Healing And Fighting: a false dichotomy

http://lancasterfarmacy.blogspot.com/2012/03/healing-and-fighting-false-dichotomy.html
Healing And Fighting: a false dichotomy


Healing from the pathology of industrialism is a lot like healing from any other dis-ease. If we view our bodies as a microcosm of an ecosystem, or the Earth in totality, there is a close correspondence. This is a connection that civilization has made us forget and it is one that is necessary to remember if we do indeed wish to heal on any level. Eco-feminist philosophy is based upon the premise that the oppression of women (as well as race and class oppression) is intrinsically linked to the destruction and abuse of the Earth. If we take this relationship to its inherent conclusions, then healing the Earth would be similar to healing our bodies-neither will benefit from the mechanical approach of industrialism.


Industrial medicine tends to deal with illness by pumping the body full of poisons in an attempt to kill invading organisms; it “cures” symptoms by temporarily masking them. The allopathic concept of prevention is vaccination which falls drastically short of finding the source of any problem, and often causes problems itself. Vaccinations can be held accountable for allowing viruses to become even more powerful, and even more elusive to the immune system. Industrialist revolutions never healed anything either, simply replacing one boss with the other and relying on the patriarchal obsession with progress and production. This is essentially the patching of symptoms without even recognizing where the source lies, let alone attacking it. The revolutions of productionists have failed brutally because they have failed to recognize that human oppression is based in and supported by the exploitation of the land. Thus they have failed to realize that the only true liberation-liberation without the compromise or sacrifice of impossible dreams, would put an end to all forms of exploitation, not just that of the industrial proletariat.

In revolutionary circles we tend to cling to a false duality between healing from and attacking the system we oppose—with many of us taking sides. Such a duality doesn’t exist. It is impossible to heal without attacking the source of illness, and it is equally impossible to fight on infinitely without nurturing our own physical, emotional and spiritual need for rest and care.A lot of radicals seem to maintain the attitude that once they’ve healed from their personal wounds, then and only then will they be strong enough to fight back. I maintain that fighting back is an integral part of the healing process; it is essential for the act of taking and maintaining autonomy. Healing is struggle. The struggle is a process of healing. 

Take the example of the flu that I have right now. Industrial medicine is incapable of doing anything to help it at all, although some doctors might moronically prescribe antibiotics. That approach would do absolutely nothing to help—but rather leave my intestines stripped of all the beneficial bacteria I need for proper digestion, my lungs still full of phlegm and my body completely burned out by its own unsupported struggle for health. I am currently taking a traditional approach to healing my own flu. I attack the virus by taking herbs and eating foods that strengthen my immune system. I have been skipping work to sleep, spending my days reading, sleeping and taking hot pine oils baths in order to allow my body the focus it needs to fight. This approach promotes the body’s natural responses which manifests in beneficial symptoms such as fevers and chills, sweating it out, the expectoration of phlegm (rather than suppressing coughs and runny noses this involves making it all come up in productive coughs and lots of nose blowing.) This method urges the body to step it up a notch and fight even harder, because it has been given the support it needs to maintain the necessary struggle.

Likewise, the state and its industrial apparatus are unlikely to simply wither away on their own. If we desire to heal ourselves and the Earth from the incredible devastation's these institutions have caused we will require a broad approach. Some people advocate simply “dropping out” and creating alternative subcultures, assuming that the rest will naturally follow. As if missing a few people would cause capitalism to crumble. This line of thought leads many people to such work as building beautiful gardens, writing enjoyable music, opening fair trade vegan cafes and riding bikes they fix themselves. All of those are beautiful, nourishing things but if our goal is to fully heal from the pathology of industrial civilization this work must necessarily be supportive of defensive and offensive attack. Alone it will only ever serve to create comfortable distractions from the reality of the oppressions every living thing faces constantly.

These comfortable distractions can include thriving but insular d.i.y. punk, activist or back to the land scenes among others. Not only that, if we single—mindedly devote all of our energy to building without fighting to defend what we’ve made we will quickly lose all we’ve done. It is necessary to fight for space, to dismantle all that would prevent our autonomy before we can feel safe in the relative permanence of our victory.


On the other hand, if we spent all of our energy throwing ourselves into constant battle with the institutions of the state, fighting cops every afternoon and bombing exploitative industry every evening we’d all burn out very quickly—making all of our battling largely ineffectual. We require rest and the support of enduring, nurturing relationships with our friends and our land. If our goal is to heal everything, we will not accomplish it by making ourselves ill with stubborn, duty-bound perseverance.It is as important to take care of ones need for rest and beauty as it is to defend that space by struggling against what would destroy it. And even more important than that –if we don’t grow gardens, and build nurturing relationships with both humans and our bio regions now, what will we do when we’ve collapsed industrialism and are literally starved in every aspect of life for lack of foresight?


Rather than taking any unbalanced, dualistic approach it is important to recognize that all aspects of struggle rely heavily upon one another and that healing is a broad and complex process, especially when pathology is as deep and pervasive as that of industrial civilization. If we wish to heal ourselves, our land, and our relationships to all aspects of living we must remember that diversity is essential. Healing often requires interesting combination's of attack and rest, nourishment and deconstruction, and is generally most effective when it is decentralized and based deeply in the bio region in which it is occurring.

the earth growing natural medicine

http://lancasterfarmacy.blogspot.com/2011/05/foraging-in-spring.html

About Me


Lancaster Farmacy

Casey and Eli founded Lancaster Farmacy in the winter of 2009 after both returning to our roots in Lancaster County from a background of grassroots activism, community organizing, cooperative models, farming, herbalism and rewilding. In the growing food movement we see the need for reclaiming our health and making it accessible at the local level. Having experienced the power of herbs in healing our own heath issues, we are inspired to nourish our community and the earth growing natural medicine. We offer Community Supported Medicine Shares, of seasonal fresh and dried herbs plus products like tinctures, tonics and salves. We also grow specialty crops like open pollinated and heirloom fruits and vegetables that get distributed through Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, a non-profit farmers coop based in Leola. We couldn't be doing it without them, thanks to all the farmers and staff at LFFC! http://www.lancasterfarmfreshcooperative.com/
 
 
foraging in spring




Natures treasures found beneath a dying elm tree.

It's always sad to be losing these amazing trees to the Dutch Elm Disease but out of death comes life....
 
 
Ramps (wild leeks), Poke shoots, Nettles, and Morels as our ingredients for an amazing wild lasagna!












Casey pulling the bark off a recently fallen tulip popular that is still fresh enough to work the bark off and turn it into a beautiful crafted basket.

DESTITUTE AMERICA

http://destituteamerica.tumblr.com/post/12025491444/preface-it-is-lord-of-the-flies

October 28, 2011




PREFACE: IT IS LORD OF THE FLIES

It is not a secret: I earned an undergraduate degree from an ivy league school as well as a law degree, but surprisingly that has not kept me from playing hunger games. I am not lazy. I am not unproductive, although I might become a bit unwashed if they cut off my water. In fact, as one of millions of unemployed Americans, my new daily routine consists of me counting the days down to homelessness while flashing my degrees at crappy work to see where they might landed me. I am not the only “overqualified” person willing to take anything. These days I do not have time to be choosy and this willingness has taken me to some very marginal places we will talk about in other posts.



Do I blame my alma mater? Nope. My college and post graduate experiences were amazing and initially they both paid off with great jobs and promotions. Of course great jobs and promotions are necessary when you financed your education with a lot of student loans. The problem arises when the successful and fulfilling career gets washed away in repeat mergers and acquisitions that leave you out in the cold. Immigrants did not take my job. Corporate america did. It’s called job elimination for “improved profits.”



Maybe you are asking do I blame the economy? Maybe. There are no jobs where there is no money. Americans and the rest of the world are being manipulated and defrauded by those who control the supply of money. All hail those things called the Ben Bernanke, the Goldman Sachs and their ilk.



Discussing the current devastating effects of this world order is part of the rationale for this blog. However, I am motivated by other factors besides my new marginal living. Cajoled into drafting boatloads of pro se documents in my “spare time,” I have been taken on some extreme adventures by desperate broke marginal people, and am acutely aware of the lack of resources to help them when they do not know their legal rights or are trying to help themselves. Eating is important but so is some guidance when it comes to credit and financial advice against predatory practices. Thus, this blog will provide some general assistance in these areas as well.



So now that I have a front row seat to the drama of inequalities of the working class under vulture capitalism, let’s get started on this journey of self-exploration and self-help. I do not profess to have all the answers but I am happy to explain the things I know and to provide examples when needed. The point is, I have decided to write this blog while I look for work in odd places, and maybe ease the some of the stress of my imaginary friends out there, ok …well, I mean perceived readership. Maybe when they come to take the house, I will be lucky enough to still have the car to live in.



Cheers.

radical militant, James Boggs

.Home.The American Revolution: Pages From a Negro Worker's Notebook

http://libcom.org/library/american-revolution-pages-negro-workers-notebook

In 1963, drawing on his own experience as a factory worker and radical militant, James Boggs wrote this pamphlet. It addresses (among many things) the failures of the CIO, increasing automation, rising unemployment and the emergence of new social actors ('the outsiders') that he saw as a threat to capitalism.



James Boggs, born in Marion Junction, never dreamed of becoming President or a locomotive engineer. He grew up in a world where the white folks are gentlemen by day and Ku Klux Klanners at night. Marion Junction is in Dallas County where as late as 1963, although African-Americans made up over 57 percent of the total county population of 57,000, only 130 were registered voters. After graduating from Dunbar High School in Bessemer, Alabama, in 1937, Boggs took the first freight train north, bumming his way through the western part of the country, working in the hop fields of the state of Washington, cutting ice in Minnesota, and finally ending up in Detroit where he worked on WPA until the Second World War gave him a chance to enter the Chrysler auto plant. In 1963, drawing on his own experience as a factory worker and radical militant, he wrote these pages.



Boggs offers both a keen analysis of U.S. society and a passionate call for revolutionary struggle. He sees the growing trend toward automation, the decline of organized labor, the expansion of imperialism, and the deepening of racial strife as fundamentally rooted in the contradictions of U.S. capitalism. And he concludes that the only way forward is a new American revolution—one that, from his perspective writing in the 1960s, appeared to have already begun.



Above description from Monthly Review Press. Text of pamphlet taken from History Is A Weapon



Introduction

There are two sides to every question but only one side is right. I believe in democracy, but I don't believe in being too damn democratic. In other words, I believe that everyone has a right to his opinion, but I don't believe he has a right to be hypocritical or sly about it, and I believe that it is my responsibility to fight and right those opinions that are wrong.




People are not born with opinions. Their opinions are shaped by their environments and their teachers, and they can be shaped by the wrong environment and the wrong teachers. A baby is not born with hate, but a lot of babies in the United States are taught hate.



Those who have the most power can do the most shaping and the most teaching, and if they are teaching what I believe is wrong, then I believe their power should be taken away from them.



That is what I hope this book will help to achieve. I especially recommend it to the FBI and the CIA and all those who plan to save and secure the world on the false premise that the world can be made safe and secure by freezing the ideas and creativity of man.



I am a factory worker but I know more than just factory work. I know the difference between what would sound right if one lived in a society of logical people and what is right when you live in a society of real people with real differences. It may sound perfectly natural to a highly educated and logical person, even when he hears people saying that there is going to be a big riot, to assume that there will not be a big riot because the authorities have everything under control. But if I kept hearing people say that there was going to be a big riot and I saw one of these logical people standing in the middle, I would tell him he'd better get out of the way because he sure was going to get killed.



Reforms and revolutions are created by the illogical actions of people. Very few logical people ever make reforms and none make revolutions. Rights are what you make and what you take.



James Boggs

Glory to G-d and manifest it before others-two glories-the tightrope of Tiferes

http://sn111w.snt111.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=1582856661!n=524295992&fid=1&fav=1&mid=58c63082-a524-11e1-8308-00215ad7bd84&fv=1

Israel's Dual Mission





Chapter 2, Mishna 1(a)



"Rabbi [Yehuda haNasi] said: What is the proper path a person should choose for himself? Whatever brings glory to himself [before G-d], and grants him glory before others. Be careful with a minor mitzvah (commandment) as with a major one, for you do not know the reward for the mitzvos. Consider the loss incurred for performing a mitzvah compared to its reward, and the 'reward' received for sinning compared to the loss. Consider three things and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: an eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in the Book."



The author of this mishna is Rabbi Yehuda the Nasi (lit., "the lifted or elevated one," usually translated as "prince"). R. Yehuda was the leading scholar of final generation of the Mishna. He lived in the 1st to 2nd centuries C.E. and was a seventh generation descendant of Hillel (of 1:12-14). He is known throughout the Mishna simply as Rabbi (pronounced "Rah-bee" in Hebrew -- and usually mispronounced "Rebbie") -- the teacher, par excellence. He was also a person of wealth and influence with the Roman government. Rabbi was the redactor of the Mishna, the one who collected the material of his time, reviewed it (together with his colleagues and students), and organized it into the Mishna we have today. His lifetime marked the end of the period of the Mishna. With the generation that followed him began the period of the Talmud.



Rabbi begins by providing us with the proper criteria for selecting a path in life. We are to act in a manner which brings "glory" to ourselves both in the eyes of G-d and in the eyes of man. (I couldn't find a good English equivalent of the Hebrew term here -- "tiferes". The meaning is glory, majesty, splendor.)



This statement presents us almost immediately with an obvious question. Behaving in a manner which earns G-d's admiration is certainly the correct idea. That is what we were created for. But the second criterion is more curious. Certainly we want to impress others and show them what true Judaism is about; it might even inspire them to become better people themselves. Yet how can this be placed on an equal footing with pleasing G-d? Our purpose in life is to serve G-d. If others admire us and are favorably impacted -- great. But if not, what are we to do? Should we start compromising our own beliefs just so as not to rub others the wrong way? Or should we spend a lot of time "marketing" ourselves, looking over our shoulders attempting to ensure others are favorably impressed? If they can appreciate truth, that would seem frosting on the cake. But shouldn't we care far more about what G-d thinks than what the neighbors say -- than if we've earned the approval of fallible an d biased human beings?


In truth, however, Rabbi is telling us a profound insight, one which must fundamentally alter our own outlook in life. In a sense, we do have two masters when we observe our religion. Our success in fulfilling our purpose must not be gauged by how well we are performing the mitzvos (commandments) alone, but in how we are impacting upon the world around us. And it's exceedingly easy (and quite tempting) to fulfill our obligations to G-d to the detriment of our mission to man. If someone is very holy and pious but somehow manages to get on everyone else's nerves (yes, and we all know such people...) ;-), somehow he's not doing it right. Our purpose is not to dwell in our own little ivory towers consecrating ourselves to G-d alone -- and we must certainly not make our piety a weapon to distance ourselves from the world at large. Our mission is to transform the world around us into a reflection of G-dliness. We carry with us a message to the rest of the world. We must demonst rate through our deeds and behavior that G-d exists and His Presence can be felt within this world. We must raise families and build communities; we must interact with the world around us, transforming it into a sanctuary worthy of the Divine Presence. And then slowly, the world will grow to become a reflection of the G-d who created it.




The Talmud (Yoma 86a) derives from the verse "You shall love the L-rd your G-d..." (Deuteronomy 6:5) that each of us is obligated to make G-d beloved through his or her actions. One should study Torah and deal kindly with others, so that they say, "Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah! Fortunate is his rabbi who taught him Torah! Woe to those who do not study Torah! This one who has studied Torah, see how beautiful are his ways!"



It is often so very easy and tempting to fulfill G-d's commandments to the letter but by doing so estrange ourselves from others -- to exhibit a condescending, holier-than-thou attitude towards all we come in contact with -- especially those we know best. It is simply our "evil inclination's" way of attempting to frustrate our efforts after we have mastered the basics and have begun to serve G-d properly. We are tempted to use all of our good deeds and throw them in others' faces rather than using them to bring others closer to G-d. But Judaism asks of us something far greater.

The dilemma involved, however, is far deeper. The world for the most part is hardly up to the messages of truth and spirituality we have to share with it. How are we to go about fulfilling our mission to mankind while maintaining our own standards to G-d -- standards which appear archaic, old-fashioned, and anachronistic to the rest of the world? Can we really impress both G-d and man, or does it at times seem that we must simply decide between one or the other?




Allow me to ask this question on a more practical level. The following situation has repeated itself thousands of times in this and in past generations. A young man or woman discovers a little of the truth of religion and wants to become more observant than his or her parents. And guess what? The parents do not take it well. Their child is joining a cult, going off the deep end, rejecting our upbringing, showing little appreciation for all we've done for him, etc. etc. He is not going to go to the college of his choice (read: our choice) and living up to the image of success and achievement we have for him. Nothing new. It happens in almost every parent-child relationship -- whether the issue is religion or any other issue, serious or not.



But what is the obligation of this young adult? Does G-d really want him or her to hurt his parents? Is it really a choice -- either G-d or his parents -- with no middle ground?



It is clear that when push comes to shove, we must serve our G-d first. Our bond to our beliefs must be far stronger than any flesh-and-blood bond. (The Talmud teaches that if your parents asks you to transgress a Torah law, you must not listen, for both you and your parents are obligated to listen to G-d (Bava Metziah 32a).) If the world really couldn't care less about truth, we will just have to stand firm against an apathetic world (as did our forefather Abraham), preserve what we may, and hope for better times.


Nevertheless, it is my sincere belief that it is possible to do both. It is inconceivable to me that G-d would "force" us to hurt others. Let us return to that word above that we had trouble translating -- "tiferes" or glory. There is a distinction here between being an idol, a folk hero everyone is in love with, and being someone others can respect. If we present ourselves as sincere, as firm in our beliefs and willing to stand up for what we believe in, chances are others will respect us -- perhaps begrudgingly admire us -- for whom we are. We must not flaunt our differences or use them to distance ourselves from others. And we must certainly exhibit the Jewish values of concern and love for every human being. But regardless of our specific beliefs or practices, even the most stalwart parent or Gentile -- who may not admit it immediately -- will come to admire us for whom we are and what we stand for.




This is the tightrope we must often walk in life -- uncompromising rigidity yet friendliness, nonconformance yet love and concern. But it is possible to maintain differences between friends and relatives -- even fundamental ones -- and at the same time preserve a sense of love and mutual respect. Parents, of course, do have their own free will. They can be stubborn and refuse to come to terms with changes in their children no matter how well their children try. But there is a level on which they can respect and honor even if they do not agree.



Scripture sums up Torah observance as: "Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace" (Proverbs 3:17). Our practices might not always be socially acceptable or in the political mainstream, and we must at times stand aloof and apart, but our deeds, our conduct and our demeanor must always radiate love and pleasantness to all.

FACES OF COURAGE FRANZ ETC

http://www.holocaust-trc.org/faces.htm#Franz
Franz




Dressed in his checkered shirt and short trousers, Franz walked quickly along the dark street bordering the park. He saw the flashlights and heard the Nazi Patrol and quickly jumped into the bushes that bordered the park. Knowing how to avoid the patrol was important and Franz, who knew every bush and hiding place in the park, was sure he would never be caught. Patrol would never catch him. The son of a steelworker, Franz had just turned 16 when he left school and joined the Edelweiss Pirates. He knew most of the other boys from his neighborhood, they were his friends and he had known them for most of his life. His father was a Social Democrat who lost his position as trade union leader because he opposed the Nazis. As soon as Franz was old enough, he quit school to avoid having to go to Nazi Youth meetings. He took a job in the steel mill as an apprentice and joined the Edelweiss Pirates.

http://www.holocaust-trc.org/faces.htm#berthold

Berthold




When Berthold was 12 years of age, his father was killed in an accident in the steel mill. His mother had to work as a domestic to feed her family of four children. Berthold was the oldest and when he was 14 years old, he left school and found a job in a factory. He was glad to be making some money to make life easier for his mother.

Hitler promised to make a good life for all Germans, but his mother worked harder than ever trying to support her family. There were no benefits for ordinary working people. The people who profited were the rich, the factory owners. Workers had few benefits. The Nazis were always boasting about the good life they were making, but Berthold knew it was a lie.



"Everywhere you see signs, "Forbidden" "Prohibited", Not permitted" and "Forbidden on pain of death" "What kind of country am I living in?" Berthold made no secret of his hatred of the Nazis and he joined the Pirates at the same time as Franz. There were ten boys and two girls in their group.



Unlike the Nazi Youth, the Pirates tolerated differences and found a sense of solidarity with other young people who wanted to escape the strict control of the Nazi Youth groups. Having fun together was as important as the freedom they found in their activities. Being with the Pirates broke the monotony of life in the steel mill and made life exciting.



The high points of the week were the weekend hikes into the countryside and the parties in the café. Some members of the Pirates wanted to be more political and fight openly with the Nazis. They wrote anti-Nazi slogans on the streets with chalk and even distributed papers describing Allied victories. They wrote songs and sang them in the cafes at night. Although, most of the time they tried to avoid the Nazi Youth Patrols, they sometimes had to fight with them on the streets.



Despite the bombings, Berthold and Franz met their group of Edelweiss Pirates almost every evening. Food shortages, increased work loads in the mill, and the heightened efforts by the Patrols to suppress the Pirates hardly affected their activities. They knew that the Nazi authorities were more determined than ever to suppress them, especially after they began to carry on more serious resistance activities. Berthold and Franz listened to the forbidden British broadcasts on the radio and wrote a leaflet describing the Allied victories, which they printed and distributed them to people in their neighborhood. They also began to help young people who had run away from reform schools and labor camps.



Franz and Berthold helped to clean out an old empty warehouse that was used to shelter people who were hiding from the Nazis. Albert found his way to freedom with Berthold's help.

http://www.holocaust-trc.org/faces.htm#albert
Albert




Albert lived in a home for orphaned boys in the working class section of the city. The Director of the Home forced him to leave school and work as a street sweeper because he refused to attend the Nazi Youth Club meetings. Small for his age and frail, Albert worked all day sweeping streets and carrying big bags of trash. One afternoon, he dropped a bag of garbage and began to sweep it up, when he heard a friendly voice whisper, "So you are a member of the slave gang" Albert turned and saw an older boy dressed in a checkered shirt and black hat.



"You don't have to be a slave. I've been watching how hard they make you work. Why don't you just leave?" Berthold whispered.



Before Albert could answer, his boss began screaming at him and raised his fist, but Berthold came up from behind and held the boss' arms.



"Run away," he shouted. Albert dropped his broom and ran away. He knew he was going to be punished by his boos of he stayed and he knew that the Director would punish him if he went back there. He didn't know

where to go. When Berthold caught up with him, Albert was close to tears. He could barely speak when Berthold asked him where he lived.



"I have no place to go. I can't go back to the orphan home. The Director said he'd send me to reform school if I caused more trouble.



"Don't worry, you don't have to go back. I know a place where you can stay and I'll take you there".



"But I have no money", Albert swallowed hard.



"Don't worry. You'll be O.K. There's other guys who have run away and you can all help one another," Berthold told him, putting his arm around the frightened boy who looked much younger than his 14 years."

Besides I think I can help you find a job." Berthold took him to the empty warehouse that had become a home for six other homeless boys.



The boys slept on mats on the floor and shared whatever food they could find. Sometimes they had to steal food. But the Pirates often brought food to the warehouse. The older boys looked after Albert who

began to feel safer than he had for a long time.



For most of his life, Albert lived in the orphan home. His mother died when he was an infant and he lived with his father and grandmother. There was no work and when his grandmother got sick, his father took a

job in another city and put Albert in the orphan home run by Herr Weinstein who made sure that Albert had contact with his father. He lost his contact when the new Director came to the Home.



Herr Weinstein was a Jewish man was like a father to the boys in the home. A gentle kindly man, Herr Weinstein treated the boys like they were his family. Older boys helped the younger ones. There were always outings and picnics and Herr Weinstein helped the boys with their schoolwork. Boys who needed special help received it. Albert felt safe and cared for in the Home. Then one afternoon while Albert was in school, the police came and took Herr Weinstein away. When Albert came home from school that day, there was another Director there. Under the Nazis, Jewish people were not allowed to be teachers or Social Workers.



More and more boys were crowded into the Home and those who were failing in school or had other difficulties were sent away. The boys Albert knew and trusted were sent to work all day and others disappeared. The new Director did not interfere when younger boys were slapped or pushed around by older boys. Albert who was small for his age was often the target of jokes and teasing. The Director, a cold and cruel man, never called the boys by name; he was only interested in forcing them to attend Nazi youth meetings. The boy who bullied and

tormented Albert was the leader of the Nazi Youth club.



Albert dreaded the meetings and found it hard to keep up with the others. He didn't know how to defend himself against the bullying and began to skip the meetings. When the Director found out, he scolded Albert and threatened to send him away. Under the new social welfare system, boys as young as 12 could be removed from the school and sent to work as garbage collectors, street sweepers and other menial jobs. They worked as much as 48 hours a week or more. Albert worked with the street sweepers and found the work very hard. He could barely manage to lift the heavy bags of trash.



Berthold took a special interest in the small boy who looked much younger than his 14 years. He even found a job for him in the steel factory and took him to the meetings of the Edelweiss Pirates. With the money he earned Albert bought himself a checkered shirt and trousers. He went on outings and hikes with Berthold and Franz. Albert was devoted to the two older boys who made him feel like he was someone. He had new confidence and he volunteered to be the one to watch for the Nazi Patrols. He also helped to distribute the leaflets and write anti Nazi slogans on the streets. Dressed in regular clothes, he often stood guard outside when the Pirates were having a meeting. Alert and inconspicuous, Albert knew when to warn the others when he saw the Patrol.



One evening as soon as the bombing stopped, the boys left the shelter and started walking to the park, when they saw the Nazi Youth Patrol. They began running toward the park, but Albert could not run as fast as the others and he tripped and fell. Before he could get up, he felt someone kicking him. Pain flashed through his body as they pulled him to his he feet and slapped him hard. They turned him over to a policeman who took him to Gestapo Headquarters.



Albert could only hope that they had not captured anyone else and he refused to answer any questions or give the names of the other boys in the group.



"You riff raff are nothing but troublemakers, and you will pay heavily", the Gestapo officer shouted at him and took him to a jail. Once inside the jail, he saw Franz, Berthold, and some of the other boys. Albert, Berthold and Franz were sent to a concentration camp along with hundreds of other Pirates.



The Gestapo and the Hitler Youth brought an armory of repressive measures including sending Pirates to concentration and labor camps. For many Edelweiss Pirates the hunt ended in death. In Cologne, sixteen year

old Bernard Schink was publicly hanged in November 1944.



http://www.holocaust-trc.org/faces.htm#jean
Jean




On the way back to the village, Jean was climbing the hills bordering the Dordogne River when he saw a streak of silver twisting and turning in the sky; trailing streaks of black smoke as it hurtled to the ground. Jean was deaf and did not hear the plane crash, but he saw the smoke rising above the trees on the other side of the river. Jean stopped on the top of a hill and watched the smoke circling above the sparkling river, and then he saw the white parachute tangled on a tree below him. A man dangling from its ropes was waving his arms, frantically trying to reach the branch of the tree.



Jean quickly ran down the hill toward the tree and climbed up, as he came close to the man he reached and pulled him to safety in a branch of the tree. Then he disentangled the ropes and helped him climb down from the tree. Jean guessed the man was the pilot of the small plane. He knew from his uniform that he was not a German. He suspected he was British or American.



The people in the farming village were happy to see the fighter planes, everyone was hoping that they would free France from the German occupation. The year was 1944 and German soldiers were all over France. Jean knew his father resented the German soldiers who took so much food from the village that there was little left for the farmers to sell.



Safely on the ground, Jean faced the pilot who was speaking to him, but he could not read his words. They were not French. Jean pointed to his ears and shook his head, trying to make the pilot understand that he could not hear. Jean could see fear in the pilot's eyes and he wanted to reassure him and let him know he was safe. Jean quickly pulled his sweater off and pushed it in the pilot's hands and pulled on the pilot's jacket. The American understood and removed his jacket and pulled Jean's sweater over his head.




Pointing to the parachute that was still tangled in the tree, Jean climbed back up the tree and brought it down. Rolling it up into a bundle, he hid the parachute and the pilot's jacket beneath a bush. Pointing to a path through the oak trees that bordered the road, Jean led the pilot along the dirt road overgrown with bushes. Jean hoped they would not be seen. As they trudged side by side though the trees, Jean, sure his father would want to help the pilot, Jean decided to bring him back to the farm in the next village. Jean was on his way home after delivering butter and eggs to his father's friend in the neighboring village. Jean lived with his father; his mother had died the year before. Jean had two older brothers but they were in the French army.




Tall and husky, Jean was tall for his seventeen years, but he was lonely. No one in the farming village knew his language of signs. Jean left the school for the deaf in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Jean had a friend from the school for the deaf in the nearby village and he was disappointed to discover that he had moved away.



Jean and the pilot could not walk very fast over the overgrown path through the trees. The path led to the main road where walking was easier. They no sooner started walking on the road, when Jean felt the pilot shake his arm. Jean turned and saw the truck coming up the road behind them and quickly pulled the pilot up a hill beside the road. They hid behind the small cottage on the top of the hill. There was a gasoline shortage and no one but the Germans had gasoline for trucks.



Jean peered around the cottage and looked down at the road. The truck did not stop and went it had passed, Jean and the pilot began to make their way back to the road. The door of the cottage opened and a large black dog came towards them blocking their path. Jean knew the dog was barking. An old woman came out of the cottage and looked around. The dog came close to Jean and the pilot, but Jean stood by calmly and let the dog approach. Then he reached out and petted him. The dog stopped barking and went back into the cottage.



Walking along the road, Jean felt happy, he had a companion, someone who trusted him and let him lead the way. As they got close to the village, Jean could see children coming out of the school next to the church. The village priest stood in front of the church and Jean did not want him to see the pilot. Grabbing the pilot's arm, he pulled him to the back of the church. When the children had gone, the priest went back inside the church. And they began walking again.



The road led through a countryside that was dotted by small farms and the market place in the center of the village. It was late afternoon, but there were still many people in the market. Jean was wondering how they could avoid being seen; there was no place to walk. except in front of the market. Jean had an idea and began showing the pilot some of his signs. The pilot nodded and began to imitate him and Jean and the pilot walked through the market making signs. Jean thought the neighbors would think the pilot was his friend, Phillipe from the neighboring village. He knew that many people knew about Phillipe, but they had never seen him. Jean felt more confident now and was not afraid of meet anyone.



One of the farmers saw Jean approaching and stopped him. Jean put his arm around the pilot's shoulder and carefully pronounced the words, "My friend, Phillipe, he deaf like me". The man stared at the pilot but then he shrugged and walked away. A number of other people were also looking at Jean, but he did not think that their behavior was unusual. Few people took the time to talk to Jean even though he could read their lips and pronounce words clearly. Jean often felt he was ignored, he thought people thought he was dumb as well as deaf.



The smell of freshly baked bread wafted out of the bakery reminding Jean had promised his father to bring home bread. Leading the pilot into the bakery, Jean repeated his words to the baker, "He my friend, Phillipe, deaf like me." The baker nodded and gave Jean two loaves of bread and then he hurried them outside through a back door.



When they got close to the farm, Jean was surprised to see his father waiting for them in front of the house. He seemed to be expecting the pilot and hurried him into the barn. His father sent Jean back to the house for a blanket and some clothes while he brought soup, bread, and cheese on a tray. Jean's father made the pilot a bed of hay and put the blanket down. He did not know the pilot's language either, but he knew he was an American. After eating the soup and cheese, the pilot gave the bowl back to Jean and covered himself with the blanket. Jean and his father left the barn and went back into the house to eat their dinner.



Sitting across from his father, Jean thanked him and said. "People think he is my friend Phillipe. He stay in the barn and help on the farm."



Jean's father looked at his son's smiling face and shook his head. He knew that Jean had no idea how quickly news traveled in the farming village. Everyone knew that an American fighter plane had crashed. They also knew that German soldiers would be coming to the village to search for the pilot. Jean's father also knew that there were a few people in the village who were cooperating with the Germans and he was too worried to explain to Jean why the pilot could not stay.



As soon as they had finished their dinner, Jean's father opened the door and a man Jean did not know entered the house. Jean tried to read his lips as he spoke to his father, but he was talking too quickly. His father told Jean to stay in the house and took the man to the barn. But Jean followed them, he could see that the man was able to talk to the pilot.



His father gestured him to go back to the house and Jean obeyed. He went to bed; he could not sleep. Later that night, he went out to the barn. The pilot had gone. There was no sign that he had been there. Jean felt angry and betrayed and he woke his father. "He had to go. He will be safe, now go back to bed," his father told him.



Jean felt like he had lost a friend, he wanted him to stay on the farm. He had no idea where the pilot was taken. He thought he would be safe on the farm.



The next morning, German soldiers drove up to the farm and searched every room in the house. His father put his fingers to his lips and Jean knew why the pilot had to leave.



The soldiers were holding guns and one of them came close to Jean's father. Afraid the soldier would hurt him, Jean moved close to him. The soldier looked angry Jean read the words on his father's lips, "No one here but me and my son. " Jean could not read the soldier's lips when he yelled in German, "There's no one else here but a deaf dummy".



When the soldiers left, Jean embraced his father and thanked him for helping the pilot escape.



After the war, Jean received a letter from the American pilot. Jean's father took it to his English-speaking friend to translate it.



Dear Jean,



I want you to know how grateful I will always be to you. You saved my life. Your father's friend brought me to a safe place and helped me to escape. Thanks to you, I am home with my family. I will never forget you. You are a real hero.



Your friend,

Steve, the American pilot

Second Temple, in which the Ark and the Tablets did not repose

Today's Tanya Lesson


Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 53

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ובבית שני, שלא היה בו הארון והלוחות



As for the Second Temple, in which the Ark and the Tablets did not repose, these being among the five things found in the First Temple and lacking in the Second,






אמרו רז״ל שלא היתה שכינה שורה בו, פירוש: מדרגת שכינה שהיתה שורה בבית ראשון, שלא כדרך השתלשלות העולמות






our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said1 that the Shechinah did not abide there. This means not that, G‑d forbid, the Shechinah did not abide there at all, rather it speaks of the category of the Shechinah which used to abide in the First Temple — which was not in the manner of the ordinary descent of the Worlds.



It was this level of Shechinah that did not abide in the Second Temple, but only a far lesser level.



אלא בבית שני היתה שורה כדרך השתלשלות והתלבשות: מלכות דאצילות במלכות דבריאה, ודבריאה במלכות דיצירה, ודיצירה בהיכל קדשי קדשים דעשיה



But in the Second Temple it abided according to the order of gradual descent, of Malchut of Atzilut vested in Malchut of Beriah and the latter in Malchut of Yetzirah, and the latter in the shrine of the Holy of Holies of Asiyah, that shrine being ChaBaD of Asiyah.



וקדשי קדשים דעשיה היה מתלבש בקדשי קדשים שבבית המקדש שלמטה, ושרתה בו השכינה: מלכות דיצירה, המלובשת בקדשי קדשים דעשיה



And the Holy of Holies of Asiyah was clothed in the Holy of Holies of the Temple below. In it rested the Shechinah, i.e., Malchut of Yetzirah, which was clothed in the Holy of Holies of Asiyah.



ולכן לא היה רשאי שום אדם ליכנס שם, לבד כהן גדול ביום הכפורים. ומשחרב בית המקדש



Therefore, because the Shechinah resided in the Temple’s Holy of Holies, no man was permitted to enter there, except the High Priest on Yom Kippur. And since the destruction of the Temple,



of which the Sanctuary was a part, G‑d resides in the shrine of Holy of Holies of Torah and the mitzvot, for as mentioned earlier, the Shechinah must reside in the Holy of Holies:



אין לו להקב״ה בעולמו אלא ד׳ אמות של הלכה בלבד



“HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed be He) has but the four cubits of Halachah alone.”2




Torah is the shrine of the Holy of Holies that connects G‑d with the world, so that HaKadosh (the illumination of the Shechinah, which is Kadosh, i.e., separated and apart from the world) should become Baruch (from the Hebrew root meaning “to draw down”) — drawn down into the world.



ואפילו אחד שיושב ועוסק בתורה, שכינה עמו, כדאיתא בברכות, פרק קמא. פירוש שכינה עמו



And even if one Jew sits and engages in Torah study, the Shechinah is with him, as is stated in the first chapter of Berachot.3 The phrase, “the Shechinah is with him” means that although he is a being of this material world, the Shechinah is nevertheless with him.



The level of Shechinah that is with him is:



כדרך השתלשלות והתלבשות מלכות דאצילות במלכות דבריאה ויצירה ועשיה



in order of the gradual descent and investment of Malchut of Atzilut in Malchut of Beriah and Yetzirah and Asiyah.



It is thus inferior even to the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Second Temple, an indwelling that did not require the vestment in Malchut of Asiyah.



It differs from the drawing down of the Shechinah in the world in general, in which case the identical progressive descent occurs, in that the Shechinah which resides in the world passes through the additional “garment” of kelipat nogah, while Torah and the mitzvot do not.



The reason that it must go through Malchut of Asiyah is that the overwhelming majority of the mitzvot of the Torah involve physical action. The Shechinah therefore descends into the level of action — Asiyah, as shall now be explained.



כי תרי״ג מצות התורה רובן ככולן הן מצות מעשיות, וגם התלויות בדבור ומחשבה, כמו תלמוד תורה, ברכת המזון, קריאת שמע ותפלה



For the 613 commandments of the Torah are by and large precepts which involve action, including even those mitzvot which are fulfilled by word and thought, such as Torah study, the Grace after Meals, the recital of the Shema, and prayer,



This is so even though these mitzvot involve thought — seeking to grasp the concepts in one’s studies, and to experience the kavanot of the Shema and prayer — and as such they are not bound up with action,



הא קיימא לן דהרהור לאו כדבור דמי, ואינו יוצא ידי חובתו בהרהור וכוונה לבד, עד שיוציא בשפתיו



for it has been ruled that meditation has not the validity of speech, and one does not fulfill one’s obligation by meditation [in a manner of hirhur] and kavanah alone, even when his manner of meditation is close to speech, as is the case when one thinks about the way in which he will utter certain words, which is called hirhur, until he gives it utterance with his lips;



וקיימא לן דעקימת שפתיו הוי מעשה



moreover, it has been ruled that the motion of the lips while one is speaking is considered an “action” — in which case all these mitzvot involve a form of action.



The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe will now anticipate the following question: It still remains to be understood why specifically the four cubits of Halachah take the place of the Holy of Holies; why should this be not so when a Jew studies a subject in Torah which is not Halachah, for there too the Shechinah is with him? The Alter Rebbe therefore explains that Halachah possesses the especial merit of expressing the Divine Will (as explained at length in Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 29).



ותרי״ג מצות התורה, עם שבע מצות דרבנן, בגימטריא כת״ר, שהוא רצון העליון ברוך הוא



And the 613 commandments of the Torah, together with the seven commandments of our Rabbis, combine to total the numerical equivalent of Keter (“crown”), which is the Supernal Will,



Will is called a crown, for like a crown it encompasses the head and brain; Iggeret HaKodesh, loc. cit., where this is discussed at length.



המלובש בחכמתו יתברך



which is clothed in His wisdom,



Thus, in addition to the fact that Torah is G‑d’s wisdom, which in its descent in the downward progression of Worlds becomes the shrine of the Holy of Holies for the Shechinah, there is the additional quality of its being the Supernal Will, which is even loftier than wisdom. This is uniquely found in the Halachah and the mitzvot, as they are expressions of the Supernal Will.



המיוחדות באור אין סוף ברוך הוא בתכלית היחוד



and they (G‑d’s Will and wisdom) are united with the light of the Ein Sof in a perfect union.



Further to an earlier statement that Torah derives from Supernal Wisdom, the Alter Rebbe will now say that the Oral Law also emanates from that source.



וה׳ בחכמה יסד ארץ, היא תורה שבעל פה דנפקא מחכמה עילאה, כמו שכתוב בזהר, דאבא יסד ברתא



“G‑d founded the earth with wisdom.”4 This refers to the Oral Law that is derived from Supernal Wisdom, as it is written in the Zohar, “The father (Chochmah) begat the daughter” (i.e., Malchut, the Oral Law; as it is written, “Malchut — the mouth, which we call the Oral Law”).



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FOOTNOTES

1. Yoma 9b.

2. Berachot 8a.

3. Berachot 6a.

4. Mishlei 3:19.