My heart aches for Jerusalem. A bombing attack on Wednesday. Echoes of the Intifada when bus bombings happened all the time. Let’s pray this is an isolated event. But with the increase in mortar shells on the Negev and Southern coastal Israel and the interception of a boat on March 16 from Iran with weapons headed to the Gaza Strip all the signs of increased Palestinian terror against Israel are appearing.
The cargo of the Liberian ship, Victoria (that sailed from a Turkish port) were Chinese made C740 anti-ship missiles. These would target Israeli naval ships.
Here is a link to the the Haaretz article about the Jerusalem Bus bombing on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday Hamas launched two grad rockets against Beersheba. A man was injured. And now phosphorus bearing mortars have been discovered. Phosphorus is a banned item world wide by international law. The Israeli delegation to the U.N. has protested the surge in terrorism and violence by the Palestinians.
These actions by the Palestinians push peace farther away. These are violent acts that do not help their cause. The Israeli public wants peace and wants to come to an agreement. This just further isolates the Palestinian cause among the people.
Hamas is nervous with all of the push to rid the middle east of its despots. The fight in Libya is against Gadafi is just one more in the ongoing series of revolutions for democracy. The Palestinian people of Gaza may have voted for Hamas but they are being held back and now being oppressed by Hamas’ violent policies and corruption that pockets foreign aid rather than builds any infrastructure there.
Israel needs a peace partner. But bus bombings and missile attacks are hardly a peace offering.
The Parsha Shemini is about the completion of the inauguration of the Tabernacle. The number seven represents all things occurring within the natural construct of this finite world, while the number eight represents all things beyond nature, or infinity. According to Rashi, the eighth day was the day of re-establishing the eternal connection with the Almighty that we had lost when we stumbled and fumbled with the golden calf. Here at the beginning of this portion, we are witness to the momentous occasion of our reconciliation with our Creator, who is beyond all things natural and supernatural. Once Aaron had achieved atonement with the final offerings of the eighth day, the Shechina descended into full view and all of the people fell on their faces. G-d resumed His place among His people. Thus the Torah reminds us that we are a Holy people whose very existence as a nation is beyond nature. Therefore, the prime minister would do well to remember that G-d is the Guardian of Israel and that destroying Jewish homes gives the impression to our enemies that the Israeli government has abandoned the Jewish people who remain in Samaria leaving them at the mercy of the Arab cutthroats. The only way to prevent more killing is for the Israeli politicians to back up the Jewish heroes who are establishing their homes on Jewish land in the face of Arab hatred and, worse yet, Israeli government apathy.
Thank you for sharing your Torah with us. But I don’t agree with your conclusions regarding the meaning of the Parsha in light of the settlements. The settlements are our biggest roadblock to peace with our neighbors. I think Israel’s must stop building new settlements in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria .
Comments are closed.