From Tapuach West, to Gush Katif, to Chevron and Elsewhere; “Surely this thing is known.”
By Moshe Burt
Two years ago, as we leyned Parsha Shemos, we witnessed the run-up to the cruel and brutal destruction of the Shul in Tapuach West by the Sharon government.
And because we didn’t then heed the lessons of Parsha Shemos and continued in our collective divisive ways rather than uniting, the Sharon government announced, on the heels of Tapuach West, its intent to expell Jews from parts of Eretz Yisrael; from Gaza and parts of the Shomron.
And because we still didn’t heed these lessons, because we remained disunified, because we collectively didn’t care enough for brethren — that we collectively didn’t act for our brother as we would for ourselves, the Bulldozer divided and conquered bringing about the Expulsion of Jews from Jewish Land in Gush Katif and the Shomron towns. And because we remain divided brother vs brother and don’t stand solid and unified — “Mi Hashem Alei,” we are in danger of further expulsions from the hand of an Acting Prime Minister who plans on out-Sharoning Sharon; from Mitzpe Shalhevet Neighborhood in Chevron to numerous other new neighborhoods (the regime calls them “hilltops”, “encampments”) throughout Yehuda and The Shomron.
“At the beginning of the Parsha, we are told that when Moshe grew up, he went out to see his brethren … their ways and behavior. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and there was no one else in sight, i.e., no other Hebrew … willing to defend the man … being beaten, he assumed that was because their slavery had destroyed their will to struggle. On the second day, though when he saw two Hebrews fighting one another and one said to him, ‘as you killed the Egyptian,’ he saw that that man believed that Moshe’s actions on the previous day had been wrong. Moshe responded, ‘Surely this thing is known’ — it is not their slavery nor their lack of strength to fight back that is causing them not to resist the Egyptians, because they are perfectly willing to fight one another. What is evidently missing is a sense of justice, of mutual support, of helping the weak, and that is the reason why the redemption had not yet come. ‘Surely, this thing is known’ — now I understand the matter.” (Torah Gems, by Aharon Yaakov Greenberg on Parsha Shemos, page 20 quoting Bina Le Itim)
We gleaned from last week’s Parsha Vayechi that B’nai Yisrael grew attached to the land of Egypt. R’ Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, as quoted in the Sefer “Torah Gems” (by Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, pages 338-339), writes that Yaakov saw during his final years how his children and grandchildren cleaved to Egypt, taking it as their land and how they would eventually forget their own land, Eretz Yisrael which was promised them by Hashem. Such was Yaakov’s concern over this that when he saw that the time of his death was near, he called for Yosef and made him (Yosef) promise not to bury him (Yaakov) in Mitzriyim, but rather in Ma’Orat HaMachpela in Chevron. (Perek 47, posuk 29)
And we later learn that Yosef made the other Sh’vatim promise that by the Redemption from Mitzrayim, that they would bury him in Eretz Yisrael. Thus, by the Yetziyot Mitzrayim, Moshe Rabbeinu was occupied transporting Yosef’s remains which were ultimately buried in what we know today as Kever Yosef in Shechem.
In our generation, it’s not that we are weak and can’t fight, having pride in our Jewishness is just not politically correct among those who are assimilated, who seek to be as the goyim, who seek “a state of all of it’s people” and who are totally devoid of Torah. You see, in our generations, we’ve collectively cleaved to mortal, political leaders, taking them and forgetting Torah, forgetting Hashem. And so, divisiveness and Chillul Hashem abounds and collectively, we are afraid to assert Jewish possession of Eretz Yisrael.
And so, we surmize, as Gaza went, so goes Yehuda and the Shomron, Jerusalem, Chevron, the Mor’at HaMachpela, Kever Rochel, etc., the entirety of Eretz Yisrael. And so, more Jewish land is slated to be given away by a purported “Jewish government”, with the Jewish people being ripped away from more and more Jewish land due to its collective senseless hatred for each other, lack of unity, lack of Ahavas Yisrael. “Surely this thing is known.” (Parsha Shemos, Perek 2, posuk 14)
When does B’nai Yisrael come to our collective senses, see the imminent and imperative dangers, both from within and without, and act with unity of national purpose, Jewish self-pride, courage,and emunah in Hashem to defeat them? May we not lose further valuable Jewish neshamot to the machinations and chesbonot of the anti-Torah politically self-interested.
May it be in this year and beyond, that our brethren; the refugee families from Gush Katif and the Shomron (may they soon be restored to new homes and neighborhoods, Bati Knesset, Yeshivot in Gush Katif and the Shomron and only happiness and success for all time), as well as our dear brother, Jonathan Pollard (may he soon know freedom and long life in Eretz Yisrael) be central in our thoughts, prayers, chassadim and actions. May this abominable period of history called hitnatkut be as a bad dream.
May we be zocha in this coming year to take giant steps toward fulfilling Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Meiyad, 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.
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