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The months of Elul and Tishrei are dedicated to repentance, reconciliation, and forgiveness between Am YIsrael and our Father in Heaven, and between Jew and fellow Jew. With that said, we cannot be oblivious to the fact that there are over 8 billion other people with whom we share the planet. In the holy language of Ivrit (Hebrew) they are called “goyim” which simply means “nations”, but many non-Jews prefer to be called “gentiles”, probably stemming from their “gentle” and passionate natures. (How many people were murdered in the 20th century by their own “gentle” governments? It is estimated to be over 100 million!) In any event, In the name of justice and morality there are several issues that require closure between the Jewish nation and the goyim. I am certain that most goyim will forgive and forget us for what our father Avraham did when destroying his father’s idols (Midrash). They will probably forgive us for the ten inhumane plagues Hashem brought on the poor suffering Egyptians in preparation for our exodus, e ven withholding from them any humanitarian aid. Many will look the other way in forgiveness for the great number of Egyptians that were drowned in Yam Suf on our behalf, and they are also capable of forgiving us for the brutish way Yehoshua and his army of Jews decimated the 31 city states they faced when liberating the land. Not to mention their blood libel accusing us of poisoning of the wells in Europe which brought about the “black plague”, and of course the enlightened Papal decree absolving the Jews from murdering their god. We are all forgiven! However, there is one very timely and relevant scenario which gets under their gentile skin and prevents their forgiveness. It is Jewish boys, born in our Alt-Neuland, sitting under the canopies of F-16s and F-35s and bombing the hell out of Arab Nazis who live only to annihilate the Jewish people. Hashem is the co-pilot of every one of these great young pilots who have thrown off the superficial veneer of the galut to become the fear of the 400 million Arabs in the lands surrounding Eretz Yisrael. Challenges Ahead In this coming year of 5785, the world will witness challenging situations. A resurgence of unabashed anti-Semitism; bitter international hostilities; antagonism between peoples within their own national boundaries; and weapons of mass destruction in the hands of irrational unconstrained nations and groups. As Aisav and Yishmael struggle to destroy each other, Medinat Yisrael will continue to flourish amazingly. Our life here will demonstrate the miraculous “behind- the-scenes” guardianship of Hashem over His people in Eretz Yisrael. The daily events in the land will confirm and espouse the 3000-year-old covenant between the Creator and His nation Yisrael. At the same time, we will continue to hear sounds of discord from certain religious leaders in the galut, who diminish the status of Eretz Yisrael in the life of a Jew, as they offer pseudo-halakhic license to well-meaning, naive Jews to remain in the exile. With blessings from Zion and Yerushalayim to all who have read and encouraged me in these weekly writings over these many years. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life and merit the final redemption of Am Yisrael, as we walk together to the Temple Mount, to the dwelling place of the Creator in this world. Shanah Tovah! Rabbi Nachman Kahana is a Torah scholar, author, teacher and lecturer, Founder and Director of the Center for Kohanim, Co-founder of the Temple Institute, Co-founder of Atara Leyoshna – Ateret Kohanim, was rabbi of Chazon Yechezkel Synagogue – Young Israel of the Old City of Jerusalem for 32 years, and is the author of the 15-volume “Mei Menuchot” series on Tosefot, and 3-volume “With All Your Might: The Torah of Eretz Yisrael in the Weekly Parashah” (2009-2011), and “Reflections from Yerushalayim: Thoughts on the Torah, the Land and the Nation of Israel” (2019) as well as weekly parasha commentary available where he blogs at https://NachmanKahana.com

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