The Spiritual Roots to this War - Ari Abramowitz: The Land of Israel Fellowship

we should begin at the beginning right that's what this week's Torah portion is that's what this Fellowship is very much about it's about prayer it's about Unity it's about Brotherhood it's about it's about family and it's about the Torah and uh this week's Torah portion was the book of bit in the beginning and that's where I think we need to begin barit Genesis this Shabbat that's what we read and as we all know uh we usually read this verse the first verse of the Bible read it in the beginning Elohim in the beginning hm in the beginning God created heaven and earth and uh and that's the way we read it and that's the normative way to read it and that's true but as you know in this Fellowship we like to dig a little bit deeper into some sort of some of the the mystical and deeper understandings of things and R Beerman shared a little bit of a different way of reading this verse that I think is the only way to start this Fellowship he says bit in the beginning in the beginning let's start here right let's start with this the first thing we need to say the first thing we need to remember the first thing we need to know isem created the heavens and the Earth right you follow bid in the beginning that's what we need to know God created the heavens and the earth that is let's just remember that he is running the show nothing happens without hashem's Direction nothing while we are of of course you know we need to learn from what happened on a practical level some people think that this type of talk is disempowering it just makes us stop trying no it's the opposite it gives us the sober dispassionate ability to look at the world the way it is and to learn from it but to understand at the very same time that Hashem is running the show so we need to learn what's happened on a practical military strategic policy level uh but uh but let's not forget that what we're going through is what we need to go through right now hashem's running the show show and we're on our way towards Redemption right now so let's not forget right that when a man beats a dog with a stick the dog bites at the stick right Hamas theah Iran Syria Russia America all of these countries these nations these superpowers in their arrogance they really believe that they are making the calls that the power is in their hands and they feel so powerful but really right Mish the proverb the tell usim like water streams in the king's heart in hashem's hands like streams of water is the king's heart in hashem's hands he turns it where he desires right they are merely sticks in hashem's hands they're puppets in the hands of the god of Israel all of this is being orchestrated for our benefit and for our growth to bring us to the place we need to be to bring Redemption not only for ourselves but for the entire world so rman you know reminds us from Psalm 148 he says Shor fire and hail snow and smoke stormy winds that executes his command these stormy winds these hurricanes feels like a the category five hurricane it is it is executing hashem's command all of the insanity and the volatility and the unpredictability it feels like we're in the middle of a storm and of a hurricane and all of this is under hashem's command because there is something about all this that we need to be enduring to bring out from within us to create us into the people that we need to be in order to fix the world and to heal humanity and ultimately to bring mhia and uh and you know I want to read to you a little bit about what the the sages have said about the times we in now y mashia but not just yet we'll get there in a moment so Rabbi Burman remember Rabbi AI Burman so he says he quotes a verse from Isaiah in the name of r drukman that just nailed it right he says Jeremiah chter 30:7 it will be a time of trouble for Jacob and from it he shall be saved and my friends notice here he doesn't say it's a time of trouble for Jacob and afterwards he'll be saved it says Mima from it meaning from within the trouble itself because because of the trouble itself that will be our salvation and what what could come from this degree of Darkness right what could come from it and the answer is that from such an unprecedented deprived Darkness will come an equal and exactly opposite degree of light a light is so beautiful that we can't even imagine it in our current state our sages teach us that the light that will come from this will be so intense so blinding that only if you've spent your whole life building up your faith and internalizing your trust in Hashem and Performing acts of Charity and loving kindness to the degree that you've done that you'll be able to receive it because the sages say the light of redemption will warm the righteous and burn the evil right the same light and on some level our whole lives here the definitely the whole Fellowship has been practiced for building those vessels of faith and trust that we need right now are we going to able to maintain a degree of calmness right in the heart of this storm and I'm not talking about a calmness of of of of sort of surrender or hopelessness either no a commonness that comes with trust and faith that the whole world around us can be going up in Flames but our faith is in Hashem and so ROK has pointed out that the third verse in the Torah this week's Torah portion it can be read a little bit differently and it it will tell us what our job is here what this whole war is all about now usually we read it right and hasem said let there be light and there was light but then here's how said he said V it's like a directive to the Jewish people hasem is saying V you shall say Elohim the name of God we shall call out in the name of God and then and then V or then there will be light that's what the world is waiting for that's what the world has always been waiting for and the great commentator Rashi asks why the Torah begins with the creation story perhaps it should have started with the first commandment we've spoken about this before and he answers his own question by saying that in the end of days the Nations will come against us and claim that the land of Israel does not belong to us and we're to point to these very words we point to the Torah and we say God the god of Israel created the entire world and he gave us the land of Israel and that is our right to the land proclaiming the name of that's the light fighting with hearts of faith and trust in Hashem the hearts of of the Lion of Judah that is what's being awoken right now I see it I see it every day uh the lon of Judah is being awoken and the forces of Darkness do not stand a chance that's the light right they fight with chariots and horses but we fight with the name of Hashem we're in the midst of a time of tremendous extraordinary refinement right since the Garden of Eden right evil and good and light and darkness have been mixed and confused and as we approach the garden again that light and that darkness is being refined out and clarified and sifted and the evil that we're staring in the eye is amalik it's no different than Nazi ideology zero difference tab the show show the uh that here this is a picture of Hajj Amin al- husseini the grand Muti of Jerusalem and Hitler there was a Muslim unit of the SS before Israel was founded this isn't political it's not about land it's not about settlements watch BBC CNN it's about the settlements they'll say don't believe it right was the PLO founded in 1964 the Palestinian Liberation Organization founded in 1964 to liberate the settlements of 1967 that didn't even exist yet were the massacres and the pums of Inon in 1929 due to the state of Israel of 19 48 that didn't even exist yet this is about pure unadulterated genocidal hatred of the Jew which transcends logic and reason at least logic and reason that we can understand it's from the deepest part of the soul and that's why it needs to be thoroughly eradicated leaving not even a trace behind that's the mistake that Saul made that he didn't eviscerate and kill aab because he listened to his men and he didn't take responsibility for that we can't make that mistake right now we can't tiptoe around Gaza we need to go in with the wrath of God and believe it or not you know in the face of this most evil six sadistic genocide there are massive protests around the world in support of Kamas here's just one example just one I'm not gonna go through all of them of a protest in London London okay that's what you're looking [Music] at this is days days after the horrific murder rape torture burning of babies with sadistic Glee and these people all over the world thousands tens of thousands hundreds of thousands even millions are doing this right all those who defend Kamas all those who rationalize or Justify their genocide all those who morally equivocate and call Israel's you know lack of response thus far already they're calling it disproportionate because we shut off their electricity and their water we need to be providing water and electricity to the Nazis that are seeking to wipe us off it's so insane these people are casting their own lot and attribute for attribute they will pay the price of their moral blindness and their evil and their duplicity and it's never been more clear what is light and what is darkness and for those that are too morally corrupt in spiritually sick to see it well their blood is on their own heads and if you have any fear in your heart right now it should be for them right because they are making their own beds because as far as as fear is concerned that is the real war right now this is becoming increasingly clear to me every day that goes by about what's happening in my own heart this is not a war against Kamas this is a war against doubt this is a war against fear this is a war this war it's it's an inside game it's an inside game and the real Battlefield is in our hearts not only as individuals but as a nation and when we win that inside game when we put our faith and our trust in the god of Israel then victory in the outside that will just follow because if we saw things clearly if we could calm our hearts and our minds and zoom out we would see that Hashem has a perfect track record in protecting his people and the proof is we're here right now I'm talking right now this Fellowship is happening we've been in gathered from the Exiles and our ancient language has been revived and the words of the prophets have been revived and here we are Hashem is a perfect track record we haven't endured thousands of years of Exile and persecution just to call it a day right now that's ridiculous so R Manus Freedman shares a beautiful idea from the shortest of all Psalms Psalm 117 he says oh praise the Lord all you Nations praise him all you peoples for his loving kindness is great towards us and the truth of Hashem endures forever Hallelujah right all the nations this is what rman says all the nations will praise Hashem because of the the loving kindness Hashem does for his people so why are the Nations praising Hashem because of the loving kindness he does for us because they know even more than we do they know more than anyone what they plan to do to us and they know how Hashem saved us they know about the great kindnesses hasem saves us a lot more than we do just one small example last night there were tens of armed terrorists off the beach in naharia approaching the beach and here's what happened when Hashem introduced them to the Israeli [Music] Navy just imagine if they had made it toar you know for every single one of the Shabbat Torah mornings the genocide that just happened there are thousands that are planned and there are thousands that are foiled and Hashem has constantly been protecting us and the other day you know I led doing I led prayers and I just wept there's Maybe aund guys that I was leading in prayer and I was only doing it because of course I I lead prayers because my father passed away and I was actually thinking perhaps he passed away at that moment to force me to lead the congregation in prayers and put myself out there like that because it was out of my hands I just wept and it was painful and it was vulnerable and it was unusual and it isn't common for the leader of the service to uncontrollably weep through prayers but I did and and I had a moment I was like I should step down I should let someone switch me out but I said no no no this is this is real and I didn't step down and I didn't have someone switch me up because I realized that is exactly what the nation of Israel needs to do we need to shatter our hearts we need to allow our hearts to be shattered we need to shatter them before Hashem and offer him up the pieces you know if anything will shatter our cynicism and our skepticism and our hearts of stone it's this and so I just let the tears flow and we're all letting the tears flow and it's not weakness they're tears of strength and they tears of faith and of conviction and of rage and pain at the evil that is perpetrated against our people innocent innocent the innocence is beyond babies little children the videos you know I I didn't want my family I don't I'm conflicted about whether we even should even watch these videos but I watched more of them than perhaps I should have because needed to see that evil I needed to confront it I needed to face it because I when I'm going out to War I need to be ready on an emotional spiritual level and know the darkness and the evil that I'm fighting and that's strength that's strength and we need to let let the pain out and let the strength in and uh and Hashem is with us and he will bring us to Salvation I'll tell you that much