Hebrew original:
In English:
Reprinted with permission.
Excerpt:
As we have heard from the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Gershon Edelshtein, shlita, surely the zechus of Eretz Yisroel protects its inhabitants and, therefore it’s sick and deceased are few.
Now when, we see clearly how HaShem watches over His people in His Land giving, them hope and a future to anticipate – come and join us in Eretz Yisroel!
Quoting his letter “excusing” most of Jewry’s abrogating the mitzvah of wearing Techeiles (emphasis added):
א. מה שלא נתקבל בציבור הרחב שומרי תומ”צ קלה כבחמורה ומדקדקין במצוות אינו משום שיש ערעור על אמיתות התכלת. אדרבה הראיות שמביאים לזהוי התכלת המקובל היום כחלזון התכלת שבזמן חז”ל, נראין הדברים נכונים שזוהי תכלת של תורה, והדברים משכנעים ומדברים בעד עצמם.
ב. וטעם רוב גדולי ישראל שאינם משתמשים בזה אינו משום שמפקפקים באמיתת העניין, אלא משום שבמאתיים שנה האחרונות נקבע כהרגשה פנימית שלא משנים דברים גם אם מן הדין הי’ צריך להנהיגם או לשנותם וזה כהגנה נגד מהרסים המנסים לשנות ולהתאים וכו’. ועד כדי כך נקבע עקרון זה שיש כח בדעת תורה זה לעקור דבר מה”ת כמו מצות תכלת.
הכלל, שגם שינוי לטובה רואים חכמי התורה לתחילת פירצה שאחריתה מי ישורנו. ודבר זה הוא בבחינת יכולים חכמים לעקור דבר מן התורה בשב ואל תעשה.
ואף שהיו מהגדולים שנהגו בתכלת ראדזין כמו שידוע מהמהרש”ם ועוד, הם לא עשו כן אלא לעצמם בצינעא אך לא הנהיגו כן לציבור.
ג. גם מה שמצינו כמה מנהגים שהשתנו כמו הכרעת ההלכה בזמני שקיעה”ח שבפולין והונגרי’ נהגו כשיטת ר”ת בצה”כ ולא נשאו כפים בכל יום ועוד, ולפני המלחמה נשתנו המנהגים והפסיקו לנהוג כר”ת בפולין וכן בארה”ב. זה התחיל אחרי מלחמת העולם הראשונה שנעקרו קהלות ונתיישבו מחדש וכן בארה”ב שהתחילו להתייסד קהלות חדשות מלפני קרוב למאתיים שנה כשהתחילה ההגירה הגדולה מרוסיה לארה”ב. [כפי שיש לראות שינוי זה בלוחות הישנים שיצאו כל שנה]. כל זה לא עשו אלא כשנעשו קהילות חדשות ויסדו מנהגים חדשים, אך קהילות ישראל שנשארו במקומם נזהרו מאוד מהשינויים ותחושת גדולי ישראל האמיתיים תורה היא וזהו קיום רצונו ית”ש.
זה הוא ה”דעת תורה” שעומדת מאחורי העניין של התעלמות כביכול של גדולי ישראל מקיום מ”ע.
עד כאן בנוגע למעשה אבל בוודאי דבר חשוב ויש בזה תועלת גדולה לברר מצוה זו למעשה על כל צדדיו וצידי צדדין כפי שאתם עושים בפרט מצוה שאין לה דורשין. ובזכות המצוה המתקיימת ע”י ונשלמה פרים שפתינו נזכה לקיימה בפועל ממש.
See here for Rabbi Brand’s critique of this Charedi Reform.
A friend of mine, who is also a scholar with some knowledge of this troubled region, once said that people who have been in Israel and Palestine for one week, go home and write a book about it. Those who have spent a month there go home and write an article. Those who have been there for a year keep their mouths shut.
Excerpted from Aaron Benjamin Zacharias.
מתוך פורום קדושת ציון:
כעת ע”י הצטרפות לרבבות עם ישראל ללימוד דף היומי שבת ס”ז, אני נפגש כעת עם הפסוק
ישעיהו פרק סה פסוק יא
וְאַתֶּם עֹזְבֵי יְקֹוָק הַשְּׁכֵחִים אֶת הַר קָדְשִׁי הַעֹרְכִים לַגַּד שֻׁלְחָן וְהַמְמַלְאִים לַמְנִי מִמְסָךְ:
מלשון הפסוק משמע שיש שלשה סוגי עוזבי ה’, אחד, ששוכחים את הר הבית , שנית, עורכים לגד שולחן, זה סוג של ע”ז כמבואר
תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף סז עמוד ב
רבי יהודה אומר: גד אינו אלא לשון עבודה זרה, שנאמר הערכים לגד שלחן
שלישית, ממלאים למני ממסך, סוג של ניסוך לכוכב מסוים. ונשמע שאף שמי שלא עובד ע”ז אלא שוכח את הר הבית , זה כבר בבחינת עוזבי ה’, ונמנה עם מי שבאמת עובד ע”ז, ואילו כל הטענה היתה רק משום שעובדים ע”ז, למה לנביא לדבר על ששוכחים את הר הבית, אלא משמע ששכחת הר הבית לבד טענה חזקה.
Growing up the son of the Nikolsburg Rebbe in Monsey, New York, Yiddy Lebovits could be forgiven for not being the world’s biggest Zionist.
By Rivkah Lambert Adler AUGUST 27, 2015
Growing up the son of the Nikolsburg Rebbe in Monsey, New York, Yiddy Lebovits could be forgiven for not being the world’s biggest Zionist.
As a young child in Williamsburg, New York, everything he knew about Israel came from the weekly Torah portion. He was surrounded by a community of people who had a lot of negativity, not toward the Land of Israel, but toward their ideas about Zionism. Until the arrival of the Messiah, making aliya wasn’t in the picture for anyone in his world.
When Lebovits was seven, his parents went to Israel for a visit and brought back a small booklet that had photographs of buildings in Israel. “At that age, Israel was a remote, far-off idea that belongs only in the Torah. To think that there were Hebrew letters on a building in Israel was something big, something very interesting to me,” he recollects.
Although his parents were European- born, Lebovits always felt very American.
Visiting the US military academy in West Point and Colonial Williamsburg were highlights of his younger years. “I was connected to the American past, to a history that was not mine.”
By contrast, his connection to Israel didn’t begin until he was 22, married and a father. His wife, Ruchy, had visited Israel when she was a girl and wanted to return on vacation, but at that stage Lebovits preferred vacation spots like Epcot Center and Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida.
To encourage him to visit Israel despite his hesitation, Ruchy’s brother and sister-in-law helped make the arrangements.
The three surprised Yiddy with plane tickets for a 10-day trip over Succot.
It’s no exaggeration to say that trip changed everything for the Lebovits family.
“My connection to the Land of Israel started as soon as the plane started descending.
I have no clue what happened.
My soul just woke up. I don’t even know what happened. It was an unbelievable emotional reaction, like meeting a loved one after so many years.” Ruchy noticed the emotion in his eyes, even though, still on the plane, he had thus far witnessed only the shoreline of Tel Aviv.
“I was extremely excited to be in the Land of Israel. We went right away to the Ezrat Torah neighborhood of Jerusalem.”
The two couples spent time just walking around Ezrat Torah, Geula and surrounding neighborhoods. On that trip, they also visited Masada, Hebron, Tiberias and even did some sight-seeing on the Golan Heights. “All of a sudden, whatever you learn in the Bible, things come to life,” Yiddy recalled.
That first 10-day trip was incredibly meaningful, but “at that point, I wasn’t yet ready to make aliya.” Instead, he traded in his desire for theme parks in Orlando for annual visits to Israel over the next 15 years.
“Every time I came, the love got stronger,” he reminisces. “I started learning about what connects the Jew to the Land of Israel. I learned what makes Israel different from any other country.
Once I started loving the place and learning about it, everything became about Eretz Yisrael. Not a week goes by that you can’t connect to Eretz Yisrael.
Once it’s there, you just can’t cut the connection to this place.
“My soul was calling. Everything was about Eretz Yisrael. Every Shabbat, I bought food from Israel. I was obsessed. I was walking on air for weeks after each trip.”
Although his parents and siblings were supportive of his growing love for the land, he faced some negativity from friends in his community who believe that, until the Messiah comes, Israel is not a good place for a religious person to live. “Surprisingly a lot of Satmar [known to be a resolutely anti-Zionist hassidic group] were supportive.”
“Every time I came to Eretz Yisrael, I tried to meet with people who moved from any country. Everyone had stories of hardships and the first years were hard. It didn’t faze me that people had hardships. People I met were much more connected to the Above and not so connected to the material world, even in the hassidic world. I also liked the idea that most people in Eretz Yisrael have a pioneering excitement. It’s a new country and the attitude is that people want to start something, fix something.
Life in Eretz Yisrael is never mundane.
In America, every day will look exactly like the day before.”
As time went on, Lebovits’s desire to “see myself as an old Jew with a cane, walking in Eretz Yisrael,” became increasingly powerful. He and his wife had “the aliya conversation” on every trip, but it was very hard to leave family behind. In theory, Ruchy was willing to consider it but couldn’t be sure of the exact time.
Until… One Shabbat in synagogue, Yiddy got called to the Torah. The portion that week was Vayelech, which comes from chapter 31 of Deuteronomy. “I got an aliya [to the Torah], and the aliya was that God tells Moses to go up and not be afraid.” Walking home, his son asked if the family’s aliya [to Israel] was ever going to happen. But Yiddy knew he couldn’t demand it. He couldn’t tear his wife away from her family. After his nap that Shabbat afternoon, Ruchy suddenly turned to him and said, “Let’s do it!” Six months later, the family of eight was living in Israel. Today, Lebovits works as a graphic designer and artist. His Israel-inspired art can be seen on yiddylebovits.com. He also runs matanaboutique.com, selling made-in-Israel gifts.
The Lebovits family made aliya with six children, ranging in age from three to 18. “We used to have family meetings to discuss everyone’s concerns about aliya. They all adjusted well. I think it depends a lot on the parents. For kids to adjust, it has to be a home that finds the good in everything.
“It was the best decision I have ever made. No regrets whatsoever. The big difference is that in America I loved scenic rides and I used to drive in the Catskills. Driving here, the streets are my streets. It’s my place. My people.
My past. Many friends want to move to Eretz Yisrael, and every time someone does it, it strengthens others.
“My daughter says that she can’t understand how it’s possible that a Jew can live anywhere else.”
From The Jerusalem Post, here.