The leaders of the Jewish people assembled here in
Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh, on Sunday, the 28th of Shevat
5759, for a prayer and outcry rally over the persecution of
religion and tradition in the land of our forefathers, and
formulated the following statement:
1. As we stand here today, yachad shivtei Yisroel,
pained over current events, and concerned over the attempts
to undermine the foundations of Judaism and the Torah which
was given to us by Moshe Rabbenu from the hand of HaKodosh
Boruch Hu, we feel the need to reiterate what is clear to
all of us: "Ani ma'amin shezos haTorah lo tehei muchlefes,
velo tehei Torah acheres mei'eis haBorei Yisborach Shemo
(I believe with complete faith that the Torah will not
change).
2. We express our shock over the persecution of religion and
tradition in the holy land of our forefathers, and turn with
a fervent cry, from the depths of our hearts, to all who are
responsible for this situation: "Brothers, do not inflict
evil." Our sacred Torah is the secret and the foundation of
our existence as a nation, from the time we and our forebears
stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and received the Torah with
joy, with faith, and with a full heart. Don't raise your
hands against the Torah.
3. We express our shock over the rabid incitement campaign
against Torah and mitzvah observers, perpetrated by various
elements and even authorities within the judicial and
political systems, and also the various communications media,
and demand that this campaign stop.
4. We plead, appeal and demand that the judicial system not
interfere in matters of religion, and that it stop forcing us
to behave contrary to the Torah's laws.
5. We repeat our allegiance to the struggle of all of the
gedolei ume'orei Yisroel in our generation and in
former generations, against the Reform and Conservative
cults, which wreaked and are wreaking spiritual havoc on the
Jewish Nation, which distort Judaism and which uproot the
halochos of the Shulchan Oruch, as transmitted to
us from generation to generation. We demand that this
coercion campaign, which has as its goal to include the
Reform and Conservative in frameworks which provide religious
services, be stopped.
6. We ask to repair the breaches in the wall of Shabbos and
not to add on to them, to halt the activities of the
missionaries and their proselytizing, to cease desecrating
graves, to halt the undermining of kodshei Yisroel, and
we call upon the various authorities, in particular the
judicial authorities, not to undermine the accepted norms of
Jewish life.
7. The remedies for our generation and the hope for the
future is in education. We call to all of our brothers to
return to their roots, and we turn to the authorities to
deepen the education in authentic Jewish truths and values as
transmitted to us from generation to generation, in order to
prevent the serious spiritual degeneration whose end is a
yawning abyss.
8. We conclude with the words of our great sages and
luminaries, that we have come here to increase kvod
Shomayim, and to underscore and emphasize the unifying
factors of the Jewish Nation, as well as to "plead for our
souls, to entreat, to beg and to beseech He Who resides
Above," Who "grieves with our pain," to save us from those
who are attempting to undermine the foundations of religion
and belief. We entreat Him to shower a spirit of purity from
Above, so that all will return to serve Him with a full
heart.
