...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

The Mashiach Within

יז כָּל-כְּלִי יוּצַר עָלַיִךְ, לֹא יִצְלָח, וְכָל-לָשׁוֹן תָּקוּם-אִתָּךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט, תַּרְשִׁיעִי; זֹאת נַחֲלַת עַבְדֵי יְהוָה
וְצִדְקָתָם, מֵאִתִּי--נְאֻם-יְהוָה

54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their due reward from Me, saith the LORD. 

The prophet Isaiah describes the Nation of Israel as his servants.  We have a guarantee at the End of Days that the weapons of our enemies will not succeed in stopping us nor will their claims against us. The Christians believe that the word servant throughout Isaiah refer to Yeshu, yet it is clear from the above verse and others that the servant is the Nation of Israel itself (and that is the source of the Nations' hatred).  Yes, we are the servant of the Creator, his arm, his reflection in the Creation.

Medinat Yisrael, with all of its flaws is a vessel to build Messianic conscious on a National Level in the Land of Israel. According to Rav Kook in Orot Yisrael, "Knesset Yisrael, (which exists at the level of Throne of Glory) "is the essence of existence and in this world this essence flows into the Nation of Israel." To the degree the Nation of Israel connects to its supernal essence determines the level of the Creator's revealed light in the universe.

Expressing the Avot on A National Level

Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were so connected to the divine that they were able to impart their middot (G-dly character traits) onto their children and children's children.  When Am Yisrael stood at Har Sinai they became a National entity that would be able to express the middot of the Avot using the divine tool of the Torah.

Avraham was the first person that reached the level of Messianic consciousness.  He passed this consciousness to the generations that followed and establishing this Messianic flow permanently in Creation is the purpose of the brit with the Almighty.

Mashiach as a National Goal

In the Laws of Kings the Rambam says that the king is the heart of the Nation.  When the Nation is on a lowly level, the king will reflect that and when the Nation of Israel rises above the mundane in a way that lifts up the world, the King will appear to be the King of Messianic caliber.

We the Nation of Israel have returned home to find our leaders without faith.  We stand in fear at their weakness and yet the answer lies within us.  We wait expectantly and yearn for Mashiach and yet he is no where to be found, but he is here.  We are him for he lies within waiting to be reflected on the faces of the Nation he is supposed to represent.  Each one of us is a "servant of the Almighty," and so we are a mini Mashiach within the daled amoth we live in.  We can rule, remove Amalek, and build a Mikdash within our personal lives.  We are the king of our reality.  Yet, we want others to do the work for us.

This week's parsha was   מְּצֹרָע Metzora where the Torah tells us:  

לד  כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה; וְנָתַתִּי
נֶגַע צָרַעַת, בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם.

14:34 When ye are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; 

The word: צָרַעַת can be broken into two צָרַ עַת or in English the "time of pain/trouble." Am Yisrael has been brought back to its rightful Land, yet its house is full of pain, immersed in trouble.  There is a way out, a path forward to Mashiach, yet it is not in waiting expectantly.  The is to realize we are already here. We the collective Mashaich have come home. Despite its flaws we have returned to our house and when we realize that we are home the heart of the Nation, the true King will be revealed and we will have Geulah Shleimah.  May it be soon.

Google Maps for the IAF

Click on the map to enlarge. 

On a More Serious Note

Could this be the real reason for the strike in Port Sudan?

Only time will tell.  We need to remember that Nissan is the month of miracles and the beginning of the redemption.

Releasing Mashiach Ben Ephraim

With tonight's news of Shimon Peres asking President Obama to release Jonathan Pollard , one begs  the question on why Jonathan Pollard  has become so important that he has united Left and Right, Religious and Secular?  The answer is connected to the very nature of the redemption.

"And the Brothers Did Not Know it Was Yosef"

The original sin of the sons of Yaakov in selling their brother Yosef into slavery has haunted the Nation of Israel to this day.  We know that the selling of Yosef is the source of most of our calmities.  The Vilna Gaon makes it clear through his student Rav Mishkelov that Mashiach ben Yosef that upon our return to the Land of Israel Mashiach ben Yosef will rise in every generation, from the return onward.  This refers to a person and to a movement directed to the redemption of the physical Nation of Israel in its ancient homeland.  We also know that Mashiach ben Yosef will have the ability to remove Eisav's power or domination over us.  Yet with all of this Mashiach ben Yosef will not be recognized by his brothers and irn fact will be castigated by them, much like the original Yosef.

Mashiach ben Efraim Sits in Jail...

The Yalkut Shemoni tells us that the Mashiach ben Efraim, which is another name for Mashiach ben Yosef will be in jail at the end of days, suffering on behalf of all of Am Yisrael.  With his release the Yalkut tells us that the final redemption commences almost immediately.

Jonathan Pollard was thrown in jail over 25 years ago.  His crime? He acted to help the Nation of Israel empower itself with critical defense information and in so doing he saved countless lives during the Gulf War. He was willing to go to jail for his people and then the leaders of the State of Israel, the collective vessel for the Nation of Israel abandoned him.  Jonathan Pollard has suffered in jail and continues to do so.  His brothers abandoned him until now.  In fact Shimon Peres was the Prime Minister at the time of Jonathan Pollard's  initial imprisonment and was responsible for the Israeli government's implausible deniability.  Yet, now he has asked for his release. He  as come full circle, just like the brother's did so many years ago when they were finally willing to sacrifice  themselves to save Binyamin. In fact  it was Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu who acted as the catalyst initiating this final public push for Jonathan Pollard 's release.

The release of Jonathan Pollard will bring the final tikkun or correction for the initial sin of Yosef's brothers and with that a removal of the dominion of Eisav over Am Yisrael leading to the final redemption.

The Churva and Redemption

A few weeks ago I found myself sitting in the Old City of Jerusalem next to the rebuilt Churva shul.  It was an amazing feeling to sit next to the beit knesset that was built a third time.  I remember first coming to Israel and seeing the ruins and the arch that was all that was left from the original structure.  Seeing the building in all its glory reminded me of the tumult that was made upon its completion.  There was a known prediction made by students of the Vilna Gaon concerning the redemption beginning with the third building of the Churva.  This prediction was really made in connection from a dream they received from their master.

The Churva is Built Again and no Redemption

So the rebuilding and dedication took place and yet nothing happened.  Where is Mashiach?  Where is redemption?  One must understand that the Vilna Gaon was considered the light of MaShiach ben Yosef by his student Rav Mishkelov who was the author of Kol HaTor.   The redemption unfolds in a natural way and the building of our national sovereignty and the strengthening of our control of the Land of Israel and our capital Jerusalem not only furthers the redemptive process but is an expression of our National salvation and redemption in and of itself.  The Nation of Israel is a reflection of the Creator.  The more we succeed the more the Creator is revealed in the world.

Exerting Sovereignty Through the Churva

In Siman 150 of Orach Chaim, the Mehaber writes that we are obligated to make the beit knesset the tallest building in the city.  Both the Rem"ah and the Magen Avraham point out that if we are living in a city where we fear the non-Jews we are exempt from this. The Churva rests on the tallest hill in the Old City and so with its rebuilding it became the tallest structure (taller than any mosque not counting minerets or church) in the Old City.  By its very rebuilding it established and cemented the Nation's sovereignty over Jerusalem thus revealing the Geulah process is well under way.  This is perhaps what the Vilna Gaon and his students meant by the redemption will begin with the Churvah's third rebuilding.