Torat Yisrael Issue 6

EYEWITNESS TO THE ATTACK Exclusive interview with Bulldozer II survivor Shmuel Sackett

So tell us a little background... where were you when the attack started and what were you doing? What did you notice first?

SACKETT: I had parked my car about 200 feet from the King David Hotel. I got out of the car, as did my wife Rhonda and Moshe Feiglin, President of Manhigut Yehudit. We were headed to a lunch meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Manhigut Yehudit, who had arrived a few hours earlier and was staying in the King David. We started walking when – about 10 FEET IN FRONT OF US (no exaggeration) we saw a large bulldozer drop his huge shovel in an attempt to crush a woman crossing the street. Baruch Hashem, she managed to miss it by a few inches! The bulldozer then raced into the middle of King David Street in an attempt to smash into a passing Egged bus. The driver quickly swerved out of the way yet the bulldozer managed to smash into the rear part

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All The News That’s Fit To Print HaRav Francis Nataf Shlit”a Educational director of the David Cardozo Academy

farewell.

Imagine asking someone to give an “elevator summary” of Israeli history and having him respond that, along the way, we built the national water carrier bringing water from the Sea of Galilee to much of the rest of the country and that later on Ben Gurion died. He would then bid you

It may sound preposterous, but it is not that far from a similar summary of the forty years that the Jews spent in the desert. At the beginning of Parashat Masei, we read of the various encampments of the Jews from the time they leave Egypt until they arrive at the borders of Eretz Yisrael. Granted, this list of place names is itSee self the true focus of this section. Nonetheless, once we read about the crossing of the Reed Sea in

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Beware “extreme right-wing activists”

Shmuel Sokol

Editor-In-Chief

Recently we have experienced a wave of "Israeli Arab" terror. There was the massacre at Merkaz Harav, there was the Al-Qaeda cell at Hebrew University, there was the first tractor attack, there was the shooting of the two policemen at the Lion's Gate, there was the beating of the Israel Railways employee near Atlit, there were the threats against Yeshivat Chevron by their Arab worker and finally we saw the copycat bulldozer attack. We have also seen fireworks in East Jerusalem in celebration of Samir Kuntar’s freedom. In fact, Arutz-7 reported that “Public Security Minister Avi Dichter (Kadima) pointed out that 20 percent of terrorist attacks in the past five years involved Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem.” Yet after all of these things, what are we warned against? Jewish terror. That's right, after the clear beginnings of an Israeli Arab uprising (remember Yom Haatzmaut and the gang of Arabs who threatened Jews waving Israeli flags?), the authorities are worrying about Jewish violence against Arabs. After the first bulldozer attack we saw the Israeli media pontificating about Arab fears and concerns. Now after the second such attack, we see Maj.-Gen. Aharon Franco [Israeli National Police] warning against "extreme right-wing activists". That's right, he is warning us, not against Israeli Arabs (though he is increasing measures against them), but against Jews. Maybe the authorities are worried about Jews realizing that their "leaders" are too weak to protect them, and that they have in fact caused greater danger to Israel's citizens then had previously existed, and therefore taking matters into their own hands. Frankly, I have seen no indication of this. Have any cases of reprisals by the national-religiouscommunity been reported in the press? This is just another excuse for the establishment to bash the right wing. Consider the fact that both bulldozer attacks and the Merkaz HaRav massacre were foiled by armed national-religious men (the ones you have been warned about)and you will realize the just how ludicrous these allegations are. Frankly, I support retaliation. However, I call upon the authorities to take charge of whatever reprisals are necessary, so as to make private citizens feel safe, and to preclude Joe-Israeli from (Chas V’Shalom) taking matters into his own hands. You want to protect us against extreme elements Mr. Franco? Then please do me a favor and do your job properly...and that goes for Ehud, Tzippi and all of their ilk as well.

Sackett on the Bulldozer Attack Continued...

of the bus on the “passenger” side. The bus smashed into some guard rails but quickly turned down Mapu St (by the Dan Panorama Hotel) to avoid any further attacks by the bulldozer. (Note: That bus driver was an AMAZINGLY quick thinker and saved MANY lives!!) The Jerusalem Arab – with an Israeli identity card – continued driving the bulldozer down King David Street in the direction of the Inbal Hotel. What did you do when you realized what was going on?

SACKETT: I immediately started running after him at full speed – praying to Hashem that he would not injure any more Jews and that I would have the merit to personally kill him. He smashed into a parked car on the left (Baruch Hashem it was empty), then into two cars in front of him. In the first of those two cars he pinned a man in, although he was just mildly injured. The second car he managed to completely flip over and seriously injure a man. I kept running towards the bulldozer… When I was about 20 feet away, a civilian came from the left. He started shooting into the cabin of the bulldozer. Then, from the right hand side, a Border Policeman shot about 7 bullets from his M-16. The bulldozer came to a stop and the terror was over. Were you scared to chase after the terrorist? What was going through your mind?

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SACKETT: There was no time to be scared. At first I thought it was an accident but quickly realized it was another Jerusalem Arab trying to kill Jews. I acted as quickly as I could. What did you do once he was subdued?

SACKETT: I immediately ran back to the man that was seriously injured and saw that the lower part of his leg was severed. I called my friend Dovid Shirel, who was in the King David Hotel already having lunch with our Chairman. Dovid is Manhigut’s Educational Director and also a highly experienced paramedic. He came flying out of the hotel and was the first paramedic on the scene. He administered an IV to the man and helped him until the ambulances arrived. When I turned around I saw Moshe Feiglin helping the injured man as well. Moshe spoke to him, found out his name and also that he was an attorney. Dovid told Moshe to keep talking to him since that would help keep him calm. I saw many people crying and screaming and tried the best I could to help relax my fellow Jews. It wasn’t easy…

Within minutes, police arrived as did the Israeli SWAT team. Helicopters flew overhead, police on horses charged in, ambulances and ZAKA motor-scooters sped in and the media set up shop to start their reporting. Things happened faster than I would have believed How are you coping emotionally after the fact?

SACKETT: As crazy as it sounds, I am trying

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On the bank of the Yarden, in the land of Mo'av, Moshe began explaining this Torah… (Devarim 1:5) In seventy languages he explained it to them. (Rashi, ad loc)

This intriguing midrash (Tanchuma 2) begs the question: why does Moshe Rabbeinu, at the end of the Jews' fortieth and final year of wandering, need to expound the Torah in seventy languages, when the people who stand before him are all Hebrew-speakers? One possibility is that Moshe is teaching the lesson that we must study the Torah at every time, in every place—even in exile among the nations, when we may speak another tongue. However, it may also be that this is meant to teach us that the Torah must be studied by all of humanity, the children of Noach; indeed, Bereshit 10 lists seventy original nations, descended from Noach's sons, throughout the world, and so too the original languages number seventy.

Similarly, we find a global message at Mount Sinai. The Gemara (Shabbat 88a) seeks to explain the difficult phrasing of Tehillim 68:12, which refers to the experience of hearing the Ten Commandments as "Hashem gives the word; they notify a great host." How does the singular "word" become plural? Rabbi Yochanan explains "Every single statement that came out of the Mouth of the Mighty One split into seventy tongues;" Rashi explains, "'A great host'—all the nations." In other words, the message of Sinai went out to all humanity. Why is this necessary? The Maharsha (Chiddushei Aggadot, ad loc.) explains: "So that the non-Jews will not have an excuse in the future: had we heard it in our mother tongue, we would have accepted it!" However, we find a mitzva mentioned below (Devarim 27:8) to build a stone altar on Mt. Eival and to write on it the entire Torah "well-explained (ba'er heitev)," also explained by the Rabbis (Mishna, Sota 7:5) as the seventy languages—which the nations of the world copy (ibid., 35b). This implies that the motivation is more than subverting a claim; rather, the Torah is really meant for the nations as well. Indeed, we find that the Tanakh has been printed in all of the world languages, more than any other book; the first book ever printed in the world was the Tanakh in Latin! We are witnesses to the Tanakh's tremendous influence upon all humanity— although they have absorbed the words, for the most part, through distortion.

This may help us understand the words of Rabbi Yishma'el's student, further down in the same passage in Shabbat (88b). He expounds the verse (Yirmeyahu 23:29) "'Are my words not so,' says Hashem, 'like a fire and like a hammer that shatters rock?'" in the following way: "just as the hammer produces many sparks, every single statement that emerges from Hashem's mouth splits into seventy languages." We may ask: did Rabbi Yishma'el not precede Rabbi Yochanan? Why is he mentioned afterwards? It appears that Rabbi Yochanan's words teach us something, and Rabbi Yishma'el limits it. Rabbi Yochanan speaks generally of the influence of the Torah on the nations of the world, and Rabbi Yishma'el's student qualifies this: only sparks of Torah have fallen into the hands of the nations—reflections, facets, imitations of the genuine article.

In fact, we find many instances wherein the nations of the world take Torah concepts to opposite extremes. For example, the Torah recognizes the beauty of art, but it prohibits making statues of human beings or representations of angels; we now find Muslims forbidding any painting or sculpture except for geometric forms and flowers, while Christians glory in human and angelic forms. The Jew drinks wine for Kiddush, Havdala, and celebrations; meanwhile, Christians drink until intoxication, and Muslims are teetotalers. The non-Jew builds monasteries opposite nightclubs, while the Jew strives to live a life of sanctity and meaning. Thus, there are sparks of Hashem's words in the Torah that reach the nations perverted or distorted. It is our duty to teach the world its obligations in a proper and truthful manner.

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I have just returned from a five week trip to the US. While there I dedicated half of my time to family and the rest of the time to lecturing about Israel and Aliyah and meeting with American Jews who want to take part in building the Jewish State - the most important project of the Jewish people in two thousand years.

While my speeches hit their mark and the meetings went well, I had to contend with a constantly recurring question: "What's going to be with Israel's government? Are the people of Israel going to allow themselves to be lead off a cliff?" This question came at me from every corridor and only then did I realize how hard it is for an American Jew to break out of the American Galut. From America, Israel seems like a

crazy place of endemic instability, full of enemies from within and without. Add to that sentiment the amazing attraction of America, its convenience, its wide roads, its philo-Semitic tolerance, and its wealth and you end up with one thought: "There is no way in heck I'm leaving America for Israel."

I assured the people who asked me this question that as a Jew living in Israel and taking part in the building of our country daily, I am even more concerned by the policies of my government and am embarrassed by them. I told these questioners that it will take people like them and people like me to change our reality for the better and that we have no right to abdicate our responsibility to Israel in these hard times. I told them that we did not wait two thousand years to watch a reborn Israel go down the tubes, G-d forbid.

But there was another point that I had to make: I explained to American Jews that they are locked in a media loop in which their only information about our beloved homeland comes from reading the papers or watching the news. The media is notoriously negative, not just against Israel, but in general. I asked American audiences to relate the last time they saw something positive about America in the press? They could not recall the last time. I continued: I, too, see and hear the painful dark headlines in Israel. However, when I walk past the Jewish kindergartens in Israel I see them full of kids, when I drive into Jerusalem I marvel at its granduer, when I walk into the general store I see it packed with Israeli products and fresh food! My image of Israel is fundamentally different because I am not enslaved by the media's negative proclivities, nor do I think that my government's suicidal policies are the end all/be all of what Israel is really all about. I can see the bigger picture and I will not allow the media and others to minimize and trivialise our efforts. When Balak king of Moab wanted to fight the Jews he called in the evil prophet Bilaam to curse the Jews and thereby weaken them. We read in Numbers 23:13

"Then Balak said to him [Bilaam], 'Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, only their edge you will see and you will not see the whole of them; and curse them for me from there.'"

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What is going on here? If I were to curse a nation I would want to see the whole

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In our last shiur, we introduced the concept of the ger toshav, a non-Jew who spurns idolatry and settles in Eretz Yisra'el, focusing on where he may reside. However, a more basic question remains: what exactly is required to become a ger toshav?

Who is a ger toshav? "Whoever accepts upon himself before three fellows not to worship idols"—the words of Rabbi Me'ir. The Chakhamim say: "Whoever accepts upon himself the seven commandments which Benei Noach accepted upon themselves." Others say: "These have not come to the category of ger toshav; rather who is a ger toshav? A ger who eats carcasses; he accepts upon himself to fulfill all of the mitzvot in the Torah, except for the prohibition of carcasses." (Avoda Zara 64b) The final opinion (attributed to Rabbi Yehuda in the minor tractate Gerim, 3:1) is based on Devarim 14:21: "Do not eat any carcass; give it to the ger in your

towns, and he will eat it." Since this prohibition (to eat animals which have not been properly slaughtered) is the only one from which a ger toshav is explicitly exempted, we must assume that he is obligated in all others as is a ger tzedek, a convert. At the other extreme, Rabbi Me'ir takes a very minimalist approach. The Chakhamim take the middle road, requiring the ger toshav to accept the seven commandments binding on all descendants of Noach (i.e., all human beings): the obligation to establish courts and the prohibitions of idolatry, sexual immorality, murder, blasphemy, theft and eating live animals.

Whom does the halakha follow? The Rambam states clearly (Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 10:6) that a non-Jew "cannot pass through our land until he accepts the seven mitzvot which Benei Noach are commanded;" on the other hand, the Sefer Ha-chinnukh (#94) rules, "If they abandon idols, even though they had initially worshipped them, they are permitted to reside in our land, and this is what is called a ger toshav." This has major halakhic ramifications: if, for example, a nonJewish adulterer who shuns idols wants to become a ger toshav, the Rambam would reject him, while the Chinnukh would welcome him.

It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for the Chinnukh to differ with the Rambam. However, is that really the case here? If we look at the Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvot, we find that Prohibition #51 reads: "If a nonJew wants to stay in our land, he is not permitted to do so until he accepts not to worship idols, and then it is permitted for him to reside—and he is called a ger toshav"! How can the Rambam rule like Rabbi Me'ir in Sefer Ha-mitzvot, but like the Chakhamim in Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim? The answer appears to lie in another source in Mishneh Torah: Hilkhot Issurei Bia 14:7. There, the Rambam says, "Who is a ger toshav? A non-Jew who accepts upon himself not to worship idols, along with the other mitzvot that Benei Noach are commanded, without circumcision or immersion." Why does the Rambam single out idolatry? It is clear that there is still a special significance to it.

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If we contrast the words of Sefer Ha-mitzvot and Sefer Ha-chinnukh, we notice a subtle distinction: according to the former, renunciation of idols allows a non-Jew "to stay in our land;" according to the latter, it Next permits him or her "to reside in our Page

Seeing the edge Continued...

bunch of them splayed out in front of me and then let 'em all have it! Why does Balak offer Bilaam a tiny glimpse of the nation in an attempt to help the evil prophet issue forth a diabolical curse? Shouldn't it be the opposite?

The evil ones on this Earth have a well developed sense of cunning and these two bad guys were no exception. They knew the secret of the Jewish people: the united totality of the Jewish people is unbeatable and the big picture of Jewish history is the revelation of G-d's providence and kindness. However, if you focus in at the small picture you may find some dirt, some criminality, some all-too-human weakness that will darken the image. That is why Balak offered Bilaam to see only the edge of the Jews - if Bilaam could only zoom in on some negative aspect of the Jews and disregard the big picture, maybe then he could muster the venom needed to curse G-d's people.

That type of zoom-in to the darker side of today's Israel is exactly what our enemies want. They want us demoralized, they want us to turn away from Israel. However, we, lovers of Israel, cannot allow ourselves to be minimalist observers who become dissuaded when we hear that our country is going "off the derech" - off the right path. On the whole, the Jewish project of rebuilding our homeland is moving forward at lightning speed. Israel is soon going to be the home for the majority of the world's Jews, and is already far and away the cultural center of Judaism. All of our enemies and even our sick government cannot derail the forward momentum of this project - unless we let them! So let us not fall victim to our enemies' dark desires to see the edge of the Jewish people with a focus on negativity. Instead, let us see the grand vision of Israel and the nearer-then-ever horizon of destiny. Once we get our vision in order we will have a renewed burst of energy to help Israel get through this tumultuous time. And that will be our great merit.

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Ger Toshav Continued...

land." Thus, we may say that the Rambam makes the following distinction: we must evict any active idolaters from the land of Israel; but as long as a non-Jew does not worship idols, though he may violate other Noahide laws, we do not violate a negative command by letting such a person remain in the land. However, if a non-Jew wants to "pass into our land"—i.e., he is at the border and requesting entry—we cannot admit unless he commits to all the Noahide laws. Indeed, this dovetails with the Rambam's view (Hilkhot Melakhim 8:10-11) that the Torah entrusts the Jewish nation with the ultimate goal of bringing every human to accept the seven Noahide commandments—and become a ger toshav.

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All the news that’s fit to print Continued... Parashat Masei, the Torah intersperses this list of encampments with only two events – the lack of water encountered at Refidim and the death of Aharon.

It is not at all clear why the Torah only mentions these events; there are many others that it would make sense to mention as well. Furthermore, if the Torah is going to be as terse as possible in the enumeration of historical events along the way, are there not more significant events, such as the receiving of the Torah, which should take precedence? In the context of Sefer Bemidbar, which deals a great deal with the limitations of the Jewish people in the desert, it could be that the listing of the encampments is meant to give us greater insight into their failings. As a result, it gives us a description of the trek markedly from their perspective. Perhaps the Torah wants to temper our judgment of this generation by trying to make us realize just how different their perspective of things might have been.

Thousands of years later, when we judge the giving of the Torah to be more important than the lack of water or the death of Aharon, we are basing ourselves on a rich historical and theological perspective that the Jews going through it did not have. This is not to claim that we are smarter or more religious. I doubt the former and am convinced of the incorrectness of the latter. It just means we have more information at our disposal with which to coherently evaluate the relative importance of the various events that transpired in the journey through the desert. Indeed, in the Jews’ collective consciousness, the shock of not having any

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water to drink and then being relieved by a Divinely revealed source of water may have been a most critical event. It introduced them to a new type of existence that was neither the regular and mundane religious life that they had known for most of their time in Egypt, nor was it the fire-and-brimstone existence they had encountered during the plagues and the splitting of the sea. (It actually was a stronger version of the previous episode at Marah where they encountered bitter water. There too, their shock seems to be reflected in the unusual description of the next encampment at Elam that we read was a place of wells.) From now on, they would see God challenging them with events that were a bit less clear – and yet always being there to see them through.

Likewise, the death of Aharon may have been even more traumatic to the Jews than the decree that they would die in the desert. That Aharon and not Moshe was the people’s leader is quite clear in rabbinic tradition and certainly has a strong basis in the Biblical text itself. Losing Aharon was akin to losing their whole existence. It was on him whom they depended for this radical new enterprise upon which they had embarked. They were literally left like orphans in the desert. On an emotional level, then, this could well have had a more profound effect than the aforementioned decree. Whether this is actually what happened or not, the very plausibility of the sceKia Mentor ‘99 car for sale Best offer for more details call Dov 052-488-1071

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In the opening of our Parsha the Torah names 42 places that the Jewish people camped, from the time they left Egypt until their arrival at “Kadesh Barneah” prior to entering the land of Israel. Rashi explains the need for mentioning all these “stations” of the Odeyse in the desert with the following parable: “This is similar to a King whose son was sick and he had to take him to the doctor. On the way back he reminds his son: “here you had a head ache, here you were in pain, here you were thirsty”. Thus the Jewish people upon reaching the final stage of their journey are being reminded of the stations that they went through on the way. However, the holy “Ohr Hachayim” asks on this: why does the Torah emphasize the “travels” of the Jewish

people? – the name of the Parsah “Masei” is travels! The Torah should have emphasized that it is mentioning the places they stopped and camped and overcame their difficulties? He explains that the Kabbalists said that the purpose of the wonderings of the Jewish people in the desert was to uncover the holy sparks that were left in the desert and trapped their, and to bring them with them to the land of Israel. He explains that this is the reason the Torah also describes the Jewish nation that travels: “… that left the land of Egypt, according to their camps”. The forefathers did much spiritual work in the desert but could not collect these sparks as it was necessary that it Next should be done by the entire nation as Page

All the news that’s fit to print Continued...

nario just outlined should make us wonder. It should also make us question our own perspective on contemporary events.

Indeed, what would we say are the watershed events of recent Jewish history? We might be certain that the pullout from Gush Katif and the Second Lebanon War would rank at the top of the roster. Indeed, these events have truly shaped the attitudes of many Jews about how they should seek to influence the course of future Israeli policy, and even how they feel about the Zionist project altogether. But if we had prophets today, are we so sure that this would be their focus? Not having prophecy, I cannot be sure, but my gut tells me otherwise. Perhaps we would find out that the quiet establishment of religious Zionist yeshivot in towns that had been formerly abandoned to the secular, such at Tel Aviv, Eilat and Carmiel, would be that seminal event that we had so easily overlooked. Or maybe, a contemporary equivalent of Yermiyahu would tell us that over the last few decades we have all accepted a lifestyle of cell phones, malls and surrogate performance of mitzvot that is bankrupt at its very core. Again, not being a prophet, my list of what a prophet might say is

not really the point. What is the point is the need to second-guess ourselves. We are too easily convinced of the centrality of our communities’ agendas.

A newspaper editor is required to decide what stories are most important and thus deserving of inclusion – and what to leave out. There, the editor’s warped perspective often speaks for itself. What is so transparent to us about some newspapers, however, needs to be brought home. Had we lived in the desert, we certainly could have reflected on the sui generis significance of the receiving of the Torah. But we would have had to second-guess the prevalent perception of the community suggested earlier. And that is something that far too few of us are prepared to do.

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Sackett on the Bulldozer Attack Continued...

What lessons can we learn from what happened?

SACKETT: The Arabs are strong today because the Jews are weak, and the Jews are weak because their leadership is scared, timid and virtually non-existent. Changing that leadership is what I have dedicated my life to. This country needs a leader who is connected to our Father in Heaven and whose goal is a proud, strong and authentic JEWISH State… not a “state of all its citizens”. When that day comes – and it is on its way – Jewish bulldozers will not destroy houses in Gush Katif or shuls in Tapuach and Kiryat Arba. Arab bulldozers will not kill Jews in Jerusalem or anywhere else. Instead, these same bulldozers will build Israel as it has never been built before so that every Jew in the world has a place to come home to!

What message would you like to give to our readers in connection with what happened?

SACKETT: Don’t focus on the symptom. Don’t scream about contractors who hire Arabs. Don’t demand more police protection in Jerusalem. Channel all of your energy into the source of the problem; the lack of Jewish leadership in this country. In the not-too-distant past, it was rocks on the road and then drive-by shootings. Then came shopping malls that blew up, followed by busses, coffee shops and hotels. Now it is bulldozers. If you want to make sure that this list does not continue, the direction of the leadership needs to be changed NOW!!! No more leaders who care more about world opinion than the safety of their own people. No more leaders who wouldn’t know a Jewish concept if they tripped over one! The time has come for a “Manhig Emuni” - a leader filled and directed by his Emunah in the eternal and all-powerful Jewish G-

d. When you see a leader like that grab onto him and help him succeed. At the present time, I know of only one such person; Moshe Feiglin, and I work and pray for his success 24 hours a day.

What can you add to our knowledge of what happened that we may not have heard or seen on TV...

SACKETT: At the scene, people asked if anyone was killed and when I answered “no” – they immediately said “Baruch Hashem” and put on a happy face. While it is true that we must thank Hashem for the fact that there were no fatalities, we must NEVER FORGET the injured. This young attorney – Shuki Kramer (Yehoshua ben Esther) - lost his leg. He is currently in Shaarei Zedek and his life has been changed FOREVER!!! Photo Credit: Shmuel Sackett

to turn this latest act of terror – which happened in front of my eyes – into something positive. This Arab from Jerusalem has energized me to work even harder for strong and proud leadership in the State of Israel.

In addition to that there are people who suffered trauma, went into shock, and are now afraid to walk the streets of our holy city. With leaders like we have today who will do nothing to solve this problem, can you blame them??? How did the security forces and MDA react and were you happy with their response?

SACKETT: MDA was great while the security forces were “too little and way too late”. The last 3 terror attacks by Jerusalem Arabs were ended by private Jewish citizens… so where are these “security forces”? While in this particular attack, a border policeman shot the Arab, it was not until AFTER he was already shot by a simple Yid from the settlement of Sussia. Funny thing how Israeli police are everywhere when you try to pray on Har HaBayit, build a caravan in Yitzhar and plant some olive trees in Shilo…

Do you think that the Merkaz, Jaffa Street and bulldozer II attacks, all foiled by armed citizens from the National-Religious community have a connection and that there is a lesson that can be

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Yom Kippur, Sukkot and the Geula

Dvar Torah based on the commentary of the Radak. Pesach?

Why do we celebrate Sukkot after Yom Kippur and not after

We make every victory over the enemies of the Jews into a holiday. On Pesach we celebrate the downfall of the Egyptians who enslaved us. On Channukah we celebrate the defeat of the Syrian-Greeks, and on Purim we celebrate the death of the wicked Haman and the subsequent salvation of Am Yisrael. On Shavuot we celebrate the giving of the law. The Torah enables us to achieve the victory of life and intelligence against the forces of evil and death (cherut mimalech hamavet) through the fulfillment of its com-

Dr. Mordechai Attal

mandments. Torah has the ability to destroy the kochot hatumah.

Sukkot, known as the time of our happiness, is a celebration of the ultimate victory in the war of Gog U’Magog in the last days. Our enemies will come against Jerusalem and will be defeated. This is the reason why the Haftorah on the last day of Sukkot deals with Gog U’Magog.

The day of Mashiach’s arrival will be a special day and we will see miracles on the level of those which occurred during the exodus from Egypt. On this day we will see the destruction of Gog U’Magog. The sefira of Keter will be ascendant during this time.

Miracles of this sort come about through intense repentance on the part of the people of Israel Next Page

The Travels of Bnei Yisrael Continued...

up and move. There were 42 moves. That pain did not stop the Jewish people from reaching the land of Israel. The difficulties of conquering and dividing the land will not deter us either. We shall overcome!

This D”t is dedicated to all the Jewish hurt by the latest terror attacks in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Shabbat shalom, Haim Perlmutter

Sackett on the Bulldozer Attack Continued...

drawn from this?

SACKETT: There is a definite connection! Those that attached to the land are given the power to defend the land. The dati-leumi communities know what they are doing here, raise many children here and are prepared to sacrifice their lives as well. The only thing this sector has not done is lead the nation. We must change that immediately! The dati-leumi sector is first in the IDF, first in education, first in settling the land and LAST in influencing the political situation. You know why that is? Because WE (yes, I am one of them!) have always left the leadership of this country to others. We have focused on our little settlements, our Yeshivot and even our IDF units – while leaving the most important thing of all – LEADERSHIP OF THE STATE – to people whose kids don’t serve in the IDF and probably don’t even live in Israel!!! This is what needs to be changed. With the help of Hashem – plus everybody reading this article – leadership that is faithful to

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Hashem and connected to His values and concepts will control the future of this country and turn Israel into a strong, proud and REAL JEWISH STATE!

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]

VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.TORAHFROMZION.COM

Yom Kippur, Sukkot and the Geula Continued... which will be activated by processes set in motion by Mashiach Ben David, prior to his arrival. On Yom Kippur, everyone fasts and prays will intense concentration and thus purify themselves. This is why during Neilah, the high point and crescendo of the day, the sefirah of Keter becomes stronger in the world and erases the transgressions of Israel, thus making Am Yisrael ready for the geula.

This is the reason that we build a sukkah as soon as Yom Kippur is over. In order to juxtapose the sefirah of Keter and the

Sukkah, both of which symbolize the divine protection that Israel will enjoy during the war of Gog U’Magog.

After the total victory of Am Yisrael over their enemies, the remnants of the nations will be obligated to come every year and celebrate in sukkot the Jewish victory over Gog U’Magog. Translated from the French by Chava Sokol.

Dr. Attal is a French lecturer on gematria, kabbala and chassidut.

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