Kahane Codes - Part Two Vayikra,Bamidbar,Dvarim

["TISHA B'AV Something Has Happened Since Napolean... (1993) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg It is told of Napolean, that upon passing a synagogue during the Ninth of Av, looked inside and saw Jews sitting on the floor and weeping. When he inquired further he was told the Jews were mourning over the destruction of their Holy Temple. \\\"How long ago did this occur?\\\", he asked. \\\"About 1,500 years ago\\\". \\\"In that case\\\", said Napolean, \\\"there is no doubt that their Temple will be rebuilt. A people capable of crying for so long over its destroyed Temple and Land will eventually find its way home.\\\" While the Jewish People remained in the Exile, this was a nice story. Without a doubt, its optimistic message encouraged our people during times of severe hardships. Napolean was keen enough to realize that a people who relives its past will succeed in conquering its future. Indeed, our sages have already stated that, \\\"He who mourns for Jerusalem will merit to share in her joy\\\". (Trachtate Taanit, 30) However there exists one little problem. All this mourning was appropriate when we were forced into the Exile, being held at the mercy of the gentile nations and thus unable to forge our national destiny. In such a case, it was fitting to mourn \\\"whole-heartedly\\\" over our destroyed Temple and land. And today? One need not to have a Ph.D. in history to see how things have changed since the times of Napolean. Then - the land of Israel lay desolate; today it is rebuilt. Then - Jews dreamt about coming to Israel; today Jews not only live in Israel, but they rule over it. Then - all we could do was cry... but today??? Is mourning the only imperative for today? Is it not a bit absurd to lament in the synagogue of the Exile, beseeching G-d for a speedy redemption, when all one need do is pack one's bags and board an eastbound El Al. Is it enough to stand down by the \\\"Wall\\\" of the Temple Mount wailing over the destruction when it is in our hands to erect the fallen city; in our hands to purify the site from the foxes who degrade it, and yes, even in our hands to rebuild the Holy Temple! The historic opportunity to rebuild and renew burns in our hands, and instead we find 101 excuses to disregard it. Fellow Jews! Let us open our eyes and appreciate the wondrous miracles that Hashem has granted us - miracles we have not witnessed since the days of our exodus from Egypt! He who cried, and only cried in the days of Napolean did right; his tears were sincere. But today, he who only cries and does not combine his tears with real action - his lamentations leave much to be desired. His entreaties go unheeded, for G-d urges us on as he did to the Jews before their crossing of the Red Sea: \\\"Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel - that they go forward!\\\" What are you crying for? Go forward and determine your destiny! Arise and act to sanctify G-d's Name! Yes, something has happened since the day Napolean walked into that shteeble on the Ninth of Av. Let us join those who are ready not only to cry, but also to do! 551","The Holocaust That Is Overshadowed by the Destruction of the Temple (1996) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg The revolution against the Romans and siege on Jerusalem which resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple, produced one of the worst holocausts in Jewish history. According to the testimony of Yosef Ben Matitiyahu (Yosefus Plabius), about one million Jews were killed in Jerusalem, and 100,000 prisoners were taken captive to Rome. Despite this chilling fact, it is only a footnote in the history of this era. While every child knows that on Tish A B'Av the Temple was destroyed and we were exiled from our land, many Jews are less aware of the physical holocaust which accompanied it. And how puzzling are the words of our sages, who tell us that that G-d had mercy upon the Jewish People, pouring out his fury on wood and stones (the Temple) instead of on the Jews themselves who had sinned. If this is so, the question is two-fold : 1. One million Jews killed shows us that \\\"G-d poured his fury on wood and stones\\\"? 2. Why has the death of so many Jews become marginal in our Tisha B'Av mourning? Is human life less important than the wood and stones of the Temple? To answer these questions, we must free ourselves from our western mindset. For according to the Jewish idea, physical existence is NOT the ultimate value, but rather there is a purpose to the life of a Jew, and without this purpose, the reason for his existence becomes less significant. This is the reason that the massive slaughter of Jews that took place during the siege is dwarfed in importance when compared to the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish People from their land. Because when the People of Israel are not in the land of the living, Eretz Yisrael, and when their Temple is destroyed, the Jew can no longer properly fulfill his destiny in the world. His life, so to speak, loses its meaning. This explains the startling stories of many Jews who lost their faculties upon seeing the Temple burning in flames, and simply cast themselves into the fire, burning themselves alive! They could not grasp a reality of \\\"Am Yisrael\\\" without the Holy Temple. After 2,000 years of exile, this idea seems a bit extreme. Is it really the end of the world when the Temple is burned down? Don't we at least fulfill mitzvot in the exile? Can't we fulfill our destiny as Jews without a Temple? The answer to this is clear: No. The entire reality of observing mitzvot in the exile is \\\"B'diavad\\\" - that is, it is undesired, but must be done because of lack of choice. For the Torah was given to the Holy People to be performed in the Holy Land, and in the exile we became a mere religion comprised of individuals. For this the sages tell us that the purpose of fulfilling mitzvot in the exile is only so that we won't forget them when we return to the Land of Israel, where the fulfillment of mitzvot take on their full significance. Now we can answer the two questions we posed: When Israel sinned,desecrating the Holy Temple and turning it into a \\\"discotheque\\\", G-d was really supposed to destroy us all, G-d forbid. But since G-d loves us and ties His Name (His existence, so to speak) to the name of the Jewish People, He determined that we will never be totally wiped out. Therefore, he destroyed the wood and stones of the Temple instead of destroying those who desecrated it. But this does not negate the possibility that the Jewish People will be severely punished with the likes of holocausts and exiles (which is the harshest punishment of them all). Indeed, total annihilation will never be, and in the end there will be redemption, with the Jewish People returning to fulfill it's destiny in a complete way in its land and 552","Temple. Now it can be understood how the massive killing of Jews in Jerusalem can be viewed as a marginal event in relation to the destruction itself. Because the moment the Jewish People are exiled from their land and there is no Temple - life itself becomes less significant. More than that, all the tragedies of the exile - the Inquisitions and Holocausts, are secondary to the exile and the destruction itself. In fact, the spiritual vacuum of the Temple is the reason for the physical tragedies that befall us, for one is dependent upon the other! 553","Therefore, all efforts for \\\"Eretz Yisrael\\\", for the building of the HolyTemple and for the purifying of the Temple Mount which is the life-center for \\\"Am Yisrael\\\", are not reserved just for \\\"those interested in politics\\\". All those who fear G-d, love Israel and are pained by the exile of the Divine Presence must make these issues the center of their lives. For the fulfillment of the mitzvot are dependent on them. The return of the Jewish People to life is dependent on them!! 554","555","556"]