Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Behaalotecha No 1577: 19 Sivan 5775 (6 June 2015) AS SHABBAT APPROACHES Testimony for All of Humanity - by Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem This week's Haftarah begins with the return of the Shechina – the holy Presence – to Zion and with the significance of this process for mankind: "Sing and be happy, daughter of Zion, for I am coming, and I will dwell within you – this is what G-d says. And many nations will join together with G-d on that day." [Zecharia 2:14-15]. The end of the Haftarah describes the Shechina as an image of a Menorah, similar to the one in the Temple. The proximity of the two images is taken by the sages as proof that the Menorah will serve as testimony for all of humanity that the Shechina dwells within Bnei Yisrael. It is true that the Menorah is placed outside of the Holy of Holies, such that at first glance it would seem that it is at a lower level of sanctity than the Ark of the Covenant, where the Torah is kept. This corresponds to the notion that the nation of Yisrael, including the appearance of the Shechina within it, is of minor importance when compared to the Torah. However, Rav Kook explains that this is only true from an external point of view, but that from an internal viewpoint – since the Torah was given for the sake of Yisrael and Yisrael preceded the Torah – the Menorah is indeed holier than the Ark. "The Menorah encompasses the sanctity of the soul of Yisrael on its own, which at first glance might seem external as compared to the holiness of the Torah in the Holy of Holies. However, the truth is that the Menorah spreads its light for everybody. And this is the secret of the testimony given by Yisrael, but it can also light up the outside." [Shemona Kevatzim 8:157]. We can thus conclude that the sanctity of the nation is of necessity of a universal nature. Superficially, we might think that it is possible to separate between the self-holiness of the nation and its universal outreach, and that influencing the other nations is nothing more than a relatively low level which stems from the sanctity of Yisrael. But this is not true. The fact that Yisrael keeps itself separate is meant to serve the goal of having "all the nations of the earth blessed through you" [Bereishit 12:3]. But since "a prisoner cannot free himself from prison" [Berachot 5b], it is necessary for one who wants to redeem his friend to remain separate from him. And that is the reason why Bnei Yisrael remain separate from the other nations. Yisrael also appears in the Haftarah as one who should be emulated by the other nations. We are the first nation in all of history that reached a status of "a nation of G-d," and all the other nations should learn from us, just like all the other brothers learn from the firstborn. "And many nations will join together with G-d on that day, and they will be a nation for me." In all of history, only the nation of Yisrael was privileged to have collective sanctity, which encompassed the aspects of both nationality and politics. The other nations only had examples of holy individuals, on the level of morals and religion, but in the future they will also have the merits of collective sanctity. And that is why we will not accept converts in the days of the Mashiach (Yevamot 24b), because it will no longer be necessary for a person to break away from his or her nation in order to achieve collective sanctity. It is specifically the success of the universal mission which lifts Yisrael up to higher levels, as the priests of all the other nations. "And I will dwell within you... And G-d will take Yehuda as His portion on the holy land, and He will choose Jerusalem again" [Zecharia 2:14,16]. 1 Rabbi Cherki is the head of Brit Olam – Noahide World Center, Jerusalem *** A new book by Rabbi Cherki: "A Clear Viewpoint: The World and Man in the Teachings of Rav Kook" (in Hebrew). To order, phone: 050-5556775, or send mail to [email protected]. POINT OF VIEW To: The Chief Rabbis of Israel – Re: Rabbi Riskin - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute "And Yehoshua declared... My Master, Moshe, put them in prison! And Moshe said to him... If only all of G-d's nation would be prophets" [Bamidbar 11:28-29]. From media reports: Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the Chief Rabbi of Efrat, is being invited to the Council of the Chief Rabbinate in order to determine whether his term of office should be extended beyond his current age of 75, as is required by the relevant regulations. In the background there is a desire/request by several members of the Council to have him leave his position (that is: to fire him) because of his viewpoint and his position about issues of religion, society, and the state. Examples are the subjects of conversion, the status of women, and his participation in conferences with Christians, among other things. Retiring at the Age of Eighty Here are some basic facts about this matter, before we get into my opinion: "According to a formal ordinance (5735-1974), the term of a municipal Chief Rabbi ends when he reaches the age of 75. However, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate is allowed to extend his term until the age of 80. In 2007 a new ruling was instituted (which is valid only for appointments from that date on) that a municipal Chief Rabbi will only serve until the age of 70, and that the Council of the Chief Rabbinate can extend this twice for five more years, until the age of 80. In practice, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate automatically extends the term of the rabbis, such that rabbis who were appointed after 2007 serve until the age of 70, rabbis who were appointed between the years 1974-2007 serve until the age of 80, and rabbis who were appointed before 1974 serve for the rest of their lives." [From: Eitan Yarden and Ariel Finkelstein, "The Appointment of Municipal Chief Rabbis in Israel," The Institute for Strategic Zionism, Kislev 5774]. In case this is not clear to any of my readers, Rabbi Riskin was appointed many years before 2007. I can also add something from my own personal knowledge. There are quite a few municipal Chief Rabbis who continue to serve even though they are more than 80 years old. Among them are some who have physical limitations. I can also add a bit of "non-knowledge" that I know from my own experience: There is no known case of an active rabbi whose term was not extended, and as far as I know no rabbi was ever asked to appear before the Council of the Chief Rabbinate to justify his request for an extension (unless the rabbi chose to come on his own initiative). There can be no doubt, and this is a clear "on- the-table" factor, that this entire issue is a result of a war of faith and opinions, and a case of abusing administrative power to use as a "weapon" in this battle. The Measure of a Rabbi It is no secret that there are differences of opinion among the rabbis of Yisrael in matters related to worldview, halacha, education, behavior, and whatever else you want to add (the same is true for the heads of yeshivot, Chassidic rebbes, and those who disseminate Torah, faith, and morality to 2 the general public). There are quite often disputes in matters of halacha (including such subjects as kashrut, Shabbat, family purity, and almost anything else you can think of). If the Chief Rabbinate will include considerations of these matters in judging whether to extend the term of a rabbi, it will lead to nothing less than the demise of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Whoever was acceptable before reaching the age of his "extended service" is acceptable for the additional five years too! In fact, from my personal acquaintance of the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, the President of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate, Rabbi David Lau, and the President of the Rabbinical Courts, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, as men who are moderate and reasonable, I cannot even imagine that they would lead a discussion (and certainly not make a decision not to extend the term) based on the beliefs, the outlook, and the halachic decisions of a rabbi who enters their offices because it is necessary to extend his term of office. The Chief Rabbis, who have demonstrated their wisdom, will never get caught up in such a pitfall, no matter how many unwise rabbis and functionaries are busy breathing down their necks. And if they do get into this fray, it will serve as an example of drawing the swords in a "religious war" along the lines of Chareidim versus liberals, with all the possible levels in between. It is true that one of the Chief Rabbis declared, and rightfully so, that "We will not serve as a rubber stamp" for decisions brought to them. That is, if they were given a mandate to extend a term of office beyond the normal limit, such approval should not be automatic. This is a worthy and commendable statement, but its ethical implementation depends on three conditions: (1) Complete equality, for everybody involved! (2) Establishing criteria and standard procedures for the parameters that will be checked.