Parsha Pearls: Parshas Emor

Why the Chofetz Chaim Stressed Kodashim
Chillul Hashem or Kiddush Hashem
The Non-Zionist Turkey Prince
The Zohar’s Prediction

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Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch in his commentary to the Siddur (p. 703) points out a similar instance in the fourth blessing of Birkas Hamazon. It reads, “He did good to us, He does good to us, He will do good to us; He bestowed upon us, He bestows upon us, He will bestow good upon us forever.” He explains that this threefold repetition, like the repetition used when cutting the Omer, was intended to combat a heretical idea. The blessing was composed after the uprising of Bar Kochba, when the Romans gave the Jews permission to bury their dead. “When the uprising led by Bar Kochba proved a disastrous error,” writes Rav Hirsch, “it became essential that the Jewish people be reminded for all times of an important fact; namely, that they must never again attempt to restore their national independence by their own power; they were to entrust their future as a nation solely to Divine Providence.” When reciting this blessing, we emphatically state our belief that it is G-d alone Who has bestowed goodness upon us in the past, that He continues to do so, and to Him alone do we look for our future good, our redemption. (Rabbi Yonasan Shteif, Introduction to Chadashim Gam Yeshanim on Chullin, p. 33)

One of the most commonly cited concepts in the debate over Zionism is Chillul Hashem, the desecration of Hashem’s name. The Zionists are certainly guilty of this sin on many levels, yet we often hear them accusing religious Jews who maintain their traditional opposition to Zionism of making a “Chillul Hashem.” Therefore it would be appropriate to spend some time defining what Chillul Hashem and Kiddush Hashem really mean.

… We must know that a time will come when people will look back and recognize the folly and the heresy of Zionism.

… We who consider Yom Haatzmaut a day of mourning don’t have to dismiss this fact as mere coincidence. It could be that just as Tisha B’av is counted among the festivals because it will one day be transformed into happiness, so too the Zionist independence day will one day be transformed into happiness (see Divrei Yoel, Parshas Tazria, p. 366), when the state comes to an end and the Jewish people is saved from the danger the state has brought upon them. And just as we will merit to see the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash only by virtue of our mourning on Tisha B’av, so too we will only merit to see the end of Zionism if we maintain our understanding of why that day and the events connected with it have brought so much suffering and tragedy to the Jewish people.

Today the Zionist ideology has spread among many who do not consider themselves Zionists and do not celebrate Yom Haatzmaut.

… But the Evil Inclination knows this trick as well. He says to each of us, “So you’re not a Zionist? Good, I’m not a Zionist either. But who says that someone who is not a Zionist can’t live in Eretz Yisroel, or send his children to live there? Who says that someone who is not a Zionist can’t appreciate the fact that Jews today can come easily and pray at the holy places of Eretz Yisroel? Who says that someone who is not a Zionist can’t appreciate the fact that almost six million Jews have a safe place to live? Who says that someone who is not a Zionist can’t appreciate the soldiers who risk their lives to protect all those Jews? Who says that someone who is not a Zionist shouldn’t oppose returning land to the Arabs?”

As an example of this, there is actually a prominent Chassidic Rebbe who explained that his Beis Midrash does not say Tachanun on the fifth of Iyar because “on this day 62 years ago, the nations of the world, in a supernatural way, agreed to open the gates of Eretz Yisroel to millions of Jewish refugees who had no safe place to live, and the nations of the world agreed to allow them to settle in the Holy Land. For most of these refugees, this saved their lives. This is relevant to all of us in this generation, when, boruch Hashem, through the kindness of Hashem, we are able to live in Eretz Yisroel, and to pray at the graves of the Avos and other holy places, and at the Western Wall, the remnant of our Temple.” He added that “this has nothing to do with what they call Yom Haatzmaut.”

In a few short lines, this Rebbe has embraced the Zionist principle that the establishment of the state saved lives and that it provides a safe haven. Although he does not mention statehood explicitly, he has forced himself into the position that advocates statehood, because most Jews believe that the only alternative to a Jewish state is a state run by people who would not allow Jews to live there safely. May Hashem purify our hearts to serve Him in truth!

Full Reading: https://torahjews.org/2023/11/26/parsha-pearls-parshas-emor

Tags: Chofets Chaim, Yankev Kamenentsky, Samson Raphael Hirsch, Nachman Breslav, Divrei Yoel