Voice of Jacob, Hands of Esau

Copyright Rabbi Eli Hecht
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We have witnessed many horrifying actions in the past by various countries that claim to be helping humanity by establishing an equilibrium for peace. However, they misuse the gifts of medicine, science, all fields, nuclear energy and military power. Wholesale slaughter is performed almost daily all in the name of religion and peace. At the U.N. they champion "world peace" when they are the very cause of destruction and world turmoil.

Even so-called religious leaders have preached la'avdil with the sweetness of kol kol Yakov ("the voice of Jacob"), but operate with the ugly yadayim yeday Esav ("hands of Esau").

One doesn't have to look far in history to come to recognize the perversion of the Reverend Jim Jones of Jamestown, Guyana, the nefarious Khomeinei and villainous Yassir Arafat who give an obscene and sick meaning to shalom.

From the land of Israel we hear talk of shalom and sounds of war drums. We see Arabs and Jews worrying about peace. We see the eretz hakodesh defiled, disharmonious and torn apart, its religious leaders in disunity. We find Jews that will do anything in the name of peace, even give back Jerusalem. "Peace today," they chant. We even see a chief rabbi of the United Kingdom tell us (Gd forbid) to close down the land!

We see countries of the world pressing Israel into concessions. Israel must give back the Sinai, the oil fields, the airfield, the homes, etc. - all in the name of peace. The cry for peace is heard, but is that cry for peace being realized? Is it the peace that the Torah states clearly in parshas bechukosay (Lev. 26:69)?

"And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land and the sword shall not go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword."

This is the peace Israel needs. We can only talk peace when we are sure that "none shall make you afraid' the sword shall not go through your land."

Needless to say, the PLO hates us and wish to kill us. The PLO Arabs say so clearly. They claim credit joyfully for every Jew killed or maimed. Anwar Sadat says that as a child he believed in Hitler. Hitler was and is his ideal leader.

Sadat talks peace, but he wants Israel destroyed as Hitler did. Hitler demanded the Sudetenland and pleaded his case to the free world. Chamberlain believed that through appeasement war would not take place saying, "I formed the opinion that Herr Hitler's objectives are strictly limited." Chamberlain was proved fatally wrong. His statement, "We shall have peace in our time" was disastrous because it misled the world.

World opinion towards a comprehensive Middle East settlement has, unfortunately, been re-evaluated to mean relinquishing the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza district, Sumeria and Judea, the Golan Heights and autonomy for Jerusalem. The idea that in the name of peace everything is negotiable has brought Israel to its knees.

Our real leaders, the holy tzadikim, who have published their interpretations of what Torah says in regard to peace - these rabbis understand. They cry out and deplore peace talks when they are false.

Years ago, morale in Eretz Yisrael were high; aliyah was high. There was talk in jest of the airlines putting out a poster, "Visit Israel and See the Pyramids." Now I worry that Egyptians may want to print a poster saying, "Visit Egypt and See the Wailing Wall."

We must listen to Hagoan Rabbi Moshe Finestein; Rabbi Pinchas Hirshbrung, chief rabbi of Montreal; the chief rabbi of Mexico; to the rosh yeshivas; and to the Lubavitcher rebbe.

Yes, Rashi does not have to comment on "vyosem lecho shalom" (and give thee peace) because anybody and everybody that would benefit from and receive HaShem's countenance, as stated in the beginning of the blessings, will surely understand what shalom - peace - really is all about.

Jeremiah decried false leaders and prophets for "Crying peace, peace, when there is no peace."