Category: Weekly Letters

ah and ever since, but it’s time to especially praise the soldiers’ wives! My 2 daughters and daughter-in-law are doing unbelievably in handling their 5-4- and 3 children respectively already for more than 2 entire months (!) on their own. Of course grandparents, Sherut Le’umi girls, neighbors, volunteers and Bnei Akiva madrichim/ot help out, but they come and go, and leave the Ima’s with the real burden (especially when there’s no school and every morning, evening and bed-time!). Even if the soldier may come home for a day or two, they’re usually dead tired and dying for some normal quiet sleep and food. We’ve heard 2 recently widowed young women who now remain alone with 6 children each, who even after hearing of their tragic situation, continue supporting their husbands who didn’t utilize the army’s exemption and went to fight for what is right and for Am Yisrael. Hashem- what awesome and strong daughters You have raised!

Chazal tell us (Yalkut Shimoni Ruth 604) that if Reuven knew that the Torah would report his actions for eternity, he would have lifted Yosef out of the pit and carried him on his shoulder by foot all the way home to Ya’akov! If Boaz would have known that the Tanach would detail the grain which he gave to Ruth, he would have given her steak!! They then add, that in the olden days, when one did a great mitzvah, a prophet wrote it in Tanach forever, but they ask, today, who writes down our mitzvot? They answer there: Hashem, Eliahu and Mashiach write down those who make history. Today our dedicated wives and daughters, not only our soldiers, are the ones writing the next and most glorious chapter of Jewish history. Yes, this Simchat Torah War is potentially a “game-changer” in history regarding many different issues (e.g. regarding achdut between dati-chiloni + right-left ideologies; clarifying that today’s smart-phone generation is just as brave and idealistic in combat as their predecessors; regarding Israeli security and deterrence all over; regarding the Haredi participation and appreciation of the army; regarding Jews in chu”l facing many surprising eye-openers concerning their continued status and comfort there, and much more that still awaits to be seen!

Like a marriage, Am Yisrael is a partnership, where everyone chips-in whatever they can for whatever needs to be done in order for our families, Am Yisrael, and all mankind to benefit from the advance of our historic period in the Geula process. But let’s remember to sing the praises, especially tonight before Kiddush, of the “un-sung” heroes: all of our Aishet-Chayil’s! Shabbat Shalom, Rav Ari Shvat and Rav Lior Engleman)

Q. Why do people often hate Jews for no reason and is there no hope for a solution? Josh A. Yes Josh, it’s hard to believe that even in the modern world, there is still baseless anti-Semitism! Anyone with even a minimal knowledge of Judaism knows that the custom is to throw away an egg which has even a drop of chicken’s blood, so how can one be so ignorant as to suggest that we “use their blood for matzoh”?!! This just shows that you can’t look for logic when it comes to anti-Semitism, and that’s one direction: “It’s known (like a) halacha that Esav hates Ya’akov” (Sifre Bamidbar 69). Even in a modern world, at least one nation in every generation, calls to eradicate Am Yisrael. Just when we thought that mankind had “grown-up”, and that there never could be another Pharoh, Haman, Antiochus or Hitler, ימח שמם, Iran comes and threatens to “nuke” us, or suddenly Hamas barbarically does unspeakable atrocities and part of the modern world, including some profs in Ivy League universities, even applaud. BH, we know that they won’t succeed, but nevertheless, it would be nice to know the cause of age-old anti-Semitism and the eventual solution. Sociologists claim that it’s simply: the dislike of the unlike! On the other hand, my father-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, answered me that the gentiles in Europe were jealous of the Jews’ success. Rav Kook suggests that the cause of hatred for Am Yisrael, is in the double meaning of “מלמד חובות”. First of all, we taught obligations and brought morality and conscience to the world, commanding primitive man not to steal or kill- something that the nations of the world did not want to hear. That’s why the French philosopher Blaise Pasquale called the Jewish people the “conscience” of mankind, and most people don’t like their conscience (even when they eventually listen to it!). Secondly, we showed the world that morality is do-able, something which showed them in a negative light (the opposite of ללמד זכות): that not only should (!) we be moral, but that we could (!) be so. This is the deeper understanding of what our sages teach us that Sinai was named that way because it brought hate (Sina) of Israel to the nations (Shabbat 69a)

Does that mean there’s no hope this will ever change? We can manage without the love of the hypocritical world, but at least let them stop threatening to kill us! Rav Kook (Orot Yisrael 5, 15) explains that people not only enjoy gifts but even harbor a positive association with the “giver” of that pleasure. Many people go so far as to value the autograph of entertainers for that reason, that they bring us pleasure. The more the world will understand the benefits of morality and monotheism, the more they will eventually appreciate the nation who brought those ideals to the world.

Just as a child often hates going to his dentist, despite the fact that everything done there is for the child’s own good, yet only when he matures will he eventually recognize and thank his dentist. Although the morality of the Torah which we brought to the world, often make the nations feel guilty, as the world gradually matures, they will eventually thank us for these truths and values, the greatest treasures of modern society, When mankind matures, inevitably they will harbor a positive association with Am Yisrael (see Zecharia 8, 23), the nation that civilized and brought more bracha and true pleasure to mankind than any entertainer or nation.

Until that time, we can’t be naïve, and must continue, in addition to fulfilling our role of being that moral and shining Or LaGoyim, also continue defending ourselves, deterring our enemies, and davening and thanking Hashem for persistently saving us.

“אלא שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו, והקב”ה מצילנו מידם!”

Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Same’ach! Rav Ari Shvat

Orot HaMilchama (part v) Although Rav Kook often relates to the importance of Jewish nationalism and Zionism, nevertheless, he writes here that G-d “froze” our nationalism for almost 2,000 years, until we, and mankind, matured and grew out of dictatorships, primitive wars etc. Until today, where we can now run a moral and G-dly Jewish State, army, economy etc. Even so, despite still having barbaric enemies like Hamas which we must fight strongly and deter, Israel is already the most moral army in the world. Yes, it’s more difficult and challenging to run morality on a national level, and Rav Kook isn’t naive, realizing that it will take time to gradually evolve secular Zionism into the Jewish State which it’s meant to be, that’s precisely our role: to be a “Light to the Nations”. Here’s the link to the recording of my class:

https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/1082269

שנשמע בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות!

Rav Ari Shvat

There are many Anglo rabbis in the U.S., Europe, Australia and South Africa, as well as in Israel, but what’s lacking in English is the world-view of religious-Zionism, as seen for example in the writings of Rav Kook, especially regarding understanding the current events

What happened on Simchat Torah was not just a pogrom similar to many during the 2,000 years of exile. It was a terrible Chilul Hashem, desecration of G-d’s Name where “Allahu Akhbar”= “Our G-d is greater/the greatest”, was probably chanted by the Moslem world more times in a single day since the wars of Muhammad 1,400 years ago. If this is their proof for Islam and their motivational cheer for barbaric sadism, than we have no choice and our moral obligation to the world, is the sound military trouncing of Hamas, which today is not only possible but bezH also inevitable.

The frame of reference to understand today’s problem and its solution is not through rereading the more recent history of exile, but davka to recall and rediscover the ancient but vibrant eternal Tanach. Rabbis who haven’t served in the IDF (and spend much more time on gemara than on Tanach) have difficulty identifying with the national pride and answer of David HaMelech and the heroes of the Tanach to the enemies of Israel in the Land of Israel. Similarly, rabbis who haven’t made aliya don’t appreciate how living in Israel is the only solution to meet the needs of today’s students who feel vulnerable on the college campuses and others at work. Why have these young people feel helpless, when a realistic and pleasant solution is clearly within reach!

One leading rabbi in the States once explained to me, “How can I speak about a mitzva which I myself don’t fulfill?!” I don’t agree but I understand that claim, but at least he should pass on the true message of those who are willing to trumpet it, especially to the relevant idealistic ears of the younger generation!

Similarly their claim: “How can I encourage the aliya of young Jews which inevitably weakens our local Jewish community?” We must remember that the end goal of Judaism is not the exile, but to end up in Israel, and yes, by definition that weakens the galut. Don’t withhold true-Judaism and the ideal from the young just for ulterior and local motives, or an outdated anachronistic misreading and ignorance of what’s changed over the last 75 years in Israel! Wake up- Baruch Hashem we are no longer in Warsaw or Bialystok, but we’re back in Israel and this time, to stay!

It’s true that the sadistic and systematic murder and kidnapping by Hamas of innocent Jewish victims, resemble the Nazis very much, but let’s not make the mistake of those terming it: a Holocaust.

The two are parallel for anti-Semites aren’t new at cold-blooded systematic murder of defenseless babies. We’ve also seen crackpot denial theories where Jew-haters already within days (!) defend and acquit Hamas even regarding atrocities that we know about from Hamas cameras, and of which they not only don’t deny but brag about! The double-standard of anti-Semites doesn’t accept testimony and proof that would clearly have convicted in every court of law.

I’m sarcastically waiting for some defense attorneys for the Thailand and Napal agricultural workers to defend them from their suffering afflicted upon them just because of Israel. I challenge the anti-Semitic crackpots to claim that the terror was true and barbaric against the foreign workers towards whom they can direct their classic progressive sympathy, while denying or rejoicing those bullets that missed the workers and hit Israelis!

Yes, the cruelty and crackpot reality-deniers and double-standard clowns are similar towards Hamas as some are towards Nazis, but we’ve come a long way since the Shoah.

Yes, Israeli intelligence and the IDF erred terribly before and on Simchat Torah, but let’s keep things in proportion! 80 years ago in Europe Jews had to hide like mice, but today, the Hamas and Hizballah are the ones hiding underground like rodents.

Yes, the 1,200 murdered was 10 times the casualties of the 1929/תרפ”ט riots, but it was less than one day in Auschwitz, and little compared to the pogroms in Europe (e.g. the documented 17,000 Jews killed by the Ukrainians in 6 weeks in 1918/תרע”ח, and altogether, at least 50,000).

Let’s not mix-up pain with confusion. We suffer the pain of the 1,200 holy martyrs of the Hamas Nazis, but have no doubt that bezH we will be victorious and Hamas will soon get walloped. This is far from being a Holocaust. We must thank G-d and appreciate His State of Israel and IDF. When anti-Semites attack and curse Jews on campuses in America, England and France, we again feel vulnerable like mice with no one to protect us, but here in Israel, the heads of Hamas and Hizballah are hiding for their lives- where they are the mice who will soon feel the well-deserved wrath of the G-d and army of Israel! Baruch Hashem, we’ve come a long way! Rav Ari Shvat

mall” terrorists in order to free our brothers and sisters kidnapped by Hamas. This is surely a topic which demands humility, for only a select few top army officers and politicians know all of the information necessary to express a serious opinion

I’ll just suffice to say that as a rav, I was against freeing 1,027 terrorists including Yichye Sinuar ym”sh and much of the present Gazan Hamas leadership (and many convicted murderers) in order to free Gilad Shalit, a young soldier who was kidnapped because he defied the army’s orders, and surrendered rather than fight. The pragmatic halacha explains that if we pay more than the usual or accepted “price” (generally one of their’s for one of our’s), the enemy will simply kidnap over and over (Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 252). On the other hand, the brutal kidnapping of so many civilians from their homes, many of them children, women and elderly, must be seen differently.

The story is told of R. Velvel Soleveitchik, an extreme anti-Zionist Yerushalmi, who when asked why he castigates all religious-Zionists aside from R. Meir Bar-Ilan, explained: what can I do, he’s “mishpacha” (they were cousins)! Upon hearing this, exclaimed HaRav Kook: all of Am Yisrael are my “mishpacha”! Every parent of every child kidnapped by Hamas is not to blame for wanting to free their child at any price, and we should also identify with these children mamash as our “mishpacha”! True, Gilad Shalit and every soldier is also our child, but during his years in Tzahal, it’s his national turn to fight to defend Am Yisrael (and himself), which Shalit didn’t do. This is totally different than the kidnapping of helpless babies where, together with our resolve to continue beating Hamas to a pulp (in order to deter our other surrounding enemies), we are obligated, out of love as well as for national morale, to bring them home, and then get back to work fighting evil!

I’ll just mention again in this context, the gemara we’ve cited in the past (Sanhedrin 106a)”‘He [Bil’am] took up his parable [=prophesizing about our generations, the period of ge’ula] and said: Alas! Who can survive when He does this?'(Bamidbar 24, 23). Woe to the nation who will be found hindering the Jewish people at the time when [our Father] the Holy One, Blessed be He, redeems His children. Who dares place his garment to separate between a male lion and a female lioness when they wish to mate? [Woe to him, for who does so will certainly not “survive”].” We must emulate our G-dly Father (remember: Imitateo Dei= צלם אלוקים…) and do anything to free, and to fight, in order to save and love His, and our (!) beloved children. Shabbat Shalom (!!) Rav Ari

Q. Hi Rav Shvat… I just am struggling because my parents ‘love’ Israel but are comfortable overseas and want me to be with them. I have a stronger love for Israel/zionist/will live through a war in Israel view and it is hard to explain to them how I feel towards Israel and also respect them and how they feel. They ‘get it’ but they tell me it’s best to come back in case it worsens or even the current state of war as it is, is bad enough for them. Answer: Shalom! It’s a good and natural sign that your parents love you and want you safe and near them. Otherwise it would be a problem! Nevertheless, it’s logical (and also halachically sound) that at some age (usually around your age), the child already knows, better than his parents, what’s best for him. This is usually difficult for parents to accept, even if their child is 60 years old! Honoring our parents is really important and that’s why it’s even in the Ten Commandments, but that’s regarding their needs, e.g. going to the grocery for them, making them a cup of coffee, and not regarding your life or ideological decisions (Resp. Maharik 166-7; Shulchan Aruch YD 240, 25)

Moreover, experience shows that idealistic and Zionist children almost always received at least part of this davka from their parents, for which you should respect and sincerely thank them. You may try explaining to them that you actually took the education they gave you even more seriously than they took themselves, e.g. they taught you to love Israel, but you actually made Aliyah. Accordingly, they should davka be proud of you, that you choose to live by the ideals with which they raised you! Love and loyalty are also very important middot to which they surely educated you as well, and accordingly, we should not come to Israel just when we need her, but also when she needs us! The guys who are unfortunately sometimes giving their lives now in Gaza to free the hostages and fight Hamas, are your age. If Eretz Yisrael is worth them dying for, Kal VaChomer it’s worth you living for (where BH, you really are not in any danger)! In short, davka your staying and helping out in Israel is a reflection of your love and respect for parents and their ideals, and I have no doubt that, even if they’re a little worried, they are proud of you! With Love of Israel, Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

A student once asked R. Zvi Yehuda Kook, why we preach and act with such tolerance and love to bring our fellow Jews closer to the Torah ideals, but don’t do the same with our Arab adversaries? He answered: Of course we want to befriend all mankind, but with those who hate us, we must do so at first, with the aid of tanks.

His father Rav Kook writes similarly, that the mitzva of rebuke (Vayikra 19, 17) is to do so in a way that it will really help. Don’t yell in French to one who doesn’t understand that language, and don’t throw rocks at Jews who drive on Shabbat. Don’t speak gently to those Arabs who idealize and are even proud of slaughtering non-Moslems, for their mindset doesn’t yet understand our language. It’s not beneficial to them, and surely not for us.

Israel wanted to believe that the Hamas was deterred, but wishful thinking doesn’t bring security. We want peace, but if we never carry out our threat, our enemies simply take advantage. In the present, we must “speak in Arabic”.

R. Kook writes that with the advantage of having the G-dly Torah, in the Tanach, Israel was always several generations more moral than the primitive nations. But King David advanced them realistically, not pretending or projecting that all others see the world as we do in his gentle Tehilim. Our heroes deterred the primitive tribes in the Tanach “in their language”, and this advice is true and beneficial until today.

The Middle-East is not the Mid-West. The U.N. and Obama think that it takes 2 to tangle (YouTube Dershowitz’s recent gutsy Kiddush Hashem in answering the former president). But if in Syria, Lybia and Egypt the culture condones civil war with each other and “unilateral” daughter-killings, so it’s laughably naïve to think they will “stam” simply love us more than their own, without bringing in some “game-changer”.

No human is inherently evil (we actually have IDF Moslems with us in fighting the fanatic Moslims) and we do believe that all of the Arabs, as all mankind, will eventually be good. Sadly, they leave us no choice but to hasten their maturation process, by swiftly showing them that evil doesn’t pay. Judaism believes that we must show that savagery not only loses out morally, but also militarily (addressing the foundation of their mindset). If they would leave us alone, we would not have to deal with this issue, but unfortunately, they leave us no alternative but to deter them with tanks and F-15’s.

Modern Christian Europe tries “turning the other cheek”, which is seen in Islam as a weakness. Rav Kook explains the beauty of Judaism is that we reduce the exaggerated and chauvinistic Gevura of Islam, but contrarily enhance Gevura to the “pushover” naïve Christians (Orot, p. 153). Without this, Europe is losing a one-sided (!) war against the new-coming Moslems (who ironically bring the culture from which they fled in the Middle East, easily overtaking the over-tolerant Europeans demographically, forcing those governments to placate them for electoral purposes).

Contrarily, Judaism as is clear from the Tanach, doesn’t believe in going like sheep to slaughter. Historically, while the Jews were battling the pagan and immoral Romans, Jesus was wandering the Judean desert with his ascetic friends theoretically contemplating “how to be good”, with teachings like “resist not evil”. The rabbis both philosophically and practically, rejected his pacifistic approach and we fight evil, for when Am Yisrael is at war, the definition of goodness, morality and kindness is to save and help your brothers from their ruthless enemies, not stand idly by their blood (Vayikra 19, 16), but rather deter the evil.

On our parsha of Chayei Sarah, our rabbis actually write that Yishmael ends up doing teshuva. We truly hope that the Abraham-Accords can be a first sign of such a peaceful future, but we cannot yet naively lay down our sword and shield.

Yes, Judaism is unique in our “middle” approach, balancing and harmonizing the good from both philosophies (in kabbalistic terms: Christianity’s over-chessed+ and Islam’s over-gevura) through being both moral and practical by “resisting evil”. It’s moral to fight evil in Israel’s “war against wars”, to, at least for the time being, bezrat Hashem “mekarev” them with the help of Merkava tanks. Just as they give us no other choice, we should conversely show them there is no alternative to being a “mentch”.

With Love of Israel, Shabbat Shalom! Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

Question: For those of us who still live in the diaspora and feel antisemitism rising around us in the present situation – how can we know when is the right time to flee and make aliyah? Should we go before we feel ready, just to feel safer, or should we wait until we feel ready to make it? Sometimes waiting until we are ready, feels like being in 1939’s Europe and seeing the last ships depart without us… Answer: Firstly, please allow me to admire your candidness! Thank G-d, davka because today we have a Jewish State, incidents like those who missed the last boat out of Europe should not be happening again. On the other hand, those who wait will obviously be missing out on other things. For example certain countries, including democracies (like South Africa, at certain points), have allowed Jews to leave but without their money (for obvious economic reasons, from their standpoint). The longer you wait, the more difficulties you will inevitably face in finding work in your field, more affordable housing etc. As you get older, it becomes more difficult to make changes, e.g. you get accustomed to a higher standard of living, friends, jobs etc.. Also your parents get older and more dependent upon you, your children get older, and will also be less flexible in accompanying you to the Promised Land (they’ll probably follow your example and will also want to “feel ready”, but their “ready” time is much different than your’s, and so it may be with your spouse, as well!). In short, today there are also types of “missing the boat”

I hate to break it to you, but you will never really feel totally “ready”. That’s why my Haredi cousins in Boro Park wait passively for that super-natural Mashiach, waiting childishly for that black and white situation where we’ll all “live happily ever after”. The problem is that if they are literally waiting for that type of Mashiach that they dream about, they may very well be waiting forever, and will almost definitely “miss the boat”!

The question is rather, why remain in a country where a Jew feels uncomfortable or apologetic? In liberal areas, you have the right to protest (against anti-Semitism), but the problem is that anti-Semites, who are more vocal, virulent, and hostile, do as well, and you can’t win (like in the demonstrations yesterday in LA). You must weigh “feeling ready” for aliya as opposed to “feeling vulnerable” and “uncomfortable”, for those are the alternative feelings. I imagine, especially women, will not be physically attacked, but why harbor that frustrated feeling so often, upon seeing the news, overhearing conversations, passing campuses etc. when you can feel at home.

Feeling “at home” means being yourself, feeling pleasant, feeling the security of being surrounded by Jews (Jews are your family!). If you already don’t feel that way in America, I guess that’s your answer. Yes, in Israel we have enemies, but any mature person (even Israeli politicians!!) realizes the advantages of national unity, standing together against our common enemies, and destining our own fate.

Yes, relocating takes “guts” and includes the fear of the unknown, so like Torah and Olam Haba, also “Eretz Yisrael is acquired through difficulty” (Brachot 5a). BTW, so does marriage, starting a new job, and even jumping into a swimming pool, but that doesn’t deter us from these great things, for we know the gain is worth the pain, and life is about moving forward.

Some would say: move to Florida (where the atmosphere is apparently less anti-Semitic, although the headache of moving is similar), but the Torah suggests (and obligates): move to Israel, G-d’s Holy Land!

Baruch Hashem, our loving Father gives us free will, but like any parent, doesn’t want us to misuse it. Accordingly, the G-d of History gives us many positive reasons for making aliya (e.g. see: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/282978), as well as hints and negative reasons why not to stay in galut. We hope He won’t need to “bang us over the head” as was the case in Europe and the Sepharadic countries, and that we Anglos will come willingly asap, thus enjoying all of the aforementioned advantages of not “pushing off” that great dream of Aliya.

See Aliya (as Jews always did) as a zechut/privilege, not just a necessity: “ובאו ציון ברינה!” (Yishayahu 51, 11)! Children of Israel, our Father wants us home, where we will really feel at home.

With Love of Israel, Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

Q. Can you please elaborate on what you wrote: “The prophets and rabbinic sources are unanimous, that once the redemption has begun, it may face challenges, but it will never stop!’ Can we be sure that there won’t be another exile? After all, over history, there have been several false messiahs! Answer: There’s a formidable list of great leaders who unabashedly declared that the modern return to Israel is indeed the beginning of redemption as said in most shuls world-wide, “ברך את מדינת ישראל ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו”, including: the Chafetz Chayim, the Netziv, the Malbim, Rav Kook, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, and many more. They declared so, despite the fact that they had already seen the catastrophes wrought by the revelation of Shabtai Tzvi and other false messiahs and if they had even the slightest doubt, they would surely have been more cautious

They basically based their decision upon 3 points:

a. REVIVAL OF ERETZ YISRAEL: The “קץ המגולה”, The Talmud details: “There is no more ‘revealed/clear sign’ than that which is written, ‘And you, mountains of Israel, give forth your branches, and carry forth your fruit, for My Nation of Israel is coming soon’. Rashi explains that when the Land of Israel (barren for so long) will return to produce fruit abundantly, that is the clearest sign that the redemption is underway (Sanhedrin 98a based on Yechezkel 36, 8).

b. INGATHERING OF THE EXILES (קיבוץ גלויות) is the opposite of exile. Gathering and unity instead of scattering and distance. The present 7,181,000 Jews in Israel, the largest Jewish population in the world today and many statisticians claim that already most (!) of world Jewry today lives in Israel, for the first time since the exile of the 10 tribes 2,700 years ago.

Not only the number but the “spread” of 1,900,000 olim from East Europe, 494,000 from Central and West Europe, 478,000 from Asia, 514,000 from Africa, and 211,000 from the Americas is also significant. Anyone who doesn’t call the above “ingathering of the exiles” is denying reality!

Nevertheless, a skeptic could seemingly say that despite these undeniable facts, especially with the nuclear threat from Iran, who knows what the future holds? However, as we have said above, the certainty is based on the fact that Chazal state in many sources that there will not be another exile after the third return to Zion.

For example: Midrash Tanchuma, Parshat Shoftim 9; Yalkut Shimoni Zechariya 581: “’and the third will remain in her’ (Zecharia 13, 8), that we will only resettle Israel in the third redemption, the first redemption was from Egypt, the second redemption is that of Ezra (to build the 2nd Temple), the third has no end”. Note, the negative language used here, both at the beginning: “will only resettle Israel in the third redemption” and at the end: “has no end”, leaves no room for misunderstanding.

Nevertheless, the skeptic may still argue: even if we have seen that after the ingathering of exiles there won’t be another exile, how do we know that what is happening today is the ingathering of exiles? In order to complete the picture, we’ll refer to another Oral tradition that we received from Chazal, that the number that is fixed for the ingathering of the exiles is 600, 000 Jews in Israel. When we arrive at this number it is unreasonable that Hashem will “send them back” to chutz la’aretz just in order to bring them back to Israel. Yalkut Shimoni, Hoshea 518: “It is written ‘and I answered her there like in the days of her youth and like the day that she went up from the land of Egypt’ (Hoshea 2, 17), just as 600, 000 left Egypt and 600, 000 entered the Land of Israel, also in the days of Mashiach it will be with 600, 000.”

Thank G-d, today 7,181,000 Jews live in Israel, more than 10 times (!) that number. In summary, as soon as there are 600,000 Jews in Israel there will not be another exile.

c. The STATE OF ISRAEL- The gmara (Shabbat 151b) and the Rambam (Hil. Tshuva 9, 2 (simplify the issue even more, “There is no difference between today (=the exile) and the days of mashiach except that (then) we will not be subject to the nations of the world “. In other words, we’ll have an Independent Jewish State.

The role of independence in the process of redemption is not just a philosophic idea, rather it is also well-based with practical halachic ramifications (=”nafka mina”). The Shulchan Aruch rules: “one who sees the cities of Judea in their destruction must say: ‘your holy cites have become deserted’, and rip his clothes” as a sign of mourning (Shulchan Aruch, O. Ch. 561, 1).

What is the halachic definition of “destruction” which obligates this tearing of one’s clothes? The Mishna Brura (ibid, 2) explains that “even if Jews live there, the cities are considered to be in “destruction”, because Arabs rule over them”. Clearly, independence is seen as the opposite of ,”חורבן” “destruction”, and consequently, with today’s independent State of Israel, the halacha is that we no longer need to tear our garments (just some do so regarding the Kotel).

As opposed to the cynics who ask, “Do you have a direct link with Heaven that you know what is going to happen?”, the answer is, yes, we do have a direct connection with Heaven, namely the prophets and Chazal, and in this case we do know what will not be. There will not be another destruction of the Jewish settlement in Israel.

If this is definite enough for the Chafetz Chayim, Rav Kook, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, the Sridei Eish, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and many other aforementioned giants, then yes, it is enough for the rest of us.

No false messiah ever revived the deserted Israel, gathered and returned most of the exiles to Israel, nor had a strong formidable Jewish State, which as we saw, are the 3 clearest signs of redemption.

Similarly, just as Rav Kook, Rav Herzog and others felt the need in their generation to repeat this guarantee and to emphasize that it is possible to “bank” on it and even to act accordingly, it is also important to do so today. At this time of national trouble, it is particularly important to strengthen the morale of the people, to look at the events with a wise eye – realistic and believing at the same time – and not with a pessimistic and unbelieving eye. These words of Chazal were meant precisely for our generation , and we would be wrong to ignore them. This G-dly guarantee doesn’t bring us to rest passively, but rather to act with confidence, bezrat Hashem!

As the prophet says: “And I will return the exiled of my people Israel, and they will rebuild and settle desolate cities, and they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, plant gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them on their Land, and they will not be removed again from the Land that I have given to them, says Hashem your G-d (Amos, 9:15-16).”

Similarly, Yeshayahu prophesies in this context of redemption (66:9): “Will I begin labor and not give birth?!’ says Hashem. Rashi explains: “Will I bring the woman to the birth-stool and not open her womb to take out the fetus?! In other words, would I start something (the redemption) and not be able to complete it?! Am I not the one who enables all births and now I have stopped myself?!”

For more details and sources, see my article:

https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/10933