War and Peace

Rabbi Meir Kahane – The Jewish Idea (Or Hara’ayon) WAR AND PEACE (Excerpts) “I will grant peace in the land” (Lev.26.6): Perhaps you will say, “Well, there is food and there is drink, but if there is no peace then all this is nothing!” Scripture therefore states, “I will grant peace in the land” This teaches that peace counterbalances everything. Its likewise says (Isaiah 45.7), “I will make peace and create evil.” This teaches that peace counterbalances everything. (See Bamidar Rabbah, 11:5-6) Since peace is limited to its own time, it follows that in wartime all traits associated with love, kindness and mercy are redefined. It is then kind and merciful to go to war against the wicked. Our sages teach (Kohelet Rabbah, 3:[8]1): There is “a time to kill” – during war; “and a time to heal” – during peace. There is “a time to break down” – during war; “and a time to build up” – during peace – There is “a time to seek” – during peace; “and a time to lose” – during war. There is “a time to rend” – during war “ and a time to sew” – during peace…There is “a time to love”- during peace; “ and a time to hate” – during war. There is “a time for war” – during war; “and a time for peace” – during peace. The word of the Living G-d! And how relevant they are to our day: there is a time for war – during war; and a time for peace during peace. We might ask why Scriptures must tell us that there is a time for war. Might anyone think otherwise? Our sages were teaching that, in fact, some might really think so, especially with the insane, alien culture holding portions of our people captive in its sullied hands. Above I quoted Tanchuma, Shoftim15: “When you go forth to battle against your enemies (Deut.20:1)… What is meant by “against your enemies”? G-d said, “Confront them as enemies. Just as they show you no mercy, so should you not show them any mercy.” We have to realize that the non-Jew who goes to war against Israel is our enemy and not our friend. How unaware people are nowadays of this simple yet profound principle! Our sages also said (Sifri Shoftim 192): You are going to war against your enemies and not against your brethren. It is not Judah against Simeon or Simeon against Judah such that if you fall captive they will have mercy on you…It is against your enemies that you are waging war. If you fall into their hands, they will show you no mercy. Indeed, a timely war is a mitzvah, a duty, a kindness and an everlasting act of righteousness. Ex.34:6, which enumerates G-d’s attributes, ends by mentioning “truth”: The L-rd, the L-rd, Omnipotent, merciful and kind, slow to anger, with tremendous resources of love and truth.” I have already explained that there cannot be “mercy, kindness and tremendous resources of love,” without “truth.” We often find the combination of “kindness and truth,” to teach us that that same Deity who is “merciful, kind and loving,” is above all else a G-d of truth. Likewise, G-d is described as follows (Ex.15:3): “The L-rd is the Master of war, ‘Hashem’ is His name.” Despite His name being “Hashem,” a name indicating mercy, He is still “Master of war.” That same Hashem of mercy is also a Master of war against the wicked. All this is the plain truth. There is a time for war and cruelty and a time for mercy, kindness and clemency. It all depends on G-d’s laws, the laws of war by the Master of war. Our sages said (Mechilta,Ibid): “The L-rd is the Master of war, Hashem is His name: Our sages teach us a great lesson here regarding love for one’s fellow Jew and the duty one bears to him: It is not enough for a Jew not to murder. Surely, “Turn away from evil” (Ps.34:15) applies here, but a much weightier duty applies too: he must do all he can to save his fellow Jew from danger, to eradicate every danger and mishap, to defeat every foe who imperils the Jewish People before he can harm them. A non-Jew who tries to attack or kill a Jew must be punished, and if that non-Jew flees to save himself from punishment, it clearly is not just permissible but a mitzvah and duty to shoot to kill him. Whoever opposes this and orders that the enemy be allowed to flee, thereby enabling him to return later and kill Jews, will never be able to rise up and proclaim, “My hands have not spilled this blood.” He is aiding a rodef, is allied to murderers of Jews, and should be treated like a criminal (Moreover, such non-Jews not only fail to accept upon themselves taxes, slave status, and G-d’s and Israel’s sovereignty over the Land, but they declare war on the Jews, attacking and murdering us. We are duty-bound to wage a milchemet mitzvah against them, a compulsory war, and they deserve death, as I shall write below.) King David said (Ps 9:17), “The L-rd has made Himself known. He has executed judgment.” That is, the nations will know G-d and His glory only when he executes judgment in His war against them. He also said (Ps 24:8), “Who is the King of glory? The L-rd strong and mighty, He is mighty in battle.” The wars Israel was commanded to wage were not meant to satisfy any selfish urge on their part, any craving for land or desire for personal glory, but to sanctify G-d’s name and cast down the wicked who plunder and afflict the upright. Just as every part of Israel’s life must be holy, so must be their wars. Due to our sins, the reason we were exiled from our land, the laws of war, have been so corrupted and confused by so many fine students that ignorance on this matter has surpassed all limits. Some have no understanding whatsoever of what a milchemet mitzvah is, and in their blindness ask whether the war between us and the Arabs today is such a war. Woe, to the ears that hear this! Rambam writes (Hilchot Melachim 5:1) In a milchemet mitzvah, the king need not obtain permission of the court. Rather, he may go forth himself at any time and compel the people to follow. With milchemet reshut, however, he may only compel the people through a court of seventy-one. Here is the law before us. Clearly, no king is needed either. After all, the judges who preceded Saul were not kings nor were the Hasmoneans when they rose up against the Greeks. How long can our disgraceful ignorance of these laws go on?- Holiness and knowledge of G-d elevate a person from bestiality, fear and confinement to trust in G-d. Kiddush Hashem brings the redemption “speedily 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 /Rabbi Binyamin Kahane go to blog: www.barbaraginsberg-kahane.blogspot.com Facebook: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Rav Kahane Divrei Torah Pictures Viewpoints Youtubes, Videos First join Telegram and then hit link and you will see all. Telegram link: https://t.me/RKDTVP

CUCKOO LAND 1988

Beyond Words Volume Six pp. 83-84 Year 1988 Cuckooland (Read this article and ask if there is any wonder why “The rise of Arab power in and out of the government and why terrorism is a daily happening with helpless police who fear to shoot.” Nine months of intifada. Nine months, pregnant with madness, that gave birth to an insanity that even this mad, mad State of Israel has yet to see. Nine months in which the Israel Defense Forces ap¬parently cannot deal with Arab women and children in Gaza-Judea-Samaria. The IDF cannot deal with them? The IDF, that smashed Arab armies and states, cannot deal with them? But of course they can — swiftly, permanently. However . . . However, this tragic two-headed hapless, helpless government — shackled by fear of the gentile world — shackles the hands of the soldiers, the border patrol, the police. It takes a soldier, gives him a gun, sends him to Gaza and then orders him not to use the gun. If they spit at you — you are not to react. If they curse you with the most vicious and degrading of curses — you are not to react. If they throw stones at you — ah, if they throw stones at you . . . Here is an excerpt from “directions for soldiers” issued by the Israeli Army’s Central Command, headed by the notorious leftist, Amram Mitzna: “4: If stones have been thrown at you and your car or you have been hit and you are unable to continue driving, and the stone-throwing continues and there is danger to life, you may only shoot in the air and extricate yourself from the spot. “5: In the event that the firing does not help and the stone throwers approach within impact-distance and you have no other way to extricate yourself and you are surrounded — you must shout, ‘Stop or I will shoot.’ And if that, too, does not help, you may shoot at the feet of one of the leaders of the attackers and only at the feet.” To say that this document is madness would be to malign the insane. And yet, this is what the soldiers of Israel are burdened with. Is there any wonder that Arab women and children no longer have the slightest fear of Israeli security forces? They know that their hands are tied, that they must swallow the humiliation and frustration, lest they be arrested, tried and given prison sentences. They know the incredible story of the Brigade Commander, Colonel J., who was placed on disciplinary trial for having killed a rioting Arab, under circumstances that did not follow the insane political orders of the armed forces. Here is a man who gave 20 years of his life to the Israel Defense Forces and who should have been given a medal for his act. Instead, he was given a severe rep-rimand and relieved of his command. He is leaving the IDF, though the obvious truth is that the IDF left him. This is what he told the press (Hadashot, August 24): “I leave with a heavy feeling. I am an officer who works hard, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I am rarely home. I never expected to finish my service in the IDF in this way.” Nor did any normal Jew. They are destroying the IDF. They are destroying the security of the Jewish people. They are destroy¬ing the Jewish state — they, the sick leftists and the hapless government of Israel. Together they turn the Holy Land into Cuckooland. September 1988 Shabbat Shalom Barbara Beyond Words a 7 Book Volume of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s writings can be purchased at Amazon.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: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Rav Kahane Divrei Torah Pictures Viewpoints Youtubes, Videos First join Telegram and then hit link and you will see all. Telegram link: https://t.me/RKDTVP

To Give Of Oneself 1973

Kahane on the Parsha Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parshat Emor TO GIVE OF ONESELF "V'nikdashti b'toch b'nei Yisrael," thunders the Torah. "And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel" (Leviticus 22:32). Kiddush Hashem, the sanctification of G-d's Name! Is there any greater concept in all of Judaism? The hallowing of the Name! And how does one achieve this mitzvah of sanctification of the Name? One observes the Sabbath by observing it; one observes the commandment of prayer by praying; one fulfills the commandment of giving charity by reaching into one's pocket and giving. But how does one reach the summit of the mitzvah of sanctification? The Torah commentator, Rashi, quietly and expressly explains - in four short and simple Hebrew words: "M'sor atzmecha v'kadesh sh'mi. Give of yourself and sanctify My Name." As simple as that, as complex as that. As obvious as that, as concealed as that - and without it THERE IS NO JUDAISM and there is NO JEW and there is NO MEANING or CONTENT to Torah or existence. Who gives of himself today? Who looks upon his life in the light of the ultimate Truth - as a thing that is loaned us by its Creator on the condition that we live it in a certain way? And if, when the time comes, that way calls for the risking of that life - who realizes that it is part of the bargain that man has made and is morally bound to observe? The Ramban speaks of the possibility of a Jew living according to strict Jewish standards and following the very letter of the law, and yet remaining a "naval b'rshut haTorah," a villainous scoundrel within the boundaries of the Torah! The mind boggles at the thought! A Jew who scrupulously adheres to the letter of the law of each of the 613 commandments, who observes the Sabbath exactly as he must, who gives exactly the minimum amount of charity that he must, and who remains a villain and a scoundrel according to the Torah! It is not so strange. We see them every day. The Jew who eats only glatt kosher food, but in disgusting and expensive abundance while the poor and needy suffer silently in their forgotten neighborhoods and tenements. This is a scoundrel within Torah limits. The Jew who signs a petition, attends a parade, and returns home to his parlor while the noose grows tighter and parades cease to have meaning. This is a Torah scoundrel. The Jew who DOES the exact MINIMUM that he must and talks of the need to climb mountains but REMAINS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLOPE - this is the scoundrel and, indeed, he always remains at the bottom. Who gives of himself today? Worse, who recognizes his own weakness in not giving of himself? At least, if the latter were true, there might be some hope. But we live in a time when the flabby moral villain not only refuses to ascend the mountain but condemns those who do. Who looks upon life and understands its vanities and the need for a proper order of priorities? Who knows that if there are Jews who are oppressed, that one's own life and fortune are mortgaged to their freedom? Who understands that life is not as important as the manner of living it? Instead we look around and find people who pray to return to Zion and remain in the comfort of gilded Exile; who cry out against Russians and react in horror to any suggestion that the Soviet slope be conquered; who see Iraqi Jews murdered and who demand that "international action" be taken. Life is ours to be lived and life is ours to be understood. It is not ours to do with as we wish; it is ours to do with as we MUST. The Rabbis bitterly condemned the Jew who sits and eats hi meals in bland comfort while his fellow Jews suffer. They must surely have a special horror of that same Jew who - while he ate in the midst of Jewish tears - made a tremendous show of his religiosity on forgetting his brothers only over a plate of food fit even for the most scrupulous of Orthodox. To the young who wish to reach the height of sanctity, know that it cannot be reached from the comfortable valley. When the cry of a Jew is heard, CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN. Only thus does one reach G-d and his fellow man. It is dangerous and one can die, but, in the end, that is the ONLY WAY that one lives. The Jewish Press, 1973 Editor's note: Most of Rabbi Meir Kahane's anger in this dvar Torah is directed at American Jews who knew of the plight of Soviet Jewry but took little meaningful action in his eyes to alleviate it. Shabbat Shalom Barbara Anyone reading this Rabbi Meir Kahane article and is not on my personal list to receive the weekly articles written by Rabbi Kahane or Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane 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: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Rav Kahane Divrei Torah Pictures Viewpoints Youtubes, Videos First join Telegram and then hit link and you will see all. Telegram link: https://t.me/RKDTVP If you are interested in reading more Divrei Torah from Rabbi Meir and Binyamin Kahane HY"D, you can purchase the book at http://www.amazon.com/Kahane-Parsha-Meir/dp/098867680X

Declaration and Independence 1981

THEY MUST GO - 1981 BY RABBI MEIR KAHANE [Tomorrow eve when we will be celebrating Israel Independence Day and will light the sky with fireworks; will be a day of sorrow for the Arabs. Let us read the following article and learn what Rabbi Kahane has to say about Arabs and Independence Day bg) Declaration and Independence (excerpts) “On the 29th November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish People to establish their state is irrevocable. This right is the natural right of the Jewish People to be master of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign state. “Accordingly we, members of the People’s Council…hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael to be known as the State of Israel. “The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the exiles…” Note the innumerable clear statements of what Israel is meant to be. The land is “the birthplace of the Jewish people.” The first words of the declaration of the state set the time. It is the birthplace of the Jew – not the Arab – and it is the Jews who were “exiled from their land”; it is the Jews “who kept faith with it” and “never ceased to pray and hope for their return.” Can we seriously expect the Arab to feel equal or to have a share in such a state? A declaration of independence that he is expected to see as his own begins by speaking of the land as the birthplace of the Jewish people. But, he is not a Jew. The declaration speaks of an exile and a dream of return, but the Arab was not exiled, and if anything the dream of return of the Jew was the hope of making the Arab a minority. For the Arab who dreamed of Jewish not returning, the Jewish dream is a nightmare! When the Israeli Arab is told to rise for his national anthem, “Hatikvah” (the hope), and sing of “the Jewish soul yearning” and “the hope of 2,000 years,” can he be expected to feel empathy? Indeed, Israel’s resident self-hater, Uri Avnery, proposed in 1975 to change the anthem. His reason made eminently good sense if you were an anti-Zionist: the song’s motif of Jewish longing for Israel is not acceptable to Israel’s Arabs. When the Israeli Arabs looks upon the happy revelers on Israeli Independence Day, celebrating, in effect, the Arab defeat and the displacement of an Arab majority of Palestine by a Jewish majority of Israel, can he be seriously expected to join us? When, in the words of the Independence of Independence, the Law of Return opens the gates “for Jewish immigration,” and not Arab influx, for the cousins of the residents of Tel Aviv and not those of Nazareth, is it surprising that the Arab feels alienated from the state? The concept “Jewish” is dinned into the Arab’s angry head every day. Well, he is not Jewish, and what perverse madness prevents us from understanding his alienation and rage? Has it never occurred to anyone that the very existence of a Jewish state in the land where the Arab was once the majority makes him uncomfortable and that is unacceptable to him? The State of Israel came into being as the Jewish state, the sovereign homeland of the Jewish people. The State of Israel is the goal of Zionism, the movement of Jewish longing for a return to their homeland, a longing that began, not with Herzl in 1897, but with his great-great-ancestor, who wept as the Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70. The State of Israel is that homeland for which Jews pray three times daily, turning their faces, not toward Mecca or Rome, but toward Jerusalem. The State of Israel is the dream, vision, hope, tears, yearning of a Jewish people that suffered humiliation, exile, agony, poverty, Inquisitions, and Auschwitzes from its varied hosts throughout the world. The State of Israel is the Jewish conviction that “Never Again!” is a concept that can be realized only in a land where Jews control their own destiny, their own police and armed forces, their own guns to guarantee the kind of respect the Zhid, Kike, Yahud and Yevrei never quite received from the mouths, fists, and boots of the majority culture where he resided in nervous insecurity. The State of Israel is the Jewish demand for a land in which Jews can preserve and create their own specific tradition and way of life free of the spiritual and social assimilation of foreign abrasive culture. The State of Israel is the Jewish demand for what every other people sees as its natural right. The State of Israel is not a request, a plan, or a petition. It is not a favor sought while crouching like some pauper at the back door of the nobleman’s mansion. The State of Israel is the Jewish demand and affirmation of right to the land. What the Arab state of Syria is to the Syrians, and the Polish state to the Poles and Burundi to Burundians and Muslim Pakistan to Muslim Pakistanis and Papua to Papuans, so is the Jewish state – at least - to the Jews. There is nothing to be ashamed of. There is no need to grow defensive about this. There is no place for apologies. The land is ours, the state is ours; let us be proud, let us be joyful, and, above all, let us be convinced. Israel: the one land that the Jewish people have the right – and the obligation –to demand. Israel: the sovereign Jewish state, owned and controlled by and for the Jewish people. This is Zionism, this is Judaism; this is normalcy. I do not feel sorry for the Arabs of Eretz Yisrael, no matter how much they feel that the land is theirs. I do not feel for them because I know that the land is not theirs, that it is Jewish. It is the one and only land that we have, whereas the Arab of Eretz Yisrael can find a home in any one of more than the twenty two lands of his 100 million fellow Arabs. I feel not pain for one who robbed me of my land, no matter how loud his false claim to it. But as I feel neither pain nor guilt, I can understand this Arab and know the stupidity of the deception practiced on him. It is a deception that does not deceive; for the Arab of Eretz Yisrael may be a robber and murderer of Jews, but he is not a fool. Happy Israel Independence Day Anyone reading this Rabbi Meir Kahane article and is not on my personal list to receive the weekly articles written by Rabbi Kahane or Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane 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: Barbara Sandra Ginsberg Rav Kahane Divrei Torah Pictures Viewpoints Youtubes, Videos First join Telegram and then hit link and you will see all. Telegram link: https://t.me/RKDTVP