העורך Editor

תוכחת אמונה יתרה

ילקוט שמעוני משלי פרק כ”ד רמז תתקס”א:

ולמוכיחים ינעם ועליהם תבוא ברכת טוב. תניא רבי אומר איזוהי דרך ישרה שיבור לו האדם, אוהב את התוכחות שכל זמן שהתוכחות בעולם נחת רוח בעולם טובה וברכה באה לעולם ורע מסתלקת מן העולם שנאמר ולמוכיחים ינעם ויש אומרים יחזיק באמונה יתרה שנאמר עיני בנאמני ארץ לשבת עמדי.

Anti-Tyranny Equals Theocracy?

Benjamin Franklin claimed “Resistance to (or ‘rebellion against’) tyrants is obedience to God”, and attributed the sentence to one of the Seforim Chitzonim, “Maccabees”. But to the best of my knowledge, that book is not the source of the expression.
He did not cite chapter and verse, nor do I know which Bible translation he consumed. Perhaps he misunderstood/misremembered Matisyahu, 1 Maccabees 2:19-22, quoted saying:

“We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion left or right.”

And is the idea true anyhow? No. Resisting Rechav’am, for example, was motivated by several things, one of which was idolatry, as Chazal say. It can be true, but need not be. And as for revolutions, what about, say, the Communist Revolution?

I Never Thought About That Before!

“Lest you wonder at the many centuries that have gone by without the redemption of Jerusalem and Israel, do not forget that the Torah itself – the very purpose of Creation – was not given to man until 2448 years after Creation. That God sees fit to delay is not cause for despair (Siach Yitzchak).”

Excerpt from Geula 613, here.