It Can’t Happen Here! Oh Yes It Can!

Spain, Germany, America; where are Jews going to run to next, China?

Better to be a refugee in the Jewish State, than a prince in the Midbar HaAmim (Desert of the Nations).

Every Galut (place of exile), comes to an end. Egypt came to an end. Babylon/Persia came to an end. The Soviet Union came to an end. American will come to an end.

Every Galut comes to an end, and it’s never pretty...

Rabbi Meir Simcha HaKohen of Dvinsk (1843-1926), is known for his renowned works the, “Ohr Somayach,” a commentary on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, and the “Meshech Chochma,” a commentary on the Torah.

Rabbi Meir Simcha was a strong supporter of the resettlement of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, and greeted the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and later, the San Remo conference in 1920, with great enthusiasm. He saw them, that the nations recognized the rights of the Jews to Eretz Yisrael, as signs of the beginning of the Geulah, the redemption of the Jewish people.

In a famous, near-prophetic passage in his Meshech Chochma, written before 1926, he predicted the Holocaust. “If a Jew thinks that Berlin is Jerusalem...from there will come the storm winds that will uproot him by his trunk, a tempest will arise and spread its roaring waves, and swallow, and destroy, and flood forth without pity,” (Meshech Chochma, Leviticus 26:44).

Every Galut comes to an end, and it’s never pretty…

In this week’s Torah Reading Devarim (Deuteronomy), Moses reminds the generation of children that grew up in the Sinai Desert (and are about to enter Eretz Yisrael), how their parent’s generation sinned.

“Then all of you [their parents] came to me and said: ‘Let’s send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we’re to take, and the towns we will come to.’ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it.”

“Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, ‘It’s a good land, that HaShem (the God of Israel), our God, is giving us.’ But you didn’t want ‘LaAlot’ (to make Aliyah, to go up); you rebelled against the word of HaShem, your God. You spoke slander in your tents and said, ‘HaShem hates us. He brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us,’” (Deuteronomy 1:22-27).

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in his book, Mesillat Yesharim (The Path of the Just), chapter 11, discussing ‘The Lust for Honor’ states, “According to our sages of blessed memory, what caused the spies to utter evil speech on the Land, leading to their death and the death of an entire generation? They feared that others will take over their position when they enter Israel thereby diminishing their honor, namely that they will no longer be princes over Israel,” (Zohar on Numbers 13:3).

Rabbis, federation heads, presidents of major American Jewish organizations, lawyers, doctors, hedge fund guys and gals, millionaires, billionaires and Indian chiefs...They won’t be big “Machers” (important people) in the community anymore, in Eretz Yisrael.

Better to be a refugee in the Jewish State, than a prince in the Midbar HaAmim (Desert of the Nations).

It Can’t Happen Here! Oh Yes It Can!

The CoronaVirus pandemic, out of control anti-Semitism from the far Left, far Right and Muslim Jihadists, and economic collapse in most of the countries of the Golah (exile) where Jews reside, is speeding up the inevitable, unfolding process of redemption of the Jewish people.

See my articles: “The God of Israel’s Hand in Nature and History,” and “BLM and Black Nazis are Evil Like White Nazis,” where I explain this in more detail.

The God of Israel is carrying out Kibbutz Galuyot (the ingathering of the exiles), just as He promised in the Book of Ezekiel, “...So says the Lord God: Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side, and I will bring them to their land,” (Ezekiel 36:21).

I listened to a recent podcast by Josh Wander (BringThemHome.org.il) entitled, “American Hasidim are Secretly Organizing to Make Aliyah!!!” The interviewee Yehuda Singer, spoke about groups of Hasidim (that he’s a part of), on WhatsApp, discussing Hashkafic (philosophical) issues related to Eretz Yisrael, the Redemption, the growing problems in America and practical steps to make Aliyah.

Massive waves of Jews, are planning to come on Aliyah, to Israel, in the next few years.

For example, Nefesh B’Nefesh, which assists in immigration to Israel from North America and the United Kingdom, announced at the end of June, that it had signed a contract with El AL Airlines for 14 “Group Aliyah Flights,” from New York to Tel Aviv, over the course of the next three months. Nefesh B’Nefesh reported that the number of applications in May 2020, was the highest since the organization’s founding in 2002.

In Parshat Haazinu, Moses sings/prophecies, “He found them [Israel] in a desert land, and in a desolate, howling wasteland...As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its fledglings, it spreads its wings, taking them and carrying them on its pinions. He made them ride upon the high places of the earth...” (Deuteronomy 32:10-11, 13).

Rashi explains “He made them ride [upon the high places],” [referring to] the Land of Israel, because it is higher [spiritually] than all other countries. — (Targum Onkelos, Sifrei 32:13).

The eagle carrying the Jewish people on his wings, is symbolic of the unfolding messianic process of redemption, the Kibbutz Galuyot promised by the prophets. In the Torah portion of Yitro (Exodus 19:4), HaShem also refers to the redemption from Egypt, as redemption, “on the wings of eagles.” Clearly, the eagle and his wings have messianic implications. The redemption of the Jewish people continues…

Better to be a refugee in the Jewish State, than a prince in the Midbar HaAmim (Desert of the Nations).

By the way, Israel isn’t a third world country anymore, if you haven’t noticed…

“The streets are paved with gold,” for those who can see, “Tovah HaAretz Meod Meod,” The Land is very, very good! (Numbers 14:7).

 

With the CoronaVirus Pandemic, Growing Anti-Semitism, Economic Collapse; What Will It Take To Become Jew-woke, And Move Back to the Homeland, To Israel?

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master's Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

(c) 2020/5780 Pasko

The Real Reason The Beit HaMikdash Was Destroyed

“Any generation in which the Beit HaMikdash [the Temple] was not rebuilt in their days, it’s considered as if they destroyed it,” (Talmud Yerushalmi Yoma 5a).

As we enter the Nine Days, before the fast of Tisha B’Av, commemorating both Temple’s destructions, we need to investigate deeper into this situation.

If we’re responsible, we need to ask, what’s the real reason the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, why it hasn’t been rebuilt and, how can we fix it?

They’re hard questions to deal with, and even tougher answers, but if we (the Jewish people), want Geulah Shleima, complete redemption, the total truth must be confronted, and the real reason must be rectified.

 

To do the Tikkun (to fix, heal, repair) the sins of our forefathers and foremothers, we must know precisely, not just in a general way, exactly how they damaged their relationship with HaShem (the God of Israel).

What exactly caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Jerusalem, and the long exile of the Jewish people?

The rabbis in the Talmud Bavli ask, “Due to what reason was the First Temple destroyed? [And answer] It was destroyed due to the fact that there were three things that existed [were out of control] during the First Temple era: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed,” (Yoma 9b)

Then the rabbis of the Talmud ask, “But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah study, Mitzvot, the [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity and kindness?”

They answer, “Because there was Sinat Chinam, wanton hatred without cause. That teaches you that groundless hatred is considered equivalent to the three grave sins of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed together,” (Talmud Bavli 9b).

Then we are taught by the rabbis, that the Sinat Chinam was, brought on by the Lashon HaRa, slander of Jews by other Jews, that actually caused the destruction of the Second Temple, and relate the story of Kamtza and bar Kamtza. (Talmud Bavli, Gittin 55b–56a).

That’s what we’re taught every year, senseless hatred and slander, caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple…

But what caused the Lashon HaRa and wanton hatred?

There are many, many Shmirat HaLashon (be careful with your speech) groups operating around the Jewish world today. Many, many articles and books have been written, audios and videos made, since the big push of the Chafetz Chaim, almost 150 years ago, which put Shmirat HaLashon on the Jewish radar. Sincere people, try to watch their words and speak positively. Many work on loving all Jews regardless of affiliation.

So, why haven’t the Jewish people fixed the sin yet? Why hasn’t the Beit HaMikdash been rebuilt? Why hasn’t Mashiach, the messiah come?

I believe it’s because we’ve been focusing too much on the Talmud of Galut, exile, the Talmud Bavli’s explanation, and haven’t learned well enough, the Talmud of Geulah, the Talmud of Redemption, the Talmud Yerushalmi.

We begin with the Talmud Yerushalmi (Yoma 4a) which comes to the same conclusion about the destruction of the Second Temple as does the Talmud Bavli — namely, that it was due to Sinat Chinam.

However, the Yerushalmi whose text is identical till this point with the Bavli, goes on to quote on Yoma 4b, R. Yochanan ben Torta, who adds three important words, that explain everything, what Sinat Chinam really came from, “Ohavin et HaMamon,” having too much of a lust for money.

The 18^th century commentator, from Germany, Rabbi David ben Naphtali Frankel, (his Korban Edah, is like the Rashi on the Bavli), explains this further in his glosses to his Korban Edah, the “Shirei Korban.”

“It comes to teach, that their love for money, led to being jealous of each other, it wasn’t that they lusted for money to buy necessities for themselves, and, they were careful to give their tithes [charity] etc...But, they lusted for the money [possessions] of their friends,” and this is what led to the jelousy and senseless hatred.

It wasn’t a lust for money per se, as anti-Semites have accused Jews of historically, but they were obsessive, in what’s commonly called today “keeping up with the Joneses.”

Simply put, they broke the Tenth Commandment, as stated in Parshat Yitro, at Mount Sinai, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor,” (Exodus 20:14).

Then repeated by Moses, in the upcoming Parsha, Va’etchanan, “And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor shall you desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor,” (Deuteronomy 5:18).

There you have it, the real reason for the Beit HaMikdash’s destruction and why it hasn’t yet been rebuilt. Instead of being joyful, about what they had received from HaShem, they wanted more, until it led to jelousy and hatred.

Are we any better today?

Talking about Lashon HaRa and Sinat Chinam out of context, doesn’t help us repair the sin. We need laser beam focus on the real reason.

Modern marketing and advertising’s main goal is stimulating the feeling of lack in people. Two minutes earlier, someone didn’t feel anything missing in their life, and now they do.

And, what about when the neighbor rolls up in a new car… How do you feel?

Now that you know the cold hard truth; in a nutshell, beware of modern advertising’s influence and the values of international consumer culture today, which leads to, if unchecked, covetousness, jelousy, dissatisfaction, Lashon HaRa, and finally Sinat Chinam…

Maybe, if we learn quickly enough, God-willing, instead of fasting for Tisha B’Av (the 9^th of Av) this year, we’ll be too busy, rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash instead.

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master's Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

(c) 2020/5780 Pasko

Needed: More Daughters of Zelophehad in Israel Today

In this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Pinchas, we find some uppity Jewish women. Some say, the first Jewish feminists. But what did they demand? That they be treated equally in inheriting a part of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), promised by HaShem (the God of Israel), to their ancestors. Their love for Eretz Yisrael burned in their hearts.

“The daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, came forward, and his daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah,” (Numbers 27:1).

On the words “of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph,” Rashi asks why is this necessary? Has it not already said earlier, “the son of Manasseh?” To inform you that Joseph cherished the Land, as it says, “and you shall bring up my bones…” (Exodus 13:19), and his daughters cherished the Land, as it says, “Give us a portion,” (later in verse 4), (Sifrei Pinchas 10).

“They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the Kohen, and before the leaders and the entire congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, saying: ‘Our father died in the desert, but he was not in the assembly that banded together against HaShem, during Korah’s rebellion, he died for his own sin, and he had no sons.

Why should our father’s name be eliminated from his family [tribe], because he had no son? Give us a portion along with our father’s brothers,’” (Numbers 27:2-4).

“So Moses brought their claim before HaShem. HaShem spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Zelophehad’s daughters speak righteously. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance [in the Land], among the brothers of their father, and you shall transfer their father’s inheritance to them,’” (Numbers 27:5-7).

Eretz Yisrael was so dear to them, that they risked everything, demanding from Moses, that they too acquire a portion in the Land.

The Talmud, Sotah 11b says,“Rav Avira taught: In the merit of the righteous women who were in that generation, [the children of] Israel were redeemed from Egypt.”

There are many reasons given, as to what constituted their righteousness. But certainly, their trust in HaShem’s promise, to the Forefathers and Foremothers, to redeem them from Egypt and bring them back to Eretz Yisrael to inherit the Land, is one of them.

According to the great 15^th century kabbalist, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the Ari’zl, the souls of the final generation before the Messiah’s arrival, are reincarnations of the souls of the generation of the Exodus. (Shaar HaGilgulim, Hakdamah-Introduction 20).

And, we’ve seen these women’s righteous actions, filled with Gevurah (Holy Strength) in our days...

Last summer, a ceremony marking the fourth year since the passing of Rabbi Moshe Levinger, and the 40^th anniversary of the entry and resettlement of Beit Hadassah, inside Hebron, was held.

Rabbanit Miriam Levinger, and Daniella Weiss, spoke. Daniella Weiss is a former leader of the resettlement movement, Gush Emunim, a former mayor of Kedumim in Samaria, and currently the Secretary-General of the Nachala Settlement Movement.

Gush Emunim spearheaded the resettlement of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, in the 1970s and 1980s, that has led to almost a million Jews living in the areas liberated in the 1967 Six Day War.

For those who don’t know, Rabbi Levinger (student of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook) was the founding father of the Jewish resettlement of Hebron, along with his wife, Rabbanit Levinger, after the 1967 Six Day War, and a leader of Gush Emunim.

In the spring of 1968, Rabbi Levinger put an advertisement in an Israeli newspaper, for a Passover Seder in Hebron, at an Arab owned hotel that he had rented out. Refusing to leave after Passover, he and his group negotiated with the IDF and the government, first moving to the Military Headquarters building (the Memshal), and eventually getting the Israeli government to agree to develop an empty hilltop just outside Hebron, what became Kiryat Arba, where about 7,500 Jews live today.

Eleven years later, in the spring of 1979, his wife, Rabbanit Miriam, Sarah Nachshon [wife of famed artist Baruch Nachshon], along with several other women and children, entered the till then, abandoned Hadassah Hospital building. It had been unused since the infamous 1929 massacre on the Jewish community of Hebron, by Hebron’s Arabs. After which, the British authorities expelled the surviving Jews from Hebron “for their own good.”

After a protracted struggle with the Israeli government to get the women out, the government agreed to the development of Jewish resettlement within the city of Hebron itself. Which has led to nearly a thousand Jews living in Hebron today.

Then Deputy Foreign Minister, and now tipped as the next Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzippi Hotovely, speaking at the ceremony, praised Rabbanit Levinger, Sarah Nachshon, and the other righteous women, for setting an example to her generation of women, fighting for the Jewish people’s right to Eretz Yisrael today.

Hotovely said she hoped that this government of Israel (after the 1^st elections in Sept. 2019) would apply Sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, and that all future governments of Israel would put to rest, the idea of dividing the land, and giving away part of it to others.

Hotovely earlier, in her inaugural speech in 2015, as the then new Deputy Foreign Minister, said that Israel had tried too hard to appease the world. “This land is ours. All of it is ours. We did not come here to apologize for that…We expect as a matter of principle, the international community recognize Israel’s right to build homes for Jews in their homeland, everywhere.”

Other righteous women of our generation include, Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover, founders of Women in Green. They have spearheaded Ribonut (The movement to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria), and put the issue of sovereignty onto the political agenda.

We need more Bnot Tzlaphchad (Daughters of Zelophehad), like these women. Jewish women seem to get it, even if the men don’t always. Maybe there should be a new organization started, called Bnot Tzlaphchad, a Jewish women’s organization, encouraging Jewish Moms to teach their children and husbands, the love of Eretz Yisrael, importance of Aliyah, re-settlement of the Land, and to push their husbands and grown children to take practical actions, as the Jewish women do.

With Parshat Shlach just behind us, and the three weeks and Tisha B’Av coming, now is a good time to do the Tikkun (fixing/healing) on the “Sin of the Spies.” “Vayotziu Dibat HaAretz,” they said Lashon HaRa, slander on Eretz Yisrael, (Numbers 13:32).

Just as it was in the merit of faithful Jewish women then, that Israel was redeemed, so too, it will be in the merit of the righteous women of our generation, and their unwavering faithfulness to Eretz Yisrael, and the coming Final Redemption, that the Jews will be fully redeemed once again.

 

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master's Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

(c) 2020/5780 Pasko

 

Balak: The Blessing of Isolation for Israel

“Hen Am L’Vadad Y’Shkone...” (from the root BaDaD*). “Behold, it is a nation that shall dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations.” *More on this later.

And so, Balaam’s attempted curse comes out of his foul mouth, as one of the biggest blessings in the Torah. Only with historical/messianic hindsight will the people of Israel fully understand it. But, let’s see what we can understand even now.

In this week’s Torah reading, the king of Moab frightened by Am Yisrael’s movement into the region, wants to hire a “prophet,” the renowned professional curser Balaam. Balak sends messengers and makes him an offer.

Balaam tells them, that he can only say what God wants him to say. He tells them to stay the night and “let’s see what God wants.”

God comes to Balaam and says, “You shall not go with them! You shall not curse the people because they are blessed,” (Numbers 22:12).

After rebuffing Balak’s messengers a few times, God comes to Balaam and tells him, “If these men come to call for you again, go with them, but only speak the words I tell to you say...” (Numbers 22:20).

Knowing that Balaam intended to flout His command, the God of Israel then puts an obstacle in his way. An angel with a drawn sword that his donkey can see, but he can’t, to impress upon him, his lowly stature as a “prophet.”

Finally he gets to the mountaintop, overlooking the Israeli encampment, sets up shop and begins.

He [Balaam] took up his parable and said, “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east [saying], ‘Come, curse Jacob for me and come invoke wrath against Israel.’

How can I curse whom God has not cursed, and how can I invoke wrath if the Lord has not been angered?

For from their beginning, I see them as mountain peaks, and I behold them as hills; it is a nation that will dwell alone, and will not be reckoned among the nations,” (Numbers 23:7-9).

Rashi explains, “It is a nation that shall dwell alone.” To dwell alone (BaDaD*), is in the merit of their forefathers – as the Targum [Onkelos] renders it [it is a nation that is alone/in solitude, destined to inherit the world]. *More on this later.

“...and not be reckoned among the nations.” As Targum [Onkelos] paraphrases, they will not perish along with the other nations, [when God finally judges the nations] as it says, “for I shall make an end of all the nations...” (Jeremiah 30:11); but Israel will be safe.

We have seen this in our time, with Israel’s early closure of it’s borders, and low CoronaVirus fatalities.

The Midrash HaGadol explains the verse a little differently, this refers to Israel’s mission to remain separate and distinct from the nations. From this blessing, that Balaam gave against his will, we understand what he really intended (see Sanhedrin 105a and the end of the parsha, where Balaam later sends in Moabite prostitutes to de-moral-ize the Jews, Numbers 25:1-9), so that the Jewish people assimilate into the nations, and be stripped of their religious values.

*I want to look at the word BaDaD, (to be alone/isolated/separate) further, through two dimensions. Starting with the Prat (individual/specific) level, and then moving toward the Klal (national/general) level.

1. The word BaDaD is related to the word BeDuD, which is the Isolation Ward in a hospital. A hint to our times?

2. The word BaDaD is related to the word BaD, a pole or staff. The carrying poles for the Aron HaKodesh (Ark of the Covenant), were called BaDim (pl.). Once inserted into the rings on the Ark, they were forbidden to be removed. They were separated from every other use, and dedicated to one purpose, carrying the Ark. So too, the Jewish people are separated from the nations and dedicated to the service of God.

3. The most common word for Jewish meditation is HitBoDeDut, from the root BaDaD. Popularized by Breslover Hasidim, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, taught the importance of going out to the fields, or in some other manner, to isolate yourself, to be alone to talk to God. HitBoDeDut, is commonly understood that way.

But as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (in Jewish Meditation, Meditation and the Bible, and elsewhere) explains, HitBoDeDut, is the reflexive form of the verb, really meaning, to isolate yourself internally (from your sense of self, so you can tune into God). Jewish meditation was an integral part of preparation to receive prophecy, something that will return to the Jewish people in messianic times, (Maimonides – Rambam, Igeret Taiman/The Epistle to Yemen).

4. This meditative process, it is said, is what led Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father) to discover and connect to God. It gave him the courage of his convictions, to stand up to Nimrod and the entire world, to declare there is only one God. He was BaDaD, alone in the world.

5. In discussing the newly founded State of Israel, Israel Eldad, Jewish philosopher and former ideologist of the pre-state LECHI underground, wrote in his book, “The Jewish Revolution,” about Abraham, and then described his decendents, the Jewish people, as a “nation of non-conformists.” This Eldad argued, is what kept them (BaDaD) separated from the nations, preserved their identity over the millennia, and gave them the ability, through their single minded dedication, to stand up to the world and declare independence.

6. I wrote in, “Israel, Stay Out of Entangling Alliances,” “Jews really don’t need to look beyond their own tradition for policy guidelines that warn not to get into “entangling alliances.” Traditional Jewish commentaries to these verses [about Balaam] explain that the Jewish people get their strength and prosperity not from alliances with other nations and cultures, but from their single-minded adherence [BaDaD – dedication] to their own unique Torah culture – Judaism, their single-minded worship of the God of Israel, their single-minded control over their own land and lives, and their single-minded defense of their own interests. In a nutshell, liberty, freedom and national independence.”

7. Rabbi Meir Kahane, used to always teach this parsha, through the Yalkut Shimoni (Balak 23), emphasizing, the halachic injunction to national isolation [BeDuD]. “Not only must the Jew not be afraid to be isolated [BaDaD], he is commanded to choose isolation. That is why all Jews must live in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), so as to be isolated from the nations and their cultures.”

He stressed that “...the Jew is not allowed to seek allies, that the very act of seeking allies is one of faithlessness to God. Thus we find the prophet Isaiah condemning the Jews of his time for turning to Egypt for aid against the Assyrians who were threatening them, “Woe to rebellious children,” says the Lord, who take counsel but not from Me; and who prepare a plan [MaSeCHa*], but not of My spirit, in order to add sin upon sin. Who go down to Egypt, but did not inquire of My mouth, to seek strength in Pharaoh’s stronghold and to take shelter in the shade of Egypt (Isaiah 30:1-2),” (Seek No Allies, Jewish Press, 1989).

*Interestingly, the word MaSeCHa, is also the word for mask, in Hebrew, like those being used today during the CoronaVirus pandemic. So the Jews were covering themselves, protecting themselves, by allying with Egypt against Assyria, so they thought, and today against viruses.

Rabbi Kahane was known to always ask during speeches, “Who’s stronger HaShem (the God of Israel) or Ronald Reagan?” Today one could ask, “Who’s stronger HaShem or Trump?”

8. Which brings us to the issue of Sovereignty and the Trump Plan. According to polls, a clear majority of Israeli Jews support extending sovereignty to at least parts of Judea and Samaria. But the religious public is divided, even the “settler” public is divided. Opinions diverge, whether to accept the Trump Plan and apply sovereignty to towns in Judea and Samaria, even though that implicitly accepts the idea of a Palestinian state; or, to apply sovereignty to towns in Judea and Samaria but reject the Palestinian state part of the plan; or to reject the Trump Plan entirely and apply sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria, ignoring the American plan completely.

PM Netanyahu has said he will bring up the sovereignty issue to the Knesset after July 1st. But what, is his plan? All of Eretz Yisrael belongs to God, and He gave it to the Jews to live in and rule over.

HaShem through Balaam blessed the Jewish people, “Behold, it is a nation that shall dwell alone, and pay no attention to the nations.”

So I ask you, who’s stronger HaShem, or Trump, Johnson, the EU and UN?

 

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master's Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

(c) 2020/5780 Pasko