Torat Yisrael Issue 5

Revenge: The Issur and the Mitzva HaRav David Samson Shlit”a Founder of

the Yerushalayim Torah Academy

At the beginning of Parashat Pinechas, Hashem declares:

"'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and atoned for Benei Yisra'el.'" (Bamidbar 25:12-13)

Why is Pinechas rewarded for his act of zealousness with a covenant of peace? It would seem much more apropos to receive a covenant of war after such an action.

Like a typical Jew, I want to answer this question by asking another one. In the next parasha, Mattot, Hashem commands (31:2) "Take full vengeance for Benei Yisra'el on the Midianites." This is, quite clearly, a mitzva to take revenge. Moreover, the Gemara (Berachot 33a, Sanhedrin 92a) teaches us that revenge is to be highly valued: "Great is vengeance, for it is placed between two divine names, as it says (Tehillim 94:1): 'A God of vengeance is Hashem.'" How can we properly fathom the morality of this when we know that Hashem Himself makes clear that vengefulness is a negative attribute and is to be suppressed? We even have earlier in the Torah

See Page 6

English speaking sales respresentatives are available for home visits to give you the best prices possible. Both Kosher and regular phones are available.

Call Simcha 052-444-6022

Shabbat Times

Jerusalem 7:13/8:30 Modiin 7:28/8:31 Bet Shemesh 7:28/8:31 Gush Etzion 7:27/8:30 Ra’anana 7:29/8:32

WHERE IS THE FEAR?

Shmuel Sokol

Editor-In-Chief

Where is the fear? That’s my question. I see plenty of fear on the Jewish side. I see plenty of courage and determination too, but the fear is there. It may be hidden under layers of protective emotional defenses, but it’s there. There are many of us who have emuna and do not let the fear effect them, and there are many of us who have such emunah that they do not fear at all. But many still fear. My question is where is the Arab fear?

The Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz ran articles after the attack on Jaffa Street detailing the Arab response. I remember reading that the local Arabs in the shuk did not fear reprisals. They claimed that ten years ago they would have been afraid, but now things have “improved”. I was at the scene of the attack almost immediately afterwards and I saw Arabs in the in vicinity who did not look at all scared. Now, if I were a Jew living in East Jerusalem, even on a normal day, I would have to carry a gun and to be careful for my life. An Arab, however, does not feel any sense of danger in Jewish neighborhoods, even after a murderous attack. This situation, just as it exists domestically, also exists in our relationship with our neighbors. After Oslo, Gaza and Lebanon our deterrence capability has been severely damaged.

When we live in a state where the major newspapers run stories quoting the family of a terrorist, calling him a sweet boy (“nechmad”), instead of quoting the families of those he brutally murdered, when we live in a state where the prime minister is challenged by the family of the murderer and their Jewish lawyer to “prove” that he was a terrorist before the government can raze his house to the ground, and when we live in a state where the newspapers discuss the fears, or lack thereof, of the Arabs after an attack, completely ignoring the fears and pain of the Jews, then we live in a state that is unable to provide an adequate deterrent to terror, and may actually be providing an incentive. It’s time for a change!

This Shabbat marks my 18th year Aliyah anniversary... and I am still smiling! I still break my teeth speaking Hebrew, have problems reading Yediot (not such a loss) and can’t figure out why I work on Sunday but – I am still smiling!

I pay close to $9.00 a gallon for gas (don’t you love when people in the States complain about gas prices?), check every Pesach product 12 times for Kitnayot and will be sending my kids to camp for a grand total of two weeks (what the heck is that all about??) but – I am still smiling! I go to miluim every year even though they don’t let me shoot anybody, pay the TV tax even though I don’t have a TV and eat about 15 sufganiyot on Chanukah even though 14 of them never have jelly but – I am still smiling! Since I am one of those “crazy” people who had the

nerve of opposing the Oslo “Peace Process” (how dare did I do such a thing???) I had the honor of being beaten by Israeli riot policemen, been arrested 10 times, convicted of sedition, sentenced to 12 months in prison and fired from my job by Shulamit Aloni (remember her?) yet, through all of it… I am still smiling!

Of course I do not smile when I remember my dear friends Binyamin and Talia Kahane with whom I ate lunch four days before their tragic murder by terrorists who received guns from Shimon Peres. I do not smile when I think of my close friend Hillel Lieberman who I used to dovin with in Kever Yosef and talk with at length about the holy city of Shechem. Furthermore, I do not smile at the fact that at Hillel’s funeral, I was shot at by Arabs. Only a miracle guided those bullets away from my car. And finally, I do not smile at the saddest day of my entire Aliyah – just 4 months after I arrived here – when I joined 150,000 Jews in burying my holy and amazing Rebbe; HaRav Meir KaSee hane ztz”l. On that sad day I waited in line Page 15

8IZ * T S BFM /BU J POBM /FXT D PN

 EPFT
U IF  * T S BFM J
NFEJ B
T FM FD U
BOU J  * T S BFM  J OU FS WJ FXFFT "

5IF
+ FXJ T I  4U BU F

T
1S P * T S BFM  /FXT
4J U F
BOE 5 BM L
3BEJ P /FXT
H  3BEJ P
H  57

#FD BVT F
U IFZ
U IFNT FM WFT  BS F
BOU J  * T S BFM BOE
EPO

U
FWFO
LOPX
J U  4

XXX * TS BFM /BU J POBM /FXT DPN

"May Hashem, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that Hashem's congregation will not be like sheep which have no shepherd." (Bamidbar 27:16-17)

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Shofetim 21:25) [Rabban Gamli'el said to his students:] "Do you think that it is rulership that I give you? It is servitude that I give you! Thus, it says (I Melakhim 12:7), '…if you will be a servant to this people today…'" (Horayot 10a-b)

In our parasha, we read about the character of a leader. Moshe Rabbeinu appeals to Hashem as "God of the spirits," and Rashi (based on Midrash Tanchuma 10) explains the entreaty in this way: "Master of the Universe, You well know how dissimilar they are, each in his own heart and mind—appoint over them a leader who will bear each and every one according to his thinking." The leader must be the national parent, feeling the need of each individual. Furthermore, Rashi also notes (based on Sifrei 139) that a leader must go at the head of the people in combat; he cannot stay at home or at the rear. This is a practice espoused to the present day by Israeli officers.

Moshe, according to the Gemara (Sanhedrin 8a) originally tells Yehoshua that he must obey the elders of the generation, but Hashem Himself corrects this view: "Take a stick and hit them on the head; there can only be one leader for the generation, not two." It is not only a nation that needs a single ruler; any group of people must pick one person over them all—this is how society remains united and organized. As my teacher, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, told me, the Rebbe of Lizhensk commanded his Chasidim, wherever they might be, to choose one person to assume the responsibility of leadership— though he may be no greater than his companions—as this is the way to unite the good in every individual; otherwise, the Other Side unites the bad in every one! We need

Hashem's help for every public office; as the Gemara (Berakhot 58a) says, even the appointment of the head water-drawer is from Heaven.

The ruler must lead the community, not be led by them. Our Sages said of the days preceding Mashiach's arrival (Sanhedrin 97a): "The face of the generation is the face of a dog." The Chafetz Chayyim explains that a dog runs ahead of its master as if it is the leader, but as soon as they reach a crossroad, the master gestures with the leash or the dog looks back to see which way the master is facing. This is the way of a ruler who is led by the people instead of leading them.

When a leader is strong and seeks the truth, he merits divine assistance, as it is written (Mishlei 20:8): "A king who sits on the throne of justice disperses all evil with his eyes." Rabbeinu Yona explains that such a king merits to recognize what is truth and what is falsehood, as it is written (ibid, v. 26): "A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them." The sovereignty of a monarchy is better than the sovereignty of a democracy, even though in our days it appears that democracy is better. This is only because one who is not descended from King David does not have the spiritual ability to rule properly, for the sake of Heaven, not using the power of government for his private concerns. However, a king who worries about the people with all of his heart is better than an elected ruler, because democratic representatives are dependent on elections; they cannot do what is desperately needed, because they want to find favor in the voters' eyes. We, like Moshe, must pray for Hashem to grant us a true leader.

5

Rav David Samson on Revenge Continued... (Vayikra 19:18) an issur (prohibition), "Do not take revenge." How can both commands come from the same God?

The resolution of this paradox may be found in an interesting exchange in Tractate Megilla (16a), where we find that Haman actually asks Mordechai about this. The Gemara cites a tradition that as Mordechai alights on the royal horse (Ester 6:11), he kicks Haman. Haman asks him how he rationalizes his vindictive actions; after all, Mishlei (24:17) teaches: "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls." Mordechai then states that there is a major difference between the way we are to relate to Jews and non-Jews on this point. He explains that only regarding a fellow Jew do we have a prohibition to jeer an enemy; regarding a non-Jewish enemy, it is not only permitted, but incumbent. Rav A. Y. Kook, in his Orot (written during World War I), explains what has happened to mankind since Mordechai last taught Haman this doctrine.

Christianity abandoned the laws of the Torah and established itself on a spurious mercy and kindness that

Homesh – We Return!

Twice daily a special transport leaves one of the towns in the Shomron. The morning passengers are yeshiva students and rabbis on their way to a day of Torah study in the open air. The afternoon travelers will take their place guarding all night until the students return in the morning. There are no longer buildings or structures aside for the water tower that continues to supply the needs of the neighboring Arab villages. The path taken by the transport detours off the main road onto unpaved back roads shared only by local Arabs, who for their own reasons can not allow themselves to be stopped at the IDF checkpoint at the invisible line that marks the beginning of the area of Northen Shomron that has been declared Judenrein.

6

Jews trying to access Homesh via the main road are simply stopped at the army checkpoint and not permitted passage. Even worse Jews stopped there on the way back, have been arrested by the Israeli police and charged with crossing in a closed military zone. The northern Shomron area was evacuated of Jews but not given over to the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli Army still controls the area. In the words of rabbi Dov Lior "These towns were destroyed and the residents were banished for nor reason". Visitors to

uproots the foundation of the world and destroys it. By denuding justice of its Divine content, it becomes seized by the basest evil. The pollution penetrates the private life of the individual and spreads massively to the soul of nations. This becomes the foundation for the hate between nations and for the unfathomable evil of bloodshed.

In other words, if justice is not properly pursued, the result is not greater peace, but festering hatreds that ultimately erupt violently. We see from this understanding that the love and mercy found in national restraint is not a path for peace, but actually a prescription for bloodshed! The individual Jew must eschew revenge, since there is a national system of justice to settle scores; however, this does not hold true when a crime is perpetrated against the nation as a whole. This explains why Pinechas, the master of zealousness, is also the ultimate purveyor of peace. May we learn from Pinechas the character traits necessary to be true servants of Hashem, and may we all be worthy soon of His "covenant of peace."

-David Ha'ivri

Homesh stand in the yards of demolished Jewish homes overlooking the Israeli shoreline from Gadera to Hadera and ask themselves "Why?"

The night guards and day yeshiva study at the site of the ruins are part of the Homesh Techila (Homesh First) initiative, founded by a group of banished residents of Homesh and Sa-Nur living in the HaMegurashim trailer park at Shavi Shomron. They have organized the continuous Jewish presents at Homesh over the past full year. This they believe will lead to the re-building of their town and others like it.

In the summer of 2005 twenty four Jewish towns in Gaza strip and Northen Shomron were raised to the ground by the Israeli government as part of the Disengagement program. For more information about volunteer duty and other ways to support the Homesh Techila please call Batya 052-605-1151 Activist and Author David Ha'ivri lives in Kfar Tapuach with his wife Mollie and their 7 children, where he serves as a Youth Director and is a strategic advisor to Shomron Mayor Gershon Mesika. He can be contacted at [email protected]

The war against Midyan in our Parsha raises a number of questions: 1) Why didn’t Moses lead the battle himself? 2) Why did they send only one thousand soldiers and not the whole army? 3) Why was Moses angry that they had not killed all the women?

I would like to combine some of the commentators in order to come up with a new insight to this topic. 1) The Medrash says that they sent only one thousand because they sent Tzadikim who had never sinned; they did not even speak between laying the tefillin on their hand and laying tefillin on their head. This is why only one thousand were chosen and not the whole army: Many of the soldiers had sinned with the girls of Moab either in action, or in thought – as the Ohr Hachayim adds. Only complete Tzadikim could handle this war. There were only one thousand of these in each tribe. 2) Our Hachayim asks why the Torah uses the form “Nekom” – avenge and not “hilachem” which

means to go to war. He answers that this is why Moses did not go because “nekom” will mean planning and initiating the war and not necessarily conducting it personally. Why was it that this war specifically required that Moses plan and others execute, while Moses himself conducted the war with Sichon and Og?

Haamek Davar explains that wherever a sin was committed, it is dangerous to go to war in that place even after the sin was forgiven. This is why Joshua used complex tactics to conquer Ay after failing the first time because of the sin of Achan. When there was a sin even if the sin was forgiven- there is danger. Moses had to plan this war well, so it would work and Jews would not die. Therefore, this war had to be done before Moses passed away. Moses’s strategy was to take volunteers who had not sinned. These volunteers should prepare themselves for the task so that it See will be “le’shma”. They should equally repre-

Page 11

7

Ger Toshav (Resident Alien) in Halacha

Although we tend to view mitzvot hateluyot ba-aretz as tied to the produce of Eretz Yisra'el, the fact is that there are many mitzvot which relate to the land itself, not what grows on it. In the final mitzva section of Parashat Mishpatim, the Torah talks about conquering the land (Shemot 23:31-33): For I will deliver the land's inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare for you.

The Mekhilta de-Rashbi (ad loc.) explains: "This is a prohibition not to settle an idol-worshipping non-Jew among them. I might think that is for no reason, so the Torah says 'because they will make you sin against Me.'" In other words, even though Parashat Mishpatim is talking about the Canaanite nations, the prohibition applies to any idol-worshippers. However, inherent in this stringency is a corresponding leniency: if a nonJew does not worship idols, he or she is permitted to live among us. (The Gemara spells this out in Gittin 45a.) Such an individual is referred to in the Torah as a "ger toshav" (resident alien); this term appears explic-

Rabbi Yossie Bloch

itly in the Torah only once, in Parashat Behar (Vayikra 25:47), when it comes to a non-Jew purchasing a Jewish servant; there are numerous Talmudic debates about when the term "ger" alone refers to a ger toshav and when it refers to a ger tzedek—a non-Jew who accepts all the mitzvot in the Torah and fully joins the Jewish nation. Even though a ger toshav is, by definition, someone who does not convert to Judaism but lives in Israel, there are some qualifications of this. The Sifrei (Devarim 259) derives the rules of where a ger toshav can settle from Devarim 23:16: "He shall live among you"—but not in the city atzmo; "In your midst"—but not on the border; "In the place which he shall choose"—wherever he can earn his livelihood; "In one of your towns"—in your towns, but not in Yerushalayim.

The middle halakhot seem clear: we do not put a ger toshav in a sensitive security situation ("on the border"), but we do help him find a good job. However, the first and last halakhot require explanation. The latter is echoed in the Tosefta Nega'im 6:3, which lists many unique qualities about Yerushalayim, among them: "We do not give a place in it for a ger toshav." Indeed, the Rambam cites this as law (Hilkhot Beit Ha-bechira 7:14). The question is not so much on the Rambam, as the Mirkevet Ha-mishneh points out, but on the Sifrei: if the first halakha states that a ger toshav can live only in the countryside, how can the fourth halakha state that only Yerushalayim is off-limits? Thus, we must turn to the Malbim's commentary. He explains that the term "atzmo" in the Sifrei refers not to the city "itself", but to the ger toshav: he cannot dwell "by himself;" rather, he must dwell among Jews. (Indeed, since the Hebrew word for "city," "ir," is in fact feminine, the reference to it would be "atzmah.") The Tzitz Eli'ezer (16:60) explains that we want the ger toshav to become part of the greater community; we do not want to have the Land of Israel dotted with wholly non-Jewish cities—even if the residents have eschewed their former idolatrous practices. Following this view, we may say that since Yerushalayim "was not divided among the tribes" (Bava Kamma 82b) it is not an appropriate place to apply "He shall live among you."

8

Though the technical status of "ger toshav" may not be applicable today, we can learn many practical lessons from it about the presence of non-Jews in Eretz Yisra'el. As an or goyim, "a light to the nations" Next (Yirmeyahu 42:6, 49:6) we welcome into

Page

Last Wednesday we experienced an extraordinary Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name) when an Arab murderer armed with a huge bulldozer went on a rampage on the streets of Jerusalem. He flattened occupied cars, turned over a bus and ran over innocent pedestrians until his reign of terror was finally stopped by what was described as a passerby. As a result of five minutes of horror, two mothers and a grandfather were killed and scores of others injured. That “passerby” was “M”, a hesder yeshiva boy on leave from a special army unit who took personal responsibility and immediately understood that he had to take action to save fellow Jews. He endangered his own life by climbing on the bulldozer, where he took a gun from a security guard and shot the savage terrorist, thereby putting an end to the ruthless killing. This brave young hero, “M”, is one of our students at the Yeshiva of Kiryat Arba. When asked how he had the courage and determination to act so swiftly, he explained that he was inspired by the valiant actions of his brother in law who killed the Mercaz Harav terrorist, and by the educational values of faith in the Almighty, devotion to the ideals of the Torah and taking responsibility for each of his Jewish brethren. He mentioned several Torah commandments that instruct us to kill our enemies before they kill us and the warning in Parshat Kedoshim not to stand idly by the spilling of your neighbor’s blood (Vayikra 19:16). Any act taken to save Jewish lives from their murderers is a sanctification of G-d’s name.

who uses his weapon and succeeds in deterring a crime is liable to be arrested and dragged through the courts for years. This depressing situation leads to a climate which stimulates terror and completely destroys the government’s terror deterrent capabilities. For seven years the government has done nothing substantial against Kassam rockets fired on Sderot and other Western Negev towns. This inaction or “restraint” has encouraged the terrorists to continue their daily bombardment of Jewish towns. The failure to prevent aggression, and weakness of the Israeli government to secure the lives of its Jewish citizens is a result of the self degradSee ing Israeli army fleeing from Lebanon and the Page 12 crime of uprooting the Gush Katif and

Unfortunately this heroic action by “M” was taken after some of the police and security personnel did not respond adequately or quickly enough to save lives. I cannot put the blame in its entirety on these security people, the blame lies with the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and others senior officials who have created an atmosphere of trepidation, of not responding to terror immediately and fear of getting involved in terror prevention. Any law enforcement officer

Ger Toshav Continued...

our land those who embrace the tradition of Noach; nevertheless, we must keep our eyes open to the social and security implications of non-Jews living in the Jewish state.

9

Question:

What is the halachik legality of copying MP3s and other music files? Is it theft, is there an inyan of geneivat daas involved? Answer: There are two opinions in the Poskim in regard to this. Some Poskim

say that one is not allowed to copy any of these files, no matter what. The idea is that the person who made the music in the first place would not want it copied and one is not allowed to go against his desire. The other opinion is that it depends on whether or not the person would be willing to buy the music if he couldn't get it free. If he would be willing to buy it, then he isn't allowed to copy it, since by copying it, he has caused the manufacturer financial loss. However, if he is certain that he wouldn't be willing to purchase the music, then he is allowed to copy it, since he is not causing the manufacturer any financial loss.

10

The Midianite War Continued...

sent the twelve tribes in order that there should be unity. Moses sent them along with Pinchas, thus they received the merit of Moses and Pinchas who had killed the Midyanite. The horns were sent along to pray just before the battle. All this does not explain why Moses got angry that the women stayed alive. He had not given orders in advance! Perhaps this is also included in the word “nekom” – avenge. Ramban deliberates whether the term means complete annihilation, like the war of Amalek and the seven nations or it means destruction of the land and not necessarily war. I want to suggest that the term “nekom” means exactly to operate against the source of the evil. Since the women were the ones who seduced the people of Israel, the war was to be primarily to kill the women. However, it is natural that when an army comes to war the men go out to protect their wives and homes. This is why they warred with the men first. It was clear to Moses that the word “nekom” meant to get to the root of the problem – the women. That is why in this war only righteous went. There was a danger that when trying to kill the women they could seduce some of the soldiers. Therefore, only volunteers were taken. Volunteers that knew they had not failed before and would not fail now. They had been tempted by the Yetzer and overcame – the Ohr Hachayim based on the Gemara terms these people as “Chassidim”. People who had not been exposed to the seduction could not be trusted. Nevertheless the leaders did not understand this and thought that the war was primarily against the men who sent the women. This also fits in with the need to plan the war carefully. Here, the Jewish people were to be in a similar situation to that which they were in when they sinned. They would be facing Midyanite women trying to seduce them. This time the Jewish people prevailed against the temptation. Another angle of our issue is in the Sfath Emeth. He follows his “derech” that these portions of the week depict the leadership of the new generation – the generation of oral Torah that required man waking up and then Hashem coming and helping him. He thus explains why the warriors had to be men who never spoke between the phylactery of the hand and that of the head. The hand one represents the work that man raises from this world upwards. The Tefillin of the head represent

Hashem’s inspiration affecting man. The warriors had to know to work with both approaches. The war against Midyan depended on the anger in the hearts of the warriors – anger against the Midyanites who had caused the Jewish people to sin (and as a result 24,000 died). This connects to the laws of Neder that are mentioned in our Parsha. When a man makes a Neder he takes something that was permissible and makes it prohibited. His human words create a spiritual reality. This is characteristic of the generation entering the land to have human initiative in conjunction with the divine wishes and assistance.

It is not enough to refrain from doing the evil act. One must avoid even thinking about doing it, certainly not identifying with it. Furthermore, we also learn from here that Jewish soldiers going to war must be of very high spiritual character. In the war of the Ay one man – Achan – committed a big sin taking from the property of Jericho that was made “cherem” and as a result the Jews lost 36 soldiers who had not sinned, or according to the Gemara one soldier – Yair son of Menashe who was such a great person that he was comparable to 36 which comprise the majority of the Sanhedrin. Here too only the best went to war and the commanders were able to come back and say that they counted the soldiers coming back and no one was missing! No one was “missing in action”, and no one was missing spiritually – seduced by the Midyanite women. This was a great accomplishment that was a miracle! Moses helped create this miracle by planning the war well. Let us pray “Hashiva Shofteinu kevarishona” – bring back leaders like in the past, and then “vehaser mimenu yagon vaanacha”. When the Jewish people had leadership like Moses many disasters were averted! Shabbath Shallom, R’ Haim Perlmutter

11

Kiddush Hashem Continued...

northern Shomron Jews from their homes in the Land of Israel.

The Arabs quickly grasped the utter deterioration of Israel’s basic moral obligation to protect her people and willingness to yield her rights to her homeland. There was a total lack of courage and determination to initiate operations that would prevent enemy violence and deter him from daring to even think of attacking or endangering Jewish lives. The moral principle by which every Jewish man, woman and child knew that his life could depend on is that Jewish soldiers have always been the backbone of the Jewish State. The bravery and valor of a Jewish warrior was the pride of the Jewish people and the world revered us as well. Saving Jewish lives was always a sacred mission even if it had to be carried out on foreign soil like Entebbe, thirty two years ago on July 4, 1976. Far and wide it was known that the Israeli government would send soldiers to distant places and go to all lengths to save Jewish lives.

But today, in the heart of Jerusalem, the government’s reaction indicates loss of all national survival instincts; our leadership has morally deteriorated by showing indifference and taking no notice of impending danger. Our leaders have become paralyzed and exhibit no willingness to fight the enemy. The exemplary officer at Mercaz Harav and his brother in law, our student “M”, have thrust a new light of Jewish pride and determination into the confused atmosphere of national life in Israel. They have restored our dignity. They have restored the deepest essence of the Zionist ideal by navigating their actions according to a map of faith and Torah values. Their sanctification of the Almighty demonstrates that only Zionism which derives its power from divine values of Jewish faith, is able to confront and eliminate the threat to Jewish existence in Israel. Only a Zionism of faith will create the motivation and courage to overcome the moral fatigue of our government and revitalize the enthusiasm and pioneering spirit inherent in our people. This thought is expressed clearly in the words of Bilam, in last week’s parsha in which we find a glowing description of Jewish valor which compares the awakening of Israel to a leopard and lion. “Behold the nation will rise up as a leopard, and as a lion will demonstrate his prowess.” (Bamidbar 23:24) The commentary of Rashi explains the source of the power of the leopard and the prowess of the lion: “they rise up early in the morning to recite the S’hma, to put on tefillin and tzizzit.” Our spiritual roots are brought to life by the performance of mitzvot that reveal our allegiance and devotion to the word of G-d, which gives us the power to rise up against our enemies. The phenomenon of a Kiryat Arba hesder yeshiva student taking swift and decisive action against a terrorist murderer, thereby preventing him from taking the lives of more innocent Jews, is a direct result of the moral values ingrained in him by his rabbis. We are grateful to the Almighty who has granted us the privilege of being part of an educational process that produces such bravery and selfless devotion, that brought about a sanctification of Hashem and serves as a shining example to all of us.

High Holiday Chazan / Ba'al Tefilla

12

Jerusalem College of Technology - Machon Lev

Experienced High Holiday Chazan / Ba'al Tefilla. Is Available for the coming Yomim Nora'im. Able to recite all portions of traditional liturgy (Nusach Ashkenaz) and Torah portions & Haftorot. Available for Chutz L'Aretz offers too. Honorarium is negotiable. Please contact: Mr. Alan Gordon at 02-679-3359

The Daughters of Midian Today

Unable to overcome the Jews with his curses, the wicked Bilaam came up with another nefarious plan at the end of last week’s portion “Balak.” Knowing that the G-d of the Jewish People hates promiscuity, he counseled Balak to send the daughters of Moab to tempt the Jews into sexual transgression. Angered by their brazen behavior, Hashem tells His servant, Moshe, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them up unto the L-rd in the face of the sun, that there may turn away the fierce anger of the L-rd from Israel” (Bamidbar, 25:4). Rashi explains this to mean that the leaders should hang those Jews who trespassed with the daughters of Moab, but the Zohar understands the text in its literal light, that the leaders themselves should be hanged for having allowed the Jews to fall into such grave transgression: “The leaders of the people are deemed responsible in every generation for this transgression, if they know of it, yet are not jealous in stamping it out. For they are required to be zealous on G-d’s behalf against this transgression, for this is the Brit” (Zohar, Shemot, 3b).

This message was emphasized by the great Chofetz Chaim. In the year 1927, at a time of world depression and widespread persecution of the Jews, he wrote an appeal to the rabbis of world Jewry, exhorting them to speak out against breaches of immodesty, in order to stem the sufferings of the Jewish People. "Every man has the obligation to extinguish this terrible fire, and to rectify the situation in his home so that everything will be according to the law, and not to allow licentiousness, G-d forbid. And in doing so, he will merit to have upright and exalted holy children. And more than anyone else, this obligation falls on the rabbis and on all those who are zealous to fulfill G-d's words, that in every city and village, the importance of this matter must be publicly explained, in that it directly effects our survival and our success, both physically and spiritually, in this world and the next. Thus will the verse be fulfilled, ‘And your camp shall be holy’."

This outstanding quality of spiritual leadership was exemplified by Pinchus, for which he won the Brit of Shalom, for having appeased Hashem’s wrath against the Jews in zealously rising up against Zimri and his Midianite whore. Nonetheless, twenty-four thousand

Jews from the tribe of Shimon died in the resulting plague. If one Jew transgressed, why were so many punished? Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi explains that when Zimri took the Midianite woman, others followed by taking Midianite women into their homes. They said, “If our leader, Zimri, sins and gets away with it, then we will do the same.” But merely taking the gentile

Tzvi Fishman women into their homes and fantasizing about them brought about their deaths in the plague.

Rabbi Levy teaches that this same spiritual war is being waged against the Jewish People today by the nations of the world, with the goal of blemishing our adherence to the Brit, the very foundation of our holiness. In today’s battle, the Internet has taken the place of the daughters of Midian, bringing the same poisonous temptations into our homes. Rabbi Levy explains that, according to the Kabbalah, our eyes are connected to the highest spiritual worlds, and that by looking at forbidden images we bring a great impurity upon our souls. When this occurs on a national level, in homes throughout the country, our holy connection to Hashem is gravely blemished, cutting off blessing to the nation. A research study conducted at the University of Haifa, regarding the viewing of Internet pornography by teenagers in Israel, revealed that 60% of the young people admitted they regularly visited porn sites. While there was no specific survey for the religious public, several rabbis in the religious Zionist community have warned that the plague has infiltrated our homes too.

Rabbi Elisha Aviner of Maaleh Adumim has written on several occasions that an intense campaign of education is needed to counteract this danger. Since there is a simple and inexpensive solution – the installation of a censorship filter that prevents entry into immoral websites – one must ask the question, why don’t all religious parents equip their computers with this readily available service? Perhaps this stems from a lack of awareness. Perhaps from an attitude of denial, as if to say, “This could never happen in our home.” Perhaps parents, no less than their teenage children, are victims of unhealthy viewing habits themselves. According to Rabbi Elisha Aviner, parents who have Internet in the house without a site-screening service are transgressing against their children. So grave is the danger of Internet watching that Torah authorities have ruled that Internet surfing without an anti-porn filter is a violation of the Torah commandment not to put a stumbling block in front of a blind man. In addition, erotic pictures on the Internet, whether they appear in ads on the Yahoo home page, or in adult sites, cause a person to violate a long list of Torah commandments, including: “Be holy, because I the L-rd your G-d am holy.” “Do not stray after your heart and your eyes.”

Next Page

13

The Daughters of Midian Today Continued... home.”

Today, the strategy of Bilaam has turned into the multibillion dollar industry of Internet pornography today. Every time a person sits down at the computer, thousands of tempting Midianite women are just a click away. Recognizing the terrible danger of unsupervised Inter

net viewing has extra significance now, Rabbi Levy says, at the time when Israel is surrounded in all directions by an arsenal of lethal missiles, emphasizing that victory over our enemies is achieved, not only by our tanks and war planes, but through our connection to Hashem. The holiness of Israel is what overcomes our enemies, not just our physical prowess, as the Torah attests: “For the L-rd your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to give up your enemies from before you; therefore keep your camp holy, that

14

He see no unclean thing in you and turn away from you" )Devarim, 23:15) . Each of us can play a part in this national sanctification and defense by making sure that the impurity of the nations of the world does not seep into our homes through the Internet. We who don’t have same exalted zealousness that Pinchas had, where will we summon the strength to overcome the temptation? For us, Divine assistance comes in the form of an antipornography filter. There are many on the market. Many can be downloaded for free. In our home, we have three for safe measure: Eye-Saver of Bezeq; K9 Web Protection; and the new Israeli Internet Rimon, which can be found at www.neto.net.il. Therefore, if you want to help win the battle against our enemies - and save yourselves and your children – then follow the example of Pinchas, be zealous, and install a filter as soon as you can.

VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.TORAHFROMZION.COM

18 Years & Still Smiling Continued... to say some Tefillot by his newly dug grave and vowed to do whatever I could to bring his dream of Israel as a strong and proud Jewish State to fruition. Baruch Hashem, I have kept that neder as I work, night and day, to bring new leadership to this country that follows his vision. And so, even though not all of the 6,570 days have been rosy, I am still smiling because I know that in the end we will emerge victorious. Good will defeat evil and those that work to sanctify Hashem’s Name will beat those who desecrate it. New leaders who are beaming with Jewish pride will soon lead Israel and the once mighty IDF will return to become the army of Hashem it was in 1967.

The first 18 years are now over and I thank Hashem for being with me every step of the way. My wife gave birth to two beautiful babies here in Israel and they joined our four American imports, Baruch Hashem. We built a house, walked two children down to their chuppa and had our son’s bar mitzvah catered by Kentucky Fried Chicken (try that in the States!!)

What will the next 18 years bring? I pray that Hashem will guide me, my family and all of Klal Yisrael in doing what needs to be done to end the pain and suffering of His people. I beg Hashem help us in sanctifying His great and holy Name and hope that the shedding of Jewish blood is over forever. By the time I write my article for my 36th anniversary I pray that the Bet Ha’Mikdash will have been built and that all our brothers and sisters – from the four corners of the earth – returned to our Promised Land. And I pray that I will still be smiling…

Shmuel Sackett is the co-founder of both Zo Artzeinu and Manhigut Yehudit. Together with Moshe Feiglin, he is spearheading a campaign to rise to the leadership of Israel with an ideology based on Jewish identity and values. He has spoken in 500 USA cities and universities in the last 5 years. His website is: www.JewishIsrael.org His email is: [email protected]

Eretz Yisrael Photo Of The Week

Herodian Columns on Har Habayit

These columns, found on the Temple Mount, are relics of the second Temple complex build by Herod. If one looks carefully, it is still possible to see some flecks of gold leaf still remaining after all these centuries.

15