The prophet Malachi, last of the nevi'im, declares, "And you say: wherefore should we serve Hashem, and what gain have we in keeping His words."

To our shame, we are living in a time when many words are expressed as if it is futile to serve Hashem. Words spoken against religion and faith, against chareidim and yeshivos. What are we expected to do in such situations?

The possibility is either-or, like Eliyohu proposed to the prophets of the Baal at Mt. Carmel: "If Hashem is the A-mighty, follow Him. If the Baal is god, follow him."

But, says HaRav Yosef Tzvi Ben Porat, whatever Hashem has presented us with in these past years, has come to make us repent, to make us return unto Him. The wicked ones who tamper with this process will surely be punished but let us relate to this present period from a different angle.

The situation is very confusing and disconcerting. War after war, America supportive and then suddenly, Trump reverses his attitude. What is going on here?

HaRav Ben Porat: Look here, we are finding ourselves in a state of war for the past three years. There was a pogrom in the South from an organization which prepared itself for it for two-and-a-half years. We saw them in the process, training for it in Gaza across the border. This was a warning from Heaven: if you don't repent, the Arabs will storm in a massacre.

The American president, who is so concerned about his personal image and prestige, has experienced a humiliating occurrence which no other American has ever before undergone. The Iranians are attacking him with no holds barred, smearing him with every known infamy, calling him a 'loser' and mocking him with snide caricatures and subtitles.

When an Israeli newsman or politician looses as much as a word of criticism against the president or the vice president, the American reaction is swift in coming with sharp censure against said commentator or politician. But when the entire Iranian media mocks the president or his second-in-command, not a peep is heard.

The Iranians well-understood the message emerging from Washington, according to which Trump decided to close a deal at all costs, literally, "all cost," be it the most humiliating one, since they are not concerned about any American reaction. They are holding the winning card in the future of the Hormuz Strait, and are using it in the most advantageously possible way.

After the American president demanded that Iran immediately restrain its proxy in Lebanon, Muhamad Maardani, the Iranian advisor of the delegation, reacted with open disdain, publicizing Trump's demand, with the following epithet: 'a sore loser,' caricatured with full mockery and ridicule.

Similarly,...

Part 3

This series was first published 33 years ago, in 1993.

During the past generation we are accustomed to secular domination of Jerusalem, with several religious enclaves. However, it was not always thus. Jerusalem considered itself a holy city, and it was a deliberate effort on the part of anti-religious elements to break the kedusha. It was a war that began around the first World War, and continues to this very day. However, many crucial battles were fought during the first years of the State. One of these was the opening of the first mixed swimming pool in Jerusalem in 1958.

Every new insult to the sanctity of Jerusalem was fought. Each caused its pain and left its scars. Important to understanding the struggles that continue to this very day are the accounts of these earlier struggles. We are confident of long-term victory, but there is a long road back.

Nonviolent Demonstrations?

A pogrom in Yerushalayim? Jerusalemites arrived at one demonstration with their hands literally tied. This was their way of "proving" that they weren't violent. This, however, had no effect on the police, who continued raining violent blows on religious protesters.

A gathering took place at the Kikar Shabbos intersection. Without prior warning, the police turned fire hoses on the protesters. They then descended on the masses, swinging their clubs. Innocent passersby were wounded. The police then began breaking into people's homes. The cries of children intermingled with the sound of shattering windowpanes. The "guardians of law and order" hurled rocks into houses. Miraculously, no one was harmed.

In the wake of this unbridled attack, a day of prayer was arranged, to take place throughout the Jewish world. On the seventh of Adar, thousands gathered on the corner of Batei Warsaw.

The sounds of prayers, chosen expressly for this seventh day of Adar, reverberated through the air. Yerushalayim was already accustomed to gatherings of this sort. On this day, the entire focus was on prayer. The idea of demonstrating was far from everyone's mind. The police officers on the scene were bored. They began driving by on motorcycles, inciting the crowd. Others sounded their sirens, intending to disturb the tefillos.