Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
Religion & Spirituality:Judaism
Parshat Bamidbar - Was Ben Gurion's vision of a People's Army which united the country and created a melting pot for Israeli Society foreshadowed in the Bible? Does the elimination of a militant and ideologically pure Priestly cast from the Biblical army have lessons for us today?
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Ben Gurion's Peoples Army (From Wikipedia)
The model is based on David Ben Gurion’s belief that the universality that would derive from this “melting pot” ideal would help create cohesion among members of society, regardless of their backgrounds; this would serve as both a builder of national identity after the establishment of the state, bringing together people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and racial identities.[4]
There is also the idea that the IDF is by the people, for the people. The IDF allow soldiers to go home often and also allows regular communication with the “outside world.” After an initial training period, the formality commonly associated with military service dissipates, which serves as a tool to promote this ideal.[5]
One of the initial goals of the People's Army Model is to serve as an apolitical, strong force; in theory, it is the best functioning government institution.[6]
(ב) שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כָּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כָּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם׃ (ג) מִבֶּ֨ן עֶשְׂרִ֤ים שָׁנָה֙ וָמַ֔עְלָה כָּל־יֹצֵ֥א צָבָ֖א בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תִּפְקְד֥וּ אֹתָ֛ם לְצִבְאֹתָ֖ם אַתָּ֥ה וְאַהֲרֹֽן׃
(2) Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head. (3) You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms.
(מה) וַיִּֽהְי֛וּ כָּל־פְּקוּדֵ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם מִבֶּ֨ן עֶשְׂרִ֤ים שָׁנָה֙ וָמַ֔עְלָה כָּל־יֹצֵ֥א צָבָ֖א בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (מו) וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ כָּל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים שֵׁשׁ־מֵא֥וֹת אֶ֖לֶף וּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת אֲלָפִ֑ים וַחֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים׃ (מז) וְהַלְוִיִּ֖ם לְמַטֵּ֣ה אֲבֹתָ֑ם לֹ֥א הָתְפָּקְד֖וּ בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ (פ)
(45) All the Israelites, aged twenty years and over, enrolled by ancestral houses, all those in Israel who were able to bear arms— (46) all who were enrolled came to 603,550. (47) The Levites, however, were not recorded among them by their ancestral tribe.
(25) The silver of those of the community who were recorded came to 100 talents and 1,775 shekels by the sanctuary weight: (26) a half-shekel a head, half a shekel by the sanctuary weight, for each one who was entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, 603,550 men.
(37) The Israelites journeyed from Raamses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot, aside from children.
(ד) כִּ֚י ה' אֱלֹֽקֵיכֶ֔ם הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּכֶ֑ם לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם עִם־אֹיְבֵיכֶ֖ם לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אֶתְכֶֽם׃ (ה) וְדִבְּר֣וּ הַשֹּֽׁטְרִים֮ אֶל־הָעָ֣ם לֵאמֹר֒ מִֽי־הָאִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֨ר בָּנָ֤ה בַֽיִת־חָדָשׁ֙ וְלֹ֣א חֲנָכ֔וֹ יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ פֶּן־יָמוּת֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְאִ֥ישׁ אַחֵ֖ר יַחְנְכֶֽנּוּ׃ (ו) וּמִֽי־הָאִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־נָטַ֥ע כֶּ֙רֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א חִלְּל֔וֹ יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ פֶּן־יָמוּת֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְאִ֥ישׁ אַחֵ֖ר יְחַלְּלֶֽנּוּ׃ (ז) וּמִֽי־הָאִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־אֵרַ֤שׂ אִשָּׁה֙ וְלֹ֣א לְקָחָ֔הּ יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ פֶּן־יָמוּת֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְאִ֥ישׁ אַחֵ֖ר יִקָּחֶֽנָּה׃ (ח) וְיָסְפ֣וּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים֮ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־הָעָם֒ וְאָמְר֗וּ מִי־הָאִ֤ישׁ הַיָּרֵא֙ וְרַ֣ךְ הַלֵּבָ֔ב יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִמַּ֛ס אֶת־לְבַ֥ב אֶחָ֖יו כִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃
(4) For it is the LORD your God who marches with you to do battle for you against your enemy, to bring you victory.” (5) Then the officials shall address the troops, as follows: “Is there anyone who has built a new house but has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his home, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it. (6) Is there anyone who has planted a vineyard but has never harvested it? Let him go back to his home, lest he die in battle and another harvest it. (7) Is there anyone who has paid the bride-price for a wife, but who has not yet married her? Let him go back to his home, lest he die in battle and another marry her.” (8) The officials shall go on addressing the troops and say, “Is there anyone afraid and disheartened? Let him go back to his home, lest the courage of his comrades flag like his.”
(18) Moses at the census did not take into consideration the tribe of Levi, because God had not commanded him to select a prince for this tribe as for all others, hence he drew the conclusion that they were not to be counted. Naturally he was not sure of his decision in this matter, and wavered whether or not to include the Levites in the number, when God said to him: "Do not muster the tribe of Levi, nor number them among the children of Israel." At these words Moses was frightened, for he feared that his tribe was considered unworthy of being counted with the rest, and was therefore excluded by God. But God quieted him, saying: "Do not number the Levites among the children of Israel, number them separately." There was several reasons for numbering the Levites separately. God foresaw that, owing to the sin of the spies who were sent to search the land, all men who were able to go to war would perish in the wilderness, "all that were numbered of them, according to their whole number, from twenty years old and upward." Now had the Levites been included in the sum total of Israel, the Angel of Death would have held sway over them also, wherefore God excluded them from the census of all the tribes, that they might in the future be exempt from the punishment visited upon the others, and might enter the promised land. The Levites were, furthermore, the body-guard of God, to whose care the sanctuary was entrusted-another reason for counting them separately. God in this instance conducted Himself like the king who ordered one of his officers to number his legions, but added: "Number all the legions excepting only the legion that is about me."
Haredi Draft Exemption
The original reason for the arrangement was the destruction of the yeshivas in Europe during the Holocaust and the wish to prevent the closing of yeshivas in Israel due to their students being drafted to the army. Today this objective no longer exists. The yeshivas are flourishing in Israel, and there is no serious worry that the draft of yeshiva students, according to any arrangement, would bring about the disappearance of this [yeshiva] institution.
The Israeli Supreme Court Decision Invalidating the Law on Haredi Military Draft Postponement
Shifts in the Haredi Community
Seismic shifts are taking place in the ultra-Orthodox world here. Talk to their leaders, as our students did this week, and you will hear some of them acknowledge that they are in crisis. For decades, they have prided themselves on believing that their way of life was essential to Israel’s thriving, that though they are accused of being parasitic, they are actually a rich resource for Israel’s spiritual needs. Now, though, as one admitted to our students, after the way they comported themselves during Covid, some acknowledge that they have become “a burden” to Israeli society. For some, at least, their sense of mission, is cracking. Others focused on what happened at Mt. Meron on Lag Ba’Omer. “Because we have the political power to keep the state at bay,” they said, “we end up killing ourselves and each other. It’s not the state that has to change, it’s us.” What might that mean for Israel’s future?
Daniel Gordis - What the fires don't mean May 12, 2021
Haredi Leftists
Why the instinctive revulsion from leftist politics among ultra-Orthodox Jews?
Not because they reject the notions of peace and territorial compromise. Quite the contrary: The rabbinical leaders of the Haredi community have throughout the ages been known to espouse dovish views.
And not because they prefer free-market capitalism. Quite the contrary: Many members of the Haredi community, one of country’s poorest, owe their daily sustenance to generous social welfare programs provided by the state.
Rather, it’s because they perceive the Israeli left as anti-religious and a threat, in particular, to the very stringent form of Judaism they hold dear. Moshe Gafni, a veteran lawmaker from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, made that abundantly clear in an off-the-cuff remark at this week’s annual Haaretz Israel Conference on Peace. Asked why he insisted on aligning his party with the political right despite his dovish views, Gafni responded: “We will join the left when the left breaks its ties with the Reform movement.”
The Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Leftists in Israel Who Aren't Afraid to Admit It, Judy Maltz, June 15, 2017 Haaretz
מטח הרקטות אל עבר אשקלון, התפרעויות בהר הבית ובמזרח ירושלים, התנגשויות אלימות בין כוחות משטרת ישראל לבין מאות צעירים פלסטינים ובינם לבין קיצוניים יהודים, פרץ הרגשות בקרב אזרחי ישראל הערבים – כל אלה מהווים עדות לפוטנציאל הנפיצות בירושלים המאיים על היציבות והביטחון גם מעבר לה.
המסרים המודאגים מהעולם הערבי – בכלל זה מדינות אשר אך לא מכבר נרמלו יחסיהן עם ישראל – ומהעולם הרחב ממחישים את מרכזיותה של העיר ואת הרגישות לכל המתרחש בה ומחייבים מדיניות שקולה בטרם ייגרם נזק ליחסי ישראל – המדיניים, כלכליים ואף הביטחוניים – באזור ומעבר לו.
תנועת ׳מפקדים׳, על למעלה מ-300 חבריה, כולם יוצאי מערכות הביטחון בדרגים הבכירים ביותר, משוכנעת שלישראל היכולת והעוצמה הדרושים כדי להתמודד עם כל אתגר ביטחוני. עם זאת, השתלשלות האירועים מעידה הן כי לא לכל בעיה מצוי פתרון בתחום העוצמה הצבאית והן שהתנהלות מדינית נבונה יכולה למנוע הידרדרות ביטחונית.
על רקע זה, תנועה ׳מפקדים׳ קוראת לממשלה לטפל באירוע המתגלגל ברגישות ובתבונה הראויות לעיר מורכבת המקודשת על יהודים, מוסלמים ונוצרים בעולם כולו.
התנועה מברכת את בית המשפט העליון על ההחלטה הנבונה לדחות הכרעתו בסוגיית שייח ג׳ראח, לבל תנוצל ע״י קיצוניים להלהטת הרוחות ברגע עתיר סיכונים זה. באותה רוח, התנועה קוראת לממשלה להפגין אחריות, להמחיש שריבונות אינה נמדדת ביכולת ליצר פרובוקציות אלא במשילות שקולה, ולרסן מסיתים – ויהיו אשר יהיו – ולהרחיקם לאלתר מאזורי החיכוך.
היערכות נכונה של משטרת ישראל חיונית תמיד, אך כפי שהומחש גם היום, אין בכוחה למנוע חיכוך, התלקחות מקומית, וניצול הנסיבות לערעור הביטחון מעבר לתחומי העיר. נדרשת מנהיגות לאומית אחראית אשר תנחה את כוחות הביטחון ברוח זאת ובכך תתרום להרגעת הרוחות והכלת האירוע בטרם יסלים ויתבע קורבנות נוספים.
סדרת הכשלים במגוון תחומים אשר חוותה המדינה בתקופה האחרונה מחייבת בחינה יסודית של הנחות עבודה ודפוסי פעולה. כפי שמתברר שוב בשעות אלה, הדבר נכון במיוחד בתחום הביטחון.
בבוקר שאחרי האירוע תידרש ממשלת ישראל להפיק לקחים באשר לשלוש אשליות שהאירוע חשף במלוא העצמה:
- ההתפכחות מאשליית השקט היחסי בירושלים, תוך התעלמות מנפיצות היחסים בין פלסטינים לישראלים בעיר והרגישות האזורית והבינלאומית למתרחש בה, מחייבת שינוי יסודי בהתייחסות לצרכי כל הדתות והאוכלוסיות בעיר והקפדה בלתי מתפשרת על הסטטוס קוו במקומות הקדושים.
- ההתפכחות מאשליית הבידול בין יהודה ושומרון לבין רצועת עזה וביניהן למזרח ירושלים – כאילו המתרחש באחד מהם אינו משליך על האחרים – את מחירה משלמים שוב ושוב תושבי העוטף והדרום כולו, מחייבת גיבוש אסטרטגיה חלופית אשר תגייס קואליציה אזורית ובינלאומית למהלך משולב של ביסוס הפסקת האש מול הרצועה, תכנית שיקום ופיתוח נרחבת לאוכלוסייתה וחזרה מדורגת של הרשות הפלסטינית לניהולה.
- ההתפכחות מאשליית היציבות בין ישראל לפלסטינים במרחב כולו מחייבת גיבוש אסטרטגיה אשר תענה על צרכי ביטחון ישראל ותשלב מהלכים ליצירת אופק מדיני (גם אם מימושו רחוק), שיפור איכות החיים של כל החיים בשטחים שבשליטת ישראל, צמצום החיכוך בין ישראלים לפלסטינים, ובכך תתרום ליציבות בשטח ולסיכויי היפרדות עתידית בין שני העמים.
תנועת ׳מפקדים׳ גיבשה תוכניות מעשיות למרבית הסוגיות אשר נפיצותן נחשפה באירועי השבועות והימים האחרונים. התנועה מעמידה את הידע והניסיון של מאות חבריה, בכירי עבר בצה”ל, בשב”כ, במוסד ובמשטרת ישראל, לרשות הממשלה, מערכת הביטחון וגורמים ממלכתיים אחרים במאמץ החיוני לגיבוש מדיניות חלופית בכל אחת מסוגיות הביטחון הללו
The barrage of rockets at Ashkelon, riots on the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem, violent clashes between Israeli regime forces and hundreds of young Palestinians, among them Jewish extremists, the surge in sentiment among Arab citizens of Israel – all of which are a testament to the explosive potential in Jerusalem that threatens stability and security beyond it. The messages concerned about the Arab world – including countries that have recently normalized relations with Israel – and from the wider world demonstrate the centrality of the city and the sensitivity to everything that takes place there, and require a prudent policy before damage to Israel's relations – political, economic, and even security – in the region and beyond. The Commanders' Movement, with its more than 300 members, all veterans of the security establishment at the highest levels, is convinced that Israel has the capability and power necessary to deal with any security challenge. However, the chain of events indicates that not every problem has a solution in the area of military might, and that wise political conduct can prevent a security deterioration. Against this backdrop, the Commanders Movement calls on the government to handle the event that unfolds with the sensitivity and wisdom of a complex city sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians around the world. The movement congratulates the Supreme Court on its wise decision to postpone its decision on the sheikh Jarrah issue, not to be exploited by extremists to whip up the winds at this high-risk moment. In the same spirit, the movement calls on the government to demonstrate responsibility, to demonstrate that sovereignty is not measured by the ability to generate provocations but in prudent governance, and to restrain insurers – whatever they may be – and to immediately distance them from the friction zones. Proper preparation of the Israeli police is always essential, but as has been shown today, it does not have the power to prevent friction, local flare-ups, and the exploitation of circumstances to undermine security beyond the city boundaries. Responsible national leadership is required to guide the security forces in this spirit, thereby contributing to calming the spirits and the inclusion of the event before escalating and claiming additional victims. The series of failures in a variety of areas experienced by the state in recent times requires a thorough examination of work assumptions and patterns of action. As it becomes clear again during these hours, this is especially true in the field of security. The morning after the event, the Israeli government will be required to draw lessons regarding three illusions that the event revealed in full force: The disillusionment with the illusion of relative quiet in Jerusalem, ignoring the explosive relations between Palestinians and Israelis in the city and the regional and international sensitivity to what is happening there, requires a fundamental change in the attitude regarding the needs of all religions and populations in the city and uncompromising adherence to the status quo in the holy places. The disillusionment with the illusion of differentiation between Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, including East Jerusalem – as if one of them does not affect the others – has repeatedly been paid by the residents of the envelop and the entire south, requires the formulation of an alternative strategy that will enlist a regional and international coalition for a combined process of establishing a ceasefire with the Gaza Strip, a comprehensive reconstruction and development plan for its population, and a gradual return of the Palestinian Authority to its management. Disillusionment with the illusion of stability between Israel and the Palestinians throughout the region requires formulating a strategy that meets Israel's security needs and will incorporate moves to create a political horizon (even if its implementation is far away), improving the quality of life of all life in israeli-controlled territories, reducing friction between Israelis and Palestinians, and thus contributing to stability on the ground and the chances of future separation between the two peoples. The Commanders' Movement has formulated practical plans for most of the issues whose explosiveness has been exposed in recent weeks and days. The movement provides the knowledge and experience of hundreds of its members, past senior figures in the IDF, the GSS, the Mossad and the Israel Police, the government, the security establishment and state officials
Commanders for Israel's Security
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