צה''ל or Yeshiva students
when we have
MILLIONAIRE RABBIS
Rabbi Marc Angel, in his
Thoughts About Thinking: Thoughts on Parashat Nitzavim for September 15, 2012, writes that
"Some months ago, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 10 richest rabbis in Israel (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQM0zpTOP7Y&feature=player_detailpage). The rabbis’ net worths ranged from 9 million dollars to 335 million dollars! It appears that all (or nearly all) of these rabbis have reputations as wonder workers, Sephardic kabbalists, Hassidic Rebbes of huge dynasties. These rabbis have amassed huge fortunes because the public is willing to pay them for their blessings, amulets, holy water etc. It seems that a considerable segment of the public does not believe in its own ability to pray to God, but wants the intercession of holy men who supposedly have an inside track with God. Many people aren’t interested in a “spirit of inquiry”—they want “truth” as promised to them by wonder working rabbis.
"If these wonder working rabbis indeed have such magical powers and can control God, then why don’t they use these powers to disarm Israel’s enemies; to uproot anti-Semitism; to punish the wicked; to provide for all the sick, poor and hungry of the world?"
The rabbi's point is not to disband צה''ל, the Israeli armed forces, and not to close the yeshivot.
His point is that we - Jews - seem to increasingly depend on "wonderworking rabbis" and other holy men and women to intercede with HaShem for us. This, R. Angel contends, is not the Torah way.
The American rabbi is, in my opinion, correct in that Jews have, and should use, our "direct line" to HaShem, I have to wonder:
What if all the millionaire rabbis were to get together (that in itself might be a miracle) and together appeal to HaShem to convince our enemies - the Iranians, our Moslem neighbors near and far, the anti-Semite and anti-Israel people among the non-Jews and, perhaps more importantly, among ourselves, the anti-everything Jewish Jew.
Now is perhaps the most propitious time: יומי נוראים, the so called "High Holy Days," are nearly upon us. Days when, we are told, HaShem is particularly open to our prayers.
I don't think I'd depend solely (no pun intended) on the millionaire rabbis to seek HaShem's protection, but it would be interesting to see what influence these gadolim would have if they, together - putting aside their differences in approach to Judaism - appealed to HaShem to erase hatred from the world.
TO BE FAIR the rabbis' millions are not necessarily personal wealth; the millions include their charities and institutions.
Meanwhile, as it is written in my וזרח נשמש sedur for the daily amedah(עמידה):
