Kahane Memorial: It's Been 25 Years

Time does fly. It's been 25 years since Rabbi Meir Kahane of blessed memory was murdered by an Al Qaeda terrorist. Last night I attended the annual memorial in Jerusalem.

I've been to a few of these memorials in the past. It seems to me that every year the crowd attending the memorial grows. I am always surprised by the number of young people that attend. A very significant percentage of those there were born after Kahane was assassinated. A lot of those attending had that "hilltop youth" look, sporting large knitted skullcaps and long sidelocks. There were also a few Hareidi youth there. I don't know if they came out of curiousity or if they identify with Kahane.

One of the recurring themes of the evening was that we do not have too look hard for what is causing the recent terror wave. It's written in the Book of Numbers chapter 33:

51 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. 53 And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it. 54 And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families--to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance; wheresoever the lot falleth to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit. 55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. 56 And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you.

"They must go." "There is no hope for coexistence with the Arabs." "If there are no Arabs there is no terror." Etc., etc. etc.

The Temple Mount also took center stage. Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer mentioned how more and more people are going up to the Har HaBayit. Aviya Moris, who famously called the "prophet" Mohammed a pig after being harrassed by Muslim women on the Temple Mount also spoke.

Another theme of the evening was reviewing the activities of various activists. Bentzi Gophstein mentioned that in the previous week his Lehava organization had rescued six Jewish women, some of them with children, from Arab villages. A film was shown that depicted some of the antics of activists Baruch Marzel, Dr. Michael Ben-Ari and Itamar Gvir.

Naturally, there was also an appeal for contributions. I don't think that these people are not receiving too much support from the government. :) I imagine that they were able to raise a little bit of money from the sale of Rabbi Kahane's writings and other goodies that was taking place at the entrance to the hall.

Rabbi Dov Lior arrived and was greeted with the singing of "Yamim Al Yemei Melech Tosif". He talked, among other things, about Rabbi Kahane's commitment to Torah study and his fine character traits.

To sum things up, Rabbi Meir Kahane and his son Binyamin may have been murdered, but their ideas live on.

Torat HaMelech: Case Closed!

Sanity prevails:

The Attorney General's office on Monday announced that it would not pursue charges against Rabbis Yitzchak Shapira and Yosef Yirmiyahu Elitzur, who authored the book that was considered controversial by some over claims that it incites against Arabs. The cases against Rabbis Yitzchak Ginsburg and Dov Lior, who gave a haskama - a stamp of approval- to the book will be dropped as well.

Interesting to note are the reasons for closing the investigation:

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said that the investigation was being closed because there is not enough evidence that the book was published with the intention to incite racism. Weinstein wrote that the Torat Hamelech is written in a general manner and does not call for violence. 

Readers of this blog already knew that.  Such a shame that the police harassed leading rabbis for no reason at all.  

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed: Why Rabbis Refused Police Summons

Very, very good!

Jewish Boycott of Bank Leumi Pending?

From INN:

Bank Leumi, the main creditor of Jewish neighborhood Nof Tzion’s developers, has rejected an offer by Rami Levy and a partner to pay off its debts – and as a result, an Arab takeover again threatens the seamline Jerusalem area. Rabbis threaten a local boycott of Bank Leumi, and American Jews threaten a boycott abroad.

In light of the Bank Leumi rejection, Palestinian Authority semi-resident Bashir Al-Masri, represented by the same lawyer who advised Ariel Sharon during the Disengagement, Dov Weisglass, has redoubled his efforts to buy the lands of Nof Tzion.

Located to the east of Talpiyot and south of the Old City, the neighborhood was originally planned as a luxury project for wealthy apartment-seekers from abroad. When this did not pan out, the project was saved by the religious-Zionist public, for which its strategic spot, in terms of both Jewish-Arab demographics and a panoramic view of the Temple Mount and the Old City, increased its attractiveness. Thus, a new religious-Zionist neighborhood arose in eastern Jerusalem.

The first phase of the project was completed several years ago, and much has been written about the 90 families' satisfaction with their new neighbors and surroundings. However, they are now greatly apprehensive that if the project falls into Arab hands, the 180 planned units of Stages II and III of the project will not only not be built, but also that their own homes will become an unsafe and unviable Jewish enclave surrounded by Arab homes.

They have therefore threatened to take Bank Leumi – the guarantor of the project – and the Digal development company to court for backing down on their much-touted plans to ensure that the project is for the national-religious public.

Bank Leumi has rejected Levy’s offer, saying that it prefers to break up Digal altogether and sell its assets – including the land of Nof Tzion – to the highest bidder. This once again leaves the field open to Al-Masri. Al-Masri has also taken another step, seeking to buy out the shares of Digal.

A letter of intent to boycott Bank Leumi has already been signed by top rabbis in the religious-Zionist camp.

Rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu, Elyakim Levanon, Yehoshua Shapira, Zalman Melamed, David Druckman, Dov Lior, Yaakov Yosef and others issued a call to Bank Leumi customers to withdraw their monies if the project is sold to Al-Masri. The rabbis call on Bank Leumi to “support and accept the offer by Jewish interests to purchase the neighborhood lands and to save it from Bashir Al-Masri, who does not hide his intentions to build on Nof Tzion an Arab outpost in Jerusalem.”

Globes has reported in the past that if Bank Leumi would enable the sale of the Nof Tzion project to Al-Masri, it would be likely to face a widespread boycott in the United States. Several apartment owners in the project wrote to Bank Leumi as follows: “I have been involved in this project ever since it was presented to the public some eight years ago, and I am in contact with many of its American investors. These people have power and are very influential in their communities. We were under the impression that Bank Leumi would never work against the People of Israel - but we are now quickly concluding that this is not true. It appears that Bank Leumi is taking part in an act of treachery in allowing secret deals that will lead to the sale of Nof Tzion properties to Arab interests.”

Well, if Bank Leumi goes ahead with this treachery I will certainly close my account there.

Additional food for thought: the name "al-Masri" means "the Egyptian" in Arabic.

Terrible Translation at Jpost.com

This is just too funny:



Who are these "female rabbis"? Are they graduates of the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College, the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary, or both? Here is what they wrote:

The letter states, "There are quite a few Arab workers who give themselves Hebrew names. Yusef turns into Yosef, Samir turns into Sami, and Awabad turns into Ami. They ask to be close to you, try to find favor with you, and give you all the attention in world, they are actually here knowing to act with courtesy, acting as if they really care for you, say a good word, but their behavior is only temporary. The moment you are in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes."

"Your life will never go back to the way it was, and the attention you so desired will turn into curses, beatings, and humiliations," the letter warns.

Say what? My gut feeling was that there is something is very wrong here. A quick check on the Arutz 7 web site determined that the letter was not composed by "female rabbis", but by the wives of regular Orthodox rabbis. Someone at jpost translated "rabbaniot" (in Yiddish "rebbetzins") as "female rabbis"! Among the signatories: Rebbetzin Esther Lior of Kiryat Arba (Rabbi Dov Lior's wife) and Rebbetzin Shlamit Melamed of Beit El(Rabbi Zalmen Melamed's wife).

This reminded me of an old Yiddish saying:"It's a lot easier to become a rebbetzin than to become a rabbi." However, at jpost it's the same thing!

The Fire on the Carmel: The Rabbis Say...

When a tragedy of this scale occurs two different kinds of investigation take place: One to investigate the immediate cause (was the fire arson or the result of carelessness?) and the other to seek the deeper spiritual reasons for the blaze.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef attributes the disaster to Sabbath desecration:

Hagaon Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita said on Motzei Shabbos that the devastating Carmel fire was a result of insufficient Shmiras Shabbos in the area.

“Fires only happen in a place where Shabbos is desecrated,” he quoted from the Gemara in his weekly Shiur. “Homes were ruined,” he continued, “entire neighborhoods wiped out, and it is not arbitrary. It is all divine providence.”

“We must repent, keep Shabbos appropriately. When the People of Israel repent, God safeguards them with a wall of fire,” but not of the incinerating type, the Chacham added.

Rabbi Dov Lior writes that the fire was Divine punishment for giving away parts of the land of Israel to terrorists.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu calls for soul searching on the individual and national level.

Rabbi Uri Sherki says that the fire was "yissurim shel ahava", and that it was in place of a potentially greater disaster.

One may wonder: If Rabbi Yosef is correct, then Rabbi Lior is wrong. Likewise, if Rabbi Lior's reasoning is correct, then Rabbi Yosef is mistaken! The same with all the other rabbis mentioned. The answer is that, "eilu ve'eilu dirvrei elokim chayim". They are all correct!

A related item: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Zini takes to task the rabbis that claimed that the current drought does not justify declaring a public fast (See echoes of that in the comment section of this post).

Special Melave Malkah in Honor of Anti-Evacuation Soldiers

Last night I went to a special Melave Malka. It was in honor of the soldiers that waved the "Shimshon will not evacuate Homesh" sign. These soldiers were sentenced to 20 days in military prison. They finished serving their sentence, and a party was made for them.



Outside the hall where the party was held, a small group of demonstrators from the Labor Party. Their signs say, "On the right and on the left insubordinate people we will not tolerate", "No to insubordinate people rightists and leftists", "When protesting leave the uniform on the side", "We have one army". I guess that means that when Michael Ben Ari becomes Defense Minister they will faithfully obey orders and evacuate Arab villages. ;-)>




Inside the hall a mechitzah separated the men from the women. Cake and soft drinks were served to a crowd that I estimate numbered about 300. There was a pretty decent band and even I, with my two left feet, danced a little bit. I also took some pictures of the event. At a certain point in the evening the organizers stated that the event was closed to the press, and that they requested not to take pictures. I respected their request and even what I photographed inside the hall before they requested I am not publishing.

The first featured speaker was Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba (Hebron). He spoke about the fact that for a Jew, the laws of the Torah supersede any other obligations that he may have. "There is no need to say that if the king decreed to negate a commandment of the Torah that we don't listen to him" (Rambam, Laws of Kings 3:9).

Rabbi Dudi Dudkewitz of Yitzhar talked about two different instances of "refusing orders" in the Torah, and what the results were. If I remember correctly one was when Shaul requested that his servants kill the Priests of Nob. The servants refused. Then Saul commanded Doeg the Edomite to kill the Priests, which he did (see 1 Samuel Chapter 22, 2 Samuel Chapter 21). The second case was when David commanded Yoav to conduct a census. Yoav tried to get out of it, but in the end he did it. In both cases the orders were fulfilled. However, in the first case, where there was a clear cut refusal, the house of Saul was held responsible and not the nation of Israel. In the second case, where Yoav kind of fudged the orders but did not refuse outright, the entire nation of Israel was held responsible and punished (see 1 Chronicles Chapter 21).

One of the soldiers that held up the sign and spent time in prison also spoke. He mentioned that many other soldiers in the unit took part in the act.

The crowd itself was interesting. It was a mix of Kachniks, Chabadniks, and Chardalim (although not of the mamlachti type). Moshe Feiglin was also there.

Porush Meets the Srugim

25 Tishrei, 5769

Last night Jerusalem mayoral candidate Meir Porush had an "eye-level meeting" with residents of Giv'at Shaul at the Noam School. The purpose of the meeting was to enlist the support of the National Religious public for his candidacy.

The residents expressed the feeling that Mayor Lopolianski and United Torah Judaism have been discriminating against the National Religious community in different areas. Porush said that if he is elected mayor he will be a true partner of the National Religious community, just as he was when he was head of the Housing Ministry.

A flier was available containing letters from Rabbis Dov Lior, Elyakim Levanon, and Yisrael Rosen is support of Porush.

Here's an exclusive Cosmic X picture from the meeting:

Rabbi Dov Lior

As captured by the cosmic camera at a recent wedding:



Some info from Wikipedia:

Dov Lior (Hebrew: דב ליאור‎, born 1933) is the Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank. He is also the Head of a Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba,[1] and also heads the "Council of Rabbis of Judea and Samaria".

He was born to a Belz hasidic family, son to Moshe Leibland in Breslau, Galicia. He attempted to board the Exodus, eventually arriving on the Negba a few weeks before the establishment of the State of Israel, where he changed his surname to the Hebrew Lior. In Israel he first studied at the Bnei Akiva Kfar HaRoeh high school yeshiva, and then at Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's Mercaz haRav yeshiva, where owing to Lior's being an orphan, the Rabbi treated him like a son. Lior was married in 5720 to Bitya, but his wife died of cancer in 5748; he remarried in 5736 to Esther, widow of Rabbi Ephraim Shahor. Lior has 11 children, 55 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

A Quickie

I was at a wedding in Ofra the other day. Here's a picture of the Chuppah. Rabbi Yaakov Shapira (on the left), the head of the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva was the mesader kiddushin. Rabbi Dov Lior, the rabbi of Kiryat Arba/Chevron, read the Ketubah:




In an unrelated development, Akiva of Mystical Paths is making aliya! In this post Akiva describes some of the afflictions that the land of Israel is acquired with. (Click here for an explanation.) Akiva, don't worry if you are having difficulties. It means that you are acquiring the land!