In memory of Gerald Cromer with gratitude for the

gifts he bequeathed us – the lasting beauty of his voice, the depth of his

caring, the breadth of his thinking and an infinite capacity to hope and work

for peace for our children. His memory is a blessing for all who were

privileged to be his friend.

AND

I WILL GRANT PEACE IN THE LAND, AND YOU WILL LIE DOWN WITH NO ONE TO FRIGHTEN

YOUR LAND.

(Vayikra 26:6)

And I will grant peace You might say, "Here is food,

and here is drink, but if there is no peace, there is nothing!" Scripture,

therefore, states, after all this [blessing], I will grant peace in the Land.

From here, [we learn] that peace is equal to everything else. And so, [this is

illustrated in our morning prayers,] when we say: "[Blessed are You, O

Lord…] Who… makes peace and creates everything"

and no sword will pass

through your land It is unnecessary to state that they will not come to

wage war, but [they will not come] even to pass through your land from one

country to another.

(Rashi

ad loc, Judaica Press translation)

And I will grant peace – Amongst yourselves.

With no one to frighten

– not a wild animal or an enemy, rather you shall pursue the enemy and he shall

fall before you. It is a marvel when the few chase after the many of the enemy.

(Ibn Ezra ad loc)

And I will grant peace in the

land – These are the two later sets of blessings, which refer to wild

beasts and the sword. The passage does not refer to peace between those who

dwell in the land. After all, it begins with the words, If

you keep my laws. When people hate each other, they are not keeping God's

laws! Rather, the passage refers to peace with evil beasts and with crawling

creatures and with hostile nations. In regard to these it is said, and I

will grant peace in the land. It is similar to the verse, and the beasts

of the field shall be at peace with you (Job

5:23).

(R. Yitzhak Shemuel Reggio ad loc)

The

First Flowering of Our Redemption?

Pinchas Leiser

In memory of my dear friend

Gerald Cromer

A founder of Netivot Shalom

And the initiator of Shabbat Shalom

Who passed away on the 23^rd of Adar Bet 5768

The Hebrew calendar invites us to contemplate

several significant dates found in the month of Iyyar.

Two weeks ago we celebrated the 60^th anniversary of Israel's

independence. Yesterday, thousands celebrated the anniversary of R. Shimon bar Yohai's death in Meron, and

bonfires were lit across the country in honor of LaG ba'Omer. Yom Yerushalayim is just

a few days away. It marks one of the central milestones in the history of the

state: the Six Day War.

It is indisputable that the fact of the

existence of the State of Israel and the accessibility of historically

important places created feelings of pride and security in every Jew. When,

forty-one years ago, it was announced that "The Temple Mount is in our

hands" euphoria swept through Israel and the Diaspora.

It

seems to me that it is still too early, historically speaking, to evaluate the

importance of these events for future generations. It seems to me that it is

not within our power to decipher God's plans concerning the Redemption of

Israel and the Messianic Era. This is in contrast both to those theological

approaches that try to read certain signs as predictive of the End of Days as

well as to extreme Ultra-Orthodox doctrine that considers the establishment of

the State of Israel to be a rebellion against the Holy One, Blessed Be He.

R.

Shimon bar Yohai's "Story of the Cave" (Shabbat 33b-34a) can be read as describing the essential

struggle of a believing person who is devoted to Torah with the reality

surrounding him.

In the wake of a discussion amongst Israel's

Sages regarding the contributions of Roman Culture and the leaking of the

radically anti-Roman views expressed therein by R. Shimon bar Yohai, he found it necessary to flee in order to escape the

death penalty to which he had been sentenced by the Roman authorities. After

hiding for a short time in the beit midrash he decided to take

refuge with his son in a cave where they remained for twelve years, sustained

by a carob tree and drinking the water of a miraculous spring.

The Gemara relates

that during their stay in the cave they engaged in Torah study all day long,

occasionally breaking in order to pray. They had no contact with the outside

world until the day when "Elijah came and stood by the cave's entrance and

said, 'Who will inform Bar Yohai that the Emperor has

died and that his sentenced has been voided?'" The Gemara

tells us that when Elijah's voice was heard, "They emerged from the

cave and saw people engaged in plowing and sowing. He [R. Shimon bar Yohai] said: 'They push eternal life aside and engage in

temporal life!' Everywhere they set their gaze was immediately burned up. A

heavenly voice [bat kol] came out and told

them: 'You have come out to destroy my world!?

Return to your cave!'

By

announcing the annulment of the Emperor's decree and the passing of the

external threat to R. Shimon's life, Elijah's voice allowed R.

Shimon and his son to leave the cave. It could be, however, that they

interpreted Elijah's voice as being more than a mere event in present reality. They

may have thought that it constituted an essential change in the world, that the

world had undergone a process of redemption paralleling the spiritual

development they had experienced in the cave. R. Shimon bar Yohai

– like his mentor, R. Akiva – was imbued with the

messianic spirit. As a result, he could not understand how, in such times,

people could "push eternal life aside and engage in temporal

life." How is it possible, when the Messiah is "really"

arriving, to engage in profane activities?

He needed another years stay in the cave in

order to learn how to relate in a different way to happenings in the real

world. The Gemara tells us: "They returned [to

the cave] for a period of twelve months, saying: 'The wicked are sentenced to

spend twelve months in Gehinom.' A heavenly voice came out and said: 'Leave

your cave!' They left…" As the story continues, R. Shimon has further

encounters, most of which express a different attitude towards the world. The

most representative story tells us that R. Shimon said, "'Since a miracle

occurred for my sake, I shall go and institute a reform.' He asked: 'What needs to be reformed?' They told him: 'There is a place

here that might be impure and the Kohanim don't like

having to walk around it.' He asked: 'Is there anyone here who knows that the

place was held to be pure?' One old man told him: 'Ben Zakkai

used to cut lupine for teruma here.' So he did likewise; everywhere that [the soil] was hard he

proclaimed it pure, and everywhere that was soft, he

marked off [as impure]."

The

story has further details and continues on, but my present intention is to

contrast R. Shimon bar Yohai's attitude upon leaving

the cage the frist time with his attitude when he

left the second time; this points to a different basic insight.

When

R. Shimon emerged the first time he interpreted Elijah's voice as proclaiming a

Messianic age in which all of life's order of priorities must be changed, in

which there is no room for patience or tolerance towards people who are

insensitive to the greatness of the hour, towards those who might be delaying

redemption.

In

contrast, after spending twelve months in the cave, where he felt maybe as

being punished in "Gehinom" – perhaps in

atonement for his presumptuous attitude when earlier leaving the cave – he

understood that places of holiness can be found even within an unchanged world,

and that there are reforms to be made.

Perhaps

we can learn from this that long term isolation in "the cave" can

disrupt one's ability and readiness to accept the world as it is and people as

they are, with all of their weaknesses; to know that reality goes on according

to its own custom; and to understand that even in such a world there is a place

for holiness and improvement.

Isolation

is likely to bring one to hear "Elijah's voice" with great fervor and

to find in it the signs of a messianic age in which principles and orders of

priority must be changed. Perhaps it is worthwhile to learn from R. Shimon bar Yohai that when a lengthy stay in the cave and emergence

from it is not conjoined with empathetic attention to outside reality it can – God

forbid – invite destruction.

Anyone

who wants to reform the world should learn to ask R. Shimon's question:

"What needs to be reformed?" Might I find partners in my endeavors

and relate to the most basic needs of human beings?

I

think that in its early days Religious Zionism did not engage in burning the

places where people "push eternal life aside and engage in temporal

life" rather, they were full partners in building a society based on

morality and justice. The three milestones of Iyyar

represent the three stages of development which we must internalize:

recognition of the importance of political independence as an historical opportunity,

internalization of the destructive danger associated with dehikat

haketz

of historical events, and appreciation of the Sages' dictum:

And

Rabbi Yohanan said: God said: I shall no enter the

heavenly Jerusalem until I enter the earthly Jerusalem. But is there a heavenly

Jerusalem? There is, for it is written, Jerusalem is built as a city

joined together [i.e., of two parts] (Ta'anit 5a)

The link between the heavenly and spiritual

Jerusalem goes by way of the "earthly Jerusalem." This link is not a

matter of political action; rather it depends upon the realization of the words

of the prophet Isaiah (1:26-7):

And I will restore your judges as at first

Righteousness, Faithful City.

Zion shall be redeemed through justice

and her penitent through righteousness.

Pinchas Leiser, the editor of

Shabbat shalom, is a psychologist

Historical Processes and the

Vision of the End of Days

Prior to the coming of the Messiah, falsehood will rule the

world, and this is a major sign of these times that our salvation is close, and

therefore falsehood gains much strength and power, even amongst people whose

vocation is the search for truth. Every man is need of great reinforcement,

lest he fall into the trap of falsehood… and one who is ensnared in this trap

and falsehood rules his personality is to be much pitied.

(Shem

MiShemuel, Behukotai,

p. 368)

All the days of The World to Come, will be entirely feasting and drinking, joy

and holiday, rejoicing and thanksgiving, happiness, joy and laughing, praise

and benediction, tranquility and security, life without sorrow, good days

without grief and years without misfortune and without distress, without the

Evil Inclination and the Angel of Death, without fear and without trembling,

without quarrel, without trials, without crying, without alarm, without war,

without controversy, for there

will be peace throughout the world, as

is written The lowly shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant

well-being… (Psalms 37:11) From where

do we know [that the end of days will be marked by] no war and controversy? For

it is written, And I will banish bow, sword

and war from the land (Hosea 2:20), [And from where do we know that] all

inhabitants of the world will dwell in peace? It is written, I will grant peace in the land (Vayikra

26:6).

(Batei Midrashot, Midrash Otiyot D'Rabbi Akiva (version II),

2)

The

by His Evil Inclination

…It appears to me that when Scripture says the thing vowed and its

substitute shall both be holy, it is similar to and if he who has

which it was assessed, and it shall be his –The Torah understood man's

deepest thoughts and his evil inclination. Man's nature leads him to increase

his possessions and safeguard his property. Even though he made a vow and

consecrated [something belonging to him] he is liable to reconsider and redeem

it for less than its real value. [So as a precaution against this] the Torah

ruled that if one redeems [consecrated property, reestablishing his own

ownership of it] for himself, he is to add a fifth [to the price he must pay to

buy it back]. If he consecrated the body of an animal, he is liable to regret

it, and since one cannot redeem such an animal, he might replace it with a less

valuable animal. If you permit him to replace a poor [animal] with a better

one, he may replace a good [animal] with a worse one, claiming, "It is a

good [animal]". Therefore the Torah forbade exchange [altogether], and if

one does exchange [animals] he is to be fined as is written, the thing vowed

and its substitute shall both be holy. All of these [laws] are [given] in

order that one rule over one's

inclination and correct one's ideas,

and most of the Torah's regulations are but counsel from afar, from the Master

of Counsel, for perfection of

ideas and the straightening of acts. And so it is written Indeed, I wrote down for you a

you may give a faithful reply to him who sent you.

 (RaMBaM Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot

Temurah 4:13)

The Patriarchs' Merit and the Patriarchs' Covenant

Following the description

of the destruction and the redemption, it is said: and I shall remember My covenant with Jacob, and even My covenant with Isaac, and

be their God, I am the Lord.

Let us consider those

verses: They say that God remembers the covenant, but say nothing at all about

what happened. The covenant is remembered in God's mind, God who

"remembers the covenant." These verses are understood by popular

religious thought to refer to the merit of the patriarchs: and even My covenant with Abraham I shall remember, and I shall

remember the land – we benefit from the merit of the patriarchs.

All those who make such a

connection ignore our Sages' discussion of the question, "When did the

merit of the patriarchs end?" (Shabbat 55a)…

According to the greatest Amoraim, the merit of the

patriarchs has already ended. We gained this land by the merit of our

patriarchs, and due to our sins, we lost it… The Ba'alei

Ha'Tosafot accept this as a plain fact: there is no

more merit of the patriarchs. Rabbeinu Tam points out

that while the merit of the patriarchs has ceased, their covenant has not been

annulled – Scripture testifies that it is still enduring and valid. The notion

of covenant can be understood in two ways. In parashat

Noah we read that following the Flood God made a covenant that the flood would

not reoccur, and that the rainbow was the sign of the covenant, the sign that

the order of nature shall not change. In this case, it is clear the covenant is

a divine promise. Nature bears no obligations and is incapable of taking

obligations upon itself.

However, there is also a

covenant which is reciprocal… we see that Rabbeinu

Tam understood the term covenant in this second sense. The

covenant between Israel and its God – or should we say, between the God of

Israel and His people – remains enduring and valid because one side remembers

it. Yet, if the covenant is to be fulfilled, that depends also on the

other party to it…and we are that other party.

(Prof.

Yishayahu Leibowitz, z"l, Herarot Le'Parshiyot Ha'Shavu'a pg.

84)

Peace is

not just a matter of an ethical tendency. Working for peace is a constant

cultural effort, sublime and powerful. All the most productive forces of

the nation should be directed towards that effort. We must consider: What will

be the end result of all the ever-increasing divisions – the parties, the

federations and the factions, the organization and the minyanim,

the ideological streams and the platforms – if we do not find a single Tel-Talpiyot [Mound of trophies – a poetic reference to

Jerusalem] which will hold high the banner of all the people, and which will

unceasingly engage in all of the more desirable efforts to promote the unity of

the nation, to heal the rifts, and to unite aspirations. Just as we recognize

and believe that the salvation of Israel will arrive with the burgeoning

Revealed End [a reference to the renewed fruitfulness of the Land of Israel as

an indicator of Messianic times], – which will be enacted by us, with

the strength which God has given us to succeed – to purchase the land, to

redeem it, to work it and build it up, to conquer it with cultural and

practical conquests. So must we become more and more aware that the spirit of

God which was upon Elijah, to reconcile parents with children and children

with their parents, to make peace in the world and to resolve all

controversies. These must also be expressed in our spiritual action, the

action of the entire nation, by its finest forces – the scholars who

increase peace in the world.

(From a letter to the

representatives of the Mizrachi to the Zionist

Congress, Iggrot HaRAYaH

of Rav Kook, ztz"l,

letter 671)

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