Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Letter to a Friend and Brother in The Shomron (Samaria, West Bank, Israel)


This week's column will be a little different.  I decided to publish a letter that I just sent to my dear friend David HaIvri, and Ex-Pat who made Aliyah to Israel and lives in the Shomron, in what is sometimes referred to as the West Bank.
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Dear David... Relative to Manhigut (1) , please stick with us. We are making huge progress, and we need YOU.

I am very sorry that we did not meet while I was home this Spring. Hopefully I will have a chance to come in the Summer, and we can sit for an hour or three.

Whether or not you are aware of my situation, sufficed it to say at this moment, that I am alive today due to G-d's Rachmanut (2a) , favor and belief in me to do what I need to do.

It is my sincere opinion that this means to form a Kehillah (2b) here that will teach others how important Israel is to all of us, and why it is our DUTY to come home to Eretz Yisrael.

We are not (2c) Charedim , and many in my (2b) Kehillah  are not even (2c) "Dati" or "Masorti", but what they all agree upon is that Israel belongs to US, as given to (2d) Avraham Avinu  and to (2e) AM YISRAEL.

(3) OD LO AVDA TIKVATEINU, David. OD LO AVDA TIKVATEINU. LEHIYOT AM CHOFSHI b'ARTZEINU. And we will be. Why? Because it is G-d's will.

As I sit and write this, tears form in my forty-eight year old eyes. Tears of longing to be home, and of love for our (2a) Moledet. And, in the knowledge that if we can all just live together, as (2e) AM B'NEI YISRAEL, without the labels (Reform, Conservative, etc.), as (3) AM CHOFSHI b'ARTZEINU, we will not only rise, but we will rise with haShem leading us to the ultimate netzachon, the victory of Shalom al Yisrael.

(2f) Al haNissim, Achi. Its all in the miracles from haShem, my brother. When we BELIEVE, nobody can stop us.

I can tell you about the people that come to my Shul to daven; many of them had not been IN a Synagogue in YEARS, and believe it or not, some had never been in a Synagogue. In fact, a few weeks ago, at my Wednesday night Torah Study, at least six or seven EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS came to study (2g) Parashat Bereshit. When we were done, every one of them told me how they were so confused now, but at the same time, very clear in their comprehension. In short, they were confused how it is now so clear that EVERYTHING that they had learned relative to teh man that they call Yeshu, is now (to them) absolutely untrue, and could never BE true. Even they understand why we must rise in strength and unity. And, we must.

The time, my dear friend and brother, the time for the old BS to end is now. We are JEWS. Does it matter if we are Ashkenazim or Sefaradim? Orthodox or Reform? Really? Did the Nazis care? Does Hamas care? Why should WE? We are Jews. We are the Chosen People. To quote Manhigut Yehudit, The Jewish Leadership Movement, "A Jewish state must be absolutely faithful to the Land of Israel -- the Land that was promised in its Biblical borders to the Fathers of the Nation by the Creator of the world -- and includes the understanding of the positive connection between the Land and the ability of the Nation of Israel to fulfill its earthly goals."
 You, my friend are very fortunate. Each day when you rise and look outdoors, the street signs are in Hebrew. The store windows are too. In your ears, you are so very blessed to be able to hear our wonderful holy language. We want to join you. We NEED to join you, and we WILL. But to join you, we need your support as you need ours.

WE MUST WORK TOGETHER, no less and not much differently than we did in the Twenties, and Thirties, and 40's and so forth. We are ALL (2e) B'nei Yaacov; B'nei Yisrael. We need to get our proverbial heads out our backsides and see what is truly important: (3) Lehiyot Am Chofshi b'Arteinu, Eretz Tzion, Yerushalayim.

May G-d continue to Bless you and Keep you, my dear friend. May He shine his Grace upon you; and May He grant you Peace. For you and for All Yisrael.

Your brother in Peace and in Defense of our Moledet...

--AA
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KEY as shown above in small notated numerals:

(1) Manhigut Yehudit is the Jewish Leadership Movement under the direction of MK Moshe Feiglin.  Many see Mr. Feiglin and the Jewish Leadership Movement as the future of the State of Israel.

(2a) Rachmanut: Mercy.  Moledet: Birthright.  (2b) Kehillah: Congregation or Community  (2c) Speaks to the three levels of Observance:  Charedi - Ultra-Orthadox; Dati - Orthodox; Masorti - Comfortably Observant.   (2d) Avraham Avinu: Abraham, The first Jew; Married to Sara; Father to Isaac.  (2e) B'Nei: Sons of/ Descendents of; Yaacov: Jacob; Yisrael: Israel.  Am Yisrael; Teh Nation of Israel or People of Israel.  (2f) Al haNissim is a prayer or series of prayers that thank G-d for certain miracles that He has brought to us over the lengths of history. (2g) Parashat Bereshit: The portion of Torah that describes Creation.

(3) Hatikvah (Hebrew: הַתִּקְוָה‎, lit. The Hope) is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew from Zolochiv (today in Lviv Oblast),[1] who moved to the Land of Israel in the early 1880s. The anthem's theme revolves around the nearly 2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to be a free and sovereign people in the Land of Israel, a national dream that would eventually be realized with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.  (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Hebrew                           Transliteration                               English translation



כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה            Kol ‘od balleivav penimah           As long as in the heart, within,


נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה,               Nefesh yehudi homiyah,                 A Jewish soul still yearns,


וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה,   Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah,   And onward, towards the ends of the east,
עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה;              Ayin letziyon tzofiyah;                     An eye still gazes toward Zion;


עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ,     ‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,             Our hope is not yet lost,


הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם,       Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim,   The hope of two thousand years,


לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ,      Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzeinu,   To be a free people in our land,


אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.          Eretz-tziyon vy(e)rushalayim.          The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
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For this week, I leave you with the hope that you too will visit our Internet Home at http://www.emek-az.org/, and of you are able to even help us to help others even in small amounts, we will be ever so grateful.  Your tax deductible contributions may be sent via PayPal to emek@q.com or by visiting our Support Page at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/401503.


From the Emek in our Midbar that we call Arizona, I wish you Ahava u'Vrachot; Love and Blessings...


Rabbi Alan Abrams