One Yerushalayim talmid torah found a most unique way to circumvent the annual dispute surrounding Independence Day by giving out its own version of the national flag.
The move seems to have met the approval of the talmidim and children alike, instilling a different message, not a negative one but taking it to the positive realm.
Kikar Shabbat quotes a parent saying “It was a pleasant surprise, not to mention a wonderful educational message. He felt it acknowledges the Jewish state, but unlike today’s reality, it does so alongside our declaration of emunah in HKBH.
“One cannot deny the miracles and wonder that Hashem did; the establishment of the state after the horrific Holocaust through Israel’s wars to present day. We see today just how far the chilul Hashem has gone by those who oppose the state, who spare no means – event to side with the deniers of the Holocaust and terrorists”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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27 Responses
Seems to me the flag is arguing that the current government are usurpers. The Knesset claims to be the “Melekh”,so if you don’t accept that, you are a from their perspective, a mored be’malchus (or as we say in the 21st century, a traitor).
We in the Religious Zionist, Modern Orthodox, Dati Leumi, Rav Kook school, Yeshiva University Torah and Mada- whatever other label you want to use, have known about this ” discovery ” for quite some time.
We don’t need to see this displayed on a flag because it is deep in our hearts.
Obviously Hashem runs the world, and obviously the country of Israel is a miracle.
Nice to see that others are beginning to ” discover ” what is quite self-evident.
It is not a religious idea to oppose only the holocaust but not the state because you have been convinced that the state is wonderful.
This story only means something if we know the crowd that this school caters too.
“One cannot deny the miracles and wonder that Hashem did; the establishment of the state after the horrific Holocaust through Israel’s wars to present day”. How can you write this? The Satmar rav clearly wites in his sefer that the establishment of the state was NOT a miracle. Its a thorn in the eyes of hkb’h, and we should be mispallel 3x a day, that the entire state should be eliminated.
Its amazing that finally a chareidi skl toes the party line.
Zissy Solomon, how can you say that?? Do you really think we should be mispallel that the state should be eliminated? Chas Veshalom!!! Do you not love Eretz Yisael? Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us a beautiful gift, and you think we should ask that it be destroyed?? If it wasn’t the right time, He wouldn’t have given it back to us. I agree that the government leaves much to be desired. I agree that the tension and the sinah between the Chareidim and the Chilonim is terrible. But to take it back?? That is WRONG!
We have to daven that we all be zoche to the Geula Shleima and an achdus in Klal Yisroel.
To ZS #5;
How does one eliminate an entire state?
Dear Zissy Solomon,
The Satmar Rebbi was entitled to his opinion. However, the damage it has caused in the last 64 years is incalculable. You quote him as though he was a deity. Where I come from, they call that Avodah Zara.
A Poshiter Yid
Newsflash for “Zissy Solomon”: not everyone holds by the Satmar Rav. And furthermore the fact that you can call for the elimination of the State of Israel puts you in the same camp as Iran, Syria, the Saudis and the cult known as Neturai Karta. Someone who prays for the destruction of a state of their own people is in dire need of mental help.
#5 Here it goes again: The Satmar Rebbe says, other say, the Satmar Rebbe says, other say….check the archives from every 5th of Iyar to read the same….
The Satmar Rebbe’s viewpoint of Satan and Israel is a valid minority opinion not shared by all.
BTW Where can I buy one?
Zissy when you pray that way, do you realize that you are praying for the destruction of all the chasidesche mosdos in EY? Not to mention all the yeshivos, and erleche yidden that are fulfilling the mitzvah of yishuv eretz yisroel every day????
I sit and laugh internally when the clowns in the shul I daven in pray for a trief medinah that threw 100,000 jews out of their homes in Gaza. But to daven for the destruction of the state that is quite misguided and not what R’ Yoel zchuso yugin alynu ever meant.
Kllal Yisroel is a mosaic of many streams and factions. No one has the unique conduit to Hashem. We can all learn from each other. Every group has its good and bad features.
Satmar excels at Bikur Cholim. No doubt about that.
However, they are deficient in other ways- especially as they deal with he overall concept of a ” Kllal ” Yisroel
The important point is the concept of “Kllal Yisroel.” Satmar and their offshoots have been remiss in seeing the big picture here. They are a “Daas Yochid” when it comes to the state of Israel. Multiple Livishe and Chassidishe streams disagree with them.
But they persist in their ” self- righteous ” attempts to see themselves as the unique standard bearer of the Jewish people.
I am most troubled by the Satmar Rebbe saving his soul and leaving his people to perish in the Holocaust. In my humble opinion that is not an illustration of a true Manhig in Israel. A true Manhig stays with his flock.
Chag Sameach.
Modern orthodox
“In my humble opinion that is not an illustration of a true Manhig in Israel.”
Im surprised your comment made it past moderation. Regardless of that fact, if you were TRULY humble you would realize that you are in no position to be passing judgment on the Satmar Rebbe zatzal. You are in fact a grubbeh American yingatch who probably wouldn’t even know how to read the divrei yoel without an Artscroll translation.
אברהם אבינו-our forefather-was born in the jewish calender year of 1948. The state of Israel became a state of independence in the year 1948 in the secular calender. what can we learn from this? אברהם אבינו is our forefather, he started judaism… he was the first one to believe in Hashem & teach people all about Hashem. With the state of Israel starting in 1948 this is a sign from Hashem that Eretz Yisroel is on the route to גאולה (Redemption). There are just a lot of steps to take before משיח comes. (as can be found in the book of זכריה the Prophet) & this was the first step.
Heard in shul today: The year 1948 was 5708. The possuk 5708 in Torah is in Netzovim 30-5: ” Hashem, , your G-d, will bring you to the land that your forefathers possessed and you shall possess it; He will do good to you and make you more numerous than your forefathers. ” (Artscroll translation).
#5 Zissy———- Do u know the Satmar Rebbi was saved on “that train” by the ZIONISTS. Zissy do bist ah tipush.
G-d spared the Satmar Rebbe zy”a from the holocaust so that we should not succumb completely to the Falsehood of our time.
BASICS When the Satmar Rebbe ZTVKL said that we should pray that the state is destroyed he was NOT saying that in the current situation we should join the Arabs that work to destroy all Jews (like NK thinks he meant) nor was he saying any of alot of things misguided people make of it. Its difficult to believe that he would even say that we should give back the land in the current situation as it would most probably cause many deaths. What he said was that we should pray for the destruction of the Medina. Hashem should find a way to destroy the state of rishaem without causing any harm to Jews. I once saw someone wearing a teeshirt saying how he doesn’t believe in the shilton hakofrim etc and he prays that the Medina should fall without harm to even one Jew.
All these derogatory comments about the medinah are a chillul hashem. Citing the Satmer rebbe doesn’t make these disgusting comments any more appropriate. At a time of great sakanah to klal yisroel, desecrating the flag of EY with quasi-political statements (albeit linked to a religious message) is simply wrong. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to prosecute anyone for such desecration in a democracy.
To clarify, I don’t side with netuei karta, im not one of them. I’m not even sure if the heilige Satmar Rav was right or wrong. All I commented on, was the above article started with theses words “One cannot deny the miracles and wonder that Hashem did; the establishment of the state after the horrific Holocaust through Israel’s wars to present day”.
On these words I commented, How can you write this? here is someone that does indeed think differantly, (maybe a minority opinion, but nevertheless a opinion of an Tzadik yesod olam!)The Satmar rav clearly wites in his sefer that the establishment of the state was NOT a miracle.
To zissysolomon and others: I have read “Vajoel Moshe” and am pretty familiar with the Satmarer “shitta”. I have a question to all: if the holocaust ws the fault of the “Tsionim” why were the overwhelming amount of victims in the Holocaust frumme yidden? Why should all these “jereim usushleimim”be the victims of other people’s “sins” ?
As far as the establishement of Medinat Yisroel- all you have to do is read a history of those years to realize that it was a miracle- and directly the result of “jad hashem”. According to you all, why would evil be so succesful if the medinah is not “min hashomaim”?
Please note that the original article is not about miracles, but about the idea that HaShem is the true King of Israel – something that both streimels and kipah serugahs will agree. But if HaShem is the true king, and Torah is the true law – then the only possible conclusion is that the secular medinah is a usurper (a fraud, someone who rules in fact but with no legal basis). Regardless of how they feel about the wisdom of maintaining a state in Eretz Yisrael, this is something that all Orthodox Jews agree and in the long run, guarantees that we will never have peace with the hilonim.
P.S. to #23 – if you see the fate of the secular Jewish institutions in Europe, which if they survived at all are a shadow of their former selves, and compare them to the Torah institutions which have in one form or another survived and are thriving, it appears that the hilonim were the principal victims. The frum community survived. Torah survived. We are still here. The world of the secular European Jews has been consigned to the “dustbin of history”.
#21, the very word “desecrate” betrays that you think of the flag as something sacred, in other words it is your avodah zarah. And that itself is a good reason to “desecrate” it, like any avodah zarah. (By the way, the way Americans treat their flag has the same problem.)
#23, First of all it’s untrue that the majority of victims were “jereim usushleimim”. Most were not. But that’s not really relevant; in previous times of pur’onus almost all the victims were “jereim usushleimim”, and even tzadikei elyon, and they were killed anyway. Look at the two churbonos, the Asoroh Harugei Malchus, the Crusades, Gezeros Tach Vetat, Mohammed’s slaughter, etc. The answer is that when punishment comes to Am Yisroel it sweeps up everybody, tzadik and rosho alike. And look at what the gemoro says explicitly will happen if we break the three shevu’os; does it not seem familiar?
#20, of course the Satmer Rebbe was against taking sides with the Arabs yimach shemom. He once cancelled a demonstration that was to take place, because he heard that the Arabs were going to join in.
He also said explicitly (with reference to Hubert Humphrey) that a goy must be a zionist! We are against zionism because Hashem sent us into golus and we must not try to free ourselves by force; but when a goy is against zionism what does he care about the three shevu’os? Does he try to force us to put on tefillin or to eat kosher? Of course not. So why would he want to enforce the three shevu’os? The goy is against zionism because he hates us, and/or because he doesn’t accept that Eretz Yisroel belongs to us. And that makes him a rosho.
We are not passing judgement on Rav Yolish when so many of us say that his views on the causes of the Shoah were misguided and repulsive to most yidden. Those in Satmar today who still hold from his shitah are entitled to their opinion but must realize they are perpetuating a blood libel on the memory of the kadoshim and those whose sacrifice in creating the Medinah assure there will never again be another such genocide against klal yisroel. It will take more than a lot of work on behalf of bikur cholim to redeem an entire chassisdus from this chilul hashem.