The most important thing that we can do is certainly to
fulfill the mitzvos as they are incumbent upon us:
remembering Amolek, and feasting on Purim.
We have problems in the Holy Land. We accept them as our own,
and we see them as our own, but they do not all affect us
materially.
If the High Court allows the kibbutzim to open their
businesses on Shabbos with a cynical interpretation of the
law, it has little or no financial effect on us.
If the High Court takes the Western "values" that come from
and are most reflective of the long golus and attempts
to enshrine them as normative for Israeli society, it has no
direct effect on our social environment.
If the High Court forces the Chief Rabbinate to allow halls
to make kosher New Year's Eve parties, we are likely to never
know the difference.
Even when the High Court insists that Meretz is entitled to
have the Reform represent them on the Religious Councils, it
is not something that will affect our own lives very much, if
at all.
And no matter what the High Court says about bris mila
(the next hearing is scheduled for April on a suit to stop it
that was initially brought about a year ago) we are confident
that brissin will continue.
What these have in common is that they are an assault on
kvod Shomayim and that is our cause.
It was a brash assault on us when we stumbled spiritually
that marked the entrance of Amolek onto the world stage.
Amolek swung "the Esav-sword with a mighty fist" (quotations
are from Collected Writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch, Vol. II, p. 380) that did us real damage. But
Hashem showed us that it is the "raised hand of Moshe" that
combats the Esav-sword. It is prayer and keeping our eyes
focused Heavenward that enables us to overcome the challenge
of Amolek.
This is clear from Scripture. "There is a war of Hashem
against Amolek throughout the generations" (Shemos
17:16). "World history is the sum total of G-d's battle
against the Amolek materialism. G-d's leadership assures the
ultimate victory of spirit over matter." (Rav Hirsch)
It is clear that in Israel the real struggle is with those
secular Israelis who cannot stand us and use every means they
can to harm us in any way. The Reform and Conservative are
only used by them as objects to disturb us. The Reform and
Conservative presence in Israel is so small that it would
otherwise be insignificant. In America their numbers and
influence are also greatly exaggerated, though it is
certainly much greater.
Yet we bear no fundamental ill will to anyone, and certainly
not to the masses of Jewish followers. Our message to them is
simply, "Please brothers, do not push things too far."
Cut our funding, reduce the construction of classroom space
and force our children to study in overcrowded and
uncomfortable prefabs. Reduce our transfer payments, tax us
deep into the poverty level. Take away billions in "rescue
plans" and scream about thousands that we might get as
"blackmail." You can even make us wear a yellow star.
But don't trample our faith. Do not try to force us to live a
life that is alien to us. Don't force any Jew in the Holy
Land to live according to non-Jewish values.
This is what we say and pray as we prepare to do the
mitzvos hayom: to remember Amolek and to read the
Megilla and to feast on Purim.
