Rabbi: Blessing
Trump as King Shows He is the Final President Before the Return of Davidic
Dynasty
Breaking Israel News
Latest News Biblical perspective
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz November 13, 2019 , 5:16 pm
“I will make them a single nation in the
land, on the hills of Yisrael, and one king shall be king of them all. Never
again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two
kingdoms.” Ezekiel 37:22 (The Israel Bible™)
Design for King David Crown (Credit: Hazorfim)
President Trump attended an Orthodox Jewish fundraising
event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening. Four
hundred Orthodox Jews participated in the event, contributing an estimated
$100,000 each for the honor of paying a personal tribute to the
Commander-in-Chief.
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said
upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler.
“ ברוך אתה ה’
אלוקינו מלך העולם שחלק מכבודו לבשר ודם
Blessed art Thou, O
L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, that you have shared part of your love and
glory and compassion with a human being who maintains the honor of every
innocent person and every Jew forever.”
Though it is doubtful that the president understood the
full import of the blessing, Trump appeared to be impressed at the ritual
focused on his honor.
The crowd responded with an enthusiastic “Amen” and
chants of “Four more years.”
The Talmud states that it is a mitzvah (Torah
commandment) for a Jew to go out of his way to see rulers and kings, whether
they are Jewish or non-Jewish but there is a dispute among Halachic (Torah law)
authorities as to whether this blessing should be recited with the complete
name of God in these times upon seeing a ruler who is not a king.
It is significant that when the rabbi recited the
blessing upon seeing Donald Trump, he said the complete and explicit name of
God in Hebrew.
Rabbi Nachman Kahana, a prominent spiritual leader in
Jerusalem, did not agree with Rabbi Jacobson’s decision to use
the name of God in this instance.
“Every rabbi can make his own ruling and Chabad has their
own methods and rulings. But what is for sure is that Halacha is not influenced
by political considerations,” Rabbi Kahana explained to Breaking Israel News.
“It is like science and should be the result of careful consideration of the
facts and the current situation.”
“The blessing is intended to be recited upon seeing a
king and there are significant differences between a president and a king. As
we are witnessing right now, a president can be impeached as the result of
political whims. A king cannot be impeached. “
“This is learned out from the real king, Hashem (God,
literally ‘the name’), which is the source of the king’s authority. Hashem’s
authority is not derived from other men. He cannot be impeached and we don’t
vote for God.”
Nonetheless, Rabbi Kahana emphasized that Trump deserves
a great deal of respect for his service as president.
“People should be judged by their actions. And he is
certainly done several important things. This is the opposite of Obama who was
praised even though he did a disservice to the office.”
Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander suggested that the blessing
should have been recited with the name of God.
“Though it is true that Trump is not technically a king
but he is the most powerful ruler of the world,” Rabbi Hollander told Breaking
Israel News. “In that sense, Trump is more of a king than other
kings.”
Rabbi Yosef Berger, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb on
Mount Zion and a descendant of King David, agreed, noting that Trump is
explicitly not a king and therefore not suited to be the focus of the blessing.
He related a story in which a man came to Israel claiming to be a king of
Africa. He was interviewed by rabbis who asked if he could command someone to
be killed without a court. The man answered in the affirmative so the rabbis
recited the blessing upon seeing a king. It later became clear the mad was a
fraud.
“Trump is not a king in that respect but he is certainly
the president of a powerful nation and in that respect he deserves respect,”
Rabbi Berger told Breaking Israel News.
Rabbi Berger noted that the blessing of Trump as a king
was timely indeed. He cited Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the medieval commentator
known by the acronym Rashi, explains that this mitzvah is incumbent on Jews who
will see the coming of the Messiah. Rabbi Chaim Palag’i, a 20th-century
Halachic authority, explained Rashi by noting that by reciting the blessing
over a flesh-and-blood king, we will appreciate how much more honor will be
given to the king in the days of the Messiah.
“The Messiah will come to fix the mess that has been made
of governments around the world, in almost every nation. America and Israel are
both having crises in leadership,” Rabbi Berger said. “We are seeing that
democracy simply does not work. The Bible does not talk about democracy. If the
U.S. had a king, there would not be any spurious impeachment process or
pointless investigations. Democracy allows people who hate the country, who
hate God, and even hate half of the people, to run the country. This breakdown
of government is intended to turn people to the real king.”
“If Israel had a king, there would not be any election
reruns,” Rabbi Berger said. “Since David was the king, he went out and dealt
with the Philistines in a true and decisive manner. Because Israel does not
have a king, it is 70 years and we are still getting attacked by the same
Philistines.”
“We need the real king and all this conflict over how to
run the country will end with the emergence of the true king,” Rabbi Berger
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment