Shabbat Shalom

Agrippas Street / Jerusalem at the Machane Yehudah Markt

B"H

The Baal Shem Tov sees in the laws of the Parah Adumah (Red Hefer) a hint for the eternity of our Mitzvot. Furthermore we should practice them with Chochmah (wisdom) and Kavanah (concentration, intention).

Rav, in Talmud Tractate Menachot 19a, says: "Wherever it is stated in Scripture TORAH and CHUKAT (literally: law and decree), it comes only to make the relevant essential".

The Gemara opens the discussion by stating its tentative understanding of Rav's statement. It will then challenge this understanding by posing a series of questions:

It would enter your mind to think that both TORAH and CHUKAT are required for essentialness. As it is written: This is the law (Chukat) of the Torah.

Commentary:

The Book of Numbers (BaMidbar) 19:2:

The above phrase appears with regard to the law of the PARAH ADUMAH, the Red Cow. According to Rav, it teaches that every detail of the PARAH ADUMAH rite is essential to its validity. The Gemara suggests that Rav states both terms - Chukah and Torah - because both are required for essentiality.

I will list further explanations and commentaries on the RED COW in the coming week !

The bottom line is always that the Torah laws were given for eternity. G - d stands above everything and created the entire universe including ourselves with a special purpose we don't actually know.

I don't want to go into detail how Jews desecrate the will of G - d today. Free will, no free will, sometimes everything just seems to insane.

100,000 Haredim were demonstrating against the decision of Israel's Supreme Court (concerning the Emmanuel Beit Yaakov) and trying to prevent worldy interference into the religious world. Today's daily MAARIV dedicates NINE pages to the affair and even quotes Yoav Lalom who suddenly claims that he didn't intent to get everything out of control when he sued the Ashkenazim in Emmanuel. It wasn't his but the Supreme Courts fault. Not an easy life for Lalom who is probably banned from almost every Synagogue in the entire country. Even the national religious go wild, as they fear to be the next Supreme Court victim.

One reader claim in a recent comment that Baalei Teshuva should be embraced and not separated from a Beit Yaakov community. This is true but, as a matter of fact, you cannot put kids into a Beit Yaakov where everyone was born into haredi society and your child (as a Baal Teshuva) has no clue about haredi education. Today you are making Teshuva and tomorrow your girls are on Beit Yaakov ? It doesn't fit. No matter if Sephardi or Ashkenazi.

Furthermore, your kids have to be willing to accept the Mitzvot and not smoking a cigarette around the corner on Shabbat, as it obviously happened in Emmanuel. However, not only Ashkenazi parents were put into jail yesterday but also some Separdi families from Emmanuel.

Torah law is eternal ! This sounds frightening to some Jews and many see a whole bunch of laws right in front of them. Laws they don't really want to keep. Not yet !

If secular or religious, every Jew should show his respect before the Torah and certain honest Rabbis and not trying to take over and suddenly praise a new G - d called the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court which just opened a highway for Palestinians where further attacks on Jews are expected.

There is no doubt that there are huge society differences within the Israeli Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities. But does this only come from the Ashkenazim ? No, as I have experienced the opposite myself. Some Sepharadim called me, without any reason, "stupid Ashkenazi" in the streets. I didn't even know those people and was just passing by.

As I said before: If I want to join a school system or any other system, I have to agree to their rules. If I have complaints and don't like it, so I don't join. Why go to a Beit Yaakov when I don't agree to the rules ?

It may sound funny but here in Tel Aviv you hardly feel any tensions, as people are busy with other matters. In Jerusalem, however, society tensions are pretty obvious and the press has done its best to cause further hatred towards haredi society.

I am going back to the tensions (Jerusalem) this afternoon. Tel Aviv is boiling hot and like a tropical island where the sweat is dripping down from your skin.

"Shabbat Shalom - Good Schabbes" to everyone !