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Shavuot by Binyamin Zev Kahane |
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Written by Binyamin Zev Kahane
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A most
pertinent question regarding the holiday of Shavuot is: Do we view this
holiday as the comemmoration of an isolated event which occurred 3,000
years ago, or is it perhaps something more?
On Passover, we say
that, "that in each and every generation, one must see himself as if he
left Egypt" In other words, though the original event itself took place
thousands of years ago, every Jew is obligated to feel that he himself
left Egypt. If such is the case regarding Passover, all the more so
regarding the Torah itself, for which our sages say that "each and
every day, it shall be in your eyes as something new". The Torah is not
some antiquidated burden we "shlep" on our backs, that must "somehow"
be adjusted to jibe with the present-day realities. No. Torah was given
today and for today. Yes, it was actually given today, for this very
moment!
This being the case, it must be understood that one who
sincerely wishes to receive Torah today, in its entirety, will find
himself in the heat of a tenacious cultural war. For in this
generation, more than any other, JEWS ARE TRYING TO PREVENT US FROM
RECEIVING THE TORAH! What do we mean? We are speaking of the
declaration by the Supreme Court of jesters that any political party
which calls for the changing of the existing gentile laws of the state
to Jewish law is disqualified from running for the Knesset. Any party
whose platform includes the changing of Israel from a state of Jews to
a Jewish State by making Jewish halacha the law of the land instead of
the present mixed multitude of British, Turkish, French and Swedish
laws - such a party will find itself banned. All this is so, even if
one attempts to make these changes by attaining a majority in the
Knesset! Why, you may ask? Because according to the Supreme Court,
Jewish law "contradicts the fundamental concepts of democracy and
equality", since it discriminates between men and women, Jew and
non-Jew, thereby being "racist".
This process of banning Torah
began in 1988 when Rabbi Meir Kahane, H"yd was banned, on the grounds
that his platform contained "racist" and "anti-democratic" laws from
the Torah. At the time, we declared that the matter will not end with
Rabbi Kahane and his students. And it did not. In systematic fashion,
via the "judicial activism" of Aharon Barak, the Supreme Court has
succeeded in delegitimizing any motion that would aspire to change the
direction of Israel to that of a Jewish state, and has the power to ban
religious laws (even if a "kosher" Knesset majority is attained), on
the grounds that such law contradicts "democracy".
The Torah
world which kept silent when Rabbi Kahane was banned is the guilty
party. Guilty are those who were silent when Rav Elba was jailed for a
halachic essay he wrote outlining differences in Jewish law between Jew
and gentile. Let there be no mistake: A war is being waged against the
Torah world, and no one else will fight our battles for us. He who sits
by quietly cannot complain when his number comes up. And it will come
up.
Unfortunately, the religious parties have more important
things on their mind - government funding for their institutions. Only
the Torah which they supposedly represent remains discarded and
irrelevant. And day by day, the Torah is being cut up - a halacha
today, another tomorrow, until eventually they will officially stamp
"censured" on the entire Torah! Shavuot is the holiday that celebrates
the giving of all of the Torah, without forfeiting on the halachot that
sent Rav Ido Elba to prison, or banned Rabbi Kahane and his students,
or turned traditional Jewish law in this country into a controversial
issue. Receiving Torah ("Matan Torah") can sometimes be a struggle.
"Right" versus "left" is not where the battle lies. The real war
standing before us is not between right or left, but rather between the
Hellenists and the Jews.
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