shame.
This is the report I saw yesterday that startled and horrified me: "The police are reporting 4 bags full of tools that were seized in a minibus that was on its way to Meron. Apparently, the tools were intended to sabotage electrical and communications infrastructure on Mount Meron.".
Then I saw the pictures, the equipment, the precious young people who brought them. I was ashamed, speechless.
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I couldn't believe this was the picture, I couldn't imagine we would get to this point. When you don't see it, you don't believe it.
I am not innocent. I know that there are violent, corrupt, savage people in the Haredi camp. I have often had the privilege of tasting their handiwork. For years, many of us have been fighting against them, denouncing their actions, completely renouncing them, and I knew they existed, I saw their actions and their destructive consequences.
But... there is a big but!
Until today I thought they were improvising, improvising something and destroying. It's wrong and it's terrible, it's a violent and destructive minority, I'm not forgiving of them, but it happens. In every group there are exceptions, and sometimes harmful ones.
But arriving with ready-made explosive equipment to sabotage? I've never heard of that among the people of God-fearing people. I haven't encountered it, I haven't imagined it.
It's hard for me to digest, I'm very sad. I'm shocked, completely shocked.
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The Hilula Darshbi in Meron has never been something of a consensus. In historical records from that time until today, we encounter a lot of polemics and debates from all sides. I will not elaborate on this here. Fascinating material can be found in the Responsa Hatam Sofer, Sefer Kavod Malachim, Tal Yerushalayim, Sefer Hilula Darshbi by Riaz Margalit, on the redemption and the exchange - and in countless articles and studies.
For as long as I can remember, every year, in anticipation of Lag BaOmer, calls and warnings have emerged from various organizations and individuals, with various statements and assertions regarding Meron and the Dershbi celebration, while the Lag BaOmer celebration in Meron has expanded and reached enormous proportions, on the order of international events.
When I was two and a half years old, my parents brought me to do the Halakeh in Meron on Lag BaOmer. We set out in the Volkswagen van of my elderly uncle, the late Rabbi Meir Wals - my father, me, and a son of my age and my other half, Yosef Shalom Kreis, with his father and our common grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak Weissman, z"l.
We arrived at the entrance gate of the cave building, where we parked, entered the cave, and in the inner room, the Rosh Yeshiva of Satmar and the head of the ultra-Orthodox Eda, Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freind (later the Gavad of Jerusalem), cut out our doormats for us, and they distributed refreshments and drinks there. We danced in front of the bonfire on the roof, and everyone who came added some cotton wool and olive oil to the fire.
The next time I went to Meron was in 1988. We left Jerusalem in the middle of the night with a bus (not full, there was simply no demand...) and parked in the Megiddo parking lot. From there we climbed on all fours with luxes (gas lamps) to the cave building. We went up to the roof, which was completely empty. There was a minaret for the morning prayer in the style of Toldot Aharon, led by my uncle, the late Rabbi Meir Shisha, who had a yartzeit on Lag BaOmer.
The third time I was in Meron was at the Halakah of the sons of Rabbi Avraham Amram. We then parked in the yard of the 'Chesed La Avraham' school, and we did the Halakah on the new roof.
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Two decades ago, a huge festive development began in Meron in honor of the Hilula Darshbi, when Toldot Aharon activists paved a new dance floor behind the cave building, followed by more plazas and Kaddish dance areas.
The Rebbe of the History of Aaron began by lighting the fire at the close of the day, connecting the days of Lag and Lad BaOmer, and he included his own content, songs of devotion, the state of accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, words of conquest, the moving lighting, and the dances such as: Blessed is the eye that sees all these, in the joy of our congregation, our celebration, the exultation of our souls, the poets, and all kinds of songs, a people that draws in the Holy Spirit, a generous spirit, the departure of a priest in a grove, shouting, "I am the place," a holy congregation, emotions in the house. "Holy of Holies.".
The Rebbe of Tolodot Aharon established the system and everyone followed him, including the Rebbe of Bayan, who took upon himself the right to light the central lamp when the stars appeared to open the Lag BaOmer celebrations, a right that was acquired by the patriarch of the lineage, the Grandfather of the Grandfather Kadisha of Rozhin, z"a.
The right to light the fire was purchased forever from the long-standing Sephardic community by his grandson and his family, later the rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Halir, who stood guard over the holy fire to light it on behalf of the holy mission of the Grandfather Kadisha of Rozhin, and was followed by his son, the wonderful man Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Halir, the grandfather of the Rebbe of the History of Aharon, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kahn, z"l.
In essence, the crown returns to its old age, and the Rebbe of the lineage of Aharon places the seal of the High Priest on the joy of the Yilula Darshbi and continues the legacy of his ancestors.
•
The celebration of Lag BaOmer has gained momentum rapidly and to unimaginable proportions. The public has doubled in size, thousands and tens of thousands are arriving from abroad, communities are organizing to come together, hold community events there, and the joy is skyrocketing.
Everything is in honor of Rashbi, and there is no one in charge at the place. The infrastructure is minimal, the celebration is rampant, every good person sets up an organization and offers help, they build and dig everywhere, there is no master plan, there is no owner of the house, everyone is aiming for heaven, but in the end there is no one in charge of the place and the event, lots of good projects, sublime ideas and the public is enjoying themselves and going along.
But clearly this is no man's land, and it can't be like that.
The authorities also stand by and do nothing substantial. Each one is reduced to their own small part and throws the responsibility on the other, and each one wants maximum credit, maximum benefits and interests, minimum commitment, minimum responsibility and investments.
This is how we got to a situation where there are a lot of doers, a lot of credit takers, a lot of attendees, and a huge, big mess.
It shouldn't be this way. It's a recipe for disaster, collapse, danger, and loss of life. And it did come - and last year we paid a heavy and painful price.
Who takes responsibility? Who changes the attitude? That's another story.
Let's put it this way: the state had to intervene, what to do and how, that's up for debate. Everyone keeps their own hold, their own custom and tradition, their own nostalgia and resentment, and woe to anyone who dares to move anything or anyone.
There are many claims against the project and the authorities, there are many claims against the site managers, the owners of the endowments, the Five Committee, and there are also claims between the various groups, between the various Hasidim, between the various guest revenue organizations, between the people, businessmen, and loyalists of Meron, the veterans and the loyalists and the honest, the various landlords and contractors, with all kinds of synonymous names.
The claims are even very justified, but claims don't get you anywhere. Some have even drawn maps, and offer effective suggestions, detailed plans for solutions, but it's impossible to unite them all, and there is no higher authority, neither Torah nor administrative, and there are also those for whom no authority will determine what to do.
On behalf of the Badach of the 'Eda', a prayer rally was held this week to arouse mercy and pray about the matter, but under no circumstances was a word said about the option of acts of violence, G-d, about following the ways of the Gentiles, about a goal that sanctifies G-d's means. This is not our path, this is not the path of the Torah, nor of Torah-observants.
One can resist, protest, try, complain, do everything possible for a Torah-observant Jew who stands by his principles, who is concerned about the character of the Lag BaOmer celebrations, about the uplifting atmosphere of the Lag BaOmer celebration, that's for sure.
But - - -
Violence cannot be a means, under any circumstances! Organized, planned acts of sabotage are a crime! This will not bring any solution to the Meron matter either.
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This year, the Hilula Darshbi in Meron will be completely different, and we can only embrace and reminisce, in the same poetic language of the late Rabbi Yehuda Halevi:
Blessed is the eye that sees all these. Is it not for the ear that hears that our soul longs:
Blessed is the eye that sees a priest in splendor and glory.
Full of sparkling light and majesty, it is a beautiful place.
He went up to the house of his sanctuary to stand guard.
To dress fat in clothes for honor and to show off:
Blessed is the eye that sees a flag in the secret of the spirit.
Full of sparkling light like the light of a shining sun.
He is a stranger to many people.
Full of sparkling light like a torch or like lava.
Ascending in a state of great purity.
