It is becoming clearer by the day that we had two great rabbinic leaders who told us what to do – but we didn’t listen. These two giants were crystal clear in what the State of Israel needed to do to defeat the enemy, but their words fell on deaf ears. I am referring to the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Their styles were completely different, but their message was similar. Over and over again, the Rebbe stated unequivocally that Israel needs to finish these wars, once and for all. Every Prime Minister paid the Rebbe a visit, and he explained his position to all of them. The Rebbe was very direct and never wasted words. He told them that they needed to stop worrying about world opinion and put faith in the One above. The Rebbe made his statements public with hundreds of sichos, farbrengens, and letters reflecting his position. Over the years, thousands of pages have been written in various books, publications, websites, and newsletters quoting the Rebbe, who never changed direction. The Rebbe spoke countless times about settling every inch of the land – in what he called Shleimus HaAretz. He was a proponent of strong and proud Jewish leadership based on Torah sources, and he opposed any peace deal that included retreating from parts of Eretz Yisrael. When asked about wars, he kept repeating that the IDF needed to complete what they started, because if not, soldiers would die in vain.
Rabbi Kahane had a similar ideology. His teachings were all from the Torah and he begged our leadership to study the examples in Sefer Yehoshua and of King David, whom he called the scholar-warrior. My wife and I are proud to call ourselves students of this great Rav, whose example we followed in moving to Israel. His 10,000+ pages of articles, essays, and books were written without the exile mentality of most of our leaders. He was unapologetic to the cruel world and said time and again that Jews need to do what’s good for Jews. He taught us of the dangers of hiring Arabs in Israel and in letting them live their lives in our Holy Land. He pointed to the Torah’s warning of them becoming “pins in your eyes” – something he assured us would come true – which unfortunately it did, as it says: “If you do not drive out the land’s inhabitants before you, those who remain shall be pins in your eyes and thorns in your sides, causing you troubles in the land that you settle. I will then do to you what I originally planned to do to them” (BaMidbar 33:55-56). Rabbi Kahane made us promise that, in addition to becoming masters in Tanach, Talmud, and halachah, we would also master the proper use of weapons, and that we wouldn’t hesitate to use them against our enemy.
How many people today wave around their “dollar from the Rebbe” or admit that “Kahane was right” – but what does that accomplish? You think the Rebbe wants you to paste his dollar to your wall? He wants you to paste his teachings on your heart!! You think Rabbi Kahane is sitting in Gan Eden happy that more people are entering his “fan club”? He wants you to smash the enemy and drive them from our land!!
Dearest friends: It’s still not too late, and I urge every one of you to study the Rebbe’s teachings on Shleimus HaAretz and his uncompromising position on winning a war. Simultaneously, please study Rabbi Kahane’s vision of a Jewish State and help it come to life. These two great leaders told us exactly what needs to be done. Let’s get to work and make their dreams a reality.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Shmuel Sackett was born and raised in Queens. He made aliyah with his wife and children in 1990 and lives in Herzliya Pituach. He is the founder and director of the Am Yisrael Chai Fund (www.AmYisraelChaiFund.org). Shmuel would love to hear from you: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
