“They shall make an Ark of acacia wood” (Ex. 25:10)
G-d established the whole framework of a holy Temple, holy objects and holy people (Kohanim and Levi'im) to create a miniature world, perfect and complete, holy and pure.
It was meant to symbolize the larger world and to guide us in how our world is supposed to look. One of our most important principles is: “To the L-rd belongs the earth and everything in it” (Ps. 24.1). Everything belongs to G-d, and nothing that ostensibly belongs to man is really his. Rather, it is only given to him to use. The concept of holiness provides a concrete example to help us understand the essence of property here on earth – that it belongs exclusively to G-d and not to man.
The ark is the essence of the Tabernacle and the Temple, both of which were established for its sake. As Rashbam wrote (Ex 25:10), “For the sake of the ark, which is the essence of “they shall make Me a sanctuary”(Ex. 25:8), it was necessary to make a Tabernacle.” This accords with Shemot Rabbah, 34:2:
First it says, “Have them bring Me and offering” (Ex. 25:2), and then, “Make an ark of acacia wood” (v. 10). Just as the Torah preceded everything, so too, in the fashioning of the Tabernacle, the ark preceded all the other vessels. The reason that the ark came first was that the two tablets and the Torah scroll were inside it. The ark was the only object standing inside the Holy of Holies behind the partition [parochet]. G-d made it the holiest object on earth, when He confined, so to speak, His Divine Presence, and spoke to Moses from between the two cherubs: “I will commune with you there, speaking to you from above the ark cover, from between the two cherubs that are on the Ark of Testimony”(Ex. 25:22); and, "Moses would hear the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubs on the ark cover over the Ark of Testimony. The L-rd thus spoke to him”(Num. 7:89).
G-d made the Ark “His place”, so to speak, in this world, thereby making it a symbol of His omnipotence, isolation and aloneness, a symbol that we must trust in Him alone, as Hezekiah said when he prayed to G-d to save the city from Sennacherib (II Kings 19:15): “O L-rd, G-d of Israel, Who sits upon the cherubs. You are G-d, alone, of all the kingdoms on the earth. You made heaven and earth.”
Indeed, the ark was the earthly seat of G-d, “Who sits upon the cherubs”, and it became a symbol of G-d's omnipotence and Israel's obligation to trust in Him. R. Shmuel bar Nachmani said (Pesikta DeRav Kahana 123a):
Wherever Scripture uses the term “Master” [adon], it alludes to G-d's uprooting one group and bringing in another. The prototype is, “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Master of all the earth” (Josh. 3:11). There G-d uprooted the Canaanites and brought in Israel.
Thus the Ark is the symbol of the L-rd of all the earth, its Creator and Master, Who removes nations from lands – the Canaanites and Ishmaelites – and brings in other nations – Israel – and none can protest.
Yet the ark symbolizes more than that, for it also symbolizes G-d's ability to control and alter all the laws of nature, laws He established. Following is Bereshit Rabbah, 5:7:
“Joshua said to the Children of Israel, 'Come hither'” (Josh 3:9): R. Huna said, “He made [the Children of Israel] stand between the two poles of the ark.” R. Acha bar R. Chanina said, “He made them lean between the two poles of the ark.” The Rabbis said, “He made them fit precisely between the two poles of the ark.” Joshua said to them, “From the fact that you all fit between the two ark poles, you know that the Divine Presence is among you.”
G-d transformed the ark into the symbol of His control over the laws of nature, for here, the smaller contained the larger. Where was this? “Between the poles”, the poles with which the Levi'im carried the ark.
Our sages likewise said (Sotah 35a):
As soon as the last Israelite ascended from the Jordan, the water returned to its place: “As the Kohanim who bore the ark of the covenant of the L-rd came up out of the Jordan, as soon as the soles of their feet were drawn up onto dry ground, the water returned to its place” (Josh. 4:18) [...] It turns out that the ark and its carriers and the Kohanim were on one side, and the rest of Israel were on the other. The ark carried its carriers, and it crossed...
For this Uzza was punished, as it says, “When they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark” (I Chron. 13:9). G-d said to him, “Uzza, if the ark carries its carriers, surely it can carry itself!” And the L-rd's anger was kindled against Uzza, and He smote him there for his error” (II Sam. 6:7).
Thus, here, too, the ark took control of the laws of nature when it carried its carriers, demonstrating to Israel the Law of Faith and Trust: G-d's ark does not need carriers. Rather, it carries itself as well as all those who ostensibly carry it. For this reason, it was forbidden to carry the ark in a wagon. Being able to carry itself, it needed no help. Yet, G-d decreed that the ark must be carried on shoulders to emphasize that if Israel “carried it on their shoulders” (i.e. accepted the yoke and burden of the ark), then the ark would carry them always.
Whoever forgets this law and tries to “help” G-d is punished, all the more so that someone who thinks the ark and its Master lack the power to help, and instead trusts in the nations, commits an unbearable sin.
The ark is the symbol of G-d's place int the world, and the poles that carry it are the concrete symbol of G-d's unlimited power, His omnipotence, greatness and majesty.
G-d desired that these poles – symbolizing G-d's greatness and our duty to trust in Him infinitely – would be before the eyes of Israel always. He therefore decreed a wondrous decree:
The Kohanim brought the ark of the covenant of the L-rd to its place, into the Temple sanctuary, into the Holy of Holies, even under the wings of the cherubs... The ark poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place, even before the Sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside. (I Kings 8:6, 8)
Our sages comment (Menachot 98 a):
“The ark poles were long”: I might think they did not touch the partition. It therefore says, “They were seen.” If they could be “seen”, I might think they tore through the partition to the other side. It therefore says, “They could not be seen without.” How can this be? They pushed and protruded against the partition like a woman's two breasts, as it says, “My beloved is unto me as a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts” (Song of Songs 1:13)
The Talmud's point is that G-d wished every Jew who came to the Sanctuary to always see the poles and remember what they symbolized: that we are obligated to have perfect, complete faith in G-d's omnipotence. Yet since the partition separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, G-d established that the poles should stretch so far that they abut the partition, protruding like a woman's breasts. Thus, whoever passed by saw the protrusion and drew the lesson.
[...] Woman is the symbol of man's love and desire, for there is no love in man's nature greater than his love for woman. Precisely for this reason G-d created man and woman, so they would be bound together with fierce love and desire, ready to sacrifice for each other and to give of themselves to an extent unheard of in any other relationship. They would be willing even to sacrifice their lives for each other, so strong is that love. Being so fiercely bound to another human being is the apex of man's breaking down his selfishness, arrogance and evil impulse. G-d created this bond so that man would understand from it – at least in part – how powerful must be his love for G-d. Thus, if a husband is ever unfaithful to his wife, it constitutes betrayal of the true concept of love and a dreadful lie looming over the marital relationship. G-d decreed that this must be an exclusive relationship founded on mutual trust, a symbol of the prohibition against the dreadful sin of polytheism, worshiping idols as well as G-d (Ex.20:3).
Observe the fierce love between Israel and G-d, which is always compared to the love between a man and woman, the fiercest love man can imagine. G-d compared the ark poles to a woman's breasts. This would seem to be the reason that one of G-d's names is Shad-dai [Hebr. shad = breast].
Likewise, as we have written, the cherubs hug each other, like the love between man and woman. How fortunate one would be to reach this level of love for G-d!
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Parashat Mishpatim - Slave of G-d or slave of man? - Rav Meir Kahane
“But if the bondsman shall say, “I love my master, my wife and my children- I shall not go free;” then his master shall bring him to the court and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore through his ear with the awl, and he shall serve him forever.” (Ex. 21:5-6)
The Jew is commanded to ascend via humility and lowliness and to break down his own egotism. He is obligated to liberate himself from his enslavement to himself and to be a free man vis-a-vis everyone but G-d. To be a slave to mortal man or to oneself is a profound sin. If the slave of a Jew does not wish to go free [after six years], his ear is pierced with an awl, and our sages explain (Kiddushin 22b):
How is the ear different from all other parts of the body? G-d said, “If one's ear heard Me say on Mount Sinai (Lev. 25:55), 'The Children of Israel are slaves to Me', slaves to Me, not slaves to slaves, and he still went and acquired a master for himself, that ear must be pierced.”
R. Shimon ben Rebbe's exposition on this verse was like a gem: How are the door and the doorpost different from all other parts of the house? G-d said, “They were witnesses in Egypt when I passed over the lintel and the two doorposts, saying, 'The children of Israel are my slaves', and not slaves to slaves, and I took them out of bondage. And this person went and acquired a master for himself? Let his ear be pierced in their presence.
A man of flesh and blood should not take another human being as his master, neither should he be a slave to himself. He is G-d's slave.
The Torah commanded us to keep laws and statutes which conceptually serve as a constant reminder of how abominable is conceit and how essential humility. In actual fact, the first commandment given to Israel when they ceased their bondage to mortal man was one intended to imbue them with humility; namely, the commandment to burn one's chametz [bread and other forms of leaven] before Pesach (Ex. 12:19; 13:7). Chametz, with its yeast which causes dough to expand, is a symbol of conceit which inflates a person's ego, enslaving and destroying him. The person enslaved by his pride and lust, the arrogant man who rebels against his task here on earth, rebels against the purpose of his and the world's having been created. He rebels against his Creator.
By contrast, someone who suppresses his evil impulse, overcoming his pride and lust, fulfills his task in the world.
This is man's whole purpose, the reason for his having been formed: to know G-d, cling to His attributes and fulfill His commandments. Within this very process, itself, comes self-effacement, subjugation of the evil impulse and a declaration: “The L-rd is G-d and there is no other – surely not myself – besides Him.”
Therefore, precisely during our season of freedom and national pride, when we celebrate liberation from the arrogant Egyptians and when exaltation would have been befitting and proper, G-d commanded base humility so Israel would remember that vis-a-vis G-d, they would always remain slaves, serving Him forever. As our sages said (Sifri, Shelach 115):
When G-d redeemed the seed of His beloved Abraham, He redeemed them not as sons but as slaves. Whenever He made a decree and they rejected it, He would say, “You are My slaves”. When they wnet out to the desert, He began to decree a few severe commandments and a few lighter ones... and Israel began to rebel. He said to them, “You are My slaves. I redeemed you on condition that I be able to decree and have you obey.”
Now, instead of being slaves of G-d, a title which is no disgrace, but the greatest praise a person can receive, we have become slaves of slaves.
Observe what our sages said (Sifri, Vezot HaBerachah, 357): “Slave of the L-rd” (Deut. 34:5): The Torah is not defaming Moses but praising him. We find that the first prophets were called slaves, as it says, “For the L-rd G-d does nothing without revealing His counsel unto His slaves the prophets” (Amos 3:7)
[Similarly we find in Rabbi Kahane's “Peirush haMaccabee” on Shemot, Chapter 2, regarding the Kohen:]
The Kohen is the one who serves and obeys, like a slave before his master. The Torah says: And Malchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; and he was a Kohen of G-d, the Most High [which the Targum Onkelos renders: “and he served before G-d Most High”]. And he [Malchizedek] blessed him [Abram] saying: Blessed be Abram to G-d, the Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth (Genesis 14:18-19). Here we see that a Kohen of G-d is the person who begins with the understanding that Hashem is indeed the Possessor of heaven and earth – space, time, everything. And what exactly does the word koneh (“possessor”) really mean? – He is the Owner and the Master, because He has acquired everything by having created everything (as Rashi puts it: By having made them, He acquired them as His own). And this Kohen is a slave of G-d, and he is called by His Master’s Name because what the slave acquires his master acquires, because the slave is no more than his master’s hand. The Kohen in Israel is the one who has been sanctified to serve G-d in His Holy Temple, and only someone like that is worthy of placing Hashem’s Name on the nation, as the Torah says: And they [the Kohanim] will place My Name on the Children of Israel, and I will bless them (Numbers 6:27). The Torah also says: And you [Moses], draw close to yourself Aaron your brother and his sons with him, from among the Children of Israel, to minister to Me (Exodus 28:1).
...Aaron and the Kohanim were chosen to minister to Me, to be the slaves who would serve and obey Hashem in ministering to Him. They have been acquired as slaves to G-d the Most High, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth, and every day they testify to His omnipotence, and that He is Hashem, L-rd of Legions.
A slave of G-d is obligated to accept the yoke of his Master in heaven. He is lowly and belittles himself out of fear and reverence for his Master, the L-rd, and he esteems and praises Him as much as he can, as great, mighty and awesome. Precisely of all these reasons, precisely due to his fear of G-d, his fear of flesh and blood falls away. Any slave of G-d will never be a slave to a slave, i.e., to flesh and blood. Whoever truly stands in fear and trembling before the exclusive power and might of G-d will never fear mortal man, who comes from dust and returns to dust.
Such is the fear of G-d: Whoever stands in fear and trembling before G-d's majesty, astonished at His power and might, greatness and omnipotence, is at once seized with fear and reverence for his Maker and King; yet at the same time, all fear of flesh and blood leaves him, for of what importance is man?
Woe to us that, due to the curse of the exile, we have violated G-d's terrible prohibition which states, “The children of Israel are My slaves. They are My slaves because I brought them out of Egypt. I am the L-rd your G-d” (Lev. 25:55).
Due to our fear of the nations, we have become slaves to them of our own doing. We, thus, deserve the punishment of the slave whose ear is pierced: “He shall then serve his master forever” (Ex. 21:6).
Whoever takes a flesh-and-blood master because he fears him and relies on him and leans on his strength and kindness, denies the existence of G-d, the Supreme Master. Not only does he do this, but he profanes G-d's name (Torat Kohanim, Behar, 9): “The children of Israel are My slaves... I am the L-rd your G-d” This teaches that whenever Israel go into slavery here on earth, Scripture treats it as if G-d is going into slavery as well.” The simple meaning of this is that G-d took Israel out of Egyptian bondage to sanctify His name by showing the nations His power and might. Hence, when Israel once more become enslaved, where is G-d's power and where is His might? There is no greater Chilul Hashem than this. It is as though G-d is being enslaved by the nations, so to speak.
Now if it is so when a nation attacks Israel and enslaves them, what can we possibly say when a Jew fearfully enslaves himself to the non-Jew? Could any Chilul Hashem be greater? We must don sackcloth and ashes!
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based on faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitutes a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King. If it suited the lowliness of the exile, when we were unwilling slaves to the nations, powerless to raise ourselves up to defend ourselves, how dare we bring that same disgraceful concept into the holy land, the land of G-d. While G-d has afforded us the greatest, most powerful miracles since the Hasmonean victories, we have remained that same exilic product, that same slave to the nations and slaves to slaves, with that same base spirit which led G-d to decree what He decreed against our ancestors in the desert.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” and “Peirush haMaccabee – Shemot” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
The Jew is commanded to ascend via humility and lowliness and to break down his own egotism. He is obligated to liberate himself from his enslavement to himself and to be a free man vis-a-vis everyone but G-d. To be a slave to mortal man or to oneself is a profound sin. If the slave of a Jew does not wish to go free [after six years], his ear is pierced with an awl, and our sages explain (Kiddushin 22b):
How is the ear different from all other parts of the body? G-d said, “If one's ear heard Me say on Mount Sinai (Lev. 25:55), 'The Children of Israel are slaves to Me', slaves to Me, not slaves to slaves, and he still went and acquired a master for himself, that ear must be pierced.”
R. Shimon ben Rebbe's exposition on this verse was like a gem: How are the door and the doorpost different from all other parts of the house? G-d said, “They were witnesses in Egypt when I passed over the lintel and the two doorposts, saying, 'The children of Israel are my slaves', and not slaves to slaves, and I took them out of bondage. And this person went and acquired a master for himself? Let his ear be pierced in their presence.
A man of flesh and blood should not take another human being as his master, neither should he be a slave to himself. He is G-d's slave.
The Torah commanded us to keep laws and statutes which conceptually serve as a constant reminder of how abominable is conceit and how essential humility. In actual fact, the first commandment given to Israel when they ceased their bondage to mortal man was one intended to imbue them with humility; namely, the commandment to burn one's chametz [bread and other forms of leaven] before Pesach (Ex. 12:19; 13:7). Chametz, with its yeast which causes dough to expand, is a symbol of conceit which inflates a person's ego, enslaving and destroying him. The person enslaved by his pride and lust, the arrogant man who rebels against his task here on earth, rebels against the purpose of his and the world's having been created. He rebels against his Creator.
By contrast, someone who suppresses his evil impulse, overcoming his pride and lust, fulfills his task in the world.
This is man's whole purpose, the reason for his having been formed: to know G-d, cling to His attributes and fulfill His commandments. Within this very process, itself, comes self-effacement, subjugation of the evil impulse and a declaration: “The L-rd is G-d and there is no other – surely not myself – besides Him.”
Therefore, precisely during our season of freedom and national pride, when we celebrate liberation from the arrogant Egyptians and when exaltation would have been befitting and proper, G-d commanded base humility so Israel would remember that vis-a-vis G-d, they would always remain slaves, serving Him forever. As our sages said (Sifri, Shelach 115):
When G-d redeemed the seed of His beloved Abraham, He redeemed them not as sons but as slaves. Whenever He made a decree and they rejected it, He would say, “You are My slaves”. When they wnet out to the desert, He began to decree a few severe commandments and a few lighter ones... and Israel began to rebel. He said to them, “You are My slaves. I redeemed you on condition that I be able to decree and have you obey.”
Now, instead of being slaves of G-d, a title which is no disgrace, but the greatest praise a person can receive, we have become slaves of slaves.
Observe what our sages said (Sifri, Vezot HaBerachah, 357): “Slave of the L-rd” (Deut. 34:5): The Torah is not defaming Moses but praising him. We find that the first prophets were called slaves, as it says, “For the L-rd G-d does nothing without revealing His counsel unto His slaves the prophets” (Amos 3:7)
[Similarly we find in Rabbi Kahane's “Peirush haMaccabee” on Shemot, Chapter 2, regarding the Kohen:]
The Kohen is the one who serves and obeys, like a slave before his master. The Torah says: And Malchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; and he was a Kohen of G-d, the Most High [which the Targum Onkelos renders: “and he served before G-d Most High”]. And he [Malchizedek] blessed him [Abram] saying: Blessed be Abram to G-d, the Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth (Genesis 14:18-19). Here we see that a Kohen of G-d is the person who begins with the understanding that Hashem is indeed the Possessor of heaven and earth – space, time, everything. And what exactly does the word koneh (“possessor”) really mean? – He is the Owner and the Master, because He has acquired everything by having created everything (as Rashi puts it: By having made them, He acquired them as His own). And this Kohen is a slave of G-d, and he is called by His Master’s Name because what the slave acquires his master acquires, because the slave is no more than his master’s hand. The Kohen in Israel is the one who has been sanctified to serve G-d in His Holy Temple, and only someone like that is worthy of placing Hashem’s Name on the nation, as the Torah says: And they [the Kohanim] will place My Name on the Children of Israel, and I will bless them (Numbers 6:27). The Torah also says: And you [Moses], draw close to yourself Aaron your brother and his sons with him, from among the Children of Israel, to minister to Me (Exodus 28:1).
...Aaron and the Kohanim were chosen to minister to Me, to be the slaves who would serve and obey Hashem in ministering to Him. They have been acquired as slaves to G-d the Most High, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth, and every day they testify to His omnipotence, and that He is Hashem, L-rd of Legions.
A slave of G-d is obligated to accept the yoke of his Master in heaven. He is lowly and belittles himself out of fear and reverence for his Master, the L-rd, and he esteems and praises Him as much as he can, as great, mighty and awesome. Precisely of all these reasons, precisely due to his fear of G-d, his fear of flesh and blood falls away. Any slave of G-d will never be a slave to a slave, i.e., to flesh and blood. Whoever truly stands in fear and trembling before the exclusive power and might of G-d will never fear mortal man, who comes from dust and returns to dust.
Such is the fear of G-d: Whoever stands in fear and trembling before G-d's majesty, astonished at His power and might, greatness and omnipotence, is at once seized with fear and reverence for his Maker and King; yet at the same time, all fear of flesh and blood leaves him, for of what importance is man?
Woe to us that, due to the curse of the exile, we have violated G-d's terrible prohibition which states, “The children of Israel are My slaves. They are My slaves because I brought them out of Egypt. I am the L-rd your G-d” (Lev. 25:55).
Due to our fear of the nations, we have become slaves to them of our own doing. We, thus, deserve the punishment of the slave whose ear is pierced: “He shall then serve his master forever” (Ex. 21:6).
Whoever takes a flesh-and-blood master because he fears him and relies on him and leans on his strength and kindness, denies the existence of G-d, the Supreme Master. Not only does he do this, but he profanes G-d's name (Torat Kohanim, Behar, 9): “The children of Israel are My slaves... I am the L-rd your G-d” This teaches that whenever Israel go into slavery here on earth, Scripture treats it as if G-d is going into slavery as well.” The simple meaning of this is that G-d took Israel out of Egyptian bondage to sanctify His name by showing the nations His power and might. Hence, when Israel once more become enslaved, where is G-d's power and where is His might? There is no greater Chilul Hashem than this. It is as though G-d is being enslaved by the nations, so to speak.
Now if it is so when a nation attacks Israel and enslaves them, what can we possibly say when a Jew fearfully enslaves himself to the non-Jew? Could any Chilul Hashem be greater? We must don sackcloth and ashes!
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based on faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitutes a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King. If it suited the lowliness of the exile, when we were unwilling slaves to the nations, powerless to raise ourselves up to defend ourselves, how dare we bring that same disgraceful concept into the holy land, the land of G-d. While G-d has afforded us the greatest, most powerful miracles since the Hasmonean victories, we have remained that same exilic product, that same slave to the nations and slaves to slaves, with that same base spirit which led G-d to decree what He decreed against our ancestors in the desert.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” and “Peirush haMaccabee – Shemot” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
Monday, January 17, 2011
Parashat Yitro - Holiness and Mitzvot - Rav Meir Kahane
“You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
“Everything that Hashem has spoken, we shall do!”
(Ex. 19:6, 19:8)
G-d is holy. He is the climax of kedusha, the well from which kedusha flows to the world. In the world He created, He fixed the extent of kedusha and separateness. He gave kedusha to Israel, as it says, “be holy people to Me “ (Ex. 22:30), “You must be holy” (Lev. 19:2), and, “Your camp must be holy” (Deut. 23:15). S'forno comments on this last verse, “From impurity and loathsomeness”.
G-d decreed that Israel must sanctify themselves. He, therefore, further decreed separation from the nations and from the profane, because without it, kedusha is impossible, as it states explicitly, “You shall be holy to Me, for I, the L-rd, am holy, and I have separated you out from among the nations to be Mine” (Lev. 20:26).
We also learn (Torat Kohanim, Shemini, 12), “Just as I am holy, so are you holy. Just as I am set apart, so must you be set apart.” Here we find kedusha defined: It means separating oneself from the abominations, impurity and bestiality of the world, and instead clinging to purity and spiritual loftiness, goodness and the yoke of Heaven, intent on ascending and becoming holier.
Kedusha is the foundation of the world, because kedusha is perfection and purity, without a trace of abomination, spiritual baseness, selfishness, or bestial lust. Kedusha involves preparation, readying oneself to become holy, to fill one's soul with kedusha, as was said, as was said at Sinai, “Go to the people and sanctify them” (Ex.19:10), and Rashi comments, “Ready them, so that they can prepare themselves”. Kedusha means being ready for holiness and purity to enter the heart and soul.
Our sages said (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim, 1):
If you sanctify yourselves, I will credit you as having sanctified Me. If you do not sanctify yourselves, I will treat you as not having sanctified Me... Abba Shaul says, “Israel are the King's retinue, and they are required to emulate the King.
In other words, Israel, as G-d's retinue, have the task of imitating Him, of being as similar to Him as it is possible for a man to be similar to G-d, and of coming close to Him. If they do so, then, so to speak, G-d as well, ascends spiritually and becomes holier. G-d decreed this upon Israel: "Remember and keep all My commandments and be holy to your G-d” (Num. 15:40). The Sifri comments (Shelach, 115), “This is the kedusha of all the mitzvot.”
In other words, through all the mitzvot, Israel become holier; and this is their task, because it was for the sake of this that G-d took them out of Egypt.
Mitzvot open up for man the way to holiness. They refine his senses and his soul so that he differentiates between a sin and a mitzvah, between good and evil, between holiness and impurity. The more holy and pure he becomes, the more refined his senses become; and he begins to distinguish, naturally, between truth and falsehood.
G-d imbued Israel with natural holiness that all other nations lack. Every mitzvah a Jew performs adds to his holiness, whereas every sin blunts and defiles the soul. Our sages said (Mechilta, Mishpatim, 20). “Every added mitzvah increases Israel's holiness.” Every mitzvah purifies and refines the soul, sanctifying and elevating man.
The Torah's goal is to create a person who diminishes himself, who bridles his arrogance, breaking down and negating his ego, who suppresses his evil impulse and liberates himself from covetousness and haughtiness, which are the root of evil and impurity.
Breaking down one's passions is Israel's task. That is why kedusha was commanded so many times in the realms of life fraught with lust and desire; namely food and conjugal relations.
G-d brought us out of Egypt only in order to be our G-d, so that we would accept His sovereignty, attributes and mitzvot, for these make us holy. Our sages further said (Torat Kohanim, Shemini, 12)
“I am the L-rd, and I brought you out of Egypt”: I brought you out of Egypt on condition that you accept the yoke of mitzvot, for whoever acknowledges the yoke of mitzvot acknowledges the Exodus from Egypt, and whoever denies the former, denies the latter.
We learn a profound lesson here. There are two types of yoke.
The first is the yoke of Heaven; the second is the yoke of mitzvot.
Many claim that they accept the yoke of G-d's sovereignty, proclaiming faith in the existence of a Higher Power and in His greatness and kindness, but that they reject the yoke of mitzvot. They claim that the Torah of Moses is not the word of G-d, and they, thus, cast doubt on the mitzvot. Here, out sages teach that these are nothing but hypocrites, for whoever rejects the yoke of mitzvot, as recorded in the Torah of Moses, written and oral, shows that he does not really believe in the Exodus from Egypt, G-d's existence, or His ability to have saved Israel from there.
For a person fulfilling the mitzvot to achieve the goal of negating his ego, thereby achieving spiritual ascent and growth, he must be observing them because G-d commanded them. If he is fulfilling them only or chiefly because he “agrees” with them, then he is not at all fulfilling G-d's command, but only submitting to his own whims. Not only does he fail to negate his ego, but quite the contrary, he strengthens it.
Suppose then, that someone who denies that the Torah's commandments originated with G-d performs a mitzvah, such as honoring one's parents or giving charity, doing so not because it is a decree of the King, a Divine edict from Sinai, but because he finds it morally agreeable. His blessings are not blessings and his mitzvot are not mitzvot – but blasphemy.
Thus, before a person accepts upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot, he has to know that they are commandments. That is, he should perform them by dint of G-d's being Supreme King of kings, not because of his own intellect of feelings.
Such was our sages' intent when they said (Kiddushin 31a), “One who is commanded to act and does so is greater than one who is exempt yet does so.” Seemingly the opposite is the case. Should not the highest praise go to the person who, although exempt from doing a mitzvah still does so voluntarily?
Once again, our sages are teaching us that one who volunteers to do a mitzvah is not doing so because it is a mitzvah, or because of any Heavenly yoke. After all, he is exempt! Rather, it is his own decision to perform it, freely arrived at, hence he fulfills no mitzvah (see Tosafot on Kiddushin 31a).
The rule is this: a mitzvah is conceived with a man's accepting the yoke of Heaven and born when he fulfills it because he was commanded to.
Therefore, man's first undertaking must be, “Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one” (Deut. 6:4). This constitutes a declaration of unconditional submission to and acceptance of G-d's sovereignty. Then and only then can a Jew accept upon himself the yoke of mitzvot found in the second paragraph of the Shema, having the clear knowledge that the mitzvot he fulfills are based on an acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
“Everything that Hashem has spoken, we shall do!”
(Ex. 19:6, 19:8)
G-d is holy. He is the climax of kedusha, the well from which kedusha flows to the world. In the world He created, He fixed the extent of kedusha and separateness. He gave kedusha to Israel, as it says, “be holy people to Me “ (Ex. 22:30), “You must be holy” (Lev. 19:2), and, “Your camp must be holy” (Deut. 23:15). S'forno comments on this last verse, “From impurity and loathsomeness”.
G-d decreed that Israel must sanctify themselves. He, therefore, further decreed separation from the nations and from the profane, because without it, kedusha is impossible, as it states explicitly, “You shall be holy to Me, for I, the L-rd, am holy, and I have separated you out from among the nations to be Mine” (Lev. 20:26).
We also learn (Torat Kohanim, Shemini, 12), “Just as I am holy, so are you holy. Just as I am set apart, so must you be set apart.” Here we find kedusha defined: It means separating oneself from the abominations, impurity and bestiality of the world, and instead clinging to purity and spiritual loftiness, goodness and the yoke of Heaven, intent on ascending and becoming holier.
Kedusha is the foundation of the world, because kedusha is perfection and purity, without a trace of abomination, spiritual baseness, selfishness, or bestial lust. Kedusha involves preparation, readying oneself to become holy, to fill one's soul with kedusha, as was said, as was said at Sinai, “Go to the people and sanctify them” (Ex.19:10), and Rashi comments, “Ready them, so that they can prepare themselves”. Kedusha means being ready for holiness and purity to enter the heart and soul.
Our sages said (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim, 1):
If you sanctify yourselves, I will credit you as having sanctified Me. If you do not sanctify yourselves, I will treat you as not having sanctified Me... Abba Shaul says, “Israel are the King's retinue, and they are required to emulate the King.
In other words, Israel, as G-d's retinue, have the task of imitating Him, of being as similar to Him as it is possible for a man to be similar to G-d, and of coming close to Him. If they do so, then, so to speak, G-d as well, ascends spiritually and becomes holier. G-d decreed this upon Israel: "Remember and keep all My commandments and be holy to your G-d” (Num. 15:40). The Sifri comments (Shelach, 115), “This is the kedusha of all the mitzvot.”
In other words, through all the mitzvot, Israel become holier; and this is their task, because it was for the sake of this that G-d took them out of Egypt.
Mitzvot open up for man the way to holiness. They refine his senses and his soul so that he differentiates between a sin and a mitzvah, between good and evil, between holiness and impurity. The more holy and pure he becomes, the more refined his senses become; and he begins to distinguish, naturally, between truth and falsehood.
G-d imbued Israel with natural holiness that all other nations lack. Every mitzvah a Jew performs adds to his holiness, whereas every sin blunts and defiles the soul. Our sages said (Mechilta, Mishpatim, 20). “Every added mitzvah increases Israel's holiness.” Every mitzvah purifies and refines the soul, sanctifying and elevating man.
The Torah's goal is to create a person who diminishes himself, who bridles his arrogance, breaking down and negating his ego, who suppresses his evil impulse and liberates himself from covetousness and haughtiness, which are the root of evil and impurity.
Breaking down one's passions is Israel's task. That is why kedusha was commanded so many times in the realms of life fraught with lust and desire; namely food and conjugal relations.
G-d brought us out of Egypt only in order to be our G-d, so that we would accept His sovereignty, attributes and mitzvot, for these make us holy. Our sages further said (Torat Kohanim, Shemini, 12)
“I am the L-rd, and I brought you out of Egypt”: I brought you out of Egypt on condition that you accept the yoke of mitzvot, for whoever acknowledges the yoke of mitzvot acknowledges the Exodus from Egypt, and whoever denies the former, denies the latter.
We learn a profound lesson here. There are two types of yoke.
The first is the yoke of Heaven; the second is the yoke of mitzvot.
Many claim that they accept the yoke of G-d's sovereignty, proclaiming faith in the existence of a Higher Power and in His greatness and kindness, but that they reject the yoke of mitzvot. They claim that the Torah of Moses is not the word of G-d, and they, thus, cast doubt on the mitzvot. Here, out sages teach that these are nothing but hypocrites, for whoever rejects the yoke of mitzvot, as recorded in the Torah of Moses, written and oral, shows that he does not really believe in the Exodus from Egypt, G-d's existence, or His ability to have saved Israel from there.
For a person fulfilling the mitzvot to achieve the goal of negating his ego, thereby achieving spiritual ascent and growth, he must be observing them because G-d commanded them. If he is fulfilling them only or chiefly because he “agrees” with them, then he is not at all fulfilling G-d's command, but only submitting to his own whims. Not only does he fail to negate his ego, but quite the contrary, he strengthens it.
Suppose then, that someone who denies that the Torah's commandments originated with G-d performs a mitzvah, such as honoring one's parents or giving charity, doing so not because it is a decree of the King, a Divine edict from Sinai, but because he finds it morally agreeable. His blessings are not blessings and his mitzvot are not mitzvot – but blasphemy.
Thus, before a person accepts upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot, he has to know that they are commandments. That is, he should perform them by dint of G-d's being Supreme King of kings, not because of his own intellect of feelings.
Such was our sages' intent when they said (Kiddushin 31a), “One who is commanded to act and does so is greater than one who is exempt yet does so.” Seemingly the opposite is the case. Should not the highest praise go to the person who, although exempt from doing a mitzvah still does so voluntarily?
Once again, our sages are teaching us that one who volunteers to do a mitzvah is not doing so because it is a mitzvah, or because of any Heavenly yoke. After all, he is exempt! Rather, it is his own decision to perform it, freely arrived at, hence he fulfills no mitzvah (see Tosafot on Kiddushin 31a).
The rule is this: a mitzvah is conceived with a man's accepting the yoke of Heaven and born when he fulfills it because he was commanded to.
Therefore, man's first undertaking must be, “Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one” (Deut. 6:4). This constitutes a declaration of unconditional submission to and acceptance of G-d's sovereignty. Then and only then can a Jew accept upon himself the yoke of mitzvot found in the second paragraph of the Shema, having the clear knowledge that the mitzvot he fulfills are based on an acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane HY”D
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Parashat Beshallach - Mercy for the cruel? - Rav Meir Kahane
The water came back and covered the chariots and the horsemen of the entire army of Pharaoh, who were coming behind them in the sea – there remained not a one of them. (Ex. 14:28)
“The ministering angels sought to sing G-d's praises [when the Egyptians drowned at sea]. G-d responded, 'My handiwork is drowning at sea and you would sing?'” (Megillah 10b)
Who can retell the distortions of G-d's valor perpetrated in recent generations! The deliberate distortion of “My handiwork is drowning in the sea”, as if we must glumly avoid gladness when our enemy falls, has become the steady fare of those who consume the alien culture [of the secular Western world].
G-d, Merciful Father and Creator of all life – righteous and evil – certainly does not sing or rejoice when His evil children die. Despite their wickedness, they are still His, and what father will rejoice at his son's death, even if that son be the most evil on earth? All the same, G-d does not hesitate to kill His handiwork, as when He drowned the Egyptians. He does not sing; He does not rejoice; but he drowns His handiwork at sea. True, He, Himself, neither rejoices nor allows rejoicing or song in Heaven, but others, the Jewish people, He does cause to rejoice. In fact, He requires them to sing. Our sages said (Mechilta, Beshallach, Mesechta Devayehi, Ch.2):
“The L-rd will fight for you” (Ex. 14:14): That is, “Will G-d perform mighty wonders for you while you just stand in silence?” Israel asked Moses, “What should we do?” and he responded, “Extol and exalt! Sing the praises, glory and majesty of the Master of all warfare, as it says, 'Let the high praises of G-d be in their mouth' (Psalms 149:6)”... Israel then opened their mouths and sang G-d's praises.
Because of their arrogance and wickedness, G-d drowned His handiwork in the sea and commanded Israel to sing praise and thanks to G-d, so as to inform the world that “The L-rd will reign forever and ever!” (Ex. 15:18).
Forgiveness and love for an enemy? Mercy and sorrow over his death? Here is Midrash Avchir, quoted in Torah Shlema, Ex. 14:31, letter 210:
“Israel saw the great work” (Ex. 14:31): When G-d wished to drown Egypt, Uza, Egypt's angelic prince stood before G-d and said:”Master of the Universe! You have been called righteous and upright...Why do you wish to drown the Egyptians?” ... Just then Gabriel rose up, took a mud brick and stood before G-d saying, “Master of the Universe! Shall You have mercy on these who so harshly enslaved Your children with mud bricks?” G-d immediately retracted, judging them strictly and drowning them in the sea.
Sorrow over the death of the evil? Over Israel's enemies?
The Torah's very defining good and evil in real, absolute terms constitutes a declaration of war against the [contemporary secular Western] culture of the nations and of the Hellenists [secularized Jews] who adopted it. That culture preaches that no one absolute good or evil can be determined, since all ideas and concepts, including those defining good and evil, are the product of human thought. Both those who deny the existence of a Supreme, Omniscient, Omnipotent G-d Who is the source of wisdom and truth, and those who admit the existence of a Supreme Being yet deny Torah from Sinai, i.e., that G-d set forth a blueprint in the Torah, hold that we cannot attach special status to one “good” over another. Tolerance and pluralism are the ultimate principles of that alien culture. Since followers of that culture cannot determine with certainty what evil is, they cannot eradicate it from the world.
Mercy toward the cruel is not a good trait. Quite the opposite, one is duty-bound to separate oneself from the evildoer even if this is a difficult step, and even if it appears cruel. The cruel, wicked person will influence goodness and corrupt it. There can be no coexistence between evil and upright people – only separation.
The mitzvah of eradicating evil from our midst requires us to hate it, as in Psalms 97:10, “Those that love the L-rd hate evil.” It is the duty of him who loves G-d to hate evil and evildoers, for they are G-d's enemies. Nonetheless, in the alien [contemporary secular] Hellenist culture, the themes of love and hatred have been so entirely distorted that it is a terrible crime to speak of hatred as a halachic duty in the right time and place. False love finds a hundred different ways to overlook evil. Advocates of that culture have transformed all such traits as cruelty and revenge into an evil that must be shunned. Such is not the Torah's way...
G-d, Creator of the universe and all that it contains, also created attributes, ethics and values. He created and defined them, assigning every single trait its time, place and purpose. As King Solomon said (Eccles. 3:1-8):
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to dance; a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Everything has a season. There is a time for every attribute and value. G-d created them all and assigned each a purpose, place and time. There is a time to love – but also a time to hate. Anyone incapable of hating those who G-d commanded us to hate is a sinner and heretic and he brings destruction to the world.
In the final analysis, if someone does not know how to hate properly, he cannot love properly. Whoever is unready for war in the right time and place, mandated by G-d, is a sinner and heretic precisely like someone unready for peace. G-d, Who created the world, understands “the minds of His beasts” (Prov. 12:10) in all their detail. He, Who understands and listens, examining man's inner recesses, knows that there is a place for mercy, peace, love, kindness and forgiveness, but simultaneously a place and a need for “cruelty”, so to speak, for war, hatred, killing, uprooting wickedness from the land and destroying evil from the world.
What would one not do to save and defend one's household, family and friends from their enemies, to rid their world of danger, to frustrate the evildoers' designs? What would one not be ready to do to the evildoers themselves? Precisely with this in mind, G-d, Merciful Father of the universe, gazed down and saw the danger posed by evil and wickedness threatening His righteous dear ones, innocent of all wrong. He understood that it is an unpardonable sin to take pity on those of whom it says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness” (I. Samuel 24:13), thereby facilitating their cruel treatment of the righteous and innocent. Whoever takes pity on an evildoer, leaving him free to treat the righteous with cruelty and abuse, is not merciful but cruel.
Anyone incapable of hating evil and evildoers can never love the righteous.
The death of the wicked is infinitely preferable to the death of the righteous, and eradicating evil is infinitely superior to eradicating good.Quite the contrary, when G-d destroys evil and evildoers, He is not showing kindness just to the righteous and innocent but to the evildoer as well. He does a kindness to the evildoers when He removes them from the world, for He thereby prevents their doing evil and increasing their sins. This represents a great gift from G-d which lightens their punishment in the Afterlife.
We find this regarding Enoch, of whom it says, “Enoch walked with G-d, and he was not, for G-d took him” (Gen. 5:24). The Midrash comments (Bereshit Rabbah 25:1): “Enoch was a hypocrite – sometimes righteous and sometimes evil. G-d said, 'Let Me remove him while he is still righteous.'”
This is the true, definite meaning of our sages' utterance above, “The death of the evildoers is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world.” It is beneficial to the world because the evildoers stop oppressing it.
It is beneficial to the evildoers because G-d is saving them from themselves.
G-d established a time and place for love and for hate, and in the right time and place, each is a duty and a commandment.
The Torah never contained, and never will contain, a concept of “groundless love”, just as the Torah absolutely rejects the concept of “groundless hate”.
In G-d's attributes, nothing is “groundless”. Rather, there is a clear reason for all required behavior – with love and hatred warranted in their time and place. It is our duty to carry them out lawfully and as commanded, without, G-d forbid, confusing them.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane Hy”d
“The ministering angels sought to sing G-d's praises [when the Egyptians drowned at sea]. G-d responded, 'My handiwork is drowning at sea and you would sing?'” (Megillah 10b)
Who can retell the distortions of G-d's valor perpetrated in recent generations! The deliberate distortion of “My handiwork is drowning in the sea”, as if we must glumly avoid gladness when our enemy falls, has become the steady fare of those who consume the alien culture [of the secular Western world].
G-d, Merciful Father and Creator of all life – righteous and evil – certainly does not sing or rejoice when His evil children die. Despite their wickedness, they are still His, and what father will rejoice at his son's death, even if that son be the most evil on earth? All the same, G-d does not hesitate to kill His handiwork, as when He drowned the Egyptians. He does not sing; He does not rejoice; but he drowns His handiwork at sea. True, He, Himself, neither rejoices nor allows rejoicing or song in Heaven, but others, the Jewish people, He does cause to rejoice. In fact, He requires them to sing. Our sages said (Mechilta, Beshallach, Mesechta Devayehi, Ch.2):
“The L-rd will fight for you” (Ex. 14:14): That is, “Will G-d perform mighty wonders for you while you just stand in silence?” Israel asked Moses, “What should we do?” and he responded, “Extol and exalt! Sing the praises, glory and majesty of the Master of all warfare, as it says, 'Let the high praises of G-d be in their mouth' (Psalms 149:6)”... Israel then opened their mouths and sang G-d's praises.
Because of their arrogance and wickedness, G-d drowned His handiwork in the sea and commanded Israel to sing praise and thanks to G-d, so as to inform the world that “The L-rd will reign forever and ever!” (Ex. 15:18).
Forgiveness and love for an enemy? Mercy and sorrow over his death? Here is Midrash Avchir, quoted in Torah Shlema, Ex. 14:31, letter 210:
“Israel saw the great work” (Ex. 14:31): When G-d wished to drown Egypt, Uza, Egypt's angelic prince stood before G-d and said:”Master of the Universe! You have been called righteous and upright...Why do you wish to drown the Egyptians?” ... Just then Gabriel rose up, took a mud brick and stood before G-d saying, “Master of the Universe! Shall You have mercy on these who so harshly enslaved Your children with mud bricks?” G-d immediately retracted, judging them strictly and drowning them in the sea.
Sorrow over the death of the evil? Over Israel's enemies?
The Torah's very defining good and evil in real, absolute terms constitutes a declaration of war against the [contemporary secular Western] culture of the nations and of the Hellenists [secularized Jews] who adopted it. That culture preaches that no one absolute good or evil can be determined, since all ideas and concepts, including those defining good and evil, are the product of human thought. Both those who deny the existence of a Supreme, Omniscient, Omnipotent G-d Who is the source of wisdom and truth, and those who admit the existence of a Supreme Being yet deny Torah from Sinai, i.e., that G-d set forth a blueprint in the Torah, hold that we cannot attach special status to one “good” over another. Tolerance and pluralism are the ultimate principles of that alien culture. Since followers of that culture cannot determine with certainty what evil is, they cannot eradicate it from the world.
Mercy toward the cruel is not a good trait. Quite the opposite, one is duty-bound to separate oneself from the evildoer even if this is a difficult step, and even if it appears cruel. The cruel, wicked person will influence goodness and corrupt it. There can be no coexistence between evil and upright people – only separation.
The mitzvah of eradicating evil from our midst requires us to hate it, as in Psalms 97:10, “Those that love the L-rd hate evil.” It is the duty of him who loves G-d to hate evil and evildoers, for they are G-d's enemies. Nonetheless, in the alien [contemporary secular] Hellenist culture, the themes of love and hatred have been so entirely distorted that it is a terrible crime to speak of hatred as a halachic duty in the right time and place. False love finds a hundred different ways to overlook evil. Advocates of that culture have transformed all such traits as cruelty and revenge into an evil that must be shunned. Such is not the Torah's way...
G-d, Creator of the universe and all that it contains, also created attributes, ethics and values. He created and defined them, assigning every single trait its time, place and purpose. As King Solomon said (Eccles. 3:1-8):
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to dance; a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Everything has a season. There is a time for every attribute and value. G-d created them all and assigned each a purpose, place and time. There is a time to love – but also a time to hate. Anyone incapable of hating those who G-d commanded us to hate is a sinner and heretic and he brings destruction to the world.
In the final analysis, if someone does not know how to hate properly, he cannot love properly. Whoever is unready for war in the right time and place, mandated by G-d, is a sinner and heretic precisely like someone unready for peace. G-d, Who created the world, understands “the minds of His beasts” (Prov. 12:10) in all their detail. He, Who understands and listens, examining man's inner recesses, knows that there is a place for mercy, peace, love, kindness and forgiveness, but simultaneously a place and a need for “cruelty”, so to speak, for war, hatred, killing, uprooting wickedness from the land and destroying evil from the world.
What would one not do to save and defend one's household, family and friends from their enemies, to rid their world of danger, to frustrate the evildoers' designs? What would one not be ready to do to the evildoers themselves? Precisely with this in mind, G-d, Merciful Father of the universe, gazed down and saw the danger posed by evil and wickedness threatening His righteous dear ones, innocent of all wrong. He understood that it is an unpardonable sin to take pity on those of whom it says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness” (I. Samuel 24:13), thereby facilitating their cruel treatment of the righteous and innocent. Whoever takes pity on an evildoer, leaving him free to treat the righteous with cruelty and abuse, is not merciful but cruel.
Anyone incapable of hating evil and evildoers can never love the righteous.
The death of the wicked is infinitely preferable to the death of the righteous, and eradicating evil is infinitely superior to eradicating good.Quite the contrary, when G-d destroys evil and evildoers, He is not showing kindness just to the righteous and innocent but to the evildoer as well. He does a kindness to the evildoers when He removes them from the world, for He thereby prevents their doing evil and increasing their sins. This represents a great gift from G-d which lightens their punishment in the Afterlife.
We find this regarding Enoch, of whom it says, “Enoch walked with G-d, and he was not, for G-d took him” (Gen. 5:24). The Midrash comments (Bereshit Rabbah 25:1): “Enoch was a hypocrite – sometimes righteous and sometimes evil. G-d said, 'Let Me remove him while he is still righteous.'”
This is the true, definite meaning of our sages' utterance above, “The death of the evildoers is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world.” It is beneficial to the world because the evildoers stop oppressing it.
It is beneficial to the evildoers because G-d is saving them from themselves.
G-d established a time and place for love and for hate, and in the right time and place, each is a duty and a commandment.
The Torah never contained, and never will contain, a concept of “groundless love”, just as the Torah absolutely rejects the concept of “groundless hate”.
In G-d's attributes, nothing is “groundless”. Rather, there is a clear reason for all required behavior – with love and hatred warranted in their time and place. It is our duty to carry them out lawfully and as commanded, without, G-d forbid, confusing them.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from “The Jewish Idea” of Rav Meir Kahane Hy”d
Monday, January 3, 2011
Parashat Bo - No concessions! - Rav Meir Kahane
G-d's name cannot be sanctified through concession or compromise.
The essence of Kiddush Hashem is complete trust in G-d, without the least fear of mortal man.
The moment a person is ready to concede, when crowning G-d Supreme King would require total submission by the non-Jew [in this case, Pharaoh], his concession robs G-d of complete sovereignty.
And if his concession stems from any kind of fear, his sin is sevenfold.
After nine Plagues which brought wicked Pharaoh and his land to the brink of collapse, that evildoer finally broke down: “Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, 'Go – serve the L-rd, only your flocks and herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you'”(Ex. 10:24)
Should this not have been a source of great joy? Could Moses not agree? Israel had been slaves and foreigners for 210 years. Now the violent despot had capitulated, opening the prison gates. With the light of freedom shining on them, could it be that due to this one minor condition, “only your flocks and herds stay behind”, Moses would remain stubborn?
Must freedom and tranquility be postponed for the sake of flocks and cattle? If this small concession is the price for going out from servitude to redemption, why not pay it?
Yet Moses responded: “You yourself must give us sacrifices and burnt-offerings that we may sacrifice unto the L-rd our G-d. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not be a hoof be left behind.” (Ex. 10:25-26). G-d's main purpose in redeeming Israel from Egypt was much more profound than just to redeem them from slavery. G-d wished to prove to Pharaoh, his kingdom and his world, all of whom arrogantly proclaim, “I do not know the L-rd” (Ex. 5:2), that there indeed exists a G-d in Israel, Whose kingdom rules over all, that indeed , all life is in His hands. The point of the Exodus was for G-d's name to be magnified and exalted. Kiddush Hashem! The Torah teaches us that when Kiddush Hashem is at stake, there are no concessions or compromises. In our own modest times, who is wise enough to grasp this?
Another halachic principle applying to Kiddush and Chilul Hashem is this:
Kiddush Hashem must be performed triumphantly and shamelessly. Kiddush Hashem on a national level cannot possibly take place in secret. The very idea of sanctifying G-d's name is something that must be done before nations. When it is performed in secret out of fear, it turns into Chilul Hashem and is better off not being done at all.
After Moses rejected Pharaoh's compromise, Egypt was struck by the terrible tenth Plague, the smiting of the firstborn. “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Ex. 12:30). In panic, in the middle of the night, Pharaoh totally capitulated and called to Moses, “Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both you and the Children of Israel...Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said” (Ibid., 31-32).
Pharaoh wished Moses to leave right then, in the middle of the night! It was now clear that the oppressive foe had totally capitulated. This was unconditional victory. The men, women, children, sheep and cattle – all would leave.
Ostensibly, Moses should have agreed and right then and there marched the myriads of Israel to freedom. Yet G-d's thinking is different from our own: “G-d said to Moses, 'Shall you take My children
out at night? You shall not! Take them out openly, at midday!” (Shemot Rabbah, 18:10).
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Are we thieves that we should leave by night? We shall leave triumphantly, for all of Egypt to see!” (Tanchuma, Bo, 7). Similarly, we find in Mechilta (Bo, Mesechta DePischa, 13): Moses said to him,'We have been warned to leave only publicly:”None of you shall exit the door of his house until morning”'(Ex. 12:22).
This principle is so important that R. Akiva rules (Pesachim 120b) that the Korban Pesach, the offering brought the day before Pesach – symbol of the redemption – may be eaten until morning, when Israel “made haste” (Ex. 12:11), to recall that the true redemption was precisely then, out in the open. This goes without saying, because Kiddush Hashem demands “openness”, without slyness or stealth. Compromise, secrecy and stealth are the complete opposite of Kiddush Hashem, whose whole purpose is to demonstrate to the world that “There is no wisdom nor counsel nor understanding against the L-rd” (Prov. 21:30).
Our sages said (Sifri, Ha'azinu, 337):
Because the Egyptians were saying ...”If we see them, we will not let them go”, G-d said, “ I shall take them out at midday, and let whoever has the power to protest it do so!”It also says, “on the day after the Pesach sacrifice, the Israelites left triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Num. 33:3, Onkelos)
Should your evil impulse whisper that by virtue of Torah study and mitzvah performance we will be able to ignore the Chilul Hashem that daily visits the G-d of Israel and His land, be aware that it is not so.
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d, in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based in faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitute a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King.Israel's defeat is, so to speak, G-d's defeat as well. Israel's fear of the non-Jew proves G-d's “weakness” and inability to vanquish His people's enemies. Thus, lack of bitachon [trust in G-d] on the part of the nation [of Israel] is a sin that cannot be atoned for.
As Rashi wrote (Ezek. 39:7), “Israel's lowliness is a Chilul Hashem, for men say that Israel are the L-rd's people, yet He cannot save them” (see Ezek. 36:20)
Whenever a Jew is harmed, let alone murdered, whenever the Jewish people and the Land of Israel are cursed and reviled [...] this constitutes a terrible, unatonable Chilul Hashem.
Every attempt, and certainly every act of abandoning parts of the Land of Israel to the nations is likewise a shocking Chilul Hashem. Yet since the issue is open, caustic and deliberate Chilul Hashem [...] and there is no government and no army and no governmental body – these being obligated by the Torah to go out and protest the profanation- or that such bodies do exist but they are unwilling to fulfill their obligation, then it is certainly the individual's duty [...] to blot out, devotedly and with protest, the Chilul Hashem.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane HY"D
The essence of Kiddush Hashem is complete trust in G-d, without the least fear of mortal man.
The moment a person is ready to concede, when crowning G-d Supreme King would require total submission by the non-Jew [in this case, Pharaoh], his concession robs G-d of complete sovereignty.
And if his concession stems from any kind of fear, his sin is sevenfold.
After nine Plagues which brought wicked Pharaoh and his land to the brink of collapse, that evildoer finally broke down: “Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, 'Go – serve the L-rd, only your flocks and herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you'”(Ex. 10:24)
Should this not have been a source of great joy? Could Moses not agree? Israel had been slaves and foreigners for 210 years. Now the violent despot had capitulated, opening the prison gates. With the light of freedom shining on them, could it be that due to this one minor condition, “only your flocks and herds stay behind”, Moses would remain stubborn?
Must freedom and tranquility be postponed for the sake of flocks and cattle? If this small concession is the price for going out from servitude to redemption, why not pay it?
Yet Moses responded: “You yourself must give us sacrifices and burnt-offerings that we may sacrifice unto the L-rd our G-d. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not be a hoof be left behind.” (Ex. 10:25-26). G-d's main purpose in redeeming Israel from Egypt was much more profound than just to redeem them from slavery. G-d wished to prove to Pharaoh, his kingdom and his world, all of whom arrogantly proclaim, “I do not know the L-rd” (Ex. 5:2), that there indeed exists a G-d in Israel, Whose kingdom rules over all, that indeed , all life is in His hands. The point of the Exodus was for G-d's name to be magnified and exalted. Kiddush Hashem! The Torah teaches us that when Kiddush Hashem is at stake, there are no concessions or compromises. In our own modest times, who is wise enough to grasp this?
Another halachic principle applying to Kiddush and Chilul Hashem is this:
Kiddush Hashem must be performed triumphantly and shamelessly. Kiddush Hashem on a national level cannot possibly take place in secret. The very idea of sanctifying G-d's name is something that must be done before nations. When it is performed in secret out of fear, it turns into Chilul Hashem and is better off not being done at all.
After Moses rejected Pharaoh's compromise, Egypt was struck by the terrible tenth Plague, the smiting of the firstborn. “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Ex. 12:30). In panic, in the middle of the night, Pharaoh totally capitulated and called to Moses, “Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both you and the Children of Israel...Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said” (Ibid., 31-32).
Pharaoh wished Moses to leave right then, in the middle of the night! It was now clear that the oppressive foe had totally capitulated. This was unconditional victory. The men, women, children, sheep and cattle – all would leave.
Ostensibly, Moses should have agreed and right then and there marched the myriads of Israel to freedom. Yet G-d's thinking is different from our own: “G-d said to Moses, 'Shall you take My children
out at night? You shall not! Take them out openly, at midday!” (Shemot Rabbah, 18:10).
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Are we thieves that we should leave by night? We shall leave triumphantly, for all of Egypt to see!” (Tanchuma, Bo, 7). Similarly, we find in Mechilta (Bo, Mesechta DePischa, 13): Moses said to him,'We have been warned to leave only publicly:”None of you shall exit the door of his house until morning”'(Ex. 12:22).
This principle is so important that R. Akiva rules (Pesachim 120b) that the Korban Pesach, the offering brought the day before Pesach – symbol of the redemption – may be eaten until morning, when Israel “made haste” (Ex. 12:11), to recall that the true redemption was precisely then, out in the open. This goes without saying, because Kiddush Hashem demands “openness”, without slyness or stealth. Compromise, secrecy and stealth are the complete opposite of Kiddush Hashem, whose whole purpose is to demonstrate to the world that “There is no wisdom nor counsel nor understanding against the L-rd” (Prov. 21:30).
Our sages said (Sifri, Ha'azinu, 337):
Because the Egyptians were saying ...”If we see them, we will not let them go”, G-d said, “ I shall take them out at midday, and let whoever has the power to protest it do so!”It also says, “on the day after the Pesach sacrifice, the Israelites left triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Num. 33:3, Onkelos)
Should your evil impulse whisper that by virtue of Torah study and mitzvah performance we will be able to ignore the Chilul Hashem that daily visits the G-d of Israel and His land, be aware that it is not so.
Our times constitute the beginning of the redemption and the footsteps of the Messiah. G-d, in His kindness, in preparation for speedy redemption, presently demands of us Kiddush Hashem of the sort based in faith and trust in Him. Yet we, our children and our elders have sunk in the mire of exile, and have raised up on a miserable banner the fear and degradation of “It is forbidden to provoke the nations”. This theme, whose sorrowful conception and birth are in the exile, constitute a humiliating affront to our people, and worse, a profanation of the great name of the Supreme King.Israel's defeat is, so to speak, G-d's defeat as well. Israel's fear of the non-Jew proves G-d's “weakness” and inability to vanquish His people's enemies. Thus, lack of bitachon [trust in G-d] on the part of the nation [of Israel] is a sin that cannot be atoned for.
As Rashi wrote (Ezek. 39:7), “Israel's lowliness is a Chilul Hashem, for men say that Israel are the L-rd's people, yet He cannot save them” (see Ezek. 36:20)
Whenever a Jew is harmed, let alone murdered, whenever the Jewish people and the Land of Israel are cursed and reviled [...] this constitutes a terrible, unatonable Chilul Hashem.
Every attempt, and certainly every act of abandoning parts of the Land of Israel to the nations is likewise a shocking Chilul Hashem. Yet since the issue is open, caustic and deliberate Chilul Hashem [...] and there is no government and no army and no governmental body – these being obligated by the Torah to go out and protest the profanation- or that such bodies do exist but they are unwilling to fulfill their obligation, then it is certainly the individual's duty [...] to blot out, devotedly and with protest, the Chilul Hashem.
Compiled by Tzipora Liron-Pinner from "The Jewish Idea" of Rav Meir Kahane HY"D
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