Subject: Finding Our Way in Darkness From: ateret@jer1.co.il (Ateret Cohanim) Ateret Cohanim The Jerusalem Reclamation Project ******************************* FINDING OUR WAY IN THE DARKNESS ******************************* by Yossi Baumol Executive Director, Ateret Cohanim __________________________________ After the terrible shock and the resulting vicious backlash against the religious and right wing camp, many of us are wondering - why is there not a single spokesman from the left who also takes partial blame for what has happened? Wasn’t the first time that an Israeli Prime Minister was accused of murder when the “left” called Begin and Sharon “murderers” during the Lebanese War? Didn’t Mr. Rabin himself talk of security for only 97% of the people - excluding the settlers? Weren’t the settlers vilified by government ministers, weren’t the demonstrating settlers of the Golan Heights told that they could continue to spin like propellers - that they would be ignored by the government? Why are we singled out, even by members of our own community, as the only sector of the Israeli public to embark upon the painful path of soul searching and repentance? After reading our Rosh Yeshiva’s article “The Prime Minister of Israel Has Fallen”,I asked Rabbi Aviner: Why did you write “We are all guilty!” - Is there anyone less guilty than you who spoke out against violence, who took every opportunity to plead with people not to call Rabin a traitor or murderer, who over a year and a half ago wrote a detailed responsa rejecting the possibility of defining Mr. Rabin as a criminal (“Rodef”) or traitor (“Moser”)? Rabbi Aviner’s answer was that this was the style he learned from his Rabbi, the saintly Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook of blessed memory. If one side accuses the other it would normally bring about a round of mutual recrimination that would only open up an even larger rift between both sides. If we have courage to blame ourselves - maybe, just maybe, the other side will also have thoughts of self reproach and repentance. If each side blames the other, then the dialog would come to an end. By casting ourselves in the role of the penitent, we are at least getting the other side to at least relate to the idea of self examination. If we take a step back and try to understand what has been happening to us during the last few years based on Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook’s writings we may gain a deeper insight into the reason for the one sided repentance. In his seminal work “Orot”(p. 70-71), Rabbi Kook defines 3 basic political principles: 1- love of man for his land (nationalism) 2- love of man for the divine (religion) 3- love of man for his fellow man (liberalism). In this imperfect world we tend to think that there are contradictions between these principles. Can a Yeshiva student intent on developing his relationship with the Divine, disturb his studies in order to defend his land? Can we hang onto our land (Eretz Yisrael) without hurting our fellow man (Arab or Jew)? Rabbi Kook tells us that our job in this pre-Messianic period is to learn to synthesize all three principles without compromising any one of them. It is not an easy job, yet we have been succeeding. When Rabbi Kook wrote “Orot” over 70 years ago, our nation was sharply divided into 3 groups - socialists, nationalists and the Ultra Orthodox. Over the years these categories have blurred and run together. The very name of the National Religious movement indicates the progress made. If just a few years ago religion was limited to the closed communities in Mea Shearim and Bnei Brak, today religious youth are making their presence felt in the settlement movement, in the Universities - in every facet of public life. During a visit by MK Avigdor Kahalani to Ateret Cohanim’s Pre-Military Mechina program last week, General Kahalani claimed that religious youth comprise FORTY PERCENT of the IDF’s officers in mid-level command posts. We are deeply worried by the direction taken by our fellow Jews who wish to give up parts of Eretz Yisrael. Not only have they lost their love for the historical areas of Israel, they no longer are active in settling any part of Israel, they have turned away from Jewish culture and heritage, even neglecting the values of secular Zionism. Today’s heroes in Israel are people like the singer Aviv Gefen who is proud of the fact that he found a way to avoid Army service entirely. Yet with all their emptiness, they are united while the nationalist and religious camp is divided into various factions, they can sleep at night even after the murder of Yitzchak Rabin while we are wracked by self doubt and reproach. Rabbi Kook (Mamarei Haria p. 84) explains: “In order to help us refine and develop our convictions, feelings and actions in an unadulterated fashion, there exist the insolent who are devoid of all holy or pure insight, who are free of any sacred or just burden, but they being empty of any positive thing are also not plagued by the problems that accompany those who aspire to positive, spiritual accomplishments. Their strength and influence grows in direct proportion to the need to define and refine our way. The more the seekers of G-d work to construct their principles of Faith in a true and pure fashion, the less prodding will be required from the evil camp until the point is reached where they no longer serve any purpose or benefit and ‘All the evil will disappear like smoke’.” The answer then is clear. There is no purpose in attacking the opposing camp - their erring ways exist only to help us find our way. There is no reason for breast beating on their part because their small penitence in this matter is insignificant. When we find the right path then our fellow Jews who are so empty will happily join us once the need for their opposition is gone. These painful divisions and in-fighting are all part of the redemptive process. In Zechariah 8:10 in the passage quoted in Sanhedrin as mentioning the signs indicating the advent of the Messiah we are told “...for before those days their will be no salary for man or beast, the will be no security for those coming and going (on the roads) and I will send one man against the other.” In Zechariah 11:6 Hashem adds: “...and I will send the hand of a man against his friend and AGAINST HIS KING! It is also worthwhile seeing the Malbim’s commentary on the next passage (11:7): “and it should have been that the stick representing the relationship between Israel and the other nations be the “bruising” stick, i.e. that Israel should heroically do battle warring with and bruising her enemies, while the stick called “pleasant” represent the peaceful internal relationship between Israel and Judea. The prophet speaks out against this generation which did the opposite: The stick held out to the nations was the peace stick while instead of fostering brotherhood among the Jews the bruising rod was used to overpower them.” The tragic events of recent days must bring the National-Religious movement to introspection and improvement. With the great strides made by our camp in religion and nationalism, it follows that the third principle - love of our fellow man - is the area we must improve. On the day after the elections which brought the Labor party back to power I remember Rabbi Aviner declaring: “So now we will be subject to a five year long lesson in Ahavat Yisrael (love of our fellow Jew).” The Prophet Daniel (12:3) tells us: And the scholarly will be as bright as the sky, and those who exonerate the masses will shine like a star. Again and again Zechariah stresses this theme: “These are the things you must do: speak truthfully one to another, let truth justice and peace reign at your gates. Let not one man think badly of his friend...”(8:16). Let us hope that we are drawing close to the time when the divisions between Jews will come to an end. Zechariah goes on to describe the final battle over Jerusalem - a battle that begins with Jews aiding the gentiles in their siege of Jerusalem (12:2) but then, realizing their mistake the Jewish generals repent and smite their former allies (12:5-6). Let us pray that in the next stage of the process - over the question of Jerusalem - all Jews will unite once again. ************************************************************* (c) 1995 Ateret Cohanim. All Rights Reserved. Quotation and redistribution is permitted without permission but requires citation of author and source. ============================================= Ateret Cohanim The Jerusalem Reclamation Project In Israel: In the United States: P.O. Box 1076 3 West 16th Street Jerusalem 91009 New York, NY 10011 Tel: (+972-2)284-101 Tel: 1-212-924-4755 Fax: (+972-2)273-668 Fax: 1-212-924-4809 MAKING THE OLD CITY YOUNG AGAIN