Aspirations Torah Journal (Yom HaAtzmaut 2013)

The Symbolism of Israel’s FlagLeora Katzman ‘14

Continued on page 8 Continued on page 8

Volume 6 Yom Ha’atzmaut 5773, 2013

Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrates the establishment of the Jewish state, which took place on May 14, 1948 or the Fifth of Iyar. However, there is anoth-er very important date that deserves celebration, October 28, five months later, which was the day when the United Nations General Assembly passed the historic resolution to abolish the Brit-ish Mandate in Palestine and establish a Jewish state. It was on this date as well that Israel finally adopted the current version of the national flag for the newly born state of Israel.

The Israeli flag depicts a Magen David, which became a Jewish symbol during late medieval times in the city of Prague, centered between two horizontal sky blue stripes on a pure white background. One reason for the color blue - ranging from light sky blue to darker shades of ultramarine blue - is because the talit includes a strand of t’chelet, royal blue, as a requisite part of the tzitzit. The color blue is also utilized because in the Phoeni-cian, Greek and later the Roman periods the respective royal

Tragedy is so compelling. We often view mourn-ing as a greater obligation than celebrating. Many of us know so much more about the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler than we do about Zionism and Theodor Herzl. Oftentimes, to gather our support for the State of Israel we are bombarded with im-ages of Hezbollah missiles, the Iron Dome, suicide bombings, etc. There is no doubt that these are legitimate threats to the safety and security of the State of Israel. However, when we experience Yom Ha’Atzmaut, we attempt to identify with Israel in the positive and not in the negative. How do we personally connect to the State of Israel in this way?

Today, the Jewish community finds itself in a unique condition that has never before existed. We live in a vibrant and successful diaspora com-munity alongside a successful and vibrant Jew-ish State. Never before have these two coexisted.

Either there was a thriving diaspora community, as in Babylonia in the fifth century, or a successful Jewish community in Israel as when King

Cry With Israel, Dance With IsraelEddie Mattout ‘15

Volume 6 | Yom Ha’atzmaut 5773, 2013

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AspirationsAccepting Fellow Jews

Noam Kornsgold ‘13

The decision to allow Conservative and Re-form rabbis working in rural areas to receive pay from the Israeli government brings “grave risks to the Jewish people from every direction.” The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar uttered these words soon after the deci-sion was reached in May 2012. In addition, he explained that Conservative and Reform Jews wreak “terrible damage” to Judaism (“Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi: Conservative, Reform Jews wreak ‘terrible damage’” in Haaretz).

It’s difficult to understand why Rabbi Amar holds these extreme views in light of the fact that the Talmud attributes the destruction of the Second Temple to “sinat chinam”, or intol-erance (Yoma 7b). According to Rashi (s.v sinat chinam), sinat chinam is when one person hates another even though the hated one has done nothing that warrants such behavior. It is clear to me that Reform and Conservative Jews have not done anything that would merit the harsh remarks of Rabbi Amar.

Unfortunately, the words of Rabbi Amar are not unique to him as many people in Israel share his view. In addition, because the Chief Rabbinate has broad control on religion in the State of Israel, there is no middle ground be-tween Orthodox Judaism and Secular Judaism. Similarly, many Israelis feel that they must be-come extremely religious or observe nothing at all. This has lead to a situation in which instead of practicing some mitzvot and then adding more later on in life, many Israelis just ignore

most aspects of Judaism altogether.It is really a shame that different denomina-

tions of Judaism are not accepted in Israel, the homeland of Jews everywhere no matter what he or she believes, in light of the fact that in Talmudic times many different rabbis opinions were accepted. Disagreement was permitted and even encourged. There is a story recounted in the Talmud (Eruvin 13b) which says that Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai debated and argued for three years about halachah. Each side main-tained that their position was the correct one. Suddenly, a Heavenly Voice descended and ex-claimed, “Both views are the words of the living God.” In a sense, God recognizes both opinions as acceptable. In addition, the Bat Kol also said the halachah follows Beit Hillel. The Gemara ex-plains that this is the case because Beit Hillel sat down and actually learned the opinions of their opponents and even quoted the views of Beit Shammai before their own. Beit Hillel acted in a very humble manner when they put the rulings of Beit Shammai first because Beit Hillel recog-nized that just because a person does not agree with his fellow it does not give him the right to automatically demonize his disputer and call his views destructive. There is a very valuable lesson that can be learned from the story in the Talmud. First, it is acceptable for people to hold different opinions. Second, people should dis-agree in a civil-minded way in which nobody feels that his person, and not his view, is being attacked.

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This advice of the Talmud does not seem to be followed today, especially among the differ-ent denominations of Judaism in Israel. We have a tradition (Shabbat 146a) which teaches us that all Jews, alive then and born in the future, were at Har Sinai to participate in the Revelation that took place there. Every Jew around the world is able to share that experience. We all left Egypt, not just our ancestors. Therefore, it seems ludi-crous that Jews can hate other Jews for no real reason. This makes even less sense when we consider the number of non-Jewish enemies that we have had throughout our history and to-day. We cannot afford to feud among ourselves

when we face so much adversity around us.This year during Yom Ha’atzmaut, the day

in which the Jewish People were collectively able to say that they finally have a state of their own, let us think about the great problem of the lack of religious pluralism in the State of Israel. However, it is not enough to just think about the issue, we need to address it. Hope-fully, in the near future we will reach a point in which Jews don’t hate their fellow Jews and that sinat chinam will be eradicated from our people so we can celebrate the building of the Third Temple together as Am Yisrael.

Acheinu Kol Beis Yisroel: Yom Ha’atzmaut - A Day of UnityAlexander Rabinowitz ‘14

As a proud observant Jew, I can’t think of a more intrinsically “Jewish” day than Yom Ha’atzmaut. Looking within, Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein, the vi-sionary of Ramaz, instituted the unique procedure of the day decades ago, including the “blue and white” dress code, enlivening singing and dancing; all designed to enhance our appreciation of the Jewish State. Importantly, I believe Rabbi Lookstein had another intention in mind. Rabbi Lookstein was making a bold statement to the global Ortho-dox community which looked to him and Ramaz as an unofficial authority on “where to stand”, so to speak, on matters which affected how they were viewed by a still less accepting society than that which we enjoy today. Both Rabbi Joseph Look-stein and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein made it impera-tive that Ramaz and its student body are imparted with and themselves impart to their surroundings

a sense of unyielding love for the State of Israel. While most religious Jews may feel this stead-

fast gratitude and admiration for the one state which grants us automatic citizenship, there are other religiously observant Jews who feel just as passionately about their tikva or hope that the modern State of Israel will cease to exist. At the very least, on this “other” side of the spectrum, these Jews are indifferent, if not hostile, to Yom Ha’atzmaut. No Hallel, no blue and white (black and white certainly), and undoubtedly no cel-ebratory cupcake bearing a miniature replica of the Israeli flag. I believe it is both mine and most of our community’s inclination to quickly label these anti or non-Zionists as practically non-Jews. We quickly dismiss their (what they believe) reli-giously rooted belief that the State of Israel is not in God’s divine plan for the Final Redemption. We


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Aspirationsthink they ignore the blood and sweat which went into the founding of this nation. We likely assume they have no familiarity with “our” heroes: Theodor Herzl, Ze’ev Jabotinsky (my personal favorite), David Ben-Gurion, Rav Kook, and Menacham Begin. Ironi-cally, it is on the very day of Israel’s independence when the often hovering thought finally centers itself and grasps our emotions on this emotional of all days: Can we possibly have any connection with people who though they may be biologically related to us, reject Israel- the soul of our people?

On this momentous, proud Jewish day we revel in our past and the bright future we are confident that we will share as a people in our Land. It is my be-lief that the triumph of this extraordinary and yet ridiculously tiny State came about as a result of a commitment to the traditions of the Bible, peoplehood focused on the enduring legacy of a religion, and most importantly, unity. Secular-ists who were at the forefront of the State’s found-ing were on a mission to defend the right to be Jewish. Being Jewish means being Jewish the way one chooses. If Haredim choose a radically different style of practicing Judaism than their non-obser-vant socialist brothers, then that is their respective prerogatives.

It was in fact unity itself which brought about the

creation of the State. In the Post-Holocaust era, the Jews of British-Mandated Palestine, on the right, left, religious, and secular gradually ceased infight-ing and welcomed Jews from Europe who were witness to history’s most gruesome genocides. It is a fact that all types of Jews fought for Israel’s Independence. Furthermore, as acculturated and supposedly “sophisticated” Jews, we should try and understand the viewpoint of the Ultra-Orthodox. These individuals believe that they are doing a ser-vice for the People of Israel by studying the Torah

and disseminating its lessons. Unfortunately, I can’t speak for all Jews on the seemingly dis-parate sides regarding the matter of Zionism. However, it is within my capability to quote our daily prayers, “Gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, Hash-

em, Who gathers in the dispersed of His people Is-rael” (Shemoneh Esrei). Evidently, God thinks of all of us as His people. Hitler thought of all of us as one.

It is difficult, yet it is our imperative on what should be a day of Jewish unity to do our best to understand our brothers and sisters within “Beit Yis-rael” or “Beis Yisrael” with different perspectives and perhaps even reach out to them. Are we any better than “them” if we write them off as soon as we think they do us?

Elisheva Blas ‘14


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In Israel, is it easier to find kosher meat for ko-sher produce? You might have thought, wow, what a ridiculous question, obviously finding produce is easier than finding meat. However, the truth is that in Israel obtaining kosher meat is far easier than finding kosher fruits and veg-etables.

You might ask, what is “kosher produce”? Prior to eating any fruit or vegetable grown in Israel, there is an obligation to remove a series of tithes which during the Temple Period would have been given to the Kohen, the Levi and the poor. There are five series of tithes: Trumah G’dolah, to the Kohen, Ma’aser Rishon to the Levi, Trumat Ma’aser from the Levi to the Kohen, Ma’aser Sheni, and Ma’aser Oni. Each is a percentage of the harvested produce. However, nowadays, we no longer give the sepa-rated tithes to the Kohen and Levi respectively and instead throw out that same percentage in a respectful manner as these tithes are hekdesh. Ma’aser Sheni and Ma’aser Oni are given in certain years based off of the seven year shmitah cycle. In the first, second, fourth and fifth Ma’aser Sheni

Kosher Apples?Menachem Goldstein ‘13

is not given to anyone and is yours to keep. So you will ask, what is Ma’aser Sheni, as it remains in the farmers’ possession to eat or sell? Ma’aser Sheni must be separated and in the times of the Temple brought to Yerushalayim and consumed there and nowadays it is redeemed onto a coin of any value and permanently discarded. The Tal-mud recommends throwing it into the Dead Sea where the corrosive salt will eat away at the im-

printing on the coin. In years three and six instead of sepa-rating Ma’aser Sheni, Ma’aser Oni is sepa-rated which is given to the poor to this day.

Therefore all Is-raeli grown produce must either have a hashkacha or else once you purchase your goods you

must separate the tithes yourself. Since a good percentage of produce is already tithed, this hal-achah is largely unknown, especially to non-Israe-lis, but may hopefully one day be required of all of us!

Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach!

Elisheva Blas ‘14


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vents additional bloodshed, then giving up land is saving the lives of Israel’s citizens. This suggests that giving land away is only permis-sible in specific cases of pikuach nefesh. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Tehumin Volume 10) and Rab-bi Joseph Soloveitchik assert that if military and political conditions are sufficient, Israel may surrender contested territories to inhibit more deaths. Additionally they hold that “just as doctors determine whether a person can fast on Yom Kippur, so too the relevant mili-tary and political experts should determine the probability of success for any peace deal.”

Upon commanding the Jewish nation to conquer Israel, the Torah instructs the people to “not show them any favor” (Devarim 7:2). The Gemara extracts from this phrase that it is prohibited to give gentiles residence, however temporary, in Israel. While the word “them” in the pasuk usually is interpreted as members of the seven nations, Tosfaot hold that this pro-hibition extends to all non-Jews. The Rambam (Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 10:6) reinforces this by ruling that if the Jews have control then it would be illegal to let gentiles live in the land.He adds that if the status of a “Ger Toshav,” a form of conversion where the convert accepts specific mitzvot upon himself, was acquired, it would be permissible. (The Rambam then as-serts that today this is an unattainable status.) In the opinion of Tosafot and the Rambam, giving residence to a non-Jew in the Land of Israel is prohibited. However, the Rashba, the

We pray daily for peace in Israel. What is this peace worth? What are we, as Jews, permitted by halachah to trade in return for peace? God commands us to conquer the land of Israel and rid it of the seven nations. We are not only per-mitted to fight wars to obtain control over the land of Israel, but we are required to fight seven nations. The question of trading land for peace can be seen as a trade-off between preventing further loss of life and war fatalities and fulfill-ing the mitzvah of conquering the land of Israel.

King Hezekiah did six things on his own merit for which he is judged in the Gemara in Pesachim 56a. The sages teach that one of his actions that was deemed negative was send-ing the Assyrian king golden vessels from the Temple. Rashi mentions that Hezekiah’s action was not justified because he had assurance from God that He would protect the city. How-ever, without that avowal it would have been justified due to the approaching situation of Sakanat Nefashot. Rabbi Hershel Schacter ex-trapolates that in the case of Israel’s current political situation it may be permissible to give sovereignty of Judea and Samaria to the Arabs because we have no divine assurance.

One of the most important mitzvot in the Torah is the commandment of pikuach nefesh. There are only three select commandments for which we are required to give up our own lives if the fulfillment of the mitzvah poses a fatal threat (adultery, murder, and idolatry). If giving control of a certain territory to the enemy pre-

A Halachic Outlook on Giving Land Away for PeaceHannah Klapper and Avi Schwarzschild ‘13


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Meiri and Rav Kook hold that this prohibition is only applicative to idolaters.

Despite the fact that pikuach nefesh gener-ally trumps all other commandments, Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli and Rabbi Avraham Shapira claim that the commandment to conquer the land of Israel calls for death. In their opinion pikuach nefesh can be put aside during war because it is the nature of war for people to perish. These rabbis as well as Rabbi Yosef Babad say that giv-ing land away is a clear violation of the com-mandment to settle the land.

In Rabbi Schachter’s previously mentioned article that discusses the halachic perspective of giving away land for peace in Israel, he makes an interesting point: Rabbi Yochanan ben Zak-kai conceded control of the entire Israel, save for a small city, to Vespatian. “Relying on this precedent, there are those who argue that land should be ceded to the Arabs if that will save lives.”

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai felt that it was permitted, maybe even needed, to give the Romans control of Israel, due to the danger that the situation was inflicting on the nation. Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky explains that Israel has been in a halachic state of war since her war for independence in 1948. He claims that the Ar-abs’ self declared mission is still the destruction of the State of Israel. Rav Kaminetsky says that even when there is an interlude in the fighting, Israel remains at war in the eyes of halachah.

Rabbi Adam Mintz holds the opinion that saving lives is more important than the mitzvah of living in Israel. Contrary to Rabbi Schachter

he feels that wartime is more of reason to give land away if it will lead to the end of the war.

In conclusion the question of trading land for peace is a multi-faceted halachic debate. On the one hand, if returning land will bring peace then giving land saves lives. Given this premise the debate then becomes a balance of pikuach nefesh and the mitzvah given to us in the Torah to settle the land, which comes with a prohibi-tion to let non-Jews live in Israel. According to Rabbi Schachter, the principle of pikuach nefesh does not apply in wartime because there is a given loss of life in battle. He follows the opin-ion of Rav Kaminetsky that the War of Indepen-dence in 1948 has not ended, and therefore ceding control of land in Israel would be slow-ing the coming of Mashiach and it is forbid-den. Rabbi Mintz, on the contrary, believes that wartime is more of a reason to call for peace, and he holds that if giving control over land to the enemy will end the war then it should be done. After researching this question and read-ing articles that argue both positions, we think that halachah does not give a definitive answer, rather these ideas should be applied to each case separately. Additionally a political outlook should be considered, as the Israeli govern-ment does not follow the Torah exclusively.

Sources: “Parshas Acharei Mos: Surrendering Land For Peace in Eretz Yisrael” “Ask the Rabbi: Land for Peace”, The Jerusalem Post Land for Peace: A Halachic Perspective, Schachter,


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Symbolism of the Israel Flag (continued from page 1)

houses and their nobility would import the su-perior blue and purple dyes produced on the shores of Eretz Yisrael to adorn their majestic robes.

The stripes on the flag were intended to resemble the design of the traditional talit, which was invariably white with blue or dark stripes. It seems to me that the two sky blue stripes may also be seen as representing both the lofty dreams of the State as well as the true, realistic State. In other words, the stripe on top bearing the color of heavenly blue represents the high ideals and divinely inspired teachings and values of Judaism. The bottom stripe, on the other hand, represents the actual condi-

tions of everyday life, the “here and now.” Thus, the two stripes on the Israeli flag represent an ongoing tension between lofty Idealism and pragmatic Realism.

I think that the flag’s white background rep-resents a pristine artist’s canvas upon which a beautiful picture may gradually emerge. We can imagine that this picture is created by a resolution of the ongoing tension between the upper stripe and the lower stripe - Realism and Idealism. Thus, in the very center of the flag, is the picture that emerges - the prominently displayed Magen David which represents the fundamental core values of the State of Israel.

David ruled three thousand years ago. And so we lack historic parallel. How do we live and thrive side-by-side?

Indeed, we should rally when Israel is in dif-ficulty. The State needs us. Nonetheless, we should stand by Israel and sing and dance—each and every day. For two thousand years a Jewish state was only a dream. We live in a time when the dream is a reality. Israel is so acces-sible to us, something that has never before happened in history

It is for this specific reason that we are obli-gated to say Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The es-tablishment of the State of Israel is the single most significant event that has happened to the Jewish People since the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash. In addition, the State of Israel guarantees Jewish safety throughout

the world.On this day especially I don’t want my sup-

port for Israel to be motivated by fear or trag-edy. I want it only to be out of how fortunate we are to live during these times. The act of rejoicing in happy occasions is one that is very valued in Judaism, and indeed seen as the ideal. Singing Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut is critical because it sets the tone of our identifi-cation with Israel as song and celebration. In this same sense, we look forward to the time of the Mashiach, when, the prophet Zechariah tells us (8:19), the days of mourning will be transformed into days of rejoicing. It is a true blessing for our generation to live alongside a vibrant and thriving State of Israel and to as-pire towards the fulfillment of these prophetic words.

Cry With Israel, Dance With Israel (continued from page 1)


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President Obama and Prime Minister Ne-tanyahu recently met to discuss their differing views on attacking Iran. While Obama believes that the United States should deal with the problem diplomatically, Netanyahu wants to consider taking action to destroy the Iranian nuclear reactor plants. But according to hal-achah, is Netanyahu permitted to launch a pre-emptive attack?

The Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 5:1) defines two types of wars: a milchemet mitzvah, one that is required by halachah, and in which ev-eryone must participate, and a milchemet re-shut, a war that is permissible, but not required by halachah. A milchemet mitzvah, he explains, includes wars against Amalek, against the sev-en nations of Canaan, or against an enemy who attacks, i.e. a defensive war. A milchemet reshut is a war that is fought to enlarge the borders of Israel or to “enhance [Israel’s] greatness and prestige.”

There is a debate as to what kind war a pre-emptive war is. In Masechet Sanhedrin (daf 72a), the Mishnah teaches that if a burglar comes to a house, and the owner knows that the thief intends to kill him, the owner can kill the owner even before the thief attacks. The thief is judged on his future actions so that the owner can protect his own life. This teaches us a general rule: if someone stands up to kill you, you have the right to kill him first. Perhaps this principle of self defense can be extended to a

Can Israel Declare War on Iran?Elisheva Blas ‘14

nation, too: if Israel knows that Iran is going to attack, Israel can attack first.

Many commentators hold that military ac-tion is only permitted when the enemy has ac-tually begun to attack. The Or Zarua (Hilchot Shabbat 84:13) states that “when the news goes forth that [the enemy] intends to come to attack, even though they have as yet not come, it is permissible to transport arms to safeguard [the city] and to generate commotion in the city so that they shall not come.” The preemp-tive action defined by the Or Zarua is solely a defensive one.

The Lechem Mishnah (Hilchot Shabbat 2:25), on the other hand, holds that a preemptive at-tack is subsumed under a milchemet reshut. He says that the purpose of a war “to enhance the monarch’s greatness and prestige” is to instill fear in potential enemies so that they do not attack.

Similarly, the Shiyurei Korban (Talmud Yerushalmi, Sotah 8:10) defines a milchemet reshut as a war “against neighbors in the fear that with the passage of time they will wage war [against Israel]; therefore [the king] wages war against them at the present time in order to destroy them so that they will not have the strength to attack Israel.” Although today the Jewish People do not have a king, Rav Kook as-serts that the Israeli government has the status of a king, and can therefore make declarations of war.


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Aspirationsleaders have sworn to “wipe Israel off of the map.”

Although the commentators could not have anticipated the nuances of modern day war-fare, with missiles traveling hundreds of miles, it seems that Israel’s government has the hala-chic authority to preemptively strike Iran. But given the close relationship that Israel has with the United States, as well as the numerous re-percussions—such as a possible Iranian attack on Israel—that an attack would have, it will take more than halachic approval for Netanyahu to declare war on Iran. Sources: “Preemptive War in Jewish Law” Rabbi David Bleich “Wars of Mitzvah, Reshut and Self-Defense” Rav Mordechai Greenberg

The Meiri (Beit Habchirah, Sotah 43a) be-lieves that Israel can declare war “against their enemies because they fear lest [their enemies] attack or when it is known that the [enemies] are preparing themselves for attack.” This means that Israel must have sufficient reason to believe that the enemy is prepared to at-tack—such as military build-up. In the case of Iran, this condition is met; Israel has sufficient proof that Iran is building weapons and plan-ning an attack.

The Aruch Hashulchan Ha’atid (Hilchot Mela-chim 74:3-4) goes so far as to state that it is per-missible to attack even a potential enemy. In the modern circumstances, Iran is much more than just a suspected enemy, as the country’s

‘The Show Must Go On’Rabbi Effie Kleinberg, Judaic Studies Faculty

It is during these weeks that the Jewish commu-nity reflects on the tragedies and triumphs of our people that we commemorate during this period. Although each of these commemorations carries with it a unique emotional experience and mes-sage for our generation, there is a common link that connects the nature of these days and that is the resiliency of the Jewish People throughout his-tory in the face of physical and spiritual destruc-tion.

In Parashat Shemini the Torah details the dedi-cation of the Mishkan during which many special offerings were brought and the Kohanim and Le-viim began their holy work. There is a focus on the events that occurred on the eighth day: “A fire came forth from before God and consumed what

was on the altar; the burnt-offering and the fats. All the people saw and they raised their voices in praise, and they fell on their faces” (Vayikra 10:24). Immediately after this awe-inspiring moment, tragedy struck. Nadav and Avihu, two of the sons of Aharon, brought a fire that they were not com-manded to bring to the altar and as a result, they were subsequently consumed by a fire that came forth from God, and they died on the floor of the Mishkan.

Imagine the pain and feeling of loss that Aharon was experiencing during those moments. There he was, leading the initial service of the Temple and ly-ing in front of him dead on the floor, were two of his sons. This was a tragedy of immense proportions, yet we are told vayidom Aharon - and Aharon was


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silent. The early commentaries debate whether Aharon let out a cry or whether he subdued even outward emotions, but the Torah is clear that he did not have a strong outward reaction to the di-saster that had just unfolded before his eyes. His reaction came after Moshe consoled him by reas-suring him that his sons were krovim of God, and as difficult as the loss of the sons was for Aharon, he was to be comforted by the fact that they died for a holy reason, and in fact it was part of God’s master plan for the dedication ceremony.

The verses that follow the death of the sons call for our attention. Moshe makes the request of two Leviim, Mishael and Eltzaphan, to carry the bodies of Nadav and Avihu out of the Sanctuary to the outside of the camp. Rashi who quotes the Sages likens this conversation to a man who says to his friend, “Remove the corpse from the pres-ence of the bride so as not to disturb the rejoicing of the wedding with mourning.” Moshe’s request is followed by further instructions to Aharon and his sons to cancel the normal mourning prac-tice of growing one’s hair and rending one’s gar-ments as Rashi comments again so as not to dis-turb God’s rejoicing. The difficulty is glaring: God wants the dedication ceremony to be clear of any sign of mourning or sadness, but it was God who ‘disturbed’ the joyous occasion in the first place! If Nadav and Avihu were individuals of such high re-gard, why did God not delay their death until after the ceremony? Additionally, as Kohen Gadol, Aha-ron would never have been allowed to outwardly mourn his sons (as per Vayikra 21:10), but why did his remaining sons also need to follow these rules?

The last Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, explained (Likutei Sichos vol. 17 p. 100) that the analogy that the Sages provid-ed emphasizes the emotionally charged nature of the situation. “As a person says to his friend” - The Rebbe explained that this language is not a formal command, because when Moshe told the Leviim to remove the bodies, Moshe himself did not un-derstand completely (or at all) why God had taken these sons at this time. Moshe was giving more of a suggestion as a person says to his fellow that we cannot understand why God did this but at least we must do what is incumbent on us to remove the bodies from the holy place. The Rebbe added that removing the bodies was not just a function of removal, but was part and parcel of the service of this ceremony since it was connected to the very joy of the day. This is why the removal needed to be performed by the Leviim.

The final confession that we make on Yom Kip-pur, is: al cheyt she’chatanu lefanecha b’timhon le-vav - for the sin of questioning in our hearts. Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin wrote that to question God’s master plan is a grave sin because it emanates from a narrow and limited perspective. Nonetheless, being that it is part of our confession, we do not always have the strength to control the negative emotions over the loss, and we call out to God keli keli lama azavtani - my God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? (Tehilim 22:2). Putting ourselves into the shoes of Moshe and Aharon during those dif-ficult moments, it is not surprising that it was so difficult for them to enable the continuation of the ceremony.


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In a majestic comment from Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, he establishes the principle that the Kohen Gadol is the symbol of nitzchiyut - the ideal of an eternal nation. Since the Kohen Gadol represents this ideal, he must outwardly manifest it by subduing his emotions which were stirred by the death through contemplating his responsibil-ity and relationship to God and the people of Israel. He cannot show any signs of mourning because it would break the symbol of eternal living of the Jewish People. The Talmud (Temurah 15b) states ein tzibbur meit - because of the inherent holiness of the people they can never taste death as an en-tity, and the Kohen Gadol who is the heart of the people must bear this eternal resiliency and refusal to be affected by death. It was on that fateful day that Aharon’s sons were subsumed under the title of Kohen Gadol and they too were called on to represent this national immortality, to console and

assure the people netzach yisrael lo yeshaker - The eternity of Israel will not deceive (Shmuel I 15:28).

For me, and hopefully for all of us, the take-home challenge of the days of Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Ha’atzma’ut are based on Rav Hirsch’s reading of the verse, keli keli l’mah azavtani - not as lama - why have you forsaken me, but l’mah - wherefore have you forsaken me? While we mark these emotional points in history let us ask our-selves l’mah - what are we doing with these emo-tions? How are we perpetuating the memory of those who perished sanctifying God’s name in the Holocaust and in the defense of the State of Israel, and how are we working to support the continued growth and flourishing of our homeland in Eretz Yisrael? The Jewish people are a remarkable and resilient nation, and it is my hope that we should never again have to tear our garments and forever be a strong link in the eternity of our people!

Why Celebrate Yom HaatzmautAnna Cappell ‘14

Often in Judaism, a particular holiday or celebra-tion is connected to at least one mitzvah and there-fore holds a deeper meaning for the Jewish nation. However, Yom Ha’atzmaut simply seems like a sec-ular holiday established to commemorate our po-litical independence. Although the independence of the State of Israel is definitely something to be celebrated, is there more to this joyous day of cele-bration? Is there a mitzvah that we are celebrating? Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook analyzed the religious sig-nificance of Yom Ha’atzmaut. Usually, our connec-tion to holiness and Hashem is through the mitzvot

of the Torah. Rav Kook explained that the holiness of Yom Ha’atzmaut is also connected to the holiness of mitzvot. The Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvot Positive Commandment 4) further explains that the particu-lar mitzvah connected to the historical occasion is the mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, settling the Land of Israel, as he explains, “We will not abandon it to an-other nation, or leave it desolate.” This shows that this mitzvah is an obligation of the Jewish nation. The Jews are commanded to take possession of the land of Israel and rule over it. Not only is this nation-al mitzvah celebrated, but there is also a mitzvah for


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each individual to live in Israel. Therefore, the significance of Yom Ha’atzmaut

is that the Jewish nation has finally merited, after centuries of turmoil and exile, to fulfill this mitz-vah. This mitzvah is even valued by the Sages as “equal to all the other mitzvot” (Sifre Re’ei). On Yom Ha’atzmaut the Jews should be filled with gratitude to live in the Land of Israel and should be grateful to be alive after many hardships and to

HatikvahEmmanuel Cantor ‘13

Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, is often re-garded as emblematic of contemporary Zionism and a poignant, yet succinct declaration of the goals of the founders of the Jewish State. Written by Naftali Herz Imber, the lyrics, despite having un-dergone numerous alterations, were adopted as the national anthem of the Zionist movement at the First Zionist Congress and of the State of Israel. Though often considered a unifying work despite the numerous and often conflicting ideological strands of Zionism, Hatikvah continues to remain controversial in the modern State of Israel. Just this past year, Salim Joubran, an Israeli Arab Justice on Israel’s Supreme Court, refused to sing the national anthem at a public ceremony. To Joubran, the dis-tinct references in Hatikvah to Israel as a Jewish state and its text describing the quest of the Jew-ish People to forage an ancestral homeland alien-ated him as a proud, non-Jewish citizen of Israel.

That being said, Hatikvah has historically un-dergone a significant amount of criticism from the religious Zionist demographic. Many religious Zi-

onists protest that Hatikvah is insufficient in con-veying the spiritual nature of the State of Israel, lacking any mention of God or the Torah. Many substitute the phrase “lehiyot am chofshi,” to be a free nation, with the refrain “lehiyot am kadosh,” to be a holy nation. Most notably, Rav Abraham Isaac Kook wrote an alternative anthem, known as “HaE-munah,” which contains references to Jerusalem as King David’s holy city, the homeland of Abraham as the father of many nations, and the hope to cre-ate a sovereign nation where Jews can serve God and immerse themselves in Torah. Other religious Zionists have insisted on adopting chapter 126 of Tehilim, while others, in light of the Oslo Peace Ac-cords, advocated for the selection of “Shir Hasha-lom,” a song that that was sung by Yitzchak Rabin shortly before he was assassinated.

Nevertheless, Rav Yakov Medan insists that Ha-tikvah is not only a fitting anthem for the mod-ern State of Israel, but it is particularly reflective of the tenets of Religious Zionism. The words "od lo avda tikvatenu," may be seen as an allusion to

live in the land that the Jewish forefathers could not live in. On this special day, the Jewish nation celebrates that as a nation they were able to fulfill God’s commandment; therefore, the State of Israel was established. Sources: Silver from the Land of Israel, pp. 191-195. Adapted from LeNetivot Yisrael vol I, pp. 181-184, 192-200;“Sichot HaRav Tzvi Yehudah” 19


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Yechezkel 37:11, which states that "our bones are dried and our hope is lost; we have been cut off.” Rav Medan draws the parallel between an exiled nation and a lifeless body. While Yechezkel decries the Jews as being a hopeless pile of dry bones while in exile, Hatikvah insists that the Jewish peo-ple have not lost faith in the pos-sibility to return to Israel. However, Rav Medan acknowledges the in-herent conflict between the two, for in Yechezkel’s mind, the return of the exiles is solely in the hands of God, just as only God can resur-rect the dead. This is quite unlike most schools of Zionist thought that view human involvement as central to the Zionist dream, as Ben Gurion described Zionism “as creating a home and a life by our-selves.”

Yet Rav Medan defines the hope described in both Hatikvah and Yechezkel by turning to chapter 14 of Iyov which states that “there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again … But man dies and is laid low; man perishes and where is he? … Man lies and does not rise…so You cause man's hope to be lost.” In Iyov’s extend-ed metaphor, which continues to juxtapose Man’s existence to a tree’s, Man is portrayed as a having no connection to the land. That being said, a tree has hope, for its connection to the earth’s eternity gives it sustenance. Rav Medan expounds upon

this passage and states that just like the tree’s roots are what gives it the ability to connect to the land and thus have hope, so too the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel gives the Jewish People the hope for redemption and ensures our existence. It is this conviction that is often viewed as the backbone of

religious Zionism. Though Hatikvah lacks the

explicit references to starkly religious themes such as God and Torah that are included in Rav Kook’s “HaEmunah,” on a deeper, ideological level, the anthem is consis-tent with Judaism’s central notion of hope for a better tomorrow. Just like the tree’s inextricable connection to the soil gives it the hope for redemption, Rav Medan sees the Jewish People’s pro-found relationship with the physical Land of Israel as the true source of the hope to re-

establish a sovereign Jewish nation in the Land of Israel. Despite its criticisms by both sides of the di-verse Israeli political spectrum, “Hatikvah” remains Israel’s national anthem. Hatikvah serves as testa-ment to Zionism’s simultaneously commitment to both recognizing the establishment of the State of Israel’s religious significance and embracing all forms under Zionism under a single banner, and ul-timately, a single song.


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I recall a fictional character in a book re-marking about the Six Day War that one day, hundreds of years in the future, people would say that the war did not really last six days but really six months, and it wasn’t really that the population of Israel was outnumbered by its enemies 40 to 1 or that the standing army was outnumbered 8 to 1. These numbers were all exaggerations which were created simply to point out that the victory was enormous. In short, miracles are hard to believe, even when they are staring us in the face.

Interestingly, at the very beginning of the Haggadah, the Rambam has a text that intro-duces the “Ha Lachma Anya” with the words bivhilu yatzanu mi-mitzrayim, best translated as “in haste” we left Egypt. The word actually denotes a certain excitement or agitation as in “man is excited when his property is at stake” (Pesachim 11a) or a person is “anxious” when he wants to save his relative from a fire. (Yoma 85a). It involves a suddenness or shock. The source for this association with the Exodus is probably the verse in Shemot (12:11), “And thus shall you eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste--it is Hash-em’s passover.” The redemption from Egypt came quickly, suddenly. Based upon survivor accounts of their liberation from the concen-tration camps of Europe, one can only imagine what a tumult the words “you are free” created

for the Israelites who were told to pack up their things and bake their bread for the journey.

Redemption, in short, can come very quickly. It’s haste, its sudden onset, its total unexpect-edness is thus associated with Divine interven-tion and particularly of a supernatural nature. HaKadosh Barukh Hu lets man know that the events of human history are directly a result of His involvement - “Him and not an angel.” The plagues brought upon Egypt, the sudden lib-eration of the Hebrews, the splitting of the Sea, and the drowning of the Egyptian taskmasters all point to unnatural causes, even if one could explain them in very natural ways.

Yet the truth is that, counterintuitively, a faith born of miracles can be sorely lacking. Just look at what happened to Bnei Yisrael af-ter they left Egypt. As the miracles increased (bitter waters made fresh, food falling from heaven) their faith seemed to wane. One would have thought that a generation that had seen the direct hand of Hashem in their lives, who had experienced God’s hand in the unfolding of human history, would be people of tremen-dous faith. Alas, it was not to be. Miracles, in the end, are not enough to sustain one’s faith on a day to day basis.

No wonder, then, that Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook and others maintain that the future re-demption will not take place suddenly, in a supernatural way, but rather in a slow natural unfolding of events. There was a time when

Seeing MiraclesRabbi Jay Goldmintz, Headmaster


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the world needed the astonishment, the sur-prise, the speed of current events to shock it into awareness that there was something di-vine going on. That was necessary for without it the world could never have imagined divine intervention in the history of nations was pos-sible. Henceforth, however, the future redemp-tion is one that will be organic, that will follow the natural course of events. Rather than being fast and sudden, this process will be slow and deliberate. Whether one sees the Divine Hand in this process is not a function of His presence, for He is always there, but rather in our ability to perceive His involvement.

In this one need not have a Six Day War to point to. Rather, as the Talmud and Rashi (San-hedrin 98a) indicate: “If the trees of Israel bear fruit, there is no more revealing sign of the end of our exile than that.” Com-pare this with the observa-tions of Mark Twain who noted during his visit that “Of all of the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren...The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a fee-ble vegetation that has an expression about it of be-ing sorrowful and despon-dent... Palestine...broods the spell of a curse that withered its fields and fet-

tered its energies...” Yet anyone who has visited the modern State of Israel knows that the Land is now green and fertile, rich and resplendent. The proof of redemption lies in the miracle of life that takes hold in the Land, with each new bud, each new industry and each new high tech development which takes the world by a storm. These are not the supernatural miracles of biblical proportions but the “hidden mir-acles” which surround us every day. We need only open our eyes as did the Israelites at the splitting of the Sea: “And Israel saw the great work which Hashem did to the Egyptians, and the people...believed in Hashem.” It’s all about seeing the great miracles before us. And, as Da-vid Ben Gurion reminded us, anyone who does not believe in miracles, is simply not a realist.

Elish

eva

Blas

‘14


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Hallel is usually said on holidays that have been part of Jewish ritual observance for hundreds of years – with one exception. In order to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, during the time of Israel’s found-ing, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Yom Ha’atzamut a Jewish holiday on which Hallal is re-cited. A controversy has emerged as a result of this decision: does one recite Hallel with a bracha on Yom Ha’atzmaut or not?

In order to explore the answer to this question, one must first understand the nature of Hallel and why it is recited on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The Gemara in Pesachim says that sages de-creed that the Jewish People should recite Hallel on each holiday and when the per-secution of the Jew-ish people is averted. Rashi comments on this gemara and provides the example of Chanukah, for during Chanukah the Jewish people were saved from disaster. Rabbi Me-nachem Y. Ushpizai, the former chief Rabbi of Ra-mat Gan, therefore believes the Israeli Declaration of Independence represents a situation similar to what transpired during Chanukah. He maintains that the establishment of Israel provided Jews har-bor from worldwide persecution.

However, Tosafot in Sucah seems to contradict Rabbi Ushpizai’s opinion. When commenting on the obligation to recite Hallel, Tosafot say that it is a commandment to do so only when the entire Jewish nation is threatened. If not all of Bnei Yisrael is in a dire circumstance and fighting for survival, then no one recites Hallel. The Meiri adds that an individual may recite Hallel if he was saved from a threat, but he is prohibited to say Hallel with a bra-

cha. Rabbi Ush-pizai maintains that the limita-tions of the To-safot and of the Meiri apply only if the threat oc-curred outside of Israel. If the Jews were saved from destruction in Is-rael, even if only a few of them, then Hallel is recited with a bracha.

Our custom is to follow the view of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and to sing Hallel with a bracha on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The Hallel adds to the celebra-tory mood of the day and demonstrates the deep religious significance of the State of Israel. We pray that these goals are achieved by all those who say Hallel, whether it is with a bracha or not.

Chag Sameach!

Hallel On Yom Ha’atzmautRachel Huebner ‘13

Elisheva Blas ‘14


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pendence on rain shows another side to the small country. Throughout the winter season Jews turn to God daily in the midst of their Sh-emoneh Esrei and say, "The One who makes the wind blow, and makes the rain descend." It says in Devarim: "For the land to which you come it is not like the land of Egypt that you left, where you would plant your seed and water it with your foot, from the rains of Heaven shall you drink water (11:10-11)." Their dependence on God for this phenomenon strikingly contrasts the independent nature of the Israeli culture through technology.

These two factors responsible for sustaining the State of Israel are a perfect parallel to the factors needed to sustain a strong relationship with Hashem. On the one hand, one needs to realize that what they are given is enough and realize their potential to make do with it, and possibly go beyond. On the other hand, they need to be a dependent and reliant on God

Israel is one of the most controversial coun-tries in the world; constantly the subject of ter-ritorial fights. However, when it comes down to it, the land itself is tiny and well known for its lack of natural resources. Although it is cen-tered in the Middle East, it is not filled with an abundance of oil, nor does it have any great lakes or rivers to help the country thrive. It's even lacking in trees. Geographically speaking it is simply a small slate of desert land. Despite, its biblical significance, what truly connects us to this small, barren territory? Where is our promised land "flowing with milk and honey," and why has it been replaced with desert?

Despite Israel's dry climate and lack of natural resources, Israel in one way or another seems to be thriving in the world. Israel's success is de-pendent on two factors: innovation and rain. Israel is one of the most technologically ad-vanced countries in the world. For this reason, it is also successful agriculturally and makes up for all the many resources it naturally lacks. The minds that are responsible for a sustainable country are pushed to go beyond convention. What the lack of resources has opportunely pushed them to do is to think and create a thriving society, outside the box, through their own efforts, and not simply with what they are given. They not only use their minds, but are known for working the land, and putting in physical labor to produce. However, their de-

Israel: Bringing Us Closer to GodAdi Rosen ‘13

Elisheva Blas ‘14


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to secure a trust between them. What the Land of Israel gives us, besides a home for the Jewish People, is an opportunity to work for something. While creating a prospering land, and still depending on God, we are also hum-bling ourselves. The word for love in Hebrew is ahav. The root hav, means “to give.” Many people think this is logical, because when you love something or someone you want to give

them everything you can, but it also works in the reverse. When you give and give to some-thing or someone, that is when the love forms. When we work the land and give our efforts to Israel that is when we fall in love with it. That is why so many are willing to fight so hard to pro-tect it, because when you build something up, you will give everything you can to protect it.


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should see that their presence is a tribute to the fact that the Jewish nation is getting healed by the Jewish land.

Rabbinical love of the land of Israel is re-lated in the Gemara (Ketubot 114a) that re-lates how Rabbi Abba would kiss the stones near Akko while Rabbi Chiya would smooth

the roads in order that no one should trip and subsequently speak ill of the land of Israel.

Sometimes it is dif-ficult to see the posi-tive things in life. This is a human flaw that most people have to work on. Especially in the context of Israel, amidst intense politi-cal issues, we have to

be able to honor Hashem by trying our best to overcome our negative outlooks and real-ize that the land is our home, and we have to love it.

We should all merit to be able to learn from our Rabbis who teach us to have such a won-derful and strong love for Israel.

Rav Kook once met a disappointed Ameri-can who had made Aliyah but was dismayed but the lack of religious observance among the pioneer settlers in Eretz Yisrael. The man asked for Rav Kook's blessing as he planned to return to his beautiful hometown of Den-ver, Colorado. Rav Kook stated that a Jerusa-lemite that he knew had once visited Denver. This Jeru-salemite noted so many people afflict-ed with Tuberculo-sis. The American defensively pointed out that it wasn't Denver's "fault" that there were a high percentage of peo-ple with pulmonary diseases. In fact it was the opposite: those people contracted their ailments elsewhere and then moved to Denver so her clean moun-tain- fresh air can cure them. Rav Kook smiled and explained that the same was happening in Eretz Israel; the unaffiliated Jews who had suffered through centuries of Galut were now seeking the cleansing "air" of their homeland. Rav Kook asked the American to see that rather than be dismayed by such people; he

In the Eye of the BeholderRachel Kastner ‘14

Elisheva Blas ‘14


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The Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein Upper School of Ramaz

60 East 78th St. New York, NY 10075Phone: 212-774-8070

www.ramaz.tv www.ramaz.org

Editors: Noam Kornsgold ‘13, Sabina Tilevitz ‘13 Faculty Editor: Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz

This publication is sponsored in honor of the RamazClass of 1998’s 15 year reunion and dedicated to the

memory of our friend and classmateJoey Vogel z”l

We mourn Joey’s untimely death and fondly remem-ber his zest for life, love of Torah, compassion for

people and wonderful spirit.May his memory always be for a blessing.

Members of the Class of 1998.Za

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