Shalom Friends;
Our Parshat Vayikra vort is being sponsored by Dr. Lee and Mindy Caplan of Atlanta, Georgia dedicated for the refuah shleimah of Lee’s mother Chaya Pessa bas Dena and for the safety of the Chayalim and the liberation of all hostages and their return home whole physically, mentally and spiritually as well as for the good health and security of kol Am Yisrael. To Mishpochat Caplan, many thanks for your sponsorship, and your continued kindnesses.
You can celebrate a Simcha — a birth, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a Chassuna or other Simcha event in your life, or commemorate a Yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for whatever other reason by sponsoring a Parshat HaShevua.
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to subscribe, and hopefully to sponsor a Parshat HaShevua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.
Best Regards,
Moshe Burt
olehchadash@yahoo.com
skype: mark.burt3
Subscribe to the Israel and the Sin of Expulsion blog, to ask questions or to sponsor a Parsha Vort at: olehchadash@yahoo.com
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In last year’s vort on Parshat Vayikra, this author noted that Torah records a message in posukim which seems pertinent to our ongoing war with the barbaric, wild beastly animals of Hamas, their terrorist bodies and many of the so-called “innocent civilians” who collaborated, and were accomplices to the murderous massacre of over 1,200 Israelis and the taking of over 250 hostages on Simchat Torah:
“When a ruler sins; and commits one from among all of the Commandments of Hashem that may not be done — unintentionally — and becomes guilty: If the sin that he committed becomes known to him, he shall bring his offering, a male goat, unblemished.” (Perek 4, posukim 22 – 23 as rendered to English in the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)
For those subcribers who view the title of this vort and wonder what the abbreviation “DOGE” stands for: “Department of Government Efficiency” in the United States for which President Trump appointed multi-multi-multi billionaire Elon Musk to head. In Israel, such a unit is way overdue. The term “MOGE” — “Ministry of Government Efficiency” may be more appropriate.
The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash cites Rashi (page 522) on the word: Ahsher — When: in posuk 22. Three other posukim in this Perek begin with the logical V’Im, if someone sins. Why does this posuk begin with the term “When,” which implies that the sin is inevitable? Sforno suggests that powerful and wealthy people are indeed likely to sin. The verse concludes: “and becomes guilty,” because it is essential that powerful people acknowledge and feel remorse for their sin, lest they sin again.
The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash cites Rashi who cites Sifra (ibid) :
The word “Ahsher” alludes to “Ahshrei,” fortunate. This implies that the generation whose leader seeks atonement even for his unintentional sins is fortunate for he will surely repent his intentional sins.
Rabbi Pliskin, in his sefer “Growth Through Torah” (page 238) comments:
“When in a position of power, have the courage to admit your mistakes.”
“The king was a person with much power, and power gives a person such high feelings about himself that he is unlikely to admit that he has done anything wrong. For this reason, when the king with unlimited power admits that he erred and regrets what he has done, it is fortunate for his generation.” (Attributed to Maskil Ledovid.)
“People who are power-hungry have a … tendency to deny making mistakes. When such a person is in a position of authority, he is likely to consider himself so perfect that whatever he does and says must be correct.” The more power one has, the more compelling is the importance of possessing intellectual honesty and to admitting one’s error.
So it seems that the leader, a king, a Prime Minister or a military high command of a generation sets the tone, the norm of how those of a constituency live, act and treat each other.
How can governmental and military leaders of a nation who, with Hashem’s help, have utterly defeated enemies of vastly superior numbers in previous wars, have successfully executed daring rescues of Jews, such as at Entebbe, evolve to gradually render their nation handcuffed by so-called Western “morality” and “super-power” dictates to commit national hari-kari, and been rendered ham-strung and helpless by this Western “morality” versus locally-manufactured terror rockets, tunnels, and against enemies — both terrorist groups and their enemy government-sponsored benefactors — who strategically attack Jewish citizens behind cover of their own human-shield civilian population?
It would seem to this author that the posukim, while mentioning “a ruler,” could apply as well to echelons of a military high command. The IDF senior command echelons, while seeming to have “admitted their failings” leading to, and on the eve of 7 October, they actually offer up a ton of excuses, rather than owning up to their own mal-feasance, their “misconception” of Hamas’ intentions and for the military’s unpreparedness on 7 October.
Interestingly, this quote from the above-mentioned INN report stands out as a prime example of a lame excuse for the high command’s utter failure:
Maj. Gen. Finkelman recounted, “On that dark Shabbat, the intelligence simply didn’t exist. The Nukhba planned to capture Tel Nof and Hatzerim.”
Intelligence may have collapsed in the hours leading up to the outbreak of war on Simchat Torah, BUT what about all of the intelligence in the days and weeks before the war when the female border guards repeatedly warned of unusual activities, preparations and maneuvers (noun: a planned and regulated movement or evolution of troops, warships, etc.; a series of tactical exercises usually carried out in the field by large bodies of troops in simulating the conditions of war) by Hamas and their buddies only to be intimidated by the commanders and threatened with court martial proceedings if they uttered another word of warning?
We’ve also seen recent accounts where the IDF’s systems of communication with Israel’s political, governing branches broke down completely on the eve of the beginning of the War of Simchat Torah.
In addressing the “misconceptions” of Hamas’ intentions by the IDF high command echelons, this vort notes that Professor Nehama Leibowitz, in her introduction to her sefer, New Studies in Sefer Vayikra, cites Maimonides regarding korbanot in his “Guide to the Perplexed,” Part 3, Chapter 32:
It is impossible to go suddenly from one extreme to another; the nature of man will not allow him suddenly to discontinue everything to which he has been accustomed.
…The general mode of worship in which the B’nei Yisrael were brought up [while in Mitzrayim], consisted in sacrificing animals in temples containing images, to bow down to those images, and to burn incense before them. It was in accordance with Hashem’s wisdom and plan, as displayed in the whole Creation, that He did not command us to give up and discontinue all these modes of worship; for to obey such a commandment would have been contrary to the nature of man, who generally clings to that to which he is used….
For this reason, Hashem allowed these rituals to continue; He transferred to His service that which had formerly served as a worship of created beings, and of things imaginary and unreal, and commanded us to serve Him in the same manner; to build unto Him a temple; “And they shall make unto Me a Mishkan.” [Professor Leibowitz citing “Guide to the Perplexed,” citing Shemos Perek 25, posuk 8]
So, just as Maimonides is referring to the Jews who, while in Mitzrayim, were brought up making offerings to avodah zora. Hashem transformed their service to His service. So too, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, as well as their buddies — the so-called “innocent Gazan civilians” were brought up over decades with ingrained hatred and desire to eradicate the Jews.
In the same way, the IDF high command, since Israel’s modern-day statehood and fighting and winning four wars as well as achieving miraculous rescues of hi-jacked hostages, as in the Entebbe rescue, evolved over subsequent decades into inculcation (noun: the act of… teaching or influencing persistently and repeatedly so as to implant or instill an idea, theory, attitude, etc.), of indoctrinated (adjective: having been instructed in or imbued with a specific belief or point of view, especially one that is partisan or bias) NO WIN ideas, or conceptions contrary to Israel’s security and wellbeing and that of Am Yisrael worldwide.
The first word of our parsha; Vayikra is the source of much discussion as to why the word ends with a small “aleph” and tells much about Moshe Rabbeinu’s level of principle, integrity and his standard of leadership of B’nei Yisrael.
We are told how Hashem, Kav’yochal, would call gently, affectionately “Moshe, Moshe” in a voice for Moshe Rabbeinu’s ears only and Moshe would respond “Here I am.” (Rashi on Sefer Vayikra, Perek 1, posuk 1 — Metsuda Linear Chumash & Rashi with footnotes)
Moshe, always shirking honor, kavod, special treatment, or the perception of special treatment, fought “tooth to nail” that this first word, which would typify Hashem’s greeting when he wanted to speak privately with him in the Mishkan, should read “Vayikar.” This loshen “Vayikar” was later used when Hashem “happened to meet Bila’am” (Rashi on Perek 1, posuk 1) in Parsha Balak, like “…strangers who just met on the way”.
Are we able distinguish real leadership, as in the paradigm of Moshe Rabbeinu — leadership which is strong and resolute yet with the attribute of humility, from the current crop of generations of seeming Amalekim within the camp who know our tendencies far better than the Amalek without and are thus more potent yet than the external Amalek? And so lies the need for a DOGE, or an Israeli MOGE. But who is the dedicated “Israeli Musk?”.
Not withstanding the current horrendous “ceasefire” and drips and drabs of hostages in exchange for thousands of bloody-handed terrorists, may it be that our Chayalim, regardless of the machinations of malfeasance and nonfeasance by their high command, emerge totally victorious — eradicating from the face of the earth Hamas, their terrorist buddies and the so-called “innocent civilians” of Gaza who joined with Hamas in their murderous deeds, that the Chayalim return home whole — physically, mentally and spiritually and that the Chayalim Liberate and bring home all remaining hostages. May we see a Final and Decisive victory by our Chayalim, mandated by a government secure in it’s foremost service of and emunah in HaKadosh Borchu, B’Ezrat Hashem! And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael.
May we, the B’nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently re-settled in Gush Katif, once the IDF, by the Yad Hashem, destructs and eradicates the wild beasts of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, all other terror entities, and if necessary Iran, and that our brethren be made totally whole — be totally restituted for all that was stolen from them, that the thrice expelled families of Amona be restored to their rebuilt homes and the oft-destroyed Yeshiva buildings in Homesh be rebuilt, as well as the buildings of Yishuv Elchanan, all at total government expense. May our Chayalim return from battle unharmed — physically, mentally and spiritually and may all of the remaining hostages brutally taken by the wild beasts of Hamas be liberated and brought home to their families. Baruch Hashem that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard is now in his fifth year at home in Eretz Yisrael and continues in a new chapter in his life. May Esther Yocheved bat Yechiel Avraham have an aliyah in Shemayim and may her spirit and memory continue to lift Jonathan to at least 120 years. May the MIAs be liberated alive and returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem — as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel, as should the remains of the two chayalim from the Gaza War of ten years ago. May we have the courage and strength to stand up and physically prevent the possibility of Chas V’Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V’Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel’s and Judaism’s destruction and eradication. May we see, in 5785, the REAL Jews from the Ukraine and Russia as well as the US and Canada, the real Jews via matrilineal descent, make Aliyah enmass — via thorough review by Misrad HaPanim. And may we soon and finally see the total end to the Communist Chinese Wuhan Lab corona virus pandemic and all like viruses and variants. May we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nei Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Ki Karov Yom Hashem Al’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b’yamainu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
Moshe is available for editing of English language documents, articles, manuscripts and more. Please be in contact with him at olehchadash@yahoo.com for your English language needs.
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