Can Gedolim err? They Can and they did!

 

When the Rebbe of Belz came on aliyah, he said, ‘We realize now that we erred in our estrangement from Eretz Yisrael.’

by Rabbi David Samson

An opinion of our Sages teaches that the evil decree in the Purim story came when the Jews of Shushan attended the feast of Achashverus which celebrated his false understanding that the Jews would not return to Eretz Yisrael to build the Beit Hamikdash. Apparently, Mordechai was the only Jew who protested. He begged the Jews not to participate, but they were happy to attend, insisting that the food and drink would be glatt kosher.

The cause for the celebration – the belief that the Jews were freed of the obligation to return to the Land of Israel and to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash did not seem to bother anyone save Mordechai. There is no record that the other great Rabbis of the time, of which there were many, supported Mordechai’s vehement protest. Perhaps they did and perhaps they erred and attended the gala party which celebrated the disconnection from Eretz Yisrael and an open door to acceptance amongst the Gentiles and assimilation, believing it would cement good relations with the powers that be.

The modern version of that question arises – how could Gedolai Yisrael make a mistake in such a serious matter as the return of the exiled Jewish Nation to Israel? 

Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, of blessed memory, my Rosh Yeshiva at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, told us that great Rabbis and Tzaddikim can also make occasional mistakes as seen in their opposition to Hashem’s returning the Jewish People in modern times. He discussed this very sensitive matter with us in spite of the reverence he held and taught us to feel for our Sages and for all Torah Scholars. However, he wanted us to understand that even great Torah Scholars can err.

In this past week’s Torah portion of Vayikra several types of sin offerings are mentioned. Situated between the offerings of a High Priest who sins and a king who sins are the laws of a sin offering for the whole congregation (Vayikra 4:13). The tractate Horiot explains that this is a case where “the majority of the Great Sanhedrin makes a mistake” and because of their error in deciding the law a majority of the congregation transgresses. The Sages of the Great Sanhedrin were the leading Rabbis of the time, yet the Torah defines a situation where even they can make an error of judgment.

The Torah testifies about Korach and his followers that they were outstanding Torah Scholars, stating: “They were princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown” (Bamidbar, 16:2), yet they made a terrible mistake in their opposition to Moshe and Aharon. Datan and Abiram even went so far as to call Egypt, “a land flowing with milk and honey,” the very special expression the Torah bestows upon Eretz Yisrael. For their own personal reasons, they turned the words of the Torah upside down.

Ben Gurion's and Begin's talking points for Netanyahu

 Typically, Israel assumes a reactive, defensive attitude in foreign affairs: “Please like us, we haven’t done anything wrong”. It has never worked. 

We might best learn from Ben Gurion and Begin in their best moments, proactive and assertive. Biden probably doesn’t remember when Begin told him: “Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid.”

Or as Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, famously noted: "It does not matter what the goyim say, it only matters what the Jews do.”

Reactive and defensive may convince our friends, it will not help us with our enemies. We need to be proactive and assertive. We need to set the agenda, not refuse theirs. Should he chose to go, Netanyahu could practice some of these lines on the plane to Washington:

-“If we didn’t care more about Gaza citizens than Hamas, this would have been over on October 8th.”

-“They already have ‘From the river to the gulf’ and that’s all worse than Gaza ever was. That’s over now in Gaza.”

-"Joe, it was not theirs until 1948, they possessed it for 19 years which was not internationally recognized and introduced ethnic cleansing, took away freedom of religion, and women's rights. They destroyed historic sites. Why is that 19 years the gold standard we should return to?"

And for 2-staters in the Biden administration:

-"How long have you supported ethnic cleansing?"

-"We are very happy with freedom and rights. If you don't like them, you can cross the river to Palestine, often called Jordan, where the rest of your Syrian and Egyptian families live."

-"We paid for it with the blood of our son's, our brave soldiers, in defensive wars that they started. They can try to take it away from us but I don't suggest that. We paid dearly for it, we're not giving it to them."

-"We are sitting on the Jordan River, we are staying here. If they have something to say about that come to our capital, Jerusalem and we can discuss their concerns."

-"No, we're not going to Qatar to talk to them, if they want to talk they can come to Jerusalem."

Those are the positions our neighbors understand. They should be the starting and finishing point of any discussion. If they would like tea and biscuits in the middle we would gladly boil the water and make the tea.

Appeals court Spanks Letitia James cuts Bond to 175 Million

Biden ym"s pulls an" Obama" in the UN !! A forced ceasefire, without a hostage deal

 

Biden, may he drop dead soon, pulled an obama, leaving Israel in the dirt.! DUS IZ NIES !! Rare View...: Obama’s appalling UN betrayal

In his State of the Union address, President Biden made a promise to the families of U.S. hostages held by Hamas: “We will not rest until we bring their loved ones home.” At the United Nations on Monday, he undermined that pledge.

The U.S. withheld its veto and abstained as the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution that demanded a cease-fire in Gaza but didn’t make the cease-fire contingent on Hamas releasing its 134 hostages. That condition, on which the U.S. had previously insisted, has been dropped.

Instead, the resolution’s two demands—“an immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan . . . leading to a lasting sustainable cease-fire” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”—each stand on their own. To Hamas, the diplomatic pressure will be meaningless. To Israel, it can be perilous, as Mr. Biden well knows. His fence-sitting opens up Israel to more pressure to end the war while Hamas still reigns in part of Gaza.

White House spokesman John Kirby says, “Nothing has changed about our policy—nothing.” He explains that the U.S. abstained because the Security Council resisted a last-minute amendment condemning Hamas. Yet the U.S. had previously vetoed resolutions that wouldn’t condemn Hamas for Oct. 7. The moral arbiters at the U.N. still won’t do that.

The reactions to the resolution tell the real story: 

Hamas welcomed it and Russia, China and Algeria voted for it, while Israel called it “a clear departure from the consistent U.S. position,” adding that it “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will force Israel to accept a cease-fire without the release of our hostages.” Israel also canceled some high-level meetings.

Biden officials push the line that the resolution is nonbinding and Israel is overreacting. Yet this is how Mr. Biden has turned against Israel: one half-step at a time.

The President’s initial support for a “pause” to free hostages morphed over time into Friday’s U.S. resolution for an “immediate, sustained cease-fire.” The new resolution uses Ramadan as a fig leaf to sneak in a “lasting” cease-fire that would let Hamas survive.

Mr. Biden’s initial support for destroying Hamas has faded, such that Vice President Kamala Harris now refuses to rule out “consequences” should Israel invade Hamas’s last stronghold of Rafah. Administration leaks about international isolation and weapons embargoes drive home the point.

If Mr. Biden thinks his escalating fight with Israel is risk-free, think again. The March Harvard CAPS Harris poll finds that 63% of voters support a cease-fire only after Hamas releases the hostages and is removed from power. Two-thirds say Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

Americans don’t want to see Hamas survive to repeat Oct. 7. The President can’t become Obstacle No. 1 to an Israeli victory without endangering his own in November.

"Peaceful Gazans" Are Irrelevant

 

The Satmar Rebbe's Life and Controversial Anti-Zionism | In Conversation with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz

 

Watch Sen Kennedy Totally Decimate a Climate "Expert "

 

Incredible: 'Why Is Your Record So Bad?': John Kennedy Brutally Grills Nominee About 'Abysmal Record'

 

Shmuley Boteach dresses as a 'Candace Owens Jew' for Purim and pretends to sip on Christian blood

 

For Purim I’ve dressed up as a Candace Owens Jew (or is it just dress up? Or are we Jews deep down always like this… filth, Money, drunk on Christian blood.. and … dual loyalties for Israel.) I felt that since Candace got fired on Friday, I may as well try and bring her some… pic.twitter.com/CWhjBcRr2p

— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) March 24, 2024

 The reference to Christian blood emanates from a tweet that Owens liked last week that accused Rabbi Shmuley of being 'drunk on Christian blood.'  

'I felt that since Candace got fired on Friday, I may as well try and bring her some Purim cheer by validating all her views about Jews, at least for one day,' he added. 

He is also holding a small child in the video, writing: 'This is not a Christian child, this is a Jewish child.' 

Rabbi Shmuley then again referenced Candace's previous liking of a post about Christian blood. 

'But if it would be, I've got my 'Christian blood,' he continued as he pretended to sip a drink of 'Christian blood' from a red drink container. 'Mmm, spicy, delicious. I've got my Jewish nose. I have 'filth,' he said, noting that the word was written across his forehead.

'Purim is a day when our enemies fall, my brothers and sisters,' he finished. 

'If this is the way they want us to look, I'll do it for one night. I'll indulge them.'

Owens publicly responded to the video by quote-tweeting a reply to fellow right-wing commentator Alex Jones, who accused Rabbi Shmuley of 'having a nervous breakdown.'

Owens also reacted on Friday morning after the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement deeming her an anti-Semite.

She wrote on X: 'I am grateful they have turned their smear merchant guns on me. The world already knows my heart. Their attacks will have the opposite desired effect. Awaken world.

'Thank you, @adl'

She continued: 'My crime, is that I do not believe that American taxpayers should have to pay for Israel’s wars or the wars of any other country. 

'I will not change my mind. So the question is what will you do to me next? The world is watching.'

Owens' comments came after the ADL posted about white supremacist and Nick Fuentes praising some of the conservative commentator's comments.

'When bigoted people come together to push an anti-Semitic agenda, it adds fuel to the fire of hate,' the ADL said. 

Boteach has repeatedly gone against Owens over her anti-Semitic claims that there 'rings' of 'sinister' Jews controlling Hollywood and Washington DC. 

Owens has made the shocking false claims that these groups could be behind the death of Michael Jackson. She has also liked posts that claim Jews drink Christian blood ritualistically.

TDW has previously resisted calls to fire Owens, claiming she was exercising free speech and had not violated the law or the terms of her contract.'

Putin Knows How to Deal with Terrorists Forces One of them to Eat His Own Ear! All Are Tortured!

 

Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, suspected of taking part in the attack of a concert hall, sits in the defendant cage with a severed ear 

 Shamsuddin Fariddun, lying on a gym floor with his trousers pulled down and wires evidently attached to his groin area

Vladimir Putin has scrambled to save face by casting fresh doubt on ISIS claiming responsibility for the Moscow concert massacre that killed nearly 140 people, the deadliest attack on the nation's soil in years. 

Two of the four ISIS terrorists who were charged overnight with terrorism have pleaded guilty, after they were caught, allegedly tortured and detained by Russian security services following the deadly attack at a Moscow concert hall on Friday night. One of the terrorists was seen staking out the venue just a few days before the attack. 

ISIS twice claimed responsibility for the attack over the weekend, first posting a selfie taken by the four men, all of whom are Russian citizens, in front of an ISIS flag before posting a 90-second selfie video of the devastating attack from the terrorists' perspective.  

President Vladimir Putin has not publicly mentioned the Islamist militant group in connection with the attackers, who he said had been trying to escape to Ukraine.

Putin said some people on 'the Ukrainian side' had been prepared to spirit the gunmen across the border. Ukraine has denied any role in the attack and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame for the concert hall attack by referring to Ukraine.

Zakharova's article came as footage of Russian forces torturing the men they arrested over the Moscow terror attack emerged, with one man given electric shocks to his genitals and a second forced to eat his own ear.

One image shows a suspect named as Shamsuddin Fariddun foaming at the mouth as he lies on a gym floor with his trousers pulled down and wires attached to his groin area. At the other end they are attached to a military radio powered by an 80-volt battery.

Separate video sees another man, Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, having his ear severed and then spitting it out as he is forced to eat it.