Rabbi Weissman – Two Torah classes, Benny Lau supports torture, and the cult of Trump

 

In ancient times no Jew was deranged enough to consider eating meat immoral in principle because it "harms" animals — that's a new one, courtesy of Amalek — but it was a thing to scorn the holy service in the Beis Hamikdash, which is the source of so many blessings.  

In honor of the not-so Orthodox Union and others selling themselves out to the fake meat charade, cloaking themselves in equally fake piety and concern for the greater good, in this week's Torah class we studied relevant sources from Tanach and the Gemara.

In the second part of the class we continued our study of Bitachon from Chovos Halevavos, and learned the proper perspective for those who are single, lonely, or even completely alone in this world.  Definitely food for thought — not fake food, but the real thing.  The recording is available here: Dirty Bread and Clean Meat. 

Last night was part 6 in my series of classes on Bayis Sheni and redemption.  The recording is available here.

We started Sefer Zecharya and saw more clear messages that the contemporary return to Israel is the real thing and Hashem wants Jews to return en masse.  Those who wish to deny it must dismiss powerful Torah source after powerful Torah source and weave an alternative narrative with little to stand on.  In this way they are no different than others who hijack the Torah to support everything that goes against the Torah.  The fact that they have rabbis who tell them what they want to hear (who doesn't anymore?) makes no difference.

The Torah is not nearly as ambiguous as some people wish to believe.  If they don't like what the Torah teaches, the problem is squarely with them.

*   *   *

Speaking of people who hijack the Torah to support everything that goes against the Torah, Erev Rav Benny Lau recently had an article on the Hebrew edition of Arutz Sheva that takes him to a new low.  For those who are blissfully unfamiliar with this man, Benny Lau is a pretend Orthodox rabbi, Trans-Orthodox, if you will, who has spent his life undermining authentic Torah (a.k.a. "religious extremism") while legitimizing and promoting perversity.  Because he poses as Orthodox, the secular media can celebrate him as a courageous Orthodox rabbi who "proves" that the Torah really supports this garbage.  They need posers like Lau to advance their agenda.

If Lau identified himself properly, Arutz Sheva, which also pretends to be a stalwart of the Torah-observant world, could never get away with publishing his nonsense.  But since Lau identifies as Orthodox, Arutz Sheva could get away with publishing this piece.

Lau casually dismissed the torture that was administered to Amiram Ben Uliel and claimed it had nothing to do with the "confession" that he uttered mere hours after last savage torture session. 

Benny Lau, the great humanitarian and staunch defender of rainbow perversity,   is not at all bothered that Ben Uliel was tortured altogether.  No.  What bothers Lau is that some rabbis had the audacity to advocate on Ben Uliel's behalf.  Lau made it his mission to talk some of them out of it, and to otherwise undermine the growing movement to rescue Ben Uliel from prison and the torture he continues to undergo there, albeit in different forms.  (Jonathan Pollard recently spoke about this here.)

Lau is a tool of the state, and it is the state that he defends.  How can a religious Jew challenge the decision of the courts in Israel, argues Lau? How can a religious Jew undermine state institutions by protesting on behalf of someone they found guilty, fair and square?  What kind of Communist are you, anyway?

What a despicable human being.  If Israel were a truly Jewish state, people like Lau would be deported, at the very minimum.  He has no place among us.

*   *   *

Time to wake up. 
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Elisha Yered Banned From Judea and Samaria . . . Where he lives with his wife!

Another ‘Fuchs Boot–Stomping’ on a Jew

Elisha Yered ordered out of Judea and Samaria for 6 months for killing Arab rioter after he was struck in the head by a stone during a riot.

Elisha Yered, the man who was seriously injured when he was struck in the head by a stone (thrown by an Arab)  in a near-lynching near the Palestinian Authority town of Burqa, received an order this week barring him from Judea and Samaria for six months.

Yered was one of a group of Jews who came to the aid of a Jewish shepherd who was attacked by a mob of Arabs in early August. He was arrested for shooting and killing one of the Arab rioters after he was struck in the head by a stone, even while he remained in the hospital. 

The order also forbids Yered from meeting with Rabbi Menachem Ben Shahar, one of the teachers at the Homesh Yeshiva, as well as a number of other Jewish activists. 

In the last year, Rabbi Ben Shahar led the headquarters of the fight against Arab terrorism, leading a series of demonstrations at intersections after terrorist attacks that took place at those places. Yered served as the spokesperson of the protest movement. Rabbi Ben Shahar, who became aware of the order this morning, strongly criticized the IDF commanders who issued the order. "I was amazed this morning to discover that in an unimaginable way, Central *Command General Yehuda Fuchs and the Jewish department of the Shin Bet decided to break new records of harassment against the settlers, and to try to eradicate the protest we are leading against the incompetence of the security system through dictatorial and unprecedented measures." 

Rabbi Ben Shahar added: "This is a clear attempt to silence us that is reminiscent of the conduct of dark regimes. This is a legitimate and broad protest of residents who, on the whole, go out to cry out in the streets about how their lives have been made cheap. But instead of listening to their cry and embarking on a determined fight against terrorism - the Commander-in-Chief and the Shin Bet are acting in a desperate attempt to forcefully silence criticism, to cover up their failure in the face of terrorism."  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/377649

*reportedly accused of being overtly and determinedly anti-Jewish Settler anything anywhere, in his actions and military orders!

 

Mayim Achronim – Ushpizin and Anti-Ushpizin

Over the course of Sukkot, we are graced with the spiritual presence of the “Seven Shepherds of Israel”: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. These Heavenly guests are commonly known as the ushpizin. Interestingly, the root ushpiz or oshpiz, “guest”, actually comes from the Latin hospis, as in the English “hospitality”! What is the origin of the notion of Seven Shepherds? Where did the practice of inviting the ushpizin come from? And who are the mysterious “anti-ushpizin” that oppose the Seven Shepherds?

Origins of Ushpizin

‘Micah Extorting the Israelites to Repentance’,
by Gustave Doré

The idea of Seven Shepherds of Israel comes from the Tanakh, from the prophet Micah. The fifth chapter of his book begins by telling us that an ancient soul of Judah, mikedem mimei olam, will emerge out of Bethlehem of Efrat to be moshel b’Israel, a ruler of Israel. The next verse tells us it will come at a time of great desperation for Israel, following a series of “birth pangs”. This leader will be righteous, and serve in the name of God. We might think this is referring to Mashiach, but the chapter continues to warn that Assyria will invade and drive Israel into exile. It’s quite clear that Micah is speaking about the near future, and the Judean leader he envisions is the righteous Hezekiah, who drove away the Assyrian invasion and miraculously saved Jerusalem. Indeed, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) records an opinion that all of the Messianic prophecies of the Tanakh were referring to Hezekiah!

Nonetheless, this chapter of Micah is seen as a “double-level” (or “dual-fulfilment”) prophecy, one that spoke of the near future in Micah’s own days, and also cryptically referred to a future time at the End of Days. This is how Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai read it, for instance, and saw “Assyria” here as secretly referring to Persia at the End of Days, who will invade Israel in the final apocalyptic war (Eichah Rabbah 1:41). Whatever the case, Micah 5:4 says that God will raise up “seven shepherds and eight princes of men” against the invaders. Again, the Midrash (Beresheet Rabbah 14:1) wonders if this means there will be seven or eight messianic figures in the End of Days, and concludes that there will actually be four:

There is a great debate with regards to how many messiahs there will be. Some say there will be seven, as it is said “then shall we raise against him seven shepherds…” (Micah 5:4) And some say there will be eight, as it is said, “and eight princes of men.” And it is neither of these, but actually four, as it is said, “And the Lord showed me four craftsmen…” (Zechariah 2:3)

And David came to explain who these four craftsmen are [Psalms 60:9 and 108:9, where God declares: “Gilead is mine, Menashe is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of my head; Judah is my sceptre”]: “Gilead is mine” refers to Elijah, who is from the land of Gilead; “Menashe is mine” refers to the messiah who comes from the tribe of Menashe… “Ephraim is the defence of my head” refers to the Warrior Messiah who comes from Ephraim… “Judah is my sceptre” refers to the Great Redeemer, who is a descendant of David.

That said, the seven shepherds must refer to other figures. The Talmud (Sukkah 52b) explains: “Who are these seven shepherds? David is in the middle; Adam, Seth, and Methuselah are to his right; Abraham, Jacob, and Moses are to his left. And who are the eight princes among men? They are Yishai, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, Mashiach, and Elijah.” The Sages seem to suggest that alongside Mashiach and Eliyahu, the souls of thirteen other great figures of the past come back to help them. Glaringly missing from the list of seven shepherds is Isaac. Why is he the only one of the Forefathers not included? Any why include Seth? Are there not greater figures of that era, like Noah and Enoch?

Some would explain Isaac’s omission from the shepherds by pointing out that, well, Isaac wasn’t really a shepherd! The Torah describes him digging wells and irrigating farms, his blessed crop producing me’ah she’arim, hundred-fold yields. A deeper explanation is given by the Arizal, who says that Itzhak (יצחק) is an anagram of ketz chai (קץ חי), “lives at the End”, as he will come back at the End of Days in the form of Mashiach ben Yosef, the “Warrior Messiah” mentioned above. The name Itzhak itself is in the future tense, meaning “he will laugh”—in the future when he is victorious in battle. The Arizal even proves it mathematically, as the value of Itzhak (יצחק) is 208, equal to Ben Yosef (בן יוסף)! (See Sha’ar haPesukim on Lech Lecha, for instance, and also the Ba’al haTurim on Deuteronomy 7:21.)

Noah was not a shepherd either, but a farmer. Enoch was a scribe and scholar, and transformed into an angel. That leaves Adam, Seth, and the longest-living Methuselah to represent the pre-Flood generations. Aaron was not a shepherd in Egypt, and served as high priest after the Exodus. Joseph was a shepherd-in-training in his teens, but did not return to that profession in Egypt. Instead, he oversaw all of Egypt’s farming operations and granaries. That leaves us with David, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses.

The lower 7 Sefirot correspond to
the 7 Shepherds of Israel

The Zohar (III, 103b) comes in and tells us that holy figures of the past visit us on Sukkot, and this is the source for ushpizin. However, the Zohar only states “Abraham and five other tzadikim”. It doesn’t say who the five are directly, but does quote David, Isaac, and Jacob speaking. The whole passage itself comes from the mouth of Ra’aya Mehemna, the “Faithful Shepherd”, who is Moses. Right before this, Aaron is mentioned in passing, for it was in his merit that the Clouds of Glory—which the sukkah is likened to—appeared in the Wilderness. The only one missing is Joseph. However, the Zohar always parallels such things to the Sefirot, and the six righteous figures are meant to correspond to the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin, from Chessed to Yesod. The figure that always stands in for Yesod is Yosef haTzadik. David, meanwhile, is always paralleled to the seventh Sefirah of Malkhut. In this way, we find our Seven Shepherds, as we know them, in the Zohar.

The Anti-Ushpizin

Elsewhere, the Zohar (Sitrei Otiyot on Beresheet) says that the world endures in the merit of these Seven Shepherds of Israel. Opposing them are seven shepherds that stem from the “Left Side” or “Other Side”, the Sitra Achra. They seek to shepherd Israel away from God and towards idolatry. This is the meaning behind Jeremiah 15:9 which reads “She who bore seven is forlorn, utterly disconsolate; her sun has set while it is still day, she is shamed and humiliated. The remnant of them I will deliver to the sword, to the power of their enemies—declares God.” The Zohar lists the “anti-ushpizin”: Jeroboam, Ba’asha, Ahab, Yehu, Pekah, Menachem ben Gaddi, and Hoshea ben Elah. Who are these people?

Recall that Yerovam ben Nevat, “Jeroboam”, was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel after the split following King Solomon’s reign. Afraid to lose his throne and grip on power, he set up roadblocks so that his Israelites wouldn’t go to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals. Instead, he built two idolatrous temples with golden calves. For this, the Sages say he has no share in the World to Come (Sanhedrin 10:2).

Ba’asha ben Achiya was the third king of Israel. He spent his reign at war with the Kingdom of Judah, and even allied with Aram at one point. He continued the wicked ways of Jeroboam, so God declared he would obliterate Ba’asha just as he did Jeroboam (I Kings 16:3). King Ahab is well-known, being the husband of the wicked idolatrous Queen Jezebel, and the tormenter of Eliyahu. His dynasty was destroyed by Yehu ben Nimshi, originally a military general. Yehu was used as an instrument by God to carry out Ahab’s punishment. However, Yehu went a step too far and bloodily massacred countless people in the Valley of Jezreel. Although God initially rewarded him with a multi-generational dynasty, He did declare that He would eliminate Yehu’s dynasty for the cruelty at Jezreel (Hosea 1:4). Amazingly, we have archaeological evidence clearly confirming Yehu and his story, from the Assyrian Black Obelisk.

King Yehu of Israel giving tribute to King Shalmaneser III of Assyria, on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III from Nimrud (circa 827 BC), currently in the British Museum.

Menachem ben Gaddi was another such general-turned-king. We know little about him. So was Pekah ben Remalyahu. He allied with King Rezin of Aram to attack Jerusalem. The Judeans were terrified, and it was in the context of this that Isaiah relayed his famous prophecy about the miraculous birth of a saviour child (Isaiah 7). Although it is abundantly clear that the passage is speaking about Hezekiah—who did go on to save Judea and Jerusalem as a young, righteous ruler—Christians infamously interpreted the prophecy to refer to the birth of Jesus (reading the word almah, a “young lady”, as “virgin”). Their argument that this, too, is a “double-level” or “dual-fulfilment” prophecy speaking about both contemporary times and future times cannot be the case. A double-level prophecy must not give a specific time, in order to allow interpretation for the present and the future. This prophecy clearly states the events are supposed to happen “in 65 years” (Isaiah 7:9). A specific time is given, leaving no ambiguity. The Tanakh continues to relay how the prophecy was fulfilled.

Pekah was assassinated by Hoshea ben Elah. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III then appointed Hoshea as the new (and final) king of Israel. An Assyrian inscription confirms this, too, stating that the Israelites rebelled and “overthrew their king Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king over them. I received from them 10 talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver as their [tri]bute and brought them to Assyria.” Hoshea didn’t last long. One of Tiglath-Pileser’s successors soon destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel and exiled the tribes.

The souls of these seven idolatrous kings stand in opposition to the souls of the holy Seven Shepherds. We find that the Seven Shepherds of Israel were all about unity, bringing people together to serve God and inspire righteousness. The anti-shepherds, meanwhile, were power-hungry and vindictive, instigators of division and civil war, propagators of idolatry, and collaborators with Israel’s enemies. On Sukkot, we welcome in the spirit of the righteous ones as we bring people together in our huts. And we hope to expel the spirit of idolatry and divisiveness, of the wickedness stemming from “the Left Side”. This is all the more important to keep in mind and meditate on as we see what is happening all around us today in the Holy Land and the world at large.

Chag sameach!

A Gut Yom Tov and a Gutte Kvittel

 

Danny GInsbourg – Sukkot: The powerful festival of two in-gatherings

‘Every native in Israel shall dwell in Sukkot’ (Emor 23;42), teaches that ‘all of Israel are deserving to sit in one Succah.’

The first mention of the three pilgrimage festivals, the shalosh regalim, in the Torah, is in Parashat Mishpatim:(23:13-16)’שלש רגלים: 

Three pilgrimage festivals shall you celebrate for Me during the year. You shall observe the Festival of Matzot..and חג הקציר: the Festival of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labor..and חג האסיף: the Festival of the In-gathering at the close of the year’.

Rashi comments:’חג האסיף: ‘the Festival of the ingathering’, is Chag Hasukkot.

Why is the chag we celebrate as ‘Sukkot’, also called חג האסיף: The Festival of the Ingathering?

Answers Rav Netanel Auerbach:’The naming of chag Sukkot in the Torah as חג האסיף:The Festival of the In-gathering’, expresses in its simplest form, its agricultural aspect; as Rashi comments:’Throughout the days of summer, the produce- which had been harvested- dries in the field, and on this chag, it is gathered and brought home, before the rains’.

Why, then, is it not called by this name, in three later places in the Torah, but, instead, called ‘Chag Sukkot’?

Rav Aryeh Leib Heiman proffers an intriguing answer:’When Bnei Israel received the Torah, they ascended to a very high spiritual level; when they sinned, with the golden calf, they descended to ‘the depths’.

“At their lofty level, they only ‘needed’ the festival of Pesach, and the mitzvah to eat matzot in the month of Spring, to remember that Hashem took them out of slavery in Egypt- which is the foundation of our Emunah- and did not need further Chagim, to reinforce this memory.

“Therefore, in Parashat Mishpatim, before the sin of the golden calf, the Torah only notes the ‘Festival of Matzot’, and its mitzvot, and only mentions the other two regalim by reference to their specific agricultural aspects, as they were intended to occasions on which Bnei Israel were to offer thanks to Hashem, for the blessings which he showered on their crops. Therefore they were only called by their agricultural names.

“However, when they sinned, the Torah saw the need to give ‘new’ names to these two regalim; ‘the Festival of the Harvest’, was now given a further name, ‘Chag Hashavuot’, without the Torah giving it a date of its own, only linking it to Pesach, so that, at the time of the harvest, the people will also have in mind, the exodus from Egypt.

“The same change also was also applied, after the transgression, to what had previously been the ‘Festival of the In-gathering’; its name was changed to ‘Chag HaSukkot’, with the clear objective (Emor 23:43 ):’

So that your generations shall know that I caused Bnei Israel to dwell in Sukkot, when I took them out of Egypt, I am Hashem, your G-d’.

“Remember for all time, that no only did I take you out of Egypt, but that I also took care after this, to provide you with shelter and protection, whilst you wandered through the desert, BECAUSE I ‘am Hashem, YOUR G-d”.

The Rashbam adds:”דווקא: precisely at the time men are bringing their bountiful harvest into their granaries, there is an obligation to remember that Hashem ‘caused them to dwell in Sukkot’ in the desert for forty years, in a place where there was no shelter or holding, as this remembrance will lead them to give thanks to the One who has now given them all this bounty.

“This is vital at this time, lest they now say, in their hearts (Eikev 8:17):’‘My strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth, for me’.

“We are therefore commanded, at this time, when our houses are filled with all this bounty, to leave the houses, and dwell in the succah booths, to remember that in the desert we had no holdings, nor even houses in which to dwell.

“For this reason, Hashem established the festival of Sukkot specifically at the time of the in-gathering of the crops, lest we ‘become haughty’ because of our affluence, and (Eikev 8:18): ‘forget Hashem, who gave you strength to make wealth’”.

If we have learned the underlying reason for our Chag being also called ‘the Festival of the In-gathering’, the Maharal teaches that, as this is the time for the in-gathering of the crops, this reveals ’שיש בזמן הזה כח האסיפה’: that it has a ‘power’ for in-gatherings.

The S’fat Emet expounds on this:”The saying of our Sages (Succah 27:):’The passuk ‘Every native in Israel shall dwell in Sukkot’(Emor 23;42), teaches that ‘all of Israel ראויים are deserving to sit in one Succah’.

“After Yom Kippur, we have all become one united entity, because we have, on that holy day, been cleansed of our transgressions-which are the cause of divisiveness.

“This is alluded to by the four minim which we took, bound up together, on Sukkot, as they allude to us having atoned for our transgressions against our fellow man, whilst the privilege to sit in the succah, alludes to us having atoned for our transgressions against Hashem”.

Our Sages teach that the four minim, which we bind together, allude to all of our people, be they, ‘like the etrog, full of Torah and Mitzvot; or like the lulav, full of good deeds if lacking in Torah; or like the hadas, full of Torah but lacking in good deeds; or like the humble aravot, lacking in both Torah and mitzvot.

‘Says Hashem:Bind them together, so that they atone for each other; and, when you do so, I am exalted’.

The order in which the S’fat Emet sets our atonement- first between man-and-fellow man, and only then, between man and Hashem, provides an answer to an intriguing question posed by the Alshich Hakadosh: Why, in Parashat Emor, is the Mitzvah of taking the four minim given, before we are commanded to sit in the succah?

We, in fact, perform the Mitzvot in the reverse order. On the first night, we sit in the succah, and only on the following morning, do we take the four minim!

A beautiful answer is given by the S’fat Emet:’Our Sages, by their teaching that ‘All Israel are deserving of sitting in one succah’, allude that we merit to sit in the holy succah, only because we are as one’”.

And so, in the words of Rav Auerbach:”In calling our chag, חג האסיף: ‘the Festival of the In-gathering’, our Sages reveal that this time is an allusion to the special spiritual level of Am Israel after Yom Kippur, a level which is revealed in a special manner on Sukkot- that after we have been purified of our sins on that day, all of Bnei Israel are ‘gathered-in’, together on Sukkot, to become ‘deserving to all sit in one succah’.

“Therefore, Chag Sukkot is not only the time when we gather-in the crops from the fields, to our houses, but also ובעיקר: and principally, the time when there is a special ממד אלוקי: Divine occasion, enabling our in-gathering, as a people, to the ‘House of Hashem’, the Succah”.

May we all be blessed to be ‘gathered-in’ on Sukkot, to merit to dwell in Hashem’s ‘home’, our Succah!

Danny Ginsbourg – Sukkah - the mitzva that does not make you 'empty pocketed'

The Gemara says that G-d tested the non-Jews with the mitzva of Sukkah, easy to keep because it does not involve monetary loss, And?

An intriguing Gemara relating to Sukkot:(Avoda Zara 2.-) says:

In the days to come, Hashem will invite all who have toiled in Torah, to claim their just rewards. The nations of the world will rush to claim this reward, arguing that all that they did, such as building bath-houses (note: the Romans did build bath houses) was for the benefit of the Jews, Bnei Israel, to enable them to better engage in their Torah study.

Despite derisively dismissing their claims, Hashem says to them: ’Nevertheless, I have a מצוה קלה: a Mitzvah that is easy to perform, Sukkah is its name, go and perform it.'

‘Why is it called a מצוה קלה? Because there is no חסרון כיס: no monetary loss (literal translation: no lack of pocket) in its performance.

‘Immediately, they all go and erect sukkot on their roofs; Hashem causes the sun to burn as in its hottest time, and each one of them מבעט בסוכתו: kicks the sukkah he had erected, and goes out from it.

‘Would we not also leave our sukkot in this situation? Yes, but we would not kick our sukkot.'

Comments the Bnei Yissaschar: ’Though we are פטור: exempt, from the Mitzvah of Sukkah in these circumstances, do we do so disdainfully? Not at all. All our yearning is to merit to perform Mitzvot.’

Adds the Be’er Mayim Chaim:’Whilst מצטער פטור מסוכה: One who suffers, is exempt from the Mitzvah of Sukkah, his real צער, suffering, is that he cannot then perform this Mitzvah.’

Rav Chaim Friedlander brings a different - a literal - interpretation to the idiom, מצוה שאין בה חסרון כיס, literally 'does not lack a pocket' actually refering to not emptying one's pocket of money : ’This refers to a Mitzvah which ‘does not lack a pocket’: that is, it includes a receptacle.’

He elucidates by comparing two types of קרבנות, Temple offerings:’The olah offering is a Mitzvah שיש בה חסרון כיס: that DOES LACK ‘a pocket’- the offering is completely consumed, and the offerer does not receive any of the meat of the offering.'

‘The shlamim offering, on the other hand, is a Mitzvah שאין בה חסרון כיס: that DOES NOT LACK ‘a pocket’- the offerer receives part of the meat of the offering, and eats it.

‘The Mitzvah of the Sukkah is like the שלמים, because אין בה חסרון כיס: there is NO LACK of ‘a pocket’; the person receives something: he sleeps, he eats and he dwells in the Sukkah- indeed, this is the fulfillment of the Mitzvah.’

Rav Eliyahu Dessler adds: ’All his daily physical activities, such as eating and sleeping, are elevated, when performed in the Sukkah; they assume a spiritual dimension, since he is thereby performing Mitzvot.'

The Rav continues:’We are commanded (Emor 23:42-43):’You shall dwell in sukkot..;So that your generations know that I, Hashem, caused the Children of Israel to dwell in sukkot, when I took them from the land of Egypt.

‘The essence of ‘taking you out of the land of Egypt’, is to eliminate the יש: the ‘I’, of the person; if we do not eliminate our יש, then we are still in Egypt, spiritually’.

His words serve beautifully, as an introduction to the insight of the Kli Yakar, in his sefer Olelot Ephraim: 'The words of the Gemara- that Sukkah is a מצוה שאין בה חסרון כיס- is a wonderful allusion to those who בוטח בה׳, who put their trust in Hashem. They never have a חסרון כיס: ‘a lack of money, because they are always satisfied with that with which Hashem has blessed them- be it a lot, or a little.

'Those who ‘leave the Sukkah’-who do not put their trust in Hashem-will always feel ‘lacking’, as, no matter how much they have, they always have a need for more.

'Those who ‘dwell in the Sukkah’, who put their trust in Hashem, have the true wealth, in which there is never a lack: never a חסרון כיס’.

Might we not add: The very thought that expending money for a Mitzvah, in any way ‘impoverishes’ us, is apostacy; it is the antithesis of a foundation of our faith: that we are enriched- sanctified- and blessed, if a Mitzvah comes our way.

A parting thought from the S’fat Emet:’The three festivals of Tishrei- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, enable a Jew to fulfill the three-branched Mitzvah of אהבת ה׳, in the קריאת שמע:

-On Rosh Hashanah, we love Hashem בכל לבבך: with all our heart, by crowning Him whole-heartedly, as our King, anew;

-On Yom Kippur, we love Hashem בכל נפשך: with all our souls, by atoning for all our transgressions against Him; and,

-On Sukkot, we love Hashem בכל מאדך: with all our means, by ‘cancelling’ our יש, thereby acknowledging that we, and all we have, is from Him, and his’.

And, as the קריאת שמע concludes: והיו הדברים האלה על לבבך: in return, we receive the greatest gift of all: the Holy Torah, ‘in our hearts’.

And then, immediately after the conclusion of Sukkot, we can joyously celebrate Simchat Torah!

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/288068

Rabbi Kahana – Yamim Noraim & Sukkot

BS”D Parashat Shabbat-Sukkot 5784

by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Sep 28, 2023

The Sukkah as a parable for the Diaspora - it's only temporary
If you try to live in it after the holiday, a sukkah will collapse. 

Yamim Noraim & Sukkot

 

In the bet knesset on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I sat next to the well-known Dov Landau – the embodiment of all the essential events of this period in our history.

At the age of 15, he was taken to the Auschwitz extermination camp on the first day of Rosh Hashanah – exactly 83 years ago. From there he was transferred to a series of labor camps, where he was forced to work in coal mines and other hard labor until his release in 1945 from the Buchenwald camp in Germany. He immediately became active in the “illegal immigration” of Jews to the Land of Israel under the nose of the brutish-British, until he was caught and sent to a camp in Cyprus. When he finally arrived in “Palestine,” he joined the Haganah and fought in Gush Etzion against Egyptian and Jordanian forces until the Gush fell and he was held prisoner by Jordan for over a year.

In short, Mr. Landau is a living history book.  What is most incredible is that, despite the horrors at every step in his life, he maintained his Judaism by observing mitzvot.

For many years, he led groups to Poland’s killing fields, which were very familiar to him. Today, Mr. Landau is the head of a close-knit family of sons and daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren – all of whom are faithful to the Torah of HaShem.

Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, when HaShem surveys all mankind and determines their fate for the next year – as stated in the liturgical hymn U’Netaneh Tokef Kedushat Hayom:

“Who will live and who will die; in his time and who before; who by water and who by fire…  but repentance, prayer and charity can annul the evil decree!”

As I was listening with great intent to Mr. Landau’s story, I thought about him 83 years ago when he was 15 years old and being taken to an extermination camp as compared to where I was at two years old growing up in placid America. There were 18 million Jews in the world at that time; but when I entered first grade at the age of six, only 12 million Jews remained.  The number 18 million has yet to be restored.

Among the murdered were a million and a half children.  They paid with their lives for being part of HaShem’s chosen people, while I was living a happy life in New York.  Why?

Conclusion: Just as it is beyond human understanding to explain how and why we were destined to experience the unfathomable atrocities of the Holocaust, it is also impossible to explain the miracle of the establishment of the State of Israel a mere three years after the end of the war. Even more incredible is why the reborn State did not die at birth when, literally the day after our independence was declared, five standing Arab armies led by British officers invaded.

And the continuation of the military and economic miracles is awesome, particularly when there are more than seven million Jews living in the land of our ancestors with the planning of many more millions.

After two days with Mr. Landau, I considered how I would rate loyalty to the religion of Israel and to the people of Israel – who at the head and who at the bottom.

I do not judge any particular person. That is exclusively the authority of the God of Israel who knows the thoughts of men.  However, I do rate behaviors. A doctor is qualified to define whether a wound is mild, moderate, severe, or fatal without referring to the character of the injured person. So, too, a rabbi whose wisdom and life experience qualifies him to rate human behavior in terms of Judaism.

With that in mind, I propose that at the top of the pyramid of Judaism of three thousand years – from Abraham our father until the declaration of the State of Israel – stands the survivors of the Holocaust, and of all the other days of darkness in the various exiles. They remained loyal to the Creator who chose the people of Israel.

The bottom two places on the pyramid are shared by the following Jews:

• Those who believe and fulfill their commitments but let their instincts and desires get the better of them in certain matters such as having to smoke on Shabbat.
• Those who reject Judaism and religious observance, by declaring “I’m not religious…”

Those who declare, “I am not religious.”

With this declaration they convince themselves that because of their intelligence, advanced academic degrees and unwavering anti-religious position, they will be exempt from all responsibility towards the Creator of the world and the Torah of Israel and will not stand trial after death in the world containing Gan Eden and Gehennom.

With a wave of their hands, their rejection of responsibility to Judaism – “I’m not religious” – they are saying in fact that the many millions of Jews over more than three thousand years were primitive and were living in a delusional dream.

It is beneath them to believe in “fables” such as Egyptian slavery, the sea splitting to allow millions of people to cross over on dry land and the sea immediately closing up to drown all of the pursuing Egyptian soldiers, receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, these same millions being sustained with a daily dose of manna from heaven for forty years in the desert and with water pouring forth from a rock.

By rejecting their Jewishness, they think they are freed from the oath they swore before birth and from giving an after-death account of their actions on earth.

It is similar to young recruits who have sworn loyalty to the IDF, but when the orders don’t appeal to them, they announce to the commanding officer “We no longer recognize military authority over us”. At the trial for disobeying orders, they are sentenced to one month in jail, but for denying the authority of military law they are sentenced to life imprisonment.

A story about “I’m not religious”:

One morning I made my way to the bet knesset at the time when people take their dogs out to do their thing. I noticed a man who appeared to be a little more intelligent and greeted him with an offer, that, if he agrees, I would take him to the synagogue to pray. He politely rejected my offer saying, “I’m not religious”, and we parted in peace.

I stood there reflecting on the fact that while I was about to prostrate myself before the omnipotent Creator to beg for the welfare of my family, and for the peace of the city of Jerusalem, and the peace of the inhabitants of the Holy Land and of world Jewry, that seemingly intelligent man was involved with his dog.

I was holding in my hand tefillin which would be placed near my heart and on my head, while this man was holding a plastic bag with the dog’s droppings that its master – in a commendably civil act – lifted off the sidewalk.

Where does his rejection of Torah bring him, and where does my allegiance to Torah bring me?

What can I do?

At this season, our Father in Heaven presents us with the remarkable gifts of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These days of awe open for us a gate to return to the heart of Judaism, as the Rambam says in the Laws of Repentance, Chapter 7, Halacha 6:

“Great is repentance that brings a person closer to the Shekinah (the holy spirit of HaShem in this world) … Repentance brings closer those who are far away, last night he was (harsh language) … and today he is beloved, close and a friend…”

It is stated in the sources that, at the end of this difficult historical period, all the people of Israel will repent when they observe the miracles that our heavenly Father will do. Then all the questions will be answered, and all the perplexities will become clear, and peace and truth will dwell together.

I am saddened by the thought that those who throw away their Judaism have little chance of achieving teshuvah. What can I do other than try to explain and shed tears for them – some of whom I know personally and like?

Sukkot – An Allegory

Reb Yisrael and his sons erected their sukkah adjacent to the kitchen door of their palatial home in one of the Five Towns, as they had done for many years in the past.

But this year was different. Reb Yisrael had just learned from his rabbi that one of the reasons for residing temporarily in a sukkah is in case one’s destiny was decided on Rosh HaShanah to be expulsion into galut, the departure from the comforts of home into the sukkah could be considered to be that galut.

Reb Yisrael, his wife, and children left the warm comforts of their beautiful home and entered the sukkah with the knowledge that, by taking up temporary residence therein, they would be absolved of any galut-related sins.

As the family continued to reside in the sukkah, they got so used to the pleasant smell of the schach (branches used to roof the sukkah) and the pretty pictures on the walls and the overhanging decorations, that they decided to remain there even after the chag!  Even though they were able to peer into their permanent home with its luxurious amenities, electrical gadgets, and state-of-the-art under-floor heating units, thick hanging drapes, lush carpets and much more, they showed no interest in returning there.

As odd as it may seem, the family became accustomed to the crowded, cold interior of the sukkah. Their relatives and neighbors tried to point out the irrationality of what they were doing, but the very idea that this was galut did little to encourage the family to return home.

When their rabbi came to visit, it was surprising that he encouraged them to remain in the sukkah rather than to return home, because it was in the sukkah that the family felt comfortable and closely knit.

In the meantime, several strangers noticed that the previously brightly lit home was vacant, and they decided to move in as if it was indeed their own!

Reb Yisrael and his wife and children saw the strangers living in the house; but in veneration for the sukkah, they stubbornly bonded with the thin walls and dried-out schach and refused to leave.

The whole thing was so absurd. To leave such a beautiful home for the feeble, fallible construction of the sukkah, despite the fact that their beautiful home was beckoning them to return was beyond the understanding of any rational person.

Then came the stones thrown by the local anti-Semites who wanted to rid the neighborhood of this sukkah eyesore. Reb Yisrael and his family dodged them one by one and steadfastly remained in their fragile dwelling, rationalizing these acts as irrelevant nuisances.

Then came the terrible night when one-third of the sukkah was torched by the local bullies.

Reb Yisrael and his family were aware of what was happening, but their minds had become so warped that no amount of reasoning could move them. To them the sukkah was home and their home was galut.

Eventually the sukkah came crashing down, killing Reb Yisrael and his entire family in their beloved galut!

 

Shabbat Shalom and a very happy and meaningful Sukkot,

Nachman Kahana

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