Q&A: Aviad Neiger
Aviad Neiger
Question
What is your general opinion of Aviad Neiger’s anthology “I Adjure You”? Is it reliable or distorted? If you also have proofs and arguments, I’d be happy to receive them. Thanks in advance.
Answer
I’m not familiar with it.
Discussion on Answer
As a guest on the site, I’d like to point out that the Rabbi knows how to take care of himself just fine (and if you say, “If so, then what am I myself doing?” one could answer: since I’m dealing with the Rabbi’s own conduct, that itself is what I’m doing). If the Rabbi is in fact familiar and can say a few summary sentences that would give the questioner a general roadmap regarding significant points, that would help. And if he isn’t familiar, he’ll say he isn’t familiar. And if he is familiar but doesn’t have time, he’ll say he doesn’t have time. The fact that the odd questioner explicitly demanded proofs and arguments—great fortified cities reaching the heavens—doesn’t mean people can’t volunteer a few general summary sentences for him (if they’re already organized in their heads).
I remember, for example, one answer here a few months ago where the questioner asked a pretty innocent question about the Talmud at the beginning of Bava Kamma (whether their derivatives are like them or unlike them), and got such an amazing answer that it sent me to relearn that passage there with Nachalat David and think things through, to the point that now I no longer know how I understood that passage before.
As I recall, a question about the Three Oaths already came up here. And something was also quoted there from that anthology.
By the way, I remember that Ehud Barak referred to this issue at the time.
In any case, as I understand it, the whole idea of the Three Oaths is not to force the end, just like the verse says: “I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up nor awaken love until it please.”
It’s like trying to “throw a wrench in the gears” specifically against the Holy One, blessed be He—whether by forcing Him to bring the messiah right now, or trying to create a world war to bring the messiah, or intentionally sinning in order to become a generation that is entirely guilty… Rather, the goal is to let the process “flow” in such a way that we are always trying to strengthen ourselves and strengthen others, that there is always progress toward redemption, but not to try to jump there. It will happen. But at its proper time.
In any case, insofar as the secular settlers were the ones who established the State of Israel, in my humble opinion there is no concern at all that they “awakened the love.” Quite the opposite: we have an indication that this is what is fitting.
As a student of the Rabbi, I want to point out that the style of questions like this is inappropriate.
Even if the Rabbi were familiar with that person, what exactly is the expectation? That the Rabbi should now provide a detailed article on his words, with proofs and arguments for it?
I think the bare minimum required is that we invest a little thought. Read the subject of our question and formulate the problem clearly.
Questions in this style indicate a desire for knowledge without even a drop of effort on the part of the questioner.