Cantor Arik Wollheim: Shalom from Jerusalem

SHALOM FROM JERUSALEM

Shabbat Parashat Vayishlach Kislev 17 5770 December 4, 2009

Shalom,
Where were you last Thursday between 6:43 and 6:56 AM? What did you do? Believe it or not that was the question in hundreds of thousands of emails and text messages around Israel.
Last Thursday from 1:43 to 1:56 PM (Israel is seven hours ahead) was according to many, a special "Et Ratzon", a time of great favor or a window of opportunities, and as such, people all over the country were encouraged to use it for praying and asking God for whatever they might need or want.
It all goes back to one sentence in an old book called "Menucha Nechona" whose author and time of writing are debatable. The Chida writes that the book was written before the time of the Tana Rashbi (i.e. before 1100's) and some claim that the author is a student of the Ramban (i.e. 1200's). In any event we have the quote: "know that the ninth year to the jubilee is a favorable one, the ninth moth is good among the best and favorable one and the ninth day of that month is the chosen one and the ninth hour of the day is the best of them all." According to various calculations made by the rabbis, the specific time described was last Thursday between 1:43 and 1:56 PM Israel time and since we Jews like gimmicks, this item became a "hot topic".
I don't know who first launched this campaign. If you "google" it you'll receive over 20,000 results of various forums and websites, some are even popular ones dealing with Torah learning and Judaism. The campaign promises that all prayers will be answered since it is an especially "favorable" time. Since I don't know who was the first to send this message to cyber space I'm going to use the term "gimmick lovers".

Gimmick lovers, when it comes to Judaism, are the ones responsible for the red string mania or the popularization of the custom of keeping close the book "Raziel the angle" and many other similar practices. They show up every couple of years with a new idea and all ideas have something in common, namely that they are trying to point out a "shortcut". "Lehavdil" but in a similar way to diets and various fitness machines you can see late at night on the shopping channel, these ideas present an alternate easier way to get you where you want to be. I personally do not believe in shortcuts, especially when it comes to Judaism.

The chief rabbi of Israel used the great momentum and popularity of the event to come out with a strong statement with regards to another topic, the possible release of the captive soldier Gilad Shalit. As you know, Gilad was taken to captivity by Hamas on June 25, 2006. In the last couple of weeks a possible agreement between Hamas and Israel is being negotiated in order to release Gilad. The question though is "what's the price"? Hamas demands the release of thousands of terrorists in return, some with "blood on their hands". Whether to accept Hamas's proposal and who's going to be on that list is the biggest question the Israeli government is dealing with at the moment.
I'd like to mention that a survey published in the Israeli newspaper last week shows that over 80% of Israelis do believe that Gilad must be returned to Israel even with the cost of releasing thousands of terrorists, many with "blood on their hands".

In the past, I think, there was a taboo with regards to the issue of freeing captive soldiers, that the Israeli government will do it at any price. Lately there's a debate if that approach is right. Among those who claim that Israel cannot sign "deals" as such, are 50 Rabbis from the right who published a "Psak Halacha" supporting their opinion. According to them, only a reasonable "price" should be paid in order to bring back a soldier from captivity and if the price is too high the exchange should not take place. The main claim they bring is that releasing of thousands of dangerous terrorists would put in danger the life of many innocent Israelis as no doubly the terrorists will continue to harm the Jewish population.

In response Rabbi Metzger, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, when interviewed by the media, said that the decision whether to sign an agreement with Hamas with regards to the Shalit issue should be made by the government and not by rabbis who do not have all the information to make a ruling in the matter. Rabbi Metzger added that everybody should use the "Et Ratzon" on Thursday to pray for the safe return of Gilad Shalit.

I have a little confession to make. I don't remember what I was doing when the "window of opportunities" was open but I'm pretty sure I was not praying for anything. I keep Gilad Shalit in my prayers every day and I do think that Israel should release any number of terrorists in exchange. I think there are many reasons why we should do that both from a religious as well as social and political viewpoint, but that's not today's topic.
Notwithstanding, I do not like the commercialization of religion and I hate gimmicks especially when it comes to religion.

I do not know whether 1:43 PM was a special time or not, nor am I in a position to endorse or dismiss this idea. Nevertheless, I do know that using this idea to convince innocent individuals that all their questions and needs would be answered simply by asking God at a specific time is wrong, and using the momentum of a religious practice in order to express your political opinion is wrong.
I think that the constant discussion in the media doesn't help in such delicate matters where less talking is better.

I do know however, who is the big "winner" of the 1:43 PM campaign, and that is the cellular companies.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Cantor Arik Wollheim

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