Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Noahide / Ger In New - Ancient Light



Click Here To Listen To Class One Of The Noahide - Ger In Ancient Light!

  • Ger Toshav
  • Ger Tzedek
  • Ger in Talmud - Tosfos
  • Goy vs. Ger
  • Righteous Gentile
  • Ger in Rishonim
  • Brotherhood and the Gentile
  • ...and much much more
This is Class One out of a larger series, with the ultimate goal being to identify every Ger mentioned in the Torah [with over 100 places of content] and bring the relevant Chazal to light.



Be Sure To Attend Classes Sat 10 PM Israel - Parasha Shavua
and
Wed 11 PM Ger Noahide Ancient Light Series

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Schemes and Teams it Seems








Do Bennet and Lapid know what they are doing? Israeli Spring seems to be arriving, albeit in a much more civilized fashion than the neighbors. 
The big nafka mina: bye bye Shas.
Shas looks like they are losing their portfolios, and instead of shtieging, they will compose the opposition.
With so much going on in the World, it is very interesting to see not only how these new politics and neo zionists work within the World,but also to see how the World views and works with them.
From the complicated matzav, will this new Coalition work well or against status quo?
In all probability, they may very well not know what they are doing [Bennet and Lapid], but that is all the more soa  reason to think that Hashem can sneak into these Kelim and cause a positive uproar.



JewishPress.com:


After several weeks in which it seemed that the gaps between the sides in the coalition negotiations on burden equality could not be bridged, we’re now being told, according to Maariv, that a solution is near. Senior Likud negotiators said Tuesday night that they are close to an agreement with the Jewish Home over an outline for equal burden legislation. According to those sources, the Jewish Home team told them they are authorized to negotiate on behalf of Yesh Atid as well.

At this point, sources in both teams are saying they are close to an agreement, at least over the recruitment age for Haredim: 21. This figure is a kind of compromise between age proposed by the Likud-Beitenu: 24, and the Yesh Atid position: 18.

There were huge problems with the age 24 idea, which was, in essence, a Trojan horse pushed in by the Haredi parties through the Likud-Beitenu team. First, in terms of the recruit’s usefulness to the IDF, at 24 he is basically unavailable to combat duty. Also, by the time he is 24, the average Haredi man could be the proud father of several children, which entitles him to a significant military stipend. In other words: at 24 he is more trouble than he’s worth.

Also, the Jewish Home team was arguing that the same Supreme Court that killed the previous Tal Law on grounds of inequality will no doubt reject the age 24 idea on the same grounds. Even at age 21, the Haredi recruits are only expected to serve two years—which is very likely to be challenged in front of the court by anyone who didn’t make it into the government and isn’t Haredi.

Incidentally, according to Maariv, Jewish Home and Yesh Atid do not agree on the enlistment of another, much larger segment of the population, the Arabs, who have been just as useless to the community at large as the Haredim, but comprise 20-25% of the population, as opposed to the estimated Haredi 8%. While Jewish Home would like to see the Arabs shouldering the burden like the rest of Israel’s young men and women, Lapid’s party is not as shocked and anguished over Arab inequality, possibly because they like them more than they do Haredim.

One message is clear, for now: according to Jewish Home sources, the Likud-Beitenu team has given up on trying to split the Bennett-Lapid pact. This might mean that Benjamin Netanyahu’s and Avigdor Liberman’s worst nightmares could be realized over the next four years, namely that those two young, sassy winners will use their stay in power to push their respective parties to an even bigger share of the vote next time around.

On the other hands, when you’re in charge of actual government ministries, things can happen…

Finally, whether or not the next coalition will include Shas and Torah Judaism, the 17-seat strong Haredi block, it appears that their two “traditional” portfolios, Interior and Housing, Shas’s source of patronage jobs and huge influence over Israeli society, is lost to them, at least for now. It isn’t clear yet, however, whether those two rich portfolios will be given to Bennett’s party or kept in Likud-Beitenu’s embrace.

Being kept apart from its traditional lifeline could spell the beginning of the end for both sectarian Haredi parties, who’ll start losing followers to the broader-based Jewish Home. Coupled with the probable, at this point, appointment of National Religious Rabbi David Stav to Chief Rabbi, this could mean the beginning of a new golden age for Religious Zionism.

Put that in Obama’s pipe and let him smoke it. 



Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Sash and the Ger Within Parashas Tetzaveh - Audio






Click Here For Audio Class Tetzaveh [based on article] In-Depth!

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Wed 11 PM Israel - Noahide Torah [currently "The Ger" in Text Series]



For those that missed/want the article "Tetzaveh" to go along with the download:






 Parashas Tetzaveh
                                           
 Torat Moshe: A Journey With The Ger
                                                                
 Rabbi David Katz

In Parashas Tetzaveh we become acquainted with the sublime beauty latent within the priesthood; from the Breastplate and her exquisite stones, Aaron and sons, along with their unique sanctity, all the way to the Priestly garments and their mystical flare that captures one’s imagination of how a day in the Temple may appear. With obvious overtones of the Priesthood and its innate beauty, one must not however, lose sight of the inherent Torah within the articles of the Parsha, and the Priesthood in particular. The Priests as we find out, are garmented with many adornments, with the least of them being a “sash”; yet we are about to see how the humble sash will serve to be the impetus of revealing the Torah of Moses in a Parsha of Torah that contains “Torah” to the exclusion of Moses! [Moses’ name is left out of the Parsha] The sash of the Priesthood will not only reinstate Moses, but it will provide the vehicle of the Torah journey of the Ger from Sinai, well into the Messianic Age.
Parashas Tetzaveh 29:9 makes a simple and subtle statement along the lines that Aaron and his sons are to wear sashes. Notice that the verse does not clarify any more on this point; not the color, fabric type, “who” etc., we are simply told that they adorn a sash. We find a very similar scenario in Ezekiel 44:17, as it states that the Priests shall wear a sash that is not made of wool, rather linen. One can say that this is where the journey of the Ger and his Torah begin, even if in its infancy.

The Bible Commentator “Radak” makes a commentary of this Ezekiel verse while referencing the Talmud in conjunction with our Parsha verse. He simply states, that due to the nature of the predicament of the “priests” [as opposed to High Priest he points out] in our Ezekiel verse, one must conclude that the Prophet is giving a new Torah Law for the future based on apparent contradictions concerning the sash. The Radak states that “Torat Moshe” clearly states that the sash is made of wool, while the Prophet states that it is linen. Thus we have a known Law for this World and a prophetic new reality for the World to Come in God’s Third Temple. Only we have one problem – the Torah never made mention of either linen or wool!

The Radak is in fact referencing the Talmudic discourse on the matter that illustrates various opinions of the Rabbi’s as to the ultimate reality of the sash. The minority opinion claims that we are to render all situations as told over by the Prophet, and thus no contradiction is raised, and matters shall remain simple and unchanged. The preferred Law however goes not like Ezekiel, the old custom was to wear wool, and thus in the future a new law  condition will be rendered as such that the priests will wear linen. This general premise is rather unalarming and somewhat benign, that is until he calls the view from the Talmud under the pretense of Torat Moshe, and we have well established that the Torah written by Moses lacks description on this matter.

The answer to resolve this difficulty, we can turn to the Radak in another location, this time Malachi, where he defines the term “Torat Moshe” as per the Prophet’s words there.
The Radak there in two distinct parts categorizes Torat Moshe as the Book that contains written components that we are to do, along with the following statement: [paraphrased] “Just Like” “That” he was commanded on Mt. Sinai…is not like those that say, “this sounds like the time it was given”; [the true nature of Torat Moses] comes with explicit commentary and/as a mystical section – this is a sufficient answer [to those who misunderstand Torat Moses to be only the Chumash, to the exclusion of Torah over time that continues until the Coming of the Messiah (which is the literal theme of Malachi on this point); thus the Talmud’s view of the sash can properly be justified as Torat Moses, as it was rendered along these guidelines. * The superfluous word “that” in the Hebrew, serves for the Radak to freely associate the Hebrew equivalent of “Just Like”; this allows for the Radak to have the grounds to properly define Torat Moses, a gesture given by the Torah by its additional word “that”, which stands for analysis]

Through the Radak’s difficulty in Ezekiel and clarification in Malachi, along with his methodology, we can begin to understand the Ger and his journey in a surreal new way.
Now that the Torah was commanded at Chorev/Sinai, the Radak explains that time and its extension, when realized as a spiritually aided mechanism into Torah, essentially stretches the command session practically until the Coming of the Messiah. The Radak justifies by saying “just like” – the commentaries and their mystical nature, are just like the actual coming of the command. From this we see two introductions to the Ger, and interestingly enough, by association, the tools from the Ger helps understand the Prophetic definition of Torat Moshe!

When we analyze the phrase “just like” [commanded at Sinai] is a subject of pilpul, the spice of Torah, the understanding a matter within a matter. Phraseology, fill in words, etc. are all Oral traits that began with Shem, and are implemented as purely Oral terms/phrases, that are a natural pilpul [node] that contain multiple and numerous mental pathways to encapsulate a highly complex idea with a rather simple phrase that barely has a pulse to beat to! This is the beauty of the Torah of Shem [and consequently the Ger – by inheritance], that a simple everyday tongue and one that is totally Oral [and rather difficult to define], provides the backbone of the Oral Torah, and therefore Torat Moshe!

To provide insight into this concept, and clarity on this point [“just like”] – try to think of all of the different permutations and different ways of constructing “just like” quietly in the mind. [Using creative pathways in simple Oral speech as pilpul/spice is called Amrei Binah – words of understanding; the Torah is filled with them much like Dark Matter to Matter.] The words just like can contain north of 5-7 different and unique intentions that provide unique definitions to the Radak; put them together, and we have a viable platform for explaining how Torat Moshe extends beyond just the moment he stood at Mt. Sinai – for the extended Torah is Just Like he was commanded.

  •         Just – Righteous; Like – [and] similar to
  •         Just Like - practically the same
  •        Just Like – New avenues of command just like the old
  •        Just like – as if….they were commanded then
  •         Etc.
With a soft mind, we can hear that as laws are explained ongoing, they may become clearer to the time that is most relevant [like a Ger today who stands just before the prophesied Third Temple], and therefore are just like the original [moment and] command given to Moses at Sinai.

For the Ger this is most important, for he is only a Noahide based on his Faith that reaches the moment that Moses was commanded – literally. Based on that fact alone, the words of the Radak may resonate the most loudly with the Gerim! As the Ger must reach Sinai in the command form, if we are to say that he has no portion beyond the Written Law and a strict adherence to Moses’ command on Sinai only, is a contradiction to the Radak. Thus when we take the Radak to form, the Ger relies on the extension of Torah as a command unfolding, for the path that the Ger walks is still being clarified, and therefore commanded – Just Like it was commanded to Moses. For the Ger, this is the only way he may walk a path of righteousness, and the Radak has stood to validate the Torah Learning for the Ger.

The Even HaEzra commentary to Devarim 31:12 makes a fascinating discovery, as he elaborates that the Ger has a unique ability and method to learn the entire Torah, when learned through the unfolding of Time, particularly with the inclusion of Shabbat, and with intent of making Jewish, [as opposed to Judaism] the parts of his soul that still may need to turn to God, through the study of Torat Moshe not surprisingly enough. The Ger is unique in that he receives Kindness from God in this way, when ingested from a culture of Wisdom; the Torah therefore enters the Ger only through Wisdom, and not through a base indulgence, i.e. he has and uses time to absorb Torat Moshe [which is how Torat Moshe is defined by the Radak]. The Even HaEzra gives a special distinction status to the Ger, in that he says a hybrid Ger Tzedek/Toshav exists – one that is Toshav and open to Tzedek; he shall have the ability to learn the whole Torah over time with Wisdom, as opposed to a closed Ger Toshav, of whom only once every seven years and in only in the Land shall he learn Torah beyond the basic command – by his own volition of having rejected a semblance of Tzedek.

Thus the more the Ger adheres to the essence of Torat Moshe, he becomes what the Torah has in mind for Mankind in a unique way. He has the opportunity to sanctify Torat Moshe in a way that is a Blessing to him specifically, and as we have pointed out earlier, the Ger and his journey in Torah provides the world with the vessels of grasping the essence of Torat Moshe [even if only by association; for through the sash, we find a simultaneous track of the Ger, and all parties culminate equally to reveal the true nature of the Torah].

It is absolutely established that there shall be one Torah for Mankind, and the Ger and the Jew share in this Torah, Torat Moshe. However one can make notice, that Moses’ name is left out of the Parsha, for having told Hashem “take me out of your Book” – to which the Arizal says was the portion of Moses’ soul that was a reincarnation of Shem. One can equally recall that there is no Parsha “Shem” [from Noah to Lech Lecha], and thus the Torah of Shem remains obscure because of this. The message is that even though the Ger inherits his Torah genes from Shem [and Noah, who were one spiritually], he takes his roots in Torat Moshe. Torat Moshe is the one Torah that we can all take part in , one that includes the pilpul, the commands of the Ger [post literal Sinai, in alignment to the essence of Torat Moshe]; the Torah of Shem is absolutely absorbed into Torat Moshe, and ironically is most easily expressed through vessels of the Ger.

A Ger who learns Torah [Torat Moshe] is likened to the High Priest, how much more fitting are these words now, that we have begun with a lowly and ordinary sash, only to find the beauty of Torah through the Gadlus [high mentality] of the Ger! Parashas Tezaveh is truly the Torah of the Priestly garments, and just as a sash made the Torah of Moses come back to life in a Parsha that seemed to have forgotten him, how much more wonderful is the Torah of Hashem that did not forget the other, just like the High Priest, the Ger, the remnant of Shem’s Torah, one who can fully come to life, through the Torat Moshe. How fitting, for it is The Ger who extends to see the Coming of the Messiah, a Redemption that we all yearn for, and perhaps no one yearns more for Ezekiel’s sash, than the Ger, who simply seeks for his journey to bring him home and grant him his priestly life from the Torah of Moshe.








Friday, February 22, 2013

Getting Sashy With The Gerim






Parashas Tetzaveh
                                            
Torat Moshe: A Journey With The Ger [Toshav / Tzedek / Shaar]
                                                               
 Rabbi David Katz

In Parashas Tetzaveh we become acquainted with the sublime beauty latent within the priesthood; from the Breastplate and her exquisite stones, Aaron and sons, along with their unique sanctity, all the way to the Priestly garments and their mystical flare that captures one’s imagination of how a day in the Temple may appear. With obvious overtones of the Priesthood and its innate beauty, one must not however, lose sight of the inherent Torah within the articles of the Parsha, and the Priesthood in particular. The Priests as we find out, are garmented with many adornments, with the least of them being a “sash”; yet we are about to see how the humble sash will serve to be the impetus of revealing the Torah of Moses in a Parsha of Torah that contains “Torah” to the exclusion of Moses! [Moses’ name is left out of the Parsha] The sash of the Priesthood will not only reinstate Moses, but it will provide the vehicle of the Torah journey of the Ger from Sinai, well into the Messianic Age.

Parashas Tetzaveh 29:9 makes a simple and subtle statement along the lines that Aaron and his sons are to wear sashes. Notice that the verse does not clarify any more on this point; not the color, fabric type, “who” etc., we are simply told that they adorn a sash. We find a very similar scenario in Ezekiel 44:17, as it states that the Priests shall wear a sash that is not made of wool, rather linen. One can say that this is where the journey of the Ger and his Torah begin, even if in its infancy.

The Bible Commentator “Radak” makes a commentary of this Ezekiel verse while referencing the Talmud in conjunction with our Parsha verse. He simply states, that due to the nature of the predicament of the “priests” [as opposed to High Priest he points out] in our Ezekiel verse, one must conclude that the Prophet is giving a new Torah Law for the future based on apparent contradictions concerning the sash. The Radak states that “Torat Moshe” clearly states that the sash is made of wool, while the Prophet states that it is linen. Thus we have a known Law for this World and a prophetic new reality for the World to Come in God’s Third Temple. Only we have one problem – the Torah never made mention of either linen or wool!

The Radak is in fact referencing the Talmudic discourse on the matter that illustrates various opinions of the Rabbi’s as to the ultimate reality of the sash. The minority opinion claims that we are to render all situations as told over by the Prophet, and thus no contradiction is raised, and matters shall remain simple and unchanged. The preferred Law however goes not like Ezekiel, the old custom was to wear wool, and thus in the future a new law  condition will be rendered as such that the priests will wear linen. This general premise is rather unalarming and somewhat benign, that is until he calls the view from the Talmud under the pretense of Torat Moshe, and we have well established that the Torah written by Moses lacks description on this matter.

The answer to resolve this difficulty, we can turn to the Radak in another location, this time Malachi, where he defines the term “Torat Moshe” as per the Prophet’s words there.
The Radak there in two distinct parts categorizes Torat Moshe as the Book that contains written components that we are to do, along with the following statement: [paraphrased] “Just Like” “That” he was commanded on Mt. Sinai…is not like those that say, “this sounds like the time it was given”; [the true nature of Torat Moses] comes with explicit commentary and/as a mystical section – this is a sufficient answer [to those who misunderstand Torat Moses to be only the Chumash, to the exclusion of Torah over time that continues until the Coming of the Messiah (which is the literal theme of Malachi on this point); thus the Talmud’s view of the sash can properly be justified as Torat Moses, as it was rendered along these guidelines. * The superfluous word “that” in the Hebrew, serves for the Radak to freely associate the Hebrew equivalent of “Just Like”; this allows for the Radak to have the grounds to properly define Torat Moses, a gesture given by the Torah by its additional word “that”, which stands for analysis]

Through the Radak’s difficulty in Ezekiel and clarification in Malachi, along with his methodology, we can begin to understand the Ger and his journey in a surreal new way.
Now that the Torah was commanded at Chorev/Sinai, the Radak explains that time and its extension, when realized as a spiritually aided mechanism into Torah, essentially stretches the command session practically until the Coming of the Messiah. The Radak justifies by saying “just like” – the commentaries and their mystical nature, are just like the actual coming of the command. From this we see two introductions to the Ger, and interestingly enough, by association, the tools from the Ger helps understand the Prophetic definition of Torat Moshe!

When we analyze the phrase “just like” [commanded at Sinai] is a subject of pilpul, the spice of Torah, the understanding a matter within a matter. Phraseology, fill in words, etc. are all Oral traits that began with Shem, and are implemented as purely Oral terms/phrases, that are a natural pilpul [node] that contain multiple and numerous mental pathways to encapsulate a highly complex idea with a rather simple phrase that barely has a pulse to beat to! This is the beauty of the Torah of Shem [and consequently the Ger – by inheritance], that a simple everyday tongue and one that is totally Oral [and rather difficult to define], provides the backbone of the Oral Torah, and therefore Torat Moshe!

To provide insight into this concept, and clarity on this point [“just like”] – try to think of all of the different permutations and different ways of constructing “just like” quietly in the mind. [Using creative pathways in simple Oral speech as pilpul/spice is called Amrei Binah – words of understanding; the Torah is filled with them much like Dark Matter to Matter.] The words just like can contain north of 5-7 different and unique intentions that provide unique definitions to the Radak; put them together, and we have a viable platform for explaining how Torat Moshe extends beyond just the moment he stood at Mt. Sinai – for the extended Torah is Just Like he was commanded.

  •      Just – Righteous; Like – [and] similar to

  •         Just Like - practically the same

  •         Just Like – New avenues of command just like the old

  •        Just like – as if….they were commanded then

  •         Etc.

With a soft mind, we can hear that as laws are explained ongoing, they may become clearer to the time that is most relevant [like a Ger today who stands just before the prophesied Third Temple], and therefore are just like the original [moment and] command given to Moses at Sinai.

For the Ger this is most important, for he is only a Noahide based on his Faith that reaches the moment that Moses was commanded – literally. Based on that fact alone, the words of the Radak may resonate the most loudly with the Gerim! As the Ger must reach Sinai in the command form, if we are to say that he has no portion beyond the Written Law and a strict adherence to Moses’ command on Sinai only, is a contradiction to the Radak. Thus when we take the Radak to form, the Ger relies on the extension of Torah as a command unfolding, for the path that the Ger walks is still being clarified, and therefore commanded – Just Like it was commanded to Moses. For the Ger, this is the only way he may walk a path of righteousness, and the Radak has stood to validate the Torah Learning for the Ger.

The Even HaEzra commentary to Devarim 31:12 makes a fascinating discovery, as he elaborates that the Ger has a unique ability and method to learn the entire Torah, when learned through the unfolding of Time, particularly with the inclusion of Shabbat, and with intent of making Jewish, [as opposed to Judaism] the parts of his soul that still may need to turn to God, through the study of Torat Moshe not surprisingly enough. The Ger is unique in that he receives Kindness from God in this way, when ingested from a culture of Wisdom; the Torah therefore enters the Ger only through Wisdom, and not through a base indulgence, i.e. he has and uses time to absorb Torat Moshe [which is how Torat Moshe is defined by the Radak]. 

The Even HaEzra gives a special distinction status to the Ger, in that he says a hybrid Ger Tzedek/Toshav exists – one that is Toshav and open to Tzedek; he shall have the ability to learn the whole Torah over time with Wisdom, as opposed to a closed Ger Toshav, of whom only once every seven years and in only in the Land shall he learn Torah beyond the basic command – by his own volition of having rejected a semblance of Tzedek.

Thus the more the Ger adheres to the essence of Torat Moshe, he becomes what the Torah has in mind for Mankind in a unique way. He has the opportunity to sanctify Torat Moshe in a way that is a Blessing to him specifically, and as we have pointed out earlier, the Ger and his journey in Torah provides the world with the vessels of grasping the essence of Torat Moshe [even if only by association; for through the sash, we find a simultaneous track of the Ger, and all parties culminate equally to reveal the true nature of the Torah].

It is absolutely established that there shall be one Torah for Mankind, and the Ger and the Jew share in this Torah, the Torat Moshe. However one can make notice, that Moses’ name is left out of the Parsha, for having told Hashem “take me out of your Book” – to which the Arizal says was the portion of Moses’ soul that was a reincarnation of Shem. One can equally recall that there is no Parsha “Shem” [from Noah to Lech Lecha], and thus the Torah of Shem remains obscure because of this. The message is that even though the Ger inherits his Torah genes from Shem [and Noah, who were one spiritually], he takes his roots in Torat Moshe. 

Torat Moshe is the one Torah that we can all take part in , one that includes the pilpul, the commands of the Ger [post literal Sinai, in alignment to the essence of Torat Moshe]; the Torah of Shem is absolutely absorbed into Torat Moshe, and ironically is most easily expressed through vessels of the Ger.

A Ger who learns Torah [Torat Moshe] is likened to the High Priest, how much more fitting are these words now, that we have begun with a lowly and ordinary sash, only to find the beauty of Torah through the Gadlus [high mentality] of the Ger! Parashas Tezaveh is truly the Torah of the Priestly garments, and just as a sash made the Torah of Moses come back to life in a Parsha that seemed to have forgotten him, how much more wonderful is the Torah of Hashem that did not forget the other, just like the High Priest, the Ger, the remnant of Shem’s Torah, one who can fully come to life, through the Torat Moshe. How fitting, for it is The Ger who extends to see the Coming of the Messiah, a Redemption that we all yearn for, and perhaps no one yearns more for Ezekiel’s sash, than the Ger, who simply seeks for his journey to bring him home and grant him his priestly life, that dates way back to Shem and shall eternally come from the Torah of Moshe.




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This Coming Week: The Ger In-Depth In Text

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Yeshiva or Hebron - Give Me Hebron






So the Rabbis have ordained that Yeshivas serve superior to Eretz Yisrael [and the yeshivot in the Shtachim].

Thats like Moshe Rabbeinu [upon being banned from Israel] saying to Hashem, "you know, fine...I'll just go to BoroPark instead, mah ichpatli? - Eretz Yisrael - Shmeretz Shmisrael"

Unfortunately, Moshe didn't say that, and this is a bad bad move. One 100% political, and again, politics and geulah have nothing in common. I would have thought that yeshivot are supposed to stand for geulah. Maybe when mesechta Sota [no less] says in the End of Days the Beis Midrash will turn to znus - well, here is the znussiest of znuss: bad politics that seek to dismantle Israel.

I would be more positive if there was something positive here, but, there simply isn't.
A word to the wise is sufficient [will (have to) suffice].


Israel National News:



The heads of United Torah Judaism, the Ashkenazi hareidi party, may be taking a turn toward the left wing in a bid to forestall a bid to force yeshiva students into military enlistment and national service.

According to Maariv, UTJ is preparing a document listing its principles for the coalition negotiations. The principles reportedly will include a green light for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to make territorial concessions in exchange for "preserving the yeshiva world" and maintaining the status quo regarding enlistment of hareidim.

Until now, the party has been seen as part of the right wing bloc, which is opposed to territorial concessions.

A source in the party told Maariv, however, that UTJ will now support uprooting isolated communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as a construction freeze outside the "settlement blocs." It would also vote in favor of halting the flow of budgets for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

These positions, the newspaper reported, may make it easier for the prime minister to offer U.S. President Barack Obama concessions regarding Judea and Samaria settlements when Obama visits Israel in March.

The press leak by UTJ regarding its plan to change tack regarding the settlement enterprise is an obvious warning to Bayit Yehudi and the religious Zionist sector to "rein in" Bayit Yehudi leader MK Naftali Bennett, whose pact with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid appears solid. Lapid heads a mostly secularist party and wants to force most hareidi men to enlist into military or national service. He refuses to even sit in the same government with hareidi parties.

Bennett is using the pact with Lapid to exert pressure on Netanyahu, who has been treating him with undisguised coldness, not deigning to meet him until after he had met all other potential coalition partners and even some opposition party leaders. This, despite the fact that Bennett has consistently said he supports Netanyahu as prime minister.



Prime Minister Armilos Giving Way To Yehuda







Purim checks in, in a few days, as we inch closer to Rosh Hashana [the one in Nissan, a Rosh Hashana for Kings]. Will this be a frantic finish of "'72" giving way to a '73 in novel terms?

Here is a short list of things to watch in '73


  • Obama
  • Israel
  • Iran
  • Euro
  • Dollar
  • Syria
  • China
  • Weather
  • Arab Spring
  • Israel Spring
  • Putin
  • Haredi
  • North Korea
  • Egypt
  • Jordan
  • Gaza
  • Israeli Resources
  • Canada [Torah calls them Magog]
  • The Church / Pope
  • Islam
  • Erev Rav
  • etc.
These literally are the events going on as we waltz into '73 - most or all of which are very Torah-dic in that they spell a common theme of End Game, on many levels.

One story of note - Will Bibi fall? it looks like he might, and it may be a big blow to Erev Ravomics


Haaretz.com:


For Benjamin Netanyahu, it wasn't supposed to break this way.

Four months ago, when he called early elections, advisers assured the prime minister that his best-case scenario was also among the most likely:

Mitt Romney defeats Barack Obama in early November, vindicating Netanyahu and boosting the prime minister's campaign into an even more untouchable orbit; Netanyahu turns his only credible political rival, Avigdor Lieberman – his legal troubles firmly behind him – into an electoral asset, on a joint ticket likely to score commanding 45 Knesset seats; Yair Lapid, having peaked much too early, fades to irrelevance; former Netanyahu chief of staff, Naftali Bennett, is a distant memory, aiming for leadership of the moribund three-seat Habayit Hayehudi party, the Netanyahu household a happier place without him.

Then there was the other scenario, the impossible one. The one in which the polls are wrong and the center-left vote in stunning numbers; Avigdor Lieberman is indicted; Likud-Beiteinu repels its own voters with internal friction and mutual Mizrachi-Russian antipathy; and Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett fire the imagination of voters tired and suspicious of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The one in which it is Barack Obama, and not Mitt Romney, who takes office on the eve of the Israeli election, and who later announces that he will be coming to Israel in a matter of weeks.

In a stunning result, the mathematics of which are not lost on Obama, it is the scenario in which Lapid and Bennett, taken together, win fully as many seats as Netanyahu – 31.

At this stage, with coalition talks circling a stoppered drain, what scenarios may the Obama administration be facing in Israel's new government?

From the standpoint of a second-term White House, what may be the best-case scenario, is also the least likely. The basis of this scenario is the calculation that if Netanyahu fails to include either Lapid or Bennett in his coalition, and if Labor keeps its pledge to spurn Netanyahu's advances, the prime minister can only reach 57 seats – four shy of the 61-seat majority he must field in the 120-seat house in order to forge a government.

Netanyahu will avoid this at any cost, up to and including his wife's displeasure, because the resulting options would be new elections in July, or the possibility of someone else forging and leading a government in his place.

Either way, it would spell disaster for Netanyahu. Just as he was the odds-on favorite to come out on top in January, were elections to be held in summer, he would almost certainly lose. Then there is the loose-cannon status of the 11 seats Lieberman still controls within Likud-Beiteinu – and which he could take with him in a theoretical alliance with Lapid. Either way, Yair Lapid could become prime minister. That is a risk Netanyahu is not about to take.

For Obama and John Kerry, still holding out hope for a two-state solution, the next best scenario would be a government in which Lapid's Yesh Atid agrees to co-anchor the ruling coalition with Netanyahu. Lapid has set an immediate return to negotiations with the Palestinians as a condition of joining the government. Though Lapid's declarations on an undivided Jerusalem have sparked criticism in the center-left, subsequent statements by Yesh Atid senior MK and former Shin Bet director Yaakov Peri suggest that the party might prove much more flexible in the context of peace talks.

Whether pressured into it or honestly convinced that peace with the Palestinians is possible and desirable, Netanyahu can potentially command a majority of 69 (Likud-Beiteinu, 31; Yesh Atid, 19; an Aryeh Deri-moderated Shas, 11; Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah, 6l; and Shaul Mofaz's Kadima, 2).

This would be reinforced from outside the coalition by an additional 31 votes from the center-left and left (Labor, 15; Meretz, 6; Hadash, 4; UAL-Ta'al, 3; Balad, 3.)

While Likud-Beiteinu includes a number of the most unbending hardliners in the Knesset, past experience shows that peace moves are the prerogative and the province of the prime minister, who, if determined to pursue nearly any step, can assemble and lead a Knesset majority for it, one way or another.

At the same time, the worst-case scenario for Obama is very much still on the table. This would be a coalition that fights peace talks and fosters settlement at every turn. To take in Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu would have to swallow the displeasure of both the Oval Office and his own bedroom, but it gets him to 61 (Likud-Beiteinu, 31; Habayit Hayehudi, 12; Shas,11; United Torah Judaism, 7. He may, or may not, also be able to entice Livni, 7; Mofaz, 2; and/or four or five rogue Labor MKs to join what is essentially an anti-peace bloc.)

This week, with the clock ticking to the Obama visit and the deadline of the coalition talks, Likud-Beitenu officials declared that Netanyahu's party had nothing to fear from new elections. But neither of the smaller parties budged. Bennett's Habayit Hayehudi even countered with a threat to propose that a Likud-Beiteinu leader other than Netanyahu try to form a government.

Lapid and Bennett see the sweat beading on the foreheads of Netanyahu and Lieberman. They know, every bit as well as the prime minister, just whose side time is on now. 


Obama is not stam as he is in the middle of this fire. 
2nd visit, Gog drama, and plenty of possibilities, as Obama is turning up the heat in many sectors of the World of his 2.0 presidency.

Edom

Monday, February 18, 2013

Conspiracy Luvers Unite!






As it has seemed for some time now and finally confirmed: Bennet - Lapid is for real and means business!

It is not out of bounds to think that there could be a new election, one of which Bibi is sitting in opposition, Lapid rises to PM and Bennet is given a cache of major portfolios. Under such a government, the Haredi units are out, and their Buchrim will be sent to the battle lines. Israel would become socially aware [Lapid] and Bennet would ensure that Israel is reaching far right standards to cope with Arab Spring.

At any rate, it is Lapid - Bennet against Haredi Judaism, and this new demographic of Israeli Politics, is dead set to shake up the status quo.

In an Israel of 2013, something tells me, that its probably a good thing.


Bye Bye Bibi and Boker Tov Bennet -Lapid?


Jpost.com:



Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is furious at what he believes is a conspiracy by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett to try to prevent Shas and United Torah Judaism from joining the coalition, Likud sources said on Sunday.

Sources who attended Netanyahu’s meeting with Likud ministers said he spoke of Lapid and Bennett with contempt, complaining that “their strategy is not to reach solutions on key issues, only to push out the haredi parties.”

Ministers quoted Netanyahu as saying that Lapid and Bennett cared only about advancing themselves politically rather than the good of the country.

Mocking Lapid’s plan for equalizing the burden of IDF service, Netanyahu said that “it will neither bring equality nor ease anyone’s burden.”

Sources close to the prime minister went further, alleging that Lapid and Bennett were aiming to break the 36-yearold bond between Likud and the haredi parties, so that following the next election, they will not recommend that Netanyahu form the government.

The Likud ministers said Netanyahu clearly intends to keep the foreign portfolio for his No. 2 in Likud Beytenu, Avigdor Liberman, even though he will not be able to become foreign minister until he is cleared of the charges against him in his trial, which began Sunday and will continue in April.

A Likud source said that if Netanyahu could trust Lapid, perhaps he would try to break out of his commitment with Liberman, but he is far from that point now.

Channel 2 reported that Netanyahu intended to build a coalition with the 57 MKs of Likud Beytenu, Shas, UTJ, The Tzipi Livni Party and Kadima, and then give Bennett a choice between joining the coalition without Lapid or initiating an election in which the Left could come to power.

Livni denied a Channel 10 report that she had accepted the justice portfolio.

In other attempts to break the political pact between Lapid and Bennett, Shas cochairmen Arye Deri and Eli Yishai met respectively with the leader of Bayit Yehudi and the leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria.

One settler leader told Yishai, “Bennett is making a mistake if he is seeking a momentary deal with Lapid rather than a stable bond with Shas.”

Yishai warned the settler leaders that “if there will be a diplomatic process, Lapid will throw Bennett out of the government.

We [in Shas], however, are not a spare tire for the Left.”

Sources close to Bennett denied that his party sought a coalition without haredim.

They said that if Netanyahu wanted to find solutions on equalizing the burden of service and changing the electoral system, deals with Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid could be reached quickly.

Bayit Yehudi MKs blasted Netanyahu for seeking to build a coalition with Labor and The Tzipi Livni Party and for suggesting that Bayit Yehudi was violating the will of its voters by making a deal with Lapid.

“The Likud is insulting the intelligence of the public when it accuses us of defrauding our voters,” said MK Ayelet Shaked.

“The Likud’s first partner is Livni, who will conduct negotiations [with the Palestinians], the same Livni who ran on a campaign of creating a Palestinian state, who would divide Jerusalem, and who said Netanyahu is leading Israel to a disaster. Is that not defrauding voters?”

Shaked said that reports the prime minister was offering the finance portfolio to Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich also indicated he was defrauding voters, after years of the Labor leader and Netanyahu explaining the differences in their economic policies.

“Suddenly, Netanyahu will agree to an economic plan that costs NIS 138 billion and become a social democrat?” she asked.

“Come on. We were silent amid all the Likud attacks on us during the election. Friends in Likud, the election is over. Stop attacking Bayit Yehudi and simply form a government.”

MK Uri Orbach wrote on Facebook that “suddenly the Likud, which portrayed us during the campaign as closed-minded Jews, is now presenting us as gentiles who are willing to sell out to the secular Lapid. The Likud, which just recently slung mud on our rabbis, is now chasing after them and trying to persuade those same rabbis to pressure us.”

MK Yoni Chetboun added that he expected the Likud to focus on drafting the guidelines for Netanyahu’s government rather than leak political spin to cause friction.

“Parties are leaking political spin to reporters in order to anger and divide,” Chetboun said.

“The party that has been in power for four years should lead the way to clear coalition guidelines. It’s called ideology. Take a time-out and think about the good of the country.”

The Likud responded that Netanyahu was seeking to build a coalition with his party’s natural partners on the Right and then widen it to parties on the Center-Left.

“We aren’t tricking anyone,” a Likud official said. “Bennett is mistakenly trying to stop a right-wing government from being formed. He made a mistake by falling in love with Lapid, who is only using him.”



 
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