A juicy headline caught my eye early last week.
Female soldiers were "taken" to a challah-making ceremony in a Chabad village, the horrifying headline reported.
I can only assume that the editor wasn't lazy and looked up the most shocking word that could be found in the Israeli investigative dictionary. "Female soldiers were taken" sounds shocking on a reasonable level. It's lucky he didn't choose the word "kidnapped.".
The truth is that I knew it was coming from the early hours of that day. One of the leaders of the Chabad village called me to find out the phone number of the person who was organizing the challah sharing in the village. He said that a writer for 'Walla' was hanging around the Chabad village looking for material for an article.
So yes, later that day it became clear that the sage's statement, "You have been weary and have found - believe," is also valid when it comes to an article by "Walla." It is also true that the female soldiers who come to the Chabad village leave satisfied and full of Jewish content, regardless of whether it is a challah sharing, a visit to 770 or a matzo bakery, or anything in general.
It turned out that the mother of one of the soldiers needed attention, a phenomenon not uncommon in the age of social media - and the 'prey' was quickly found. Her daughter was 'taken', not by us or by you, to a Chabad village and received a tiny dose of Judaism.
Oh. Oh. Oh. In an era where people invent stories of the righteous, prophecies of horror, and kidnappings that never existed and were never created, that mother also needed her own story.
Not just any story, but one that made headlines on Israeli media sites known for their great love for the people of Israel and their religion.
God forbid. Who knows what is being done there to the female soldiers who were "taken." Are they being Islamized or, God forbid, brainwashed with anti-Semitic messages?
And so serious news emerged with the response of the IDF spokesman, who "admitted" the facts, noting that it was a "Day of Permission" and that every soldier could choose whether to participate in it or not.
I wonder what this says about that mother who was "horrified" by the fact that her daughter was "taken" to Kfar Chabad. Should she do some soul-searching due to the results of her poor upbringing? The fact that her daughter voluntarily chose to go to this pagan ceremony held by the dark Haredi women from Kfar Chabad.
And it's not over.
Because all week long the media has been celebrating the blood of a Knesset member from a religious party. It's true that you won't be able to get a word out of me in his defense, but nevertheless here are a few words that won't contribute to my popularity among women's organizations.
I ask you, hard-working feminists. Tell me, when a woman comes to work as if she were on her way to the beach or worse, when a woman demonstrates zero understanding of clothing and competes in farm clothing, doesn't she annoy the men around her?
And no. I didn't suggest you dress like devout, dark Haredi 'dosiot'.
What would happen if you dressed respectfully, as befits a workplace? What is acceptable even among Gentiles is unacceptable to the followers of fake, false, and aggressive feminism.
This is especially true for female civil servants who lack any ethical and respectable dress code. Such behavior is called harassment or, if you prefer, female coercion under the guise of liberalism and feminism.
There is a statement in such clothing. A blatant, defiant, and offensive statement.
A non-religious media woman told me that her sister, who is also non-observant, is careful to arrive modestly to work at the law firm where she works. "She doesn't dress like an ultra-Orthodox woman, but she respects the people who work with her," she said.
A little bit of light
We are already in the second half of the month of light - Kislev.
Our role is to spread light that will dispel the great darkness we are in, as the media glorifies permissiveness and turns darkness into light.
Tonight we will celebrate the New Year of Chassidism - the 19th of Kislev - the day of the celebration of our teacher, the Maggid of Mezritch, a disciple of the Seven Days of Light, our teacher, the holy Baal Shem Tov, and the rabbi of the founder of Chabad Chassidism, the old Rebbe - who was released from prison on this day.
Rosh Hashanah is a time for soul-searching and receiving good wishes for the better year ahead.
We, as women who observe Torah and mitzvot, need to take a stand, to lead a line of light, to empower Jewish femininity. To strengthen the spread of the springs – our springs of eternity, and to bring more women closer to the light of the Holy Torah.
On the contrary, if such a delusional headline appears on Walla, Mako, or any other website, this is an opportunity to emphasize the bright spot in the headline: Young female soldiers voluntarily choose to participate in the observance of the mitzvah of breaking challah. They leave the base, even though they were given permission to remain there, in order to receive a portion of Judaism, even if it is minimal.
What was Dina's role?
Regarding the verse "And Dinah the daughter of Leah went out to see the daughters of the land," Rashi says that the Torah chose to write "daughter of Leah" and not daughter of Jacob, because even her mother was a prostitute, as it is written, "And Leah went out to meet him.".
It is very strange that the Torah presents us with a piece of cheap "gossip" here. The Holy Torah, which is careful not to speak in condemnation of an unclean animal, devotes an entire verse to the "condemnation" of Leah?
The truth is that the internal explanation is completely the opposite: on the same verse that Rashi quotes, "And Leah went out to meet him," Rashi explains: "She was lustful and returned to multiply tribes." This is Leah's harlotry. This is not condemnation. On the contrary, it is praise. And in any case, the previous question is also justified.
Dinah, who went out to see the daughters of the land, wanted to bring the light of the Torah to them. Like her mother Leah, Dinah sought to "multiply Judaism.".
The fact is that Dinah was equipped with the ability to influence others, as at the beginning of the parsha, Rashi relates that our forefather Jacob locked Dinah in the ark so that Esau would not set his eyes on her.
Rashi continues by explaining that Jacob was punished for this.
Punished? Why? Because he kept her from his brothers, lest she bring us back to the good... From this we learn the great power of Dinah. The Torah attributes it to Leah, as a matter of praise, not as a matter of condemnation. She went out to see the daughters of the land in order to bring them back to the good and bring them under the wings of the Divine Presence.
The fact that she fell into the hands of Shechem was not a punishment for her, but rather for Jacob, preventing his actions.
She was a prostitute. True, in today's terms, this is a woman who goes out to work with the world, who goes to bring other Jewish women closer to their Father in Heaven. Just like her grandmother, Sarah, about whom it was said: "Abraham converts the men and Sarah the women.".
And this is also our mission: to spread the Holy Torah in the world, as it is illuminated by the light of Hasidic teachings, whose Rosh Hashanah we will celebrate this week.
Hasidism has long ceased to be the preserve of the Hasidim alone. In all circles and all denominations, you will find those who study Hasidism.
The Hasidic melodies and teachings that were once the exclusive domain of the Hasidic, have become the domain of all. And it is time to spread this light to all Jews in the world. To follow in the path of the holy mothers and make the world a dwelling place for God, the Blessed One.
Happy Holidays!
For a happy new year in the study of Hasidism and in the ways of Hasidism, write and sign.
The writer is the owner ""My choice"", event host, lecturer and radio broadcaster. For comments: [email protected]
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