We need Mashiach - Badly!

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote an essay describing what is happening in Israel.  I maintained that the mass protests were not really about "Standing up for Democracy" or protesting the Judicial reform but rather about the anger of the Left that they lost the elections, were out of power, and were likely to stay that way.  Since then, the mobs have been whipped up into ever greater frenzies by their leaders, and the country is now at a frightening level of division and hate, and many fear that a real civil war will soon explode.  The leaders of the Left have no bounds of responsibility for what they are causing in their self-righteous hypocrisy, with former Prime Ministers Lapid, Barak, and Olmert, together with many of their leaders, literally calling for War against the current government, while continuing to spout lies and distortion about their true aims.

The truth is, as I argued in that essay – and as anyone examining the proposals of Judicial Reform may plainly see – the reforms are not radical at all.  They are merely an attempt to restore the proper balance between the Knesset and the Judiciary, which was devastated by the undemocratic power grab of Aharon Barak.  In a deceitful and hidden fashion, he and his co-conspirators engineered changes in the Knesset's basic laws, giving himself and the Court unbridled power.  Since then, the power has been used to promote an elitist agenda that has been condemned at various times by parties from the entire political spectrum, including the hypocrites leading these protests.  But they have found a rallying cry to use as a hammer to smash at the government, and unfortunately, they are using it all too effectively.

However, what the protests are really about is not that at all.  Ninety-nine percent of the demonstrators would not be able to put two truthful sentences together to explain what it is about the judicial reforms that so angers them that they have come out to the streets again and again to demonstrate.  What really exercises them is that, for the first time, the ones they consider "the extreme right" are in control and intent on enacting various policies that are antithetical to the Left.   They are angry that Netanyahu, who they now refer to as "the Dictator," is once again the Prime Minister, despite their best efforts to delegitimize him.  They are irate that Itamar ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are senior ministers.  The presence of a long-bearded, Chassidic-dressed minister from the UTJ revolts them.  They are disgusted that Aryeh Deri will once again be in power. 

Most of all, they are incensed, frustrated, angry, and frightful regarding the growth of the religious parties.  UTJ, Shas, and the Religious Zionist parties control thirty-two out of 120 seats.  (That does not consider the more extreme Chareidim, who do not participate in the elections.  If they did, the religious parties would control 3-4 more seats.)  They falsely claim that the government is trying to turn Israel into a theocratic state run by Halachah and that judicial reform is only the first domino that is needed before Israel will be no different than Iran.¹

 

The question now is by which of two proccesses will Israel be ruled: 
Democracy or Rule of the Mob.  

 

The problem we now face – it has become a genuinely existential issue – is whether Israel will survive as a Democracy.  But not because of the reasons the protesters say; indeed, the exact reverse is the case.  The question now is by which of two processes Israel will be ruled – by Democracy or by the Rule of the Mob.  

One possibility is a democratic process of elections, in which the winner rules, and the opposition licks its wounds, learns something about what the electorate wants, and positions itself as responsible legislators who can win the next election.  

The other possibility is what we now face – the losing side forms itself into an unruly mob that refuses to accept the results of the election, sets out to paralyze the country with mass demonstrations blocking all the roads, threatens to refuse to perform vital national functions (for those of them in position to do so like pilots, army officers, diplomats, doctors, etc.), actively encourages foreign investors to withdraw their funds, spreads their lies and hatred to influence the press and leaders of foreign countries who have vital ties, and generally makes life unbearable, all in the name of fighting for "democracy".  It is the big lie on steroids.  It is made possible by using unbounded Chutzpah, reminiscent of the boy – having murdered his parents – who seeks sympathy because he is an orphan.  They are the ones creating the chaos and havoc, and then they blame the "dysfunctional government" for it.

It is only made worse by the veneer of respectability that the mob has gained from those who speak on its behalf.  The President of Israel, who until just a few years ago was the leader of the Left and chairman of the Labor party, has taken the side of the protesters, instead of the position he is supposed to take of being above politics.  Several government minsters, including Yoav Galant, have taken their side.  Galant was Defense Minister, never allowed Bezalel Smotrich the authority over Judea and Samaria, which was agreed upon in the coalition negotiations and did not respond adequately to the reservists who tried to politicize the army, leaving Netanyahu with no choice but to fire him.  This has further led fuel to the protesters' fire, unfortunately.

If the government gives in to the protesters, it will set a terrible precedent and cripple its ability for any meaningful change in the future.  Having tasted blood, the Left will know that anytime they want to oppose a government action, they have to come out and block the roads again in the name of "democracy", and they will get their way.  They will totally forget their former anger and criticism of the Right when such tactics were taken – on a much smaller scale – to block the Oslo accords and the Disengagement, as they have now.  Such tactics are patriotic acts of Democracy – but only when engaged in by the Left.

What the government now faces is whether to stand for democracy, and against mob rule, or whether to capitulate.  It is a terrible quandary – I do not envy PM Netanyahu.  We hear that the government is intransigent in not agreeing to pause the Judicial reforms until after Pesach and Yom HaAtzmaut.  While that sounds like a good idea, the government knows that the Left will not use such a pause to cool the tempers and engage in rational discussion, mediation, and compromise because they are not interested in compromise.  They want to bring down the government, and will accept nothing less.

My father-in-law Rabbi Monni Weisberger ע"ה would say, "We need Mashiach to come – badly!"  I don't know what resolution is possible here.  We did see a wonderful evening of respite when the protesters came to cause trouble and havoc in Bnei Brak and were met with cholent, hamantashen, drinks, and music playing Shalom Aleichem!  I was very proud of how this was handled in that case, completely defusing the protest.  Unfortunately, I don't have any illusions that this will be replicated nationally.

May Hashem bring us a Festival of Freedom in which the truth will prevail, and all Four sons will be able to sit together peacefully to await the Mashiach as the Mighty one, Adir Hu, Yivneh Baiso B'Karov

1. In my humble opinion, the government is doing itself no favors by pushing for the Chametz law and to reinstall Aryeh Deri at this time, which only adds fuel to the fire.  They should have gone slower in introducing these items at a later time - it just gives the haters arguments to pile on.

 

Judicial Reform? It's Just an Excuse for a Civil War

משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה!  The month of Adar ushers in a time of happiness and joy . . . but it sure does not feel like it this year.  There have been too many tragedies and difficulties have occurred in the Jewish world in the past few weeks.  Three sets of brothers – Paley in Yerushalayim, Yaniv in the Shomron, and Boyer in Phoenix – perished in terrible ways.  Moreover, in Israel, storm clouds continue to gather as we face a dangerous split in society that is threatening to tear apart the country as never before, with their ideological counterparts in the Diaspora joining the fracas with the New Israel Fund is pouring millions of dollars into the well-funded protests. ...  

I don't know what Heavenly message was communicated when three sets of brothers perished one after the other, but it seems plain to me that we are being told something about not valuing our brotherhood enough.  At the time of Esther's Purim message — "Gather all the Jews together" – the underlying theme of all the mitzvot of Purim – the opposite seems to be happening.  We need to reflect deeply on this before it is too late.

At the time of Esther's Purim message — "Gather all the Jews together" – the opposite seems to be happening.  We need to reflect deeply on this before it is too late.

According to many reports, nothing less than a civil war is about to happen in Israel as protests and demonstrations grow by the day.  The purported cause of the unrest is the allegedly radical judicial reforms that the current "extremist" "dictatorial" government is committing to pass at all costs.  According to the protesters, the reforms will destroy the fundamental democratic processes and allow the government to pass unjust, theocratic, discriminatory laws without a check on its power.  Furthermore, they claim that the urgency to pass the law is only a cynical attempt to relieve PM Netanyahu of the legal troubles that have dogged him for the past few years.  The inciteful rhetoric is at frightful levels; three former prime ministers (Olmert , Lapid, Barak) are calling for civil war and for the army and police to stop obeying the "Putsch" dictatorship government.  They claim the ruckuses they are raising are principled objections to the proposed judicial reforms in the best spirit of patriotism. Increasingly, they refer to the judicial reform effort as a power coup designed to destroy democracy, which much be stopped at all costs.

If you believe that, then the lies and slander that the Left is using to hoodwink the Israeli public and the whole Western world have successfully fooled you as well.

The truth is that the judicial reforms are not at all radical.  Even if, for argument’s sake, one would grant that some of its particular points are stronger than they need to be, the truth is that the government has repeatedly said they are willing to discuss compromise while continuing the legislative process.  The need for judicial reform is very apparent to anyone familiar with the excesses of Aharon Barak's power grab.  However, it is crucial to know that it is all a smokescreen; the real issue is something else entirely. 

The issue exercising the Left is simple and stark — the growing realization that they have lost their grip on power.  They are angry and frustrated that “their State is being taken from them”.  

Since before the State’s founding, the non-religious, secular Labor Zionists ruled the country with total control over all branches of government, media, academia, and culture, and treated the right-wing and religious population as second-class, unenlightened primitives.  In 1977 Menachem Begin successfully tapped into the frustration of the former underclasses and created nothing less than a revolution.  Conservative, capitalist secular forces joined with Sephardim and the religious right to form a new government that put the Left socialists and hardline secularists out of power for the first time in Israel's history.  For most of the next forty-five years – despite the condescending and sneering objections of the elite that would rule the country – Likud has been in power with few exceptions.  The reality is that the majority of Jews in Israel have moved steadily to the right, particularly as they have seen the folly of the Oslo accords and the excesses of the Left. 

Supreme Court end-run

In order to retain its hold on power, the Israeli Left followed the example of its counterparts in the United States.  Since the 1960s, as liberals realized they were unable to accomplish their objectives through elections, they turned to the U.S. Supreme Court to "legislate from the bench" on many issues which they would never be able to win at the ballot box.  Upon assuming his position, Chief Justice Aharon Barak instigated new policies through which the Israeli Supreme Court became the most powerful Supreme Court in the entire world.  Sitting as the High Court of Justice, it can control anything and everything in Israeli society, not bound by whether or not it has standing, as according to the Barak doctrine, “everything is justiciable.”  Not only does the Supreme Court not have to rule based on precedent, but if it finds any law or decision by the government or the army "unreasonable" in its superior opinion, it has arrogated itself the power to invalidate it.

Furthermore, by controlling five out of the nine votes needed to elect new Justices, they rigged the system so that the current Supreme Court justices control who gets elected to the Court, and thus ensure that those with their (liberal) bias will control it in the future.  This terribly biased, politicized overbearing Court has been a blot on fairness in Israel. Over the years, many commentators, including some of the hypocrites now in the opposition, understood that the Supreme Court had gone too far and needed to be reined in.  (For an excellent review of the history of the Israel Supreme Court and the need for Judicial Reform, see this article by Jonathan Rosenblum, who has written about this for years).

That is what the judicial reforms are about; they seek to bring the Supreme Court back to the way it operated before Aharon Barak started his dictatorial power grab.  This is something that a majority of Israelis would agree with — if it were presented to them fairly. 

Judicial reform is not the primary issue – it is a smokescreen.  The Left sees the results of the last election; they are out of power and likely to stay that way.

Why, then, are there hundreds of thousands demonstrating weekly?  Why are so many prominent professionals – pilots, doctors, army officials, and others – so moved to threaten strikes and anarchy?  Is it because they have suddenly grown so concerned about the workings of the Supreme Court and legal processes? 

Judicial reform, in fact, is not the primary issue – it is a smokescreen.  What is really going on is that the Left and sees the results of the last election; they are out of power and likely to stay that way.  They see that, for the first time, the ones they consider "the extreme right" are in control and intent on enacting various policies that are antithetical to the Left.   They are angry that Netanyahu is - despite their best efforts to delegitimize him - once again the Prime Minister.  They are irate that Itamar ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are senior ministers. They are revolted by the presence of a long-bearded, Chassidic-dressing minister from the UTJ. They are disgusted that Aryeh Deri will once again be in power. 

Most of all, they are incensed, frustrated, angry, and frightful regarding the growth of the religious parties.  Between them, UTJ, Shas, and the Religious Zionist parties control thirty-two out of 120 seats.  (That does not take into account the more extreme Chareidim, who do not participate in the elections.  If they did, there would be 3-4 more seats controlled by the religious parties.)    As a result, it is now impossible for the Left to form a government without either joining with the Arab parties or forming a national unity government with the Likud, unless they incorporate the religious parties in their coalition.

(In this, they are joined by the ultra-secular Right, in particular, the despicable Avigdor Liberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party.  It was he who put Israel through the trauma of the five elections in the previous three years, as he absolutely refused to sit with the Chareidi parties and thus prevented a stable government from forming.  Now that his seats are no longer needed by the rest of the Right, he is left whining with the Left.)

They, therefore, gnash their teeth as they decry "the end of democracy," "the rise of fanaticism," and so on.  They spread lies that the government is trying to institute Halacha as the law of the land.  They fabricate slander that the current government is anti-women, will persecute LGBTQs, and so forth.  They claim to be upset about the corruption of Netanyahu. What really upsets them, however, is that they recognize that the rule by the secular Left, who controlled Israel, is effectively over. 

An Understandable Frustration

This feeling of desperation is very understandable and justified from their perspective.  It is the secularists who mainly built the country's infrastructure, fought its wars, established the government, sacrificed enormously, and did many heroic things that created the modern State of Israel, a paradise compared to anything else in the Middle East.  They deserve major credit for all the good that they have done.  It is obvious that they are angry and frustrated in being pushed to the side in terms of holding the reins of power.

Moreover, from the perspective that the secular media have constantly fed them, the religious are primitive Neanderthals who do not participate in the country's defense nor pay taxes, expecting to be protected and supported by the secular naïve freiers (an Israeli term meaning suckers).  This is unfortunately magnified when "religious" fools misbehave and cause Chilul Hashem.  Particularly reprehensible are the idiots who riot and demonstrate on foolish issues, and call soldiers and police Nazis while mocking and spitting on them.  The secularists are seething that – in their eyes – these people are taking the country away from them. 

However, they fail to understand that this didn't happen in a vacuum.  While they did many great things and promoted the building and protection of the State, they also neglected many crucial issues that have now come home to roost.  Despite all of their noise, the secularists are becoming a minority due to the growing acceptance of traditional values, the high birth rate among the religious, and, unfortunately, the high rate of emigration by secular Israelis who no longer live in Israel.

This is no accident.  Young Jews brought up on the values of the secularists made one of three choices.  Some sensed that there ought to be much more to a Jewish State than to be a vapid cheap imitation of western values.  They thus decided to increase their connection with Judaism, become more connected with the traditional communities, and now vote for religious parties.

Others who made the same observation but were not moved to become more traditional decided that if western values are most important, why pursue them in Israel?  One can make more money, live in a nicer home, enjoy more of the same pleasures, and not be bothered with annoying things like army service, high taxes, and the irritating Orthodox elsewhere.  Over a million secular Israelis have voted with their feet and moved to America, Canada, and many other places. 

This leaves the third group of secular Israelis; those committed to staying in Israel for whatever reason but who are not interested in becoming more traditional.  It is that group – that used to be the great majority in Israel – that has seen its numbers dwindle.  To the point that the once all-powerful Labour Party barely exists, the Meretz party did not make the electoral threshold.  (Even much of the opposition today is more to the right, and only in opposition due to personal animus toward Netanyahu and/or the Chareidim.) As a result, the only way they could put together a government last time was by lying to their voters, voiding campaign promises, electing a Prime minister who controlled only six seats, incorporating Arabs into the government, and insisting that it was legitimate under the rules of "democracy".

These are the people leading all the protests and spreading the lie that judicial reform is the issue.  Their slogans claim that they are standing up for democracy, which is the biggest lie in itself.  Democracy is government by the will of the majority; the Jewish majority has voted (not only in this but in the previous elections) for the Right/Religious.  Belief in democracy should be to accept that election's result and understand that their political opponents are legitimately in power.  But they refuse to accept that.  Instead, they have convinced themselves that by calling for civil disobedience, for the army to refuse to be subject to the government, and for anarchy in the streets, they are standing up for democracy.  It would be laughable if it weren't so sad.

Our Responsibility as Orthodox Jews

Where will Israel go from here?  That is anyone's guess.  The forces of the Left will not stand down and will be satisfied with nothing less than destroying the country they claim to care so much about unless they get their way.  But that, of course, is something that the majority cannot let happen.

In my perfect world, the message that the Right must be sending out is one of understanding the frustration and the anger of the Left and seeking ways to compromise on those issues on which they can afford to compromise.  The religious parties, in particular, must be zealous in promoting their issues with great care and understanding for the hurt feelings and disappointment of those who used to be in power.  They must be greatly concerned that what is done is with love, compassion, and flexibility while not compromising on fundamental values.  

All of us must be extra vigilant in being stellar examples of the beauty, light, and kindness that the Torah teaches us 

While there is little that individuals can do about that, every Orthodox Jew, both in Israel and the Diaspora, needs to be very aware that – more than ever – non-Orthodox Jews feel under attack and alienated and disparaged, for this is what their leaders are telling them.  The truth does not matter much here, but perceptions matter a great deal.  They are looking to confirm their prejudice that Orthodox Jews are corrupt, mean-spirited, bullying, and power-hungry and seek to delegitimize the non-Orthodox as second-class Jews.  Therefore, all of us must be extra vigilant in being stellar examples of the beauty, light, and kindness that the Torah teaches us and not, G-d forbid, the opposite.

History seems to be progressing ever more powerfully toward some great vortex in which the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and religious Jews are under attack.  Many sources say that these conditions are a harbinger of the coming of the Mashiach, as we all fervently hope.  In the meantime, we must heighten our resolve – and up our game – to be worthy of the arrival of the Mashiach and not, G-d forbid, misuse this tremendous opportunity.

Published in the Jewish Press March 10, 2023

Is Aryeh Deri the Best we can Do?

 This is a difficult article to write.  I'm not particularly eager to take a position that is unpopular in the orthodox community.  Still, when I see a Chilul Hashem happening and no one saying anything about it, I feel I must raise my voice and protest.  I don't know what, if any, effect it will have, but I hope my readers have some way to influence that something positive can come from this matter.

In an article published just a week ago (at the time of this writing), I expressed my concerns despite the new Israeli government's wonderful opportunity for positive developments for the cause of Torah in Israel.  I worried that corruption might rear its ugly head and cause a Chillul Hashem.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait too long.  As I write on Motzaei Shabbat, over 100,000 people are demonstrating in Tel Aviv (and thousands more in other locations) against the new government.  That alone would not trouble me in the slightest; it was very predictable that the secular leftist portion of the Israeli citizenry is angry and frightened to see that the political right and the religious parties are assuming the reins of power they used to hold.  It is their democratic right to protest even though they distort the issues, and it is the role of the right and the religious parties to act with fairness and resolute strength in ways that will garner their respect in the long run.

One of the things that disturbs them most is the proposed long-overdue judicial reforms that seek to overturn the excesses introduced by then Chief Justice Aharon Barak, which granted the Supreme Court unbridled power far beyond that of any other court in the world.  The Israeli Supreme Court justices can insert themselves into any dispute they wish, make decisions based on their own opinion of "reasonableness," and control the selection of new justices so that an elitist leftist court will always be in power.  (See this article in which Jonathan Rosenbloom lays out the whole issue eloquently). Supporting those reforms and arguing against the abusive power of the Supreme Court was obvious to me, until Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court, in a 10-1 decision, ruled that the appointments of Aryeh Deri as Minister of the Interior AND Minister of Health AND Alternate Prime Minister were unreasonable "in the extreme," given his conviction on tax fraud in February 2022 (and conviction and prison sentence for bribery and tax fraud in 1993).  The decision was based both on the unreasonableness doctrine and Deri's fraudulent statement.  Less than one year ago, as part of a plea bargain to avoid a ruling of moral turpitude that would have pushed him out of politics, he promised the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court that he would leave politics of his own volition.  The court accepted that promise and lessened his sentence.  The plea read, "Deri, a former member of the Knesset and former minister, is retiring from politics and turning to public work outside the Knesset and government." He has now totally reneged on that commitment, prompting the Supreme Court to review his fitness to serve as a minister.

Once the decision came down, the attorney general and the heads of the opposition insisted that Deri immediately resign, or that PM Netanyahu fire him.  Deri's response?  I will not resign.  "Four Hundred Thousand people voted for me knowing the history; I will not let them down."

That evening, there was a parade of politicians and rabbis who all came to Deri's home to offer him support.  One after the other, all of these great rabbis made statements to the effect of how Deri is a hero, and he has done so much for his fellow Jews, and how we will prevail over the wicked dictatorial Supreme Court who seek only to harm the cause of Torah.

Living where I do in a predominantly Sephardic community, mostly Shas voters, I asked my friends and neighbors how they view this development.  The response of most of them was that (a) Deri is an incredibly talented and resourceful politician who has done enormous good for our community; there is no one like him, (b) his whole conviction was a set up and entrapment – any regular person who had been charged with the same actions would have been let off with a slap on the wrist and small fine.  They're just out to get him, just like they take advantage of all Sephardim, and (c) the great rabbi said to vote for him and, therefore, supporting him is consistent with Daas Torah.

There is no question that there is a tremendous amount of prejudice against Sephardim in Israel in general and in the orthodox community as well, most unfortunately.  And it is true that Shas, in general, and Aryeh Deri in particular, have done a tremendous amount of much-needed work to correct this injustice over many years.  Indeed, that is the source of the power of Shas -- they successfully tapped into the feelings of those who have felt slighted and discriminated against in Israeli society.

However, I cannot help but look at these developments and imagine how your average secular Israeli observes what is happening.  I'm not talking about someone already predisposed to hate religious people; I believe they are a small minority.  I think of an average secular person who is already annoyed that the religious parties are flexing their muscles and taking over much of the power in the country.  Now, they have real ammunition for their claims.  The leader of the largest religious party reneges on his promises, refuses to accept the court decision, and threatens to bring down the entire government if he does retain his personal power.  They see a recidivist tax fraud who was vying to be the finance minister no less and then “graciously” agreed to accept the interior and health ministries as well as being alternate Prime Minister in his raw exercise of political muscle.  They see how he now refuses to accept the authority of the law of the Supreme Court and is willing to bring down the government.

How do you think such people look at this?  How do you think they look at the parade of leading Torah sages saying that Deri is a hero and a victim and that the Supreme Court decision is wicked and biased that should be ignored?  How do they look at all of the religious Jews supporting this politically powerful man who was convicted twice of fraud because of the benefits that he will be able to wrangle out of the government for them?  How is this not a tremendous Chilul Hashem?

No one knows how this will end and what kind of twisted logic will be used to keep Deri in power and prevent the government from falling.  All I know is that it makes me embarrassed, as an orthodox Jew, to be associated with such slimy politics.  May heaven help us.

With Power Comes Great Responsibility

 A new government, Baruch Hashem, has been sworn in to govern the state of Israel. I am thrilled that the party I have voted for several times is finally in power, positioned to accomplish great things for the future of Israel and the Jewish people. The previous, illegitimate governing coalition of extreme leftists, anti-religious activists, Arabs, Netanyahu haters, and a party that “democratically” turned its back on explicit campaign promises is no longer. The enemies of Torah who were part of that coalition have been stripped of their power.

The new government is by far the friendliest to Torah and traditional Jewish values in the 75-year history of the state. Comprised of only the Likud party and religious parties, it has far more kippah-wearing (and women hair-covering) members of Knesset and ministers than ever before. While this is certainly something to celebrate, it is also cause for great concern.

The reasons to celebrate are obvious. It is not only because of legislation likely to be more friendly to traditional values and a much-needed shot in the arm that religious communities – particularly in Judea and Samaria – will receive. We celebrate what has been apparent to anyone living recently in Israel: the silent majority of the country is moving toward a more traditional/religious approach to life. To be sure, there are still many staunchly secular and even anti-religious people in Israel, many of whom are gnashing their teeth as they decry “the end of democracy,” or “the rise of fanaticism,” and so on. But, despite all of their noise, they are becoming a minority due to the growing acceptance of traditional values, the high birth rate among the religious and, unfortunately, the high rate of emigration by secular Israelis who no longer live in Israel.

In addition, the country has moved politically firmly to the right. It includes not only the largest party (Likud) and the religious parties. The truth is that even among the opposition, several parties exist mainly because of their hatred of Charedim or of Benjamin Netanyahu (not unlike “Never Trump Republicans). These parties have right-wing views on matters like the “peace process” (which virtually no one in Israel believes is possible anymore), dealings with the Palestinian Authority, opposition to “wokeism” and other extreme leftist positions, and so on.

All this is for the good. Jews in the Diaspora ought to take note of these developments, which in my view give the lie to many of the excuses they give for not moving to Israel. How many times have I heard the claim that it is more challenging to be a religious Jew in Israel than in Borough Park and Flatbush? I won’t pursue that discussion here. I merely note that the times are changing, and those excuses no longer hold much water.

Given all this, I should be euphoric about what has occurred and be able to say with a whole heart, “Shehecheyanu v’kiymanu lazman hazeh.” But, nevertheless, I am uneasy, and it has to do with the confluence of the great severity of chillul Hashem and Lord Acton.

I don’t know what else he’s famous for, but Lord Acton is renowned for formulating the principle that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This law has held true almost without fail in human history: Even when good and fine people come into positions of great power, they forget themselves and begin acting in a corrupt, arrogant and oppressive manner just because they can. That is undoubtedly one of the lessons we should have learned from Chanukah. Unfortunately, with all our admiration for the Hasmoneans, it turned bad quickly; their end was terrible and corrupt.

I can’t imagine it will get that bad. But I worry that our religious representatives may forget the delicate balance it takes to win hearts and minds to our perspective. I recognize how angry and frustrated the not-yet-religious Israelis feel as they see that – to their minds – the country is being taken away from them. As they see it, secular Zionists, the fighters of the IDF, and the significant advances in technology, agriculture, and science have built Israel into the wonderful modern country it is. But, from their perspective, the institutions that they built with so much blood, sweat and tears are being taken over by those who do not respect their values and way of life and (to their mind) do not share the burden of paying taxes and serving in the army. Of course, much there is untrue, but it is partially true. I can only hope and pray that those now in power will not forget to treat everyone with kindness and respect and to recognize that the ways of the Torah are those of pleasantness and not coercion.

An example of the dangers that lurk came up even before the new government was sworn in – in its attitude toward “LBGTQ rights.” I strongly agree that this is an issue that the new government should address in due course. The growing encroachment of gender dysphoria in the Holy Land, the annual “gay pride” march in the holy city of Jerusalem, and the fact that year after year, Tel Aviv has the distinction of being voted the most gay-friendly city in the world are nothing short of a chillul Hashem.

However, even before the government took power, religious representatives and some rabbis decided that this was the time to go to war against the gay community. It is one thing to be against the gay pride march in Jerusalem. It is something else entirely for an incoming minister to start by announcing that she will work for a doctor's right to not treat gay patients if it goes against their principles, provided that the person can receive treatment from a different provider or to be teachers, even of secular subjects, or to discriminate against them in business.  Several prominent rabbis have even protested that the incoming speaker of the Knesset is gay and publicly shouted against him. 

(NOTE - In response to a comment on this blog, I updated the previous sentence to the current form.   I do not think that there is anything wrong with MK Orit Strook's position, it is essentially the same as the US Supreme Court decision in the  Masterpiece Cakeshop Ruling.  Nevertheless, I do not think it was wise to begin with this agenda immediately.)  

Many other examples have arisen. For instance, it is one thing to seek exemptions for the draft for those studying Torah full time (although, as the number of such people approaches hundreds of thousands, this blanket policy is debatable). But then, demanding that those studying be paid more than soldiers who fight in the army is particularly offensive to many religious and secular Israelis. These and other issues continue, and they haven’t even started governing yet.

I worry that rather than seeing the new government as a golden opportunity to show the beauty of the Torah, power will be used in ways that are seen as uncaring coercion, magnified as such by the hostile secular press. I worry that this unprecedented opportunity for kiddush Hashem may turn out to be a cause of Chillul Hashem.

It is crucial that all of us be extra vigilant in being stellar examples of the beauty, light, and kindness that the Torah teaches us and not, G-d forbid, the opposite

I worry about this not only for those who live in Israel. The staunchly liberal and not Orthodox majority Diaspora Jewish communities have lost no time in decrying the “awful, fascist, fundamentalist, xenophobic” new government. Five hundred rabbis have already signed a letter stating that members of the Israeli government are not welcome in their temples and have pressured the Biden administration to look harshly upon the new government.

While there is little that individuals can do about that, every Orthodox Jew, both in Israel and the Diaspora, needs to be very aware that – more than ever – non-Orthodox Jews feel under attack and alienated and disparaged, for this is what their leaders are telling them. They are looking to confirm their prejudice that Orthodox Jews are corrupt, mean-spirited, and bullying and seek to delegitimize the non-Orthodox as Jews. Therefore, it is crucial that all of us be extra vigilant in being stellar examples of the beauty, light, and kindness that the Torah teaches us and not, G-d forbid, the opposite.

History seems to be progressing ever more powerfully toward some great vortex in which the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and religious Jews are under attack. Many sources say that these conditions are a harbinger of the coming of the Mashiach, as we all fervently hope. In the meantime, we must heighten our resolve – and up our game – to be worthy of the arrival of the Mashiach and not, G-d forbid, misuse this tremendous opportunity.

Published in the Jewish Press Jan 13, 2023

Who are the Baalei HaBayit? Modern Israel and the Isaac Covenant

The recent elections in Israel have resulted, Baruch Hashem, in an overwhelming victory for the political Right. Between the Likud and the Religious parties, there is a comfortable majority of 64 out of 120 seats likely to form the next government. Now 64 out of 120 might not seem like such a landslide win. But the victory for the Right is, in fact, far greater than that. 

The parties headed by Avigdor Liberman, Benny Gantz, Gideon Saar, Ayelet Shaked, and even Yair Lapid also lean primarily toward the political right. They no longer believe in the “Peace Process,” see no current prospect of a “Two State Solution,” and largely recognize that the Oslo accords were a disastrous pipe dream. However, they are in opposition mainly due to personal animosity to Bibi Netanyahu (much like anti-Trump Republicans) and/or the Haredim. If you add them to the mix, there are really only 14 seats out of 120 that are either the Arab parties or the hard Left (the far-left Meretz party did not even meet the electoral threshold. It is as if, in America, AOC and her squad had been voted out of office). It is an overwhelming victory for the Right. And the greatest – and most controversial – star that has emerged in this election is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the chairman of the Otzma Yehudi party.

Vilified, slandered, and mischaracterized as a fascist and racist and – heaven forfend – a “Kahanist,” Ben-Gvir has managed to appeal to a fundamental emotion and resolve of millions of Israelis regarding the basic rights of Jews in the Land of Israel. One of the campaign ads that one saw most often was a picture of Ben-Gvir with the question: Mi Po Baalei HaBayit? (Who are the owners here in Israel?)

It is a fundamental question.  Are we Jews the owners and landlords in the State of Israel by right, or are we foreign interlopers with no ancestral, moral, or legal right to a homeland in Eretz Yisrael?  Ought we not be required to apologize for having displaced the indigenous “Palestinian” population and stolen their land. That is certainly how Ahmad Tibi, leader of the largest Arab party (We are the Baalei HaBayit and not Ben-Gvir) sees it. But the great majority of Israelis do not see it this way, whether they say it out loud or not.

Unfortunately, far too many Diaspora Jews worldwide see the matter differently. Many liberal and non-Orthodox Jews are consumed with guilt over the suppression of “Palestinians” and the strong-arm tactics Israel has sometimes taken against its enemies. They are consequently horrified, frightened, and deeply troubled about the ascendancy of Ben-Gvir and his supporters and warn that the inclusion of Ben-Gvir in the government will endanger the status of Israel.

Sadly, too many misinformed Orthodox Jews have bought the liberal talking points and lies and slander and thus believe that Ben-Gvir and his supporters are violent, racist, and fascist provocateurs who despise Arabs and seek to expel them all in their hatred. While there are a small number of extremists who espouse such views (all sides of any political dispute have their extremist lunatics), they are not the views of Ben Gvir nor of virtually all of his supporters – nor were they the views of the person that the left has most attempted to associate Ben Gvir with, Rav Meir Kahane הי"ד.

Ben Gvir has stated, on every occasion, that he does not agree with all that Rav Kahane held and did. But a central teaching of Rav Kahane that Ben Gvir does champion is that of “Jewish Pride.” It is the notion that we need to stand up for our rights against our enemies and haters with no apologies or fear of “what will the Goyim say?” We have a right and obligation to be secure and to protect ourselves, especially vulnerable fellow Jews. We cannot let ourselves be confused by those who worry about the supposed rights of those who seek our harm.

This is even more true in Eretz Yisrael. There is, and always has been, much uncertainty about the role of Zionism and the State of Israel from the perspective of Halacha and Jewish tradition. While this is too large a topic to discuss in this essay properly, suffice it to say that due to the anti-religious attitudes and actions of many of the original leaders of secular Zionism, the State and its representatives have been viewed with caution by some, suspicion by others, and outright hostility from yet others in the Orthodox world.  (Some are even sympathetic to the terrible views of the Reshaim of Neturei Karta, who view the State of Israel as the totally illegitimate work of the Satan.)  Because of that, one simple truth that virtually all of them innately know to be true (but tend to forget) is that before our eyes we are witness to the incredible miracle of our return to Eretz Yisrael after two thousand years.

As a licensed Israel tour guide, one of my favorite experiences is to help visitors from the Diaspora begin to realize that the modern State of Israel is a vibrant, powerful, prosperous country that has been built in an incredibly short time and is the envy of many nations the world over. The roads, technology, infrastructure, military complex, and so much more have enhanced Eretz Yisrael so greatly that it is simply astounding. This is in addition to the incredible resurgence of Torah learning and observance and the fact that there is a large and growing movement, even among many secular Israelis, to bring more tradition and Torah into their lives. Therefore, it is vital to realize that although we are still in Golus and eagerly await the coming of the Mashiach and know that there are so many intractable problems that will only be solved upon his arrival, we have entered into a new – and totally different – phase of our national existence.

We are still in Golus. But it is Golus of a different kind. 

It is the time of the Isaac Covenant

I have written about this at length and cannot repeat it here; I implore all my readers to review the series of articles I wrote on this blog about the Isaac Covenant.  I argued there, primarily based on the beautiful exposition of Rav Samson R Hirsch זצוק"ל, that we are now in a time of history in which we experience the Bris Yitzchok – The Isaac Covenant. It is a time in which our relationship with the Nations of the world is not yet like that of Avraham, who we read about in this week’s Chayei Sarah. Here Avraham is given universal respect and is called, “A prince of G-d you are amongst us”. Yitzchak, we will see next week, by contrast, is successful but hated, wealthy but envied, tolerated but treated with suspicion. He is also unlike Yaakov, who was persecuted, exiled, and suffered most of his adult life. Yitzchak was strong, able to defend himself, and prosperous but not without enemies — much like we find ourselves today.

Throughout the world, Jews are successful, prominent, and influential way out of proportion to their numbers. Our existence is no longer that of our frightful past of pogroms, expulsions, and the Holocaust. We experience (growing) antisemitism and are hated and envied by many – but the relationship is far different and better, than what we experienced in the past. This is true much more so in Israel. We have our own country, one of the world’s strongest armies to defend us, huge political clout and influence, and all of the advances I mentioned above. We are still in Golus. But it is Golus of a different kind – it is the Golus of the Isaac Covenant.

One of the most important aspects of our current level of Golus is that we have a different relationship with Eretz Yisrael. We are no longer the dhimmis (second-class citizens) who lived under the Ottoman masters forced to be submissive and pay them the jizyah taxes while subject to their persecution. We are no longer subject to the White Papers of the British government, which infamously prevented desperate Jews seeking to escape the accursed Nazis from coming home. We are here and have been given the fantastic privilege and opportunity to direct our destiny in Eretz Yisrael. We are now the “Baalei HaBayit,” and all proud Jews know it and believe it and are grateful for it, whether or not they say so out loud.

To be Baalei Habayit is not to deny the role of G-d in our destiny. One Rabbi who is opposed to Ben-Gvir went to far as to publish an article entitled, We Are NOT the ‘Baalei HaBayit’!, in which he claimed that such a claim is an inversion of the Torah. He based this argument primarily on the first Rashi in the Torah, in which Rashi quotes the Midrash stating that the whole book of Bereishis is there us that when, in the future, the Nations of the world will accuse us of stealing the Land, we will know that in fact it is G-d’s Land, who gives it to those who He sees fit. He is the real Baal Habayit. While no religious person would contest the notion that G-d is the ultimate Baal Habayit, the Midrash is, in fact, teaching the opposite. In our day, He has made the State of Israel the Baal HaBayit. Much as while G-d owns everything, yet all of us assert ownership and are the Baalei HaBayit over the property He has entrusted to us, the Jewish people are now – and hopefully forever – the Baalei Habayit in Eretz Yisrael.

In keeping with that, we must stand up proudly for our rights. It is a travesty that Jewish soldiers may not respond forcefully when attacked and spat upon, that murderous terrorists are coddled in our prisons and released back to hurt us again, that Jews are prevented solely for political reasons from praying on those parts of our holiest site – the Temple Mount – that are halachically permitted, that violent haters are given license to spew their hatred and incite, and so much more. Most Ben Gvir voters, including me, do not hate Arabs; indeed I have several Arab friends, and several of the doctors and other professionals I frequent are fine Arabs – who are happy citizens of the State of Israel. People who recognize that it is a Jewish State recognize that they are privileged to live in it.

The lack of this recognition is at the heart of so many problems today. Too often in the Yeshiva world, young minds are given a warped perspective in which the State of Israel is considered a traife poison, resulting in awful displays of boys calling Israeli police and soldiers Nazis and worse. They are not taught to respect and appreciate the efforts of those who gave so much to build Israel, which results in those Israelis being offended by the Haredim, who too often behave scandalously toward them. At the heart of the tragedy, the majority of young Jews in the Diaspora have ambivalent feelings toward Israel at best and are often at the forefront of those arguing for “Palestinian rights” and championing BDS and other organizations that hate Israel. It is a lack of a proper sense of history and of Jewish Pride.

May we see the day soon that we properly appreciate the great gifts we have been given in our time and embrace the Isaac Covenant, looking forward to the Abraham Covenant with the coming of the Mashiach, speedily in our days

Toras Emes: Enough With School Shootings, Gender Dysphoria, and Penumbras

We stand before the great holiday of Shavuot – זמן מתו תורתינו – the day we finish preparing to receive the Torah.¹ The Torah is the central repository of our values.

כִּי הֵם חַיֵּינוּ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֵינוּ

It is our very life and the length of our days

While the Torah is infinite, the most significant characteristic that we use to describe it is Toras Emes, “the Torah of Truth.”

Receiving the Torah could not come at a better time, as we live in a world that is dominated by Sheker (falsehood). Of course, the world outside of Torah has always contained elements of Sheker, but I don’t remember a time in my sixty-plus years that we have been bombarded by it on such a constant basis.

Here are a few of the more well-known and egregious examples:

1. Violence in Society – There is much handwringing, and many angry accusations were made over the terrible school shooting in Uvalde, TX. Many are convinced that the root of the problem is too much access to guns, others vociferously protest that guns are necessary to protect the innocent. However, both sides avoid the Truth – the real cause of so much violence in our society – which was revealed (if you were paying attention) a few weeks ago.

Do we not understand that after witnessing literally thousands of fights and killings and beatdowns, some kids will decide to solve their own problems this way?

At the time, the talk of the town concerned actor Will Smith, who publicly slapped Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith’s wife at the Academy Awards show. The intelligentsia and exemplars of high morality of Hollywood were horrified and aghast at this terrible display of violence. “What have we come to? We must strip Smith of his awards and banish him from our midst for such a vile public act of mayhem!”

However, they conveniently forgot that the greatest purveyors of violence in our society are themselves – it is they who produce endless sick and brutal violence in virtually every movie and on most television shows. They are the ones who have fed violence to children throughout their lives: from cartoons at the earliest age, through movies aimed at kids, through grotesque amounts of violence in movies. (And I am not even speaking about horror movies whose only point is to show unbelievably sick and revolting murder, mayhem, and torture). Will Smith himself was, up to that point, celebrated for several movie roles in which he was a hitman, villain, killer, and purveyor of brutality – which was fine because it was only a movie.

Is there any real wonder why we have so many kids who decide to go into a school and start shooting? Do we not understand that after witnessing literally thousands of fights and killings and beatdowns, some kids will decide to solve their own problems this way?  I agree that it is terrible that eighteen-year-olds have legal access to assault weapons, but is that the source of the problem? It is clear as day that it is the constant diet of violence that kids constantly imbibe from the hypocrites in Hollywood that is the main cause of this sickness; not the availability of guns.

A meme that I saw circulating really makes the point.

The root of all this is pure Sheker – the opposite of what Toras Emes stands for.

2. Gender Dysphoria – is the fancy term used to provide credence to the notion that biological gender is irrelevant. One may choose one’s gender as either male or female (or neither) regardless of one’s physical body and chromosomes. While there have always been people of one gender who may have had some tendencies of the other, according to current thinking, gender is entirely fluid. It can be determined only by how the individual feels about themselves. (I hope that is the correct pronoun). It has gotten such that 

a. A middle school student was charged with sexual harassment for using the wrong pronoun 

b. A US Supreme Court nominee who was picked largely because of her gender, cannot define what a woman is.

c. Girls are subjected to having biological males share their bathrooms and locker rooms.

and there are many, many other ramifications, particularly for women’s sports.

Perhaps worst of all, utter confusion has been sown in business, academia, and governmental settings such that good and well-meaning people are afraid that any simple remark may subject them to lawsuits and being fired from their jobs.

Once again, the root of all this is pure Sheker– the opposite of what Toras Emes stands for

3. Roe v. Wade at Risk – There is endless noise going on about this potential decision; I have discussed it at length previously.  I mention it here only to make one point in this context. Those who say that the debate is about whether to outlaw abortions are engaging in Sheker. If Roe is overturned, not one abortion will automatically be outlawed.  Rather, it will then be up to the people's elected representatives, (in each State Legislature) to decide the public policy question of whether, and to what extent, abortions should be legal.  (The certain result will be that abortions will remain legal in very liberal states like New York and California and will be restricted in places like Missouri and Oklahoma.) 

The reason that passions are running so hot is because of what the debate is really about.  The issue is whether unelected judges may read their own political biases into interpreting the constitution or whether they must follow the words of the constitution and what those words meant when they were written. The fact is that the constitution says nothing at all about abortions and other cases that have been decided based on the manufactured constitutional "right of privacy".  The effort to overturn Roe is a protest against those who pretend that it does.

The constitution provides a mechanism for changing it, adding to it, or deleting parts of it, if a super-majority of the country agrees. That mechanism is called “Amendment”. The constitution has twenty-seven amendments enacted over the years – that is the only legitimate way to change it. Unfortunately, however, certain groups have gotten used to the idea that judges have the right to look into the “penumbra” of the constitution and rule that it says things that it does not. This is important to them for getting policies enshrined in the law that they were not successful in enacting through the legislature, by the shortcut of having judges pretend that the constitution says things that it does not.

That is the truth of this debate, as opposed to the pervasive Sheker that engulfs us.

I could bring many, many other examples of falsehood being promoted as the truth, such as “woke-ism” and “cancel culture”.  These are sufficient to bolster my contention that we are drowning in a world of Sheker, and we desperately need Emes in our lives.

 בָּרוּךְ אֱלקינוּ שֶׁבְּרָאָנוּ לִכְבודו

 ... וְנָתַן לָנוּ תּורַת אֱמֶת וְחַיֵּי עולָם נָטַע בְּתוכֵנוּ

Blessed is our God who created us for His glory …and gave us Toras Emes, and [thereby] implanted Eternal Life in us

Let us resolve to focus, this Shavuos, on accepting the Torah of Truth as our guide in life. We desperately need its light in the dark times in which we live

Happy Shavuos

Published in the Queens Jewish Link June 3, 2002

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1. The Torah was actually given on the seventh of Sivan.  Many commentaries deal with the obvious question - if it was given on the seventh, why do we celebrate the sixth of Sivan?  Rav SR Hirsch says that what is important about Shavuot is not that the Torah was given 3,500 years ago.  Rather, it marks the end of the period of Sefirat HaOmer, in which we prepare ourselves to receive the Torah.  That is what our Avodas Hayom is today as well.

Parshas Bechukosai: The Old Golus is Over - Short Live the New Golus!

In my current occupation as a licensed tour guide in Israel (now that COVID seems to have finally ended), it is my privilege to greet many of my brothers and sisters who can visit our Holy Land again. They are excited to be visiting Eretz Yisrael after being denied that opportunity for the past two years. 

I highlighted the term visiting, as, unfortunately, most of them have no intention of realistically considering the possibility of Aliyah and are content to remain living in the Diaspora for the time being. There certainly are some very legitimate reasons for remaining in the Diaspora for now – I had the privilege of Aliyah only some five years ago – and each person must judge what is best for their family. I only want to look at one of the reasons that I often hear, considering  Parshat Bechukosai.

The argument that I am speaking of is that “We are still in Golus because Mashiach has not yet come. Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) has little or no religious significance, as many of the founders were irreligious or even anti-religious. The State continues to be a secular state that is an affront to the Torah. The Golus is still in full force whether you live in Boro Park or Bnei Brak; we will comfortably await the coming of Mashiach elsewhere.”

At the end of the lengthy Tochacha (Admonition) section describing the long and terrible Golus that we will undergo, a verse appears that we are quite familiar with from the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf:

וְזָכַרְתִּ֖י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י יַעֲק֑וֹב וְאַף֩ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֨י יִצְחָ֜ק וְאַ֨ף אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶזְכֹּ֖ר וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֶזְכֹּֽר (ויקרא כו:מב)

Then will I remember My covenant with Yaakov; I will remember also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham; and I will remember the land. (Vayikra 26:42)

A quick analysis of this verse results in two obvious questions:

• Why the reverse order from the usual, chronological and ancestral one?
• Why are there seemingly three separate covenants listed, rather than “I will remember my covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov”?

In a masterful treatment that can only be briefly excerpted here, Rav SR Hirsch זצ"ל explained that there were three separate covenants. “The names of the Patriarchs represent not individuals, but historic archetypes through which the power of the Divine covenant becomes manifest”.

We are remarkably familiar with the lives of Avraham and Yaakov, about whom the Torah elaborates at length. The Hittites recognized Avraham in his time as נְשִׂיא אֱלֹקִים אַתָּה בְּתוֹכֵנוּ,a “Prince of G-d you are amongst us” (Breishis 23:6). Universally recognized as the supreme citizen of his time, the object of admiration near and wide, he was beloved for his ability to bring the message of G-d to the world. By contrast, Yaakov led a life of unremitting hardship and trouble. When standing before Pharaoh, Yaakov says about his life מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי, "few and unpleasant have been the years of my life" (ibid 47:9). He suffered from Eisav, Lavan, Shechem, Joseph…. a life which had little respite from difficulty.

About Yitzchak, however, we know little – he is given minimal “screen time” in the Torah. Even in Parshas Toldos, the one Parasha purportedly devoted to Yitzchak, most of it is really about Yaakov and Eisav. Chapter 26 is the only one in which we read about Yitzchak himself.

The Yitzchak we find there is a paradox. On the one hand, he is persecuted, on the other hand; he is highly successful financially. Driven from place to place, dealing with the intransigence of his neighbors, he is told, “Leave us, as you have become mighty from us (from somehow taking our wealth)!” He emerges unscathed with their grudging admiration. Avimelech and Phichol come to him to make a non-aggression pact. Yitzchak asks, “Why do you come to me; do you not hate me?”. And in a statement worthy of the UN, they say, “Let there be a pact between us, so that if you do us no harm, as we have not harmed you (What????) and we did only good and sent you in Peace (Are you Kidding???), for after all (We are forced to admit) you are blessed by G-d” (ibid 26:28-9).

In summary, Yitzchak lives a life in which he is grudgingly tolerated and respected, not loved. A life in which he has both financial success and the hostility and envy of his neighbors; without the crushing difficulties of Yaakov, but far from the glory of Avraham’s social status. He is somewhere in the middle: not in the greatest of times, but not the worst of times either.

This is reminiscent of the prayers associated with each of the Avos . Avraham is associated with the morning – a new day full of light and promise. Yaakov is associated with night, a time of darkness and fear. Yitzchak is associated with afternoon/evening, somewhere in between; not dark but not full of joyous light (Brachos 26b).

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With this background, let us see how Rav Hirsch learned the verse in Bechukosai.

As the end of the Golus draws near, a time will come that it will be evident that Hashem remembers the covenant with Yaakov. “I will be with them through all the long, long nights of their exile. I will transform even the darkest night of their exile into a shining revelation of Divine Guidance.” We will make it through the worst of times; bloodied but very much alive. Then, when the time will come that “their measure of suffering is full, when they have inscribed their loyalty to the Torah with their heart’s blood upon the pages of world history” and the covenant with Yaakov is fully realized, it will finally be time for the covenant of Yitzchak.

“During the Jacob period, they had to endure the hatred of the nations. Now, like Isaac, they will suffer the envy of the nations. . . In the midst of growing prosperity, living among nations wavering between humaneness and envy, they will have to preserve their unique character as did Isaac. They will have to employ their resources, ampler and less restricted than before, for a more perfect and multifaceted fulfillment of their unique mission in the Golus. . .”

Rav Hirsch then goes on to describe a later stage of the Covenant of Avraham, and of the Land, which we can surmise will be at the time of the coming of the Mashiach.

In a tragic comment that we can look back at through the prism of terrible hindsight, Rav Hirsch further wrote of his time in Nineteenth century Germany regarding the Covenant with Yaakov, “This stage is already behind us. As Yaakov, we have proved ourselves brilliantly”. In recognition of the opening of the ghettos and the unprecedented freedom and opportunity of Western European Jews, he felt that “Now we are facing the test of the second stage Isaac Covenant; to walk, free and independent among the nations, not to fear to be different, and to remain undeterred by envy. . . a test we still have to pass. Only then can we look forward to the last stage of Golus, in which we will win the respect of the Nations not although we are Jews, but because we are Jews . . ."

In hindsight, it is so bitter to know that this hope was tragically premature, specifically in Germany...

It should be clear to anyone with a clear view of the amazing times we live in that we are in an intermediate stage. Some call it Ikvasa D’Meshicha. Some call it Aschalta D’Geula. Rav Hirsch says that Hashem called it “Bris Yitzchak” – the Isaac Covenant.

Nevertheless, it is clear to me that we truly live in the Yitzchak age in our time. With the unprecedented wealth, power, and influence of Jews throughout the world, with the amazing resurgence and rebirth of observant Judaism, and most of all, with the great gift that is Medinat Yisrael, we have passed into a different relationship vis a vis the Nations of the world.

This essay is long already, but my prime contention is this: There are not only two binary states, namely Golus and Geulah, Exile and redemption. It should be clear to anyone with a clear view of the amazing times we live in that we are in an intermediate stage. Some call it Ikvasa D’Meshicha. Some call it Aschalta D’Geula. Rav Hirsch says that Hashem called it “Bris Yitzchak” – the Isaac Covenant.

It is a time when Jews – very much including Orthodox Jews – have reached unheard of levels of wealth, power, and influence in the countries they live in. They are very prominent among the leaders in business, government, science, academia, culture and the entertainment industry (a mixed blessing). The Torah world is flourishing as it has not in thousands of years, with hundreds of thousands learning at advanced levels, a massive proliferation of yeshivos, kollelim, Bais Yaakovs and seminaries. We live in a time of hundreds of thousands celebrating the Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi, endless availability of kosher food, and a thousand other indicia of a Golus far different than the bad old days of Poland, Galicia, and Iraq.

Moreover, without getting into the debates about the religious significance of the State of Israel, one cannot deny the miracles that are evident there every day. A strong army and security forces protecting Jews as never before. The economy, high-tech industry, infrastructure, science, and culture that have been developed in a nation of survivors after merely 70 years is nothing short of miraculous. And with all the problems, the level of Torah learning and observance dwarfs all of the major accomplishments in America and elsewhere and, again, is a vastly different type of Golus than in the bad old days of Lithuania and Ukraine.

It is the Isaac Covenant – a new and different Golus. It is a time when we must follow the way of our Patriarch Yitzchak, and only thus get through this singularly exciting, promising, and yet challenging time. It requires strength, courage, and fearlessness to face the unbelievable opportunities we have and not run from them.

It is well known that there are two possible modes of the Messianic arrival, represented by the words of Yeshaya בעיתה אחישנה, "I will hasten it, in its time".  if we merit it, it will come quickly, if we do not, it will come in its time, developing (in the words of Rabbi Hiya) קמעא קמעא - a little bit at a time.  It is plain to me that the second mode is what has been developing in Eretz Yisrael for the past one hundred years at least.

And it is a time to recognize that Hashem is waiting for us to embrace the gift that He has given us. It is time to recognize that the time that Jews were welcome and tolerated in America may be coming to a close, as we always knew it would someday. It is a time to heed the words of Rav Yehuda HaLevi in the Kuzari (2:24) and not follow the unfortunate example of the Jews who, rather than returning to Eretz Yisrael with Ezra, decided to stay in Babylon, and ignored the “knocks of G-d” in which he called on us to come back home. It is a mistake to think that everything will be exactly the same, and one day Mashiach will appear out of the blue and call us back. Although that was one possible scenario, it is quite clear that the other one is unfolding, in which the Geulah is opening up a little at a time.

Finally, I deeply believe that underlying many of the deep problems in the frum world is that in many quarters there is too much insistence on pretending that the same approaches to the problems we face - be it in relations with non-Jews, Chinuch, attitudes towards money, openness to the outside world, relations with Arabs in Eretz Yisrael - will work despite living in a vastly different world a hundred and more years ago. If only it would advise our entire approach to the world in the time we are privileged to live in - if our decisions would be based not on attitudes developed in a world that is no more, but in our current status - I believe that many of our problems in Klal Yisroel would be greatly alleviated.

It is time to recognize not that Golus is over, but that we have entered a new and different stage, which requires different responses than in the past. It is time to come home.

Published in the Jewish Press May 27, 2022