Hamas War

Friday, March 10, 2006

Like Jacob

There is a major controversy going on among Jewish patriots (what others call the "right") recently, that's since Disengagement and Amona.

Many preach refusing to enter the army and vote in Israeli elections. I can understand their anger and disgust with the system, but by giving in and "disengaging" from our national rights and obligations, we are only making things worse for ourselves.

We have to emulate our forefather Jacob,



וַֽיִּגְדְּלוּ
הַנְּעָרִים וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד אִישׁ שָׂדֶה וְיַעֲקֹב אִישׁ תָּם
יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִֽים׃
And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of
the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

In spite of Jacob's nature, he learned how to deal with Essau's type of character. His mother, who had grown up with it, sent him to her family to train and toughen him.



וְעַתָּה בְנִי שְׁמַע בְּקֹלִי
וְקוּם בְּרַח־לְךָ אֶל־לָבָן אָחִי חָרָֽנָה׃
Now therefore, my son, hearken
to my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;


And he learned his lesson well at his Uncle Lavan's home. So, when the time came for the two brothers to meet up, again, Jacob was ready. He knew what he had to do, and he didn't shirk, even though some of the things were against his nature.

Jacob prepared for meeting Essau in three ways:

Before meeting his brother Esau (who was coming to kill him), Jacob utilized three strategies: (1) he sent gifts to appease Esau, (2) he prayed for Divine assistance, and (3) he prepared for war.

For us, today voting in the elections and serving in the army are the preparations we must make to defeat the modern Esau, in addition to our prayers to G-d.

Next week is Purim, the holiday of the "hidden hand of G-d." The holiday which celebrates surprise turns and our defeat of the enemy.

Shabbat Shalom

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This week our yeshiva in Ma'ale Efraim hosted IAF Aluf-Mishne (LTC Res.) Yehoar Gal, who was Dan Halutz's navigator a number of years ago, a right-wing, salt-of-the-earth, secular Jew. He is no. 20 on the NU-NRP list. He is one of those Jews who remind us that the difference today is not left against right but Jew against unJew, builder against destroyer. I support the National Union.
The polls, as we all know, are skewed to the left. There are many who refuse to respond and many undecided. I believe the left will be shocked and horrified the day after the election. It will be for our public what 1973 was for the Likud (Licouldn't), the break into the major league of Israeli politics instead of the religious good-luck charm on the winner's bracelet. The NU of today will be what Tehiya in the '80s and early '90s dreamed of being but never made it.
But returning to the clothespin, let me say that I believe we are still a herd of sheep. We still have the galut mentality. Sorry for the mixed metaphor, but we have our heads in the sand. (Jews, take a stand! Decide once and for all: are you sheep or ostriches?) But even a large herd of sheep can't be destroyed so fast unless the enemy is truly the Nazis, and they are not.
I have kids who currently refuse to vote. I know there are others who are going to vote Hazit. But I, with a clothespin over my nose am going to vote for the National Union. The clothespin is because the list includes Orlev and Yahalom, who dithered in the Sharon government under the delusion that they could accomplish something from within. Moetzet Yesha and the likes of Rav Aviner, who helped the government, the Shabak and the black forces of destruction to neutralize the opposition in Gush Katif, are among its supporters. Nonetheless, just as those who spoke out against racism in America in the early to mid-20th century included communists, a good cause can have bad supporters. This is our last chance for a ballot before the bullets, G-d forbid. Because of the sanctity of human life we must make the effort. The thought of our streets becoming like former Yugoslavia or Chechnya, with the world power elite gleefully sending in an international force to pick up the pieces, should sober us. It would mean perhaps the end of what little Jewish sovereignty there is. It must be a last resort, equivalent to Israel's nuclear option against its enemies. The next government, if either Kadima or the Likud or Labor wins, will be a government of capitulation. It will do two things. First, it will invite and knuckle under to international pressure for more and more concessions. It will throw more and more Jews out of our homes. We are next. The second thing it will do is to complete the work of adopting the anti-Jewish constitution of Aharon Barak and his cohorts. The judicial elite will be undisputedly supreme. Even the most determined government and Knesset will be only a rubber stamp. Only a real Jewish government can prevent that. For those who think of supporting Shas or Yahadut Hatorah, remember that if we don't have a state we won't have yeshivas either. They will be bulldozed or burned, either by Jews or by Arabs, it won't make a difference.
Those of you who are citizens of Israel, get out and vote on election day. Those of you who are Jews in the Diaspora, make aliya and join the struggle. Those of you who are not able to do so, or are not Jewish, support the struggle in whatever way possible.

Yehoshua Friedman
Kochav Hashachar

yaak said...

Nice post, Batya. Well said.

Yehoshua, you wrote:
For those who think of supporting Shas or Yahadut Hatorah, remember that if we don't have a state we won't have yeshivas either. They will be bulldozed or burned, either by Jews or by Arabs, it won't make a difference.

One could also say that without Yeshivas, we won't have a state.

Anonymous said...

Yehoshua, I am greatly troubled by the opinion of those who say vote NU because they have the best chance of winning, dont support Hazit, though we know they actually have principles because Hzit will lose. This troubles me for you are arguing that since good cannot win I will support evil, the least evil surely, but evil nontheless. That way I will be on the winning side. This is not a strategy of principle or goodness. It is better to be riht and defeated then wrong and victorious.

I remind you of a very important bit of history. It was Geula Cohen of Techiya the forerunner of NU who got Rav Kahane zt'l banned from the Knesset. So on election day remember who has already sold out the Torah for fear of a loss of power.

Batya said...

Thanks, Yehoshua, Yaak, and KL, too. I know that with NRP in NU, it's not as good.

It's not Tchiya, which was a start. I'll never forget at a "chug bayit" (parlour meeting) before the 81? elections when somebody asked Geula Cohen if Tchiya was a religious party. Her answer: "It's a Jewish Party." I feel that NU has it, too.

About Geula, I think it's pretty clear that she's suffering in this world.

We have to look forward and work hard for a better Israel.

Robin Ticker said...

bs"d

The common denominator that spells out the fundamental truth is the Covenant that Hashem has with Am Yisroel. That Covenant is supported by believing Jews from NU, NRP, SHAS, UTJ, HAZIT, LIKUD and Jews, Hebrews, Christians all over the world. Time to start a new party that will be effective in neutralizing KADIMA. Actually it is going ACHORA to the Covenant Hashem made with our forefathers Avraham Yitzchok and Yaakov that will prove to be the ultimate winner.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone think that concessions will be more extensive then what already has been done and is proposed in the near term?

Bluntly: Israel is a nuclear power. This cannot be by chance. No way. Israel holds strategic importance in the ME and it does so in an almost un-loving love triangle. Being that a nuclear power could attack another country, under a variety of circumstances, which then produces an element of stability in the region by implied threat. This would satisfy the aims of the ME exporters, the West and Israel as a nation.

Having said that: Does anyone see anything in the balance of this abusive disengagement?

Such as Jerusalem continuing to have GOI control without a spilt. Such as a gradual reduction in guerilla attacks (missile and human bomber attacks) possibly timed to occur slowly with the expulsions and land giveaways. Even with K missiles the Barrier has changed the equation so why wouldn't the disengagement/s produce something of value?

From a calculating point of view: There has to be something tangible in the balance. Disengagement is the most overt and bizarre series of events that I could imagine. The force with which the GOI acts now is ridiculous and displays intransigence. There has to be a reason for this "display" and that implies an "arrangement" with other powers.

I'm assuming that these events must produce something for Israel.

JohnPod

Batya said...

JP, about Israel's being a "nuclear power," maybe that's why the world is so anxious to weaken it into nothingness.