Thursday, November 10, 2005

LESSONS IN TANYA: Friday, November 11, 2005

B"H

Cheshvan 9, 5766 * November 11, 2005

===============================
L E S S O N S I N T A N Y A
===============================

Today's Lesson:

Iggeret HaKodesh
(Middle of Epistle Twenty-Six)
------------------------------

Now, the celestial beings [i.e., the souls and angels in the higher worlds] do not have the power to disencumber and elevate that which is in kelipat nogah [i.e., the sparks that are exiled there] as a result of the "breaking of the vessels."

Only the terrestrial beings, [the souls situated in this world, can do this], for they are vested in a material body that is known as the "hide of the serpent," which derives from kelipat nogah.

[As explained above, when this concept appeared in ch. 31 of Tanya (quoting the Zohar [61]), the "serpent" refers to the "three utterly impure kelipot," while the body that derives its vitality from kelipat nogah is called the "hide of the serpent." [62]

These [embodied souls] weaken its strength, [the strength of this kelipah], by crushing the passions, thereby subjugating the sitra achra, so that [63] "all the workers of evil [i.e., the kelipot] will be dispersed."

[Thus, only souls in this world are able to extract the holy sparks from the kelipot and elevate them. For this reason, they alone are able to elevate the Chochmah of Torah which the kelipot obscure.]

This is why the celestial beings, [the souls of the higher worlds], come to hear innovative insights into the Torah from the terrestrial beings, [64] [from the souls here in this world - to hear] the secrets of wisdom which they innovate and reveal, and which until this time had been in bondage in exile.

Every Jew is able to reveal secrets of wisdom, (to reveal) and to discover a new insight, whether it be in the laws or in homiletics, in the re-vealed or in the mystical [planes of the Torah], [65] according to the nature of his soul's root, [and its consequent affinity with each of the above categories of the Torah].

Indeed, one is obliged to do so - [to uncover hitherto concealed insights into the Torah, and to reveal the secrets of wisdom], in order to perfect his soul by elevating all the sparks that have been allotted to it, as is known. [66]

(Moreover, every Torah teaching, and especially a halachic teaching, is a spark of the Shechinah, which is the word of G-d. In the words of the Gemara, [67] "The phrase `word of G-d' denotes the Halachah." This accords with the Kabbalistic principle regarding Malchut of Atzilut which garbs the Chochmah of Atzilut, [both of] which are vested in Malchut of Yetzirah, and with the "breaking of the vessels" they descended into kelipat nogah.)

[The words of Torah in general, and particularly the halachic "word of G-d," are thus exiled within the kelipot that conceal them. Accordingly, a scholar who brings to light a teaching long hidden in the Torah or who resolves a problematic query and thereby clearly articulates a particular law, releases the pertinent spark of the Shechinah from the kelipot].

Thus the Gemara teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, says of whoever engages in the study of the Torah..., [68] "I account it as if he had redeemed Me and My children from among the nations of the world."

[For Torah study redeems the sparks of the Shechinah - the sparks of the "word of G-d" - from their exile within the kelipot].

Footnotes:

61. Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun XXI (p. 48b).
62. This is explained at length in the maamar entitled
VaTipakach-nah by the Tzemach Tzedek, in Sefer HaChakirah,
p. 136.
63. Tehillim 92:10.
64. Cf. Zohar III, 173a.
65. Note of the Rebbe: "I.e., in all of the above
categories, each with its own singular quality."
66. Note of the Rebbe: "See Hilchot Talmud Torah of the
Alter Rebbe, ch.1, end of sec. 4 (and sources cited there in
the Kehot edition)."
67. Shabbat 138b.
68. Berachot 8a.

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DAILY MITZVAH (Maimonides): Friday, November 11, 2005

B"H

Cheshvan 9, 5766 * November 11, 2005

==================================================
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
==================================================

Today's Mitzvot (Day 70 of 339):

Positive Mitzvah 213
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Positive Mitzvah 213: Marriage

-Deuteronomy 24:1 "When a man takes a wife and marries her"

The groom is commanded to marry and live with his wife according
to the law of the Torah.

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"TODAY'S DAY": Friday, November 11, 2005

B"H

Cheshvan 9, 5766 * November 11, 2005

=======================
"T O D A Y ' S D A Y"
=======================

Sunday, Cheshvan 9 5704

Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayeira, first Parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 49-54.
Tanya: Now, the celestial (p. 559)...nations of the
world."(p. 561).

When my father was four or five years old he went to his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, on Shabbat Vayeira, and began to cry as he asked, "Why did G-d show Himself to our father Avraham - but He does not show Himself to us?"

The Tzemach Tzedek answered him: "When a Tzadik decides at the age of ninety-nine years that he should be circumcised, he deserves that G-d appear to him." (1)

Footnote: 1. Viz. Likutei Sichot Vol. 1, p. 23 et seq.,
Vol. 5, p. 86 et seq., p. 321 et seq.,
Vol. 15 p. 129 et seq.

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Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. Note: day of week and Torah lessons indicated are from 5703 (1943).

For a glossary of terms used in "Today's Day" please click here:
http://chabad.org/article.asp?AID=95867

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TODAY IN JUDAISM: Friday, November 11, 2005

B"H

Cheshvan 9, 5766 * November 11, 2005

=================================
T O D A Y I N J U D A I S M
=================================

* Laws * Customs * Jewish History * Daily Quote * Daily Study *

Today is: Friday, Cheshvan 9, 5766

=======================
Today in Jewish History
=======================

• Passing of Rosh (1327)

The life and influence of Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel, known by the acronym "Rosh", straddled the two great spheres of the Jewish diaspora of his time, the Ashkenazic (Franco-German) and the Sephardic (Spanish-Mediterranean) communities. Born approximately 1250 in Western Germany, Rabbi Asher studied under the famed Tosaphist Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, fathered eight sons, and authored one of the earliest codifications of Jewish law. In mid-life he fled the persecutions of medieval Christian Europe, settling in Spain where Jews prospered materially and Jewish learning flourished in the Spanish Golden Age.

Though a penniless exile and newcomer, Rabbi Asher's genius and erudition quickly earned him a position of prestige and influence. In 1304 he was invited to to serve as the spiritual leader of the Jews of Toledo, where he established a Talmudic academy and transplanted the Ashkenazic Tosaphists' system of Talmudic interpretation and analysis. He also introduced the traditionalism and piety of the early Ashkenazic "Chassidim" (reversing the secularist trends in certain segments of Sephardic Jewry).

Rabbi Asher passed away in Toledo on Cheshvan 9 of the year 5088 from creation (1327 of the Common Era).

===========
Daily Quote
===========

The progeny of Abraham are likened to the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16), and to the stars of the heavens (Genesis 15:5). For when they fall they fall as low as dust, and when they rise they rise as high as the stars...

- The Midrash

===========
Daily Study
===========

Chitas and Rambam for today:

Chumash: Lech-Lecha, 6th Portion Bereishit 15:7-17:6 with Rashi
• English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/rashi/default.asp?tDate=11/11/2005&src=ds

Tehillim: Chapters 49 - 54
• Hebrew text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=11/11/2005&Lang=HEB
• English text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=11/11/2005

Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 26
• Lesson in Tanya:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tDate=11/11/2005
• RealAudio:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=11/11/2005&format=rm
• Windows Media:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=11/11/2005&format=m3u

Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp?tDate=11/11/2005
• 1 Chapter: Gezelah va'Avedah Chap. 1
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=11/11/2005&rambamChapters=1
• 3 Chapters: Ishshut Chap. 2, 3, 4
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=11/11/2005&rambamChapters=3

Hayom Yom:
• English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/hayomyom.asp?tDate=11/11/2005

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Parshat Lech Lecha

Parshat Lech Lecha

______________________________________________________

Learn total Judaism the Rebbe's way....today!
From beginners level up. Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim, Kfar Chabad.
See www.ohrtmimim.org for details and application.
______________________________________________________

The end of this week's portion tells us about the Covenant (Brit) of
Circumcision that G-d made with Abraham almost four thousand years ago.

Since then Jews have been making the same sign in the flesh of all their
male children as an eternal reminder that we too are G-d's people. The G-d
of Abraham.

As we say in the blessing before performing the circumcision:

"Blessed are You G-d.......who commanded to bring him (this Jewish child)
into the Covenant of AVRAHAM our patriarch"

But interestingly, the reason we do this commandment today is NOT because of
Abraham!

Since the Torah was given on Sinai (over four hundred years after Abraham's
brit) the Jews do circumcision ONLY because it was commanded by G-d to Moses
(Leviticus 12:3) (See Ramba'm on Mishna Chulin end perek 7)

This is not clear. If Abraham already did the commandment hundreds of years
earlier then why did G-d have to give it again at Sinai? And, conversely,
if the reason we circumcise is because of G-d's command to Moses then why to
we call it the 'Covenant of Abraham'?

To understand this here is a story.

Rabbi Kaminetski in Dnepropetrovsk Russia was a very busy man. Besides
having to direct the activities of his Chabad House; give Torah classes,
visit homes, encourage Judaism, overcome opposition, collect money, run his
schools and help as many Jews as possible both spiritually and physically he
also had to worry about his personal life; educating his children etc.

So it wasn't surprising that he had little patience for foolish requests.

For instance, once he was approached by a young gentile girl with a big
cross dangling around her neck who asked him to give her dying grandmother a
visit.

The girl explained that the old lady was over ninety years old, didn't have
a penny to her name, felt she was about to die and wanted a Jewish priest to
perform the last rites and, oh yes, she lived over two hours drive away!

When the Rabbi asked why she didn't just get a normal priest she answered
that the old lady hated them all because of something some priest did or
said to her some fifty years ago, so she said that a Rabbi would also do.
She added that her grandmother was also bit senile which also could explain
her strange request.

The Rabbi had no problem refusing: two hours drive for a demented gentile
lady was definitely not his line of work.

But he didn't say no immediately. He began asking the girl questions.
Perhaps she had seen her grandmother light candles on Friday or separate
milk and meat - something... anything Jewish? Maybe she once mentioned
something about Judaism?

But it was a dead end. There was nothing. It was clear as day; there were
some three hundred million gentiles in Russia and among them was this old
lady her daughter and granddaughter.

Rabbi Kaminetski apologized, explained that he was sorry but he didn't know
any Church rites, this was definitely NOT for him and bade her farewell and
that was the end of it.

But a week later the girl returned. This time she wasn't as easily dissuaded
as before.

She began speaking quietly but gradually raised her tone to weeping and
moaning. She had traveled two long hours and would never leave until he
fulfilled her precious grandmother's last request. He had to have mercy.
Only he could do it. The lady was dying!!

The Rabbi tried to make excuses but she just screamed louder. He tried to
reason with her but she wouldn't let him finish a sentence. He even
considered personally taking her to the local Church and introducing her to
a real Priest but it was all in vain. Her grandmother must have made her
crazy as well.

The Rabbi was stuck. He couldn't ignore or get rid of her. There were only
two choices; call the police and get her kicked off his property or give in.

But suddenly it dawned on him that the police wouldn't understand why he, a
man of 'the cloth' wouldn't give last rites to this heart-broken girl's
grandmother. And even if they did understand and did evict her, she would
certainly come back - perhaps every day!

He gave in. Who knows, maybe the old lady had a hidden stash of money to
give away, or maybe she had been an anti-Semite and wanted to repent on her
deathbed. In any case there was no way out.

They drove silently and two hours later they arrived at a large run down hut
in a typical Russian village. On the porch was sitting a very old woman in
an old stuffed living-room chair. She was no more than skin and bones with a
blanket covering most of her body and looked out of contact with the world.
But when she saw the bearded Rabbi her eyes lit up and filled with tears.
She began silently weeping.

The Rabbi walked up the few stairs and as he approached she looked deeply
into his eyes and began speaking....in Yiddish!

"My whole life I have been waiting for this moment," she said in a wavering
voice.

"I am a Jew!"

She hesitated, took out a handkerchief and wept aloud.

"When I was nine, my parents were killed in a pogrom, and I was put in a
Church orphanage. One nun there once told me that I must never tell anyone I
am Jewish because all Jews get killed. Now I am ninety-six, that's right,
ninety-six years old, and my entire life I have been keeping this secret,
even from my children."

The Rabbi was surprised but a thought flashed through his mind; It could be
that she had once worked in a Jewish home and learned Yiddish. Now she's
senile; she's crazy and thinks she's Jewish.

"I know what you are thinking," She interrupted his thoughts, "You're
thinking that maybe I'm not Jewish, right? Well you should know that I
remember how my mother would light the candles and make a Brocha (blessing)
before Shabbos; Boruch Ataw etc." (and she repeated the blessing). "And my
father would put on T'filin and a Tallis and daven in Shul in the weekdays.
And she repeated some more details."

She paused for a few minutes, dried her eyes again and continued.

"My whole life I have been repeating these things because I was afraid that
I would forget them. See, I remembered! But I didn't tell my daughter
because I didn't know how to explain it.

"Now I want you to tell her and my granddaughter that they are Jewish too,
so that they will remember. Will you do that Rabbi? And teach them what it
means to be Jewish. Then I will be happy."

This is what we got from Abraham; eternal Jewish identity.

The woman in our story felt only the smallest spark of it and it was enough
to keep a flame burning in her all her life that she wanted to pass on to
her daughter and daughter's daughter; despite the fact that she had been
separated from all Jews all that time and had only bad experiences of
Judaism from the Pogroms.

Like Abraham, she felt like the FIRST Jew; alone, connected to the Creator
of the Universe and His Torah above reason (despite all obstacles) and
wanting to improve as much as possible of the world as she could.

But Abraham's covenant, because it was before the Torah, only had the power
to affect the Jews, not the entire world, permanently.

Through the Torah it was given the power to change the entire creation and
fulfill what G-d promised to Abram upon giving him this commandment and
changing his name to Abraham: " I have made you the Father of myriads of
nations." (17:4)

This will be fulfilled, as Abraham saw in his vision (see Rashi 15:11),
through Moshiach.

Moshiach will arouse Abraham's offspring, those who bear his mark of the
brit, to, in turn, arouse all people in the world; Myriads of nations, to
worship ONLY the Creator (through the seven Noahide commandments).

That is exactly what the Lubavitcher Rebbe said time and time again:

Each and every Jew, has the power to change himself and the entire world.
The power of G-d's promise to Abraham and to Moses, to bring....

Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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ONCE UPON A CHASID: Living With The Times (Lech-Lecha)

B"H

Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

===================================
O N C E U P O N A C H A S I D
===================================

Parshat Lech-Lecha
------------------

The Section of Lech-Lecha (chapters 12-17)

In 1941, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch related an experience of over 50 years earlier, when he was a child of eleven:

* * *

Living With The Times
---------------------

It was early in the morning of the Shabbos in which the Torah portion of Lech-Lecha is read, before the morning prayers, when I entered my father's room. I found him sitting at his table in very high spirits, reviewing the Torah reading of the week. Tears were streaming from his eyes. I was very confused, for I was unable to understand how the two come together - an elated mood and tears - but I didn't dare to ask.

That Shabbos, as every Shabbos, father prayed till late. As was his custom during winter Shabosos, he made kiddush after praying and then went to pray mincha. After mincha, shortly before sunset, he sat to the Shabbos meal.

After Shabbos, father would test me on what I had studied during the week and on the mishnayos I had reviewed by heart. If he was satisfied, he would present to me a gift: either a story, whose moral he would point out and explain, or a manuscript of a maamer (discourse of chassidic teaching). This was the arrangement in winter of 1890-1.

The same took place the evening following that Shabbos Lech-Lecha: Father tested me and then gave me the discourse 'Ner Chanukah 5643' as a gift. I very much wanted to know why father had been crying, and yet in such an elevated mood, while reviewing the Torah portion that morning. I stood there in confusion, unable to decide whether I should ask or not.

Father noticed my confusion said to me: "Why do you stand there like that? If you wish to say something, say it..." I decided to ask.

Father answered me:

"Those were tears of joy."

He explained: "Once, in the early years of his leadership, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi told his chassidim: 'One must live with the times.'

"The younger chassidim asked the older ones what the Rebbe's statement meant. The elders discused the matter between themselves. (Years later, Rabbi Schneur Zalman's son and successor, Rabbi DovBer, was to elaborate on this saying in his unique style of 'binah' - a broad, comprehensive treatment of his father's nuggets of wisdom. But when Rabbi Schneur Zalman first said these words, even the great chassidim struggled to understand their meaning.) Finally, Rabbi Schneur Zalman's brother, our great-uncle Rabbi Yehudah Leib, explained what the Rebbe meant.

" 'One must live with the times' means that every day one should 'live with' and experience in one's own life the Torah portion of the week and the specific section of the week's portion which is connected to that day.

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CHASSIDIC DIMENSION: Two Forms of Tithing (Lech-Lecha)

B"H

Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

=============================================
T H E C H A S S I D I C D I M E N S I O N
=============================================

Parshat Lech-Lecha
------------------

Two Forms of Tithing
- - - - - - - - - - -

In recounting the mitzvos that existed prior to the giving of the Torah, the Rambam writes: “Yitzchak gave ma’aser, [Yitzchak tithed.]” But there is an explicit verse in Lech Lecha that states: “He [Avraham] gave him [Malki-Tzedek] ma’aser from everything.”

Why does the Rambam write that “Yitzchak gave ma’aser,” implying as it does that Yitzchak was the first person about whom the Torah relates that he gave ma’aser?

This is because according to the Rambam, Avraham’s ma’aser applied specifically to the spoils of battle. Since we do not find that Avraham gave ma’aser at any other time, it follows that this ma’aser was similar to the “Dedication of a Portion of the Spoils” after the battle with Midian — a one-time commandment.

The Rambam therefore states that “Yitzchak gave ma’aser,” inasmuch as Yitzchak was the first person who gave the type of ma’aser that is a mitzvah for all generations.

And though “Avraham fulfilled the entire Torah prior to its being given,” nevertheless, the Rambam refers only to those mitzvos that the Torah actually mentions.

What indeed is the difference between the mitzvos mentioned regarding each of the Patriarchs, and those performed as part of their keeping “the entire Torah”?

The mitzvos that are specifically mentioned were performed by the Patriarchs as part of their unique manner of spiritual service. Thus, the services mentioned as being performed by Avraham relate to his attribute of love and kindness, while the services specifically mentioned as being performed by Yitzchak and Yaakov relate to their attributes of severity and mercy.

The other mitzvos, however, were also performed by each Patriarch, for they were included within each Patriarch’s primary attribute. Thus Avraham, for example, performed the other mitzvos because severity and mercy are also encompassed within kindness.

Yet another difference: Those mitzvos that are mentioned as being performed by a specific Patriarch served primarily as an empowerment to their descendants and to the mitzvos that we fulfill after the Torah was given.

This is why the Rambam ascribes only circumcision and the morning prayer to Avraham, notwithstanding the fact that he performed all the mitzvos, for these mitzvos are presently still related to Avraham, inasmuch as he empowered us to perform them.

In light of the above, it is understood that the primary empowerment for the mitzvah of ma’aser is derived from Yitzchak and not from Avraham.

But since tithing is essentially a benevolent act, shouldn’t it be in the domain of Avraham (who represents the attribute of kindness) and not of Yitzchak (the attribute of severity)?

The underlying concept of ma’aser is that everything a Jew earns and possesses belongs to G-d. A person must therefore first give away a tenth and only afterwards use the rest.

Although this is the general intent of ma’aser, we nevertheless find that ma’aser possesses two opposite qualities:

On the one hand, ma’aser can be given from any part of the whole, indicating that prior to the giving, the entire amount is wholly the giver’s. On the other hand, even prior to his tithing, a tenth has already been earmarked to be given away — the giver has no control over how much he will give.

Ma’aser thus not only emphasizes that everything belongs to G-d, but also that His ownership extends even to that which seemingly belongs entirely to the person.

The above aspect of ma’aser has a special relationship to the service of Yitzchak, the service of fire and severity, which entails rising from below to above. For it was specifically Yitzchak’s manner of service that made it possible to take something on a lowly level and, while retaining its lowly properties, elevate it to a higher level.

Ma’aser is therefore related to Yitzchak, for this manner of service is reflected in ma’aser, wherein man’s possessions, while still truly belonging to him, concurrently belong to G-d.

(Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V, pp. 68-72.)

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GARDEN OF TORAH: Avram's Odyssey (Lech-Lecha)

B"H

Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

===================================================
I N T H E G A R D E N O F T H E T O R A H
===================================================

Parshat Lech-Lecha
------------------

A Journey To One’s Self: Avram’s Odyssey
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. What the Torah Chooses to Highlight

Every child knows the story of Avraham — how he discovered G-d as a lad, broke his father’s idols, was thrown into the furnace by Nimrod and saved by G-d.

None of these details, however, can be found in the Written Torah. The Torah mentions Avraham only briefly at the close of Parshas Noach, telling us that he was born, that he married, and that he accompanied his father on his journey from Ur towards Canaan. But the focus of these verses is on Terach, not on Avraham. It is only in Parshas Lech Lecha, with the command, “Go out of your land, your native country, and your father’s house,” that the Torah begins unfolding the history of the founder of our people.

Why this emphasis? Before receiving this command to leave his father’s house, Avraham had already attained a high level of Divine service. He had “recognized his Creator” at three, and from that age onward continued to grow in faith. He had been willing to sacrifice his life for G-d, and a miracle was performed to save him.

All this, however, represented merely his own striving to approach G-d. The command Lech Lecha, “Go out of your land,” began a new and deeper relationship with his Maker. For as our Sages state: “A person who observes a mitzvah because he is commanded to do so is greater than one who observes it without having been so commanded.”

The Hebrew word “mitzvah” and the word “tzavta”, meaning “together,” share the same root. When a person fulfills a divine command because he has been commanded to do so, the act connects him to G-d in all His infinity. Were, by contrast, the person to perform the same deed without having been commanded to do so, the act, however worthy, would remain merely a good deed.

This is implied by the command, “Go out.” Avraham was commanded to travel beyond his limited frame of reference and establish an unlimited connection with G-d. By doing so, he defined the constantly flowering nature of the link between G-d and the Jewish people for all time. Our connection to G-d is not dependent on our love, understanding or belief, but comes as a response to G-d’s initiative.

Our Rabbis underscore this concept, stating that Avraham’s service anticipated the bond with G-d made possible for everyone by the giving of the Torah.

2. New Vistas

Lech also means, “proceed,” referring to the beginning of a journey. This concept is alluded to in the Torah’s description of Avraham “continuing on his way, steadily progressing southward,” i.e., in the direction of Jerusalem, the place where G-d’s presence is most manifest.

Real spiritual progress requires that one leave one’s current state behind. Yet as long as an individual’s growth depends entirely on his own power, his progress will be limited; nobody can exceed the bounds of his own understanding. When, by contrast, one’s progress is guided by G-d, there are no limits to the potential for growth. The Torah and its mitzvos can take a person far beyond his natural horizons. To accentuate this point, G-d tells Avraham to proceed “to the land which I will show you,” without specifying a destination.

3. Self-discovery

The expression “I will show you,” “ar’ecka” in Hebrew, can also be rendered “I will reveal you,” i.e., through the journey to Eretz Yisrael, Avraham’s true self was revealed to him. This is also indicated by the expression Lech Lecha, which literally means “go to yourself,” i.e., “to your essence.”

Avraham’s willingness to put his individual will on the side and respond to G-d’s command allowed a more direct connection between the Creator and the created. And in the process, a boundless potential was unleashed, for every Jew’s soul is “an actual part of G-d.” This is the essence of every man’s spiritual journey: to transcend his ordinary way of thinking, and to tap this G-dly core.

As we proceed through life, each of us is given the chance to discover who he is, what G-d is, and that the two are one.

4. Passing Through Shadows

In the course of one’s spiritual travels, a person encounters situations which can only be overcome with a struggle, and which may even cause one to fall. Nevertheless, since all phases of life’s journey are guided by Divine Providence, we must realize that the purpose of every experience is positive. Even when we fall, we are being given an opportunity - to borrow an expression from our Sages - to descend in order to ascend.

Why must a person face such challenges? Two reasons are given:

a) To bring out the power of one’s soul. As long as a person remains untested, he can “get by” without having to tap his core. When, by contrast, one faces a fundamental challenge, it becomes necessary to call upon one’s spiritual resources in order to succeed.

b) In the process of overcoming a challenge, a person recognizes and thus elevates the sparks of G-dliness contained therein. For all existence is maintained by G-d’s creative energy; that energy is hidden within the world’ s material substance. As a result of this “hiddeness,” challenges arise. By overcoming these challenges, a human reveals the true G-dly nature of existence.

Avraham’s spiritual journey contained such challenges. Shortly after he entered Eretz Yisrael, he was forced to descend to Egypt, described as “the nakedness of the land.” The very name of the land, mitzrayim, is related to the word meitzarim, meaning “boundaries” or “limitations.”

And yet even Avraham’s descent brought him blessing. He left Egypt “very rich in cattle, in silver, and gold.” Moreover, this wealth came from spiritual effort; Avraham had elevated some of the sparks of G-dliness invested in that country.

5. To Journey With Others

A person’s spiritual quest should not be a lonely journey. On the contrary, one of the hallmarks of personal development is an increasing capacity to inspire others. Avraham surely gained such an ability, as our Sages comment with regard to the verse, “And he called in the name of the G-d of the
universe”: “Do not read trehu (‘And he called’), read threhu (‘And he had others call’).”

This concept is also reflected in the changing of his name from Avram to Avraham. Rashi explains that Avram implies merely “father of Aram,” while Avraham alludes to the Hebrew words meaning “father of many nations.” The change implies that Avraham had been given the potential to inspire and influence all the nations of the world to begin striving toward spiritual goals.

6. A Sign in Our Flesh

Significantly, Avraham was given this name in connection with the mitzvah of circumcision. Circumcision - an act which affects the most basic physical aspect of our being, demonstrates that our spiritual quest is not an attempt to escape worldly reality, but is rather an attempt to refine it. Circumcision represents a “covenant in the flesh,” and endows even our physical bodies with sanctity.

7. The Promise of Eretz Yisrael

The above concepts enable us to appreciate why the promise of Eretz Yisrael to Avraham’s descendants is mentioned in connection with circumcision. Circumcision reflects the unification of the spiritual and the physical in one’s person, while the relationship between the Jews and Eretz Yisrael reflects a unification of spirituality and physicality in the world at large.

In this sense, the attainment of physical Eretz Yisrael represents the culmination of Avraham’s spiritual journey. For the most complete departure from any cultural environment is reflected in the transformation of that environment. Thus the fulfillment of G-d’s command for Avraham to break the chains of material existence (Lech Lecha) comes about as his descendants struggle to transform Eretz Yisrael into a dwelling fit for G-d.

The promise of Eretz Yisrael will not truly be fulfilled until the Era of the Redemption. In that sense, the journey that began with the command Lech Lecha remains an ongoing mission for all of Avraham’s descendants. Until the coming of Mashiach, we must be constantly exceeding our spiritual limitations, striving to bring ourselves and our environment to fulfillment.

(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V, p. 57ff; Vol. XX, p. 59ff, p. 301ff; Vol. XXV, p. 52; Sefer HaSichos 5750, p. 96ff.)

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FRIDAY NIGHT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: Destination (Lech-Lecha)

B"H

Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

=========================================================
F R I D A Y N I G H T F O R Y O U N G P E O P L E
=========================================================

Parshat Lech-Lecha
------------------

Destination
- - - - - -

“I love parties,” Rachel thought, as she walked across the playground towards her friends in Year 10 during break. Today was her younger sister Sara’s birthday party.

At the other end of the playground, Sara was standing with her best friend Dina. “Guess what,” Sara whispered to her. “My big sister Rachel is going to be leading the games at my party this evening.” Her other friends from Year 7 gathered round and she told them too.

They all like Rachel and when they heard she was going to be the leader of the party they were pleased. Then the bell rang for lessons. Sara felt good, and actually had an unusually enjoyable day in school.

That evening, in the home of the two sisters, a bunch of Year 7 girls from their own school and also some of Sara’s other friends gathered expectantly.

“The game we are going play,” said Rachel “is about going to an unknown destination. Each girl in turn will be blindfolded and turned round and round so she doesn’t know which way she is facing. Then the others choose a destination somewhere in the rooms on this floor of the house, where they put a prize.”

Rachel pointed to a row of prizes wrapped in red and gold paper with ribbons, which she had prepared for the party. “The girl starts moving and everyone has to guide her to the prize, but they will only be allowed to guide her using the words warm, hot and cold. When she reaches the destination she gets the prize. The game is called Destination after the subject of the beginning of this week’s Sedra.”

“What does this game have to do with the Sedra?” asked the girls.

“Good question” Rachel said. “Can any one tell me what happens in this week’s Sedra?”

“Abraham leaves his home and goes to Israel” they called out. “Did he know where he was going when he set off?” asked Rachel.

“No. G-d said go to the land which I will show you. G-d showed him where to go,” answered Sara. “So it’s the same thing in this game” said Rachel. “The person with the blindfold has to go to their destination, the Promised Land and the prize. But they don’t know exactly where it is. So they have to listen to the clues from the others.”

“Like Abraham following instructions from G-d” said Sara. “And maybe that’s like life as well,” she added pensively. “After all, next birthday she would be Bat Mitzvah. We are going on a journey, following clues from G-d, which are all in the Torah.”

“Well, Sara,” said her sister. “That sounds very good. The first Sara went with her husband Abraham, and you are named after her. G-d told them to go from your land, from your birth place and from your father’s house, to a land which I will show you. They went, following G-d’s instructions, and they came to the Land of Israel.”

Sara smiled and added, “That was a beautiful prize!”

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FOR FRIDAY NIGHT: The Transformation (Lech-Lecha)

B"H

Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

===============================
F O R F R I D A Y N I G H T
===============================

Parshat Lech-Lecha
------------------

The Transformation
- - - - - - - - - -

Abraham is often described as the first Jew, the first person to acquire the special relationship with G-d which characterizes the Jewish people. A non-Jew who recognizes G-d and who keeps the Seven Noachide Laws in his or her daily life can inherit the World to Come and is termed a Righteous Gentile; but a Jew represents something different.

For this reason we say in the blessings on the Torah which both men and women should recite every morning: Blessed are You, L-rd, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has chosen us from all nations....

To be chosen is a very controversial idea. What is so special about a Jew? The Jew is chosen for a special task: to make the physical world holy. Every human being has the potential to recognize G-dliness in the spiritual and to live according to G-dly rules as an ethical and moral person. The Jew has also an extra responsibility: to bring holiness into the physical world as well. He or she achieves this through the practical Commands of the Torah which concern Jewish issues such as the Mezuzah on the door and kosher food in a kosher kitchen.

The story of Abraham's life tells us of a gradual transformation from the status of a totally righteous person observing the Seven Noachide Laws to that of a Jew. In this process a key event was the Covenant of Circumcision, which is in our Sedra1.

When Abraham was ninety nine years old G-d appeared to him and said to him: Walk before Me and be perfect. I will give you My Covenant. you shall circumcise every male... at eight days old2.

What is the significance of Circumcision? One way of understanding it is in terms of its opposite. The ancient Greeks followed a cult of the physical body. When they oppressed the Jews in the time of the Macabbees they banned Circumcision. The Sages tell us about Jews who had unfortunately adopted the Greek view of life and who tried to hide the fact that they were circumcised.

Circumcision, Brit Milah, means the recognition that the physical body in itself is not the sole key to happiness. When a Divine ingredient is added, the Command of Circumcision, then the body can become a route to holiness and fulfillment.

Although only the male is circumcised, the Covenant with our ancestor Abraham grants all Jews today, both men and women, the power to reveal G-dliness in physicality, through the many laws of the Torah which concern the practical world. Through these we fulfill our chief purpose in life: to make the world a dwelling for the Divine.

When G-d gave Abraham the Covenant of Circumcision, He also told him that his name would be changed from Abram to Abraham, and his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah. They had both acquired a new identity. Then from their union, Isaac was born, ancestor of the Jewish people.

For a male, this state of sanctity has to be attained by a physical operation. The Talmud tells us that a female from birth is considered circumcised. The more aggressive male has to be changed, physically, in order to become holy.

The mother of the baby bears the brunt of the anxiety during the brief operation, which is hardly more troublesome than a routine blood-test. Perhaps her willingness to do so, through the ages, expresses her personal share in the Covenant which transformed Abraham and his wife Sarah into the first Jewish couple, and the Jewish people into the nation with the task to change the world.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis chs.12-17.
2. Gen. 17:2, 10-12.

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DAILY DOSE: Forgetting to Learn

B"H

Forgetting to Learn
-------------------

Learning is not the mere acquisition of knowledge and more knowledge. Learning is a process of making quantum leaps beyond the subjective self. No matter how high a summit you may reach, there is always another peak above.

But you can only reach that peak once you realize you are still in the valley.

The Talmud tells of Rabbi Zera, who fasted one hundred fasts to forget all the Torah he had learned in Babylonia before going to study the Torah of the land of Israel.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Cheshvan 8, 5766 * November 10, 2005

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Rebbe-Moshiach-G-d?

B"H
This article is being revised. Check back later.
For more on the subject of theomorphism see http://rebbegod.blogspot.com/2006/01/rebbegod-blog-faq.html

A7news: Peres Loses Again, Amir Peretz New Labor Party Leader

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Peres Loses Again, Amir Peretz New Labor Party Leader
Amir Peretz, head of the Histadrut Labor Union who left Labor to found the small One Nation party before returning to Labor, eked out a surprise victory over Shimon Peres, and is Labor's new leader.
Full Story Below

Headlines:
 1. Peres Loses Again, Amir Peretz New Labor Party Leader
 2. PA Figures and Israeli-Arabs Killed in Jordan Blasts
 3. Thousands Gather Under "Won't Forget, Won't Forgive" Banner
 4. Supreme Court: Expellees Must be Paid
 5. MK Avital: A Kinder, Gentler Eviction
 6. Arab Killed in Jerusalem Rioting
 7. The Largest Nazi Pogrom Before the Holocaust

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Editor: Hillel Fendel
Thursday, November 10, 2005
8 Cheshvan 5766

 

1. Peres Loses Again, Amir Peretz New Labor Party Leader
By Hillel Fendel

Amir Peretz, head of the Histadrut Labor Union who left Labor to found the small One Nation party before returning to Labor, eked out a surprise victory over Shimon Peres, and is Labor's new leader.

The race for Labor Party Chairman was too close to call for most of the night, but was finally decided early this morning by a small margin of 2.4%. The final results:
Amir Peretz - 42.35%
Shimon Peres - 39.96%
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer - 16.8%

Peretz pulled off a surprise victory after polls throughout the campaign showed him trailing Peres by a significant margin. It had been widely believed - apparently correctly - that Peretz's well-oiled Histadrut machine would help him make up some of that margin by bringing out voters who might otherwise not have shown up.

Peres said this early morning that he would ask the party to investigate charges of vote-tampering in the Peretz camp. "There are real suspicions of forgeries, pressures, and threats," he said. In an unprecedented act of omission, Peres did not call Peretz to congratulate him on his victory.

Peretz, in his victory speech, said that he would act immediately to remove Labor from the unity government with the Likud - one of the main issues on which he differed with Peres. Peretz added later, however, that he would consult with the party's Secretary-General (MK Eitan Cabel) and other party leaders to "decide on the best way in which to inform the Likud that we wish to separate."

When the polls closed last night at 8:30 PM, a major media drama began when the two leading radio stations produced diametrically-opposed projections. The Voice of Israel, commissioning Prof. Yitzchak Katz of Maagar Mohot (Brain Base), reported that Peretz would beat the incumbent Peres by a 46%-41% margin. Army Radio, on the other hand, utilizing the services of the Smith Institute, reported a large Peres victory - 52%-38% - over Peretz.

Peretz's victory is widely seen as the end of the current Knesset and the opening whistle of the national election campaign. Likud MK Gideon Saar said that Labor had chosen an "extreme left-winger on economic and diplomatic issues, who has absolutely no experience in running a country."

Shinui Party leader Tommy Lapid said that Peretz's victory put Labor on the extreme-left of Israel's political scene.

MK Effie Eitam (National Union) called upon Peretz to begin consultations with the opposition parties to determine an agreed-upon date for early elections. "The shake-up in Labor and the split in the Likud leave no doubt that the current government does not represent its voters or the will of the nation," Eitam said. "The left and right must work together to advance the elections."

The next national election is scheduled for a year from now, and Ariel Sharon has promised many times that the elections will not be moved up. Sources close to Sharon have been hinting of late that the Prime Minister is planning to start a new party in time for the elections.

Much of the Labor Party leadership did not support Peretz in the campaign. He called upon them this morning to "give me some leeway," and said that he would meet with them and try to convince them to quit the government.

Approximately 62% of Labor's 100,474 eligible voters cast their ballots in the Labor primaries. Worried that a low turnout would mean a Peretz victory, Peres requested that the polls be kept open for two extra hours - but received only a half-hour extension. He spent the last hours of the vote calling Labor Party members personally and asking them to go out and vote.

It is not yet known whether Peres, 82, who has become accustomed to losing elections, will retire from politics, or whether he will continue with "business as usual." His daughter said this morning that in her opinion, her father will not quit. "He is like the wind; he can't be stopped or closed up," she said.

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2. PA Figures and Israeli-Arabs Killed in Jordan Blasts
By Hillel Fendel

Among the victims of the three Wednesday night terrorist blasts in Jordan were one or two Israeli-Arabs and several Palestinian Authority officials.

The Israeli citizen was identified as 40-year-old Hussan Fathi Mahajani. His relatives left for Jordan this morning to identify the body. Another Arab resident of the Jerusalem area was also reported killed.

It was also reported that two senior figures of the Palestinian Authority security forces, other PA officials, and a brother of a PA legislature member were also killed.

Mahajani, from the city of Um El-Fahm, near Hadera, was killed in the Hyatt Hotel last night when one or more suicide terrorists blew themselves up. Two other simultaneous and similar attacks occurred in other hotels in the Jordanian capital, with a total of 67 people reported killed.

One of the PA figures killed was Bashir Nafa, head of the PA's Military Intelligence in Judea and Samaria, and an ally of Abu Mazen. He was imprisoned in Israel in the 1980's for his terrorist activities, and was expelled in 1988, together with Jibril Rajoub and others. He returned in 1994 after the Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority, and in 1999, he built up a terrorist militia that initiated violent riots in Ramallah in May 2000 and carried out shooting attacks at IDF soldiers.

Other PA bigwigs killed in Jordan were Abbed Aloun, the Director of the PA's Interior Ministry and a former PA security figure; Jihad Fatuh, a PA economic official stationed in Egypt; and Mussab Ahmed Huma, former Director of the PA's Communications Ministry.

In other Arab-Arab violence, at least 25 people are reported dead in Baghdad after a suicide terrorist detonated himself inside a restaurant. Yesterday, 13 Iraqi policemen and civilians were killed in a car bomb blast in Baghdad.

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3. Thousands Gather Under "Won't Forget, Won't Forgive" Banner
By Hillel Fendel

Thousands of people took part in a "We Won't Forget, We Won't Forgive" event in Jerusalem last night, billed as the kick-off of the campaign to save Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.


Among the speakers at the Binyanei HaUmah Convention Center were: Rabbis Zalman Melamed, Yaakov Yosef, David Druckman and Shalom Wolpe; former Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg, Atty. Elyakim HaEtzni, Noam Arnon, Baruch Marzel, Moshe Leshem and others.

Popular rock singer Ariel Zilber surprised the crowd by performing a song usually reserved for hareidi-religious audiences, known as "B'Shilton HaKofrim." The words are, "In the regime of heretics we do not believe, and their laws we do not consider. We will walk in the way of the Torah and sanctify G-d's Name. G-d is our King."

Film clips from the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron were shown, and plans were announced to establish a museum for Gush Katif. Certificates of honor were distributed to those who sat in jail for protesting the uprooting as well as soldiers who refused to take part in the disengagement.

Most of the speakers called for renewed momentum to settle parts of Judea and Samaria. Excerpts from some of the speeches:

Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed of Beit El, the Yesha Rabbis Council, and Yeshivat Beit El:
"These very days, there are those who continue to make additional plans of uprooting and destruction, and these must be countered in various ways... Several decades from now, people will not believe that after 50 years of existence of the State, a government in Israel uprooted dozens of communities, threw Jews out of their homes, and gave the enemy land on which to base itself so that it could attack us... Everyone who took part in the crime of the expulsion must know that he will be remembered in infamy... We are certain of the Master of the Universe that we will go from these troubles to times of blessing, when all of the Land of Israel will be only ours, just as G-d has promised us."

Former spokesman Sternberg [pictured] called upon youth not to enlist in the IDF "until the army returns to being the Israel Defense Forces," and not the expulsion forces. Addressing the youth, he said, "Smile and go to jail" if an illegal order is given. Sternberg said that he felt several months ago that protesting outside the Prime Minister's Office against the expulsion plan was a waste of time, and that the protests should have been directed against the army that was to carry it out.

Kiryat Motzkin Rabbi Druckman:
"Torah comes before everything, as every child in heder [school] knows. Just as the Baal Shem Tov's father wrote in his will, we must not fear anything in the world except for G-d. We must state clearly and strongly that the Land of Israel is all ours, and the Land, Torah and G-d of Israel are all one... We do not know what the future holds in store, and so we must strengthen ourselves in faith and mitzvot [Torah commandments], especially the two that the Lubavitcher Rebbe [promoted], tefillin and Sabbath candles."

Former right-wing Knesset Member Elyakim HaEtzni of Kiryat Arba: "The grandchildren of those who carried out the crime of expulsion will be ashamed of their grandparents. There can be no forgiveness for those who carried it out, or for those who gave the expelling forces black uniforms reminiscent of the Holocaust, or for those who showed the world that a Jewish house can be razed in a few minutes while an Arab house cannot be destroyed at all." He mocked the "love will conquer all" approach taken by part of the nationalist camp during the months leading up to the expulsion, saying it leads to a feeling that the country can simply move on to the next expulsion.
Earlier in the day, Arutz-7's Amatzia HaEitan spoke with Shai Gefen, one of the organizers of the event. Gefen said that the gathering's motto was, "Disengaging from the regime, re-connecting with the Nation." The event was designed to help prepare for the struggle for Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, "which has already started," Gefen said. He added that the public also needs an outlet for its strong feelings and to condemn those who carried out the expulsion. "Following this great crisis," Gefen said, "the People of Israel wish to be uplifted. Holding this gathering on the day on which we begin asking for rain [the 7th day of Heshvan] symbolizes our desire to enter a period of blessing."

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4. Supreme Court: Expellees Must be Paid
By Hillel Fendel

The Supreme Court ruled that the gov't may no longer withhold advance compensation payments to those thrown out of Katif/Shomron. Homeless residents told a Knesset Committee of their plight.


The High Court ruled today (Thursday) in favor of the homeless residents on a petition brought by Atty. Yossi Fuchs of the Land of Israel Legal Forum and several residents. They had maintained that though their requests for an advance compensation payment had been approved by the relevant committee, the Disengagement Authority suddenly added another condition that most of the former residents cannot meet: The Authority demanded that they sign a form stating they had left their former homes within 48 hours of having been ordered to do so.

Atty. Fuchs told the Court that the extra condition is illegal, as "most of the families owned a home there, and according to Clauses 32-43 of the Evacuation/Compensation Law, their right to compensation is absolute, regardless of when they left the area."

Fuchs said that the government came up with this new decree in the days preceding the High Holidays, "after dozens of families had already received the advance payment, even though they did not leave within the prescribed 48 hours."

The advance payments - 50,000 shekels (less than $11,000) - were designed, Fuchs said, "to help Israeli citizens who de facto became homeless refugees who do not even have winter clothing, who do not have jobs, and who will not receive their final compensation until the application process reaches the finish line."

The Court ruled that the government must pay the advance payments within seven days - and if not, Chief Justice Barak said, the residents should return to him.

In a Knesset Economics Committee session this week, Chairman Amnon Cohen (Shas) said that the "draconian bureaucracy" of the Disengagement Authority had brought some of the expellees to near-poverty.

Several expelled residents participated in the session, explaining how the uprooting had impoverished them.

Yehuda Gross, formerly of N'vei Dekalim, said that had lived in the area for 23 years, and owned a store for picture-frames and keys. "Just a half-year ago I finished paying the mortgage payments on the store," he said, "yet now I am not eligible for unemployment because I was self-employed. I did not even receive the 'adjustment' payment, because of all the procedures and bureaucracy... I don't even have winter coats or clothing for our children because if I open the container in which our belongings are packed, the insurance will be nullified - and the opening itself costs money."

Nachum Hadad, a grocery store owner from Nisanit, where he lived for 21 years, said, "I can't look at my children in the eye. I worked all my life, and suddenly I have become a welfare case, with welfare workers coming to see me. We exist today only from loans and gifts."

Guy Netanel of Nisanit said that he owned a sewing workshop where he employed 70 workers at the Erez Crossing, and that he began the process of trying to transfer it to Ashkelon a year ago - well before the expulsion. "Those attempts cost me more than I made all my life," he said, noting that he is now in debt to the tune of one million shekels. "I feel like a stranger in the country, even though I am an IDF officer who does 60 days of reserve duty a year."

Debbie Rosen lived in N'vei Dekalim for 20 years and served as a spokesperson for the Regional Council. "The Authority demanded that I produce 1st-grade report cards of my children as proof of how long I lived there," she told the Knesset committee. "Many of the expelled residents see no reason to get up in the morning, after having worked hard all their lives... The re-training courses being offered in Ashkelon are totally not appropriate," saying she is not quite cut out to be an electrician or a kashrut supervisor.

MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said that the Authority's demands for proof of residence are ridiculous: "The Authority is hooked up directly to the computers of the Interior Ministry and the Electric Company, and can easily find the information there." Meretz MK Avshalom Villan agreed as well that the bureaucracy was unnecessarily bothersome.

The Director of the Industry and Trade Ministry, Raanan Dinur, said his office is responsible for finding employment solutions for the evictees, "and we will accompany them until June 2006, or even longer, if necessary." He said that his office is dealing with 520 self-employed workers, 720 salaried workers, and 300 others who worked in Gush Katif but did not live there.

"We have a bank of 1,420 jobs," Dinur said, "and we are in the process of trying to match up jobs with workers - but we know that often the expellees are used to higher salaries than some of these jobs offer." Former farmers from Bdolach now living in the Nitzan pre-fab site say they are not willing to work ten-hour days in a factory and then come home with a tiny fraction of what they used to earn.

Committee Chairman Cohen said that people were forced to borrow gray-market money because of the "obtuseness of the Disengagement Authority." "The criteria for receiving compensation must be eased," he said, "and people should not be forced to bring grocery store receipts from years ago or their children's 3rd-grade report cards as proof of how many years they lived there... The government must pay unemployment even to those who are self-employed, since it was the one that closed their businesses."

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5. MK Avital: A Kinder, Gentler Eviction
By Ezra HaLevi

A new organization seeks to offer compensation to Jews on the “other” side of the separation fence to leave their homes. LaborMK Colette Avital spoke with Israel National Radio about the initiative.


After ambiguous signs reading "Don't Leave Israelis Behind the Fence" were set up along the main highway through Samaria, Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz & Yishai Fleisher interviewed Labor MK Colette Avital, whose name appeared on the web site printed on the signs.

The following is the interview with MK Avital, on topics ranging from her opposition to language describing the Disengagement as eviction, to her beliefs that the Oslo Accords were not a failure and that withdrawals will truly bring peace to the region:

Fleisher: MK Avital, maybe you can explain what Bayit Echad [the name of the organization –ed.] means to you…

MK Avital: It means "one home" - meaning we all have to live together in one big home – that is the philosophy. The reason for such an organization stems from the fact that a lot of people, in view of the Disengagement, are not living there [in Judea and Samaria –ed.] for ideological reasons, but for quality of life. Once the fence is completed, they will be outside - on the wrong side of the fence. They fear that they will not have the same level of security afterward and also do not know what their future will be – when they may be removed. They don’t know if they should continue their businesses and many of them want to move back within the Green Line [Israel's border before winning the 1967 Six Day War –ed.].

Fleisher: I am not sure how many people in Judea and Samaria are actually not there for ideological reasons. It happens to be that all the five biblical cities mentioned in this week’s Torah portion are within Judea and Samaria [and are wholly or partly cut off from mainland Israel by the partition fence – ed.].

MK Avital: I can distinguish in my own mind and heart between feelings and rationale. I know we are connected to these places historically and that our forefathers were there, but I belong to a group of people that have understood for many years that the only solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is to divide the land. Of course I would like our country to be as big as possible and to include all the places [where] we think we have roots, but realistically speaking I think that this is not going to happen…Where there are big clusters of settlements which we can include today into our borders, that will be done – but unfortunately there also are settlements in places that are very heavily populated by the Arab population. I believe in trying, even if I have to give up some of my rights. I prefer to know that these people will live within borders that are recognized, peaceful, and where they can live as a majority.

Stutz: What are you doing with Bayit Echad to help these people?

MK Avital: We are not going out and acting as missionaries - asking the people to leave or even asking to dismantle those settlements – that is not what we are doing now. We are coming to try to help those who say, ‘we do not want to be under pressure – our property now is going down the drain – we would like to take our own and lead our own lives and make the decision to come back…'

Stutz: How are you planning on helping these people?

MK Avital: First of all, we have tabled a proposal in Knesset, which would be more or less similar to the Evacuation/Compensation Law that compensated the people of Gush Katif. In other words, if someone comes to us and wants to move out, we are going to help him to get as much money from the government as possible.

Fleisher: Just a second. Before pushing ahead to get money for the Jews not yet evicted, how about helping out Jews who have already been evicted! I am amazed that Labor, which is a socially conscious movement, is not concerned that there are tons of people, still living in hotels, that have not yet received a penny.

MK Avital: I haven’t said that and I think that if these people didn’t get their money, it is a shame. We are working on it. Many of us meet with the people from the Disengagement Authority. You probably don’t know what we are doing, but we are doing. We visit some of these people in their hotels. We are working with them and speaking with them. I myself am speaking a lot with the Minister of Housing, who happens to be a member of my own party. So I am doing what I can for those people as well.

Stutz: How can it be explained that the government has not compensated these people yet?

MK Avital: I don’t think that this is true. I think that you are wrong. I think that many people have been compensated and I do not wish to get into this kind of discussion with you because that is not the purpose of the exercise. I would like to tell you that I am trying to see if today people want to move out - before it is too late, before they are under public pressure. And you know what – maybe I will connect this to what you are saying about those who have not been compensated. The truth is that from my angle, from what I have seen, for months the Disengagement Authority went to these people and said, ‘Please, let’s discuss it,' 'Where do you want to move?,' 'Where do you want to go?’ And people from the Ministry of Education did the same. But there was this kind of a feeling among the settlers that this is not going to happen and they pushed it away – they said this is simply not going to happen so it does not need to be discussed. So if some of the people would have discussed things earlier with the Disengagement Authority - maybe, maybe things would have looked different.

Yishai: You know, I wanna --

MK Avital: Many of them preferred – let us try to be objective for two seconds --

Yishai: Just one second --

MK Avital: Just a minute --

Yishai: Just let me make one little point. First, I want to tell you that I appreciate that you came on the show and I think we are having a civil discussion – we understand your perspective and I hope you understand ours somewhat. I think when you say that the Disengagement Authority approached people and that they weren’t responsive – that’s true. And when you say the settlers didn’t think it was going to happen – I know that for a fact to be true because I didn’t think it was gonna happen. But if the Disengagement Authority had a sense that it was going to happen, what is so hard to calculate that 8,500 people are going to need new houses? If you know it's going to happen, your responsibility is to make sure these people have a roof over their heads the next day. It doesn’t matter if they agree with you or not. You can understand their feelings – they didn’t want to be ripped out of their homes. They didn’t go shake hands with somebody to agree, ‘you can rip me out of my house and I will accept money’ - but so what? Shouldn’t you be prepared for that eventuality if you know it is going to come to fruition?

MK Avital: You are right. I am not sure that the Disengagement Authority did all the right things. I cannot come and say on this show that they were perfectly right and perfect in terms of how they worked and what they did, but I can say another thing. I don’t think – and I am trying to put myself in the shoes of the settlers. I would not have wished this to happen to me. And I am trying to put myself also in the shoes of the people of the Disengagement Authority and to see, quite frankly, that it is not that simple to plan 7,000 [sic] buildings or houses or apartments if they are not telling you where. I remember seeing on Israeli television some kind of show where they showed people who went to the Galilee to look for houses. So what I am trying to say is, let us try to learn some kind of lesson – and this is what I am trying to do now. If the Israeli government will decide that more people will have to abandon some of the settlements and move into other settlements, etc. – there will have to be much more planning with many more possibilities that will give people much more choices and much more time. But if there are people today who are already willing to move of their own free will, it will save everybody lots of trouble.

Stutz: The question is whether this is a humanitarian project where you want to help these people who are in a troublesome situation, or whether this is political activism with a main motivation of ridding Judea and Samaria of Jews.

MK Avital: I think that it is first and foremost a humanitarian, pragmatic movement. It is neither left nor right. It does not belong to any particular political party. You are speaking to me – I belong to Labor – this is true. But there are many people who do not belong to Labor, from the center of the political scene. So it is not that we are doing some kind of political activism. There is political thinking in it – it is not devoid of political thinking - OK. The thinking is that we live in a certain political situation, let us see how we can best benefit without creating problems for some of these people.

Fleisher: Now, one of the things that I hear from Labor MKs is this word “pragmatic.” It is said that the right lives in a world of messianism and the left lives in a world of reality --

MK Avital: I did not say that - don’t put that in my mouth. I think there are people on the left and the right who are pragmatic. You are either born pragmatic or you are not. That is all I am trying to say, and please don’t put the labels, because yes, I think there are more people who traditionally act according to realpolitik – this has been the trend in the Labor Party. We have our dreams, but we know the difference between dreams and reality. But I do not wish to say who is the dreamer and who is not. The person who used the word messianic on this program was you and not me – let’s make this clear.

Fleisher: In my dictionary, messianic is not a bad word.

MK Avital: Very good, so please go ahead and be messianic. I am trying to live in this world --

Fleisher: OK, well I have a simple question. I have a simple question. Those pragmatic, realpolitik ideas that the Labor Party has promoted - Oslo, the Disengagement – have all led to an escalation in terror. Everything you guys have put forward has brought more bloodshed. So your pragmatism – what peace has it brought? Here is another idea – kick the Jews out of Judea and Samaria and we will draw a line between Judea and Samaria and the rest of small Israel and there will be peace. Then when the bombs start falling on Israel and Tel Aviv --

MK Avital: You know what, I am starting to be very sorry for engaging. Will we speak seriously, or you are going to throw at me all this crap --

Fleisher: What crap?

MK Avital: 'You people brought us bloody Oslo' and want to 'kick all the Jews out' – those are not expressions that we are using and if you want to speak seriously, please do --

Fleisher: I think it is very serious --

MK Avital: If you don’t want to engage in a serious conversation then I am not going to --

Fleisher: Hold on a second MK Avital, hold on one second. I am being serious and I am not using --

MK Avital: No, you are not. You’re not! You’re not! I am not kicking Jews out of anywhere! I don’t like this vocabulary --

Stutz: I think we need to learn to have a discussion here between you, Yishai and myself, together with the fact that we don’t necessarily like each other’s vocabulary, but we will still have a discussion.

MK Avital: I have not used any abusive vocabulary towards you.

Fleisher: It wasn’t abusive --

MK Avital: Those were abusive words.

Fleisher: So, what happened in Gush Katif? What do you call that?

MK Avital: I call that Disengagement --

Fleisher: OK, but what about those people that lived there. How did they feel personally? Were they 'disengaged'? What happened to them?

MK Avital: I think that they had to leave their homes and they were made to leave their homes against their will, but I don’t think that this is the kind of vocabulary --

Fleisher: Fine, so let’s call it “kicked out of their homes” – can we use those words?

MK Avital: Yes.

Fleisher: What about Oslo? Was that a Labor initiated peace plan?

MK Avital: I don’t happen to think that this was a fiasco, and I don’t happen to think, by the way, that it was Oslo that brought terrorism, but the fact that people didn’t fulfill their obligations on both sides – because if the agreement would have been respected, we wouldn’t have reached terrorism.

Fleisher: Do you believe - and I am using your language - if we disengage from Judea and Samaria that there will be peace with the Arabs, that there will be peace in the Middle East? Do you believe that? Don’t tell me you want to give it a try – but yes or no, do you believe this is going to work?

MK Avital: Yes, I do believe that. I believe it very sincerely. Maybe not peace in the Middle East, but I think it will dramatically reduce terrorism, I think it will dramatically reduce friction or any kind of possibility of having a real conflict. Yes, I do believe that. I think the only way to reach a solution is to separate from the Palestinians. I don’t think we should live in their midst. I think we should live in a Jewish country, with a Jewish majority. Let them live where they live and let us live where we live.

Click here to listen to the entire interview on Israel National Radio, which also touched on the Labor Party primaries and other issues.

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6. Arab Killed in Jerusalem Rioting
By Ezra HaLevi

Israeli-Arabs rioted in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya Wednesday night, burning cars in scenes reminiscent of the nightly rioting in France and other European countries in recent weeks.

The riots broke out after the Lavi police unit entered the Arab neighborhood of Issawiya, located near Hebrew University’s Mt. Scopus campus. They came to arrest a man who had been seen breaking into and stealing a car in the nearby French Hill neighborhood.

Police apprehended the man at the entrance to Issawiya with the stolen car and, despite the violent efforts of a crowd of Arab youths and elderly to prevent his arrest, put him in a police vehicle and brought him to the French Hill police station. Meanwhile, the mob tried to roll the stolen car into the village.

A van then followed the police and, according to the officers, tried to run over a policeman, hitting him and then speeding away. The policeman managed to shoot the driver, 36-year-old Sameer Rivkhi Dari. Dari’s passengers then dumped him out of the van and sped back to Issawiya. He was brought to Hadassah’s Mt. Scupus hospital, where he died of his wounds. The policeman was also hospitalized.

Rioting residents of Issawiya have their own versions of the events. They claim that Dari had not tried to run over the police officer, but was simply concerned with helping out his nephew - the man arrested for stealing the car. Others say he merely got out of his car to see what was happening.

After the shooting incident, a mob tried to head for Hadassah Hospital, where police prevented them from nearing the facility by firing warning shots and using tear gas and stun grenades. Other groups of rioters took alternate routes and succeeded in setting several random vehicles ablaze near the hospital.

“The police seem not to care about maintaining calm,” an Arab resident told Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot. “They murdered Sameer and renewed our Intifada here. Now residents have blocked all the entrances and roads with burning tires.”

Dari's body was taken for an autopsy, and the Israel Police are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court sentenced an Israeli-Arab to two and a half years in prison for terrorist activities. He was found guilty of having contacts with the Fatah terror group, providing terrorists with detailed maps of Israeli sites, and smuggling instruction manuals for producing explosives into Israel.

Arab violence elsewhere Wednesday included attempted bombings of IDF forces in the Shechem region. IDF troops shot and killed a man placing a bomb, and fired shots at four others planting a bomb on a military road near Mt. Eival; three of them were wounded before they escaped.

One bomb near the Balata slums in Shechem blew up and wounded an IDF paratroopers company commander, resulting in the loss of his foot. A roadside bomb was also detonated near an IDF patrol near the Gaza border, but failed to cause injuries or damage.

A large bomb was also found and neutralized by IDF sappers near Kibbutz Nachal Oz Thursday morning, and two mortar shells were fried from PA-controlled Gaza at the Karni Crossing terminal. No injuries were reported.

Twenty wanted terrorists were arrested in Judea and Samaria Wednesday. Islamic Jihad terrorist Sameer al-Ghoul was killed after opening fire on troops who had come to arrest him.

The IDF also closed down two offices of the “Dawa” Islamic charity organizations in Jenin Wednesday, due to the fact that the offices were used to fund the Islamic Jihad terror group.

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7. The Largest Nazi Pogrom Before the Holocaust
A7 Radio's "Walter's World" with Walter Bingham
It is 67 years since the largest Nazi pogrom before the Holocaust
Why did the 'Night of the broken glass' happen on the 10th November 1938? My own eyewitness account.
Also, how does Israel's premier Therapeutic Riding Centre help the disabled? And a true story about a modern Lech Lecha. If you are an imsomniac, having trouble to go to sleep at night, don't miss this professional cure.


Listen Now -or- Download*


*To download audio files, right-click and choose 'Save Target As'

For more A7 Radio visit www.IsraelNationalRadio.com.





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