Parshat Vayeishev – From Darkness to Light

Our Sages explain human history to be characterized by the incessant struggle between good and evil. The Kadosh Barukh Hu places forces of darkness into our world as an essential ingredient to enable free will and human growth. This evil has been Divinely tasked with attempting to prevent the Children of Israel from fulfilling our national mission of bringing mankind to the awareness of HaShem as the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all.

As any good story requires a formidable antagonist, these forces of darkness are placed into the system of Creation in order to ultimately be defeated by the Jewish people, who must struggle to overcome the earthly manifestations of this evil – whether in the form of enemy nations or in the form of our own destructive inclinations – in order to reveal HaShem’s Oneness to humankind.

At historic points with great potential for the emergence of light and the advancement of Israel’s national development and mission, the forces of evil fight tenaciously to prevent the light of our redemption from breaking through to this world.

“Many days had passed and Shua’s daughter, the wife of Yehuda, died; when Yehuda was consoled, he went up to oversee his sheepshearers – he and his Adullamite friend, Ḥirah – to Timnah. And Tamar was told, as follows, ‘Behold your father-in-law is coming up to Timnah to shear his sheep.’ So she removed her widow’s garb from upon her, covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself up; she then sat by the crossroads which is on the road toward Timnah, for she saw that Shelah had grown, and she had not been given to him as a wife.” (BEREISHIT 38:12-14)

The righteous Tamar had been Divinely ordained to be the ancestress of the Davidic dynasty. Sensing her importance to the story of mankind, she fervently yearned to carry out her role. But at the moment when the seed of David would come into being through the union of Tamar with a son of Yehuda, there was ferocious resistance from the Sitra Aḥra (evil forces). Both Er and Onan – Yehuda’s two eldest sons – were mysteriously enticed to commit offenses stretching beyond the normal standards of human lust.

Following the transgressions and subsequent deaths of his sons as a result of what he believed to be their marriages with Tamar, Yehuda kept his third son Shelah away from his twice widowed daughter-in-law. Feeling deprived of the opportunity to participate in the story of Am Yisrael, Tamar resorted to the distasteful measure of posing as a prostitute in order to bring about a union between herself and Yehuda.

“When Yehuda saw her, he thought her to be a harlot since she had covered her face. So he detoured to her by the road and said, ‘Come, if you please, let me consort with you,’ for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

And she said, ‘What will you give me if you consort with me?’

He replied, ‘I will send you a kid of the goats from the flock.’

And she said, ‘Provide you leave a pledge until you send it.’

And he said, ‘What pledge shall I give you?’

She replied, ‘Your signet, your wrap and your staff that is in your hand.’ And he gave them to her, and consorted with her and she conceived by him.” (BEREISHIT 38:15-18)

While such a ruse would normally not have worked on a man as virtuous as Yehuda, our Sages teach that he was Divinely compelled to consort with the mysterious harlot.

“R’ Yoḥanan said, Yehuda sought to pass by Tamar. The Kadosh Barukh Hu dispatched the angel of lust to trap him. The angel said to Yehuda, ‘Where are you going? From where will kings arise? From where will great men arise?’ Yehuda then detoured to her by the road. He was coerced, against his good sense.” (Bereishit Rabbah 85:8)

Tamar’s disguising herself as a prostitute and Yehuda’s consorting with her were acts that provoked no resistance from the Sitra Aḥra. But the union resulted in the birth of twin boys, of which one would become the ancestor of King David and the future Mashiaḥ that will lead the Jewish people in ushering in a perfect world.

The episode of Yehuda and Tamar is not unique in the messianic lineage. David’s great grandmother Ruth had initially been born a princess of Moav, a nation from which the Torah instructs Israel not to accept gerim (outsiders who naturalize into the Hebrew Nation).

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of HaShem, even their tenth generation shall not enter the congregation of HaShem, to eternity, because of the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water on the road when you were leaving Egypt, and because HaShem, your G-D, refused to listen to Bilaam son of Beor, of Pethor, Aram Naharaim, to curse you.” (DEVARIM 23:4-5)

The nations of Ammon and Moav came into being under shameful circumstances, resulting from incestuous unions between Lot and his two daughter (BEREISHIT 19:31-38). One of the daughters went so far as to brazenly publicize the deed by choosing to name her son Moav (from father).

Moav had been so determined to prevent Israel from entering our homeland and establishing the kingdom that would manifest the Divine Ideal that they even sent their daughters to seduce Hebrew men into sin. The Torah therefore bans Moabites from marrying into Israel. While our Sages explain this prohibition to apply only to Moabite males and not females, this legal opinion took time to gain acceptance and, as a result, both Ruth and her great grandson David experienced difficulty getting married until the issue was finally settled following generations of legal debate (Brakhot 28a, Yevamot 76b, Ruth Rabbah 7). Our Sages teach inYalkut HaMekhiri that even David himself was considered for some time to have been the child of an illicit relationship.

The recognition that David – the biological and conceptual forbearer of the eventual messianic king destined to lead Israel in fulfilling our national mission – came into this world through a series of challenging and legally questionable circumstances, guided the attitudes of many great Torah giants towards the Zionist movement in its earliest stages.

While many scholars condemned Zionism due to the ignorance of Torah values prevalent among the movement’s leadership, others recognized a Divine process of redemption to be at hand. They understood that had practical political efforts to return the Jewish people to sovereignty in the Jewish homeland been led by Torah giants and traditionally pious Jews, the Sitra Aḥra would have fought to frustrate these efforts and obstruct the redemption process. But from the labors of Zionist leaders largely disconnected from our Torah eventually rose the State of Israel – a great leap forward in advancing the Jewish mission of establishing a kingdom that would manifest HaShem’s Ideal in all spheres of human existence and lead mankind towards a future in which all peoples and movements find full expression and fulfillment under the unifying canopy of G-D’s Divine Truth.

Even with all the confusion surrounding modern events within Israel, the redemption process continues to unfold in ways often difficult for many to understand. As active participants in history, we often find ourselves astounded by how the story actually unfolds. Events we might expect to play out a certain way have a habit of coming about through means that often surprise us. These plot twists are partially due to the fact that the light of redemption is so incredibly bright that it must be hidden from those forces seeking to obstruct the process. The light therefore appears in a distorted fashion that lulls the Sitra Aḥra into passivity.

In these generations of national rebirth, it is crucial to strengthen and deepen our understanding that it is the Author of history who has returned Israel to the world stage. As characters in the story, we must adjust our own perspectives rather than stubbornly refuse to accept the nature of His plan. This higher awareness and acceptance is central to effectively participating in the redemption process, a process destined not only to restore Jewish independence in our homeland but also to lead all humanity towards an era of internationalist brotherhood, universal fulfillment and total Divine blessing.

Hevron: Where Jihad Was Born

My first visit to Hevron in the summer of 2001 put me face to face with what would become a sign of things to come for the world over the last 15 years. I was a very different person in those days. 23 years old and idealistic about learning Torah in the Holy Land.  The second intifada had already been raging for the better part of the previous year and Sharon had yet to undertake Operation Defensive Shield.  In those days Arafat’s Fatah controlled up to the main road and Gross square right across the street to the Jewish neighborhood of Avraham Avinu.

The world was still silent. The World Trade Center had yet to be taken down.  George Bush was focused on other things. Israel was the epicenter of terror. Before my Shabbat in Hevron I had been one of many who had run down to Sbarro’s in downtown Jerusalem after it was blown up. Despite seeing the aftermath there, nothing would prepare me for what should have been a quick walk back to where I was staying from our Shabbat meal.

A few others and I started our walk back from the Beit Hadassah neighborhood down the main street. A few moments passed and then like drilling in a construction site a hail of bullets were sent at us.  We did the only thing we knew how to do…we ran. I still remember feeling the bullets go passed me and down by my feet. Miraculously we made it to a concrete barrier, diving behind it. A soldier was there and as the bullets whizzed passed all of us, he told us to run.  We reached the Avraham Avinu neighborhood.  The bullets continued, hitting the sandbags that were up in those days. The IDF returned fire and that is how it went for a better part of the night.  The next afternoon and evening was more of the same.

Today, Hevron is different.  New neighborhoods have grown.  Children play in the streets. The army is based in positions well inside the Arab areas.  There are problems and tensions, but no more machine gun fire or wanton killing. The Jews of Hevron have continued to be resilient in reestablishing King David’s first capital city.

Hevron, A Jewish City

The Jewish community in Hevron is ancient.  From the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the first and second commonwealth, Hevron played a central role to the Nation of Israel. The Jewish community lived there until the year 1929, when their Arab neighbors turned on them and massacred them. The Hevron Riots were part of the larger 1929 Arab pogroms that saw Jews being pushed out of historically Jewish neighborhoods in the Old City and the Kfar Shiloach (today Silwan).

Jews returned to Hevron in 1967 and for the first time in 500 years were allowed to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs where our forefathers and mothers are buried. The community has expanded and grown since then.

A Microcosm of the Global Struggle With Ishmael

In the last 15 years since those tense and very dangerous moments in Hevron, the world has become engulfed in multiple wars and a seemingly unstoppable rising flood of Jihadist terror. The Arab world seeks to challenge the root of monotheism and claim it as their own.  Their fight in many ways burst into a new stage in 1929. There they killed the “people of the book.” It is this root between Isaac and Ishmael that is at the heart of the struggle here and around the world.  Hevron is that root. It is where our fathers established their covenant with the Almighty and David established his Kingdom.  Despite all of our setbacks we have returned to our roots in Hevron and grown.  For this Ishamel is angry for in his collective mind the root is his, but his root is chaos and destruction, the Jihad.

In many ways what we have witnessed over the last decade and a half and especially in the last few months with the attacks in the Sinai, Paris, and now San Bernadino is that the Jihad of 1929 is live and well throughout the world. It is a mentality the Jewish people have faced since our return to our ancient homeland as a sovereign entity. It is this reason why we have no choice but to hold onto our roots.  We must embrace the ethics and morality of our fathers and most importantly attach ourselves to the Creator.  For this reason Hevron is key.  It is our source and corridor to our past and an example of how the Jewish people can be resilient and come out on top.       

In order to defeat the army of Ishmael the World must reconnect to the source of its faith.  That faith is rooted in the Jewish presence in Hevron.  Following the Jewish Nation’s example in its ancient birthright the world can overcome this chaotic time and build a new future.                             

The Israel Kurdistan Connection

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When Bibi Netanyahu stated in June of 2014 that the Kurds “are a fighting people that has proved its political commitment, political moderation, and deserves political independence,” it surprised very few observers.  Israeli Kurdish relations have been the quiet success story of the ever growing chaotic and war-torn middle east.  The Kurds have enjoyed defacto sovereignty over Northern Iraq ever since the days of George W. Bush’s misguided adventures in state building, but nevertheless, one of the brightest points that came out of that foray is the burgeoning autonomous region of Kurdistan. Of course this is to the chagrin of Turkey and Syria (whatever is left of it), but nevertheless the Kurds are prospering despite the challenges of being a non-state actor pressed by all sides (Turkey in the North, ISIS to the South and West, and Iran to the East).

For Israel’s part, it has become clear that a stable Middle East, if there is a chance for one, revolves around the Kurds finding their long elusive independence.  Besides a civic society, independence requires economic and military capabilities to ensure survival.  This is where Israel has provided covert but necessary help.

Oil Revenues Driving Kurdish Economy

It is no secret that Northern Iraq is flush with crude oil.  This would make the autonomous Kurdish region a potentially wealthy area.  The challenge for the Kurds has been to get their oil out to the market outside of the framework of the Iraqi federal government.  An agreement was reached between the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) and the Iraqi Federal government in December of last year, which would have seen 17% of the national oil revenues go to the KRG in return for a ban on selling their oil outside the national framework. The agreement fell through shortly after that and the Kurdish Regional Government once again began to sell their oil on the black market.

The flow of Kurdish oil to the world takes an interesting direction and with it some unusual partners. The Times of Israel quotes a report in FT this past August that Israel uses a Maltese shipping company to transfer Kurdish oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan.  The total amount purchased was 19 million barrels of Kurdish oil, worth roughly $1 billion, between May and August of this year. This would support 77% of Israel’s total energy needs. Of course the oil seems to go from Israel to markets around the World.

Given the fact that the Turks and Kurds are mortal enemies this appears to be strange.  The Kurds deny this, but the evidence from the shipping routes is clear.  Israel has become the middleman for Kurdish oil.  Of course one reason that the Turks might be looking the other way is that their newly uncovered ISIS allies are also using the avenue to get their oil out to market. Despite fierce battles between the Kurdish Peshmerga and ISIS, when it comes to oil and money, the guns are put away.

The Kurds, with Israeli help, have built a thriving oil economy.

Peshmerga is an IDF Trained Army

It is known that in the 1960’s and 1970’s the IDF worked covertly to train the Kurdish Peshmerga to fight the Iraqi government. As recently as 2010, it seems that the Israeli government had sent officials to the KRG to help train their fighters. Since 2003 the Israeli government has been exporting weapons and other military supplies to the Kurdish region and, although no official recognition of this relationship exists, it is a known fact to both governments as well the Europeans and the USA.

Why Kurdistan?

The Israeli Kurdish relationship is complex and yet should be seen in a broader regional context.  Outside the Arabs, four other immediate indigenous players exist in the Middle East: Israelis (Jews), Arameans (Marionite Christians), Druze, and the Kurds.  Before the Arab expansionism after the Mohammed’s death, these four groups made up the indigenous groups outside the Arabian peninsula (Jews actually had independent kingdoms in Yemen and Arabia).

Traditionally for Israel, there is a natural affinity, almost brotherly between these four groups. Israel’s increased strength means that there is a potential to reset the balance to what it was before the Islamic push occurred. An independent Kurdistan would go a long way to not only restoring a sense of justice to the region, but it would bring a much needed stable player in a chaotic area of the world.

Russia on the Move

Ever since Turkey shot down the Russian SU-24 fighter jet last week, Russia has increased its push into controlling Syria. It has become apparent to most analysts that the Russians have laid off the Syrian Kurdish army and have focused on decimating the rebel allies of the Turkish government.  It is not a huge stretch to figure out who Putin would most likely want to befriend next.  Let me just say Turkey will not be so amused.

Jihad and the Darkside

Shai and I discuss the current security changes in Judea and Samaria.  At the heart of the security situation is the fact that the government is not ready to fight Jihad at its core and that is with expelling those who are pushing violence.

We also cover the growing clash between Turkey and Russia and its broader context within the global arena and the conflict’s spiritual roots.

Don’t forget to check out this podcast’s sponsor: Root Source

The Last War

In today’s podcast we cover what I call the Last War.  Yesterday’s and today’s news headlines are rife with speculation that Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet changed the nature of the Syrian conflict.  It brings the regional and factional struggle to a new phase and will begin to destabilize not only Syria to a far more dangerous situation, but has ramifications for Israel and the entire world. This war has the potential to clear the deck so to speak.

We also interview David Ha’Ivri about his take on the security situation and what he feels needs to be done with many of the violent Arab terrorists and their supporters.