Friday, June 17, 2011

bs"d Parshat Shlach Newsletter Divrei Torah that Mainstream Orthodox Jewish Press are afraid to touch

bs"d

Distributed Parshat Shlach 5771


In light of current events of the United Nations endorsing a Palestinian State, and in light of the lies and distortions that deny  Jewish connection to Har Habayit, Mearat HaMechpela, Kever Rochel and Kever Yosef and in light of the recent destruction of homes in Judea and Samaria and unwillingness of the IDF to defend and protect settlers in Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem in a strong and preventive way due to fear of hostile reaction of the Arabs, these articles are important to wake up Am Yisroel and fulfill the Mitzva of Al Taamod Al Dam Reiacha.


OROT HAPARSHA
Parshat Shlach
From the teachings of Rav Dani Isaac, Rosh Hayeshiva
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Moshe Rabeinu sends spies to tour the land and commands them to check it out: "See what kind of land it is. Are the people who live there strong or weak, few or many? Is the inhabited area good or bad? Are the cities where they live open or fortified?"

When the spies return from their mission, in theory they provide precise answers to Moshe's questions, noting that the land "flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit," and that "the people dwelling in the land are aggressive and their cities are large and well fortified. We also saw the descendents of the Anak there."

This makes Calev's reaction difficult to understand: "Calev calmed the people against Moshe and said, 'Let us go up at once and possess it because we can do it." Only after Calev's words does the Torah state, "the men who went with him said, 'We will not be able to go up against the people because they are stronger than we."

A closer look at the language of the spies' answer, however, reveals their sin. They add one word that changes their whole response, "Effes, (Nevertheless) the people is strong..." This means that they indeed describe the land but also interpret what they saw. With the word effes they are actually claiming that Am Yisrael will not succeed in vanquishing the residents of Canaan because they are strong and dwell in fortified cities. The interpretation is subjective and they were not sent for that purpose. They were sent to "tour" Canaan, i.e. to examine it objectively, to "photograph" the land but not to analyze their findings.

The interpretation and analysis of the findings are dependent on the strength of ones inner faith. Thus the Sifri darshans the pasuk at the end of our parsha "You shall not wander after your hearts, meaning that the eyes follow the heart. And if one says that the heart follows the eyes, there is a blind man who does all the abominable things in the world. From this we learn that the eyes follow the heart." The more ones heart has complete faith in the Kadosh Baruch Hu, the more the eye views the world correctly.

Chazal teach us in Midrash Rabba "when the spies would enter a city pestilence would strike its residents and they would be busy burying their dead and would not see the spies. Hashem did them a favor in order to trouble the city's residents with their mourning so that these would not notice those, but the spies said 'it is a land that consumes its inhabitants." Via the test that Hashem made for them they spoke ill of the land. This means that Hashem performed a miracle for their benefit, but they in their lack of faith analyzed the events in a twisted manner and thereby spoke ill of the land.

Only Yehoshua and Calev, from the depths of their faith in Hashem, said, "The land is very very good," and at the end of their delivery they say "and Hashem is with us, do not fear them."

Yehoshua draws his faith from his deep connection to Moshe Rabeinu and from his pure love of Torah, as it states, "...and Yehoshua, a young man who did not leave left the Tent.(Ohel Hamoed)"

Calev alone goes to Hebron to prostrate himself on the graves of the Avot, as we find in the Gemara in Sotah (34) on the pasuk, "They went up to the Negev and he came to Hebron..." the pasuk opens in the plural "and they went up" and continues in the singular "and he came." From this we learn that only Calev went in order not to be negatively influenced by the other spies' counsel.

When Calev arrives in Hebron, to the resting place of the Avot, he feels a connection with Hashem's promise to give Am Yisrael the land. This promise was given to Avraham and was repeated to Yitzhak and reiterated to Ya'akov, and they, with all their trials and tribulations remained true to their faith. Thus it says of them at the beginning of Parshat VaEra, "I revealed myself to Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, and did not allow them to know me by my name Hashem." Here Rashi explains, "I appeared to the Avot and I made promises to them... but by my name Hashem I was not known to them, meaning that I was not recognized by them in my attribute of "keeping faith," by reason of which I am called Hashem, to verify what I have said, because I made promises, but did not fulfill them [during their lifetime].

On that pasuk the Midrash Rabba says, "The Kadosh Baruch Hu told Moshe, 'It is a shame regarding those who are gone and are no longer here. How often I revealed myself to Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai and they never wondered about my attributes.'"

It is this pure faith of the Avot that is aroused in Calev because he chose to join himself to them.

Via this concept we can understand Moshe's tefilla for Yehoshua, that he not succumb to the other spies' counsel. "Moshe named Hoshea Ben Nun Yehoshua." The Midrash Rabba explains that this means "He prayed to Hashem to save him from the spies' counsel." This raises the question that if Moshe knew that the spies would sin, why did he send them. The reason is that it was not certain that the spies would sin and everything depended on how they felt in their heart, so Moshe davened that Yehoshua would be zocheh to examine reality in the correct way, through the depth of his faith.

Rav Kook explains the connection between Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael as a living bond, which is an internal and essential bond and not an external connection serving as a means for the general unification of the people and the reinforcement of its physical or even spiritual existence. Therefore in order to clarify whether Am Yisrael feels and lives this bond with Eretz-Yisrael, Moshe sent the spies, and if the were to be taken aback and would not want to enter the land, this would be a sign that the time had not yet arrived.

Thus the punishment for the sin of the spies is much more severe than that of the sin of Golden Calf. Here Hashem states, "In this desert shall your corpses fall," "Parallel to the number of days you toured the land, 40 days, one year for each day shall you bear your sins, 40 years..."

The sin of the Golden Calf is seemingly worse than the sin of the spies, but from the language of the punishment we can understand that it is necessary for Am Yisrael to traverse the desert and feel cut off from Eretz-Yisrael, and thereby to increase its inner yearning for the land and understand our bond to the land. This will lead to the banishing of all fear and trepidation and Am Yisrael will reach its land and fight for it with Oz and Gevura (daring and courage).

Yehoshua sends two spies from Shittim and they arrive at the home of a woman named Rahav. This story is astounding. Why would Yehoshua send spies after he himself had experienced the failure of the spies whom Moshe sent? And why did the Navi take the trouble to tell us that the spies were sent from Shittim, and was it an accident that they slept there in the home of a prostitute?

This can be explained in that davka Yehoshua, who experienced the initial examination of the bond between the nation and its land, understands that it is necessary to check whether 40 years of wandering in the desert had any effect, and whether Am Yisrael is now capable of entering the land and fighting against the same nations that they previously feared. The bond with the land, which is a living bond, must be revealed and used to activate all the vital powers of Am Yisrael and to direct them to kedusha. The nation living in its land does not have to neutralize any of its strengths, but must rather join them together with even more strength toward avodat kodesh.

There are two strong powerful Yetzarim (urges) in man, Yetzer Harayot (sex drive) and Yetzer Avoda Zara (idolatry). When these yetzarim are harnessed to kedusha they bring life and elevate or avodat Hashem.

In Shittim Am Yisrael began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav (Bamidbar 25:1). There they were likewise drawn to Ba'al Pe'or (pasuk 2). It was davka from there, from the place where we were undone by those forces, that Yehoshua sent the spies to Eretz-Yisrael, in order to check the internal bond with the land, which if it exists will naturally elevate those yetzarim to kedusha.

The spies arrive at the prostitute's home and she brings them up to the roof, where she hides them, saying that if vital powers are elevated to their divine source, the receive the validity of kedusha. And she in fact asks to join Am Yisrael when Jericho is conquered.

The two spies return to Yehoshua and say, "Truly, Hashem has delivered all the land into our hands, and moreover all the inhabitants of the land are filled with terror because of us." If the spies had not acted through great faith in Tzur Yisrael (Hashem), and had not understood that all vital forces, which in the meantime were manifest in a negative fashion among the land's inhabitants, would revert to kedusha and acts of gevura, they would have interpreted what had happened to them negatively and would have claimed that the people were very hostile and prepared for battle, which is why the king of Jericho discovered them immediately. Their eyes, however, followed their faithful hearts, so the said that the fear of Israel had fallen on the inhabitants of Canaan.

The spies that Moshe sent and the spies that Yehoshua sent, which represent two opposites, can be found even today, when Am Yisrael returned to Eretz-Yisrael. There are people whose analysis is allegedly real, such that they contend that we will not succeed in gaining sovereignty over all parts of Eretz-Yisrael. This, however, is a lack of faith.

The true believer sees the niflaot of Hashem, who is gomel chessed with us, and who is putting us to a great test of faith. But we are sure that "a time of trouble for Ya'akov but he will be saved out of it," means that our yeshua will be revealed from out of the troubles themselves, because it will become clear that all the complications are just a crane that requires us to go higher and higher in the spiritual and material construction of the nation.

 

"And he who acted with Hashem will come and take his reward from Shalem."


Shabbat Shalom from Beit Orot in Yerushalayim 

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B"H
PARSHAT SHLACH LECHA

(by Yehuda HaKohen)

As the Hebrew Nation mobilizes to liberate the Land of Israel from Canaanite rule, Moshe dispatches a team of twelve scholars (a leader from each tribe) to spy out the country in preparation for the assault. Ten of these spies return with a misleading report meant to demoralize the people and prevent the conquest from taking place. The other two, Yehoshua and Calev, courageously challenge the ten in an attempt to save Israel from sin. The masses, however, follow the opinion of the ten rabbis and in so doing bring about a national catastrophe.

The spies who brought their people a demoralizing report were ostensibly demonstrating a rationalist approach to the situation. They saw and were concerned over the difficulties their people would be forced to confront when fighting to conquer the Land of Israel.

"The people that dwells in the land are powerful, the cities are fortified and very great, and we also saw the giant's descendants there... We cannot ascend against those people for they are too strong for us (mimenu)." (BAMIDBAR 13:28, 31)

Because the word mimenu can be translated as either "us" or "him" Rashi comments that it was as though they were speaking about HaShem, claiming that those Canaanite nations were even stronger than G-D.

The result was that the ten rabbis weakened Israel's resolve, leading the people to come forth with such arguments as "Why is HaShem bringing us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and young children will be taken captive! Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?" (BAMIDBAR 14:3)

Most of Israel sided with the defeatist spies and perished in the desert over a period of forty years. The conquest of Eretz Yisrael was delayed until a new generation could arise that would be psychologically capable of fighting for their homeland. It was ultimately Yehoshua and Calev – the minority rabbinic opinion – who emerged victorious a generation later, leading Israel in the liberation of their country from foreign rule.

The ten spies that led the Hebrew Nation to catastrophe were essentially putting forth two basic arguments. The first was that preserving life overrides the conquest of Eretz Yisrael and that if taking possession of the land appears to be dangerous, the people are not required to do so.

The second opinion expressed by these rabbis was that it is possible and permissible to live true Torah lives outside of our borders; that the Nation of Israel need not be in the Land of Israel to be loyal to HaShem or to observe His Torah. But this claim in itself negates Torah Law. The spies – giants of Israel and chiefs of the Sanhedrin – rebelled against HaShem in refusing His directive to conquer the Land of Israel. Their mutiny revealed a terrible lack of faith and was a transgression far worse than that of the golden calf. For the sin of the calf, only three thousand were punished but for the sin of the spies, all male adults aside from Yehoshua and Calev died in the desert before ascending to their homeland.

The Sages teach (in Tanchuma) that the sin of the spies took place on the ninth day of Av and was the foundation for the destructions of both the first and second Temples (both occurring on the same date in future years).

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explains in Mesillat Yesharim (chapter 11) that the spies, who were the tribal chiefs and Torah giants of their generation "feared a lessening of their honor, lest, upon entering the land, they would no longer be princes of Israel, and others would be appointed in their place."

It is a regrettable truth that this transgression has repeated itself many times throughout our history. Spiritual leaders often refrain from educating their followers that living in, conquering and settling the entire Land of Israel are not merely commendable personal choices but actually an underlying basis for the entire Torah. But if this error has infected even great Torah scholars, we must question how so many otherwise righteous and learned leaders could miss something so vital to the Torah's full expression. The Gaon of Vilna offers an explanation in Kol HaTor (the Gaon's teachings on the process of Redemption):

"The Sin of the Spies... hovers over the Nation of Israel in every generation… How strong is the power of the Sitra Achra that it succeeds in hiding from the eyes of our holy fathers the dangers of the klipot; from the eyes of Avraham our father, the klipah of exile... and in the time of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra attacks the guardians of Torah with blinders… Many of the sinners in this great sin of, `They despised the cherished land,' and also many of the guardians of Torah, will not know or understand that they are caught in the Sin of the Spies, that they have been sucked into the Sin of the Spies in many false ideas and empty claims, and they cover their ideas with the already proven fallacy that the mitzvah of the settlement of Israel no longer applies in our day, an opinion which has already been disproven by the giants of the world, the Rishonim and Achronim." (Kol HaTor chapter 5)

In his supplement to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot, the Ramban teaches that it is a Torah commandment for every generation that the Nation of Israel take control of and inhabit the entire Land of Israel.

"This is what our Sages call Milchemet Mitzvah... And do not err and say that this precept is the commandment to vanquish the seven nations... this is not so... this land is not to be left in their hands or in the hands of any nation, in any generation whatsoever... behold we are commanded with conquest in every generation... if so this is a positive commandment, which applies in every time... and the proof that this is a commandment is this: `They were told to go up in the matter of the Spies: Go up and conquer as HaShem has said to you. Do not fear and do not be discouraged.' And it further says: `And when HaShem sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you.' And when they did not go up, the Torah says: `And you rebelled against the Word of G-D, and you did not listen to this command.'" (Positive Commandment 4 of the Ramban's supplement to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot)

The Ramban states irrefutably that the conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah for Israel in every generation and that we are forbidden from allowing any part of our country to fall into – or remain under – gentile control. It is found in the Shulchan Aruch that all of the arbitrators of Torah Law (Rishonim and Achronim) agree with the Ramban concerning this issue.

"All of the Poskim, both Rishonim and Achronim, decide the Law in this fashion on the basis of the Ramban." (Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer section 75, Pitchei Tshuva 6)

As for the spies' erroneous claim that preserving Jewish life overrides the commandment of liberating the Land of Israel, it is clear that conquering territory from a foreign nation is naturally an act that involves physical danger. While the Torah commands Israel in most cases to preserve Hebrew life even at the expense of Torah Law, this cannot be applied to a Divine commandment that is, in its very essence, life threatening. Because the Torah obligates the Jewish Nation to fight for the liberation of Eretz Yisrael, the notion of Pikuach Nefesh (preserving life) is not considered. Rather, a war of liberation requires great Mesirut Nefesh (self-sacrifice).

"The mitzvot of the Torah are not based on the occurrence of miracles. The mitzvah to wage war is given to us despite the fact that in the natural course of events both sides suffer casualties in the heat of battle. Evidently the mitzvah applies even though there is inherent hazard…" (Minchat Chinuch commentary to Sefer HaChinuch 425)

The Gaon of Vilna writes in his introduction to Paat HaShulchan that "all of the wisdoms of the world are for the sake of the Torah and are included within It." As HaShem's national expression in this world, Israel must have an all encompassing vision of Torah that recognizes the Divine inner unity of everything in existence. The fragmented vision that caused the spies to feel like grasshoppers in comparison to the giants of Hevron is the same fragmented vision – dimmed by nearly two thousand years of humiliating exile – that causes many contemporary Jewish leaders to relate to the present as something isolated in history and to themselves as insignificant when compared to the leaders of foreign nations. This unhealthy perspective must be replaced by a higher understanding – one that views HaShem as the Source of all, guiding world history towards an ultimate goal of universal perfection. Israel must learn to see the world from the roots above and to view history in its entirety; to have an all encompassing vision of where Creation is being led and what this means for our people and for all of mankind. Only by attaining this greater vision and self awareness can Israel understand our true national mission and the purpose of Torah as the blueprint for Creation.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula

 

Activists Arrested After Being Attacked By Arabs
by Gavriel Queenann
June 15, 2011

(Israelnationalnews.com) Women in Green head Nadia Matar was detained
Wednesday by Civil Administration oficials after a violent
confrontation initiated by Arabs near Netzer.
Matar's saga began Tuesday night when Women in Green planted several
large olive trees on state-owned land near Netzer on a hill connecting
the Jewish communities of Elazer and Alon Shvut to stop Arab
encroachment.

"Arabs had started planting vines there, squatting on state owned
land. Then they started fencing it in and we knew we had to step in.
We ordered a huge truck and came in the night. We planted many large
olive trees and hooked up irrigation pipes for them. Then we posted a
guard because, when we've done this in the past, the Arabs try to
uproot the trees," Matar told Israel National News.

Wednesday morning Matar said she received a phone call from the sentry
telling her local Arab farmers with saws were cutting the trees down.
Matar, her partner Yehudit Katzover, and their supporters rushed to
the scene where they were violently confronted by the Arabs.

"When we came we saw the Arabs cutting the trees with saws. They had
already uprooted the irrigation pipes. They threatened us, pushed and
attacked us," Matar related. "We started putting the irrigation pipes
back together and they started striking us. Of course we immediately
called for the army to come."

Shortly after the initial confrontation Civil Admininistration
officials, along with police and army officers, arrived to investigate
the incident and took Nadia and Yehudit into custody for questioning
after the Arabs accused them of being the aggressors.

"This is a time-honored tradition among the Arabs: to attack you and
then claim to be the vicitms. As soon as we called the Army one of the
Arab women there told her son to lie down and showed him how to
pretend he was hurt. The performance he put on would have won him an
award in any theater. He played the perfect victim. So the police
arrested us, Yehudit and I, as well as the Arabs," Matar said.

Matar and Katzover were held and interrogated by police until four in
the afternoon before being released. The two thanked lawyer Adi Keidar
of Honenu for his efforts on their behalf.

"The police held me for a very long time. They were very angry. They
yelled at me and demanded we name the other Jews who were present. I
refused. I told them I was there to complain about the Arabs planting
on state-owned land and attacking us and would talk about nothing
else," Matar related.

"I told them the other Jews did not want to be involved because they
know that whenerver a Jew files a complaint against an Arab they
become the accused. When my interrogator heard that, he threatened me
with obstruction charges. I told him he was proving my point. Finally,
when Yehudit was released, she was able to get me out," Matar related.

Matar, who cited the incident as a victory, said she and the Arabs
were issued a restraining order forbidding them from going to the
Netzer site for fifteen days while the Army investigated who owned the
land.

"If you call and complain Arabs are stealing state-owned land, nothing
happens. They will only intervene if their is a confrontation. So, by
doing this, we forced the army to come. Now they will review the maps
and be forced to make a decision on the land's status," Matar
explained.

"We always research first," Matar said. "We always have maps and
survey the areas we patrol. We know what the army will find. They say
no one will be allowed in until a decision is made, but we will
continue our patrols. Sometimes confrontation is the only way to force
the authorties to stand up for Jewish rights."

Matar was charged with obstruction and tresspassing before being
released on bail. Israel Police spokesperson Mickey Rosenthal said
Matar was obligated to cooperate with investigators.

"As the spokesperson I can't comment on the exact tone or what have
you of Ms. Matar's interview - we expect officers to be cool and
collected as there is normally no need for elevated emotions in an
interview - but she is obligated to cooperate and provide
investigators with any information relevant to their investigation.
Its her duty," Rosenthal said.

The IDF had not responded to queries for information by the time this
article was published.

Op-Ed: Response to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and the Kotel Renovations

November 6, 2010 by The Mount

Truly Renewing the Old

By: Yosef Rabin

In his article, "Renewing the Old", Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz States as follows:"Since the destruction of the Temple and since the halachic decision that due to our ritual impurity we can view the site from afar but must not go up to it, the Western Wall was made sacred by generations of pilgrims who came to pour out their prayers in front of its ancient stones." What I am about to write, I write with trepidation, but yet with determination. Admittedly, I am not a great Torah scholar, but I have no idea what the honorable Rabbi is taking about!

It is very clear from halachic literature that not only is it permitted to ascend the Temple Mount in our times, but that one even fulfills a religious command by doing so! When a Jew walks on the permissible areas of the Temple Mount, he is actually fulfilling the positive commandment of morah mikdash or showing reverence to the place of the Temple. Rabbi Moshe Ben Mimon (Rambam) clearly writes that this command applies even when the Temple is not standing, and that we should fulfill it by entering into the permitted areas of the Temple Mount. The Rambam writes in the "Laws of the Chosen House" the following: "Even though the Temple is destroyed due to our sins, one must show reverence, as was customary when the Temple was standing. One should enter into the permitted areas (of the Mount), but must not sit in the Temple courtyard nor act frivolously in the direction of the eastern gate, as it is written: "My Sabbath you shall guard, and my Temple shall revere" (Leviticus 19:30). Just like Sabbath is eternal, reverence for the Temple is eternal as well (ch.7, 7). Later in the "Laws of the Chosen House" theRambam uses forceful language in stressing the relevance of ascending the Temple Mount in our times, he writes:  "One is permitted to bring a dead body onto the Temple Mount and thus there is no need to mention that a person impure from contact with a dead body can enter (7, 15)." So from where do we find a "halachic decision" which is forcing us to only "view the site from afar, but not go up to it"?

To make the above question even stronger, there is a famous dispute between the Rambam and Rabbi Avraham Ben David of Posquières (Ra'avad) if there is any sanctity on the Temple Mount in the post Temple area. In his commentary on the Rambam's"Laws of the Chosen House", the Ra'avd strongly disagrees with the Rambam's assertion that sanctity of the Temple Mount is eternal, and thus states that the punishment of Karet, the harsh Torah punishment imposed on those who step into the Temple courtyard, is not in force today. Being that all modern day rabbinic authorities side with the Rambam and not the Ra'avad, I find it strange that while they accept the Rambam's ruling that there is sanctity on the Mount, they simultaneously reject the Rambam's ruling to ascend the Mount. If the Rambam is correct, and the sanctity of the Mount is eternal, one must honor it's sanctity by ascending to the Mount within Torah guidelines! If the Ra'avad is correct and there is no sanctity on the Mount today, one could walk freely on the Temple Mount without any special halachic perpetrations, and there would be no reason for any rabbi to oppose ascent.

In addition, to all those who discourage pilgrimage to the Mount in our times, I have yet another question. If there is so much concern over the spiritual punishment of karet on the Temple Mount, perhaps there should also be concern over marriage. The halachic laws of "family purity" are very complex and are similar in nature to the halachic laws governing ones ascent to the Temple Mount, and both carry the spiritual punishment of karet. Perhaps the same rabbis, who warn against ascending the Mount, should warn against the institution of marriage! Of course what I am suggesting is absurd! Every new bride and groom is taught the laws of "Family Purity" before their union, and we trust that God fearing people will faithfully follow the right path. The same approach should apply to those ascending the Temple Mount as well!

I certainly agree with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz that the Western Wall was only made sacred "by generations of pilgrims who came to pour out their prayers", unlike the Temple Mount which was sanctified by the Almighty. In his book titled "The Temple Mount ", Former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Shlomo Goren points out that Jews have only been using the Western Wall as a place of prayer for about 400 years or so. Rabbi Goren describes how Jews only began to pray at the Western Wall when it became too dangerous to pray at the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount, which was a preferred place of prayer for many years prior. In addition, anyone who took a tour of the "Western Wall Tunnels" knows that in the times of the Temple a market ran alongside the Western Wall and the wall was not considered holy at that time.

Yes it is certainly time for a "Renewing the Old"; it is time to renew the Temple Mount as the central place of prayer for the Jewish Nation. At the Western Wall during the British area, Jews were not allowed to use chairs, tables, mechitzasand were even forbidden from blowing a shofar, but at least the British allowed them to pray! At the very least we should expect that the State of Israel grant us on the Temple Mount what the British granted us at the Western Wall! It cannot be that the policy of the Jewish State towards Jewish prayer is worse than that of the British!

Let us hope that the Israeli Government will take at least some of the money set aside for renovations at the Western Wall and use it instead for the creation of a proper Jewish prayer area on the Temple Mount. The arrangement on the Mount could be patterned after the arrangement in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The Tomb has been split since 1967 to facilitate for both Jewish and Muslim prayer. In this way we might see the fulfillment of the prophetic vision of Isaiah: "And they shall prostrate themselves before the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem".

Yosef Rabin


From  JAHG-USA  (Jews and Hasidic Gentiles United to Save America)

http://www.noahide.com/  See PLO Defunding Updates

Endorser list updated November 28, 2010;
572 endorsements

Proclamation 1:
The Responsibility of Every Single Jew to Participate in the Campaign to
"Stop Funding the Terrorist PLO!"

  • It is our duty to inform every Jew of the following Torah principles:
  • Every Jew, regardless of age or position, has an obligation under Jewish law to save the life of a fellow Jew whose life is in danger (the obligation of  ).
  • This obligation "pushes aside the entire Torah" (), meaning that it overrides, if necessary, the observance of virtually any other part of Jewish law — even shabbos, Yom Kippur, or the like ().
  • When the time comes to save a life (or lives), a Jew is absolutely forbidden to ask permission to do so, even from a Rav or any other authority; Jewish law states that by asking for authorization, a Jew would be wasting precious time and effort that is needed for the saving of lives, and would be giving others the false impression that saving lives might be optional, or that someone may have the authority to override this obligation.
  • The Table of Jewish Law () states that any rabbi who is asked by a member of his community for permission to save lives is considered shamed and disgraced (), since he previously failed to teach clearly that they must not ask his permission in such a case.
  • Indeed, Jewish law requires the rabbi to precede his entire congregation in rushing forward to save lives, so as to provide a proper example to others ().
  • A Jew who fulfills his duty to save a life is considered as if he has saved the entire world.
  • One who fails to carry out his responsibility is considered by Torah as if he actually participated in the murder of his fellow Jews.
  • One who sees his fellow Jews not carrying out their responsibility of saving lives must speak out and pressure those Jews to do their duty; if another person, despite knowing his responsibility, still refuses to act, "we shame him publicly, publicize his (ongoing) sin, reproach him to his face, and despise and curse him, until he will return to what is proper" (), if this is the only way to make him take proper action.
  • One who discourages his fellow Jews from saving lives, or who even fails to speak out to force them to take action, is considered one who causes the masses to sin; he loses his place in the World to Come (), and is hindered — or even blocked altogether, if his terrible sin persists — from doing teshuvah (repentance and return) for his heinous act of betrayal ().
  • Various authorities, including the Lubavitcher Rebbe, have unequivocally applied the principle of saving lives to the current situation in Israel, in which Jews are being forced to surrender in stages to our enemies — especially to the Marxist, terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and various affiliated groups (); these terrorists continue to make clear their objective of utterly destroying the nation of Israel and murdering all its citizens ().
  • The organization "Jews And Hasidic Gentiles — United to Save America" (JAHG-USA) has spearheaded a campaign to terminate U.S. government funding for the PLO and its various front organizations, financing which amounts to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars each year, and which may well be the primary funding source for the terrorists, without which their operations would cease and uncountable Jewish lives would be saved.
  • Therefore, we the undersigned endorse the materials produced by JAHG-USA for this PLO-defunding campaign, including the petition "An Urgent Call to Stop Funding the Terrorist PLO!", the flier "Is America Ready for Judgment Day?", and the book A Brilliant Disguise: How Israel's Enemies Have Concealed their True Identity and Fatal Weakness; these materials should be used by every single Jew in America in an emergency campaign to save Jewish lives — which is obligatory for all Jews.
  • The efforts to neutralize Israel's enemies should not be limited to the above, but should also include any other productive efforts leading to the destruction of the PLO and its allies and sponsors.

Name: (signature of rabbi/leader)

Endorsers:

Agudath Israel

Rabbi Avrohom Biegeleisen (Exec. Dir., AI of Montreal, Canada; & Yeshiva Gedola)

Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss (Rav, AI of Staten Island)

Ahavas Chesed, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Avraham Leider (Exec. Dir.)

Ascent Institute, Tsfat, Israel

Eyal Binyamin Karoutchi (Project Mgr.)

Rabbi Shaul Leiter (Dir.)

Rabbi Eyal Riess

Rabbi Mordechai Siev

authors / lecturers

Rabbi Zechariah Fendel (Hashkafah Publications; Brooklyn, NY)

Dr. Arnie (Aryeh) Gotfryd (Thornhill, ON, Canada)

Bais Chaya Synag. & Prep. Academy, Pompano Beach, FL

Rabbi Moshe Rabin (Dir.)

Bais Menachem Mendel of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Baruch Lipskier

Bedatz of Amsterdam, Holland

Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag (Av Beis Din; & Rav, Young Israel of Ave. K, NY; Union of Orth. Rabbis of US & Canada)

Beis Din of Detroit, MI

Rabbi Chaim Moshe Bergstein

Beis Moshiach Magazine

Rabbi Shabtai Weintraub (aka "Shai Gefen")

Beis Rivka Seminary, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Sholom D. Geisinsky

Beit Rivka Seminary, Kfar Chabad, Israel

Rabbi Chalom Barchichat

Rabbi Moshe Chefer (Principal)

Bikur Cholim, Palm Springs, CA

Rabbi Yankel Kreiman (Dir.)

Bnos Menachem School, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dovid Leib Myhill

Brit Yosef Yitzchak

Rabbi Yaron Amit (Jerusalem, Israel)

Rabbi Zalman Gansburg (Miami, FL)

Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Zalman Labkowski (Dean)

Rabbi Yekutiel Rapp

Rabbi Yitzchok Springer

Chabad Girl's School, Lod, Israel

Rabbi Shimon Dadon

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — Canada

Rabbi Ari Drelich (Edmonton, AB)

Rabbi Yehuda Gozlan (Chai Ctr., Montreal, QC)

Rabbi Zalman Aaron Grossbaum (Community Ctr., Thornhill, ON)

Rabbi Zalman Itkin (z"l)* (Hamilton, ON)

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan (Flamingo, Thornhill, ON)

Rabbi Velvel Minkowitz (Montreal Torah Ctr., Hampstead, QC)

Rabbi Berel Mochkin (Youth Org., Montreal, QC)

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Raskin (Cote St. Luc, QC)

Rabbi Moshe Reikhtman (Chai Ctr., Montreal, QC)

Yosef Romano (Chai Ctr., Montreal, QC)

Rabbi Chanoch Rosenfeld (Hamilton, ON)

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman (Jewish Russian Cmmty. Ctr., Toronto, ON)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — England

Rabbi Yonoson Golomb (Sheffield)

Rabbi Moshe Muller (Ilford, Essex)

Rabbi Gershon Overlander (Hendon, London)

Rabbi Ephraim Potash (London)

Rabbi Nachman Sudak (Lubavitch Found. Reg. HQ, London)

Rabbi Dovid Usiskin (Bristol)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — Europe (general)

Rabbi Mendel Chitrik (Istanbul, Turkey)

Rabbi Avraham Cohen (Brussels, Belgium)

Rabbi Aaron Ctorza (Vienna, Austria)

Rabbi Yaakov Friedman (Dir., Chabad schools, Moscow, Russia)

Rabbi Yeshayahu Gerlitzky (Bucharest, Romania)

Rabbi Avrohom Hazan (Tzeirei Agudas Chabad, Milan, Italy)

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heintz (Utrecht, Netherlands)

Rabbi Mendy Hertz (Antwerp, Belgium)

Rabbi Uri Holtzman (Geneva, Switzerland)

Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Kantor (Chabad of Ticino, Lugano, Switzerland)

Rabbi Yaakov Klein (Int'l. Jewish Community of Moscow, Russia)

Rabbi Yosef Krichevsky (Brussels, Belgium)

Rabbi Mordechai Mendelson (Karlsruhe, Germany)

Rabbi Jaacov Zwi Spiero (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Rabbi Meir Stambler (Warsaw, Poland)

Rabbi Israel Sternberg (Trieste, Italy)

Rabbi Amijai Swued (Barcelona, Spain)

Rabbi Daniel van Praag (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Rabbi Jaakow Waiser (Agudas Chasidei Chabad HQ, Vienna, Austria)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — France

Rabbi Eliezer Arnauve (Paris)

Rabbi Yossef Bismuth (Villepinte)

Rabbi Yosseph Kalmenson (Kehilat Chne Or, Aubervilliers)

Rabbi Daniel Kauffmann (Paris)

Rabbi Nota Levertov (Aubervilliers)

Rabbi Natan Paris (Strasbourg)

Rabbi Mordechai Pevzner (Perpignan)

Rabbi Yossef Yitschok Pinson (Nice)

Rabbi Shlomo Saada (Paris)

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Sarfati (Poissy)

Rabbi Moshe Sarfati (Les Lilas)

Rabbi Elicha Schapira (Villeneuve St. Georges)

Rabbi Mordechai Sojcher (Boulogne)

Rabbi Menachem Zekri (S. Cloud)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — Israel

Rabbi Ohad Antverg (Haifa)

Rabbi Viktor Atyah (Hebron/Kiryat Arba)

Rabbi David Aziza (Tzafon, Tel Aviv)

Rabbi Gilad Bar-Tov (Giv'atayim)

Rabbi Yisrael Beiser (Beit Shemesh)

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim (Tzafon, Netanya)

Rabbi Yochanan Butman (Hadera)

Rabbi Avrohom Cohen (Shchuna A/11, Be'er Sheva)

Rabbi Daniel Cohen (Hebron)

Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen (Karnei Shomron)

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Druck (Tene Omrim - Har Hebron)

Rabbi Hirsh Farber (Gilo, Jerusalem)

Rabbi Shabtay Fischer (Giv'at Shmuel)

Rabbi Dor Fishman (Kadumim)

Rabbi Sholom Gamliel (Jerusalem)

Rabbi Shimon Garelik (Rav of shul, Nahariya)

Rabbi Simcha Geldzahler (Kiryat Simcha)

Rabbi Sagee Har-Shefer (Nes Ziyona)

Doron Hegyi (inst. mgr., Itamar)

Rabbi Sholom Ber Hertzel (Rosh Pina)

Rabbi Eldad Ilan (Gadera)

Rabbi Begin Kalimi (Eir Ganim, Jerusalem)

Rabbi Chaim Kaplan (Agudat Kiryat Chabad, Tsfat)

Rabbi Michoel Kelman (Kibbutz Yifat)

Rabbi Avshalom Kill (Gan Ner)

Rabbi Chanan Kochunovski (Ramat Eliyahu, Rishon Lezion)

Rabbi Yechiel Kotzer (Eilat)

Rabbi Yosef Kramer (Tiberias)

Rabbi Erez Krelenstein (Mosdos Chinuch Chabad, Rechovot)

Rabbi Natan Lernoboy (Neve David, Haifa)

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Lipkin (Kfar Saba)

Rabbi Eitan Liran (Givat Tal, Kiryat Ata)

Rabbi Yoel Mann (Keisaria, Or Akiva)

Rabbi Ramiel Maor (Bat Hayin)

Rabbi Zeev Riterman (Kiryat Malachi)

Rabbi Chaim Sasson (Lev Israel Chai, Beitar Eilit)

Rabbi Elisha Schapira (Beit Shemesh)

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schildkraut (Exec. Dir., Lubavitch Inst's. of Haifa)

Rabbi Noam Schwartz (Kazrin)

Rabbi Boruch Slonim (Modi'in)

Rabbi Zvi Chaim Slonim (Mitzpeh Ramon)

Rabbi Ron Storch (Tzfat)

Rabbi Yaakov Turnheim (Beitar Eilit)

Rabbi Eliezer Vaisfiche (Petach Tikva)

Rabbi Eliezer Weiner (Beit Shemesh)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international — South America

Rabbi Avraham Benchimol (N. Area, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Nissim Katri (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)

Rabbi Ofer Kripor (Cusco, Peru)

Rabbi Eli Levy (Colegiales, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Shlomo Levy (Palermo, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Yosef Ludman (W. Area, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Yoel Migdal (Central Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Chanoch Piekarski (Bogota, Colombia)

Rabbi Isaac Javier Safranchik (Almagro/Abasto, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Aharon Stawsky (Chabad HQ, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Rabbi Eliyahu Swued (Barranquilla, Colombia)

Rabbi Yossi Turk (Cordoba, Argentina)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, international (general)

Rabbi Shaul Engel (Bayside, Melbourne, Australia)

Rabbi Dovid Haller (Johannesburg, S. Africa)

Rabbi Yosef Y. Hecht (Sandton, Gallo Manor, S. Africa)

Rabbi Benzion Hershcovich (Cabo S. Lucas, Mexico)

Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor (Bangkok, Thailand)

Rabbi Betzalel B. Lifshitz (Almaty, Kazakhstan)

Rabbi Shloimeh Nathanson (Docklands, Caulfield N., VIC, Australia)

Rabbi Mendel Popack (Chabad Centre Cape Town, Sea Point, S. Africa)

Rabbi Dovid Sebban (Southhead Synag., Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Rabbi Abraham Srugo (Guadalajara, Mexico)

Rabbi Shalom White (Perth, W. Australia)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — California

Rabbi Elly Andrusier (N. Irvine)

Rabbi Joel Andrusier (Irvine)

Rabbi Aharon Begun (Cheviot Hills; Bais Chana H.S., Los Angeles)

Rabbi Yosef Berkowitz (S. Huntington Beach)

Rabbi Levi Blesofsky (Yorba Linda)

Rabbi Chalom Mendel Boudjnah (Jewish Student Life, S. Diego)

Rabbi Eliezer Dovid Broner (Conejo, Agoura Hills)

Rabbi Moshe Bryski (Conejo, Agoura Hills)

Rabbi Aharon Meir Cunin (S. Jose, Los Gatos)

Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie (Yorba Linda)

Rabbi Reuven Goldstein (Cupertino)

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein (Poway)

Rabbi Dov Greenberg (Stanford Univ., Palo Alto)

Rabbi Elimelech Gurevitch (Laguna Beach)

Rabbi Yitzchok Hurwitz (Temecula)

Rabbi Yehuda Korf (Greater Los Feliz, Los Angeles)

Rabbi Yossi Korik (Roseville)

Rabbi Shmuel Marcus (Cypress)

Rabbi Yitzchok Marcus (Los Alamitos)

Rabbi Zalman Marcus (Mission Viejo)

Rabbi Chaim Mentz (Bel Air)

Rabbi Reuven Mintz (Newport Beach)

Rabbi Yosef Mishulovin (Mid-City Ctr., Los Angeles)

Rabbi Dov Muchnik (Oxnard)

Rabbi Yisroel Pinson (Pasadena)

Rabbi Shimon Raichik (Hancock Park, Los Angeles)

Rabbi Yisrael Rice (Marin, S. Rafael)

Rabbi Mendy Rubenfeld (Poway)

Rabbi Yitzchak Sapochkinsky (Westlake Village)

Rabbi Michoel Shapiro (La Costa)

Rabbi Alter Tennenbaum (Irvine)

Rabbi Yisroel Zaetz (Chabad Student Ctr., S. Francisco)

Rabbi Levi Zirkind (Fresno)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — Florida

Rabbi Baruch Andrusier (SW Broward, Cooper City)

Rabbi Sholom Blank (Cong. Lubavitch Russian Immigrant Ctr., Miami Beach)

Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky (Doral)

Rabbi Chaim Brody (Bais Menachem, N. Miami Beach)

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Browd (NE Florida, Jacksonville)

Rabbi Yoel Caroline (Key Biscayne)

Rabbi Menachem Cheruti (Chabad Israeli Ctr., Miami Beach)

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Engel (Tamarac)

Rabbi Adi Goodman (SW Broward, Cooper City)

Rabbi Shmuel Gopin (Midtown, Miami)

Rabbi Menachem Gutnick (Parkland)

Rabbi Shmuly Gutnick (Chabad Youth Network, Boca Raton)

Rabbi Sholom B. Korf (Delray Beach)

Rabbi Ed Leibowitz (Cong. Ahavas Yisrael Chabad, Maitland)

Rabbi Mendy Levy (The Shul, Surfside)

Rabbi Shmuel Mann (Venetian Islands, Miami Beach)

Rabbi Shraga Mann (South Beach, Miami Beach)

Rabbi Shmuel Novack (Southside, Jacksonville)

Rabbi Yossi Rosenblat (Bais Menachem, N. Miami Beach)

Rabbi Yaakov Roth (Lubav. Educ. Ctr., Miami Beach)

Rabbi Benzion Singer (Lauderdale by the Sea)

Rabbi Yossi Srugo (Aventura)

Rabbi Yaakov Zucker (Florida Keys, Key West)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — Massachusetts

Rabbi Chaim Adelman (Amherst)

Rabbi Yakov Blotner (Yeshiva Academy, Worcester)

Rabbi Hershel Fogelman (Worcester)

Rabbi Chaim Kosofsky (Bais Hamidrash Lubavitch, Longmeadow)

Rabbi Yaakov Lazaros (Framingham)

Rabbi Yosef Resnick (Sharon)

Rabbi Levi Volovik (Berkshire Co., Pittsfield)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — New Jersey

Rabbi Avrohom Bernstein (Freehold)

Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky (Palisades, Tenafly)

Rabbi Michel Gurkov (Passaic Co., Wayne)

Rabbi Asher Herson (NW New Jersey, Rockaway)

Rabbi Boruch Klar (Lubavitch Ctr. of Essex Co., West Orange)

Rabbi Mendy Lewis (Old Tappen)

Rabbi Levi Neubort (Anshei Lubavitch Cong., Fair Lawn)

Rabbi Moshe Schapiro (Hoboken)

Rabbi Yehudah Spritzer (Monroe)

Rabbi Dovid Wilansky (Bris Avrohom — Cong. Ohel Yosef Yitzchok, Hillside)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — New York

Rabbi Joshua Alpert (Long Island Univ., CW Post, Brookville)

Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten (E. Hampton)

Rabbi Eliyahu Blokh (Rego Park, Queens)

Rabbi Shmaryahu Charitonow (Buffalo)

Rabbi Yitzchok Chayempour (Kew Gardens, Queens)

Rabbi Dovie Chein (Flatbush/Ave. M, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Cohen (Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Yehuda Friedman (Mill Basin, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Mendy Goldberg (East End, Coram)

Rabbi Eli Goodman (the Beaches, Long Beach)

Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum (Stony Brook)

Rabbi Yitzchok Hecht (Ulster Co., Kingston)

Rabbi Moshe Katzman (Staten Island)

Rabbi Yakov D. Kirschenbaum (Washington Hts., New York City)

Rabbi Eli Kogan (Jewish Russian Learning Ctr., Staten Island)

Rabbi Shimon Kramer (Chabad Ctr. for Jewish Life, Merrick)

Rabbi Avrohom Laber (S. Rensselaer Co., Troy)

Rabbi Zalman Liberow (Flatbush, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Shmuel Lieberman (Hofstra Univ., Hempstead)

Rabbi Yehuda Lipskier (West Sixties, New York City)

Rabbi Dovid Aba Mochkin (Kessler Family Chabad Ctr., Rochester)

Rabbi Aaron Leib Raskin (Brooklyn Hts., Brooklyn)

Rabbi Abraham Rotban (Chai Ctr., Staten Island)

Rabbi Aaron Shain (Upper Mid Nassau, E. Norwich)

Rabbi Levi Shemtov (Riverdale, Bronx)

Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman (Cheder Chabad, Monsey)

Rabbi Adam Stein (SUNY at Stony Brook)

Rabbi Tzvi Stroh (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Asher Vaisfiche (Huntington, Melville)

Rabbi Sholom Wilhelm (South Shore, W. Islip)

Rabbi Shneur Zalman Wolowik (Five Towns, Cedarhurst)

Rabbi Shraga Zalmanov (Flushing, Queens)

Rabbi Yerachmiel Zalmanov (E. Queens, Hollis Hills)

Rabbi Ephraim Zaltzman (Kingsborough Coll., Brooklyn; & Young Israel of Brighton)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — Pennyslvania

Rabbi Levi Haskelevich (U. Penn, Philadelphia)

Rabbi Yosef Itkin (Pittsburgh; & Rav, Vaad HaKashrus)

Rabbi Shmuel Pewzner (Harrisburg)

Rabbi Shmuel Rothman (Pittsburgh)

Rabbi Shlomo Silverman (Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh)

Rabbi Aryeh Weinstein (Bucks Co., Newtown)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA — Texas

Rabbi Chayim Boruch Alevsky (Plano)

Rabbi Asher Goldschmidt (Chabad Kesher Found., Dallas)

Rabbi Betzalel Marinovsky (Regional HQ, Houston)

Rabbi Yossi Marrus (S. Texas, S. Antonio)

Chabad Houses & emissaries, USA (general)

Rabbi Levi Backman (Whatcom Co., Bellingham, WA)

Rabbi Laib Blotner (Mesa, AZ)

Rabbi Shlomo Cohen (Charlotte, NC)

Rabbi Shalom D. Farkash (Central Cascades, Issaquah, WA)

Rabbi Yaakov Ginsburg (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Rabbi Adam Goodfriend (Greenville, SC)

Rabbi Yosef Gopin (W. Hartford, CT)

Rabbi Zev Gopin (Johns Hopkins U., Baltimore, MD)

Rabbi Akiva Greenbaum (Toledo, OH)

Rabbi Yehoshua Harlig (S. Nevada, Las Vegas, NV)

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan (Oak Park, MI)

Rabbi Yosef Landa (St. Louis, MO)

Rabbi Eli Langsam (Peoria, IL)

Rabbi Berel Levertov (Chabad Jewish Ctr., Santa Fe, NM)

Rabbi Yossi Levertov (Scottsdale, AZ)

Rabbi Berel Levitin (Hebrew Academy, New Haven, CT)

Rabbi Chaim Ozer Metal (Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV)

Rabbi Mendel Mintz (Aspen, CO)

Rabbi Yisroel Newman (Lincoln, NE)

Rabbi Noach Pawliger (Atlanta, GA)

Rabbi Yisroel Meir Popack (Chabad Lubavitch of CO, Denver, CO)

Rabbi Moshe Rapoport (Peltz Ctr. for Jewish Life, Mequon, WI)

Rabbi Mayer Rubenfeld (Upper MW Merkos-Lubavitch, W. St. Paul, MN)

Rabbi Yisroel Schanowitz (Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV)

Rabbi Yossi Serebryanski (S. Denver, CO)

Rabbi Menachem Vorst (Charlotte, NC)

Rabbi Yehuda Weiss (Charlotte, NC)

Rabbi Moshe Wilansky (Chabad Lubavitch of ME, Portland, ME)

Rabbi Betzalel Wilschanski (Kenosha, WI)

Rabbi Moshe Zaklikofsky (Cong. Mishkan Israel, Oak Park, MI)

Chabad-Lubavitch Torah Educational Svcs., Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Gavriel Avichzer (Dir.)

Chaya Mushka Seminary, Montreal, QC, Canada

Rabbi Avraham Benshimon

Cheder Chabad, Monsey, NY

Rabbi Yossel Sirota

Cheder Menachem, Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Boruch Braude

Rabbi Simcha Frankel

Cheder Ohr Menachem, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yitzchak Fuchs

Rabbi Yonah Goldberg

Rabbi Shmuly Hayes

Rabbi Boruch Sholom Schwei

Rabbi Shmuel Shmueli

Rabbi Levi Tenenbaum (Principal; & Mesivta Chovivei Torah)

Chief Rabbinates

Chief Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gershovits (Almaty, Kazakhstan)

Chief Rabbi Menachem Hadad (Brussels, Belgium)

Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchok Niazov (Vienna, Austria)

Colel Chabad, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Shmuel Lipsker (Asst. Dir.)

Cong. Lubavitch (770 Eastern Pkwy.), Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Menachem Gerlitzky (Mgr.)

Rabbi Avraham Holtzberg (Mgr.)

Rabbi Sholom Ber Kievman (Mgr.)

Rabbi Yosef Losh (Mgr.)

Council of Jewish Organizations of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Ezekiel Pikus (Dir.)

Crown Heights Beis Din, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba (Av Beis Din)

Rabbi Shlomo Segal

Rabbi Yitzchok Zirkind

Crown Hts. Jewish Community Council, Brooklyn, NY

Dr. Harvey (Tzvi) Lang (V. Chair)

Rabbi Leibish Nash (Sec.)

Rabbi Shmuel Plotkin (Treas.)

Moshe Rubashkin (Chair)

Rabbi Chanina Sperlin (Exec. VP)

European Center for Jewish Students, Brussels, Belgium

Rabbi Zev Ives (Exec. Dir.)

Exodus Treatment Center, Miami, FL

Dr. Jay Holder (Dir.)

F.R.E.E. — Friends of Refugees of E. Europe

Rabbi Avrohom Okonov (Nat'l. HQ, Brooklyn, NY)

Friendship Circle

Rabbi Chezy Deren (Stamford, CT)

Hadar HaTorah Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yaacov Osdoba

Jesse Winer

Hassidic Discovery Center, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Beryl Epstein (Dir.)

Heart to Heart Foundation, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Goldstock (CEO)

Hebrew Academy of Morris Co., Randolph, NJ

Rabbi Gil Hami

Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns & Rockaway (HAFTR), Lawrence, NY

Rabbi Ari Glazer

Ichud Mosdos HaChinuch, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yaakov Mandel (Dir.)

Jewish Bucharan Congress, Vienna, Austria

Rabbi Yakov Uston

Jewish Day School Gershuni, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Rabbi Shevach Zlatopolsky (Principal)

Jewish Federation of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine

Rabbi Ayal Barak

Jewish Learning Inst., Karmiel, Israel

Rabbi Mendel Elishevitz

JNet — The Jewish Learning Network, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yehuda Dukes

Kollel Menachem Lubavitch, Melbourne, Australia

Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner (Dir.)

Leeds Menorah School, Leeds, England

Rabbi Chaim Bell

Lev Torah Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY

Maimon Elbaz

Los Al Hebrew High School, Los Alamitos, CA

Rabbi Zalman Berkowitz

Lubavitch Boys School, London, England

Rabbi Mordechai Labkowski

Lubavitch House School, London, England

Rabbi Eliezer Keselman

Lubavitch Mechina L'yeshiva, London, England

Rabbi Levi Paris

Lubavitch Mesivta, Chicago, IL

Rabbi Moshe B. Perlstein (Dean)

Lubavitch Schools, S. Paulo, Brazil

Rabbi Moti Begun (Hebrew Principal)

Lubavitch Shluchim Office, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Sholom Estrin (Tefillin Bank)

Lubavitch Yeshiva Boys School, Pittsburgh, PA

Rabbi Dovid Friedman

Lubavitch Yeshiva of Minnesota, S. Paul, MN

Rabbi Mottel Friedman (Principal)

Lubavitch Youth Organization (LYO), New York, NY

Rabbi Shmuel Butman (Dir.)

Magen David Yeshiva — Celia Esses H.S., Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Shimon Alouf (Dean; & Cong. Ahaba VeAhava of Ocean Pkwy.)

Rabbi Elinatan Biton

Rabbi Bruce Cohen

Rabbi Isaac S. Escava

Rabbi Nir Shalom

Rabbi Harold Sutton (Asst. Principal; & Cong. Bnei Yitzchok)

Magen League Anti-Missionary, Moscow, Russia

Rabbi Dr. Alexander Lakshin (Dir.)

Mastermind Inst., Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Ronnie Rendel

Mayanot Inst. of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Israel

Rabbi Yisroel Noach Wichnin

Mesivta Chovivei Torah (ULY), Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Binyomin Baras

Rabbi Dov Baron

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Jacobson

Rabbi Levi Labkowski

Rabbi Mendel Labkowski

Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskier (& Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos)

Rabbi Shmuel Marozov

Rabbi Menachem Minsky (Principal)

Rabbi Yossi Paltiel

Rabbi Raleigh Resnick

Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

Rabbi Mendel Slavaticki

Rabbi Kalman Weinfield (Principal)

Mir Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Abraham Geller

Monsey Beis Chaya Mushka, New City, NY

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Kagan (Dean)

Nadvorna Chasidim

Rabbi Mordechai Leifer (the Rebbe, Brooklyn, NY)

Nat'l. C'ttee for Furtherance of Jewish Education, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Shimon Hecht

Ohel Chana School, Melbourne, Australia

Rabbi Mendel Shusterman

Oholei Torah Mesivta, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Zalman Baras

Rabbi Yosef Bryski (& Tzivos Hashem)

Rabbi Sholom Jacobson

Rabbi Dovid Kahanov

Rabbi Chaim Lepkivker

Rabbi Akiva Nussbaum

Rabbi Eli Simpson

Rabbi Eli Stolik

Rabbi Nachman Y. Twersky

Rabbi Zushe Wilhelm (Principal)

Oholei Torah Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Nosson Blumes

Rabbi Shmuel Bluming

Rabbi Israel S. Engel

Rabbi Avraham Gerlitzky

Rabbi Efraim Gershovitz

Rabbi Mendel Goldstein

Rabbi Peretz P. Hecht

Rabbi Yaakov Karp

Rabbi Zev Karp

Rabbi Hillel Laufer

Rabbi Mendel Lerman

Rabbi Israel Levinson

Rabbi Hershel Lustig (Principal)

Rabbi Hirsh Marsow

Rabbi Fishel Oster

Rabbi Ephraim Piekarski (Principal)

Rabbi Shaul Rappoport

Rabbi Pinchas Rieber

Rabbi Nachman Schapiro

Rabbi Shmuel Segal

Rabbi Michoel Seligson

Rabbi Isser Slavin

Rabbi Eli Tenenbaum

Rabbi Eli Tiefenbrun

Rabbi Moshe Tzfasman

Rabbi Moshe Wiener

Rabbi Shlomo Zwiebel

Ohr Menachem Yeshiva, Montreal, QC, Canada

Rabbi Meir Dahan

Ohr Menachem Yeshiva, Vienna, Austria

Rabbi Zalman Raskin

Ohr Temimim Yeshiva, Kfar Chabad, Israel

Rabbi Nasanel Yitzchok Marantz

Olympia Boys Group, Monsey, NY

Aryeh Goldstein

Organized Kashrus Laboratories (O-K), Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Chaim Fogelman

Rabbi Mendel Reizes

Orthodox Union (O-U), New York, NY

Rabbi Leonard Steinberg (Rabb. Coord., Kashrus Div.)

Rabbinical Alliance of America, New York, NY

Rabbi Norman Bernstein (VP)

Rabbi Mayer Birnhack (& Exec. Dir., Jewish Heritage Resource Ctr.)

Rabbi Abraham Hecht (Pres.)

Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum (Dir.)

Rabbinical College of America, Morristown, NJ

Rabbi Chaim Brafman (Dean, Kolel Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi David Dick (Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi Zalman Dubinsky (Dean, Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi Roni Greenberg (emeritus, Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi Efraim Piekarski (Yeshiva Tomchei T'mimim)

Rabbi Chaim Schapiro (Dir., Rabbinical Ordination Program)

Rabbi Sholom Spalter (Cheder Lubavitch)

Rabbi Yisroel Teitelbaum (Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi Yaakov Wagner (Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim)

Rabbi Zalman Wilschanski (Dir., Yeshiva Tomchei T'mimim; Rav, Cong. Levi Yitzchak)

Rabbinical College of Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada

Rabbi Meir Shneur

Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), New York, NY

Rabbi Max N. Schreier (past Pres.)

Radio Moshiach & Redemption, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Moshe Ezagui

Rambam Day School, Ottowa, ON, Canada

Rabbi Uri Yitzchak Weitz

Sanz Chasidim

Rabbi Moshe Ornstein (Dean, Sanz Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY)

Sichos in English, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yonah Avtzon

Skver Chasidim

Rabbi Yonoson Binyomin Katz (Rav, K'hal Bais Eluzer, Brooklyn, NY)

Spinka Chasidim

Rabbi Yakov Yitzchok Friedman (the Ulemer Rav, Cong. Bais Yosef Ulem, Queens, NY)

Star-K Kashrus, Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Baruch Beyer

Rabbi Avraham Mushell

Rabbi Tzvi Rosen (& Ed., Kashrus Kurrents)

Synagogues — misc. (general)

Rabbi Moshe Antizada (Kehillat Yotz'ei Iran, Netanya, Israel)

Rabbi Yacov Barber (S. Caulfield Hebrew Cong., Melbourne, Australia)

Rabbi Yisroel Yosef Cyprys (New Synagogue, London, England)

Rabbi Shalom Elmaleh (Naar Israel Syn., Milano, Italy)

Rabbi David Gabay (Lakewood Outreach Cong., Lakewood, NJ)

Rabbi Ari Laine (Beth El Syn., Panama City, Panama)

Rabbi Velvel Shlomo Lazarus (Kehillat Darchei Shalom, Milnerton, S. Africa)

Rabbi Rafi Rosenberg (Sky Lake Syn., N. Miami Beach, FL)

Rabbi Shlomo Sabbah (Rambam Sephardi Cong., Melbourne, Australia)

Rabbi Falik Schtroks (Ctr. for Judaism — Lower Fraser Vly., Surrey, BC, Canada)

Rabbi Yossi Shuchat (South Head Synag., Sydney, Australia)

Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Solomon (Kehillat Moriah, Sydney, Australia)

Rabbi Dovid Weinberg (Sandton Shul, Johannesburg, S. Africa)

Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe (Cong. Agudas Achim, W. Hartford, CT)

Rabbi Ezra Zafrani (Rav, Kehilat Etz Hayim, Lakewood, NJ)

Synagogues — misc. (New York)

Rabbi Shaul Arieli (Cong. Ohel Yitzchok of Kew Gardens Hills)

Rabbi Abraham Benhaim (Sephardic Cong. Magen Avraham, Kew Gardens Hills)

Rabbi Eliyahu Dweck (Magen David Cong., Brooklyn)

Yidel Feldmaus (Mgr., Cong. Hisachdus Yereim — Veretzky, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg (Jewish Discovery Ctr., Buffalo)

Rabbi Mordechai Gurary (Rav, Cong. Chevras Shas, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Jason (Yaakov) Herman (West Side Jewish Ctr., New York City)

Rabbi Shaul Kassin (Shaare Zion, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Dovid Shlomo Katz (Beth Aaron of Flatbush, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Moshe Zev Meisels (Rav, Bais Medrash Ihel, Monsey)

Rabbi Menashe Sadka (Beit Medrash Tov, Queens)

Rabbi Shimon Sadon (Shuva Israel, Queens)

Rabbi Jacob Schwartz (Beth Yaakov, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Eliyahu Shain (Rav, Cong. Tiferes, Brooklyn)

Rabbi Solomon B. Shapiro (Cong. B'nai Abraham, Queens)

Rabbi Daniel Shuman (Himmel Family Chapel, Williamsville)

Rabbi Hayim S. Wahrman (Millinery Ctr. Syn., New York City)

Rabbi Yitzchok Winner (Cong. Israel of Kings Bay, Brooklyn)

Talmud Torah Tsemach Tsedek, Petach Tikva, Israel

Rabbi Meir Bastomski

Tenke Rav

Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Friedman (Rav, Cong. Bais Yitzchok, Brooklyn, NY)

Touro College, New York, NY

Rabbi Prof. Sender Berkovits (& Ateres Torah; Ahavat Achim)

Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander (z"l)* (Pres.)

Tzivos Hashem, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson (Exec. Dir.)

Dr. Dovid S. Pape

Tzivos Hashem, Israel

Rabbi David Nachshon (Dir., & founder/Dir., Mobile Mitzvah Ctrs.)

Ungvar Chasidim

Rabbi Shaya Tenenbaum (Dean, Kollel Ungvar USA, Brooklyn, NY)

Union of Orthodox Rabbis of U.S. & Canada (Agudas HaRabonim), New York, NY

Rabbi Hersh Ginsberg (Dir.)

United Lubavitcher Yeshivos (ULY), Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Eliezer Halon (Asst. Principal)

Rabbi Zalman Karp

Rabbi Shmarya Katzen

Rabbi Zvi Lerman

Rabbi Abba Piekarski

Rabbi Arieh Raichman

Rabbi Moshe Schwartz

Rabbi Yosef Simpson (Principal)

Rabbi Yoseph Wernick

Vaad HaRabonim of Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan (& Chabad Ctr. & Lubav. of MD)

Vaad HaRabonim of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Ronald Barry

Rabbi Dr. Herbert W. (Chaim Zev) Bomzer (Pres.)

Rabbi Melvin I. Burg (Exec. VP)

Rabbi Yakov Greenberg (VP)

Rabbi Daniel Greenwald (Corr. Sec.)

Rabbi Eli Greenwald (VP)

Rabbi David S. Halpern

Rabbi Ari Kagan (VP)

Rabbi Abraham Kelman (& Dean, Prospect Park Yeshiva)

Rabbi Aaron Levine (& Young Israel of Ave. "J")

Rabbi Aryeh Lieberman

Rabbi Dr. Sidney Zvulun Lieberman (Hon. Pres.)

Rabbi Dr. Joseph Rosenbluh (Rec. Sec., & Young Israel of Vanderveer Pk.)

Rabbi Aaron Shurin (Hon. VP)

Rabbi Phillip H. Singer (past Pres.)

Rabbi Abraham Stone

Rabbi Aharon Ziegler (& Dean, Kollel Agudas Achim)

Vaad HaRabonim of Queens, NY

Rabbi Manfred Gans (past Pres.)

Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld (& Young Israel of Kew Garden Hills)

Rabbi Emaniel Shimonov

Viener Chasidim

Rabbi Chaim Segelbaum (Rav, Derech Emmuna D'Vien, Brooklyn, NY)

Rabbi Shmuel Moshe Solny (Mgr., Derech Emmuna D'Vien, Brooklyn, NY)

Yeshiva & Mesivta Torah Vodaath, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Efraim Glassman (Asst. Principal)

Isaac Gottdiener (Exec. Dir.)

Rabbi Mordechai Karfiol

Rabbi Naftoli Leshkowitz

Rabbi Abraham Lewanoni

Rabbi Leibel Rosen

Rabbi Moshe Schoenblum (Principal)

Rabbi Isaac Schorr

Rabbi Eliezer Trenk

Yeshiva Bais Moshe, Scranton, PE

Shraga Berlin

Yeshiva Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Rabbi Sholom Mendel Kluwgant

Yeshiva Chanoch Lenaar, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yaakov Bryski (Dean)

Rabbi Tzvi Dinerman

Rabbi Yossi Goodman

Rabbi Raphael Jaworowski (Principal)

Yeshiva Darchai Menachem, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Eyal Bension (Principal)

Rabbi Lev Cotlar

Rabbi Dovid Marozov

Rabbi Eli Sandhaus

Yeshiva Darchei Torah, Far Rockaway, NY

Rabbi Moshe Mandel

Yeshiva Derech Chaim, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Moshe Levy

Yeshiva Derech HaTorah, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Elchanan Chaneles (Principal)

Rabbi Yisroel Grossberg (Principal)

Yeshiva Gedolah Lubavitch, Johannesburg, S. Africa

Rabbi Noam Wagner (Dean)

Yeshiva Gedolah Lubavitch, London, England

Rabbi Menachem M. Gordon

Yeshiva High School, Tucson, AZ

Rabbi Chayim Friedman (Principal)

Yeshiva of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY

Naftoli Borchardt

Yeshiva of Central Queens, NY

Rabbi Chaim Pearl

Yeshiva of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Michael Schrem

Rabbi Moshe Twersky

Yeshiva Ohel Simcha, Queens, NY

Rabbi Yigal Haimoff (Rav & founder)

Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, Monsey, NY

Rabbi Yisroel Simcha Schorr (Dean; & Sr. Ed., Artscroll Talmud)

Yeshiva Ohr Yitzchok, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Aaron Groner (youth program)

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, Brooklyn, NY

Simcha Brailofsky

Rabbi Moshe Fruchthandler

Rabbi Eli Rabinowitz

Yeshiva Sh'or Yoshuv, Far Rockaway, NY

Rabbi Shmuel Halpern

Yeshiva Sha'arei Zion Ohel Bracha, Forest Hills, NY

Rabbi Jacob Fettman

Yeshiva Simchas Torah, Kew Gardens Hills, NY

Daniel Aryeh Harris

Yeshiva Tiferes Menachem, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Avrohom Lipskier (Dean)

Yeshiva Tomchei T'mimim, Kiev, Ukraine

Rabbi Eliezer Tsvi Rabinovitsh (Dean)

Yeshiva Torah Temimah, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Binyomin Margulies

Yeshivas Achei T'mimim Mesivta, Pittsburgh, PA

Rabbi Eliezer Shusterman

Yeshivas Lubavitch Manchester, Salford, England

Rabbi Moshe Wolberg

Yeshivas Lubavitch of Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Bentzion Anshell Shaffer (& emeritus, Young Israel of Randolph, MA)

Rabbi Pinchas Dovid Weber (Dean)

Yeshivas Lubavitch-Oholei Menachem Mendel, Toronto, Canada

Rabbi Mendel Plotkin

Yeshivas Novominsk, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Yosef Widroff

Yeshivas Toras Chaim, N. Miami Beach, FL

Rabbi Norbert Kalter

Yeshivat Ohr Simcha, Kfar Chabad, Israel

Rabbi Yosef Itzchak Klein (Yeshivat Bucharim)

Young Israel synagogues (see other categories above for more Young Israel rabbis)

Rabbi Shaul Chill (Far Rockaway, NY)

Rabbi Moshe Snow (Rav, YI - Beth El of Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY)

Rabbi Abraham J. Stolzenberg (Rav, YI of Ocean Pkwy., Brooklyn, NY)

Rabbi Yaakov Wasser (E. Brunswick, NJ)


*(z"l) now deceased

 



--
Sincerely,

Robin Ticker
This email  is L'Ilui Nishmat  Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan)  a great activist and lover of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichrono Baruch.

This will be posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 16, 2011

In Honor of Parshat Shlach

bs"d
 
Dear Friends, amv"sh
 
Tikkun Chait HaMiraglim. Please email to your Rabbanim.  Our generation has the job to be MeTaken the Sin of the Miraglim to speak out for Jewish Sovereignty in all of Eretz Yisroel and to keep the Mitzvoth on the delineated boundaries of Eretz Yisroel.   -
 
 
Al Taamod Al Dam Reiacha!  The Chofetz Chaim says that one must speak out to prevent harm to our fellow Jew!
 
 
Buried Treasure - Yishai Fleisher - Eye on Zion. Video in response of murder of Yosef ben Livnat in Kever Yosef in Schem
 
 

B"H
PARSHAT SHLACH LECHA
(by Yehuda HaKohen)
As the Hebrew Nation mobilizes to liberate the Land of Israel from Canaanite rule, Moshe dispatches a team of twelve scholars (a leader from each tribe) to spy out the country in preparation for the assault. Ten of these spies return with a misleading report meant to demoralize the people and prevent the conquest from taking place. The other two, Yehoshua and Calev, courageously challenge the ten in an attempt to save Israel from sin. The masses, however, follow the opinion of the ten rabbis and in so doing bring about a national catastrophe.
The spies who brought their people a demoralizing report were ostensibly demonstrating a rationalist approach to the situation. They saw and were concerned over the difficulties their people would be forced to confront when fighting to conquer the Land of Israel.
"The people that dwells in the land are powerful, the cities are fortified and very great, and we also saw the giant's descendants there... We cannot ascend against those people for they are too strong for us (mimenu)." (BAMIDBAR 13:28, 31)
Because the word mimenu can be translated as either "us" or "him" Rashi comments that it was as though they were speaking about HaShem, claiming that those Canaanite nations were even stronger than G-D.
The result was that the ten rabbis weakened Israel's resolve, leading the people to come forth with such arguments as "Why is HaShem bringing us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and young children will be taken captive! Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?" (BAMIDBAR 14:3)
Most of Israel sided with the defeatist spies and perished in the desert over a period of forty years. The conquest of Eretz Yisrael was delayed until a new generation could arise that would be psychologically capable of fighting for their homeland. It was ultimately Yehoshua and Calev – the minority rabbinic opinion – who emerged victorious a generation later, leading Israel in the liberation of their country from foreign rule.
The ten spies that led the Hebrew Nation to catastrophe were essentially putting forth two basic arguments. The first was that preserving life overrides the conquest of Eretz Yisrael and that if taking possession of the land appears to be dangerous, the people are not required to do so.
The second opinion expressed by these rabbis was that it is possible and permissible to live true Torah lives outside of our borders; that the Nation of Israel need not be in the Land of Israel to be loyal to HaShem or to observe His Torah. But this claim in itself negates Torah Law. The spies – giants of Israel and chiefs of the Sanhedrin – rebelled against HaShem in refusing His directive to conquer the Land of Israel. Their mutiny revealed a terrible lack of faith and was a transgression far worse than that of the golden calf. For the sin of the calf, only three thousand were punished but for the sin of the spies, all male adults aside from Yehoshua and Calev died in the desert before ascending to their homeland.
The Sages teach (in Tanchuma) that the sin of the spies took place on the ninth day of Av and was the foundation for the destructions of both the first and second Temples (both occurring on the same date in future years).
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explains in Mesillat Yesharim (chapter 11) that the spies, who were the tribal chiefs and Torah giants of their generation "feared a lessening of their honor, lest, upon entering the land, they would no longer be princes of Israel, and others would be appointed in their place."
It is a regrettable truth that this transgression has repeated itself many times throughout our history. Spiritual leaders often refrain from educating their followers that living in, conquering and settling the entire Land of Israel are not merely commendable personal choices but actually an underlying basis for the entire Torah. But if this error has infected even great Torah scholars, we must question how so many otherwise righteous and learned leaders could miss something so vital to the Torah's full expression. The Gaon of Vilna offers an explanation in Kol HaTor (the Gaon's teachings on the process of Redemption):
"The Sin of the Spies... hovers over the Nation of Israel in every generation… How strong is the power of the Sitra Achra that it succeeds in hiding from the eyes of our holy fathers the dangers of the klipot; from the eyes of Avraham our father, the klipah of exile... and in the time of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra attacks the guardians of Torah with blinders… Many of the sinners in this great sin of, `They despised the cherished land,' and also many of the guardians of Torah, will not know or understand that they are caught in the Sin of the Spies, that they have been sucked into the Sin of the Spies in many false ideas and empty claims, and they cover their ideas with the already proven fallacy that the mitzvah of the settlement of Israel no longer applies in our day, an opinion which has already been disproven by the giants of the world, the Rishonim and Achronim." (Kol HaTor chapter 5)
In his supplement to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot, the Ramban teaches that it is a Torah commandment for every generation that the Nation of Israel take control of and inhabit the entire Land of Israel.
"This is what our Sages call Milchemet Mitzvah... And do not err and say that this precept is the commandment to vanquish the seven nations... this is not so... this land is not to be left in their hands or in the hands of any nation, in any generation whatsoever... behold we are commanded with conquest in every generation... if so this is a positive commandment, which applies in every time... and the proof that this is a commandment is this: `They were told to go up in the matter of the Spies: Go up and conquer as HaShem has said to you. Do not fear and do not be discouraged.' And it further says: `And when HaShem sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you.' And when they did not go up, the Torah says: `And you rebelled against the Word of G-D, and you did not listen to this command.'" (Positive Commandment 4 of the Ramban's supplement to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot)
The Ramban states irrefutably that the conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah for Israel in every generation and that we are forbidden from allowing any part of our country to fall into – or remain under – gentile control. It is found in the Shulchan Aruch that all of the arbitrators of Torah Law (Rishonim and Achronim) agree with the Ramban concerning this issue.
"All of the Poskim, both Rishonim and Achronim, decide the Law in this fashion on the basis of the Ramban." (Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer section 75, Pitchei Tshuva 6)
As for the spies' erroneous claim that preserving Jewish life overrides the commandment of liberating the Land of Israel, it is clear that conquering territory from a foreign nation is naturally an act that involves physical danger. While the Torah commands Israel in most cases to preserve Hebrew life even at the expense of Torah Law, this cannot be applied to a Divine commandment that is, in its very essence, life threatening. Because the Torah obligates the Jewish Nation to fight for the liberation of Eretz Yisrael, the notion of Pikuach Nefesh (preserving life) is not considered. Rather, a war of liberation requires great Mesirut Nefesh (self-sacrifice).
"The mitzvot of the Torah are not based on the occurrence of miracles. The mitzvah to wage war is given to us despite the fact that in the natural course of events both sides suffer casualties in the heat of battle. Evidently the mitzvah applies even though there is inherent hazard…" (Minchat Chinuch commentary to Sefer HaChinuch 425)
The Gaon of Vilna writes in his introduction to Paat HaShulchan that "all of the wisdoms of the world are for the sake of the Torah and are included within It." As HaShem's national expression in this world, Israel must have an all encompassing vision of Torah that recognizes the Divine inner unity of everything in existence. The fragmented vision that caused the spies to feel like grasshoppers in comparison to the giants of Hevron is the same fragmented vision – dimmed by nearly two thousand years of humiliating exile – that causes many contemporary Jewish leaders to relate to the present as something isolated in history and to themselves as insignificant when compared to the leaders of foreign nations. This unhealthy perspective must be replaced by a higher understanding – one that views HaShem as the Source of all, guiding world history towards an ultimate goal of universal perfection. Israel must learn to see the world from the roots above and to view history in its entirety; to have an all encompassing vision of where Creation is being led and what this means for our people and for all of mankind. Only by attaining this greater vision and self awareness can Israel understand our true national mission and the purpose of Torah as the blueprint for Creation.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula
 
Activists Arrested After Being Attacked By Arabs
by Gavriel Queenann
June 15, 2011
(Israelnationalnews.com) Women in Green head Nadia Matar was detained
Wednesday by Civil Administration oficials after a violent
confrontation initiated by Arabs near Netzer.
Matar's saga began Tuesday night when Women in Green planted several
large olive trees on state-owned land near Netzer on a hill connecting
the Jewish communities of Elazer and Alon Shvut to stop Arab
encroachment.
"Arabs had started planting vines there, squatting on state owned
land. Then they started fencing it in and we knew we had to step in.
We ordered a huge truck and came in the night. We planted many large
olive trees and hooked up irrigation pipes for them. Then we posted a
guard because, when we've done this in the past, the Arabs try to
uproot the trees," Matar told Israel National News.
Wednesday morning Matar said she received a phone call from the sentry
telling her local Arab farmers with saws were cutting the trees down.
Matar, her partner Yehudit Katzover, and their supporters rushed to
the scene where they were violently confronted by the Arabs.
"When we came we saw the Arabs cutting the trees with saws. They had
already uprooted the irrigation pipes. They threatened us, pushed and
attacked us," Matar related. "We started putting the irrigation pipes
back together and they started striking us. Of course we immediately
called for the army to come."
Shortly after the initial confrontation Civil Admininistration
officials, along with police and army officers, arrived to investigate
the incident and took Nadia and Yehudit into custody for questioning
after the Arabs accused them of being the aggressors.
"This is a time-honored tradition among the Arabs: to attack you and
then claim to be the vicitms. As soon as we called the Army one of the
Arab women there told her son to lie down and showed him how to
pretend he was hurt. The performance he put on would have won him an
award in any theater. He played the perfect victim. So the police
arrested us, Yehudit and I, as well as the Arabs," Matar said.
Matar and Katzover were held and interrogated by police until four in
the afternoon before being released. The two thanked lawyer Adi Keidar
of Honenu for his efforts on their behalf.
"The police held me for a very long time. They were very angry. They
yelled at me and demanded we name the other Jews who were present. I
refused. I told them I was there to complain about the Arabs planting
on state-owned land and attacking us and would talk about nothing
else," Matar related.
"I told them the other Jews did not want to be involved because they
know that whenerver a Jew files a complaint against an Arab they
become the accused. When my interrogator heard that, he threatened me
with obstruction charges. I told him he was proving my point. Finally,
when Yehudit was released, she was able to get me out," Matar related.
Matar, who cited the incident as a victory, said she and the Arabs
were issued a restraining order forbidding them from going to the
Netzer site for fifteen days while the Army investigated who owned the
land.
"If you call and complain Arabs are stealing state-owned land, nothing
happens. They will only intervene if their is a confrontation. So, by
doing this, we forced the army to come. Now they will review the maps
and be forced to make a decision on the land's status," Matar
explained.
"We always research first," Matar said. "We always have maps and
survey the areas we patrol. We know what the army will find. They say
no one will be allowed in until a decision is made, but we will
continue our patrols. Sometimes confrontation is the only way to force
the authorties to stand up for Jewish rights."
Matar was charged with obstruction and tresspassing before being
released on bail. Israel Police spokesperson Mickey Rosenthal said
Matar was obligated to cooperate with investigators.
"As the spokesperson I can't comment on the exact tone or what have
you of Ms. Matar's interview - we expect officers to be cool and
collected as there is normally no need for elevated emotions in an
interview - but she is obligated to cooperate and provide
investigators with any information relevant to their investigation.
Its her duty," Rosenthal said.
The IDF had not responded to queries for information by the time this
article was published.

--
Sincerely,

Robin Ticker
This email  is L'Ilui Nishmat  Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan)  a great activist and lover of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichrono Baruch.

This will be posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com