Ynet: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2927854,00.h...

**id=1970**&rep=225366&LastView=2004-06-11%2001%3A19%3A20

I am writing from abroad, but could you perhaps explain why you say that the Kana'im from the time of Elazar Ben Yair have won a bad reputation because of their internal wars and not because of something else?

I was saying before that Moshe Feiglin is just an example. In my view there are at least two different angles to look at Kana'ut: A religious one and a sociological-historical one. You mentioned the first, by telling us how the bible judges Pinhas and Eliyahu. But I am referring also to the sociological-historical part: that the acts of the Kana'im have consequences for the general public, and that their belief that god stands behind them leads them to take bold steps that they perhaps wouldn't have taken without this faith.

My view is that faith can be a very strengthening mental power, but also a source for illusion (like the faith of the Habadniks in the superpowers of the Lubavitcher and his ability not to die), so for me the question is whether today in Israel we have people who see themselves as Kana'im and believe that god stands behind them and will support their actions. Then, I am intersted in understanding in what kind of deeds they believe that this divine intervention is helpful, i.e., which acts they would never have taken without the internal conviction that god is going to help them.

Just to illustrate that the question is not trivial, a believing person does not feel that god supports whatever action he takes. For example, most believers would not jump from a tall roof just because they had a strong desire to do that, because they would let their reason (logic, common sense) restrain their heart (urges, wishes) and do not rely on god preventing them from crashing on the ground. I believe that even if a scripture from the bible could have been interpreted as commanding to jump from the roof, the great majority of the Halacha Poskim would have recommended to all believers not to try this at home. The question is whether in the public arena in Israel today there are people who believe that they can rely on the support of god in what they do, and if so, where they feel that this support is crucial.

This was an illuminating and very delicate reply. Thanks.

When we look back in retrospect on Elazar Ben Yair and the Sikarikim of the time of the second temple, and later onto Bar Kochva, would we also say that they were not "counting on the miracle" (on divine intervention) in the sense that you described it when they were mounting a rebellion against the roman empore?

It sounds like you may imply that if we had lived at that period, a rebellion might have looked like a sensible decision from a purely practical, political point of view. Is this a right understanding of what you are saying?