Ehud Barak: High Priest of Baal

During the reign of king Ahav, worship of the idol baal was introduced into Israelite society. Resistance to this idolitry was led by Eliyahu HaNavi; Elijah the Prophet. After hiding for 3 years by G-d's command, Eliyahu appeared before Ahav and challenged the 450 priests of baal to prove that the idol was more powerful than Hashem. They implored their lifeless diety to consume the flesh of a bull they had sacrificed, but failed. Eliyahu's sacrifice was consumed by a great fire from the sky, upon which the witnesses among the people of Israel declared, "Adonoi Hu HaElohim;" The Lord, He alone is G-d. Eliyahu then commands the people to capture the priests. Eliyahu put them all to the sword.

Today Israel has the esteemed privilege of having the new high priest of baal, Ehud Barak presiding of the ministry of defense. Today the brazen ass, while further condemning Rabbi Eliezer Melamed as failing to adequately come out against soldiers protesting against being used to evict Jews from their homes, against Jewish law, declared

"One of the foundations of a democratic state is a monopoly on the use of force
on the one hand; on the other is the state's authority over the citizens. The
citizens express their stances through political activity and the ballot box.
The State has an army and the army is under the authority of the State, and
of no other body.”

And here lies the failure of the government of Israel. The People of Israel are only under one authority, the G-d of Israel. The state is not to be worshipped. We are answerable to Hashem alone, not some fat cheeked, pig headed betrayer of HaKadosh Borachu and the Jewish people.

Unfortunately, Rabbi Melamed, by deferring to the decision of his fellow Hesder Yeshiva heads, and signing the declaration against soldier protests, has turned his back on his defense of G-d and Torah. He has shown the other side of his mouth. While one side speaks of Torah truth, the other says that soldiers should be silent in the face of the government's violation of Torah truth. They should not protest government policies that order them to evict Jews from their homes, but should refuse to obey those orders when given. Telling the truth of Torah cannot be done in silence. Melamed compromised himself, and in the end is still out of the Hesder program. His credibility is no longer existent. He needs to recant his decision to support the ban on soldier protests or accept the fact that he is just another betrayer of the G-d of Israel, like the rest of the Hesder Yeshiva heads who signed the declaration.

These are difficult times for the Torah observant in Israel, and in exile. The leadership is fading, turning to baal. I have news for you, your high priest Barak's god will not redeem you. So go. Cut off your beards, give up your tefillin, and pick up a ham for the Fast of Tevet. As Yeshiyahu asked, what good are your fasts? You have sided with the state against Hashem. Your fasts are meaningless, as are your yeshivas. Petition your high priest Barak to grant you absolution.

For more honest discourse on this I recommend listening to this post at The Jewish Fist.