Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Exodus Armed – Responsibility, Safety & Security

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 at 7:31 PM

by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Exodus Armed - Responsibility, Safety & Security

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The weekly reading of B’Shalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) tells of the emergence of the Jewish People as a Nation: Pharoah has finally been overwhelmed by the ten plagues Hashem has wrought upon Egypt and the Jewish People depart. No longer slaves, we take our first steps in freedom as our own Nation and People.

Our first steps in freedom are described thus (Exodus 13:18):

“And G-d led the people round about by way of the desert of the Red Sea, and the Children of Israel came up armed from the Land of Egypt.” [1]

Armed? Yes indeed! And it was so significant that we were armed that the Torah makes sure to mention it. Why? Like all slaves, we were disarmed in Egypt. Nothing symbolized our freedom from Egyptian bondage greater than bearing the arms of a free nation, a nation learning to take responsibility for its own well-being — beginning with the responsibility to defend itself.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, Rashi’s commentary explains the verse:

The word ‘chamushim‘ can only mean ‘armed‘. Because G-d caused them to wander in the wilderness, they needed to take arms with them from Egypt, for they did not pass near civilizations where they could acquire arms and supplies but rather had to take everything out from Egypt with them. [2]

Where did the fleeing slaves get arms? From the Egyptians themselves! At the end of last week’s reading, two verses before the Hebrew slaves actually depart from Egypt, they act “according to Moses’ instruction” and asked the Egyptians for “silver, gold, and garments.” After 210 years of slavery, G-d saw to it that the Egyptians would look favorably on them; the Egyptians gave even more than they requested, and they immediately depart (Exodus 13:35-37, with Rashi) — armed, as we are told this week.

Having despoiled Egypt in payment for their long enslavement, the Jews depart having been paid for their and their ancestors’ labor. With their gold and silver, garments, and newly acquired arms of freedom, they depart “triumphantly” — literally, “with a high hand” (14:8), which Rashi understands as “with openly displayed might.”

And indeed, at the end of the weekly reading, our arms and might are put to the test. The nation of Amelek attacks (Exodus 17:8) and the Jewish People go to war. Joshua leads the battle; Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascend to the top of a hill to oversee (17:9-10). When Moses raises his hands to the Heavens, the Jewish people are victorious; when his hands drop, the Amalekites surge. The Mishna (Rosh HaShanah 3:8) explains: when Moses raises his hands, the Jewish People are reminded of G-d, and this strengthens their hands in battle; when they forget G-d, they are defeated.

So it has always been for the Jewish People: we must arm ourselves and take responsibility for our own safety and security, but we must also always remember that G-d is our source of strength.

May we always be blessed with the freedom to self-arm, the discipline to use our arms only in righteousness, and the knowledge that our security comes only from G-d Himself.

1. Translation mine.
2. This is an exposition of Rashi’s comment, not a literal translation thereof.

Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

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About:
Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy “gun control” and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.

JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO’s products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org – Copyright JPFO 2011

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In Defense of the Catholic Church

Monday, February 6th, 2012 at 3:32 PM

By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
– Bill of Rights, Article 1

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- I’m not a scholar of the United States Constitution, though like most citizens, I certainly have a basic understanding of the meaning and intentions of the Constitution and its Amendments.

And like other patriots and defenders of the Second Amendment, I believe in the sanctity of this document and its integrity.

I’m no authority on Catholicism; with the exception of some comparative religion classes in college, my understanding of Catholic theology, ideology, and practice comes from growing up with a few Catholic friends and participating in interfaith dialogs among students studying for the clergy among various denominations.

But only a complete ignoramus of Catholic belief and Constitutional Law could fail to see hugely disturbing conflicts in a recent development in the executive branch of our federal government.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal (“A Battle the President Can’t Win”, by Peggy Noonan, WSJ 2/3/12):

The president signed off on a Health and Human Services ruling that says under ObamaCare Catholic institutions – including charities, hospitals and schools – will be required by law, for the first time ever, to provide and pay for insurance coverage that includes contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization procedures. If they do not, they will face ruinous fines in the millions of dollars. Or they can always go out of business.
In other words, the Catholic Church was told this week that its institutions can’t be Catholic anymore.

Whether you agree or disagree with the Catholic Church’s positions on abortion, sterilization, and birth control, this draconian maneuver by the Obama administration is simply untenable. This isn’t just about the federal government vs. the Catholic Church. It is about the federal government vs. religious autonomy in America.

Therefore, as a Rabbi, an Orthodox Jew, and an American, I stand with the Catholic Church and its right to freedom of conscience. If President Obama can force Catholics to pay for abortions, then no religious belief is safe in America, and an America in which religious beliefs are not sacrosanct is an America that is unsafe not only for Jews but for all people of conscience — whether people of faith or secularists.

While JPFO’s main focus is on the Second Amendment, we have always stood for all of the Bill of Rights for All of the People. While Second Amendment is the “Guardian” of the Bill of Rights, all of the rights reserved for We the People must stand intact for any of them to have meaning.

With that in mind, I would remind Obama and his ilk that there are moral issues that decent men and women will fight for – with pens and lawsuits at first, with arms if necessary. Freedom of religion and freedom of conscience are foremost among them.

The Second Amendment preserves not only our right to take up arms in self-defense but also our right to defend against a tyrannical government. May it be a right we never need to exercise.