The Ingathering of the Exiles

Halacha Corner – The Ingathering of the Exiles

In the Rambam’s Code we find a clear ruling pertaining to the order of events through Moshiach (Melachim 11:4): “He will rebuild the Bet Hamikdash in its place and then will gather the ingathering of exiles.” It is known that the Rambam shows significance and meaning even in the order of his rulings, as is also seen in the beginning of this Chapter (11:1): “The King Moshiach will arise and will fully restore the Kingdom of David to its original es-teemed sovereignty; then he will rebuild the Bet Hamikdash and will gather the remnants of Jews in exile.”

No Posek (Codifier) disagrees with this order and ruling. And the Halachic principle is that wherever the Commentaries on Rambam do not disagree with him, it is proof that they agree with his ruling. In our case, this refers to the renowned Codifiers — Raavad, Kesef Mishneh, Radvaz, etc. (who show no disagreement with this ruling re: the order of Moshiach’s activities). Practical, legal rulings are found and authenticated only in the works of Poskim, and not in Midrashic or Talmudic sources. And Rambam is the classical authoritative Codifier, especially in the area of Moshiach.

As such, Moshiach will usher in the final end of exile and then will come the beginning of redemption, followed by the true and complete redemption. After this, Moshiach will bring the ingathering of the exiles to our home-land, Israel.

Halacha Corner, From our Sages & Moshiach Now! - Highlights of Moshiach; Festive Meal of Moshiach - Likutei Sichot, Shabbos Table - Keeping in Touch - reprinted with permission from Sichos in English

new scientific truth

 “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” - Max Planck

He promised

So we don't forget, I'm reposting this message from June.

On 3/21/21, Israeli politician Naftali Bennett appeared on national Israeli television during the election campaign and stated “I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement.)” and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.” He signed a document affirming those words and held it up to the camera.  In the first weeks of June of 2021, after the election, Bennett entered a rotation agreement with Lapid and established a government with the support of Mansour Abbas. 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/bennett-signs-pledge-not-to-join-government-with-yair-lapid-as-prime-minister/

We see once again that Israel does not have a democracy. A guy with 5% of the vote (6 of 120 seats) should not be able to become head of a country, particularly when he breaks WRITTEN promises to do it. [Note, in the German election of 1924, the Nazi party won 6% of the vote.] As Mark Levin noted, "Naftali Bennett is the man that is set to replace Bibi as prime minister. How did this come to pass?Among other things, he ran TO THE RIGHT of Netanyahu in the election. Even still, he and his party received less than FIVE PERCENT of the popular vote. How does a politician who barely registers among the voters become a prime minister in a democracy? To my knowledge, it has never happened, certainly not in Israel."

The whole system in Israel is riddled with problems. New parties can't emerge because there's a 4 seat threshold. So you get the same politicians decade after decade. You don't vote for people, you vote for parties. The parties make crazy deals that can, as we see here, totally violate their promises. Bennett leads a party called Yamina, which means Right, as in Right wing. And he has abandoned the right wing and joined the left, after promising during the campaign on television, signing a document, that he would never join with Lapid of the left. 

Anybody who thinks this is a vibrant democracy is so drunk on Zionism that they can't walk a straight line. 

Update: excellent editorial on the Bennett betrayal

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/308122

Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer: "The Israeli Left has an obsessive compulsion to shriek constantly about the sanctity of “Israeli Democracy.” And yet no institution has done more to shame, tarnish, and cheapen Israeli democracy than Israel’s left, including its latest deceit. A party that literally — literally — called itself “Right Wing” (“Yamina”) now has formed a government dominated by left parties: (i) Yesh Atid, (ii) even more left-wing socialist Labor, (iii) even more extreme-left Meretz, and (iv) off-the-wall Islamist and anti-Zionist Ra’am."

chochmas goyim: Stigler, Friedman, Sowell

"In a world of self-promoting academics, coining buzzwords and aligning themselves on the side of the angels of the moment, George Stigler epitomized a rare integrity as well as a rare intellect. He jumped on no bandwagons, beat no drums for causes, created no personal cult. He did the work of a scholar and a teacher—both superbly—and found that sufficient. If you wanted to learn, and above all if you wanted to learn how to think—how to avoid the vague words, fuzzy thoughts, or maudlin sentiments that cloud over reality—then Stigler was your man." Thomas Sowell

And here is Sowell describing another of his professors at Chicago, Milton Friedman: 

"[He] was one of the very few intellectuals with both genius and common sense. He could express himself at the highest analytical levels to his fellow economists in academic publications and still write popular books . . . that could be understood by people who knew nothing about economics."

(Friedman was of course Jewish, a secular Jew, but you know what I mean.)

Article

What we learn here are some admirable traits to emulate. 

never too late

 It’s never too late to be what you might have been. 

George Elliot

Journalism

“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”

― George Orwell