Message from Rabbi Marwick

We are all deeply troubled by the many recent acts of Palestinian terror in Israel. Due to the precarious situation there, until further notice, we will be saying Tehillim followed by "Acheinu" after all weekday Minyanim in the Shul.

After all Shacharis Minyanim: Psalm 130 'שיר המעלות ממעמקים קראתיך ה'

After all Mincha/Maariv and Maariv Minyanim: Psalm 142 'משכיל לדוד בהיותו במערה תפלה'

May HaShem protect the State of Israel and all the Jews who live there, and may He quickly restore peace and security to the land of Israel and the world.

At the same time, we need to try and understand how things have developed to this point, once again.

The accompanying explanation in Hebrew by Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an expert on Islam, is very enlightening. I hope that you will get his meaning, even if your Hebrew isn't quite as fast as his. Over the years, I have gotten pretty good at understanding it, especially if you realize that the word you couldn't figure out is really not Hebrew at all, but an English word pronounced like it were Hebrew. Keep that in mind and you will be surprised how much more you understand.

In brief he explains that the reason the Arabs always blame it on the Jews desiring to reclaim Har Habayis and destroy the Al Aksa Mosque is because they really are worried about that actually happening. Islam, he explains, is predicated on supplanting Judaism. They incorporated and Islamized many of our Biblical figures and stories and, in their mind, Jews are now irrelevant. They have supplanted us and whatever is good in our past is really now in their Koran and expropriated.

The return of the Jews to Israel and, especially their independence in 1948, defeating the combined Arab armies was a profound challenge to their religious foundations. The Liberation of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in 1967 was another heavy blow to their core world view. Thus, were the Jews to actually take over the Har Habayis, it would demonstrate that we are not irrelevant and that they are not what they claim to be.

He explains it better and in more detail and I hope you catch his message. He also points out that the real Al Aksa Mosque from which Mohamed, in a night dream, rose to Heaven on his horse Barak, was never thought to be the Mosque in Jerusalem. Moslem sources put it in Arabia between Mecca and Taif. Dr Kedar says that it is a total fabrication that "the furthermost Mosque” was the one in Jerusalem and it only became revered as holy because the Jews captured it. Before that, it wasn't that important.

So, in short, our mere existence as a free people in our land is a challenge to Islam and thus our narrative has to be denied. That is why they won't admit that there ever was a Jewish Holy Temple on the sight, no matter how much evidence there is. They will not admit that Jews are a People, a Nation, only a religion. The core of the problem is religious and it does have a lot to do with Har Habayis, in their minds, at least.

To come back to current events from this theological discourse, I have been having an ongoing disagreement on, pardon the phrase, Facebook, with several very intellectual and highly educated scholars. Two of whom posted photographs of themselves on the Temple Mount in front of the Mosque.

I wrote: “It’s dangerous and irresponsible to antagonize our enemies needlessly by going up on Har Habayis against the psak of rov poskim just to make a point that it is ours and you can't stop me."

 However, most everyone who has responded to my comments think that I am off base and that we need to show strength and not let the evildoers get the upper hand.

I replied that "This is similar to a debate that has been going on since the days of the Bayis Sheni and you know what that led to.”

I agree with the government and army of Israel that it is dangerous and wrong to incite our enemies and give them an excuse to vent their hatred on innocent men, women and children, just to prove a point.  But, the vehemence of some who disagreed was astounding.  This also seems to be a core issue to some Jews. If so, how can we calm the waters and prevent more loss of life? Strong actions alone are not the whole answer. But, if I knew the whole answer, maybe I could get a Nobel Peace Prize like Barak (the Leader of the Free World), not Barak (the horse).

I conclude by repeating the prayer above

May HaShem protect the State of Israel and all the Jews who live there, and may He quickly restore peace and security to the land of Israel and the world.