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Dear Rachel,
Rabbi Willig’s response to the couple who refused to press charges against the abusive husband who entered their home and threatened them after which they became a target of abuse from their son’s Rosh Yeshiva was right on target. It brought to mind the seriousness of this issue with regard to Israel. I know this is a community crisis forum, but what is happening to our community on a national level is so frightening that I feel I must address it.
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What happened to this couple and their lame reaction of refusing to press charges is similar to what is happening to our nation. The Arabs are claiming that our land belongs to them and our leadership responds by offering to share it – freezing settlements, offering to live side by side in a 2-state solution, expelling 10,000 Jewish citizens from Gaza to give it to them
Of course we know the result of all of this is outrage from the world, the U.S. included, over our refusal to give them everything they want (which will, of course, G-d forbid leave us stateless).
My question is: What did you expect? Bullies will use whatever weapons they have, including PR and violence to get what they want, until they are confronted. Instead of “pressing charges” our leaders in Israel show further weakness by offering more to the “intruders” who have broken into our Homeland.
It sickens me that they would rather claim our right to defend ourselves than claim our right to our Homeland. Because our leadership has no faith in G-d, they cannot face and admit the truth of who we are as a Jewish nation and how we need to deal with our enemies. We pretend that our enemies are our peace partners when we all know it’s a phony peace process.
How can it have come to this, to our having lost our sense of purpose as a nation? How is it that so few of us protested the sinful expulsion of our own people from Gaza? Our leaders have now put a freeze on Judea and Shomron; how is it that we continue the shameful silence?
Why are we not protesting and refusing this as well? When will our people wake up and see that we desperately need authentic Jewish leadership in Israel with a leader who has faith in G-d and has the courage to claim that the Land of Israel is the G-d-given right to the Jews?
We need to stop blaming the world and start looking within. It is up to us, within our own hands, to make it right. Then, with G-d’s help we will begin to emerge as a nation that will truly make Him proud.
Beyond exasperated
Dear Beyond,
The answer to your question of how it could have come to this would fill pages and pages. But you have managed to encapsulate it quite effectively yourself: “Because our leadership has no faith in G-d.”
What a tragic irony that Eretz Hakdosha – G-d’s palace – is being desecrated, on a daily basis, with the sanction of Israel’s so-called leadership. How any human entity has the temerity to declare Israel a “democracy” – which in essence translates into giving freedom to its (Jewish) citizens to do as they please; to violate the Shabbos, to consume non-kosher food and to wile away precious time on holy soil without paying any heed whatsoever to the Torah which was given to us as a prerequisite to occupying the holy Land – should boggle every authentic Jew’s conscience.
“It is up to us, within our own hands, to make it right ” you say. It certainly is – it is up to each and every one of us to fulfill our obligation to serve Hashem, abide by His Torah and see to our children’s chinuch baderech haTorah wherever we set down roots.
Until Hashem deems the time right for beias HaMoshiach, it is up to us to prove ourselves worthy of His rescue and to beseech Him daily to redeem us.
There is a compelling story making the rounds as told by Rabbi Avrohom M. Alter in the name of Rebbetzin Kanievsky.
Not long ago, a car packed with explosives was parked at a mall in Haifa. The consequence of an explosion that would have had multiple gas tanks detonating in the heavily populated mall is unfathomable.
As it happened, a passerby who saw smoke emanating from the car alerted the police and the explosives were deactivated before they could wreak destruction.
Several weeks prior to this incident, a girl in Haifa was given a grim medical prognosis: she had stomach cancer and the large tumor had metastasized. She was told that nothing could be done.
This non-religious girl and her parents appealed to the doctors to try to help her. She was then scheduled to return for surgery.
On the night before the surgery, the girl prayed to Hashem: “When we had the Bais Hamikdosh people could bring you korbanos to plead their case. Now we have no Kohanim and no Bais Hamikdosh. But I still want to bring you a korban.”
She took all of her immodest clothes out to the yard and burned them. As she watched them go up in flames, she cried out, “This is my korban!”
The next day she had the surgery and doctors discovered that the giant tumor had not metastasized after all. It was easily removed – and it was benign.
When the girl had recovered enough to stand on her own two feet again, her friends brought over all of their own immodest clothing and made another fire.
At the time the bomb at the mall was set to explode, these girls were inside shopping for their new, modest wardrobe.
A miracle as a reward for tznius ?
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