that the cakes are no greater than the sheaves. He then reformulated his previous point: If God wants children to be circumcised, why does the child not leave the womb circumcised? Rabbi Akiva responded: And why does his umbilical cord come out with him, with the child hanging by his stomach until the mother cuts it? Rabbi Akiva concluded: Regarding your question as to why the child is not born circumcised, this is because God gave the mitzvot to the Jewish people in order to refine them, an idea expressed by David in the verse, \"God's word is refined\" (according to his understanding of Tehillim 18:31). It seems to ring true that through the establishment of Israel and the ongoing battles we are being refined as a people. Gentiles who stand with Israel are also being refined. Our isolation from the time of Mamre and Avraham till today brings about the refinement of Israel and the world that stands with us. The Emperor proposed to R. Tanhum, 'Come, let us all be one people.' 'Very Well,' he answered, 'but we who are circumcised cannot possibly become like you; do ye become circumcised and be like us.' (Sanhedrin 39a) The Ishmaelites also do circumcision and seem to take it to even greater lengths by performing circumcision at the age of thirteen. The difference between us is that it is an act of free choice for a thirteen year old Muslim whereas for a Jew it was chosen for him when he was born as a symbol of what he represents. For us it is about refinement of character more than the willingness to sacrifice; this refinement happens even without our consent. Maybe today we see the difference symbolically. It may 286

seem like an act of greater self-sacrifice to willingly die for a cause however it is much nobler to live a life of self-sacrifice for the benefit of others than to sacrifice yourself in order to take others down with you. Brit Mila and Complete Faith ‫תנואון‬--‫ ילב נב יני יי נש הר יאל‬-‫ האת‬, ‫ז נו הל המה‬ 7 Why do you dissuade the heart of the children ,‫ימ נע הבר‬ Hashem ‫ ניה הוה‬,‫ הנ כתן הל ההם‬-‫ נא השר‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫האל‬ of Israel from crossing to the Land that has given them? (Bamidbar 32:7) ,‫ כי נע הקב; כו הי בא כהב‬-‫ נב ידי הנה כבת‬,‫ ג שו ית כד שבק כנ נפשו‬3 And his soul did cleave unto Dinah the ‫ ילב כה כנ נע הר‬-‫ כעל‬,‫ כו ני כד יבר‬,‫ כה כנ נע הר‬-‫האת‬ daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke comfortingly unto the damsel (Bereshit 34:3) ‫ = תנואון‬dissuade = 513 ‫ = שו ית כד שבק‬did cleave = 512 + 1 (kollel ) = 513 The emotional argument of the Jewish victims of terror that are violated and raped and start to believe that they are the oppressor causes us to lose our sense of purpose and mission. We are dissuaded from our path by the desire to intermarry and absolve ourselves of our mission. The Brit Mila separates us and redefines us once again. The Canaanites of today, like the people of ancient Schem, may think that they are the new Jews. By demonstrating their willingness to sacrifice, they believe that soon they will have the opportunity to rape and pillage Israel. The opposite is true. Their sacrifice will bring them collective punishment while refining the rest of the world. They will cause the reluctant conquerors to drive out evil, circumcise Israel, and complete Creation. Isaac and Ishmael were engaged in a controversy. Said Ishmael to Isaac: \"I am more beloved to G-d than you, since I was circumcised at the age of thirteen, but you were circumcised as a baby and could not refuse.\" Isaac retorted: \"All that you gave up to G-d was three drops of blood. But lo, I am now thirty-seven years old, yet if G-d desired of me that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: \"This is the moment!\" (Midrash Rabbah) 287

,‫ הה הא הרץ; הבאו‬-‫ האת‬,‫ ח נר יאה הנ כת יתי יל נפ יני הכם‬8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and ‫ נא השר ינ נש כבע ניה הוה‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫ ורכשו האת‬possess the land which the LORD swore unto ‫ כל נא הב יתי הכם נל כא נב הר ההם נל יי נצ החק ו נל כי נע הקב הל יתת‬your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‫ ו נל כז נר העם כא נח ירי ההם‬,‫ הל ההם‬to give unto them and to their seed after them.' (Devarim 1:8) ,‫ הי נש יבי הה הא הרץ‬-‫ל הא תו ירישו האת‬-‫ נה נו יאם‬55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye ‫ נל יש יכים‬,‫ נו הה היה נא השר תו יתירו ימ ההם‬--‫ימ נפ יני הכם‬ let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and --‫נב יעי יני הכם נו יל נצ יני ינם נב יצ ידי הכם; נו הצ נררו הא נת הכם‬ as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. ‫ נא השר כא התם הי נש יבים הבה‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫כעל‬ (Bamidbar 33:55) ‫ תו ירישו‬- Drive out, has within it the letters ‫ ורכשו‬- Posses Ishmael will cause the heart that dissuaded itself from its mission due to wealth and comfort to return to its source. The heroism and valor that is represented among our Nation will grow in contrast to the jeers of Ishmael and will and cause us to erase all doubts and possess the Land in its entirety. Collective Punishment In his article 'A Jewish Heart' Rav Kahane writes about collective punishment ….the heart of a Jewish soldier, murdered from an ambush in the Gaza Strip, was placed in the chest of an Arab “Palestinian,” Hanna Haddad ...There were pages and pages and speeches and speeches of similar paeans of praise for the humanity shown by Jews. And the story became the very symbol of the “Jewish heart” that transcends enmity and hatred and war, that saves the life of a man who hates the Jewish state and dreams of its destruction. No matter! The Jew is not supposed to hate the enemy; he is above that. So the conventional wisdom of the gentilized Jews of Hellenism. He goes on to tell the story of a Jew who died because an Arab family refused to give him a heart he needed, even when large sums of money were offered. The family was quoted as saying (me) “Those killed in the intifada are martyrs, martyrs of the entire Palestinian nation, and their heart already belongs to it . . . .” (And in addition, what normal Arab would give a heart to save the life of a Jew, his deadly enemy who took his land from him?) The tragedy of our times is the loss of Divine Jewish values, one of which is the obligation to 288

hate evil; to hate the enemy. We have – thanks to the gentilized values that have swallowed us up – lost our sense of indignation against evil, forgotten to hate it with a passion. And because of that, good people die even as we allow the evil ones to live, flourish and kill them. …...Do not be “better” than they, since in the end you will not be better but deader. And certainly do not be “better” than the All Mighty, who commanded you to be cruel and merciless against those who rise up against you and against G-d, “for whoever rises up against Israel is as one who rises up against the Holy One, Blessed be He” (Mechilta, B’shalach). And the Sifri (Shoftim 192): “Against your enemies [you go to war] and not against your brothers, neither Yehuda against Shimon nor Shimon against Yehuda who, if you fell into their hands, would have mercy on you . . . but against your enemies you go to war, who would not have mercy on you.” And Eyleh ha’Dvarim Zuta: You go to war against your enemies. If you have mercy on them, they will then go to war against you. It is similar to a shepherd who, while tending his sheep in a forest, found a baby wolf. He had pity on it and nurtured it. His employer saw it and said: Kill it; do not have pity on it lest it be a danger to the sheep. But he did not listen and so when the wolf grew it would see a sheep and kill it, a goat and eat it. Said the employer: Did I not tell you not to have pity on it? So did Moses say: ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the Land before you, then those whom you will allow to remain of them will be thorns in your eyes” (Bamidbar 33:55) That is Judaism. That is authentic Judaism. And true Judaism looks upon every member of an enemy nation as an enemy, unless he proves that he is not. Yes, there is collective punishment in Judaism. Written January 1990 Bereshit and Bamidbar It appears to me that there is a connection between the end of the book of Bereshit and the end of the book Bamidbar. What is this connection? The last number of chapters in Bereshit are focused on the same topic; the story of Yoseph. The last number of chapters in Bamidbar are also connected to the same topc; the story of Pinchas. The story of Yoseph deals with the rift between the tribes , its resolution and the concepts of Moshiach ben Yoseph and Moshiach ben Dovid. We read in the end of the book of Bamidbar in Mattos/Massaei the conclusion of a story that began in Balak and has continued throughout the last number of chapters. The topic is different however the idea of one theme that continues through a number Parshiot is similar. In the case of Bamidbar the theme is National vengeance against our enemies, rectification through Kiddush Hashem and inheritance of our Land. On the surface the topics of the end of Bamidbar and the end of Bereshit do not seem to be related, however I submit that they are in fact related. There is a hint of this relation in the very last few paragraphs that discuss the story of the daughters of Zelophehad who are described as descending from the 'children of Menashe, son of Yoseph. Before I connect the two themes, let me add another idea. The Lubavitch Rebbe in his Sicha on our Parsha mentions an interesting idea. We are ending the book of Bamidbar and saying Chazak Chazak 289

VeNitchazek in a time that does not seem to match. At this time of year when we observe Tisha B'Av and the laws of mourning that surround it, it does not seem to be a time of strength but rather weakness and devastation. He goes on to explain that it is not a coincidence and that in fact although it seems like a contradiction, this time has within it the potential of strength. In addition the destruction was the first stage in the rebuilding. I would like to submit that the strength that is hidden within this time of weakness is connected to these two books. First let us explain a simple concept that every psychologist knows. When one has a weakness and he works at this weakness and overcomes it, this weakness becomes his greatest strength. For a simple example many smokers who quit smoking can not stand to be around smokers because they are much more sensitive to the smoke than they ever were when they were smoking. Whatever one's weakness is, when one understand it and learns the tools to battle his weakness, he becomes a master of this particular attribute. With this is in mind let us now connect the two books. Bamidbar is actually the last book of the Torah given by Hashem, and Dvarim is a repetition by Moshe. It seems to me that the lesson that was learned among the tribes with the story of Yoseph, is further refined at the end of the Torah and then refined even further by Moshes repetition and accenting over and over again this same theme in the book of Devarim. What theme exactly are we speaking about? In Bereshit the family of Israel became unified and we understood our internal animosities. As the brothers made the required correction this led to a revelation and true reflection of events. Suddenly we understood every chapter that brought us to this final one. In the last chapters of Bamidbar the Nation is already unified and prepared to enter the Land of Israel. There is however one last lesson that needs to be learned. This last lesson and mitzva of the Torah is tied into Moshe's very existence. As Binyamin Kahane writes: When the desecration of G-d's Holy Name is at stake, there is no time to waste! Our sages teach: \"Moshe craved to see vengeance taken against Midyan before his death.\" When he saw that the vengeance he craved was not completed, he became furious. The sages continue: \"If Moshe wanted to live a few more years, the power was in his hands. G-d had said to him, take vengeance, and then you will be gathered amongst your people. The Torah stipulates Moshe's death on his taking revenge against Midyan. This is to teach you Moshe's greatness. He said, so that I shall live shall I delay the vengeance of Israel?!\" (BaMidbar Raba 22:2) The last lesson of the Torah, the climax of Moshe's teaching was to prepare Israel to conquer the Land of Israel, to bring divine retribution to the enemies of Israel, and for the Jewish people to inherit the Land. The whole concept of collective punishment that we deal with today is studied in these Parshiot. Moshe clarifies the concept of National retribution as well as personal retribution between Jews with the building of the Ir Hamiklat. The refinement that we must learn in the final days, is that our unity is not enough if we lack purpose. Yoseph and the brothers were unified, however that unity was still in Mitzrayim. The lesson we must learn is 'Sur mi Ra v Oseh Tov' – depart from evil and do good. There is no coexistence with evil. Evil must depart before good and peace can reign. Now when it is time to conquer our Land and inherit it there must be a clear retribution against our enemies and a settlement that is permanent. Binyamin further writes: The leaders of the settler movements made a tragic mistake in thinking all these years that they can build one yishuv after another and in the meantime ignore the existence of two million 290

Arabs who surround these settlements and dream of the day when they can throw them into the sea. ANOTHER SETTLEMENT IS NOT THE ANSWER TO THE ARAB TERROR, BUT RATHER THE ARAB TERROR IS A RESULT OF US BEING CONTENT WITH MAKING SETTLEMENTS AND NOT COMPLETING THE ENTIRE MITZVAH The entire Mitzvah is not only settling our Land but also expelling our enemies. If we do not expel our enemies then Moshiach and peace and all of the good that is intended for us and the world will not be revealed. This lesson was also given to Revain who was content to settle and was chastised by Moshe that settlement without conquest is not enough. We must feel the pain of our brothers in Yesha (the territory of Yosephs brother Binyamin) which has become now our National pain as we are all now in the same boat. There can no longer be indifference as we are the direct victims of this indifference. The weakness that we had for running from our mission from the time of the spies that were punished on Tisha Bav to the time of the corruption of the Temple to today has within it the potential for our greatest strength. This strength is Kiddush Hashem which comes from standing against adversity with faith in our new found hearts to punish and expel our enemies without fear which in turn will bring a much greater protection from above as well as below. The lessons that tied together the last chapters of Bereshit must be further refined as the Pinchas within us grows and we enter the Land of Israel unified but also with purpose and faith to circumcise the Land with our newly circumcised hearts. Menachem Av and Mar Cheshvon What could be the connection between Mar Cheshvon and Menachem Av? Before we answer this question we must recall what said earlier regarding the vengeance against the Midianites. ,‫ מי יאת‬,‫ ינ כק שמת כב ןני יי כש הר ןאל‬,‫ ב ננ הקם‬2 'Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; ‫ כע המיך‬-‫ ית הא יסף האל‬,‫ כה ימ נד הי ינים; כא כחר‬. afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. ‫ יה הח נלצו‬,‫ הה העם ילא המר‬-‫ ג כו ני כד יבר המ השה האל‬3 And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: 'Arm ,‫מי נד הין‬-‫ כעל‬,‫ ימ יא נת הכם נא הנ ישים כל הצ הבא; נו יי נהיו‬ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD'S ‫בנ ימדנ הין‬ ,‫ כיה הוה‬-‫ינ כק שמת‬ ‫ הל יתת‬. vengeance on Midian. (Numbers: Chapter 31:2, 3) Rav Kahane points out an important concept that our Sages teach us when they explain why the above text is altered. The vengeance of Israel is the vengeance if Hashem. We are the barometer of Chillul Hashem and Kiddush Hashem. We see then name Kahane inside gematria ‘fully’ as he along with Calev and Yehoshua were among the few who stood against the many to direct the Nation and chastise them for not rising to their calling. 291

:‫נון‬-‫ יבן‬,‫ יויהו מש כע‬,‫ כה נק ינ יזי‬,‫ ני מפ הנה‬-‫ יב נל יתי הכ ילב הבן‬12 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, ‫ כא נח ירי ניה הוהימ כלאו‬, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they followed ‫יכי‬ Hashem fully. (Bamidbar 32:12 ‫ = מילכאו‬seventy six = Kahane (plus Aleph) The Rav more than any other leader felt this Chillul Hashem and tried to raise Am Israel to avenge the desecration of Hashem constantly visited upon the body of the Jewish people. We mentioned that by Reuvain settling the Land without expelling our enemies it would cause a type of Chillul Hashem that would be detrimental to Israel. We mentioned that some of the root causes of this harmful behavior may be in the physical attachments we mentioned earlier. There is another Gematria that may allude to the correction of these potentially detrimental desires. The word 'inherit' is also the same Gematria. The great ones have left us with their directions. We must be a little like them and overcome our own attachments so that we can inherit and posses rather than dissuade. ‫תנואון‬--‫ ילב נב יני יי נש הר יאל‬-‫ האת‬, ‫ז נו הל המה‬ 7 Why do you dissuade the heart of the children ,‫ימ נע הבר‬ Hashem ‫ ניה הוה‬,‫ הנ כתן הל ההם‬-‫ נא השר‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫האל‬ of Israel from crossing to the Land that has given them? (Bamidbar 32:7) ,‫ הה הא הרץ; הבאו‬-‫ האת‬,‫ ח נר יאה הנ כת יתי יל נפ יני הכם‬8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and ‫ נא השר ינ נש כבע ניה הוה‬,‫ הה הא הרץ‬-‫ ו כרשו האת‬possess the land which the LORD swore unto ‫הל יתת‬ ‫ו נל כי נע הקב‬ ‫כל נא הב יתי הכם נל כא נב הר ההם נל יי נצ החק‬ your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‫ ו נל כז נר העם כא נח ירי ההם‬,‫הל ההם‬ to give unto them and to their seed after them.' (Dvarim 1:8) It's interesting to note that this word is written twice; once in the written form and an oral variation. The word we hear spoken by the chazan and the written word are slightly different. If we look at the Gematria of both these words although their Gematria is different we still see variations of the word inheritance related to them. ‫ – תנואון‬written (513) - ‫ תנ כי און‬- spoken (517) ‫ תנ כי און‬- spoken (517) ‫ ל הא הנ כת התה הז כרע; נו יה ינה‬,‫ יהן ילי‬--‫ ג כוי הא המר כא נב הרם‬3 And Abram said: 'See to me You have given no ‫ הא יתייורןש‬,‫ יבי יתי‬-‫ הבן‬offspring; and see, my steward inherits me...' (Bereshit 15:3) 292

‫ תניכ און‬- spoken (517) ‫ יו ןרש‬- inherits (516+1) = 517 -‫ו ננ כת התם האת‬--‫ נל הא יביו‬,‫ יאין כא יחים‬-‫ יא נו יאם‬11 If there are no brothers of his father, you shall give his inheritance to his relative who is closest ‫כו הי שרש‬,‫ימ ימ נש כפ נחתו‬‫יא הליו‬‫כה הק הרב‬‫יל נש יארו‬ ‫כנ נח הלתו‬ to him of his family, it. This and he shall inherit ‫ נל מח כקת‬,‫הא התה; נו הה ני התה יל נב יני יי נש הר יאל‬ shall be for the children of Israel a decree of ‫ המ השה‬-‫ האת‬,‫ ככ נא השר יצ הוה ניה הוה‬,‫ ימ נש הפט‬justice as Hashem commanded Moses.' ‫ תניכ און‬- spoken (517) ‫ כו הי שרש‬- inherit (516+1) = 517 If we examine these differences closer we see that the spoken word is related to two personal issues while the written word is related to the collective. I suggest that the reason may be that although this a collective commandment we should hear it as something personal as in truth we see and hear it unfolding before our eyes. Collectively we know that we have a commandment to drive out our enemies however don't really understand or ‘hear’ this commandment until it becomes a personal reality. If we do nothing our enemies fill in the vacuum we leave. The moment we retreated from Gush Katif the area was destroyed and became a festering breeding ground for terror. When we are able to dislodge ourselves and go to the forefront along with our brothers we will inherit our Land fully and live in peace. Just as we exchanged the words Israel for Hashem when it came to vengeance and Chillul Hashem in Parshat Pinchas, here was can exchange the Mar Cheshvon of the Rav to Mencahem Av. When we follow the path that Rav Meir carved with his life of mesirut nephesh we will begin to sweeten Mar Chesvon. In doing so not only will it sweeten Cheshvon, but also Av. The comfort that Hashem sends to His children in Menachem Av will be transformed to the comfort we send to our father. When we throw out the enemies of Hashem's people and rebuild His temple. Menachem Av will be transformed to comfort our Abba our Av. Then Menachem Av will have a completely different meaning. 293

The Barometer (2018) (at a farbrengen) Feivel do you have any questions? I have a question for Rabbi Butman.You have passed your bar mitzvah and you have past your second bar mitzvah last year at 83. Now at your age what are your concerns? Health? Security? Your children? Your grandchildren? Your great-grandchildren? What was the Rebbe Moshe Rabennu doing after his second bar mitzvah? What was his main concern at a hundred and twenty years of age? We read in the Torah that his main concern was vengeance against the Midianites, even at the cost of his own life. How can we understand this? Vengeance is something we normally associate with young and passionate people not someone who's 120 years old. Vengeance is something we usually say is in God's hands not our hands. It is not associated with Holiness and spirituality but the opposite - primitive and unrefined behavior. Yet we must ask ourself if this is what concerned Moses it must be something spiritual in fact he explains in this Parsha the very nature of national vengeance. When Hashem says 'take vengeance for the children of Israel' Moshe replies to the children of Israel 'take vengeance for Hashem' and we learn here that haters of Israel that come to murder Jewish people cause a desecration of God's name. We also learn that when the people of Israel punish them it causes a sanctification of God's name; for the people of Israel are seen as God's representatives. If our enemies can get away with murder, then our God is seen as weak and it desecrates His name. Let me also add something to what Rabbi Halperin said earlier regarding why we say chazak at the end of this book. The Rabbi said this is the time of Tisha B'Av and a point of our weakness not a point of our strength. He explained that the destruction is part of the process of the building of the final Bet Hamigdash. We are actually in the process of building even as we remember the destruction. Now I have a question. This may be true that we are in the process of building however where are we currently in this journey towards building the final Temple? I submit that the degree to which the concept of national vengeance is abhorrent to us, is the degree to which the temple is distant from us. We can be standing right in front of the Har Habayit but the thought of throwing out the Jew haters on the other side of the wall who plan our destruction everyday is so remote that the Temple itself that we stand in front of is also just as remote. We learn also in the Parsha this week then if we don't throw out the inhabitants of the land then what God intended to do to them he will do to us. In other words if we simply build like Ruvain wanted to without conquest, not only will the conquest not be successful but the very building will be destroyed. There are two parts to settling our Land; throwing out our enemies and then building this Holy Place. As we witnessed already with Gush Katif, if we don't throw out the Jew haters that which we had built will be destroyed and our enemies will only increase. This is probably something that Moses was thinking about in his old age. When we follow King David's instruction to turn from evil and do good (sur mi ra ve ode tov) then our building will last. Doing good without removing evil will not last. When we remove evil from our midst then we will have a just and lasting peace. On that day we will give the name Menachem Av a new meaning. Instead of the father comforting his children his children by doing the right thing and carrying on their father's will, will in fact comfort their father. Menachem Av will be a time when the children will bring comfort to their Abba (their Av) and this will be the new meaning of Menachem Av. (L'chaim) 294

This would be a good place to bring in an article I read recently by Shnuel Sackett. Where are they Going to Go? By Shmuel Sackett Every time anyone speaks about moving Arabs out of Eretz Yisrael, the first question is always the same: “But where are they going to go?” This article will answer that exact question. On July 9, 2018 an article was published by “Yahoo Business Insider” which stated that a whopping 800,000 foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia in the last two years!! 800,000!! Nowhere in the article did it state where they went because that wasn’t the point… they simply left. They went wherever their heart and dreams took them. They packed up their homes and their possessions and moved out of Saudi Arabia. They left permanently and I highly doubt many even looked back. You might say that the reason these 800,000 left were because they were replaced by the local Saudi population… but, actually, the complete opposite is true! The article states clearly that employers have a serious problem because “young Saudi men and women are lazy and not interested in working.” Therefore, Saudi Arabia needed these workers and, because they left, have a gaping hole in their workforce. The article further states that employers are “struggling to fill jobs”. Hmmm… 800,000 workers are needed in a Moslem country that speaks Arabic… Any ideas who could possibly replace those missing workers? Let’s think this through for a moment. Saudi Arabia is a country with a tremendous amount of open, undeveloped land. Yes, much of that land is desert, but look what Israel did to its own desert… it made it bloom! Israel is leading the world in desalination plants and agriculture hi-tech and would gladly help its neighbor develop and populate the desert. People moving there could get large amounts of land for free and could build the homes of their dreams. Think about an Arab crammed into a little apartment in Gaza, Ramallah or Hebron. With a guaranteed job in hand, why would they not move to Saudi Arabia and live in a palace? Wait, I’m not finished yet, it gets even better! According to the Zehut party platform, all Arabs wishing to emigrate from Israel (Israeli Arabs as well as those living in the West Bank / Gaza) will be compensated for their property at market value. The State of Israel will purchase their homes and also pay all moving expenses to Saudi Arabia. These Arabs will then arrive in a country where they speak the language and whose religion is their own. They will have money from the sale of their home and the entire move won’t cost them a dime. They will have instant jobs, be able to have property 10 times the size of their current residence and live a quality of life better than 90% of their Arab cousins. This plan protects their human rights, their religious freedom and safeguards their financial future. So, the next time someone asks, “But where will they go??” give them this article. If they truly want to help the Arabs of Israel gain a better future for themselves and their families, this is the plan that must come to fruition. 295

Inside Outside (2019) There seems to be a connection between the last few chapters of Bamidbar and the last chapters of Bereshit. There are a few similarities. The story of Yoseph continues over a number of Parshiot and here the story of Bilaam and Pinchas continue for a number of Parshiot. In the story of Yoseph there was a disconnection between the majority of the Nation and a small minority. The truth was hidden from most of the Nation. In the end that truth was revealed by the one that was hated. In fact the hated one turns out to be on a higher level than the rest of the Nation and in fact saves them upon his own shoulders. The hated one was thought to be an outsider in the case of Yoseph and thought to be acting similar to Esav. In the case of Pinchas he was scorned also for being an outsider, from a family of converts. Who is this outsider coming to kill a Prince in Israel? Why is there this calculation of one percent against ninety nine percent? If we think about it Israel itself which represent Gods truth in this world is about a half of one percent of the world’s population. It doesn't seem fair that Hashem injects a half of one percent of truth to convert an entire world of falsehood. How are we to conquer an entire world to build Hashems kingdom here? The answer is that we must put the entire world inside this half of one percent. Does this make sense? If we are already a half of one percent against an entire world should we also put this entire world inside this half of one percent? This is not unusual however. In medicine there is something similar. A deadly virus can only be completely cured by taking a part of this virus and putting it into the body. Only then can one be completely immune. How was this done inside the body of Israel? Moshe allowed the mixed multitudes to enter the body of Israel and it had both a positive and negative effect. Their negative influence infected the Nation to the highest levels where even a Prince in Israel tried to undermine the entire Torah. Who saved the day? Pinchas, whose grandfather Yitro was a convert. There were those who accused Pinchas of being a murderer. How dare he come to kill a Prince of Israel, when he came from a family that once worshipped idols? Yet this Pinchas was considered the greatest Israelite of his time. He saved the entire Nation on his back. Throughout our history many of our greatest leaders came from outside to inside the Nation to save us and raise us up and bring us back to our calling. From Yoseph who was thought to be another Esav and hated and yet saved the entire Nation on his back to Pinchas who was scorned as a murderer yet saved the entire nation, given the priesthood and called the Prince of Peace. The greatest of our leaders were outcasts and many came from families of converts like Rabbi Akiva, even David Hamelech the ultimate Israelite who is the Moshiach. We see this in our own time. The gematria for Zimri is equivalent to 'Rabin'. The gematria for Pinchas is equivalent to 'Meir Kahane'. It’s not so unusual as the story is quite similar. The Erev Rav (mixed multitudes) mentality reached the heads of the monarchy with the Oslo process that has caused a terrible plague and brought the average death toll four times higher than the preceding 26 years. * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Israeli academic Efraim Karsh described the Accords as \"the starkest strategic blunder in [Israel's] history,\" creating the conditions for \"the bloodiest and most destructive confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians since 1948\" and radicalizing \"a new generation of Palestinians\" living under the rule of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas with \"vile anti-Jewish (and anti-Israel) incitement unparalleled in scope and intensity since Nazi Germany.\" Karsh notes: \"All in all, more than 1,600 Israelis have been murdered and another 9,000 wounded since the signing of the DOP [Declaration of Principles]—nearly four times the average death toll of the preceding twenty-six years.\" 296

Rabin’s assassin was a student of Rabbi Kahane and the same thing they said about Pinchas they say about him and others like him. ‘Who are these Americans that come with their radical ideas from foreign cultures to teach us Israelis how to be more Jewish? How could an evil person come and kill a Prince in Israel? They only make it worse for us as they settle disputed lands and cause us more problems in the eyes of the world.’ This seems like a very similar argument that we see in the Parsha. There is always need for new blood and a new heart to raise our people up to fulfill their mission in the world. Not only do we see the concept of injecting part of the attacking virus into the body to create immunity but in psychology there is a similar idea that one must conquer his phobias. If one has a particular weakness he must work on this until eventually that weakness becomes his strength and his crown. Yacov our forefather ran from Esav until he eventually had to face his nemesis and battle him in order to become Israel. There is always new blood that comes from inside and outside to draw attention to our Achilles heel and to fix it once and for all by leaving the status quo. If we are accepting of an unavoidable plague of enemies that murder us from within and prevent us from building our temple, then we behave similar to Reuvain in our Parsha who wishes to settle without conquering. Only when we feel the pain of all the Jewish people and transform the Erev Rav that is within for our betterment, will we be able to remove enemies that grow like a cancer within and will we be free to settle undisturbed and have the ‘desire’ to build our Temple. When that tiny minority of truth influences the majority to raise themselves to their calling and truly be the Holy people transformed from Yacov to Israel, then like a domino effect the whole world around us will be transformed from our inside to their outside. The outside that invades the inside must be transformed and corrected using the same outside elements. The outside elements that cause a Prince of Israel to lead the Nation down a destructive path can only be corrected by another outside influence that brings a new and rejuvenated blood to the Holy Nation. When Israel rises to its calling then Menachem Av will not be Av the 'month' but Av our 'father' in Heaven and instead of Him bring 'us' comfort we will bring 'Him' comfort and we and the whole world will be blessed. 297

Judgement and the Jewish people (2020) So much of what happens in this world is based upon the judgment between Hashem and His people. So much needless suffering could have been prevented if we had only been more sensitive truthful and had more courage and integrity. The war is not between religious and non-religious it is between those who see and feel and understand yet do not protest when evil is done. The mass of complacency will eventually be overturned because of shameful acts that were left unobstructed. People say to me wasn't Rav Kahane an extremist? I answer yes, he was extremely good. He battled the extremely bad. Ninety- nine percent of the rest of the world were complacent like *Job who had no opinion and the preverbal question is asked why do we suffer? I learned something new today as I read through the Rabbis articles. I have always said that the root cause of September 11 happened 11 years before this with the assassination of Rabbi Kahane. Eleven years later his son was murdered and nine months after that, the tragedy of September 11 was born. September 11 was only the beginning of the plagues that we are still in the midst of today with Corona. A whole different history could have been charted and could have unfolded with glory instead of tragedy. I learned today in reading his books that the polls showed two hundred thousand Jews would have voted for the Rabbi in the Knesset elections which was a worrisome number to the right wing parties. If he succeeded he would have become the 3rd largest party and take many of their voters. It was they who banded together in the lawless government of Israel to ban him. He wrote in his book it was the 11th Knesset that sat and made this decision. What we experience today all began with that wicked 11th Knesset. They changed the hurried redemption to the painful one that Hashem must still bring however with punishments along the way so that this huge fat unconcerned mass will eventually feel something and squeeze their unfeeling blubber through the keyhole of a new day with a new heart that is beaten into them. There is nothing new under the sun. When we left Egypt with signs and wonders the Nation did not notice that among the many wonders the 11 day journey happened in only 3 days. This was not enough of a sign and they requested the spies which resulted in that very first Tisha B'Av. I suppose this was also foreshadowed by the original sign that Avraham asked for after winning a war single handedly against five kings (see more on that in the chapter of Shavuot). We are a Nation that witnesses the miraculous and yet still requires more signs. We missed the opportunity that could have been so many times, and stood in silence as gangster politicians continued in their perverse ways unobstructed, caring only for their power and not for their people. The 11th Knesset brought about the series of eleven because we missed the miracle of the three. The miracle of the short way was beyond us. The success of Rabbi Kahane was short lived as the success of Rabbi Akiva. It seems our sins outweigh our merits, our blindness is darker than our insight and vision and our callousness deeper than our sensitivity So what is the antidote? Demonstrating our love of the Land. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * The Talmud in (Sotah 11a) tells us that Pharaoh had three advisers: Yisro, Iyov and Bilaam. When Pharoh was deciding the most prudent method to exterminate the Jewish people, he sought the opinion of each of his three advisers. Bilaam, the grandson of Lavan, was an evil man and relished the prospect of eradicating the Jewish people. It was he who advised Pharaoh to kill the male Israelites. Iyov was opposed to any plan to destroy the Jewish nation. Rather than display his true feelings on the issue, he refrained from offering any opinion. 298

‫כיישב המה ןא שדע‬ ,‫ניה יוה‬ ‫נא הד הני‬ :‫ח כוי הא כמר‬ 8 And he said: 'My Lord, Hashem/Elohim, ‫יאי הר הש הנה‬ whereby shall I know that I am to inherit it?' (Bereshit 15:8) With What Sign? ‫ – שב המה ןא שדע‬Gematria = 122 -‫ ימ כמ הטה האל‬,‫ ית הסב כנ נח הלה יל נב יני יי נש הר יאל‬-‫ ז נול הא‬7 An inheritance of the Children of Israel shall not ,‫ נב כנ נח כלת כמ יטה נא הב התיו‬,‫ יכי יאיש‬:‫ מכטהה‬make rounds from tribe to tribe; rather the ‫ נב יני יי נש הר יאליי כד כבקו‬, Children of Israel shall cleave every man to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. (Bamidbar 36:7) 122= ‫ שב המה ןא שדע‬- with what sign? 122 =‫ קוביד‬- Covid (the sin and negative consequence) 122= ‫ יי כד כבקו‬- cleave (to our inheritance) – (the solution and remedy) To correct the negative consequences of our excuses and complacency we must lean in the opposite direction, towards a demonstrated love and desire for our inheritance. The correction of the root cause of our persecution is found in the last passages of the book of Bamidbar, 'cleave every man to his inheritance.' The same Gematria that can remedy our fears and lack of faith is found in the end of the book of Bamidbar 'Children of Israel shall cleave every man to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.' Furthermore it is intersting to note that Tisha B'Av and the Gid Hanashe are connectedd. For the 365 tendons in the body are compared to the 365 days of the year, and the prohibition of the gid hanasheh is related to the day of Tisha B’Av, which is hinted at in the verse: “The Israelites therefore do not eat the displaced nerve (gid hanansheh) on the hip joint to this very day” (Genesis 32:33) – not to eat on Tisha B’Av. (Zohar and Midrash Ha’Ne’Elam). Running from our glory and basing our decisions on the Gid Hanashe and fear of world opinion will only bring more Tisha B'av's. The answer is running towards the Good Land and clinging to it like clinging to ones mother and expelling those who would harm her and abandon her. Redemption has always been in our hands and destruction and folly as well. May we find a new heart in these troubled times and liberate Judea and anoint the 1st king in modern times. Though this seems farfetched Corona was also not to be believed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps he knew that his objections would be met with resistance. He most likely rationalized that he could do more to help the plight of the Jewish people at a later date by remaining in his position as advisor. As a result, he decided not to oppose or accept Bilaam’s proposal, but remained silent. Yisro, on the other hand, vocally rejected Pharaoh’s idea of exterminating the Jewish people. Yisro believed it was wrong that these people should be made to suffer for no crime other then being Jewish. Yisro’s loud protests angered Pharaoh and Yisro had to flee Egypt in order to save his life. 299

Twenty Two Days (2022) In our Parsha we read about a reprisal war against the Midianites. This week in Israel there was another battle against evil. This battle, however, was barely seen in the press. Thousands of good Jews have had enough of the well funded and premeditated Arab takeover of Jewish designated Area C and went out to build seven new settlements. For thirty years the government has forbidden the establishment of Jewish settlements and turning a blind eye to the Arab takeover. These holy and peaceful Jews were met with extreme violence from the police and soldiers that were sent by Defense Minister Gantz. The future however is with these resilient youth. A new chapter has begun in the hills of Judea and Samaria and the eternal spirit of Pinchas is with them. I heard a Midrash that the twenty two days of mourning before Tisha B'av are connected to the twenty two years that Yacov mourned for Yoseph. Yoseph is still being abandoned and sold and beaten and silenced in every generation including ours. It is the violence we do to Yoseph that causes our own destruction. As Heretics take over the world before the coming of Moshiach and perverts and degenerates dedicate a month to be proud of their sins, we have twenty two days to meditate on our destiny and to awaken and save our Nation from being devoured by wolves. Rabbi Kahane brings down in The Jewish Idea: Yalkut Shimoni teaches (Tehillim, 14:662) G-d said to the evildoers, \"You in your hearts and I in Mine. You ‘say in your hearts: Let us destroy them together (Ps. 74:8), and I say, 'For the day of vengeance is in My hearť (Isaiah 63:4).\" (The Jewish Idea, Vol 2, P.885) As the undermining of Hashem's moral system increases the vilification of the moral people of Israel increases. Those who obey Hashems command to settle His Land are called illegal and agitators. The dismantling of Hashems laws and the spread of heresy that is described in the days before Moshiah seems to be happening before our eyes. As the Talmud describes: What is the meaning of ‘and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey [mishtollel1]’? — The School of R. Shila said: He who departs from evil will be dubbed a fool by his fellow-men. (Sanhedrin 97a) The more we appease and embrace the sly foxes that seek our destruction the more we become enslaved by fascism and paganism that is taking over the world. The government of Israel instead of being the leader of nations is a tail that wags in acceptance. However the people of Israel are overwhelmingly patriotic and are with the builders of the Nation and not the destroyers. The heretical and degenerate heart that increasingly becomes destructive to those that uphold Gods laws will be met with a day of reckoning, and a new spirit, that will defy all the physical and spiritual enemies of Hashems beloved people. That day has already arrived. 300