Day’s of Awe
The Day’s of Awe are quickly arriving. Day’s of self-examination for all we have done in the past, and what will happen to us in the future. This self-criticism is awesome and penetrating: over wasted time that could have been spent learning Torah; over chances to express love between a husband and wife that fell by the wayside; over children that were not born due to inconveniences or external influences; over acts of kindness which we negligently did not fulfill; over a helping-hand which we did not stretch out when we should have; and over all the sins we committed and did not succeed to correct. Indeed, days of awe – filled with glory.
God created ‘t’shuva’, (repentance) whereby a person can change his ways; to regret his sins and accept upon himself not to sin further, and by doing so, one’s ‘z’donot’ (sins committed intentionally) turn into ‘shgagot’ (sins committed unintentionally). And if one delves deeply, to the point where his ‘t’shuva’ stems from a love of God and not just fear, a miracle transpires and his ‘z’donot’ turn into ‘zechuyot’ (good deeds). The foundation of ‘t’shuva’ and ‘tikkun’ (rectification) is when a person stands before his Creator, the source of his life, and prays for ‘tikkun olam’: That the Name of our God be sanctified on Israel His nation, on Yerushalayim His city, on Zion the dwelling place of His glory, on the kingship of the house of David His anointed, on His foundation and His Temple. May every existing being know that God has made it; may every creature realize that God has created it; may they all blend into one brotherhood to do His will with a perfect heart. May there be joy in His land, and gladness in His city. May now the righteous see this and rejoice, the upright exult, and the godly thrill with delight.
If indeed we rise above the flow of everyday life and its worries, stand before God and honestly think about our lives and actions, we are guaranteed to improve our ways. We will remember all the good hopes we had, all the holy books we wanted to learn, all of the good deeds we wanted to do, all the old friendships we wanted to renew, all the forgiveness we wanted to ask for. In light of all this, we will set our priorities correctly, and merit a good and sweet New Year.
The Actors and Authors Boycott
It’s painful to hear that there are Jewish brothers who boycott us, the settlers of Judea and Samaria. We have merited the fulfillment of the ancient prophesy (Jeremiah 31): “Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel: you shall again be adorned with your timbrels, and shall go out dancing with them that make merry. You shall yet plant vines upon the mountains of Shomron…and your children shall come back again to their own border.” Through weeping and supplications we have returned to our land, coming to the desolate mountains; the earth began to give forth its produce, and families are continually growing. They, on the other hand – the authors, Amos Oz, A.B.Yehoshua, David Grossman, and Sammy Michael – hate. And for this, they shouldn’t be given the benefit of the doubt. The meaning of ‘boycott’ is complete condemnation, disassociation, and hate. Someone who nevertheless decides to read their books, for whatever reason, should know that they themselves have chosen to hate him. If he specifically wants to read the books of those who boycott us, better he should read Dostoyevsky, who was definitely a superior author.
It seems to me that almost nothing will remain from the books and heritage of these boycotter’s. Nothing more than what remains of the heritage of the Jews who supported the ‘Bund’ movement in Europe.
Concerning Claims Against the ‘Rishon l’Tzion’
Suddenly, the media was in pandemonium. It was reported that the gaon, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef shlita, said in his sermon that “would that God punish our murderous Palestinian enemies and bring a plague upon them, and if only Abu Mazen would die.” Automatically, the image of the Rabbi was painted as being the enemy of mankind and the stumbling block to world peace — as if the awesome truth of Judaism had been revealed!
Every week, in thousands of mosques in Israel and around the world, sermons are given calling for the murder of Jews and the destruction of the State of Israel, with promises of reward for anyone who ‘merits’ to murder a Jew. We are not talking about prayers to heaven, but rather operational instructions, which are carried out in Israel and throughout the world. This, of course, is forbidden to speak about, lest the Jews know what the Muslims really think about them, and won’t want to accept the lip service and false guarantees.
On the other hand, our prayers are meant to perfect a person as he is, and for the perfection and good of all the nations. Only against our enemies who harbor no regret or sorrow in their hearts, do we fight and request help from Heaven to defeat. In his words of prayer, the Rabbi expressed the truth and the covert feelings of the nation.