Yom Kippur Blessings to My Brothers in Zion
by Israel Shamir
Do not bother to fast, my brothers, this Day of
Atonement. It is done for us by starving people
in Shechem. Do not bother to disavow your vows,
as our leaders already did it for us and
cancelled our vows to the nations. Do not ask
for the gates of heaven to open and admit your
prayer. The gates of heaven are shut as the
gates of Gaza checkpoint. Do not ask for mercy
of Heaven: the angels have the same orders as
our soldiers. They may kill, but may not admit a
supplicant. A clear pool of running water
removes all impurity, but a man with a roach in
his clenched fist remains impure in the
purification pool. Repentance removes the
offence, but it is useless to repent while the
offence of the siege lasts. Lord had hardened
our hearts into hard rock, as he hardened the
hearts of Egyptians in the day of Exodus. It is
the sign that He will not hearken to our
prayers. How can we ask for daily bread if we
refuse it to our neighbours? How can we ask for
good life when we embitter lives of our
neighbours? How can we ask for longevity when we
murder our neighbours?
Our teachers of blessed memory forbade us to
enter the Land of Israel until we shall see the
light of Messiah. We thought we were wiser and
rejected this commandment with contempt. But
they knew what they meant and they knew
harshness of our hearts. We came into this sweet
Land and devoured it like locust. We uprooted
olive trees. We caused the springs to dry and a
tree to wither. We expelled and imprisoned its
people. We wasted the limpid waters of the
underground caverns. We sliced strategic roads
through the mountain meadows. Now we are locking
ourselves in a high-rise ghetto surrounded by
the double ring of barbed wire and endless
hostility. Inevitably we re-create the way of
life of our despised and much-hated ancestors in
a Polish schtetl. One can not escape oneself. We
carry Exile in our hearts and that is why we
create Exile.
But do not despair! This curse confirms validity
of the divine plan of our exile from the Holy
Land. Not a blind chance, not the might of Rome,
but the sins of our fathers brought the curse of
Exile. We were cursed to cause pain to the
nations and to suffer in their hands, to be a
stranger to Mother Earth, to wander from land to
land. We can’t escape this curse until we see
the Messiah. Whoever does not believe in the
divine plan of Exile rejects Divine providence
and teachings of our masters.
Here is salvation, for it is said, “until we SEE
the Messiah”, not “until the Messiah cometh”!
Why, we can see Him now! Messiah is here!
Whoever sees and recognises Him is saved from
the curse of exile and he can remain forever in
the sweet land he lives. Whoever sees Him will
become like loving brother to his neighbours,
and they will bless him, and be blessed by him.
Whoever sees Him will become a bountiful spring
in the dry land. See Him, my brothers, witness
the Messiah! The secret is that Messiah is not a
man anymore but the Glory of God. He is the God
of Israel, the Little Face. His soul is with us,
and when we turn to Him, we shall recognise Him.
It is within our reach, to escape the curse and
turn it into grace.
The power of Israel is great, but it goes into
destruction and hatred. But the moment Israel
will see the Messiah, this great force will
become the force for good. We shall turn our
land into paradise, slay the terrible twins of
need and greed, and, every day and every hour,
we shall witness Glory and Shechina, together
with our Palestinian brothers who call them
Christ and the Virgin, or Mesih and Sitt.
This is our faith of the Holy Land, love of the
Spirit and of the Mother Earth, embodied in the
boy from Betlahm and the girl from Saffurie,
love to the green hills of our beloved Land of
Israel, Land of Palestine. We came to this land
and we did not recognise it; we met our long
forgotten Palestinian brothers and sisters and
we did not recognise them. Like soldiers in the
dark, we fought against our own brothers. But as
the Sun of Messiah is rising, we recognise their
familiar faces and lower our weapons.
Before Theodor Herzl decided to save Israel by
taking them to Palestine, he dreamed to lead his
people into the faith of Messiah with the bells
a-tolling and folks calling Halleluiah. But then
he saw the harshness of their hearts and
preferred an easy way of conquering Palestine,
getting rid of native population, terrorising
the Middle East. He thought it was easier than
to deliver the Jews. It was easier, but quite
useless: the lofty ideals of messianic Zionism
could not be achieved without recognising
Messiah.
Why, actually? Once, a small band of chosen
warriors has been sent to deliver a secret
important message to a remote besieged city.
They have to cross unknown and hostile lands,
face hidden dangers and deliver the secret. They
were instructed to trust nobody, to remain
aloof, to use and misuse strangers in order to
fulfil their all-important mission. It is a long
way, and the warriors get used to the idea. The
right to use and misuse is quite a convenient
right, and they have managed not too bad. By the
time they reach their goal, they form a
close-knit group, hostile to strangers, devoted
to keep their message in secret. But some of
them still remember the reason of their mission
and deliver the message to the city. The message
had become a part of daily life for everybody,
but this group of old soldiers still feels
besieged in the hostile territory, still keeps
in secret its message, for a long time known to
the world. It is time to tell them: “you were
fine, you made your best, you delivered the
message, now you are free men in the city of
free. Disband, mix freely, enjoy the world saved
thanks to your message”.
Those who refuse to join mankind should be
treated as Japanese soldiers in the jungle of
New Guinea still fighting and hiding fifty years
after the war was over – with strict compassion
and psychological help.
Zionism became a poison without the Messiah, as
unless we gather in the name of God, we gather
in the name of his adversary. Why Messiah would
change Zionism into a marvellous thing? In the
days of Messiah, all restrictions will be
lifted, teaches Talmud. The separating
commandments and prohibitions will be cancelled.
By receiving the spirit of God, the Israelites
will become free from tenets of the Law, and
join mankind.
It was known to Sabbatai Zevi in 17th century:
he blessed One Who releases from Prohibitions,
over prohibited food. It was known to Rabbi
Nachman of Bratzlav, a 19th century Messiah, who
“fulfilled the Law”, much like Jesus, in the
course of one night spent in the Holy Land, and
became free from prohibitions and commandments.
It was hinted by Nachmanides saying that a touch
of Holy Lan
It is felt by the settlers, and Rabbi Ariel, one
of the more radical settler Rabbis lamented, “we
believed that by encountering the Holy Land, the
Jewish hearts will be united with the heart of
the land. But for majority of Jews our
settlements failed to restore that sacred
linkage”. Rabbi Ariel did not understand why the
scriptures connected the miracle of ‘sacred
linkage’ with the miracle of Messiah. That is
why he did not understand the reason of failure.
There is no way around it: the only way to God
leads by union of our hearts with the hearts of
the people of the Holy Land.
This is the sieve: those who feel the spirit of
Messiah and join the Palestinians, are the true
remainder of Israel coming back home after long
exile; while those who reject it are the sons of
multitude who joined us attracted by privileges
of the chosen people. Our turn to Messiah and to
our Palestinian brothers and sisters in one c
mmunion would separate grain from waste, and
complete the redemption.
Do not fast this Day of Atonement, my brothers.
Instead, share bread and wine with your
Palestinian brothers and sisters. Do not observe
the strict rules of Sabbath but go out and
remove the fences. Seek the Spirit of God in
your souls and you will find it. Messiah is
here. It is not a man you should look to for
deliverance, but God.
If Messiah is here, the Third Temple is here, as
well; it is the temple of all people of the Holy
Land. The Third Temple is the people of the Holy
Land praying together to one God in the Divine
Presence of Shechina. Wish of Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, will become true: the Jews
shall worship Allah together with Muslims. Wish
of Jews will become true - all the nations will
worship God in Jerusalem. The prophecy of St
Paul will become true – the remainder of Israel
shall come to Christ. The first commandment of
Torah will be fulfilled: instead of waiting for
man, Israel will turn to God.
Then, the sons of Abraham shall pray together on
the Temple Mount, eat at one table, drink
together wine of al-Halil and celebrate Easter,
Passover and Adha in one day. Jews call
themselves by referring to their father: Isaac
son of Abraham; Palestinians refer to their
sons: Isaac, father of Jacob. Then, we shall
refer to ourselves as grandfathers of our
grandchildren, sons of the covenant of the free
communes of Palestine. The wars will be over,
exiles of Suba and Vilna, Kakun and Cordoba will
return home, and in the feast of pilgrims the
people of the Holy Land will gather at the foot
of Kubbat as-Sahra to listen to the New Covenant
of the Divine Presence and the Spirit of God.
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