Moshe Kempinski
True leadership of the people of Israel must always be a humble leadership. That was true of Moshe as the left Egypt and was true of King David after his difficult and event filled rise to leadership. G-d did not take the Israelites on a shorter route into the land of Israel because it “was too close”. Not that it was too close to Egypt because they in fact went even closer. It was too close to their destination. The journey was to be long and arduous so that the destination would be arrived at with the correct spirit and understanding.
The announcement regarding the projected results of the elections hit Israel like a dull thud. Those in the “land of Israel movements” had been working long and hard and were hoping for a clear and decisive victory. The media and the left, on the other hand, were hoping for a miracle that would ensure the continuation of what was. When the results were announced my son and I were sitting with the activists of the National Union party in the hotel hall. The three large television screens presented their polls with colorful graphics exactly at 10:00 p.m. and showed the column of the Kadima party rising dramatically and towering over the column of the Likud. The resulting frivolity and joyful dancing filled the television screens .The activists in the room watched quietly feeling great disappointment.
All the leaders of the National Union got up to speak to encourage and strengthen the activists .One after the other they were trying to lift the spirits of those who were still sitting in a quiet stupor. Yet it took great effort to escape the hypnotic messages and subtext being offered by the media. At a certain point a young woman walked to the podium and went right up to the microphone. She spoke forcefully and clearly.
." What is going on here? Why do you all look stunned and sad? For a month we have been using our slogan “not to be afraid at all". Now is the time to live out our slogan. We are beginning our journey and we will not be afraid at all".
As she shyly walked off the stage people began to smile. After the smiles the true assessment of what had actually transpired began to seep past the subtext and confusion presented by the three television stations.
Even if Kadima did receive one more seat than the Likud (and that may change after the soldier’s votes come in) it was far from being the dominant party. It barely received 25% of the mandated seats in the Knesset. Israeli law does not give the leadership of the country to the largest party but rather to the party that can create the largest coalition.
It soon began to seep into our consciousness that we were not witnessing a disappointment but rather a great victory.” The Land of Israel “faithful now make up at least 65 seats of the Knesset mandates. Yet all that evening, Tzippy Livni tried to dance sing and smile and project herself as the victor . In actual fact the only place where she was victorious was in decimating and weakening all her natural allies of the left. The Meretz party dwindled to 3 to 4 seats. Labour was whittled down to 13 seats. Livni did not succeed in drawing out one mandate from the other side of the political spectrum, she simply drained her own side.
The people of Israel chose the land of Israel. The people of Israel chose strength and courage when facing murderous enemies .The people of Israel chose to face a world that has become less and less friendly with a clear vision .The world would say that the solution to the diminishing friendliness would be for Israel to be more flexible. They demand that Israel must continue to compromise on Israel's security issues and must bend over backwards even more than it has until now. Israel it seems has bent over as back as it can without completely breaking. The people of Israel have decided to stand straight and upright.
The only difficulty is that the leadership of Israel has not yet absorbed the passion and understanding that has permeated the people.Binyamin Netanyahu is an intelligent man with a good core understanding of the direction this people need to follow. The difficulty is that as in the past, Netanyahu's greatest enemy is his own ego. Netanyahu becomes so filled with Netanyahu that it obscures his judgment and blinds his vision. Feeding or threatening that ego becomes the tool used by our enemies to break or compromise Netanyahu's resolve.
That is the reason these election results may turn out to be even more positive than it may seem today .Had Netanyahu won a resounding success, it would have fed his own weakness, his own ego. Instead, Netanyahu is being forced to listen to the passion of the majority of the people of Israel. The numbers will do much to humble Binyamin Netanyahu and a humbler Netanyahu is a better candidate to lead the people of Israel.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tu B’shvat and the Israeli Elections
Moshe Kempinski....
The celebration of Tu B'Shvat--the 15th of the month of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar is described in the Talmud, where Tu B'Shvat is called "the new year of the trees." The determination of the date is connected to the fact that four months have passed since the commencement of the rain season on the Feast of Tabernacles. From that point on the roots of the tree have been saturated and the life giving fluids are filling the tree and beginning the energy and revitalizing power of blossoming.
The ancient books describe the traditional eating of the fruits of Israel on this day as a means of Tikkun or correcting the sin of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve were put into the garden to protect and care for the garden. They were given one restriction, one prohibition, and that was to avoid eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Every fruit they ate from the garden was a source of blessing because it was received as a gift from the Almighty. Yet that was not enough and they earned to reach out and eat from the one tree that was forbidden to them. That act had nothing to do with the Divine Giver but was an act done in spite of Him. It was an act that fulfilled their passion to take for their own selfish desire.
Yet there was something deeper that was missed by Adam and Eve that led to their act of defiance, and it is something that continues to be missed by mankind until this very day.
Rabbi Kook, of blessed memory, revealed that deep insight regarding two verses in Genesis. God commanded the earth to give forth fruit trees producing fruit: "And God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so" (Gen. 1:11).
The earth fulfilled G-d's command but with one modification: "And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1: 12).
The earth produced "trees producing fruit." Our sages in the Midrash teach homiletically that the original and ideal creation was that the trees themselves (their bark and trunk) would taste like the fruit that it produced, fruit-trees bearing fruit.
Instead, the earth fashioned trees that only produced fruit. The deep meaning and instruction in such a seeming difference between the ideal and the created reality points to the flaw in the reality we all experience in life. Yet G-d "saw that it was good." G-d purposely created a reality at odds with its ideal, a tension filled imperfect world.
Rav Kook explained that one of the basic failings of our limited perception of reality is that we generally aspire to the goal and ignore the process of attaining that goal. Man often focuses on the fruit of the tree and ignores the sweetness of the tree that bore the fruit. We place emphasis on the destination and as a result are unable to appreciate the means by which we attain our goals. We focus on some goal we have determined is important and ignore the journey and as a result we often stumble and fall. Focus on the voyage and the journey is the only way to ensure that we reach the right point in our destiny. That focus is also the only way to ensure that we arrive with our souls and hearts intact.
Such a decision stands before the people of Israel again . The choice in the coming election must be made with a clear determination of the purity of heart. We are choosing a voice to speak and stand for the people of Israel and it must be a voice that is clear pure and vision based. The voice of the National Union/ Ichud Haleumi is such a clear voice. Much will be done in these final days before Election Day to deter those who are committed to electing such a voice.
There will be many that will declare that such a decision to vote for a small party is weakening the Likud and enlarging the threat of a Kadima government. That in fact does not seem to be the case based on the latest polls. The Land Of Israel bloc seems to be growing rather than weakening. It may in fact force the Likud to rely more heavily on parties such as the Jewish Home and the National Union.
But yet despite those threats, the decision about how to vote this coming Tuesday must be one filled with the surety of commitment . It must be based on the sweet truth of the journey without rushing towards a destination we assume will be the only correct one. It must be based on a commitment to the truth of the land of Israel, the people of Israel and foremost to the G-d of Israel. That has been and continues to be the secret of this people’s survival.
The celebration of Tu B'Shvat--the 15th of the month of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar is described in the Talmud, where Tu B'Shvat is called "the new year of the trees." The determination of the date is connected to the fact that four months have passed since the commencement of the rain season on the Feast of Tabernacles. From that point on the roots of the tree have been saturated and the life giving fluids are filling the tree and beginning the energy and revitalizing power of blossoming.
The ancient books describe the traditional eating of the fruits of Israel on this day as a means of Tikkun or correcting the sin of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve were put into the garden to protect and care for the garden. They were given one restriction, one prohibition, and that was to avoid eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Every fruit they ate from the garden was a source of blessing because it was received as a gift from the Almighty. Yet that was not enough and they earned to reach out and eat from the one tree that was forbidden to them. That act had nothing to do with the Divine Giver but was an act done in spite of Him. It was an act that fulfilled their passion to take for their own selfish desire.
Yet there was something deeper that was missed by Adam and Eve that led to their act of defiance, and it is something that continues to be missed by mankind until this very day.
Rabbi Kook, of blessed memory, revealed that deep insight regarding two verses in Genesis. God commanded the earth to give forth fruit trees producing fruit: "And God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so" (Gen. 1:11).
The earth fulfilled G-d's command but with one modification: "And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1: 12).
The earth produced "trees producing fruit." Our sages in the Midrash teach homiletically that the original and ideal creation was that the trees themselves (their bark and trunk) would taste like the fruit that it produced, fruit-trees bearing fruit.
Instead, the earth fashioned trees that only produced fruit. The deep meaning and instruction in such a seeming difference between the ideal and the created reality points to the flaw in the reality we all experience in life. Yet G-d "saw that it was good." G-d purposely created a reality at odds with its ideal, a tension filled imperfect world.
Rav Kook explained that one of the basic failings of our limited perception of reality is that we generally aspire to the goal and ignore the process of attaining that goal. Man often focuses on the fruit of the tree and ignores the sweetness of the tree that bore the fruit. We place emphasis on the destination and as a result are unable to appreciate the means by which we attain our goals. We focus on some goal we have determined is important and ignore the journey and as a result we often stumble and fall. Focus on the voyage and the journey is the only way to ensure that we reach the right point in our destiny. That focus is also the only way to ensure that we arrive with our souls and hearts intact.
Such a decision stands before the people of Israel again . The choice in the coming election must be made with a clear determination of the purity of heart. We are choosing a voice to speak and stand for the people of Israel and it must be a voice that is clear pure and vision based. The voice of the National Union/ Ichud Haleumi is such a clear voice. Much will be done in these final days before Election Day to deter those who are committed to electing such a voice.
There will be many that will declare that such a decision to vote for a small party is weakening the Likud and enlarging the threat of a Kadima government. That in fact does not seem to be the case based on the latest polls. The Land Of Israel bloc seems to be growing rather than weakening. It may in fact force the Likud to rely more heavily on parties such as the Jewish Home and the National Union.
But yet despite those threats, the decision about how to vote this coming Tuesday must be one filled with the surety of commitment . It must be based on the sweet truth of the journey without rushing towards a destination we assume will be the only correct one. It must be based on a commitment to the truth of the land of Israel, the people of Israel and foremost to the G-d of Israel. That has been and continues to be the secret of this people’s survival.
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