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The Writings of Rav
Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane HY"D- Dvar Torah in honor of Sukkot דבר תורה לכבוד חג הסוכות
NOT EVERYONE IS
INCLUDED IN THE FOUR SPECIES
Organs of power at
home joining the side of our enemy requires us to take another look at the
known midrash about how the "four species" symbolize different levels
in Am Yisrael.
It is impossible to
ignore the growing and obscene phenomenon, where Jews in the upper echelons of
Israeli society mobilize time and time again to further the cause of our bitter
enemies. Whenever possible, they rise from within us, under the orchestration
of the media, to demoralize the nation during its fight for existence, while
furthering the interests of the enemy. The question is: How should we relate to
these people? Are they one of us, or are they "beyond the pale"?
THE FOUR SPECIES: A
PARABLE FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE
One of the famous
midrashim in connection to Sukkot, compares the four species to the unity of
Israel:
Just as the Etrog has both taste and smell, so too do the Jewish People have within it people who have Torah and good deeds:
Just as the Etrog has both taste and smell, so too do the Jewish People have within it people who have Torah and good deeds:
Lulav...has taste and
no smell, and so too there are those who have Torah and no good deeds...
Just as the Hadas has
smell and no taste...(there are those) with good deeds and no Torah...
Just as the
"Arava" has no smell and no taste, so (there are those) who have no
Torah and no good deeds.
And what does the
Almighty do to them? To destroy them would be impossible! But rather the
Almighty said that he will tie them all up in one unit and they will atone for
one another". (Vayikra Raba, 30:12)
In view of how we
opened this article, this amazing midrash mentioning how the Aravot are held
tightly together with the rest of Am Yisrael, seems to shed light on the
subject, and must be further analyzed.
WICKED, BUT WANT
CONNECTION
The worst kind of Jew
spoken of here is the Arav, who is not destroyed, because the righteous atone
for him. They are Jews "who have no Torah and no good deeds." True,
we are not talking about the cream of the crop - but we are talking about Jews
who are ready to be part of the union of Am Yisrael, connected to them so that
the righteous can atone for them. We are not talking about Jews, who G-d
forbid, sever themselves from the collective and detest their own Jewishness.
We are not discussing Jews who the sages spoke of when they said that in the
days of the Messiah, there will be Jews who will identify with and join forces
with the enemy. About such Jews, the above midrash does not speak. On the
contrary. The idea of the midrash is two-fold. On the one hand, G-d does not
desire to see the wicked of Israel destroyed. One the other hand, the wicked
mentioned here are those willing to join and be a part of Klal Yisrael. Only
they merit this special atonement. It is an atonement reserved for one who
feels belonging to the collective of the Jewish Nation.
It must be known:
Relatively speaking, there really are only a few Jews who seek to cut
themselves off from Am Yisrael. In Israel today, this miniscule band of haters,
though they wield tremendous control, are a tiny minority. Through all the
generations, and especially in this final era before the complete redemption,
there were always Jews who took themselves out of the collective, and deep
inside of them, identify more with the goyim than with the Jews.
SOME JEWS ARE BARRED
And so, it is a great
mistake to identify such people as the "Arava" described in the
midrash. for while the Arava is still only an Arava, it still has a belonging
to the Jewish collective. While it has no taste or smell, at least it does not
give off a putrid or damaging smell. The Arava sees himself as part of the four
species and does not nullify his Jewishness, nor does he want to be like a
gentile. By this very fact, he is able to absorb within him the smell and taste
of the others. We must also remember that there are certain things that
disqualify the four species from being Kosher. And so, though we are never
happy about disqualifying a Jew, there are those who are rejected, and not tied
together with the rest of the four species.
The nation is willing
to absorb the individual sinners, and to cover and atone for them so that they
will not perish with their sins. (Even though this causes us great suffering as
a people). It is ready to hold on tightly to them with all its might in order
to unite them, for we Jews are all guarantors for one another. But the nation
is not ready to carry under its wing he who in his very essence is an aberrant
traitor. Such people remove themselves from the Sukkah of Israel, and as much
as it hurts to say, they are beyond the pale for us.
Chag Sameach!
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