Archive | March, 2014

Mosaic Perspective

10 Mar

   Writing on Moshe Rabeinu’s birthday, the 7 of the month of Adar, I can’t help but wonder how Moses would translate today’s issues into his own Mosaic terms.  Here are the current issues coming up for vote in the Israeli Knesset:  The voting threshold that will allow a party into the Knesset, whether the Ultra religious will join the Israeli army, and a referendum on any agreement to give up parts of the land of Israel.  The voting threshold may be equivalent to the size of a tribe.  Although the division of the land of Israel took place according to lottery, the larger the tribe was, the more land it needed.  Who will join the army?  That’s easy – Moshe made it clear that nobody is exempt.  No tribe could refuse to serve in the army.  And finally, the referendum regarding land concessions – to Moshe’s mind, that didn’t exist.  He was coming to Israel in order to conquer it – all of it – and certainly not to cede part of it to any enemy.  So, reflecting on his birthday, it would seem that we have drifted away from the Mosaic concepts.  However, we are only one week away from Purim, so everything could change quickly…

                For some deeper insights on the weekly Torah portion, go to http://www.jerusalemconnection.org/weekly   If you have any interest in prayer and meditation, go to www.jewishspiritualbooks.com  Finally, if you want to know anything about Chabad in Jerusalem, go to www.chabadjerusalem.org  Happy Purim!

Minyans and Minions

4 Mar

When a half- million people demonstrates, it draws attention.  Some put yesterday’s Jerusalem demonstration at 800,000 people.  Supposedly, the police monitored 400,000 cellphones, so one chacham estimated that there must have been 700,000 people present.  In any case, when there is a gathering of this magnitude, it is impressive, and people notice.  On the other side of the religious-secular divide, Yair Lapid and his anti-religious minions may not be quaking in their boots.  But, they sure do know that this is a minyan that is not to be trifled with.  The threat of jail time for those who do not serve is every bit as divisive as the failure to serve itself.  The ultra-religious in Israel are slowly gravitating toward the army and the work force, in their own way, on their own time.  Not everything can be legislated.  My suggestion to Lapid: Focus on your own secular draft dodgers and high school dropouts.  You’ll be doing something much more constructive than harassing a segment of the population that already outnumbers yours.  And now for something really interesting, go to http://www.jerusalemconnection.org/weekly and get some deep words on the weekly Torah portion.  Or, go to www.jewishspiritualbooks.com for a suite of books on Jewish meditation and prayer.  Finally for an overview of Chabad in Jerusalem, go to www.chabadjerusalem.org

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