Yosef Rising

It happens quickly.  One leader falls and another begins to rise to the challenge. 

We are standing in what is known as Yemot HaMashiach Ben Yosef.   The days of Mashiach ben Yosef. Within this era there is a paradigm being played out...the Shaul vs. David relationship is unfolding before us.  Every leadership transition has to have this paradigm and we now see it taking place.

Bibi who believes he is the predetermined leader set to herald a State of Israel that is both accepted and strong represents the finest of the previous ruling order, but that is what it is; a ruling class that does not see itself as having a divine mandate, but is satisfied in ruling for the sake of ruling. No matter how much he wants to do the right thing, Bibi is a product of a State of Israel without redemption as it's goal.  This is Shaul who could not defeat Amalek, because he could not differentiate between his rule as the King of Israel and that of another King. 

Then there is Naftali Bennett. He has been outside the system, connected to the new world; the one which is leaving behind the constrictive nature of our hegemonic world order.  Hi Tech success, grass roots leader, young and forward thinking.  He is of course the former Chief of Staff for Bibi and now he is rising.  His role is that of the David within the quest to be Mashiach ben Yosef. He offers a course towards a redemptive paradigm.  Technology and Spirit.  A true tikkun instead of continued malaise driven by empty words and slogans. He is set to take the mantle of Mashiach ben Yosef from the Shaul.

The country is changing.  Old ways are melting, barriers falling, something new is happening, a Yosef is rising and rising very fast.

The Role of Yosef

Closing In

We understand very few things about the End of Days, yet what we do know is Am Yisrael will be residing in it's own Land again when the Nations of the World unite against her.  We often think of our secular leadership as far removed from the concerns of "Torah" but that viewpoint is an outgrowth of the Galuth. We know that every Jew is connected to the Land of Israel and it is here that one's perspective can expand passed and understand the National Paradigm within the Daled Amoth of Halacha and of course reach a much higher level of Emunah.  Eretz Yisrael is our rebirth both in the physical and spiritual sense.  Leaders here do strange things that are many times out of character for them.  This applies to those who do not publicly lead Torah lifestyles as much as it does the observant.

This brings us to Mashiach ben Yosef.  We understand that this Mashiach has two aspects.  One is the physical conquering and building of the Land of Israel and of course protecting Am Yisrael here.  The other aspect is a spiritual one, which can be seen in the guise of the Tzaddik and most importantly the Tzaddik once he has already passed from this world.  Where do we see this paradigm in Torah. We see this in Yehoshua bin Nun (descended from Yosef) and of course the Aron of Yosef in whose zechut Am Yisrael not only crossed the Yom Suf, but the Yarden as well.

Coming Full Circle

In a sense these two roles are not bound to one individual, but would be most logically be carried out by two individuals, one the Tzaddik who has passed and the other a person who is willing to stand of to the leaders of the world.  The second role is a reoccurance from the time Hezkiahu HaMelech and Sancherev, which the Gemorah in Perek Chelek of Sanhedrin says is the blueprint for Gog U Magog.  Hezkiahu stood up to Sancherev only when Jerusalem became the focal point and that is when the miracles occurred.

The physical Mashiach ben Yosef is set to push off the physical Klipah of Edom, while the spiritual Yosef takes care of the spiritual Galuth by inculcating in the Am Torah style Emunah.

It is becoming clearer and clearer who is playing these roles, but at the end only HaShem knows exactly whose who.

As Chanukah 5773 is upon us Am Yisrael should be blessed connect to the true Tzaddik and walk upright in it's Land and by doing so merit the complete Geulah!

Towards an Authentic Jewish Spirituality

Reprinted from Machon Shilo

by Yoel Qeren

What is Jewish spirituality? As with all Torah concepts, exile has clouded our ideas of what spirituality is and what purpose it serves. True spirituality is a personal experience of the ethereal universe and ultimately, of God Himself. In its highest form, Jewish spirituality is prophecy, and prophecy in its highest form will bring about the resurrection of the dead. Our sages tell us that this is the true goal of authentic Jewish spirituality. They called us "B'nei Nevi'im", the sons, or spiritual heirs of prophets. That is who we are meant to be.

Prophecy was once the driving force behind the nation of Israel, its leaders and its military.That was its purpose, to guide the nation according to the will of Hashem. Needless to say, we are a far cry from this lofty ideal today. However, it is our duty, as a nation reconstituted on its ancient homeland, to begin moving back toward this original spirituality, back toward the prophetic ideal.

To begin moving in this direction, we must take small steps. First and foremost is the study of Tanakh. This in and of itself is a great spiritual endeavor. Its pages are a window into the world of the prophets. We can see how they prayed, how they spoke, and the message they brought to Israel. From them we learn of the profound spiritual effects of music and that in addition to communal prayer, one must make time to speak directly to our Father in heaven. The importance of these concepts was recognized throughout history by such luminaries as R' Nahman of Breslov, who brilliantly expounded on the spiritual benefits of music and meditation, and taught his disciples to engage in free, unscripted conversation with God every day.

Next, we must immerse ourselves in the words of our sages, who imparted to us their knowledge of prophecy and its purpose. From them we learn that the prophetic experience exists on many levels. Our sages tell us that every dream is one sixtieth of prophecy. Stop and think about that for a moment. Something as mundane and routine as a dream is actually a small taste of the loftiest spiritual state attainable by man. Even though actual prophecy may seem out of our reach, we must know that it is always with us. And if we train ourselves to think, act and pray in a manner consistent with the way of the prophets, we may gain small glimpses, small flashes of light and clarity that can change us for the better.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly is the necessity of having a continual connection with the land of Israel.Prophecy is intimately connected with this land, and eretz Yisrael is the only aspect of Jewish spirituality that is tangible. The land itself is holy and unlike other aspects of qedusha, it can be touched, smelled, tasted. When you touch the land of Israel, you touch and experience holiness. The physical and spiritual planes are united here like nowhere else on earth. Yet they are united in a way that is simply and easily experienced.

Do not confuse this with the awe of creation that one might experience upon seeing a beautiful mountain or river. This is also a profound spiritual experience, but it can be found anywhere. The land of Israel is different. It is overflowing, not only with natural beauty, but also with an overpowering sense of history and purpose.

When one drinks from the same springs as prophets and kings, when one climbs to the caves his ancestors lived and even died in, he begins to feel a sense of continuity and connection with those who came before him. It is almost as if they are standing beside him. Their words come alive, echoing through the hills and valleys. The lines between past and present, between physical and spiritual, begin to blur.

It is at this point that a Jew begins to grasp who he truly is. He begins to understand his relationship with his maker and his people. He attains a clearer vision of his purpose in this world and where he should be headed. These are small yet vital steps toward the ultimate goal of restoring prophecy.

Immersion in Tanakh and Hazal, connecting with eretz Yisrael and engaging in honest, heartfelt prayer; this is the way of our fathers. It will do for us what no red string or swinging chicken can. This is authentic Jewish spirituality and like a fiery chariot, it waits to carry our nation to new heights.

Learn More at Machon Shilo

"...under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron"

It is in Migron where Shaul HaMelech and his men were positioned when his son Yonathan made a quick and surprising move against the Plisti'm. Migron was the place that Shaul paused and as he always had done over thought and feared of action.  Shaul was the first King of a United Israel and with all of that failed at leadership because he was weak.  Dawid and Yonathan were the next generation and they had the basic quality that Shaul was always missing, purpose and faith.

Yes, Shaul was King and he knew intellectually what that meant, but that was never translated into successful action.   The crisis of the State of Israel is the crisis of the Kingdom Shaul. It is the lack of an internal realization in a bigger divine purpose than just making a secure Israel.  It is why Shaul "tarried" in Migron and it is why Bibi and the regime he represents seems stuck now.  The confusion of what to do with the modern day Migron represents the same sort of confusion Shaul and his followers stumbled through.  This catharsis in 5772 over whether or not to uproot Israelis from their homes that now are for sure legally purchased has created a malaise in the direction of the once proud Zionist Party, the Likud.  Of course this malaise is not new and has been systemic since the beginning of the state.  It's what caused Begin to abandon the Atalena and prevented Ben Gurion from applying all of the State's resources to liberating the Old City of Jerusalem in 1948.  This same malaise caused the Eshkhol gov't to hand the keys to the Temple Mount over to the Wakf in 1967 as well as being the prime cause behind Begin's relinquishing of the Sinai.

Israel has and still suffers from a lack of defined direction and this is the "Shaul Complex."  It is this Shaul Complex which prevents the State from realizing it's divine mandate and it is the Shaul Complex which holds the gov't back from finally erasing Amalek from among us, near and far.  Shaul's Kingdom eventually crashed and from within it Dawid rose from a point of gestational expansion to a true actualization of Messianic fulfillment.

What we are watching, which is encapsulated within the Migron debate (no matter how it turns out) is the collapse of the Shaul regime, which has been in power since Begin, if not earlier. With that collapse the true Kingdom and Messianic regime of the ben Dawid will rise.

"I will save My people from the east country, and from the west country..."

ז  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, הִנְנִי מוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת-עַמִּי מֵאֶרֶץ מִזְרָח, וּמֵאֶרֶץ, מְבוֹא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ.	7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the east country, and from the west country;
ח  וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתָם, וְשָׁכְנוּ בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְהָיוּ-לִי לְעָם, וַאֲנִי אֶהְיֶה לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים--בֶּאֱמֶת, וּבִצְדָקָה.  {ס}	8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. {S}

--Zechariah Perek 8


Are we in Geulah or Galuth?  Geulah is about coming home.  About putting your feet on the dirt of your ancestors Land and walking where your fore fathers walked.  We have come home and we are coming home now.  The World is crumbling and yet we persist and continue to build that which is ours.  The Creator of the World has kept his promise and yet we are still waiting for the complete fulfillment, but that in of itself is the problem..."waiting."

The Creator wants us to build.  We are required to build his Land and his Mikdash:

יב  אין בונין את המקדש בלילה, שנאמר "וביום, הקים את המשכן" (במדבר ט,טו)--ביום מקימין, לא בלילה; ועוסקין בבניין מעלות השחר, עד צאת הכוכבים.  והכול חייבין לבנות ולסעד בעצמן ובממונם--אנשים ונשים, כמקדש המדבר; ואין מבטלין תינוקות של בית רבן לבניין ואין בניין מקדש דוחה יום טוב

-Rambam, Mishneh Torah Sefer Avodah Perek 1

The key point in the above halacha of the Rambam is that everyone in Am Yisrael has to help build the Mikdash.  This is not just a special mitzvah for the King, but rather the entire Am has a duty to do this.

Eretz Yisrael is about building.  Geulah is that moment in time when we realize we have come to our Land, the "Land of Milk and Honey;"  To build our redemption and to finish the job that our ancestors were waiting  for over the last 20 centuries.

Leader's Ideas Never Go Away

Avraham (Yair) Stern mapped out an active plan for the redemption of Am Yisrael.  This map is as good today as it was 70 years ago!


AVRAHAM (YAIR) STERN:

THE IDEOLOGY OF THE LEHI

National Revival Principles (HaTechiya)
The Fighters for the Freedom of Israel (FFI)  - The LEHI
by Avraham (Yair) Stern, zt"l

  

1. THE NATION 
The Jewish people is a covenanted people, the originator of monotheism, formulator of the prophetic teachings, standard bearer of human culture, guardian of glorious patrimony. The Jewish people is schooled in self-sacrifice and suffering; its vision, survivability and faith in redemption are indestructible.

2. THE HOMELAND
The homeland in the Land of Israel within the borders delineated in the Bible ("To your descendants, I shall give this land, from the River of Egypt to the great Euphrates River." Genesis 15:18) This is the land of the living, where the entire nation shall live in safety.

3. THE NATION AND ITS LAND
Israel conquered the land with the sword. There it became a great nation and only there it will be reborn. Hence Israel alone has a right to that land. This is am absolute right. It has never expired and never will.

4. THE GOALS 
1. Redemption of the land.
2. Establishment of sovereignty.
3. Revival of the nation.
There is no sovereignty without the redemption of the land, and there is no national revival without sovereignty.

These are the goals of the organization during the period of war and conquest:

5. EDUCATION
Educate the nation to love freedom and zealously guard Israel's eternal patrimony. Inculcate the idea that the nation is master to its own fate. Revive the doctrine that "The sword and the book came bound together from heaven" (Midrash Vayikra Rabba 35:8)
6. UNITY 
The unification of the entire nation around the banner of the Hebrew freedom movement. The use of the genius, status and resources of individuals and the channeling of the energy, devotion and revolutionary fervor of the masses for the war of liberation.

7. PACTS
Make pacts with all those who are willing to help the struggle of the organization and provide direct support.

8. FORCE
Consolidate and increase the fighting force in the homeland and in the Diaspora, in the underground and in the barracks, to become the Hebrew army of liberation with its flag, arms, and commanders.

9. WAR
Constant war against those who stand in the way of fulfilling the goals.

10. CONQUEST
The conquest of the homeland from foreign rule and its eternal possession.

These are the tasks of the movement during the period of sovereignty and redemption:

11. SOVEREIGNTY
Renewal of Hebrew sovereignty over the redeemed land.
12. RULE OF JUSTICE
The establishment of a social order in the spirit of Jewish morality and prophetic justice. Under such an order no one will go hungry or unemployed. All will live in harmony, mutual respect and friendship as an example to the world.
13. REVIVING THE WILDERNESS
Build the ruins and revive the wilderness for mass immigration and population increase.

14. ALIENS
Solve the problem of alien population by exchange of population.

15. INGATHERING OF THE EXILES
Total in-gathering of the exiles to their sovereign state.

16. POWER
The Hebrew nation shall become a first-rate military, political, cultural and economical entity in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean Sea.

17. REVIVAL
The revival of the Hebrew language as a spoken language by the entire nation, the renewal of the historical and spiritual might of Israel. The purification of the national character in the fire of revival.

18. THE TEMPLE
The building of the Third Temple as a symbol of the new era of total redemption.


Taken from Save Israel

"...if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance..."

"When there is a great War in the World the potential of Mashiach is awakened. The time of song has arrived...The Evil Ones are removed from the World and it becomes stable.  And the Voice of the Turtle Dove is heard in our Land." 
-Orot on War, 1 Rav Kook

There is war in the world.  There is war within us and throughout the globe.  Ishmael and Esau stand ready to fight and we Yaakov are here, home.  We have come home after all these years, yet our House, the House G-d is still in ruins, occupied by squatters and ignored by it's rightful owners. Even that is changing for we can feel the Creator set to come home to his Children.

We pray and we yearn, but fail to see that we stand at the gate of the final stage of our Great Return.  The World is cracking and shaking and yet me should not be scared.  The statue of the nations is coming down and a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of Israel in all of it's splendor and radiance stands ready to be birthed.  We are the children of Kings and Prophets.  This is our Land and our inheritance.  We have come home never to leave again.

Tonight is Tu B'Av and while "the Building of the World cracks," (Orot of War 9, Rav Kook) we dance. The Nation rises and the supernal light held within us is set to redeem the World.  Our World is filled with trepidation and fear and yet this is just the pangs of our actualization and the realization that all is One.

The daughters of Shiloh are dancing again and the men of Binyamin have returned to their borders.  Our mother Rachel is crying her last tears as her Children have returned home.

יד  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, קוֹל בְּרָמָה נִשְׁמָע נְהִי בְּכִי תַמְרוּרִים--רָחֵל, מְבַכָּה עַל-בָּנֶיהָ; מֵאֲנָה לְהִנָּחֵם עַל-בָּנֶיהָ, כִּי אֵינֶנּוּ.  {ס}	14 Thus saith the LORD: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not. {S}
טו  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, מִנְעִי קוֹלֵךְ מִבֶּכִי, וְעֵינַיִךְ, מִדִּמְעָה:  כִּי יֵשׁ שָׂכָר לִפְעֻלָּתֵךְ נְאֻם-יְהוָה, וְשָׁבוּ מֵאֶרֶץ אוֹיֵב.	15 Thus saith the LORD: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

Mishkan in Shiloh - From the Temple Institute