No idea what this post is going to be about but I need to rant. I B"H had a very full day today, and as I was davening maariv I was thinking about where I had been throughout the course of my day.
First, I got up at 5:30am to go to a 5:55 selichos. After davening I went to school and had 6 hours of class. Then I drove home and had to drive another hour to a meeting across town to which I arrived late to and missed because of intense traffic on the beltway. Then I came back home, ate dinner and went out to night seder, where I eventually davened maariv.
I had a very uplifting experience during night seder, I had been listening to Rabbi Ken Spiro talk about Jewish history on the car ride back from college on the first kings of Israel, Saul through Shlomo. I sat down to night seder and heard a 13 year old kind learning the beginning of Samuel 2, the first chapter. He was studying for a test he has tomorrow and he was having trouble understanding the story of Saul's death, with him being killed by the son of an Amaleki, and then being killed by David for the murder of a Jewish King.
This kid who was in 7th grade in my old school, and I was very happy to hear that there was someone there who was teaching Tanach.
I'm really seeing how important knowing your history is, especially nowadays, with Olmert and Peres planning to split Jerusalem and give Judea & Samaria to the terrorists. They have no idea what they're history is, and if they do know, they don't see it as their history.
Or as Peres said put it (to paraphrase) "history is a waste of time and shouldn't be learned, instead we should be looking to the future and only then will we reach our potential." (End paraphrase)
But it's very interesting that we're going into the Sh'mitta year in Israel, to look back at 7 years ago what was going on? In 2000/5760 the Arabs started their war in Israel, the "Intifada." Seven years before that was Oslo. I hope this Sh'mitta year will break the trend and be a good year for the Jewish people.
Anyways these days, the Yomim Noraim (High Holidays) really make me feel that there's absolutely nothing little old me can do here in America besides pray to the General of this complicated battle field, G-d. I have no power, and these politicians have no power, but the problem is they think they do. Looking at the kings in the Bible, David and Shlomo, those guys knew how to be a leader. They knew that G-d was the real leader and they were simply conduits to run the Jewish people. Olmert doesn't think that, can you imagine if Olmert said to Abbas "Sorry, I have to drive you and all of the other Arabs from this land because you pose a threat to the future of the Jewish people. Oh and this isn't my decision, the G-d of Israel commanded me to do it, I'd rather not, be He commands, therefore I do."
As Rabbi Spiro put it very well, "Liberalism comes from Judaism, but Judaism isn't Liberalism."
Our problem is that we're too compassionate, even if it means doom for us. I have some liberal relatives who are pro-Israel, but they were trying to explain to me the reason that Sharon was throwing Jews out of Gush Katif was simply a demographic move, it wasn't because he wanted to throw Jews out of their homes, that was just an unfortunate side effect.
Why then, during the nights of davening at the Kotel, did Sharon make the statement that "they thing they're G-d can save them? Let him try"
Of course we see that he did get his punishment.
But the point is that there was a difference between the Jews if Gush Katif and the Jews of some secular kibbutz. I can't say that the same move would have been made if the the situation had been with the latter.
But that's why J & S are being offered, as well as Jerusalem, these are HOLY sites to the Jews, the secular leaders have no claim to these areas, these are the sites of those "crazy settlers." The world wants us to create and Arab terror state, so will create one, it's only the religious Jews that are being thrown out of their homes. No. Big. Deal.
I'm learning the Eim Habanim Semaicha right now, and Rabbi Teichtal was very supportive of the secular Jews who had left Europe to settle the land of Israel. But he told them that they need to make sure that any state that is established has to have a strong backing in Torah, if you're reason for settling the land is not based on Torah, then you have no claim to that land, and it won't be long before the nations of the world recognize that and demand you give it away.
I envy the people who lived in those times because a secular Israeli who, even if he didn't follow Torah, had a strong sense of nationality and that being a member of the Jewish people was something to be proud of.
Now, the kids of these secularists don't live in Israel, their parents see the Zionist dream as dead, who cares if we give away the country, our kids won't be around to settle it, it's only those religious people who still want to live here. Why no move to America where I don't have to serve in the army, and I can make more money and live the American Dream?
What was the Zionist dream? It was about after 2000 years, a people without access to their homeland returning home and building that home into a conduit to being a Light unto the Nations.
As Rabbi David Zeller said, quoting a Buddhist Monk, "You Jews have done a wonderful job developing the physical world, but you have to develop to spiritual world if you don't want the world to blow up!"
As we've seen Israel is great when it comes to physical aspects of the world, but they really need to develop the spiritual aspect of it, and that can be as simple as doing what I did on the post below and just mention G-d's name in the advertisements for tourism and Aliyah.
We have a job to do, another reason the secularists wanted a state was to be and Light unto the Nation, it was to be Like all the other Nations.
We can't be like the other nations, we have a job to do, and no matter how much we deny our mission it still stands, the only question is it going to be our generation that perfects the world or a generation after us?
We have a mission.
Deal with it.
First, I got up at 5:30am to go to a 5:55 selichos. After davening I went to school and had 6 hours of class. Then I drove home and had to drive another hour to a meeting across town to which I arrived late to and missed because of intense traffic on the beltway. Then I came back home, ate dinner and went out to night seder, where I eventually davened maariv.
I had a very uplifting experience during night seder, I had been listening to Rabbi Ken Spiro talk about Jewish history on the car ride back from college on the first kings of Israel, Saul through Shlomo. I sat down to night seder and heard a 13 year old kind learning the beginning of Samuel 2, the first chapter. He was studying for a test he has tomorrow and he was having trouble understanding the story of Saul's death, with him being killed by the son of an Amaleki, and then being killed by David for the murder of a Jewish King.
This kid who was in 7th grade in my old school, and I was very happy to hear that there was someone there who was teaching Tanach.
I'm really seeing how important knowing your history is, especially nowadays, with Olmert and Peres planning to split Jerusalem and give Judea & Samaria to the terrorists. They have no idea what they're history is, and if they do know, they don't see it as their history.
Or as Peres said put it (to paraphrase) "history is a waste of time and shouldn't be learned, instead we should be looking to the future and only then will we reach our potential." (End paraphrase)
But it's very interesting that we're going into the Sh'mitta year in Israel, to look back at 7 years ago what was going on? In 2000/5760 the Arabs started their war in Israel, the "Intifada." Seven years before that was Oslo. I hope this Sh'mitta year will break the trend and be a good year for the Jewish people.
Anyways these days, the Yomim Noraim (High Holidays) really make me feel that there's absolutely nothing little old me can do here in America besides pray to the General of this complicated battle field, G-d. I have no power, and these politicians have no power, but the problem is they think they do. Looking at the kings in the Bible, David and Shlomo, those guys knew how to be a leader. They knew that G-d was the real leader and they were simply conduits to run the Jewish people. Olmert doesn't think that, can you imagine if Olmert said to Abbas "Sorry, I have to drive you and all of the other Arabs from this land because you pose a threat to the future of the Jewish people. Oh and this isn't my decision, the G-d of Israel commanded me to do it, I'd rather not, be He commands, therefore I do."
As Rabbi Spiro put it very well, "Liberalism comes from Judaism, but Judaism isn't Liberalism."
Our problem is that we're too compassionate, even if it means doom for us. I have some liberal relatives who are pro-Israel, but they were trying to explain to me the reason that Sharon was throwing Jews out of Gush Katif was simply a demographic move, it wasn't because he wanted to throw Jews out of their homes, that was just an unfortunate side effect.
Why then, during the nights of davening at the Kotel, did Sharon make the statement that "they thing they're G-d can save them? Let him try"
Of course we see that he did get his punishment.
But the point is that there was a difference between the Jews if Gush Katif and the Jews of some secular kibbutz. I can't say that the same move would have been made if the the situation had been with the latter.
But that's why J & S are being offered, as well as Jerusalem, these are HOLY sites to the Jews, the secular leaders have no claim to these areas, these are the sites of those "crazy settlers." The world wants us to create and Arab terror state, so will create one, it's only the religious Jews that are being thrown out of their homes. No. Big. Deal.
I'm learning the Eim Habanim Semaicha right now, and Rabbi Teichtal was very supportive of the secular Jews who had left Europe to settle the land of Israel. But he told them that they need to make sure that any state that is established has to have a strong backing in Torah, if you're reason for settling the land is not based on Torah, then you have no claim to that land, and it won't be long before the nations of the world recognize that and demand you give it away.
I envy the people who lived in those times because a secular Israeli who, even if he didn't follow Torah, had a strong sense of nationality and that being a member of the Jewish people was something to be proud of.
Now, the kids of these secularists don't live in Israel, their parents see the Zionist dream as dead, who cares if we give away the country, our kids won't be around to settle it, it's only those religious people who still want to live here. Why no move to America where I don't have to serve in the army, and I can make more money and live the American Dream?
What was the Zionist dream? It was about after 2000 years, a people without access to their homeland returning home and building that home into a conduit to being a Light unto the Nations.
As Rabbi David Zeller said, quoting a Buddhist Monk, "You Jews have done a wonderful job developing the physical world, but you have to develop to spiritual world if you don't want the world to blow up!"
As we've seen Israel is great when it comes to physical aspects of the world, but they really need to develop the spiritual aspect of it, and that can be as simple as doing what I did on the post below and just mention G-d's name in the advertisements for tourism and Aliyah.
We have a job to do, another reason the secularists wanted a state was to be and Light unto the Nation, it was to be Like all the other Nations.
We can't be like the other nations, we have a job to do, and no matter how much we deny our mission it still stands, the only question is it going to be our generation that perfects the world or a generation after us?
We have a mission.
Deal with it.
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