                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                              April 29, 1996
                    A Time to Cry out to G-d
                                
     Upon the eve of this Independence Day, at the official ceremony celebrating the return of
Jewish sovereignty to the Land of Israel, Shevach Weiss,  the Chairman of the Israeli Knesset,
himself a holocaust survivor, announced to the world that Israel is no longer an "Am levadad
yishkon", "a people which dwells alone (not to be reckoned among the nations)."   He took the
curse of Balaam from the Torah of Israel, a curse which the G-d of Israel transformed into a
blessing, and expressed his preference for the curse. 
     Shimon Peres went to Washington, as representative of the Jewish State, and declared that
the world has only one future, a future of coalitions.  He repeated his simplistic nonsense of
categorizing the nations of the world as those which favor peace and those which seek to destroy
peace.  Were he a genuine Jewish leader, rather than seek approval from the nations for the right
of Israel to defend itself against those who would destroy her, he would have declared that the
Jewish Nation is the Chosen of G-d.  It was established to fulfill the Will of the Creator of the
Universe.  Any nation or people who seek to destroy Israel not only deny our G-d, but seek to do
battle with Him.  Such efforts are not only doomed to fail, but are guaranteed to bring tragedy to
the world.  It is thus an obligation upon the Jewish State, not only for its narrow self interest, but
in the interest of world peace, to destroy completely any entity which would dare to attack the
nation of the Living G-d of Israel.
     Our leaders have perverted Jewish morality to the degree which sees terrorists suddenly
transformed into respectable statesmen, and rabbis into criminals.  They boast of achieving
"peace" over the land, even as they continue yielding  sovereignty over holy Jewish soil to our
enemies who continue to murder us.  Now the Holy City of Abraham faces the threat of this
continued perfidy. 
      In reaction, the Chief Rabbi of Hebron, Rabbi Dov Lior, shlita, declared a fast today. 
That is an ancient Jewish response to pending tragedy.  I accepted his call.  As I offered my
prayers this morning at dawn, my heart was more contrite and filled with fear and awe then ever
before.  I did not pray at my usual place at the Cave of Machpelah today because my government
decided to respect the Arab holy day by forbidding Jews entrance to the building.   The tachanun
prayers of supplication, offered over the centuries by Jews all over the world, were filled with
significance to me this morning:
     "And David said to Gad, I am deeply distressed; let us fall into the hand of the L-rd, for
His mercy is great, but let me not fall into the hand of Man."
     Our rabbis tell us that when all gates in heaven are closed to prayer, the gate of tears still
remains open.  Remembering this and truly feeling the meaning of the following words, large tears
welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks:
     "L-rd G-d of Israel, turn from Thy fierce anger, and change Thy mind about doing evil to
Thy people.
     Look down from heaven and see how we have become an object of contempt and derision
among the nations; we are counted as sheep led to the slaughter, to be slain and destroyed, or to
be beaten and disgraced."
     During the many pogroms, persecutions and holocausts throughout the generations these
supplications have been offered by pious and humble Jews.  How can it be that today, when the
Holy One of Israel has answered our prayers and returned us to our homeland, that we still need
to recite such supplications?  It is understandable that we needed to cry out to our G-d to rescue
us from the likes of a Hitler when there was no refuge or help other than His mercy.  But today? 
Today, when we have the mightiest army in the world and possess much of our ancient
inheritance, how is it conceivable that we are reduced to supplicants to the All Mighty to
intervene with our own leaders for them to simply act like Jews?  Is it rational to have to plead
with Peres not to abandon our holy soil to those who would bury us in it?  Is it rational to have to
petition Natanyahu to outrightly reject Oslo and Arafat without conditions?  
     The fact is that we have failed to recognize from whence our real power comes.  It is not
the mighty Israeli Army which defeated enemies far greater than it in a mere six days.  It was the
Hand of G-d.  This same army was defeated by women and children throwing rocks as our just
reward for refusing to recognize His Hand.  Even today, as we employed our most sophisticated
weaponry against the tiny insignificant Hamas, we failed to destroy our enemies and succeeded
only in  humiliating ourselves before the nations of the world.  Peace is farther away then ever.
      We have an election coming up very shortly in Israel.  Surely, via the ballot, we should be
able to extricate ourselves from the mess in which we find ourselves.  Many, many people really
believe this.  I am not one of them.  When I see so called religious Jews pasting bumper stickers
on their cars which read, "I place my trust in the national unity camp" rather than the statement
found on the dollar bill, "In G-d we Trust", then I realize from whence our troubles come.
     One of my closest friends told me, in a raised voice which he could not constrain, that he
honestly thought I was crazy.  He accused me of jeopardizing the safety and future of my family
because I have chosen not to participate in the farce called "elections" and vote for Natanyahu as
savior of Israel.   Another friend tried to reason with me by explaining that G-d has many tools by
which he can bring redemption, and one of them may be via our participating in the elections.  
     In truth, as much as I do not accept the mockery of democracy which has been foisted
upon us in this country, were there an honest choice; an option for a candidate with genuine
Jewish ideals to run for office, I would certainly vote.  But the truth is that, in addition to the
bankruptcy of the entire system, there is no candidate or party which truly expresses either
national or religious policy, let alone a combination of both.  To vote in such an election would
not only imply acceptance and endorsement of the system, but would lend respectability to the
pagan and self-serving foreign values which guide those who presume to lead us.  
     So, rather than depending upon the self-deluding alleged democracy to save us, we now
have a very real opportunity to express our faith in the Holy One of Israel. Faith means nothing
unless it is tested in the furnace of genuine fear.  Every Jew in the world has a vote which really
counts.  Let us unite in our recognition that it is only the Living G-d of Israel who will save us in
our time of calamity. Let us cry out to Him in anguish and He will surely hear our cries and save
us.  Now, when we can clearly see that all of our so called leaders are nothing more than broken
reeds, we must open our eyes and realize that all we have achieved over the centuries, and
especially the incredible miracles of the past forty-eight years, are clearly fulfillment of Divine
Will.  Can anyone honestly think that now, as we approach the end of our long hard journey, that
He will abandon His Chosen People Israel?  Not a chance.  
     The only difference we can make is the quality of our redemption.  Will it be joyous and
glorious?  Or will we be racked with pain and fear up until the very last moment?  This is the only
choice which confronts us.  And we still have the time to choose.  




