Read Rabbi Kahana’s Beshalach 5767 dvar torah
Parashat Beshalach 5768 – Part One: Agendas
Pharaoh, in a last desperate attempt to save whatever prestige was left of his monarchy by forcing the return of the Jews to slavery, brings together a mighty military force composed of chariots and cavalry, as stated in Shemot 14, 7
ויקח שש מאות רכב בחור וכל רכב מצרים ושלשם על כלו
Rashi raises the question: From where did Pharaoh acquire the horses necessary for his mobile forces, in light of the fact that all Egyptian livestock was destroyed in the plague of hail?
And Rashi explains that they were provided to Pharaoh by the Egyptians who “feared God”, that is the Egyptians who heeded Moshe’s warning that God will destroy all who will be found outdoors during the plague of hail including animals, and those who “feared God” brought their animals indoors where the animals were spared.
And it was these “God fearing” Egyptians who were quick to volunteer their horses for the army of Pharaoh to be used against the Jewish people.
In the depository of infamous Jew-haters throughout history, it was always the “God fearing” gentiles who wrought the worst disasters upon our people in the name of their God.
President Bush, who just concluded a visit to the Holy Land, is perceived here as being a good man; a man who has reached out to Israel with material and moral support. A world leader who is aware of the dangers posed today to the Western world by the Islamic fascists, and has moved to eradicate this evil.
But Mr. Bush is a religious Christian and his Secretary of State is the daughter of a Christian minister, and they both represent tens of millions of Christian fundamentalists. These Christian fundamentalist have a Christian agenda which, I fear, our government is unaware of.
Mr. Bush’s unreasonable demand that Israel establish another Arab state by the side of Israel before he leaves office, even if the core problems of Jerusalem, Arab Terrorism, and the inability of the Arabs to rule themselves etc., are unresolved, becomes crystal clear when perceived on the background of his religious agenda.
Mr. Bush’s program is a clear invitation for bloodshed in the Holy Land.
Kassam and Katyusha rockets will fall on the runways of Ben Gurion Airport, and in the heart of Tel Aviv. It will arouse the yet benign religious and nationalistic emotions of Israel’s Arab citizens, who will give vent to their deepest feelings of hate through pogroms and bloodshed in Jerusalem Haifa, Jaffa, Beer Sheva – everywhere.
Hizbullah on our northern border and Hamas in Aza to the south will become emboldened and will embark in a pincer operation to divide our forces.
Israel will have to counter these existential threats to the State with ever growing force, which will cause even more acts of suicide bombings on the part of the Arabs.
Desperation will grip the Jews, so says the plan, that we will have no choice but to invite the Christian forces of NATO or the United States to take control over the Holy Land.
Here it is, a diabolically simple plan for a new age Christian Crusade to the Holy Land, without firing a shot of Christian ammunition.
Sounds insane?
On his visit here, Mr. Bush made a prayer visit to a church in Bet Lechem and to Kfar Nachum on the Kinneret, considered by the Christians to be holy.
In an unprecedented “oversight” for a Head of State visiting Israel, Mr. Bush did not visit the Western Wall or any other holy place, nor did he visit any place of religious significance for the Moslems.
He was making a Christian statement, which is also the essence of his political agenda.
But Mr. Bush is not the only “player” on the field.
1- Last month, Tony Blair converted to Roman Catholicism. Who is Tony Blair? He is not only a close friend of Mr. Bush; he is the former Prime Minister of England and the present official representative of the “Quartet”, consisting of the United States, the UN, the European Union and Russia dedicated to resolving the conflict in the Holy Land.
2- Vladimir Putin, former president of Russia and soon to be Prime Minister, despite his KGB past is a religious Christian. He keeps a copy of the Bible (his Bible) on his private plane, which he reads when in need of a moral pick-up.
3- Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, is a Spanish Catholic.
In addition to these individuals there are the many Christian organizations who generously contribute their money to Israel. Their spokesmen warm a Jewish heart by their sermons and statements regarding the primary status of Judaism as the basis of the so-called Judaic-Christian tradition. And we, who so much seek acceptance by Eisav, drool over every “minister” who has seen the light of Judaism.
But all their arrangements, grand designs, machinations and scheming stratagems will not only be thwarted, they will be turned upon those who seek to divert the steam roller of Jewish history, as we will read this shabbat in Shirat Ha’yam (the Song of the Sea, Shemot 15:9-11):
אמר אויב ארדף אשיג אחלק שלל תמלאמו נפשי אריק חרבי תורישמו ידי: נשפת ברוחך כסמו ים צללו כעופרת במים אדירים: מי כמכה באלם ה’ מי כמכה נאדר בקדש נורא תהלת עשה פלא:
The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
The so-called “God fearing” Gentiles with whom we come into contact, Christians and Muslims, seek to attain paradise, each in their own way; the Christians by believing and the Moslems by blowing up others.
They have yet to learn that one cannot merit Gan Eden by making Gehenom for the Jewish people.
Shabbat Shalom, Nachman Kahana
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.