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Saturday, April 30, 2022

EMOR, LEVITICUS 21:1–24:23, REMEMBERANCE DAY, YOM HA'ATZMAUT

 EMOR, LEVITICUS 21:1–24:23,

 REMEMBERANCE DAY, YOM HA'ATZMAUT




The parsha for this week is EMOR.  In the parsha among other things, there are stated laws that pertain to the Kohanim, and also the festivals of Jewish calendar, including the counting of the Omer. The mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem is also stated.

Just as important are Remembrance Day and Independence Day:

יום זיכרון

יום העצמאות


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In Parshat Emor we learn about the exalted character of the Kohanim and their responsibility to the nation of Israel.  They were our teachers.  

Who are our teachers today?

In our prayer service today, immediately before the Kohanim bless the congregation, they recite the following blessing:

ברוך אתה הי אלוחינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו בקדןשתו של אהרון וצונו

לברך את עמו ישראל בהאבה


"Blessed are you Hashem our God, King of the universe who has sanctified us with the holiness of Ahron and commanded us to bless the people of Israel with love".


In the Ethics of the Fathers, 1:12, Hillel says:


הוי מתלמידיו של אהרן, אוהב שלום ורודף שלום, אוהב את הבריות ומקרבן לתורה

"Be a disciple of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them closer to the Torah”.

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At 22:32 we learn:
 וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ, אֶת-שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי, וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי, בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:  אֲנִי יְהוָה, מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם.
"And you shall not profane My holy name; but I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel: I am the LORD who sanctifies you".

This verse is called "Kiddush Hashem, sanctification of the Name". it refers to private and communal conduct that reflects well on us, the Jewish people.

Kiddush Hashem also has an aspect of martyrdom or public self-sacrifice.  This is in accordance with Jewish practice and identity where there is the possibility of being killed for no other reason than being Jewish. There are specific conditions such as forced conversion that deal with self-sacrifice, be it willing or unwilling.

In Hebrew a martyr is known as a kaddosh which means "holy one", and martyrs are known as kedoshim meaning. The six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust are known as the Kedoshim.


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In Parshat Emor we learn again about the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth Law of Retaliation that has come down to mean monetary compensation for inflicting personal injury. There is one major exception: if you murder someone, you are put to death. There is no monetary compensation for taking someone's life. You cannot buy your way out.

At 21:23 we are taught עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת”, "An eye for an eye".

This is a principle that is sometimes referred to as reciprocal justice or measure for measure or in Latin, lex talionis, the law of retaliation or possibly equitable retribution. On its face this principle seems pretty straight forward: A person who has injured another person is to be penalized to a similar degree by the injured party.

 

I think the original intention of “An eye for an eye” may have been two-fold:

·        To prevent excessive punishment at the hands of either an avenging private party or his Family or Clan or Tribe. It served to prevent feuds and vendettas.

·        To ensure that the standard of care for a wealthy perpetrator, who may wish to buy his way out, be the same as for an improvised person.

 

At the time when we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai there was a Babylonian legal code present in Mesopotamia called the Code of Hammurabi.  Included in this code was the principle of “An eye for an eye”. What the law would have been in Egypt I do not know. I do know that 500 years later at the time of the Judges, as shown in 1:5-7 and Chapter 30 the law of retaliation was still in force.

Looking at the Book of Numbers, Chapter 35: 31-32 except for the crime of murder it may have been possible for a monetary payment, כֹפֶר to be acceptable in place of bodily punishment. Sometime later, it is hard to say when, the lex talionis was "humanized" by the Rabbis who interpreted "an eye for an eye" to mean reasonable monetary compensation.  The Rabbis of the Talmud interpreted it that way. And it is so today.

Question: Is this dangerous ground?  Is the reinterpretation of lex talionis an example of the ability of Judaism to adapt to changing social and intellectual ideas

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יום זיכרון, MEMORIAL DAY




A reflection on יום זיכרון, Memorial Day, which we will celebrate this week.


get to the cemetery early. Some young people handed me a bouquet. I turned to the graves; there were so many of them. I did not know which one to lay the flowers on. I chose 34-year-old Lt. Eliyahu Tadri who perished in July of 1948. It has been a most sad day. I am in a blue funk. Nearby to Lt. Tadri were the graves of three 18-year-olds.


It has been a very sad day.


Immediately following Yom HaZichoron, Memorial Day, we began to celebrate Independence Day, Yom Ha’Atzmaut. During the Maariv service the Ark is opened; we say the Hallel and the Shofar is blown. It is festive, but I am still wrestling with my emotions from Yom HaZichoron. I don’t feel like dancing and the fireworks of Independence Day hold little attraction.


I drink a L’Chaim to Lt. Tadri and go to bed.

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THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IN NAHARIYA,

REMEMBERANCE DAY, יום זיכרון


There is an on-going cost to keep us Israelis safe and free... And the people of Nahariya have not gone unscathed.

On this Tuesday evening, May 3rd we will begin observing Remembrance Day, יום זיכרון.  At 8 PM a siren will go off. and another one on Wednesday at 11 AM, during which the country stands still for a moment of silence and remembrance for the fallen soldiers of the IDF and the victims of terror attacks.  May their memory be for a blessing.

In 2016 there was a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on patrons at the Max Brenner Cafe in the Sarona Market, killing four people and injuring seven others.

The attack was horrific, but the paradigm is not a new one.  While the slaughter was going on at Tel Aviv’s Sarona market, I was with a group of English speaking Olim in Nahariya.  We had gathered by an apartment building located at 19 Balfour Street.  In 1974 this building was also the site of a terrorist attack in which a mother and her two children aged 5 and 12 were murdered.

There were about two dozen of us Olim.  We walked around the building led by Motti Zarenkin who lost his wife, son and daughter that tearful night in 1974.  Motti began his story.  He took us to the rear of the building and showed us the first floor apartment where he and his family had lived some 42 years ago.  Motti pointed out two windows: a bedroom window through which his wife and children tried to make their escape and a bathroom window where he had started to climb through before being shot and severely wounded.

In 1974 there had been a series of terrorist raids in the Galilee.  It made sense for Israelis to have a plan in place in the event that their home became under attack.  The same is true today. The Zarenkin family had such a plan.  If under attack, Motti would lock the front door and then the family would escape through a bedroom window.   

The Zarenkins lived on the first floor of the building.  Late on the night of June 23, the concussion of a grenade and the sound of small arms fire quickly brought Motti to the terrifying truth that the building was under attack. He feared that the terrorists would break into his apartment, but he and his wife had planned for this frightening reality and so he ran to secure the front door. 

While Motti was locking the front door, his wife, son and daughter were exiting the apartment as planned on a rope previously woven from sheets.  They reached the ground and began running toward the street.  But they were spotted and a grenade killed all three of them.  Motti did not know this; he thought that he had saved his family.  When he tried to escape the apartment as well, through a bathroom window, he was shot.  Wounded, Motti climbed back into his apartment, where he hid until found by soldiers.

Motti was taken to the hospital and was being prepared for surgery.  This was the first of nine surgeries over a three month period.  Just before he went under the anesthesia, his brother-in-law told him that his wife and children had been killed.  “What will you do”, his brother-in-law asked?  “I will get through this and make a new life”, Motti responded. 

And although it is impossible to put yourself in his shoes, that’s what Motti did.  There is another piece to Motti’s story.  In 1979, Nahariya once again was under attack.  This time a mother lost her only infant child.  It was a terrible thing.  The mother was beyond reconciliation.  She would not able to speak or be with anyone.  Her grief was unimaginable.  Motti was asked to approach her which he did.  She knew who he was and what unspeakable agony he had gone through.  The mother and Motti spoke.  Like Motti, despite her tragedy she persevered.  Today she has a growing family.  Motti had saved her.

Motti moved to Haifa.  He built a new family, even grandchildren.  This was the first time that Motti chose to tell his story. It was beyond riveting. We were honored to have been selected to hear his story.  Motti was truly a man; resolute, a role model for all us Jews, and he makes me proud to be an Israeli. Moti passed away in 2020.

The terrorists who attacked the market in Tel Aviv were members of Hamas. They did not come from the sea as they did in 1974 and 1979.  They came from a town near Beersheba.  They are evil.  Hamas and Fatah are evil.  And as we have learned, sad but true; evil will not cure itself.

To the families of the slain Israelis in Tel Aviv: May the Almighty comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

For Motti’s deceased wife and children: Peace be upon them; May the memory of the Holy ones be for a blessing, and May Hashem avenge their blood.

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YOM HAZIKARON   



As of last year:

The number of Israel's casualties of war stand at 24,068 as of April 2021. Since last Memorial Day, 140 new names were added to the roster of those who died defending the country. Of these, 56 deaths were members of the Defense Forces, with another 84 disabled persons dying as a result of injury in defense services.

That is the cost to keep us Israelis safe and free.

On Tuesday, May 3rd at 8 PM a siren will go off. and another one on Wednesday at 11 AM, during which the country stands still for a moment of silence and remembrance for the fallen soldiers of the IDF.

May their memory be for a blessing...Only simchas.

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OMER COUNT FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY


Let's not forget the counting of the Omer, Wednesday night being the 20th day of the Omer count.

Rabbi Simon Jacobson provides spiritual insight into the counting of the Omer for each and every day. For the 20th Day of the Omer, which is day six of the third week we are directed to correct the flaw in the Sefirat known as Yesod of Tiferet. Here Tiferet is considered as compassion, and Yesod having within it the ability to bond.  Rabbi Jacobson explains how  the compassion of the day can be rectified:

 

"For compassion to be fully realized, it needs bonding. It requires creating a channel between giver and receiver. A mutuality that extends beyond the moment of need. A bond that continues to live on. That is the most gratifying result of true compassion. Do you bond with the one you have compassion for, or do you remain apart? Does your interaction achieve anything beyond a single act of sympathy?"

 

The 20th Day of the Omer coincides with Yom Ha'atzmaut.  Consider Rabbi Jacobson’s words in the context of a relationship between Jews outside of Israel and our Land of Israel.  


To correct the flaw in this Sefriat, Rabbi Jacobson proposes the following exercise: Ensure that something eternal is built (the Land of Israel) as a result of your (Jews living outside of Israel) compassion.

Friday, April 29, 2022

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IN NAHARIYA,

 THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IN NAHARIYA,


There is an on-going cost to keep us Israelis safe and free... And the people of Nahariya have not gone unscathed.

On this Tuesday evening, May 3rd we will begin observing Remembrance Day, יום זיכרון.  At 8 PM a siren will go off. and another one on Wednesday at 11 AM, during which the country stands still for a moment of silence and remembrance for the fallen soldiers of the IDF and the victims of terror attacks.  May their memory be for a blessing.

In 2016 there was a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on patrons at the Max Brenner Cafe in the Sarona Market, killing four people and injuring seven others.

The attack was horrific, but the paradigm is not a new one.  While the slaughter was going on at Tel Aviv’s Sarona market, I was with a group of English speaking Olim in Nahariya.  We had gathered by an apartment building located at 19 Balfour Street.  In 1974 this building was also the site of a terrorist attack in which a mother and her two children aged 5 and 12 were murdered.

There were about two dozen of us Olim.  We walked around the building led by Motti Zarenkin who lost his wife, son and daughter that tearful night in 1974.  Motti began his story.  He took us to the rear of the building and showed us the first floor apartment where he and his family had lived some 42 years ago.  Motti pointed out two windows: a bedroom window through which his wife and children tried to make their escape and a bathroom window where he had started to climb through before being shot and severely wounded.

In 1974 there had been a series of terrorist raids in the Galilee.  It made sense for Israelis to have a plan in place in the event that their home became under attack.  The same is true today. The Zarenkin family had such a plan.  If under attack, Motti would lock the front door and then the family would escape through a bedroom window.   

The Zarenkins lived on the first floor of the building.  Late on the night of June 23, the concussion of a grenade and the sound of small arms fire quickly brought Motti to the terrifying truth that the building was under attack. He feared that the terrorists would break into his apartment, but he and his wife had planned for this frightening reality and so he ran to secure the front door. 

While Motti was locking the front door, his wife, son and daughter were exiting the apartment as planned on a rope previously woven from sheets.  They reached the ground and began running toward the street.  But they were spotted and a grenade killed all three of them.  Motti did not know this; he thought that he had saved his family.  When he tried to escape the apartment as well, through a bathroom window, he was shot.  Wounded, Motti climbed back into his apartment, where he hid until found by soldiers.

Motti was taken to the hospital and was being prepared for surgery.  This was the first of nine surgeries over a three month period.  Just before he went under the anesthesia, his brother-in-law told him that his wife and children had been killed.  “What will you do”, his brother-in-law asked?  “I will get through this and make a new life”, Motti responded. 

And although it is impossible to put yourself in his shoes, that’s what Motti did.  There is another piece to Motti’s story.  In 1979, Nahariya once again was under attack.  This time a mother lost her only infant child.  It was a terrible thing.  The mother was beyond reconciliation.  She would not able to speak or be with anyone.  Her grief was unimaginable.  Motti was asked to approach her which he did.  She knew who he was and what unspeakable agony he had gone through.  The mother and Motti spoke.  Like Motti, despite her tragedy she persevered.  Today she has a growing family.  Motti had saved her.

Motti moved to Haifa.  He built a new family, even grandchildren.  This was the first time that Motti chose to tell his story. It was beyond riveting. We were honored to have been selected to hear his story.  Motti was truly a man; resolute, a role model for all us Jews, and he makes me proud to be an Israeli. Moti passed away in 2020.

The terrorists who attacked the market in Tel Aviv were members of Hamas. They did not come from the sea as they did in 1974 and 1979.  They came from a town near Beersheba.  They are evil.  Hamas and Fatah are evil.  And as we have learned, sad but true; evil will not cure itself.

To the families of the slain Israelis in Tel Aviv: May the Almighty comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

For Motti’s deceased wife and children: Peace be upon them; May the memory of the Holy ones be for a blessing, and May Hashem avenge their blood.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2022

KEDOSHIM, LEVITICUS 19:1–20:27, YOM HASHOAH

 KEDOSHIM, LEVITICUS 19:1–20:27


The essential principal of the Torah, according to Rabbi Akiva is “Love your neighbor as yourself”, Leviticus 19:18. 



Kedoshim means holy, stated n the plural refering to all Jews.
The parashah tells of the laws of holiness and ethical behavior, repeats the ten commandments, and describes penalties for sexual transgressions.

The Parshah of kedoshim begins with the statement: “You shall be holy for I, the L‑rd your God, am holy.” This is followed by dozens of  commandments through which we Jews sanctify ourself. 
Kedoshim begins with the statement (19:2):
דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם--קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ:  כִּי קָדוֹשׁ, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם. 

"Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy".

This is followed by dozens of mitzvot through which we Jews are able to relate to the holiness of Hashem.  Among these laws are commandments about loving your neighbor, Shabbat, charity, honesty in business, sexual morality, respect and honor of parents, idolatry, equality before the law and the sacredness of life.
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 When the Haftarah portion for Kedoshim stands on its own, in Sephardic communities, the Prophet Ezekiel is read.  At 20:19-20 the Prophet says:

 אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ אוֹתָם

וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם--לָדַעַת, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם

“I am the Lord your God: walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and fulfill them. And keep My Sabbaths holy so that they be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God”.

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For Ashkenazi Jews the haftarah selection from Amos, 9:7-15.

14 - "And I will return the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild desolate cities and inhabit [them], and they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their produce.

15 - And I will plant them on their land, and they shall no longer be uprooted from upon their land, that I have given them, said the Lord your God".

Unless you are in a state of complete denial, it is very difficult not to believe that we are living in miraculous times, a time of redemption.

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In the Torah portion at 19:18, HaShem says:
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ: אֲנִי, יְהוָה

 “…and you shall love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord.”

In order to understand how to do this it is very important for us to know what the word “love” means.  After all, every day at least twice a day we say “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart….” (Devarim 6:5).

Love” in the context of Vayikra 19:18 and Devarim 6:5 is not romantic love.  It is not a Hallmark greeting card message for Valentine’s Day.  The subtext of “Love” in the Chumash of 3400 years ago is loyalty in the extreme and nothing more.  

The proclamation, “I am the Lord,” underscores that loving one’s neighbor is tantamount of our duty to love God.
Hashem’s demand for loyalty is a reflection of His fiercely protective right to Israel, His possession.  In Exodus 20:5 and 34:14 we see: 

“You shall neither prostrate yourself before them nor worship them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…”

“For you shall bow down to no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”.

People: You have been warned. Best watch your step.
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At 19:4 Hashem says: 

“You shall not turn to the worthless idols, nor shall you make molten deities for yourselves. I am the Lord, your God”.

This is one of many times when we are prohibited from worshiping idols.

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At 19:9-10 we learn:

וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת-קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם, לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ לִקְצֹר; וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ, לֹא תְלַקֵּט.

וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל, וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט:  לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not fully reap the corner of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you collect the [fallen] individual grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord, your God".


OMER COUNT, Week 2



Following the thoughts of Rabbi Simon Jacobsan:

We are entering into the 2nd week of counting the Omer.   The emphasis is on Gevurah or Discipline, ShebeGevurah, 

 Discipline is the channels through which we express love. It gives our life and love direction and focus. Take a laser beam: Its potency lies in the focus and concentration of light in one direction rather than fragmented light beams dispersed in all different directions.

Discipline and measure concentrates and directs our efforts, our love in the proper directions. Another aspect of gevurah is respect and awe. Healthy love requires respect for the one you love.

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 YOM HASHOAH




Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day 2022 will be begin at sunset on Wednesday, April 27th. 

Yom Hashoah is a national day of commemoration in Israel, on which the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust are memorialized. It is a solemn day, beginning at sunset on the 27th of the month of Nisan and ending the following evening,  Places of entertainment are closed and memorial ceremonies are held throughout the country.

There will be a sounding of a siren for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust. 

Throughout the day, both the television and radio broadcast programs about the Holocaust.

To their shame, some Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbis have never endorsed this memorial day.  The moment of silence is by some purposely ignored because of the non-Jewish origins of this sort of memorial.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

ACHAREI MOT - LEVITICUS 16:1–18:30, Last Day of Passover

 ACHAREI MOT -  LEVITICUS 16:1–18:30, LAST DAY OF PASSOVER


Acharei Mot starts at 16:1, where Hashem warns against unauthorized entry into the Holy of Holies.  Only the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur may enter this innermost chamber in the Sanctuary to offer incense to Hashem.  This brings to mind the fatal error of Nadav and Abihu.

 Also in Acharei Mot the casting of lots over two goats to determine which should be offered to Gd and which should be dispatched to the wilderness is described.

Acharei Mot is read on Yom Kippur.  It warns against bringing sacrificial offerings anywhere but in the Holy Temple. The consumption of blood is forbidden, and laws prohibiting incest and other forbidden sexual relations are set out.

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At 16:8, among other things, we learn about fate and destiny:

וְנָתַן אַהֲרֹן עַל-שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם, גֹּרָלוֹת--גּוֹרָל אֶחָד לַיהוָה, וְגוֹרָל אֶחָד לַעֲזָאזֵל.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for Azazel.“

The casting of lots as a method to determine which goat will be sacrificed and which goat will be led into the dessert implies that no human hand is involved in the selection of outcomes for either of the two goats.  It is entirely left to Hashem to make that choice. 

Christians see in these verses the death of Jesus making atonement for humanity. 

Some people would say that in this circumstance: “Let the fates decide the outcome” or maybe “it was destined to happen that way”. This is reminiscent of Doris Day in the 50’s singing: “Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see, Que Sera, Sera…”.  
We call this cheerful fatalism. I do not like it.  


Rabbi Soloveitchik has a different approach.  He differentiates between fate and destiny: Soloveitchik considers fate to be a preordained course of one’s life, a course that  occurs in spite of your actions.  In this instance you are considered as an object.  You have no say; you are passive.

Destiny, on the other hand regards the shaping of events that occur within your life as the result of you taking an active course of action.  You are a player and not an object.

For us Jews, particularly Israeli Jews, we are players who have made Israel our destiny.

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Is the Earth and/or the Land of Israel alive and do they exhibit self-regulatory functions?

Consider the Torah reading at 18:25 and18:27-28:
וַתִּטְמָא הָאָרֶץ, וָאֶפְקֹד עֲוֺנָהּ עָלֶיהָ; וַתָּקִא הָאָרֶץ, אֶת-יֹשְׁבֶיהָ.
“And the land became defiled, and I visited its sin upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants”
 כִּי אֶת-כָּל-הַתּוֹעֵבֹת הָאֵל, עָשׂוּ אַנְשֵׁי-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם; וַתִּטְמָא, הָאָרֶץ
וְלֹא-תָקִיא הָאָרֶץ אֶתְכֶם, בְּטַמַּאֲכֶם אֹתָהּ, כַּאֲשֶׁר קָאָה אֶת-הַגּוֹי, אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם.
“For the people of the land who preceded you, did all of these abominations, and the land became defiled.  And let the land not vomit you out for having defiled it, as it vomited out the nation that preceded you”.
In this instance the Land of Israel is held to be a special place within the world, within the planet Earth.  The Land of Israel may be viewed as being part of an organism (the Earth) with self-regulatory functions.  This view seems similar to those who adhere to the Gaia - Mother Earth theory where the Earth itself is deemed to be organic and alive.  Consider the Earth opening up and swallowing Korach and his followers or the Earth crying out regarding the blood of the murdered Abel.

A rhetorical question, an answer is not expected:
If the Earth is an entity that embodies the properties of life, where then would you place Israel? Zionist that I am, without missing a beat, I would exclaim: the heart!

For a better answer, at least to me, consider Israel to be part of a cell, one of the trillions of cells that you and I have and which together comprise our body, our universe so to speak.  If Israel is a distinct part of a cell, I would place it within the cell’s nucleus as mitochondria where it has its own special DNA, as does us Jews. 

 For me, Israel is the equivalent of a cell’s mitochondria. That is the place where energy needed for the cell’s function is produced.  Without energy the cell will whither and die.
What do you think?

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 I don’t know if anyone caught it, but at 17:7 we were warned against sacrificing to daemons:

 וְלֹא-יִזְבְּחוּ עוֹד, אֶת-זִבְחֵיהֶם, לַשְּׂעִירִם, אֲשֶׁר הֵם זֹנִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם:  חֻקַּת עוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה-זֹּאת לָהֶם, לְדֹרֹתָם.

“And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the daemons, after whom they stray. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations”.

Who are these demons, שְּׂעִירִם?

שְּׂעִירִם  are hairy goats maybe a satyr.  And there must be a connection to the casting of lots over two goats at 16:8.

What do you think the connection is?


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LAST DAY OF PASSOVER




What follows is part of a word by word excerpt from an excellent article in the Jerusalem Post, by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, dated April 9, 2020

Parsha Shevi’i shel Pesach: Last day of Passover

The last day of Passover, called “Shevi’i shel Pesach”, the Seventh Day of Passover, is a yom tov (outside of Israel, the following day is a yom tov as well). This means that all the laws of yom tov apply, such as the prohibition of doing “melacha” (prohibited activities) other than those relating directly to food preparation

We commemorate the Parting of the Red Sea when celebrating the last day of Passover. We remember these great moments when the nation had the courage to confidently enter the sea. And then the wondrous event occurred: the sea split into two and the Children of Israel passed through it.

We note that after the Parting of the Red Sea, they sang the Song of the Sea, something they had not done when they were liberated from Egypt. The song stemmed from a sense of partnership. The Children of Israel felt they had a part in the victory over the Egyptians, and so they saw themselves as worthy of expressing their feelings in a lofty and transcendent song.
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In the Omer counting this week we have come to Sefirat Netzach. whose meaning is endurance.  This is some of what Rabbi Shimon Jacobson has to say about Endurance.  It is applicable to many of us Israelis , and certainly to runners and long distance runners.                                                                                                        
Endurance… is a combination of determination and tenacity. It is a balance of patience, persistence and guts. Endurance is also being reliable and accountable, which establishes security and commitment. Without endurance, any good endeavor or intention has no chance of success

 We Israelis understand the meaning of Netzach.  
It is true grit.