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The Yeshiva World News posted news about the Agudah Convention and Agudah's statement regarding Annapolis. I posted a comment on Yeshiva World News addressing some of their comments to Agudah's response. My comment is now subject to review by the website. I hope it gets posted. In any case this is what I wrote. http://theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/12165/contact.php
I referred to the New Jewish Congress that took place in Yerushalayim the same day as the summit in Annapolis. Read about it on Arutz7.
Faigerayzel's comment to the readers of Yeshiva World News:
If we truly have the yearning and desire to keep the Mitzvoth of the Torah we would say as follows. Finally after 2000 years, Hashem has given us the gift of Eretz Yisroel. We can now do many Mitzvoth that we were unable to keep before we became a Sovereign nation. For example we are now able to keep the Mitzvah of Shemittah. Rav Eliashiv and the Beth Medrash LeTorath Eretz Yisroel, specifically deal with Mitzvoth Teluyot Baaretz. Did this Beth Medrash exist before there were specific halachic questions from religious farmers living in Eretz Yisroel? Rav Eliashiv has given a psak against Heter Mechira which is a symbolic selling of the Land. Yet there is silence regarding actually giving away Land in Yehuda and Shomron at the Annapolis summit. That seems very inconsistent. Surely if one truly wishes to keep the Mitzva of Shemittah and we know what blessings of peace and security are promised, then surely the Rabbanim would boldly say that only Am Yisroel has the mandate to keep the Mitzvtoh for the blessings of all mankind. The Land belongs to the Creator of the World. Am Yisroel is the rightful stewards of the Land since only we have the mandate to keep he Mitzvoth that are dependant to the Land. In the Shemittah year we clearly show that the Land is not ours to give away. It belongs to Hashem. And we, as Hashem's chosen people, are obligated to keep the commandments, for the benefit of mankind. We are obligated to let the fields lie fallow and to release our loans. Will a nice democratic, peace loving Palestinian State have any mandate or inclination to keep these commandments? The Land of Israel is called the Promised Land. It is also called the Holy Land by the Nations of the world. These names clearly portray an accurate picture. G-d promised the Land of Israel to the Nation of Israel.. The Blessings of mankind will be actualized by sanctifying the Land with holiness by the Nation of Israel by keeping the Mitzvoth.
Lawman613. We have been in Galus much too long. We don't see that Hashem has given us a historic opportunity to actually keep Mitzvoth in Eretz Yisroel something denied to us for 2000 years. Yet we refuse to believe that we can actually leave the Galus if we only had the desire or yearning.
Let us unite in our desire to now make Eretz Yisroel a place that is governed by Torah and Mitzvoth with a Sanhedrin. Please visit a post on Arutz7 of the New Jewish Congress that is working precisely in that direction. Hop aboard and let us say "Shir Hamaalos Beshuv HAshem et Shivas Zion Hayinu Kecholmim". Eretz Yisroel is relevant to our time and our generation. Our Torah is relevant to our time and generation. Our dreams of Yerushalyim and Zion and Eretz Yisroel can finally be made into our reality. The only thing that is missing is our desires and yearning to make it happen by the majority of caring Jews. I believe Moshiach is waiting for Am Yisroel to say "We want Eretz Yisroel, We claim Eretz Yisroel, We want to keep the Mitzvoth of Eretz Yisroel" The entire Torah and all the Mitzvoth of the Torah reach their ultimate only in Eretz Yisroel. All of Sefer Devarim, also called Mishneh Torah is Moshe's instruction about how we can live in Eretz Yisroel. Hashem took us out of Mitzraim not to stay in the desert. The whole purpose of the Torah is to observe it in Eretz Yisroel with a Beth HAmikdosh. True the Beit Hamikdosh is not yet built but let us think of ourselves as the Jews coming out of the desert. First they had to conquer the Land and drive out the Avoda Zara. There was no King from Beis Dovid initially. There was Yehoshua, Shoftim and Shmuel. The poeple asked for king to quickly. We must start the process and then Moshiach will find us worthy. Claiming Eretz Yisroel as our own is the first step.
