Page 4 - HaMizrachi Tisha B'Av AUS 2021

TORAT MIZRACHI

through the Hellenistic decrees in the time of Israel were not united and both mon- the State of Israel, the pinnacle of Jewish
of Chanukah, the Crusades and the Inqui- archs attempted to create one sovereign enterprise in the modern era. May it con-
sitions, the aim was always to attack our entity under a united kingship out of the tinue to succeed and flourish for its own
values and way of life. This is opposition disparate and disunited tribes of Israel. 2 sake and for the great reservoir of blessing
to ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ת ַרֹו ּ ת. it brings to all of humanity.
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Says the Gaon, this was the Philistines’
Edomite antisemitism is committed to spiritual mission – to constantly oppose And of course, the key to the fulfillment of
our physical destruction – from Amalek any sovereign Jewish presence in the Land. this prophetic blessing is the rebuilding of
through Haman to the Nazis. This is an And as the Jewish collective presence the Beit HaMikdash. May we merit the com-
attack on the very physical existence of intensifies, so does Philistine opposition. plete rebuilding of Yerushalayim speedily
the Jewish people as a distinct people, in our days.
independent of any beliefs or religious
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practices. This is opposition to ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ם ַע. Palestinian Denialism and
the Ghost of the Philistines 1 “Moav is the root of Israel’s spiritual contamination,
Philistine antisemitism, the most per- Edom is the root of destruction that damaged Israel
tinent for us today, is not opposition to Incredibly, this is exactly the form that the most and the Philistines persistently harassed
our spiritual values or our physical exis- modern-day Palestinian denialism has Israel and did not allow them any government or
tence, but rather to our sovereign claim taken. It even bears an all-too-similar name sovereignty, as it says ‘Not a blacksmith was to be
found [in all the Land of Israel] (Shmuel I, 13:19)’… And
to ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ץ ֶר ֶא. To quote the Gaon’s ingenious – םי ִא ָני ִט ְס ַל ָפ, Palestinians – to the ancient they parallel the three principles of holiness which
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insight: “The Philistines caused great trou- םי ִּ ת ְ ׁש ִל ְּ פ, Philistines. 3 encompass everything” (Aderet Eliyahu, Chavakuk
ble for the Jewish people and didn’t allow Although there is no ancestral connection 3:14).
them any sovereign presence and form whatsoever, the Palestinians of today carry 2 The Philistines are mentioned 286 times in Tanach,
of governance in the Land, as the verse the spiritual torch of the Philistines. In so with well over half appearing in the Book of Shmuel,
says, ‘No blacksmith was to be found in all many ways, the delegitimization campaign predominantly in the context of 20 separate battles
the land of Israel, for the Philistines said fueled by Palestinian denialism of Israel’s with the Israelites during the reigns of Shaul and
David. Shaul and Yonatan were killed in war against
lest the Hebrews make a sword or a spear’” right to exist is a direct spiritual incarna- them and of course David first appeared on the scene
(Shmuel I, 19). No to a Jewish government tion of the Biblical role of the Philistines. by confronting Goliath, a Philistine giant.
and no to a Jewish army. 3 The emperor Hadrian famously changed the name
Just like the Philistines of yesteryear, so of the Land of Israel and Judea to “Palaestina” in Latin,
Since the culmination of the Holocaust and have the Palestinians and their support- “Palestine” in English, as this is the translation of the
the establishment of the State of Israel, the ers created a form of nationalism with from Hebrew of Philistia – the Land of the Philistines.
Philistine genre of antisemitism – anti-Zi- one, single-minded purpose – to deny the Remarkably, when wanting to deter any further rebel-
lions of the Jews and to undermine their desire to
onism and systematic delegitimization of Jewish people any right to self-determi- reinstate sovereignty, he chose the Philistines as the
Israel’s right to self-determination in its nation and governance in their historic vehicle to do this.
Land – has become the prevalent mode of homeland.
antisemitism in our era. It had been dor-
mant for thousands of years while we were The Vilna Gaon explains so profoundly that
a wandering and stateless people. Now that this phenomenon lies beyond the realm
we have returned, so too has this virulent of conventional politics and history. It is
strain of antisemitism. a deeply spiritual phenomenon rooted in
the age-old virus of antisemitism, which
continually mutates according to the moral
Philistine Antisemitism and its mores and trends of the times, always
Particular Relevance Today seeking to discriminate, delegitimize and
demonize either the Jewish people, Juda-
For me, understanding this third category ism or a Jewish sovereign state.
of antisemitism was an amazing paradigm
shift. The Gaon says that the Philistines Precisely because these three pillars – ם ַע
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possessed single-minded dedication to ל ֵא ָר ְש ִי ת ַרֹות ְו ל ֵא ָר ְש ִי ץ ֶר ֶא ,ל ֵא ָר ְש ִי – are at the
deny the Jewish people ןֹוט ְל ִ ׁש ְו ה ָל ָ ׁש ְמ ֶמ – any core of Jewish identity and destiny, it is
government and sovereign presence in the these very foundations that are always
Land of Israel. Indeed, over 1,000 years of attacked by Israel’s enemies, at different
Biblical history, the Philistines’ main spiri- times and in different eras.
tual role was to oppose the Jewish people’s Just as the Jewish people have been Rabbi Doron Perez is Executive Chair-
claim to ownership – and therefore sover- blessed with the miracle of both surviv- man of World Mizrachi.
eignty – in this Land. The first two kings of ing and thriving against all the odds and
Israel, Shaul and David, constantly fought all types of antisemitic attacks for thou- A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
the Philistines time and again. The Tribes sands of years, so may G-d continue to bless mizrachi.org/speakers

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