These days, we hear many hysterical voices - in the Israeli government, the army and the media - proclaiming that civil disobedience threatens the foundation of the nation. In fact, the very opposite is the case. Civil disobedience is the root and cornerstone of Am Yisrael (the People of Israel).
This week's Torah portion brings us back to the beginnings of our nationhood in Egypt. When Yaakov's descendants began to grow in number and strength, Pharaoh ordered the Jewish midwives to exterminate all of the newborn males.
"But the midwives feared G-d, and did not as the King of Mitzrayim commanded them, rather they saved the male children alive."
The valor of the two Jewish midwives, Yocheved and Miriam, in disobeying the Pharaoh's cruel and immoral order, not only saved the male children, but also brought about the building of Am Yisrael.
"Therefore, G-d dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty."
Yocheved and Miriam feared G-d more than they feared the consequences of breaking the law of the land. This devotion and allegiance to G-d is what has preserved the Jewish People through all of our history. Throughout two thousand years of exile, Jews have been willing to sacrifice their lives rather than violate the Torah.
As former Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Avraham Shapira has made clear, a Jew must obey the laws of G-d, and not immoral decrees that go against His Torah -- like the decree to oust Jews from their homes and to give up parts of Eretz Yisrael to an enemy bent on destroying the State of Israel.
Even should someone want to put the Torah aside, G-d forbid, and look on the security question alone, anyone who still has his head on his shoulders understands that the withdrawal from Gush Katif and North Shomron settlements will be seen as a victory for terror, and bring about more bloodshed and killing.
Throughout the world, the right to be a conscientious objector on religious or moral grounds is a respected principle of all democratic societies. During the Vietnam War, before coming on Aliyah, when it came time for me to be drafted, I, and thousands like me, filled out an official US army form stating that, for moral reasons, I refused to take part in a war against the Vietnamese people, who posed absolutely no threat to America. Perhaps the most famous case at the time was the boxer Mohammed Ali. When he refused to fight in the war on religious grounds, he was stripped of his heavyweight championship. He was banned from boxing. For years, he battled the decision in court until finally, the United States Supreme Court upheld his right to be a conscientious objector. Returning to the ring, he once again became the heavyweight champion of the world.
At the same time that Mohammed Ali was doing his fighting in court, Martin Luther King was leading the fight for the rights of the Black people in America, demanding that they be recognized, like all Americans, as having rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" wherever they chose. At first, his protest marches and calls for civil disobedience were condemned by the ruling White establishment, but today, his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in the United States. And America is a stronger democracy.
Because the Attorney General of Israel, Menny Mazuz, knows this, he has prudently refrained from arresting activists on the Right who speak out for civil disobedience. Ariel Sharon knows it, too. During the Oslo Accords disaster, he called the Left's plan to force soldiers to dismantle settlements "an immoral command," and stated that soldiers who understood the immorality of the order should refuse to participate, even if it meant going to jail. This is exactly what Pinchas Wallerstein said in his letter of opposition to the "disengagement" plan. So, Mr. Prime Minister, what's all the uproar?
The people who refuse to take a part in the dismantling of settlements in Gush Katif and the Shomron are the guardians of Israel, not its destroyers. Like Martin Luther King and Mohammed Ali, they are heroes of democracy. Like the faithful midwives of our nation, Yocheved and Miriam, those who refuse to evacuate fellow Jews from their houses are the builders of Am Yisrael.
"And it came to pass, because the midwives feared G-d, that He made them houses."
Surely, G-d will stand by those who fear Him today. Because of them, more homes will be built in Gush Katif and the Shomron. Just as it says in the Torah, "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."
This week's Torah portion brings us back to the beginnings of our nationhood in Egypt. When Yaakov's descendants began to grow in number and strength, Pharaoh ordered the Jewish midwives to exterminate all of the newborn males.
"But the midwives feared G-d, and did not as the King of Mitzrayim commanded them, rather they saved the male children alive."
The valor of the two Jewish midwives, Yocheved and Miriam, in disobeying the Pharaoh's cruel and immoral order, not only saved the male children, but also brought about the building of Am Yisrael.
"Therefore, G-d dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty."
Yocheved and Miriam feared G-d more than they feared the consequences of breaking the law of the land. This devotion and allegiance to G-d is what has preserved the Jewish People through all of our history. Throughout two thousand years of exile, Jews have been willing to sacrifice their lives rather than violate the Torah.
As former Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Avraham Shapira has made clear, a Jew must obey the laws of G-d, and not immoral decrees that go against His Torah -- like the decree to oust Jews from their homes and to give up parts of Eretz Yisrael to an enemy bent on destroying the State of Israel.
Even should someone want to put the Torah aside, G-d forbid, and look on the security question alone, anyone who still has his head on his shoulders understands that the withdrawal from Gush Katif and North Shomron settlements will be seen as a victory for terror, and bring about more bloodshed and killing.
Throughout the world, the right to be a conscientious objector on religious or moral grounds is a respected principle of all democratic societies. During the Vietnam War, before coming on Aliyah, when it came time for me to be drafted, I, and thousands like me, filled out an official US army form stating that, for moral reasons, I refused to take part in a war against the Vietnamese people, who posed absolutely no threat to America. Perhaps the most famous case at the time was the boxer Mohammed Ali. When he refused to fight in the war on religious grounds, he was stripped of his heavyweight championship. He was banned from boxing. For years, he battled the decision in court until finally, the United States Supreme Court upheld his right to be a conscientious objector. Returning to the ring, he once again became the heavyweight champion of the world.
At the same time that Mohammed Ali was doing his fighting in court, Martin Luther King was leading the fight for the rights of the Black people in America, demanding that they be recognized, like all Americans, as having rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" wherever they chose. At first, his protest marches and calls for civil disobedience were condemned by the ruling White establishment, but today, his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in the United States. And America is a stronger democracy.
Because the Attorney General of Israel, Menny Mazuz, knows this, he has prudently refrained from arresting activists on the Right who speak out for civil disobedience. Ariel Sharon knows it, too. During the Oslo Accords disaster, he called the Left's plan to force soldiers to dismantle settlements "an immoral command," and stated that soldiers who understood the immorality of the order should refuse to participate, even if it meant going to jail. This is exactly what Pinchas Wallerstein said in his letter of opposition to the "disengagement" plan. So, Mr. Prime Minister, what's all the uproar?
The people who refuse to take a part in the dismantling of settlements in Gush Katif and the Shomron are the guardians of Israel, not its destroyers. Like Martin Luther King and Mohammed Ali, they are heroes of democracy. Like the faithful midwives of our nation, Yocheved and Miriam, those who refuse to evacuate fellow Jews from their houses are the builders of Am Yisrael.
"And it came to pass, because the midwives feared G-d, that He made them houses."
Surely, G-d will stand by those who fear Him today. Because of them, more homes will be built in Gush Katif and the Shomron. Just as it says in the Torah, "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."