I decided that at the moment, I’m just going to keep posting up bits of the Rav’s translated shiurim here.

It’s part of the process of learning how to ‘think for ourselves’, that information isn’t just spoon fed to us, but that we actually have to use our brains, a little, to really ‘think into’ things more, and come to our own conclusions.

If that doesn’t suit you – that’s OK.

There are plenty of sites dishing up propaganda mush out there, feel free to stick to those instead.

As for me, I can’t really write freely about a lot of things at the moment, with all the censorship and ‘deplatforming’ going on, so going forward, and until things change for the better, I am focussing on doing these translations.

Honestly?

You will learn way more from reading them than anything the propaganda news can tell you anyway – and usually, get the ‘scoops’ way earlier….

But first, you have to re-train your mind, to re-learn the skill of ‘thinking for yourself’.

Stick with it…. the penny will drop eventually.

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Excerpt of shiur  26th Tishrey 5784 (October 11th, 2023) to the Mifal HaTorah.

(The Rav begins the shiur by explaining that Yosef HaTzaddik had some hard feelings towards Yaakov Avinu, that he buried his mother Rachel by the side of the road close to Bet Lehem, instead of burying her within the city itself.

Yaakov explains to Yosef that he was doing everything al pi hadibbur – according to Hashem’s instructions, because in 3,000 years, if Rachel had been buried within the city, she would now be totally inaccessible to the Jews coming to pray at her tomb.

The shiur then discusses the burial of Yaakov Avinu himself.)

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It’s written: “And he brought up with him both chariots and horsemen.”[1]

The Ramban asks[2], why did Yosef need chariots and horsemen?

When you go to bury someone, do you need chariots and horsemen?! You do the levaya (funeral). He has 12 children, OK, Binyamin was born, so now go…

There are already 12 children, what’s the worst that can happen? Together with Dina, this is 13, so this is a funeral of 12 children, with Dina. Altogether, we are talking about 14 people, together with Yaakov, at the funeral.

You don’t need ‘chariots’, you don’t need ‘horsemen’.

What’s going on, that Yosef took chariots and horsemen with him?

All this, is what the Ramban asks.

==

[And the explanation is:]

He says, what’s even the question?! You need to have permission from the WAQF!

It’s impossible to have buried [Rachel] in Bet Lechem, without the permission of the WAQF, or to bury Yaakov in the Me’arat HaMachpela – impossible, without the WAQF!

You need to get approval from the WAQF. What, the WAQF is going to give you permission?! Not on your life!

So, 31 kings arrived to do battle with Yaakov – why are you trying to bury him in the Me’arat HaMachpela?! It’s not yours! This belongs to us, the Me’arat HaMachpela!

==

There was one week when we organised a convoy of 20 cars [that would drive each night to the Me’arat HaMachpela in Hevron].

Each car had five men, the driver and next to the driver one passenger, and three in the back, this is five men.

Times 20, this is 100 men. And we came each night – this was 30 years ago.

We saw the UN, ten cars that belonged to the UN. We didn’t understand what was going on, is there going to be a war there? Who knows what was going to happen.

[The Rav returns to this story in a moment.]

==

Now, Blinken came.

Why did he come? So that there wouldn’t be a war with the Arabs. Stop what you’re doing!!!

He doesn’t agree to something like this. OK, they killed 1,200 of your people – restrain yourselves! They killed six million – what are you going to do now, destroy Germany?

Now, Blinken came. At the end of the day, he’s a Jew – but he still didn’t reveal why he came [to Israel].

He came so that they wouldn’t enter Gaza, they are scared of going in to Gaza.

What, you’re going to destroy Gaza?! They burned 1,000 of your houses, they killed 1,200 of your children – so now, you are going to go and destroy Gaza?!

Also go and destroy Germany, they burned six million of you. It’s enough of your insanity, already.

America is a state that has ‘yishuv ha’daat’ (settled thinking). It’s not like here, Bibi is crazy, and this is madness.

This one [Biden] deos everything with ‘yishuv ha’daat’.

So an hour ago, he landed.

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So, would the WAQF have given permission to bury Yaakov in the Cave of the Patriarchs?

Chas v’shalom!

Esav showed up [to fight against Yaakov being buried in the Cave], everyone came – 31 kings came.

So, the Ramban explains all of this, as to why they needed ‘chariots and horsemen’. There was mamash a war!

He said that 31 kings came, 31 armies – Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran – everyone. Everyone showed up – Egypt, Turkey – everyone came. 31 kings came.

[And they said]:

The Cave of the Patriarchs is ours, not yours! What is your business here, with the Cave of the Patriarchs?

==

[The Rav returns to the story of the 20 cars, above.]

So, we travelled for a whole week, from motzae Shabbat until Thursday night. And we didn’t understand why 10 UN cars were there each night.

We came with 20 cars, 100 bocherim (young men), 100 avreichim (Torah learners).

And afterwards, they told us that this same night, that same week, they were about to give the Cave of the Patriarchs to the Arabs.

The Arabs had claimed that this is ours! The Jews just conquered here stam. This place has no connection to the Jews, what do the Jews have to do with the Cave of the Patriarchs?! Here, the head of Esav is buried, here Ishmael is buried.

This is what they claimed.

So the UN came to see who was visiting the site.

That same week, there was going to be a decision at the United Nations, with UNESCO, UNWRA, whether to give the Cave of the Patriarchs to the Jews or the Arabs.

The UN decided that we won’t decide this by Soourselves…

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And so, there was a miracle.

Exactly that same week, there was a decision made that the whole yeshiva was going to go [to Hevron], and we organised 20 cars, and 100 bocherim, and 100 avreichim.

And the UN saw that only Jews were coming – no Arab came at night.

They came in the morning, at 6am, the Jews already from 12am at night, to say the Tikkun Haklali, seven Tikkun Haklalis and one Tikkun Hatzot (Midnight Rectification).

So for six hours, some 100 Jews were standing there, 100 avreichim.

So the UN decided that the Cave belonged just to the Jews, and that only the Jews had the merit to control the Cave.

This was all during that same critical week.

We didn’t know anything about this – we travelled in total innocence, we travelled with temimut.

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] Parshat Vayechi 50:9.

[2] See the Ramban on Bereishit, 49:31.