News Today: Dear Jews of America, California is not Israel either - Hot News

I would like to comment on Rabbi Menachem Levine’s insightful OpEd, “Dear Israelis, American is not Israel.” /Articles/Article.aspx/22474  Rabbi Levine is sincerely troubled by the rising assimilation in America, and he rightfully points out that the Israelis who live in America are assimilating at a rapid rate. He advises all those who want to preserve their Jewish identity and withstand assimilation, to “connect to Torah – to Judaism.” I would like to clarify that statement.

 

First, I would like to clarify the idea that Torah and Judaism are the same. They are not. Judaism is never mentioned in the Torah. The concept of Judaism began with the Babylonian Exile to describe the Jews of Judah and the smattering of religious rituals they could still perform outside the Land of Israel, like tefillin, Shabbat, and keeping kosher. Judaism is a truncated, shattered, Diaspora version of Torah. In contrast, Torah is the constitution of the Nation of Israel, including laws for the Israeli army, Israeli kingship, Israeli Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem Temple, and the laws which apply only to Jews living in Zion – a vast body of laws covering two-thirds of the Mishna. In fact, the expression, “Jew,” never appears in the Torah. In the Torah, we are the Children of Israel, not Jews.

 

In this week’s Torah portion of Devarim, Moshe comes to explain the Torah to the newborn Nation. He begins his discourse by telling the Children of Israel that they have lingered long enough in the wilderness – they are to resume their journey, go up, and conquer the Land of Israel. The Torah is not meant to be kept in Sinai, or America. It is the will of Hashem that the Torah be kept in the Holy Land, the only place in the world where the commandments can be kept in all of their wholeness, and the only place where the Children of Israel can be a “light to the nations,” by being an independent Nation of their own.

 

Diaspora is a curse, a punishment from which we are still suffering. Fortunately, it is not meant to last. Hashem, through the voice of Moshe and the Prophets of Israel, promised that we shall return home to Zion. In his incredible kindness, in our times, Hashem has opened the gates for His People to return. In a span of mere decades, Hashem has miraculously transformed desert wasteland into one of the most developed and powerful countries in the world. READ MORE

from PROPHECY HEADLINES.com https://ift.tt/2Lg1si5
News Today: Dear Jews of America, California is not Israel either - Tennis News