No Katushas from Gaza

Daniel 2:31-47

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly fragile. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Rav Sa'adia Gaon comments that the fragile part of the toes of the feet of the image is Yishmael. Yishmael rules in conjunction with Edom, though the two do not mix well. When Yishmael breaks, Edom stumbles.

ויען ויאמר אלי לאמר זה דבר יקוק אל זרבבל לאמר לא בחיל ולא בכח כי אם ברוחי אמר יקוק צבאות
מי אתה הר הגדול לפני זרבבל למישר והוציא את האבן הראשה תשאות חן חן לה

Zecharya 4:6,7

Blossoming Almond

Here are two pictures I took today from behind my house in the Shomron. The first picture was taken towards the South, the direction of Yerushalayim. The second picture was taken towards the East, the direction of Har Gerizim. Both pictures feature the same blossoming ancient Almond tree.

The tree reminded me of Yirmyahu 1:10-12 and 31:26-35:

ראה הפקדתיך היום הזה על הגוים ועל הממלכות לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהאביד ולהרוס לבנות ולנטוע: ויהי דבר יקוק אלי לאמר מה אתה ראה ירמיהו ואמר מקל שקד אני ראה: ויאמר יקוק אלי היטבת לראות כי שקד אני על דברי לעשתו:

הנה ימים באים נאם יקוק וזרעתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה זרע אדם וזרע בהמה:והיה כאשר שקדתי עליהם לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהרס ולהאביד ולהרע כן אשקד עליהם לבנות ולנטוע נאם יקוק: בימים ההם לא יאמרו עוד אבות אכלו בסר ושני בנים תקהינה: כי אם איש בעונו ימות כל האדם האכל הבסר תקהינה שניו: הנה ימים באים נאם יקוק וכרתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה ברית חדשה: לא כברית אשר כרתי את אבותם ביום החזיקי בידם להוציאם מארץ מצרים אשר המה הפרו את בריתי ואנכי בעלתי בם נאם יקוק: כי זאת הברית אשר אכרת את בית ישראל אחרי הימים ההם נאם יקוק נתתי את תורתי בקרבם ועל לבם אכתבנה והייתי להם לאלהים והמה יהיו לי לעם: ולא ילמדו עוד איש את רעהו ואיש את אחיו לאמר דעו את יקוק כי כולם ידעו אותי למקטנם ועד גדולם נאם יקוק כי אסלח לעונם ולחטאתם לא אזכר עוד: כה אמר יקוק נתן שמש לאור יומם חקת ירח וכוכבים לאור לילה רגע הים ויהמו גליו יקוק צבאות שמו:אם ימשו החקים האלה מלפני נאם יקוק גם זרע ישראל ישבתו מהיות גוי לפני כל הימים:

See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build, and to plant. Moreover, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: 'Jeremiah, what seest thou?' And I said: 'I see a rod of an almond-tree.' Then said the LORD unto me: 'Thou hast well seen; for I watch over My word to perform it.'

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, and to overthrow and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the LORD'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

Thus saith the LORD, Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar, the LORD of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.

A Perfect Storm

It seems that the unrest that now threatens the oil supply from Arab countries is set to hit the world harshly. The oil market was already extremely tense, for fundamental reasons. The fundamental issue is geological, not political. There is simply no longer enough oil to support the continuing expansion of the world economy. As a result, the world oil price has been going up at the astounding rate of a dollar per week, per barrel, for the last five months (graph taken from here):


Exactly as the price is reaching a breaking point for the modern economies, the Arabs start to rage. This is a perfect storm. The Hand of Heaven.

The Mirror of Islam

A few weeks ago, at Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah reading started with the laws of Jewish slaves. The Haftara, Yirmyahu 34:8-22, was about the same subject: With the army of Nevuchadnezzar approaching Yerushalayim, King Tzidkiyahu does Teshuva and proclaims freedom for Jewish slaves, according to Torah: "At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Jewish brother who will be sold to you; he shall serve you six years and then you shall set him free from yourself."

Unfortunately, as Yirmyahu writes, the Teshuva was reversed. I learned the historical context from Rav Binyamin Lau's recent book about Yirmyahu: After Nevuchadnezzar withdrew, temporarily, to fight the Egyptian army in the sea-coast area, it became clear that the slaves were released only because of the pressure of war. Once this pressure was reduced, the Jewish slaves were re-enslaved. This act of evil sealed the fate of Yerushalayim.

In view of the increasing pressure of Islamic regimes around Israel, I think we should reflect on the need for Teshuva of similar kind. Islam is a system of slavery. Islam demands that man submits, and denies him, and especially her, freedom. Islam should be a mirror to us, to reflect. Slavery abounds also in religious Jewish circles. Slavery is when the details of one's clothing are seen as a matter of essence. Slavery is when a woman cannot find a Shidduch because her brother serves in Nachal Charedi. Slavery is when someone learns in Kollel because of social pressure. This is Islam. This is Galut. This is a type of slavery which cannot be allowed to persist in Israel. The Torah demands freedom for Jews. Without it the Geula cannot be.

כל רצון חפשי סופו לטוב וכל הכרח סופו לרע

Rav Kook, Iggrot HaKodesh 3:24

Minyan HaShtarot

I have explained earlier that we are in the 85th Machzor Gadol, which started in 5769. This count of Machzorim is of the left, and corresponds to Zeir Anpin, according to the Tikkun of the first year. In Machzor 85 is the start of the 85th Yovel period of history.

There is an associated Machzor count of the right, which counts from year ה of the conventional Machzor to the next ה, i.e., 28 years later. This count corresponds to Malchut, according to the Tikkun in year ה. We now live near the end of the 83th cycle of this count. Two years from now, Machzor 84 will start. The Moon was put in its place, as it were, on Erev Pesach, at full Moon, in the second year of the Sun, opposite four kings of the Sun, after five kings in total. The first 28-year Machzor of Malchut started therefore in the year 3449, which was also year zero of Minyan HaShtarot. The 85th Machzor will start in 5801, the year in which the Yovel periods are set to restart.

In short, in Minyan HaShtarot, year 5801 is year 2352, 84 times 28. In other words, Minyan HaShtarot counts 84 cycles of 28 years, until what should be the first Yovel period of the days of Moshiach.

Interestingly, 2352 years is also 48 times 49 years, יוב"ל Yovel periods.

אין העולם פחות משמונים וחמשה יובלות, וביובל האחרון בן דוד בא

(Sanhedrin 97b)

אמר רב נחמן: בגולה אין מונין אלא למלכי יונים בלבד

(Avodah Zarah 10a)

Lo Adoni

Parshat Tetzaveh describes the Choshen HaMishpat and the "device" Urim V'Tumim. Am Yisrael is granted a device for Pesika, for making correct fateful decisions.

It appears that Eli, the Kohen Gadol, used the Urim V'Tumim when he judged Channah when she was praying that HaShem open her womb. His Psak was that she was שכרה, drunken. Channah replies (Shmuel Aleph, 1:16):

ותען חנה ותאמר לא אדני

And Channah answered and said: "Lo Adoni".

Rashi comments to the words "Lo Adoni":

לא אדון אתה בדבר הזה גלית בעצמך שאין רוח הקודש שורה עליך שתדע שאיני שכורת יין

You are not an Adon. Through this matter, you revealed by yourself that Ruach HaKodesh does not dwell on you, as you did not know that I am not drunken.

The Gaon MiVilna explains that the Urim V'Tumim displayed the four letters שכרה in no particular order. The Urim V'Tumim are not an automated device. It takes Siatta DiShamaya, help of Heaven, to connect the letters correctly. In this case, the correct reading was כשרה, "like Sarah". Like Sarah, Channah was Akarah and prayed to merit a child.

Pesika is not a simple matter. Sometimes a Psak that has all the ingredients right, is dead wrong, Tartei Mashma: Death may result. In our days, we see this in an urgent fashion:

The Oslo agreements were the result of Psakim of Rav Ovadia Yosef, a great halachic scholar who unfortunately overstepped his limits. The lack of Siatta DiShamaya screams to the Heavens. The Oslo agreements have led to the loss of many Jewish lives, and we must fear that we have not seen the end. May HaShem protect us. The threatening rockets in Gaza are the result of these agreements, without which the "Disengagement" would not have been. The fact that senior rabbis were directly involved in both the Oslo agreements and the Disengagement, in very essential ways, is a revelation that is neglected at our peril. "Lo Adoni" is the proper response.

In the end, we will see the connection between sectorial Pesika and national disaster. We will be forced to recall in shame that the Torah commands us to unite in Pesika, and specifies the mechanism: All must submit to the decisions of the majority of the Sanhedrin.

Gadol HaDor?

In our days, the title Gadol HaDor is reserved for people who excel in the study of Gemara and Halacha, to scholars who devote all their hours of study to Jewish Law. The Ramchal said about this field of study (for longer quote, see here):

הלא הדינים צריכים בישראל – הנעזוב אותם? לא, לא נעזוב אותם, אבל נקבע להם זמנים לפי שאי אפשר בלאו הכי, אך לא בהם נבלה זמננו ח"ו

Are laws not needed in Israel? Should we stop studying them? We should not stop studying them. Rather, we should devote to them a limited amount of time, as we cannot do without this, but we shall not spend our life in this study, Chas V'Shalom.

We need people with a vast knowledge of halachic sources and the ability to combine them. Scholars who devote their lives to this are important. They are Gedolim in Halacha. But are they Gedolim without qualification? No. Are they the greatest Jewish Chachamim? No! Shall we give them authority outside of the Arba Amot of pure Halacha? Chas V'Shalom. The Gaon MiVilna was great in Halacha but did not give it much of his time, in line with the above quote from the Ramchal. Can modern-day Gedolim in Halacha be compared to him? Not at all, not in the slightest way. Or, can they be compared to a latter-day Ish Ruach like Rav Kook? Perish the thought!

May HaShem protect us, and teach us. We have lost perspective. Halacha is important for Am Yisrael, but Judaism is not about Halacha proper. Judaism is about being close to HaShem. Judaism is about our Midot, about how we relate to others, about the society that we build. Judaism is about repairing the world. Judaism is about HaShem living in our midst, about the Revelation of HaShem in the world.

From Yirmyahu 6

כה אמר יהוה צבאות עולל יעוללו כגפן שארית ישראל השב ידך כבוצר על סלסלות. על מי אדברה ואעידה וישמעו הנה ערלה אזנם ולא יוכלו להקשיב הנה דבר יהוה היה להם לחרפה לא יחפצו בו. ואת חמת יהכוה מלאתי נלאיתי הכיל שפך על עולל בחוץ ועל סוד בחורים יחדו כי גם איש עם אשה ילכדו זקן עם מלא ימים. ונסבו בתיהם לאחרים שדות ונשים יחדו כי אטה את ידי על ישבי הארץ נאם יהוה. כי מקטנם ועד גדולם כלו בוצע בצע ומנביא ועד כהן כלו עשה שקר. וירפאו את שבר עמי על נקלה לאמר שלום שלום ואין שלום. הבישו כי תועבה עשו גם בוש לא יבושו גם הכלים לא ידעו לכן יפלו בנפלים בעת פקדתים יכשלו אמר יהוה

Food and Fossil Fuel

There is commotion in Israel about the wave of price increases, of water, housing, gasoline, and food. The problem is global. The yearly price of oil reached a record high in 2010. Food prices have been increasing fast since last Summer. There is a relationship between the two: The modern production of food is heavily dependent on fossil energy, and part of the agricultural produce is diverted to the production of biofuels.

This is not some temporary phenomenon that will go as it came. Fossil fuels are a finite resource, and this resource is depleting. Remains of ocean life were deposited at the bottom of the sea in the course of hundreds of millions of years, and were ultimately captured in the Earth's crust. The easily accessible part of these captured fossil remains is no longer enough to satisfy mankind's growing demand for fuel.

I write this after corresponding with a rabbi (among my readers) who optimistically denied the geological/biological genesis of oil. This rabbi came to his position because he thinks that Jews must believe that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old. It is important to know. Ignorance leads to falsehood, and to mistaken expectations.

It seems inevitable that the shortage of fossil fuels will increase critically in the coming year. This means that food prices will keep rising. Expect social unrest allover the planet.

Ohel Moed

The Mishkan is also called Ohel Moed, the place where HaShem communicates with Moshe (BaMidbar 7:89):

ובבא משה אל אהל מועד לדבר אתו וישמע את הקול מדבר אליו מעל הכפרת אשר על ארן העדת מבין שני הכרבים וידבר אליו

The Mishkan was, as it were, a portable Har Sinai, to be taken along Israel's journeys. In Eretz Yierael, the Mishkan became the Mikdash. The final location of the Mikdash is in Yerushalayim. It rested on the place from where the Shechina does not depart. Learn the importance of location: Even Moshe needed to enter the Ohel Moed.

Among Them, Within Yerushalayim

Parshat Trumah states (Shemot 25:8):

ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם

They shall make me a Mikdash, and I will twell in their midst. I thought to say that this is reflected in Tehillim 116:19:

בחצרות בית ה' בתוככי ירושלם הללו יה

In the courtyards of the House of HaShem, in your midst, Yerushalayim, Hallelu Yah.

"In your midst, Yerushalayim" cannot mean North of the city. It must be that the Mikdash was within the city walls. The location of ancient Yerushalayim's northern city wall is to the South of the El Aqsa Mosque, in the Ophel area. A seventy meters long segment of the wall, part of which was recently excavated until the ancient bottom layers, is still standing, for all to see.

ויתחתן שלמה את פרעה מלך מצרים ויקח את בת פרעה ויביאה אל עיר דוד עד כלתו לבנות את ביתו ואת בית ה' ואת חומת ירושלם סביב

Melachim Aleph, 3:1