LEADERS DON'T ALWAYS DESERVE RESPECT RAV BINYAMIN KAHANE

Kahane on the Parsha Rabbi Binyamin Kahane- Parshat Emor LEADERS DON'T ALWAYS DESERVE RESPECT Democracy has twisted the meaning of a leader from someone who is supposed to LEAD the masses into someone who CHASES after the masses. Professional politicians like Rabin and Bibi will soon "go down to the people." They have set their sights on the upcoming elections. They can already be seen kissing babies and giving them balloons with their party names on them. Anything that makes a good shot for the media, anything to buy another vote. There is nothing like an election season to display the degradation of leaders in a democracy. The Torah envisions a different kind of society. In a truly Jewish society, a leader is honored and treated with the greatest of respect. Thus the very special status of the Kohen gadol in our parsha. In general, all kohanim are considered holy and distinguished in many ways from the rest of the populace. The Rabbis teach us - based on Leviticus 21:8 - that we must give a kohen precedence in all matters pertaining to kedusha and make sure his honor is always properly upheld (Gittin 59b). But this directive is not absolute. If a leader is wicked, arrogant, or more concerned with himself than the welfare of his people - placing his own honor above the honor of G-d and the needs of the nation - there is NO OBLIGATION to respect him. The Torah commands us NOT to "curse a ruler from amongst your people" (Exodus 22:27), but this injunction only applies when the leader "does acts that are acts of the people" - that is, he follows the Torah (Baba Basra 4a). If he does not, not only may he be cursed, but he also loses the right to govern since his entire authority stems from his adherence to the Torah and its mitzvot. If an official, kohen, or king strays from this path, the verdict is clear: he gets stripped of his post and sent home. Israel's present "leadership" - the government of Yitzchak Rabin - has long lost its legitimate right to rule from a Torah standpoint, and history begs that it be put out to pasture. This government abandons its brothers and sisters and aims to destroy the Jewish character of the state. In its obsession with universalism, it rushes to uproot anything which reminds it that Israel is exclusively a Jewish state and that the Jews are G-d's chosen people. That is why it is so eager to surrender G-d-given land - even Jerusalem, heaven forbid. And that is why the time has come to send these corrupt politicians home. May G-d grant the people of Israel the wisdom to save themselves before Israel's wicked leaders succeed in implementing their deadly plot. Kahane on the Parsha can be purchased at the following links: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kahane-Parsha-Meir/dp/098867680X , it's also available on website, www.BrennBooks.com Anyone reading this Rabbi Meir Kahane or Rabbi Binyamin Kahane article and is not on my personal list to receive the weekly articles and would like to be, please contact me at: barbaraandchaim@gmail.com To view articles written by Rabbi Meir Kahane and Rabbi Binyamin Kahane go to blog: www.barbaraginsberg-kahane.blogspot.com Facebook Links: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Otzma Yehudit for Anglos