"What about Israel’s morale?"

A phenomenon is obscured by the media and most of us. While in Israel, I engaged hundreds in dialogue. Israelis are saddened. Those in tourist-related industries are suffering; nevertheless, their spirits are filled with hope. The morale of most Israelis inspires. Young and old have passed all endurance tests. Israel has already won, as its indomitable spirit cannot be broken.

I recently had a meeting in the Knesset and as I entered I heard the shouts and screams, the normal course of discourse. The subject of debate was the budget. I spoke with two opposing members of Knesset who, a few minutes earlier, were shouting insults at each other on the floor of the Knesset. I asked them, somewhat jokingly, if they would be happier if one of them left Israel. "Are you crazy?" was the response. "This is our country and the only place we are free to articulate our passions and diverse perspectives. Do not you know this is a democracy? It will always be this way." They continued to assure me that neither fear nor ideological differences would diminish their resolve and those they represent to build an even greater Israel for posterity.

Along the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in the North and South of this land G-d gave, a determined people, saddened by all the loss of life and bloodshed, stirred my soul to new and greater dimensions of faith. In spite of it all, Israelis go on with their lives and dreams for the future. New construction can be seen everywhere and neither economic woes nor unending fear have decreased the teeming numbers seen at housing exhibitions, where young people were investing in their future.

A thirst for Torah becomes more evident each day in Israel. Life with meaning remains an unfulfilled quest for many who have yet to discover Torah. The need for appropriate spiritual dialogue intensifies. Too many, tragically, fail to understand what is in the hearts of most Israelis. Were we to pause for a moment to feel with our hearts, we would discover a genuine Jewish hope. If we listen carefully to the so-called secular and uncommitted, we will also hear a message of faith: "Our hope has not yet been lost" (from Hatikvah – The Hope, the national anthem of the State of Israel).

One of the most exhilarating events in the calendar year - especially for the Torah cantor - is the reading of the Shirat HaYam, the Song at the Sea. The unique tune that is used for much of the Shira (essentially those verses containing G-d’s name) brings home the drama and sheer exultation that the Jews must have felt when the Almighty’s power was awesomely revealed, as their tormentors were finally vanquished. Yet there is a phrase - said twice - that actually precedes the Shira, yet is sung in the same style: "V’Hamayim lahem choma, mimina u’mismola (And the water was a wall for them, on the right and on the left)." Obviously, there must be something quite special about this phrase.

In one sense, G-d is saying that He will put a shield around us, but only on two sides; the front and back will always remain open. That is, whether we progress or regress is up to us. Indeed, Moshe and G-d debate this very point. Moshe tells the Children of Israel to "stand and see G-d’s salvation," but G-d corrects him and tells him "to speak to the Children of Israel and move." The path is always there for us, but we must choose to follow it.

On another level, we know that "water" is a synonym for Torah. I suggest that G-d is teaching us that the Torah - through its mitzvot and halachot - provides a "walled" protective corridor between "right" and "left" through which all Jews must travel. We must be guided by the halacha - which is by nature a middle path - and not decide our course of action based on "leftist" or "rightist" considerations, for the Torah is neither "right" nor "left."

The Torah is, indeed, a "wall" which keeps us on the "straight and narrow." If we steadfastly stay the path, it will surely lead us forward until we, too, sing the song of Moshiach (Messiah)in a Geula Shlema (complete redemption).

One of the customs of the Shavuot holiday, or Pentecost, that we celebrate this week is that of "mishmar" - of staying up part or all of the night of Shavuot in order to study Torah. This custom is based upon the tradition of the Midrash that on the morning when the Jewish people were destined to receive the Torah at Sinai - the first Shavuot in Jewish history - Moses had to rouse them from their sleep, so that they could appear at the foot of Mount Sinai on time for the Torah-granting event. Because the Jewish people overslept that first Shavuot morning, the people decided that, in atonement for that original sleepy negligence, henceforth they would spend the night of Shavuot studying Torah and thus be prepared for holiday prayer at the crack of dawn. This custom has become hallowed through the ages, especially in the yeshivas and study halls of the people in Israel. It is also widely observed today in many synagogues, as well, and there are many interesting and varied classes, forums and discussion groups, all based on Torah subjects, that take place throughout the Jewish world on Shavuot night.

The custom was formalized into the ritual texts of the Jewish people through the editing and publishing of Tikun Leil Shavuot - an established order of study for the night of Shavuot. The Tikun consists of portions of the Bible, Mishna, Talmud and other works of Torah that are synopsized and form a pattern of study for the night. This Tikun, in various forms, appeared in the early Middle Ages and has been improved upon and expanded over the centuries. The Tikun was usually recited by Jews in their synagogues or homes and took about three hours to read completely. However, the yeshivas and the advanced Torah scholars of the community shunned the recitation of the Tikun as being only for the masses and instead concentrated on their own study of Talmud and Midrash through the night. The book of Ruth, which is also traditionally associated with the holiday of Shavuot, also became a focal point of study on Shavuot night. Currently, there are many rabbis who teach classes throughout the night and the custom of staying up and learning Torah the entire night of Shavuot is now observed throughout the Jewish world with increasing popularity and diversity. It is again a testimony to the innate love of Torah that is part of the Jewish psyche and soul.

In the past, and currently as well, in many yeshivas, a "mishmar" - staying up all night to study Torah - is observed weekly on Thursday nights. This custom usually wreaks havoc with the Friday morning schedule of studies in the yeshiva. However, here in Israel, since Friday is an unofficial day off in the yeshiva world (there are very few official days off in the yeshiva schedule), the Thursday night "mishmar" is quite popular and well-attended. There always is a select group of yeshiva students - matmidim - who study Torah well into the late night and even early morning hours every day of the year. The Talmud teaches us that "the night was created for Torah study." It was therefore commonplace in Eastern Europe and in the Sephardic lands for men to come to study Torah nightly in the synagogues and communal study halls, even after the labors of a hard day´s toil. Jews were accustomed to say that "there will be plenty of time to sleep in the grave," and therefore attempted to exploit whatever free time (usually at night) for the study of Torah, recitation of Psalms or the reading of ethical treatises. Torah study was the recreation and leisure time activity of the Jews over the millennia.

Here in Jerusalem on Shavuot night, beginning at about 3:30 AM, there is an enormous procession of people walking towards the Western Wall in the Old City in order to participate there in the holiday prayers at sunrise. Even if you wanted to sleep through all Shavuot night in Jerusalem, you would be hard-pressed not to be awakened by the steady sound of thousands of marching feet and the murmurs of conversation that accompany this procession. This sunrise prayer service attracts tens of thousands of worshippers and is the highlight of the Shavuot holiday here in the Holy City. This assemblage of tens of thousands of Jews at the Western Wall on Shavuot is a reaffirmation of our faith and of our renewed commitment to the acceptance of the Torah given us at Sinai over thirty three hundred years ago. Truly, "´Am Yisrael chai" - the people of Israel live on.

The decisions of rabbinic scholars over the centuries have been recorded in numerous volumes of Torah scholarship. These rabbinic responsa are used as legal precedents by all rabbis today in deciding halachic issues and questions that arise. Like all forms of legal decisions, these solutions to problems and issues are based upon intense scholarship and are buttressed by proofs from Talmudic sources and rabbinic scholarly works. However, in spite of all of this required legal expertise, all students of rabbinic responsa are aware that there is an element of intuition and personal creativity present as well in all rabbinic responsa.

This latitude of personal feeling and expression is founded on the Talmudic commentary concerning the compliment paid to King David - "Hashem eemo" - "The Lord is with him." The Talmud explains that this meant that King David´s decisions on halachic matters were always accepted since "the Lord is with him." This is an expression of the intuition of the heart and the soul in solving a legal and otherwise seemingly logical problem, over and above the scholarship and research necessarily involved in providing a solution.

We find the use of this power of rabbinic intuition in the commentary of the great Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, eleventh century France) to the Torah. The Torah tells us that one of the eight special garments that the High Priest of Israel wore during the performance of his duties was the ephod. Whereas the Torah describes the other seven garments in some detail, there is no clear understanding in the verse as to what the ephod really was supposed to look like. Rashi states in his commentary that there was no rabbinic source that he could find that truly described what the garment in fact looked like. However, he says, "My heart tells me" that it was an apron-like garment, much like the leather aprons that the noblewomen of his time wore while riding their horses. Those aprons were worn to protect the fine garments from being soiled while riding in the dirt of the medieval streets.

Legend tells us that Rashi came to this piece of intuition through an incident that occurred while he was teaching Torah to his students in the study hall. While he was in the midst of his lecture and explanation, a loud clatter of hoof beats of many horses was heard outside of the window of the study hall. Distracted by the noise, Rashi glanced out of the window for an instant. He saw a large group of noblewomen riding by and, in that moment, noticed their riding aprons. He thought to himself: "Why should I have allowed myself to be so distracted from my Torah teaching in order to gaze upon the noblewomen riding by the window? Perhaps it is because the Lord intended to give me an insight into the ephod, which ´my heart now tells me´ must have resembled the riding aprons of these noblewomen."

Following Rashi´s example, many of the great men who wrote rabbinic responsa in Jewish history relied not only on their compelling knowledge of the Talmud and its commentators, but also upon what their hearts told them. In the 1890´s, the great Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik wrote to Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spector, the rabbi of Kaunas, Lithuania, concerning a complicated halachic issue: "Please answer me only in a few words - is it permissible or not? I can refute any legal proofs that you may bring either way, but I rely completely on your holy intuition as to the correct solution to this problem, for in this generation you are the person that ´the Lord is with him.’ "

Judaism is scholarship, but it is not scholarship alone. It is not only the intellect that counts, but also the soul and the heart - the Godly intuition that is within holy people - that also guides us.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER - NEW HOLY LAND

Sounds like an oxymoron, yet when it comes to Israel they’re synonymous. Think about it. Can land really be holy? Isn’t holiness in to be found in the spiritual realm of prayer meditation and enlightenment? The ancient Israelites traveling through the desert pondered the same question. The spies they dispatched to survey the land confirmed their suspicion. You can’t be Holy and live on the land, build a country, create a viable economy and protect its citizens. No, to be Holy we’ve got to stay in the desert removed from physical, societal and worldly concerns. G-d said, "You’ve got it all wrong. Don’t confine me to the desert. Don’t relegate me to spirituality. I created the material world - find Me there. And in that world, I chose a place where you won’t even have to try very hard. I’ve made the very land itself Holy. You only need to respect My presence in it and it will protect yours."

Of the millions of visitors to the Grand Canyon, I doubt anyone was ever moved by its beauty to drop to their knees and kiss one of its rocks. What is it about Israel that moves people to kiss the tarmac of its airport and caress the stones of the Western Wall? It’s Holiness. It’s the Holy Land and we feel inextricably connected to it.

Israel is the Jewish people’s ultimate trial. Can we accept that respect for the "Holy" is the only way to treat the "Land"? Or do we pretend that it’s just a land like any other and that its fate lies in the hands of man?

The Jewish connection to the land is conferred by G-d, not by the nations of the world. At the moment of truth, David Ben Gurion knew that the story of Israel doesn’t begin in 1948, but with G-d’s promise to Abraham. By putting our faith in G-d and following His prescription for its safety and security, we will have just that — safety and security.

When you govern a land universally recognized as a Holy Land, no one buys it when you pretend it isn’t. You simply leave the world confused and hungering for you to simply say it once and for all. You may accept the theology as sound. Confront the truth of God’s promise - that the land of Israel is His eternal gift to the Jewish people; the truth that the recipe for true peace can only come through following G-d’s recipe for peace. May G-d almighty, in His infinite wisdom, kindness and grace, give the wisdom, the strength, the conviction to us all and to those who lead our great nation to stand strong and resolute in retaining our Biblical heritage.

Let us direct the current surge of Jewish pride toward strengthening our relationship to G-d, each other and to our Land. Let us all resolve to add a Mitzvah for the sake of peace. Men should put on Teffilin daily, and encourage others to the same. Women and girls should light the Shabbat candles at the proper time and encourage others as well. When it comes to the Holy Land, a single Mitzvah is worth more than a thousand words. Let’s do our part to bring Peace Upon the Land.

King David writes that truth will eventually sprout from the earth. In the pre-messianic age, the nations of the world will demand the truth from us. That time has arrived and we are edging ever closer to delivering it. We have to work to present a unified front to the world. We must forever divest ourselves of the notion that Divine truths cannot resolve practical problems in the "real world". It’s time to redefine the "real world". "Reality" is not relative to perception, it’s axiomatic and absolute. That’s what we mean when we say "Hear Israel the L-rd is Our G-d the L-rd is one".

"Our G-d" means His is truth is our truth. Our world is His world. His solutions are our solutions. It’s time to get in touch with reality, and get down to the heart of the matter. The world is counting on us.

Arutz Sheva News Service

Why did they do it? How could the meraglim, the great men of their generation, the princes, the Gedolei HaDor, lose faith in Hashem and draw all the wrong conclusions about Eretz Yisrael?

Imagine, if you will, a collection of Torah´s ´superstars´ assembled in one place: the Rambam, the Vilna Gaon, the Chofetz Chaim, Rashi, etc. They´ve witnessed G-d´s awesome power in defeating Egypt, they´ve experienced daily miracles that astound the senses. Yet, they say, "We can´t go into Israel - we can´t make it!" It boggles the mind!

The commentators (including the Lubavitcher Rebbe) explain: These great men of Israel were living in a kind of cocoon, a bubble in the desert that was a religious paradise. They learned Torah from Moshe, ate the miraculous Mahn and drank water that sprang from a rock. Could any life be better? How could they bear to leave this rarefied spiritual environment to enter a land where they would have to engage in politics, commerce and government? How could they take their pristine souls and dirty them in the real world? This was their mind-set.

Well, the meraglim may have been well-intentioned, but they misunderstood the will of Hashem. We were never meant to live in an Ivory Tower, apart from humanity, no matter how tempting that may seem. Our task is to live in the real world, among those of flesh and blood, dealing with the mundane nitty-gritty of everyday life.

Yet, at the same time, our task, our challenge, is to bring spirituality and kedusha to every aspect of ordinary life. This is what Calev and Yehoshua implied when they summed up their report with the words, "Alo Na´aleh," - we can surely go up. They meant to say, "we can surely raise up" the physical world to a higher spiritual level.

This is why, says the Sfat Emet, Hashem ordained three mitzvot immediately after the sin of the spies. He gave us Challah, to emulate the Mahn in earthly terms; He told us to drink wine at holy events, to take the place of the water from Miriam´s well; and He told us to wrap ourselves in Talit and tzitzit, mimicking the Clouds of Glory that enveloped us in the desert. In this way, all the miracles of the desert would still be with us, albeit in human form.

G-d describes the spies´ mission as "V´yaturu et Eretz Canaan." Read "V´yaturu" not as to "scout" the Land, but rather "to inject Torah" (from the root "Torah") into every cause and corner of this Land.

That is the key to conquering, and keeping, Eretz Yisrael.

While I am sitting here in my home in Jerusalem, I can hear heavy bombing which makes my home shake as if heavy mortars are falling in my backyard. I see missiles flying over, hitting the headquarters of our enemies. The radio informs us of an ongoing terrorist attack, which this time, does not seem to end. Last Saturday night I passed the "Moment" restaurant in Rechavia, where a short while later a terrorist blew himself up, killing tens of young people. The week before, many children lost their lives in Meah Shearim and one grandmother buried her daughter, son-in-law, and several grandchildren. The death toll between one Sabbath and the next is overwhelming. So it goes on week after week¼

As the situation in Israel deteriorates every day, and sometimes every hour, many thoughts come to mind, too many to express. Our thoughts are with the many who are still in hospital and those who have lost family members. We think of our family, friends and children who walk the streets, live in the so-called ‘territories’ and ride in buses and we wonder if we will ever see them again, God forbid. Above all, we think of our soldiers and policemen and women. When carefully listening to their stories, a feeling of unprecedented awe fills our hearts. The army’s moral conduct while entering the cities and refugee camps of the enemy, their nearly abnormal concern with the welfare of the enemy population, while searching house by house to discover terrorists, taking risks which no army in the world would even contemplate, takes us totally by surprise. The Israeli police force works day and night under impossible conditions. They are literally prepared to die in order to save a fellow Jew, like a father tries to protect his children. No thoughts about their own lives seem to concern them.

This is a nation that offered its enemy weapons to defend itself, paid for them, and was willing to succumb to nearly all requests, including the handing over of 95% of West Bank territory, as long as peace for both parties would prevail. This is a nation that was willing to become so vulnerable that military experts of foreign countries called it outright suicide. This is a nation that, after its enemy bluntly refused to accept all its concessions and instead started a guerilla war, is still prepared to continue to negotiate a peaceful solution. This is a nation whose government and army has to endure such biting critique by its own members for its slightest mistakes that it nearly collapses under it own obsession with justice. This is a nation that, after all is said and done, is still called the aggressor "par excellence" by most of the world.

Turning to Israel’s government we observe a group of highly capable people who are paralyzed and incompetent to give any direction to its own policies, while some of its members seem to have difficulties in deciding which side of the conflict they are on. Add to this, the fact that the Middle East and its surroundings consist of more than 300,000,000 Muslims and that the Arab world is 500 times as large as Israel. This country then begins to look like a sliver of real estate nearly undetectable on the world map. That comparison gives one some understanding of the incomprehensible.

This is not war, this is not the real precedent in human history. This absurdity history of conflict, this is not unfair journalism, this is absurdity in the extreme for which there is no should wake us up. Anybody who has eyes to see and a mind to think should realize by now that we are not confronted with a serious conflict that is n the order of other hostilities. This is a conflict "sui generis". What we experience is the encounter with another metaphysical order, where different criteria and rules apply. It is as clear as it can be: No military solution of any order will succeed in bringing an end to this conflict and no negotiations will really bring true peace.

The real problem lies in our loss of morality

This does not mean that the army should not do whatever it can, but as Jews we have to realize that the problem lies somewhere else. We have to realize where it "does" lie and where it "should" lie. History is not so much the outcome of political deals, financial conditions and military power, but above all of the spiritual and moral fiber of human beings. Whenever man does not see morality as his major reason for existence, history guided by Divine Providence runs in directions which ultimately lead to disaster. This is even more true when we focus on our own people with its mission to be a moral inspiration to all other nations.

The conflict that we experience is an encounter with the Creator and Mover of the world. It seems that He is no longer prepared to accept the human onslaught on His creation, the undoing of His making and the violations of His moral demands. As Jews we are obligated to look into ourselves and to discover ways in which we can become better human beings and Jews. It seems that only in this way will we be able to see an end to this conflict. It is our duty to see to it that our communities accept their moral responsibilities and that care of fellow man and justice are of the highest order. We must understand that continuous discussion of these ideals does not get us anywhere. What is needed is action, action and again action.

Here are some suggestions:

• Let us end the terrible traffic accidents in the land of Israel. It is absurd that there is an outcry about terrorists attacks when the same amount of people (or even more) get killed on the roads in the Holy Land.

• It is absurd that there are tragedies which are completely and totally in our own hands and we refuse to take all the necessary steps to stop them, while we protest the death of our fellow Jews at the hands of our enemies.

• Let us end the abuse of women and children in Israeli homes. Who would ever have thought that a Jewish country would ever experience such an evil?

• Let us end the violence in Israeli schools in which Jewish children hurt and get hurt.

• Let us abstain from saying anything bad about any Jew, any group of Jews, or even the Israeli government unless it is constructive critique.

• Let us stop all forms of hurting our fellow Jews and other human beings when not out of self defense.

• Let us refuse to listen to gossip or to be involved in deception, lies and trickery.

• Let us cause the world to say "Blessed is the God of Israel".

• Let us be extremely careful about honoring our parents and spouses.

• Let us show a great amount of patience with people who bother us.

• Let us not fall into a bad temper and hateful feelings.

• Let us pray with great concentration for the welfare of our soldiers and police force and not forget the many POWs.

• Let us get up in the middle of the night and ask God for mercy on "Am Yisrael" (the People of Israel) and the world (This is a most precious time for prayer).

• Let us enter our synagogues five minutes before the actual service starts (Who could ever be late even by one minute these days?).

• Let us pray for the welfare of those we do not like.

• Let us get up for elderly people and assist them.

• Let us smile at any person we meet.

• Let those who live outside the Land continuously phone their friends in Israel and not transgress the law of standing idle while the blood of one’s fellow Jew is being spilled.

• Furthermore, it has been suggested by several American and European friends that all those who are unable to come to Israel this year for "Pesach" become "virtual tourists." Send money that otherwise would have been spend on restaurants, hotels, shops or for trips, etc. to any address you believe you would have visited or ask others to spend it for you. This has great symbolic meaning and may also help prevent people from being fired or keep businesses and hotels open.

At the same time, let us also make it clear to many European nations that their continuous attacks on Israel’s policies will not stay unpunished. It takes little wisdom to realize that when mankind does not respond to this local Middle East conflict and put an end to violence, these hostilities will boil over into a world conflict that will find its way into the heart of European cities. What will happen there will be many times worse than what happened in September 2001 in New York City.

The clock is ticking, the alarm clock is ringing, who does not hear the sound of the great Lion?

[Because of the serious political situation in Israel, leading rabbinical authorities have suggested saying the following "Tehilim" (Psalms) every day, Chapters 83, 130 and 142.]

The conclusion of the "Chumash Shemot" (the Book of Exodus) is that the "Shechina", the Holy Spirit of "Hashem" rested, so to speak, in the "Mishkan" (Tabernacle) that the Jewish people built in the desert. Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Ramban, in his great commentary to the "Chumash", states that the entire process of the "Chumash Shemot" - the slavery in Egypt, the miraculous deliverance and Exodus from Egypt, the Revelation of Torah at Sinai, the construction of the "Mishkan" - all was necessary in order to return the people of Israel to the level of the homes of Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, Yacov and Rachel and Leah. For in their homes the holy spirit of "Hashem" resided in a regular and permanent fashion. Now the Holy Spirit of "Hashem" would reside in a public fashion amidst the Jewish people, in the "Mishkan." The question is obvious: Why did it require all of the events of "Chumash Shemot" simply to return to the level that the founders of the Jewish people had already achieved with regularity in their homes?

I think that the answer lies in the fact that the "Avot" (Forefathers) and "Imahot" (Foremothers) attained that level of Godliness in a private fashion, in their own homes, sheltered from the hostile winds of the outside world. The attainment of the Godly spirit at the end of "Chumash Shemot" was, however, of a different nature. It was a public achievement of the nation as a whole, of a community of different people and different ideas, and therefore a much more difficult challenge. The "Mishkan" was public, it was exposed to the outside world, and it swayed in the winds of the desert and the time. In such an environment, it is difficult to house God’s spirit and therefore all of the events of the "Chumash" related to us regarding the Jewish people were necessary training in order to bring the "Shechinah" to Jewish public life.

The Rabbis in "Pirkei Avot" (Ethics of the Fathers) list ten miracles that were present in the Temple and the "Mishkan". One of the miracles was that the pillar of smoke of the altar was never swayed or blown away by the prevailing wind. In public Jewish life, there have always been, as there are today, winds and currents that can influence and even diffuse the pillar of smoke that represents God’s presence in our camp and society. It must therefore be seen as one of the ever-present miracles in our midst, that the name and cause of Godliness and Torah tradition has somehow been preserved and its influence constantly strengthened and renewed. It is as though we are constantly reliving the end of the "Chumash Shemot" and making the public house and society of Israel the worthy successors of the holy, but private, homes of our fathers and mothers.

All Torah organizations and projects are dedicated to this public building of a "Mishkan" in our community and in the Land of Israel. Projects of Torah study and support, of goodness and assistance to our fellow Jews, are the means by which we construct this "Mishkan". Especially in the difficult winds of our current Israeli world, we must strive to preserve that pillar of smoke – our Torah and tradition - from being blown away and redouble our efforts on behalf of the people of Israel and its holy "Mishkan". The Jewish people have built a "Mishkan" and two Temples in its long and difficult history. None of those three structures proved permanent. We, in our blessed generation and homeland, have been given the opportunity to begin the process of creating the final and permanent Temple. If we realize that this great opportunity is given to us and we work to see that the spirit of God will dwell in our midst, among all of Israel, then we can truly hope to see the physical reality of the Temple and the complete redemption of Zion realized, speedily and in our days.

In these most trying days for the people of Israel, when killing is a matter of little or no consequence and is often casually announced if not also celebrated, it is important for us to remember who we are. While people who act like this have lost all dignity and lowered themselves to a level of cruelty and enjoyment of those acts, the Jewish people should be reminded that they are the children of Avraham, Yitschak and Yaacov, who in their wildest imagination would not even contemplate acts of hatred, not even out of revenge, whatever the circumstances, let alone bring them to fruition.

This attitude however did not come to us easily. The need for revenge after a great injustice has been carried out is very understandable. In the heat of the moment people easily lose their heads and take to the streets to carry out acts of rampant destruction. They often forget who they are fighting and cause heavy losses to the innocent. While this is understandable, it is wrong.

When Dina, the daughter of Yaacov was kidnapped and violated by Shechem, son of Chamor, the Chitite "prince of the land", her brothers were most grieved and "fired deeply with indignation" for he had done "a disgraceful deed to Israel." (Bereshith 34:7) They immediately realized that if Dina had not been a Jewish girl, Shechem would not have dared to perform such an act, knowing that no other neighboring nation would let him get away with it. Believing, however, that Jews are merciful people and little interested in a real fight, he took the chance and violated Dina, thinking that he would be able to use a diplomatic cause to get the Jews not only to accept what happened, but even to agree on an official marriage. When Dina’s brothers indicated that they would be prepared to go along with such a marriage under the condition that all the men of the city of Chamor would circumcise themselves, his joy was boundless. Immediately he forced his fellowmen to undergo circumcision and promised them that it would be to their financial advantage. Above all, it would end the unique identity of the Jews and assimilation would slowly disintegrate them.

He was badly mistaken. In no way were the brothers prepared to make any kind of deal with Shechem. Realizing very well what they were up against and with what kind of mentality they had to deal, they planned to kill Shechem and his father. With guile they caused him to believe that they would agree to his suggestion to become partners with him and his people. Suggesting that they should circumcise themselves. Weakened by the aftermath of the circumcision, the brothers would then be able to kill Shechem and his father, who seemed to have helped his son commit the horrible act that he did. Because all the men were weak, due to their circumcision, there was no danger that the brothers would be attacked while trying to kill Shechem and his father. This was the plan of the brothers. However, two of them, Shimon and Levy, without the knowledge of their father or brothers, decided on a much larger operation. Not only did they kill Shechem and Chamor, but all the other men as well. Consequently, they took the women and children captive and brought Dina home.

Upon arriving home and informing their father Yaacov of what they had done, they anticipated a compliment for their handling of the situation. Yaacov however had a very different response. He accused them of having created a "chilul Hashem", the violation of God’s name, and told them that he anticipated a war between him and the other tribal groups living in the country. The brothers responded with shock: "Shall our sister then being treated as a harlot?" To this Yaacov does not answer and no more word is mentioned about this incident. While this may suggest that Yaacov may after all have agreed with this attack, it becomes abundantly clear that this is far from true. When lying on his deathbed blessing his children, he does not mince words and tells Shimon and Levi what he really thinks of what they did: "Shimon and Levi are brothers, but are (also) instruments of violence¼ for in their wrath they murdered men¼ . Cursed be their anger¼ ." (49: 5-7) He indicates that Shimon and Levi should be allotted such a position in the nation whereby political and military powers of decision would never lie in their hands. There was no justification for what they did. No doubt Yaacov fully sanctioned their attack on Shechem himself, but could not see any justification for the murder of all the other men of the city.

This is something of a surprise. Were all these men not guilty by abstention? After all, they did not protest against the deed of Shechem and seemed to have agreed with it. Why not kill them as well? Yaacov seems to anticipate the "halacha" (law) that as long as people do not pose an immediate threat or there are no clear indications that they are planning to kill you, one is not allowed to kill them (one may, however, put them in jail or take other strong preventive actions).

However, a careful look at his last words and reading between the lines also reveals that it is not only strong condemnation of his two sons which Yaacov utters. He also praises them for their strong spirit, their constant consciousness of their own worth and their nation’s pride and power. This strength needs to enter into every sphere of the whole nation and become the backbone of the ideal Jewish society. Nowhere is there an allusion that Yaacov was a pacifist, suggesting an approach of surrender. Rather, Yaacov’s point is that it is the security of the nation which needs to be at the center of the fight. The enemy who needs to get punished, but not those who are innocent. A forceful attack on the enemy may sometimes involve injury to the innocent, and little can be done about that except trying to prevent it, but it should not prevent one from attacking the enemy.

There is, however, another most important point which even Shimon and Levy understood. There is no rejoicing in the destruction of the enemy. No dancing in the streets, no celebration or use of fireworks. There is the sober understanding that killing is terrible. Even when it needs to be done out of self-defence, or justice, it remains an act which people should hate. Golda Meir once made a most important observation when she said that Jews will perhaps one day forgive their enemies for killing Israeli soldiers, but definitely not for having made our soldiers into those who were forced to kill.

When Yaacov, in an earlier moment in his life, was confronted with his brother Esav and his army of 400 men, the Torah informs us that he "feared very much." Rashi comments that he was not only afraid to get killed but also "that he may have to kill." What is worse than having to take the life of another human being, even when he is your enemy and even when he deserves to die?

When, in the olden days, the Court of Israel was obligated to take the life of an individual according to the law of the Torah, the sages did not thank God for the opportunity to perform a "mitzvah" and dance around his tombstone singing songs of praise. "They fasted".

That is the difference between us and those who celebrate a killing. *

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* The only real exception where Jews somehow celebrated their victory over their enemies was at the Red Sea. It is interesting to note that the Jewish tradition was somehow reluctant to sing the song of Moshe at the time. While God permitted the Jews to celebrate, he forbade the angels to join in: "The work of My hand is being drowned in the sea, and you chant songs?" "(Meggila" 10a) It for this reason that only half the official thanksgiving prayers ("Hallel") are sung on Passover night and it is the basis of the custom of spilling some of the wine from the cup during this night. It seems as though at that moment in time Jews were still in need of some kind of celebration, but the angels had not gone through the hell of suffering and were therefore forcefully silenced.

People are hard to change. It is much easier to invent great technological innovations than to change people’s minds, habits and attitudes. Since human behavior sets the tone of world society much more than does technological progress, very little has really changed in the story of human civilization over the past few thousand years. War, violence, unreasoning hatreds, moral failings great and small, are all the stuff of our daily newspapers and media reports. It seems that little has changed in the human condition since the world of our father, Avraham. All of the problems with which had to struggle are apparently still present with us in our modern era.

This truth is brought home to us in the Torah reading of Beshalach. One would think that after the blows and plagues that Pharaoh and the Egyptian people sustained in the campaign of Moshe and Aharon to free the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage, Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have learned their lesson. They should have been happy and relieved to be rid of the Jews. Then why do Pharaoh and the Egyptian army pursue them into the desert and attempt to return them to Egypt? What logic justifies such a suicidal policy? The answer is that it is habit, stubbornness, hubris and the refusal to allow facts and changing situations to affect one’s decisions and attitudes.

Pharaoh was determined to crush the Jewish people by slavery and pain. The Lord intervened in a clear and impressive fashion to block the plans of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh and the Egyptians knew that the Lord prevented the actualization of their plans. Nevertheless, in spite of this clear situation, neither Pharaoh nor his people changed their behavior, altered their goals or admitted their fatal error, because people are stubborn and are not easily moved from previously held opinions and plans. The facts of the matter rarely suffice to cause a change in behavior. Hence, Pharaoh’s pursuit of Israel into the desert and his otherwise inexplicable headlong rush towards his own destruction. This same rule of human nature applies to the Jewish people as well. The Jewish people were and are notorious for being "stiff-necked." Ideas adopted by Jews, even when disproved by the facts of history and society are still not easily discarded in the Jewish world. God can split the Red Sea, rain down ‘manna’ from heaven every day, preserve millions of people in a trackless desert and there will always still be Jews who say, "Let us turn our heads around and return to Egypt." Their minds are made up and they don’t want to be discomfited by the facts of the situation.

How else to explain that there are Jews in the world still committed to the Marxist dream or who believe that Jewish continuity can be achieved by lowering all standards and requirements for Jewish marriage or conversion? The ideas of the Enlightenment, most of which have bankrupted in this, the bloodiest of all human centuries, are still treasured by a large section of Jewry whose ancestors fell victim to its siren song over the last two centuries. It is as though much of the Jewish world has learned nothing from the events and crises that have befallen the Jewish world in this century. All of the prattle of Secular Humanism, of the new, better world of discarded ritual and unnecessary tradition, of easy faith and feel-good religions, of immediately obsolescent relevance, of hootenanny, guitar-playing services of prayer, all of this is still promoted as effective Judaism even though it has all contributed to the mighty destruction of the people of Israel, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

A large portion of the Jewish world yet insists, "Let us turn our heads around and return to Egypt." Stubbornness can be a positive trait. Being stiff-necked has preserved us through the long night of our exile and difficulties. Jews did not convert nor give up their faith. Their powers of tenacity and stubbornness stood them in good stead. However, stubbornness for the sake of stubbornness is wrong and usually purposeless. The lessons of past failures, of fallen gods and glittering but false ideologies, should serve to instruct us and allow us to leave the bondage of Egypt and its culture, and all of the other Egypts and their cultures, permanently. The miracles and hand of God in history should not be ignored because of misplaced stubbornness.