{"id":98845,"date":"2022-11-20T04:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T02:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/?p=98845"},"modified":"2022-11-20T04:08:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T02:08:00","slug":"am-yisrael","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/am-yisrael\/","title":{"rendered":"Am Yisrael"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor you are a holy people to Hashem, your G-d; Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured nation from all the peoples that are on the face of the earth\u201d <\/em><\/strong>(Devarim<\/em> 7:6)<\/p>\n

Rabbi Shimon says, \u201cBnei Yisrael are the sons of kings\u201d (Shabbat <\/em>111a).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, \u201cCome and see how beloved Bnei Yisrael are before Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Every place where they were exiled, the Shechinah<\/em> went along with them\u201d (Megillah<\/em> 29a).<\/p>\n

The Rambam writes (Matnot Aniyim<\/em> 10 1-2): Whoever has mercy will be treated with mercy, as the pasuk says (Devarim<\/em> 13:18), \u201cAnd He will grant you mercy and be merciful to you and multiply you.\u201d Whoever is cruel and does not have mercy is of dubious lineage. Only the gentiles possess the trait of cruelty, as we are told, \u201cThey are cruel and do not have mercy.\u201d All of Bnei Yisrael and those who cling to them are considered brothers, as the pasuk states (Devarim<\/em> 14:1), \u201cYou are children to Hashem, your G-d.\u201d If one does not take pity on his brother, who will?<\/p>\n

The Chafetz Chaim was once asked, \u201cWhy does the world need Chassidim and Mitnagdim? And even among the Chassidim, there are various sects. Some prioritize Torah study above prayer, while others spend a large portion of time in prayer and less in Torah study. Some are involved in song and music, while others are busy dancing all day. Would it be so bad if there would just be one group of Jews, all praying the same prayers and serving Hashem in the same way?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chafetz Chaim, zt\u201dl, answered him in his typical, sweet way, \u201cBefore asking about the different sects in our nation, go and ask the Russian Czar why he has all different types of soldiers. He has foot soldiers, horseback-riders, canon-shooters, parachuters, and deep-sea divers. Why doesn\u2019t the Czar feel that one unit of soldiers is sufficient, with one type of weapon, and one general above all?<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, that would be ridiculous. In order to vanquish the enemy, various maneuvers are necessary on many different fronts. One unit provides what another cannot. A foot soldier is capable of fighting in hand-to-hand combat. He can make the most of the sword and spear. However, the horse rider can frighten away the enemy with the speed of his steed. Those who shoot canons and grenades have the advantage of distance. And even the musicians play an integral role in warfare, maintaining everyone\u2019s morale.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it is with the war against the Yetzer Hara<\/em>. Chassidim and Mitnagdim play important roles in Hashem\u2019s army. They are all involved in the war against the Evil Inclination. Each tries to overthrow the enemy to the best of his ability. One does it through Torah and another through tefillah. These are involved in song and these in shofar-blowing. The main thing is that they should direct their hearts to their Heavenly Father\u201d (Chafetz Chaim Al HaTorah<\/em>, Parashat Re\u2019eh<\/em>, pg. 256).<\/p>\n

The Midrash states that Bnei Yisrael are called \u201cthe firstborn, son of the hated one.\u201d My father, the Admor, zt\u201dl, explained that Bnei Yisrael are always hated in their own eyes. They are constantly discovering their shortcomings and attempting to straighten their ways. But the nations of the world always consider themselves perfect and beloved. They never find fault in their actions\u2026 The fact that a person is capable of recognizing his insignificance in comparison with Hashem\u2019s greatness is a level of knowledge. He is capable of distinguishing between two things\u2026 Since Bnei Yisrael are constantly evaluating their deeds, so to speak hating their negative side, they exhibit a measure of knowledge, a gift of Heaven (Shem MiShmuel<\/em>, Bereishit<\/em>, Mikeitz<\/em> 673).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor you are a holy people to Hashem, your G-d; Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured nation from all the peoples that are on the face of the earth\u201d (Devarim 7:6) Rabbi Shimon says, \u201cBnei Yisrael are the sons of kings\u201d (Shabbat 111a). Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, \u201cCome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":25909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1092],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-am-yisrael"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}