לעזרת ה' בגיבורים | שיעור לקראת הבחירות | הרב דודי דודקביץ

Elections, on one hand, are primarily, primarily, primarily practical. Of course, a person eventually has to decide what they are doing, who they are voting for. They need their vote, of course, to be purposeful, but it is also an opportunity to examine things in general—not just where and what to vote for, but mainly how to examine things in such public and national questions. One must make use of this: how to weigh things, what stands before our eyes when we come to make a decision, issues so significant that a person can tip the scale of the world toward merit or, heaven forbid, the opposite. I want to open with a letter that Rav Avrum wrote, which is found in this collection, "Morasha." Okay, there is extensive treatment here by Rav Avrum on the matter—do you have " Morasha" with you, or did you pass it on? Ah, it is in this folder, okay, I will read part of it to you. He sends this letter, I don't know to whom—( one could check, but I don't remember right now), and you should know, my dear friend: this whole matter of your participation in elections of the public, such as this, is not a matter of permission but a real obligation. Since you did not have the privilege of seeing Rav Avrum, and you did not have the privilege—I also assume—of receiving Torah from his mouth (you only heard of him), then this Rav Avrum , besides his immense greatness—he was the head of the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, and he was attached for many years to Rav Charlap, to Rav Tzvi Yehuda—was one of the greatest Torah scholars of the generation. Just as Rav Zalman Menachem Woodberg told me, that when he arrived in Hebron, his father told him: "Do you see this young man, Avrum Shapira? Stick with him." Beyond him being great already in his youth and a special genius, truly a genius with a memory and analytical ability, a scholar, a righteous man, a pious man, and upright—very many virtues. He was actually, truly, one of the few we have who pass on the lineage of the Torah. Rav Avrum was connected to all the generations that preceded him. There are many Torah scholars who studied excellently, who are very proficient in deep study, and are even somewhat connected to rabbis, but they do not know the world of the Torah. They know their own rabbis; you ask them: What did Rav Chaim say?— "Oh, that is not our rabbis," so he doesn't know what to say about that. What did the Chofetz Chaim say?— "He is not included among our rabbis," so he doesn't know what he said. Avrum was a drainage, a funnel of the huge and broad world of Torah that the greats of Israel passed down through the generations to us, and this is one of the things that was severed when he passed away; a severance that for now has no remedy, because there is no one who knows how to condense it. You barely know figures who can tell you stories that they heard from Rav Avrum, who heard it from this one, and that one, and that one. The entire living world of the "serving of a great scholar" is more than just academic study; among us, it is not developed enough. So, Rav Avrum, his passing was truly a great loss to the community. We are not speaking of his passing, but when he states things as you will hear, he states them with the clarity and precision of all, or almost all, the great leaders of the generations that preceded him. Or his contemporaries— certainly, and those of the generations before them—this is not a matter of choice, but an absolute obligation, a mandate, since it concerns matters of preserving the religion and all of Israel’s sanctities. So too did our rabbis from previous generations rule regarding the entire matter of free elections—both in the Diaspora and in the Land of Israel. I hope you know that elections in the Land of Israel have been held for many decades, thank God, but in the Diaspora, we had hundreds, if not thousands, of years of elections. For example, this week was the yahrzeit of Rav Meir Shapiro, a righteous and holy man of blessed memory, head of Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, and founder of the Daf Yomi. He was a member of the Polish Sejm, Rav Shapiro, a true genius in every sense, one of the greatest orators of recent generations, one of the greatest scholars, one of the greatest righteous and pious men, and a disciple of the immense leaders of Israel. Anyone who has not seen the pictures of Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin at the time of its inauguration has missed a scene where so many of Israel's giants were present —including his teacher, Rabbi Zalman of Warsaw, and other holy men. Rabbi Meir Shapiro, with the blessing and guidance of the generation's leaders, was appointed to be a member of the Polish Sejm. The Polish Sejm, as you understand, did not consist entirely of those who feared Heaven. Because they were all—as you understand—gentiles, almost all of them. And there are many, many such examples from time immemorial. Thus ruled our rabbis of previous generations regarding the matter of free elections, both in the Diaspora and in the Land of Israel. The Chofetz Chaim, of blessed memory, in one instance regarding those who wanted to abstain from participating in elections , clearly held that it is a matter of common sense—it hardly needs explanation—that for the Chofetz Chaim, abstaining from elections is equivalent to voting in a way that you know has no meaning, other than for your own closed circle to give you a medal for being loyal to a path that is "correct" in their eyes. Clearly, as you will see in the following sentences , the question is what you have done in reality, not what you assume you might do in the future—perhaps yes, perhaps no—that is not the issue at hand. The instruction from the Chofetz Chaim, or other sources that I will bring, is that it is a complete obligation upon a person. He said that they are included in the curse of Meroz. Rav Avraham is very precise, the Chofetz Chaim, you will soon see how the Chofetz Chaim is the same even when he uses sharp expressions. The Chofetz Chaim, of blessed memory, said in one case regarding those who wanted to refrain from participating in the elections, that they are like the city that the prophet attacked in the Book of Judges. Which city did he refer to? >> No, no. And he meant now, explains Rav Avraham, he meant the verse in chapter 5, verse 23, in chapter 5: "Curse Meroz , says the angel of the Lord, curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty ." Did the Chofetz Chaim know which verse he was referring to, or not? What ? Wait, if you don't know—that is a serious situation! Did the Chofetz Chaim know which verse he was referring to, or what? Do you doubt that? Or am I asking an embarrassing question? Did he know about the verse, did he intend the Chofetz Chaim or not? So why didn't he say it? Why does Rabbi Avrum need to say it? Because he is the Chofetz Chaim . That is a very sharp expression, what he just said. Do you understand what he said? Let's put it in other language. The Chofetz Chaim has a book you know well. It's called Chofetz Chaim, *Guard Your Tongue*. How does this book open? Remember? What is its introduction? We aren't learning one-on-one here, did you hear the*lashon*according to yeshiva standard, what... >> Or, what did you say, Levi? >> But expand a bit more. It is written there, all the positive commandments, all the negative commandments, and all the curses that a person transgresses if he speaks*lashon hara*. Whoever reads it alone, if he reads it for real —in our house we read it like scholars, but if we read it like a Jew with a bit of heart, we would faint in the middle, because we have certainly spoken*lashon hara*before. No, it's not that I'm accusing you; the Gemara says everyone is touched by the dust of* lashon hara*. The Chofetz Chaim puts it there—you come out of it with post-trauma, dozens and dozens, right? Now we must ask for a moment: if the Chofetz Chaim were writing a book about elections, he would write a different introduction. We know what would be written in the introduction: that whoever doesn't vote transgresses curses; there are also curses in them. Which curse does he transgress? I am reading you the verse: "Curse Meroz," said the angel of the Lord, "curse its inhabitants, for they did not come to the aid of the Lord, to the aid of the Lord among the warriors." Where would he put that? In the positive commandments? In the negative commandments? In the curses? Where would he put it? In the curses. If the Knesset only dealt with matters of transportation and mail and the like, perhaps there wouldn't be such an obligation. Why does he write? Perhaps because transportation in Israel and public affairs have immediate consequences. What do you mean, you don't care if we drive without endangering one another? You don't care that we drive with common decency? Do you care that there should be parking, what? What do you mean, is transportation a light matter in your eyes? It is people's money, it is people's trouble, it is people's time. Perhaps there wouldn't be such an obligation before the Knesset gained power over all the country's affairs. Within them are matters of safeguarding religion; we are truly obligated and commanded to participate and vote for our representatives so they protect these matters. Rabbi said earlier that it is a state obligation. Obviously, it is impossible to discuss it otherwise. That is not even a point of discussion, when nowadays it is truly a matter of saving lives, at least in all of our eyes, in all of our eyes. Oslo has direct, direct responsibility for the bloodshed that occurred during those years since that accursed agreement until Simchat Torah of 5784. This whole lowering of internal tension regarding the knowledge that an enemy stands before us, the delusion that a friend stands before us. Peace is made with enemies—for those who know this saying—if you have any left...since you make peace with enemies, you must have someone to fight with, right? So, who are you fighting with? You’ve made peace with the enemy, so if you still have an urge to fight, you fight with your brothers; those are the ones you treat as enemies. And all the terrible consequences of this— everyone understands that if, Heaven forbid, there aren't those who are cautious, the integrity of the land and the integrity of the lives of the people of Israel, and the knowledge that the people of Israel are one people with so many enemies wanting to devour it, we will be in a very difficult situation. Well, I don't know if you know, but Trump published something unusual this week that has never happened before—in 26 years of the United States, nothing like this has ever happened: direct support for the Prime Minister and Ben-Gvir. He said that if he isn't elected, the United States won't be able to help you against Iran, because it won't fight your wars; you won't fight them. I assume there is no need to explain what Iran is; we understand what Hezbollah could do, and what Iran is. It is a mortal danger to the body, absolutely, and also a mortal danger to the spirit, because if there are those who declare time and again—and their future partners do not distance themselves— that they will close yeshivas and remove religion from the public sphere. The consequences of this are a fatal blow to the soul of the nation, to its connection to the God of Israel and its Jewish identity. And there is no question that the one who said this did not apologize even once. There were minor things he clarified, but other than that, he stands behind it all. That is what we are talking about. So the first reason here was what we call "coming to the aid of the Lord against the mighty." The arbiters cite three other matters. Why a person should be obligated to vote—I am reading a few more things, see here to clear my head, and I will try to place them under headings. If I were now writing a summary for the lesson, the first sub-section of what we discussed would be this "coming to the aid of the Lord against the mighty." I remind you, there are those who sit on the sidelines as if the business doesn't concern them. He hears whistling from the sidelines, he says the business will move on its own. What is the literal meaning of "coming to the aid of the Lord against the mighty"? There are different levels of help, right? There’s one who, when at home at the end of a meal, Mom asks, "Why aren't you helping?" He gets up and deigns to put his cup in the sink. A medal of honor! And he gets offended if they didn't praise him for it with a few messages to the whole family about how much he helped, maybe even a video to show he lifted the cup. It also happens in the yeshiva, right? That there is one who is on duty, so his initiative amounts to a very shallow level, and you see that later—ah, when you tell him help, it’s help on completely different levels. We didn't define it all here, but at least one thing: it cannot be that a person stands on the sidelines as if it doesn't concern him. That is anti- "coming to the aid of the Lord." One—that no Torah-observant person should abstain; that is, why do we need to vote? All those who observe the religion must not be prevented from observing it as they wish (referring to observing Judaism). Secondly, so that the character of the state as a whole will be more imprinted with the character of Torah, and this we must know, that for us, the fulfillment of the Torah's commandments. Can you hear anything from this? Just kidding, I'm pretending. >> What of the—what is this? >> Oh, is it the camera's? I didn't understand. Ah, here, thanks, okay. I don't like to be a liar, it would also be lying to myself. I'm also struggling with myself. I think you hear something ; one never knows where we stand. Wait, And this must be known: that for us, the fulfillment of the Torah's commandments by each and every one, and the character of Torah in the state, in particular and in general, whether a little or a lot, are part, part of the question of the state's security. That there should be a Jewish character in the land, that is our security, as it depends on this, as the Torah explains in the words of the prophets. This is an inseparable part of Jewish faith in general. Do not think that this is not part of our faith. There is no need to elaborate on this, for the things are known, established in the heart of every faithful Jewish person. Yes, when discussing whom to trust to protect the matters of religion and the holiness of Israel, it is simple that only religious people, who believe in the holiness of the Torah and observe the commandments, should be trusted to protect as much as possible the matters of religion and the character of the Torah's holiness in our foundation as a state. But if they themselves are not religious and do not observe the commandments, how can we entrust these matters to them in the Knesset? How is it possible to entrust the safeguarding of our most precious things to people for whom this is not important at all? Even if they give a thousand promises and guarantees that they will do what religious people tell them, it has no value, and in no way is it possible to entrust the guarding of the Torah, the foundations of the religion, and the holiness of Israel to such guardians whose views on the need, let alone the necessity, of observing religious matters are negative or completely indifferent. The guarding of these guardians is no guarding at all, and whoever entrusts such guardians is himself negligent in the guarding. What is called in the language of our Sages, if I saw it in the Gemara: a guardian who handed it over to a guardian, where the first guardian is not fit to guard like the original guardian. It’s clear he was referring to Bava Kamma, right? Obviously, obviously, he didn’t just write that, we’ll explain in a moment. It is not possible that someone who is not careful in keeping Shabbat, Kashrut, family purity , requirements for a complete Torah education, belief in Torah from Heaven, and observing commandments in general, will be our representative, our messenger, our voice in the Knesset. And whoever says and does so, it turns out that he is either completely biased in his views to the point of irresponsibility, or he himself is weak in the true recognition of Torah values ; it is not dear to him, so he is willing to leave it in the hands of others. There is no one who would entrust assets that are dear to them. I will give you a small example: who gives their car to their friend? It is clear to him that he knows how to drive according to the driving rules accepted by us. Is there anyone like that? Do you know anyone? >> What of his vehicle? >> Whoever has his vehicle completely totaled. >> So it is true, this is what he says: that you do not value your vehicle or you are not responsible, there is nothing else here. Here, in our elections, his points are still relevant today; I will explain this because it is less important for us right now. And the same year he writes this, two phenomena occur, both of which he criticizes greatly. One: a party arose, out of a great desire to protect the Land of Israel, a party called Tehiya, which many of us identified with because it was very clear in its Israeli nationalistic stance, but there were Jews who did not observe the Torah and its commandments, dear Jews, he absolutely did not agree that it was permissible to vote for it. All right. Another party arose that he also opposed; a party rose up on a purely ethnic background, everyone was from a specific ethnic group, and he strongly opposed it. This is not today's Shas, this is a party from back then, he also strongly opposed it, and his conclusion was this. What I do say is he detailed it here, I just skipped that, what I do say is: this is not an opinion, this is not a novelty being introduced now, this is the general opinion accepted since time immemorial, from all the greats of Israel regardless of their views, we follow their rulings. So what does the Rav say ? That there is a complete prohibition to help elect people who do not believe in the Torah of Moses, and certainly not in places where they will have a say on religious matters. And there is no need to cite sources due to its simplicity. I assume those sitting before me, in principle these are not their dilemmas today, but it could certainly be your dilemma. I also know what will be on the agenda in the coming elections and who the parties will be that will solicit your faith, for people there is a proven rule: just as in the laws of forbidden and permitted, one is not trusted to testify on the matter; someone who is not careful about a thing is not trusted to defend it. Someone for whom the subject is not as dear as it is to you, in truth it is a very clear human calculation, with the simple analogy we brought, it is very clear. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe , by Whose word all things came to be. >> Amen. >> For anyone who does not know the phrase famously associated with Rav Avrum, you are invited to encounter it, unfortunately, in many areas that are clear Torah questions, all sorts of young people who have not served their teachers sufficiently pretend to rule, relying on their rash opinion, not consulting their masters, you know the code name for this sentence. >> Yes, that is the term Rav Avrum would use: there are young people who rule on heavy public questions. He used to say that in order to rule on these questions, it is written in the Kesav Sofer that it must be those who are qualified to answer questions of agunot (chained women). Anyone qualified to answer regarding agunot, questions of all of Israel, can answer, or those whose personal interests blind their eyes to the lights of instruction in place of the greats. One more thing must be added: in matters of public elections, one must come with caution, "Come to the help of the Lord against the mighty," a reservation about collaborating with those who are not loyal themselves to the world of Jewish values we believe in, who are not committed to it with all their souls. To add one more thing: in matters of public elections, there is a need to protect the opinion only. Beyond the fact that this is a mitzvah in its own right, there is also the aspect of " Zikui HaRabim"—meriting the masses. In other words, if I were to write another heading, the next heading would be: One who merits the masses. There is a wonderful story, I don't know if you are familiar with it, every Shas supporter grew up on it; there is no one who votes for Shas who didn't grow up on this. Marav Ovadia arrived during one of the election campaigns; in those days he would fly by helicopter from rally to rally, he gave his soul for the cause of growing Shas. What about the journey of Rav Druckman four years ago? That during the Corona period, at such an old age, he struggled walking behind plastic sheets, wandering between yeshivas for three days? How did his driver put it to me? His driver told me this three years ago: "Sir, I told the Rav, if there are elections like this again, I cannot continue to be a young man, I just can't.""I can't come back at 3:00 at night and be at your door at 6:00 in the morning to take you...I can't, I need another driver." Yesterday, as we sat among the rabbis, I said: "My friends, remember Rav Druckman; we look like this after one day, imagine three days, at 20 years older." And Corona, consider...it was quite something. Rav Ovadia, take a driver, he wore out his feet or wore out his wings in helicopters. They say that once when he arrived in Ashdod— no, they say this is what he said—he said: "You know, Rav Ovadia is a wondrous preacher," so he preached and said: I don't recall if I'm saying all the words correctly, but the content is surely about Shimon who, after 120 years, arrives in the World of Truth, dies, arrives, and places a mountain of black packages on the scale, and he doesn't know what will be with him. Suddenly, a second white angel arrives, weighs his judgment, puts it on the other side of the scale, and says: " Shimon built a mikvah in Kiryat Gat." He says: "I never built a mikvah in my life, I never went to a mikvah in my life, I don't know what a mikvah is." Another angel comes, says: "Shimon built a Talmud Torah in Ashdod, he funded a Talmud Torah, Shimon built a yeshiva in Hatzor." He says: "What? Shimon built?" He says: "Master of the world, listen, you're a liar, I didn't, not me, it wasn't created." They tell him: "Did you vote for Shas or not?"" You voted for Shas.""Shas—you built a mikvah, you built a Talmud Torah, you built a yeshiva." There is no scratch of wonder here that matches the size of the wonderful parable, because it's impossible to do, you say other letters in the same way. But everyone understands, this is the absolute truth —this is meriting the masses, what is the question at all? It is meriting the masses. Will there be money for mikvaot , will there not be money for mikvaot? If there is money for mikvaot—there will be more purity in Israel. If there is money for synagogues—there will be more minyanim. There are places, for those who know new neighborhoods, there is no minyan, they pray in some shelter . Do you know how many good Jews want to pray? Many times you will hear that every person is several people, if you send their children to religious schools, it will be standard, if he is organized. A lot, many Jews want to do good if they have the tools for it. The question is whether you are helping the public or not. So it is not just for the help of the Almighty among the mighty, let's call it by another name: whether you are helping the public or not helping the public. And the Rambam already wrote in his letters that a person can live a long life and not see a son. Everything is a matter of helping the public. In elections such as these, there is always an opportunity to help the public, it is easy to do, all the more so when destroyers arise, who openly bring their desire to change things for the worse, does that sound familiar to you? No. Even regarding the preservation of the holy things of Israel and the commandments of the Torah that, in the state, that is—even the existing ones want to harm it. Yes, every reader of these words needs to prepare and wake up with greater intensity to be among those who help the public and participate in the elections and vote only for a religious list. And I assume that at the Rabbi's, I don't like speculations, but you don't need to understand much that it writes to vote and only...I almost did the didactic for you, I wanted to ask you what he says about participating in the elections and voting and only, three dots. What would you say in our generation regarding participating, voting and only for what? >> No, no, I asked generally, no, not party-related. What? Is it also not enough for a party to be outside the electoral threshold? No, this is the question bothering everyone now on the agenda. Two, three, four such parties can bring down everything, everything, everything, everything, everything. Don't vote for the right, because there are many, it could be the right won't even get in. Right, left, I won't get into that. Do you believe in something? Make sure it happens. On the other hand , bringing it down, you know? Hundreds of thousands of votes could be lost here, tens of thousands of votes. Okay, so I'm stopping here. And the unusual thing the Rabbi did here is truly unusual, in my opinion. At the end of the letter he wrote: To sum up, one must not use and participate in the elections to the Knesset. It is only for a list that surely believes in the Almighty. The Rabbi wrote a letter to someone who is, sorry, let's say this, if you already mentioned Rabbi Ovadia, is someone who says Rabbi Ovadia is an idiot? What is the summary of the things? You wrote, didn't you understand what you? To sum up, did someone not understand what is written? It is clear why he wrote to sum up the things. They call it in the language of Chabad, What then? What is the bottom line of what you want? That is the bottom line. Don't be confused. I want to add to this two more things that were said, and one of them by him. I said the Almighty among the mighty, we said. We will help the public, that is how the Rabbi ended his letter. All the above can be said with complete certainty that everyone has the choice to be among the blessed who will uphold the words of this Torah. The Rabbi put it here in positive language, because in the Torah it appears not in this language. In the Torah it appears in negative language, he took it in positive language; so also this, what does that mean? What did he mean by " blessed is he who upholds the words of this Torah"? Because you have an opportunity to establish the mikvah in Kiryat Gan, you are a Torah student in Ashdod, and if you chose that—you are "blessed is he who upholds the words of this Torah." And a fourth reason that everyone brought up, which is what is incumbent upon a person, in the words of the Rambam: to tip the scales of the world toward merit. Look, I brought with me here, uh, I brought here a binder whose title—if you can see— is "Elections." This is a binder about elections. There are no flyers here about who to vote for, maybe there are things in there that I saved when they were relevant, but really, I am just reading you the headlines, okay? Why are you smiling and why are you happy? Is it because it's a binder, a binder that is organized, or because it is organized, or is there a binder regarding two aspects? So I am reading you the first heading: "Only Titles," okay? Just to understand what you are partnering with if you vote, and if you vote for someone who acts, because I made a practical effort. Yes, I cannot say: "I really long to put on tefillin, " so there I really long, if I have good yearnings that tomorrow I will put on tefillin...no, don't say things like that, forgive me. You have a mitzvah now, a passing mitzvah, this is a novelty that the ear has not heard, truly not heard. So the first heading: "Appoint a King Over Them." What is a king? What is the answer? Yes, that is what the Rav, of blessed memory, wrote there, that when there is no king, the laws of kingship return to the collective. The question is what kind of kingship you want there to be, the aspect of kingship, okay? An aspect, that one aspect says what you want, but it is part of it: "You shall surely set a king over you." Okay, I am reading you only the heading. Now I am reading another heading, let's see if you notice the difference, wait a moment, let's cooperate: or "A kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Is that the same thing as what I just read about a king? What would you call that in our language? Well, Jewish identity, the Jewish character of the kingdom, both of the public domain and of the individual, okay? "Whom the Lord your God will choose"—who should be chosen ? Right, you can't choose just anyone, it is written...and on this our early sages debated. I am skipping a bit, because there is another verse: "That the Lord your God chooses"—the Lord, yes, "And the spirit of the Lord will rest upon him." It is not enough that the spirit of the Lord could rest upon him. Right? You know, there is someone who walks around with a yarmulke, but the spirit of the Lord does not speak through him; he speaks in an Israeli-American or an Israeli... Different. Appointing a leader over the public—our sages say which leader, faithful to the public. I'm skipping over all this now, I'll shock you, there is a lot here. I want to move on to something I collected years ago. I have here two binders, two plastic sleeves, Maybe three plastic sleeves, I will show you. Uh, There is one interesting folder here: elections for secular candidates, this folder contains who to vote for. There is another folder here, this folder discusses whether to vote at all. Collected here are things from Satmar against voting, and the words of all those who said it is an absolute obligation, and that is the majority of the great Torah leaders of Israel. Certainly the majority of the great Torah leaders in the Holy Land, from the Chazon Ish to the great Torah leaders who we were privileged to have as our teachers, the Chazon Ish is also included in this, thank God. The teachings of the Chazon Ish, in areas where there are no fundamental disagreements, he is certainly one of the greatest giants. As you hear, R ' Zalman, Rabbi Elyashiv, Rabbi Ovadia, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and more and more and more. We have listed almost everyone you know—these are not my private great leaders; R' Zalman is not a private leader, Rabbi Elyashiv is not a private leader. Rabbi Y...one could list massive series here now. But I mostly collected them years ago. Something very interesting. I will not read them all to you, just a part, Also so that there will be a few minutes left for him. Uh, I collected here— afterwards I will also explain why I collected them—Things written by the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rabbi Aharon Kotler who were not in the country. And after that, signatures here, a public declaration by all the Admorim at that time, all of them on the same weight. The Admorim who are signed here are: Belz, Sadigura, Vizhnitz, Tzadik, Gur, Rebbe of Yale, Seret-Vizhnitz, Nadvorna , Tzlunim, Koidanov...Chortkov, they are not surrendering. All right, I want to read the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. To emphasize: (as it seems to our sorrow there are elections again in the near future) regarding the holy obligation and privilege—an obligation and privilege that every one of the Haredim and those who fear the word of God must participate in the elections, both himself and by influencing others, to vote for the most Haredi lists. As is his custom, he does not say for whom—so that no one gets lost. Is it possible to interpret this in another way? Can one say he is not a Rabbi, he is not one of our great Rabbis, is he sacrificing this word now ? Why is he not one of our Rabbis? He is one of the greatest spiritual giants in exercising judgment on what to do. Here, I am conveying this. I have permission to publish my opinion with all force and all strength. It is not meant as violence, of course, all force , all strength. That every single God-fearing person must do everything in his power to increase the number of voters for the most Haredi lists. And further: Anyone who has a citizen certificate, meaning an identity card, already has the right to vote, and by the very act of taking that certificate , he admits and submits to the leadership of this place, which is contrary to Satmar. Whoever does not understand, if after that he does not participate in the elections—from him one also sees, and in other matters as well. There is a situation where this will result in responsibility for a law , big or small, when they vote for his law, he will see that the public offense, God forbid, depends on him too . Listen to the next sentence, I will use it later: And I still have not found the man. I call this his holy slumber, and I’m still translating— I haven't found the man yet, it’s gone on for a long time. I haven't found the person with broad enough shoulders to take this burden upon himself. I’ll skip ahead a bit to another place that relates to our days: it goes without saying that he has permission to write everything I wrote here, and he could even add severity to it, because no matter how much he adds, it doesn't cover the whole matter. Did you hear that sentence? Try saying that to the head of the yeshiva here, who indeed insists on acting this way. It’s true that severity is part of explaining how grave this matter is; there are those who take it lightly, for no matter how much he adds, it doesn't cover the whole matter; afterwards, you can add as much severity as you want. Specifically before the Giving of the Torah, there was room for Noah's conduct—that he saved himself and did not rebuke his generation, as it is in the Holy Zohar. However, after the Giving of the Torah, when everything became one complete unit—fine, I won't add more now, you’ve understood enough, there is more and more and more here. All of the above was, first of all, a matter of inspiration. But it is a clear calculation that if there were a united front of Agudah and Mizrahi, and everyone who has the right to vote for the Haredi list went to vote—meaning a joint Agudah—and everyone who understands this knows that a few more people would enter the Knesset, and through the power of the Agudah and Mizrahi parties, they would be missing from the number of left-wing parties, anyone can see this would influence the decrees. Indeed. I read to you again: and it requires great study as to who is the one with the broad shoulders to accept this responsibility upon himself . And furthermore, to turn the matter around and say that this is actually pure fear of Heaven? Who is this "pure fear of Heaven" that doesn't vote, or only votes based on knowing they won't have any real influence? Well, things here seem quite clear to me. Ah, I want to stop at this point just to add one last sentence. And now I want to say a few words that will be off-camera. Ah, our Sages have a rule, this is one more consideration. In the words of our Sages: if his colleagues are gathered for a commandment and he does not join them, and this is of course a great merit, that a person joins in a commandment he is good at and puts his shoulders to the aid of Hashem against the mighty. The touching words written here by Rabbi M. Z. are: one must act not only for oneself, but also act for others so that we may fulfill these words of Torah, may the Name be blessed . No.