A Torah in One Hand and a Gun in the Other. A quote originally credited to Rabbi Meir Kahane, of blessed memory, which makes a very powerful statement. Although I have never heard him speak about this statement in particular, I have given it a tremendous amount of thought. It is a statement of seemingly militant origins, but upon deeper investigation we can find profound insight and amazing clarity. It seems to me that this is more than a statement of simple militancy. It’s about balance and about walking down the middle of the road. Not too far to the left and not too far to the right. To me, this is the essence of what I stand for and believe, and no single statement could describe better what I strive for, not only for myself but for the Klal; for all of those who are members of the Nation of Israel.
The Klal seems to be divided into two main camps in regard to the protection and defense of the Jewish people. In one camp are those who believe that all we really need is our tefilla, our prayer. These people are not concerned that a physical component is necessary, and believe that Hashem is the protector of the Jewish People. I must be completely clear that I do believe that in the end Hashem is ultimately the protector for the Klal, but I do not believe that this is the answer in its entirety, as I will explain.
The second group seems quit zealous in their desire to defend Am Yisrael , the Jewish people with all of the resources they can muster. These include guns, Knives and things that go boom in the night. This group seems to remove Hashem from the equation, and is focused almost exclusively on the militant aspects of our protection.
To truly grasp these ideas of balance and to put them into perspective we need to look at each hand individually. Although I feel that the hand holding the figurative Torah should come first on the grounds of giving honor to Hashem and His divine wisdom, I am going to discuss the other hand first. I am going to initially discuss the hand holding the gun primarily for the sake of structuring this article in such a way as to make my point as clearly and easily as possible.
The gun hand. There is a halacha, a Jewish law, that states that it is not permitted to rely on Hashem to do a miracle. We have a responsibility to do our part to protect ourselves. Furthermore, the Torah prohibits us from standing by while our brother’s blood is shed. We are required to not only save our own lives, but the lives of those around us, other members of the Klal. If we cannot rely on a miracle, then clearly we are required to do our part. What that part is exactly may take many different forms; be they a gun, a self-defense class, or whatever the individual finds fits them best. We all have a responsibility to do our part to defend ourselves and our neighbor.
Additionally, there is a gemorrah that states that if a man comes to kill you, you should wake up early and kill him first. This is a primary source for the idea that we may respond to imminent threats with the force necessary to protect ourselves. I have spoken to a great many individuals who believe that this is the permission to perform a variety of aggressive, if not violent, acts.
This is the physical side, the side of strength in our own ability to protect ourselves and those around us, and often this is the side that can snowball out of control. We can rationalize and justify a great many things that otherwise would not be an option for us as long as we are acting out of the righteous concern for our lives and the lives of our children. A seemingly primal feeling can well up inside of us as we start to think about military action and the preservation of the Klal. Even killing prospective enemies based on their hatred of the Jewish people can become a rational line of reasoning once we start down this road. After all, if they hate us, doesn’t that constitute an imminent threat? The fact that so many teach their children to hate us and want us dead can lead to the conclusion that children should not be spared from our wrath.
Thankfully, In His infinite wisdom, The Holy One, blessed is He, has not only given us laws that require our action to defend the Klal, but he has given us the Torah in its entirety in order to reign in the animal side within us and to bring balance and clarity to our lives. Of course, we must be ready to defend ourselves, but we should not forget that we are a Nation of priests and princes of the Nation of Israel. There is no gun on its own that has worth without it being used as a kli, a vessel to be used in the context of Torah. Every one of our actions must be done in accordance with the will of G-d, and that means that the Torah is not what only balances but puts the entire “gun Hand” into perspective.
We must be focused on the commandments given to us on Mount Sinai, focused on our tefilla, in touch with our relationship with Hashem, and what it means to be a light onto the nations, including our own Nation. It is only through Torah, Mitzvot and our connection to Hashem that we protect ourselves from becoming animals ourselves, caught up in the frenzy of the self-righteous madness. It is this connection and our constant reflection on this relationship that gives any value to the hand holding the physicality of a firearm. We should never forget that in the end, it is, was and always will be Hashem who ultimately protects the Jewish people, and our readiness and willingness to fight and to protect Jewish blood from spilling into the streets is only the “not counting on a miracle” part of the equation.
That is the balance; the taking responsibility for our safety combined with the boundaries of Torah that protects us from forgetting we are princes of G-d’s holy Nation and need to act accordingly. We must stand strong for the klal in both body and in spirituality or we miss the point entirely. Torah without our willingness to do for ourselves, to the best of our ability, is relying on a miracle to save us. A strong defense without Torah will almost certainly lead us into a snowball of action turning us into animals. And Torah in one hand and a gun in the other, with a focus on our place before Hashem, leads us to the balance that opens the door for Hashem, the true protector, to shield his Nation and fight by our side.
The Klal seems to be divided into two main camps in regard to the protection and defense of the Jewish people. In one camp are those who believe that all we really need is our tefilla, our prayer. These people are not concerned that a physical component is necessary, and believe that Hashem is the protector of the Jewish People. I must be completely clear that I do believe that in the end Hashem is ultimately the protector for the Klal, but I do not believe that this is the answer in its entirety, as I will explain.
The second group seems quit zealous in their desire to defend Am Yisrael , the Jewish people with all of the resources they can muster. These include guns, Knives and things that go boom in the night. This group seems to remove Hashem from the equation, and is focused almost exclusively on the militant aspects of our protection.
To truly grasp these ideas of balance and to put them into perspective we need to look at each hand individually. Although I feel that the hand holding the figurative Torah should come first on the grounds of giving honor to Hashem and His divine wisdom, I am going to discuss the other hand first. I am going to initially discuss the hand holding the gun primarily for the sake of structuring this article in such a way as to make my point as clearly and easily as possible.
The gun hand. There is a halacha, a Jewish law, that states that it is not permitted to rely on Hashem to do a miracle. We have a responsibility to do our part to protect ourselves. Furthermore, the Torah prohibits us from standing by while our brother’s blood is shed. We are required to not only save our own lives, but the lives of those around us, other members of the Klal. If we cannot rely on a miracle, then clearly we are required to do our part. What that part is exactly may take many different forms; be they a gun, a self-defense class, or whatever the individual finds fits them best. We all have a responsibility to do our part to defend ourselves and our neighbor.
Additionally, there is a gemorrah that states that if a man comes to kill you, you should wake up early and kill him first. This is a primary source for the idea that we may respond to imminent threats with the force necessary to protect ourselves. I have spoken to a great many individuals who believe that this is the permission to perform a variety of aggressive, if not violent, acts.
This is the physical side, the side of strength in our own ability to protect ourselves and those around us, and often this is the side that can snowball out of control. We can rationalize and justify a great many things that otherwise would not be an option for us as long as we are acting out of the righteous concern for our lives and the lives of our children. A seemingly primal feeling can well up inside of us as we start to think about military action and the preservation of the Klal. Even killing prospective enemies based on their hatred of the Jewish people can become a rational line of reasoning once we start down this road. After all, if they hate us, doesn’t that constitute an imminent threat? The fact that so many teach their children to hate us and want us dead can lead to the conclusion that children should not be spared from our wrath.
Thankfully, In His infinite wisdom, The Holy One, blessed is He, has not only given us laws that require our action to defend the Klal, but he has given us the Torah in its entirety in order to reign in the animal side within us and to bring balance and clarity to our lives. Of course, we must be ready to defend ourselves, but we should not forget that we are a Nation of priests and princes of the Nation of Israel. There is no gun on its own that has worth without it being used as a kli, a vessel to be used in the context of Torah. Every one of our actions must be done in accordance with the will of G-d, and that means that the Torah is not what only balances but puts the entire “gun Hand” into perspective.
We must be focused on the commandments given to us on Mount Sinai, focused on our tefilla, in touch with our relationship with Hashem, and what it means to be a light onto the nations, including our own Nation. It is only through Torah, Mitzvot and our connection to Hashem that we protect ourselves from becoming animals ourselves, caught up in the frenzy of the self-righteous madness. It is this connection and our constant reflection on this relationship that gives any value to the hand holding the physicality of a firearm. We should never forget that in the end, it is, was and always will be Hashem who ultimately protects the Jewish people, and our readiness and willingness to fight and to protect Jewish blood from spilling into the streets is only the “not counting on a miracle” part of the equation.
That is the balance; the taking responsibility for our safety combined with the boundaries of Torah that protects us from forgetting we are princes of G-d’s holy Nation and need to act accordingly. We must stand strong for the klal in both body and in spirituality or we miss the point entirely. Torah without our willingness to do for ourselves, to the best of our ability, is relying on a miracle to save us. A strong defense without Torah will almost certainly lead us into a snowball of action turning us into animals. And Torah in one hand and a gun in the other, with a focus on our place before Hashem, leads us to the balance that opens the door for Hashem, the true protector, to shield his Nation and fight by our side.
No comments:
Post a Comment