Yehuda HaKohen, Author at Israel Rising

March 10, 2017

Purim’s Lesson: Trust in G-d and Nothing Else

Throughout the entire Scroll of ESTHER, G-D’s Name does not appear even once. Upon a casual reading, it would seem that Haman, Aḥashverosh, Mordekhai and Esther are fully responsible for the incidents taking place. Intrigue, human jealousies and political machinations all account for the twists and turns within the Megillah as events of great significance to the Jewish people unfold.

After completing the Megillah, however, it becomes clear that the juxtaposition of all the coincidences is nothing short of miraculous, as HaShem’s authorship becomes visible through the thin veil of history. It is important to note that the story took place over a period spanning roughly ten years. Aḥashverosh’s party took place in 3395, Haman drew the lots in 3404 and Israel won our victory in 3405 (dates according toSeder HaDorot). Living through that period, one would probably not have noticed anything extraordinary taking place as everything was unfolding according to a natural progression of political events. There was nothing especially supernatural about the series of occurrences we retroactively understand to have been miraculous.

Our Sages teach in the Jerusalem Talmud (Brakhot 1:1) that the Purim story serves as a model for understanding the process of Israel’s ultimate redemption. Through the epic story of mankind, the Kadosh Barukh Hu weaves the goal of Creation. When making the effort to closely examine our own times from a more holistic perspective, we can see HaShem orchestrating the historic events – large and small – that have brought the Jewish people back to our borders and are bringing the world ever closer to perfection.

We celebrate Purim today with great joy because we are familiar with the story’s happy conclusion. But the Hebrews of ancient Persia – who actually lived through the events – must have been terrified at the threat of state-sanctioned annihilation. And Mordekhai, who the Jewish people now praise as a national hero, was actually much less appreciated in his own generation. A superficial reading of ESTHER can even lead one to attribute Mordekhai blame for placing his people in such a dire situation.

“All the king’s servants at the king’s gate would bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him. But Mordekhai would not bow and would not prostrate himself.” (ESTHER 3:2)

The rabbinic leadership of Shushan at the time strongly condemned Mordekhai’s refusal to kneel before Haman. Comfortable with life on foreign soil, they feared Mordekhai might provoke Persian Jew-hatred and spoil their enjoyable Diaspora existence. But Mordekhai could not bow down to Haman, who had either engraved the image of an idol on his robes (Ibn Ezra) or attributed to himself the powers of a deity (Rashi). Because it is known that the Torah requires one to die rather than bow down to a false god, the condemnation of Mordekhai seems somewhat unjustified.

In Ohr Ḥadash, the Maharal of Prague clarifies the rabbinic position by explaining that Mordekhai went out of his way to appear before Haman in order to purposefully demonstrate that he would not kneel, thus creating an otherwise avoidable confrontation. The Sages record how the Jews of Persia reacted.

“They said to Mordekhai, ‘Know that you are putting us at the mercy of that evil man’s sword!’” (Agadat Esther 3:2; Megillah 12:2, commentary of the Radvaz)

“So the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordekhai, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’ Finally, when they said this to him day after day and he did not heed them, they told Haman, to see whether Mordekhai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew.” (ESTHER 3:3-4)

A close reading of the Megillah reveals that Mordekhai’s refusal to kneel before Haman was not an isolated occurrence. Rather, he had gone out of his way several times in order to walk near the minister and publicly antagonize him. Because Mordekhai could have easily avoided the situation but instead engaged in actions that were deliberately confrontational, Shushan’s Jewish leaders seem justified in their condemnation.

Even when Mordekhai saw that “Haman was filled with wrath” (ESTHER 3:5), he continued to intentionally provoke the king’s viceroy. Based on his actions and the Talmud’s teaching (Pesaḥim 64b) that a person is forbidden from relying on miracles, one could easily argue that Mordekhai behaved irresponsibly with the lives of his people. The Maharal, however, defends Mordekhai’s behavior by asserting that challenging Israel’s enemies ultimately leads to the full manifestation of HaShem’s Ideal for this world.

The Midrash recounts that Mordekhai explained to Haman that the reason he would not bow was that he was born of kings from the tribe of Binyamin. Haman countered, “But Yaakov, Binyamin’s father, bowed before Esav, my ancestor.” Mordekhai answered him in turn, “Yes, but that was before Binyamin was born. He was born in Eretz Yisrael, and his soul, therefore, was an elevated soul. He would not bow down before others.” (Esther Rabbah 7:9)

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Ḥarlop – a leading student of Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook – explains in the sixth volume of Mei Marom (based on teachings from the holyZohar) that subordination to gentile rulers is a form of idolatry. Israel must trust completely in the Kadosh Barukh Hu, who controls and directs all historic events. To fear foreign nations is to reject HaShem’s supremacy and a terrible desecration of His Divine Ideal.

The Talmud (Brakhot 7b) discusses whether appeasement or confrontation is the proper course of action when dealing with gentile antagonism towards Israel. While Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai – who himself resisted the Roman oppressors of his generation – teaches that it is acceptable to antagonize and provoke the wicked, the Talmud concludes that not everyone is capable of following this position. Only a person whose motivation is purely for the sake of heaven can allow himself to take such dangerous risks.

Mordekhai refused to humble himself before Haman, arguing that Hebrews must stand strong in the face of aggression. The rabbinic leadership of Shushan agreed with Mordekhai in principle but felt that in order to display such courage, the Jews had to first feel internally strong. Mordekhai rejected the notion that his people were weak and instead recognized Israel’s true inner potential. He argued that even if Jews first need to feel internal strength before being able to stand against Haman, that strength will never come while they remain on their knees. In fact, bowing to tyrants is precisely what leads people to mistakenly believe they lack the power to assert their rights. Haman was already seeking an excuse to destroy Israel and demands for submission could easily lead to further oppression. Appeasing evil, according to Mordekhai’s logic, would only succeed in encouraging further evil.

As HaShem’s chosen people and national expression in this world, Israel must realize our own inner strength. When the Persians came to destroy the Jews, Mordekhai led our people into battle and prevailed. The actual decree to annihilate Israel had not been rescinded and the Jews were required to take up arms against our enemies. At that point, Israel realized our true inner might by taking the initiative and killing 75,800 Persians without losing even a single Hebrew life. The message is clear for every generation. Israel must demonstrate confidence in ourselves and an iron determination to defy our oppressors. Mordekhai teaches that it is not through appeasement that one achieves peace but rather through the courage, self-assurance and unbreakableEmunah that empowers us to resist the malevolent plans of our antagonists.

March 2, 2017

“Everything in Creation belongs to Him”

“Speak to the Children of Israel and they shall take to Me a portion, from every man whose heart will motivate him you shall take My portion.” (SHEMOT 25:2)

It is important to note that the above verse does not state “give Me a portion,” which would imply that property belongs to people who must now give from what is theirs to HaShem. The verse instead reads “take to Me a portion” meaning that Israel is to take from the Kadosh Barukh Hu what is in reality His and return it to Him as an offering. Man possesses no genuine ownership because everything that exists is the property of HaShem. He bestows it to man for use and even then only according to certain guidelines, the foremost condition being that His supreme ownership be acknowledged. This recognition is practiced in various ways, such as reciting brakhot on that from which one derives benefit, returning terumah and ma’aser to Kohanim and Levi’im, offering korbanot at the Temple in Jerusalem and giving tzedakah to those in need.

The Torah concept of tzedakah differs greatly from the gentile notion of charity. Western civilization views charity as a kindhearted act, as if the property truly belongs to the giver. If one wishes to donate portions of his wealth to the needy, he merits praise for his generosity. This view lies in direct contrast to the Torah concept of tzedakah, which is a Divine commandment based on tzedek (justice) and not on the generosity of a benevolent individual.

Despite significant differences between them, socially constructed economic systems and modes of production are generally based on the false perception that material goods actually belong to man. In this regard, there is little significant difference between conflicting ideologies that all falsely accept property as belonging to human beings.

Productive forces are gifts from HaShem. Not just the tools, materials and technologies used to produce goods but also forces such as human strength, creativity, intelligence and ingenuity. These are all bestowed upon man in order that we use them to construct an ideal world that will bring ultimate blessing to humankind.

Everything that exists is actually a unique expression of the timeless and boundless ultimate Reality we call HaShem. Everything in Creation belongs to Him and is given to man only in order that it attain full elevation in His service. Man is commanded to give in this world. Even one’s very life belongs to the Kadosh Barukh Hu and holds worth only to the extent that it is lived according to His Will. Therefore, whoever relates to property as if it is his own is on some level guilty of stealing from HaShem.

In the nineteenth chapter of Mesillat Yesharim, Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lutzatto elaborates on this point through the familiar example of Kayin and Hevel.

“Hevel offered of the first-born of his sheep and of their fats, and Kayin offered of the worst of the fruits of the earth, as we are told by our Sages of blessed memory (Bereishit Rabbah 22:5). What was the outcome? (BEREISHIT 4:4-5), ‘And HaShem gave heed to Hevel and his gift, but to Kayin and his gift He gave no heed.’ And (MALAKHI 1:14), ‘Cursed is the deceiver who has in his flock a male, but pledges and sacrifices an abomination to G-D… for I am a great King.’”

Hevel understood himself and everything he owned to have originated from HaShem. By offering the best of what he had to give, Hevel declared that he personally possessed nothing as everything ultimately belongs to G-D. Kayin, by contrast, was only prepared to offer his leftovers, indicating that he had no obligations to anyone and only gave to HaShem as an act of generosity. Thus his name Kayin – from kaniti (I have acquired) – implied that everything he owned belonged solely to him. By viewing his offering as a charitable act, Kayin essentially related to the Kadosh Barukh Hu as a beggar.

Our time, talents, skills and possessions are all gifts from HaShem to be used in His service. When a Jew puts himself and his private interests above the aspirations and mission of the collective Hebrew Nation, he is in actuality relating to G-D as a beggar. When one places his own pleasure, career or even personal mitzvot above the needs ofClal Yisrael and the broader human collective, he is expressing a base egoism and stealing from HaShem. Even those who immerse themselves in the study of Torah day and night must be careful to keep in mind that doing G-D’s Will is our primary function and that He has tasked the Jewish people with a unique historic mission that transcends each person’s individual success or piety.

Like material possessions and the means of production, our very lives belong to HaShem. This accounts for the Torah’s sharp prohibition against suicide. One’s life is not his own to destroy. Nor is it his own to preserve at the expense of the Hebrew mission. The Torah commands us to lay down our lives rather than commit certain specified prohibitions. Most important, a Jew is required to give up his life for the sanctification of G-D’s Name (how His Divine Ideal is perceived) in this world. InHilkhot Melakhim 7:15, the Rambam states that it is actually forbidden to fear our enemies in times of war. He further teaches that any Hebrew fighter who displays fear on the battlefield and withholds his sword from blood is essentially considered guilty of slaying fellow Jews.

The notion of giving everything to HaShem illustrates the difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile. In Israel today, Jews from diverse backgrounds are willing to leave their families and offer everything to their people. They are ready to take responsibility for the future of Israel as they go up to battle with the knowledge they may never return. Infused with a holy valor, the soldiers of Israel are prepared to give all of themselves for the national good because there is an understanding – although not always conscious – that Israel is one and that every individual Jew is responsible for the security and wellbeing of the collective Hebrew Nation. This readiness to give selflessly is true Ahavat Yisrael – the willingness to take responsibility and if necessary forfeit everything not only to ensure a better future for the Jewish people but also to achieve Israel’s goal of bringing humanity to a future of unparalleled blessing in the awareness of HaShem as the infinite Whole that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all.

The exile mentality, by contrast, is not one that focuses on giving everything one has but merely one’s extras as an expression of generosity. These crumbs could be charitable contributions to worthwhile causes, political lobbying and demonstrations, attendance at parades or even travel to Israel on solidarity missions. While some might argue these acts to be of some benefit to the Jewish state, they are often performed out of kindness rather than from a genuine sense of national obligation or a deep understanding of Israel’s inner unity.

The essence of Ahavat Yisrael is the willingness to take responsibility for the future of the Jewish people. It is being prepared to give everything – even one’s life – without fear. Fear originates from the mistaken exilic perception of our selves as individuals detached from the greater collective. Such egoistic perspectives breed irresponsibility, as is characterized by Kayin’s dubious question of “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – a statement that often leads a person to offer only his leftovers, essentially treating the collective Hebrew Nation a beggar. When a Jew suddenly experiences true Ahavat Yisrael, his mind develops a national consciousness and his heart begins to genuinely experience a sense of brotherhood and unity with his people throughout the world. He begins to feel discomfort at living in a foreign country and suddenly begins to yearn for the soil of his native land. This powerful love generally finds expression through active participation in Israel’s collective destiny and the willingness to give everything with the knowledge that it actually all belongs to HaShem. And it is those who find themselves gripped by this all-encompassing emotional force that will ultimately become the heroes who advance history forward.

February 12, 2017February 12, 2017

Redemption Requires Israel to Shed its Slave Mentality

“Pharaoh approached; the Children of Israel raised their eyes and behold! – Egypt was journeying after them, and they were very frightened; the Children of Israel cried out to HaShem. They said to Moshe, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the Wilderness? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt? Is this not the statement that we made to you in Egypt, saying, Let us be and we will serve Egypt? – For it is better that we should serve Egypt than that we should die in the Wilderness!’

Moshe said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of HaShem that He will perform for you today; for as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again! HaShem shall make war for you, and you shall remain silent.’” (SHEMOT14:10– 14)

Acknowledging that Israel greatly outnumbered the Egyptian military at the Sea of Reeds, the Ibn Ezra provides a remarkable explanation of the above verses. He writes: “How could a camp of six hundred thousand men fear their pursuers? Why should they not fight for their lives and the lives of their children? The answer is that the Egyptians had been Israel’s masters. The generation leaving Egypt had learned from childhood to endure the Egyptian yoke and they possessed a low soul. Being weak and unaccustomed to warfare, how could they now fight against their masters? We see that Amalek came with a small force and, if not for Moshe’s tefillah, they would have weakened Israel. G-D alone does great deeds and orchestrates events. He arranged for all the males who had left Egypt to die out – because they lacked the strength to fight the Canaanites – until another generation arose who had not seen exile and who possessed an exalted spirit.”

The Ibn Ezra teaches that despite their superior numbers, Israel was not commanded to stand and fight. The Hebrews had been conditioned by several generations of slavery to fear and obey their Egyptian masters. Possessing a low soul made them near incapable of warfare, thus requiring Moshe’s tefillot to later overcome the Amalekite ambush (SHEMOT 17:8-13). According to the Ibn Ezra, this low soul was the reason that the generation departing Egypt would later need to die out in the desert over a forty-year period. Their children – a new generation raised in freedom – would then be able to wage a war of liberation against the Canaanite kings.

The low soul that the Ibn Ezra speaks of is similar to what modern psychologists term “learned helplessness.” At various historic points, this slave mentality has prevented the Jewish people from successfully advancing our national mission. One example of this neurosis in recent decades has been the confusion among many scholars concerning the process of redemption and how the Jewish people must relate to – and interact with – the historic events unfolding in modern times.

Israel’s Prophets and ancient Sages teach that there are two ways in which the final redemption can occur. There is the miraculous way (aḥishena) and the more mundane natural process (bi’eta). Due to the bitter realities of life in the Diaspora, Jewish communities in recent centuries were conditioned to believe that the redemption could only transpire through open miracles. Taking the initiative to advance salvation through physically conquering the Land of Israel was scorned as forbidden by many rabbis who claimed that Israel must sit patiently and wait for the Kadosh Barukh Hu to redeem His people. In the ghettos of Europe, where day-to-day life included a fear of gentile persecution, the idea of Jews valiantly recapturing Eretz Yisrael by force of arms seemed as if it would be even more an aberration of the natural order of the world than HaShem performing supernatural miracles on our behalf. As a result of this reality existing for so long, many Jews became trapped in this mindset of helplessness even once the political reality surrounding them had changed.

Other factors also contributed to the Jewish idealization of learned helplessness. Because of the internal damage inflicted upon Israel by so many unsuccessful messianic movements, the study of the redemption process was halted in most houses of study throughout Europe, leading to any attempt at bringing salvation closer through human efforts becoming widely seen as tantamount to an act of heresy. The combination of these factors created an expectation that the redemption would occur through supernatural events above and beyond human participation. Practical efforts to achieve redemption came to be viewed as destructive behavior stemming from a weakness of faith.

Learned helplessness became most prevalent in Jewish circles during the decades leading up to the development of political Zionism. The handful of Torah giants at the time who understood that Hebrew liberation could – and most probably would – unfold through a series of natural historic events were unable to effectively spread their ideas or inspire the faithful masses to actively participate in the redemption process. But examining the words of these visionary scholars can help us to retroactively recognize how correct they truly were and how much their teachings still illuminate our proper path.

Rabbi Yehuda Ḥai Alkalai, the famed kabalist of Sarajevo, wrote of redemption from within in Raglei Mevaser. In it he explains: “Redemption will reach us in a natural way. Had the Almighty wished to redeem His people through miracles, the exile would not have lasted so long. Moreover, in the present Jewish situation even a naturally attained redemption would be miraculous. Redemption will grow from within the people and not with the Messiah performing miracles, as in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. Final redemption will be the result of national initiative aided by G-D, as it is written: ‘And the Children of Judah and the Children of Israel will be gathered together’ (HOSHEA 2:2), and ‘Shake yourself from the dust, arise and sit down, O Jerusalem, release the bonds from around your neck,’ (YISHAYAH 52:2). Yishayah uses the reflexive form to emphasize that redemption will stem from self-help.”

In his Reply to the Skeptics, Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmakher states: “To our great misfortune there are yet many who mistakenly believe that they will sit in the comfort of their homes when suddenly a voice from heaven will proclaim redemption. But it will not be so! The Babylonian exile, though destined to last no more than seventy years, required the practical leadership of Daniel, Ezra and Neḥemia to achieve a significant return toEretz Yisrael. Unlike many of our own contemporaries they did not say ‘let every man remain at his place and redemption will come of itself.’”

Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalisher illuminates the way to redemption in Drishat Tzion. He writes: “It is wrong to believe that redemption will come as a sudden revelation of G-D from heaven, calling upon His people to leave the Diaspora. The vision of the Prophets must come true, but not as a sudden event. Final redemption will come in stages with the return of the people to the land and ultimately by the coming of the Messiah. Dear friend, you must rid yourself of the illusion that the call of the Messiah will come as a bolt from the blue arousing the sleeping masses. Redemption will come about through an awakening of well dispersed gentile leaders and governments, viewing favorably the return of Jews to the Holy Land.”

In regards to Rabbi Kalisher’s last point, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Ḥarlop – a prominent disciple of Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook and former head of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav – teaches in the sixth volume of Mei Marom (Mayanei HaYeshua) that initial gentile support for Israel’s return to our land must eventually give way to hostility from the international community in order facilitate a later stage of the redemption process that will force the Jewish people to become independent through the realization that our strength and security stem not from alliances with other nations but directly from our relationship with the Kadosh Barukh Hu.

In Awake, Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever teaches: “Even though natural events will lead to redemption, this is not simply an historical accident. There are no coincidences in the Universe, since G-D’s Will is also manifested in the course of natural events. Accordingly, it is for us to rouse the powers that be to treat the Jewish people favorably, whereupon Divine help will surely be forthcoming in the ingathering of the exiles to the Holy Land. As the Prophet proclaims (YISHAYAH 62:10): ‘Go through, go through the gates; clear the way of the people; cast up, pave the road; clear it of stones; raise a banner over the peoples.’ Yishayah’s intention is clear: we must awaken and do all in our power to clear away the obstacles in the path of our redemption.”

These scholars stressed the fact that human initiative would be necessary in bringing Israel’s redemption to fruition. Their ideas were highly advanced for their time – especially when compared with many of their contemporaries – and their teachings represent a Torah of action that challenges the psychological state of learned helplessness. While it is clear that we have still not yet tasted full redemption, the process has certainly begun to unfold. There exists a sovereign Hebrew state in much ofEretz Yisrael but in order for us to participate in bringing total salvation, a higher approach to Torah study must be adopted.

The holy Ohr HaḤaim speaks of redemption and self-awakening in his commentary on VAYIKRA 25:25. There he states: “Redemption will start with a stirring in men’s hearts urging them: Do you feel secure living in a strange land, exiled from your G-D? What pleasure does life offer so far removed from the lofty values that were yours in the presence of the Almighty? Superficial, ill-conceived desire will then become repulsive and a spiritual craving will awaken your soul, improving your actions until G-D will redeem. Who will be called to stand in judgment? The Jewish leaders of the Diaspora who throughout the years did not encourage their people to return to Zion. They will be made to bear the shame of a forsaken homeland.”

In Eim Habanim Smeiḥah, written during the Holocaust, Rabbi Yissakhar Shlomo Teikhtal echoes the Ohr HaḤaim’s statements on the dangers of passivity. “The Orthodox, on the other hand, those zealous for G-D’s Will, stood aside and took no part in this effort. They remained with their traditional view that ‘sitting back and doing nothing is best’… It seems to me that all the leaders who prevented their followers from going and joining the builders [of Eretz Yisrael] will never be able to cleanse their hands and say ‘our hands have not spilt this blood.’”

A new generation has arisen today, alive with a more vibrant Torah of redemption. It is a generation infused with an exalted spirit of vitality as Israel’s youth is again being raised on our natural soil. The homeland – which had for so long refused to provide fruits to any stranger – has blossomed under the renewed political sovereignty of her native people.

The vitality infused into the Jewish people today has inspired incredible acts of valor and self-sacrifice, even amongst those not observant or even knowledgeable of mitzvot. At nearly impossible odds, Israel has won miraculous victories over our enemies. We have liberated portions of our homeland and revived the Hebrew language after many long centuries of separation from both. These incredible events are part of a greater process prodding history forward as Israel returns to the international stage in order to ultimately shine blessing and light to mankind. HaShem has inspired a new generation with a lofty spirit uncorrupted by fear, passivity or the learned helplessness of the Diaspora. Israel’s youth demands a greater and fuller Torah that encompasses and infuses all aspects of life with the necessary strength and courage to usher in an era of universal redemption.

December 23, 2016

The Light of Hanukah is the Light of Redemption

For an entire generation, the ancient Judeans waged a struggle for freedom, which, in terms of intensity, has almost no parallel in human history. It was among the first recorded wars of liberation and it laid a model for nearly every revolution that followed. With an unbreakable faith and willingness to sacrifice, a handful of valiant Hebrew fighters forged the eternal covenant that resistance to tyranny is the highest and truest service to HaShem.

In those years, the cultural colonization to which the Seleucid Empire aspired was at its peak. Hellenist values and practices were imposed on the native Hebrews by means of harsh edicts and the swords of foreign soldiers. The victimization of the weak, rampant debauchery and the desecration of the Temple were pinnacles of the Greek culture bestowed upon Judea. In Jerusalem, the urban upper class yearned to be citizens of Antioch and to transform their ancient city into an “enlightened” Greek Polis. When the uprising began, it arose from the mountain folk who remained loyal to the Torah and to the heritage of their fathers. They were led by the Hasmoneans – Matityahu and his five courageous sons. The flame of revolt was kindled in Modiin and quickly spread like wildfire through the hills of Judea. After Matityahu’s death, his third son Yehuda took command. He became the Maccabee and his guerrilla army moved in two decisive channels – resistance to foreign culture and armed struggle against foreign soldiers. Two wars with one goal of Hebrew independence in Judea.

The Maccabean revolt was not merely a struggle to revoke harsh decrees or secure freedom of worship. Hebrew sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael is the foundation for proper Torah observance (see Mishnah Torah Hilkhot Ḥanukah 3:1, the Ramban’s supplement to the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot 4, Shulḥan Arukh Even HaEzer 75:6,Pesikta Rabati 34, Magid Mesharim Parshat Vayikra and Ḥesed L’Avraham 3:7) and HaShem’s Divine blueprint for mankind demands Jewish independence in the historic Jewish homeland.

The Hasmoneans were determined. After several Judean victories and the liberation of Jerusalem, the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks offered a truce. Freedom of worship would be restored to the natives in exchange for ending their armed struggle for independence. There were some Jewish leaders naïve enough to accept the terms. A misunderstanding of our Torah caused those weak in spirit and tired of war to believe that they had already achieved their objectives. The Hasmonean faction, however, understood their obligation to liberate the Land of Israel from foreign rule. They also knew that without full political independence, there could be no lasting peace or real freedom of worship, as the spirit of Greece could again seek to dominate. Yehuda declared that the revolution must continue until Judea would be free from foreign influence and foreign soldiers. After nearly three decades of ferocious conflict, the Hasmoneans triumphed and the Kingdom of Israel was restored (Hilkhot Ḥanukah3:1).

When the Seleucid-Greek Empire began to persecute Israel, the devout heroism of Matityahu and his sons awakened within their people aspirations for self-rule. This desire for freedom – which had not strongly surfaced prior to the oppression – was catalyzed by the persecution and the fierce backlash it provoked. National independence was eventually declared and this declaration itself served as a sacred barrier against the forces of Hellenization as the very desire for self-determination psychologically impedes assimilation into the culture of an occupying power. Yet without Matityahu and his sons – the warrior-priests who imbued the political ideal with spiritual content – the revolution would have lacked sufficient force to keep fighting and withstand the prolonged hardships of war. This is demonstrated through the miracle of the oil. The pure cruse with the seal of the High Priest shone brightly, its light permeating the collective soul of the Hebrew Nation and bestowing upon Israel the strength to fight on.

Perhaps the most important lesson of Ḥanukah is that light is not merely another creation but rather Creation’s ultimate goal. The Maharal of Prague teaches in NerMitzvah that the world was created deficient so that mankind could actively participate as partners in its perfection. Human beings are given free will in order that we choose to involve ourselves in bringing the world to its ultimate goal. As the main protagonist in the drama of human history, Israel is tasked with revealing this truth, thereby leading mankind to its predestined ideal state.

Israel’s mission of bringing the world to the awareness of HaShem can only be accomplished through the Jewish people sovereign over Eretz Yisrael with the Torah serving as our national constitution. Only through this specific formula can Israel thin the veils of human perception and reveal the Divine light constantly present in our world, leading mankind to recognize and experience HaShem as the infinite Whole that creates, sustains and permeates all.

While the light of G-D’s Truth is always present, it is often hidden from man’s consciousness by curtains of perception. It is Israel’s task to remove those curtains and to reveal the Divine light – to bring the world to a state of perfection where all humankind achieves ultimate fulfillment and expression through a higher awareness of our relationship to HaShem.

Although G-D’s presence is hidden in day-to-day events, He continues to work through the system that He created in order to return that very system back to the full expression of His Ideal. Through a Divinely guided historical process, all of existence is sanctified and brought to the collective awareness of its inner relationship to its fundamental Source. Not only supernatural miracles but also the entire world, with all of its natural laws, is being pulled toward Creation’s ultimate goal through the story of Israel’s national rebirth on our native soil. The full restoration of the Hebrew Kingdom in our homeland will dissolve the remaining veils and bring everyone to finally recognize themselves as unique aspects and expressions of a much greater Reality.

Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lutzatto teaches in Derekh HaShem that G-D placed forces of evil into our story as an essential ingredient enabling free will and human growth. These dark forces have been tasked with working to prevent Israel from bringing Creation to its goal. Throughout history, this evil has manifested itself as four main human empires, each attempting in its own unique way to impede Israel from reaching our full potential as the nation that will express the Divine Ideal in all spheres of human existence. This is the inner battle between light and darkness raging through the annals of human civilization.

The four empires – Babylon, Persia, Greece and Edom – that have dominated the globe throughout most of world history emerged from the inherently deficient nature of existence and aim to maintain the curtains of perception through preventing Israel from reaching our full national potential. Each of these empires, however, has had it’s own unique method for obstructing the Jewish mission.

Knowing that the Hebrews must be in Eretz Yisrael in order to fulfill our national function in Creation, the Babylonians worked to physically separate us from our land. They forcibly uprooted us from our borders and then graciously provided us with material prosperity on foreign soil. This simple separation from our homeland, although Jews remained Torah observant in the Diaspora, was enough to prevent HaShem’s light from being revealed. The soil of Babylon was simply not conducive to Israel accomplishing our Divine historic mission.

The Persians had a different approach. Haman convinced his king to completely annihilate the Jews. By removing the bearers of HaShem’s light from the world, he believed he could succeed in snuffing out the Divine flame.

The Greeks did not try to remove the Jews from our homeland, nor did they initially attempt a physical destruction. Instead, the spirit of Greece sought to pollute Israel’s culture by reducing G-D’s Torah to the level of a human wisdom on par with other notable wisdoms of the time. The Torah’s Divinity was viewed as a threat to Greek philosophy, which valued human intellect above all else and could not tolerate wisdom beyond mortal comprehension. Unsatisfied with the success of this spiritual assault, the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks then sought to forcibly sever the Hebrew Nation from our authentic culture through the brutal enforcement of cruel decrees against adherence to Torah Law.

These three empires each attacked an essential component to Israel fulfilling our national purpose. The fourth antagonist, however, which first emerged as the Roman Empire and has since taken on several manifestations, is a combination of all three attempts in a much more destructive and concentrated form.

Throughout the last two thousand years, the Western world (Edom) has tried its hand at all three methods on countless occasions. Three recent examples are the terrible Holocaust in Europe less than a century ago, the British Empire restricting Jewish entry to our homeland and the Soviet Union forcibly separating its Jews from their Torah. The international community’s insistence on not permitting Israel to assert sovereignty over the whole of our country and the resources spent by Western governments on diluting the State of Israel’s authentic Jewish character are just two modern expressions of this evil force, subconsciously aware that its end is at hand. A candle flickers brightest immediately before it is extinguished and today the world seems ready to amass itself against Jerusalem. As Israel experiences a national rebirth on our native soil, the forces of darkness are gathering their strength to wage a final war to snuff out our light. In the wake of Israel’s triumph, Edom’s depravity will be exposed and mankind’s thinking will be liberated from the cultural tyranny of two thousand years. Concepts of righteousness, morality and truth will be elevated to meanings of newer and higher significance as Israel draws back the curtains of perception and reveals HaShem’s light to all of mankind.

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December 2, 2016

With Redemption Close, Is the Eternal War Between Esav and Yaakov About to End?

After two decades of marriage to Yitzḥak, Rivka’s womb is finally opened as HaShem blesses the couple with children. There is, however, something irregular about her pregnancy.

“The children agitated within her, and she said, ‘If so, why am I thus?’ And she went to inquire of HaShem. And HaShem said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated; the might shall pass from one regime to the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.’” (BEREISHIT 25:22-23)

The Maharal of Prague teaches in his Gur Aryeh commentary that the struggle in Rivka’s womb between Yaakov and Esav was not at all influenced by their personal inclinations of good and evil, as these inclinations could not yet exist before birth. Rather, Yaakov and Esav represent cosmic forces in Creation – forces that transcend the normal course of personality development and existed within them even in their mother’s womb.

Rivka, anxious that the struggle inside her could have resulted from some iniquity on her part, went to Shem (son of Noaḥ) in order to inquire of the Kadosh Barukh Hu. Through Shem, she is informed that her unborn sons represent not only two nations, but also two conflicting ideologies – Israel and Edom – and that the struggle in the womb was the irreconcilable conflict already raging between them.

Our Sages explain (Megillah 6a) that Israel and Edom cannot be simultaneously dominant on the world stage. When one nation rises the other must fall. History has shown that not only the nations but also their cultures have forever been in conflict. And ultimately one will succeed in fully eclipsing the other.

During the early Hebrew kingdoms, when Israel was counted as a major world power, Esav’s offspring were of no major significance to mankind’s political or cultural developments (they were even subjugated under the Israeli Kingdom for many years). It was not until the second Temple period that Esav’s Roman descendants appeared on the scene as central players. Rome exerted political influence over Israel, invaded our country, destroyed our Temple, put down countless Judean revolts (albeit with great difficulty), exiled us from our soil and even sought to abolish the Hebrew character of our country. Since that time, Rome has succeeded in dominating much of the world with its culture, value system and pagan notions of morality.

To fully grasp the eternal conflict between Rivka’s sons, it is necessary to examine the conceptual essence of Edom – how it developed through time and how it clashes with Israel’s Divine Torah culture.

The essence of Esav is to appear righteous on the outside while being internally loathsome (much like a pig that boasts all external signs of kashrut yet lacks the internal requirements of cleanliness). The Roman Empire, Christianity and the modern West all stem from the impure source of Esav. From the time the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, this oppressive dogma was imposed throughout the world, eventually becoming the foundation for what is now Western civilization.

Beginning as a breakaway Hebrew sect, Christianity grew in influence within Roman society and ultimately dominated much of the globe. Through powerful vehicles such as the Roman Legion and later the Crusades, this poisoned doctrine spread far and wide as an efficient means of social control. By abandoning the mitzvot of our Torah, Christianity enshrouded the world in a seemingly legitimate offshoot of idol worship. While superficially mimicking the Torah’s universal values, Christianity actually led the world away from a true connection to the Kadosh Barukh Hu. Under a guise of false righteousness, this man-made religion demanded an unnatural level of piety, repressing man’s basest character traits while breeding a culture of guilt and forbidden desires that built up inside of Western civilization until finally exploding into cataclysmic world wars.

Inwardly sensing his estrangement from HaShem, modern man came to reject the Church and its teachings. Religion became viewed as a prison from which humanity must escape. In seeking freedom from the oppressive chains of theology, society leaped to the opposite extreme. Man’s every passion was declared legitimate and every desire suddenly became permissible. Europeans revolted against the Church’s dominion and the culture of Esav was given new expression. The European “enlightenment” and its ideological derivatives became the natural modern outgrowths of oppressive Christianity and the next incarnation of Edomism in the world. But because Christianity had for centuries stifled the life force of Europe, base traits and suppressed rages festered without any healthy outlets. Like a volcano, they burst forth in the form of devastating global conflicts, granting release to ancient pent-up aggression.

Enlightened civilization was exposed as a mask that had for centuries concealed the same primitive passions and murderous impulses that had hallmarked ancient Rome. No enduring moral progress had been achieved. Two catastrophic wars erupted out of Europe and scorched the entire globe with the slaughter of millions.

The worldview of Edom grew powerful and expanded its influence on the civilized world, first through Roman imperialism and then through the vehicle of Christian theology. Modern civilization, although predominantly secular and often hostile to the Church, is rooted in a value system that springs from Christian dogma. In separating mankind from a healthy connection to HaShem, Christianity remains the core foundation of Western thought.

The ideology of Esav – in all of its various forms – has unquestionably been the greatest cultural influence of the past two thousand years, laying the basic framework for Western morality. While professing to be an enlightened civilization, modern society is still rampant with the profane values of Edom. Rather than refining and uplifting man’s traits, Western civilization leaves him in a primitive state. The greed and exploitation encouraged by the capitalist system, along with the devastating wars of the previous century, underscore Edom’s failure to lift man out of his deep moral prison.

But hope exists for mankind. After a long and bitter exile from our country, the Nation of Israel has begun to experience a miraculous rebirth. Returning to take possession of our homeland, fostering agricultural achievements on a seemingly impossible soil, winning miraculous victories in war and reviving our ancient language to everyday use, the Jewish people are experiencing a full national renaissance. While the physical accomplishments continue to push forward, the Torah character of our state is beginning to take root and flourish beneath the surface of Israeli society. The Jewish people are slowly separating from the contaminated value system of Edom and returning to our authentic Hebrew culture.

Israel’s national resurgence is troubling for Esav’s spiritual descendents. World leaders instinctively feel the threat of Israel’s renaissance, as well as the fate it heralds for Western civilization. The subconscious realization that Israel is ascending to become the dominant moral light in the world compels the international community to try and limit the size and strength of the Jewish state. While pressuring Jerusalem to surrender portions of the Jewish homeland and lending support to regional forces committed to Israel’s destruction, the West bombards our society with its glorified hedonism and consumerist spirit in a distracting attempt to lull the Hebrew Nation into complacency and submission. The disproportionate focus of world media attention on Israel, along with attempts by Western leaders to separate us from the cradle of Hebrew civilization, are merely tools employed by Edom to prevent the Jewish people’s full national rebirth and the moral revolution we aim to bring to mankind.

Rivka was told that “The might shall pass from one regime to the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.” The cosmic force of Yaakov will eclipse that of Esav. The salvation of HaShem is destined to reach mankind through the Hebrew Revolution advancing in our day. The decline of Edom’s power will bring harmony to the world as humanity is liberated from centuries of spiritual tyranny. As the redemption process continues to unfold and Israel rises to the challenges confronting our people, our Divine Torah culture will be bestowed upon man, bringing all of Creation unparalleled blessing.

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