Parsha Pearls: Parshas Shemini

 Making Fun of Avodah Zarah
Dead Ideologies and Live Ideologies

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Yet among the Orthodox, Zionism is on the rise. The religious parties and the chareidi newspapers are the most hawkish opponents of land concessions. The West Bank settlers are mostly religious. The hesder yeshiva units are the most motivated soldiers in the army. Even as secular Israelis vacation in every part of the world except their own country, Orthodox Jews in America and other countries make the State of Israel their destination of choice – for vacation as well as education. Even as the Israelis leave their country in droves, the religious organizations are drumming up support for aliyah. It is this chareidi Zionism that is the “live” idolatry of our times – and the speakers are silent.

To compound the problem, people play the name game. Zionism is defined as secular Zionism, so that everyone who is pro-Torah is automatically defined as anti-Zionist and could not possibly be accused of promoting Zionism. “The State of Israel” is replaced by the innocent sounding “Eretz Yisroel,” a place where Jews live and are in danger. Strengthening the army and praying for its success are portrayed as nothing more than concern for Jewish lives.

In such a time of confusion, we need to show our rabbanim and gedolim that we are ready to hear from them the truth. In the words of the Navi, we are “not hungry for bread, nor thirsty for water, but to hear the words of Hashem.”

https://torahjews.org/2023/11/26/parsha-pearls-parshas-shemini/

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