THE WORLD'S GREATEST BLOGGER

A reader protested that this week’s raging fire in Los Angeles had nothing to do with the Jews. As a special treat for Shabbat, we are going to have a guest speaker answer, the world's greatest blogger. His name if G-d. In case you have never heard of Him, He decides what happens in the world, whether it be floods in New Orleans, hurricanes in Florida, tidal waves along nude beaches in Thailand, and forest fires in LA.

HOLLYWOOD FIRE

Since the first portion of this week’s Torah reading, "Behar," deals exclusively with the Land of Israel, and not with the Jews of the exile, we will skip over it for now. While the Jews in Israel will be busy with the mitzvah of Shmitta this year, with Otzer Beit Din, Heter Mechira, buying permissible foods, and working the land in permissible ways - b’kitzor, living a complete Jewish life - the Jews in the Diaspora will be able to continue their golf games and tennis lessons uninterrupted. To compensate, they have other mitzvahs to celebrate, like Ground Hog Day, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, President’s Day, and the Fourth of July.
What exactly is "walking contrarily unto G-d?" This means not recognizing the Hand of G-d in forest fires of LA, and the floods in New Orleans, in the missiles that fall on Sederot, and the evacuation from Gush Katif.

Let’s take a look at the Torah portion of "Behukoti" and see what G-d Himself has to say. The legendary Moroccan Kabbalist, Rabbi Yaacov Abuchatzera, grandfather of the Baba Sali, explains that all of the terrible punishments mentioned in this Torah portion stem from sexual transgressions, when the Jewish People break the Covenant, also known as the Brit. Readers interested in his powerful commentary, based on secrets of Torah, can find it translated at jewishsexuality.com.

 In the beginning of the Torah portion, in reward for keeping the commandments, G-d promises the Jews that there shall be ample rain in the Land of Israel, agricultural blessing, abundant harvests and produce, victory over all enemies, and peace in the Land.

But should the Jews stray from the Torah, and fall into sexual transgression by violating the Brit, then great trouble and hardship begins:

"But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you."

The first wave of punishment comes as a warning. However, if we do not take heed, more terrible punishments follow, including the sword that executes the vengeance of our betrayal of the Brit, until we are destroyed by our enemies and cast out of our Land - prophecies that all tragically came true:

"And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. And I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate. And if in spite of these things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto Me; then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the Brit; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy."

What exactly is "walking contrarily unto G-d?" This means not recognizing the Hand of G-d in forest fires of LA, and the floods in New Orleans, in the missiles that fall on Sederot, and the evacuation from Gush Katif. This means thinking that life is happenstance, that events take place accidentally. It means forgetting that everything comes from G-d, and that we are commanded to walk in His statutes and laws. Walking contrary to G-d brings upon us the curses of the exile:

"And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste."

Dear Readers, all of this happened two thousand years ago in Israel. All of this came true.

"And as for them that are left of you, I will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies..."

"And the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one fleeth from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursueth; and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies."

"And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands."

Whether we perish through intermarriage and assimilation, through an another Holocaust, G-d forbid, or through tidal waves and earthquakes, the tragedy is the same. Only in Israel will there be a refuge, for as the conclusion of the Torah portion promises, G-d will remember the Covenant of our Forefathers and bring us back to the Land.

Brothers and Sisters in your comfortable exiles. Do not be mistaken!! The word of the L-rd is forever. If you walk contrary to Him, He will walk contrary to you, and then all of the firemen in America will not be able to save you.

L.A. IS BURNING!!

MILLIONAIRES ARE EVACUATED FROM THEIR VILLAS IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS!

LA HOMES FIRE

JEWS GET OUT WHILE THERE IS STILL A CHANCE!!!

LA FIRE PANORAMA

FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

HOLLYWOOD FIRE

THIS MAY BE THE LAST WARNING!!!

BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
BABARA, STEVEN, WOODY, AND DUSTIN!
SIMON AND GARFINKEL!
GIVE UP YOUR VILLAS! FORGET YOUR CAREERS!
LEAVE BEHIND YOUR SHIKSAS AND DOGS!
COME HOME TO ISRAEL NOW!

Ladies, Beware!

You won’t see women wearing bikinis on the streets of Jerusalem, but you’re likely to see everything else. I don’t know what’s going on in Tel Aviv, but I imagine it’s worse. This week’s sweltering hot spell seems to have made lots of people lose their senses – the women who wear immodest attire in public, and the men who look at them. Apparently the excessive heat on the brains of these women has caused them to forget that they’re Jews. Jewish women are modest. Jewish women have a keen sense of shame. Jewish women don’t parade their bodies on the street like the hookers in New Orleans.
Jewish women are modest. Jewish women have a keen sense of shame. Jewish women don’t parade their bodies on the street like the hookers in New Orleans.

I realize that my ranting does not have widespread effect. Here and there, a woman is moved to realize the error of her ways, and that is important by itself. Since my pamphlet regarding the evacuation from Gush Katif was widely distributed, I have noticed an improvement in religious Zionist circles, but without a united call for greater modesty on the part of all of the rabbis and educators in the country, a dramatic change is not to be expected.

Nonetheless, we cannot be silent and pretend that the situation is perfectly all right, saying that’s just the way it is in modern times. For as we have noted on several occasions, modesty is the foundation of our nation, and the key to our national health and security, as the Torah affirms:

"When thou goest out to encamp against thy enemies, then keep thee from every evil thing. If there be among you any man that is not clean by reason of an impure emission of semen at night, then he shall go abroad outside of the camp, he shall not come within the camp," (Devarim, 23:10-11).

"For the L-rd thy G-d walks in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that He see no unclean thing in thee and turn away from thee," (Devarim, 23:15).

Immodest dress is unholy. Exposing parts of the body that should be covered is considered an unclean thing. It causes men to have sexual thoughts and fantasies which can lead to "wet dreams" and other unholy behavior.  Lest habit has dulled our senses, and readers think that I am making a mountain out of a molehill, let’s take a look at the plea of the holy Kabbalist, Rabbi Daniel Frish, author of the superb commentary on the Zohar, "Matok M’Dvash." He called his apeal to the Daughters of Israel, "A Cry From The Heart:"

"It is time to seriously examine the terrible breach brought about by clothes that hug the body in a provocative manner. When we contemplate to the depth of the matter, we must know that every time a woman goes out wearing a tight-fitting garment – even without intending to cause damage, but merely to appear more attractive – behold, she returns home burdened with thousands of serious transgressions, may the Almighty have mercy!

"Each time a woman goes out to the street in immodest attire, she transgresses six prohibitions of the Torah and five positive commandments.

"With each man that she causes to gaze at her with a lustful glance, she transgresses the prohibition, ‘Do not put a stumbling block before a blind man’ (Vayikra, 19:14). Furthermore, she brings upon herself the same punishment that he will face in the future, as the holy Rashi explains on the verse, ‘He will bear her iniquity,’ that whomever causes his fellow to sin, is punished in his place (Bamidbar, 30:19).

"In his book, ‘Letter of T’shuva,’ Rabbanu Yona also makes this point, stating that a man who gazes at a woman lustfully, whether at her face or her hand, brings the punishment of Gehinom upon himself. And she receives the punishment that she caused to each and every man who gazed at her, because she caused them to stumble by her not behaving in a modest fashion.

"It is further stated in the book, ‘Shomer Emunim,’ in the name of the Sages of old, that when a woman goes about on the street dressed in an immodest fashion, she is accompanied by tens of thousands of evil forces and husks of impurity (klipot,) may the Almighty save us. These impure forces enter into the hearts of the men on the street, and tempt and bewilder these men into gazing at her and succumbing to lustful thoughts.

"Therefore, a woman must realize that when she goes out in immodest attire, she ‘sins and brings the multitude to sin.’ In addition, she also causes other woman and young girls who learn from her example to sin, in that they are influenced to dress in the same fashion. Her immodesty causes others to treat the commandment of modesty in a flippant manner, bringing others to trespass. This is especially true if she is a woman of importance, or a mother, or grandmother, who set an example for daughters and granddaughters - how much greater the responsibility. Concerning this, our Sages have said: ‘Yeravam sinned and caused the public to sin; thus the sin of the multitudes is attributed to him’ (Avot, 5:21). Furthermore, they taught: ‘Anyone who causes a multitude to sin is not afforded repentance’ (Ibid).

"Therefore, the immodest woman plays a hand in the spiritual decline of every woman she influences, not only in regards to the woman who learned from her, but also from the woman who learns from the second woman, and there on down the chain. As long as this matter is not corrected, and the plague of immodesty not stemmed, the woman who influences others has a part in the whole.

"She also causes the standard of modesty to crumble, and causes a weakening of Judaism, for she adds to the spreading of this errant fashion. When one commandment is taken lightly, the entire Torah is weakened, not only in her eyes, but in the eyes of her generation and the generations that follow. All of this comes in the wake of the woman who leaves her home wearing immodest clothes. How staggering are the consequences of this matter!
(From the book, "The Crown of Modesty," Pg. 259)

Therefore, Ladies, beware. The beauty of a Jewish woman derives from her modesty, not from the shape of her figure.

Don't Throw Out the Baby

A reader disheartened by the moral decline of the nation in Israel suggested that perhaps, in retrospect, Rav Kook was wrong in his embrace of Zionism and its non-religious adherents. It may be that he is projecting his own disillusionment onto Rabbi Kook, or that his comment stems from a lack of familiarity with Rabbi Kook’s great corpus of writings.
Therefore my confused and cynical friends in the exile, read these words of Rabbi Kook again and again and again. Be assured that the ship has a Captain, and He knows the course of the journey. Trust in Him to navigate the way through the raging seas and bring us to the harbor of our awaited destination. Don’t miss the boat. Hurry and hop aboard.

Perhaps more than anyone in his time, Rabbi Kook saw the Hand of G-d behind the rise of the Zionist movement, which he viewed as the vehicle of the beginning of Redemption in our time. Yet he was also acutely aware of its shortcomings. Two decades before the establishment of the State of Israel, he wrote a sobering vision of the future that rings frighteningly true for today:

"In the future, if our national aspiration succeeds, and our efforts bring us to be gathered into a political state in the Land of Israel, if we do not take pains before that time to fortify the position of religion and faith, so that it will be the common property of all Jews, then terrible and frightening will be our national state, for the scandals and confusion will proliferate due to fraternal hatred. This is likely to come about since every power is strengthened by the reinforcement of the national living spirit. And if a spirit of heroism and military power accompanies this, as natural to an independent state, will there not be great clashes as a result of the extreme opposition of ideas and the deeds that spring from them, when the central beam that unites the whole nation, the spiritual and religious foundation, is lacking? Can not such conflicts destroy even a settled and mighty nation through civil war?" (See the book, "Selected Letters," Edited by Tzvi Feldman, Letter 37).

Regarding the concept of freedom and how the subjugation to foreign cultures imbues a Jew with a slave mentality, Rabbi Kook also foresaw the likelihood that the sacred treasures of the Jewish People would be contaminated by the foreign ideas of the secularists:

"During the period of transition which leads us to Redemption, slumbering forces awaken. Waves of life roar mightily. At this time of agitation, that which is lowly, both physically and spiritually, awakens, as do the most noble of positive forces. Hence, great caution is required. The pioneers of Redemption, the entire generation that is meriting to witness the first bud of the sprouting of salvation, will necessarily contain many thoughts, images, and teachings which tend to destroy, defile, and annihilate all glory and strength in Israel. Have not educators and leaders risen in our midst who stand at the helm of education and leadership and offer our children to Molech, who inoculate them with every foreign thought and insipid idea, because they prefer alien shoots taken not from the fields of Israel, but from the vines of Sodom and Gemorrah? What has led us to the black depth of brotherly hatred which threatens to destroy and undermine all that has been accomplished through generations of superhuman toil and self-sacrifice? It is the absorption of the chametz of alien spirituality which is a hindrance at the time that the flourishing of our Redemption is progressing. What has caused the blindness preventing us from looking heavenward, from seeing how the Rock of Israel leads us on wings of eagles to the heights of Redemption? We must awaken and rise above the lowly bondage to all that is alien, be it expressed in foreign languages, or be it expressed in our own tongue but with an alien, poisonous spirit" ("Celebration of the Soul," Pg. 145. Translated and edited by Pesach Yaffe).

Rabbi Kook understood clearly that problems would develop during the course of the nation’s revival in Israel. These are the difficult "teenage" years that we are experiencing now. He emphasized that even though the nation did not recognize the Divine spirit fueling the revival of the Jewish People in Israel, this was indeed the "birthpangs of Mashiach," the harbinger of the awaited Redemption:

"The nation develops with all of its powers and essence without yet recognizing the depth of the higher spirit that is the foundation of its revival. Its eye is on the earth; to the heavens it does not yet look. The Name of Heaven is not constantly on her lips, she pursues brawn and strength, but truly all is holy and godly" (Orot, Orot HaTechiya, 32).
Just like with the education of a child, patience is the key. When a rebellious son gets into trouble, a wise, loving parent doesn’t disown him and kick him out of the house. The wise and loving parent patiently suffers through his child’s period of turmoil until he matures and settles down.

To the skeptics, the discouraged, and those filled with doubt that this was truly the beginnings of the yearned for Redemption, Rav Kook called out: "Be strong! Do not be afraid! The light of Mashiach shines, eternal Redemption appears from all cracks, from the darkness of evil and from the vulgar, despised and ineffectual atheism. A supernal light will come that will redeem Israel and will uplift with honor a nation that knows its G-d" (Orot HaTechiya, 14).

Therefore, to our readers who think that living in the lands of the gentiles is better than living in the Land of the Jews, so long as the Hellenists are running the show here, patience - sovlenut. Don’t throw out the baby with the dirty water in the tub. Try to see this unfolding process from an overall perspective, as a developing Redemption, with temper tantrums and dirty diapers along the way, just like the growth of a child. As Rabbi Kook assures us:

"A covenant was made with the Congregation of Israel that it would never become totally impure. Yes, impurity can affect it, causing imperfections to occur, but impurity can never sever it totally from its source of Divine life. The national spirit that is awakened now in the desire for Jewish nationhood, many of whose proponents say they have no need of the Divine spirit and would opt to present the nation on a basis of impurity and self-destruction – they themselves do not know what they want. So connected is the national spirit of Israel with the spirit of G-d that even if one should say that he has no need of the spirit of the L-rd, as soon as he states a desire for Israeli nationhood, the spirit of G-d rests in the innermost point of his aspiration, even against his will. An individual can separate himself from the Source of life, not so the entire Jewish nation. Therefore all the national assets, which are beloved to the nation on account of its national spirit, all are invested with the spirit of G-d: her Land, her language, her history, her customs. If there come a time when people speak only of the spirit of the nation, and attempt to negate the spirit of G-d from all of these assets and from the national spirit – what should the righteous of the generation do? To rebel against the spirit of nationhood, even verbally, and to reject its assets, this is something impossible, for the spirit of the L-rd and the national spirit of Israel are one. Rather, the righteous must work hard to reveal the light and the holiness in the national spirit, to reveal the light of G-d in all of these, until all of those who cling to the national spirit and its assets will find themselves automatically standing, ensconced, rooted, and living in the Divine holy life" (Orot HaTechiya, 9. See the English translation of "Orot" by Bezalel Naor).

Therefore my confused and cynical friends in the exile, read these words of Rabbi Kook again and again and again. Be assured that the ship has a Captain, and He knows the course of the journey. Trust in Him to navigate the way through the raging seas and bring us to the harbor of our awaited destination. Don’t miss the boat. Hurry and hop aboard.

DEAR BROTHERS

When the "Hitnatkut" or Evacuation Plan from Gush Katif was first announced, the Kabbalist, Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi, proclaimed that if the people of Israel did not turn away from sexual transgression, the settlements on the chopping block would fall. The evil decree, he said, was because of the plague of immodesty in the Holy Land, and that the communities of Gush Katif had been chosen because Hashem judges the righteous with a more exact measure. He said that these brave people who held up the banner of settlement in the Land must also hold up the banner of holiness and lead the way in settling the Land in a holy fashion.

A home in Neve Dekalim
Yishai Fleisher

In a previous blog, I mentioned that in fighting against the evacuation, I produced a series of strident posters and made a several powerful videos that were distributed all over the country. In addition, I wrote a pamphlet based on Rabbi Levi’s warnings, and mailed thousands of copies to rabbis and to settlements all over Yesha, and to every home in the threatened communities in the Shomron and Gush Katif. Because the plague of immodesty is still with us, I am printing the pamphlet here, to further our understanding of the connection between sexual holiness and the settlement of our Land.

The Rambam writes that if a tragedy befalls the community and the people do not undertake a personal accounting and course of repentance to atone for their erring deeds that brought the evil decree upon them, that this is a cruel thoughtlessness that perpetuates continued wrongdoing and invites further tragedies in the future, G-d forbid (Laws of Fasts, 1:3).

I am sorry to say this, but I attended a long list of protests, demonstrations and mass prayers in the months of campaigning against the evacuation, and yet I never felt that we ever looked at ourselves for the root of our troubles. Always, we blamed others – the evil government and its corrupt and opportunist leaders, they were the bad guys. We were the innocent tzaddikim. We prayed to be saved from the evildoers in power. Except for Rabbi Leon, and a few Kabbalists who spoke in Gush Katif about the need for greater modesty, no one spoke about t'shuva. No one thought to mend their ways. And no one sees a need to mend their ways today. That is the greatest tragedy – that we have not learned from the blow that we suffered.

Everyone knows that the next wave of missiles is on the way. And everyone senses that not Ehud, nor Bibi, nor the Israeli Army or the Air Force will save us. We just sit around and wait passively for the next round of concessions and katushot, and nobody thinks about changing his ways. So here’s what I wrote then, and it is just as true today....
Everyone knows that the next wave of missiles is on the way. And everyone senses that not Ehud, nor Bibi, nor the Israeli Army or the Air Force will save us. We just sit around and wait passively for the next round of concessions and katushot, and nobody thinks about changing his ways.

Dear Brothers,

WE HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING
In this painful hour, when our homeland is burning under our feet, and the Shechinah is crying in anguish from all the treacherous talk of evacuation from Gush Katif and settlements in Samaria, who can address the great challenges which face us? Yet who can keep silent?

Together we have flocked to the streets to demonstrate again and again in order to rescind the evil decree. We have covered the land with posters and gone door-to-door all over the country to present our case and the justice of our cause. We have lobbied in the Knesset and exhausted every judicial and legislative means in our battle. And in mass prayer gatherings, we have pleaded to our Father in Heaven to have mercy on His Land, on His People, and on His Name which is called upon us.And yet the evil decree is still hovers over our heads.

LET US ENTER INTO AN ACCOUNTING
Our Sages have taught that when sufferings fall on a person, he should examine his deeds. In the words of "Mesillat Yesharim," he should enter into an accounting.

It is no secret that a lack of modesty fills the streets all over our country. Women’s fashions, imported from Europe, cause the eye to blush. In addition, one can hardly walk to a kiosk without being confronted by some lustful image on the cover of a magazine. Not to mention the evil influences of television, the movies, and the Internet, may G-d have mercy. Even worse, recent waves of Aliyah from Russia have brought a staggering number of gentile women to the Holy Land. Literally, thousands of them work as prostitutes. Every day, round the clock, our brothers fall prey to the lures of sexual transgression, giving Jewish vitality and power to impure, foreign realms called the Other Side – as the Torah warns, "Do not give your offspring to Molech."

A plague of immodesty and sexual immorality has invaded the Holy Land’s borders like locusts. This sad state of affairs is known to all. But what is the connection to the settlements of Gush Katif and Yesha? How are they to blame? Why has the decree fallen on them? Certainly, the situation is far worse in Tel Aviv and on the kibbutzim where not even the most basic laws of modesty and family purity are maintained?

Our Sages teach us that HaKodesh Baruch Hu is exacting with His tzaddikim. He judges His tzaddikim to a hair’s breath. Who are greater tzaddikim than the settlers, who put their lives in danger every day in order to perform the great mitzvah of settling the Land – a mitzvah which weighs equally to all of the mitzvot in the Torah? Rabbi Kook wrote that whoever is closer to the settlement of the Land is closer to perfection and blessing. Yet it is precisely these brave, idealistic, G-d-fearing Jews who have settled the Biblical hilltops of Yesha and the sand dunes of Gush Katif who have the mission to raise the banner of Redemption by being a Holy People in the Holy Land. They are the tzaddikim who must stand in the breach to bring merit to the nation. Therefore, at a time when our communities our under the knife of the Accuser, we, the people who have led the way in settling the Biblical hillsides and valleys of Yesha, are called to a true accounting.

THERE IS ROOM TO IMPROVE
Dear brothers, in the area of modesty, there is certainly room to improve. Our Sages have warned us of the dangers of mixed gatherings where men and women mingle together, whether at weddings, community meetings, demonstrations and the like. They have warned us regarding the seemingly casual conversations between men and women. And they have warned us about the importance of not gazing at women. And look at our homes - giant screen TVs in our living rooms and cable satellite dishes on our red, sunbaked roofs. As the time of Redemption approaches, it is not enough to be a Holy People in theory – we must also be holy in deed, in our day-to-day lives, in and outside of our homes. The teaching of our Sages that "There is no tzaddik who does good and does not sin," is specifically in this area of our lives. We are the nation of G-d, and we are called upon to "Be Holy!"

SIXTH MILLENIUM
We are in the sixth millineum of our history, which represents the sixth sefirah – the "yesod." The sefirah of the "yesod" is integrally connected with the Brit, or Covenant, of sexual purity. Kabbalists explain that the greatest test in this time of Redemption is in the realm of safeguarding this Brit of sexual purity, the very foundation of our nation. As we approach the time of Redemption, the evil inclination wages a fierce war to prevent the nation of Israel from reaching its goal of establishing the Kingdom of G-d on earth. This battle is manifest in the immodesty we see everywhere we look. It is the same war that Amalek and Midian waged on the Jews upon our first entry into the Land. This same spirit of Midian, dressed in the guise of the modern cultures of the West, aims to sever our connection to the Holy One of Israel, G-d forbid.

Hasidic masters have long warned that the spirit of Mashiach is a zealous holy fire that will not tolerate any place where there is even a blemish of licentiousness. Rabbi Nachman of Breslev taught that even in a place where there isn’t actually sexual transgression, but only lesser levels of immodesty, the spirit of Mashiach still takes vengeance over this. For in establishing the holiness and purity demanded in the time of Redemption, the spirit of Mashiach will not overlook even a slight blemish in the sexual holiness of the Jewish People.

COVENANT OF THE LAND
It is known that the basis of the brit between Avraham Avinu and Hashem over the Land of Israel depends of safeguarding the brit (Bereshit, 17:8-10). Because this brit is the foundation of the Jewish Nation it is called the "yesod," which means foundation. This brit is not merely to perform the mitzvah of circumcision on our children, but also to guard the rules of sexual holiness throughout our lives. This is the reason that the Covenant between the Jewish People and G-d was stamped on the sexual organ – to emphasize that this part of our lives is to be sacrosanct to G-d.

The Zohar and masters of the secrets of Torah in every generation have taught that all of the Torah, and all of the tikun-rectification of the world depends on tikun habrit, the rectification of sexual wrongdoing, for the marital union is the foundation of all existence.

The Zohar emphasizes again and again, perhaps more than any other theme, the importance of safeguarding the brit of sexual purity. It stresses that transgressions involving sexual conduct and purity bring disaster on the individual and the nation. The Torah itself explicitly states in portion "Achre Mot" that the punishment for sexual transgression is exile from our Land, G-d forbid.

The holy book, "Reshit Chochmah," teaches that the tribes transgressed all of the Torah, but that exile was not decreed until they violated the laws of sexual purity. Dear brothers, the connection is not accidental. As the day of the evacuation approaches, are we not facing the threat of exile from our borders? Are we not facing the uprooting of settlements, as if we are being vomited out of our homes?

Can anything be clearer than this?

IT ISN’T TOO LATE
Certainly demonstrations and all other expressions of protest are important, and must continue, but if we ignore the very foundation of our existence as a nation, our efforts will be in vain, and the evil forecasts of our Sages are liable to come to pass, may G-d have mercy.

But there is no room for despair. Our Sages teach that even if a sword is set on a person’s throat, he should not give in to despair. The verse teaches that salvation comes precisely out of the most difficult moments, as it says, "It is a time of trial for Yaacov, and from it, the salvation will come." The "Hitnatkut" has come to bring us to a higher level of Divine service, and to a renewed connection to our Land, and to the Covenant of our Forefathers. If we can rise to this higher level, to this new phase in the unfolding process of Redemption, then the dreaded evacuation will become a springboard for repentance, sanctification, and improvement. Only through a deep and sincere examination of our ways and a commitment to a holier life, can we cancel the decree and save our threatened communities. In this way the "whipping stick" of the evacuation can be turned into a blessing for us, for the nation, and for the world.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
Here we can only offer some brief guide lines, collected from the teachings of our Sages, concerning tikun habrit, the rectification of sexual wrongdoing.

First, the subject has to be studied and taught. Rabbis and teachers have to discuss the problem with their communities and students. With the dangers facing our settlements, it is "A time to act for G-d." It is not enough to learn the laws of modesty and family purity two weeks before a person marries – these laws, in order to be safeguarded, must be learned every year. Fortunately, there are many books on the subject, both for young people and married couples. While we diligently learn about all other aspects of our Torah, it can not be that these matters, the very foundations of Judaism, are left ignored. The main thing is that this new awareness and learning lead us to a deep and serious t’shuva that paves the way for a real change in our lives.

To help in the t’shuva process, masters of the secrets of Torah have composed many tikunim, and special prayers, that have the power to erase the blemishes caused through our misdeeds. The "Tikun Clalli" of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and the "Tikun Yeshuat Eliahu" of the Kabbalist, Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi, are examples. These prayers, when recited with deep heartfelt intent, have the power to set a baal t’shuva on a happier healthier path and to cancel harsh decrees.

There are many important aids to tikun habrit including mikvah, guarding the eyes, increased Torah study and the giving of charity. A personal relationship with a holy Torah scholar who is learned in these matters is also a key. But the main thing is a new level of the fear and love of G-d, and a change in behavior that elevates a person out of the lusts and impurities that surrounded his life in the past.

Because the sexual urge is the strongest yetzer, everyone is liable to make mistakes. Therefore, a person who wants to redress past mistakes and make a new beginning does well to adopt a more careful, sanctified orientation toward marital relations. In his book, "Yeshuot Eliahu – Tikunei Yesod," Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi, lists important guidelines that are stressed in Kabbalistic writings and go often overlooked. At first glance, these may seem to impinge on the emotional expression and joy that are an integral part of the marriage relationship. In fact, the opposite is true. It is these extra precautions that bring a new love, mutual respect and happiness to marriage, along with the blessings of better health, livelihood, and the well being of the children.

May G-d grant us the wisdom to see the shortcomings in our ways and grant us the strength and Divine assistance to correct them, for the sake of our holy communities, our holy nation, and our Holy Land.