I am a Christian-Zionist, but I am able to learn from anybody who shares the plain truth; glean principles from both secular and religious, Christian or not, and make the most of it in my spiritual life, so help me God.

Mind you, I don't go looking around in other religions for the record, but I do subscribe to the following Jewish Bible lessons that come out in time for Sabbath eve each week and enjoy them immensely as they offer greater insight into the Hebrew wording and bring that week's scriptural passages to life, vividly relevant, like Herbert Armstrong's Plain Truth magazine used to look at world events in the light of Bible prophecy. Those were the days.

I also enjoy the Jewish/Israel educational email services of Root and Branch Association, based in Jerusalem, whose president, Aryeh Gallin, I've been blessed to know and appreciate. I used to attend many of the Root and Branch lectures he offered when I sojourned in Jerusalem before being unjustly deported. Another story, another time.

As an Israelite, descended from the tribes of Joseph and Judah, recognizing the Israelite origins of the West as taught by Brit-Am Israel, I celebrate the victory of our Jewish brethren over their sworn enemies, whether past or present, and know the victory comes from our gracious God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

May the day come soon when Joseph and Judah are reunited as "One Nation Under God," a truly "United Kingdom," in the Promised Land of ISRAEL, delivered from our vicious enemies and out of the bloody mouth of the brute European beast soon to devour the nations and rip apart the world as we know it.

YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI (Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea)
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva (Yeshiva dean)

PARSHAT TETZAVEH (Sabbath reading)
11 Adar, 5766/10-11 March, 2006

PURIM 5766 - AND STILL GOING STRONG!

Some weeks ago the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while denying that a Holocaust against the Jews took place during World War 2, stated that there was indeed a holocaust which took place in Iran some 2000 years ago, in which the Jews killed thousands of people, and to this day still celebrate year in and year out with singing and drinking. He was, of course, talking about the story of Purim.

Some might indeed mistakenly come to the conclusion that all killing is a bad thing. In fact, we find even among fellow liberal Jews, that the holiday of Purim can make them blush and feel uncomfortable, for here we find the Jews celebrating the downfall of their enemies after killing some 75,000 of them. Now how un-Jewish is that?

There is, then, in this world good and evil, and they are not the same - and Woe to one who mixes up the two! Take, for instance, the example during World War 2, when Germany bombed England and England bombed Germany. Both bombed, but surely, every sane person knows that one was pure evil and one was fighting for good.

Hashem has created good as well as evil in this world, and it is our job to complete creation and eliminate evil from the world. Amalek and his physical and spiritual heirs must ultimately be wiped off the face of the earth, as King David said: I hate all those who hate You (Hashem). King David himself had killed thousands, as the Book of Samuel tell us: Saul with his hundreds and David with his thousands. Still, all whom King David killed were looked upon as a sacrifice before Hashem, for David had eliminated evil from this world, thereby making it a better place.

Today we are witnessing, throughout the world and in Israel, the mercy of fools; those taking pity on the wicked - such behavior is not good, but evil. How clearer a signal could Hashem have sent us than the Hamas landslide victory? Now it is clear for all to see that there are no innocent bystanders among the Arabs living here in Israel. Clearly, the great majority of them want to see Israel destroyed, as was made clear by them in their elections. It is high time for Israel to act accordingly and stop playing around, claiming that there are innocents in the area and moderates to work with. Clearly the law must be the same for all of them.

And still, we see the nations of the world continuing to explain away the Hamas victory, even as the Arabs have learned to use the great tool of democracy to their advantage. They (the nations) too, are guilty of taking pity on the wicked, and surely this, too, will backfire on them in the end. As nation after nation invites Hamas to visit, and the European Union and the U.S. continues to pour millions of dollars in the PA, which of course will go to continuing their terror campaign.

So, it really is too bad that the beloved president Ahmadinejad of Iran does not understand the difference between one who comes to kill, and one who kills defending himself. For history repeats itself so often. And if he comes, like so many before him, against the Jewish State - he and his people will be the ones to fall. It is worth recalling the strange last words uttered by one of the leading Nazis, who was hung after Nuremberg trials: "PurimFest 1945".

So take note, cruel and harsh world: Purim is still going strong for the Jewish people!

With love of Israel, Levi Chazen