Parsha Pearls: Parshas Chukas

 

Esrogim from Eretz Yisroel may be growing on stolen land!
Do Not Fight With the Nations
Not Praying Too Much
Protesting for Hashem’s Honor

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When the United Nations voted in November 1947 to partition Palestine between a Jewish and an Arab State, less than 7% of the land belonged to Jews. In the 54% of Palestine allotted as a Jewish state, Jews had a very narrow majority of the population, but even there they owned only a small percentage of the land. In 1948 the Zionists took over the land allotted to them plus more, for a total of about 80% of Palestine. About 700,000 Arabs became refugees, leaving their 500 villages and the farming land around them behind. The new State of Israel took this land and transferred most of it to the Jewish National Fund, which proceeded to sell or lease it to Jews.

Since it is forbidden for Jews to conquer Eretz Yisroel in our time – and it must be stressed that even the section designated by the UN as a Jewish state was conquered by the Zionists, not given to them by anyone, since the UN was not the owner of the land and had no right to give it away (and besides, the UN’s intention was that those 700,000 Arabs should stay and maintain ownership of their land under the Jewish state) – we have here a perfect example of illegitimate land conquest. And just as the Jews at the time of the Torah, had they violated Hashem’s command and conquered land from Moav or Amon, would have been obligated to return it, and it would have had the full status of stolen land, so too lands conquered by the Zionists from their original owners are stolen land, and must be returned. Additionally, any fruit or plant grown on that land remains the property of the original owners until it is cut, and the cutting is an act of theft.

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Hashem told Moshe not to pray anymore, because had he continued, his prayer would have been so powerful that perhaps the decree would have been annulled, and that is not what Hashem wanted. We find a similar instance, writes Reb Tzadok, in the case of the oath forbidding the Jewish people to force the end of exile. Rashi (Kesubos 111a) explains this to mean not praying too much for the redemption. There have been certain individuals, such as Rabbi Chiya and his sons (Bava Metzia 85b), whose prayer was so powerful that they could have brought about the redemption before its proper time. But this was not what Hashem wanted.

The Gemora teaches us that even if we think the time of redemption has arrived because of the great merits of the Jewish people, or because of the great sins of the gentiles, we must not make any move on our own, for it is not the proper time desired by Hashem. This is the meaning of the other oaths mentioned there, not to go up “as a wall” and not to rebel against the nations. “Wall” is a metaphor for the steadfastness of the Jewish people, as it says (Shir Hashirim 8:9), “If she is a wall, we will build upon her a silver crown.” The Midrash says that this verse refers to Avraham Avinu when he was challenged by Nimrod to worship idols. Hashem said: If he is strong like a wall, I will save him. Thus, the prohibition on going up as a wall means that the Jewish people should not think that if they are faithful and good, this automatically means that the redemption will come. The prohibition on rebelling against the nations means that even if the nations are evil and cruel to the Jews, we may not assume that the time of redemption has come and take the license to rebel against them. The time of the end remains hidden, and no one can know if the deeds of the gentiles are enough to cause the redemption to come. Also, perhaps their measure of evil is not yet full, and Hashem waits to punish a people until its measure of evil is full, so that He can pay them all at once and wipe them out (Sotah 9a). For these reasons we are not allowed to make any assumptions and begin praying too much for the exile to end. (Pri Tzaddik, Va’eschanan 1)

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The same applies to those Jews who, although remaining religious and dressing in religious style, speak and conduct their lives using the Zionist language known as “Ivrit,” a language created and developed by heretics, deniers of the Torah and enemies of Hashem. They have thereby become an integral part of the Zionist state; this serves to explain their enthusiasm to participate in it and identification with some of its major goals.

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The lesson for us today is that it is not enough to protest against offenses committed by the Zionist government against particular people. We must also protest against the very existence of a Jewish government during exile, which is an affront to Hashem Himself. By setting up a government and a state, the Zionists have rejected Hashem’s promise to protect us during exile, as the Torah says, “And even so, when they were in their enemies’ lands, I did not reject them nor revile them to destroy them, to annul My covenant with them, for I am Hashem their G-d” (Vayikra 26:44). They have rejected Hashem’s promise to send moshiach to take us out of exile and gather us in. Their state’s existence is an affront to Hashem’s own honor. If we protest against that, it will be said of us, “Blessed is he who upheld this Torah!”

Complete Reading:

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

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Arba minim – Art Scroll – Chasam Sofer – Ramban – Reish Lakisch – Satmar Rav – Shir ha Shirim