STANDING FOR ISRAEL'S TRUTH EFFECTIVELY

Moshe Kempinski

Since the early seventies Israel seems to have been losing in the public relations war again and again. After the Six Day War in 1967, Israelis awash with a sense of pride which quickly developed into arrogance seemed to have lost the ability to explain their position and situation. What followed after the Yom Kippur war was that the frustration of being misunderstood in the world deepened into a fierce feeling of self doubt and insecurity. It was not long before many Israelis and many more Jews in the exile began to adopt the views and aspirations of some of the worst of our enemies.

There are two possibilities. The first is that the Jewish people and the struggling Israeli nation were wrong about the options presented to them at the outset of the six day war. Perhaps peace is simply attainable if only the Israelis were more conciliatory.

The second option is that we have been so sure of our cause that we assumed everyone simply understood and thereby left the battlefield of public opinion to the other side.

The first possibility has proven to be false again and again, most prominently after the irresponsible expulsion and disengagement from the Gaza strip. That leaves the second possibility which needs to be addressed as quickly as possible. With the strong surge of blog and internet media, simple civilians are suddenly in a position to have an impact on the stage of world opinion in ways that were unheard of earlier. We just need to seriously consider what approach is effective and which one simply becomes a salve for our own conscience or an outlet for our deep concerns and angers.

I have been involved with various forms and modes of dialogue and opinion exchanges for over thirty years. The experience of life, marriage, and children has given me, as it has every other individual in this world insight and wisdom regarding meaningful dialogue. My experience as a family therapist, kiruv (Jewish outreach) worker, political activist and in involvement in all sorts of dialogue between groups of differing ideologies or faiths has presented me with a few other insights as well. It is with that in mind I would offer the following rules of interchange and dialogue.

There are many people in this world that are truly interested in broadening their world view and knowledge base, whether consciously or not. They only know what they have been taught. As a result every lover of the land of Israel and of the spiritual message it conveys, can become an agent of change, growth and destiny. It is in our hands to be in the words of Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk , "the language of G-d".

Rule number one in dialogue is that dialogue is not about agreement but rather about understanding. Though that may be self obvious but it needs to be restated and that simple statement frees the listener from the onus of a response. He is free to listen.

Rule number two is to never let anger and frustration overwhelm your argument.

Rule number three is to begin with your points with ease and patience. You also must always remember that your goal is not to convince the other side but rather help them understand you a little more. Since you believe in the truth of your argument, know that if they are ready to listen they may also be ready to eventually change or grow.

Rule number four is to never assume that your listener knows what you know and feels the truth that you feel. Ignorance is rampant so a lot of what your listener believes is based on the little that he knows. Never point to that ignorance but you must be aware of its existence. Your role is not to make your listener aware of how much he is in the dark but rather simply to add a little more light.

Rule number five is that it is an accepted axiom that every story has another side. If you present your points as a simple attempt to shed light on the possible other side of the story, people are ready to listen. I was once speaking to a Quaker group that was in Israel supporting Palestinian refugees. I offered them the choice to either believe that I and other Israelis they met are simply hating racist thugs , or that perhaps we are seeing and living a different reality .I simply suggested that I wanted to let them have a peek into my reality and that they would do with it what they desired. That request opened a discussion that was much more sincere and relevant than most such discussions.


Rule number six is to accept that the job before us is massive and is therefore impossible and overwhelming. Therefore the focus should be on the little picture and not on the larger one. The little picture is the big picture. Your neighbor, your fellow employee and your local place of worship is your target audience. A corollary of this point is to not waste time on “the haters”. Their hatred comes from a place much deeper than anything you could reach.

Rule number eight is being smart in your approach and use the language, metaphors and spokespeople that would be meaningful to your listener. Remind your listener that the Palestinians have become the greatest victims of their terrorism and the most unwitting pawns in the power games of corrupt leaders. It is futile to paint the other side as the embodiment of evil, and the pawns of Satan and expect anyone to listen to the rest of your points. The other side is more realistically portrayed as the victims of the evil desires of men. Leave any insights you may have about spiritual realities out of the arena of perceived realities. It is especially true in the Middle East that the perception of reality is more impactful than reality itself.

Finally be aware that destiny is being determined in our days and you have the opportunity to be part of it blossoming .In the words of Pirkei Avot (2:16), Lo Alecha Hamelacha Li’gmor… - "It is not incumbent on you to complete the task. Yet neither are you free to abstain from it. "

Joseph Judah and Bibi Netanyahu

Moshe Kempinski

The conflict between Yosef (Joseph) and what he represents and Yehuda (Judah) and what he is meant to represent runs as a continuum throughout Jewish history. A continuum wherein Yosef becomes the prototype of the sons of Rachel and Yehuda representing the traits of his mother Leah. Throughout history the two sides struggle against each other and at times one side comes out in control and at others the other side becomes the prevalent force. Rachel the beautiful and activist of the two sisters was Yaacov's (Jacob’s) first love and the one that he intended to marry. Leah, the more submissive and quiet one was the one that he married regardless.

Yaacov, being Yaacov, is drawn to the self assured and activist Rachel and therefore becomes very connected to Yosef her son who shares some of her attributes. The sons of Leah have difficulty with the aggressive ego and self assured activism presented by Yosef and throw him into the pit. Two sons of Leah, Reuven and Yehuda try to minimize the crime and fail, leading one of them at least into depression and feeling a need to abandon his whole family. Yet Yosef after experiencing the humbling experience of slavery and his successful passing of the tests laid before him becomes fitting to become the leader of the nascent Israelite nation. He rules them in Egypt just as his dreams prophesied.

Yet it is a descendant of Leah, Moshe (Moses) who takes them out of slavery. Following that a descendant of Rachel, Yehoshua ( Joshua) brings them into the land. The pendulum swings both ways until Saul, a descendant of Rachel becomes the first king. He loses that kingship to King David whose reign seemingly will last forever. Yet it is David's grandson that loses part of his kingdom to Yerovam a descendant of Rachel. The kingdom he establishes is destroyed and is dispersed ,yet the remnant of all twelve tribes gather in Jerusalem and the struggle continues until the reign of David will truly last forever.

What lies in the deeper levels of this struggle. What can we learn from this struggle about lasting leadership. The Lubavitcher Rebbe writes that the struggle represents;" the conflict between growth and self-fulfillment on the one hand, and subservience and commitment on the other. Rachel, "of beautiful form and of beautiful appearance," embodies the drive for self-fulfillment and self-realization, while the humble, submissive Leah represents our capacity for servitude and self-effacement. "

It is clear that both forces are critical for the formation and continuation of this people. Yet the drive of Rachel and Yosef could easily be thwarted into self centered arrogance. The submissive attributes of Leah could lead to inaction and weakness. Yosef needed to go through the experience of Egypt as did all of his family to refine the balance. Yehuda on the other hand had to go through the difficult experience with Tamar to find his own balance.

Tamar his daughter in law gives him back the power to live up to the secret power of his name. When she is taken to be burned she declares "..'By the man, whose these are, am I with child'; and she said: 'Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff.' " (Breishit/Genesis 38:25) She does not declare whose they are but allows Yehuda acknowledge his responsibility .

In Hebrew he is Modeh/ axcknowledges his part and the word modeh forms the basis of his name Yehuda." And Judah acknowledged them, and said: 'She is more righteous than I; "( ibid 26). It is that strength of character he bequeathes to his descendant David. King Saul would not acknowledge his failings and loses the kingdom;

And Saul said unto Samuel: 'Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of HaShem, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto HaShem thy God in Gilgal.' ( Shmuel 15: 20-21)) .

Yet David did and with that established his eternal monarchy.

And David said to Nathan: 'I have sinned against HaShem.' And Nathan said to David: HaShem also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ( Shmuel II 12:13)


Binyamin Netanyahu is very far from being a Yosef or a Yehuda but he is poised for leadership. Throughout his political career he has been plagued by one problem. That problem was Binyamin Netanyahu.

He was so filled with drive and a sense of vision that he constantly stumbled over his ego. He was strong willed and sure of himself but he would easily be weakened by pundits and opinion polls. That is the failure and weakness of self centered visionaries, capable of so much but hampered by worrying if it looked good. The disastrous agreement in Hevron was a result of that weakness as well as his failings at Wye.

Yet despite that he is being made ready to lead the people of Israel soon. What Binyamin Netanyahu needs to do is to reach deeper into himself as Yehuda was forced to do. His problem is not about coming on strong but rather about coming across more human and humane. All that he would need to do is to sincerely acknowledge past mistakes. It is something that is hard for him it seems. It may be also something his political advisors warn him against because it might weaken his image.

They are wrong.

That simple change of approach and style would cause a paradigm shift in his own awareness. This is especially true because it would almost instantly endear him to a people looking for real leadership. That acknowledgment is not about groveling and pandering but about the ability to grow from mistakes and move more humbly onto the path of destiny.

It is a path he must consciously decide to embark on.

THE POWER OF DREAMS

Moshe Kempinski

Since the first handshake with the arch terrorist Arafat on the lawn of the White House we have been living in a strange almost surrealistic nightmare. Truthfully the nightmare has been going on for a very long time. It actually began with the destruction of the Temple and the long night of exile. A long night that included pogroms, crusades, forced conversions, expulsions and gas chambers. Yet when an Israeli Prime Minister shook the hand of the devil in Washington, the nightmare became even more intense and frightening. The handshake symbolised the beginning of a time when nothing made sense anymore. The enemy ceased to only lie in waiting outside the ghetto walls or in the other part of the village. The dangers began from within the very body of the Jewish people.

The mystery and power of dreams lies in the fact that all things can coexist in a dream. Emotions that contradict each other can permeate a dream where even the impossible co-exists with the possible. They seem to come out of the deepest parts of our souls and whisper of hopes and hidden desires. Yet at the same time they rage with the passion of the greatest fears along with the most delicate of hopes.

The first exile of the Jews began with dreams. The dreams of Jacob followed by the dreams of Joseph and pharaoh all culminated in the long exile of Egypt.Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi , the Baal haTanya explains that exile was born out of a succession of dreams because exile is the ultimate dream.

It is in this world of spiritual exile wherein white is seen as black and black is seen as white. It is a situation where opposites reign and seven fat cows in Pharaoh’s dream can be eaten by seven lean cows and the lean remain lean. It is a state that, in our days ,allows a politician whose life has become embroiled in petty theft and illegal activity to continue to believe that he retains the right to be a the Prime Minister of this country. Rabbi Yehoshua of Ostrova said that s vain person is worse than a liar. A liar knows he is lying, whereas someone who is absorbed in his self-image of greatness, firmly believes in his delusions.
Spiritual exile is exile from simple unadulterated truth just like a dream. It is a dream that is cluttered with unwarranted exaggeration, muddled and confused metaphors with consistent inconsistency. In essence this dream state describes painfully the state of affairs in the world in general and in Israel in particular. In such a state, the Defense Minister of Israel can call the not responding to daily acts of violence against Israel's citizens as a moral and courageous stance. In such a spiritual environment the Prime minister can decry the actions and jail young people passionately in love with their land calling them a threat to Israel's democracy while releasing blood stained terrorists from jail even though they are a threat to its very existence. A woman running for Prime Minister can arrange for a song “Livni-boy” to be created by her staff and not be mortified that is but a pathetic copy of a successful ploy of Obama's campaign.

Everything is possible in a dream.

Yet as Rav Kook writes everything is possible in a dream, both the negative and the positive. A single dream may contain conflicting messages, since it reflects the conflicting qualities within each soul.Such is true of the collective soul of a people as well. When the wine butler tells Pharaoh about the unusual slave he met in prison called Joseph he says;""Just as he interpreted, so (my dream) came to be" [Gen. 41:13]."

This prompted our sages to declare a fact that has been increasingly adopted by modern psychology; "Dreams are fulfilled according to the interpretation" [Berachot 55b].

The interpreter does not refashion the future but rather he reaches into the positive depths of each conflicted dreamer and empowers the dreamer to live up to those qualities. There are those in this country that will interpret the dream that is our reality with predictions of doom and gloom. There are others , though, who will reach deeper and find the qualities of hope and vision that will lead this people into safe harbor.

In a time of elections where confusion reigns, search out for the dreamers who interpret the strengths of this people and not their weaknesses. Reach out, not to those who tear down and declaim even if their motives are pure, but rather those who have not lost hope. Leaders who may not all be cognizant of the spiritual heart that burns within them , yet nevertheless offer voice to those exact yearnings. Look to the dreamers who may be found in all the vrious political parties and constellations. People like Uri Ariel , Rabbi Hillel Horowitz ,Aryeh Eldad , Benny Begin and Uri Banks are deeply aware that the future is all in the hands of the interpreter of the dream.

A Song of Ascents When HaShem brought back those that returned to Zion, we were as dreamers ( Psalm 126:1)

" You can take the Jew Out Of Exile...."

Moshe Kempinski

The latest media frenzy around the list of candidates chosen in the Likud primaries was at first infuriating to listen to and it soon became simply became embarrassing . It seems that the "guard dogs" of democracy, our media, were foaming at the bit, waiting with articles dripping with sarcasm and hatred even days before the Likud Primaries. They were probably disappointed when Moshe Feiglin only achieved reaching the number 20 slot, but that would not stop their yelping and barking. They pointed to the list of people who were elected, describing it as a "Feiglin list" even though Feiglin was not connected to the list and is held in disdain by many of those voted in at the primaries. The list of people chosen by the electorate were the people suggested by many groups like Matot Arim , the residents of Jerusalem , Judea and Samaria and by the expellees of Gush Katif and all those who love this land and are inspired by its past and its future

I am not a supporter of Moshe Feiglin and yet I am happy that he got in as well and am incensed at Netanyahu’s childish attempts at rebuffing him. I am not a supporter, even though some of the main points of his Manhigut Yehudit faction, mirrors some of my own beliefs. This country does need a more faith based leadership. This people do need to regain courage and stamina to shake off the effects of the disease called Political Correctness. Yet I am not a supporter, because regrettably Moshe Feiglin has adopted the tact that got us into the mess we are in. All of us in the Land of Israel camp are guilty, because we have been so sure of our views and so self assured in our vision that we have slipped into self righteous rage at times. Instead of trying to co-opt and engage our opponents we have belittled them and/or ignored them. The "B'Ahava NeNatzeach-With Love We Will Win" campaign prior to the expulsion of Gush Katif failed not because it was inherently false but because it was too little and too late. We cannot assume that leadership will be ours simply because our cause is right. We cannot assume that everyone will agree with us simply because our vision is so clear. If great effort is not made to win the hearts and minds of the Israeli people we will continue to be maligned and ignored.

It is true that the hate spewed against the Land of Israel faithful will happen in any event but our obligation is not to calm the haters but rather to reach out to people of Israel who are still yearning for courage and vision, and they remain the silent majority and they are not our enemy. If we forget that we lose our right to be part of the miracle of rebuilding.

To understand the venom being spewed by the media one must simply read the noted pundit Ari Shavit in his article called An Israeli Tragedy published in Haaretz ;(http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1045664.html)


" Last month the world entered the Obama era, but Likud members paid no attention. The result is intolerable. Even though most Israelis are sane and moderate citizens capable of dialogue with a sane and moderate world, Likud's extremist majority seeks to drag them back to a dark and dangerous extremism."

There it is. The classic Jewish response of the Jew in exile. We cannot believe what we are we are meant to believe. We cannot feel what we are being made to feel. Why is that? It is because the rest of the "sane” world doesn't see it that way. The same "sane " world that has lost its direction and purpose and has lost the courage to battle evil. The Ari Shavits want so much to be loved by the Obamas of the world in much the same way the Jews in exile wanted to be loved by their landlords and bishops.



After Jacob our forefather fights the Angel of Esav and prevails he is blessed by the angel of G-d and recievs the name of Israel.

Shortly after Shimon and Levi avenge the kidnapping and rape of their sister Dina and Yaacov is very concerned and he says to them; "...... 'You have troubled me, to make me odious unto the inhabitants of the land, even unto the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.'( Breishit 34:30)



What happened to Yaacov ? Where was “Israel”? The answer seems to be centered in the words "being few in number". According to Rav Hillel MiShklov, the Gaon of Vilna explains the importance in the numbers of Jewish population



"I asked Rabbeinu what to do if it would be physically possible to bring all the Jews to Eretz Yisroel at one time. So many questions and difficulties would arise regarding the arrangement of the settlement..After much thought, Rabbeinu answered, "If it becomes possible to bring 600,000 to Eretz Yisroel at one time, it should be done immediately because there is a great and total power in the number 600,000, and that could defeat Samae"l in the gates of Jerusalem.

The Zohar explains that Yaacov was concerned, that without the number of 600,000 the newly forming people of Israel were in danger and were to be live temporarily in a type of exile mentality, even in the land of Israel. It was with the mighty number of 600,000 that the people of Israel were finally redeemed from Egypt.



Rav Menachem Kasher, in his introduction to Kol HaTor in HaTekufah HaGedolah, mentions two statistical records in this regard;

The year 5708 (1948) was the first year in centuries that there were 600,000 Jews living in Eretz Yisrael and the State of Israel was born..The year of 5727 (1967) was the first year in centuries that there were 600,000 Jewish males of army age above the age of 20 living in Eretz Yisrael.In 1967 the city of Jerusalem was reunited and the process of redemption was hurled forward.



If one is sensitive to those numbers one knew how to act like a Yaacov in exile or knows that it is time to stand up like an Israel in the land of promise. It is harder to take the exile out of the Jew than it is to take the Jew out of exile but that is what needs to be done. The people of Israel must be given back the power to be who they are meant to be.

Those Angry Youth

Moshe Kempinski


When the news first broke of the police expulsion of the residents of the Peace House I was overwhelmed by a wave of anger pain and disgust. Memories of facing the horsemen at the street corner demonstrations during the early Oslo years, , standing against the cold lifeless faces of the soldiers in Kfar Maimon, and driving helplessly along the roads by the Gaza strip trying to find a way in , all came up like poisonous bile. Memories of the water cannons, the grey shirted Yassam thugs and the brutal forces at Amona all chilled my heart again .

Nothing seems to have changed and nothing seems to have been learnt. Just like in Amona the possibility of an agreed upon solution was discarded in favor of confronting the "powers of evil" as a way of lifting the political prospects of our Minister of Defense.

No...the powers of evil were not the terrorists holding Gilad Shalit. It wasn't the murderers lobbing death missiles into Sederot. It wasn't even radical Islam which murdered so many good souls just this last week.

It was a stand off against young ideological and faithful Jews living in a house that they legally purchased.

Yet the expulsion on Thursday was not the worst of the crime . The media defamation and hateful lies regarding the settlers of this house and of all the Biblical heartland was horrific. Reports were repeated about a soldier blinded by acid poured on him. Just as in Gush Katif this news story proved to be false. Suddenly young religious Zionist youth were all branded as homeless toughs with no controls. The young families in the Peace House represented the greatest threat to Israeli democracy since the Altalena. Reshet Bet news correspondents described the people demonstrating in the street corners as "thrill seekers". Psychologists and pundits wondered on radio talk shows “ why these youth were so angry.”

Lets see if I can help.

You arrested them as they sat in intersections in a cry of anguish after terrorist murderers.

You threw 14 and 15 year old kids into jail for long periods of time as you were releasing terrorists murderers as a "gesture"

You ran over them with your horses and you attacked them with water cannons

You brutalized them with hooked batons and heavy clubs in Amona.

You threw them out of their homes

You blamed them for everything from Rabin's murder to the spread of world wide Islamic terror.

You called them thugs and wild weeds and yet let them die for your ill planned wars in Lebanon.

You threw stun grenades and tear gas canisters at them when you wanted to evict them AGAIN from a home they purchased

And you wonder why they are angry and mistrustful of you…

Abraham Isaac and Jacob in Mumbai

Moshe Kempinski
The concept of Zechut Avot (the merit of the forefathers) in Jewish thinking refers to the concept that,when all else fails, the Jewish people can at times depend on the merits of their forefathers, Abraham Isaac and Jacob”. The simple understanding of that concept might lead one to assume that one’s direction and determination in life would be decided based upon the greatness and sanctity of others. That simple understanding would be inconsistent with Jewish understanding . We each stand before our Creator armed with the decisions we make , the character of our souls and the yearnings of our hearts.

What then is Zechut Avot?

The Ramban describes that "the deeds of our fathers are a signpost for the children." And that this is a cardinal rule of Jewish history.In his commentary on Parshat Lech Lecha he writes;
" I will tell you a rule to be applied throughout the parshiot of Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov. The Rabbis stated this rule as “everything that happened to the fathers is a sign for the children”. The Torah tells stories, at length, about journeying or well digging ...one might think that these are meaningless detail but in reality they reflect something of the future. When an event occurs to one of the prophets who are our forefathers, he will understand that a form of these occurrences will occur as well to his descendants.”

Can this give some insight to the concept of Zechut Avot?

I believe the merit of our forefathers Avraham Yitzchak and Yaacov is that within every one of their descendants, a seed has been embedded deeply in every heart. We all carry within us a fragment of the qualities that each one of the fathers developed and revealed in this world. It is to those fragments we turn to for empowerment or guidance when reality comes crashing around us.

Each one of the forefathers became a master of a differing and powerful attribute. Abraham is identified with the divine attribute of Hesed: of kindness, of giving to others without limitations. Yitschak is connected with Gevura, the strength coming from self imposed rigor and disciplined limitations. Yaacov is connected with Emet, the truth that melds the two previous attributes into an ongoing walk of faith in difficult and threatening circumstances. Yaakov’s name implies that steady and consistent walk forward (Okev)


It is these attributes that lay ensconced within every one of their descendants waiting to blossom forth and be revealed. It is in the merit of these spiritual gifts left to the children that a small and fragile people can venture into and survive the difficult waters of human history.

It was Avraham's quality of Hesed and faith that led Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife Rivka to leave the comforts of their American home and travel to the dusty and chaotic port city of Mumbai, to open a Jewish outreach center. They worked tirelessly to run a Chabad house serving homemade kosher meals to their many guests and strengthening their connection with God. Much like Avraham's tent their "house” was open to the traveling seekers and the needy souls.

According to the Zaka volunteers who entered the bullet ridden ruins of the Chabad house,they found six badly damaged bodies. Yet Rivka's body was covered with a tallit. It seems that her husband in the midst of the terror and despite his wounds gathered the emotional, spiritual and physical strength to cover his wife before he succumbed to his own wounds. That was the attribute of Gevura working through him. The attribute revealed by Yitzchak who even when faced with his own impending death on Mount Moriah accepted the binding by his father. It is the attribute that gives the spiritual strength that enables one to continue to concern oneself with spiritual concerns even when confronted with extinction.

It is the Emet or truth of Yaacov that enabled the young couple to continue forward despite the previous tragedy of losing a child to a genetic disease. It is also that truth that will give his family and the rest of the Jewish people the empowerment to move forward and rebuild , eventually to recreate the tents of Avraham every where they need to be set up.

Yet it is also the truth of Yaacov that finally gave our forefather the strength to become Israel. The Yaacov who must become Israel does not turn another cheek but will strive with G-d, that is alongside G-d, to face, confront and vanquish evil.

In such a fashion the memories of all six victims of this hatred,Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg 29 years old and his 28 year old wife Rivka 38-year-old Leibish Teitelbaum, 50-year-old Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich , Yocheved Orpaz, 60, and Bentzion Chroman, 28, will truly be for a blessing

Jacob's Journey

Moshe Kempinski ....

We read an unusual verse in Isaiah that says;

Therefore thus saith HaShem, who redeemed Abraham, because of the house of Yaacov: Yaacov shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale;( Isaiah 29:22)

The Midrash Tanchuma related to Parshat Toldot explains

Rav Shmuel son of Yitzchak says Abraham was saved from the fiery of furnace ( according to our tradition Nimrod threw Avraham into the furnace because he was afraid that his faith would deter his royal plans) . He was saved only on the merit of Yaacov. For the judgment came forth before Nimrod that Avraham be burned and it was known before HaShem that Yaacov was to be Avraham's descendant and G-d declared it was important that Avraham be saved on the merit of Yaacov ;

We need to understand the meaning of this Midrash.

Is it saying that without Yaacov, Avraham should have been burned?

Were all of Avraham's deed, greatness and incredible faith and faithfulness all for naught?

The text " Yifat Toar" explains that Avraham's great faith and his faithfulness that led him in the past into the unknown would have led to Avraham desiring to sacrifice his own life in order to sanctify G-d's name and to make the ultimate sacrifice and declaration of faith . This was Avraham's way. The importance of Yaacov's birth kept him away from that option.

If so the next question that needs to be asked is :

What did Yaacov introduce into the world that could not have been realized through Avraham ?

Why did the creation of the Jewish people have to wait until Yaacov and did not start with Avraham?

The secret of the survivability of this people and their eternal destiny was fully revealed within the character of Yaacov a process only begun with Avraham.

HaRav Kook writes the following in his book " Midbar Shur"

There are two paths in worshiping HaShem. One is spontaneous revolutionary and radical.

Avraham that broke into pieces all that was his past. Avraham battled the kings in spontaneous response to an evil that was perpetrated .The man who accepted the command to do the Brit Mila and even went unto the ends of human ability when he undertook the task of the binding of Yitzchak .This was the way of Avraham

Yaacov on the other hand was a simple man who dwelled in the tents .Yaacov as his name hints is the man who moves forward ( OKEV )step after careful step climbing the ladder of Yaacov ,rung after every rung

According to the Mystics of Judaism the purpose of mankind and the goal of every soul is to reach higher and higher with deliberate effort and spiritual work. All this so that they would not have to be nourished by the NEHAMA KISUFA the bread of shame? This bread of shame is based on the shame
of :" receiving without giving" .... About receiving from the Divine source with no spiritual endeavors"

That is the deeper understanding of the verse

Therefore thus saith HaShem, who redeemed Abraham, because of the house of Yaacov: Yaacov shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale;( Isaiah 29:22)

This is the secret of the Jewish people ensconced within Yaacov . The secret that " The Eternal People Have No Fear of The Long Voyage"

The journey that Avraham began with his "Lech Lecha ( go forth) " into the unknown, continued with Rivka the mother of Yaacov who told Eliezer, Avraham's servant " I will go" not knowing to where she was headed.

Yaacov forced to leave Israel wanders into the unknown and into his destiny.

Ruth the daughter of Moab who becomes Ruth the grandmother of King David when she declares to Naomi" wither you go I shall go"

The step by step journey into the unknown is the constant strength of Yaacov and of all his descendants.

I had the great merit recently of joining in the simcha celebrating the release of a young Jewish man from prison where he served a sentence for being involved in anti Disengagement activity that may have been illegal .Yet they were actions that came out of a deep passion and love for the people and the land of Israel. He is soon to be married and by so doing they will place another brick in the building of Jewish destiny. Another step in the long road of Jacob's journey.

As the world sinks deeper into the unknown and into confusion our people will continue to move forward and upward.

(from the Torah drasha at the Bar Mitzva of my son Baruch Eliyahu)