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Apr 09,
'04 / 18 Nisan 5764 |
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Passover is a most appropriate time to ask how we Jews
can alter the course of history. From their suffering,
the Israelites beseeched the Almighty's intervention,
"And it happened during those many days, that the king
of Egypt died, and the Children of Israel groaned
because of the work and they cried out. Their outcry
because of their work went up to God." (Exodus 20:23)
Following the death of the Pharaoh, from their
servitude, their prayers ascended to the Almighty. Why?
Had they not prayed before from their subjugation?
Rashi, commenting on this sentence, states, "Israel was
in need of salvation."
Perhaps,
in the past, the Israelites prayed for an improvement of
their plight in the hope that their suffering will
subside; that there would be a lightening of their
bitter load. When Pharaoh died and yet the persecution
continued, perhaps they then fully realized that the
source of their troubles was not with the prior Pharaoh
alone, but with Egypt and most importantly their
existence in the Galut - exile. When they came to this
understanding, then they prayed not to be rid of a king,
but to be rid of their existence in Egypt, and hence,
for redemption. Then, as the sentence states, their
prayers ascended to the Almighty. After the death of
Tsar Nicholas II at the hands of Bolsheviks in the
aftermath of the Russian revolution, the venerated
Chafetz Chaim reflected, "Who buried Nicholas?
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Jews wept and cried out over their troubles, and in merit of
their prayers, they were rid of the Tsar. If they so
strongly felt the pain of the churban - the destruction of
the Temple - and cried out against the desecration that is
the exile, they would be rid of that, too." (Sichot, 82)
The Jews prayed for an end to the brutal rule of Tsar
Nicholas, but with the end of the Tsar, they now found
themselves under the rule of Bolsheviks, who would prove
themselves as worthy an adversary to the Jews as was
Nicholas II. The Bolsheviks and their policies of forced
assimilation threatened the very existence of Russia's three
million Jews. As in Egypt, Jews in Russia prayed for relief,
but it would not come with regime change, because the real
problem was Russia itself and the anti-Semitism that was
endemic in Russia. The prayers for relief lead from one
nightmare to another. |
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1-930143-85-0
Pages: 152
Size: 6" x 9"
Golda Meir's
Grandfather was a Cantonist! |
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NOW only $9.99
Printed in Israel
Price Soft Cover: $17
The
Cantonists: The Jewish Children's Army of
the Tsar
by Larry Domnitch
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Over the past
few years, there have been frequent calls for the ousting,
or the elimination, of Yasser Arafat. No doubt, the absence
of Arafat, as any enemy of the Jews, would be something good
since Israel would have one less enemy. But once again, the
main picture is obscured. Arafat is part of a society that
is committed to the elimination of Israel. Along with Arafat
stand the masses of "Palestinians" who support the war of
terror against Israel. If he falls, others would take his
place. The society of Palestinians is largely one that
venerates and encourages murder and holds murderers of women
and children in the highest esteem. It is, in fact, a cult
of murder. To think that the removal of Arafat would change
the landscape in any shape or form is like saying that
removing a small portion of a malignant disease would cure
the patient.
No doubt, there have been times when the death of a tyrant
caused the Jews great relief. The death of the wicked Haman,
or the Roman Emperor Hadrian, or the Russian dictator Joseph
Stalin no doubt gave the Jews reason to rejoice. But
eventually, the exile would rear its ugly head and Jews
would face new antagonists. Ultimately, there were times in
history when Jews were spared by a despot's demise, but not
really saved.
In our own times, it is no doubt essential that Israel
defeat the terrorists that threaten its people. Yet there is
another dimension to Israel's struggle for security.
Passover being the holiday of liberation is a significant
opportunity for Jews to pray as one, for everlasting change
and the ultimate redemption as foretold by the prophets,
when evil individuals along with tyranny and evil itself,
which they represent, will disappear. |
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Denver is a mile high. There's a spot on the steps of the
State Capitol building that is exactly 5,280 feet above sea
level. |
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Cantonists
(Russian language: Кантонисты)
Jewish Children as young as six year old were
conscripted in the Tsra Nicholas I's army,
beginning in 1826.
The overarching themes of these children's youth
and themes of these adolescence were forced
conversion and suffering.
Their Term of army service was 25 years.
They were yanked from home and hearth and
trusted into physically cruel, religiously
coercive and emotionally devastating
circumstances.
Nicholas used his army as conversionary tool.
His goal was blatant: to convert Jewish children
to Christianity. His more specific tools were
torture and suffering. |
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