Q & A
QUESTION
What should our personal attitude be towards the Medinas Yisrael (the Israeli government) now that they are reaching 70 years of establishment?
ANSWER
The Light of Hashem is clothed by the “Erev Rav” (the Mixed Multitude). Our attitude towards them contains two aspects: If we would merit it, the Light of Hashem would become clothed in the Beis HaMikdash and Mashiach, but when we do not merit it, it becomes clothed by the “Erev Rav”, where everything becomes mixed.
On a subtle note, they are called “Erev Rav” because there is an opposition between Yisrael and Amalek, and the “Erev Rav” contains both “Yisrael” and also the root of Amalek, together. This is an “overturning fiery sword” which confuses people.
Recognizing this mixture, and placing each element where it belongs, is the “clarifying” [process] through the “light of Mashiach.”
QUESTION
I don’t understand why we must be totally opposed to the medinah (the Israeli government). True, they do a lot of bad things, but how can we ignore the good things they do, such as giving money to yeshivos? Thank you to the Rav, and I’m sorry if I’m asking a silly question.
ANSWER
In anything that’s bad, you can always find something good in it. These are referred to as “sparks” of holiness, known as “288 sparks of holiness that descended into the broken vessels”, which provide G-dly vitality to the ruined aspects of Creation. The Gemara in Bava Basra says that when one takes charity from idol worshippers (gentiles), he is sustaining them. It is the same thing when it comes to how we should relate to the medinah – whenever we take money from them, that gives vitality to them and upkeeps their existence. Therefore, we should not even allow ourselves to become connected with whatever good things that the medinah does for us, because this sustains them and allows their evil existence to continue.
QUESTION
I very much want to make aliyah to Eretz Yisrael. I understand that Mashiach is very close and that now it’s time for us to “return home” now. However, I’m afraid of transgressing the “Three Oaths” [as taught by the Satmar Rebbe zt”l]. I know that now’s the time for aliyah, and if not now, then never. However I need to make the move correctly and I need to know how to live in Eretz Yisrael with the proper attitude and hashkafos. How can I live in Eretz Yisrael without transgressing the Three Oaths?
ANSWER
Aliyah is about moving to Eretz Yisrael (the Holy Land) - and it is not about “moving to the State of Israel.” There is no halachic issue of going to live in “Eretz Yisrael” – there are only halachic issues for a person who wishes to live in “Israel”, the country of Israel that is associated with what is called “Medinas” Yisrael, the Israeli government.
The Vilna Gaon wanted to come live in Eretz Yisrael, and so did the Baal Shem Tov, and Baba Sali came to live here, and so did many other great holy leaders from all different sects of Jewry from the past. And even many chassidim of Satmar are living in Eretz Yisrael. The attitude you need to have towards aliyah is that you will be moving to “Eretz Yisrael” [the holy land], and not to the “Medinas Yisrael” (the country of Israel, which is the secular, Zionistic culture that is not Eretz Yisrael).
QUESTION
The Chazon Ish said that the medinah (government in Israel) cannot last for more than 60-70 years. But we see that the medinah is still around, and they are soon giving out a vaccine [for corona], etc...?
ANSWER
It [the medinah] is in the midst of falling apart, from within itself, and deeply – both in the inner sense and also in the actual sense.
QUESTION
(1) Can the Rav explain to us what the proper perspective is, about the financial aid which the USA provides to Jerusalem? (2) What is the proper perspective to have towards the Netanyahu government, and Netanyahu specifically? Are they good or evil? Are they well-meaning towards the Jewish people, even though they are defined as Chiloni (irreligious)? Or are he and his government just the Erev Rav, evil people who are opposed to G-d and His children?
ANSWER
The “Erev Rav” in this generation is mixed with everything, and therefore, everything has good and evil in it. In each thing, one must see the good parts to it, and the bad parts to it, and this is an avodah for people who have already purified their hearts. But the general avodah is for a person to separate from all of this mixture, and not to think about them at all, because the very thinking about them is the idea of mixing with them. Therefore, a person should not speak of them at all. We should have a total disconnection from them.
QUESTION
The Baal Shem Tov said that one must love every Jew, even those who are total reshaim (wicked people). Does that include even “Erev Rav” as well? And, is this a level only for tzaddikim, or was he saying that every Jew needs to love reshaim? Also, I heard in the name of the Chazon Ish that the Chilonim (non-observant Jews in Israel) are in the category of tinok shenishbah (abducted children) who cannot be considered reshaim since they grow up not knowing any better, and therefore one has to have ahavas Yisrael towards them. That was in his generation, and certainly it should apply to our generation, where all the non-religious Israelis grow up with an attitude of contempt for Torah and mitzvos, and a general disliking of religious people and the entire Chareidi world. But what’s difficult to understand is that the Gra said that there will be a wicked government in Israel before Mashiach comes, and they will be controlled by the heads of the Erev Rav. How can that be, if the people on the government today grew up as tinokos shenishbu, not having known any better? Did the Gra mean that only once they become part of the government and make decrees against religion then it’s a sign that they have a soul of “Erev Rav” and that they’re not merely people who don’t know any better? Even if they do make decrees against religion, why can’t we argue that it’s because they grew up in an atmosphere of contempt for Torah and religion and therefore they don’t know any better?
ANSWER
1) We need to love every single person without exception, because they are all Hashem’s creations. But at the same time, you also need to have a revulsion and a hatred towards wicked people, such as those who the “Erev Rav”. In the practical sense, you need to be able to love them and hate them at the same time. It’s like when a child does something very bad and angers his father, and the father feels hatred towards his own child. The father still loves his child, but at the same time, he feels hatred towards his child when the child deeply angers him. Yet, even as he’s feeling the hatred towards his child, his love for his child is still there, deep down, and it cannot ever go away. It is the same when it comes to the Erev Rav: Love them, but also hate them, at the same time. And when you hate them, you need to hate them because they are wicked, just as Dovid HaMelech said, “With utter hatred, I hate them”.
2) Part of the government is from the “Erev Rav”, and part of them is not. The mere control that the anti-religious government has in Israel today is due to the general evil spiritual power of the “Erev Rav” in the final days, which allows them to have control. But, individually speaking, if we want to say that each person on the government is a soul of the “Erev Rav”, each case would have to be judged separately.
QUESTION
We all know that we are immediately before Mashiach’s arrival, with all that this means and what is going to happen. I live in Eretz Yisrael but I am asking this question on behalf of those who live outside of Eretz Yisrael. Do those who live outside of Eretz Yisrael need to come live in Eretz Yisrael?
