Lazer Beams: Personal Holiness

It doesn't matter whether an American, British, or French soldier acts in an upright manner. For a Jewish soldier, personal holiness is even more important than a well-lubricated rust-free weapon. It's life or death. The Torah demands that the soldiers of Israel not only conduct themselves in a manner of personal holiness, but that also their camp is conducted in holiness. Here's a practical example: if there's a pornographic picture on a wall in an Israeli barracks, then the Divine presence leaves. The barracks is then rendered completely exposed and vulnerable to the enemy. This is no way to win a war.

"For Hashem your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to rescue you and to deliver your enemies to you, so your camp must be holy, so that He will not see a lewd thing and turn away from you" (Deuteronomy 23:15). Holiness invokes the Divine Presence. No enemy - no matter how superior in men or materiale - can touch a hair on Israel's head as long as Hashem is in our midst. On the other hand, where there's no holiness, there's no Divine Presence. That's bad news.

Better late than never. It's about time that the 32 national religious rabbis woke up to protest the debauchery within the IDF. This is a bigger threat to our national security than Achmedinejad or the Hizbolla. We urge the IDF to maintain modesty and an upright climate anywhere that soldiers are stationed.

We condemn the senseless wagging tongues, both of the army and of the politicians. Rather than doing teshuva and strengthening holiness, military officials announced to the press that they are deploying US-made Patriot missiles near Haifa. Such an announcement, probably intended to calm the fears of a non-emuna public that's worried about Hizbolla's impending revenge of arch-terrorist Mughniyeh's elimination, shows fear rather than strength. It shows not only a lack of emuna, but outright stupidity, especially since the Patriot missiles failed miserably in stopping the barrage of Scud missiles that Sadaam Hussein fired at us in 1991.

Yet, the winner of today's inane speech award is the Prime Minister, who makes demagoguery look like a complimentary word when he praised the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. "Despite the [continuing] Kassam fire, it was a very good move since there are no longer 30,000 soldiers protecting 1,200 citizens," he said. How ridiculous - those soldiers were also protecting the south of Israel, at before the disengagement, Sderot wasn't a ghost town. In the very next sentence, Ollie Folly mentioned Sunday's decision by a ministerial committee he led to approve a budget of NIS 350 million to fortify 3,600 Gaza belt homes against Kassam rockets. He contradicts himself from one moment to the next, for if the soldiers were still there, he wouldn't be spending a third of a billion shekels in iron and concrete.

Jerusalem

Not a day goes by where both Israeli sources and Arab sources claim that negotiations are actively going on that are dissecting our holy city, G-d forbid. Olmert and Livni both deny, but we here at Emuna News wouldn't buy a used car from either of the two.

If Eli Yishai were a Breslever, he'd have to stand before Hashem for an hour a day in personal prayer and explain why Shas still supports a coalition that's carving Jerusalem like a holiday turkey. Just wait and see how the political future of a party that supports an anti-emuna government won't be strutting and gobbling once it loses all of its feathers. Hashem has a sharp sense of humor (see Proverbs 3:34).

You can't fly with eagles if you sit in a government with turkeys.

This is the first time in cyber history where a major Chassidic Rebbe specially addresses the web-viewing public.

I was 98% sure that the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a would refuse when I first approached him with the idea that he address the internet public. His agreement to do so, in order to reach those who may never have the opportunity to see or hear a rebbe in their lives, makes me realize that he is even a greater tzaddik than I thought he was, who fears no one other than Hashem.

Emuna Outreach and the Beams is pleased to introduce you to the Melitzer Rebbe Shlit'a, Grand Rabbi Naftali Moscowitz, who bears a personal message and blessing for each of you. The Rebbe has also allowed us to publish his address, so that anyone who wishes can write and ask for whatever blessings or advice that he or she may desire: Grand Rabbi Naftali Moscowitz, Rehov HaTzivoni 7, apt. 14, Ashdod, Israel, 77571.

Welcome, Melitzer Rebbe: