Shabbes, Shabbes

B"H

Last Shabbat I was a little unable to participate in any chassidic Tish. I was suffering from a bad cold and didn't feel like anything but going to bed. I did go for a Shabbat dinner but left early; right after the chicken soup.

On my way home I passed Mea Shearim where a car was driving around in the streets. Of course, the Chassidim started shouting "Shabbes, Shabbes", and the car disappeared quickly. Thus, at least, I got to see some action.

This coming Shabbat however, I am planning to do a lot. Especially by going to a synagogue of a very unknown group.

Shavua Tov – Have a great week !!!!

What's on tonight ?

B"H

Honestly I don't know what is on tonight. Whether there are chassidic Tishes and if so, which Rebbes are "performing".

The weather in Jerusalem is awful today. Sunny but very windy and cold. I hope that it won't be raining tonight when we go for the Shabbat dinner to Rabbi Mordechai Machlis.

The convenient thing on the way there is that I already pass the Toldot Aharon / Avraham Yitzchak neighbourhood, the Shivtei Israel Street. I know that we should go to more Maariv prayers in Mea Shearim on Shabbat but what keeps us a little away is that afterwards we have to wait another hour or so at the Machlises.
We already had this situation a few weeks ago when we went for Maariv to Karlin - Stolin.

Another "excuse" might be that the Toldot Aharon women have the custom, not to go to the synagogue on Friday nights. They only go for the Tish.
The women of Avraham Yitzchak, on the other hand, do participate in the Kabbalat Shabbat service but not many, I have to say.

I will let you know after Shabbat what and if something was going on. The one's of you living in New York probably have more to say then I do, as you have plenty of Tishes there. My friend and I have already thought about coming to NYC over Shabbat. :-)

Have a great Shabbes - Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

Dancing for Meshiach

B"H

The last Chanukkah candle was lit last night, and it is always nice to see all the lights shining together. It gives you a feeling of having something completed. For the past eight days, all our bakeries were full of Sufganiot and sometimes you could hardly buy anything else. At least in Jerusalem.

Last night it seemed that the whole city center of Jerusalem belonged to Chabad. They lit the Chanukkiot at Zion Square and in King George. Jaffa Road, near Zion Square, was full of Mitzwe Tanks and further Chabadnikkim were dancing while waving the yellow Meshiach flags in King George (right at the corner of Jaffa Road).

When I walked towards the group of Chabadnikkim dancing for Meshiach, I saw a friend of mine participating. He is anything but a Chabadnik but who knows. Maybe the whole situation has changed.

My friend is in his fourties and used to serve in an army unit until he got fired. His greatest challenge is to get up early in the morning and he mostly fails this mission. The army fired him because he hardly showed up after a while. Then he started working for different security companies where he still could not get rid of his problem. He very much likes doing nothing during the day and instead he just walks around. Jerusalem is full of soup kitchens and no one has to starve to death. My friend knows all of them including the weekly menu.

About a year ago, the unemployment office was fed up with him and sent him to work for another security company. This kind of force helped my friend to get back to himself. Suddenly his self - esteem grew and he had some money to spend. But unfortunately, this didn't last too long and this time it wasn't even his fault. His employer stole 1500 Shekels (approx. 380 $) from his salary without saying a word or giving any reason. My friend became frustrated and he doesn't really have the ability to fight for something. So he kept quiet and left the company.

This was last summer and since he lost his tiny apartment and stayed with a friend. But also the friend couldn't spend any more time with him and eventually my friend moved out. I don't know if he then found Chabad or Chabad found him.
He moved into one of the Chabad Centers and now he has a place to sleep and daily meals. Last week I saw him with a new kipa on his head saying "Melech HaMeshiach". He told me that Chabad gave it to him and that he wouldn't take this too seriously. He laughed and made fun of it.

A few days later, on Shabbat, he didn't show up for the meals at Rabbi Mordechai Machlises' house. This is rather unusual, as my friend used to come every Shabbat for years. Me and some friends made a joke that Chabad doesn’t let him away anymore.

Last night I saw my friend dancing to a Meshiach song with other Chabadnikkim in downtown Jerusalem. They, not him, were waving the yellow Meshiach flag with the blue crown in the middle.
My friend looked rather displeased and I could see that he doesn’t have much of a choice but participating in all the Chabad activities if he doesn't want to loose his bed. However, there was another tiny change: He wore a black hat.
My friend looked almost haredi and only his blue pants disturbed the picture. But never mind.
I went up to him and said HELLO. Very briefly, as he seemed to be quite embarrassed.

This morning I spoke to another mutual friend of ours and he said that Chabad is at least giving him a roof over the head and food. The rest is unimportant.

I don't really know how to judge the situation. Of course, our friend has a roof over his head and enough food but what he lost is his personal freedom. He cannot just make a spontaneous decision and go out. Instead, he has to live according to the Chabad rules or he might be thrown out of the center. I do see the point that Chabad is not a shelter for the homeless but on the other hand, one should not loose his freedom.

Maybe Chabad will change his life and get him to find a goal in life. Even if he doesn't stay with them.
On the other hand, I cannot help myself thinking that Satmar is right. Once, a friend of mine from Chassidut Satmar told me that if a Jew wants to become religious, he should do it because he wants it and not because he is forced to. And especially Chabad would only missionize Jews and don't really give them a choice.

Irrationality

B"H

As soon as I start searching for sociological literature about "Society structures within Chassidic groups", I am having a hard time. There are so many people who think that they have something to say about "Chassidim" but most of those authors only know the subject from other books and others might have had a brief conversion with a Chassid. And then there are those who have lived for a while with a certain Chassidic group such as Satmar.
Very nice but this is not what I am looking for. Actually there are a few interesting studies about chassidic society made by the Brandeis University and that's about it.

What is the chassidic society and why do thousands of their members decide to follow a rebbe and a certain ideology ?

I don't have problems with the chassidic ideology at all, as I follow their teachings and many customs myself. However, I cannot imagine myself following one rebbe and accepting only his decisions and no one else's.

The first chassidic group trying to missionize me was, of course, Chabad. After many shiurim and Shabbatot I was asked to participate. Not only once but several times. When I refused to become a member, the Chabadnikkim were disappointed. Although I did explain all my reasons for being independent. I also studied with Breslov but they somehow did never try to missionize me. Further time I spend with Satmar but there the women only emphasized to me how important it is to be haredi. "One cannot be really religious without being haredi".

My last missionary attacks I "suffered" from Belz. As I know quite a few Belzer Chassidim, the "attacks" are still going on but so far, I always escaped their attempts. I cannot see myself joining any group and following a particular rebbe. But I do wonder how other people can do that. How can they follow a certain ideal ? The reasons are probably very different between those who were born into a chassidic group and those who decided to join from the outside.

A few months ago, I asked a friend of mine who is also dealing with the subject of "Chassidut", why a rebbe needs his Chassidim and why the Chassidim need the rebbe. One could claim that the rebbe is the Zaddik and the group needs him in order to draw itself closer to G – d. On the other hand, there are many opinions in Chassidut (see the Peshis'cha movement) that each Jew has to make his own effort in order to get closer to G – d. And each Jew has his own power to do this and thus, he doesn't necessarily needs a Zaddik, as each of us could be a Zaddik.

My friend, however, answered that in chassidic groups exist a symbioses: The rebbe needs his Chassidim and they need him. As a matter of fact, without this there wouldn't be any chassidic groups.

I would like to give two more examples for my theories:

The Chabad Center in the Jerusalem Mall Ben Yehudah is quite famous. The center has a soup kitchen and offers Shiurim on a regular basis. A few young Chabadnikkim run the center and whoever wants to join and live there is welcomed but has to accept the Chabad rules. I am not sure if I should call this "brainwashing". Brainwashing might be the wrong word, as there are actually people staying in the center who otherwise don't have a place to go. So they keep the Chabad rules in order not to be kicked out.

The Chabadnikkim in the center have their firm timetable. When to get up, when to pray, breakfast, Talmud study and so on. The timetable is so tight that there is no time for personal matters. Everybody needs some time for himself. To think, to relax, whatever. However, the Chabad timetable in the Ben Yehudah center does not allow a free minute. Everything is organized.

The second example I would like to mention is the Chassidut Toldot Aharon.

As far as I could find out, the Toldot Aharon Chassidim have a general meeting every year on the day of the Yahrzeit of the Maggid of Mezritch. Then, their Rebbe (Rabbi David Kahn) gives a Drasha and reads the internal laws of the group, the Takanot.
All Toldot Aharon members are obligated to fulfill those Takanot and if not, they are not considered to be part of the group. There is no discussion about this fact. And every year at this general meeting they have to sign the Takanot anew. Sometimes it happens that their Rebbe adds a few new laws.

When you see the women of Toldot Aharon in the streets of Mea Shearim or elsewhere, you always see them with other women from the same group. They might talk to an outsider but they would never become friends with someone not being part of Toldot Aharon. Not even with the women from Satmar. And this takes place although Satmar finances Toldot Aharon.

About two weeks ago, the Toldot Aharon Chassidim had another general meeting in their Beit Midrash. As far as I heard, newcomers into the group do not always have to sign all the Takanot, as there is an opinion that no one from the outside would be able to keep everything unless he is born into the group.
But I cannot confirm if this is really true or not.

How can people follow the rules of a rebbe and a society ? Is the Halacha not enough ? If not and you want to be chassidic so follow the basic opinions of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid, the Chozeh of Lublin, the House of Kotzk or Peshis'cha.

We always look at the chassidic groups without realizing that we are basically doing the same. Everybody follows society rules and none of us is free from everything. Every society has its structure and rules.

This reason still doesn't make me understand why the Toldot Aharon members are not allowed to have friends from the outside. Each of us has to do his Tikkunim and in order to do this, you have to open up to other Jews. Even the Maharal of Prague writes in his commentary on the Pirkei Avot that a Jew is not alone in this world and thus has to fulfill his tasks.

The official reason for the Takanot is to avoid the destruction of the group. New strange ideas could have a great impact on the members and let the group fall apart.
When my friend and me go to the Tish of their split off Avraham Yitzchak, we do realize that many of those women become more and more modern. Becoming slightly more modern does not automatically mean to leave the group. Why then do they need all the rules to be cautious ? Is it more a dictatorship ?
The word "dictatorship" might be wrong because each member has the freedom to decide whether he wants to be a member or not. Of course, I admit that people who want to leave those groups might face extreme difficulties but eventually they could leave.

Why do they have to sign the Takanot and what does makes them signing at all ? Because he doesn't have another choice, as he was born into the group ? Does being born into a chassidic group mean having a home ? And do the Toldot Aharon members want to live without their Takanot at all ?

A secular friend of mine once said that all these Haredim follow the rules and the rebbes because they have nothing else in life and are unable to make their own decisions. She might be right concerning the newly religious.

Despite all the Takanot and internal rules of each chassidic group, one thing is very obvious. The members always find their own individual way to be a little more modern and to develope their own freedom.

One of the most important things for the Toldot Aharon and Avraham Yitzchak women seems to be jewellery. If a wedding is taking place, the groom obviously has to provide at least two new rings for the bride as well as a new watch. The young girls like silver or copper watches and shiny earrings. They really like to show off a little when they are with their friends or at the Tish.

Society pressure, rebbes, Takanot….
Chassidic society will continue its way and hardly any members are going to rebel. And maybe the Takanot or other rules are more a problem for us then to the Chassidim themselves.
The Chassidim always find a way around to ease the rules and let's be honest, some close their door and do it their own way.

Any changes towards modernity can only start from the inside and even if, it is a very slow process and needs plenty of patience. The Toldot Aharon women asked for music lessons at the girls' schools and have not yet succeeded. But don't undermine their effort, as already making such a demand is a great advance.

Rosh Chodesh Tevet (טבת)

B"H

Tonight and tomorrow we celebrate Rosh Chodesh Tevet, the beginning of the new Jewish month Tevet.
Rosh Chodesh is always time for renewal and we should especially use the time to make positive changes in our lives.

This Rosh Chodesh even gets more Kedusha (holiness), as we still light the Chanukkah candles. Tonight we will light the 6th candle.
Chanukkah is the only holiday taking place in two months; it starts in Kislev and ends in Tevet. Every additional candle raises our Simcha (joy) and increases our inner light. According to kabbalistic and chassidic literature, everyone has his or her personal individual inner light in order to light up the world. For this reason it is extremely important that each of us lights his own Chanukkiah at home. When you go through Jewish religious areas you can see many Chanukkiot standing in the windows and it is customary that even small children light their own candles.

According to the "Sefer Yetzirah", every Jewish month hat its own colour, letter, tribe, organ, horoscope and human sense.

The colour of Tevet is blue, the tribe is the Tribe of Dan, the human sense is the anger, the letter is the AIN ע, the horoscope is Capricorn and the organ is the liver.

Historically, Tevet, Tammuz and Av are the worst months for the Jewish People. All of them are connected with negative events in Jewish history. Especially the 10th Tevet which I will describe in a later article.

Our task in the month of Tevet is to fight our own anger.
The Talmud Berachot 61b sees the liver in charge of our anger and in Tevet we should transform our negative anger into positive anger. According to the Chozeh of Lublin (Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz), we have the ability to take something negative (such as jealousy) and change it into something positive.

But how can jealousy be positive ?
At the moment when I am jealous of other people who became more religious than I am. They succeed in keeping the Mitzwot and I do not. Eventually this will lead me to make higher efforts in order to reach higher levels of observance as well.
The same with the negative anger. We have to overcome our own ego and strive for more perfection.

Halachic rules for Rosh Chodesh:

1) We do not fast.

2) We add the "Ya'ale VeYavo - prayer" in the Birkat HaMazon

3) Usually women do not do any work at home such as laundry, cleaning, etc.

Have a great Rosh Chodesh and a successful Chodesh Tevet.
חודש טוב ומוצלח

Shabbat Chanukkah in Mea Shearim

B"H

The worst what can happen to a religious Jew on Shabbat are heavy rain showers. Rain in Israel is a blessing, as we don't have too much rain and water. However, when someone plans to go somewhere on Erev Shabbat or Shabbat lunch, heavy rain showers turn out to be a catastrophe. Either you take a rain coat or you choose to get completely wet, as according to the Halacha, we are not allowed to use umbrellas on Shabbat.

Last Erev Shabbat my friend and I went through the whole experience. The winter has started in Israel and it was raining on Erev Shabbat. I took my rain coat and walked for about 30 minutes to Rabbi Mordechai Machlis in the Maalot Dafna neighbourhood. There, we had a great Shabbat meal where we especially enjoyed the hot delicious chicken soup.

Then we had the free choice. As it was the Shabbat during Chanukkah, all the chassidic groups had a Tish. I am sure that even the Shomrei Emunim had a Tish taking place. Otherwise they hardly have, as the Rebbe is not the youngest anymore and also lives in Bnei Brak.

During the winter, the chassidic Tishes start much earlier and you should be there at about 10pm. The Belzer Chassidim already start at 9pm and Dushinsky start at 9.45pm.

We walked down to Shivtei Israel Street and started with the Toldot Aharon synagogue. The Tishes on the holidays are always packed and as soon as we entered at Toldot Aharon, we saw hundreds of women watching the Tish downstairs. There was not space to stand left, let alone to sit. The Ezrat Nashim there consists of two huge rooms and both of them were completely full of women. We had no chance to squeeze ourselves inside and decided to move on to the Toldot Avraham Yitzchak just around the corner.

There we were lucky and found two great seats. Also at Avraham Yitzchak, the Tish was packed but there were still some seats at the Ezrat Nashim. The synagogue is still suffering from construction works going on but it was okay to sit and enjoy the Tish. Every day during Chanukkah, the Toldot Avraham Yitzchak have parties for the children going on. And we weren't too surprised when we saw many women taking their little kids to the Tish. Actually it was packed with small children. Sometimes is became too noisy and the Rebbitzin wasn't very pleased and told people to be quiet. But what can you do with babies and small children ?

Rebbe Shmuel Yaakov Kahn was in his great mood and was singing and conducting his Chassidim downstairs. He was so excited and couldn't calm down. Even at the end of the Tish he got so excited that he started to jump in his chair while he was sitting. However, I think that he does not feel to well and he reduced his dancing. Towards the end of the Tish, Avraham Yitzchak has the great custom to stand up, sing enthusiastically and jump. Unfortunately, last Erev Shabbat they reduced their jumps due to the Rebbe. Instead, they took each others hand and started swinging.

The Tish of the Toldot Avraham Yitzchak is and remains the best Tish in Mea Shearim. Followed by the Toldot Aharon.

Chanukkah Sameach from Jerusalem

B"H

Have a great Chanukkah and enjoy some pictures of the celebrations in Jerusalem.

A Chanukkah Teaching from the Baal Shem Tov

B"H

As soon as someone turns on the light in a dark room, no one knows that the room was once dark.

Thus, we also have to let shine our inner light in order to light up the world.

Changing Clothes and Identity

B"H

The thing I desperately missed in my religious life was wearing pants. It is not important what kind of pants. Whether jeans or something else. I just knew that I was envying any woman wearing pants.

A Jewish religious woman (a Bat Israel) wears long skirts without asking any questions. This is the Halacha.
Approx. ten years ago the hippie style clothes and groups did not yet exist. Today it is very common for some women wearing long pants and a long skirt on top. No matter if others can see the pants underneath or not. The more freaky, the better.
It goes without saying that in haredi circles such clothing style is totally unaccepted. No haredi girl or woman would ever think of wearing pants and skirt together. The freaky style is worn by many Carlebachers and national religious.

Maybe my life would be different today if this clothing style had existed almost ten years ago. Maybe not, as I am not the hippie freak at all and don't like wearing pants and skirt together. It reminds me of people who don't know what they want in their lives. They want to be frum but not too much, and are not here or there. It is the same when married women wear pants and cover their hair. It just doesn't fit and looks weird.

As long as I was among women wearing skirts, I didn't realize that I miss something. But as soon as a woman in pants appeared, I became jealous. The first time was in Yeshiva. A newly religious girl came in and she still hadn't said "Goodbye" to her pants and her past. The whole time I thought about if I could do this, wearing pants for a while. In the end, I turned out to be a coward who rather continued to suffer through.

At least twice a month I went to see some secular friends in my old Kibbutz. There, I was free to do anything but don't think that I got wild. On the contrary, I stuck to religion except for the skirt. I felt that the more I distanced myself from the religious life, the more strange I felt among the secular environment. However, the pants were never strange to me and in my opinion, one can wear pants and be religious. Of course, the religious environment doesn't agree and only judges people from the outside:

"Pants ?"

"Oh, you are secular".

When people said out loud what they thought, I used to freak out but, in the meantime, it just amuses me. As soon as I speak to the religious, they know that I am one of them: "Oh, I would have never guessed because you don't look so", they say.

To my Yeshiva and haredi environment I could not do that; wearing pants. At least not in public. Sometimes I still did it but secretly. It didn't take too long until I knew all the public restrooms in downtown Jerusalem. Can you imagine how it is to live with the fear of being caught ?

I always said to myself that I am an adult and can make my own decisions. No one is going to tell me what to wear. However, those excuses didn't help much. I was too afraid and the feeling of guilt never left me alone.

When I was on my way to the Kibbutz, I changed my clothes before I got on the bus. The pants were ready for use in my backpack. I used to take the bus on Fridays at about lunch time and went to the Central Bus Station. The streets were too crowded and I couldn't get changed in a quiet corner. Even the restrooms were packed and I didn' t think that it is a good idea to walk in dressed in a skirt and leave in pants. Someone might think that I am a pervert.
I found the prefect solution in a haredi neighbourhood although there was the greates danger of seeing me as a pervert. I changed my clothes at a construction site. Quickly I hid behind a wall, ran into the new entrance of the building and got changed. After a while I was ready to win any dressing competition without any difficulties. Within a minute I changed the skirt into a pair of pants. No one ever found out; not even when I walked to the Central Bus Station.

When I walk through the same street today, I still think about crawling out of the skirt and putting on pants. Of course, the construction site is long gone and there is a building standing now. Many days during the weeks I actually do wear longs skirts. Especially on Shabbat and religious occasions. For two reasons I don't feel guilty anymore. Many times I still wear skirts and it is much more comfortable not to make a whole show. Despite wearing also pants, I do consider myself as religious.

Since I have been going to Mea Shearim and all the chassidic Tishes, something has changed again. I meet people and they start recognizing me in the streets. So far, it hasn't happen but what if women from Toldot Aharon, etc. see me in the street in pants ? It seems that I would still be totally embarrassed. Probably more than those women would be.

The Existence of G - d

B"H

Why do so many people have problems believing in ONE absolutely perfect G - d ?

Can we after all imagine an infinite "being" without any form or shape ? It seems that too many times we just follow our human weaknesses and only want to accept a G - d we can see or touch. At least he should have a form. Many people prefer a human G - d with whom they can identify. However, in Judaism any idea of a human G - d, statues, pictures, etc. is seen as idol worship.

One of my favourite authors is the American Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z"l. In his book "Innerspace" he makes the best point about what G - d really is. G - d is ONE being. Hence, no one stands beside to him. Only He created everything. Our human intellect is limited and, therefore, unable to grasp ONE infinite entity such as G - d. In Judaism and particularly in Kabbalah, we don't speak of G - d's inner essence but only of His will and His relationship to His creation. Kabbalah has brought for countless metaphors in order to explain the relationship between G - d and His creation (see Rabbi A. Kaplan, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto - Ramchal, and others).

The great Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707 - 1746) gave a detailed description of G - d and how He let's us know His will (see "138 Pitchei Chochmah" by Rabbi Luzzatto). Rabbi Luzzatto or most people know him by the abbreviation "Ramchal" is one of the most important Kabalists whose Kabbalistic writings are based on the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria). The Ramchal wrote about Kabbalah as well as about Mussar ("The Path of the Just" or "Derech HaShem").

It is very important to understand that G - d is only ONE being. His existence is infinite and we are not capable to understand what happened before the creation of the world and what comes afterwards. We can only speculate about the reason why G - d created our world and us.

We don't know the inner essence of G - d and only speak about His will. In the book "Yedid Nefesh" it says that through G - d's creation His will became visible. He has unlimited powers but created our world with limited powers. Thus, he only made a small part of Himself visible.

Why did G - d not create everything with His unlimited powers ?

Here we have to remember that G - d is absolutely perfect. If he had created the world with His perfect unlimited powers, then we would be perfect as well. For this reason, He had to limit His power in order to create humans with a free will. Only this way we can have the choice between good and evil. It is in our hands if we become G - d - fearing beings or the opposite. Do we fulfill the Mitzwot or not ? Our task is to control our nature and to use our resources in order to fulfill His will.

Many times in the Torah, G - d is described with human attributes. G - d speaks, G - d is angry, etc. We have to understand that there is no human attribute whatsoever which can describe G - d, as He has no such attributes. He gave us the Torah in a human language so that we are able to understand it.

Unfortunately, in the course of time, people took these metaphors literally and thus misinterpreted the whole Torah. The Rambam (Maimonides) tried his best to clarify such misconceptions. The first chapters of his "Guide of the Perplexed - Moreh Nevuchim" is full of clarifications of Torah metaphors.
The very first chapter of the "Guide" explains the first sentences of Parashat Bereshit. There is says that Adam HaRishon was created in the image of G - d. The word "image" doesn't mean a human G - d with shape and form. It only means that humans have an intellect just as G - d does. We can decide about good and evil.

Kabbalah often speaks about the Zimztum, a contraction of G - d. He had to limit Himself in order that men have free will.
But you have to be careful when you learn about the Zimztum, as this is nothing else but another metaphor and not to be taken literally. It is not a real event but only shows G - d's inner essence.

The book "Yedid Nefesh" brings up the question about the difference between G - d's will and our will. When we want something, we think and than act. Whereas when G - d wants something, he only thinks and already creates with His thoughts. The very unique thing is that He still keeps up a relationship with His creation afterwards.

Chanukkah Insights

B"H

Tomorrow night, Dec. 4 or 25th Kislev, the festival of Chanukkah begins. Chanukkah lasts for eight days and is the only holiday whose event actually happened in Israel. Especially in Jerusalem and in the Beit HaMikdash. It is a rabbinic holiday stipulated by the Sanhedrin. For the first time, Chanukkah was already celebrated one year after the Greeks were thrown out of the Temple.

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Chanukkah is an entirely Jewish holiday although other religions such as Christianity like to steal Jewish holidays and claim them as their own. The Chashmonaim (Maccabim) were Cohanim and fought against idol worship in Israel. They fought for Judaism and the Jewish people and if they knew today how other religions use their ideas for their own selfish purposes, the Chashmonaim would turn around in their graves. Xmas and Chanukkah have nothing whatsoever in common and whoever tries to connect them, kicks the ideals of the Chashmonaim with his feet.
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I am not mentioning the whole Chanukkah - history but I rather give some insights instead.

The goal of the Greek - Syrian occupation was to destroy the Jewish religion. Studying Torah, keeping Shabbat and Brit Milah (circumcision) was forbidden according to the law. In 165 B.C.E., the Chashmonaim won the war against the Greek idol worshipers and brought back the spirituality to the Jewish people. The Greeks concentrated on materialism and the beauty of the body whereas the Jews wanted to keep their religion. It was not only a physical but also a spiritual war. The Neshama fighting against materialism.

The real miracle of Chanukkah is not the military action of the Maccabim but the burning of the Menorah for eight days (see Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta in his book "Ohev Israel", the Sefat Emet and many others). After the Maccabim reconquered the Temple, they only found one tiny bottle of kosher olive oil which hadn't been used for idol worship. With this amount, the Menorah was only to burn for one day but miraculously the oil lasted for eight days. During that time, the Jews were able to produce more kosher olive oil.



In Kabbalah and Chassidut, the eight days of Chanukkah and the miracle are timeless. For G - d, time does not exist because He is infinite. Time only exists for us and is implanted in our DNA. The upper (higher) spiritual worlds of G - d do not know time. There, past, present and future coexist and all three times happen together. Therefore, Chanukkah is timeless.

But why miracle ? What exactly is a miracle ?
For us a miracle is always something supernatural. Something is happening against nature and we are unable to explain it with our human understanding. But not everything which seems to be a miracle is really a miracle. G - d is always able to change nature and at the time of the Chashmonaim He did. Thus, the Temple Menorah burnt for eight days instead of one.

Chassidut sees the Chanukkah candles as Jewish Neshamot (souls). The light itself is considered to be the "Or HaGanuz - the Hidden Light" which G - d created on the very first day of Creation. This "hidden light" will only be back in the time of Meschiach (see Bnei Yissachar and others). The eight days are a spiritual journey of body and soul. Food, candles and the history represent body and meditation; joy, warmth and light represent the soul.

The light of Chanukkah has the power to reach every single Jew, no matter how far he is away from his Jewish roots. His soul (Neshama) still contains the spark which enables him to connect directly to G - d (Rabbi Shmuel Bozorowsky, the present Admor of Chassidut Slonim in Jerusalem). This spark always remains with a Jew, even after his death. At the time of the resurrection, the spark will come to life again (Bnei Yissachar).

The Sefat Emet (one of the previous Rebbes of Chassidut Gur) considers each Chanukkah as a spiritual renewal. Especially for the Jews in the Diaspora. The Chanukkah light reminds them of their true Jewish identity and, at the same time, of the difficulties of living in the Diaspora.

The war of the Maccabim shows us that we should never give up hope because we Jews have the spiritual power to change everything. G - d can change nature any time and bring us the Ge'ulah.

Have a great and spiritual Chanukkah wherever you are - Chanukkah Sameach from Jerusalem - חנוכה שמח מירושלים.

The Talmudic reason for anti - Zionism

B"H

The Edah HaCharedit located in the Jerusalem Mea Shearim neighbourhood is famous for its anti - Zionism. The Edah is an umbrella organization for different chassidic groups such as Dushinsky, Toldot Aharon, Toldot Avraham Yitzchak, Satmar, Spinka and parts of Breslov. On the other hand, the Edah also includes litvishe groups such as Brisk. Additionally another group participates in the Edah HaCharedit. Those are the Mishkenot HaRoim, a rather secret group whose synagogue is located in Mea Shearim Street.

Whoever walks through Mea Shearim today should be careful judging the Chassidim. Not all inhabitants are anti - Zionist and you need detailed information about the history of each group in order to know who is who. If you don't know so don't judge.

One of the biggest mistakes people usually make is calling the Edah HaCharedit a Neturei Karta branch. In other words, the Edah is the Neturei Karta. The same prejudice hits the Satmarer Chassidim all the time. Although there are 100,000 Satmarer Chassidim worldwide, the group is hardly known in Europe. If you do not go to Monroe (Kiryat Yoel), Williamsburgh, Antwerp, London or Israel, you will hardly hear about them. Besides Antwerp and London, Europe is not interested in them. For people without further knowledge, Satmar and the Neturei Karta are one and the same thing. Although this is not true it cannot be denied that the Neturei Karta does have a certain influence on the Edah through Satmar.

What is the basis for the anti - Zionism of the Edah HaCharedit and Chassidut Satmar ?

The former Satmarer Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, turned Satmar into a big institution. Satmar (Satu Mare - Large Village) is located in today's Romania. In the past, it belonged to Hungary.
I am not explaining the whole Satmar history now, but I only want to mention briefly that Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum was arrested by the Nazis and later was allowed to flee to Switzerland. In 1947, he moved to Israel for about one year and lived with his son - in - law before he moved to the States. Once he was in New York, he rebuilt the Chassidut Satmar. After his death in 1979, Satmar is a kind of split into different fractions and groups and has been undergoing many difficulties.

Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum became really famous due to his extreme anti - Zionism. Rebbe Yoel, his Chassidim only called him "Rebbe Yoelish", did not found the anti - Zionist ideas. Already his father, Rabbi Chananyah Yom Tov Lippa and other famous rabbis had represented these ideas.

In 1958, Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum's famous book "Vayoel Moshe" was published. What it says in the book, is the absolute law for the Edah HaCharedit. Until today. Rebbe Teitelbaum wrote about the anti - Zionist ideology since the foundation of the secular State of Israel. The Rebbe accuses the Zionists with harsh words and even attacks the religious Zionist movement.

In this article, I want to explain the most fundamental reasons against Zionism. These famous reasons are from Talmud Ketubot 111a and already the Vilna Gaon was referring to them. The Gemara in Ketubot 111a is describing a discussion between two rabbis but the discussion has its original source already in "Shir HaShirim".
Rebbe Teitelbaum mentioned further reasons in his book. The available literature on this subject seems to be endless. Chassidic as well as litvishe rabbis wrote plenty of books and articles and due to this reason, so far, I only want to mention the Talmudic reason from Masechet Ketubot.

The facts in Ketubot 110b - 111a, as I mentioned before, are from Shir HaShirim.

In the Babylonian diaspora right after the destruction of the First Temple, Rabbi Ze'ira asked Rabbi Yehudah if he is permitted to return to Eretz Israe. Rabbi Yehudah answered: Whoever ascends from Babylon to Eretz Israel transgresses a positive commandment. Only G - d decides about the end of the Babylonian Galut. Hence, He will give us a sign. It is absolutely forbidden to make up our own minds and rush back to Eretz Israel.

Rabbi Ze'ira claimed that this law only applies to the Temple Kelim (dishes for the Avodah) and not to the Jews. Rabbi Yehudah responds that immigration to Eretz Israel is prohibited and he quotes from Shir HaShirim 2:7:

"I have adjured you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by gazelles or by hinds of the fileds etc. should you wake or rouse the love until it pleases".

This teaches us metaphorically that we are bound by an oath not to ascend to Eretz Israel until the Final Redemption. Rabbi Ze'ira, however, interpreted the verse that the Jewish people should not converge upon Eretz Israel in a wall of force.

The "daughters of Jerusalem" are all Jewish generations. They received an oath from G - d not to rush the coming of the Meschiach before He makes the decision Himself. In case the Jews go up to Israel, it could arouse G - d's unconditional love for them and influence Him to the good. Thus, the Jews would force Him to bring the Meschiach.

Like "gazelles and hinds" means that if the Jews break their oath before the time, they could be hunted like gazelles and hinds.

Rabbi Yehudah presents the oath:

1. The Jewish people should not converge upon Eretz Israel in a wall of force.

2. The Jews should not rebel against the nations.

3. G - d told the idolaters not to subjugate the Jewish people more than sufficient.

You can find those three reasons three times in Shir HaShirim (2:7, 5:8 and 8:4).

The Gemara in Ketubot 111a lists another three additional oaths:

1. Jewish prophets should not reveal the exact time of the Ge'ulah.

2. The Jews should not distance the end through their sins.

3. The Jews should not reveal the secret to the idolaters.
In fact there are secret calculations on the Jewish calendar but they are not to be revealed.

It is possible to accelerate the coming of the Meschiach. Rabbi Zadok of Lublin says that the duty of the Jews is to pray exessively and then Meschiach would come. On the other hand, no one can really define the word "exessively". What is enough and how intense should the prayers be ?

The Gemara continues with the punishments for not keeping the oaths.

G - d said to the Jewish people: "If you abide by the oath, it will be well and good for you, but if not, I will permit your flesh to be hunted by the idolaters as the gazelles and as the hinds of the field".

In other words:
The Jews have to live in the Diaspora until G - d makes His decision and brings the Meschiach. If we live in Israel we influence His decision and might be punished by Him. Only our presents in the Holy Land could bring the Ge'ulah and thus we break the oath. Therefore, we deserve to be punished.

Despite the oaths, many Chassidim and Mitnagdim (litvish) did not see a problem by settling in Israel. They did not plan a State of Israel but wanted to set up religious settlements which were to be ruled according to the Torah law. Furthermore, prayers are more accepted in Israel than in the Galut.

But already the Baal Shem Tov emphazised the importance of living in Galut. Jews do have many tasks there and only by fulfilling them we can bring the Meschiach (also see Chassidut Rozhin and Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta). Those Chassidim who came to Israel 200 years ago, were simply fed up with suffering in one pogrom after the other in Eastern Europa. They finally wanted to live in peace.

At the end of the last century however, political Zionism became more and more popular and the Chassidim started to fight the new secular ideas. Israel can only exist according to Torah law and not by secular law. As a counterpart to national religious and secular Zionism they founded the Agudat Israel and the Edah HaCharedit. Today the Agudah has five seats in the Knesset and includes groups such as Vishnitz, Belz, Gur and litvishe Haredim. Although the members of the Agudat Israel are not necessarily too Zionist, they think that it is important to be in the Knesset and not only let the secular rule.

The Edah HaCharedit, on the other hand, refuses any cooperation or recognition of the State of Israel. The majority of their members refuse to accept financial help from the Israeli government and instead built up their own pension system, insurance and old age homes.

According to Chassidut Satmar the present State of Israel means breaking the oaths with G - d. Israel was built because the Jews are too impatient and all wars and problems we face in Israel today, are a punishment from G - d. Rebbe Teitelbaum as well as the founder of Chassidut Toldot Aharon, Rebbe Aharon Roth, even claim that the secular Zionists caused the Holocaust to happen.

These kind of claims should not be misinterpreted and are to be taken with caution. Nobody knows why there was a Holocaust and why G - d did what He did. We can only speculate about the reasons but as we are not G - d, we simply don't know. I always refuse to accept any human responses or reasons given for the Holocaust.

Many of you might ask why the Satmarer Chassidim do live in Israel at all.

Rebbe Teitelbaum was not against settling in Israel as long as his Chassidim do not get involved in any way with the secular State of Israel. They do not participate in elections, do not use public Egged - buses, etc. They rather have their own institutions and keep foreign passports. Not all of them but many.

The Edah HaCharedit basically refuses to accept the national religious parties and their kind of Zionism. In the eyes of the Edah, religious Zionists only help the secular to keep up their unholy State and cause the delay of Meschiach. There are hardly any relations between the Edah and the Agudah, as they are also seen as traitors. Just like the national religious.

Despite all contradictions I have to admit that I do see some points in the oaths in Masechet Ketubot.
Are we Israelis really too impatient and did we found a State which, according to the Gemara, should not yet exist ? There are many pros and cons. The Ramban, for instance, says that it is a Mitzwah to live in Israel. Many others and even the Talmud agree with him.

Everybody has to find her or his own way in order to be happy. If the Edah members do not agree with my point of view it doesn’t have to mean that we are enemies. Within the past years I got to know plenty of anti - Zionists and we always got along extremely well as long as we didn't speak about politics. But whatever reasons anti - Zionists mentioned hundreds of years ago, they do not really apply anymore today. What does it mean that G - d told the nations not to oppress the Jews too much ? Can we really say so after the Holocaust ?

Maybe also the anti - Zionist society has to change certain opinions because of the Holocaust. At least, Jews have their own country where we can live without being put into ghettos or exterminated. You are free to claim that also today we don't live in peace in Israel. This is absolutely true but who knows ?
The Ge'ulah is supposed to come in stages and not at once. Maybe the present secular State of Israel is such a stage and soon the Meschiach will come and bring us a Torah ruled State.