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"You have reached your destination" chirped a mechanical voice. Leon turned off the car, and he and Jonas headed for their first vacation spot: the Dead Sea!
Jonas and Leon were delighted to find that the Dead Sea mud was everything they had imagined it would be. Slimy, salty and soothing! After immersing themselves in that sensory experience for the better part of an hour, the two decided that it was time to head for their hotel. They got up and went to look for their car.
Jonas had a fairly decent sense of direction, which is why he was a little surprised that the car wasn’t were he thought he had left it. After ten minutes of looking in increasingly greater concentric circles around the spot where he was sure he had parked the car, Jonas came to the painful conclusion that their rental car had been stolen! And it wasn’t just the car. Their change of clothing, passports, food, wallets – everything was in there.
Some Israelis noticed the hapless tourists, and inquired as to what had happened. The tourists eagerly shared their story. It didn’t take long for the Israelis to take action. They brought the tourists to the nearest police station, and assisted them in reporting the theft.
The police got right to work, and ordered pizza for the unfortunate tourists. A social worker, who became involved in the case, publicized the situation. In a short time, the owners of a hotel in Arad offered hospitality to the father and son, free of charge. The two had barely entered the hotel, when they were barraged by a steady stream of Arad residents, who brought money, food, treats, and whatever else they thought the stranded tourists might appreciate. Leon and Jonas were overwhelmed by the kindness that they experienced, and were shocked that such good people exist in the world.
Was it, in fact, proper, for Jews to bestow such kindness on German people, considering that, scarcely eighty years ago, people from that very nation killed millions of Jews?
Answer of Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, shlita:
The residents of Arad definitely did a great mitzva, and kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name). The question of our relationship with Germans is, in fact, an emotional question, and not a halachic (Jewish law-based) one.
Rabbi Meshulam Roth, zt"l (who himself was a Holocaust survivor) was asked, a number of years after the Holocaust, whether it was proper to decree that Jews should never walk on German soil. Rabbi Roth answered that, while it was proper to make such a decree, on philosophical and political grounds, halachically, there was no basis to make this ruling. (Responsa Kol Mevaser, siman 13)
It is not clear that the Germans of today are anti-Semites, any more so than any other nation. Similarly, the Germans today are not the same individuals who murdered Jews during the Holocaust, and, therefore, it is difficult to determine what, precisely, our relationship with them should be. Personally, ideally, I do not buy German made products. However, this is not a matter of Jewish law, but, rather, a matter of emotion. However, in our situation, in which there were people who were in need of help, it was proper to not make any calculations, and to simply help the people who were in need.
I will add that there is no prohibition of "lo tichanem" (not to give free gifts to non-Jews) in this case because this was a matter of helping people who were left with nothing, and, as Maimonides wrote (Hilchot Melachim 10, 12) even regarding idol worshippers, our sages commanded us to visit their sick, to bury their dead with the dead of the Jews and to provide their poor with a living together with the poor of the Jews, due to the ways of peace, as it says "G-d is good to all and his mercy is on all of His creations" and it says "its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace."
In summary: The people of Arad did a good thing, in helping the German tourists, and, in doing so, they sanctified G-d’s name.
Translated by Avigail Kirsch
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
