Zion Bamishpat Tipadeh Veshaveha Bitzdaka. A letter to the Gush Katif refugeeslll

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Zion BaMishpat Tipadeh Veshaveha Bitzdaka.. (Zion will be redeemed through justice and her returnees through righteousness). The question is how can we raise consciousness so that precisely that will happen. I read about a study done on how to convince people to be more involved in a cause. For this study they chose the cause to stop smoking. First they asked people if they would contribute to the nonsmoking campaign. The response was shvach. Then they tried another approach. They asked people how they felt about smoking. People expressed their concerns and their knowledge about how smoking is dangerous. Then they asked people if they would be willing to put up a sign stating that smoking was hazardous. Many agreed to this simple act of involvement. Once this message became ones own, and by this simple personal declaration whereby they contributed not necessarily with money but with their hearts, the likelihood of them contributing with money was that much greater.


The root cause of the disengagement was our failure to have the yearning for Eretz Yisroel and the desire to keep the Mitzvoth in Eretz Yisroel and to live the Torah in Eretz Yisroel. This root cause goes back to the Chait Miraglim. As a result of our failure, (and when I say "our" failure, I am including even those that love Eretz Yisroel, live in Eretz Yisroel, work the Land in Eretz Yisroel and fight in the Wars and have died for Eretz Yisroel). Why you may ask do I include these righteous souls? Only because of Areivus. When the majority of Jews in Chutz Laaretz and in Eretz Yisroel, are unwilling to put a claim to Eretz Yisroel, even a simple declaration, not even requiring going on Aliya which is umpteen times more difficult, then the Nation as a whole because of Areivus is lacking and undeserving of this precious gift of Eretz Yisroel. The disengagement happened only because the majority of Jews wherever they live did not support the struggle of the people of Gush Katif and the righteousness of their cause by a simple declaration. There was deafening Silence on the part of world Jewry. For example, not only did Agudath Yisroel fail to share in the pain, in my opinion they were a direct cause of the pain by the Silence of their Leadership who could have mobilized hundreds of thousand of Jews to protest the disengagement and they chose instead to allow it to happen. How did they claim and fool people to believe that it was not in their power to do anything to stop it even when there were many Mitzvoth D'orayta that were being violated? Then again there was the Conference of Presidents that supported the policies of the gov't of the "State of Israel" irregardless of what the policies are.

The Security and Humanitarian projects are practical ways to deal with the security and humanitarian consequences of Am Yisroel's failure to put a claim to Eretz Yisroel and whose leadership willingly gave our inheritance to the Goyim. But even if the Goyim that we gave our Land had been "peace loving partners" as per Bush's wish full thinking , our lack of appreciation and yearning for this precious gift of G-d and desire to keep His commandments reflect a failure on our part to keep our part of the Covenant. These Goyim desire the destruction of the State of Israel as well as the Nation of Israel as well as Western Democracies)

Chesed is a natural extension of keeping the Mitzvoth. However, Chesed by itself is not necessarily the reason to support all the worthy projects that have been initiated for the refugees of Gush Katif or for the people of Sederot. After all, especially in my neighborhood in Marine Park Brooklyn, no one would argue with you that indeed these are very worthwhile projects. However, A kind, caring Brooklynite will argue in his/her defense not to contribute to your cause, that he/she is inundated with many worthwhile chesed projects. Then to back up the point, he/she will provide you with 10 envelopes of worthy chesed projects he/she receives daily in the mail not to mention the chessed calls he/she receive daily. After paying 4 tuitions and mortgage and car payments and regular expenses, I am living day to day in the red, these very kind and charitable families will tell you in a caring and concerned manner.

Does that mean that they don't care about your suffering. Not at all. It means that they do not have the where with all to help you financially and if they did have extra money you are competing with many other worthy causes.

The approach can not simply be humanitarian, chesed. The Emes is that this chesed for the refugees of Gush Katif is actually a way to once again help those that were the builders of Eretz Yisroel, once again do that. The Charitable people from whom you are reguesting aid, need to have it internalized that it's also their Land. They too must stake a claim to the Land. Because G-d desires the Nation as a whole to yearn and desire the Land of Israel. Going on Aliya is the goal. Yet if that is a goal that is too difficult to implement, than at least let it be acknowledged that indeed, the home of the Jew is Eretz Yisroel. To fulfill commandments properly requires the Land of Israel.

A Jew in Chutz Laaretz has the same claim as the Jew in Eretz Yisroel to the Land of Israel.

The next step after this acknowledgement is to help join with the collective struggle to stay on the Land, work the Land, make the Land produce and most important keep the Mitzvoth in the Land. It doesn't necessarily require making Aliya as long as there is acknowledgment that the Land of Israel is my true home and I am obligated to do what I can to preserve the Land and whomever is involved in doing just that.

There needs to be a collective recognition that the strength of each community in Eretz Yisroel is what gives strength to Eretz Yisroel as an autonomous Nation and the collapse of any community brings weakness to Am Yisroel. Why if there are over 100,000 signatures on a petition to stop an antisemitic website see http://www.petitiononline.com/rjw23/petition.html, can't there a be a declaration that is proactive for what Judaism and Eretz Yisroel is all about. Antisemitism happens when the Jew is not involved with Torah and Mitzvoth. When we declare that we would like to keep the mitzvoth, specifically those dependant on Eretz Yisroel, antisemeitism should be reduced by inversed proportions.

For our collective survival, we need to look beyond our personal pain of our own community. We must first see ourselves as part of a whole. The disengagement of Gush Katif is a stain, a cavity in our oral Hygiene. So are the excavations at Temple Mount and the incarcaration of Yonatan Pollard. Our aim is to unite all these worthy parties/groups as one thereby creating a force that will work for the benefit of each of the individual members knowing that it will ultimately benefit the Klal.

There must be a public apology to the people of Gush Katif and to Sederot for a failure to prevent the disengagement.

True, money for the farmers of Gush Katif will ease the emotional and material pain and security for Sederot will ease the stress level and daily anxieties. However, that in and of itself is merely a bandaid or balm to the deep sore that has caused such anguish. The sore however, if not properly diagnosed or treated will simply surface elsewhere in the body.