Meir Ettinger: "For a prophet was among them” 12/24/2017

בס"ד

"For a prophet was among them"

Meir Ettinger writes about his uncle, Rabbi Binyamin Kahane, who was murdered with his wife Talia 17 years ago, who seemed to have preceded his time and analyzed reality in a wonderful way

On Saturday, 17 years since the murder of Rabbi Binyamin Kahane, together with his wife Talia, were killed by cursed terrorists who received weapons from the State of Israel.

For me, Rabbi Binyamin Hy "d seemed to have preceded his generation fifteen years, the insights we understand today, the description of the processes taking place before our eyes, he wrote, when he was still alive.

Who else warned and warned before the election of Ariel Sharon for the first time when he was the darling of the settlers when he was perceived by the public as a "security minister," and the right saw him as a redeemer and savior. Which, unfortunately, happened, would carry out the most dangerous move, only to save his skin from interrogation.

Only Rabbi Benjamin knew that a man who was not honest enough to admit that the evacuation of Yamit was identical to Oslo would end up pretending to be honest, Only a rabbi who declared that Benny Begin would be a disaster for the national camp would be abandoned.

In those days, when the rot in the IDF only began to spread, he recognized that the problem was not only the government or the media, but also bodies that were considered "neutral" at the time, like the IDF, not interested in fighting terrorism.

Who then, when Rabbi Binyamin was convicted as much as the "rebellion," for calling upon the people to call on the leaders, that the problem is not in Lebanon but in Umm el Fahm, that 20 years later, the defense minister of the State of Israel, To El Fahm.[?]

There are dozens of cases and precise diagnoses[?] here, in which Rav Binyamin, may G-d's prayers and peace be upon him, was able to discern the root of the problem, many years before they broke into the public consciousness [?(and, of course,] But the goal is to understand where he [?derived] these rabbis, how he could read the political map so well

In one of his books about his great father, Rabbi Binyamin spoke about the fact that in the past he did not understand the point of saying "we told you," only at that time did he understand why it was so important to "know that a prophet was among them."

If I try to find the main idea that [are] interwoven [throughout] the great writings of Rabbi Binyamin Hy "d it is clear that this is the point of absolute faith in G-d.

In his articles, Rabbi Binyamin repeatedly repeats the same principle, just as the role of every Jew in the world is to publicize G-dliness and to believe in the reality of G-d. Thus, the sole and exclusive role of a Jewish state is to publicize the existence of G-d in the world. [?meaning.]

In a lengthy article appearing at the beginning of the anthology "Tal Binyamin", he elaborates on his father's method, that the famous rule "we can not rely on miracles," is true only for a private person, To rely solely on G-d, even when it is contrary to nature, and seems to lack real feasibility.

Rabbi Binyamin taught that any decision on public matters should be made out of the question of sanctifying G-d. Does this decision fulfill our purpose of sanctifying Gd's name in the world, or does it conceal the fact that our existence here is not like the existence of all nations? He did not reject the practical considerations, but asked himself what was gained from this practice. Does it advance us to the final destination? Which is [a] Kiddush Hashem['s name], will it help us.

It is no wonder that it was clear to him that the secular right (or that of the religious non-believers) would produce worse results than the left, for without faith in Gd, practice would always lead to opposite results. Without faith in G-d, there is no point in being different from everyone else, there is no point in not looking for simple and easy solutions even at the price of giving up national assets.

The last public letter left by Rabbi Binyamin, which was written several months before his murder, was a letter written to the residents of the Hilltop, after the shame of abandoning the navel of the land - the tomb of Yosef Tzadik Zt”l, and the murder of his good friend Rabbi Hillel Lieberman Zt“l.

In this letter, he calls on the residents of the hilltop, with the exception of a public statement, that they are prepared to take the weight of the security responsibility, of Yosef's grave, on the heart of the country, on the dream.

Rabbi Binyamin did not intend to bear this responsibility by virtue of his military experience, which he did not have, but rather by virtue of faith in G-d, from the strength that David derived when he fought in Goliath.

Rabbi Binyamin did not want people to take their fate into their own hands. It is not certain that he thought that in the present situation, this would change the situation, but as someone who understood that a real change must be a change of leadership, he raised the public demand.

With open eyes, he understood that the same Zionism that was led from practice would not be interested in defending dreams. It would leave the residents of Elon Moreh to death and embark on the operation when terror threatened Netanya.

He understood that if we do not decide that we are prepared to lead and take our fate into our own hands, the state will in one way or another contain parts of the existing settlement for practical reasons, but the vision of the Greater Land of Israel, the national faith and pride will abandon all public leadership from the far left.

It is a wonder that even today, 17 years later, things are so relevant, how even today, without being able to demand that we want to take our fate into our own hands, we can not say anything else in the public sphere.

G-d avenge his blood.