Tuesday 12 April 2011

...and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Plishtim/Palestinians


וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֶל-כָּל-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר, אִם-בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם אַתֶּם שָׁבִים אֶל-יְהוָה, הָסִירוּ אֶת-אֱלֹהֵי הַנֵּכָר מִתּוֹכְכֶם וְהָעַשְׁתָּרוֹת; וְהָכִינוּ לְבַבְכֶם אֶל-יְהוָה וְעִבְדֻהוּ לְבַדּוֹ, וְיַצֵּל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד פְּלִשְׁתִּים

And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying: 'If ye do return unto the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Plishtim.'
 

Each Nation has a root and is a piece of the blueprint of Creation. Each of the 70 Nations found in Tanach and mapped out for us in Parshat Noach has a unique influence in today's world.  With the return Am Yisrael to its ancient heritage, the unfolding of the redemption has gained speed.  Yet, with this return many enemies of old found throughout the Tanach have returned as well.  After all, if Torah is the blueprint of the world, the Nach holds the key to understanding the mechanic expression of divine will in the Holy Land when we, the Nation of Israel gain sovereignty within it.

"...and the Plishtim went out from them..."


As we reach into the latter days the blueprint of the Land of Israel becomes more and more revealed in the world.  Once again there Assyrians (Syria), Babylonians (Iraq), Persians (Iran), Mitzrayim (Egypt), and of course Plishtim (Palestinians).   These are physical expressions of the upper spiritual dimension and not identified by physical genetics.  They are actors upon the larger holistic "play," fulfilling a role they are not conscious of.

So who are the Plishtim and what can they tell us about how we can handle the Palestinans today? The Torah lists in the 10th Perek at the end of Parshat Noach, the descendents of Noach's three sons: Yapeth, Shem. and Ham.  The Torah recounts the line leading to the Plishtim.


יג  וּמִצְרַיִם יָלַד אֶת-לוּדִים וְאֶת-עֲנָמִים, וְאֶת-לְהָבִים--וְאֶת-נַפְתֻּחִים. 13 And Mizraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
יד  וְאֶת-פַּתְרֻסִים וְאֶת-כַּסְלֻחִים, אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים--וְאֶת-כַּפְתֹּרִים.   14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim--(and the Plishtim went from them)--and Caphtorim. 


Rashi cites a Midrash recounting that Pathrusim and Casluhim exchanged wives and the product was the PLishtim.  In fact the wording "...and the Plishtim went from them..." is worded as such to indicate the Plishtim were taken out of the system of the 70 nations.  Their root is a non-root and so they resemble a Nation without being one. *

Throughout the Book of Shmuel, the Plishtim were the arch enemy of Am Yisrael.  They claimed they werre the rightful occupants of the Land of Israel.  At one point they were spread throughout the Land and held sway over the minds and hearts of many of the Children of Israel.  Some of Israel became co-conspirators and were known as Ivrim/Hebrews (the derogatory word the Egyptians used).  These members of Am Yisrael eventually returned to fight with Shaul and then David, but as long as the leadership of the Nation was mired in a lack of Emunah, much of the Nation was willing to sublimate themselves to the whims of the Plishtim.

נד   וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֶת-רֹאשׁ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי, וַיְבִאֵהוּ יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְאֶת-כֵּלָיו, שָׂם בְּאָהֳלוֹ.

54 And David took the head of the plishti, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

What is the significance of David taking Goliath's head? The head, symbolizes rulership, identity.  It is in fact this same struggle now that we are embroiled in with the Palestinians.  Who are the true rulers of the Land of Israel?

The head is about Da'at, applied or expressed knowledge.  We intellectually know we belong here, but we don't believe it, we don't see it with our own eyes and yet the Palestinians, believe it and they know that this is theirs.  After all they have a flag, a seat at the UN, a Prime Minister and President and many Israelis support their cultural and historical claims (like the Ivrim of old).

Yet, it is all false.   They have no reality other than the entrappings they have been given.  Like the Plishtim of old, the Palestinians are the Nation that is a non-nation.  They have never been one and despite what our eyes see, our hearts deep inside know they are deceivers, trying to take that which is not theirs.

...and slew of the Plishtim two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins...

Our sovereignty in the Land of Israel has opened up the redemptive process.  We have a government and an army.  The Land has come alive, yet there is no Beit Hamikdash and our enemies are strengthening for a final fight.  We have been promised victory, but will it be merciful or with strict divine judgement.  The answer to that questions lies with our battle with the Plishtim of today, the Palestinians.

If we decide that they do in fact belong here and do in fact have National rights to our Land then we will be lacking Da'at and true emunah in Hashem.  When we decide to follow the words of the Prophet Shmuel and return our hearts to the Creator, then we can reach true Da'at.  When we believe we are home and know that all we see are the G-d given vessels of the redemptive process then we can bring the "...foreskins" of our enemies to our King, the Almighty and he will give us Michal our Shechinah.  The choice is ours.

*Rav Zvi Tau

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. You should read Em Banim Smecha by Rav Teichtal. It is clear Rav Kook saw the Yishuv in Eretz Yisrael as an opening stage to the redemptive process.

    Why is mesirut nefesh during the Holocaust a proper action, but Jews giving their lives to establish a sovereign Jewish State not proper mesirut nefesh.

    You should read Ezra and Nechemia. It was clear there was a redemptive process going on and yet Am Yisrael was very weak in Torah observance. We live in a historical flow where divine energy is hidden within the events of history. The physical is refelective of the spiritual changes taking place.

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  3. Chazal said, "There's no clearer sign than this" that the redemption has begun and that is the blooming and flowering of the Land in preparation for the children coming home. (See Yechezkel 56)

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  4. Israel Rising, you say,
    "Why is mesirut nefesh during the Holocaust a proper action, but Jews giving their lives to establish a sovereign Jewish State not proper mesirut nefesh."

    That's exactly my point - Geulah began BEFORE the establishment of the state. Geulah began with mesirut nefesh from Jewry, both in Europe and under Soviet rule. The establishment of the state is but an event in the process. Giving the state the all-important role of Beginning also gives its unreligious leadership, at the time, even though to some of these Uganda and our Holy Land has equivalent suitability, inflated importance.

    Moshiach now!

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