Tears of Redemption on The Arugot Farm - Ari Abramowitz: The Land of Israel Fellowship

So, just a few hours ago I was really scrambling. I was trying to prepare for this fellowship and get my thoughts together. And then boom, I realized that there was a group scheduled for the farm today. When I booked it, I I thought it was going to be Jeremy's fellowship to lead and I would have be able to lead the this group, but then we missed a week of Passover, so we switched. And then there I was still weak and trying to order my thoughts together and a buzz of 60 Germans pulled up. And I just said, "Okay, Hashem, you're in charge. You know what needs to be happening right now and and I just as I started the tour, I just tried to be as present as I could and not feel consumed with with giving all of you the incredible fellowship from the depths of my heart that you deserve. You all know I struggle with feeling undeserving anyways to be leading this fellowship. And so I I really gave it my all, but my mind was still somewhere else and it started off a little dry. I tried to put everything into it, but after all the they are Germans, right? They weren't exactly bubbling over with giggles and emotion. You know, I remember seeing a meme about the German flag and German humor. This is what it says, uh Anyways, thought the meme would pop up right now. But um, you know, there's not a lot of of of humor there and so sometimes it's hard to crack through. The the Here it is. Here's the meme. It doesn't matter. Sometimes it's hard to crack through, you know, those those those shells of sort of calloused hearts that we all have. But um, but then we entered the house of prayer and really we began to open up and to share, like really share and be really honest. And uh and right as this was happening, right? My cousin Zachariah, Zachariah, Zach I call him, he showed up. Now, you have to understand well that while Zachariah is my second cousin, it's like he's my first. Right? Not only because of how close we are, but because our grandfathers were identical twin brothers and they were also both crazy in like a very unique, special, very bold Jewish way. And due to the fact that it was you know, against the law to send these two Jewish brothers to war together, one had to stay behind. His grandfather sort of won the lotto there and he was sent to fight the Germans, while mine stayed behind as his engineer. And his grandfather fought with unusual, reckless bravery, for which he was awarded many medals of honor and valor. I actually think of him when I picture him fighting, I picture him the same way as King David. Right? He simply didn't have any room for fear because he was so filled with righteous indignation and rave and fury and just hatred for Nazis. And there there's just so many stories, but there's not enough enough time. But in short, we were both raised honestly with a hatred for Germans. Right? It wasn't like we really like left that behind. You know, I would never buy a Mercedes and I was disgusted by anyone that would buy a Mercedes and it took me a long time of flying to Darmstadt, Germany and meeting so many holy Germans between I before starting to sort of come to and realizing that God is doing something in the hearts of humanity. And um, and here Zach was. He never experienced any of that and he walked in and it was So, what what did he see? He saw me standing with all the Germans. And by the way, one thing I noticed that when I was with these Germans, and I told them that our real mission together in our time at the farm was not to see a mountain or a tourist destination, but to build friendships and relationships. Well, that's when something happened. You know, the their energy changed because I feel like they felt seen. Because deep down, whether they're conscious of it or not, whether they're aware of it or not, that is their greatest desire, the relationships, the friendships. I'm sure you all know exactly what I'm talking about. And so we started connecting on that level, just the level of truth and honesty and I told them a a teaching that I've shared with so many of you before, right? That um, that as a Jew, there fundamental parts of Christianity that I think are are false, that are wrong. And of course, there's a weird energy that I felt from them when I said that because usually after that, saying that there's parts of what you believe that are wrong, it leads to a war. Right? It believes it leads to like a massacre. But I told them that when I look at the way I understood God 10 years ago, I see that half of the way I understood God then right now God then was wrong and I pray that 10 years from now I'll understand that half the way I understand God right now is wrong. And that we're all seeking to grow and really that's I love sharing that. I share that with so many people. I've shared with you before because it's a it's a call for humility, which is really a prerequisite for any true friendship and relationship. And I think all of us may have been humbled by our time together in this fellowship. But as our hearts were as our hearts were were opening up to each other, I saw Zach standing in the back. And um and I told a story, which culminates in a verse from this week's Torah portion and everyone was in tears. Everyone was in tears. I know many of you have heard it before, but there's thank God there's so many new members of this fellowship. Is it okay if I share it again very quickly? So, it's the story it's the story about the two friends from thousands of years ago. They loved each other very much. One was from Syria, the other was from Rome and after not seeing each other for decades, the friend from Rome went to visit his friend in Syria and when he was there, the king said, "You're a spy and I'm going to kill you." And he said, "I'm not a spy. I promise I can prove it." "You're a spy and I'm going to kill you." The man said, "Please let me go back to my family in Syria and to close up my business and say goodbye and I'll come back in 2 months time." The king laughed. He said, "You think I'm a fool? You're not going to return. You're just going to stay there." He said, "If I don't return, you can kill my friend." The king was intrigued and he looked at his friend. His friend said, "Yes, Your Majesty. He He doesn't return, you can kill me." So, the king said, "Fine, you can go." And he went back to to his family in Syria, closed up his business. They wept. They begged him not to return, but he wasn't listening, of course, and he returned with plenty of time to get back, but the camel broke its leg and the ship broke and wasn't picking up wind and it was taking so much longer to get there. And on the day of his execution, he's running towards the center of the town and he's screaming, "No, no, no, don't kill me." He sees his friend with the rope around his neck. They're about to kill him. "No, don't kill him. Don't kill him. I'm back. Kill me." And the friend with the rope around his neck turned to the king and said, "No, no, no. He was supposed to be here by 9:00. It's 10:30. You have to kill me." And the friend said, "No, I just needed to be back. No, kill me. Kill me." They're each saying kill me and the king cannot believe his eyes. And he said, "Stop. No one will die under one condition, that you make me your third friend." And I love telling that story because I say to them right there in the room. I said to them, "You know, when God sees us, it doesn't matter really who's right or wrong here. When he sees the love between us, he just that's where Shekinah dwells. He just wants to be our third friend." And then I go to this week's Torah portion in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18. Right? It ends, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." And I told them, "Why does it juxtapose these ideas together? Why are these two words together? Why do the words I am Hashem appears right after the word love your neighbor as yourself? Because I told them, where there's love between two peoples, particularly peoples that are so different, that have so many reasons to hate, but where there is love between them, that is where the Shekinah dwells. That is where God's presence dwells." And the tears were just flowing and I looked back and my cousin Zach, with tears in his eyes, and his friend that he happened to bring right there with him, of course, the grandson of an Auschwitz survivor who lost his whole family in the Holocaust. And there were people in that room, children of the SS Luftwaffe, right? Like the worst, most vicious Nazis, their children were in that room weeping. And Jews were weeping together and they were were just moved by the sheer historic power of what was going on. And so here we were, Jews and Germans in a house of prayer in the beating heart of Judea and we were all crying crying together. And I put my cousin on the spot, which we do in our family, and I asked him if he wants to come up and share. They didn't even see him there and he walked up and um and you know, I got the very last words because it often feels like it's a tract to pull out your phone, but I just I had no choice. Him speaking to these Germans, I had to pull out the phone. And of course, he immediately started talking about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. After all, there was so much redemptive energy in the room. What else was he going to talk about, right? And he started sharing about all the pilgrims that would flock towards the temple and the how they would greet each other. And I caught the very last minute. It said that when they would come to the gates of the cities, that the priests sitting up on top of the walls would bless them. And they would say to them, And the pilgrims would all respond, So, I would like to tell you, Adonai imachem. God is with you. But I ask you to bless me in return. How beautiful is that? And as I I mean you just don't know the significance of Zach, the grandson of Naftali ben Avraham Naftali Abramowitz uh blessing Germans and Germans blessing him, the children of those very Nazis. It's just unbelievable and as I was experiencing this I of course realized that only a such a thing could only happen on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, right? The most auspicious time for healing on the calendar. And then Zach shared with me a beautiful idea that I actually never heard. I actually think it was his chiddush. Right? The word chiddush means he came up with it himself, his new idea. He quoted the famous story in which Rabbi Akiva was asked, "What's the most important verse in the Torah, the most important words?" And what was his reply? He he said "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Zeh klal gadol baTorah." "Love your neighbor as yourself. That is the a great principle in the Torah." But klal Zach pointed out the klal doesn't just mean a great principle. A klal is a principle from which everything else can be derived. Meaning that all of the Torah can be extrapolated from just those words. As the masks are coming off in much of the world is turning not only against Israel but yes against the Jewish people. If you feel different, if your love for Israel is growing deeper and stronger, if you're thirsting to cleave to the nation of Israel and to the God of Israel, if you're thirsting to learn authentic Torah from Jews in Judea, then the Land of Israel Fellowship is for you. Hundreds of individuals and families from around the world come together on Zoom every week in what can only be described as a fellowship of love, friendship, of learning and praying and belonging. A fellowship really unlike any other. It's more than just a movement, it's a family. To learn more about the Land of Israel Fellowship, click on www.thelandofisrael.com /fellowship or send an email to [email protected]. Love and blessings from Judea.