Prayers for
Men: Shalom Charles ben Gracia, Yosef ben Esther, Daniel ben Rivka, Moshe ben
Briendel, Avrum ben Fagel, Ephraim ben Mazel,
Women: Karen Neshama bas Esther Ruth,
Chaya Melecha Rachel bas Baila Alta, Rachel Shoshana bas Chana, Hodaya Nirit
bas Mazel Yaish, Rivka bas Idit, Tsvia Simcha bas Devorah Yachad, Miriam bas
Irene Taita Malka, Shulamis bas Etta, Chana Friedel bas
Sara, Esther bas Alice, Drorah Rivka bas Chana, Penina Bas Zeisa Preeya, Denise Esther
bas Leah, Chava bas Tirtzah, Leah bas Sara, Tikva bas Chava,
For a week or two: Miriam Esther bas Golda Chaya will be
having surgery on Monday, January 20th.
The following persons
are recovering from long term non-threatening injuries and need Psalms. Binum
Benyamin Tuvia ben Chana Friedel, Avraham HaCohain ben Yocheved, Melech David ben Sulah
Pearla,
This week
is the time of the 12th Yahrzeit of the Tzaddik Rabbi Glixman of
righteous memory.
Parsha Shemos
Our previous Parsha ends with the
passing of Yacov and Yosef but the whole generation was not mentioned. We open
our Pasha after all the brothers have passed away.
1:1 Now
these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob;
every man came with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and
Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and
Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the
loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt already. 6
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7
And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and
multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
The land
of Goshen and perhaps places where they rose up within the Egyptian
Bureaucracy.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not
Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people: 'Behold, the people of the
children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us;
We are
uncertain from this if a Dynasty of Pharaoh changed or years have gone by close
to 130 years since the Bnei Yisrael entered Mitzrayim. So it is possible a
Pharaoh in the same Dynasty but did not know the history of Yosef. Rashi
believes that the Pharaoh pretended not to know Yosef. Whatever the truth is
with Pharaoh he now suspects these strangers that worship not his gods. He uses
accusations that have been used throughout the centuries by antisemites. They
are different, many and will be treasonous with our enemies.
10 come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they
multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalls us any war, they also
join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of
the land.' 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to
afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities,
Pithom and Raamses.
We will
keep them out of the army and force conscription until building to be made by
them.
12 But
the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread
abroad. And they were adread because of the children of Israel.
The
sheer numbers were more than their army but the peaceful slaves had a mentality
that they feared the soldiers.
13 And
the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. 14
And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and
in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made
them serve with rigor.
The
slavery was supposed to be 400 years and not 80 years from the birth of the
savior aka Moshe. But because they worked with such rigor, their stay and
slavery would be shortened to 80 years.
15 And
the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was
Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said: 'When
ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ye shall look upon the
birthstool: if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter,
then she shall live.'
Pharaoh
had a few choices what to do with the Bnei Yisrael. The first was to send them
away. The second was to keep them enslaved. The third was to kill males that
might be Moshiach for the Bnei Yisrael and inflict them so that they have no
time to think of freedom.
17 But
the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but
saved the men-children alive.
This is
the difference between the king of flesh and blood vs. the King of the
Universe. For a king can decree what he wants but the people can find a way
around it. Once Rabbi Levi of Berditchev asked for Tabaco, something else and
whiskey on Pesach. The first two were easy to supply but the third the people
could not because it was Chametz. He then pleaded to G-D to judge even fairly
and honorably the people of Israel.
18 And
the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them: 'Why have ye
done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?' 19 And
the midwives said unto Pharaoh: 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the
Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come
unto them.'
In order
not to angry Pharaoh they said that the Hebrew women give birth like animals by
themselves without help.
20 And
God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very
mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God,
that He made them houses.
He made
a hospital for giving birth.
22 And
Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: 'Every son that is born ye shall cast
into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.'
The
astrologers saw that the Moshiach of the Jews would have trouble with water.
They could not see that it was at Meribah in the wilderness at the age of 119.
So that is why they had him through the children into water.
He already had a daughter and a son and that was enough to meet be fruitful and multiply. He wanted to abstain from relations until Yocheved told him “Pharaoh wants to only kill the males and you want to kill also the females.” Immediately he saw her truth and cancelled the idea.
2 And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
The Egyptians sent around soldiers and they noted who was pregnant or not. So they figured that she must have given birth by then so she put him in the river in an ark of bulrushes.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.
Man proposes G-D disposes. Where is the safest place for a Moshiach of the Bnei Yisrael to grow up with Pharaoh wanting to kill him? Of course the Pharaohs married their daughters he was a god and her name was Basya or daughter-of G-D and her child must be his. Rabbi Glixman would have laughed and said: “The jokes on Pharaoh he thought he could kill the Moshiach and instead he is giving royal treatment to the Moshiach.” But better still he was nursed from kosher milk from his birth mother.
6 And she opened it, and saw it, even the child; and behold a boy that wept. And she had compassion on him, and said: 'This is one of the Hebrews' children.'
An infant cries in a certain way and a boy in another and he cried not like an infant but like a small child.
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter: 'Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?' 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her: 'Go.' And the maiden went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her: 'Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.' And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
He was given a few royal blankets, a royal children’s bracelet and Yocheved was given a royal ring to show to the soldiers that they would understand that she was only his wet nurse.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said: 'Because I drew him out of the water.'
Moshe means pulled out or drew him out. So he grew up with classes in diplomacy, military tactics and leadership besides the regular classes that a child has. In short, he is brought up to be a leader.
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
He smote him according to Rashi with the DIVINE NAME and he looked into the future to see if he would have a Tzaddik come from him. However, the Pshat is that there was no Egyptian there to report him. But the capos aka Datan a Amiram knew what had happened and they would sell out any Jew or Goy for money and power.
13 And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: 'Wherefore smite thou thy fellow?' 14 And he said: 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? think thou to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian?' And Moses feared, and said: 'Surely the thing is known.'
Even though Moshe was like a king, killing an Egyptian who was wicked was no problem but to kill a rebellious Ben Yisrael without a Sanhedrin, he would not do so.
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
Moshe could have made up a fib as he was an official and the Egyptian spoke against Pharaoh etc. But the story flew to Pharaoh before Moshe could do anything to defend himself. So he fled. The fact of the matter is that Moshe stuttered and he was afraid to speak. The Medrash has him conquering lands in Africa for Pharaoh and he married a black woman or princess.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
He was an equivalent of a black-belt in Karate and easily drove off the Shepherds between his hands, feet and staff.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said: 'How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?' 19 And they said: 'An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock.' 20 And he said unto his daughters: 'And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.'
Why have you not invited the stranger to hospitality? Our father Avraham invited three idol worshippers to eat butter, cream and then a whole tongue each haven’t I taught you hospitality?
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
Reuel told Moshe that he could use a good Shepherd to take care of the flock. He agreed and was given Zipporah (Since the Hebrew is Tzadde her name would be written TS or TZ so she is Tzipporah from now on in my writings.)
22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said: 'I have been a stranger in a strange land.'
He was born sometime during the marriage but that is unimportant in our narrative here. (Important to the tribe of Levi though).
23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days
that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the
bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage.
This
whole story happened sometime between the time that Moshe was 40 to 80 and now
Moshe is close to 80.
24 And
God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God saw the children of Israel,
and God took cognizance of them.
It was
now a time where there was mourning in Egypt for a Pharaoh had died and the
Bnei Yisrael fasted and prayed for salvation and redemption. 209 years since
they entered Egypt 399 years since the birth of Yitzchak and 429 years since
the Bris between the pieces.
3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of
Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the
farthest end of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horev. 2 And the angel of the
LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he
looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said: 'I will turn aside now, and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burnt.' 4
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of
the midst of the bush, and said: 'Moses, Moses.' And he said: 'Here am I.' 5 And He said: 'Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes
from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand is holy ground.'
The question is if
that particular piece of land by the bush was temporarily holy as HASHEM was
there at that particular time and today if I walked there with shoes or camped
out if it was Chullin (non-holy good for ordinary use). This particular bush
and spot appears to be off the beaten grazing path as Moshe had to turn aside
to view it. This would be similar to Shilo in the Shomron. For today anybody
who has not been to a Mikvah can walk there. Unlike Har HaBeis that has
permanent Kiddusha.
6
Moreover He said: 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look
upon God.
Something must
have happened that Moshe the former soldier who took on younger shepherds a few
years earlier by the well was so fearful. There was a powerful light and
emanation coming from the Bush not necessarily the full glory of G-D for
Moshe’s soul would most likely have left him. Think about this you are in the
desert, woods or on a beach and you see an extraordinary phenomena and you come
to investigated and all of a sudden out of the phenomena your name is called
and you are in a dialog. This happened long before binoculars, telescopes,
walkie-talkies, hidden microphones etc. This happened in the wilderness where
Moshe had walked with the sheep in the past maybe hundreds of times on the way
to pasture.
7
And the LORD said: 'I have surely seen the affliction of My people that are in
Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know
their pains;
G-D had planned
this all along from 30 years before the birth of Yitzchak until 400 years later
as will be written “on that self-same day” Shemos 12:51. If you want to know
why the pain, why the suffering, why the time and why the recent Shoah, you
will receive the answer after 120 years. I might not know the full reason why,
but I have an idea that I received in the presence of the Gadol HaDor many years
ago while the Shechina was strong upon him.
8
and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land
flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite,
and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Into a land
flowing with milk and honey but right now there are inhabitants there.
9 And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me;
moreover, I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto
Pharaoh, that thou may bring forth My people the children of Israel out of
Egypt.'
I have
chosen you to be the shepherd of Am Yisrael.
11 And Moses said unto God: 'Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?'
Today I am a
nobody, an anonymous Shepherd in the wilderness of Sinai and not a leader to a
nation. At this point Moshe, the shy stutterer, tries to talk his way out of
the tremendous job. Remember that Moshe is 79 years old. I know how I feel at
72 not the same energy in politics that I had at 21 or protesting ‘giving back’
Sinai the Oslo Agreements.
12 And He said: 'Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the
token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people
out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.' 13 And Moses said unto God: 'Behold, when I come unto
the children of Israel, and shall say unto them: The God of your fathers hath
sent me unto you; and they shall say to me: What is His name? what shall I say
unto them?' 14 And God said unto Moses:
'I AM THAT I AM'; and He said: 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.'
I WILL BE WHAT I
WILL BE.
15
And God said moreover unto Moses: 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name for ever,
and this is My memorial unto all generations. 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them: The
LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath
appeared unto me, saying: I have surely remembered you, and seen that which is
done to you in Egypt.
From here, it
appears that the elders will believe Moshe but the younger impatient ones will
be pressed by the aggressive Pharaoh.
17
And I have said: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the
land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and
the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall hearken to thy voice. And thou shalt
come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say
unto him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us. And now let us
go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may
sacrifice to the LORD our God. 19 And I
know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, except by a mighty
hand. 20 And I will put forth My hand,
and smite Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in the midst thereof. And
after that he will let you go. 21 And I
will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall come to
pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty; 22 but every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that sojourns in
her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment; and ye shall put
them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the
Egyptians.'
The Bnei Yisrael
make out well. In this world you are not even getting a shoe lace but in the
next and in the Torah – wow!
He received temporary leprosy aka Tsaras as he spoke Lashon HaRa either about his own ability or the belief of Am Yisrael.
7 And He said: 'Put thy hand back into thy bosom.--And he put his hand back into his bosom; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.-- 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. …
18 And
Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him: 'Let me
go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether
they be yet alive.' And Jethro said to Moses: 'Go in peace.' 19 And the LORD
said unto Moses in Midian: 'Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead
that sought thy life.' 20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them
upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of
God in his hand.
Unlike a
certain “Rav” politician who sold out his Olam HaBa this week for HaOlam HaZeh,
Moshe was obliged to watch Yisro’s sheep and could not shirk from his responsibilities
without a replacement and permission. This is what our Sages of blessed memory
teach us: “Derek Eretz Kodem Le Torah.” (Manners are before Torah or literally
the ways of the land before Torah.)
21 And
the LORD said unto Moses: 'When thou go back into Egypt, see that thou do
before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden
his heart, and he will not let the people go. 22 And thou shalt say unto
Pharaoh: Thus says the LORD: Israel is My son, My first-born.
Rabbi
Glixman once had a boy who had swallowed missionary propaganda hook, line and
sinker. To humor his mother, he went to talk to the Rabbi (Who’s Yahrzeit is
around this Parsha). He argued with the Rabbi on this and that. Finally, he
said to the Rabbi what about the L-RD giving his ‘only son’ to atone for us?
The Rabbi took out a Chumash Hebrew-English and showed him in black and white
this Pasuk. Israel is my first born. There may be other children but there is
nothing in the Torah about an only son, only who the first born son of G-D is!
Needless to say the boy returned to his roots.
23 And I
have said unto thee: Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and thou hast refused
to let him go. Behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.'
This is
told to Moshe before he was to meet Pharaoh in the wilderness of Sinai. Pharaoh
would be warned and the god-king would defy the L-RD between his own stubbornness,
advisors and then hardened heart.
24 And
it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that the LORD met him, and
sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of
her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said: 'Surely a bridegroom of blood
art thou to me.'
Why did
the L-RD have such a high standard for Moshe? After all the whole nation for 40
years did not circumcise everybody during their journeys (See Sefer Yehoshua
5:2-9 at Gilgal). I assume that because he was the Gadol HaDor, he had to be
more zealous in Mitzvos and held to a much higher standard.
26 So He
let him alone. Then she said: 'A bridegroom of blood in regard of the
circumcision.' 27 And the LORD said to Aaron: 'Go into the
wilderness to meet Moses.' And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and
kissed him.
Because
he did not want to talk a redeem the Nation a real super Kiddush HASHEM with
his stutter, ‘your brother the Levi’ above became the Cohain.
28 And
Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD wherewith He had sent him, and all
the signs wherewith He had charged him. 29 And Moses and Aaron
went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken unto
Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the
people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had remembered the children
of Israel, and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads
and worshipped.
The
Tribe of Levi had not been enslaved and their numbers were smaller. They had
the status of priests-clerics. Aaron was their head and the people listened to
him and believed in the signs and the prophecy of Moshe.
5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came,
and said unto Pharaoh: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let My people
go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.' 2 And Pharaoh said: 'Who
is the LORD, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not
the LORD, and moreover I will not let Israel go.' 3 And they said: 'The God of the Hebrews hath met with
us. Let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and
sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with
the sword.'
We fear G-D who
can send pestilence or the sword. However, you will see with your own eyes the
pestilence that will come unto you and the 600 chariots utterly destroyed with
your army in the sea.
4
And the king of Egypt said unto them: 'Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, cause
the people to break loose from their work? get you unto your burdens.' 5 And Pharaoh said: 'Behold, the people of the land are
now many, and will ye make them rest from their burdens?' 6 And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of
the people, and their officers, saying: 7
'Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore. Let them
go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And
the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them;
ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they are idle; therefore, they cry,
saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
I’ll show them that I am the
god-king and teach them a lesson lest they be idle. I will put a heavier burden
on them that they cannot think about this prayer and holiday nonsense.
13
And the taskmasters were urgent, saying: 'Fulfil your work, your daily task, as
when there was straw.'
The Egyptians were
more wicked and pressing now. At this point the slaves got angry at Moshe and
Aaron for stirring up the ‘bees nest’.
20
And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from
Pharaoh; 21 and they said unto them: 'The
LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in
the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their
hand to slay us.' 22 And Moses returned
unto the LORD, and said: 'Lord, wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with this people?
why is it that Thou hast sent me? 23 For
since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath dealt ill with this
people; neither hast Thou delivered Thy people at all.'
Moshe went into deep prayer – conversation with the L-RD as
he was badly hurt by Am Yisrael because they were hurt by his actions.
6:1 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Now shalt thou see
what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a
strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.'
This was the reply of the L-RD. Moshe and HASHEM had to say to Yehoshua
Chazak V’ Amatz many times, the L-RD only said to Moshe you shall see what I
shall do!
The
Cult Buster Rabbi who honored a Missionary
By
Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=1153-16
A number of years earlier,
[the late] Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet authored a book encapsulating his unique
style in countering Christian missionaries and cults. Due to personal and
health considerations, it had never been published.
Now [2016], for the first
time, the book is being made available to the public.
Rabbi Schochet was a world
renowned author and lecturer on a myriad of topics, with over 35 books
disseminated in countless countries and translated into numerous languages.
Yet, he was perhaps best known for his "cult busting" lectures [and
debates!] where he would dazzle audiences worldwide with his erudite
presentations. His success in returning many a Jew to their roots is legendary.
The new book titled "For
the Love of Truth" is more than just an encapsu-lation of Rabbi
Schochet's brilliant retorts against missionaries and cults. It is very much a
book which offers an understanding of basic Jewish beliefs and principles, as
well as insights into the essence of Judaism as a whole.
Family members who
published the book are positive that the book will invariably strengthen pride
in the reader's Jewish tradition and heritage, fortifying them with a better
understanding of Judaism's core beliefs, thus making this book of great
interest to all readers across the religious spectrum.
In what would appear to be
a strange twist of irony, the book was dedicated by Rabbi Schochet to Reverend
Henk Hoek, a Protestant Minister.
In the preface to the book,
Rabbi Schochet explained why:
"I humbly dedicate
this work to a non-Jew, a Christian, in fact a Christian cleric, Reverend Henk
Hoek, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church of Gaast, Friesland, and later of Oss,
Noord Brabaant, in the Netherlands, and his wife Corrie.
"This couple was an
outstanding example of truly religious, honest and decent people in the best
sense of these words. They exposed themselves to life-threatening dangers by
hiding and fostering a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Holland. They kept
her in their house for nearly three years under the eyes of the German
vultures.
"There were a good
number of other Christians who hid Jewish children, but too many of them did so
for the terrible price of the children's Jewish identity by raising them as
Christians and not restoring them to their families or people after the war.
"Not so the Rev. Hoek
and his wife. Though a minister of a Christian denomination, committed to a
faith in which evangelizing and proselytizing plays so great a role, Rev. Hoek
informed the girl's parents, themselves in hiding with a Roman Catholic family,
not only of their daughter's safety but also to assure them that no attempts
will be made to wean her away from her Judaism.
"To avoid suspicion,
that young girl had to accompany her foster-parents to church-services and had
to partake of their non-kosher food; but the prayers they made her say were
kept free of any Christological content. He did not take advantage of the circumstances
to rob that girl of her identity and heritage; he did not seek to impose his
beliefs and values, to seduce her mind and heart. He proved himself to be a
truly honest, decent and sincerely religious man.
"That young girl
became my dear wife and the worthy mother of our children. Rev. Hoek was an
honored guest at our wedding (his wife died shortly after the war). When he
passed away in the fall of 1970, I eulogized him in the major sermon of Kol
Nidrei, the beginning of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, as
an exemplary role-model of honesty, decency, true religious values, in short,
of the very theme of our High Holidays.
"Rev. Hoek symbolizes
the very spirit and purpose of this work, and therefore it is dedicated to him
and his wife, in profound gratitude, respect and humility. It is this spirit
which this work seeks to inculcate, in addition to the educational goal of
teaching a considered response to the odious attempts of missionaries. If this
work in its present form will achieve even a part of the success of its
original format, this will be the greatest reward I could wish and pray
for."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Annotated by
Yerachmiel Tilles from COLlive.com, as reprinted in the weekly emailing,
"Shabbos Stories for the Parsha" (Ki Tavo 5776)
Connection: Seasonal - Last
Tuesday was the Fast Day of the Tenth of Tevet, when [in addition to
commemorating the Siege of Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the Holy
Temple,] Kaddish is also said for the murdered victims of the evil Nazis whose
dates of death are unknown.
Biographical note: Rabbi
Jacob-Immanuel Schochet [28 Av 5695 - 20 Av 5773 (August 1935-July 2013)] was a
renowned authority on Jewish philosophy and mysticism. He wrote and lectured
extensively on the history and philosophy of Chassidism and topical themes of
Jewish thought and ethics, with over 35 books disseminated in countless
countries and translated into numerous languages. Swiss born, he became rabbi
of Cong. Beth Joseph, and professor of Philosophy at Humber College, in
Toronto, Canada.
Egyptian
Synagogue restored. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274406
Cult
in Yerushalayim – leader arrested again. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HJLtK7jg8
Jewish
Home and National Union join together. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274560
Charedi
Soldiers finish Shas. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274542
Netanyahu’s
threats to the Ministers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274557
From
Eve. Israelis come up with a way to fight super-bacteria. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/israeli-doctors-find-treatment-for-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/2020/01/13/
Granddaughter
of Cambodian Princess celebrates Bas Mitzvah. https://www.timesofisrael.com/granddaughter-of-a-cambodian-princess-celebrates-her-bat-mitzvah/
Latest
Polls after the Knesset Lists close. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274672
Inyanay Diyoma
Iranian
citizens use the downing of the plane to protest. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SyqerdvxI#autoplay
Dr.
Martin Sherman on terminating terrorists. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/25022
If
you are Charedi in NY be afraid. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SyFEkhw1L
Tel
Aviv’s second class citizens Ed-Op: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1NolgSeL
Don’t
be fooled by Iran’s low key revenge. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJg64YVeI
Analysis
of Iran-USA after base attack. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Hk0WseQxL
Is
Israel vulnerable to Iranian ballistic missiles? https://www.debka.com/irans-attack-on-us-airbase-in-iraq-finds-israel-vulnerable-to-same-kind-of-ballistic-missile-strike/
Smoke
filled the cabin panic. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274380
Islamophobia
is not antisemitism. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/25013
Ukraine
Air flew too close to sensitive site??? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274397
Non-Syrians
were killed in munitions truck(s) near Iraq on Thursday night. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274373
Why
was the terrorist killed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEeDJsmvKxs
Quakes
in Puerto Rico 6.4, 5.9. https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/magnitude-59-earthquake-rocks-puerto-rico/ar-BBYQWOy?ocid=spartanntp
Impeachment!
Why did you vote for such before the phone call took place? https://www.facebook.com/conservativepoliticstoday/videos/2635323573248499/?t=67
Institute for strategic studies warns: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BkqYwl11g8
NY
Times reports Israel Intel supplied USA info or how a failing Newspaper run by
self-hating Jews can make trouble for Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274419
Russians
almost ram US Ship. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274388
Egyptian
Synagogue restored. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274406
Iron
Dome upgrade from 85% to close to 100% success. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/r1ofziulL
Benyamin
Netanyahu and Chaim Katz will go to trial like the rest of Israelis that’s life
false charges or not. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByINZeteL
4
Iraqis injured in Iranian missile attack. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HyKmRZYgL
N.
Korea asked to return to talks. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274461
Couldn’t
care less if Iran negotiates. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274456
On
the street where the ‘revolving Minyan’ Synagogue is a 10year old run over by a
bus. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274446
The hope of the right is a combination of parties. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274462
Left
merges to save loss of votes. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274464
Iran
and Hezballah prepare for war of attrition. https://www.debka.com/iran-hizballah-gird-up-for-guerilla-rocket-attacks-on-us-forces-in-iraq-rockets-against-israel/
Ed-Op
Caroline Glick thanks to Thomas. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0120/glick011320.php3
Rita
sent me Newt Gingrich. https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/videos/10156509268414197/
8
IAF F-16’s damaged by floods. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274469
BTHS
antisemitism. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274495
Navy-Air
shooting = terrorism. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274514
If
Joseph dies Monsey attacker will get death. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274513
Iran
will have enough fissile material this year and delivery capability next year. https://www.debka.com/israel-intel-iran-will-have-fissile-material-for-a-nuke-this-year-a-nuclear-capable-missile-in-two-years/
Somebody
attacked Iran’s land route. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SygkDhixI
Secretary
of State says bond unbreakable. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274569
Germany
antisemitic arrests terrorist. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274544
Legally
wrong Ed-Op Ben Dror Yemeni. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SJtvApKxI
L.A.
Aircraft dumps fuel on school. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274566
NJ
fails in vaccination law. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274550
Based
on the size of their rallies the polls seem skewed in favor of the Democrats. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274543
4
Rockets from Gaza. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H1115tcnlL
Security
alert has a quarantine in my area for two hours. Empty houses bombed in Gaza.
Bennett and Netanyahu favor terrorists over the bodies of IDF soldiers one live
black and one Bedouin. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274628
Iran
enriching more Uranium. https://www.timesofisrael.com/rouhani-says-iran-enriching-more-uranium-than-before-nuclear-deal/
Mediterrean
Sea victim of evasive species. https://www.timesofisrael.com/experts-say-mediterranean-sea-altered-by-suez-canals-invasive-species/
Vaccine
or Flu? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274582
VA
man threatens Jews and Blacks. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274612
Some
‘Rabbi’ it is better to lose a Knesset Seat than your place in the next world. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274618
Arabs
riot on Temple Mount. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274692
11
US Servicemen treated for Concussions and other things. https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-rocket-attack-on-iraqi-military-base-injured-11-us-service-members-official-reveals
US
withdraws troops from NATO drill due to tensions. https://www.debka.com/us-forces-withdraw-from-nato-march-drill-in-norway-due-to-mid-east-tension/
Hospitalized
Prisoner tries to smuggle cellphones, chargers and sim cards. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274687
Former
Shin Bet Head removed from Blue and White List. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274691
Vandals
attack NB Synagogue. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274664
Have
a good Shabbos,
Rachamim
Pauli
