On Voting in Elections in the Land of Israel

The remains of the shul in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif,
may it be speedily rebuilt

On voting in elections in the Land of Israel

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Someone wrote to the Rebbe concerning someone who had written to him, encouraging him not to vote in the Israeli elections. This was the Rebbe’s response.

... Anyone who has a passport in his hand automatically has the ability to vote. By registering for the passport he acknowledges, and not under coercion, the [political] leadership there. If after this he does not participate in the elections, and others see and do likewise, and this is liable to affect the determination of a “major” law or even a minor one, when they [the politicians voted in] vote for the legislation incorrectly, then he shares the blame for the calamity of many.  I have not yet found the person with the “broad shoulders” to be able to take responsibility for such a calamity.

Of course, the above words are not directed at those who give no recognition at all to the [political] leadership, or who don’t want to travel to the Holy Land, may it be rebuilt, for this reason, etc. However, those who are there, and who take part in whatever manner there,[1] but only when it comes to taking part in the elections, they parade their zeal, should know that the opposite is the case [i.e., true zeal is expressed by voting]. 

Moreover, they do damage to the many, as mentioned above. Especially after they have tangibly seen over the course of the years that have passed how the vote of one political representative could have prevented a stumbling block to the many that constituted violation of a rabbinic prohibition and even of a biblical prohibition. This will suffice for the understanding.

It is self-evident that you have permission to write all that I have written here concerning the elections to the one mentioned above, and you may also add sharpness, because no matter how much you add, it will not do justice to the matter.

[1] You should ask him whether he benefits and pays—and thereby assists them—for water service, electricity, and the like. Does he pay taxes, some of which is also given to support the Ministry of Religions—in the plural—and its goals, and so on, and so forth. That constitutes actual assistance, not merely participation. How many times was he or one of his colleagues imprisoned for not paying taxes? If he is truly on the level about which which he writes, why doesn’t he fulfill the ruling of Rambam in Hilchos Dei’os, 6:1 [requiring one living in an environment of wicked people to move away]?

Igros Kodesh, Vol. 11, p. 168.

In my own words: Yes, it is indeed very worthy to oppose Zionism (see here, here, and here). However, that opposition is not applicable in this case. First, if opposing Zionism means not acknowledging the state, the one who refuses to vote in the Israeli elections with the claim: “We don’t want to participate and lend endorsement to the anti-religious Zionist state in any way” has not solved his problem, because he has chosen to be a citizen of the state, and in so doing he is already participating in it regardless: 1. he benefits from government services; 2. he is actively supporting causes that are antithetical to Torah simply by paying taxes.

Now that he is already part of this objectionable system, benefiting from it, and even assisting it, he has a moral and halachic obligation to at least exert a positive influence, and if he doesn’t, he is in fact causing harm to his fellow Jews.

Moreover, the voter is the true anti-Zionist zealot, because he uses his ability to vote and to influence others to vote to thwart the anti-religious legislation that the state would otherwise pass, or at least to lessen the amount and severity of such legislation.

Elsewhere the Rebbe elaborates on the importance of even a handful of votes to the political system as a whole:

The ruling of our holy Torah is known: “One should always view oneself as in an equal balance, and the entire world as in an equal balance” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, 3:4). With regard to the elections, sometimes a small number of votes can affect, over the course of time, that a decree [harmful legislation] not be passed, or even revoke the existing decrees. Who is the one in our time who can say: “I saved my own soul, and the community in the Holy Land, may it be rebuilt, let it be as it may be. If they issue a decree, what does that matter to me?” Especially since he pays taxes to all the government offices, which constitutes assistance, and in a direct manner, to their agendas. He registered for their passport, and when he writes letters he certainly knows that what he spends on the stamps goes to the tax offices, and some of that money goes to various objectionable causes. 

Igros Kodesh, Vol. 11, p. 253.

Moreover, the Rebbe specified how one should vote (ibid.):

Obviously, one should vote for the most charedi [G–d-fearing] parties.

And again, this time in a letter to Agudas Chassidei Chabad, the Chabad umbrella organization:

I have come to emphasize ... the holy duty and privilege, that everyone of those who tremble and fear the word of Hashem should take part in the elections. He should do so himself, and he should influence others, to vote for the most charedi parties, so that not even one vote goes to waste. I hereby give permission and authorization to publicize my opinion with full vigor and full force: Every single male and female among those who fear Hashem and think about His Name should do all in their power to increase the number of voters for the most charedi parties.

 Igros Kodesh, Vol. 4, pp. 345-346.

The Rebbe also stressed the disastrous spiritual effects on the country of simply failing to vote for the most charedi party:

... Refraining from this [voting for the most charedi party] automatically augments the strength of the parties who oppose Hashem, His Torah, and its Mitzvos.

Igros Kodesh, Vol. 11, p. 279.

Not going to the elections automatically leads to several more representatives ... from the heretics, and they declare in the Diaspora, and also in the Holy Land, may it be rebuilt, that this is solid proof that this is the majority in the Holy Land [i.e., this supports their claim that the majority in the Land of Israel don’t believe in Torah], and there is no greater desecration of Hashem’s Name than this.

Ibid., p. 357.

What does this all mean to us? Well, if you live in the Diaspora, as I do, it might mean to influence your friends in the Holy Land to vote, if you think that they might not be.

But if you are reading this in the Holy Land, then a very simple, practical question arises: What is the exact  meaning of the phrase, “the most charedi parties”?

What I’m about to say may seem obvious to many, but I believe that it needs to be spelled out. (See some Hebrew letters from distinguished Chabad rabbis here making the same point.) Being charedi is not about dressing very differently from the non-Jews, speaking in Yiddish, and so on. As proper and worthy as those (and many other praiseworthy pious) practices are, they are superficial. Being charedi is about being genuinely afraid to go against the word of Hashem in His holy Torah, and devoted to following it without compromise, starting with refusing to compromise one iota on basic halachah.

With regard to Israeli politics, unfortunately the so-called religious and charedi parties have betrayed us in this regard. In recent decades, this holds true first and foremost with regard to the issue of ceding land. As the Rebbe declared and even screamed in pain from the depth of his heart countless times, Jewish law forbids the surrender of land or even autonomy to non-Jews, or even discussing and admitting the possibility of such a course of action. This is categorically forbidden because:

1. this land is vital for security, and thus surrendering it endangers the safety of all the Jews living in the Holy Land, may G–d save us; 
2. Hashem gave the Jewish people the entire land as an eternal gift, and so it is forbidden to give any of it away to non-Jews; 
3. doing so causes tremendous damage and loss to Jewish property and livelihood;
4. doing so emboldens the desire of the enemy to demand more and terrorize us more, seeing that we are weak and concluding that their threats and attacks are effective
5. when Jews publicly violate the ruling of Torah, spurn the Land Hashem gave us, etc., it desecrates Hashem’s Name.

Yet parties that call themselves religious and even charedi, whose names are infamous, chose time and again to remain in the government coalition and thereby helped unforgivably heinous, wicked deeds to be done (remaining in the coalition in such a case is forbidden, as the Rebbe states in Igros Kodesh, Vol. 11, p. 168), and some even actively voted for such laws, may G–d save us, which of course makes it forbidden to vote for them, “religious” or otherwise (Karasi Ve’ein Oneh, Vol. 2, p. 422). To be specific, the Camp David Accords, the Oslo Accords, and the “Disengagement” were all only able to be passed because of the “religious” parties that chose to enable them by staying in the coalition, and in some cases, even vote for them.

Although there are obviously many other considerations in promoting Torah observance than this one, Torah rules clearly that “pikuach nefesh [danger to life] overrides the entire Torah” (Yoma 82a). As the Rebbe said many times, if one has a choice between a government grant to support Yeshivos, build shuls and mikva’os, and a matter related to securing the Land of Israel, one should forgo the government grant and not compromise on Jewish safety (see Karasi Ve’ein Oneh, pp. 378, 405, 463, etc.). On another occasion (ibid. p. 473), the Rebbe spoke very harshly, declaring that “one cannot base education for Torah and fear of Heaven on funds stained with Jewish blood. Not only is it forbidden to build Yeshivos with such funds, or to teach students fear of Heaven with such funds, it is even forbidden to build a bathroom with such funds (see Avodah Zarah 17a).”

Rather, the meaning of charedi in our time is simple: Vote for parties whose platform includes a clear, principled opposition to any involvement whatsoever in such treacherous schemes, and whose candidates have demonstrated a consistent example of doing so in their public career. 

Since everything we see and hear should teach us a lesson in our service of Hashem, below are some suggested lessons:

1. If you happen to be in an imperfect situation and part of a faulty system, as long as you choose to remain in it, don’t hesitate to have the maximum positive influence on those around you as you can, and influence others in your situation to do likewise. Yes, the system is deeply flawed, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be a force for significant good as long as you’re in it (of course, with the proviso that one is not actually violating Jewish law, which is never permissible). 

2. As important as it is to dress as a chossid should (see here and here), the main thing is to be G–d-fearing, and the dress is encouraged because it is another method of reaching that goal. But if one is not G–d-fearing, the pious dress and other trappings do not help. (Along similar lines, see here, and Yeshayah ch. 1.)

3. Even if one’s intentions are supposedly very worthy, any choice of action that comes at the expense of basic Jewish safety is indefensible and contemptible.

(For a great Hebrew article on this topic, see here.)

On Developing Positive Emotions

On Developing Positive Emotions 

Rabbi Y. Oliver

Everyone possesses both good and bad middos, emotional character traits. Some exist innately, from birth, while others are learnt from others, whether by direct inculcation, or by example.

Moreover, “Hashem made this one”—the side of impurity—“opposite this one”[1]—the side of holiness. So not only do both kinds of emotions exist, but they parallel one another. For example, although kindness is typically positive, it can also take on an evil form. Strictness is often negative, but it can also come out positive—and so on (see here).

Altogether, every person possesses seven emotional traits: The seven positive traits, which correspond to the seven branches of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash,[2] and their seven negative counterpart emotions, which correspond to the seven wicked nations that inhabited the land of Canaan until the Jews conquered it.

Actions are dictated by emotions. Intellectual awareness alone will not bring forth a commensurate action. Emotions constitute the energy and drive that bring intellectual convictions down into action.

Thus, one’s emotions are very important: By developing positive, holy emotions, one spurs oneself to good actions: Love of Hashem inspires one to perform positive Mitzvos, while fear of Hashem inspires one to refrain from violating negative Mitzvos.[3]

Conversely, negative emotions naturally draw the person to commit wicked deeds—sins—or permitted deeds with only selfish intent, without the desire to serve Hashem. Likewise, they entice the person to be idle and not exert oneself to perform Mitzvos to the extent of one’s capabilities. And just as we were commanded to expel the seven nations from the Land, so are we commanded to banish our negative emotions from within, so that they not lead us to sin. Then we can truly “settle the Land” within by cultivating positive and even holy emotions.

May Hashem grant us much inner strength to overcome and banish the negative and selfish emotions within, and develop and ingrain within ourselves positive and holy emotions. This effects an “inner redemption” which hastens the coming of the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach—may he come to redeem us today!

Based on the Rebbe's Toras Menachem 5718, Vol. 22, p. 88 ff.
See continuation of this essay here.

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[1] Koheles 7:14.
[2] Torah Ohr 32b.
[3] Tanya beg. ch. 4.

This post was dedicated by Shmuli Markel and family (Shmuel Leib ben Esther and Sara Rochel bas Chaya Nechomoh), and by Yisroel Meir Raphael and family.




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The Shalit Deal--Disgraceful and Deadly

The Shalit Deal—Disgraceful and Deadly

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

This is not the normal kind of topic that I write about on my blog, but this time I’m making an exception.

The Israeli government has declared that in a short while it will exchange Gilad Shalit for over a thousand convicted terrorists serving life sentences. Now, saving a captive is one of the greatest Mitzvos in the Torah, but not when done in this way. With all due respect to Gilad’s family and various other well-meaning supporters, this “deal” is evil and obscene:

1. High risk of re-offense, G–d forbid: Letting loose terrorists with blood on their hands endangers Jews who would, G–d forbid, be their next target. This has happened before countless times, and not even the most ardent advocate of this deal doubts will happen again this time. In fact, according to this article, sixty percent of freed terrorists re-offend. Now, this objection would stand even if only one terrorist were to be released; all the more so in this case, when over a thousand are to be released. These excuses for human beings running amok in society is tantamount to hundreds of stabbings, sniping attacks, or suicide bombings waiting to happen, G–d forbid. Once these attacks begin, G–d forbid, I wonder what the pro-deal camp will say, or how Gilad and his family will manage to live with themselves.

2. Rewarding terror emboldens the enemy: When you surrender to terrorists in any way, you show them through your actions that their acts of cold-blooded mass murder pay off. In this case, the Israeli government should have treated this capture as an open act of war and gone on the offensive by occupying the entire Gaza, executing terrorist prisoners, cutting off Gaza’s electricity, taking prominent Arab leaders captive, and so on, until Gilad was released. Instead, the Jews have shown the terrorists that Jews are weak and cowardly, and that abduction is a highly effective method for the enemy to achieve its goals. So now that the the enemy sees that the Jews have capitulated, they know to continue such acts again, and again, and again, G–d forbid, thereby manipulating the Jews in power to cede to their every demand. So this tremendous emboldening of the enemy makes the Jews in the Holy Land in general much more at risk of being captured, G–d forbid.

3. Strikes fear into Jews: Terror means more than cowardly killing people in cold blood. Terror is a strategy and philosophy that advocates using violence to drive terror, i.e., fear, into the hearts of the target population, in order to bring them to capitulate to the terrorists’ demands. So when those in leadership play right into the terrorists’ hands by acting out of fear and a sense of powerlessness, these leaders in effect promote fear among the Jews they were charged with bravely leading and protecting. In the case of this deal, these released murderers will go on to become community icons, bragging to their Arab brethren about their “courageous feats,” inciting others to do likewise, and continuing such activities with even greater zeal, may G–d save us. This increased danger and sense of vulnerability creates an atmosphere of low morale and fear among the general Jewish populace, military and civilian.

3. Destruction of deterrent power: Even once terrorists are in prison, they will know (as they have after past deals, and all the more so now) that it’s only a matter of time until their cohorts capture someone else and use that captive as a bargaining chip; this knowledge encourages them to commit terror, secure that not only will they not be put to death when caught (which is what we should do—see point #9 below), but they may only have to sit a few years (indeed, many of them boasted just that when they were first imprisoned, and to our disgrace, their arrogant words proved correct).

4. Affront to families of victims: What about the many hundreds of grieving families of the victims of these prisoners? They were assured that their slain relatives’ murderers would never see the light of day. How will they feel now, knowing that not only were their loved ones not brought to true justice by being executed, but they are being set free? Why don’t these families at least have a say in these deals? And why were most of them not even politely informed of the court’s decision?

5. Violation of Jewish law: Jewish law unequivocally forbids any deal of this kind, according to the principle of the Gemara[1] that Pikuach Nefesh, saving a life, does not override the prohibition against killing another Jew. Here is not the context to discuss this topic on a more technical level, but Jewish law explicitly prohibits a ransom of this kind.[2]

6. Warped morality: The Midrash warns: “Whoever is kind to the cruel will end up being cruel to the kind.”[3] True, every Jew is priceless: “Whoever saves a Jewish life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”[4] And yet the thought to release hundreds of vicious murderers for the sake of saving one Jew is warped morality; it is misplaced kindness and compassion that stems from Kelipah, the forces of impurity (see here and here). This is why Hashem gave us the Torah, which is called “a Torah of light,”[5] for it illuminates our way in this dark world, “a world of falsehood.”[6] In this context, Torah would have been vital for the Jews striving to free Gilad to approach the matter with moral clarity. Yes, they may have meant well, but without Torah as their anchor, they were bound to sink into a bottomless pit of moral confusion, doing harm when they sought so sincerely to do good. May they come to realize the foolishness of abandoning timeless divine morality in favor of their own highly limited intellects.

7. Farce of the justice system: How is it that unrepentant mass murderers are let loose en masse, but criminals convicted of crimes incomparably less severe must do their time? And this complaint applies all the more with regard to Jews in prison for actions that were perhaps misguided, but were reactions to attacks, motivated out of a worthy desire to protect Jews, such as those imprisoned for throwing rocks back at Arab youth who were throwing rocks at them, and the like.

8. Disgrace before the world community: Jews should be setting an example of proper behavior for all mankind—being a “light unto the nations.”[7] In the case of this deal, they have failed miserably. I cannot imagine any other country negotiating such a disgraceful deal. Look at how America went and occupied Afghanistan as soon as it viewed it as a terrorist threat, and later on, Iraq. The world respects those who respect themselves. Such craven concessions as these lead the nations to look down on Jews in general, and greatly weakens the case of the Jewish people to live in their G–d-given Land.

9. No mercy on mass murderers! Lastly, I can only reiterate the Rebbe’s words[8] warning the Israeli government to execute terrorists. a. This is this the punishment that these scum more than deserve; b. it deters further acts of terror; c. most importantly, it protects, or at least significantly decreases, the likelihood of Jews being abducted, because if there are no convicted murderers being held, there is no one to exchange (not that there will not be Arab criminals in prisons in the Holy Land, but their crimes will not be related to terror, and so there will be less of a desire on the part of the terror groups to free their comrades).[9]

Based in part on the Rebbe’s public talk of Motzoei Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar, 5739.

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[1] Sanhedrin 37a.

[2] See Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 252:4.

[3] Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel I, 221.

[4] Sanhedrin 37a.

[5] Mishlei 6:23.

[6] Zohar 1:192b.

[7] Yeshayah 42:6.

[8] See Kfar Chabad Magazine #635.

[9] Here is an article about a rabbi who has spoken out in favor of this approach.

ETA: Thank G–d, Gilad Shalit has returned to the Holy Land! We are overjoyed for him and his family, and we wish them all the best; however, we continue to object to the means by which this was done, and express our concern for the long-term repercussions of this release.

See a similar article here.

This post was dedicated by Reb Yisroel Meir Rafael and family.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

FAQs about Zionism II

(Continued from here.)

Question: Aren’t the wars to defend the Land of Israel that we have won so miraculously proof that the messianic redemption has begun?


Answer: It is true that over recent decades the Jews living in Eretz Yisroel have, with the help of Hashem, won many wars against tremendous odds, but that does not constitute a sign of redemption. Consider the case of Purim, when the Jewish people took arms against our goyisheh enemies and won, but remained in exile afterward nonetheless, as the Talmud states, “We are still [even after the miracle of Purim] slaves of Achashverosh” (Megillah 14a).


Thus, refusing to associate these miracles with the messianic redemption does not mean “turning one’s back” on them. Indeed, we should give great thanks to Hashem for the miracles by which so many Jews were saved and so much of our sacred Land was protected, and vast segments of it liberated.

However, there is no inherent connection between these salvations and the future redemption other than the fact that all salvations are spiritually interrelated. Note also that in the Amidah prayer, we praise Hashem Who “redeems [the people of] Israel,” and the commentaries state that this is not a prayer for the future redemption, but for salvation “from the troubles that befall us” in exile. The Jewish people have experienced divine salvation despite fighting against great odds many times during their protracted exile, and this was yet another such occasion. Thus, the indisputable miraculousness of these events does not detract from the fact that we are still in exile.


Question: Shouldn’t we take action in order to hasten the redemption?


Answer: It is not our role to try to hasten the redemption through force. Hashem has promised us that when the time comes, Moshiach will usher in the age of redemption. For the true cause of the exile was not the Babylonians, the Romans, or any other empire, but our sins, and thus the only way to hasten and ultimately bring the redemption is by increasing in our own Torah observance and encouraging our fellow Jews to do likewise. This rectifies our sin, the cause of the exile, and therefore removes its outcome, the exile, automatically.


Question: Won’t leaving the exile and moving to Eretz Yisroel ...


Answer: Whoa, hold it right there. Until Moshiach comes, the Land of Israel is a part of exile and the Jews in it are in a state of exile just as are those living in the Diaspora. The confusion of the two meanings of the word golus—diaspora and exile—is unfortunate and highly misleading, although I imagine it is unintentional. This identification implies that living in the Land means living in a world of redemption, or at least partial redemption, while living in the diaspora means choosing to remain in exile.

With all due respect, this is incorrect. Even a Jew who lives in Eretz Yisroel declares during his prayers: “On account of our sins, we were exiled from our Land.” And he does so even when praying in the holiest city, Yerushalayim, and at the Kosel, the holiest place in the world that we can go. So even a Jew living in the Holy Land, in the holiest city, and standing at the Kosel, is in exile just the same. For exile is not about being banished from the Land, but about being in a state of exile in which we cannot serve Hashem properly, which is only possible when we have the Beis HaMikdash, a Jewish king (in the case of the upcoming redemption, the king Moshiach), and so on. There were Jews living in the Land throughout our long exile, albeit in smaller numbers, and yet no one ever saw anything redemptive in that.


Question: How do you respond when you see Jews displaying the Israeli flag?


Answer: I am unhappy. However, I find it doubly sad when I witness someone who identifies with the cause of strengthening the Jews of Yehuda and Shomron displaying the Israeli flag so proudly. It was only yesterday, in the suicidal idiocy and treason so euphemistically but callously termed “disengagement,” that we all saw the true colours of the Israeli government and its flag.

We saw how the government sent young men and women (who should have been elsewhere defending us from our true enemies) to systematically and efficiently expel our brethren from their homes and villages in the Gaza strip and Northern Shomron—all with that very flag emblazoned on their blackshirted vests. To add insult to injury, when their dirty deed was done, they raised that flag over the Jew-free territory to declare “victory” (may Hashem have mercy) in their mission. And then we saw how the same government that had promised so publicly, using costly advertising campaigns, that there would be a “solution for every settler” did nothing of the sort, instead leaving these expellees in the lurch. The “dawn of the redemption,” indeed.

FAQs about Zionism I

Question: Is the State of Israel good or bad?

Answer: In a nutshell, as I understand it, the Chabad position on the State of Israel is as follows. The State was the embodiment of all the aspirations of nationalist Zionism, which was a secular and even antireligious philosophy designed to replace true Torah-based Judaism with a secular nationalist ideal, G–d forbid. This agenda is false and evil, and delays the true redemption. Chabad thus opposes any identification with the government of the sort that would give the impression that one accepts the evil philosophy behind it.

However, the idea of saving and protecting Jews from danger is legitimate and worthy, and in fact a Torah imperative (" pikuach nefesh"). The Zionists who set up the State performed a worthy deed in setting up an army to protect the Jews from the hostile Arabs, and in organizing a place for Jews to live to escape persecution. 


Yet this does not mitigate the fact that they simultaneously committed an evil deed by associating this endeavor with promoting their anti-religious, anti-Torah philosophy. Their intentions in setting up the State were therefore a mixture of good and evil.

Practically speaking, the Jews who live there are Jews like any other, and so they need military protection; thus, those who serve in the army do a tremendous Mitzvah in defending Jewish life, regardless of the fact that the government that dispatches them represents the philosophy of Zionism.

Likewise, the Land is holy, and those who settle in it in a holy way perform a Mitzvah regardless of the fact that the government that technically controls the Land embodies the philosophy of Zionism. For in reality the government does not own the Land; rather, it is Hashem’s eternal gift to every single Jew.

Question: Why don’t you celebrate Israeli Independence Day?



Answer: Among other reasons, because it is simply untrue—the Jews living in Eretz Yisroel today (may they increase manyfold) are not independent from the non-Jews. This reality is so blatant that all one need do is select any random news report concerning Israeli foreign relations, and one will see how the Israeli government grovels in front of the goyim. Moreover, this has been going on in one form or another all along, only in an ever-increasing measure, and especially over the past decade. It has reached such depraved, outrageous proportions that it boggles my mind every time I attempt to get my head around it.

In particular, I am referring to the vile atrocities of surrendering Jewish land, guns, and money to our sworn terrorist enemies, expelling Jews en masse from their homes, and criminalizing the building or renovation of Jewish homes—all out of the craven fear of “what will the goyim say.” This shows plainly and irrefutably just how much "independence" Zionism has brought us.

Our control over the Land is significant and must be maintained because the Land is holy and G-d-given, and because to relinquish any part of it would severely endanger those who remain. However, the truth must be recognized that this control is only partial, that we are in reality vassals to the United States of America, and thus our titular control does not constitute true independence. (One recent reminder of this was the pathetic way that the IDF scrambled to complete its military operation in Gaza, which was codenamed Cast Lead, before President Obama came into office—lest their actions displease the president and he wield his influence to obstruct their efforts, through withdrawal of aid or the like.) 

Question: Doesn’t the very existence of the State of Israel constitute the fulfillment of biblical prophecies foretelling the return of the Jewish people to Eretz Yisroel?

Answer: No, we're still in exile. The secular Zionist state is not the fulfillment of any biblical redemptive prophecies, which will only be fulfilled through Moshiach. Moreover, calling the exile redemption delays the coming of the true redemption! Conversely, the first step towards true redemption is recognizing that we are indeed in exile, for only then can we truly pray for the redemption.

In fact, not only are we not in a state of redemption, but in a way the exile is even worse in the Holy Land, for in many places there, may G-d save us, the atmosphere is lacking in fear of G-d (although the numbers of those returning to Jewish observance have been steadily increasing, thank G-d). To sin in the Holy Land is considered more severe than to sin in the diaspora, for a sin committed in the King’s palace is worse than a sin committed outside it (Tashbetz, sec. 559).

Proudly Promoting Exclusively Jewish Ownership of the Tomb of the Patriarchs

Proudly Promoting Exclusively Jewish
Ownership of the Tomb of the Patriarchs

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

This week’s Parsha discusses Avraham’s purchase of the Cave of Machpelah, a.k.a. the Tomb of the Patriarchs. How does one respond to Arabs who claim rights over it? The Rebbe explains:

When the descendants of Yishmael approach us with the claim that the Cave of Machpelah belongs to them, for they trace their lineage to Avraham[1], this week’s Torah portion[2] provides us with a clear response:

1) It is well known that the vast majority of the Arabs now living in the countries neighboring the Land of Israel do not descend from Yishmael.[3]

2) Moreover, Yishmael himself has no connection to the Cave of Machpelah, for Avraham bought it in order to bury Sarah.[4] Yishmael was not Avraham’s heir, and certainly not Sarah’s heir. Thus, it belongs only to Sarah’s son Yitzchok, and to Yitzchok’s descendants, who are traced only through Yaakov.[5]

The conclusion of this week’s Torah portion teaches us another point:

When a time comes that [the descendants of] Yishmael becomes wild, and approaches us with wild claims and demands, the Jewish people should not become afraid, G–d forbid, or discouraged. We must merely remind Yishmael of the truth: His existence is defined by his being “born of Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, for Avraham.”[6] However, if he begins to hold himself as an independent entity, and not as the son of Sarah’s maidservant, he will “fall amongst all his brothers.”[7]

Non-Jews also believe in the Written Law. Thus, when the Jew is sufficiently confident of the above, and explains it to the non-Jew using appropriate language, but in a clear, open manner (and there is certainly no need to become dejected, G–d forbid, before the non-Jews, and certainly not before those who consider themselves descendants of Yishmael), they will stop applying pressure upon the Jewish people.

They too will sense (especially by “their mazal seeing”[8]) that for their own welfare, the Cave of Machpelah, and the entire land of Israel with all its borders, should be openly, even during the era of exile, completely in the possession of the Jewish people.

Likutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 153-154.

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[1] Avraham is buried in this cave.

[2] This Torah portion is known as Chayei Sarah. See Bereshis 23-25:18.
[3] See Ibn Ezra on Bereshis 27:40.
[4] Bereshis ch. 23.
[5] See Likutei Sichos, ibid., p. 149.
[6] Nedarim 31a explains the extra “in” in Bereshis 21:12, “For in Yitzchak your seed will be called” as meaning that not all of Yitzchak’s seed is to be considered Avraham’s—only Yitzchok’s son Yaakov, and not Esav.
[7] Bereshis 25:12.
[8] ibid. 25:18.
[9] I.e., the spiritual source of their souls senses the spiritual reality without the person being consciously aware; this then affects the level of the non-Jews’ soul vested in a body. See Megillah 3a.

The Rebbe states clearly: The Jewish people should declare and publicize unapologetically that according to the “Bible,” even if the Arabs are descended from Yishmael, they have no claim to the Cave of Machpelah, and thus the Jewish people must be allowed to hold exclusive control over it. When we say this confidently but respectfully, non-Jews will surely accept it.

Practically speaking, most of the Cave of Machpelah is currently under the control of the Arab “Wakf,” the Islamic trust. By far the largest section of the Cave of Machpelah, known as Isaac’s Hall, is maintained as a mosque for the entire year except for ten days (click on the red dots here to see what’s what), with Jews forbidden from entry, while an area over three times smaller, known as the Hall of Yaakov and Leah, is maintained as a shul for the entire year, with Muslims forbidden from entry, except for 10 days, in which Muslims are allowed in and Jews are not.

Why, you may ask, when the Cave of Machpelah is under Jewish military control, have the Jews ceded control of the vast majority of their second most holy site to the Muslims? My understanding of the reason for this situation is that when the holy city of Chevron was liberated after the Six-Day War (after it being forbidden for Jews to enter there for over seven hundred years), the Jewish people, and in particular the politicians responsible for the Holy Land, did not enthusiastically declare the entire Cave of Machpelah a Jewish synagogue. In fact, they barely allowed any entry, and it was only through great wrangling against those politicians that Jews have even the degree of access that they do today.

Jews must campaign to have the entire area transformed into a shul.

(Although this would have meant transforming it from a mosque, this would have been no different from the way it became a mosque in the first place—when the Muslims conquered it from from the Christians, who had turned it into a church, which happened twice.)

Bridging the chasm between us

Many of us are so “stuck” in ourselves—in our routines, our personal lives, our family, and our immediate daily concerns—that, as legitimate and even necessary as it may be for us to pursue these things, they naturally become a rut from which we can barely see out of. We have boxed ourselves into ourselves, and we have great difficulty simply relating to others who are not part of our little world.

The Alter Rebbe addresses this concern in the book of Tanya, chapter 32, the chapter famously devoted to explaining the Mitzvah of ahavas Yisrael, loving one’s fellow Jew. There it states that at the core all Jews are one, and yet “the bodies are separate”: The body and the concomitant drive to satisfy one’s selfish material needs (never mind controlling or channeling the urge to indulge one’s more sensual desires) create a tremendous division between us.

The Mitzvah of ahavas Yisrael obligates us to engage in the lifelong struggle to overcome this distance. This begins with striving for inner self-improvement, by curbing one’s material passions and thereby transcending one’s bodily limitations. In this way one makes the Neshama and its interests and aspirations dominant in one’s life, which sensitizes one to the souls of fellow Jews regardless of the bodily separation.

But how can one tell whether efforts at sensitizing oneself have borne fruit, and have produced a feeling of true love for one’s fellow Jew? Practically speaking, one way of measuring how far one has progressed is to consider whether one eagerly fulfils the Mitzvah to rejoice in the celebrations of fellow Jews, and whether one is genuinely pained when other Jews are in distress or grieving. As Rabeinu Yona writes:

If your fellow is in distress, feel pained for them ... and rejoice in their prosperity. If you hear about the distress of Jews who live far away, groan and pray for them, and all the more so for those who are close.

Sefer Ha’yira l’Rabeinu Yona, sec. beg. ve’im yovo’u.

Thus, not only should we share in the joys and sorrows of a member of our own community, but those of every single Jew in the world that comes to our knowledge.

It sounds noble and holy, but sadly, if we are to be honest with ourselves, it is very far from reality. When we hear of a child born, how much do we rejoice? When we hear of the passing of an elderly Jew, how much do we mourn? When we hear of a Jew losing his job, how much is our compassion and concern aroused? Indeed, these are very sobering questions.

Nowhere are the material pains of our fellow Jews as obvious as they are today in Eretz Yisroel, where Jews suffer from rockets, suicide bombings, kidnappings, sniper fire, and the trauma of constant fear of such attacks.

Then there is the perhaps even more painful phenomenon of Jew against Jew:

• Jews knowingly endangering Jews by handing over guns, land, and money to our sworn enemies (as in Oslo and its follow-up deals), by removing checkpoints, by releasing terrorists with blood on their hands, or who wanted to have blood on their hands, in ridiculous exchanges, and so on;
• Jews expelling Jews from their homes—“because they had no choice but to follow orders” (as in Gush Katif and Northern Shomron, and more recently in Chevron and other places);
• Jews mercilessly beating those who simply protest against destruction of Jewish property (as in Amonah, and on other occasions);
• Jews preventing Jews from building their property, forcing them to live in ghetto-like conditions (as is currently the case in Yehuda and Shomron);
• ... and the list goes on.

When we hear that our fellow Jews are abused, discriminated against, victimized, demonized, expelled, dispossessed, betrayed, traumatized, injured, or slain, by strangers and even by brothers, it ought to make a difference to us. Not only should we not come up with transparent, pathetic excuses to look the other way (such as “we don’t get involved in politics” or “people will be turned off if we speak about such topics”), but it ought to matter to us, bother us, shake us up, outrage us.

As the Rebbe said many times concerning such events, “When it hurts, you scream!” If we’re not screaming, then it means we’re not hurting. If we’re not hurting, then our love for our fellow Jew is clearly lacking. And this stems from the fact that we fall short spiritually. Although we davven with a Minyan, study Torah, and so on, our heart is not in it. It’s difficult to say it, but we’ve succumbed to a self-centered lifestyle.

Perhaps we need to review Tanya, chapter 32, and reflect upon its message persistently. Until, with the help of Hashem, it truly sinks in.

The Rebbe on moving to Eretz Yisroel

This quote from the Rebbe below is excerpted from an English letter addressed to Mr. Nissen Plotkin printed on pp. 20-21 of the Plotkin-Bluming wedding teshura (memento) here.

As for your question with regard to my attitude towards the Holy Land, etc., I trust you saw my reply to the question “what is a Jew?” which has been published both in Eretz Yisroel and here is America. Your particular question with regard to emigration and settling in Eretz Yisroel does not indicate whether it refers to yourself or is in a general way. But my answer would depend on the circumstances of each individual, for it is not possible to give blanket advice on such an important question.


I should like, however, to emphasize one general point. No matter how much it is expected of a Jew in regard to the Torah and Mitzvoth, wherever he may be, a great deal is expected of him if he is in Eretz Yisroel, of which the Torah says, “It is the land on which the eyes of G–d, thy G–d, are from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” So much so, that it is regarded as a Holy Land even among non-Jews. Our Sages refer to it as “The Palace of the King.” A person wishing to enter the Royal Palace must be prepared to answer such questions as on what business he is there, and he must be properly prepared in every way. It is demonstrated by his conduct and his actions that he realizes that he is in the Royal Palace. It is surely unnecessary to elaborate.


May G–d grant that you will succeed in what is your true and inner purpose in life, namely, to spread Yiddishkeit, and in an ever-growing way, and may you have good news to report always,


With blessing.

I find the first part of this letter of special note.  In the vast majority of the letters or private audiences I’ve had the privilege to read in which people ask the Rebbe whether to move to Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe advises against it, explaining that that person is needed to influence the local community in the diaspora. I had understood this consistent theme to imply that the Rebbe holds that it is always undesirable to leave one’s place of living, even if it means moving to Eretz Yisroel, because using one’s local established sphere of influence to spread Yiddishkeit is a form of spiritual lifesaving (hatzolas nefashos) that takes precedence over the Mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel.

However, here the Rebbe does not discourage this move per se, specifically saying that his answer “would depend on the circumstances of each individual, for it is not possible to give blanket advice on such an important question.”

One thing is clear from the other letters (see, for example,  those printed on the topic in “The Letter and the Spirit”): The Rebbe holds that exerting influence on a community in which one is already established overrides the Mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, which would mean losing that influence and most likely not regaining it in one’s new location.

However, not everyone holds such a position of influence. For them, this reason to stay would apparently not apply.

The Rebbe’s only qualification is that one should make sure to prepare by increasing in holiness in a way befitting for one entering the King’s Palace (this is, of course, an idea first mentioned by the Tashbetz, student of Rabbi Meir of Rotenberg).