In a world swamped by the mass media, our thoughts are often manipulated by terminology. Those who call good, ?evil? and evil, ?good? are not just changing words, but also changing values and are seeking to direct the way we think.
One frequent manifestation of this distortion is that terrorists and cold-blooded murderers are called ?freedom fighters? and ?militants?.
Lord Douglas Hurd, the former Conservative Foreign Secretary, has described Palestinian terrorists as freedom fighters. Those, therefore, who lie in ambush to murder mothers and children on their way to school, to shed innocent and holy blood, are called saintly figures and martyrs, to be admired and copied. While those who seek to defend their homes and their families, in a small strip of land promised to Israel by G-d, are now called terrorists.
This distortion of truth applies throughout society. The so-called ?New Morality? is no more than the old immorality. Right has become wrong, and wrong, right. Parents abandon their children, or worse, because they are a burden.
Those who operate under the banner of ?human rights? are often more concerned with the human rights of the killers than their victims. They are concerned that terrorists should be able to operate freely, without hindrance, with the result being that major cities have become a haven for those preaching violence and terror, whose presence is tolerated by the state they seek to destroy; because to prevent their activities would be to deny their ?human rights? and their freedom of speech. Indeed, the state often funds their activities through welfare payments.
The real freedom fighters are not those who seek to impose their will upon others by force and terror. Rather, they are those who fight for freedom for themselves to be able to live lives of goodness, of morality and of holiness, without being prevented by others.
The Hasmoneans were true freedom fighters, who wanted only to be left to serve G-d according to His Torah. They fought for freedom of religious conscience.
In our own days, we have been privileged to witness the freedom fighters who fought the Nazis not only as partisans in the forests, but even in the camps, by keeping mitzvos. There were those who risked their lives to put on tefillin, to tend the sick, to light a Chanukah light, to whisper a prayer. They fought to keep holiness alive. Some indeed fought with guns, others fought with spiritual strength and determination.
Anatoly Scharansky, imprisoned by the Soviets for 12 years for the crime of being a ?refusenik? and an activist, tells how he fasted a total of 186 days on different occasions, to be allowed to keep the Tehillim (Psalms) given to him by his wife. Whenever they confiscated it, he declared a hunger fast until it was returned. Yosef Mendelovitch, also imprisoned by the Soviets for seeking to flee to Israel, tells how he scraped together pieces of grease in his prison cell during the week, and made a candle using a thread from his clothing. With this, he lit his Shabbos candle.
These, and thousands like them, were the real fighters for religious freedom, and who knows to what extent their activities were instrumental in bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Empire, by exposing its inner corruption?
The terrorists of al-Qaeda and Palestine are remote from any concepts of freedom. Their minds are shackled in chains of steel, poisoned with hatred, which is their chief motivation. They seek eternity by destroying others, even as they destroy themselves. Their so-called fight for freedom consists of packing bombs with nails and screws to inflict terrifying wounds on innocent, pure children and adults, by shooting or blowing up men, women and children in buses, restaurants and even at children?s parties.
These are the heroes whom Lord Hurd and some of the media love to call freedom fighters and militants, instead of murderers and terrorists.
Certainly, the terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre had been brain washed in the belief that they would achieve immortality by killing thousands of men, women and children in a most cruel fashion. Their minds had been manipulated and twisted until they were completely convinced that the murder of innocents was a holy task, favoured by their god, which would bring them eternal bliss. How does one argue with such convictions, which are based on a set of irrational, satanic beliefs? How can one convince them how wrong they are? Unless we can convince them of the falsehood in their beliefs, everyone is in danger.
When Pharaoh declared himself the Supreme Power, he had to be shown in the clearest manner that he had no power.
?Thus says Hashem, ?Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, King of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, ?My river is mine own and I have made it for myself.? And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste... and they shall know that I am the Lord, because he has said, ?The river is mine and I have made it.??? (Ezekiel 29: 3,9)
In this eternal battle against the wicked, we are all freedom fighters. This is an ongoing war, conducted not only at the front-line, but also behind the lines for the hearts and minds of men and women.
The Rambam (Maimonides) outlines the qualities of those who stand in the front line and much of what he says applies to every Jew, even those who carry on the fight ?behind the lines?:
?And once he entered the battle, he should rely on the Hope of Israel and His Salvation in times of trouble and he should be aware that he is doing battle for the Unity of Hashem, and he should take his life in his hands and be neither afraid nor fearful. And everyone who fights with all his heart, without fear and whose only intention is to sanctify the Name of Hashem, he is assured that no harm will befall him, and he shall build a true house in Israel and he and his children shall be worthy and shall be rewarded with the world to come.? (Hilchos Melachim 7:14)
In a remarkable passage, the Rambam emphasizes the value of behind the line troops:
?Why were the Tribe of Levi not privileged to receive a portion of the land and its wealth together with his brothers? Because he had been set aside to serve the Lord and to teach His righteous ways and His Laws to the people?. Therefore, they were set aside from normal activities, they did not engage in battle together with others, they did not inherit the Land, nor acquire wealth through their labour. But they are the Army of Hashem, as it is said ?Bless, Lord, His Army.? (Deuteronomy 33:11) And it is not only the Tribe of Levi, but everyone in the world [kol boey olam] whose heart moves him and whose mind tells him to stand apart before the Lord, to serve Him and to worship Him, to know the Lord and to walk uprightly as G-d has made him, and he removes from himself the burdens of this world, he is accounted Holy of Holies and the Lord will be his portion forever for all eternity. And he shall merit to have all his needs met in this world, just like the Cohanim and Leviim. As King David says: ?The Lord is my portion and my cup. You sustain my lot.?? (Laws of Shemitta & Yovel Ch. 13:12-13)
These are the true Freedom Fighters of Israel.
One frequent manifestation of this distortion is that terrorists and cold-blooded murderers are called ?freedom fighters? and ?militants?.
Lord Douglas Hurd, the former Conservative Foreign Secretary, has described Palestinian terrorists as freedom fighters. Those, therefore, who lie in ambush to murder mothers and children on their way to school, to shed innocent and holy blood, are called saintly figures and martyrs, to be admired and copied. While those who seek to defend their homes and their families, in a small strip of land promised to Israel by G-d, are now called terrorists.
This distortion of truth applies throughout society. The so-called ?New Morality? is no more than the old immorality. Right has become wrong, and wrong, right. Parents abandon their children, or worse, because they are a burden.
Those who operate under the banner of ?human rights? are often more concerned with the human rights of the killers than their victims. They are concerned that terrorists should be able to operate freely, without hindrance, with the result being that major cities have become a haven for those preaching violence and terror, whose presence is tolerated by the state they seek to destroy; because to prevent their activities would be to deny their ?human rights? and their freedom of speech. Indeed, the state often funds their activities through welfare payments.
The real freedom fighters are not those who seek to impose their will upon others by force and terror. Rather, they are those who fight for freedom for themselves to be able to live lives of goodness, of morality and of holiness, without being prevented by others.
The Hasmoneans were true freedom fighters, who wanted only to be left to serve G-d according to His Torah. They fought for freedom of religious conscience.
In our own days, we have been privileged to witness the freedom fighters who fought the Nazis not only as partisans in the forests, but even in the camps, by keeping mitzvos. There were those who risked their lives to put on tefillin, to tend the sick, to light a Chanukah light, to whisper a prayer. They fought to keep holiness alive. Some indeed fought with guns, others fought with spiritual strength and determination.
Anatoly Scharansky, imprisoned by the Soviets for 12 years for the crime of being a ?refusenik? and an activist, tells how he fasted a total of 186 days on different occasions, to be allowed to keep the Tehillim (Psalms) given to him by his wife. Whenever they confiscated it, he declared a hunger fast until it was returned. Yosef Mendelovitch, also imprisoned by the Soviets for seeking to flee to Israel, tells how he scraped together pieces of grease in his prison cell during the week, and made a candle using a thread from his clothing. With this, he lit his Shabbos candle.
These, and thousands like them, were the real fighters for religious freedom, and who knows to what extent their activities were instrumental in bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Empire, by exposing its inner corruption?
The terrorists of al-Qaeda and Palestine are remote from any concepts of freedom. Their minds are shackled in chains of steel, poisoned with hatred, which is their chief motivation. They seek eternity by destroying others, even as they destroy themselves. Their so-called fight for freedom consists of packing bombs with nails and screws to inflict terrifying wounds on innocent, pure children and adults, by shooting or blowing up men, women and children in buses, restaurants and even at children?s parties.
These are the heroes whom Lord Hurd and some of the media love to call freedom fighters and militants, instead of murderers and terrorists.
Certainly, the terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre had been brain washed in the belief that they would achieve immortality by killing thousands of men, women and children in a most cruel fashion. Their minds had been manipulated and twisted until they were completely convinced that the murder of innocents was a holy task, favoured by their god, which would bring them eternal bliss. How does one argue with such convictions, which are based on a set of irrational, satanic beliefs? How can one convince them how wrong they are? Unless we can convince them of the falsehood in their beliefs, everyone is in danger.
When Pharaoh declared himself the Supreme Power, he had to be shown in the clearest manner that he had no power.
?Thus says Hashem, ?Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, King of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, ?My river is mine own and I have made it for myself.? And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste... and they shall know that I am the Lord, because he has said, ?The river is mine and I have made it.??? (Ezekiel 29: 3,9)
In this eternal battle against the wicked, we are all freedom fighters. This is an ongoing war, conducted not only at the front-line, but also behind the lines for the hearts and minds of men and women.
The Rambam (Maimonides) outlines the qualities of those who stand in the front line and much of what he says applies to every Jew, even those who carry on the fight ?behind the lines?:
?And once he entered the battle, he should rely on the Hope of Israel and His Salvation in times of trouble and he should be aware that he is doing battle for the Unity of Hashem, and he should take his life in his hands and be neither afraid nor fearful. And everyone who fights with all his heart, without fear and whose only intention is to sanctify the Name of Hashem, he is assured that no harm will befall him, and he shall build a true house in Israel and he and his children shall be worthy and shall be rewarded with the world to come.? (Hilchos Melachim 7:14)
In a remarkable passage, the Rambam emphasizes the value of behind the line troops:
?Why were the Tribe of Levi not privileged to receive a portion of the land and its wealth together with his brothers? Because he had been set aside to serve the Lord and to teach His righteous ways and His Laws to the people?. Therefore, they were set aside from normal activities, they did not engage in battle together with others, they did not inherit the Land, nor acquire wealth through their labour. But they are the Army of Hashem, as it is said ?Bless, Lord, His Army.? (Deuteronomy 33:11) And it is not only the Tribe of Levi, but everyone in the world [kol boey olam] whose heart moves him and whose mind tells him to stand apart before the Lord, to serve Him and to worship Him, to know the Lord and to walk uprightly as G-d has made him, and he removes from himself the burdens of this world, he is accounted Holy of Holies and the Lord will be his portion forever for all eternity. And he shall merit to have all his needs met in this world, just like the Cohanim and Leviim. As King David says: ?The Lord is my portion and my cup. You sustain my lot.?? (Laws of Shemitta & Yovel Ch. 13:12-13)
These are the true Freedom Fighters of Israel.