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Epilogue
Kol Hator - The Call of the Turtledove is the most unique work of its kind. As an actual "Shulchan Aruch" to unravel the complexities and paradoxes which confront us in the Last Generation, little on the level of its comprehensivness or authority can compare. Yet, the essential ideas are "in the air" and have been appearing from different - and unexpected - sources.
R. Yisrael Alter - the previous Gerer Rebbe (1895-1977) - "was known for his ability to grasp the most complicated problems with almost lightning speed. People of all shades of religious observance sought his advice on a wide range of matters, and his home, on Malchei Yisrael Street, Jerusalem, and his heart were open to everyone in need."[396]
The "Beis Yisrael," as R. Yisrael Alter is referred to, is well known in Gerer Chassidic circles for a statement that he made which, in the light of all the above, requires no explanation:
The Holy One bestowed three gifts (Hashpa'ot ) to the world and [the Torah community of] Yisrael, not grabbing each one in its moment, lost these gifts to the External Forces. Eretz Yisrael was lost and fell into the hands of the secular Zionists. Chochmah was lost and fell into the hands of the scientists. Teshuvah was lost and fell into the hands of assimilated Jews - the Ba'al Teshuvah Movement.[397]
[396]. Chassidic Rebbes, Rabbi Tzvi Rabinowicz, Targum/Feldheim, page 328.
[397]. Ibid. First, the fact that the Land of Israel, after almost 2,000 years of foriegn rule, fell into the hands of the secular and anti-religious Zionists instead of the Torah leaders, should not, although it is already "history," be taken for granted. (From the perspective of Kol HaTor this is clearly a radical aberration in the cosmological scheme, although, as explained, it also serves as a clearly defined "failsafe" mechanism of Divine providence.) Second, the fact that the awesome and god-like power of science and technology has created a bastion of secularism and heresy for both Jew and non-Jew alike, must not be taken for granted. Last, the startling fact that a grass roots Teshuvah movement fell into the domain of secular and assimilated Jews cannot be taken for granted. In accord with the spiritual light that was about to be revealed in the world, another scenario could have manifested itself. Teshuvah - in the form of an intense revival returning to the inner teachings of the Kabbalah unified with the Talmud and an outpouring of brotherly love - could have taken place among the different Orthodox camps themselves. Instead, something that was logically impossible to foresee occurred. Tens of thousands of totally assimilated Jews began to proclaim "Torah is truth and Moshe is truth." Here they were, completely removed from the Jewish faith, never having learned authentic Torah in their lives, oblivious that they were living in constant transgression to numerous Mitzvot which placed them in the halachic category of "Tinok SheNishba" (a Jewish child who is brought up in an alien environment who literally does not even know that what Jewishness means) , and suddenly, their spirit is collectively transformed seemingly out of nowhere and they return as a powerful growing force effecting the face and direction of modern Judaism.
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