Shevat 29, 5759

Yesterday's big rally had been gearing up all last week. All the different factions of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) world were going to be in attendance. About a quarter of a million people showed up. Also, on the opposite end of the scale were the factions of the secular left, at which "tens of thousands" showed up, representing those who want no Torah law in Israel. The lines are being drawn; the sides are being chosen. The rhetoric sounds very bad--very volatile and hateful. However, this may not be a bad thing at all. Sometimes a system must be torn down in order for G-d to replace it with a proper one.

For more on the prayer rally: http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/15.Feb.1999/News/Article-0.html

In the beginning of the State of Israel, Rav Kook wrote that the beginning of the process would be physical, but that this would eventually evolve into the spiritual state that Israel must ultimately become.

Friday's edition of the Jerusalem Post had a front page article in which Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was said to have said that "all the justices of the Supreme Court are evil and desecraters of the Sabbath, and because of them all the suffering came to the world. He called them 'slaves who are governing us' and said that they do not believe in the written or oral law. He called them empty and hasty and said they could not read one Mishna and that 'one of our boys who is seven or eight knows Torah better than they do.'"

For the whole article: http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/12.Feb.1999/News/Article-0.html

Rabbi Yosef's words echoed the words of the Prophet in the first chapter of Isaiah, in which he lists the crimes of the nation and the corruption of the court in dealing with them. He laments the judgement that will come upon Jerusalem because of the evil of the judges.

"Alas, she has become a harlot,
The faithful city
That was filled with justice,
Where righteousness dwelt--
But now murderers.
Your silver has turned to dross;
Your wine is cut with water.
Your rulers are rogues
And cronies of thieves,
Every one avid for presents
And greed for gifts;
They did not judge the case of the orphan,
And the widow's cause never reaches them.
Assuredly, this is the declaration
Of the Sovereign, the L-rd of Hosts,
The mighty One of Israel:
'Ah, I will get satisfaction from My foes;
I will wreak vengeance on My enemies!
I will turn My hand against you,
And smelt out your dross as with lye,
And remove all your slag:
I WILL RESTORE YOUR MAGISTRATES AS OF OLD,
AND YOUR COUNSELORS AS OF YORE.
After that you shall be called
City of Righteousness, Faithful City.'
Zion shall be saved in the judgement;
Her repentant ones, in the retribution.
But rebels and sinners shall all be crushed,
And those who forsake the L-rd shall perish.
--Isaiah 1:21-28

The catch word "democracy" is bandied about in Israel as a sacred term, in effect branding Torah undemocratic and thus something bad. But is democracy really such a wonderful concept? In a true democracy the majority rules. This means the will of the majority--of even one percent more than the other side--is imposed upon the minority. In such a society the minority are NOT protected under the law. In a true democracy the majority may decide anything they please. This type of atmosphere can theoretically have pograms, expulsions, a holocaust… for the will of the majority is what matters above all. In a true democracy the laws of Torah could be negated by a majority that finds them repulsive. In a true democracy the will of a new Arab majority could vote the Jewish state out of existence, plunging the Jewish People back into a diaspora situation of dependence upon the benevolence of a host nation--a situation that the founding of the State was supposed to remedy.

Currently the laws on the books of Israel are a mish-mash of British and Turkish law. These laws were legislated upon occupied Palestine to keep the residents of the region in order. Now that Israel is a country on its own, why should we preserve on our books the outdated, oppressive laws of the foreign occupiers of the Land? When Rabbi Yosef called the judges "slaves who are governing us" could he have had an inkling of this in mind? This system of law was not a system for citizens of a country, but rather for an occupied people that needed controlling. The Torah, on the other hand, is the law for the citizens of a free Jewish country. In the Torah, the written and the oral, with the commentaries, we do have the framework of law to run a country. This law was revolutionary at the time of its giving, because the idea of individual rights and protecting the weak had never before appeared in any society. The law of the Torah has been the basis of forming the most free and just societies in history, such as the United States of America. Civil rights laws are built into the framework, so that the poor and the weak are protected against rich and the powerful.

There has been complaint about the rabbinical courts. I contend that if the rabbinical court, which is the earthly representative of the court of heaven, were given the freedom to exercise their authority to execute Torah law, the judges would be able to render better judgements. They must be given the authority to make the courageous decisions that are required. This cannot happen, however, as long as there is a struggle between them and the secular courts. It cannot happen when people run to the secular court when they do not like the decision of the rabbinical court.

When the Mashiach comes all will be different; we will be governed as in the days of yore. This requires a preparation period, though, a time of the people coming to realize and desire the need for this change. We must be ready to get rid of the old system to make way for the new. I pray we are in the transition time and that the day comes quickly and soon that...

The Mount of the L-rd's House
Shall stand firm above the mountains
And tower above the hills;
And all the nations
Shall gaze on it with joy.
And the many peoples shall go and say:
"Come,
Let us go up to the Mount of the L-rd,
To the House of the G-d of Jacob;
That He may instruct us in His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths."
FOR INSTRUCTION SHALL COME FORTH FROM ZION,
THE WORD OF THE L-RD FROM JERUSALEM….
Thus He will judge among the nations
And arbitrate for the many peoples,
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks:
Nation shall not take up
Sword against nation;
They shall never again know war.
--Isaiah 2:2-4

Yes, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is right--the joys or the sufferings of the world are, indeed, dependent on our observance of the Law of G-d.

With blessings from Zion,
~Miriam~