TWO GIANTS OF THE LAW - THE OLD AND THE NEW



After the destruction of the Temple and the loss of the land, the only thing that remained between Jews and despair was a book, a scroll – the Torah (Pentateuch). From there, the eternal ten commandments were established. One of the most revolutionary laws amongst the commandments, is keeping the Sabbath.

It is probably true to say that the Jew has survived over two thousand years of persecution and humiliation largely because he had the Sabbath. It was one factor that not only made him survive, but kept him alive, both spiritually and morally. Without the Sabbath, the Jew would have vanished. The well-known idiom penned by a secular Israeli writer, Ahad Ha'am, goes, “more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.” As long as Judaism exists as a vibrant, vital force, the Sabbath is its most outstanding ritual practice.
This commandment benefits not only the Jews. The creation of the seventh day for rest and cessation of labour, enables everyone to refill their batteries. Probably, most of mankind has internalized the idea that the creation of a day of rest gives meaning to work and creation. The rest and enjoyment from one day a week enables one to draw satisfaction from labour on the other six. One is able to rest when he knows that his actions are valuable. This allows him to gather his strength and ready himself for the next stage, when he will resume working. To benefit from this it is not necessary to rest specifically on the Jewish Shabbat – except for religious Jews.

Last week, two of the most famous men in Israel engaged in law died on the same day and at the same advanced age of 90+. It followed that the two funerals also took place at the same time. The newspapers reported  that at Meir Shamgar’s funeral hundreds passed before the coffin and underneath appeared a notice, “tens of thousands at the funeral of Rabbi Karlitz”.

Meir Shamgar z”l, was highly respected in Israel and in the world as the most prestigious Israeli civic lawyer and judge, and a true pioneer for Israel and the rule of law. His extraordinary career included service as the military Advocate General and Brigadier General in the IDF, Attorney General of Israel and President of the Israeli Supreme Court.

Rabbi Nissim Karelitz z”l, was considered by his adherents as one of the most prominent arbiters of Jewish law of the generation. He had great influence through the Torah he taught and through his good character traits. The rulings of his court, which counts several dozen rabbinical judges, are respected and honoured throughout the Jewish world.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GRANDMA'S ARMY AT WAR

  Six-and-a-haIf years ago I began to write a blog “Grandma’s Army”, as I had seven grandchildren serving in the army at the same time.   Little did I dream that today, that number would jump to seven + ten, Apart from two in the regular army, all the rest are in the Reserves. Both of my sons, who are over 60 years-old, are in army uniform again. They have volunteered to drive army trucks for transport purposes all over the country, after taking a special driving course. Since I began this blog, Azriel and his wife have returned to live in their home on the moshav. They had been evacuated since the beginning of the war, since their home is in the “Gaza envelope”. Azriel has four children and one son-in-law in the army since the beginning. His officer daughter, Adi was called up to the War room of the Gaza Brigade on the second day of the war: “When the first Givati ground forces of the regular army entered Gaza, I knew that my fiancé, Hillel, was amongst them serving a...
Read more

A DIABOLICAL STRATEGY

It’s a verified fact that Hamas has been planning the ongoing war with Israel for decades. Hamas knew that they could not beat Israel militarily.  They also knew that  Israel would retaliate very strongly after the massacre on October 7 th - and the kidnapping and abuse of 252 men, women, children and babies. Hamas spent almost twenty years preparing the Gaza Strip as a killing ground for Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians. The  massive network of tunnels spanned more kilometers than the London Underground and  New York metro combined!  By integrating their military operations throughout civilian infrastructure - these tunnels served as missile launchers and storehouses of lethal weapons underneath kindergartens, schools, hospitals, even mosques, etc. The IDF had no choice but to fight the terrorists from, or close to, residential and commercial areas. In all those years, Hamas deliberately prepared nothing to protect it’s own civilians. On the co...
Read more

GRANDMA'S ARMY AT WAR - I

  My oldest daughter, Simcha, has four sons in the Reserves, plus her son-in-law: Her oldest son, Nir, is a Major in the Givati commandos. He was on his way to volunteer at 11:00 a.m. on October 7 th , before his call-up papers arrived. His present service is connected to Intelligence activities and is not for   the public ear. Omer, from the Givati Battalion, also went straight to his army base on the 7 th of October, before his call-up papers arrived two days later. Givati forces are in charge of combatting terrorism in the Gaza Strip area His first assignment was as Deputy Commander of the Forward Command Squad. Because of chronic back problems, he was transferred to the Battalion’s War Room where he is part of a small team. He monitors orders between the Battalions and Brigades, deals with problems of the ground forces in his command, and records the day’s military activities. Assaf wrote: “At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, October 7 th , my wife Deni left for her work as a nur...
Read more