The World of The Ger

 Parashas Ki Seitzei

 Oh Rebbi! Where Are You Rebbe Akiva!

 David Katz

*Note this particular article is written by david katz; in short, it should be an expression that this is a yearning for those who passed the tradition upon to this generation. To be called a rabbi in the same breath with Rabbi Akiva is like the custom of today, to praise one’s self as Gaon in light of the Vilna Gaon [in concept]. In this fashion, context in everything; if Rebbe Akiva were to hear my discourse, I highly doubt it would be appropriate to express my rabbinic title before his eyes. We are clearly not the same, and the point of distinction is peshita. If King David said, "I am a Ger" then I am simply saying, "I am me."A word to the wise is sufficient.

Four Walked into the Pardes… The Torah is repeated in Devarim… From the mouth of God we heard two...And somehow there just is the Ger, Toshav, and the Torah of the Ger Toshav. For context, let me introduce to you Rebbe Akiva, and for that matter, the Rambam, and practically every great Rabbi that ever lived – along with their righteousness and ability to emulate God. For the record, every Gadol firmly understood the Ger, and thus it can be assumed that they indeed Loved the Ger. Welcome to Parashas Ki Seitzei, which will forever in my eyes be a recollection to Rebbe Akiva and his legacy that he left us – a true Oral Torah that can’t be denied for all time, one that did not come at the expense of the Gerim. To the soul’s delight, it is quite the contrary, and a true Blessing of God to know the Ger.

Rebbe Akiva along with three others walked into the Pardes [mystical realm] of Torah; the intentions of all four men are not clearly known. The fate of each one was unique and different, paving a path of precedent for all future seekers of absolute truth. Their legacy proves the nature of a harsh reality when dealing with matters of God, as the life story of each, tells a story with a surreal ending. It is assumed that each one was a decent individual prior to his mystical experience, thus making the experience all the more powerful when the fate of each is revealed.

Of the Four, one was killed, another went mad, Acher, [Rebbe Meir’s teacher] became heretical, while only Rebbe Akiva came out unscathed. The hindered three, each had a level of revelation of the Torah’s innermost dimension that their wisdom took them to a place that measured short of its desired destination. Rebbe Akiva on the other hand was quite different, for he had the pre-requisite intellect to properly diagnose the vision that God had bestowed up on him. The irony of Rebbe Akiva however, wasn’t in his living through it, rather it was the way he died!

Moses is on record [for having his own Pardes moment so to say] of questioning Hashem how Rebbe Akiva’s reward for greatness was to end up having his skin combed from his body. This is as if to say that Rebbe Akiva himself became a proverbial Pardes of understanding, a Job to Moses if you will, as to why the righteous suffer so. The kabbalists explain that Rebbe Akiva through his experience, had his soul join with the supremely righteous in the upper realms, to the prevention of idolatry of his remains. [This is the fate of the righteous to a certain extent, and the reason why Moses’ grave is unknown; to prevent worship to the grave of the righteous, all the while the grave/death is paramount to express mortality of man while soul has its place in the will of God.] Thus all four men had a fate that is compelling to the nature of their revelation and abilities.

Rebbe Akiva was unique in other ways as well as a great Rabbi, for from his vision [or at least in conjunction with] the Talmud, Oral Torah, Kabbalah, etc. was fashioned by his hands and supervision. With all of this said, the greatest attribute of Rebbe Akiva was his style of communication, expression, and delivery of the Torah Laws and concepts. Rebbe Akiva for all intents and purposes became the master of revelation and concealment and a form of proper Torah tradition of handing over from Rabbi to Rabbi in a preservation of Torah of Sinai to this day, and until the Moshiach. This skill would serve as the benchmark of the gold standard rabbinic ordination that would define greatness and truth with Hashem, and grant the Torah its proper refinement and integrity.

Rabbis have existed [on this level] from at least of the days of Rebbe Akiva through the generation of the Rambam and onwards; only in recent generations [primarily due to the Shoa] have the disciplines of Torah been reduced to a remnant of our once dear titles of Rabbi/Rebbe, Gaon [genius in Torah], etc. Thus to focus on the Rambam, we can better understand Rebbe Akiva, the Torah, and all great Rabbinic works [such as the Zohar, authored by the student of Rebbe Akiva]. The Rambam made usage of the famous dictum, “From the mouth of God, I heard two.” This inspired the Rambam in his classic work, and we can recall a famous saying, “From Moses until Moses, there never stood another like Moses.” The basic premise is that Moses and the Rambam were both named Moses, and both employed the duality to Torah in their works. Moses called “his Book of Devarim” – “Mishna Torah” [the double Torah] while the Rambam’s codified law works on the same principles and is called “Mishna Torah” as well. Yet where the Rambam shows this hidden level of greatness buried within the Torah, is seen in his dual title to codification, as he refers to his work as “Yad Chazakah” as well [the strong hand].

The deeper meaning to the Rambam having two titles is reminiscent to our Rebbe Akiva format of revealed/concealed Torah; such is the Rambam. When the Rambam seeks to simply reveal, often to the student who plainly wishes to do, while not rocking the boat [the beinoni], he may expect a harsh flavor to the Rambam [which satisfies his inherent judgments and apparent desire to learn this way; based on merit of understanding – Gra]. Under this pretext the Rambam may be referred to as “Yad Chazakah” [strong hand]. Yet the Rambam carries the double entendre edition inside as well, a code of law that is hidden and often dormant to the uninitiated to the deeper dimensions of the Torah; this level of revelation [as opposed to concealed] may be realized as the Mishna Torah [that which is doubled, i.e. carries an additional weight and measure, drawing comparison to Moses in the Book of Devarim.]

The point of difference between the two approaches is that the former will yield judgment while the latter will express the true compassion and truth of the Torah. One can surmise that this is the proverbial shallow – depth to Torah ratios that exist in the yeshiva halls, often following suit of he who is genuinely interested in what Hashem has to say in His Holy Torah. It can be assumed that all students desire truth, while merit determines the extent that they actually reach a particular level; thus the Rambam caters to all members of Israel. This is exactly the skill brought down by Rebbe Akiva, and was his merit in successful passage of the Pardes, as he is on record of saying, “In the place of pure marble stone, do not say water water.

Rebbe Akiva, Rambam, Moses, etc. all personified the traits of a perfect rabbinic tradition – the art of giving over Torah. They may be men, and they may have had flaws, yet their style of passage and preservation was fashioned into a vessel that holds its water.  The true Torah of the sages is a Torah that contains “From the mouth of God I heard Two” – and as much as our selected Rabbis of Blessed Memory [the truest Gadolei Hador] had achieved this, perhaps the best example of such depth is the Pardes itself, and her moments inside the Torah of God, the Five Books of Moses, Sefer Devarim in particular – for it was the seat of Moses’ highest communion with Hashem. Rebbe Akiva however, was the first to make this part of Jewish tradition, and the biggest step in redemption of the Ger.

It should be stated that Rebbe Akiva comes from Gerim, and it is fitting that he brings to light the Torah of Gerim, as it shines out from Pardes. Rebbe Akiva accentuates this principle in every nuance of Torah that is uttered in his name, as his most profound teachings strongly incline to the necessity of the double entendre; he may seem harsh, but within proper perspective, a  whole new world opens up in Torah, the level of Sod – secret. The irony is, is that he has achieved this all within the boundary of the revealed Torah, i.e. the Torah that bears no restrictions on who is able to learn from these pearls of wisdom. Essentially, Rebbe Akiva has single-handedly taught all future students, how to identify, the Torah of, the World of the Ger, the basis of the Torah of Shem.

Parashas Ki Seitzei is the most Divine representation of such elevation in Wisdom, for the whole Parasha is literally, “From the Mouth of God I heard Two.” As much as we travel down intricate Jewish Teachings that compose the World of the Jew, when we step back, and remember the Ger and Love him, a sublime World of the Ger emerges. In short, if we are to review the whole Torah in the mold of “Mishnah Torah” of Moses, this can be achieved with one swoop of one’s focus, from Jew to Ger. As every Ger mention in the Torah needs to be examined to the nature of the Ger reference [Toshav, Tzedek, Gamor, etc.] so too does the Parasha teach and reinforce each verse, each letter, and each word must be examined carefully, as it is a Ger, for in truth it is! [Sechel is a Ger in this World – Torah intellect]

Once this is performed, our eyes become open and the World of the Ger appears, and as it says often throughout the Torah, “It shall be one law for you; the Native and the Ger.” It is my privilege to give over, a tradition that goes back to Moses, and was typified by the greatest of sages, and acknowledge that their efforts of illumination of the Ger is well received in these last generations before Moshiach. To just be able to see what the Divine hand has placed, so that there should be a Ger in the End of Days to walk his righteous path of the Ger Tzedek would be worth being created. And truth be told, from my point of view, none of this is made possible, if the Gerim don’t bring Light to my eyes like Jethro before them.

If we are to be a Light to Nations, then I strongly suggest that you first allow them to open your eyes and see this Divine Light. Parashas Ki Seitzei is here every year just before Rosh Hashana, as an opportunity to see the Light [of redemption] – and as Rebbe Akiva taught, Moses experienced, and every Ger knows – “From the Mouth of God I heard Two.” For this is the Light we hear in Parashas Ki Seitzei, and it allows us to savor the chance and blessing to see the same Torah with new eyes, as we repeat the Torah with the King as He enters the field, allowing us to finally see what was always there. Just to open our eyes, circumcise our hearts, and embrace the Ger, as the Parasha so graciously does, as an eternal example of truthfully Loving the Ger – then the World will finally reflect the truth of the King constantly in the Field.

The result is a Third Temple for all of Mankind, an eternal House of Prayer and Blessing to those who serve within His Holy Torah, and allowed themselves to finally hear From the Mouth of God of which we heard two [I am Hashem…You Should Have no other gods], symbolic of the harmony of Two Divine Worlds coming together; simply expressed as God’s Love of the many types of Gerim that echo within the halls of Ki Seitzei.

From Tzfas

Audio Shiur On Parasha: Motzie Shabbos 11 P.M. [Tzfat Time]

Click Here For Link To Classroom!

Read more »

High Definition: A Noahide In Light

Click Here For Class 3 Of The Ger! - The First Ger In Abraham!

Every Wed Night 11 P.M. A new edition of the Ger series

Click Here To [save and] Enter Yeshivat Shem V' Ever!

Also Motzie Shabbos Israel 10 P.M. - Parasha Shavua!

Enjoy The Light and Make Sure To Share Amongst Friends!

Read more »

Pshat: Like A Dog Chasing His Tail

The [mad] Scientist on the Prowl

In Torah, finding a Pshat to any matter of Torah is usually step one, and this first step will lead to a lifelong search for the Truth to the commited scholar. More often than not, even though his new pshat may have "answered" his desires, he will seek a more encompassing solution. This is where science and Torah have a schism: Torah always seeks the best answer, until absolute Truth, while the Scientist is satisfied from elementary clearance on the issue.

And now science is working on its conclusion of their pshat: that they have poskened a Universe, one of which God did not create. This is all the more silly being that they aren't even acknowledging the pshat of Bereishit, rather they are taking a pshita [simple and beyond obvious] at best...as if to say, that God introduces his Book of Creation with a poor man's pshita?! [ that a grade-schooler created the Universe]

It just doesn't seem to me, to be that hard to think to work science (if you are that compeleld to) into Bereishit. Science maybe would be truly cool if they would recognize Bereishit: go for a real pshat - people [!] and stop with the pshita's!


HuffingtonPost:

Over the past few centuries, science can be said to have gradually chipped away at the traditional grounds for believing in God. Much of what once seemed mysterious — the existence of humanity, the life-bearing perfection of Earth, the workings of the universe — can now be explained by biology, astronomy, physics and other domains of science.

Although cosmic mysteries remain, Sean Carroll, a theoretical cosmologist at the California Institute of Technology, says there's good reason to think science will ultimately arrive at a complete understanding of the universe that leaves no grounds for God whatsoever.

Carroll argues that God's sphere of influence has shrunk drastically in modern times, as physics and cosmology have expanded in their ability to explain the origin and evolution of the universe. "As we learn more about the universe, there's less and less need to look outside it for help," he told Life's Little Mysteries.

He thinks the sphere of supernatural influence will eventually shrink to nil. But could science really eventually explain everything?

Beginning of time

Gobs of evidence have been collected in favor of the Big Bang model of cosmology, or the notion that the universe expanded from a hot, infinitely dense state to its current cooler, more expansive state over the course of 13.7 billion years. Cosmologists can model what happened from 10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang until now, but the split-second before that remains murky. Some theologians have tried to equate the moment of the Big Bang with the description of the creation of the world found in the Bible and other religious texts; they argue that something — i.e., God — must have initiated the explosive event.

However, in Carroll's opinion, progress in cosmology will eventually eliminate any perceived need for a Big Bang trigger-puller.

As he explained in a recent article in the "Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity" (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), a foremost goal of modern physics is to formulate a working theory that describes the entire universe, from subatomic to astronomical scales, within a single framework. Such a theory, called "quantum gravity," will necessarily account for what happened at the moment of the Big Bang. Some versions of quantum gravity theory that have been proposed by cosmologists predict that the Big Bang, rather than being the starting point of time, was just "a transitional stage in an eternal universe," in Carroll's words. For example, one model holds that the universe acts like a balloon that inflates and deflates over and over under its own steam. If, in fact, time had no beginning, this shuts the book on Genesis. [Big Bang Was Actually a Phase Change, New Theory Says]

Other versions of quantum gravity theory currently being explored by cosmologists predict that time did start at the Big Bang. But these versions of events don't cast a role for God either. Not only do they describe the evolution of the universe since the Big Bang, but they also account for how time was able to get underway in the first place. As such, these quantum gravity theories still constitute complete, self-contained descriptions of the history of the universe. "Nothing in the fact that there is a first moment of time, in other words, necessitates that an external something is required to bring the universe about at that moment," Carroll wrote.

Another way to put it is that contemporary physics theories, though still under development and awaiting future experimental testing, are turning out to be capable of explaining why Big Bangs occur, without the need for a supernatural jumpstart. As Alex Filippenko, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a conference talk earlier this year, "The Big Bang could've occurred as a result of just the laws of physics being there. With the laws of physics, you can get universes."

Parallel universes

But there are other potential grounds for God. Physicists have observed that many of the physical constants that define our universe, from the mass of the electron to the density of dark energy, are eerily perfect for supporting life. Alter one of these constants by a hair, and the universe becomes unrecognizable. "For example, if the mass of the neutron were a bit larger (in comparison to the mass of the proton) than its actual value, hydrogen would not fuse into deuterium and conventional stars would be impossible," Carroll said. And thus, so would life as we know it. [7 Theories on the Origin of Life]

Theologians often seize upon the so-called "fine-tuning" of the physical constants as evidence that God must have had a hand in them; it seems he chose the constants just for us. But contemporary physics explains our seemingly supernatural good luck in a different way.

Some versions of quantum gravity theory, including string theory, predict that our life-giving universe is but one of an infinite number of universes that altogether make up the multiverse. Among these infinite universes, the full range of values of all the physical constants are represented, and only some of the universes have values for the constants that enable the formation of stars, planets and life as we know it. We find ourselves in one of the lucky universes (because where else?). [Parallel Universes Explained in 200 Words]

Some theologians counter that it is far simpler to invoke God than to postulate the existence of infinitely many universes in order to explain our universe's life-giving perfection. To them, Carroll retorts that the multiverse wasn't postulated as a complicated way to explain fine-tuning. On the contrary, it follows as a natural consequence of our best, most elegant theories.

Once again, if or when these theories prove correct, "a multiverse happens, whether you like it or not," he wrote. And there goes God's hand in things. [Poll: Do You Believe in God?]

The reason why

Another role for God is as a raison d'être for the universe. Even if cosmologists manage to explain how the universe began, and why it seems so fine-tuned for life, the question might remain why there is something as opposed to nothing. To many people, the answer to the question is God. According to Carroll, this answer pales under scrutiny. There can be no answer to such a question, he says.

"Most scientists … suspect that the search for ultimate explanations eventually terminates in some final theory of the world, along with the phrase 'and that's just how it is,'" Carroll wrote. People who find this unsatisfying are failing to treat the entire universe as something unique — "something for which a different set of standards is appropriate." A complete scientific theory that accounts for everything in the universe doesn't need an external explanation in the same way that specific things within the universe need external explanations. In fact, Carroll argues, wrapping another layer of explanation (i.e., God) around a self-contained theory of everything would just be an unnecessary complication. (The theory already works without God.)

Judged by the standards of any other scientific theory, the "God hypothesis" does not do very well, Carroll argues. But he grants that "the idea of God has functions other than those of a scientific hypothesis."

Psychology research suggests that belief in the supernatural acts as societal glue and motivates people to follow the rules; further, belief in the afterlife helps people grieve and staves off fears of death.

"We're not designed at the level of theoretical physics," Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Michigan, told LiveScience last year. What matters to most people "is what happens at the human scale, relationships to other people, things we experience in a lifetime."

Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover or Life's Little Mysteries @llmysteries. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

 

Think a Little Bigger; Out of the Box Maybe Too
בראשית ברא אלקים
...יום אחד
ו''שבעים פנים לתורה

 

 

Read more »

Gog V' Magog: On Israel's Borders

Where Is Biblical Israel?

It is not news that Israel's Borders are contested; what is news, is what is the real debate.

Learning out Israel's Borders according to the Chumash takes a lot of Daas Torah, to figure exactly what the minimum is. King David sought to go beyond the minimum by conquering Syria, and by doing so he erred. The Minimal Eretz Yisrael must be conquered first, with a Beis Hamikdash on the essential Biblical Borders; after which the Prophetic Borders given to [the future of] Abraham's seed would come into the picture.

Thus again, the real question is: what are our Essential Borders? The contention of War with Islam is this very issue, and this is a main cog of Zionist dynamics.

Gog V'Magog is also dictated by these terms of Biblical Israel and the fallacy of.

Zionism is in part a theology of this very issue: Israel's Borders and a Prime Directive of agenda and operation based as such.

The Torah seems to be minimal, and with Geulah, Beis Hamikdash, and general conquest - the promised expansion will commence prophetically, as dictated to Abraham. Thus its the order of operation that is imperative, to reach mutual goals of a True Israel.

Zionism has its own views, ideally Left, Right, and Centrist.
The article presented here blames the Right and asks to give the Left a chance. Ironically, it is the Left that is more Biblically sound in respect to the Borders, yet their philosophy of how is treif.

It looks like there is a fundamental War within Armilos and Erev Rav going on now: Left vs. Right i.e. Peres vs. Bibi - Zionism at its best.
Perhaps Peres and the Left is a form of Erev Katan [davka Katan - small!] and Bibi and the Right is a form of Erev Rav [davka Rav - big]

What happens when their War commences? - As is predicted in Talmud Sukkah: The argument between Simcha and Sasson - depicted Erev Rav and Katan, and as is known, their argument leads to the Geulah, as this is the nature of their War.

Zionism isn't the answer, in fact it is treif, yet it reveals several Truths; as for Sheker to be believed it must contain an element of Truth - and the concept of Borders of Israel are as truthful as it gets.
All Klippah and Kedusha are invested in this War of Biblical Israel. Once settled, one can expect the Beis Hamikdash and the elimination of the Erev Rav and Katan; Torat Emet will then prevail.


Haaretz.com:

In a rare move, Shimon Peres exhibited a clear stance against an Israeli attack on Iran without coordination with the United States. Given Peres’ phenomenal experience and his role in building Israel’s deterrence, including its presumed nuclear arsenal, it is not easy to simply discard what he says.

Likud MK Zeev Elkin, in an appearance on the popular “London and Kirschenbaum” program tried to disqualify Peres’ opinion. With a shrewd smile he said that Peres was, after all, one of the architects of the Oslo Accords and had spoken of a “New Middle East” at the time. Elkin implied clearly that Peres’ political judgment has always been wrong, and that he is thoroughly unreliable.

The term “left” has become a term of denigration and accusation, and Peres has become the right’s symbol for the left’s being a loser. Here is the list of accusations: Israel got the second intifada because leftist Rabin gave the Palestinians guns; we got the shelling of Southern Israel because rightist turned leftist Ariel Sharon disengaged from Gaza; and we got the second Lebanon war because the leftist Barak pulled out of Lebanon in 2000.

So maybe it’s time to set the record straight. The left’s political views were never given a chance; and there are strong arguments for the thesis that Israel’s troubles are a direct consequence of the right’s blunders, mistakes, messianic ideology and aggressive expansionism of the last thirty-five years.

Let’s begin with Lebanon: Does anybody remember that this was a war of choice that not even the Begin government authorized? Does anybody remember Sabra and Shatila, and that Sharon was declared unfit to serve as minister of defense forever? Does anybody remember that Israel’s staying in Lebanon for eighteen years created Hezbollah? So is the Lebanon conundrum due to Barak, or to Sharon’s megalomaniac conquest of Lebanon?

While we are at it: Sharon is now hailed for the unilateral disengagement from Gaza. Does anybody remember that Sharon refused to hand over the Gaza strip as part of a general agreement with the Palestinians? Sharon never turned to the left: There is strong evidence that the disengagement was primarily meant to separate between Gaza and the West Bank, to make sure that Israel could keep the latter without having to rule the former. The disengagement was, on purpose, done in ways that weakened Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas – successfully, and with catastrophic consequences.

Making the left uniquely responsible for the failure of Oslo is also tendentious, to say the least. Let’s start with the dreadful mistakes made before Oslo: In the 1980s repeated attempts were made to build a political structure in the West Bank. Moderates like Feisal Husseini, Hanan Ashrawi and Nabeel Cassis tried to build the foundation of a Palestinian civil society. They were striving for compromise with Israel, often paying a great personal price.

Instead of engaging with these attempts, Israel saw great danger in Palestinian civil society and did everything it could to prevent it. This notoriously included supporting Hamas, thus fatefully changing the Palestinian political landscape.

At this point, right-wingers like Elkin will become impatient, and say “leave us alone with early history. What about Oslo’s failure?”

Well, the Oslo process never got a chance. Right-wingers who use the term “Oslo” as if it were the greatest idiocy of the twentieth century conveniently forget that Israel never met its obligations under this agreement, and never moved out of the West Bank according the stages agreed upon by the Accords.

Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar have documented in detail how all Israeli governments including those headed by Rabin and Barak continued building in the West Bank, thus eroding Palestinian belief that Israel genuinely intended ever to grant Palestinians a viable state. Add to this the fact that that Netanyahu was filmed bragging that he had destroyed the Oslo process, a claim that members of the Clinton administration would certainly endorse: they came to see Netanyahu as an unreliable, arrogant liar – a title that the Obama administration would certainly agree to.

I am not trying to claim that the left hasn't made mistakes. But the course of Israeli history since 1967 was predicted by Ben-Gurion in the weeks after the fateful victory of the six-day war: he said that if Israel would not return the territories within a year, this would be the Zionist project’s end. He was dead-on. Israel’s tragedy is the consequence of the right’s dream of the greater Israel and not the left’s mistakes.

Edom will fall into the hands of Pras:
Edom = Erev Rav?
[The Gra says Erev Rav is a klippah of Edom!]
and Pras is a variation of Peres, which in Hebrew are the same פרס ?
Is this famous Talmudic Passage a hint of an internal War between Erev Rav and Katan?

There is precedent for Peres representing Erev Katan:

"Peres' grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Meltzer, a grandson of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, had a great impact on his life. In an interview, Peres said: "As a child, I grew up in my grandfather's home… I was educated by him… my grandfather taught me Talmud. It was not as easy as it sounds. My home was not an observant one. My parents were not Orthodox but I was Haredi. At one point, I heard my parents listening to the radio on the Sabbath and I smashed it." At the age of four, Peres was taken by his father to Radun' to receive a blessing from Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (The Chofetz Chaim)."

If Peres is Armilos, then perhaps his involvement against attacking Pras [Iran] is more significant than we know - perhaps he is being a true Leftist, and the last thereof. Maybe his Border fervor will even cause Gog V'Magog.

Peres elected Bibi; perhaps this gesture was actually a primal war cry.
Time will tell the true story of the Erev Rav - there is bound to be more than meets the eye.

...there were two heretics named Simcha [Erev Rav]and Sasson [Erev Katan]...
and we call them Bibi and Peres. Some may even call "it" Armilos.

Read more »

Israeli or Israeli Edomite: Heil Shamir!

Yitzchak Shamir 1915-2012

Yitzchak Shamir has passed.  As it seems that the alter dor is moving on with steady succession [Bibi's father; and a whole slew of 75+ personalities], we have yet even more to learn from Shamir, as a dugmah of what is the real Zionism and Medina.

First and foremost: Shamir was a right-wing secularist terrorist. In fact, that is what I believe to be enough to elaborate his influence onto what would be the future and current State of Israel.

If one were to pick one character from all of Jewish History, to be the figurative "Biah Shlishi"

[as its not enough to be concerned with enemies, money, IDF, etc. - Israel would need to conquer the way of being ("halacha") in the Land. King David said: Go see the workings of God, as he placed desolation in the Land! - that is what Shamir did! Interestingly enough, the real Biah Shlishi will be from the Ko-ach of King david,  to the extent that I feel David's lack was not essential to him, other than his persona would have been better as a Joshua/Moses as opposed from already being in the Land. His draw back would then have been that he would have given Torah over like Moses; he would have been stuck studying! Thus the Jewish People would not have received the Torah like Moses, but they would have gotten into the Land. Thus David and Moses were flawed in opposite realms in this scenario. David needed to enter the Land [as opposed to have already been here], and thus Moshiach ben David will achieve the final Biah!]

...then Yitzchak Avinu would be the mold for Klippah to emulate; Shamir is even named Yitzchak! Why - because Yitzchak is called Pachad Yitzchak. [the dread/terror of Isaac] He was considered the true father of Israel [Talmud Shabbos], he fathered Edom, of which Shamir mastered! Terrorism of the State of Israel, Secularism, and every way to emulate Esau, was instilled in Israeli culture...ty Mr. Shamir! Yitzchak's ashes from the Akeida [he was considered to be shechted, and thus his ashes are presereved before Hashem], are the Torah concept of rememberance..thus is what Shamir did: he made his mark on Zionism.

He knew how to work with Klippah: if Klippah woulod always fear the Jew [like Britain did in Palestine] it would help preserve Israel in every way. [especially secularly] He basically brought the "Edomite Jew" into existance, as Esau was to be Jewish had he achieved his destiny. Shamir emulated such a concept! - through terrorism, secularism, raw behavior, klippah influencer, cold blodded, etc. The State of Israel lives in its Pachad [d'klippah of Yitzchak].

The Mochin of the State of Israel is forever inclined towards Edom, and he is the source of that thinking. Remember, Yitzchak spent his whole life in Israel, thus if you are to acquire the Land [even in Tumah], what better role model than Yitzchak Avinu [in klippah]!

Yitzchak's name means to laugh, and what is a basic ability to generate laughter? to impersonate - people laugh at immitation - Shamir had found his Biah Shlishi in the mold of Yitzchak Avinu. This secular/terrorist - Edomite way of seeing things would permeate the entire Israeli experience between matters of State, all the way to getting a Speeding ticket - as the Medina employs Shamir-ism! If Erev Rav is against Erev Katan, you have a bench mark that will forever challenege the ruling Religious from Shamir's influence.

Welcome to Israel - the State that Yitzchak Shamir helped build.

..."don't read desolation in the Land, but Names in the Land - Tehillim: ..."Shamir means a thorn that stabs and a rock that can cut steel." - Shamir on choosing his name. The Jew is a weapon, all the more so the Erev Rav - hence Moses' bringing  them out of Egypt. The State of Israel caters perfectly to weaponry. Shamir got that, and he sharpens the blade of the weapon called Israel - until the Geulah will come and the Land is cleansed. Shamir brought the charif to Israel; pun semi-intended.

If there is an Armilos in the State of Israel, he is joined with his root, as Edom is programmed into our State, thanks to Yiztchak Shamir.

It should be noted, that Shamir set the tone leading up until Rabin; Rabin's dates in office are hinted at in  the Zohar, when it suggests the Geula began in '56 - Rabin's Land for Peace, as the table was now set since Shamir had left his mark - even upon the Left!


Haaretz.com:

Yitzhak Shamir, the prime minister who opposed compromise with the Palestinians in the 1980s and ‘90s, died Saturday at 96. Shamir, a militant against British rule in the prestate period, was the country’s second longest-serving prime minster after David Ben-Gurion.

Israel’s seventh prime minister said in his autobiography he hadn’t groomed himself to become prime minister, maybe because he had worked for the Mossad for 10 years.

Only when Prime Minister Menachem Begin told the cabinet in August 1983 that he could no longer go on did Shamir take over.

Shamir was no young man at the time. “I was 68, two years younger than Begin, who was stepping down due to exhaustion. I wasn’t famous. I didn’t have a broad coalition of supporters or any particular ambition. It had never occurred to me that I could become prime minister.”

Shamir says in his book that when someone proposed that he become prime minister, he was confident he could beat out Likud minister David Levy. But though he could accept “how the others praised me, their exaggerations embarrassed me.”

Shamir said he liked Levy, but didn’t believe he was suitable to lead Likud or head the government. “I didn’t see myself as Begin’s heir, but rather someone who would continue his work,” Shamir said after he became prime minister.

Shamir served as premier from October 1983 to September 1984, and later as head of the second national unity government, from 1986 to 1990. He thenled a right-wing coalition until 1992, when Yitzhak Rabin beat him at the polls.

Shamir’s political career before he became prime minister wasn’t a long one. He joined the Herut movement only in 1970.

Poland, Lehi and the Mossad

Shamir was born in Ruzhany, now in Belarus, in 1915 as Yitzhak Yezernitsky. The small town became part of Poland after World War I. He studied in a school belonging to the Jewish Tarbut network, joined the Zionist Betar movement and began to study law at the University of Warsaw.

When he was 20, he immigrated to Palestine and joined the Irgun two years later. By day he worked in an accountant’s office and at night took part in anti-British activities.

Shamir said “we didn’t take any action blindly or automatically or just for the sake of violence. Our aim was to intimidate rather than to punish ... reprisals were never a cause for celebration. They were simply an existential need.” In 1940, Shamir left the Irgun, following Avraham Stern, and became a leader of the Lehi − which the British called the Stern Gang.

In December 1941 he was arrested and spent time in the Mizra prison near Acre. After escaping in September 1942, he was put in charge of operations. In this role he was responsible for the 1944 assassination of Lord Moyne, the British minister of state in the Middle East.

As Shamir put it, Moyne “was a senior official in enforcing British policy in Palestine and didn’t for a moment hide his strong opposition to Zionism and his negative feelings toward the Jews.”

In 1946, a year after his first child Yair was born, Shamir was deported by the British to Eritrea; the High Commissioner could deport anyone thought to endanger the peace or the defense of British Mandatory Palestine. Shamir escaped in January 1947.

In 1955, he joined the Mossad, where he filled many roles for 10 years. He never revealed many details about his work there, though in his autobiography he wrote that he was a unit chief under the organization’s leader, Isser Harel. “My service in the Mossad continued for only 10 years, but those years made a deep impression on me and I learned a lot from them,” Shamir said.

Knesset speaker and foreign minister

After entering politics in 1970, Shamir was elected to the Knesset in 1973 and served six terms.

In the ninth Knesset ‏(1977-1980‏), when he was Knesset speaker, he disagreed with the Camp David Accords and abstained during the vote on peace. Shamir later said his wife Shlomit and children Yair and Gilada believed it had been a mistake to accept Begin’s request and serve as speaker.

According to Shamir, the most important event during his term as speaker was the visit by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Israel in November 1977. In March 1980, a few months after Moshe Dayan resigned from the government, Shamir became a minister for the first time − foreign minister.

When Shamir took over as prime minister, the Israel economy was racked by 400 percent annual inflation. Shamir admitted he had no knowledge of economics. “I knew I wasn’t up to par in [this] area and I had no strong opinions about it,” he wrote in his autobiography.

Finance Minister Yoram Aridor proposed linking the shekel to the dollar, but Shamir feared that this would increase Israel’s dependence on the United States. Aridor resigned.

Two security issues were raging at this time; one was the growing Jewish underground that sought to attack Palestinians as revenge for their actions, including a plan to blow up the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The other was the Bus 300 affair, in which Shin Bet security service agents killed two Palestinians after they had been taken into custody after hijacking a bus. President Chaim Herzog pardoned 10 Shin Bet members before trial.

Second term

Ariel Sharon ran against Shamir to lead Likud before the 1984 elections but was badly beaten. The elections ended in a stalemate − 41 seats for Likud and 44 for the left-wing Alignment.

Neither party could form a coalition, and at the urging of Herzog, Shamir and Shimon Peres would take turns as prime minister and second in command − an Israeli invention.

But the lack of trust between the two hampered the national unity government. Shamir claimed that Peres undermined him and held secret negotiations with Jordan’s King Hussein, highlighted by Peres’ signing of the London Agreement in 1987.

“From the first day ... it was clear to me that Peres not only didn’t want but also could not accept the results of the election .... Most of the time he worked behind my back, always ignoring the damage he caused to the government and the coalition. Furthermore, he advanced his cause ... with the same disregard for accepted rules of behavior whether he was prime minister or foreign minister.”

The first intifada

On December 9, 1987, the first intifada broke out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Rabin instructed Israeli soldiers to respond with force, and Shamir supported Rabin’s tough approach.

The stalemate between Likud and Labor remained after the 1988 elections: Likud 40 seats, Labor 39. Despite the animosity between Shamir and Peres, they agreed to establish a unity government, but this time without a rotation. Shamir would be prime minister and Peres foreign and finance minister.

Meanwhile, relations with the United States were cooling off; Secretary of State James Baker was angered by Shamir’s unwillingness to make any kind of compromise with the Palestinians. Baker told a congressional committee that Shamir’s approach prevented any discussion of peace, and famously offered the White House telephone number for when Israel got serious. He called on Israel to give up the idea of a Greater Israel as unrealistic.

Dirty tricks and the Gulf War

The unity government fell apart in March 1990 after what is known as Peres’ “stinking maneuver.” The background to the affair was a deep disagreement between Peres and Shamir about the participation of East Jerusalem Arabs in elections for an autonomous council to be formed in the territories. Shamir opposed the idea, but Peres and Labor ministers supported the Americans.

In Peres’ maneuver, the Labor Party would take part in a no-confidence motion by the opposition parties and in return receive a Knesset majority for establishing agovernment headed by Peres. Shamir fired Peres for “acting to dismantle the unity government and undermine it.”

Two days later, a no-confidence motion was brought to the Knesset. Leaders of the two major parties courted the ultra-Orthodox parties. For the first time in Israel’s history, a government fell in a no-confidence vote. Peres failed to form a government when two ultra-Orthodox delegates withdrew their support. Shamir formed a government that lasted until the 1992 elections.

During the Gulf War that began in January 1991, Iraq fired 39 missiles at Israel. Israelis, especially those in the center of the country, shut themselves into sealed rooms wearing gas masks, but Shamir was not tempted to send the air force to attack Iraq. He won the world’s praise for his restraint.

End of a career

In the 1992 elections, Shamir was severely beaten by Rabin and resigned as Likud leader. He served in the Knesset until 1996, when he retired from all political activity, although he continued to criticize the Oslo Accords and Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies as prime minister.

For a decade after his retirement, he sometimes appeared in the media and expressed disappointment in the excesses of his successors, especially Netanyahu. He called Netanyahu an “angel of destruction” for agreeing to sign the Hebron and Wye agreements. He left Likud and joined a movement led by Benny Begin, Menachem’s son, but was not elected to the Knesset.

After Likud’s failure in the 1999 elections and Netanyahu’s exit, Shamir received a symbolic place on Likud’s Knesset list: 120 − the number of Knesset seats. In 2001 he was awarded the Israel Prize.

King David Hotel Bombing

Read more »

The Red Heifer and The Noahide

Noahidenations.com

                                                                       Parashas Chukas:

         The Red Heifer: Honoring the Purity of Shem and the Holy Land

                                                                 [Background of Red Heifer]

In this week’s Torah Portion of “Chukas”, the Para Adumah is the most perplexing topic in the entire Torah. Since the Torah was given, there has been one question that has stumped the minds of every scholar, even the great wisdom of King Solomon: what is the meaning [even on any level] of the mysterious command imposed upon the Jewish People – The Para Adumah [Red Heifer]? Even as there may be success in answering this enigma, the ultimate answer evades the most diligent scholar each time; for every door that we go through, the outcome will be a fresh set of doors to investigate and once again ponder the appropriate path that will grant adequate understanding of the challenge known as the Para Adumah.

                        [Noahides and their hidden interest of the Red Heifer]

When we gaze at the terrain of Torah students of today, we interestingly find that it is not only “one” nation who is enthralled with the anticipation of returning to a state of Holiness that can only be achieved with the return of the Para Adumah in a fully functioning Torah state of affairs, for there is yet another – The Noahide Nations all over the World equally anticipate and yearn for this return to Holiness. We see this very clearly today, as there are tremendous efforts underway to reclaim the merit of possessing the Para Adumah and existing in this state of purity, in the Land of Israel; The Noahides are one of the main idealists furthering along the attempt to locate the elusive [purity of] The Red Heifer. [Purity and Holiness are two separate concepts; holiness is he who is separate, i.e. the Noahide from the rest of the World, whereas purity is the concept to remedy impurity, a reality and affliction (not only by sin, but by contact with the dead) that is imposed on the holy, i.e. Jews and in this case, Noahides] This may seem as a simple observation that does not warrant any further investigation, but one must ask, “where does this precedent come from,” for Gentiles to have a vested interest in something that would seem to garner no interest, namely the Para Adumah. If one were to invest thought and research [within Torah] perhaps the Torah does make this quite [unclearly] clear! Not only does the Torah allude to this eternal secret as being in relation to the Noahide, but there is absolute reason to consider that it is the very Noahides themselves that make the mystery of the Para Adumah!

      [Red Heifer and the enigmatic text description in text of Torah; explaining “Ger”]

When we look into the Torah Verses of the Para Adumah, along with the basic instructions, details, and background of the sacred Mitzvah [commandment], there comes a strange detail that ends the Torah’s account of what will be the resting place of the ashes of the Para Adumah. If one looks to “Bamidbar” 19:10 – “…and it should be to The Children of Israel and to the “Ger” that dwells amongst you, an eternal [mysterious] decree” [והיתה לבני ישראל ולגר הגר בתוכם לחקת עולם] as we have learned with Jethro, who was also called a “Ger” along with the precedent to identify Noahides as “Gerim”, here too one not only can, but should make the same distinction. A Ger loosely means a convert [to Judaism], but in Devarim 14:21 in reference to the forbidden act of mixing milk and meat, the Torah identifies the Ger [literally dweller] to be a Noahide in particular. Let us not forget Aravnah the Noahide who sold the Temple Mount [expressing his direct connection to the heart of the Land of Israel] to King David as well, of which the Metzudas David commentary lists Aravnah as a “Ger Tzedek” [the righteous Ger] which is usually in reference to a Righteous Jewish Convert, yet the commentators have made it quite clear that this reference when spoken of Aravnah is a sure reference to his being a Noahide. [Thus the righteous Ger is the righteous Noahide when deviating from the other connotation of convert] Now that we have an absolute Torah principle that “Gerim” [plural for Ger] can [and often] refer to a Noahide, the Para Adumah scenario begins to make more sense [and ultimately leads to a greater path of confusion, as the Para Adumah never makes absolute sense, yet we have now pushed the envelope even further, with breaking through and making sense in the text, more questions are sure to follow!] when we identify “the Ger who dwells amongst you” as a Noahide.

                              [Torah commentary of text of Red Heifer]

Before we get into the particulars of how this works we need a basis, and that basis comes in the form of the Commentator “The Even Ezra.” The Even Ezra states in conjunction with the text in our verse [Bamidbar 19:10]:” [and for the Ger who dwells amongst you…] ‘So that it should be A Land of Israel of Holiness, for the [Glory is there/ Honor is there/ Honor of Shem (ben Noah); all 3 connotations are valid as the word for Glory/Honor “כבוד” has 2 meanings and the word for there and Shem “שם” has 2 meanings.]

                        [Why the Noahide is the “Ger” of the text]

If we take this Even Ezra literally and in context, while thinking into the text of the Torah in this same way, [that we are referring to a Convert to Judaism and not a Noahide] the explanation becomes rather difficult! [Thus forcing the conclusion that we do in fact speak of the Noahide] Why would the Torah need to state the Convert “living amongst you?” If this is an eternal decree, and therefore in context of a time when there will be a Third and final Temple, it should be obvious since the Convert lives amongst you. In this frame of thought, he should simply be considered as a Jew without being singled out as a Convert, as in this area there is no distinctive difference in sanctity. [There are levels of holiness of the Jewish People: Priest – Levi – Yisrael; the Yisrael and the Convert weigh the same, and thus there is not a sub-Jew standard on any level] And in this way, the Even Ezra does not make sense as being spoken of the Convert since obviously the Land would never suffer from the Convert; additionally the Convert does not convert for the sake of inheriting Land – even allegorically. Thus the logical conclusion is that the verse is in reference to the Noahide.

               [Noahides and Israel via commentary of “Shem”]

Once we identify the Noahide in this verse, we can open up the doors of perception that baffle the mind when contemplating the Para Adumah. The first and most literal yet abstract reason this is a Noahide reference to the Para Adumah[as per the Even Ezra] is the usage of the word “שם” / Shem in the commentary. To put it simply: Noahides will one day be intrigued to live in the same Land as their Great forefather Shem. The Torah allows for this when it speaks of the “Ger Toshav” – “The Gentile who lives in the Land” and is a fervent follower of the 7 Laws of Noah as the Torah demands [belief in the system told over to Moses].

        [Question: why then the Noahide and his affiliation of the Red Heifer]

The other way of understanding the Noahide here, is to simply take it literally because the extreme literal path makes no sense and leaves us without understanding, as shown before. On this level, the Torah makes an observation that the Noahide has already realized from his own life experience: he is connected to the Jewish People. From that moment on, even living in the Land of Israel [as Shem did and since the Land is the True Glory] is a possibility. The fact that the Para Adumah is a mystery [which we have solved now on some level – which proves to be consistent with study of the Para Adumah since it led to an even bigger question, one based on understanding!] does not contradict the fact that we have introduced a new facet to the never ending discovery of the Para Adumah. What we have done is shown a new question in Torah, one that sheds light on the nature of the Para Adumah: what is the connection of the Noahide and the Jew? The answer is simple: they unite under the umbrella of purity within the waters of the Para Adumah.

           [Practicality of the Noahide and the Red Heifer]

It would seem that the Torah’s mystery in the Para Adumah is the secret of the Noahide, and that he is connected to the Jewish People in a way that maybe can’t be simply answered, to the point that the Torah says “you can’t figure it out totally!” One attempt to answer is that the Land must remain Holy, and the unification in the Land is this Purity of the Para Adumah. The constant purity amongst Jews and Noahides eradicates any schism of any potential separation, for the connection of the two people in the Land [a Land of the One-ness of God] must be a perfect seal, after all, the Light is going out to the Nations as One. [Not to be confused: One; as Genesis states the concept: “Like One”] This would in fact be the basis of why we learn Mikveh / ritual bathing from Jethro in relation to Noahides as a proactive practice. With a precedent of bathing in waters of  the Para Adumah for a level of the highest degree of Purity [even if the association to the Para Adumah coupled with the need of purity and affiliation with Israel is a mystery], then all the more so any type of ritual bath [even not on the sanctity of the Para Adumah] would be a meritorious and practical custom, one that could acclimate the Noahide to the Para Adumah, withholding the mitzvah as a foreign object before coming to the Land if he indeed does decide to dwell amongst Israel. [It could also serve as a Torah imposed fence so that if one happens upon the Land in haste he will be accustomed to ritual bath and not subject the Land to something alien and inappropriate]

      [The gentile vs. the Noahide – “Adam”; Noahide and his Learning Torah]

In the Talmud Yevamos 61a the question arises about the nature of a “gentile” and his status of being impure after his death and upon burial. The decision is left as a bit of a question, yet there is one offshoot that the Talmud investigates: The Noahide who learns the Torah is compared to a High Priest, in that they share the name “Adam.” [(High level) Man]  King David also told over that, “The ‘Land’ is given to Bnei Adam.” Here the Bnei Adam would signal those who repaired Adam through Torah as opposed to the Bnei Adam who perpetuate his sin. [It should be noted the expression “repair of Adam has the same gematria as Torah, 611] It would then seem that the Talmud is issuing a secret of the Para Adumah text, proving that a Noahide does indeed merit the purification of the Red Heifer, and that the Noahide has a distinct connection to Israel. After all, Abraham is called “the Hebrew” and Shem is called the “Father of all Hebrews.” Perhaps by being knowingly connected to Shem invokes the Para Adumah as a need of one’s soul. [Every non-Jew called “Adam” has a direct relationship to Shem, even the original Adam, as Shem and Noah are the repair of the sin of Adam, as all were brought out by him.] It should be noted that Para Adumah is spelled in Hebrew, “פרה אדמה” – notice that “Adumah” is really “The Adam” when  we unscramble the letters. It is now clearly understood why the Noahides today have vested interest in the sacred Para Adumah: They are directly involved with its qualities for deep, personal, and mysterious reasons.

           [The Noahide and his root back to Shem: a connection to Red Heifer]

The text will always remain a mystery in the absolute sense, but at least at this juncture we find an answer to many of Torah’s perplexing questions as to what is the reality of the Noahide on many levels. One thing remains perfectly clear, in that the rationale is traced directly back to Shem, as the Noahide who awakens his soul on its root level identifies with Shem and the existence of the Supernal Adam. [Adam in reference to learning Torah] The entire passage in the Torah would remain a bit unclear if it were not for a simple support in the name of Shem, as we mentioned amidst the commentaries. Once the Even Ezra explained the Torah’s Simple Meaning to go along with a difficult passage of Torah by the inclusion of a rogue “Shem” quotation, the door of many possibilities was once again opened in the one place in Torah that we would expect no less, the Para Adumah. What seems like a locked door in the face of many may just be a challenge to find a key called Shem. The key may not unlock every door, but at least it allowed the Noahide to enter where he is destined to be: alongside the Jewish people [in the sanctity of Torah study and way of life], and if that place is the Land of Israel, it is easy to conclude that Shem foresaw that too, as his yeshiva is in Israel.  If Shem made Israel possible after the Ark [and through his righteousness he still teaches through the Living Torah, as we saw with the Even Ezra], then the dream comes true when not only Jews, but Noahides as well, unite through the holy waters of the Para Adumah. It is only fitting that this key to understanding the Para Adumah, should come from the merit of an equally massive Torah concept: The Torah that comes through the hand of Shem ben Noah.

Rabbi David P. Katz

Shabbat Shalom!

Read more »