The Right of the Public to Know

The media’s general lack of coverage of the trial of “Zu Artzeinu” which had been going on for the last two years and concluded with the conviction of Shmuell Sackett and Moshe Feiglin to public service, is astonishing. After all, “Zu Artzeinu” received wide coverage for blocking the roads, etc., something the media could not possibly ignore. And now, when they are brought to trial for these very actions, how could they be totally ignored?

For the sake of comparison, let us assume that the trial was for the leaders of “There is a Limit” (Yesh Gvul) for their actions against the war in Lebanon. Without a doubt, the media would not miss a hearing, and it would receive massive coverage (and of course they would not stop attacking the lack of freedom of expression which the very essence of the trial expresses, but that is another story). Certainly the sentencing would dominate the headlines, and the accused would be lauded as heroes (at least similar to the fashion that Feiglin and Sackett were portrayed in Arutz 7)

In my opinion, we can no longer suffice with answers that it is a “hostile media” (which is true in its own right), but rather we should also realize the answer lies in the fact that it is a “detached media”. The media is madeup of a specific type of person, who lives a certain lifestyle and is partof a certain culture. They simply do not live or feel the trial of “Zu Artzeinu”, precisely in the way they do not understand the “language” of the settlers or religious Jews as a whole. The activities of the Egyptian ambassador Muhmad Basyoni, for example, appear as a regular item in their daily gossip column, because those are the circles that they hang out in.

In other words, two different nations have sprouted, with the media people, judiciary types, and the rest of the “elite” at the helm of one group, while on the other side is that part of the Jewish People who still feel connected in their gut to Judaism – the religious, the traditional, and the nationalist Jews. The media folk live in the political, jet-set, Bohemian world, and report the news accordingly. But the “other side of the nation” they simply are not familiar with, and their news coverage reflects it.

Excerpts from Shiur

I’m opening up with what is written in Judges, Chapter 3: “Now these are the nations which the Lord left to put Yisrael to the test by them…” It’s a strange verse – that G-d left the nations amongst us to “test us”. But that’s it: the biggest test was always the existence of the goyim in Eretz Yisrael. This was always the key issue which determined whether we would accept the yoke of Heaven and expel them, or not. Each time, for one reason or another, it was the crucial test, and the criterion for true belief. Of course, in this generation, one can see how this is the issue that tests us. How few people are willing to self-sacrifice on this issue. Everyone is getting themselves organized for their private struggle. Hebron is worrying about Hebron, Gush Ezion knows it is in trouble and they are gearing themselves for battle over Gush Ezion. The same thing with the Jordan Valley settlements. The same thing with the Temple Mount. Everybody on their own personal battle, but no one tackles this issue, even though it is the only thing that can really save us. But it isn’t nice, you get labeled racist for it.

Let’s face it. To struggle every day to get 30 boys to learn in Shchem is not the battle. Shchem is already lost – what are you doing? Is this where the efforts of our best people should lie? To build five more houses in Hebron? OK – let some people worry about it. But everyone! All of the finest and dedicated Jews around have to put their efforts into this. The government doesn’t really care about five more houses. They can deal with it – it doesn’t really hinder them – it’s only a little thorn in their sides. Why make this the grand goal? Does it matter anymore if we get to enter the Temple Mount in groups of fives instead of twos? And maybe one day they’ll even let us have a minyan in some corner where nobody sees! All the good Jews who fight for this are doing a great mitzvah – but can’t some of these good Jews fight on the larger front – The battle of Judaism vs. Hellenism which is so accentuated by the Arab problem. What’s the worse that can happen – they will be called a racist? At least if you win, you save the entire picture. But if your entire goal is to add five more houses in Hebron, than you end up sucumbing to the hellenists in order to find favor in their eyes – that is, to denounce “extremist” Jews, to compromise on ideology – after all, you set your goal as five more houses, and so this is what you have to do to get it. The problem is, people don’t want a bad stigma. But the fact is, the leftist hates the settlers in Hebron exactly like they hate the Kahanists.

Our job is to speak the truth and fight the major battle. We don’t care if we are called racists. There is this new slogan, “words can kill”. Words can also “make one live”. Our goal is to spread words of truth among the people. Only this can bring the change…

Succot: Not Everyone is Included in the “Four Species”

Major functionaries at home joining the side of our enemy require us to take another look at the known midrash about how the “four species” symbolize different levels in Am Yisrael.

It is impossible to ignore anymore the growing and obscene phenomenon, where functionaries from home mobilize time and time again to further the cause of our bitter enemies. Whenever possible, they rise from within us, under the orchestration of the media, to demoralize the nation during its fight for existence, while furthering the interests of the enemy. The question is: How should we relate to these people? Are they one of us, or are they “beyond the pale”?

One of the famous midrashim in connection to Succot, compares the four species to the unity of Israel: “Just as the Etrog has both taste and smell, so too do the Jewish People have within it people who have Torah and good deeds: Lulav…has taste and no smell, and so too there are those who have Torah and no good deeds…Just as the Hadas has smell and no taste…(there are those) with good deeds and no Torah…Just as the “Arava” has no smell and no taste, so (there are those) who have no Torah and no good deeds. And what does the Almighty do to them? To destroy them would be impossible! But rather the Almighty said that he will tie them all up in one unit and they will atone for one another”. (Vayikra Raba, 30:12)

Considering our opening statements, there is a need for some clarification in light of this amazing midrash which mentions how the Aravot are held tightly together with the rest of Am Yisrael.

The worst kind of Jew spoken of here is the Arava, who is not destroyed, because the righteous atone for him. They are Jews “who have no Torah and no good deeds”. True, we are not talking about the cream of the crop – but we are talking about Jews who are ready to be part of the union of Am Yisrael, connected to them so that the righteous can atone for them. We are not talking about Jews, who G-d forbid, sever themselves from the collective and detest their own Jewishness. We are not discussing Jews who the sages spoke of when they said that in the days of Messiah, there will be Jews who will identify with and join forces with the enemy. About such Jews, the above midrash does not speak. On the contrary. The idea of the midrash is two-fold. On one hand, G-d does not desire to see the wicked of Israel destroyed. On the other hand, we are talking about only those who are willing to join part of Klal Yisrael. Only he merits this special atonement, reserved for one who feels belonging to the collective of the Jewish Nation.

It must be known: Relatively speaking, there really are only a few. But through all the generations, and especially in this final era before the complete redemption, there were always Jews who took themselves out of the collective, and deep inside of them, identified more with the goyim than with the Jews.

And so, it is a great mistake to identify such people as the “Arava” described in the midrash. For while the Arava is still an only an Arava, it still has a belonging to the Jewish collective. While it has no taste or smell, at least it does not give off a putrid or damaging smell. The Arava sees himself as part of the four species and does not nullify his Jewishness, nor does he want to be like a gentile. By this very fact, he is able to absorb within him the smell and taste of the others. We must also remember that there are certain things that disqualify the four species from being Kosher. And so, though we are never happy about disqualifying a Jew, there are those who are rejected, and not tied together with the rest of the four species.

The nation is willing to absorb the individual sinners, and to cover and atone for them so that they will not perish with their sins (even though this causes us great suffering as a people). It is ready to hold on tightly to them with all its might in order to unite them, for we Jews are all guarantors for one another. But the nation is not ready to carry under its wing he who in his very essence is an aberrant traitor. Such people remove themselves from the Succah of Israel, and as much as it hurts to say, they are beyond the pale for us.

Yitro: As “One Man” – Only When There is “One Heart”

Any healthy society seeks unity, since division only serves to prevent society from achieving it’s goals. If this is so for all of mankind, how much more it is true concerning the Jewish People. The Almighty chose the Jewish People for a very specific goal: To know Hashem, spread His word, and sanctify His Name in the world. Since this goal is the most lofty of all goals, then certainly unity amongst the Jewish People is a very essential ingredient.From here we learn that the concept of “unity” has limits. It cannot be just lip service. Any unity is achieved when there is a shared objective. On the other hand, when different parts of the society have totally different objectives, and all the more so if these objectives contradict one another, there cannot be unity. We stress this point because the concept of “unity” today has become some kind of buzzword or blanket statement used by all segments of the nation, where people with ulterior motives throw it around as a slogan to further their cause.

“Unity” can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. On one hand, it is a powerful vehicle to actualize an idea, and to arrive at the goal. On the other hand, it can serve as the exact opposite, for it can serve as a vehicle for the blurring over of the truth, and a distancing from it. This occurs when the goal of unity becomes more important than the ideology itself! That is, instead of the unity becoming a means to achieve the goal, it itself becomes the goal at all costs, and certainly at the expense of the ideology. In such a case, the idea and the goal are conceded and blurred over. This is not “unity”, but rather betrayal of one’s ideology and a losing of one’s way.

This is exactly what we learn from the verse in our parsha, (19:2) “And there Israel encamped before the mountain”. Noting how the word for encamped is used in its singular form, the sages tell us that here the Jewish people stood united. Why was this the only place where Israel was able to stand united? Because at the mountain they received Torah! And so clearly, the Jewish People can only be unified when they share the common goal of Torah, since there is no other goal for the Jewish People. Note how Rashi brings down the Mechilta on this verse: “As one man with one heart (mind), but all the other encampments (before Sinai) were with complaints and with strife”. The Hebrew word for complaints used here is “Tarumot” – which is complaints against Hashem. Division amongst the Jewish People begins when its basic goal is questioned. The moment there is “Tarumot” (complaints) against G-d, which is a result of lack of faith, then the entire basis for unity is uprooted. The fact is, that in such a situation, G-d forbid if there is NOT a split amongst the Jewish People! That would mean that the Jewish People were, G-d forbid, united around the goal of complaining against and questioning G-d! But since there will always be authentic believers amongst the Jewish people, it is guaranteed that they will “see to it” that there will always be such division, which in this case is a positive thing.

This is the intention of Rashi saying, “As one man, as one heart”. After all, why the redundancy? Because the “one heart” is vital for unity. There must be the common goal. But if there is not “one heart”, (the goal), then there can be no unity of “as one man”. For one cannot throw around empty slogans of “united we stand” in order to gloss over a common lacking of national destiny.

Many like to point out the words of our sages who say that in the days of King Ahab, there were no war casualties despite the fact that they were idol worshippers, because there was no Lashon Hara amongst them. (BaMidbar Raba, 19) So many want to learn from this that unity by itself without a positive goal can be a good thing. The answer is the following: The fact that no one fell in war was reward for the fact that the Jewish People in that generation did not inform (Lashon Hara) to the wicked kingdom about the prophets who had been hidden in the cave and who Ahab wanted to kill! Again, their unity was around a positive goal. They were not rewarded because they were unified around idol worship.

Let us mention here that Hashem’s prophet chastised the righteous King Yehoshafat for allying himself to the same Ahab, and joining him in battle: As part of his chastisement he states: “And Yehoshafat made peace with he king of Israel”. Yes, making peace with a fellow Jew who is wicked is brought down here as a negative thing. (Kings 1, 22:45, see Radak there)

Yitro: Unity for Good, Unity for Evil

So much is heard these days on the need to be united. “Unity” or “achdus” in Hebrew, has become one of the major “buzz” words in the vernacular of the Jew who seeks to offer solutions to Jewish problems. If only we were united, we would overcome our enemies, we would bring the redemption, and simply put, everything would be O.K. Even from the most outspoken and uncompromising types, it is amazing to hear them talking about “unity” as the most important thing. And so the question that must be asked here is: Is it truly so? Is it correct that unity is the cure-all?

In Parshas Yitro, we find a rare moment of unity for the Jewish People. The moment they arrived at Mount Sinai, it is written, “And Israel encamped near the mountain”. The sages, noting how the word “encamped” is written in singular form (vayichan) tell us “as one man, as one heart”. What an awesome thing! The Jewish People are standing at Mount Sinai about to receive the Torah, and the Torah reveals to us (the point is stressed in the Mechilta on the same verse) that this particular situation was unlike any other. This time there were no quarrels, no bickering. This very special happening of “Matan Torah” was from the point of view of “Vayichan” – and they encamped “as one man”. Everyone is united for one idea and goal. The sages praise this rare moment of unification that has been attained on this momentous occasion, and without a doubt, the responsibility of all Jews to be mutual guarantors to one another is an expression of this much needed unity among Jews, who are called “Goy Echad” – one Nation.

But there is a tremendous difference between this kind of unity and the kind of unity that the so-called leaders of today babble about. There is an essential difference between the unity of “one man, one heart” mentioned in our parsha, and the unity to which politicians pay lip service to. For the question isn’t whether unity is good or bad, but rather what is the cause you are uniting around? For what goal and purpose?

G-d dispersed the generation of the Tower of Babel because they were united on behalf of evil, and despite their unity,they were branded with the name “Dor Haflaga” – the Hebrew word ‘haflaga’ derived from the root ‘pilug’ which means a split or a schism. For all of their unity was based around an evil purpose. There was a unity of wicked people, ‘split’ or separated from G-d.

In contrast to this, the unity of the Jewish people that our rabbis find praise worthy and vital is the unity of ‘Matan Torah’ – when everyone is united to receive Torah and fulfill it. Indeed, not only is the unity a positive thing, but it is a very necessary ingredient for the feeling of mutual bonding of every Jew to one another, and it is a critical component of ‘Matan Torah’. Nonetheless, unity of the wicked is a bad thing, as the sages comment, “The scattering of the wicked is good for them and good for the world”, and unity for the purpose of an evil goals is abhorrence.

The leaders and scholars should pay heed to the words that they speak. By preaching ‘Achdus’ or unity in such loose terms, they are misleading the nation. Even unity has its limits – it must be for the doing of good. It is for this reason that our sages often group and pair the word ‘Shalom’, with ‘Emes’, the truth, for true unity can only be achieved when it is based around truth.

In these days of darkness and confusion everything is upside down. When you finally find someone who is willing to speak out and take a stand they become popular and comfortable activists. Why the Arabs and leftists don’t have such activists I will never know? Modern day Jewish activists like to be ‘safe activists’ who don’t upset anyone on the left or in the middle, whatever that means.They can’t call Rabin a traitor because that may cause disunity. They can’t define the problems or offer the true solutions to our critical problems because that too may alienate someone, somewhere. So they play politics and lie to themselves seeking some halachic justification for their fears and weaknesses. They forget the first golden rule of activism that it doesn’t matter how unpopular we may become as a result of saying and doing that which is right.