Gematria of a Contemporary Event December 30th was a day of humilation for Israel.They released 26 terrorists who had Jewish blood on their hands.Try as I may, I have not come across a precedent. Where, in the thousands of turbulent years of Jewish history, is there anything of the sort? Where, for that matter, in all of human history, does one side in a negotiation, which has not been defeated, release prisoners as a “gesture” ?! To abjectly placate the other so that they deign to remain at the table? Now December 30th was the third release.The first was in mid- August and the second was on October 30th. The fourth and last is scheduled for March 28th. In each of the four releases the number released was 26. In other words, 26 prisoners were released in August. Another 26 in October making a total of 52. Yet another 26 in December for a total of 78 and now in March another 26 is scheduled,making a total of 104. I find it singular that apparently no one, in all of the Jewish world, has commented on the significance of these numbers. Let’s consider some background:- Carolyn Glick, an astute observer, writing in the January 7th Jerusalem Post tells us- Kerry is the Palestinians’ ace in the hole. He used the US’s limitless leverage on Israel to coerce Israel into agreeing to pay for the privilege of speaking to Palestinian negotiators who reject our country’s right to exist and extol as heroes the terrorist scum who murder us. For the pleasure of their company, Kerry forced Israel to agree up-front to release scores of Palestinian terrorist murderers. And he did so in bad faith. According to a high-ranking government official, Israel told Kerry it would release 82 murderers, none of whom are Israelis. And he agreed. But then, during a joint appearance with Kerry, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas announced that Israel had agreed to release 104 terrorists, including Israeli citizens. Rather than correct him, Kerry went along, and so locked Israel into a concession it had never made. We see that initially Israel had agreed to release 82 but the so-called “Palestinians” through subterfuge, coerced them into agreeing to release 104. But why? Why 104 and not an even,round 100? For that matter, why not 105,106 or 107,or maybe 103,102 or 101? Could it be because 104 is a multiple of 26 ? Why…why was it so important to the “Palestinians” that 26 prisoners be released, again, again and again -in each of three separate releases? And yet another release is scheduled for this week. Even the most rudimentary student of Kabbalah is taken aback whenever the number 26 appears. It may fly off the page of a book or jump out from the license plate of the car ahead.It is the sum of the numerical value of each of four letters of the Ineffable Name also known also as the Tetragrammaton.When in Exodus Moses asks Hashem’s name he is told that the name G-d Almighty sufficed for the Patriarchs-they defeated enemies,amassed wealth as herdsmen, planted and harvested abundantly…these were miracles but they were hidden within the normal, every day working of the world.But now, something new was going to be created and for this the great Name was required. It was with this Name that all existence came into being and that the sea was split. The Tetragrammaton was only pronounced in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur.There, in circumstances of utmost sanctity, three times during the service,the Kohan Gadol,pronounced the Name and tens of thousands of Jews fell on their faces. Joshua, when he was about to begin the conquest of the land sent out to spies ascertain the best approaches. They arrived in Jericho and stayed at the house of a woman innkeeper whose name was Rahab. she told them, “...fear of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have dissolved because of you; for we have heard how the Eternal dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds for you when you went forth from Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were across the Jordan – to Sihon and Og - whom you utterly destroyed. We heard and our hearts melted – no spirit remained in any man because of you – for the Eternal,your G-d, He is G-d in the heavens above and on the earth below.” This is one of the earliest testimonies to the power of what is called today,”psychological warfare”. No doubt the news of the crossing of the Reed Sea had spread throughout the Middle East. That, and the defeat of Sihon and Og, two formidable opponents, evidently made a deep impression. It is for this reason that the Canaanites never came out into the field and engaged in a fixed battle.There was no Austerlitz,Waterloo or Gettysburg. Rather they hid behind the walls of their cities and endured sieges in which they were invariably defeated. This classic example of“psychological warfare occurred over 3500 years ago. In the modern world, the importance of first demoralizing one’s opponent before attacking has become well-established.Psychological warfare is really warfare of the spirit. One could argue that it is just as real, if not more so, than the warfare of guns, tanks and airplanes. The collapse of France in just six weeks was a case in point. It was not just the German blitzkrieg, but the long-term demoralization and rot at the core of French society that led to the stunning defeat. What have we come to, we must ask ourselves, when the existence of our nation depends upon the continued refusal of our enemies to mouth a few words purporting to recognize us as a Jewish State. Suppose one fine day, they mumbled some such incantation, does that mean that they be awarded for their exertions, with Judea and Samaria,the heartland of the nation? Every declaration of boycott by some forlorn academic council is a spiritual defeat as is every resolution against Israel by this or that political body. Indeed, there have been a steady crescendo of such defeats. They should be regarded as if they were military defeats.Against this the response at least here in America of the vast majority of Jews has been acquiescence or silence. Indeed, when the Berkeley Student Council passed a resolution asking the University to divest, the response of the Jews on campus was to tape up their own mouths with duct tape and stand in in self-imposed silence on campus . At least they were being truthful–what could be more emblematic of the passivity and deafening silence of American Jewery? The BDS people have since gone well beyond “sanctions” to undermine the legitimacy of Israel’s existence itself.For the most part,as far as I could see,the Jews counter with three arguments:- 1.”Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East”. I am not aware of any reference in 3500 years of Jewish tradition of going into a little booth, pulling the curtain and casting a vote, in utter isolation from one’s fellow Jews. Should this be a source of pride, that we are exemplars of an institution borrowed from the pagan Greeks? Not only is “the only democracy” one of the least egalitarian countries, inequality is increasing with a growing share of national income going to the wealthiest 10 percent and a drastic drop in the share of the lowest 20 percent. 2.The “laundry list”: a catalog of the discoveries and inventions that Israel has contributed to so-called “civilization. Many of these are indeed useful and ingenious. But then, what other nation, demeans itself by attempting to justify its existence with such a list ? 3. “The campaign against Israel is antisemitic.” So what else is new? They hate Jews.Even if there were no “Palestinians” they would still continue their insidious campaign.But what does this have to do with justifying Israels existence? Rather, can we not get on with the work we are meant to be doing,namely, to settle every part of the Land and become a nation of teachers to the world.The profoundly decayed and rotten edifice of contemporary civilization desperately needs to be healed and renewed.May its time that we Jews get on with the work that we are here to do. As Isaiah, 60:1-5,prophesied so long ago, Arise! Shine! for your light has arrived, and the glory of Hashem shines upon you. For, behold, darkness may cover the earth and a thick cloud[may cover] the kingdoms, but upon you Hashem will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you. Nations will walk by your light and kings by the brilliance of your shine.Lift up your eyes all around and see,they are all assembling and coming to you;your sons will arrive from afar and your daughters will be raised at [their] side.Then you will see and be radiant,your heart will be startled and broadened…. I wonder. I wonder if after 2000 years of exile and 65 years of the Jewish state the Jewish people have to fall, head over heals, into yet another snare cunningly set by our enemies? For how much longer do we dare allow the abasement to continue? If 26 prisoners are released on March 28th it will be a desecration of Hashem’s name. It must not happen. Yoel Schwartz PhD Berkeley,California March 24,2014
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 00:50:15 +0000
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