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Rabbanim, Knesset, Media, Friends and Activist List, amv"sh
Absolutely amazing lecture. It's an hour. It's worth listening to the entire youtube but if you have just a few minutes tune in at 20:00 when Rabbi Richter connected the snowstorm which brought Jerusalem and many parts of the country under siege, one week ago today, on the 10th day of Tevet, with the arrival of Kerry. Trust me you will find the time to listen to the rest.
The Hebrew word Kar, found in Kerry, in Hebrew, means cold, Kerry also means happenstance. The Selichot said on that day on Asara B'Tevet references the Hebrew word Kerry in a refrain said around 20x, is clearly no coincidence. Neither is the Haftorah from Isaiah that was read which mentions snow and the Dav Yomi Yoma 35 read the same day of the snowstorm which talks about Hillel buried under snow in the month of Tevet thousands of years ago. Rabbi Richter points out that they were studying till 5am in the morning on a Friday night. He asks, "Why were they up all night when Shabbat began early like 4pm? He concludes that obviously they were snowed in just like we were, thousands of years ago. " Rabbi Richter relates snow to Amalek to forgetting. Amalek causes us to forget Hashem and to cool our passion for Hashem and for His commandments.
At the end of Parshas Ki Teitzei, the Torah(Devarim 25:17-19) states "zachor es asher asah lecha amalek… asher karcha (who cooled you off) baderech. Notice the word Karcha from Kar.
Rabbi Richter points out that Asara BeTevet is the only fast, which if it would fall on Shabbat, we would be required to fast. No so on Tisha Baav or any other fast. The reason being that this was the beginning of a 3 year siege. If one nips it in the bud and is able to catch someone before the actually fall, one can prevent the destruction fro happening. Once the destruction already happened, there is not much one can do. That is why one desecrates the Shabbat for Asara BeTevet because there is still the opportunity to make a difference to prevent a holocaust Chas vechalila. A wakeup call from Hashem!
Rabbi Richter mentions Rabbi Yaakov Addas, a Kabbalist who was asked how come G-d brought the snowstorm. Rabbi Addas replied that the
"snow siege" of Jerusalem is God's direct response to the recent jailing of yeshiva students who refused to accept draft orders to report for duty in the IDF.
While I had read about this statement by the Kabbalist, and perhaps was not surprised that there were Chareidi Rabbanim who clearly felt this way, I was surprised to hear this from Rabbi Yehuda Richter from Kfar Tapuach who clearly seems to come from the Nationalist Camp. Apparently Rabbi Richter seems to agree that unfortunately the motive of the government to draft these Chareidi soldiers is not in order to protect the country but rather to lower the high moral and religious standard that they have.
It seems to me that the Chareidim should not be exempt from serving in the Israeli army because one is required to go to War to fight non-Jews in order to protect the Land even on Shabbat. It seems very clear to me that Torah Scholars whose training is in "Vehaya Machanecha Kadosh", and your camp shall be H-ly, whose source is Devarim 23:14-15, will surely be the very best soldiers Israel has to offer. Of course, the religious needs of the Israeli soldiers must not be compromised because of the Mitzvah "Vehaya Machanecha Kadosh" which is referring to a military camp. The only thing stopping more Chareidim from joining the Israeli army is the Army's dogmatic refusal to accommodate the Chareidim's religious needs. Why for example do they insist that they attend army events with female vocalists?
If the Torah did not want Jewish men to fight than why do we have Mitzvoth related to the Jewish Soldier? Why are the men counted according to the ones who go into the army if going into the army was forbidden from the Torah? Why did Moshe Rabbeinu rebuke Shevet Gad and and half of Shevet Menasheh saying "Will you stay here and your brothers go to fight?" And why in Shirat Devorah, did the prophetess rebuke those Tribes who did not do their share in fighting?
As it says in the Selichot of Asara BeTevet, either we choose to go with Hashem our Rock, or we go with Kerry, Heaven forbid!
Time to give Kerry the Cold Shoulder and recognize Hashem's wakeup call to speak out and support Judea and Samaria.
This brings me to 2 very simple ways to do this in America! In Israel people accomplish this with their heart and soul and very beings. In Diaspora we can do this with our pocketbooks and with forwarding these kind of emails to raise awareness and funds.
It is now the end of December and we are all looking for charities before the end of the American fiscal year. Allow me to make some excellent suggestions. I specifically chose these 2 because it is the best response to Kerry's initiatives.
Appeal for Itamar
Appeal for Nashim BaYarok, Support Women in Green - Inspired by the spirit of the Maccabees, Women in Green, through both faith and action, defend and safeguard the Land of Israel.
Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch. May their memories serve as a blessing.
Most of these emails are posted on
Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com
Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog.
