THE SIGN ON THE FOREHEAD

Moshe Kempinski.....

Israel is surrounded by enemies but the greatest threat lies within.

The dark clouds in the skies of our world are quickly gathering and seem ever more menacing. The clarity that seems so prevalent when the sky is blue and the sun is blazing seems to be dissolving in a frightening pace. The world is in intent on continuing its spiral into chaos and confusion. Axioms and understandings that were once anchors in our human voyage have been uprooted. Evil has become a relative and amorphous word while the word Good seems to have become a limited definition of whatever it is that fills one's own individual needs.

Rav Nachman of Bratslav tells the story about a king and his servant. The servant tells the king that there was a terrible plague with the new crop of wheat . It was contaminated and anyone who would eat of it would go insane. There was nothing else for the people to eat .But the servant assured the king that he had set aside enough of last year's wheat for the two of them. They could eat the old wheat and not go insane.

The king refused to eat anything other than what his subjects were eating, explaining that if the world goes insane and the two of them remain sane, they would be viewed as the insane ones., "You and I will eat what everyone else eats. However, we will mark our foreheads with a symbol, so that when I look at you and you look at me, the two of us will know that we are insane!"

The world has been suffering from such contaminated crops of wheat for some time now. A plague that seems to have swept across the European continent has landed on the shores of the Untied States in time for their elections. This land of Israel was not spared and has been overrun since the failed Oslo Peace process with the Palestinian terrorists was begun.

What then is the sign on the foreheads that we need to look for in order to re-establish balance.

During the darkening months of Heshvan it may be hard to remember the comforting glow of Tishrei. It may be difficult at times to reconnect to that incredible feeling of safety and protection we all felt as we sat under the clouds of Glory in our Sukkoth. Yet the instructions for re-entering the world of the "crazy wheat" were given during the festival of Sukkoth as well. On the Shabbat of Chol Hamoed Sukkoth we read the following from the book of Exodus

“And HaShem said unto Moses: 'I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.' And he said: 'Show me, I pray Thee, Your glory.' And He said: 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of HaShem before you ; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.' And He said: 'You cannot not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live.' And HaShem said: 'Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon the rock. And it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you ( VeSakotee) with My hand until I have passed by. And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.'(Exodus 33:17-23)

Though we may be finding ourselves alone in a cleft or crevice during the coming passing storms, we will hearken back to the memory of the covering of Sukkoth . It, like the covering of Hashem's hand ,"and will cover you ( VeSakotee) with My hand until I have passed by" will give us the stamina and vision to see all that needs to be seen and understand all that needs to be understood . Only after experiencing the passing of and sensing the impact of the ever developing hand of Divine destiny, will history ever achieve real meaning.

A decision seems to have been made in Israel 's government to stoke the fires of hatred in the land. In the inner chambers of the crumbling and faltering cabinet it would seem that a decision was arrived at regarding the villifying of the settlers and their children. That would explain the sudden outpouring of “concern" and consternation regarding the remarks and actions of some teenagers on the windswept hilltops of Judea and Samaria .

Massive amounts of weapons are still being smuggled into the Gaza strip. Missiles are still being fired into Israel from the ruins of Jewish settlements in Gush Katif. Leftist Israelis, European anarchists and Palestinians are staging a weekly violent demonstration at Bilin, wounding soldiers and civilians. Several terrorist incidents in Jerusalem have recently been thwarted. Yet the Government held urgent discussions on “the recent bout of violence directed towards security forces in West Bank by Jewish extremists" All this coincidently timed to occur around the date of the commemoration of Yitzchak Rabin's murder.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared: "These riots and public disturbances are extremely grave, and their objective is to undermine the authority of the state and its ability to impose order on its citizens. There is an attempt here by a group of extremists to fracture the authority of the state and its representatives in the field, the IDF and the police, born of their pretension to dictate to the state the patterns of behavior seen in Judea and Samaria."

One needs to remember we are talking about a handful of teenage boys and girls who dared to resist the violent demolition of the Federman house near Kiryat Arba.

Vice Premier Ramon bellowed recently that "Several hundred unruly Jewish hooligans are running amuck in the Territories, beating IDF officers, breaking bones, (sic) and trying to assassinate Professor (Ze'ev) Sternhell( sic). And the government stands before them trembling and helpless, and all the law enforcement agencies explain why nothing can be done against them. I am convinced that if these were Palestinians, they would all be behind bars by now,"


One needs to remind Ramon that had they been Palestinians they would be immediately released from prison as a "goodwill gesture" as opposed to the young Jewish girls who sat in Jail with no recourse for months.

It may very well be that the orders to destroy the Federman house in the accompaniment of the violent Yassam thug unit may have been given to stir the pot and create the reactions and enhance the image of "violent settlers".



Why all this effort?



Our Prime Minister, Olmert, is being charged or suspected of common thievery. Our Minister of Defense, Barak , lost his position in a landslide vote after having been a failure as a Prime Minister. Our Vice Premier, Ramon, has been convicted of sexual misconduct. Their coalition government is in tatters and their only defense from the scrutiny of the Israeli public is an offense. Setting up the settlers as Public Enemy #1 and then "cracking down" on them, may be the antidote to help cover over their own failures and incompetence.



With the media completely backing them up in the effort, one might wonder how the nationalist camp expects to withstand the renewed attack from their fellow countrymen. The press, the judicial system, the political leadership and the world has already prejudged each and every resident of the biblical heartland. Resisting such an onslaught seem to be a feat more impossible that withstanding the terror attacks and missiles of those who are clearly identified as the enemy.



An interesting insight into the torah portion of Lech Lecha might give us some direction.

And, behold, the word of HaShem came unto him, saying: 'This man shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own loins shall be your heir And He brought him forward , and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'Thus shall be your children .' And he believed inHaShem; and He counted it to him as righteousness.( Genesis 15:4-6)

G-d tells Abraham to go out and count the stars though He also tells him that that is an impossible task. Then G-d says "'Thus shall be your children ". The simple understanding of the verse explains that Abraham is told that his children would be as numerous as the stars. The deeper understanding says much more.

G-d tells Abraham to do an impossible task and then we see a pause. At the end of that pause G-d begins to speak again and says "'Thus shall be your children ".

What did Abraham do during that pause? Clearly he went out and started counting the stars just as G-d had asked him to do. At that point G-d tells him that it is that characteristic that will exemplify his children. They will endeavor to do even the impossible because that is what their beloved G-d asked them to do.

It is that passion and faith that is so infuriating people who have no passion except for themselves and no faith except in their own power. It is that vision and commitment that so angers people who have lost the ability to see.

These young people are being condemned by the press and the leadership as agents of hatred and discord. Yet the reality is so clearly different. It is these young people who have withstood the truncheons and horse at Amona and the fists and batons in Kiryat Arba that represent simple unconditional love.


Love for the land of Israel and love for the vision of what the people of Israel will yet grow to become. That is what will be the sign on the forehead, love for
the G-d of Israel, the people of Israel and the land of Israel

SUKKOTH: Heaven and Earth

by Moshe Kempinski

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Drive through many streets in any city in Israel and you will find colorful stands selling the spiritual tools of Sukkoth, lulavim etrogim and assorted decorations for the sukkah dispersed throughout
.
Our Torah tells us;
"And ye shall keep it a feast unto HaShem seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in sukkoth seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in sukkoth ;that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in sukkoth , when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your G-d.( Vayikra 23:41-43)


Our sages disagree as to the meaning of the verse "that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in sukkoth ". What is it that they were supposed to remember? According to Rabbi Eliezer, the word "sukkoth" refers to the clouds of glory with which God protected the Jews. Rabbi Akiva teaches that it refers to the actual booths that they lived in during their time in the wilderness.. ( Sukkah 11b).


The understood principle in all such disagreements is " these and these are the words of living torah"


What then is the core of their disagreement? The essence of the festival of sukkoth is that it is the culmination and fulfillment of the redemptive process began in the month of Elul . A process that then moved through the Days of Judgment of Rosh Hashana and on through the crucible and purifying fire of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.


The days of Sukkoth which should have been celebrated during the month of their Exodus from Egypt, Nissan, is instead celebrated here in the month of Tishrei following the Days of Awe. The Vilna Gaon writes that the heavenly clouds of glory that protected the people were restored on the 15th of Tishrei after having been removed following the sin of the golden calf in the month of Nissan.


What then is the connection between the Clouds of Glory and Tishrei?


During the days of Elul and Tishrei each individual soul undergoes a spiritual voyage that is unparalleled in its intensity and awesome in its implications.


It is in the month of Elul that we begin again the courtship with the Beloved, The letters of Elul standing for the first letters of the verse " Ani Ledodi VeDodui Lee-I Am My Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine. The soul clothed in the physicality of reality then enters into the day of Judgment .Yet on this day the focus seems not to be on the judgment but rather on the simple and awesome act of declaring G-d to be Ruler and Majesty of the earth. Only after comprehending the fact of that Rulership can the soul move on through the intensity and supreme focus of the ten days of repentance.


Eventually on the Day of Atonement the soul attempts to disconnect from the physicality of his existence .A day that is spent attempting to mirror the existence of angels. We desist from actions that speak of our physical existence, eating , washing ourselves, the wearing of comfortable shoes and intimate relationships between husband and wife. All this is done in order to remove the spiritual impediments that stand in the way of our relationship with our Creator. Eliminating the sins that impede the intimacy of true connection with the Divine. Yet the process of that purifying and self-inspection leaves our hearts and souls as seared and broken vessels.


The only way to mend a seared and fractured heart is with Joy. The feast of Sukkoth is the antittode as it is the feast of Joy.”VaHayitem Ach Sameach- and thou shalt be altogether joyful” (Deuteronomy 16:15) G-d is not commanding us to be happy. G-d is telling us that we will be!


What then is the greatest Joy. It is the ability to give to one’s true beloved what it is that beloved truly desires. After leaving the intensity of G-d’s very throne room on Yom Kippur we are then told what our Beloved’s desires are.


“And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm- trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before HaShem your G-d seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto HaShem seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your G-d. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of HaShem. (Leviticus 23:40-44 )


Throughout Jerusalem and throughout the country Jews have spent intense energy and many shekels to find the perfect gift for their Beloved. One of the agents that I deal with in our Old City shop with who represents a large Judaica company told me that for the first time he was meeting with a incredibly heightened desire and need for Sukkoth Judaica all over the country." Not just in Jerusalem or in Bnei Brak. It is happening all across Israel. “he said” There is something new in the air, it is palpable. "


He is right, the feeling is palpable and powerful. There is a great stirring in the land. Despite the dangers from without and the decay within the stirring is blossoming like a tender shoot.

It is that stirring that will bring the Great stirring in the Heavens as well.
This then explains the disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva . They were disagreeing as to which stirring must come first? Which stirring is the most critical? Was it the fact that the Israelites built Sukkoth in the wilderness and then trusted G-d to protect them from the ravages of the barren desert? Was it in fact the Clouds of Glory that first surrounded the people and empowered them to trust?

In Israel we see that a great stirring has begun here amidst us. It instigates or mirrors a great stirring in the Heavens. It is that stirring that brings a clear melding between our earthly Sukkoth and the Heavenly clouds of Glory.A melding of the views of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer.

" these and these are the words of living torah"

The Mysterious Rashi Commentary

Moshe Kempinski

Anybody that has visited the Old City of Jerusalem these last several weeks would have been touched by a fascinating and incredible phenomenon. The streets and plazas of the old city are filled, all night, with people of all types walking hurriedly towards the Western Wall for Selichot prayers . Young and old, observant and those Jews who were less so ,were walking together in the same direction. As my wife and I were driving home late one such night from the Western Wall we stopped at the intersection at the foot of Mount Zion. The policeman guiding traffic at the corner turned to us and said,” Everybody is suddenly religious in these days. They all think about Him now.” He said with a sparkle in his eyes. As we drove off I said “Baruch HaShem- Thank G-d”. He smiled and looked up and mouthed a “Yishtabach Shmo- May His Name be Praised”. We crossed the intersection carefully trying not to hurt all those people walking together with such similar purpose.

In the Torah portion ' VaYelech “that is usually read before Yom Kippur we read the following;

"And Moshe went and he spoke the words to the Children of Israel." ( Deuteronomy 31:1)

Rashi, the classic Jewish commentator highlights the first words of the verse "And Moshe went " and offers as an explanation, the cryptic word "etc" and nothing more.

The question that Rashi was attempting to answer was "To where did Moshe go to? In the previous torah portion, Nitzavim, we read that Moshe addresses the whole nation. Why then did Moshe have to go anywhere to speak to the people? They were already arrayed before him.

Rashi's answer to that question was simply, "etc"?!?

Perhaps that simple explanation points to a great spiritual truth. Moshe was delivering his last message to the Jewish people. These were the last 24 hour of his life. Moshe had shepherded these people for forty years. He had carried them through difficult and tumultuous times. He was approaching the end of his mission but that did not stop this man. Rash's use of the word veGomer or "etc" was that the words "And Moshe went " indicated that Moshe never stopped moving and never stopped growing even during the final 24 hours of his life. That had been his spiritual strength throughout his life and it was the spiritual strength he had imparted to his descendants.

Rav Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (January 10, 1905-June 18, 1994) the founding rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenberg Hasidic dynasty lost his wife and ten of his children in the flames of the living hell called the Holocaust. Throughout those years of terror and horror, Rabbi Halberstam continued to try to spiritually uplift and encourage his fellow prisoners despite his own personal losses. In the fall of 1945, after the liberation of the camps , the Rebbe moved to the new DP camp of Föhrenwald, On Yom Kippur of that year, General Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the camps in an attempt to "asses the state of the Jewish DP's". On that same day the Rebbe was speaking to the tattered remnants of his people.

The Klausenberger Rebbe dressed in a white kittel, the white linen robe traditionally worn on Yom Kippur, and wrapped in a large tallit, looked angelic and pure

With tears in his eyes he began by thanking God for saving the lives of those standing before him from the Nazi hell. He then pointed to his kittel – and began to speak slowly, deliberately, tearfully:

"One of the reasons we wear this kittel is because it is the traditional burial garment, in which we wrap a body before laying it to rest in the ground, as we do when we bury our parents and those that came before us. Wearing a kittel on Yom Kippur thus reminds us of our final day of judgment when we will be laid to rest. It therefore humbles and breaks our hearts, stirring us to do complete Teshuvah (return). The white, linen kittel is a symbol of purity that we achieve through our introspection and efforts to repair all our wrongs.

"Since the kittel reminds us of the burial shroud of those that passed on before us," continued the Klausenberger Rebbe , "why are we wearing a kittel today? Our parents and loved ones were just slaughtered without tachrichim (burial shrouds). They were buried, with or without clothes, in mass graves, or in no graves at all…"

Suddenly, the Klausenberger Rebbe began removing off his own kittel . "No kittel!" he cried out in an anguished voice. "Let us be like our parents. Let us remove our kittels, so that they can recognize us. They won’t recognize us in kittels, because they are not wrapped in kittels…"

He continued expounding on the following words from the traditional Yom Kippur prayerbook.

"Ashamnu - Did we sin? Bagadnu - Were we unfaithful?… Were we, God forbid, unfaithful to God and fail to remain loyal to him? Gazalnu - did we steal? From whom did we steal in Auschwitz and Mühldorf? … Maradnu - We rebelled.. Against whom? …we are guilty of sins that are not written in the machzor… How many times did many of us pray, Master of the Universe, I have no more strength, take my soul "?… We must ask the Almighty to restore our faith and trust in Him. ‘Trust in God forever.’… Pour your hearts out to Him."

The Jews, young and old, religious and those that had lost faith all broke down in tears. The utter sadness, the excruciating pain and the humiliation of the past years came pouring out in wailing and sobbing.

General Eisenhower, visibly moved by the words he heard from the translator, approached the Rebbe later. He asked him if there was something he could do for him. The Rebbe simply asked that he help them find lulavim and etrogim for the upcoming festival. The general was taken aback by the simple request and immediately instructed his lieutenant Berl Smith to arrange for the items to be flown in from Italy.

The general of the mighty victorious army confronted with a simple request of faith. Even after the horrors of turmoil of the valley of Death the Klausenberger Rebbe simply wanted to continue with a simple Mitzva .In that simple request lay the spiritual fortitude that bespoke of a power that was greater than the mightier armies.

The spiritual power expressed by Rashi's simple statement of "etc"

The Jewish people in our days are entering another Yom Kippur. They will be entering the Throne room of the Almighty armed with nothing but " a contrite and broken heart" . Dressed in white kittels wrapped in large tallitot, they will be spending intense and intimate time with their Creator. The experience is exhilarating, awesome and yet frightening. The incredible spiritual journey ends with a mighty Shofar blast. Every Jew walks home tired with a sense of Holy contentment mixed with earthly anxiety.

Yet within a very short period of time they will be out on their porches and balconies building their Succoth. They will be out on the streets buying a lulav and etrog. They will be walking in search of the simple Mitzva. That is the spiritual strength of this people. They move forward past the tragedies of their history and continue through the uncertainties of the future. The spiritual power of "and Moshe went" continues.

Each of us in our individual lives must go through the trials and uncertainties of our existence. The secret is to continue on the voyage. Our people in the land of Israel have had to endure the insanity of the Gush Katif upheaval and the brutality of Amona. The secret is to continue on the voyage.

The voyage includes the standing against those that try to thwart the voyage but the secret is in the voyage and not the destination.

You Stand This Day- Rosh Hashana

Moshe Kempinski

Generally on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashana, the days of judgment of the world, this dramatic verse from the Torah portion of Nitzavim is read in the synagogues.

"You stand this day, all of you, before HaShem your G-d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood hewer to your water drawer." (Deuteronomy 29:9)

Rabbi Moshe Sofer known as the Chatam Sofer asked what is meant by the words "You stand this day,... ". Were they not standing before G-d earlier at Mount Sinai? Were they not standing before Him at the shores of the Reed Sea?


In reality the Israelites could not muster the spiritual courage to " stand before G-d". They implored Moshe to stand for them in their stead " Go thou near, and hear all that HaShem our G-d may say; and thou shalt speak unto us all that HaShem our G-d may speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it.' ( ibid 5:23)


G-d responds favorably to their request and tells Moshe " But as for thee, stand thou here by Me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.' ( ibid 5:27) .

The words we hear in the Torah portion of Nitzavim were the words spoken in the last 24 hours of Moshe's life. Moshe is telling his people that he has suffered as the sieve or protective covering for them for forty years. Now that they are about to enter the land, they must be prepared to enter the next phase of their Divine mission. Until "this day" they had been the tools that G-d had been using to reveal His involvement in this world. After "this day" they were becoming active participants in that very revelation. They were about to enter the land of Israel without Moshe standing between them and G-d any longer. Henceforth they were going to stand themselves before HaShem their G-d . They were to do that in the land where Divine involvement with the world is more visible than in any other place in this world.


That thought should have been a daunting almost frightening thought., Could they live up to the task and the expectation?


The Baal Shem Tov related that whenever the word " HaYom - this day" is mentioned it refers to Rosh Hashanah. We too stand before HaShem our G-d on this very day .That thought too should be daunting and frightening. A true understanding of the implications of such a "stand" should be enough to overwhelm our spirit and silence our tongues. What could we say at such a moment. Could we develop the courage to look upward and forward without being daunted by feelings of inadequacy.


The words HaYom-This Day " are used elsewhere as well.


" And it fell on this day( Vayhi HaYom ), that he ( Elisha the prophet )came thither, and he turned into the upper chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant: 'Call this Shunammite.' And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him: 'Say now unto her: Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?' And she answered: 'I dwell among mine own people.' (Kings II 11-13)

The writings of the Zohar ( parshat Beshalach) offer another level of understanding to theencounter between the prophet and this simple woman. It explains that the prophet Elisha asks this woman if he can intercede on her behalf on "this day" that was Rosh Hashana before the "King" who is none other than the ultimate King.


Her answer gives insight and inspiration to all of us who are cognizant of our own stand before the King on this Day of Judgment. She answered " I dwell amongst my own people". Though I may feel inadequate to stand before HaShem on this or on any day, I wish only to be judged together with the entire people of Israel. Only when I become part of the corporate soul that is the people of Israel can I receive the empowerment to "stand before HaShem". Only in the unity of the people is our judgment tempered with ultimate Divine mercy.


That is the deeper meaning of the verse "You stand this day, all of you, before HaShem, your G-d":


That is the secret of Rosh Hashanah. Before we enter into the days of Atonement and repentance we enter into the Palace of Rosh Hashanah and together, as a people, declare G-d to be Ruler and Majesty of the Universe. Within that corporate purpose lays the empowerment for individual growth. The eternal concept of Klal Yisrael gives each member of that Klal the ability and courage to become the individual he needs to be.
That is the purpose of the Jewish people as it is the purpose of every community of faith as we enter the days of judgment of the whole world.



During the months preceding these Holy Days , NefeshB'Nefesh planeloads of young and old Jewish families arrived in this land in order to begin the new adventure of Aliyah. The hidden strength of these people, and of those that already live here and also of those that yearn to live here is their connection to Klal Yisrael . That connection has more overcome their preoccupation with their more individual lives. It is these types of souls that will stand before the King with unified purpose also on behalf of those who have not attained that awareness. Yet that unified stand will also serve to hasten that awareness to cover the whole world " as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah11:9)

Farmers and Priests

Our generation has seen a miracle unfold before our eyes. A battered and struggling people came into the swamps and desolate valleys of this land and became the agents of its flowering. Furthermore their pioneering efforts were imbued with miraculous and idealistic passion. Regardless of what they claimed to believe or not believe these early pioneers of Israel were active partners of Divine revelation. Yet only one or two generations later , the descendants of these same great pioneers became mired in self serving politics and small minded leadership. The great visionaries spawned heirs with no vision.


What Happened?


The ancient sage called the Sifri declared that " The Creation of the world occurred in the merit if the commandment of Bikkurim-First fruits.” That statement is so powerful in its simplicity that it demands to be explored.


After a year of toiling, planting, watering, tending, and caring for the produce man has grown, he enters his field. He sees the first ripening fruit of one of the seven species and he ties a band over this fruit and declares “This is for Bikkurim (the ceremony of first fruits)" Later, when it ripens, he places it in a basket. These baskets were then brought to the Beit HaMikdash in a festive procession. In all parts of Israel they would gather in the middle of their towns in special gatherings called Maamadot. They awoke after spending the night in the open are when an appointed individual announced “Arise and let us go up to Zion and the house of our L-rd." The groups would then in a festive procession to Jerusalem singing, "I was happy when they said to me let us go to the house of the L-rd" (Psalms Ch 122). The procession included a bull to be used as a thanksgiving sacrifice, adorned with gold and a wreath of olive branches, with the whole procession led by the music of flutes. As they stood within the temple, the one offering the Bikkurim states to the priest in the Temple,"I proclaim this day to the L-rd thy G-d that I have come unto the land which the L-rd swore unto our fathers to give them." The person then declares the Vidui recanting the travails of the Israelites till they arrived in the land, settled it and now have succeeded in gathered in its fruits.

As the procession would walk through the streets of Jerusalem, all the workmen , laborers and scholars would stop what they are doing and stand in honor of these farmers bearing Bikkurim. The Torah commentator Bartenura raises an interesting question. According to another Jewish law, It is obligatory to stand in honor of a Torah scholar when he passes This is done not so much to honor the scholar as it is to honor the Torah that this " living torah scroll "represents. Yet that Jewish law continues that craftsmen do not have to stop their work to stand up for such a scholar as this would interrupt their work and livelihood. Such is not the case with the law regarding these farmers bringing the first fruits. “Why”, asks the Bartenura, is that so?

The reason seems to be that these farmers, in this situation, during these festive times act as high priests. They are examples of G-d's revelation within nature. In the land wherein Heaven touches the earth the very fruits carry a Divine message. The return of G-d's Glory, Kavod HaShem back into awareness and revelation is symbolized by the fruits and blossoms of the land. Kavod or G-d's Glory is the manifestation of G-d's Presence that necessitates man to reveal and declare it. When the prophet Ezekiel describes G-d's Glory leaving the Temple Mount (Ezekiel 11:23). , he is describing a people going into exile with the Glory of G-d going into exile with them as a result. G-d’s Presence never left but His Glory did.

Yet Ezekiel describes the return of the people from Exile in the following way; "But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home."(ibid 36:8 ) . Every fruit, every tree, every flower is a testament to G-d's promises. That then becomes the role of these simple farmers. They are the vessels through which G-d's Presence is revealed and glorified. That as the Sifri pointed out is in essence is the purpose of creation.

That helps explain what happened to the generations that followed the early pioneers of this newborn state. The visionaries who built this land were all farmers. It is difficult to be a farmer, especially in the land of Israel and not be imbued with a deep mystical sense of the inner harmony of this world. Whether they could or would have the insight to identify G-d in their passion, their passion was G-dly nonetheless.

Their children and grandchildren ceased to be farmers and became obsessed less with how to make the land blossom and grow but rather how to do that with their bank accounts. Without the anchor and compass of faith they have lost the Divine impetus of their mission in this land. As a result they falter and fail and will be replaced by young men and women of vision.

The Redemptive Power Of Memory

12 Elul 5768, 12 September 08 01:27

by Moshe Kempinski

The Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of modern day Hassidism, said, "Forgetting is the beginning of Exile; remembering is the beginning of Redemption."

President Shimon Peres said, in an interview with David Hume (2000), the following chilling words, "You know, they say the Jewish people have a long memory. What we need is a rich imagination today, because the things that are going to happen - or did happen already - are so revolutionary that the past becomes pale, irrelevant."

We are living in a world that glorifies the present and denies its responsibilities of the past. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is head of a political party that boasted that they had no ideology and were "not prisoners to any legacy." It is not surprising, then, that he has fallen into the state wherein he is in now being accused of bribery and corruption .This is the inevitable result of having no sense of memory and purpose. Olmert, in fact, believes that the memory of Israelis is so short that they will yet forgive him for any of his own past misdeeds. That is the reason he is so intent on creating some diplomatic and political event that will sway the short attention span of modern Israel.

That is not the spirit of Judaism that is blowing in the wind, but rather the noxious breeze of Amalek.

Amalek, a small tribe descending from Esau living in the Negev region of Israel, attacks the Israelite nation as they leave Egypt. They may have been the first, but were definitely not the last. They may have been cruel, but were not the most brutal. They may have inflicted damage on the new people leaving slavery, but the destruction pales in comparison to the damage inflicted by the Romans, Babylonians and Edomites. Yet, it is the nation of Amalek that becomes the prototype of evil.

Remember what Amalek did unto you by the way as you came forth out of Egypt; how he then happened upon you by the way, and smote the hindmost of you, all that were enfeebled in your rear, when you were faint and weary; and he feared not G-d. Therefore it shall be, when HaShem your G-d hath given you rest from all your enemies round about, in the land which HaShem your G-d gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shalt not forget. (Devarim 25:17-19)

The Zohar asks, "What is the reason that the war that Amalek waged against Israel was singled out for remembering by the Holy One Blessed Be He, more than all the wars that all other nations waged against Israel?" (Zohar, Shemot 194b) The answer is that the war battled by Amalek was not only physical, but spiritual. The essence of the battle of Amalek can be understood by understanding one word in the Biblical text:"...how they happened upon you [asher karcha] by the way, and smote the hindmost of you."

The word karcha does not make sense. The Amalekites could not just have happened upon the Israelites, as they were living a very great distance from where the Israelites were wandering. So if the attack was premeditated, then what then does the word karcha mean? Rashi on that verse gives three possible explanations for the word, all three of which give great insight into Amalek and their mission. We will focus on one of them. The word karcha comes from the word mikreh - "happenstance"

In the words of Reb Tzadok HaCohen, "The whole essence of Amalek is random happenstance... and as it is written 'how they happened [asher karcha] upon you': since Amalek attributes all things to random chance."

That is the reason the descendant of Amalek, Haman, decided to throw lots to determine the date of the Jewish people's destruction, rather than destroying them the moment he had the chance. It was more important for him to solidify the belief in random happenstance when confronting the Jew than it was to eradicate the Jew immediately. That is the reason that Amalek attacked the Israelites immediately after the miraculous exodus from Egypt. The exodus from Egypt had achieved one of its stated goals in impressing the nations of the world that the world was being ruled with Divine purpose and was not, in fact, run by randomness.

The woman Rahav of Jericho says to the two spies that Joshua sent into the land:

...and she said unto the men: 'I know that HaShem hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how HaShem dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you; for HaShem your G-d, He is G-d in heaven above, and on earth beneath. (Joshua 2:9-11)

Amalek did away with that memorable history. Amalek, who in Gematria is equivalent to the Hebrew word safek or "doubt," ignored those memories because Amalek was to be a nation with no memory. Amalek was a nation that lived simply in the here and now; past events and experience was irrelevant. In so doing, he was following in the footsteps of his ancestor Esav, whose name comes from the word asui - "fully made." Esav and Amalek did not need to grow and change, they were what they were. Jacob was all about memory. Jacob, by virtue of his name, was all about following forward - le'akov.

That is the reason that the Jewish people are bidden to remember and never forget Amalek. They are bidden to blot out their remembrance. To blot out the remembrance of a nation with no memory. If the Jewish nation does not succeed in that task, then Amalek will have succeeded in tainting their spiritual core. Without a deep sense of history , a clear vision of the reality around them, and a spiritual vision of destiny, the Jewish people will lose direction and falter. This is what has already happened to our leadership and continues to threaten to engulf the rest of Israeli society.

Yet, deep historical memory, open-eyed awareness of reality and spiritual vision has not died in this country.

This week, I participated in a wedding among the ancient ruins of the Talmudic village of Katzrin on the Golan. A son of friends who had settled in the community of Nov, on the Golan, was marrying the daughter of one of the founding families of that community. As we guided the groom towards his bride with singing and dancing through the narrow alleyways of the ruins of the Katsrin village, I was struck by an overwhelming thought.

Here we were, two thousand years after the destruction of this village, singing, "There will yet be the sound of the groom and the bride...." And I imagined that behind the dark stones of the ruins were hiding the souls of all the ancient residents singing and rejoicing with us. The descendants of those same souls never forgot their past and, after two thousand years, came back to reclaim it. These young people with their whole future unfolding before them decided to cement that future by declaring their faithfulness in the ruins of an ancient synagogue.

One of the secrets of the Jewish people is that there is no such thing as a twenty-, forty- or sixty-year-old Jew. Every Jew alive today is three thousand years old.

That is the power of memory. "Forgetting is the beginning of Exile; remembering is the beginning of Redemption."

A Holy System Of Government

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A Holy System Of Government
Moshe Kempinski

Attitudes towards the rebirth of Jewish commonwealth in Israel are very similar to the old adage “ do you see the glass as half empty or as half full”. That is to say do we look at all the foibles in the state? Do we bemoan and wail how what we see has become such a caricature of what is meant to be in this land .Or do we understand and see the seeds and blossoms of a new thing..



Our judicial; system seems to be stricken with peripheral vision.Our police rife with corruption and small mindedness. Those that claim to be the levites of our nation seem to have forgotten the rest of the people and the vision that has once led this people into their destiny seems to have waned.



The torah portion of Shoftim essentially deals with the establishment of four such bodies whose roles are to provide governance and guidance in the land of Israel. These words and instructions regarding these institutions are being delivered by Moshe 36 days before his death. These systems seem to be so important that Moshe makes them a critical part of the intricate legacy he bequeaths his people before he leaves this world.



The four bodies are Shoftim VeShotrim, judges and officers (Deut. 16:18),Kohanim or levitical priests (18:1 ),a Melech or the king (17:14) and the Navi ,the prophet (18:15).Each of these individual bodies or people represent a different function and purpose. The first is a judicial system that any nation needs to institute., The second represents a system of national and individual worship ,while the third, the king points to leadership that binds them all together. Yet the fourth the Navi, the prophet or those who bear those prophetic words represents the vision and direction that this nation must follow in order to thrive and survive.




Why such a cumbersome system? Why would Moshe spend so much time focusing on its establishment during these last critical days of his life? Is it to uplift this nation and give it prominence in the world?



Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as HaShem my G-d commanded me that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it. Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there, that hath G-d so nigh unto them, as HaShem our G-d is whensoever we call upon Him? And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
(Deuteronomy 4:5-8)


Is it all related to that? That the nations of the world would realize that "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Is it about the Jewish people being extolled ?That seems more like a by product than a goal. The answer seems to be related to a declaration made by G-d through the prophet Isaiah.



Thus saith G-d HaShem, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth, He that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: "I HaShem have called you ( the children of Israel) in righteousness, and have taken hold of your hand, and kept you, and set you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations ( Ohr HaGoyim) "(Isaiah 42: 5-6).



Note that it says a light of the nations not a light to the nations as is usually translated.Yet tody that seems like a goal much to high to be attained and much too fraught withdangers, animosity and pitfalls.This is a people that would undergo peaks and valleys. .This is a people that would experience great achievements and also fall in to great disappointments and tragedy. These are people with human frailties and fears .As a result many individuals would not or could not on their own be a light to any one even unto themselves.



Yet G-d declares " HaShem did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people; but because HaShem loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your ancestors." (Deuteronomy 7:7, 8) .



This is a people that would be used to create a new reality in the world, not because they deserved it and not because they were so important. Their worthiness and their importance comes from one source, and that is G-d. That fact is the sole purpose of this people and their divinely chosen message. That is the reason for the cumbersome system. This people living in their own land would be the greatest statement of G-d's Rulership in this world.



" and you shall be unto Me a Mamlechet Kohanim VeGoy Kadosh- a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation .'(Exodus 19:6).



A Mamlechet represented by the king, a system of worship represented by the kohanim and levites, a Goy or developed nation represented by law and order and the holiness embodied by the vision of a prophet." Only in such a fashion will this people on their land succeed in becoming a " Light of the Nations". Any compromise in any of the spiritual and divine requirements of any of this system would simply prove to be , G-d forbide , a desecration of G-d's name.



Only the reestablishing of spiritual vision, of true justice, of heaven directed worship and a leadership that binds all those together will bring about the reestablishment of a Mamlechet Kohanim VeGoy Kadosh- a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. So is the cup half empty or half full.It may be more than half empty but it is in the process of being filled.In spite of the hardships and the threats surrounding us something is blossoming. In spite of the fears and antagonism of segments of our own people something is growing. Look into the eyes of the young people and you will find the vision. Search the actions of all those people involved in acts of charity and lovingkindness and you will see the seeds of true justice and order. Listen to the roar of prayer Friday night at the Western Wall.and you will sense the new sense of worship and prayer.



As for a king. We are in the month of Elul, 'haMelech BaSadeh..the King is in the field"