The purpose of this email is not vindictive. It is preventive. Unless the major established Jewish Organizations like Agudath Yisroel of America and the OU and the Young Israel etc recognize that they failed Am Yisroel with their silence before the destruction of Gush Katif and resolve that such a thing not repeat itself in other parts of Eretz Yisroel, we are facing a disaster of astronomic proportions Chas Vechalila. (Teshuva is Charata al HeAvar and Kabbala Al HeAtid) G-d knows that I am far from perfect and that these organizations do unbelievable good. But I did live in Kiryat Arba from 1981-1987 and the strength of these words are coming from having lived close to Hebron. May all of our zedonoth (sins) be transformed into zechuyot (merits).
4 Av 5768
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
1. THE FAILURE OF ORTHODOX JEWRY Israel Kaplan
2. Hypocracy of the OU
3. Women in Green Activities Update
4. ISRAELI POLICE USE ARAB PROVOCATEURS IN AMBUSH OF JEWISH HIKERS
5. Tisha Baav Flier to be posted in your shul
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1. THE FAILURE OF ORTHODOX JEWRY Israel Kaplan
According to Rav Yisachar Shiomo Teichtal, a Torah giant, the Holocaust, to which he himself fell victim, was very much a consequence of the failure of Europe's orthodox Jewish leaders to heed the teachings of the Prophets and the Sages to redeem Eretz Yisrael when even Gentiles—recall the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations—supported the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland. He blames rabbis who, by denouncing secular Zionism and opposing immigration to Israel—aliya—discouraged Jews from fulfilling their sacred obligation to return to and rebuild the Land of Israel and thereby sanctify God's Name.
Fleeing from the Nazis, and writing in 1943 without books and while Jews were perishing around him, Rav Teichtal composed an extraordinary work entitled Eim Habanim Semeichah (A Joyous Mother of Children)2 There he cites an incredible number of Torah, Talmudic, and post-Talmudic sources showing that "the purpose of our afflictions is to arouse us to return to Eretz Yisrael." These sources all speak of the crucial importance of the Holy Land. They show that the redemption of the Jewish people can only take place in the Land of Israel.
Rav Teichtal goes further. Contrary to what he had learned from contemporary rabbis and had himself believed prior to the Holocaust, he shows that the secular Zionists were deserving of great praise; for even though they denied the Torah, they were fulfilling the commandment to return to and rebuild the Land of Israel. What is more, further research on his part revealed that many of the great halachic authorities—experts in Jewish law— predicted that secularists would restore the Holy Land! How is it possible, therefore, that learned orthodox rabbis failed to heed the teachings of Torah masters—Rav Teichtal cites Maimonides (the Rambam) and Nachmanides (the Ramban)—regarding the mitzvah of settling in and rebuilding Eretz Yisrael?
To begin with, let us be fair and recall that, in the closing years of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth, the venerable beliefs and customs of the Jewish people had come under the ideological assault of the Socialist and Communist movements along with that of secular Zionism. The defections from tradition, especially in urban areas, were massive. On the surface, therefore, orthodox rabbis had good reasons to oppose the shallow secular Zionism initiated by Theodore Herzl's The Jewish State. They saw in this Zionism the denial of the Sinai Covenant and the chosenness of the Jewish People. Secular Zionists, influenced by the egalitarianism of the Enlightenment, regarded all nations as equal. They rejected the idea that the Jews were "a nation apart." And yet, had not Jews lived and died for their apartness? Did not the deepest instincts of the Jews call for difference and distance? In contrast, the Zionists envisioned a state in which the Jews would become a "normal" people. No longer would they suffer the scourge of anti- Semitism, of pogroms and humiliation. The dignity of the despised Chosen. People would be restored—note the paradox—and at last they would live in peace and security.
To become a "normal" people, however, the Torah, which had sustained and inspired the Jews for thousands of years, would have to be relegated to the home and the synagogue. Jews would then have a new national identity. Judaism would be divorced from public law, would cease to be an all- comprehensive way of life. This was anathema to the rabbis. Besides, they believed that a Zionist state based on non-Torah law could not possibly succeed or endure.
Now it so happens that, three decades before Herzl's pioneering work, certain rabbis did in fact encourage aliya. In 1864, Rabbi Tzvi Kalischer published a book, Derishat Tzion, which was praised by various halachic authorities for its proposed "Organization for the Settlement of Eretz Yisrael." Mention should also be made of the Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen, one of the greatest Torah scholars of modem times. (His unparalleled halachic work, the Mishnah Berura, is the definitive compendium of Jewish law.) Even in the aftermath of the 1929 Hebron massacre, the Chofetz Chaim encouraged aliya. He held that "there is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael, and there is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael" (Bereisheet Rabbah, Numbers 16:7). Nevertheless, when Rav Teichtal wrote Eim Habanim Semeichah, so prevalent was anti-Zionism among European rabbis that he was compelled to cite the halachic authorities that had endorsed Kalischer's work in the hope of persuading other rabbis to encourage aliya and thereby save as many Jews as possible from the Nazi inferno.
Without wishing to malign these rabbis and thereby arm the wicked, Rav Teichtal nonetheless compared them to the Ten Spies, about whom it says in Psalms 106:24-25: "They murmured in their tents... They despised the desirable Land" and thus discouraged the Children of Israel from entering the Land promised to the Patriarchs. Although the spies were princes of Israel, Rav Teichtal cites various sources that explain their behavior as motivated by self-interest: they were afraid that in Eretz Yisrael they would lose the positions of leadership they held in the desert! (See the Zohar 3:158a.) "The same holds true in our times," says Rav Teichtal "even of rabbis, rebbes, and chassidim. This one has a good rabbinical position; this one is an established Admor [a prominent Torah master]; and this one has a profitable business or factory or a prestigious job which provides great satisfaction. They are afraid that their status will decline if they go to Eretz Yisrael. People of this sort [though otherwise meritorious] are influenced by their deep-rooted, selfish motives to such an extent that they themselves do not realize that their prejudice speaks on their behalf."
Rav Teichtal quotes numerous sources that extol the great merit of Eretz Yisrael. The Talmud: "He who dwells in Eretz Yisrael is like one who has a God, and he who dwells outside the Land is like one who does not have a God" (Ketuvot llOb). The Midrash: "It is preferable to dwell in the deserts of Eretz Yisrael than the palaces of Chutz LaAretz" (Bereisheet Rabbah, Genesis 39:8). The Zohar. "I will return in peace to my father's home, for there lays the Holy Land, there I will be perfected . . ." (l:150b).
Does it not say in Genesis 15:7: "I am the Lord who brought you [Abraham] out of Ur-Kasdim to give you this Land to inherit it"? The Talmud expresses this as follows: "The Land of Israel is an inheritance from our forefathers" (Avodah Zara 53b). Therein is the basis of the Jewish claim to Eretz Yisrael. Now, if Rav Teichtal, a man of extraordinary learning, courage, and love of the Jewish people, could question the motives of prominent rabbis who denounced secular Zionism and thereby discouraged Jews from leaving the fleshpots of Europe for Eretz Yisrael, what shall we say of the descendants of those who established the State of Israel and who now wish to abandon Judea and Samaria, the heartland of the Jewish people? Are their motives any purer?
2. HYPOCRACY OF THE OU - Tisha B'Av Webcast WITH
Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Executive Vice President, Orthodox Union
Why is the Tisha B'av Webcast sponsored by the OU hypocritical?
Is the expulsion of Gush Katif on Tisha Baav included?
Olmert was OU's Honored guest speaker at their convention in Yerushalyaim. Olmert's policies include "Unilateral Disengagement" from Gush Katif, negotiations towards the establishment of a Palestinian State which translates to the destruction of many settlements in Judea and Samaria, and giving away parts of Jerusalem and access or control over Har Habayit. Olmert and his corrupt administration is responsible for releasing live terrorists for dead bodies. Olmerts and his administration were responsible for Amona, the progrom on unarmed kids by Yassamnicks who went after unarmed kids and adults skulls and reproductive organs. ( I wish I didn't have to be so graphic). Under Olmert's administration the IDF turns a blind eye to the Kassam rockets of Sderot, turns a blind eye to the Arabs that throw stones at settlers and even collaborates with them (see below), http://www.israeljustice.com:80/news2.asp?key=143 , they harass the settlers and imprison those that attempt self defense. Rather than condemning these policies, the OU USA condemns Rabbi Wolpe for speaking out against Olmert's policies by twisting Rabbi Wolpe's words and unsuccessfully portrayed him as extreme. This backfired since the OU received hundreds of calls and emails yelling at the OU for tolerating Olmert and his evil policies. This fancy Tisha Baav programming reminds me of a pig that outwardly shows how Kosher he is by showing off his split hooves but is really treif. The OU show an expertise in memorializing the dead, like the dead of the Holocaust and the dead of Mercaz Harav Kook HY"D. Why haven't they been more proactive so that more dead need not be memorialized. Is memorializing the dead an end onto itself? Excuse the sarcasm but I suppose we should be reassured that if G-d forbid there are more terror attacks at least we'll get a fine memorial.
Maybe the forgotten souls are the ones that forgot our Covenant between G-d and the Jewish People and our entitlement to Eretz Yisroel. OU USA have missed the point of the lessons of Tisha Baav though they provide their audience with entertaining Tisha Baav programming..
________________________________
From: Orthodox Union [mailto:alerts@ou.org]
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 1
Subject: Register for the Tisha B'Av Webcast with Rabbi Weinreb - "Forgotten Souls"
Tisha B'Av Kinot on Sunday, August 10, 8:45 am.
WITH
Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
Executive Vice President, Orthodox Union
Originating from the Orthodox Union main office, New York, NY.
"Forgotten Souls"
Rabbi Weinreb will recapture from anonymity heroes and victims of a variety of Jewish catastrophes including the Temple destructions, Pogroms of 1648-49, French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, and the Shoah.
Focusing on various aspects of the soul with song, poetry and explanations of the Kinot, he will also tell stories of very "soulful" men and women from Biblical times to the present, who have all but been forgotten, as well as reflections on forgotten facets of our own souls and how we can reclaim them.
In contrast to the OU, Bizchut Nashim Tzidkaniyot.....
3. Women in Green Activities Update
Dear Friends,
On this first week of the month of Av, entering the Nine Days of mourning until Tisha b'Av, lots of activities for the Land of Israel are taking place.
Open your calendar, write it all down and join.
Now more than ever we must act to protect the Land of Israel. Olmert's announcement that he is not running again does not necessarily mean he can do no harm. On the contrary. Some political analysts say that davka now, when Olmert has nothing to lose, he can be more dangerous than ever. It is our duty, as loyalists and lovers of the Land of Israel to make sure we safeguard our Biblical Homeland.
With Love of Israel,
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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1) SUNDAY, August 3, 2008 at 7:30pm
DEMONSTRATION remembering 30 days to the tractor terror attack.
Where: close to the place where the first tractor terror attack took place,
Jaffa street 208, at the parking lot of the old temporary Central Bus Station
Title:
We will not give them guns.
We will not give them tractors.
We will not give them jobs (parnassa)
Organized by: Komemiyut, Halev HaYehudi, Chomesh Tehilla, Virashtem Ota
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2) MONDAY, August 4, 2008, MARCH TO KEVER RACHEL
organized by the Youth of the Ichud Haleumi and others
5:00pm meet at Tsomet Gilo
For details call Simcha 054-816-0132
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3) WEDNESDAY, August 6, 2008 EVENING OF LECTURES in SHDEMA
organized by the Committee for a Jewish Shdema and Women in Green
The struggle to keep Shdema in Jewish hands continues.
Almost every day members of the committee for a Jewish Shdema and Women in Green go to Shdema to show a Jewish presence and to make sure the Arabs and anarchists do not take over.
Last week 150 youth for the Land of Israel spent the night in Shdema while residents of the area welcomed them with food and drinks.
This past Friday two full buses of Jerusalemites, mainly from Har Nof but also from other neighborhoods in Jerusalem came to Shdema to see the place, hear the story and join the struggle.
We call upon all to come this coming Wednesday to a fascinating evening of lectures (in Hebrew) "FROM DESTRUCTION TO REDEMPTION"
Program :
7:00 pm Arrival in Shdema
7:15 pm Minha
7:30 - 8:15 pm Mrs Geula Cohen, Israel Prize winner will answer
questions by Mrs Malka Pyotrokovsky
8:15 - 8:45pm David Nativ, famous teacher of Tanach will talk about
Yirmiyahu chapter 32 "Insane pre-destruction reality"
8:45 - 9:00pm Aharon Yukel, actor in the TAIR theatre will read from
Uri Tzvi Greenbergs songs
9:00 - 9:30 pm Rabbi Dov Zinger- head of the Makor Chaim yeshiva
'From destruction to Redemption, on a personal level
and on a national level"
9:30 pm Maariv
Buses will leave after Maariv, around 10:00pm
Transportation - Please order seats on the bus by calling 050-5500834 or 02-9961292
From Har Choma at 6:30pm
From Kiryat Arba Hevron at 6:00 pm
from Tsomet Gush Etzion at 6:30pm
from Efrat southern gate at 6:40pm
from Tekoa- Nokdim at 6:50pm
A Jewish presence in Shdema is of utmost importance! Please forward this email to all friends and family and join us
Thank you, the Committee for a Jewish Shdema
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4) TISHA B'AV EVENING, MOTSAEI SHABBAT CHAZON, AUGUST 9,2008
join the ANNUAL WOMEN IN GREEN MARCH AROUND THE WALLS OF THE OLD CITY
The Women in Green Tisha b'Av March around the Walls of Jerusalem's Old City in which thousands of Jews participate, religious and secular, young and old, both new olim and natives, all united in their love for our homeland.
This year, more than ever, when there is talk about giving away parts of our G-d given Biblical Homeland and our Capital, we must show the world and our own government that "For Jerusalem's Sake we will not be silent"! The Jewish People must continually defend the Land of Israel and Jerusalem.
For those who have not yet been part of this exciting Tisha B'Av event, we put up on our website a short movie about last year's March, to give you a feeling of the importance of this moving event. Click on http://www.womeningreen.org and then click on the movie to see it. On that same page you will see a copy of this years flyer.
We hope you can join us this year in person to take part in this unforgettable uplifting experience.
This year Tisha b'Av falls on Motsaei Shabbat, August 9th, 2008.
The flyer reads as follows:
Walking around the Walls
of Jerusalem's Old City
Protecting the Land of Israel! Protecting Jerusalem!
Commemorating 2594 years since the destruction of the First Temple; 1938 years since the destruction of the Second Temple, 26 years since the destruction of Yamit and 3 years since the destruction of Gush Katif and Northern Samaria.
TISHA B'AV EVENING
Motsaei Shabbat Chazon, August 9th, 2008
EICHA READING & MARCH AROUND THE WALLS
At 21:45 pm Eicha reading at Safra Square. Bring a Megilat Eicha, a flag and a flashlight.
At 22:30 pm Our Walk begins, led by Rabbi Israel Ariel from Machon Hamikdash, MK Prof. Arieh Eldad, Atty Elyakim Haetzni and Dudu Elharar.
We will pass the New Gate, Damascus Gate and the Flower gate. At the Lion's Gate we will assemble to proclaim, in the words of Eicha, that we will not allow "our inheritance to be turned over to strangers" and pray "to renew our days as of old". We will end our Walk at the Dung gate near the Kotel.
We have a police permit. Come with your family and friends and take part in a Tisha B'Av evening to be remembered!
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352 Jerusalem 91072
http://www.womeningreen.org/ wfit2@womeningreen.org
* * *
4. ISRAELI POLICE USE ARAB PROVOCATEURS IN AMBUSH OF JEWISH HIKERS
Sunday, August 03, 2008
http://www.israeljustice.com:80/news2.asp?key=143
JERUSALEM -- Israeli police, in what appears to be a new tactic to quell
Jewish nationalists, have begun to use Arab provocateurs in the West Bank.
Police have acknowledged that they used Arab stone throwers to stop
young Jews from hiking through the West Bank on July 29.
Police detective Aharon Yair told a Jerusalem magistrate that Israeli
security forces colluded with Arab provocateurs as part of an ambush to
arrest the hikers.
Yair, when questioned by defense attorney Naftali Wurtzburger, admitted
that special police forces, disguised in civilian clothes but wearing police
hats, hid in an ambush together with Palestinian Bedouin waiting for the
Jewish hikers to arrive.
W."I am telling you that most of these hikes end quietly."
Y. "The fact is that were police forces there. We understood that like last
week, when there was a violent incident when they [the hikers] came to them
[the Bedouin] with weapons, we were ready because we knew that this was a
place of confrontation. They [Bedouin] set up cameras and therefore the
police were there."
W. "If the police were there and watched the confrontation, what was the
problem of the police to stand openly and prevent them [the hikers] from
passing and if it was not permitted, to stop them. The situation, as I see
it, looks like an ambush. Somebody hides out like thieves in the night."
Y. "I'm not the one who decides. There are officers above me who decide what
is overt and what is concealed."
W. "You agree that special police forces were in the area at that time?
Y. "That's what I said."
W. "You said that they were in disguised civilian clothes?"
Y. "They wore a police hat and they shouted that they are police and
identified themselves as police. Some were in a hiding place and some waited
on alert."
Police arrested five Jewish hikers near the Jewish community of Kockav
Hashachar, including three adults, Netanel Kaufman, David Hai and Yitzhak
Yisrael Hai and two minors, as they passed by a Bedouin encampment, close to
the Jewish outpost of Maoz Esther. One of the armed escorts of the group of
about 100 hikers shot in the air to disband the Bedouin, whom they said had
thrown rocks at them, causing a rock-throwing melee. At least three settlers
were injured, including one who had to be hospitalized, after a Bedouin hit
him over the head with a stick.
Yair said that three Bedouin were arrested but were handed over to the
military prosecutor who had released them. None of the Bedouin were injured.
Leaders of the "Land of Israel Faithful" said the young hikers were
undeterred by the police ambush and continued on their four-day walk.
"All of sudden policemen disguised as civilians but with police hats
suddenly came out from behind a small hill and arrested the person who shot
in the air and some of the armed escorts," Daniella Weiss, a Jewish
dissident and one of the organizers of the hike," said.
Weiss said that the police intended to arrest the armed escorts so that
the group would have to abandon the hike but the youth continued and later
succeeded in circumventing police cordons outside Jerusalem.
"Police were surprised that to see how we managed to break through their
barriers and we appeared, 200 youths, under their noses," Weiss said. "After
that they let us continue."
Wurtzburger said that police knew of the hiker's route and hid near the
Bedouin encampment to ambush the young Jews.
"This incident is the direct result of a police provocation,"
Wurtzburger, said. "There is an outpost next to Kochav Hashachar where tens
or hundreds of people intended to pass by openly. The police were hiding out
in the place in collusion with the Bedouin when the Bedouin, at least that's
the version we have, began to attack verbally and physically the hikers
until they withdrew and defended themselves."
Despite the lack of formal charges or evidence, [Kaufman, a heart
patient is shown standing on the side in video footage], Jerusalem
Magistrate Shirli Rener sentenced all five to expulsion from Judea and
Samaria, apart from the area of their own homes.
"The respondents do not have any criminal past but we are talking about
a serious incident which could have ended differently," Rener said on July
30. "After I have considered all the actions that are attributed to the
respondents in the incident, I am heeding the words of the petitioner's
representative that other such incidents can be expected in the near
future."
Rener sentenced Kaufman and Hazut to expulsion from Judea and Samraria
for 20 days and Hai to 40 days and she imposed a 3,000 shekels [$882] on
each of them as well as on a third party guarantor. The two youths received
sentences of 20 days and five days expulsion plus a bond of 3,000 shekels
respectively.
On July 23, police arrested three Jewish hikers and a minor near the
Jewish community of Maalei Michmas in the West Bank. They were suspected of
vandalizing Bedoiun property. The three adults, Efrion Oppenheimer, Arieh
Davis and Alexander Ostrovsky, were sentenced to 90 days expulsion from
Judea and Samaria and a personal bond and the third party guarantee of
10,000 shekels [$2,942], despite the lack of a complainant or formal charges
and police testimony that the suspects did not perpetuate the vandalism but
were in the place at the time and were therefore responsible.
During the hearing before Jerusalem Magistrate Ilta Siskind, Yair
testified that the police did not have a complainant or any physical
evidence of charges of suspected vandalism of Bedouin property. The police
also failed to conduct identification procedures.
Over the last year, police and prosecutors have acknowledged in court
hearings human rights violations against Jewish nationalists.
However, Israeli courts have generally ignored these violations which
included arbitrary arrests, unprovoked assault of minors at peaceful
demonstrations and detention for long periods of time without formal
charges.
Israeli mainstream human rights groups refused to intervene in the
violation of rights of those deemed Jewish nationalists.
"As far as we know they haven't turned to us," Nirit Moskowitz,
spokeswoman for Association of Civil Rights in Israel, said.
The lions share of funding for most of these organizations has come from
the European Union and from the United States.
5. Tisha B'av Flier to be posted in your shul. Please cut and paste into a flier, make copies and distribute
THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION IS THE FINAL SOLUTION.
G-d gave the entire Land of Israel to the Jews. We have no right to cede any part of Eretz Yisrael. Do not follow in the footsteps of the Miraglim. Do not follow in the footsteps of mainstream American Jewry during the Holocaust.
SPEAK OUT!
ERETZ YISRAEL IS NOT FOR SALE!
This Tisha B'Av marks the 3rd Yarhtzeit for Gush Katif. The Disengagement destroyed Gush Katif and expelled its Jews, who had volunteered to live in Israel's buffer zone. Now Sderot, Ashkelon and the surrounding areas have become the latest war zone. Kassams have terrorized the region and have taken the lives of too many Jews.
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN GUSH KATIF WAS DESTROYED?
Do not stand idly by while more than 200,000 of your brothers and sisters in Yerushalayim, Yehudah and Shomron are currently threatened with eviction. Do not allow Netanya, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Bnei Brak, and Yerushalayaim to become the next targets.
DO NOT REMAIN SILENT.
Let your voice be heard. Contact Jewish organizations, rabbinical leaders and Washington officials because simply lighting a Yahrzeit candle for Gush Katif won't do the job.
Say NO to Land for Peace initiatives!
Say NO to a Two-State solution!
Say NO to terror and releasing of terrorists!
CALL NOW:
* Agudath Yisroel of America
42 Broadway Suite 1400 New York, NY 10004
Tel 212-797-9000 Fax: (212) 254-1600
* The Council of Young Israel Rabbis USA: - CYIR,
111 John Street, Suite 450, New York, New York 10038
Tel: 212-929-1525 Fax: 212-727-9526
* The Orthodox Union
11 Broadway,
New York, NY 10004
Tel:: (212) 563-4000 ♦ Fax: (212) 564-9058
* Chabad Headquarters
770 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Tel: 718 774.4000 / fax 718 774.2718
MAIL President USA
president@whitehouse.gov
first.lady@whitehouse.gov
FAX: (202) 456-2461
PHONE: (leave a message for the President) (202) 456-1414
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Israel the Land of My Possession is also posted on
http://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/
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