MACHLOKET: BOXING STYLE K: SHAVUA TOV LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND WELCOME TO THE RABBINICAL FACE OFF BETWEEN DEFENDING CHAMPION, CHIEF JACOB BERAB AND CHALLENGER RABBI LEVI IBN HABIB. WE ARE LIVE FROM THE ARENA, MOTZEI SHABBOS AND THE ARENA IS PACKED. THE AUDIENCE IS FILLED WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER. YOU CAN SEE THE DEDICATION OF FANS WHO HAVE TRAVELED FROM THE HOLY CITY OF FOR TONIGHTS MATCH. I am Jacob Katz, and sitting next to me is my partner, Graetz and we are reporting live on behalf of Productions.

G:TONIGHT’S EVENT HAS BEEN SPONSORED BY THE FOR MASHIACH LOCATED IN SAFED SO ENJOY THE MELAVEH MALKAH FOLLOWING THE FIGHT. DONATION CARDS WILL BE PASSED AROUND IN BETWEEN MATCHES, AND ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE GOING TO THE STRUGGLING JEWISH COMMUNITY OF JERUSALEM. T-MINUS 30 MINUTES TILL THE MATCH BEGINS.

K:These two mighty have been waiting to meet in the ring and finally settle this dispute and give a knockout punch. This bout will be three rounds with a two minute time limit. The boxers will fight until there is a knockout or the timer rings.[SIREN RINGS] Do you hear that Graetz, the warm up bell is ringing, it looks like it is time for the Rabbi’s to come out.

G: This is the moment you've all been waiting for, It's time! ​

K:..and now introducing the champion. Fighting out of the red corner. This man is a master of Kabbalah and study. Holding a professional record of being a chief Rabbi at the young age of 18, and the first Rabbi with Smicha, he is unstoppable!! Standing 5 feet, 11 inches tall weighing in at 194 pounds. Fighting out of the Kabbalistic center of the world, Safed. Ladies and gentlemen presenting the reigning champion, defending the re-institution of Smicha and the Talmud champion of the world. RABBI JACOB BERAB!

G: and now introducing the challenger. Fighting out of the blue corner. This man is ​ Talmud scholar strict on literal meanings, with little patience for derivations. His usual passive and tranquil personality rarely reveal energy unless he feels something is really wrong, making this match all the the more exciting to see him rise from the shadows . Standing 6 feet, 3 inches tall weighing in at 215 pounds. Fighting out of the holiest city in the world, Jerusalem. Today, he will attempt to knock out Berab for good and stop the re-ordination of Smicha and the Sanhedrin. Ladies and gentlemen the contemplative challenger, RABBI LEVI IBN HABIB!!!!

K: The referee today is world-respected , who has vested interest in the outcome of this fight since his commentaries may have originated the fight. When Ibn Habib heard that Maimonides. would be the referee, he protested, saying that Maimonides would be prejudiced. Ibn Habib only agreed to this set-up when he learned that would be there too and this bout would be a fight stop the spread of Smicha. [RABBI’S WARMING UP] G: So Katz, I don’t know about you but I have been vigorously following the press leading up to this fight. K: Me? Not only have I been obsessed, but I have even gone to both sides’ press conferences and have gathered some information. This match seems to have a lot weighing on it. G: Oh Yes! I heard that Berab has been touring all over visiting his fans and admirers and having press conferences in , , Safed, and even Jerusalem!! K: Well see, when Ibn Habib challenged Berab, everyone was in shock. Everyone was aware that Ibn Habib disagreed with Berab’s actions but no one really understood the depths of it. See, Ibn Habib is a quiet man, he is very well versed in Talmud study but never really inserts his own opinions. At first when he didn’t accept that Berab ordained him as the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, we assumed it was a dignity thing, that he was upset that the scholars of Jerusalem weren’t included in the decision, or that Safed was trying to usurp Jerusalem’s holiness. G: But it was more than that, wasn’t it? K: Apparently so, because Berab’s ordination was a sincere action, despite the fact Berab and Ibn Habib have had many disagreements in the past. But Ibn Habib not only refused the offer, he also went out and publicly declared the ordination a risk to Rabbinical . G: What an accusation!! K: I know!! And I heard the letters that were sent between them became very personal. It seems like each guy thinks the ordination is about more than just--- [INTERRUPTED BY GRAETZ] G: KATZ! KATZ! DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE!! K: WOWEE IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SOME SMACK TALK GOING ON PRE GAME! G: Shh let’s try to listen to what they are saying before the Referee breaks it up. [Berab and Ibn Habib standing face to face outside of the rink] IBN HABIB: I know Berab you think you're better than me, I just never thought it would take a match to show you your real social status. BERAB: Ya, well we’ve been fighting for over 14 years, I can’t believe you would challenge me on this of all things. IBN HABIB: Ya well in 14 years you’ve done some crazy things but you’ve never been this stupid. BERAB: Stupid? You accuse me of disrespecting Jerusalem once and you go all nuts on me, well news flash, the Jews of Safed have been through the same persecutions so don’t envy our success, and maybe try to learn a thing or two from us. God knows you need it. IBN HABIB: Oh boo hoo don’t you dare play that pity card, Jerusalem Jews have been struggling to make ends meet for years, and I never left them, you ran from Jerusalem when things got tough and got all comfortable in prosperous Safed. And then you make yourself the chief Rabbi, what an accomplishment! BERAB: Are you implying that I wouldn’t be a great leader in Safed if they were struggling?! IBN HABIB: Understand it how you want, but anyone can lead in easy times. The mark of a great man is one who could lead in hardship! BERAB: Oh everyone, round of applause! The great “Man of Jerusalem” is back! Let’s see how well the “Man of Jerusalem” can hold up in a fight. IBN HABIB: I’ve been through worse, your Kabbalistic fighting strategies don’t scare me! BERAB: You say that now, but when I’m done with you, you’re gonna wish you actually converted to Christianity when you had a chance! [AUDIENCE GASPS] G: I’m not sure why the referee isn’t stopping this, but boy am I thankful! K: Shut up Graetz i’m trying to hear how Ibn Habib is gonna recover from that one. IBN HABIB: Everyone! Please look! Is this the man you really want to be the leader of the Beit Din? BERAB: Is that all you can say? Are you scared? The Gates of Jerusalem can’t protect you now. IBN HABIB: No that is not all I have to say, in fact, when I’m done with you, you are gonna be so cut up, I hope you have a good mystical remedy to heal you. BERAB: Ya in fact I do! Don’t you dare doubt the power of Kabbalah, actually maybe you should try some, since nothing else seems to be working for Jerusalem. IBN HABIB: As if that’s gonna work, you try keeping a community together under such intense government pressure, the Turkish government wants your money, not you and that's why they aren’t up your back. Stop criticizing Jerusalem I am just trying to keep us afloat while also retaining the holiness of the city so that B”H when Mashiach comes we can build the third Beit Hamikdash in a holy city, not a desolate one. BERAB: SUDDENLY YOU CARE ABOUT MASHIACH? YA RIGHT, IF YOU REALLY CARED ABOUT MASHIACH YOU WOULD STOP DELAYING REDEMPTION AND JOIN ME IN THE ORDINATION PROCESS!! IBN HABIB: THAT IS NOT HOW YOU BRING MASHIACH AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO REINSTATE SMICHA, IT IS GONNA BE OVER MY DEAD BODY!! BERAB: if that's what it takes, then maybe we should get this match started... IBN HABIB: Again, that is not how you bring Mashiach, Mashiach will only come if we follow the words of the Torah strictly and continue to do good deeds. And last time I checked, Murder isn’t really permitted... BERAB: IBN HABIB!! GOSH STOP BEING SO LITERAL, I hope you can take a punch better than you take a joke. IBN HABIB: Fine, come at me bro, since you’re SO eager on making the first move with Mashiach, what are you waiting for? BERAB: I’m not so eager I’m just reading the Maimonides, if you don’t think that's what he meant, why don’t we just ask him? IBN HABIB: ha, good one you are just so full of ------[MAIMONIDES BLOWS THE WHISTLE TO CALL OFF THE FIGHTING. HE MOTIONS FOR THE RABBI’S TO GO BACK TO THEIR CORNER.] G: WOW! I honestly didn’t think they were gonna make it the match, I thought they were gonna go at it right there. K: WOAH! I haven’t seen an argument that dirty since we had Ibn Ezra and Rashbam down here. G: Ya, why is it that they are both so passionate? I mean I enjoy a good fight but this a whole new level. K: Well as I was saying before, I think this is about more than jealousy. In Berab’s press conferences, he mentioned a lot about how he feels like this is really the first step towards Mashiach. Because of the Spanish exile, and the Kabbalistic beliefs that Mashiach is around the corner, you can’t really blame him for getting so excited. G: But if this is way to Mashiach, why is Ibn Habib so opposed? Is he really scared of Mashiach or something? K: Well see it isn’t as simple as Berab likes to believe it to be. Because of the atmosphere Berab is living in, he has been a little blinded and is only seeing what he wants to see. Berab has gotten so caught up on what having Smicha could lead to that he messed up the whole process and sort of skipped the important parts. G: Skipped the important parts? You mean there is more than just getting a bunch of Rabbis and declaring one as chief? K: Ya, actually a lot more. First of all, Berab based his idea on something Maimonides said, and don’t get me wrong Maimonides is a great guy and usually a very trustworthy Posek. [WINKS AT MAIMONIDES AND MAIMONIDES WAVES BACK FROM THE RINK] But even Maimonides said that he wasn’t sure about this idea, and said some contradictory ideas in other sources. So even if Berab was gonna follow the correct process, there was still no guarantee that Mashiach would come from this. G: But where did he go wrong? K: Well he was supposed to get the majority of scholars in to agree on one person, who was the best Talmud scholar of the generation, but Berab kinda misunderstood that and only got the majority of the scholars in Safed. G: Ah so that's why Ibn Habib was so pissed off! K: Well Berab wasn’t actually trying to exclude Ibn Habib, that’s why he immediately ordained Ibn Habib. He didn’t ask the scholars of Jerusalem because he assumed that no one would protest something that would expedite the Mashiach process. Unfortunately for Berab, Ibn Habib wasn’t hyped up on the Mashiach sugar high and did not fall for this. G: So Ibn Habib, was trying to kill Berab’s vibe? K: Not exactly, Ibn Habib just doesn’t have the same philosophies as Berab. He doesn’t think that we have any power to bring Mashiach, other than following God’s will. He believes that the key to bringing Mashiach is all in the Torah and if we follow that and do good things, God will deem us worthy of Mashiach. God isn’t gonna change his mind because of some eager guy. Ibn Habib believed Berab was going against halakhic standards and so he tried stopping Berab. G: Well that seems understandable, how did we end up here? K: As i mentioned before, Berab is a very excited guy, and Ibn Habib is very strict. So Berab was offended that Ibn Habib didn’t approve his plan. Ibn Habib was annoyed that Berab wouldn’t see the faults in his plan because he was so full of himself and the idea that he could bring Mashiach. G: So they couldn’t see eye to eye and decided the only way to solve it was to fight it out. K: Well that is how the best disputes are solved. G: And where would we be without it! K: Exactly! Now it looks like the clock says 8, so we should be starting any second! G: Wow, I am way more excited now that I know where all that emotion is stemming from. K: I told you this drama was addictive!!! [REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE TO SIGNAL BEGINNING OF MATCH] G: Rabbi Yosef Caro and Rabbi Moshe of Trani are helping Berab calm down and get his head in the game before the match. K: What an impressive warm up team! G: Well Ibn Habib has Nachmanides and De Castro giving him water and wiping the sweat off his forehead! K: If we have time after this match, I would love to see these warm up teams take a swing. G: Haha, I don’t know if I can handle that much sweat and Talmud knowledge in one night. Referee: Berab, are you ready for this fight? [BERAB NODS AN ENTHUSIASTIC YES, DANCING AROUND AND PUNCHING AIR.] Ibn Habib, are you also ready? [HE NODS YES, STILL PASSIVE AND ANGRY.] Gentlemen, shake hands and wait in your corners until you hear the bell. Then come out fighting. [BOXERS TOUCH GLOVES AND RETURN TO THEIR CORNERS. REFEREE RAISES HAND AND A BELL RINGS, SIGNIFYING THE BEGINNING OF THE ROUND. THE BOXERS BEGIN TO SPAR.]

K: The Rabbis are starting out a bit cautious, it appears, obviously trying to determine each other’s attack. Ibn Habib waiting for Berab to make the first move, as he always does. Now, Berab is picking up the pace and throwing some quick punches, but Ibn Habib is deflecting each one. Berab has often had to deflect the blows of Ibn Habib. G: (Pause) Wow! That’s a blow to Ibn Habib that he did not deflect. Ibn Habib appears to be hurt. K: (Pause) But, wait, folks, Ibn Habib is fighting back. Now, Ibn Habib is throwing some punches of his own. Berab is having trouble deflecting Ibn Habib’s jabs. Now, they are swapping blow-for-blow……

The end.