Rabbi Winston: Parashas Chaye Sarah

 SARAH Imeinu was the first of the Imahos (Foremothers). There is no need or way to question her spiritual greatness. Or is there? Can we?

No, but perhaps the Ramban could, because he did. He said that Sarah’s treatment of Hagar was not correct, and this has caused many to wonder if Arab hatred of the Jews started with her. The only thing is that Heaven seemed to sanction Sarah’s approach to Hagar because the angel told Hagar to return to her mistress and to subjugate herself. 

Sarah’s criticism of her husband also seemed out of place. It was Sarah who told Avraham to have children through Hagar on her behalf. And yet, when Hagar became immediately pregnant and turned it back onto Sarah, Sarah invoked Divine judgment against her husband for her mistress’s behavior, kind of like shooting the messenger. 

However, when Avraham was reluctant to send Hagar and Yishmael away at Sarah’s insistence, G–D stepped in and supported her decision. Rashi makes a point of using this to say that Sarah was on a higher level of prophecy than Avraham, which speaks to her greatness again. 

Not only this, but we learn from Rashi on this week’s parsha that certain miracles constantly happened for Sarah. A Divine cloud hovered over her tent, her Shabbos candles remain lit from week to week, and there was always brochah in what she baked. 

A miracle can happen for anyone. 

Continuous miracles only happen for the righteous. 

As for Yishmael’s hatred of all things Yitzchak, the Torah says it was and is a part of his nature, even prophesied by the angel in the desert. Sarah didn’t give it to him; she just noticed and dealt with it. 

As for Hagar, we have to assume that Sarah saw spiritual potential in her and tried to capitalize on it. If anything, it was Hashgochah Pratis, Divine Providence, that created the history that soured that potential because a Yishmael had to be born from her. Apparently, and to Jewish consternation, Yishmael is part of the Divine plan to develop the Jewish people into a geulah-worthy nation. 

And it’s working, although not necessarily in the way people think. Yes, the Arabs are making a lot of Jews pray a lot more for redemption, and that’s a great thing. But more subtly (and quite ironically), the Arabs are forcing Jews to reveal their true colors. He is the cause of so many effects today that is forcing Jews to have an opinion in one direction or another.

So? Jews are famous for having opinions. True, but they’re also “famous” for not experiencing redemption as a whole, going all the way back to Moshe Rabbeinu’s time. First, there was the four-fifths back in Egypt whose opinion about redemption cost them their lives during the plague of darkness.

In the desert, people had to decide how to move forward in Moshe’s absence. Most decided to wait it out and see what would happen next, while some decided to take matters into their own hands and replace him with a golden calf. How did that work out for them?

Then, forty years later, there were tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe who thought it was redemption enough for them to leave east of the Jordan, and that caused them to be exiled before the rest of the nation without ever knowing what it meant to live in Eretz Yisroel.

When the dust settled after the Purim miracle, many Jews picked up and returned to Eretz Yisroel. Many did not, holding the final redemption even longer, and dying in the Diaspora without having the opportunity to live in the Holy Land. How many mitzvos did they lose out on the entire time (Kesuvos 110b-111a)!

The moral of the story? Look not upon the event itself to understand the needs of the moment, but upon the way it makes you feel and what it makes you decide. Then ask yourself, “If G–D came down right now, what would He think about my decision?”

Yes, that’s a loaded question. It presumes a lot. First, you have to believe in G–D. Then, you’d have to know if Torah came from Him in all its detail. If you did the work and came to believe, then you’d have to be clear about its goals and how a Jew is meant to fulfill them. Then you can look at the events of history and decide more accurately if you’re on G–D’s side, or the other’s. Then He can decide if a person is worthy of redemption, or not. 

Good Shabbos (Mevarchin)

Pinchas Winston

Reb Neuberger: Chaye Sarah

 PLAGUE OF DARKNESS

I don’t usually comment on current news, but this week’s headlines cry out to us. 

Rabbi Frand wrote recently about Golus Yishmoel, the last and most difficult golus: “There is no nation in the world who hates the Children of Israel more than the descendants of Yishmoel.” (Rabbeinu Bechaye) 

Here is a quote from my book, Hold On: Surviving the Days Before Moshiach: “In recent years, an ominous change has come over the lands of our exile. Violence and hatred of Jews, Judaism and the Land of Israel are increasing dramatically. The hand of our enemies is reaching out to strangle us. There is almost certainly going to come a time, possibly very soon when, like Bnai Yisroel at Yam Suf, we are literally surrounded, and we must face the fact that we have no logical hope for survival. What will we do then?” 

What is the answer? The words of Dovid Hamelech: “All the nations surround me. In the Name of Hashem I cut them down.” (Tehillim 118)

“The Name of Hashem.” There is no other hope. 

No political system or strategy will save us. No election will bring relief. This is the end of embracing the goyish culture. All our strategems have failed. “Ain od milvado …. There is nothing but Hashem.” The idea is to beg Hashem to send the Redeemer. We have to know that Hashem will solve all our problems and guide us to where we need to go. Hashem has not forgotten us. 

The prototype for our situation is written in the Torah. In the words of Reb Elchonen Wasserman zt”l, “Several times I heard from the holy Chofetz Chaim, that we can learn about the end of our exile from what happened at the end of our exile in Egypt, as it says (Micah 7:15), ‘As in the days of your leaving Egypt, I will show wonders [in the Final Redemption].’” The wonders will be vast and beyond what we can imagine. 

In Mitzraim, the majority of Bnai Yisroel did not listen to Moshe Rabbeinu and they perished in the downfall of Egypt. G-d forbid that this should happen in our own days, but the signs are ominous. In the city with the largest Jewish population in the world, a hater of Jews has been elected mayor, and someone told me that one-third of Jewish voters cast their ballot for him. My own childhood friends, all Jewish, are almost all enemies of Torah and Yiddishkeit. Many Jewish public officials, all over the world, are enemies of Torah and Yiddishkeit! There is terrible sinas chinom among us, with Yidden expressing hatred toward each other and toward the Torah.

Now we can understand why the Bnai Yisroel who did not choose to follow Moshe Rabbeinu died during the Plague of Darkness, because those Yidden who close their eyes to the Light of Torah are literally living in darkness. Great darkness is descending upon the world. I am reminded of the words of Sir Edward Grey at the outset of the First World War, "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." 

It’s all clearly written: “Beware lest your heart be seduced and you turn astray and serve gods of others and bow to them. Then the wrath of Hashem will blaze against you…. And you will be swiftly banished from the goodly land which Hashem gives you.” We have been living that banishment now for thousands of years. Now we have returned to our own Land, but we need merit to retain it. 

“Keep His statutes and His commandments that I command today … so that you may long remain on the soil that … your G-d is giving you for all time….” (Dvarim 4:40). On these words, Rabbi Hirsch comments, “This is the one condition under which you will be able to remain in the Land. G-d is giving you the Land for all time … but you will be permitted to posses it only as long as you will prove yourself faithful to that calling.”

Hashem will save us, but the burden is on us. The Yeshua will be the greatest moment in history and evil will be vanquished forever, but we must be very strong for the present. The key is in the words, “All the nations surround me. In the Name of Hashem I cut them down.” (Tehillim 118)

The Name of Hashem is our weapon. The nations surround us, but they are walking into the ultimate trap. The end of history is approaching, when the world will be filled with the Light of Torah and Yerushalayim will be capital of the world. But we have to hold on tight. 

“Before Moshiach comes, Hashem will stretch a rope from one end of the world to the other and shake it vigorously. Those who hold on tightly will survive. Those who let go, won’t. These turbulent times are testing us in our faith in Hashem. We must hold on tightly until the end.” (The Chofetz Chaim)

May we see the Geulah Shelemah with our own eyes soon in our days!

European Park at Dusk

Darkness falling

London at Dusk

GLOSSARY

Bnai Yisroel: the Children of Israel

Dovid Hamelech: King David

Geulah shelemah: the Final Redemption 

Golus Yishmoel: the final exile of the Jewish People

Mitzraim: Ancient Egypt

Sinas chinom: unwarranted hatred between Jews

Tehillim: the Psalms 

Yam Suf: The Red Sea

Yeshua: redemption

Yishmoel: the Arab nations, descendants of Yishmoel

Change in our weather

 

After several days of hot, dry weather, forecasters are predicting a sharp change in the coming days. According to Meteo-Tech meteorologist Tzachi Waxman, a gradual changw in temperatures and haze will begin midweek, but a more significant shift is expected over the weekend with the arrival of widespread rain.

Monday, is expected to be partly cloudy to clear, with above-average heat for the season, particularly in the mountains and inland areas. 

Monday night will be clear, though reduced visibility may occur in northern Negev due to dust in the air.

Tuesday will see a noticeable drop in temperatures, as well as increased haze.

Wednesday will see an additional slight drop in temperatures.

On Thursday, there may be local showers during the afternoon hours.

Friday will bring a sharp drop in temperatures, along with rainfall that will spread along the coastal plain and northern regions. 

The rain is expected to peak Saturday, with heavy rains and possible flooding in low-lying areas.

Waxman noted, “This strong winter system will bring particularly significant rainfall to coastal areas, with the first snow of the season expected on Mount Hermon.” 

He also advised the public to follow weather alerts, especially in southern and eastern regions, due to the risk of localized flooding.

The rainfall is expected to continue into early next week, with temperatures remaining below seasonal average.

What Hagaon Harav Shach Foresaw Years Ago: “Every Father Will Need To Fight For His Child”

 

HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman speaks on the yahrzeit on his father-in-law, HaGaon HaRav Shach, Z'tl. (Shuki Lehrer; Beni Birk, Israel Press and Photo Agency)

This past Erev Shabbos was the 24th yahrzeit of HaGaon HaRav Elazer Menachem Man Shach, z’tl.

On the day of the yahrzeit, HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, HaRav Shach’s son-in-law, visited his kever and spoke words of chizzuk at his yeshivah, Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak.

At the kever, HaRav Bergman addressed the situation in the Olam HaTorah, saying, “It must be stated here that for a long time already, the bnei yeshivos hakedoshos have been persecuted. Already many years ago, I heard from Rav Shach that such an era will come—when every father would have to protect his children himself, that chas v’shalom they be taken into the army, and that one must be prepared to sacrifice oneself for this.”

“Woe unto us that this has befallen us in our days, and we have no one to rely on. Therefore, we ask here from Rabbeinu HaGadol, z’tl that he go before the Kisei Hakavod and plead for mercy on the Olam HaTorah, that this evil gezeirah be annulled.”

It should be noted that HaRav Shach, z’tl also foresaw the withdrawal of state funding for yeshivos.

HaRav Bergman has said many times in the name of HaRav Shach, z’tl, that if a day comes when all bnei yeshivos are drafted, it is considered a gezeiras shmad and one must give up their life to avoid complying with it.

HaGaon HaRav Bergman davens at the kever of his father-in-law, HaGaon HaRav Shach, Ztl. (Shuki Lehrer)

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

🔥💥הלימודי חול מקרר את הילד, זה כמו פיקוח נפש: משא חוצב להבות אש ממרן רה"י הרב הירש שליט"א בפני אלפים

 

 

 באדיבות תורה בוקס במסגרת מסע החיזוק של מרן ראש הישיבה הגאון רבי משה הלל הירש שליט"א בימים אלו לצרפת, נשא אמש דברים בכינוס האדיר לרגל ציון 80 שנה ליסוד ישיבת עקסלבן בצרפת, במעמד רבני העיר ואלפי התושבים: בתו"ד עמד על הסכנה הגדולה של לימודי חול: וזה החיוב שלנו היום. אנחנו, כשמדברים בתורה בלימוד התורה, הפשט הוא שאנחנו מדברים על הדבר שהוא התכלית שלנו בחיים, שבגלל זה אנחנו נמצאים בחיים, וזה התכלס שלנו בחיים. ולכן אנחנו מחויבים לחיות חיים של קירבה להקדוש ברוך הוא, זה הכול התכלס שלנו, להתקרב להקב"ה. לכן התכלית שלנו לחיות חיים כזה. ואיך? איך מראים להקב"ה שאנחנו רוצים אותו? על ידי שאנחנו לומדים תורה, מקיימים את המצוות, שאנחנו מחנכים את הילדים במוסדות של תורה. אם אנחנו באמת אוחזים שכל התכלית שלנו יהיה קרוב להקב"ה, וזה התכלית, אנחנו רוצים שגם הבנים שלנו יהיה ככה. ואנחנו מביאים שיהיו במוסדות שמלמדים הילדים, מה התכלית של החיים. וכשאנחנו בונים ישיבות קטנות, ישיבות קטנות של קודש שכולו קודש, בגלל ששם הילד מקבל את החינוך שהתכלס שלו רק יהיה קרוב להקב"ה, ע"י המצווה של לימוד תורה. ועד כמה שיש את הלימודי חול בפרט בצרפת, זה מקרר את הבן אדם, זה מקרר את הבן אדם, מקרר את הילד. וחס ושלום במקום שהילד יהיה ירא שמים, גדול בתורה, הפוך. אבל יש אבות שאומרים לא. אני חושב, היום מי יודע על פרנסה? מי יודע מה יהיה? מי אומר שהילד שלי באמת יצליח בתורה? ואומרים שאנחנו נעשה שני עולמות, גם זה וגם זה. קודם כול, זה פשיטא, זו שאלה גדולה מאוד, אפילו לכל אחד זה כמו פיקוח נפש. אז צריכים לשאול, לא מחליטים לבד. צריכים לחשוב, ולא מחליטים לבד. זה דבר שצריכים לחשוב. ועוד נקודה, רבותי, יש אבות ובחורים שאומרים אולי אני לא אצליח בלימוד התורה ואני קרח מכאן ומכאן, לא אצליח בתורה ואין לי את לימודי החול, אין לי כלום. אומר החפץ חיים, שיש כוח ביצר הרע, אדם מחליט, אני אעשה דבר טוב, דבר טוב שקצת קשה לעשות, אבל אני אעשה את זה. בא היצר הרע ומכניס לו רגש נחיתות, ואומר לו, אתה? האדם חושב לעצמי, אני? אני הצדיק הגדול שאני אעשה את זה? בחור יגיד, אני הכישרון הגדול שאני אעשה את זה? שאני אצליח? אומר החפץ חיים, תדעו, זה יצר הרע, כדי להוריד מהבן אדם לעשות את הדבר הטוב. אנחנו צריכים להכניס אצלנו טוב טוב במחשב שמה התכלית שלנו בחיים, מה התכלית של הילדים, ועל פי זה להכריע, לא להכריע כאן סתם. ואם ככה, אם אנחנו נחיה ככה במחשבה שצריכים להכריע על ידי מחשבה מה התכלית, להכריע על ידי המחשבה מה הקב"ה רוצה ממנו, בכל דרכיך דעהו והוא יישר ארחותיך, הפשט הוא שלפני כל פעולה שהאדם יעשה, יחשוב מה הקב"ה רוצה ממני, מה הקב"ה רוצה שאני אחליט. לא סתם להחליט, שהשאלה היא מה הקב"ה רוצה, וככה לחשוב. ואם אדם חושב ככה ולחיות ככה, לעשות מה הרבש"ע, אז ודאי יהיה סייעתא דשמיא גדולה לכל אחד ואחד, סייעתא דשמיא בבריאות, בפרנסה, בנחת מילדים, שלום בית, בכל דבר ודבר, ועל ידי זה יהיה כבוד שמיים גדול מאד מאד, ועי"ז יהיה באמת על ידי כבוד שמיים הזה, הגאולה השלימה במהרה בימינו, אמן ואמן.

🎷🎺גדול בקרבך: קליפ סיכום, האלפים בקליבלנד הרחוקה קיבלו בחרדת קודש את מנהיג הדור מרן הרב לנדו

 

Wrong Number - R' Yosef Eisen

 

Rabbi David bar-Hayim

 

DEGENERACY of the Elites

The earth is quaking again. If one looks online there are earthquakes and tsunami warnings. Turkey is quaking again (I guess in response to the "arrest threat against Israelis")?

Two-tier march (song)

Hakol Sababa

Just to Clarify:

Islamist Death Threats Against Christian Conservatives

Is Chicken Meat? {Daf Hashavua Iyun Sugya Nedarm 54b}

 This is something I’ve thought about and now we have the discussion:

Chayei Sara: Our Departed Loved Ones Are Watching Us {"Ilui nishmas" Mazal Behar}

 

Seven Year Old Passes Away From……..?? A 7 yr old!

Don’t tell me he wasn’t vaxed!

 IS THIS A *GEZERAH c”v…….Or on purpose!

9th Measles Death: 7-Year-Old Passes Away In Jerusalem. 

I don’t believe anything they say or write about anyone’s health/medical condition. 

*

 Gezerah

 means a decree, verdict, or prohibition

Jared Kushner chez S.M le Roi du Maroc (צָרְפָתִית)

 This is in French lang. if anyone could give a synopsis in English, please do so in the comments. TY

Chayei Sara: The Significance of the Historic Purchase of the Meoras Hamachpeila

 

Rabbi Green and MAGA

 True Meaning of MAGA

Did you know that “maga” is a real word? It's not just a cliché political slogan.

Perhaps not by coincidence, “maga” actually means:

1) “sorceress” or “witch” in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Latin, and Russian;

2) “sucker” or “fool” in Nigerian;

3) “confusion,” “complication,” “wickedness,” “evil things,” or “disaster” in Japanese;

4) “lies” or “falsehoods” in Zulu;

5) perhaps most significantly, in English it means the highest rank (5th) in modern-day Satanic worship.

Make America Gnostic Again?

Make America Gullible Again?

Eliezer Meir Saidel: Who Was Hagar? – Vayeira

The Midrash (Breishit Rabbah, Lech Lecha, 45) says that Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh. Chazal say that her birth name was Keturah, not Hagar, but her father, Pharaoh, named her Hagar when he gave her to Avraham as a “gift,” following the episode of his kidnapping Sarah. 

The word Hagar comes from the Aramaic root meaning “gift.” Hagar became Sarah’s maidservant. Pharaoh, after seeing the miracles HaKadosh Baruch Hu performed for Avraham, said “Better that she should be a maidservant in the house of Avraham than an aristocrat in this house.”

We tend to automatically think of Hagar in a negative context, but we actually have no conception of the stature of this woman. The parsha is rife with appearances of angels – the three angels visiting Avraham, the angel in the Akeidah. 

Hagar had conversations with no less than five angels! (actually, it is a debate whether it was three, four, or five – Breishit Rabbah 45:7; Gemara Me’ilah 17b). The angels spoke directly to Hagar and she was not “phased” in any way. Contrast this with the story of Elkana and Chana – when they saw an angel, they were shocked to the core and Elkana thought they would die. Chazal say that Hagar was used to seeing angels, because they were frequent guests in Avraham’s house.

Chazal in the Midrash says that Hagar soaked up whatever Torah Sarah taught the women and she reached such a high level that she would give shiurim in Sarah’s absence. The fact that, when Sarah could not have children, she chose Hagar to be Avraham’s wife and bear children, shows the degree to which she respected Hagar and considered her worthy.

Avraham did not want to marry Hagar, because he loved Sarah. This is why marrying Hagar is considered Avraham’s 5th trial according to the Rambam. Hagar did not want to marry Avraham because, Chazal say, a woman prefers to marry a poor young man than a rich old man (perhaps today it is different). Sarah had to tempt Hagar in order to get her to agree.

What does Sarah mean when she says “Perhaps I will be ‘built’ through her” (Bereishit 16:2) To understand this we need to skip forward to parshat Vayetzei, where it discusses the birth of the Twelve Tribes. When Rachel sees she cannot give birth, she offers her maidservant Bilhah to Yaakov as a wife. Leah, when she stops giving birth, also follows suit with Zilpah.

The modus operandi behind such a procedure is that if a child is born to the maidservant, but is born “on the knees of the matron of the house” and is named by the matron and her husband (Sarah+Avraham, Rachel+Yaakov, Leah+Yaakov), then the child is considered as if the matron herself had given birth and would be equivalent in status to the other children of the matron and her husband. 

The fact is when the sons of the maidservants were born to Yaakov, they were considered of equal status and we thus have the Twelve Tribes.

It was Sarah’s intention for Hagar, her maidservant, to give birth and then Sarah and Avraham would name the child. If that had happened, this child would have been equivalent in every way to Yitzchak.

However, things did not turn out that way. After Hagar conceived, soon after marrying Avraham, Rashi says, she lost respect for Sarah. She would say to the women who she was teaching – “Sarah appears to be so righteous, but she is not. The proof of this is that in all these years she never conceived, and only after a very short time – I manage to conceive a child to Avraham.” Slowly the women who used to go to Sarah to learn, stopped going.

Sarah complained to Avraham, “You have stolen from me”. By not speaking out against Hagar’s behavior, you have stolen my students from me. Nobody comes to me any longer to learn Torah! Avraham replies to Sarah – “She is your maidservant, you are still the matron, do with her as you wish.”

Sarah “tormented” Hagar, to such a degree that she ran away. The Mefarshim say, what was this “torment?” Sarah said to Hagar, “From this point on, you are no longer allowed to give shiurim!” Hagar flees and an angel appears to her and tells her that her purpose in life is to be Sarah’s maidservant and that she must return and endure. In addition, the angel tells her that she will give birth to a son and that she will call him Yishmael.

Hagar returns and gives birth to a son. Hang on a minute! Three pesukim prior to that, the angel told Hagar that she would call him Yishmael and now (Breishit 16:15) it says that Avraham called him Yishmael? The Mefarshim say that Hagar in fact called him Yishmael, based on the angels’ instructions and that Avraham received that name by Divine providence. 

However, in the end, Yishmael was named, not as originally planned by Avraham+Sarah, but instead by Hagar+Avraham. Therefore, the whole scheme of Sarah that she would merit the birth, by naming him – fell through. The end result of this was that Yishmael was not considered the son of Avraham and Sarah as intended, and ended up being a “wild man,” just as the angel told Hagar and not on equal status with Yitzchak.

Unlike Bilhah and Zilpah, who were faithful maidservants to their matrons Rachel and Leah, Hagar was not a faithful maidservant to Sarah.

It is for this reason that the subsequent developments with Hagar and Yishmael, which appear in this week’s parsha, occurred. Yishmael did not turn into the righteous son he had the potential to become. He mocked Yitzchak and this resulted in Avraham, on Sarah’s behest, banishing Hagar and Yishmael from his house.

The Torah goes on to relate that Hagar, upon being banished, returned to her prior life of idol worship. Yishmael turned into a “no good,” as the angel had predicted.

Later in his life, after Sarah died, Avraham remarried Hagar (Keturah) and we know that when Avraham died, Yishmael repented and both he and Yitzchak buried Avraham. However, Yishmael had no further role in the destiny of Am Yisrael.

 

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: What was the name of Lot’s daughter?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Teliezerrivia Question: In which country today is the biblical Charan located? In the southeast of Turkey, close to the Syrian border.

October 7th Massacre!! Have We Learned Anything? | Rabbi Richter

 and the Sanctification of God's name in the Teshuva fulfillment

Rabbi Richter:

 An article about these videos at TomerDevorah blog:

Who Stands By the Gates of Gehinom?

.....and How to Stay Out! & More Fascinating Insights From Torah Portion

 

 Why did Abaham build a “Sukkah” for his guests? What’s the Get-Out-of-Gehenom secret hidden in this week’s Torah Portion (Vayeira)? And what powerful lessons in parenting, hospitality, and life wisdom are revealed through these timeless stories and riddles?

Precious Tears of Desire | Yaakov Shwekey & Simcha Weinman

 

How do Hasidic Jews earn a living? | Your questions answered here

 

 

 

Now, how to bring this to Eretz Yisrael? 

Much needed enterprises to counter the awful clothing stores thst sell very un-tsnius pieces of material! 

Their entrepreneurial skills are greatly needed here in Jerusalem, to complement what one finds on Malkei Yisrael.

בסערת אש: מנהיג הדור מרן הרב לנדו בדברים נוקבים על הפורשים שהם בוזים דבר השם ואין להם חלק לעולם הבא

 

 

Google translate: In a Storm of Fire: The Leader of the Generation, Rabbi Lando, Speaks Out Sharply About Those Who Disrespect the Word of God and Have No Part in the World to Come 

 Inside the Holy

He Tried to Say Palestine… But What Came Out Will Surprise You

REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS:

Chris Sidoti meant to say “Palestinian state”… but what came out—3 times!—was “State of Israel.” Divine slip-up?

The Hidden War You Were Never Told About……..Plus

 There's a fundamental difference between Yishmael's wars and Esau's wars. The Torah explicitly says that their weapons are different. Esau the sword, while Yishmael is the Bow & Arrow. One is face to face while the other hides i tunnels and sneaks in when you're not looking...

Written 1800 - 1900 years ago - Prophetic Words of What will Happen at the End of Days 

Pirkei D'rabbi Elazar written 1800 - 1900 years ago, shares prophetic words of what will happen at the end of days...

The Stunning Connection Between Parshas Vayeira And Another Opportunity For Teshuva

 

Vayeira: Uncovering the Hidden Tefillos of Avraham Avinu At the Akeida …..plus

 

Vayeira: Why Did Avraham Say That He Is Taking Yitzchak To "Bow"? The Insight of the Brisker Rav 

Vayeira: How Can The Horn of the Ram Be Used At Har Sinai If It Was A Korban Olah? 

Interesting Information in a New Book (Ivrit) by Refael Rafaelov.

 

For all those interested in the debate about Zionism and the Chareidim – An excellent, well sourced, and highly readable new book (in Hebrew) has recently been published called החרדים והארץ by Refael Rafaelov.

The main points he makes are as follows:

1. The “Old Yishuv” was proactively involved in attempting to found new agricultural settlements decades before the “First Aliyah”. The reasons those attempts failed until the 1870’s were due to factors outside of their control, which began to change in the last third of the 19th century. This fact was formally acknowledged in writing by no less than David BG himself…

2. The history of the Chovevei Zion movement, and the central role of Chareidim in its founding, is discussed and documented. How the Maskilim and later the Zionists hijacked the movement for their purposes is also discussed.

3. The settlements of Petach Tikvah, Rosh Pina, and Mikveh Yisrael were founded by Chareidim from the “Old Yishuv”, in the decade and a half before the “First Aliyah”. They became secular later on. How and why that happened is discussed at length. (See item nine.)

4. Six out of seven of the first settlements built by the “First Aliyah” were at first religious (except for “Gedera”).

5. The official Israeli version of history makes a big deal about the secular socialist ביל״ו movement, and how they supposedly led the “first Aliyah” despite the fact that only 20 of their people ever actually made it to the Land, and the only Yishuv they founded by themselves was the aforementioned “Gedera”.

6. That is directly due to the Mapai – Labor dictatorship (who controlled Israel as a de facto one party state for the first 30 years) rewriting history in their own image.

7. The “Second Aliyah” brought the first major influx of virulently secularist settlers, but most of the physical labor (the much vaunted “Avodah Ivrit”) was done by religious Sephardi and Yemenite immigrants who also began arriving in the Land at the same time (for very different reasons…) The Maskilim preferred writing poetry about drying the swamps to actually doing it themselves…

8. The secular settlements were dependent on financial support from Jews abroad, no less than the “Old Yishuv” was. (The Kibbutz Movement was never a financial success story, even after the State, but the post-48 era is not the subject of the book.)

9. Enormous efforts were made by the secular Zionists of the Second Aliyah to lead the children of the earlier religious settlers away from Yiddishkeit, mainly by infiltrating existing settlements and taking over the educational system. These efforts were unfortunately “successful”.

10. The battle for and against Shmittah observance is discussed, as well as the relationship of the Baron Edmund Rothschild to Yiddishkeit and his distaste for the nihilistic/bohemian ideology and practices of the Socialists.

All of these things shaped the relationship between the Chareidim and the secular State down to today, although that is not the primary focus of the book. The main subject and focus is the Chareidi contribution to the early stages of building the Land, and the secular Zionists rewriting of history to minimize that contribution. The overwhelming majority of the sources quoted are from people who were/are far from being Chareidim themselves, including contemporary journalists of the era being discussed as well as secular or RZ academics. 

This is NOT a hagiography either in style or sourcing of content. (Agav, some of his points contradict hagiographic misconceptions of the Old Yishuv from within the Chareidi world…) Check it out yourselves.

https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/new-book-hachareidim-vhaaretz

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What is “hagiographic” –. a biography or a writing that idealizes or idolizes its subject, portraying them as perfect or much better than they actually are