Kahane Codes - Bereshit Shmot

and parcel of our Nation. His body has entered our National body so to speak. What does it mean that his Torah was equivalent to all the other Torah's? Among all of our Torah leaders none could answer the burning questions of our times. Where was God in the Shoa and where is God today in secular Israel? He demonstrated by going into battle the 'flaw' in our souls that begs the question 'Where were 'we' in the Shoa and where are 'we' today in the re-born Israel? Where are we now when it comes to protest and where are we now when the gates of Israel are wide open? The small numbers that did come out to his protests and the great numbers who hated him are an indication of who we are and what is our flaw. This is the same flaw we had before the Shoa. He made it more apparent to us. One of his famous books was called 'Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews'. This is the point. We live in denial and then do too little, too late. After years of struggle and after dying in combat bringing these ideas into the heart and soul of our Nation, we are now on the way to becoming healed and hopefully soon will be ready to accept the Torah once again. It wasn't enough for Moshe to bring the Jews out of Mitzrayim, he also had to teach them and train them and heal them so that they could receive the Torah. This was the point. It wasn't enough for the Rav to protest and bring a million Russian Jews to Israel, it was the concepts that he taught us about what is a Jew and why we must protest. What is our vocation and what is demanded of us? How do we act in a way that brings glory and not tragedy? The sword of David and the Torah of David work together. His Torah which is medicine for the Jewish soul has revived the Nation and we see today how the governing powers are fearful because those who fear God are slowly taking over the Nation. Those who fear the Nations are saying 'we hope there is a God because our leadership is leading us to confrontation'. The Rabbi would often say 'Better an Israel that is hated by the world than an Auschwitz that is loved by them'. As the Kalisher Rav quoted at the beginning of this book 'If your Torah hasn't been banned then it's not worth reading'. Bob Dylan writes about JC who 'came and died a criminals death'. The Christians built a whole religion upon this Moshiach ben Yoseph concept. There is something to this idea. All of our great spiritual leaders have been chased and harassed by government authorities. Sometimes it's hard to tell who are the 'good guys' and who are the 'bad guys'. Moshe was a fugitive because he killed a Jewish oppressor. Rav Kahane was also banned, harassed and finally assassinated because he fought against Jewish oppressors. So how does one determine who is following the law and who is breaking the law? What leaders and scholars will make the Halacha clear? This is what the Rav wrote: The Jewish concept of government is clear; The government exists to serve the state. The state exists to serve the people. The people exist to serve God.....When the government demands that a Jew disobey a [Divine] law – he must disregard the illegal order. When the government refuses to allow a Jew to obey a legal obligation – he must defy the illegal attempt [of the government]. Settlement attempts in Eretz Israel are in the highest tradition of Jewish obedience to law and order....For the sake of the Jewish people and the Jewish State, [Jewish] law and order must be preserved. (Rabbi Meir Kahane:His Life and Thought Pg. 421) Not only was his life an example (of our failure) but he laid down the Halacha clearly for us to understand the great tragedies and great miracles of our times. Millions of lives could have been saved if the escape to Israel had been promoted before the Shoa. Today as well who knows how much damage has been done by the continued animosity towards Israel from large percentages of both religious and secular Jews that refuse to leave and participate in the miracle of Israel's rebirth. 301

Let's return to our Parsha. Moshes name is not mentioned even once in the entire Parsha of Tezaveh. This was the fulfillment of a curse which Moshe brought upon himself. After the sin of the Golden Calf, he told Hashem, “If You do not forgive their sin, I beg You, blot me out from Your book which You have written!” A Tzaddik's words must take effect (even if the condition attached to them is not fulfilled). Hashem consequently erased Moshe's name from Parsha Tezaveh. This doesn't simply mean he holds him to his word, it means he has paid the price for the people. Hashem is generous to us and the Tzadik pays by being removed from a chapter of the Torah. Although his name is erased it is hidden in the passage that describes the Shoham stones. The priest breastplate was attached by two chains that were attached to two Shoham stones that rested on the Cohen's shoulder. The breastplate represented the twelve tribes with each of their stones and they were all suspended by the two Shoham stones that were on the shoulders of the Cohen. The letters that spell Shoham are the same letters that spell Moshe (‫שהם‬/‫)משה‬. This is an indication that the Tzaddik pays the price for us all. The Tzadik is the Shoham stone that carries the whole Nation on his shoulders. By his example he shows us what is demanded and what is possible. He clarifies our confusion and inability to act against the Goliath's of our times. He takes them on himself. He demonstrates our flaw and weakness by our apathy or persecution of the Tzadik who comes to help us. He is the barometer of our condition. He is the minors canary. It is we who kill the Tzadik by allowing the messenger to be destroyed in his attempt to save us. It is we who are to blame for not defending him and leaving him a target for wild beasts. As we treat the Tzadik so will the Nations treat us, measure for measure. The cure is to take up his mantle, even though we do not have the same gifts. He showed us the way and what is demanded. In our own way we must answer the call and change the body of the Nation to reflect our true calling. We too must begin to carry the Nation upon our shoulders. In this way we become like the Tzadik. When we serve God in the way that He desires then God serves us as well and protects us from harm. This is the lesson the Tzadik brings to us. He demonstrates and defines for us the authentic Torah that is demanded of our generation. He trains us in the essential actions that prevent tragedy and bring glory to our Nation. Just as many Christians return to the roots of Judaism and eventually many will join the body of the Nation as Jews; in the same way we as Jews must return to our roots and act more like the Tzadikim who paid for our survival and glory. 302

The Masses are Shaped by the Power of the Small When a cow eats grass he elevates the grass into a higher form. Jews elevate the cow when they make a blessing and consume it. The Tzadik elevates the whole Nation when the Tzadik is consumed. When Moshe said 'erase me from your book' Hashem accepted his self-sacrifice and erased Moshe from Parsha Tezaveh which paid a price for us all. One of the remedies for the Nation after the sin of the Egel is seen in Parsha Ki Sissa. Giving the half shekel to the mishkan is a way of each one making a self-sacrifice for the benefit of the Nation. It also demonstrates that we are not complete without the other. Each one of us is only a half. We all must learn from the Tzadik to be like him, even if it is only a half shekel that we can give of our-self. In the temple atonement wasn't made until the Levites consumed the sacrifice. The Nation consumes the sacrifice of the Tzadik by in a practical sense, learning from the guilt they have of his loss; a loss that they could have prevented. Learning from his example; becoming more like him in their small way, the Nation is transformed and the Tzadik's Torah is digested. On a metaphysical level, he pays for the whole nation; the whole nation is elevated because of one man. Just as Moshe's sacrifice was connected to the half shekel, so was the Rav's sacrifice connected to the 'orange revolution' that came after him and embodied his spirit on a more National level. In Parsha Yitro we learn something interesting about Nadav and Avihu. Just as Nadav and Avihu in their elation were careless and died from their proximity to holiness, we see that actually the whole Nation has this ability. As a Nation we had to be warned twice to stay back and not get too close otherwise we would die. The desire to be close to the Divine is something innate in us all. During the Spanish Inquisition many non-observant Jews gave their lives rather than convert to Christianity. The tzadik prepares us to elevate ourselves to the point of sacrifice. He is the shemen zayit; the pure oil that is able to give himself in a way that elevates the nation by his example. His sacrifice is made to unify the nation. The irony is that Rav Meir was considered a pariah like Yoseph; one that was a threat; yet in the end; like Yoseph he will be understood as the great unifier. 303

The Shoulders of the Tzadik Teiku is a word used in the Talmud when there is no resolution. It is an anachronism for Tishbi yetaretz kushiyot ubaayot (Eliyahu HaTishbi will answer the questions we have when he comes). Although these questions deal with details of the Oral law and not philosophical questions, the question of why Tzadikim die for our sins, or 'pay the price' to elevate the Nation is still difficult to understand. The Midrash tells us that Moshe was shown Rabbi Akiva in the future explaining things in the Torah that even he had not seen. When he was shown Rabbi Akiva's end Moshe had difficulty understanding this. Moshe himself was taken out of one chapter of the Torah for the sake of the Jewish people and was commanded not to set foot in the Land that he desired more than anyone. He paid the ultimate price so that the Nation of Israel would live on. The gematria of Teiku is 516. This number has a few interesting correlations. The number 516 equals the word 'shoulders' which we spoke about in Parsha Tezave. ‫ מעל יכ קת םפת‬,‫תי נה נא נב ינים‬,‫ קש ת‬-‫ יב קו מש קמ נת לאת‬12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the ‫אל; קו ננ נשא מא נה םרן‬,‫תני יי קש נר ת‬, ‫ יל קב‬,‫תני יז נכ םרן‬, ‫ מא קב‬,‫תא םפד‬, ‫ נה‬shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of ‫כרתלפאיו‬-- memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron ‫תתי‬, ‫ קש‬-‫מעל‬ ,‫קיה נוה‬ ‫ני‬,‫יל קפ ת‬ ‫ קשמו נתם‬-‫לאת‬ shall bear their names before the LORD upon his ‫ קל יז נכ םרן‬two shoulders for a memorial. (Shmot 28:12) The Shoham stone which also spells Moshe (same letters) are placed on the shoulders with a chain attaching the breastplate with all the tribes of Israel on them. It is as if to say the Gadol HaDor carries all the tribes of Israel, the entire generation on his shoulders. The number 516 also is connected with the word possession ‘yerush’ . ‫תנה‬, ‫ ל םא ננ מת נתה נז מרע; קו יה‬,‫תהן ילי‬, --‫ ג מוי םא למר מא קב נרם‬3 And Abram said: 'Behold, to me Thou hast given ‫אםתיייו לרש‬ no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is to be ,‫י יתי‬,‫ תב‬-‫ לבן‬. mine heir.' (Bereshit 15:3) The Tzadik that truly conquers the Land continues on despite opposition even if it seems like opposition from above. God commanded Avraham to leave his life behind and come to a strange new Land and promised him that he will inherit this Land even though it appeared by the laws of nature to have been a mistake. Moshe tried to liberate the Jewish people and he only made it worse. He didn't give up and eventually they were liberated because of his persistence. The Rav also was defeated thousands of times in many perfidious ways and yet remained undefeated, even in death. “I must confess to being surprised. And a bit disturbed. Surprised to see so many good Jews depressed and despairing, asking: 'What now? Kach as been banned from the Knesset; what is going to be?' Upset to see that so many have turned the means into the end, they have made the Knesset – which was always only a tool – into the goal. Is the banning of Kach from the Knesset the end of the world? More, has it made Kahane a different person and my teachings any less true? Was the support of Kahane meant for me, or for my carriage and horses – the Knesset...” 1 304

-‫ו קנ מת לתם לאת‬--‫ קל נא יביו‬,‫תאין מא יחים‬, -‫ יא קו יאם‬11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall ,‫תא נליו ימ ימ קש מפ קחתו‬, ‫תארו מה נק םרב‬, ‫ מנ נח נלתו יל קש‬give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. And ‫ קל כח מקתוריארתש‬,‫אל‬,‫תני יי קש נר ת‬, ‫םא נתה; קו נה קי נתה יל קב‬ it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of ‫ םמ לשה‬-‫ לאת‬,‫ מכ נא לשר יצ נוה קיה נוה‬,‫ ימ קש נפט‬. judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.' (Bamidbar 27:11) The Rabbi spoke about the difference between a Torah scholar and a Navon. A scholar may have a great memory for the written and Oral Torah but a Navon is someone who can deduce. A navon has intuition and ability to read between the lines. -‫ נה נא לרץ נא לשר‬-‫ לאל‬,‫ ה לו לה יבי נאך קיה נוה לאל להיך‬5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt ‫יאררשו‬,‫הי יט קבך קו יה קר קבך‬,‫ יוי יר קש נתה; קו ת‬--‫נא םב לתיך‬ possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. ‫מ נא םב לתיך‬,‫ ת‬. (Devarim 30:5) All of the above have the gematria of 516 ‫ = איררשו‬possessed (Devarim 30:5) - 516 ‫ = וריא תרש‬he shall possess it (Bamidbar 27:11) - 516 ‫ = יורלש‬my heir (Bereshit 15:3) - 516 ‫ = רכ לת אפיו‬his shoulders (Shmot 28:12) - 516 ‫' = תיקו‬letting it stand' (to be explained in the future) - 516 Understanding our purpose and the meaning of our inheritance is a difficult question that we continue to suffer with. The Talmud tells us in Berachot 5a: “God gave Israel three fine gifts and all come only through suffering: Torah, Eretz Yisrael and the World-to-Come.” How many of our brightest and finest have given their lives to build this Gan Eden here on earth called Israel? How do we understand the price that they paid? Did they pay so that we can live freely? Where is the justice? Are they re-born again, somehow? What is their reward for their ultimate sacrifice? It seems to be a ''Taiko' something we will only understand in the future or maybe in the World to Come. That Israel is a great gift there is no question, but the suffering that every family has endured is very difficult to comprehend. In addition the whole idea of the Jewish people returning to the Promised Land is difficult for the world to grasp as well as our own people. The justice of our cause is debated not only internationally but internally. The death of Tzadikim from Torah scholars to soldiers to the many other victims of terror is difficult to understand and yet through this pain our resolve becomes stronger and we continue to grow and inherit the 'gift' that has been promised us. It is also a 'Teiko' I suppose how one person can carry a nation, but this was true of Moshe, of Pinchas, and of Rav Kahane. Their example created a new reality. From the time of Avraham, this new 'Israelite' reality threatened tyrants and oppressors. Rabbi Kahane's example proved a reality that threatened dictators and lawless people. Remove the example and then we no longer need to live up to a higher 305

standard. Rav Kahane was killed because he threatened to take away those in power. He threatened to bring law where there is lawlessness. He threatened to bring justice where there is injustice. He threatened to bring mercy where there is cruelty. Why are good people removed or at best treated with hatred and animosity? Maybe it has to do with possession. Pinchas was jealous for Hashem. Jealousy is the result of someone taking something that belongs to you and calling it his. Hashem is jealous when we take other gods that don’t belong to us. Maybe the lawless individuals who have power are also jealous that the Tzadik will take away their power. It is a war of jealousy between they who are in possession of the world and the king who truly owns it. The Tzaddik carries this weight on his shoulders. The Best Question Farbrengen 2019 'This was your best question' said Rav Butman to me with a smile, a shared concern, and deep thought, as it touched both of our hearts. What was the question? ‫יפ מת קח נתו‬ ;‫ םש מהם‬-‫ני‬,‫מא קב ת‬ ‫תתי‬, ‫ קש‬-‫לאת‬ ,‫קו נל מק קח נת‬ ‫ט‬ 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of ‫תאלנע‬, ‫תני יי קש נר‬, ‫ קשמות קב‬,‫תלי להם‬, . Israel: (Shmot 28:9) As we know this is the one Parsha where Moshe is missing because he told Hashem regarding Israel “If You do not forgive their sin, I beg You, blot me out from Your book which You have written!” (Shmot32:32). Moshe gave his life to preserve the Jewish people. Although his name is missing here we see it hidden in this passage. ‫תנ קבי מ םש מה‬, = ‫ םש מהם‬-‫תני‬, ‫מא קב‬ Shoham Stones = The Prophet Moshe The same letters that spell Shoham stones, spell 'the prophet Moshe'. Here we see the essence of the Moshe of the generation. The breastplate containing all of the tribes of Israel is held by a chain attached to two Shoham (Onyx) stones on the shoulders of the Cohen. The Tzaddik carries the Jewish people on his shoulders. Not only does he carry the people on his shoulders, each name of every Jew is inscribed in his heart. Even more than that, this inscription is like Noah's rainbow. When Hashem is angry His anger is subdued by this agreement between Hashem and the Tzaddik. Hashem is reminded by this engraved heart that destroying the Jewish people destroys Himself and His representation here. The Tzaddik stands between us and Hashem. He pays the price for the leniency towards the people and the demands of Hashem. The word engraved ‫ יפ מת קח נת‬also has the same letters as Potaiach, to open. The price the Tzaddik pays also opens our hearts and shows us the proper path. The two Shoham stones may also allude to the original Moshe and the Moshe in every generation. There is another Shoham stone on the breastplate related to the tribe of Yoseph. So we see here Moshiach Ben Yoseph and the Moshiach that carries the generation are made of the same material. 306

Whether you think Rav Kahane was Moshe who carried the weight of the generation and the Rebbe was Aaron who was loved by all, or the Rebbe carried the generation and Rav Kahane was Moshiach ben Yoseph, it doesn't really matter. The Tzaddikim carry the generation and have the generation engraved in their hearts. I looked at Rav Butman and said this is a personal question for me and I think also for you and the Chabad Hasidim who knew the Rebbe. Of course the Tzaddik lives on, and of course he continues to open peoples hearts and his Torah continues to build the Nation. However I remember a time when I thought I am looking at the Moshiach. I may see the Bet Hamigdash being built in my time. I was convinced. And then I heard terrible news one day and I was shocked. How could this be? How is this possible? And I am certain you also were shocked when you heard the news and you knew you would not see the Rebbe again. I am sure you also said at that moment how could this be? So my question is the following. Today is the time of Purim. We read this chapter always at this time when we are supposed to be Marvim B'Simcha (increasing our joy). Why is it davka now when we remember the time the Moshiach left us that we must have a greater joy than usual? How is it that at a time we thought 'How can the world continue?' 'How will the sun rise tomorrow without this person in the world?' Who will carry us on their shoulders?' This is davka the time we have a greater joy than usual? Rav Butman who is from the royal family of Lubavitch looked at me with his heavy eyes and nodded, 'This is your best question', he said. Rav Halperin suggested the following. There is a joy that is limited and a joy that is unlimited. There are things we understand that give us joy and things beyond our understanding. He brought down a Midrash that describes the angels question to Hashem. They saw the end of Rabbi Akiva being tortured to death. They asked Hashem is this the reward for being a Tzaddik such as Rabbi Akiva? Hashem answered 'Be quiet or I will turn the world back to water'. 'They had a legitimate question', said Rav Halperin. 'Why answer in such a way?' He explained with another story. An antisemitic King commissioned a Jewish tailor to make him a special suit out of a priceless gold material. The tailor accepted and requisitioned the appropriate amount of material in order to make the suit. Now of course when making a suit not every piece of material is used, some needs to be cut off in order to fit correctly. After the suit was delivered the King sent soldiers to arrest the Jewish tailor for stealing royal material. As he stood before the firing squad the tailor was given one last request. The tailor said I can give you the extra material you accuse me of stealing but I must destroy the suit in order to do this as he had sowed the extra material into the suit. This explains Hashems answer to the angels. In order to explain these questions He would need to destroy the world to show were things that we don't see are hidden. I said to Rav Halperin, 'Then would you say in different words, there is great Simcha in what we see and understand. What we don't see and understand is an even greater Simcha?' We all nodded at what we didn't understand. L'chaim. 307

The Haman in the Hamentashen 2020 There is a famous passage that is often quoted of Haman alluded to in the Torah. There is another famous passage however that I have never heard brought down. Let me explain. The well known discussion is in the Talmud (quoted from Chabbad website below): ;‫תעי םרם נא נתה‬, ‫ יכי‬,‫ ימי יה יגיד קלך‬--‫ יא מוי םא למר‬11 And He said: 'Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of the tree, that I commanded you ‫נה שמן‬-‫ נא לשר יצ יוי יתיך קל יב קל יתי נא נכל‬,‫עץ‬,‫ נה ת‬- that you should not eat?' ‫אנכנ קל נת‬--‫ימ למנו‬ (Bereshit 3:11) The Gemara (Chullin 139b) teaches that the verse in which Hashem asks Adam, “Hamin ha’eitz” — From the tree (that I prohibited to you, have you eaten?) — contains an allusion to Haman. On a basic level this is a play on words. Since the Torah is not written with vowels, the word “hamin” can also be pronounced “Haman.” However, if the Torah chose to hint to Haman here, there must be a more profound connection between his errors and Adam’s sin of eating from the forbidden fruit. The Torah records (1:27) that Adam and Chava were created in Hashem’s image, and Chazal teach (Avos D’Rabi Nosson 1:8) that they enjoyed great honor in Gan Eden, as heavenly angels prepared food and drink for them. Hashem told them that the entire world was theirs, with one exception: They were forbidden to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Although one would think that they could overlook one item being withheld from them in light of everything else they had, the serpent succeeded in persuading them to sin by partaking of the one food they were commanded not to eat. Harav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, points out that this sounds remarkably similar to Haman. At the same time that he arrogantly boasted of his tremendous wealth and prestige, he lamented (Megillas Esther 5:13) that it was all meaningless to him as long as one old Jew named Mordechai refused to acknowledge his greatness by bowing to him. Haman is alluded to in the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge because just as the serpent convinced Adam and Chava to focus on the one item that was denied to them, so too Haman was unable to appreciate his good fortune due to his obsession with the one thing he did not have. If this passage alludes to Haman then it seems to me that there is another famous passage that must also allude to Haman, namely; Hamin HaSelah. ‫תני‬, ‫ קפ‬-‫ לאל‬--‫ מה נק נהל‬-‫ לאת‬,‫ י מו מי קק יהלו םמ לשה קו מא נה םרן‬10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly --‫ננא המ םמריים‬-‫ שימקעו‬,‫ מה נס מלע; ומיםא למר לנ להם‬together before the rock, and he said unto them: ‫ נו יציא נל לכם נמ ייםנה שמן‬,‫ מה לס מלע מה לזה‬- 'Hear now, ye rebels; are we to bring you forth water out of this rock?' (Bamidbar 20:10) Let me suggest two interpretations. If the rock represents the exile, it is as if Moshe is saying. You think that your salvation will come from the exile? You think you have chosen freedom but you have really chosen Haman. Rav Kahane writes that the seventy 'souls' that went down to Egypt was an allusion to 308

the Mincha offering (which uses the word 'soul') that Yacov sent to Esav. He took the mincha which symbolizes faith in G-d – and sent it to Esav (see Rav Kahane on Parsha Vayikra). Through the suffering in Egypt we would learn to perfect this flaw in our faith. We are reminded each day in the Shma that Hashem took us out of Egypt to serve Him. We have two choices. We either serve Hashem and are free or we are serving Pharaoh and think we are free but we become progressively enslaved to the point of persecution. If we look at the rock as representing the land of Israel the thought is similar. If we despise this rock and do not come to the Land that Hashem wishes to bless us in will we not be punished? Will Hashem accept our excuse that Zionist Israel is not pure enough and a Glatt Kosher galut is preferable? ‫קתש‬, ‫בי‬-‫ ימי‬--‫ל נראות נפ נני‬,‫ ת‬,‫ יב יכי נת םבאו‬When you come to appear before Me – who sought this ‫תצ נרי‬, ‫ קר םמס נח‬,‫ ז םאת ימ לי קד לכם‬from your hand, to trample My courtyards? --‫שנוקא‬-‫ נה יביא ימ קנ מחת‬,‫ יג ל םא תו יסיפו‬You shall not continue to bring a worthless meal offering - ‫ ילי; םח לדש קו מש נבת‬,‫ע נבה יהיא‬,‫ קק םט לרת תו ת‬incense of abomination is it unto me; New Moon and ‫או מכל נא לון מו נע נצ נרה‬-‫ םלא‬,‫קקר םא ימ קק נרא‬ Sabbath, calling of convocation, I cannot abide mendacity with assemblage. (Yishayahu 1:12,13) Alternatively do those who live in the Land really believe that by selling this rock and betraying our destiny we will find freedom? Those who have lost their ties to the Torah and bring Mincha offering after mincha offering to the various Gentile Presidents and political leaders offering to abandon and forsake the Land which is not ours to give; will they be rewarded for this betrayal? Will Hashem be silent when we take His Land that was conquered with Jewish blood and offer it to our enemies in the 'deal of the century' or any other century? We celebrate our betrayal and think we bought freedom but actually we exchanged the Temple Mount for Haman. The rule is simple and one can read it throughout the Torah. If we spurn blessing and partake of that which Hashem forbids we will give birth to Haman. If we desire an exile that was designed as a punishment Haman will again arise in the very place we thought we could escape the yoke of Heaven, and if we despise that which Hashem desires and betray Him as Rav Kahane puts it 'with every turn of the Gentile screw', we again will give birth to Haman even if we are living in the Land of Israel. On the other hand if we desire the Garden and are not obsessed with what has been forbidden then instead of Haman we will receive Ha-Man, the Man that falls from Heaven. We will have everything our heart desires and it will taste better than that which is forbidden. If we do not desire the exile and desire to be in our home we will not suffer. We will have everything we need and more. In addition if we restore our King and His palace and expel His enemies we will succeed and be blessed. Instead of running after kings with Mincha offerings they will run after us and ask us to bless them. This is the flip side of the equation. We have only two choices Haman or Ha-Man. The blessing or the curse is in our hands to do it. 309

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Kahane in the Parsha Ki Sisa 311

Ki Sisa In Parsha KiSissa there are two Hebrew letters written in a large font; (Nun) and (Resh) – together they spell (Ner – Candle). ,‫ קיה נוה קיה נוה‬,‫ מו יי קק נרא‬,‫ נפ נניו‬-‫ ו מו מי נע םבר קיה נוה מעל‬6 And the LORD passed by before him, and ‫ לח לסד‬-‫ קו מרב‬,‫ לא לרך מא מפ יים‬--‫תאל מרחום קו מחנון‬, proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and ‫לו לאמלת‬ abundant in goodness and truth; ‫תשא נעון נו לפ משעלנ‬, ‫ םנ‬,‫צר לח לסד נל נא נל יפים‬,‫ז ת‬ 7 keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and ‫תקד נעון נאבות‬, ‫ םפ‬--‫ ל םא קי מנ לקה‬,‫תקה‬, ‫קו מח נט נאה; קו מנ‬ that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the -‫תל ישים קו מעל‬, ‫ יש‬-‫ מעל‬,‫ני נב ינים‬,‫ קב ת‬-‫ נב ינים קו מעל‬-‫ מעל‬iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon ‫תב יעים‬, ‫ יר‬the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.' (Shmot 34:6-7) ‫ יכי קיה נוהר‬: ‫ח‬,‫מא ת‬ ‫אל‬,‫ קל ת‬,‫יד יכי ל םא ית קש מת נח לוה‬ 14 For thou shalt bow down to no other god; for ‫אל מק ננא הוא‬,‫ ת‬,‫מק ננא קשמו‬ the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God; (Shmot 34:14) Nun of Ner The neighboring words shed light on the power of these two letters that combined spell Ner (candle). The first letter (nun) is the center piece of Emet Notzer Chesed. The Emet, Nozer, Chesed, are part of a passage called the thirteen attributes. These thirteen attributes define Hashem's patience and endurance and is a formula recited each day to remind Hashem of the great secret He revealed to us. This great secret of the thirteen attributes was given to Moshe in this weeks Parsha and reminds us that if it was not for His great patience our measure of sin would be filled long ago and our lives would be forfeit. Connecting two passages of the thirteen attributes are these three words Emet, Nozer, Chessed. Hashem’s original intention was for the world to stand on Truth. This was not possible because man was fallible. Alternatively if the world was governed simply by Chesed (kindness/charity), then we would be like infants and would lack the true good of earning reward which is higher than Chesed. Notzer, represents the Tzadik, the Holy man who is able to live up to Hashem’s original standard. It is on his merit, that the world exists, and it is also on his merit that Chesed is given to others who are not able to live up to this standard. We see this idea played out a few lines earlier in the very same Parsha where Moshe requests to be blotted out for the sake of Israel. Resh of Acher The Resh represents Rasha, the evil of those who serve ‘other’ gods (acher). Contrast to this Bereshit ‫ ב שיתר ר‬or ‫ שית‬-‫( ב‬read: for the sake of His firstborn). Hashem created the world for the sake of His 'Raishit' His 'firstborn'. The jealousy and anger that Hashem feels towards those who worship 312

foreign gods, is parallel to the jealousy that the brothers had towards Yoseph. They were moved to an act of violence because they felt their very essence and power was threatened. Hashem is moved to acts of violence when His essence is threatened; which is our knowledge and recognition of Him. The special love that Israel had towards Yoseph is the same love that Hashem has towards His Tzadikim. Hashem may be lenient when we violate laws toward Him, however when His special love is violated, this brings out jealousy and retribution. As we saw with Yacov, as long as Yoseph was suffering in exile the divine presence left him. His light was extinguished for twenty two years as he mourned his favorite son. The Ner in each Generation In every generation there is a Yoseph. In every generation there is a Nun that represents ‘Notzer’. In every generation there are forces that seek to uproot this ‘Notzer’ because his essence represents the true divine command and ideal. His ‘Notzer’ can destroy their ‘Acher’ and so they must destroy him first. It is this interplay that orchestrates destiny. Yoseph understood this interplay and was able to orchestrate destiny himself as he manipulated his brothers in the chapters that follow. The Tzadik is able to orchestrate destiny because he is Hashem’s favored pupil. Just as Yoseph was Israel’s favorite pupil, the Tzadik is able to fulfill the truest intention of Hashem. Through the suffering of the Tzadik as well as the through the persecution of the Tzadik the original light of creation continues and is renewed. Whether the Tzadik survives, whether he is imprisoned, or whether he is assassinated, his purpose is to cling to the truest light and through him this light continues. The Ner in our Parsha It seems to me the struggle of Acher and Notzer is seen in our Parsha and alludes to the Moshiach Ben Yoseph of our day and our future (b’h). In the same way that the Israelite Nation is elected as a signpost to the world, Tzadikim are also selected as examples. There is a famous answer that Napoleon once gave when someone questioned him if there was a G-d or not. How can you prove there is a G-d he was asked. The answer is simple he said ‘The Jews’. Simply naming our Nation was enough to recognize the true light of Hashem. Now one might say there are many kinds of Jews and they all have many opinions. Who among them demonstrates the truest light of Hashem? Hashem answers us in His Torah. The thirteen attributes that delay and diffuse Hashems anger where brought down into the world by Moshe. The basis of these attributes is the large (Nun) of 'Notzer'. It is the Tzaddik who acts like a pendulum, giving freedom and flexibility to others while he bears the strain and pressure as the pivotal role that 'preserves' a world built upon true justice. Yehoshua Ben Nun alludes to this idea. He was like a son of the (Nun/Notzer) which was his teacher Moshe. He continued to wear the mantle of Torah, like the coat of Yoseph, that ensures the continuity and authenticity of what Hashem truly demands. He was the son of 'Nun' which also alludes to him being a disciple of Moshe who was the great 'Nun' of 'Notzer'. Yehoshua continued to wage the war of conquest of the Land of Israel and his self-sacrifice allowed for the greater freedom of generations to come. The 'Notzer' battling the 'Resh' of 'Rasha' or 'Acher' is the friction that creates light or 'Ner'. It is the 'Ner' of sacrifice, as well as the 'Ner' of remembrance for those who have been sacrificed as well as the fire that inspires us to continue to enlighten the world through sacrifice. 313

Ki Sissa and Rabbi Green Ki sissa is one of the deepest and most profound Parshiot in the Torah. We read it three times a year; once in its time, and twice on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Pesach, and Shabbat Chol Hamoed Succot. In addition we read sections every morning in our prayers. What is so essential about this Parsha? First of all it contains the 13 attributes with which Hashem judges His people. On Chol Hamoed we also read the background of how these 13 attributes were extracted from heaven. They are a secret that Moshe revealed to us and that describes the extent of G-ds patience to the rebelliousness of our nation. Hashem revealed this knowledge when Moshe realized that this was a time of 'favor' from Hashem and so he used this special time to get a commitment from G-d so to speak and explain to the Nation the nature of G-ds benevolence. This knowledge of G-ds patience and this special formula only became known to us through the unique efforts of the Tzadik - Moshe. In 2004 just after I had made Aliya I was in the old city of Jerusalem on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Succot. I had a simple question about this Parsha but I could not find a satisfactory answer. I went to 3-4 yeshivas and asked both students and Rosh Yeshivas and was not able to find an answer to the simple question I had until I arrived at Rabbi Greens Yeshiva. They say that most people use only 7% of their mental capacity if this is so then rabbi green uses 10%. I saw his super-computer mind spinning and in 5 minutes he gave me a simple answer to my question that I didn't find in the previous few hours visiting various other yeshivas. So what was the question? Moshe says in the above passage 'you told me - you have known me by name and I have found grace in your eyes' But if you search through all of the book of Shmot this quote is not found. My question was very simple Moshe wants to verify what he meant when he said 'x' yet no where do we see that in fact he said 'x' to complicate things further, the only place we do see that Hashem says this is a few lines after this passage. How do we explain this? ‫מר‬,‫אה מא נתה םא ת‬,‫ קר ת‬,‫ קיה נוה‬-‫ יב מוי םא למר םמ לשה לאל‬12 Moshe said to Hashem, “See you say to me, ,‫ קו מא נתה ל םא הו מד קע מת יני‬,‫ נה נעם מה לזה‬-‫תא מלי מה מעל לאת‬, 'Take this people onward,' but you did not inform me whom You will send with me; and You had ‫ ית קש מלח יע ימי; קו מא נתה נא ממ קר נת‬-‫תאת נא לשר‬, said, 'I shall know you by name, and you have ‫ אמ אצא את לחן‬-‫ רו תגם‬,‫ רי תד רע שתיך רב לשם‬also found favor in My eyes.' ‫רב לעי אני‬ ‫ע יני‬,‫ הו יד ת‬,‫תעי לניך‬, ‫חן קב‬,‫ ננא נמ נצא יתי ת‬-‫ יג קו מע נתה יאם‬13 And now, if I have indeed found favor in Your ‫חן‬,‫ ת‬-‫ קל ממ מען לא קמ נצא‬,‫א נד נעך‬,‫ קו ת‬,‫ קד נר לכך‬-‫ ננא לאת‬eyes, make Your ways known to me, so that I may ‫ יכי מע קמך מהגוי מה לזה‬,‫תאה‬, ‫עי לניך; ו קר‬,‫קב ת‬ comprehend Your 'you have found favor in My eyes.' But see that this nation is Your people. . (Shmot 33:12-13) 314

‫תעי לניך‬, ‫חן קב‬,‫ נמ נצא יתי ת‬-‫ יכי‬,‫תאפוא‬, ‫ טז ו מב למה יי נו מדע‬16 How, then will it be known that I have found ‫ נא יני‬,‫ קב לל קכ קתך יע נמנו; קו ינ קפ ילינו‬,‫ נהלוא‬--‫ נא יני קו מע למך‬favor in Your eyes – I and Your people – unless ‫ני נה נא נד נמה‬,‫ קפ ת‬-‫ נא לשר מעל‬,‫ נה נעם‬-‫ ימ נכל‬,‫ קו מע קמך‬. You accompany us, and I and Your people will be made distinct from every people on the face of the earth!' ‫ מה נד נבר מה לזה‬-‫ מגם לאת‬,‫ םמ לשה‬-‫ יז מוי םא למר קיה נוה לאל‬17 Hashem said to Moshe: “Even this thing of ‫ אמ אצא את לחן‬-‫ שכי‬:‫לא לע לשה‬ which you spoke I shall do, for you have found ‫יד מב קר נת‬ ‫נא לשר‬ favor in My eyes, and I have known you by ‫ או לא אד נעך רב לשם‬,‫ רב לעי תני‬name.” (Shmot 33:16-17) I asked one Rosh Yeshiva and he said to me that not everything is recorded in the Torah at the time it happens. For example maybe Hashem said this to Moshe when he was on the mountain and only now is he putting these passages into the text of the Torah. This answer to me seemed too abstract and ambiguous. First of all there is no such Midrash that I am aware of and secondly this is not a clarification or addition to something said earlier which is often the case, this is something that comes out of nowhere. Another Rosh Yeshiva showed me the Rashi which says that this line refers to when Moshe was standing on Har Sinai when the ten commandments were given and the whole Nation heard his voice amplified as he spoke to G-d and he was 'great' in their eyes. Well this is very nice, but it still does not answer my simple question. Moshe says 'What did You mean when You said 'x' but He didn't say 'x'. The only time He does say 'x' is a paragraph afterward in the 'present' tense. So what was Rabbi Greens answer? From what I remember he said something like this. The Torah is interpreted in three basic ways, like a court case. Sometimes the case is clear, like the district attorney, the law is the law, the judgment is strict. Sometimes like the defense attorney, we must take into consideration the background of the individual, other motivating factors and find room for leniency to stretch the law in such cases. Then there is a third way that is employed most regularly and that is 'deduction'. For example if case 'A' ruled thus, and case 'B' ruled thus, then should we not set a new precedent with case 'C' which doesn't completely fit 'A' or 'B'? This is what Moshe was doing and this explains the Rashi. Moshe was twisting Hashems arms, so to speak. Read the passage as follows: When I was standing on Har Sinai and you made me great in front of the Nation, what was the purpose? What were trying to achieve? Did you not want the Nation to know that I found grace in Your eyes and that You have known me by name? I will not go on unless you clarify this to me and if this is indeed so, then I insist that You, Yourself guide us and not an Angel. You must distinguish us from all other nations with Your direct supervision, if indeed I have found grace in Your eyes. Now the quote that confuses us by appearing in the future when it should have appeared in the past makes perfect sense on a simple (Pshat) level. Hashem answers, 'Yes' 'You win', I will admit and clarify that I have known you by name, and that you have found grace in my eyes, and because of this I will also commit myself to your request of my direct supervision. And now at this point when Moshe sees it is a time of favor he asks further to see G-ds glory and this is when Hashem reveals the secret of the 13 attributes. In our prayers, after making an accounting of our sins, we remind Him of the commitment He made to 315

Moshe and of His patience towards sinners that He revealed to us. It is interesting to note that I have 'known you by name' is the same gematria of Moshe ‫ = רב לשם‬by name = 342 + 3 for each letter = 345 ‫ = משה‬Moshe = 345 Read: You Moshe, have I known by name and you have found grace in my eyes. It is also interesting to note that Rav Kahane in the fullest sense of the gematria also finds grace in Hashem's eyes. ‫ אמ אצא את לחן רב לעי תני‬-‫ = שכי‬because you have found grace in my eyes = 761 ‫ = כהנא‬Kahane = 76 x 10 = 760 +1 (kollel) = 761 This seems to imply that Rav Kahane was the Moshe of our generation. I have known you by 'name', the name of Moshe. For those who say this was not the 'Jewish' way, Hashem seems to differ and on the contrary says he was the 'apple of My eye'. Then why did Hashem allow him to be assassinated? One could ask why was Moshe not allowed to enter the Land of Israel which no one more than he desired. It is the job of the Moshes of each generation to demonstrate the way for us, despite the Jewish people who cause him to be a fugitive (Shmot 2:14-15), or Jewish leadership that condemns him (Shmot 5:21). Even alone as Moshe went into the Palace of Pharoah and was laughed at and mocked, he continues unbroken. Eventually this man who began a one man revolution led a whole Nation out of darkness. It is the job of the Moshe of each generation to 'clarify' what is demanded of us, to show what is possible and to awaken us to the 'time' so that we read the signs and escape and come home. The 40 year trek could have been a three day journey, but this has to do not with the shortcomings of Moshe but with the sins and maturity of the Jewish people. Absence and Presence It is interesting to note that the Parsha in which Moshe is absent, usually occurs around the time of the anniversary of his death. In addition this time occurs every year around Purim. There is also a noticeable absence in the Megilla of Hashem Himself. The Midrash tells us that at this time Bnei Israel willingly accepted the Torah without the duress that occurred in the first giving of the Torah. How do we understand this willingness to accept the Torah at this time when both the Rebbe and the Creator seem to be absent? What was the motivation? One of the ways to understand the spiritual renewal that occurred at this time is with an anecdote of the Rav's father. He used to explain that the meaning of the prayer in our prayer book 'Sh Lo Asani Goy' (Blessing that I was not born a Gentile), has a few different meanings. He explained that it should be read not ' that I was not made a Gentile', but rather 'that a Gentile didn't make me'. In other words one should be Jewish not because of anti-semitsm but because of the beauty of Judaism. 316

Although Jewishness as a response to anti-semitism is a lower level, compared to choosing to be Jewish from love and desire, it is still a very significant action. Israel came into being largely due to a response to anti-semitism, from the time of Hertzel to the time of the Shoa. Returning to the Purim story, there was a great victory in the time of Purim against our arch enemy Amalek who tried to annihilate our Nation. This unifying force that united our Nation through adversity brought about a re-acceptance of our Torah and our belief in God which was dissipating with the onslaught of the exile. Chanuka and Purim There is a dispute in the Talmud between Hillel and Shamai regarding the order of lighting the Menora. According to Shamai we should light eight candles on the first night and diminish the candles each night so that the last night there is only one candle. According to Hillel we should begin with one candle and add another candle each day until we have eight candles on the last night. This is the rule we currently follow. One Chanuka I heard a mystical interpretation of the above mentioned dispute. The lecturer explained that the candles represented Hashems open miracles. As we move through history the open miracles are diminished and more responsibility is expected of us based on our experience and understanding of events. For example a father stands close to his young child as he learns to walk. As he begins to walk by himself the father steps back. In a similar fashion Hashem expects us to draw proper conclusions based on our national history and Torah constitution. Accordingly then Shamai was focusing on the receding of Divine intervention while Hillel was focusing on our growth and maturity. Purim and Chanuka are both rabbinic holidays which reflect our maturity as a Nation. The sudden turn of events from imminent disaster to victory and crushing blow to our arch-enemy Amalek (Haman), gave a new found hope to our nation. We understood that Hashem is still with us. The period preceding Purim there were great doubts that Hashem had disengaged Himself from our Nation. The month of Adar is joined to the month of Nissan; the month of redemption and birth of our Nation. The seeds of the first redemption bore the fruits of the latter ones. Disillusionment, lack of merit, imminent destruction and then a sudden reversal of events; these are similar themes throughout our history. We had little merit in Egypt and also in Shushan. The actions we took, by crossing the sea, the fast in Shushan and the war against Amalek were not only merits but National experiences that made us more spiritually mature. The child learns to walk by himself knowing that the father is nearby yet being forced to walk on his own. At that point the child is not the same child he was when he was crawling on his knees. The Rebbe that lifted us on his shoulders was Moshe. Hashem, Himself went down to Mitzrayim to personally carry us out and divide the sea. As we reach the climax of our historical experience our fathers are less present as we are occupied with our new ability to walk on our own. We recognize that it was on their merit but we are too overwhelmed by the full eight candles of our national glory or the one candle that we can light on our own. 317

A Jewish Leader (2018) My friend Yacov pointed out an unusual response by Moshe. After requesting that Hashem’s presence will stay among the Nation of Israel Hashem answers Moshe ‘My presence will go and provide you rest (Shmot 33:14). Moshe responds with ‘ If your presence does not go along, do not bring us forward from here (Shmot 33:14). Why does he respond this way when Hashem has already told him that He will go with him? My friend Yacov suggested that Moshe was essentially saying ‘We want Moshiach now!’ He wanted to see it now not in some future time. Rav Lipsker added that Moshe was not interested in his own benefit. If this special relationship was not actualized towards ‘Israel’ he did not want to continue. Both of these ideas are contained within what I have written previously (see KiSissa and Rabi Green). If Hashem admits to Moshe that indeed he found favor in His eyes, Moshes requests that this favor be used to benefit Israel and not for his own personal glory. It's fascinating to read Rav Kahane in Perush HaMaccabee describing Moshes encounters with Hashem. He writes that a prerequisite for a prophet or Jewish leader is their tremendous concern for Israel. Hashem turns to Moshe measure for measure as Moshe turns from his sheltered and affluent life in Pharaoh’s palace to protest the suffering of his people. Only one who is overcome with concern for his people to such a degree that he becomes a target and must flee for safety merits that Hashem will turn to him. One who lives the uncomfortable life of a fugitive because of his love of truth and justice is in a position to alter Heavenly judgements that supersede the human court. It is no coincidence that Ki Motze Chen b’Enai alludes to the gematria of Kahane. ‫ אמ אצא את לחן רב לעי תני‬-‫ = שכי‬because you have found grace in my eyes = 761 ‫ = כהנא‬Kahane = 76 x 10 = 760 +1 (kollel) = 761 Rav Kahane also had this prerequisite of every great Jewish leader. I wonder sometimes how much judgement was transformed into mercy on his account. From the example that he set, from the suffering imprisonment and torment he went through, from his prayers and his pleading for Am Israel, I wonder how often an angry God was appeased and how often judgement was delayed and patience extended. God is Good I asked Menachem Gottlieb, one of the teachers in Rav Kahane's Yeshiva to tell me a story as we drove back from the Rabbi's kever on his Haskara in 2017. He told me once he was driving in a car with the rabbi and noticed something peculiar. The Rabbi kept repeating to himself 'God is Good, Good is Good.' He asked why. The rabbi said that 'after the rally he agreed to check in to the police station where he will be incarcerated for a few months. The beds are full of lice there.' Menachem had them stop along the way to his place where he gave the rabbi some clean sheets to take with him. Imagine the self-sacrifice that the Moshe of our generation went through so that we could sleep comfortably at night. 318

Hashems Na'aseh V'nishma (2019) Rashi explains that the verse in our Parsha (I shall know you...) is directly related to Parsha Yitro. ‫א מלי‬,‫תמר ת‬, ‫תאה מא נתה םא‬, ‫ קר‬,‫ קיה נוה‬-‫ יב מוי םא למר םמ לשה לאל‬12 And Moshe said to Hashem: 'See, you say to ‫תאת‬, ,‫ קו מא נתה ל םא הו מד קע מת יני‬,‫ נה נעם מה לזה‬-‫ מה מעל לאת‬me: Take this people onward but you did not ‫ ית קש מלח יע ימי; קו מא נתה אא תמ רר את רי תד רע שתיך‬-‫נא לשר‬ inform me whom you will send with me. And you ‫ אמ אצא את לחן רב לעי אני‬-‫ רו תגם‬,‫ רב לשם‬. had said 'I shall know you by name , and you have also found favor in My eyes. (Shmot 33:12-13) ‫תא לליך‬, ‫נה נא םנ יכי נבא‬,‫ יה ת‬,‫ םמ לשה‬-‫ ט מוי םא למר קיה נוה לאל‬9 And Hashem said to Moshe: 'Behold, I come to ‫אה אעם רב תד רב שרי‬ ‫ תב נעבור שי רש תמע‬,‫קב מעב לה נע ננן‬ you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the ‫תגד‬, ‫רלעו אלם; מו מי‬ ‫ רבך תי נא שמינו‬-‫ רו תגם‬,‫שע אמך‬ people will hear as I speak to you, and they will also believe in you for ever.' Moshe related the ‫ קיה נוה‬-‫ לאל‬,‫תרי נה נעם‬, ‫ יד קב‬-‫ םמ לשה לאת‬. words of the people to Hashem. (Shmot 19:9) If we examine this then it appears that: 'I shall know you by name' - corresponds to - 'so that the people will hear as I speak to you' 'you have also found favor in My eyes' - corresponds to - 'and they will also believe in you for ever ' It seems to me that their Naaseh V-Nishma – 'we will do and obey' (Shmot 24:7) is based on this. They heard Hashem speaking to Moshe and because of this they believed in him. When Moshe would later show them the laws they would accept them without having to understand because this was the proof that they saw and heard. In other words at this point it was Nishma V'naase, we will see and then do. Because of this it became Naase V'Nishma – we will do and obey without having to understand. With this in mind I asked myself why did Hashem answer Moshe by reversing his words? Why is 'finding favor' first and 'knowing by name' second? ‫ מה נד נבר מה לזה‬-‫ מגם לאת‬,‫ םמ לשה‬-‫ יז מוי םא למר קיה נוה לאל‬17 And Hashem said to Moshe: 'Even this thing of ,‫רב לעי תני‬ ‫לחן‬ ‫ אמ אצא את‬-‫ שכי‬:‫נא לשר יד מב קר נת לא לע לשה‬ which you spoke, I shall do, for you have found ‫או לא אד נעך רב לשם‬ favor in My eyes, and I have known you by name.' (Shmot 33:17) Could it be a type of Naase V'Nishma from Hashem? As if Hashem was saying 'Because you have found favor in My eyes I will do what you say and give the people a greater distinction than ever before. As the people accepted without having to understand I will also accept your request without demanding accountabiliy. The result of this greater distinction I give to them in the end will make them great but only because I have known you by name. 319

Corona Virus and the Elections (2020) Adversity comes to the world only for the sake of Israel (Yevamot 63a). The Talmud teaches us that we must learn from events around us. The name Corona Virus comes from the Latin word meaning crown. What could this virus possibly have to do with kingship and coronation? If we look at another unusual occurrence we see that three times we have had elections in Israel and three times we cannot form a government. Why? Because there is a virus that has taken hold of Israel and it is extremely dangerous. It is a virus that Rabbi Kahane warned about 20 years ago and instead of heeding his warning they killed the messenger. The Rabbi warned that the Arabs can peacefully make love not war and the children they give birth to can simply vote Israel out of existence. Today we see this happening. Half the country voted for a Jewish state and the other has been infected with a virus and wants a secular Israeli State and together with the growing Arab bloc has impeded the formation of a government. We are suffering an identity crisis and it is very dangerous. Not only did the Rabbi warn us of this, his solution to transfer the Arabs back to any of their twenty two Muslim countries and rebuild our Temple was met with violent opposition. Even many religious Jews were opposed to the Rav's ideas because if implemented, they shouted the whole world would be against us and we would be completely alone and isolated. The Rabbi replied that Israel isolated and alone is not a curse, this is a great blessing “lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” ( Bamidbar 23:9) And so today as we were reluctant to crown our King or give him Kavod (honor) [similar to the English name of Corona (Covid 19)] we see the cure for this disease is precisely this – isolation. Maybe after this disease passes we will see that we can indeed live alone and be a blessing to the world with our unique laws that are not 'reckoned among the nations.' The plague intensified on the Shabat of Ki Sissa. When you lift up the heads of the children of Israel to count them (in a census), let each one give an atonement offering for his soul when they are counted, so that there not be a plague in the counting of them”(Exodus 30:12) King David made the mistake of counting Israelites individually and this caused a great plague. King David prays to Hashem and says; “Behold, I have sinned and I have transgressed, but these sheep (i.e. the Nation of Israel) – what have they done?” (verse 17) The prophet Gad then tells him what must be done to stop the plague: David must build a mizbeyach (altar) on Har Ha’Bayit (the Temple mount)! What exactly is the problem of counting Jews and how could this bring such destruction? The prophet Hosea (chapter 2),declares: “The number of the children of Israel shall be as the sands of the sea, which cannot be numbered and cannot be counted…” Rabbi Bachya ben Asher explains that we do not count separate individuals, since we do not want to single them out and bring judgment upon them. An individual may not have enough merit to pass that judgment. However, when counting as a community, even if judgment is brought upon us, there are sure to be enough good deeds in the community to ensure that they pass the judgment and are found worthy of G-d’s mercy. Some add that when Jews are united, blessings are abundant, but when we divide the nation into individuals, there will be individual scrutiny. It seems to me that all of the above apply today. There is a war between the 'ani' (I) and the 'anachnu' (the collective). If one considers himself a half shekel of something greater than himself, if he feels 320

connected to the body of Israel, he is blessed without measure and is an invaluable half shekel like each letter of the Sefer Torah that is unique and yet part of a whole. In addition, Reish Lakish says that the Machatzit HaShekel counters the shekalim that Haman paid Achashverosh to be able to annihilate the Jews. There is both safety in numbers and protection from disease when one's number is a half shekel of the collective body of Israel. If however one sees himself as one free of the community of Israel and the yoke of Heaven and wants to be the 'I' with only rights and no obligations he undermines the Jewish State and dissolves it from the unique people that worship the One God to the individual who worships Democracy to the point of self destruction. We also read Parsha Para Aduma that tell us that when one becomes contaminated by touching a dead body they must be sprinkled with the water of purification. The word touch (nogea) and plague (noga) are the same letters. What is this dead body that we have come in contact with that we must wash our hands from? The letters that spell water of purification (Mei Nida) also spell Medina (State, which I have suggested before alludes to the State of Israel). The destructive spiritual influence from the exile has distanced Jews in America from Jews in Israel. The Jewish people have been infected with a virus that has worsened over the year and now has exploded into Corona. This Pesach we must do what Hashem commanded David Hamelech in order to stop the plague. He told David to build Me a Temple. We must do whatever we can to build this Temple. Rav Shmuel Sackett made a tremendous suggestion to stop this plague that is now upon us and the whole world. We must bring the Korban Pesach even if there is no Bet HaMigdash. It is permissible and we are still obligated even without the Temple and most importantly it will restore our bond with Hashem and may turn these days of judgment into days of Mercy. We learn an interesting thing from the story of Gideon (Judges 6-7). God encourages war against Midian, Gideon assembles 32,000 soldiers, and God says they are too many for Him to place Midian in their hands. Too many? He puts them through various spiritual tests of character until he is only left with 300 against an enemy that far outnumbered his original 32,000. They ambush the army of Midian in the night and they are victorious. What is the message? Our victory is not in numbers but in quality and our connection to our Father in Heaven. May we restore the Bet Hamigdash soon and by bringing the Korban Pesach may it save us from destruction and transform our fear and grief into tears of Joy. 321

322

Kahane in the Parsha Vayechel/Pekudei 323

Vayechel/Pekudei and Parsha Para (2011/12) Most years when Yayechel/Pekudei coincides with Parsh Para we read the Maftir which explains the details of Para Aduma that Moshe gave Israel then we read the haftorah from yechezkel. The Maftir explains the details of the strange ceremony of the Para Aduma. The Kohen Gadol takes the bull that is pure red and never pulled a yoke and slaughters it outside the camp. The Cohen Gadol becomes impure as well as the slaughterer and he goes to a mikva and also must immerse his clothes in the mikva. Then another clean man can take these ashes and sprinkle them. The Maftir explains the ritual from ancient times and the Haftorah explains its significance in modern times. I was told once by Rabbi Matisyahu Glazerson that the Para Aduma is Israel from the dung to the head it is completely burned; the lowest and highest places. On one hand the cow is pure and on the other hand it has never pulled a yoke. Israel is compared to a bull that must be harnessed to the yoke of Hashem. It seems on one hand the bull seems to be alluding to a sinner who is disconnected to Hashem and on the other it is a very unique cow with not even one discolored hair. The Rav was one of the few who dared to explain the Holocaust and more than that criticized those who do not explain it for adding to the Chilul Hashem. Every Jewish soul is holy because this is their essence regardless whether they pull the yoke or not. The sages with long beards and the Jew married to a gentile all suffered the same fate. It is the Cohen Gadol who leads the bull out to be slaughtered and becomes contaminated. I suggest that this may allude our own Jewish leadership that has misled us and been contaminated as well. Then comes a pure man that sprinkles these ashes and and administers the solution while again becoming contaminated. I suggest that this second man alludes to the passage from the Haftorah which tells us Hashem will be sanctified again in the eyes of the world and will bring us a new heart. The leader who went down with the cow cannot be the same leader who explains the new Torah, which is the original Torah. In order to do this he makes himself a target by saying things that are politically incorrect. He becomes persecuted and chased away like something unclean. The Cohen who sprinkles the cleanliness becomes unclean, as the contemporary sage who is sacrificed in order to revive the Torah. He becomes unclean and eventually sacrificed because of our sins. However it is only through him that Hashem is glorified and we learn to feel with a new heart. The Torah of Yoseph was closer to his father than any of the other Rosh Yeshivas. Instead of learning from the Rav he was despised like Yoseph because he was like a mirror that reflected our inaction and apathy. The elixir of Torah that the Rav sprinkled us with is the faith that we can and must do things that seem impossible. Judaism is not just a practice of rituals done in the privacy of ones home but is a National expression of Hashems will. He single-handedly expressed that will and by repetition made it part of a dialogue that eventually became a new reality. This reality is still evolving from his footsteps. When I see his name in this weeks Parsha this is how I understand it. (see below) ‫ יצ נוה קיה נוה‬-‫ אנ לשר‬,‫ ב ז םאת כח מקת מהתו נרה‬2 This is the statute of the law which the LORD ‫תא לליך‬, ‫ קו יי קקחו‬,‫תאל‬, ‫ני יי קש נר‬,‫ קב ת‬-‫תבר לאל‬, ‫ מד‬:‫לאמםר‬,‫ ת‬hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, ‫אנשלר‬ ,‫מום‬ ‫בנה‬-‫תאין‬, ‫נא לשר‬ ‫נפ נרה נא כד נמה קת ימי נמה‬ faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which .‫ םעל‬,‫ נע נלה נע ללי נה‬-‫םלא‬ never came yoke. 324

‫תהן; קוהו יציא‬, ‫ לא קל נע נזר מה םכ‬-‫ לאל‬,‫ ג ו קנ מת לתם םא נתה‬3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, .‫ קו נש מחט םא נתה קל נפ נניו‬,‫ ימחוץ מל ממ נח לנה‬-‫ םא נתה לאל‬and she shall be brought forth without the camp, and she shall be slain before his face. ;‫ קב לא קצ נבעו‬--‫ ימ נד נמה‬,‫הן‬,‫ ד קו נל מקח לא קל נע נזר מה םכ ת‬4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood ‫ לש מבע‬--‫ מידנמנה‬,‫עד‬,‫מו ת‬-‫תני םא להל‬, ‫ םנ מכח קפ‬-‫ קו יה נזה לאל‬with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood toward .‫ קפ נע ימים‬the front of the tent of meeting seven times. -‫ םע נרה קו לאת‬-‫ לאת‬:‫עי נניו‬,‫ קל ת‬,‫ מה נפ נרה‬-‫ ה קו נש מרף לאת‬5 And the heifer shall be burnt in his sight; her .‫ יפ קר נשה יי קש םרף‬-‫ מעל‬,‫ נד נמה‬-‫ קב נש נרה קו לאת‬skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall be burnt. ;‫ו קש יני תו נל מעת‬--‫תאזוב‬, ‫תעץ לא לרז קו‬, ,‫תהן‬, ‫ ו קו נל מקח מה םכ‬6 And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and .‫ר מפת מה נפ נרה‬,‫תוך קש ת‬-‫ לאל‬,‫ קו יה קש יליך‬hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. ,‫ קו נר מחץ קב נשרו מב ממ יים‬,‫הן‬,‫ ז קו יכ לבס קב נג נדיו מה םכ ת‬7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he -‫ עמד‬,‫הן‬,‫מא מה םכ ת‬,‫ מה ממ נח לנה; קו נט ת‬-‫ ניב םא לאל‬,‫ קו מא מחר‬shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he .‫נה נע לרב‬ may come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. ‫ וק נרחמץ‬,‫בס קב נג נדיו מב ממ יים‬,‫ קי מכ ת‬--‫תרף םא נתה‬, ‫ ח קו מה םש‬8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in .‫ נה נע לרב‬-‫ עמד‬,‫תמא‬, ‫ קב נשרו מב נמ יים; קו נט‬water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. ‫ קו יה יני מח‬,‫א לפר מה נפ נרה‬,‫את ת‬,‫ ת‬,‫ ט קו נא מסף יאיש נטהור‬9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ‫ קב נמקום נטהור; קו נה קי נתה מל נע מדת‬,‫ ימחוץ מל ממ נח לנה‬ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the ‫חמ נטאת‬--‫ני נדה‬ ‫תי‬,‫קלמ‬ ,‫קל ימ קש למ לרת‬ ‫אל‬,‫ יי קש נר ת‬-‫ני‬,‫קב ת‬ camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the .‫יהוא‬ congregation of the children of Israel for a water of sprinkling; it is a purification from sin. ,‫ קב נג נדיו‬-‫ אלת‬,‫תא לפר מה נפ נרה‬, -‫סף לאת‬,‫ י קו יכ לבס נה םא ת‬10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer ‫תגר‬, ‫ קו מל‬,‫אל‬,‫ני יי קש נר ת‬,‫ נה נע לרב; קו נה קי נתה יל קב ת‬-‫ עמד‬,‫מא‬,‫ קו נט ת‬shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the .‫עו נלם‬ ‫ קל כח מקת‬--‫קבתו נכם‬ ‫מה נגר‬ even; and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. Bamidbar (19:2-10) When Parsha Parah coincides with Vayechel/Pekudei the regular Maftir is replaced by the passages above. When Parsha Parah coincides with Vayechel/Pekudei the regular Haftorah is replaced by a section from Yeheskel. Below I have highlighted some of these passages. 325

‫ םכה נא ממר נא םד נני‬,‫תאל‬, ‫ יי קש נר‬-‫בית‬,‫כן לא םמר קל ת‬,‫ כב נל ת‬22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus :‫אל‬,‫בית יי קש נר ת‬,‫ ת‬,‫ ל םא קל ממ מע קנ לכם נא יני םע לשה‬,‫ קיה יוה‬saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye ‫מבגו יים‬ ,‫יח מל קל לתם‬ ‫נא לשר‬ ‫ נק קד ישי‬-‫שם‬,‫ קל ת‬-‫יכי יאם‬ have profaned among the nations, whither ye .‫ נבא לתם נשם‬-‫אנשלר‬ came. ,‫ מה קמ כח נלל מבגו יים‬,‫ קש ימי מה נגדול‬-‫ כג קו יק מד קש יתי לאת‬23 And I will sanctify My great name, which hath ‫יכש אננש‬ been profaned among the nations, which ye have -‫י‬ ‫מהגו יים‬ ‫קו ני קדעו‬ ;‫בקתו נכם‬ ,‫יח מל קל לתם‬ ‫נא לשר‬ profaned in the midst of them; and the nations ‫ה‬,‫ קב יה נק קד ישי נב לכם‬,‫ קנ כאם נא םד נני קיה יוה‬,‫ קי נוה‬shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord .‫תני להם‬, ‫תעי‬, ‫קל‬ GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. ‫ קו יק מב קצ יתי‬,‫ מהגו יים‬-‫ כד קו נל מק קח יתי לא קת לכם ימן‬24 For I will take you from among the nations, -‫ לאל‬,‫תבא יתי לא קת לכם‬, ‫ה‬,‫ נה נא נרצות; קו ת‬-‫ לא קת לכם ימ נכל‬and gather you out of all the countries, and will .‫ מא קד ממ קת לכם‬bring you into your own land. :‫ ו קט מה קר לתם‬,‫לי לכם ממ יים קטהו ירים‬,‫ כה קו נז מר קק יתי נע ת‬25 And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ‫תהר‬, ‫ נא מט‬,‫תלי לכם‬, ‫ יגלו‬-‫תתי לכם ו ימ נכל‬, ‫ ימ םכל כט קמאו‬ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and .‫ לא קת לכם‬from all your idols, will I cleanse you. ‫תתן‬, ‫ קורו מח נח נד נשה לא‬,‫תלב נח נדש‬, ‫ כו קו ננ מת יתי נל לכם‬26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new ,‫ ימ קב מש קר לכם‬,‫תב נה לאבלן‬,‫ל‬-‫ קב יק קר קב לכם; מו נה יס םר יתי לאת‬spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give .‫נב נשר‬ ‫לב‬,‫ת‬ ,‫נל לכם‬ ‫קו ננ מת יתי‬ you a heart of flesh. When I see the letters Kahane hidden inside 'I am the Lord' (Ki Ani Hashem) it means to me that through Hashems disciples He is sanctified. How is God sanctified before our eyes? When the Rav was on radio talk shows there were often non-Jews who called in and said 'Why aren't there more Jews like you?' By daring to stand against the majority to do Hashems will and fight for Jewish causes the Rav sanctified God before the eyes of the world and the Jewish people. It was Mordechai who refused to bow to idolatry that started the whole Purim story rolling. It was Moshe who brought more suffering on the Jews by his defiance to Pharaoh that eventually led to our liberation. And in our time it is Meir Kahane who rocked the boat and refused to bow to world pressure or Israeli pressure and wake up comfortable Jews with uncomfortable questions. He and his son suffered countless imprisonments for the Jewish people. It is now the Jewish people who are imprisoned and his Torah is the key that will set us free. These keys are now in the hands of leaders like Dr. Michael Ben Ari and Moshe Feiglin. Rabbi Kahane and his son Binyamin paid the price with constant harassment and martyrdom so that now a new generation of Moshe Feiglin's and Ben Ari's even Leiberman's can be given positions to influence without the same hatred. The reason is that by forging Hashem's path and paying the ultimate price, the Rav gave us a new heart. He demonstrated for us how to be a real Jew. He gave us a heart less doubtful and less fearful and showed us the path to freedom. He was the freest person ever to be in 326

a jail. His courage inspired thousands of Jews to be a little bit like him. The Kohen who sprinkles the life giving mixture becomes contaminated himself as he gives life to others. He becomes unclean and abandoned and then sacrificed. But through him Hashem is glorified and we learn to feel with a new heart. (see also Parsha Chukat) Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Chur (Shmot 38:22) Bezalel as a young boy understood the deepest secrets of how to craft the utensils in the Mishkan. Rashi explains to us that the unusual addition of the grandfathers name (Chur) indicates that Betzalels divine spiritual gift was the special reward for the self-sacrifice of Chur . I often ask the question why is Chur given such a small remez (hint) in the Torah? During the Chet Haegel Aaron fearing that soon he will be stoned, tries to manipulate the people to buy time for Moshes return. Aaron is criticized for this by Moshe. 'What did this people do to you that that you brought a grievous sin upon it? (Shmot 32:21). Chur on the other hand did not play games. He told the people straight that they were sinning and must stop. He was stoned. This story, however is not written in the Torah. You will only find this in the Midrash. I once asked Yekutiel, one of the leaders of the movement, how this works. How does a grandson inherit Torah secrets because the grandfather died a martyrs death? He said to me that if I am alluding to the Rav's death I should understand that it is not simply the way he died a martyrs death that was important but that his whole life was one of self- sacrifice. He did not seek a martyrs death yet every day he went out to do and say what had to be done and said without fear knowing that one day he may pay the ultimate price for his actions, but he could not stand idly by. This is the definition of a Tzadik. Why is Chur not mentioned but his grandson Betzalel shows us the details of the inner Temple? One might ask why there is so much written about Avraham and Yacov but less about Itzchak who was the perfect sacrifice. One might ask why the secrets of the Zohar was received by a student of Rabbi Akiva who also died a martyrs death. He continued to follow in the path of his Rav and because of this became a fugitive. In his isolation he wrote the Zohar. I will remain with the question. It seems to me, however that those who sacrifice every day for the Jewish people like a Rabbi Kahane are on a different level that than the rest of us, even though they demonstrate to the rest of us what is humanely possible. The later generations that attach themselves to these great leaders attach themselves to the greatness and are rewarded in their way for continuing the work of Creation. Better to be the tail of a lion than the head of a fox. 327

Chuk Parah and Chuk Pesach (2018) Why does Chuck Parah come before Chuck Pesach? Is Chuck Parah more important than Chuck Pesach or is Chuck Parah a prerequisite for Chuck Pesach? On a simple level one who is sprinkled by the ashes of the Parah Aduma becomes ritually pure so that he may approach the Bet Hamigdash and partake of the Pesach sacrifice. On a more mystical level we need first our body and our life breath before we can attain higher spiritual levels. What however do these ashes really do? Our Maftir reads: ‫ נימות‬-‫תמת קב לנ לפש נה נא נדם נא לשר‬, ‫ג מע קב‬,‫ מה םנ ת‬-‫ יג נכל‬13 Whoever touches the dead, even the body of --‫תמא‬, ‫ ימ קש מכן קיה נוה יט‬-‫ לאת‬,‫ קול םא יי קת מח נטא‬any man that is dead, and does not purify himself- he has defiled the tabernacle of the LORD--that ‫ שכי למי‬:‫אל‬,‫ימ יי קש נר ת‬ ,‫מה יהוא‬ ‫מה לנ לפש‬ ‫קו ינ קכ קר נתה‬ soul shall be cut off from Israel; because the ‫ אט למא‬,‫ לז תרק אע אליו‬-‫ שנ אדה ל לא‬water of sprinkling was not been thrown upon him, he shall remain contaminated; his ‫ הט רמ אאתו בו‬,‫עוד‬--‫שי רה היה‬ contamination is still upon him. (Bamidbar 19:13) How do we understand our impurity and purity that is thrown upon us from the blood and ashes of this cow? Many years ago I asked Rabbi Glazerson about the meaning of the Parah Aduma. He explained that it represents all of Israel - from the head to the dung - that is all burned on the altar. This seems to be reminiscent of the Shoa. In the Shoa all of the Jewish people went up in smoke regardless of their physical position or spiritual level. On the other hand the passage says this cow is a temima (without blemish) alluding to Israel as also being all temumim. How can we be both as low as dung and also without blemish? In addition how do we understand this impurity (caused by being in contact with death) and purity that is thrown upon us from the blood and ashes of this cow ? If the Parah Aduma alludes to the Shoa and the Shoa was instrumental in bringing about the Modern State of Israel then I suggest there is another way of understanding the connection between Chuk Parah and Chuk Pesach. Pesach is the time of the birth of our Nation. It is a time of Malchut (Kingship). Does Malchut appear out of nowhere or is it a transformation? I suggest that Kingship is something that evolves from a nation state. First we need our own country and Prime Minister. Eventually that Prime Minister makes way for a King. That first king may be a shepherd grazing his sheep today in Yehuda or Shomron. The Mai Nida (water of sprinkling) is 'thrown' upon us. I suggest that in the same way the State of Israel is thrown upon us. Within this State you have tremendous growth and beautiful things along with ugly things; from the head to the dung, just like the Parah. On the other hand there is something without blemish. The very fact of being part of an independent nation state is a purifying factor. A Jew living in the Land of Israel is less contaminated, even though there is every level of contamination within it. The word Mai Nida is in fact the same letters that spell Medina (nation state). It seems to me that just as the Mai Nida and Chuk Parah prepares one for the Chuk Pesach so does the Medina prepare us for Kingship and Malchut. Now that the Nation has prospered and grown physically its time to arrive at the next stage with the addition of a Sanhedrin and Jewish King. The Medina was thrown upon us and it has purified us, and now it’s time to ascend to the Har Habayit with our King and Cohenim. 328

The Temple and the Eved The Art Scroll Chumas writes: “The Torah's frequent repetition of the parts of the Tabernacle and mention of the nation’s role in its construction indicates Gods love of Israel and His regard for its activities to serve Him. Similarly God's respect for such loyalty is indicated by the attention the Torah lavishes on Eliezer's diligent search for a wife for Isaac (Or Hachaim; see Rashi to Genesis 24:12).” 1 What is the connection between Eliezer and the manner in which we donated our belongings to build the Temple? Eliezer selflessly served Avraham and did his bidding without question. Despite his secret desire that Itzchak would marry his own daughter he swallowed his pride and sought the wife that Avraham had requested. In the same manner, the Israelites who were not Cohanim and would not be serving in the Temple accepted their role and secondary position knowing full well that this acceptance would in fact bring them blessing, as it did Eliezer. Eventually the world will also wish to serve Israel for the blessing that it brings. But first Israel must serve God. Serving God does not just mean keeping Jewish rituals, it means a Jewish response in every level. The greatest leaders of Israel were true servants. They served a higher authority despite the consequences. They taught us how to lead by how to serve. Moshe walked out one day and saw a Jew being beaten to death by an Egyptian and asked how this can be? He slew the Egyptian. The Jewish leadership instead of thanking him denounced him to the authorities. David saw Goliath and asked how can this be? He got up and slew Goliath. He also became an outcast and fugitive from the Jewish government. And in our own time Rabbi Kahane. “As editor of the Jewish Press, the Rabbi began receiving numerous letters from American Jews lamenting the often unbearable levels of antisemitism, and the lack of any official help or even acknowledgment of the problem. The Rabbi heard many “horror stories” of beatings, muggings, extortion, threats and vandalism, and was appalled at the lack of any response by the relevant authorities. He turned to the major Jewish organizations to inform them of these incidents, and found to his chagrin that they were “aware of the problem,” but preferred to either react “quietly,” or – more often than not – deny the problem altogether. The answer he was given – that “we know about it,” but “it's better not to react” - brought him to the conclusion that a new Jewish organization must be formed – a grassroots organization, which would really engage with the problem in a way that the “respectables” were too afraid to.” (from 'The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane.' Lenny Goldberg) [The JDL was born.] 'In 1969, the JDL received its first major publicity when a black militant named James Forman began demanding compensation from churches and synagogues, for the slavery and other injustices committed against the black people (of course, it didn't matter to Forman that the Jews had historically suffered similar oppression and discrimination, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the slave trade). Foreman contacted Temple Emmanuel, a reform synagogue, and announced that he would be arriving on Friday night to highlight his grievances, and demand compensation (read “extortion”). The reform “rabbis” took these demands seriously and reluctantly prepared for 329

his arrival. Rabbi Kahane, however, realized that Temple Emmanuel was only the beginning, and soon other less wealthy synagogues would be forced to pay up to Forman thugs. The JDL announced that if Forman showed up, they would “break both his legs.” Jewish Defense League members stood in front of Temple Emmanuel with sticks and chains to await Forman's arrival. He never showed up. The media (along with the rest of America) were stunned at such an “un-Jewish” response from a Jewish organization; but although this reputation garnered them much hatred from Jewish Establishment groups, it also gained them the admiration and respect of the Jewish public in general.' (Ibid) Rabbi Kahane was not just another Tzadik who did good deeds and charity. He was not another great scholar who came out with chidushim. I see his name in the Torah associated with Hashem in many places because, like a prophet he fulfilled Gods desire by fixing that which is broken and leading the way for others. Not only did he correct Jewish leadership locally but globally with Russian Jews and most importantly in Israel where his Torah is still alive and continuing the battle for Jewish survival and National redemption. When he arrived in Israel in the 1970's he was persecuted not only by the American authorities, Jewish Leaderships in the USA, but also the Government of Israel. He was put on trial behind closed doors and the Rabbi now began to wake up the entire Nation of Israel. “ In reaction to the denial of his basic democratic right of freedom of expression [The Rav] announced that he would not take part in the trial. His supporters distributed mimeographed sheets in Hebrew and English to the press and to the public headed, 'Rabbi Meir Kahane's Statement to the Court Explaining His Refusal to Participative Further in the Proceedings of his trial.”His statement to the court read: I love and respect the Jewish State of which I am a proud citizen and I would like, too, to respect its laws and courts. But any law and any government must earn the respect of citizens by respecting the rights of those citizens, and a state is not a ruthless master, but rather the servant of its citizens. This unfortunately is not true in Israel today, and my case is a flagrant and frightening example of this tragic fact. I was arrested by the Jewish State and kept in isolation for a month for attempting to fight for Soviet and Iraqi Jewry who both faced physical extermination – as the Israeli government suddenly became Brezhnev's keeper. I attempted to do that which I have done for years, that which the Israeli government both refused to do and also fought, damaged and harmed – the fight for Soviet Jewish freedom to emigrate to Israel. I willingly admitted this and looked forward to a free and open trial in which I could explain the entire background of the Soviet Jewry issue – and the totalitarians demanded that I be silenced and barred from speaking. It is vital that this entire story be told – in order to show that the real motivation of the Israeli government in bringing me to trial was to curry favor with the Nixon administration and not anger the Russians...and – above all – in order not to have the glare of publicity force change in the policy of the leaders of the government. In a free society, A TRULY FREE SOCIETY, this right would have been unquestioned, respected, and I would have been allowed to present my testimony and call my witnesses. If the State differs with those witnesses or that testimony it has the right to challenge, cross-examine and call its own witnesses. This is what is done in a free society. 330

Instead, the prosecutor – a functionary who is at the beck and call of the few, totalitarian-minded who have run Israel for so long that it has become, for them, a private domain – brings into court a pathetic document signed by the prime minister herself, ordering me not to give testimony based on facts, dates, and people; not allowing Soviet Jewish immigrants to testify and commanding the court not to hear all this. ...If there is a problem of security here, it stems only from the threat to it by an arrogant, power-intoxicated clique that has run the government and the people of this country not for 25 years, but for 50 years, and which – thanks to a people that is so apathetic and indifferent to its own fate – believes that there is nothing that it can do which will cause it to lose power. ...I want the Jewish world to remember what happened during the Holocaust period of Kastner and what is happening today with Soviet Jewry, as the Israeli Labor leaders bow to Nixon pressure and attempt to weaken the Jackson amendment...and refuse to aid Soviet Jewish activists. I want the whole world to know this, NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO HURT ISRAEL – I STAND SECOND TO NONE IN MY LOVE FOR THE COUNTRY TO WHICH I CAME TO LIVE FROM A LAND OF COMFORT. I want rather to do this because the State of Israel is being corrupted and destroyed by the signers of totalitarian orders and the destroyers of individual liberties of those who defy them. The totalitarians are not used to genuine opposition in this country. In general, people here are docile, cowed, frightened or bought, and the opposition itself is a pale caricature of the term. Let it be known that there are some who are different. I therefore am respectfully refusing to participate in the proceedings in which I cannot present my case to the world and which, for me, became a mockery and a 'lynch.' I fully expect the government and the court to punish me stiffly and savagely - this is the way of the people who run the State. So be it. But the Jews of Israel and the world must know the truth... [Later at a press conference the Rav's supporters] distributed a three-page 'Declaration to the Court' in Hebrew and English, which he had written in June 1973 while in Jerusalem Central Prison. A moving expression of his beliefs, it began: I am a Jew, and I consider that to be the most important thing in the world. I do not say this out of some kind of foolish secular nationalism or chauvinism; I do not repeat what a Bulgarian or a Pakistani or a Frenchman would say about his own nationality; there is nothing sacred about nationalism at all. But to be a Jew is not the same as being a member of any other nation, and it has nothing to do with nationalism. To be a Jew has a special; unique meaning ONLY because there is a G-d and He has chosen us as His special, unique and particular people – over and above, separate from all the others. ..And from this concept comes a sacred commandment, a holy obligation...“Thou shalt not stand idly by they brother's blood.” This is not a request or a call for charity – it is a demand, an obligation. I am charged with writing letters urging the commission of violent acts against the 331

Soviets and Iraqis in an effort to save the Jews of those countries. I admit without hesitation to writing those letters and I have left it to my learned attorneys to argue the legal question of whether letters which never reached their parties for whom they were intended, or even the country to which they were sent, can constitute a crime. What I wish to discuss here is the far more important question of why I wrote those letters, so the world will understand what is at stake here and what must be done in the future so that we not stand someday as those Jews of 30 years ago – the generation of the Holocaust – and be found guilty with them of treason to the Jewish people. [The Rav] spelled out the logic behind JDL acts for Soviet Jewry and the logic behind his actions, and then summed up: I am not a criminal and I believe that there is not one Jew in the street who thinks that I am. I am, however, a Jew who believes in the Divine mission of the Jewish people – the Chosen of G-d – and in the obligation, from which there is no escape, to love and hear the cry of a fellow Jew in distress... ...I do not want to go to jail and I do not seek to be a martyr. Yet I rejoice that I have had the opportunity to love my people even at the risk of jail and I have not proven faithless to the task. (Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought by Libby Kahane p.400-p.401) These are the actions and words of a true Jewish leader who is a true servant of G-d. There was no other leader to compare the Rav to. He stood on one side and the whole world was on the other side. Just like Avraham who angered the authorities for unmasking its idols or Moshe who demanded freedom not only from the masters but the servants as well. Their example would cause others to live up to a higher standard. Rabbi Aryeh Julius was arrested for bringing an ad about the [above mentioned] trial to the offices of Ma'Ariv. Incensed at this totalitarian tactic, [the Rav] announced that he would read the 'criminal' ad at the press conference. The arrest of Rabbi Julius aroused [the Rav] to issue an emotional 'Statement to the Press:” I weep for Israel, the people of Israel, and the Jewish people. This is a State that was a dream and is turning to ashes. The leaders who allowed hundreds of boys to fall last Yom Kippur because of their fear of offending the gentile...followed in the footsteps of the totalitarian Soviets...How many crimes have been committed in the name of security!...They arrested our people for placing ads in the newspaper and for handing out leaflets to protest their policies ....I intend to violate the Soviet-type law of Golda Meir in every way. I have handed out literature, I will hand it out. I have told people what the Israeli government has done against Soviet Jews and will do so. A law is not holy simply because it is there. A law can smack of tyranny and this one stinks to high heaven. ...It is a tragedy of Israel that the press is a pale caricature of what a press in a free country should be. There is no initiative, no courage, no drive to expose. All these create the elements of a totalitarian state... [The Rav] feared the worst: ...They can silence me with a bullet (and how many others have gone that way) but short of that, let them know that I am continuing to speak to people here and give them the 332

facts. (Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought by Libby Kahane p.403) [A few moments before he was assassinated in November 1990] in this last lecture, the Rabbi (rather eerily) practically eulogizes himself – uncharacteristically summing up his accomplishments, unwittingly hinting to his being shot. Here are some excerpts from his last speech: “..and indeed my whole life has been ideas which were eventually adopted by other people and succeeded. For example, today, Jewish defense is an accepted thing. The concept of a patrol in neighborhoods is an accepted thing today. But if you were around in 1968 when I came out with this revolutionary concept of 'Jewish defense” - the attacks against me and the venom... Eventually, it was accepted and it was adopted.” “And of course, Soviet Jews today – it's a pleasure to see how everyone takes credit for it. I saw that big ad of the UJA, 'We Did It'. Today, everybody talks about the Soviet Jewish issue and how they were helped; and that’s fine. But it was only because we came up with the idea at a time when no one wanted it and they attacked us and we never backed off from it. We never backed away. The ADL handed names of JDL members to the FBI. It didn't stop me.” “ And if today the concept of transferring Arabs is accepted today, it's only because from 1971 when I first said it and kept saying it, and there was wall to wall hatred from Left to Right...You keep saying it, you keep saying it, you keep saying it and eventually more and more people start to “get” it...We really have won the war. The idea has won. Now it's our hope to implement it, and in a sense, that's probably easier than having to convince them to accept the idea.” ...Now [ed:back to the subject of emergency aliyah] it has to be spoken about and people will be upset and angry and fight and so on because they don't want to hear it. I remember once speaking in Roslyn, Long Island, and I said that “it” could happen here too, and suddenly someone jumped up and shouted, “It's not true, you're a liar.” He had a thick Jewish accent, and I saw he was a survivor, and then I understood what he was really saying: “I went through that; don't tell me it could happen here. I don't want to hear it”. That's what he was telling me. That's the tragedy. So you shoot the messenger...If you love Jews enough, you say the painful things which will save them. No concern what they will do to you, that's not relevant..” ('The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane.' Lenny Goldberg p.226-227) 333

The Cornerstone of the Temple 2020 It seems to me that the cornerstone of the Temple is vindication. What do I mean by that? Rav Kahane describes the family background of Betzalel. His grandfather Calev stood against an angry mob and was almost lynched. Bezalele's father Hur also stood against the mob and was killed by them. He came from a family that had a different spirit. ,‫ע לקב נה קי נתה רו מח מא לח לרת יעמו‬,‫ ת‬,‫תלב‬, ‫ כד קו מע קב ידי נכ‬24 But My servant Caleb, because he had another -‫ נה נא לרץ נא לשר‬-‫ לאל‬,‫ מו נה יבי םא יתיו‬--‫ מא נח נרי‬,‫לא‬,‫ מו קי ממ ת‬spirit with him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land where he went; and his ‫ יו יר לש ננה‬,‫ קו מז קרעו‬,‫נבא נש נמה‬ seed shall possess it. (Bamidbar 14:24) There are very few people that can stand against an angry mob and proclaim the truth of Hashem's Torah. The Kahane family in our own time also has this 'different spirit.' The family of Betzalel must have been considered extremists who stood on the opposite side of the whole Nation and yet by doing so sustained them all. The fact that Bezalel was chosen and clearly displayed the rare gifts needed to build the Temple was a great vindication for this family. It also points out a valuable lesson regarding quality versus quantity. I commented last week regardind Rav Shmuel Sackett's suggestion to bring the Pesach Sacrifice to stop the corona and the reference to Gideon as well that discusses reducing his army to a refined few. It seems that those who truly wish to see the Temple rebuilt to the extent of going up to the Mount and facing angry mobs are of a different spirit. They do not reflect the majority or even the minority, they are of a different spirit. It is precisely this spirit that is needed. When this spirit will be accepted and allowed to fulfill the Korban Pesach, by this allowance in itself it will not only be a vindication for those who stood at the forefront and cried out for years in warning to come home before its to late, and to expell our enemies, it will also bring a vindication for all of Israel for the King to return to us and for His anger to be appeased. In their desire to restore true law and order which begins on the Mount, this small remnant and a small allowance from the masses will provide a type of vindication. From upon the shoulders of those who carried the authentic Torah of the past will come a great blessing to our Nation and their dedication which appeared as fire and brimstone in the past will be understood as tremendous love that stood in the shadows of Hashems wings. Those who see the future by understaning the ramifications of our actions and our inactions will be transformed on that day into artists and artisans that can interpret the authentic Torah just as Betzalel who stood with Moshe. This different spirit is the cornerstone and the father and son that were despised will be that cornerstone 'The stone ('even'/Av&Ben) that the builders despised has become the cornerstone' (Hallel). Only a handful are needed to do the Korban Pesach. If they are allowed to, however, this will be a great vindication for those who fought for years on the front lines to bring our people home physically and spiritually and will result in a tremndous blessing for Israel. If only it were so. 334

335

Notes 336

Notes: Prologue 1. Rabbi Meir Kahane : His Life and Thought Volume One: 1932-1975 by Libby Kahane ( p. 209) 2. Ibid (p.210) 3. Ibid (p. 76) 4. With All Your Might – Rabbi Nachum Kahana – (p. 37) 5. For more details see: The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) – Numbers (p. 903) 6. AHASHVEROSH, ISRAEL AND THE \"RULE OF LAW\"; THE MOSSAD'S MISTAKE; HOW SHOULD THE JEWISH STATE DEAL WITH THE IRANIAN THREAT? Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 25, 2010. 7. Binyamin Hagaddah Pg 114 8. Binyamin Hagaddah Pg 114 Bereshit 1. 9 Remember the former things of old: that I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me; 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying: 'My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do'; (Isaiah 46:9/10) 2. Parashat Noach raises the following question: Why did G-d wipe out all of the beasts, birds, and crawling things in the flood? If man sinned, why should the animals suffer? Rashi explains: \"The entire creation is for man, and when man is wiped out, who needs all these?\" That is, the purpose of the creation is not simply to exist, but rather to actualize the destiny of the Creation. The moment there is no purpose (which is the case after G-d wiped out man, for whom the world was created), then the animals must perish since there is no longer a reason for their existence. (See: Binyamin Kahane commentary on the Chumash – Parsha Noach) 3. The letters of this word can be rearranged to spell (B'Avraham) meaning that God created the world for the sake of Avraham, (Midrash) because he was the epitome of kindness, one of the pillars of the world (Zohar). 4. The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) – Bereshit (p. 29) 5. Ibid - Miketz (p. 249). See also Ner – Parsha Ki Sissa – Kahane Codes – Volume 1 (p. 207) 6. The Midrash Says – Devarim – (p.258) 7. Rabbi Meir Kahane : His Life and Thought Volume One: 1932-1975 by Libby Kahane Chaia Sarah 1. Shla – Shnei Luchot HaBrit 337

Vayetze 1. With All Your Might – Rav N.Kahana (p. 151) Miketz 1. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Vayigash 1. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 315 2. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 317 3. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 323-324 Tezaveh 1. The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane – by Lenny Goldberg (p.250) * See Below Vayekel 1. The Stone Edition Chumash (ArtScroll) (pg 516) 2. The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane (Lenny Goldberg) Pg. 205 3. The Shala – Shnei Luchot Habrit (Parsha Miketz) Pg. 323-324 * “What was most disappointing to the Rabbi was not the ban (he was proud that he stuck to the truth without compromising his ideals), but the abandonment of his movement by so many. Donators suddenly viewed him as a 'loser'. From their perspective, without the Knesset, there was no “agenda,” and funds dried up quickly. In a touching article called “On Victory and Defeat,” the Rabbi described his feelings through a parable. Here are some excerpts: “A tale is told about a Hassidic tzadik, righteous man. As was the custom in the early days of Hassidim, this man chose a life of wandering and poverty so as to experience a life of want and need and thus, understand the suffering of the unfortunate. One Friday the anonymous tzadik happened to be in a small town, and as the Sabbath approached, he came to the home of the towns wealthy Jew,. When the rich man came to the door, the tzadik – who appeared as a typical pauper – asked if he could be granted lodging for the Sabbath. The wealthy Jew 338

scornfully said there was no room and turned the tzadik away.”. “Years passed and the tzadik was now a famous rabbi and teacher, beloved by thousands and famed throughout the land. And once again on a Friday, the eve of the Sabbath he arrived in the same town. This time, however, his presence was heralded with much fanfare, as he arrived in a magnificent coach pulled by six white horses. The wealthy Jew – the same one who had driven away the “pauper” years ago – hurried to the hotel where the tzadik was staying and begged to honor him by offering the hospitality of his home for the Sabbath. The tzadik replied that he would give his answer within the hour and after the rich man left, the tzadik turned to his aide and said: “take the carriage and horses and bring it to the home of the wealthy man.” The rich man, looking through his window, saw the carriage and horses coming and was overjoyed. The tzadik was honoring him by staying at his home! But when he rushed out to greet the tzadik, to his chagrin, he found the carriage empty. Rushing back to the hotel he asked the tzadik in dismay: “Rebbe, why did you send me an empty carriage and horses? I asked you to come for t he Sabbath.” And the tzxadik replied: “I sent what you really wanted. Some years ago I came to your house to stay for the Sabbath and you turned me away. Now, you say you wish to have me. I asked myself: Am I not the same man I was then? What has changed today, what do I have now that I didn't have then? A Carriage and horses. Apparently, that is what you really wanted..” “I must confess to being surprised. And a bit disturbed. Surprised to see so many good Jews depressed and despairing, asking: 'What now? Kach as been banned from the Knesset; what is going to be?' Upset to see that so many have turned the means into the end, they have made the Knesset – which was always only a tool – into the goal. Is the banning of Kach from the Knesset the end of the world? More, has it made Kahane a different person and my teachings any less true? Was the support of Kahane meant for me, or for my carriage and horses – the Knesset...” The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane – by Lenny Goldberg (p.250) More Info: [email protected] kahanecodes.com 339

The Banned Torah of Binyamin Kahane (H'YD) 340

341

Bereshit 342

The \"Idea\" Preceded the Creation of the World (1992) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg Chazal say that \"Torah\" preceded the creation of the world, as Rav Yehoshua Ben Levy says: Torah preceded the creation of the world by 2,000 years.\" The same Midrash then compares the creation of the world to the building of a palace, and says: Just as a king of flesh and blood consults with an architect when constructing a palace, Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu, too, looked at the Torah and created the world. What is the idea behind these Midrashim? Being immersed in the mundane matters of our physical and materialistic world, it is easy to forget one of the fundamental principles of Judaism: The entire array of rituals were given to us by G-d as external expressions which symbolize very special inner concepts. If this internal idea is distorted by the Jew, then his act, the \"mitzvah\", loses its significance, for it no longer manifests its true meaning. This is precisely the Jewish problem of today. Our two thousand years of exile amongst the gentiles has turned us from a nation to a \"religion\". We have become practitioners of Jewish ritual without grasping the inner concept,and worst of all: Our Judaism has become rote and nothing but lip service. We have become the type of people who declare in synagogue how G-d is omnipotent, and immediately afterwards ask how can we survive if America won't give us money. This is the tragedy - that the religious world believes in \"mitzvot\" instead of G-d. For this reason the Sages point out to us that the \"idea\" - that is, the Torah, actually preceeded the act of creation. For the \"mitzvot\" are the external, material deeds, and without an understanding of their inner significance, the mitzvot are left sterile, like a body without a soul. As a result, the Jew fulfilling the mitzvot becomes a mere robot and practitioner of ritual. We see this idea again in the building of the Tabernacle, which is also compared to a small \"world\". G-d first commands Bezalel to build the ark, for it is the symbol of the Torah, and only afterwards does G-d command him to build the altar, the symbol of the act or \"mitzvah\", once again proving that if one does not start from the basics, from the Torah, his sacrifices have no significance. For this reason Rabbi Kahane, ZT\"L, HY\"D, chose the name \"The Jewish Idea\" for the special yeshiva he began. He wanted a Yeshiva which did not only learn \"religion\", so to speak, like \"gemara\" and \"halacha\", but one that connected the ritual to the deeper concepts which stand behind the dry halacha. Thus, in addition to the \"regular\" subjects, the Yeshiva also stresses learning Tanach and Midrash, the sources from which the Jew draws authentic Jewish ideas and concepts. Not for nothing did the sages set down for us the following rule: \"Five years old, learn Tanach\". Before a Jew learns the ritual, he must first learn how to think like a Jew. Only then does the Torah he observes become an authentic one. 343

\"Bereshit - Creation or Annihilation\" (1999) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg IN A GIVEN GENERATION, THE ENTIRE CREATION AND EXISTENCE OF THE WORLD MAY BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS ONLY. WHILE MILLIONS OF OTHERS MAKE ALL THE NOISE AND GRAB ALL THE ATTENTION, THEY ARE IN REALITY INSIGNIFICANT RUBBLE. We begin the book of Bereishit, and we could hope that, at least in the beginning, things would run smoothly. But no: In Parashat Bereishit, we meet one disaster after another - the snake, the murder of Abel, the complaint of Lemech; from the very first day of the world's existence, God's plan of a perfect creation goes awry. Then, to top things off, we conclude the parasha with G-d's decision to destroy the entire world. Evil dominates to such an extent that the Almighty regrets that He created man, and decrees upon the world total wipeout. One must wonder: We had just read about the creation of the world and of man, evoking within us feelings of optimism and great promise. And then, behold, before even finishing the very first parasha of the Torah, everything is doomed! There is a Goal When God created the world, He created it for a purpose, a specific destiny. Man has free choice to fulfill this destiny or not to, and in any particular generation, there may be many who cling to its destiny, or there may be few. Therefore, the moment God reached the conclusion that this evil generation has no chance of fulfilling its purpose in the world, He has no other choice, so to speak, than to destroy it (after giving several grace periods to do \"t'shuva\"). We see a similar idea in our answer to the following question: Why did G-d wipe out all of the beasts, birds, and crawling things? If man sinned, why should the animals suffer? Rashi explains: \"The entire creation is for man, and when man is wiped out, who needs all these?\" That is, the purpose of the creation is not simply to exist, but rather to actualize the destiny of the Creation. The moment there is no purpose (which is the case after G-d wiped out man, for whom the world was created), then the animals must perish since there is no longer a reason for their existence. Here, too, the moment the deeds of man prove that there is no longer a possibility for him to fulfill his destiny, his existence is no necessary, and he perishes. Noach: The Reason for the World But we are still left wondering: All that creation, just for annihilation? All those generations before the flood (a span of 1,654 years) were for nothing? Do the verses at the end of Parshat Bereishit not convey to us a bleak message of destruction and high hopes that have gone up in smoke? The answer is no. Harsh though these verses may be, a verse appears at the very end which turns everything around: \"But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord\". In contrast to all the previous verses which give the impression that the creation had been in vain, this verse proves otherwise. And while this lonely verse may appear to be only a small comfort to a world gone astray, the truth is that this one verse is everything. Even if we are speaking about one individual - he is the one who counts. Noach is the justification for the world's continued existence. To understand this deeper, we will bring down what the \"Meshech Chochma\" (Rabbi Meir Simcha from Dvinsk) says regarding another matter entirely. It is written in Tractate Sanhedrin (111 a): \"Rabbi Sima'i says: The exodus from Egypt is comparable to the entry into Israel - just as two out of six hundred thousand entered the land [since out of all the 600,000 who left Egypt, only Yehoshua and 344

Kalev entered the Land of Israel] so, too, did two out of six hundred thousand leave Egypt\". All That Just For Two People?! And the question that begs to be asked is: What does the gemara mean when it says that only two out of six hundred thousand left Egypt. Did not all 600,000 leave?! The Meshech Chochma answers as follows: \"This means that all the signs and miracles wrought against Egypt, the ten plagues, the splitting of the sea - all was worthwhile so that two out of six hundred thousand would be able to fulfill the Divine purpose. And just as everything which was done in the desert was done for the benefit of two people (out of six hundred thousand), similarly, G-d has no qualms about changing nature and exercising His Power and Providence for His children and the world at large - even if they are not worthy of Divine Providence - for the benefit of a few. And hundreds of thousands of evil people will perish for the benefit of a few righteous individuals who believe in the Blessed One's Providence.\" In other words, since the goal of the exodus from Egypt was entry into the land of Israel, and only two people actually entered, it is as if only two people really left Egypt. All the miracles were for them only! This is what we stated earlier. G-d created the world for the sake of those who will eventually fulfill the world's destiny, and He is not deterred by the possibility that there may be just a very few out there who are willing. All the rest are considered a \"klipa\" (extraneous residue), and sad as it may sound (and we see from the verses that God is, indeed, sorry about it), they can, and will, perish. Ray of Light And so we see that though it may appear that the significant people in our world are those who make all the noise and attract all the attention, it is not they who are the focus of the creation and our reality. What really counts is that small ray of light that sometimes is not paid much attention to, but illuminates the world with the light of the world's true destiny. That same \"But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord\" is the ray of light which repels the darkness of his generation. He proves that despite the destruction, the Creation was not labor in vain. 345

Noach 346

PARSHAT NOACH SLOW TO ANGER OR ZEALOUS? Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg At such an early stage in the Torah and the history of mankind, the flood pours down and destroys the entire world. One must ask: How does such devastating global annihilation jibe with Hashem's attributes of mercy, slow to anger, and His desire to bestow good upon His creation? Is there not a contradiction here? It is interesting that while many people have \"problems\" with the commandments of wiping out Amalek and cities of idol worship, war and vengeance, no one gets upset when G-d Himself personally obliterates the entire world. Is this not food for thought? THE FATE OF THE WORLD WHICH LOSES ITS WAY There is no doubt that the terrible flood which wiped out the world so early in the history of mankind should send a message home to all those who believe in G-d and His Supervision over the world. And the message is the following: There is a purpose to the world, and without this purpose, there is no reason for man's existence. The world was created for a reason - the crowning of G-d as King by all mankind and observance of His commandments. When mankind strays from this intended path, they in effect forfeit very existence. At such a point, physical annihilation is not very far off. For after the people stray from their intended path, what possible reason is there for the continuation of their physical existence? It is true that after the flood, G-d swore He would not bring complete destruction to the world ever again. Nevertheless, the lesson of the flood remains with us for future generations: An entire world, bursting with vitality and vigor, was completely destroyed because it failed to serve it's purpose in service to it's Creator. It is a lesson taught to us from virtually the very outset of the Torah, for it is so basic. WHAT PATIENCE! Should one who studies the incident of the flood come away with the impression that Hashem is an angry and zealous G-d? Is this the message of the flood? In order to answer these questions, further investigation is necessary. Our sages teach us that G-d blessed the generation of the flood with awesome physical abundance, the likes we have never seen since. G-d wished to provide His new creations with a bounty of sustenance, and bestowed good upon them for 1,500 years. (Let us remember that the flood occurred 1,500 years after the creation of the world.) However, the sad rule, \"And he became fat and rebelled\" became a reality in a most extreme fashion. Precisely because of their great strength, wealth and feeling of indestructibility, the generation of the flood grew arrogant, committing every sin imaginable. In spite of all this, G-d waited and waited, hoping all the while that His children would do \"tsheuva\". But the situation only got worse. 347

So G-d turned to Noach, the only righteous person at the time and informed him that He is bringing an end to it all. Well, not exactly yet. What He did was tell Noach to warn mankind that if they don't do \"tsheuva\", He will bring down a flood to destroy the world in...120 years! That's a long time! What patience! Only when this, too, didn't help did it \"grieve Him in His heart\", and He destroyed the world. And so, what do we have here? \"A G-d of vengeance\", or \"abundant mercy\"? The answer is clear: At the beginning, G-d reveals Himself as a G-d of compassion and slow to anger. Only after all lines have been crossed, does He reveal Himself as an \"angry and jealous G-d\". Is there a contradiction here? Not at all! G-d is merciful, and there is nothing that remotely compares to His level of mercy. But he isn't a \"friar\" (sucker)! That is what our sages in Trachtate Baba Batra (50) tell us: \"He who says that G-d forgoes, shall forego his life\". There is a limit to how much G-d is willing to take, so to speak. G-d bestows upon us an abundance of good, shows us the right way, and is slow to anger. And then His creations rebel against Him? At that point, G-d says: Sorry, (and it grieved Him in his heart - Breishit 6:6), but there is a limit. Flood! While G-d may have \"unending patience\", we must realize that even \"unending patience\" ends. If we insist on rebelling against Him, He will exact punishment. And his \"chesbon\" is precise to the letter - he forgoes nothing, provided we do not do \"tsheuva\". TWO LESSONS FROM THE FLOOD 1. G-d desires only to bestow good for his creations, and even turns a blind eye to sinners for long periods of time, pushing aside His attribute of Judgment which would call for the immediate destruction of the sinner. Indeed, as the verse goes, \"slow to anger and abundant in mercy\"! 2. There is a purpose for man in this world, and without this purpose, there is no reason for man's existence. When man strays from the intended path beyond the point of no return, the mercy runs out. A \"G-d of Zealousness\"! This is what the prophet Nachum spoke of (1:2): \"The Lord is a jealous and avenging G-d; The Lord revenges, and is full of wrath; the Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He keeps wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means acquit the wicked\". The Nations United - A Danger to Humanity (1991) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg And the Lord said: Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language and this is what they begin to do, and now there will not bewithholden from them anything which they they purpose to do.\" (Bereshit 11- 6) What is G-d \"worried about\" here? Is not the unity of mankind a good thing? Today there is no shortage of people who spend their entire lives attempting to bring international peace and unity to the world. And here in our parsha we are witness to the achievement of this lofty goal - and behold, G-d does not see the situation in a positive light to say the least. The answer to this question is expressed in the words of our sages in the following Mishnah (Sanhedrin, Ch. 8): \"The coming together of the wicked is bad for them and bad for the world\". When 348

the goyim get together with peace, harmony and understanding prevailing amongst them; when they share common goals and aspirations - precisely at such a moment it is bad for them and for the world. For the wicked only gather together for the sake of carrying out evil goals, and unity amongst them can only help their diabolical schemes to succeed. Naturally, the maliciousness of their intentions is not always obvious for all to see. After all, what did the generation of the Tower of Bavel in all their unity want, other than to settle the world (\"and they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there\"), bring progress and advanced technology (\"Come let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly, and they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar\"), and provide urban planning and development (\"Come let us build a city and a tower...\")? What is so bad about these things? Only in the continuation of the verse do we get our answer: \"... and let us make us a name\" (Chapter 11, verses 3 and 4). Behind all their deeds and their unity was the brazen arrogance in their thinking that mankind is omnipotent, as well as a narcissistic aspiration to leave their mark in the annals of history. Such egoism represents a rebellion against The Master of the Universe, and thus He annulled their evil council. This idea was what Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was expressing when he heard Rabbi Yehuda praising the evil Roman Empire for their construction of the marketplaces, bridges and public bathhouses: \"Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai answered him: 'Everything that they rebuilt, they rebuilt for their own needs'\". (Trachtate Shabbat 33) The very essence of the Jewish People is the antithesis to that of the goyim. While the goyim aspire to make a name for themselves in the world, the Nation of Israel aspires to make a name for G-d in the world. Therefore, what the gentile considers to be evil and destructive, the Jew sees as positive and progressive, and vice versa. \"The scattering of the wicked is good for them and good for the world, (the scattering) of the righteous is bad for them and bad for the world\". (Mishnah Sanhedrin, Ch. 8) The scattering of the gentiles is considered a \"tikun\" for the entire world, and thus the generation of the Tower of Bavel was punished. In contrast, the scattering or exile of the People of Israel causes damage to the world, and only their reunification and establishment of sovereignty on their soil can rectify this flawed situation. And so, while unity of the gentiles brings about destruction to the world, the unification of the Jews brings about salvation to the world, for the salvation of the world can only be attained through the Jewish People, because only through us can G-d's Name be sanctified. Therefore, if we want to know when the unification of the gentile will be a positive thing, let us understand that this is only when their unity is derived from their subservience and connection to the People of Israel, and their recognition that \"The G-d of Israel is King and His Kingdom Rules All\". In recent years we have been witness to the breaking down of barriers between nations. The east and west have united, Germany has united, and a united world front stands mobilized at the fingertips of the U.N. Former foes America and Russia have ceased hostilities, and the entire world is uniting under the umbrella of democracy. Let us never live in the sweet illusion that this unity is something that works to our advantage. In an instant this combined front can come and demand from us impossible concessions. This is not some far out vision of doom, for our prophets already spoke about Gog coming upon us - and how can one ignore it! But the fact is that inherent in the unity of the goyim is also the awesome potential for us to bring redemption gloriously and swiftly - if only we have no fear, trust in G-d, and willingly become a \"nation that dwells alone\". By doing so we will merit to see the bursting of the bubble of Gog in our gates, and a redemption without needless suffering. 349

\"They Shall Know That There Has Been a Prophet Amongst Them\" (1997) Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane Translated by Lenny Goldberg For 120 years, Noach fulfilled G-d's commandment and built the ark, all the while warning the people in his generation about the impending flood. When people would pass by his house and ask what he was doing, he would reply, \"The Almighty said that He is bringing a flood upon the world\". The people reacted with vicious mockery.(see Breishit Raba, 30:7) The question that can be asked is the following: For 120 years, Noach warned of the flood. And what came out of it? At first glance, absolutely nothing! In the end, the flood wiped out the entire world, except for whom? Except for Noach and his family. Not even one person was convinced to do \"tsheuva\". Not even one! Noach's \"life endeavor\" of 120 years was a waste of time. Or was it? The story of Noach provides us with a concrete illustration as to what the true role of the chastising prophet is. Certainly, the major goal of the warnings and admonishment are to direct the people onto the proper path, in the hope that they will do \"tsheuva\" immediately . But in contrast as to what one might think, if the prophet does not succeed in bringing the people to \"tsheuva\", this does not necessarily mean that he failed! A deeper look will reveal that the rebuke in itself has value. If we look at the prophets of Israel, we will notice an amazing fact: Generally speaking, they were a dismal failure. It seemed as if they influenced no one. The people were not interested in hearing them, and did not change their evil ways. Does this mean that there was no value in the warnings of the prophets? Of course not. After all, the words of the prophets are inscribed forever in our Holy Bible. The answer to this question can be found in G-d's words to Ezekhiel when He appoints him as prophet (chapter 2): And He said to me, Son of man, I sent thee to the children of Israel ... that have rebelled against me... and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord G-d. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to hear, (for they are a rebellious house,) so they shall know that there has been a prophet amongst them\". And afterwards (3:7): \"But the house of Israel will not hearken to you...\" Can this be? If G-d knows that they won't listen, why send Ezekhiel out and put him through such humiliation and abuse? And so a new concept is learned here. The saying of truth has value, even if it has no apparent influence at that particular moment. What is the value? \"So that they will know that a prophet was amongst them.\" Even if immediate results are not seen, the value of the warnings are that they manifest the bringing in of G-d's word into the world. The prophet who expresses G-d's truth is giving expression to G-d's actual presence in this world. It is showing us that the world is not \"hefker\" (chaos). There is justice in the world. By so doing, the prophet, in essence, sanctifies G-d's Name. We must realize: Even when it seems that the people are not listening, it is still an obligation to say the truth. Firstly, for the reason given in the Gemorah: \"If before You (before G-d) it is known (that they won't listen) - for them (the righteous who are supposed to rebuke), who says it is known?! (Shabbat, 58 - see in greater detail). In other words, we can never be sure whether or not our words will have an influence, and therefore, we must say them. But even more than this, we must realize that the words may have an impact tens or even hundreds of years down the road, as is written about the prophets whose influence upon the people they spoke to was not apparent, yet: \"Prophecy which is needed for future generations is written down\". Our teacher Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY\"D, saw his major role as one of a\"prophet\" who must warn and rebuke the people. That is, to say the truth of G-d; the same truth which no one else dares to express, 350