Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Urgent Action Alert Time Sensitive: Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah meeting in NY this coming Wednesday, Will discuss response to Obama

bs"d

Shmuel Koenig was told by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, that there will be a meeting of the Rabbanim of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agudath_Israel_of_America of America this coming Wednesday June 17th 2009.   It is our understanding that on the Agenda will be a discussion of how to respond to Obama's speech.

In case you are unfamiliar with the influence Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah has over the Jewish Population in America, here are some facts which I believe to be true.  Feel free to let me know otherwise.

Agudath Yisroel of America has a Washington office.

Agudath Yisroel of America has influence over hundreds of thousands of Chareidi Jews because of their network of thousands of Yeshivoth and Rabbanim throughout America.   Major Chinuch and  Kiruv Organizations such as the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, Aish Hatorah, ARachim, Ohr Sameach, Haklhel determine who and what message they will promote based on decisions of the Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah. 

Many of  the Rabbanim on the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah are also members of the Rabbanim affiliated with Torah Umesorah which networks a majority of the Chareidi Schools in America.  Torah Umesorah has influence over hundreds of thousands of religious students and their parents.

Major newspapers with very large ciruclations take their cue from Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah especially Yated and Hamodia.  Jewish Press to a certain extent. 

Mishpacha Magazine, with an extremely wide circulation receives guidance on what and what not to print  from Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah in America and in Israel.

Tremendously large sums of monies are raised by Tzedaka Organizations due to the endorsements of the Rabbanim of Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah such as Kupat Hair, Vaad HArabonim, etc.

ACTION ALERT:

The staff of Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of America includes Rabbi Leibish Becker as the Executive Director, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel as the Executive Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin as the Chief Financial Officer.

Please call the Agudah office and ask to speak to Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel.  1-212-797-9000 or email at dzwiebel@agudathisrael.org

The contact email for Agudah on Wikipedia is cfo@agudathisrael.org <cfo@agudathisrael.org>

Here are some points you might wish to make:

  • Suggest that Rav Eliashiv make a short video to be widely distributed, stating our Jewish entitlement based on Hashem's covenant with Avrahom Yitzchok and Yaakov Avinu in the Torah.  Who if not Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah should bring up our Biblical connection? .  In this case it will be necessary to post it on the internet in order to make a Kiddush Hashem.  All agree that the internet can be used LeToeles and Pikuach Nefesh.  We are talking about the lives, homes, families and community of  350,000 Jews living in Yehudah and the Shomron.  Obama's speech was broadcasts to the entire world.  So was Netanyahu.  President Obama raised ideological reasons why Jews may not settle in Judea and Samaria.  Only an ideological and theological response will negate the "truths"  President Obama raised.  A rational approach such as Netanyahus falls on deaf ears and does not negate a Palestinian right to the Land of Israel.  The Torah  clearly says Ki BeYitzchok Yekareh Lecha Zera. and not through Yishmael as President Obama suggests.
  • We are not doing the ARabs a favor by giving up our Sovereignty.  Quite the opposite.  The Land will not produce for them as is written in the Torah.  Proof of this is the before and after of Gush Katif.   There is tremendous infighting, violence and terror under Palestinian control.  Many Palestinians know that economics, education and health services are much better when Israel has Sovereignty. 
  • Only Jews have the sacred obligation to keep the Mitzvoth in Eretz Yisroel and this in turn brings peace and prosperity to everyone. If we have the yearning and desire to keep the commandments we would surely say that we require the Land in order to keep our Biblical obligations.
  • Failure to speak out for Yehudah and the Shomron shows an unwillingness to leave the exile.  Are all the prayers and lectures lipservice?
  • AGudah can mobilize hundreds of thousands of caring Jews to show an expression of love for Eretz Yisroel and be an actual partner in Yishuv Haaretz.  This will be a tremendous Zikui HaRabim and tikkun Chait HaMiraglim.  Silence  by the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah is modeled by hundreds of thousands of Jews who know in their hearts that Eretz Yisroel is ours and don't speak out.  This enabled the Gush Katif expulsion
  • Davening and Tehilim must be accompanied by serious Hishtadlus just like looking for a job or a shidduch



Monday, June 15, 2009

Fwd: AFSI PRESS RELEASE: Netanyahu Caves In

bs"d

Kudo's for Afsi for once again taking a courageous stand!

 Let there be an avalanche of Press Releases that denounce Netanyahu's willingness to agree in principle to a Palestinian State. Netanyahu, by agreeing in principle to a Palestinian State under certain conditions, disregarded G-d's Covenant with the people of Israel and the Torah.

Words do make a difference!  Even if Netanyahu knows that the Arab world would never agree to his conditions and merely used this as a ploy to get America off Israel's back, it is a chillul Hashem.  We must publicly put our faith in Hashem and not in the power of America or Obama for our security.

Why didn't Netanyahu talk about Shemittah and explain to the world that we are obligated, as caretakers of this Holy Land to keep commandments in order to infuse the world with Holiness. and bring peace and prospereity.

No peaceful Palestinian State has this agenda. 

Unfortunately, neither does Netanyahu or else he would never have agreed to a Palestinian STate under any conditions. This, my dear friends is the true root of our problem!

In addition, we are not doing the Palestinians a favor either by giving them a State.  The Torah promises to us that the Land does not produce for anyone else but the Jewish people.  If we really cared about making the lives of the Palestinians better, we would assert our rights to the Land. They know and we know that they are much better off that way.


Once again the Arabs do what we should have done and put in a no confidence vote in this Prime Minister who lacks knowledge and has not internalized our sacred and exclusive relationship of  the Jewish People with the Land of Israel based on the Torah  for the betterment of mankind.

Netanyahu has no right to give away that which does not belong to him.

Any agreement is therefore null and void. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: afsi <afsi@rcn.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Netanyahu Caves In
To: AFSI <afsi@rcn.com>


 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: Netanyahu Caves In

New York City

June 15, 2009

 

 

In the first major policy speech of his administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved to Barack Obama's key demand that the Palestinian Arabs be given a state in the heart of Israel's historic homeland.  

 

"The only winner from this speech was Barack Obama. It's Obama: 1 Jews: 0," said Herbert Zweibon. "Obama couldn't care less about a few settlements here or there. He wanted Netanyahu to accept the principle of a two-state solution. Netanyahu collapsed in the face of American pressure. He allowed himself to be outmaneuvered."

 

Netanyahu, who began reasonably enough, systematically laying out the case for why there should not be a Palestinian state – including the point that Arab hatred of Israel preceded Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria –then reversed course at the end and endorsed a two-state solution.  

 

"The White House calls Netanyahu's speech an 'important step forward,'" said Herbert Zweibon, Chairman of Americans for A Safe Israel. "In fact, it's a dramatic step backwards as Netanyahu edges the Jewish People toward the cliff."

 

In an attempt to mollify Israelis, who have the seen the painful results of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, in which thousands of their fellow citizens were dragged from their homes only to be replaced by a Hamas-run terror enclave, Netanyahu insisted in his speech that a Palestinian State be demilitarized.

 

Setting aside the fact that there are thousands of assault rifles already in the hands of Fatah, many Israeli-approved, it is simply not possible to prevent a Palestinian entity, once it has been granted sovereignty, from emerging as a military threat, AFSI notes.   

 

"Every time Israel evacuates a piece of territory it turns into a launching pad," Zweibon said. "During the Lebanon War alone, some half a million Israelis were displaced by missiles. On the outskirts of Gaza, Israelis fear for their lives. Those areas were supposed to be demilitarized and subject to international monitoring, too. What makes Netanyahu think this time will be any different?"

 

The Arab reaction to Netanyahu's speech was noteworthy, Zweibon says. It was one of uniform hostility, despite Netanyahu's sudden willingness to accept a two-state solution. A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Netanyahu's speech "torpedoes all peace initiatives in the region" simply because Netanyahu asked Arabs to recognize Israel's Jewish character.  

 

"What this proves, as if it needed to be proved yet again, is that what the Arabs find distasteful about the Jewish State is that it exists at all," Zweibon said.

 

 

 

 


Arutz7: Susie Dym Blasts Netanyahu Fwd: Women in Green: A Jewish View of Netanyahu’s Speech by Prof . Paul Eidelberg,

bs"d

Susie Dym blasts Netanyahu

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/166475



As Professor Eidelberg said, Netanyahu deprived us of the moral high ground. 

Did anyone see any of these articles on this nature on the News of Arutz 7.  If so please forward it to me?  Susie's article came and went as a News Brief  but not a news item.  Too bad.  Susie might not have the stature of Jimmy Carter to the World at Large but what she says is reflective of Authentic Torah and our Jewish Heritage.  Jimmy Carter on the other hand......  Given his book and past history I am very suspicious of his motives behind his humanitarian efforts.

 Yasher Koach for Women in Green for widely distributing Professor Paul Eidelberg's article.

Again, too bad that the articles  newsworthy on Arutz7 included Obama's praise for Netanyahu's speech, Eu's praise for Netanyahu's speech and - not the good stuff- our rejection and disappointment of Netanyahu's speech! 

No headline news item such as Susie Dym's of Mattot ARim or Prof Eidelberg.    Merely visiting the grave of Yehoshua and Calev is benign.  The spirit of Calev and Yehoshua is quite another matter.  

Bizchut Nashim Tzidkaniyot!  Where is the voice of Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah in response to the Chillul Hashem of Netanyahu's speech?  Time for Tikkun Chait Hamiraglim!  It is still Parshat Shlach in Chutz LeAretz!   Please forgive us women for being so forward...Ach Tov Vechesed Yirdefuni.....


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Women in Green <wfit2@womeningreen.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 5:13 AM
Subject: A Jewish View of Netanyahu's Speech by Prof . Paul Eidelberg
To: wfit2@womeningreen.org


A Jewish View of Netanyahu's Speech*
Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Know first that Judea and Samaria constitute the heartland of the Jewish people.  This land is inseparable from the teachings of the Prophets of Israel.  From there our Prophets bestowed on humanity its loftiest and most fundamental ideas and values: first and foremost the idea of Ethical Monotheism.  From ethical monotheism we derive the possibility of Truth, of Human Dignity, of Justice, of Kindness, of Freedom, of Progress, of Peace—of peace because there cannot be genuine and abiding peace among men without Truth.  Moreover, there cannot be peace between nations unless they acknowledge that lapidary verse from holy writ that God created man in His own image, for this verse affirm unity the human community.

These ideas and values are the building blocks of Western civilization.  They endow human life with meaning and nobility, with creativity and continuity, with depth and purpose.  Yes, and they are tangibly linked to Judea and Samaria—the source of our historic memory.  Therefore, to agree to establish an Arab-Islamic state on this land, a state whose inhabitants harbor a religion diametrically opposed to what this land stands for, is a Chilul HaShem—a desecration of God's Name.  To agree to a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria is to negate God's Covenant with the fathers of the Jewish People.  This agreement will never be consummated.

I am well aware of the political and rhetorical nature of Netanyahu's speech.  One does not have to be a rocket scientist to recognize that the conditions he laid down for the establishment of a Palestinian state will never be accepted by Arabs or Muslims; for unlike Mr. Netanyahu, they believe in a deity in whose name they are willing to sacrifice their lives.

I wonder whether the people of Israel understand the dreadful transgression Netanyahu committed by saying YES to a Palestinian state on Jewish land?   Some observers, trained in law, may say that Netanyahu's YES will not stand the test of international law; I leave this for them to explain.  Others have already said that he has violated the coalition agreement that forms the basis of his government.  What most disturbs me, however, is his projected violation of Jewish law.

In a policy paper in which I collaborated with Professor Louis Rene Beres, I abbreviated a lengthy halakhic disquisition by the Gaon Rabbi Dr. Haim Zimmerman, of blessed memory, in which he sets forth, in a most compelling way, the prohibition of yielding Jewish land to non-Jews.  This paper was written and published in opposition to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria in 2005.  Serving then as a minister in the Sharon government, Mr. Netanyahu voted for that withdrawal, contrary to the warnings of Israel's highest military and intelligence officials.  Hence, he is partly responsible for the death, destruction, and suffering resulting from the government's violation of Jewish law.

But Mr. Netanyahu, like so many Israeli politicians, is superior to Jewish law.  He is superior to the teachings of Moses and the Prophets of Israel.  His highest law is derived not from God but from his own self-serving political calculations.

We have known for some time the conditions he would lay down for a Palestinian state: it would have no army, no control of air space, no power to make treaties with other nations, etc., etc.  It was obvious that these conditions would not be acceptable to the Palestinians.   Mr. Netanyahu may be cunning, but he is not wise.  Surely he should also insist that Arabs cease brainwashing their children to exalt suicide bombers on the one hand, and to hate Jews and Israel on the other.  But how could he insist on this without insisting that the Arabs overhaul the Quran, erase the ethos of jihad, rewrite their history, hence cease being Muslims!

To be fair, there were some solid points in Netanyahu's speech.

·         He said the root of the conflict was, and remains, the Arab refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own, in their historic homeland.

·         He said the closer we get to an agreement with the Palestinians, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict.

·         He said the claim that territorial withdrawals will bring peace with the Palestinians, or at least advance peace, has up till now not stood the test of reality.

He summed up by saying: "If we receive [a] guarantee regarding demilitarization and Israel's security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the State of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state."  However, if the Palestinian state were threatened by terrorists, international law would not require Palestinian compliance with pre-state agreements concerning demilitarization.

Leaving this aside, I see in Netanyahu's speech something overlooked by its author and thus far by commentators.  Looking beyond his crafted rhetoric, Mr. Netanyahu, in my opinion, has given the Arab-Islamic world a great victory and has inflicted on the Jewish people a terrible defeat.  For by agreeing to a Palestinian state, Netanyahu has given the democratic world to believe that the Arab claim to Judea and Samaria is superior to any put forth by the Jews!   Arabs thus have all the more reason to despise the Jews and scorn the God of Israel!  They will then have all the more incentive to persist in their territorial demands whose ultimate objective is to wipe Israel off the map of the Middle East.
How ironic!  I said Prime Minister Netanyahu desecrated God's Name.  He did so, moreover, at Bar-Ilan University, Israel's one religious university.  Contrast President Barack Obama's speech at al-Azhar University—the theological Harvard of the Islamic world.  Obama repeatedly praised Islam and its "holy" Quran.

I fear for Israel's future.  The strength of a nation depends more on its morale than on military might, and I see this morale evaporating while Jews resign themselves—even though it's still not official—to the establishment of an Arab-Islamic state in their heartland.  I ask: How should and how will the 300,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria feel now that their Prime Minister has renounced any Jewish claim to this land?  They saw what happened to the 10,000 Jews in Gaza and northern Samaria, so many of which were traumatized and impoverished by the Expulsion.

Let me ask Mr. Netanyahu:  How will these Jews feel while you trifle with their lives and their future while waltzing with Mahmoud Abbas who you know very well is leading the Americans by the nose.

You know, Mr. Netanyahu, that the first task of a statesman is to promote national unity by heightening a people's sense of national pride and identity—which requires the nation's territorial integrity.  Your speech has alienated the most patriotic citizens of Israel, those who live in memory-filled Judea and Samaria which you are willing to surrender.  Of course they know the Palestinians are not going to buy your Alice-in-Wonderland peace plan.   But you have deprived them of the moral high ground on which to fight for Israel's survival.

I did not realize how much you have in common with Obama.  Perceptive writers, including Victor Davis Hanson, Ralph Peters, our own Caroline Glick, Frank Gaffney, Melanie Phillips, Wafa Sultan, have exposed the incredible number of falsehoods that fill Obama's Cairo speech. But your own speech is based the one colossal falsehood that has betrayed Israel since Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accord—that peace is possible with the disciples of Muhammad.

You may know this in your heart of hearts, but like so many policy-makers in the democratic world, you lack the courage and wisdom to face the truth and act accordingly—with decisiveness and Jewish vision.

What is the difference between Obama's reaching out to Ahmadinejad—which you deem futile—and your reaching out to Mahmoud Abbas?   I don't see Muslims or Arabs reaching out to Jews.  Why not?  Because they have pride, overweening pride, groundless pride, destructive pride—call it what you will—but it means you will blink first, you will make concessions to them, and you will get nothing but more than contempt and violence in return.

And so the Big Lie of the "peace process" will continue.  The shoddy domestic politics of Israel along with the Saudi infested politics of America will continue. Yes, and the terrorism will continue.  Is there a way out of this maze?  Perhaps, but I've said enough for this report.

________________
*Edited transcript of the Eidelberg Report, Israel National Radio, June 15, 2009.




Sunday, June 14, 2009

Fwd: Mass Prayer Rally at Western Wall Planned - Next Sunday June 21st Tikkun Chait Miraglim

bs"d

If you have any connections with any member of the  Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moetzes_Gedolei_HaTorah in Israel or America, please beg/plead them to join with Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and the Yesha Rabbinical Committee and give support to this mass Prayer Rally at the Kotel next week on June 21st  and publicly declare our entitlement to the Land of Israel. Let us let President Obama and the world know that Netanyahu has no authority to give away something that does not belong to him. Even a disarmed Palestinian State is not G-d's Divine will. Our relationship with the Land of Israel has sanctity and that means only for Am Yisroel.  That is the meaning of Kedushin. The wife is exclusive to her husband. Even a disarmed other, violates the marriage contract. 

Once we understand this and internalize it, we can truly sing Od Yeshama BeArei Yehuda Uvechuzot Yerushalayim, Kol Sason VeKol Simcha, Kol Chatan VeKol Kallah.

If we give muscle and credence to Netanyahu's suggestion, the Palestinian people will be the first to suffer. We are doing them no favors if they are given that which they are not entitled and this includes a disarmed State.  Will they keep Shemittah, or other Mitzvoth Teluyot Baaretz?

They know first hand the brutality and anarchy that reigns when Israel leaves the picture. Scar from the Lion King dictates and terrorizes the people. Can it be no clearer than the before and after picture of Gush Katif? Desolation and destruction to take the place of peace, beauty and harmony.

We need to address each Rav or Rebbe as an individual Rav  in Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah
 and not the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah as an organization.  Each individual  Jewish soul was at Sinai. Each individual recognizes the threat and danger at hand  The Lubavitch Rebbe said that when it comes to Sakanas Nefashos we don't try to get a consensus.  Each individual must act swiftly to stop the spread of the fire especially when he/she sees that nothing is being done.  From our experience, whenever we approach one Rav in the Moetzes they almost always ask "Did you speak to so and so of the Moetzes or who else from the Moetzes feels this way? "


 Now is not the time to be humble and  to give Kavod Zeh Lezeh. 

In the future we will iy"h be zocheh to act like the Malachim who say Kedusha by  giving permission one to each other to sanctify their Creator in a pleasant and clear tone saying Kedusha....


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Barbara Sommer <sommer_1_98@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Subject: Mass Prayer Rally at Western Wall Planned
To: Barbara Sommer <sommer_1_98@yahoo.com>


Mass Prayer Rally at Western Wall Planned

Reported: 08:45 AM - Jun/14/09

(IsraelNN.com) A mass prayer rally at Jerusalem's Western Wall is planned for June 21 due to political talks of creating a Palestinian state and freezing construction within Judea and Samaria. Rishon L'Tzion Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and other rabbis are expected to participate.

Rabbi Eliyahu and the Yesha Rabbinical Committee call on the public to participate in the prayer rally.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/166426


Similarity - Hamas and the Torah Believing Jew that is Silent -Chas Vechalila - Middah Kinegged Middah

bs"d

Dear Jewish Print Media, Radio Media, Kiruv and Lecture Series Coordinators.,   ( in no special order)

http://www.torahmitzion.org/eng/resources/show.asp?id=659

In Parshas Noah it says "Ki Malah Haaretz Hamas"  Chapter 6 verse 13 "

G-d said to Noah,  "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them, and behold, I am about to destroy them from the earth"

There is another Midrash in the Talmud Yerushalmi which also appears in the Yalkut Shimoni: It says that God said to Noach:

קץ כל בשר בא לפניי - הגיע הזמן לקצץ אותם, להפוך אותם לאדמת בתה - כמו עצים ושיחים נמוכים כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם וכו' - חמס שווה פרוטה וגזל חצי פרוטה. לאחד היתה קופת תורמוסין קופסה עם תבואה כל אחד היה בא ונוטל פחות מחצי פרוטה כך שחברו לא יכול להוציא ממנו את מה שלקח לו - כך שמלאה כל הארץ חמס - האנשים אשר עליה שגרמו לכך. אמר הקב"ה אתם עשיתם שלא כשורה גם אני אעשה לכם כך.

"The end of all of life has come before me. The time has arrived to cut them down, to return the land to a pristine time when there were only trees and short shrubs "because the land if full of theft, etc" To be liable for the sin of "Hamas" one must steal something that is worth a "pruta" and to be liable for the sin of "Gezel" one must steal something that is worth half of a "pruta." In the generation of the flood, one would have a box of lupines, a box of grains. Everyone would come and take less then half of a "pruta" from someone else This is how the person who was stolen from was not able to recover his stolen objects. This was what the verse means when it says "The whole world was full of robbery," meaning, the people who caused this. God said to them, "You behaved improperly and I will do the same to you." 


Apparently, according to the Midrash each individual in Noach's time stole just a teeny bit.  Collectively the entire land was filled with robbery.


There is a crazy phenomenon in the Torah World.  Obama distorts the Torah to an obvious level and all the religious mainstream Jewish Organizations are Silent in setting the matter straight thereby creating a tremendous Chillul Hashem.  Obama said:

The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.  (Applause.)  This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace.  It is time for these settlements to stop.  (Applause.)....

All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra -- (applause) -- as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer.  (Applause.)

The Truth of the Torah as opposed to the truth presented by President Obama is that the Land of Israel is promised to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as an eternal inheritance.  The boundaries are delineated.

Each and every Jew received the Torah at Sinai.  Each and every Jew has the responsibility to speak up for the Torah and for the Covenant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The Silence of each and every Jew is adding a little to the Chillul Hashem.  "Atem Nitzavim Hayom" .  In September 2006 I posted the following on Shemittah Rediscovered.  


I would not change even one word today. 

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The Covenant Renewal- Nitzavim Vayelech -Areivus

bs"d

When the Bnei Yisroel enter Eretz Yisroel they receive a renewal of their Covenant. The first Covenant was given at Har Sinai. What was new about this Covenant? It was the concept of Areivus, that every Jew is now responsible of the sins of his brothers. Every Jew is obligated to help others observe the Torah and to restrain from violating it. As the commentary in the Stone Chumash explains that now they would be liable for transgressions committed openly (Ohr HaChaim) This is essential to the world view of the Jew, for it explains why one may not be apethetic to the shortcomings of others and why public desecrations of the Torah are the concern of every Jew of good conscience.

Atem Nitzavim - You are standing. Moshe empahsized that the people were standing before G-d because the purpose of the Covenant was to bind them to G-d's Torah. Sforno comments that Moshe stressed that they were standing before G-d, Who cannot be deceived. Moshe divided the people into categories to suggest that everyone is responsible according to how many others he or she can influence.

This concept of Areivus justifies my position of speaking out against influential Rabbinic Leaders such as Rav Shteinmen, Rav Kanievsky, Rav Eliashiv, the Admor M'Gur, the OU, Agudath Yisroel of America etc. who have been silent regarding the Roadmap and regarding the disengagement and the Convergence plan. It justifies the obligation of spokespeople of Yesha as well as the journalists in Jewish Media such as Arutz7, Jewish Press, Yated, Hamodia, Nachum Segal, Chofetz Chaim Foundation etc. to challenge this silence. The Roadmap is mutually exclusive to the Biblical promise that Hashem gave Eretz Yisroel exculsively to Am Yisroel. How can UTJ and Shas join an evil government. This evil government is clearly in opposition to Torah. Yet this was overlooked in exchange for bribes be it child support or educational subsidies or political position. . Those that remain silent become silent partners in allowing expulsion of Jewish settlement and settlers, partners in robbing our fellow brethren of their property, partners in destroying family units and cohesiveness, partners in taking away many families means of Parnassa, partners in terrorizing little children with an army of soldiers and last but not least partners in the bloody violence against the youth who were the only ones to stand up for the Torah and for Eretz Yisroel at the risk of their own lives. To sum it all, those that are silent are partners to the humanitarian and security crisis in Israel and partners in the empowerment of terrorism including Hizbollah and Hamas.

For this Hashem says Haster Astir Panai Bayom Hahu Al Kol Hara Asher Asa, Ki Phana el Elohim Acheirim(Devarim 31/18) . But I will surely have concealed My face on that day because of all the evil that it did, for it had turned to gods of others".


The young girls in Neve Dekalim cried bitter tears as the expulsion was happening "Al Tastir panech Mimeni Beyom Tzar Li". Don't hide your face from me on the day of my affliction.

Can we ignore the fact that much of the North of Eretz Yisroel was burnt in this past war with Lebanon? Isn't that a consequence of worshipping idols as well? Or do we simply continue to choose not make any connections to the events of the day and the warnings of the Torah.

Which idols did we collectively worship? My guess is trusting in America, trusting in an evil gov't in Israel that acts as if it is a puppet for America and in believing in our own strenth and power rather than on Torah and Mitzvoth. It is very difficult to place our total trust in Hashem . It's downright scary. Without prayer how can we humanly be capable of passing this test.

Yet all the curses are reversible. We need merely to admit our mistakes, beg Hashem for forgiveness and no doubt Hashem will hear our prayers and reverse the Gezaira. Atem Nitzavim Hayom. Each and every one of us including men, children, women and strangers. Anyone with any kind of influence must speak out publicly for the Torah and against any plans that are in direct opposition to the Torah. Failure to speak out is equivalent to being partners in the desecration of Hashem's name.
-------------------------------------------------------


It seems to me that  the job of the major religious organizations is  to mobilize Am Yisroel with their extensive networks to express in words and in deed the Nation's yearning and love for Eretzy Yisroel and demonstrate our trust in Hashem to deliver His promises to His Chosen People.   We will try our very best to keep the Mitzvoth in the Holy Land thereby infusing the Land and the world with peace, prosperity and holiness refining the entire world with the knowledge of G-d. The Previous Rebbe said that every single Jew, man and women, boy and girl is a Shaliach, not like the Miraglim. and we were sent to this world in our generation  to prepare the world for the time of Moshiach in Eretz Yisroel and this includes the generation in America raised on Pepsi Cola as well. (Rabbi Shmuel Butman on the radio Motzei Shabbos on Parshat Shlach 5769).  But passing the buck to an organization to be an activist is contributing to the collective silence.  Each one of us have a responsibility to do our hishtadlus in this manner.