VAYEISHEV: “It is my brothers that I am seeking"

 “It is my brothers that I am seeking"

(Genesis 37:16)

 

Kislev 22, 5786/December 12, 2025

 

"It is my brothers that I am seeking!" (Genesis 37:16) For twenty three generations of man HaShem has been waiting to hear these words. Ever since Cain, the first born child of Adam and Eve, killed his younger brother Abel, the world has suffered from a dearth of brotherly love. Where fraternal love should have blossomed only fraternal animosity, jealousy and hate took root. 

Our blessed patriarchs and matriarch, Avraham, Sara, Yitzchak, Rivka, Yaakov, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah, all righteous, pure of heart and G-d fearing, nevertheless struggled with little success in raising sons that loved one another. Yosef and his older siblings were no exception. And Yosef's precocious nature and provocative behavior toward his older brothers only made matters worse. His dreams of dominance over his brothers, which he foolishly shared with them, his habit of tattling on his older brothers, and their father Yaakov's obvious affection for Yosef brought the brothers' ire to a boiling point. 

 

Yaakov was acutely aware of this, as we are told outright: "So his brothers were wrought up at him, and his father kept the matter in mind." (ibid 37:11) So it's a bit shocking when Israel says to Yosef, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them... Go and see how your brothers are and how the flocks are faring, and bring me back word.” (ibid 37:13-14) 

Perhaps Yaakov saw an opportunity, hoping that Yosef, meeting up with his older brothers in a different setting, far from home, and seeing for himself the serious responsibilities the older brothers were burdened with, tending to their father's flocks, would create an atmosphere of reconciliation. 

Whatever Yaakov was thinking, Yosef's response reveals that something profound, something life changing, was about to happen: Yosef answered “Hineni - I am ready.

” We have heard this pronunciation - hineni - before. The word first came out of G-d's mouth when  forewarning Noach of the impending flood, and again, when establishing His covenant with Noach. Avraham uttered the word when told by G-d to offer up his son on Mount Moriah. He said the word to Yitzchak   when Yitzchak   asked his father "where is the lamb for the offering," (ibid 22:7), and one more time when the angel stopped him from offering up his son. 

Yitzchak says the word to Esau, telling his son to prepare for him a meal and then he will give him his blessing, and again, unwittingly, to his son Yaakov who was posing as Esau. Yaakov said it to an angel in a dream when preparing to part fromLavan: "And an angel of G-d said to me in a dream, 'Yaakov!' And I said, ' Hineni - Here I am."' And now this word hineni - a word suggesting utter profundity, revealing a depth of commitment, of trust and allegiance -  emerges from the mouth of Yosef. He knew not what lay before him, but he knew he was obliged to find out. 

 

But all the trust and allegiance and determination in the world did not prevent young Yosef from swiftly losing his way. No sooner does he arrive in Shechem than he loses the trail. And then we are told, "A man found him wandering in the fields. The man questioned him, saying, 'What are you looking for?'” (ibid 37:15) Yosef replies with those long longed for words: “It is my brothers that I am seeking. Please tell me where they are pasturing.” (ibid 37:16) The man had apparently run into Yosef's brothers, for he tells Yosef that he overheard them saying they were heading for Dotan. He points the way and Yosef goes off to find his brothers. 

 

It's a minor incident. Who among us hasn't stopped and asked a stranger for directions? Do we ask the stranger his name? No. The stranger remains anonymous. But had the unnamed stranger not set us upon the right track the entire trajectory of our life might have changed. We wouldn't have made that meeting which determined our career. We wouldn't have met that person we would ultimately share our life with. 

And Yosef would not have caught up with his brothers. He would have returned home to Yaakov, confessed his lack of success  and everything that followed - being stripped of his tunic and thrown into a pit; being sold to traveling merchants and sold again into slavery in Egypt; being falsely accused of accosting Potiphar's wife and thrown into jail; interpreting the dreams of his fellow cellmates and ultimately interpreting Pharaoh's dream and rising to prominence. 

None of this would have happened. But it did happen, and all because of an unnamed stranger who just happened to be where he was and just happened to notice that Yosef was lost and just happened to have overheard the brothers' intentions. Life is full of propitious coincidences.

 

Or is it? Rashi tells us that the man was none other than the angel Gavriel, sent to that very spot at that very moment by G-d, who saw Yosef stray and wanted him sent in the right direction. What was about to happen, all the events that would lead the sons of Israel into Egypt, where their children would be enslaved - it all had to happen. 

This is what HaShem had promised to Avraham: "You shall surely know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and oppress them, for four hundred years. And also the nation that they will serve will I judge, and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions. But you will come to your forefathers in peace; you will be buried in a good old age. And the fourth generation will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites will not be complete until then." (ibid 15:13-16) 

It is not conceivable that the word of G-d should be confounded by a young boy whose GPS failed him at the crucial moment. So G-d sent a man, an angel, to nudge Yosef in the right direction. The brothers never learned of this man's presence. Yaakov certainly remained forever unaware and quite likely, Yosef, in all the turmoil that followed, also forgot all about the mysterious stranger who set him on the path to his brothers. But the Torah sees fit that we all know.

 

We have encountered a number of angels in our travels through Genesis. With the exception of angels who appear in a dream, and the angel who stayed Avraham'shand, the Torah refers to all the other angels, those that visited Avraham's tent, those that rescued Lot and his family from Sodom, and that which wrestled with Yaakov throughout the night, simply as men. 

They are given no name and when Yaakov inquired of his opponent's name, he was flat out refused. Their identity is obfuscated, blurred, intentionally made unclear. Yet each arrived with a message to deliver and a mission to complete. And each appears in our lives when we need them most and by direct command of HaShem. The Torah tells us many times to love the stranger. He might just be on a mission from G-d. 

Eliezer Meir Saidel: Vayeishev (JP)

The pesukim describing Rachel and Leah are very difficult to understand – Rachel was “beautiful” and Leah had “soft eyes” and Yaakov therefore loved Rachel. Does this mean that Leah was not “beautiful?”

The surprising answer is that – the Torah is telling us that Rachel was born perfect and Leah not. Just as Yaakov was born perfect and Eisav was born challenged, so too were Rachel and Leah.

Yaakov, from birth, was perfect – a tzaddik, who until age 77 never left the walls of the yeshiva. Yaakov was a genetic tzaddik from birth and he remained so his entire life. Eisav was born challenged and he never managed to surpass his handicaps.

Similarly, Rachel, from birth was born a tzadeket. The Mefarshim go to great lengths describing her incredible level of modesty, how she always tried to minimize herself, the deep love for her sister, to such an extent that she refused to embarrass Leah even at the cost of her own future.

When Yaakov saw Rachel, he loved her, because he and Rachel were the same! A tzaddik and a tzadeket, the perfect match made in Heaven.

Leah and Rachel were identical twins but Leah, from birth, was handicapped. Eisav was physically handicapped, born with physical character traits and urges that made his life more challenging. Leah was born with the same spiritual beauty as Rachel, but she was handicapped by circumstances. From birth Leah was the “underdog,” constantly battling against circumstances, to enable her inner spirituality shine for all the world to see.

Perhaps the best way to describe the difference between Rachel and Leah is the difference between a “tzadeket from birth” vs. a “ba’alat teshuva.” The first is on a totally higher plane and the second is constantly striving to reach that plane.

The children of Rachel were perfect tzaddikim from birth. The children of Leah were constantly getting into trouble. Reuven switching his father’s bed from the tent of Bilhah to Leah’s. Shimon and Levi killing the inhabitants of Shechem. Selling Yosef into slavery. Yehuda and Tamar.

It was in this melting pot that the fabric of Am Yisrael was forged.

Am Yisrael cannot be built on a foundation of only tzaddikim or only ba’alei teshuva, it requires a harmonious combination of both.

It was necessary for Reuven to mess up, for Shimon and Levi to mess up, for Yehuda to mess up and for Yosef to be sold into slavery, to develop the framework for Am Yisrael.

Yes, the sons of Leah were prone to “messing up,” just like their mother was prone to using questionable tactics to achieve her purpose. However, by messing up, they created the essential building block of teshuva in Am Yisrael. Without this building block, the eternity of Am Yisrael would have been threatened.

Reuven lived the rest of his life trying to make amends for his sin with Bilhah. Levi did teshuva and channeled his zealous nature in a positive direction, becoming the Torah leader in Am Yisrael. Yehuda, instead of trying to save face, admitted his error with Tamar and thus acquired the necessary skill set for monarchy.

Leah’s sons were not born perfect like Rachel’s. They managed, however, to transcend their handicaps and eventually rose to the same supreme level, by virtue of their own efforts, not simply by accident of birth. As a result, they assumed most of the leadership roles in Am Yisrael, Torah (Yissachar), Priesthood (Levi) and Monarchy (Yehuda).

Yosef was the perfect tzaddik, born to the perfect mother, Rachel. However, this “accident of nature” was insufficient to ensure the eternity of Am Yisrael. Yosef, the perfect tzaddik had to be lowered in stature, cast into the depravity of Egypt to test the veracity of his tzaddikut and have him emerge unscathed. The purpose of this was to develop a sense of humility and mutual responsibility toward his other brothers.

These are the essential building blocks that forged Am Yisrael. The mechanism of teshuva, to be able fix things, even when Am Yisrael “mess up.” The mechanisms of humility and mutual responsibility.

Next week we celebrate Chanukah, the festival of the oil. Am Yisrael are compared to olives (Jeremiah 11:16). Why is this?

Olives on their own, when picked straight from the tree are inedible, even harmful. However, if you give the olives a few “smacks on the head” in a mortar and pestle, what comes out? A few drops of the purest oil, fit for lighting the Menorah in the Mikdash. If you then take these “smacked” olives and grind them up further in a mill, squash the resulting mush into sacks and pile rocks on them, or place them under a press and apply pressure, more oil comes out, much more than from the first smack.

This is Am Yisrael in a nutshell. It would be nice if the oil would gush out on its own, without any outside influence. However, this never happens. We need a “mild” wakeup call from Above and this should do the trick and awaken Am Yisrael from our slumber. However, sometimes a little “smack on the head” is not sufficient. Sometimes we need to be pounded into a pulp and squashed for it to happen. However, in the end – the oil always comes out, Am Yisrael always returns to their essence.

Parshat Vayeishev is the secret formula for Am Yisrael – the forging of our nation. It was not a once-off occurrence. The same process we read about in this week’s parsha takes place in each and every generation, over and over again.

The good news and the miracle of Channukah is – in the end, the oil always emerges. Am Yisrael always triumphs.

 

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question:  Why, after HaKadosh Baruch Hu changing Yaakov’s name to Yisrael, do we also continue to call him Yaakov?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: Did Reuven sleep with Bilhah? No. He simply moved Yaakov’s bed from the tent of Bilhah to the tent of his mother Leah (Rashi).

*the JP is for the Jewish Press

Happy Birthday Pharoh - The Amazing Source that One's Mazal Is Strong on One's Birthday

 

8 Incredible Ingredients To Illuminate Your Chanukah

 "10 Things" Revised...... amazing

Inside Chevron: Me’arat HaMachpelah, Kever Yishai V’Rus, and the Deep Jewish History U Never Learned

 

Here’s the updated short WhatsApp post with everything added, clean and professional: 🚗 Private Tours Across Israel 🇮🇱 Guided by Aron Gross, a knowledgeable tour guide in Israel. Comfortable rides • Holy sites • Rich history • Custom routes.

What is the Metaphysical Power of Chanukah that can transcend the Physical world into the Miraculous?

What is the Metaphysical Power of Chanukah that can transcend the Physical world into the Miraculous? How will the Jewish people win the War of Light over Darkness? 

The recent attack on Bondi Beach in Australia will motivate the Jewish people to spread the Light of the Torah around the World.

First Candle! Hanukkah Candle Lighting Ceremony at the Western Wall.

DESPITE OUR ENEMIES WE GO ON INTO THE FUTURE AND INTO OUR GEULAH

 

It is a MIRACLE, Massive Storm creates rivers in a desert!.....fascinating

 

Very fascinating the description of the blooming of Eretz Yisrael and Mashiach [minus one little blip].

UPDATE ON SYDNEY MASSACRE

 It’s uncanny that after showing a video of hostages lighting improvised Chanukah lights,

Who were after that murdered, 

there is a spate of shootings attacks in several 

CHANUKAH LIGHTING CELEBRATIONS, 

Chanukah a time of meseirus nefesh

And remembrance of the Hashmonaim

And their meseirus nefesh for Yidden at that time

We witness

6 remain critically injured, 27 in hospital following Sydney terror attack

Reuven Ben Manya
Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara
Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella
Arsan ben Amelia
Yaakov Dov ben Pnina
Yaakov ben Ethel
Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
Elon Ben Shimshon
Yaacov haLevy Ben Miriam
Shoshana Bat Minette

Miami Boys Choir - Chanukah Nights! (Official Music Video)

 Yes, the kinder are our future!

MIAMI BOYS CHOIR - Yerushalayim full performance! @ Madison Square Garden - 

Graduation May 2023 

Vayeshev - Cycles of Growth

What is the reason for the oppresors of the Jewish people having power over us? What is the fundamental mistake we make in our relationship with Hashem? How do the challenges of our oppresors create a change that brings us back into relationship with Him? How does this correspond to the cycle of growth that the Jewish people experienced in the process of the Exodus from Egypt? How does this also correspond to the process Yosef went through with his relationship with his brothers?

Shalom Pollack: Some Chanukah Thoughts

 Our sages' affection for Greece, its language, and its beauty begs an explanation.

Would we openly marvel at the beauty of the German language, architecture, or engineering, or anything about them, after the Holocaust?

Our political (Maccabees) and spiritual leaders (tana'im) after the Holocaust have not chosen names such as  Fritz or Hans.
The same national leaders and guides chose Greek names after the bloody wars against the Greeks.
Why do we not use Greek names today (besides Alexander, who saved Jerusalem from destruction)?

Our sages in the Roman period taught that one should speak only Hebrew or Greek in the holy land.

Is the answer simply a "natural" assimilation and lack of Jewish pride that diminished after the great Jewish victory by the early Maccabees? Has it just worn off?
After the "no-holds-barred" decades of wars against the Greeks, our leaders chose Greek names?
Halacha teaches that our Torah should be written only in Hebrew or Greek(!);  the language of the war of destruction of the  Torah?

What really happened?
Is there a logical Torah based explanation, or is it just a dearth of Jewish self-confidence and pride at the time?
Perhaps not to be compared, but what is at the root of naming our children American, British, or French names?"
A Jew at home but "normal" in the real world?
And what of Rabbis who are known to the world by non-Jewish name?

Chanukah sameach

Shalom

You are invited to my Chanukah walking  tour in Yerushalayim on 26, Kislev, Tuesday, December 16

shalompollack613@gmail.com

NAMES FOR A REFUAH SHELEMA FROM AUSTRALIA MASSACRE

 

Reuven Ben Manya

Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara

Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella

Arsan ben Amelia

Yaakov Dov ben Pnina

Yaakov ben Ethel

Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah

Yaakov Halevi Ben Miriam

IRAN INITIATES MASSACRE: ELEVEN (Ten) killed including Chabad Rabbi in shooting at Chanukah celebration in Australia

SHAME ON AUSTRALIA!   SHAME!   SHAME!

Massacre at Hanukkah celebration in Sydney:  At least 12 people have been killed in a shooting at the site of a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.

video:  Jonathan Sacerdoti on GB News

The Armstrong Institute: Evidence of Maccabean Battlefield

Material Evidence of Maccabean Battlefield Unveiled

Another find from the period of the Maccabees—right before Hanukkah

nother discovery from the time of the Hasmonean Period has hit the news just days before Israel celebrates the festival of Hanukkah, a memorial of the restoration and rededication of the temple by the Maccabees some 2,200 years ago.

On December 10, TPS-IL discussed the “First Material Evidence of Judah Maccabee’s Battlefield Discovered Near Jerusalem” in an interview with Dr. Dvir Raviv from Bar-Ilan University. This came two days after archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a large Hasmonean wall section under an old Jerusalem prison.

Dr. Raviv related the results of a 2022 survey at Horbat Bet Zecharia in the Gush Etzion region, about 7 kilometers southwest of Bethlehem. It yielded artifacts showing evidence of the battlefield where Judah Maccabee fought Antiochus iv Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who set up an idol in the temple.

The site is commonly identified with the town of Bet Zecharia, where ancient records say this “fifth battle” of the Maccabees between Judah and Antiochus took place.

Josephus and the 1st book of Maccabees tell of Antiochus’s Seleucid army advancing northward on elephants toward Jerusalem along the Hebron-Jerusalem road. While Judah’s forces fought valiantly—especially his brother, who sacrificed himself to kill one of the war-elephants that then collapsed on him—they lost the battle. Antiochus went on to besiege the temple at Jerusalem.

In his survey, Raviv discovered 92 coins and hundreds of pottery sherds from the Persian to the Hasmonean periods. But what really heightened his attention were four artifacts: three lead sling bullets and a bronze coin from the ancient city of Side.

The lead bullets were common ammunition for Hellenist slingers. Such bullets are well known from over 20 other sites across Israel, which historical records attribute to battlefields, siege works or forts. One of the three had a winged thunderbolt of Zeus on its side, a typical mark for such bullets. They were found on the slope at the western side of the site, toward the Hebron-Jerusalem road.

The bronze coin corroborates another detail from the historical description of the battle. One side has a picture of the Greek goddess Athena; the other depicts a pomegranate, the symbol of the city of Side in the south of modern-day Turkey.

Side served as one of the recruitment centers for mercenaries in the Seleucid army. 1 Maccabees 6:29 says Antiochus received support from “mercenary forces” against Judah Maccabee in this battle. These mercenaries would have been paid with coins like the one found at Bet Zecharia. Although many similar coins have been discovered across Israel, this is the first instance of one found at the site of a Maccabean battlefield.

While the site of the battle isn’t much disputed by historians, Raviv says the finds are still valuable. “The finds sit where the sources place the battle, along the old road below the village,” Raviv told TPS-IL. “They give us, for the first time, an archaeological echo of the confrontation described in the texts.”

With this discovery, we have yet another find that proves the millenniums-long history of the Jews in the Promised Land and their struggle to survive and remain independent.

https://armstronginstitute.org/1396-material-evidence-of-maccabean-battlefield-unveiled

An impressive section of Jerusalem‘s Hasmonean period city wall was unearthed in the Tower of David

Hashmonean Period City Wall unearthed under former Jerusalem Prison. https://armstronginstitute.org/1383-hasmonean-period-wall-revealed-under-former-jerusalem-prison 

Five Little Girls Need Financial HELP

 

Emergency: Five Little Girls With No Parents at Home — They Need Us Now

 

Five young girls just lost their father — and their mother is still in the hospital, unaware she is now a widow. The children are alone, their home broken, and they have nothing.

This is a crisis. A family on the edge. They cannot survive without our help.

Please — open your heart and help these five orphans and their struggling mother rebuild their lives.

Donate now. Their future depends on us. 

Donations can also be made to Vaad Harabanim Fund #7323 by phone at 1877-722-2646 or by mailing a check to Vaad Harabanim 221 Regent Drive Lakewood, NJ 08701. 

Vayeishev: The Incredible Remez to the Teaching of the Arizal To Love Your Neighbor Before Davening

 

Pre-Vayishlach: Special info

if you want to meet Rabbi Glatstein, after reading his articles on this blog, maybe join him in his trip to *Eretz Yisrael:

Semuchim M'yad - Connecting Parshas Vayeishev With the End of Parshas Vayishlach

*and please let him know that  [neshamasarah@yahoo.com]  sent you. ty

Why Do Jews Love Exile? (With A Chanukah Twist)

We keep pouring our souls, money, and futures into exile, while neglecting our true home. Eretz Yisrael is not an idea or a slogan; it is the land of Geulah, unfolding before our eyes. Hashem has already performed miracle after miracle—national, historical, undeniable. If we still don’t see what’s happening, the problem isn’t a lack of signs. The problem is whether we’re willing to face what those signs demand of us.

 

 

 For questions or comments, you can reach us at Homeboundisrael@gmail.com Check out our website at Homeboundisrael.com If you want to help spread the truth of the Torah and make a tremendous kiddush Hashem, please partner with us and help support this amazing cause and help us get our Holy nation to return home to Eretz Yisroel so that we can finally bring Moshiach! https://homeboundisrael.com/donate 

For more information and inspiration, check out our website at https://homeboundisrael.com/ Homebound To Eretz Yisrael is an organization built to spread truth and Torah to Jews searching for the unfiltered truth about the Holiness of Eretz Yisrael, the land that Hashem designed specifically for the spiritual needs of Klal Yisrael, and how it plays a major role in our nation's destiny. 

 We inspire and help Jews to return home, the Land promised to us by the creator of the universe. And we teach the Torah's perspective on the Holy Land, and why it is in every Jews best interest to live in Eretz Yisrael To sponsor a HomeBound episode or other motivational videos, or for any questions or comments on this video, send us an email at: Homeboundisrael@gmail.com

Y Litvak: Undercover in the World of Radical Islam

Posing as an Arab, Zvi Yehezkeli infiltrated terror hotbeds throughout the Middle East, Europe, and America, revealing how jihad spreads and why the West still misreads it.

When Zvi Yehezkeli was born in Jerusalem in 1970 to secular Iraqi and Kurdish Jewish parents, they believed they were welcoming a child into a future of peace. History had other plans. Like nearly every Israeli family, they watched their son trade childhood for a uniform at eighteen, as the country’s threats only multiplied. Zvi didn’t just serve—he threw himself into Israel’s security, first in an elite army unit and then in the Shin Bet, the Israeli Security Agency.

In the 1990s, Zvi witnessed the Oslo Accords, the landmark agreements in which Israel and the PLO formally recognized each other and launched a peace process meant to lead to Palestinian self-rule and a final settlement. Like many Israelis, he desperately wanted the peace agreement to succeed. He decided to study Arabic and learn more about Israel’s “peace partners.” Then he spent some time living in Hebron and Jenin.

With his Middle Eastern looks and fluent Arabic, it was easy for Zvi to blend into the Arab society and observe its workings from the inside. As a spy, and later as a journalist, Zvi obtained information valuable for Israel’s security.

He has been cautioning about the dangers of Islamic terrorism long before the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023. Unfortunately, his warnings went unheeded.

Today, Zvi is a senior commentator on Arab affairs at i24 News. He also lectures throughout the world on the current situation in the Middle East.

Zvi recently spoke in Beit Shemesh, at an event organized by Alisa Coleman, Director of the Bet Shemesh Municipality Aliya and Absorption Department, sharing what he learned “the hard way” over his 30 years of experience.

Spiritual Journey

Zvi recalls a 2004 encounter with Zakaria Zubeidi, the head of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Jenin, the day after Israel eliminated Zubeidi’s deputy. “He was my friend. I went to the refugee camp.” Zvi did not know that in response to his deputy’s assassination, Zubeidi swore to kill the first Jew he saw. Zvi was that first Jew, and Zubeidi pointed his gun at Zvi and said, “I have to kill you.”

Zvi tried to object. “I’m not a Jew. I’m a journalist. I’m Israeli. I’m secular. I speak Arabic.”

Zubeidi replied, “No, Zvi. You are a Jew. You are part of the Jewish people, and I’m going to shoot you and kill you in the name of something you don’t even know! Go to your Judaism!”

Then Zubeidi let Zvi go.

On a personal level, this encounter spurred Zvi to learn more about his Jewish heritage. Later, after the Second Lebanon War, Zvi took a break from reporting and traveled the world, stopping in Uman, Ukraine, the burial place of Rabbi Nachman. There, he spent Shabbat with a religious family and discovered that Judaism was that elusive missing piece that he’d been searching for as he’d built his successful career. Upon returning to Israel, he committed to Jewish observance and married a woman who was also newly observant. Today, the couple is raising a large family.

On a community level, says Zvi, “This gun is pointed at every one of us. Our hostages met God in the tunnels. Each one of us in some way is a hostage. Now, we are going back to our treasures.” Our enemies, explains Zvi, are telling us, “Be who you are! Because if you are not who you are, I’m going to push you to be who you are.”

Understanding the Middle Eastern Mentality

To understand the conflict in the Middle East, Zvi explains, we must understand the Middle Eastern mentality instead of making the mistake common to many Western politicians and commentators – trying to interpret the events from a Western perspective.

In the West, people tend to think that wars are a thing of the past. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 90s, the Western perception is that “people are not going to fight anymore, because they are going to be democratic, and they are going to love each other.”

In the Middle East, on the other hand, “there’s been a lot of wars since the 90s, resulting in enormous casualties. In the last month, 150,000 people were killed in Sudan. There are millions of refugees. Sometimes, the West doesn’t know that people are still fighting.”

Zvi recalls that back in the 90s, he had also supported the Oslo Accords and believed in peace. But after spending 30 years interacting with the potential peace partners, including top terrorists, he began to understand their dreams and goals and how they educate their children. “I woke up,” he says. “They woke me up.”

“There is a way to understand the Middle East,” Zvi says. “It’s a tribal society. And in a tribal society, there is always fighting.” Zvi describes the fighting among the clans he witnessed when he lived in Hebron. “The Arabs that I lived with – a doctor, a lawyer, and a journalist – they killed four neighbors.” When Zvi asked them why, they said that they had fought over a parking spot. Since Zvi was still confused, they explained, “It’s not about a parking spot. We fight every two or three years, because this is our identity.”

Zvi recalls spending two weeks with Yasser Arafat in the midst of the Second Intifada. “I said to him, ‘We signed an agreement, and look what happened!’ He said, ‘It’s natural. Why are you so surprised?’ I said, ‘Israel gave you 92% of the West Bank!’ He said, ‘It’s not about numbers. Even 100% in my view is 0.’”

When Zvi still didn’t understand, Arafat explained, “You’re signing an agreement to share between us. We are signing an agreement as part of war, to throw you into the sea.”

In Islamic culture, agreement is “the weapon of the weak” because if one is strong, others see the strength and don’t attack. The first agreement in Muslim history was signed and later broken by Mohammed himself in his conquest of Mecca. Once the weak regain strength, they no longer feel bound by the agreement.

Likewise, in a tribal society, terms like “states” or “borders” do not have the same meaning as they do for Westerners. “The rules of the tribe are honor, controlling roads or lands, and revenge.”

Another principle in Islamic society is patience. Their vision is world domination but they are willing to achieve this goal slowly, step by step, even if it takes decades or even centuries. Therefore, Zvi says, when things are quiet in the Islamic world, that is not necessarily a good sign. Israel got too comfortable with the relative quiet in Gaza, thinking that the Gazans were no longer interested in war. In reality, the Gazans were digging tunnels and preparing to attack.

Zvi believes that the fundamental mistake of the Israeli military leadership before October 7th was that they did not make an effort to understand the Arab society and to learn the Arabic language. While the soldiers on the ground and in intelligence might have reported suspicious activities, the leadership remained oblivious because those reports did not fit into their understanding of the situation. Unfortunately, those lessons were learned the hard way.

In addition, even now, the army is focused on weapons and military capabilities. Zvi suggests going to the root of the problem – the education and indoctrination that take place in schools and mosques controlled by Hamas, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood, and other terror organizations. For as long as this ideology exists, “banning weapons won’t help.”

Jihad in Europe

In the 2000s and 2010s, Zvi traveled all over Europe disguised as a Palestinian Arab, and filmed several documentaries. He found that the Middle Eastern mentality is now spreading to Europe with the influx of refugees from the Middle East.

Zvi explains that the Islamists don’t begin with violence and jihad. First, they try to spread Islam peacefully. If that doesn’t work, they move on to jihad. Hamas was peaceful between 1982 and 1987. “Then they were so ready to continue with jihad,” says Zvi. “That’s what’s going to happen in Europe. Now, people are converting to Islam. Now, you’re not allowed to say ‘Merry Christmas’ because you are hurting the immigrants.”

The clash of civilizations in Europe stems from the same source – democratic societies “forgot about war; they can’t imagine that immigrants are still fighting.”

In Zvi’s first documentary, Allah Islam, which came out in 2010, Muslims residing in Europe describe, in fluent English, their vision for their host countries. In Belgium, immigrants speak about extending Sharia law not only to Belgium but to the rest of the world. They openly reject democracy and ridicule their host country. “We want to establish Islam here, in Europe,” one of them says. “That’s our main objective.”

In London, Zvi says, “I found the sheikh that was responsible for all the terror attacks in London. Now, after I did these interviews, they jailed him. He was free until last year. He said to me, ‘It’s a matter of time. We’re going to conquer Britain.’”

When Zvi first attempted to bring the sheikh’s incitement to the attention of the local authorities, they responded that the U.K. valued freedom of speech. Meanwhile, the sheikh had plenty of time to indoctrinate the young generation that attends his mosque.

Also in the U.K., Zvi says, “I went to a mosque, and I filmed the sheikh saying, ‘Kill the Jews!’” Instead of taking his warnings seriously, the British intelligence objected to eavesdropping on religious institutions.

In 2018, Zvi infiltrated the Syrian refugee community in Germany. The refugees shared with him that they wanted to spread Islam in Germany and establish Sharia law.

Jihad in America

“The same is happening in the United States today,” says Zvi. “But the United States is a huge country, and you can’t feel it like in the streets of London or Berlin. I was in a small town [of Belle Glade in Florida]. I found there a sheikh who is working by the book of the Muslim Brotherhood. He sued me after he saw the documentary because I was undercover. But he told me step by step what he’s going to do in his small town.”

Zvi laments that “nobody from the Western intelligence is doing such a job.” They don’t realize the danger. “But this will affect the West in 3-5 years from now,” says Zvi. “We’re in the middle of a war. And we [Israel] are the pioneers of this war.”

The Way Forward

Despite the bleak picture of the future that emerges from his documentaries and personal encounters, Zvi remains optimistic. Even though there is more work to do on the security front, he believes that Israelis have learned their lessons from October 7th. “We’re now more mature and more aware,” more capable of defending Israel from its enemies.

Moreover, he believes in the strength and resilience of Israelis. “We are great people,” he says. Despite the security threats, Israel has been growing and developing, bringing much good into the world.

Zvi places great hope in the young generation of Israelis. “Our new generation is not as confused as us, my generation. They are clear in their vision. They know there is an enemy. And if you know there is an enemy, you’re going to fight. This is the victorious generation.”

Zvi concludes, “We will go to the roots, we will fix it, and we will give our children a great Israel to live in.”