Schlagwort: judaism

Chanukka and us

I am prepared for Hanukkah without any particular ambitions and I remember the year 164 BCE when there was neither Christianity nor Islam. It is our duty as Jews to be friendly to Christians who are friendly to Israel. I am not talking about those who, as godless pagans, have draped themselves in a Christian cloak and are now completely discarding it, nor about godless leftists who are making common cause with Muslims to destroy this country.

I will gladly repeat myself: only a self-determined Judaism is a viable Judaism, and to all Christians of goodwill I say:

Had the Maccabees not successfully gone to war with God’s help, Judaism would have been lost forever—and thus the foundation for the emergence of Christianity. In our time, this is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. This also means that only those who adhere to Judeo-Christian values ​​will have a future. Anyone who still believes they can live Christianity without Judaism is a demagogue spreading the biggest lie imaginable.

Therefore, I’m completely relaxed about Hanukkah and hope many friends of Judaism will celebrate with us.

Judaism, Zionism and the current State of Israel

When Loyalty to a State Becomes a Substitute for Loyalty to God

There is a dangerous confusion today between Judaism and Zionism, and it must be addressed clearly and courageously.

Judaism is a covenant with God, rooted in Torah, truth, and justice. Zionism is a modern political movement, rooted in nationalism. While they may overlap historically, they are not the same — and conflating them distorts both.

Many today have made the State of Israel into a kind of sacred cow. Criticizing its actions — even in cases of moral outrage — is treated as if it were heresy. The political has become theological. The state is beyond critique. This is not loyalty to Torah — it’s a form of idolatry.

Some have even joked that Zionism today is like a new Trinity:

God the Father, the Jewish Mother, and the Holy Land.

When religious identity becomes wrapped around nationalism, moral clarity is lost. Crimes committed in the name of Jews are excused, minimized, or even celebrated — simply because they are carried out by a government that calls itself Jewish. And anyone who calls for accountability is dismissed as a “self-hating Jew” or worse.

This is not Torah.

Judaism does not say, “We’re always right because we’re Jews.” It says:

“God chose us to be holy — and holds us to a higher standard.”

When injustice is done in the name of the Jewish people, the proper response is not silence, and certainly not celebration. The proper response is grief, protest, and return to Torah.

Our loyalty is to the truth, not the tribe. To the Torah, not to nationalism. To God, not to the government.

We must never forget:

Judaism existed for thousands of years before the State of Israel —
and it will continue long after every government rises and falls.

At Parasha Chukkat…

Today I began to think about the Parashah Chukkat. It means law or statute. Quite simply, Chukkat. There is no room here for any kind of escape from the Torah and its eternal source for the Jewish people. In the Parashah, the sons of Israel are addressed by Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron. It speaks of the red heifer, which is offered as a sacrifice to Hashem by Eleazar, the Kohen. Interestingly, all who come into contact with it become ritually impure and must wash their clothes and themselves in water, but remain untainted until evening. This weekly portion describes in great detail what must be done. Therefore, it is very important, on the one hand, to know and follow all the steps; on the other hand, it is equally important that, should someone come up with the idea of ​​questioning what has been commanded, there must be no room for doubt, even if we do not understand the meaning of the actions. It is a kind of purification. Not meant as a moral category, but as an expression that anyone who touches a dead thing must remain outside until their ritual purification. Therefore, all of this is an unconditional expression of Hashem’s desire to place life above all else, and that nothing is more important than life itself. The red cow represents the animus, the animal, the living, and that is precisely why he, the priest, sprinkles the blood in the direction of the tent of meeting. Why in this direction in particular?!! Because every synagogue is a tent of meeting. A tent because it can only be a temporary solution for the Bet haMikdash yet to be built in Jerusalem.

Thoughts at Parasha Bamidbar

I confess that I’ve already been busy today with the upcoming weekly portion, Bemidbar. Right at the beginning, all twelve tribes of Israel are listed and discussed in summary.
This refers to the „number of the community of the children of Israel according to their clans, according to their ancestral houses.“ One male head for each tribe. Then, all of them are listed.

It’s very interesting that each individual is referred to as a prince. This is partly in recognition of their achievements and responsibility, but also because Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron also confirm that there is only one king—and that is Hashem.

All are counted, each and every one. Hence the name Numbers for the Sefer Bemidbar. And special mention is made of those who went out to war. Therefore, in chapter 1, verse 44, it says:

„These are the numbered ones whom Moshe, Aaron, and the princes of Israel numbered.“

The order of the enumeration clarifies and establishes an important hierarchy of importance for all the children of Israel.

Anyone twenty or older could be drafted into the army. However, Levi’im could not be drafted.

For myself, as a Levi, I have never fought for an army going to war in my entire life. It remains so!

Furthermore, it is stipulated that Levi’im are not to be counted and mustered among the children of Israel, and instead they are to be assigned to the „Table of Testimony“ (this refers to the portable Mishkan, since we are in the Sinai Desert), to all its equipment, etc. It is important to recognize that their task is to carry the Table of Testimony and all its equipment. When the Table of Testimony is settled, they assemble it, and a member of the seam is to die. Therefore, it is very important that certain people stay away from the Levi’im to ensure that they can fulfill their task undisturbed. The individual tribes and their various areas around the Mishkan are also addressed.

Finally, I would like to return to the distinction between the camps of Judah and Ephraim and all the other tribes. They are discussed and mentioned in the weekly portion Bemidbar, according to their importance, in a fixed order and in a specified number…

Despite all the distinctions, we must be clear today that the diversity of Jewish life and belonging is therefore G-d-willed and must be respected.

Shavua Tov!

Parasha Mishpatim (Mischpatim)

I started to study the Parasha Mishpatim for the first time this week. It is so gratifying to do so.
Some important commandments are listed right at the beginning. It is not for nothing that the Parasha itself is called legal decrees or, better, legal statutes – the plural of Mishpat, as they regulate social relationships within the Jewish people and also dealings with strangers.

The Torah is always both – instruction and binding law; it has always been taken seriously by Jewish people as a revelation from God and has increased in importance in our times. Bringing all 613 commandments to life in everyday life is not only central, but also unavoidable.

On the coming Shabbat, these legal statutes will be read out publicly. They will thus be proclaimed, remembered and internalized. It is therefore not a process of „entertainment“, but of instruction and reminder that these must be enforced. Hence the name Mishpatim. It deals with rules about servants, rules about physical assault, rules about theft, further rules about seducing a virgin and marrying her with the obligation of dowry, sorcerers, sodomy, serving other gods, insulting a stranger, dealing with widows and orphans, lending money, rules about first fruits, rules about justice, rules about the Shabbat year and Shabbat, rules about the festivals and rules about the Promised Land.

Mishpatim therefore involves a whole range of different laws that must lead to a fair legal system. This is the crucial point – the transfer of the laws into the dealings of a more just Jewish society; or in the Diaspora, the social structure of a community.

It is important that the Torah is introduced very carefully, first in narrative terms – almost tentatively. And it is also important that the laws are not simply passed. Didactically, it is very valuable that the parasha begins with the regulations on servitude. Let us remember that the Jewish people have only just been liberated and are standing in the desert at Mount Sinai. One might think that there are more important things for them than the servitude that someone has to enter into out of necessity. That is precisely the starting point. The text and address make it clear from the outset that dependency relationships are not a thing of the past. Economic emergencies are a reality. But one thing has changed: servitude is an economic factor and is therefore always limited. Servitude is no longer oppression. Nor is it submission to a regime that forces self-sacrifice.

The Israelite servant remains an Israelite and is therefore oriented towards freedom. Rashi therefore says that by the Yovel year at the latest, even those who do not want to be free will be liberated. It is important to recognize that these laws are above our own limited, short-term interests and are therefore the central starting point for our own decisions.

Shabbat Shalom

613 Mitzwot and the Aseret haDibrot

All 613 commandments of the Torah are of eternal relevance and cannot be exchanged or replaced with one another. The Aseret haDibrot are ‚Ten Statements‘ that contain all 613 Mitzvot.

It is therefore important to take them seriously as a monotheist and Jew, because that is what they are intended for. Let us never forget that all commandments of the Torah are and remain irreplaceable. This is important to know because it was popes, among others, who introduced a modified version for the Christian public in order to subsequently deviate their interpretations from Hashem’s Eternal Covenant with his people and claim that it had been replaced.

I would therefore like to call on everyone to read and compare the Aseret haDibrot in the original Hebrew or an authorized translation in another language. There are blatant deviations – even today.

This is precisely why the commandments of the Torah are never suitable for harnessing them to the cart of particular interests. It is simply wrong, misleading and forbidden. This is why we Jews, all of us – regardless of whether we are Kohen, Levi or Jew – insist on the original and that is not interchangeable in Hebrew. This year, the Aseret haDibrot will also be read, heard and hopefully understood in public, because only if we Jews and you discuss the essence of all 613 Mitzvot can we ensure that Hashem’s differentiated address to his people is guaranteed for all time.

Hanukkah/Chanukka

FROM TODAY’S CHASSIDUS CLASS

“Chanukah is the celebration of the miracle of G-d because that is the miracle of the Jew. The winning is a human thing, even though it was beyond…Yes we won but that’s not what the Jew is about, the victory,…But Jews and Judaism it’s about our connection to G-d. It’s about being an eternal people. The eternity is not in winning the war…what do we celebrate? We celebrate our Divine connection. And therefore we celebrate this one jar of oil that a miracle happened. Because what was the miracle bought about? The miracle of the Jew that we rise above the human condition and we become G-dly people, which we are but we reflect that, and express that and live that in the defeat against the Greeks and in the lighting of the menorah and the miracle that happens. So we are about G-d’s miracle, that’s who we are and that’s what we celebrate. That’s the Jewish people.”
— RabbiRonnie Fine Rabbi Ronnie Fine of Chabad Zichron Kedoshim

Joseph!

I love Joseph, because my own Life is like Joseph’s Life. Its not only to find Back to all His brothers and forgive all those who can’t not see, that He is a Jew like you and me, but became a special role through Hashem. So we should not deny His and our Mission as a whole in this world and take him Home.

„Learning through Torah means to take all words serious and make it a joyous place in our Hearts.“

Shavua Tov!

(Marcus Günther Michael Gundlach)

Ja’akov’s Dream

I am dealing with the Parasha Vayezah at this time… right at the beginning it is reported that Ya’akov went towards Haran, after leaving Beershaba. On his way he came to a place – it had become dark and he had to spend the night – where he dreamed the famous dream of the ladder to heaven, on which messengers ascend and descend.
In this dream it was important that the Eternal was above it. Hashem had his observation of what was happening the whole time. He says that the G-d of Avraham is his father and that he is the G-d of Yitchak. The land on which he, Ya’akov, lies, Hashem gives to him and his seed – that is, his children. Hashem goes on to say that he will spread out like the dust of the earth in the evening and in the morning… and that with him, Ya’akov, all the families of the earth will bless themselves.
This is very important because it contains a double message: Firstly, that Ya’akov and his children have a special role and responsibility for life on this planet; and secondly, that the nations bless each other with Ya’akov – not against him.

The dream continues, in which Hashem promises that he is with him and protects him wherever Ya’akov goes.

I have always thought about Ya’akov raising the stones of his headrest into a pillar and pouring oil on them; it is a clear reference to the Bet haMikdash in Jerusalem, and that it is precisely this that is being built. Ya’akov therefore gave the name Bet-El – House of G-d to this place where he dreamed and woke up again.

Shavua Tov!