A victory for Torah: the Knesset plenum approved this week a Basic Law for its second and third reading: the bill presented by Rav Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah. For the first time since the passing of the Israeli State's original Bill of Rights, a new constitutional law has been passed, anchoring the study of Torah "as a basic fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel." The bill passed by a majority vote of 63 verses for and 52 votes against.

The office of the Degel HaTorah Chairman, MK Rabbi Gafni, applauded the passing of the law:

One of our readers sent us an article written by HaRav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch in 1855, when laws were passed in Germany aimed at denying civil rights to the Jewish population. These were minor economic laws but HaRav Hirsch was already able to see in his wise eyes the drastic ramifications of denying elementary rights to the citizens.

In the work, Maagalei Hashana, his thoughts appear under the title, "Denying Basic Rights is the First Step Towards Murder." Dozens of years before the Nazi rise to power, when no one could even imagine a dreadful rule such as that, yet in such an 'enlightened' and 'cultured' nation, HaRav Hirsch already warned against the tangible danger developing from such a denial of basic civil rights. Even without a comparison to such a dire past, these words should surely serve as a warning signal in the present battle against the chareidi public in denying it elementary civil rights. Following are his words:

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Part II

This series was first published in 1992, or, 24 years ago.

Seeking the Yerushalmi

At the end of 5661, they heard that the largest kameiya was kept by a wealthy Jew named Suleiman Benveniste. They rushed to his house, their hearts beating wildly, almost ripping off the manuscript's silk covering in their haste. Their joy however was not complete for their hopes were not entirely fulfilled: the long version of seder Nezikin which the Sdeh Yehoshua had written about, was not there.

They ascertained that another descendant probably had it and that it may yet be retrievable. Again, "sadly," the manuscript of Kodshim ended abruptly in the middle of the second perek of Arachin and here unfortunately, there was no hope, for the subsequent pages had been worn away and disappeared.

The valiant pair managed to secure the manuscript on loan for six months. A contract was drawn up with the publisher, who undertook to explain and elucidate the text and to print tens of thousands of copies. The income from the venture would be divided; half for the publisher and half for the two "detectives." At long last, the manuscript had finally reached the publishers eager hands on the twenty-eighth of Kislev 5662 (1902).

The publisher then describes the appearance of the ancient manuscript. The parchment which the Yerushalmi was written on was strong and thick. Each page had writing on both sides, each side holding two columns, each thirty-four lines in length. The bold, square letters attested to the quality of the work carried out by the Sephardi scribe.

At the beginning of every mishna, halacha or sentence, were large, red letters, which had been illuminated with gold and decorations. There were no abbreviated words or phrases; everything was written in full. At the end of maseches Menochos, the publisher had deciphered the following lines: "I, Yitzchok bar Yosef Ibn Ilbargeloni the scribe, have written the Talmud Yerushalmi up to this point, and, as Hashem helps me, will complete it, for the Chacham and prince in Yisrael, Don Yitzchak Halevi, who has paid from his purse for it to be glorified and embellished."

Further on, the "scribe" notes that his work was copied from accurate manuscripts which had been corrected by Rav Hai Gaon. "And the work was completed on the twenty-fifth day of yerach Tammuz in the year 4972 (1212)."