When G-d's Honor Is At Stake!

Kahane on the Parasha Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parashat Matot WHEN G-D'S HONOR IS AT STAKE! Moses is told by G-d (Numbers 31:2): "Exact the vengeance of the Children of Israel...then you will be gathered unto your people." And this is what the Rabbis say (Bamidbar Rabba 22:2): "Had Moses wished to live a few more years, he could have. For the Almighty said to him: Exact the vengeance of the Children of Israel and then you will be gathered unto your people. The verse ties Moses' death to the war with Midian [i.e., had Moses postponed the war by saying that the timing was not right, that the Jews needed more training, that conditions were not right, he would not have died]. But the verse tells us the praise of Moses, who said: 'Shall Israel's vengeance be delayed so that I live?'" But what is this? In what sense is the verse relating "the praise of Moses"? If a man has the opportunity to live for a few more days or weeks or years, is it permissible for him to refuse? Is there not a mitzvah of "Vachai ba'hem"- you shall live by the mitzvot and not die by them? The answer is, of course, stunning, and authentic Judaism. When the issue at hand is not just the life of an individual but Chillul Hashem on a national scale- when we are dealing with a milchemet mitzvah (which every war of vengeance is)- there is no room for talk of delay or "proper timing." Even if it is clear and certain that moving to blot out the Chillul Hashem will undoubtedly lead to death, one must act without the slightest hesitation lest Chillul Hashem be prolonged for even one unnecessary moment. The war against Midian was a war of obligation, of national sanctification, to erase the humiliation of Chillul Hashem- and wars of obligation are both Israel's wars and G-d's. That is why even though G-d told Moses to "exact the vengeance of the Children of Israel" (Numbers 31:2), Moses, in the very next verse, instructs the Jews "to inflict the vengeance of the L-rd against Midian." As Rashi explains: "He who stands against Israel is as one who stands against the Almighty." That is why when David heard Goliath mocking the Jews saying (1 Samuel 17:10), "I taunt the armies of Israel this day," he angrily shouted (ibid. 17:26): "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living G-d?" David understood what the Rabbis tell us: He who taunts Israel, taunts G-d. Any war against the Jewish people is a war against the G-d of the Jews, is a milchemet mitzvah, a war of obligation, a war to wipe out Chillul Hashem, a war that brooks no delay! Those who speak of the "proper" time overlook the fact that every moment that passes with Chillul Hashem in the ascendancy sees G-d's throne incomplete, as the Rabbis say: "As long as the wicked rule in the world, so to speak, the Almighty does not sit on His throne" (Yalkut, Tehillim 47). The victory and ascendancy of the wicked is a direct challenge, an affront and assault on the G-d of Israel, a Chillul Hashem in the most defiling of ways. In the Talmud (Sotah 13a), we are told: "When the sons of Jacob came to Me'arat HaMachpela [to bury their father], Esav showed up and prevented them from burying him. They said to him: You stole your birthright to Jacob. He replied: Show me the deed of sale. They said to him: It is the Land of Egypt, and they sent Naftali [who was swift] to get it [and settled down to wait for him]. Chushim, the son of Dan, was there; he was deaf. He asked them: Why aren't you burying Jacob? They replied: Esav is preventing us until Naftali comes back from Egypt. Said he: Shall my grandfather lie in humiliation until Naftali returns from Egypt?! He picked dup a stick and struck Esav [killing him]." Incredible! Chushim a man because of a slight delay? If he had waited patiently for a few days, Naftali would have returned with the deed and Jacob would have been buried. For a few days of desecration, he has no patience and kills a human being? Yes! Our Rabbis teach us a tremendous lesson here in the fundamentals of Chillul Hashem. YOU DO NOT WAIT! YOU DO NOT ALLOW THE NAME TO BE DESECRATED EVEN FOR A MOMENT!!! The Jewish Press, 1989 Shabbat Shalom Barbara 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 “Kahane on the Parsha” can be bought at the following links on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kahane-Parsha-Meir/dp/098867680X , it's also available on website, www.BrennBooks.com Facebook: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg