Yom Kippur Thoughts

Pre Yom-Kippur thoughts. The Maggid of Mezritch writes (צוואת הריב"ש, עמ' י-יא):

ואני בוטח בו שהוא ברא כל העולמות בדבריו יש מאין והכל מאין נגדו והוא משגיח עליהם לתת להם שפע וחיותם וכ"ש שיכול להוריד לי כח וישגיח בחסדיו גם עלי ויצילני שלא יבטל אותי יצה"ר בשום דבר בענויי שיאמר לי שאני חלש ונתייבשו המוחין שלי וכן כמה פיתויים

I trust in Him – that He Who created all the worlds through His word Ex Nihilo and compared to Whom all of existence is nullified and He watches over them [the worlds] to give them their sustenance – All the more so that He can grant me strength and in His mercy watch over me and that He shall rescue me so that my evil inclination will not afflict me by saying that I am weak and that my intellect has dulled and other similar enticements.

This basic idea in chassidus is quite revolutionary in its implications. It straddles quietism and activism simultaneously seeing man as that creature in the world which can passively receive and behold divine Will while at the same time seeing man’s personal strength and activity as the correct manner in which to channel that Will. Many people see teshuva as a process which weakens man’s will and forces him to come to terms with his own failings and his true insignificance in the world. The approach of the Mezritcher is the exact opposite –any view which causes man to acknowledge his own weakness is a result of the evil inclination. Each of us must become strengthened and aware of our abilities to channel the light of Hashem into this dark world. This task will not be achieved through acknowledgement of weakness but rather by a strengthening of the divine component of our will.

May we all merit to gain more strength this Yom Kippur. May Hashem forgive all the sins of the Jewish people and may this year be the year of our final redemption.

Shana Tova

I recieved the following Dvar Torah from one of the readers. I thought it was very beautiful and wanted to share it with everyone:

Rav Yitzchak Izik Sher (Leket Sichot Mussar, Vol 2, p. 34) quotes a famous statement of Maimonides (Rambam) that every single person has merits (mitzvot) and negative acts (aveirot). One whose merits are greater is “good”, one whose negative acts are greater is “evil”, and one whose merits and negative acts are equal is “in the middle” – which is how we should view ourselves, especially at this time of year. The Rambam complicates this statement by adding that there are certain positive acts which, alone, equate to many negative acts and vice versa – however, the only one who can make such a calculation is G-d. Rav Sher, quoting a number of sources, raises the question – how do we know if we are doing enough to make sure that we are being judged favorably? What should our approach be to raise ourselves to the level of a “good” person, worthy of a positive judgment on Rosh HaShana?

Rav Sher suggests a marvelously simple yet profound approach that can be applied to all mitzvot as well as to avoid negative acts. When performing a mitzvah, it is not simply enough to comply with the legal requirements, rather, one must also do it with one’s heart as well. By looking at a positive act not simply as an obligation, but as a way of life, worthy of sacrifice and effort, one is transformed as the mitzvah is no longer an abstract act, but rather a way of life that serves to improve not only the participant, but all of those impacted by it as well. We do not know how G-d views that specific mitzvah – whether or not it counts for a lot or a little, but we can certainly use the heartfelt emotion and feeling as a means to truly enhance and improve our overall lives.

The demographic problem

Read about what you can do to help on MevaseretZion.

Various musings

Arutz Sheva reports that a recent study showed 44% of chareidi men are actively engaged in the work force. I have to assume that this number will increase as the community grows and as economic reality becomes more pressing.

The reason I am posting this is so that next time someone starts ranting about how the chareidim live off the backs of others, this should be brought up. nearly half support themselves to the best of their abilities and the other half (many of whom dedicate their time to learning) can hardly be considered to be living in the lap of luxury on the backs of others.

I have seen many blogs bring up sectarian issues lately. I think this is wrong and harmful - especially in this month of Elul when we should be concentrating on that which binds us and not that which separates us. All who choose to accept upon themselves the framework of Torah are bound together in an eternal covenant. There are very serious disagreements and debates that will probably continue for a long time - sometimes these disagreements lead to speech and terms that cross the lines of propriety. However, at the end of the day we must re-assert the covenant that ties us together. We must reassert that we share a common destiny and that we are all part of an organic whole.

There is an anecdote about the Ariz"l. The Ariz"l once stated that the purpose of galut is to collect the 'sparks' that are latent among the nations of the world. A student challenged him and said, "If the Jewish people had not sinned and gone into exile, then what would become of those 'sparks'?" The Ariz"l answered that when the Jewish people act as an organic whole and use all their strength in a combined fashion, then the sparks are attracted to that organic whole and 'rise' by themselves. In other words, our task of redeeming the world must be accomplished - it is built into the fabric of reality - it is up to us if we want to accomplish it through the beauty of what we could be or, God forbid, through a less than ideal set of circumstances. In the end, reality will force our hand - it will just be better if we change the reality so that it won't have to force anything.

ADL - Anti (self-)Defense League

ADL Slams MK Effie Eitam's Statements on Transfer of Arabs
12:33 Sep 12, '06 / 19 Elul 5766

(IsraelNN.com) The US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has issued a condemnation of Knesset Member Effie Eitam (National Union-NRP) following Eitam’s call for the transfer of Arabs from Judea and Samaria and removal of Israeli-Arab Knesset members.

“Such inflammatory statements are irresponsible and display an ugly and abhorrent bigotry against other peoples and leads to incitement,” the ADL statement said. “Calls by public figures to ban minorities and expel them from their homes are abhorrent. These are irresponsible statements advocating collective measures that the ADL totally rejects.”

“Eitam’s remarks do nothing to further Israel’s quest to live peacefully among its neighbors and are an insult to its loyal Arab Israeli citizens,” the statement, issued by the group’s Israel office, concluded. “ADL rejects the notion of transfer of any people from their homes and homeland.”

The ADL was a vocal supporter of Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement Plan, which called for the forced expulsion of nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria.

I would be disappointed if I actually expected something from this band of hypocrites. Of course they are wrong - there is nothing morally wrong with the population transfer of a hostile population. There IS something wrong with leaving such a population in place and endangering the well-being of your own population. In truth, they understand this since they supported the expulsion of Jews when they felt it would better Israel's situation. Now, why all of a sudden does population transfer become a global moral standard? Hypocrites! When will they stop bowing at the alter of western civilization? Democracy is a practical tool, not an independent global value.

I am all for democracy (since it works well most of the time) but when the values of democracy endanger the well-being of 5 million Jews, they have to be compromised - period.

The flip side of the coin

The following is a coin that was minted during the begining of the bar Kochba revolt in 133 ce:



For those who do not know, the full name of Bar Kochba was Shimeon ben Kosiba. He led a revolt against the Romans which lasted for 3 years during which he controlled a significant part of Yehuda (although he never controlled Yerushalaim). The revolt was an initial success but it came to a grinding halt with Bar Kochba's death in Beitar.

Much attention has been paid to the messianic component of the revolt. Rabbi Akiva was the spiritual leader of the rebellion and, along with the majority of the sages of his generation, considered Bar Kochba to be the Mashiach.

What I find interesting about the coins from this era is that the consistently refer to Bar Kochba as "Nasi" instead of what I would have expected which would have been "Melech." The title of Nasi, as far as I knew until I saw these coins was generally reserved for the head of the high court during the time of chazal. I find it surprising that Bar Kochba would refer to himself as "Nasi." Does anyone have any explanation for this?