Torah Bytes

Animal soulese

2012-01-28T19:19:00.000-05:00

Reb Zalman Moshe Yitzchaki, father-in-law of the famous Reb Avrom Mayor Drizin, was known for his liberal use of profanities. This was even (or especially) evident during chassidic farbrengens (get togethers).

When asked why he resorted to foul language so often, he'd reply that this is the only language that the animal soul understands.

Once, he got mad at a gentile and was cursing him up and down, hearing that, his son remarked - Totty, farbrengst yetz? (Father, are you farbrenging now?)

The Netilas Yadoyim Code

2012-01-12T01:40:00.003-05:00

There's a fascinating story about Rav Mordechai Eliyahu ZT"L during the 1973 War.

The war was very difficult for Israel on the Egyptian front

One night, towards morning, the phone rang in the home of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu ZT"L. On the line was a phone operator. The female soldier asked, "Are you Rav Mordechai Eliyahu?" The rabbi said yes and asked how he can help. "On the line is a soldier who wants to ask an emergency operational question,". She explained that every post had a half-hour every day to communicate, and the time for this post has arrived. She asked if the rabbi would be able to take the call.

The rabbi answered positively and listened to the question. The soldier started saying, "The water situation at the post is sparse and rationed out. Due to this situation, what should I do regarding Netilat Yadayim? Wash once in the morning or wash every time I eat and go to the bathroom?"

The rabbi answered, "You are exempt - you are in a time of war - it is Piku'ah Nefesh!" The soldier then asked the rabbi, "How is it possible to refrain from Netilat Yadayim? It is very difficult for me to think about doing so. Is it possible to eat my sandwich with a napkin? I don't want to be lenient. I want to know what the halacha is in the matter."

The advice was that in the morning to wash once and make a stipulation that he is not taking his mind off [the cleanliness of his hands] for the entire day. As a result of this stipulation, he would not be required to wash before any meal. After leaving the washroom, he should wipe his hands on anything that cleans, and this will be good enough.

During this discourse, the operator who was listening in, interrupted the soldier, "Excuse me! You told me that this is an operational conversation that is related to the war. I hear that there is a regular conversation going on. This is definitely not an operational conversation."

The soldier, without batting an eye, replied, "We are speaking in codes. This is a conversation that is very important for the success of the battle..."

The rabbi understood that the soldier had gone to great lengths to make this phone call to ask this halachic question, and couldn't bring himself to hang up the phone. While the phone was still in his hands, the rabbi looked upwards and said, "Master of the universe! See what kind of soldiers You have! In such conditions, they are careful in Mitzvot - even Rabbinic Mitzvot! I beseech You, Hashem Yitbarach - save them from all evil!"

The operator, hearing the words of the rabbi, understood that they were speaking with a direct connection to HKB"H, and she asked the rabbi to bless her as well. The rabbi granted her request, and blessed her with good life and peace.

Many years after this event, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu was invited to a gathering in a school. One student asked the rabbi a question in the laws of Netilat Yadayim. The student's question was, "What do we do when there is no water in the area we are in?" The rabbi explained to him the laws about this: that one must go 4 Mil ahead and 1 Mil back in order to find water, etc. After discussing the halachot, the rabbi added the story about the soldier from that post in the Suez Canal who called him at night and asked what he was to do under war conditions.

Suddenly, one of the teachers of that school approached, with a lot of emotion and teary eyes, and told the rabbi, "I was that soldier that was there and spoke to you on the other end of the line." Afterwards, the teacher continued and described in front of the rabbi and the students who were present in the hall what occurred from the moment that telephone conversation was over. This is what the teacher said, "Immediately after the telephone conversation began heavy shelling of the post [by the Egyptians]. I was struck with amazement when opposite my eyes, an exciting vision was revealed that looked like it was a hallucination. The image of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu was revealed in the battlefield and every shell that came from the Egyptian side was moved over to the side by way of the hand of the rabbi..."

Was this connected to the insistence of carefulness about the laws of Netilat Yadayim?

Original here

"Billions and billions...."

2012-01-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

Just 20 years ago, astronomers had no direct evidence that planets orbited other stars. Now, researchers estimate the Milky Way galaxy contains a huge number of planets, with Earth-sized worlds vastly outnumbering the rest.

“On average, every star has a planet, there are at least 100 billion stars, there are at least 100 billion planets,” said astronomer K. Sahu of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, who co-authored the new study, appearing Jan. 11 in Nature.

They calculated this number by searching for planets using a technique called gravitational microlensing. The method works because, according to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, a massive object bends the fabric of space-time.

Though a planet’s mass is relatively small, it is enough to curve space-time and create a “lens.” An exoplanet bends light as it passes in front of its parent star, causing a slight brightening of the star’s light.

Microlensing allows astronomers to look at a much larger sample of stars for exoplanets. Unlike other detection methods, such as looking for the slight wobble a planet exerts on its parent star, microlensing can discover planets with many different masses and distances from their star.

The team looked at roughly 30 different microlensing events and found that extrasolar planets caused three of them. Because microlensing observations are known to miss a certain percentage of planets, the researchers could use statistical analysis to get the true number of exoplanets in the galaxy.

“We think about one-sixth of stars should have a Jupiter-like planet, half have a Neptune-sized planet, and two-thirds should have an Earth,” said Sahu.

Believe it or not

2011-12-11T23:08:00.001-05:00

Once in awhile an event takes place that can only be properly described as a 'Baalshmeske maise', i.e. a supernatural occurrence, after Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov who was known as a miracle worker. Here's one of those stories related by Rabbi Laibel Groner, the Lubavitcher Rebbe's personal secretary, this past Shabbos:

A woman had been married for five years but wasn't getting pregnant. Someone suggested she go see the Lubavitcher Rebbe for a blessing, which she did. During the meeting, the Rebbe asked if she had been previously engaged to someone else, turned out that she had but had broken off the engagement. The Rebbe then inquired if she had asked for forgiveness from that man, she replied that she had not. She was then instructed to travel to Tel Aviv to a certain location at a certain time and see if she could locate the man and ask for forgiveness. The woman did as instructed, found the man and asked his forgiveness. He was happy to oblige and they parted ways. Soon after, the woman became pregnant and after the baby was born, she had a "chance" encounter with the matchmaker who had arranged her first engagement with that man. She then began relating the whole episode. When she came to the part when the Rebbe told her to go to meet the man in Tel Aviv, the matchmaker's face became noticeably pale and by the time the woman was finished, the matchmaker looked as if she was about to faint. She then told the woman that the man she had seen a year before had been dead for four years!

This is an example of a) the power of the Rebbe to summon a soul from the afterlife and have it come down in a body for a mission and b) the love and care the Rebbe displayed towards regular people to help them solve their pressing problems.

The Size of the Universe

2011-12-06T17:53:00.001-05:00

Space, as Douglas Adams once so aptly wrote, is big. To try imagining how big, place a penny down in front of you. If our sun were the size of that penny, the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, would be 350 miles away. Depending on where you live, that’s very likely in the next state (or possibly country) over.Attempting to imagine distances larger than this quickly becomes troublesome. At this scale, the Milky Way galaxy would be 7.5 million miles across, or more than 30 times the distance between the Earth andthe moon. As you can see, these are rather inhuman dimensions that are almost impossible to really get a sense of.But that doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible. Astronomers have made observations and simulations that in some way capture the enormity of our cosmos. No one knows exactly how large the universe is. It could be infinite orit could have an edge, meaning that traveling for long enough in one direction will bring you back to where you started, like traveling on thesurface of a sphere.Scientists argue over the exact shape and size of the universe but theycan calculate one thing with good precision: how far away we can see.Light travels at a specific speed, and because the universe is approximately13.7 billion years old, we can’t see anything farther away than 13.7billion light years away, right?Wrong. The strange thing about space is that it’s expanding. And that expansion can occur at more or less any speed — including faster thanlight speed — so the most distant objects we can see were in fact once much closer to us. Over time, the universe has shuffled distant starsand galaxies away from us as if they were on an extremely rapid conveyor belt, and dropped them off in far away locations.Strangely, this means that our observational power is sort of “boosted”and the furthest things we can see are more than 46 billion light years away. While we are not the center of the universe, we are at the center of this observable portion of the universe, which traces out a sphere roughly 93billion light years across.

The Rise and Fall of Rabbi Yosef Della Reina

2011-12-05T18:18:00.001-05:00

(original post here)

Rabbi Yosef Della Reina (1418 - 1472) lived in Tzfat and wanted to bring the Redemption. One day, he took 5 of his most loyal students whom were very knowledgeable in Kabbalah and did anything he requested. He told them, "I am resolved to use the secrets of the Torah to remove all impurities from this world and bring the Redemption and Moshiach, who will release us from our oppressors."

They all replied that they are ready to do anything their teacher commands them to do. He told them, "If so, you shall do the following. Cleanse yourselves, change your garmets, and for the next 3 days, do not go near any woman, and only you prepare provisions and food, no other person. On the third day, we will go to the fields and not return home until Am Israel are settled each on his farm, in the Holy Land."

The disciples quickly got up and did as their teacher instructed. On the third day, they came to the Bet Midrash and saw their Rav with his head buried between his knees. He lifted his head and said, "May it be God's will that the Divine Spirit inspire the work of our hands, and HaShem will aid us so we can glorify His Name". They all answered, "Amen".

Rabbi Yosef Della Reina took all sorts of spices and placed a scribe sefer in his belt. They went to Miron, to the Kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, zs'l and learned the whole night there. When Rabbi Joseph Della Reina dozed off, Rashbi came to him thru a dream and asked him, "Why are you getting yourself in such a difficult task which you will not be able to carry out?", Rabbi Yosef Della Reina answered him that HaShem knows his intentions are pure and Rashbi blessed him to succeed.

The following morning, they went to Teveria, to the open field. They fasted all day and were occupied with doing Yichudim (holy formula), and did not look at any animals or people, only above, at the birds. They dunked in the Mikveh of the lake in Teveria 26 consecutive times, the numeric Gematria of YKVK. Each time they would dunk, they concentrated on the holy formula of HaShem's Holy name. They did this consecutively for 3 days and 3 nights, while fasting. They did not eat anything, no animals, no fish, no drinking, nothing.

Evening was approaching, and Rabbi Yosef Della Reina and his students were praying Mincha, with devotions and concentration, closing their eyes. When they got to the part "Shema Kolenu" (hear our voices), they added, "Answer us". Wherever they said HaShem's holy name, they concentrated saying it with the holy formula of HaShem's Holy name of 42 letters. By the power of their holy formula of prayer, he adjured Eliyahu HaNavi, zachur latov, to appear. Right away Eliyahu HaNavi appeared and asked them what is so urgent that they used special formula in their prayers to call him?. They all bowed down to Eliyah HaNavi and Rabbi Joseph Della Reina said, "I'm zealous for the honor of the Great HaShem, Blessed and Holy One. Show me how to subdue the Satan and strengthen the Holiness, the Sitra Kedusha?"

Eliyahu HaNavi answered him, "Know this, what you are planning to do is very difficult and you will not succeed. The Klipot of the sins and transgressions are very strong and you will not be able to subdue the Satan. You must increase in Kedusha (holiness) and continue fasting and dunking in the Mikveh, otherwise you will fail and the Satan will damage and harm you. Know that your intentions are welcome if you succeed. But my advise to you is stop right now because you will not be able to overpower the Sitra Achra".

Rabbi Yosef Della Reina said, "Please Master, do not discourage me. I took an oath that I'll not return home till I raise the Holy Divine Spirit from the dust".

When Eliyahu HaNavi heard this, he said, "You and your disciples need to go out in the field for 21 days, it must be in a location that was never inhabited. Do not eat, only enough to survive. Accustom yourselves to minimal portions of food and every evening, reduce the portion. Accustom yourselves to smelling the spices in order to clear your mind so you will be able to speak to the Heavenly Angels whom you will bring down to speak with you. In addition, immerse yourself 21 times daily, numerical value of "Eheye".
After the 21 days, fast for 3 days and nights. On the third day, after the afternoon prayers, do Yichudim of the holy formula of HaShem's name of the 42 letters, as you know how to do, while you are wrapped in Talit and Tefillin and your faces covered. Thru the holy Yichudim, summon the Angel Sandlaphon with his army to appear.
When they come, revive yourselves with the smelling spices, because you will be weak and tremble from their mighty fire. Throw yourselves on the ground and welcome him. Request from Angel Sandlaphon to strengthen you. Immediately Angel Sandlaphon will inquire why you called upon him and what is your doing? When he will speak to you, from the greatness of his voice, your neshamot will exit your body and you will have no strength to reply from so much fear and weakness. Beg Angel Sandlaphon to strengthen you and to help you to have the power of speech. Angel Sandlaphon will tell you what you should do. He prevents the Satan from entering holy places, and he knows the spots where one can gather his strength".

As soon as Eliyahu HaNavi left, Rabbi Yosef Della Reina gathered his students and did all that Eliyahu HaNavi instructed. Day and night, they followed Eliyahu HaNavi's instructions without fail. They disconnected from physical needs of this world and were only occupied with the Merkava. When it was time for Mincha of the third day, after the 21 days, Rabbi Joseph Della Reina and his students covered themselves in Tefillin and Talit, including their heads, and prayed with total devotion. Wherever YKVK was said, they concentrated on the holy formula of HaShem's holy Name. When they finished the prayer, they fell on their face, covered in Talit, and rised up on their feet to say the Viduy on their sins and the sins of Am Israel.

After the Viduy, they raised their voice to Shamayim and with all human strength they possessed, they said, "Answer us, Elokei HaMerkava, Answer us". They did more Yichudim of the 42 letters of HaShem's Holy name, as Eliyahu HaNavi instructed them and no sooner did they finish the Yichudim, Angel Sandlaphon came, together with his army, on fiery chariots and fiery horses while flaming fires filled the whole countryside field. The Rav and the students shook and trembled and fell to the ground, while their hearts melted with fear. They were left without breathe within them. They smelled the spices they were holding in their hands, and the breath of life returned to them but were trembling and very weak and could not speak.
Angel Sandlaphon said to him, "What is it you want, worms that you are? Who gave you the audicity to to shake the upper and lower worlds? Have self-respect and return home, unless we burn you with our breath".
Rabbi Joseph Della Reina answered in a low trembling voice, "Holy Angel of God, what can your servant say in your Holy presence? I am left without breath, as a dead man. So great is my fear and awe". When the Angel Sandlaphon heard this, he touched him and said, "Get up and speak, for I have given you back your strength".
Indeed, Rabbi Joseph Della Reina felt stronger and bowed down to the ground and removed his shoes. His students were still on the ground and were unable to rise. "Peace onto you, Angel of HaShem and peace onto your holy forces", said the Rav. "I beg you to return my strength and courage to perform my will. It is not for me that my will to make HaShem's name great, but I do this for the sake of Elokim, the Kings of all Kings". "Please, I entreat you, holy one with holy forces, to agree to help me wage war and wipe out the Amaleks. Instruct me what I must do to remove the rule of wickedness from earth".
And the Angel Sandlaphon heard and said, "Your words and actions are proper, and God be with you! All of us, the Angels, Serafim, Arelim, the holy camps of Angels, wait in anticipation to revenge HaShem's Great Honor. But know this, everything you have done till now is nothing. Because who can overcome the great powers of the S'M (Satan) and his forces?. If you would know the high powers Samael and his forces reached, you would not attempt to do this. For who can prevail against him except the Holy One Blessed One Himself until the time comes to fullfill His word. I have come now in respect to the Great Name you have pronounced. But what can I do for you? I am unable to learn the great strength of the SM and what his rise and fall depends on. None know this except the great Angel Achtiel with his hosts, and Metatron, Prince of the Presence, with his hosts. Yet, who can stand infront of such mighty Angels? If you were frightened of me, how will you be even able to exist in their great presence?"
"The truth is if you can accomplish this great task of wiping out the S'M, your reward will be great and not one can stand next to your holiness".
Rabbi Joseph Della Reina answered, "I am young and unworthy for who am I that can stand infront of the Angels. But my heart is broken and willing to sacrifice myself for the Holy and Blessed One, for the Holy Divine Spirit. Therefore, instruct me how to bring down the great Angel Achtiel with his hosts, and Metatron, Prince of the Presence, with his hosts. Instruct me how to increase holiness and add sanctity and purity and what Holy Name to use to conjure the Holy Angels?".
The Angel Sandlaphon spoke again and said, "Hear my words and HaShem be with you. Continue for 40 days the immersions, fasts, and purification of thoughts. Do not stray from holy thoughts for a split second. Decrease the portion of food till your body will need very little to survive. Continue smelling the spices because this is the most vital to give strength to the Neshama. After 40 days, pronounce the Holy Name that contains 72 letters, with great Kavana (concentration). When you do this, you will be able to call upon the Angel Achtiel with his hosts, and Metatron, Prince of the Presence, with his hosts.
Ask HKB'H to help you and strengthen you because the fire of these Angels are very great and can kill you. If you do all these, they will reveal and instruct you how to overpower the SM and erase him. May HaShem help you and guard you from all evil". With this, the Angel Sandlaphon and his forces went heavenwards.
The students were still laying on the ground, covered in Talit, and trembling in fear. When Angel Sandlaphon left, they got up and the Rav said, "Quickly, my sons, strengthen yourselves. We must quickly do as Angel Sandlaphon instructed us!". They replied, "We are ready, how fortune is our share that we were able to hear the great Angel Sandlaphon. Whatever you instruct us, our teacher and Rebbe, we will do!".
They left the field and went to the desert, near a mountain by Miron and sat in a cave and did as they were instructed by Angel Sandlaphon for 40 days. They missed nothing from the instructions and completely disconnected themselves from the world. When the 40 days completed, they went out to the wilderness by a place near the source of Nachal Kishon, where they bathed for 40 days. They prepared themselves for the great afternoon prayer of Mincha. They marked a circle on the ground and entered inside it while linking hands together and formed a circle. They announced the Great Name of HaShem of the 72 letters and called upon Angel Achtiel with his hosts, and Metatron, Prince of the Presence, with his hosts. When they pronounced the Great Name, the earth shook and there was lightening and thunders. The heavens opened and Angel Achtiel with his hosts, and Metatron, Prince of the Presence, came down. The Rav and students kept their hands linked together, and all fell onto the ground, and did not let go of one another.
As soon as the Angel Achtiel and Angel Metatron together with camp came down to earth, they began to speak in great fury. "Who and where is the one who dared to use the Royal Scepter?".
When Rabbi Joseph Della Reina saw this great vision, he felt as though he was slumbering with his face down. He and his students were completely exhausted. But the Angel Metatron touched him and said, "Speak up, answer, you foul odor drop of sperm. What is this great alarm that you brought us down?". The Rav was unable to answer and the Angel Metatron touched him again. He faintly whispered, "What can this worthless slave say in the presence of the pure and holy Malachim? Please strengthen me so I can have permission to speak because I am like a still rock and my neshama flew outside of me".
Angel Achtiel stretched out his hand and touched him and said, "I have strengthened you, speak!". Rabbi Reina opened his mouth and said, "HaShem Almighty knows that I did not do this in deceipt but only to Honor the Great One Blessed Be He. Ministering Angels, by the great powerful name of the Holy One, instruct me the strength of the SM where it can be found. What must I do to bring him down?".
The Angels answered him together, "Your request is very difficult. If you knew the strength he gains from the sins of Am Israel and not one is mightier than him, you would not attempt to do this. None can bring him down for his nest amid the stars, and his seat is surrounded by three barriers. You cannot prevail against him. Only the Holy and Blessed One Himself can do this when the time comes!".
Rabbi Yosef begged, "I have already risked my soul for the Holy One and Blessed One. I trust in HKB'H that He will help me to succeed. Please instruct me and tell me what to do. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do!".
And the angels replied, "Listen Yosef, your will is appreciated but the time has not yet arrived and it's already been decreed, "אם תעירו ואם תעוררו את האהבה עד שתחפץ You will not stir up nor awaken love" (Shir HaShirim). Yet, in view of your will and wisdom and knowledge of hidden secrets that HKB'H granted you, we are compelled to tell and instruct you which way to go".
With this, Angel Achtiel began: "One one side facing me, SM has two powerful barriers, one is an iron wall which rises from earth to heaven and the other, is a great barrier of ocean".
Angel Metatron told him that on his side, facing the SM is a barrier consisting of a mighty snow mountain, whose summit reaches the skies.
They told him, "Listen carefully and pay close attention. In order to eliminate the three barriers and bring them down, this is what you must do: When you leave here, go to mount Seir, we will arrive in mount Seir before you, on top. Whatever operation you do on the bottom of the Mount Seir, we will perform the same on the top. When you go to Mount Seir, continue to be holy as your are now. Your souls have risen to a great height and you have almost attained the position of Angels. You have forgotten the ways of the physical world. Along the way, you will encounter a large horde of black dogs; know that SM is sending them to you to confuse you. Have no fear and pronounce the Name of Holy HaShem that contains 52 letters, (numerical value also of KELEV, dog). Concentrate on the Holy Name and the dogs will flee away from you. From there, climb on top of the mountain, you will find a great mass of snow up to the skies. Concentrate on the hidden secrets of the Passuk verse of "Have you entered the treasuries of snow", and the mountain will be moved from its place. After that, concentrate on the verse, "It snows in Zalmon" and the mountain will vanish. Continue with these concentrations until you reach the barrier of the ocean, whose waves reach the skies. Pronounce the verse from Tehillim, "Ascribe to Hashem, O you sons of the Mighty", and the ocean will dry up and you will be able to cross it on dry land."
"Go forward and you will see a wall that reaches from the earth to the sky. Take a knife in your hand and inscribe upon it חרב לה’ ולגדעון and with the knife, cut into the iron and make an opening and enter thru it. Make sure not to close the opening till all of you pass safely thru the opening. After passing thru the opening, it will close. After that, go forward till you reach Mount Seir".
At that time, we will fling SM from his seat and he will be entrusted into your hands. And then let the Holy Name be prepared, written, and engraved by you on a plate of lead. Prepare another plate of lead and engrave on it from the verse of Zecharia, 'ויאמר זאת הרשעה וישלך אותה אל תוך האיפה, וישלך את אבן העופרת אל תוך פיה'. After this, you will be able to go wherever you desire in Mount Seir. You will find the wicked Samael and Lilith in forms of black dogs, a male and female. Do not be afraid. On the male, set the engraved plate with the Holy Name and set the other plate on the female. Put a rope around the male and female with the plates attached, and they will follow you with their camp.
"Then HaShem's desire will be achieved by you and you will bring Samael and Lilith to judgment on Mount Seir. Then there will be the great sound of the Shofar and Moshiach will appear and will purify the earth from all impurities. The Holy One and Blessed One will slaughter the spirit of the impurity and all the righteous will be present. Then there will be the Great Redemption."
"Be very careful and do all that we instructed you, and if you successfully do this, how great is your portion. Don't lose concentration of the holiness for a split second and be very care when you rope the dogs, Samael and Lilith, and don't listen to them. They will cry and plead from you to give them food or drink but don't listen to them and don't give them anything. Don't believe them and pay no attention to them. May HaShem protect and guide you". With that, the Malachim flew heavenwards.
When the angels ascended, Rabbi Josef rose. His students, whom were still on the ground, were unable to rise till the Malachim left. They were overjoyed and excited and quickly prepared everything the Malachim told them and walked towards Mount Seir.
On the way, they saw a horde of vicious black dogs coming towards them, they did as were instructed and the dogs scattered and disappeared.
After this, they encounted a great mountain of snow and did what they were instructed to do and the mountain shifted. Then they said the other holy formula combination and the mountain completely vanished. They walked on for 2 more days, and on the third day they saw a great ocean that its waves reached the skies. As soon as they said the holy formula combination, the ocean dried and they walked thru it, on dry land.
When they reached the wall that reached from the earth till heaven, Rabbi Josef took the knife that the Holy Name was engraved on it and sliced the iron wall for an opening. The width of the iron wall was 8 cm thick. When the last of the students passed thru, Rabbi Joseph let go of the opening but the last student was slow and his leg got caught. Rabbi Joseph took out the knife and sliced the iron wall open around the student's leg and he passed thru. They climbed Mount Seir to its summit.
When say found the crater within which were in ruins, they heard dogs barking. They entered one of the ruins and saw 2 gigantic black dogs, a male and female. When they approached the dogs, the dogs jumbed on them to swollow them. But Rabbi Joseph had the engraved plates in his hand and with his right hand, after placing the plates, put the rope around the dogs' neck, with the plates attached to it.
As soon the rope was tied around them, they removed their shapes of the dogs and put on their own shape which was humankind except their wings, which were full of eyes, like flames. They begged for food or drink but Rav Joseph did as was instructed and paid no attention to their pleads.
With tremendeous happiness, they walked towards the Mount Seir, with Samael and Lilith behind them, tied in a rope, crying. Rabbi Joseph was overjoyed and said, "Who would have thought that I would have succeeded capturing the SM?".
The SM replied, "Indeed, we are in your hands and you can do whatever you desire. Give us something to eat or drink because otherwise we will never make it to Mount Seir". But Rabbi Joseph refused to give them anything, as was instructed.
As they approached Mount Seir, Rabbi Joseph took out the spices to smell it. And the SM told him, "If you won't give us food or drink, at least give us to sniff the spices". And Rabbi Joseph handed them a bit of the spice, and at that moment, the SM blew a spark of fire from his mouth and burned the incense, including the spice in Rabbi Joseph's pocket.
The vapor entered the SM's nostrils and snapped off the rope from his neck and flung the engraved plates from him and began striking Rav Joseph and his students. 2 of the students immediately died upon hearing the SM's roar, while the other 2 students lost their minds.
Rabbi Joseph remained alone with 1 student, both weary, exhausted and astounded. He didn't know that by giving the incense to the SM, it was for the SM idol-worshipping and all his holy strength disappeared. He didn't listen and keep the Malachim's warning not to give anything to the SM.
That moment, the mountain began to smoke amid gloomness and darkness and the Divine Voice came out and said, "Oy to you, Yosef, Oy to your neshama that you did not do as you were commanded. You engaged in idolatry and offered incense to the SM and now he will pursue you out of this world and out of the next world!".
Yosef and his remaining student buried the 2 dead students and afterwards, rested. The demon possesed the other 2 students and perished in great suffering that the demon inflicted on them.
After this, Joseph went to the city of Sidon, where he settled. His ways turned very evil. He saw that he did not succeed and since he heard from the Divine Voice that he lost this world and the world-to-come, he made a conventant with the malicious Lilith and handed himself to her and she became his wife. He polluted every way possible and used Holy Name of HKB'H to do evil. Every night he would conjure spirits and devils to fetch him his heart's desire.
He continued his evil ways and had more women than possible until the wife of the Greece king. He had her brought to him every night and in the morning, he would give orders to return her. One day the queen told her husband, "Every night I dream that I'm in a certain place and a man sleeps with me but find myself in the morning in my bed".
When the King heard this, he summoned the magicians and placed them on guard at the queen's home. That night, the demons came at the order of Joseph to take the queen and the guards noticed them at once. They forced the demons to tell them why they come here nightly to take the queen and the demons answered that they were ordered by Joseph from the city of Sidon. When the king heard this, he sent a certain minister to the city of Sidon with gifts to the Lord of Sidon, asking that Joseph be sent to him alive immediately. When Joseph realized that his deeds were known to the king, even before the minister arrived in Sidon, he threw himself into the ocean and died.
As for me, the fifth student, I was left alone and sick on a sickbed all my life. There is no remedy for my ailment nor do I have any reprieve from the demons. I have written this tale for a memorial.
And I copied this tale from old letters that I found in Tzfat and wrote this story as a warning that no one should attempt to bring the Redemption before its time. We should do Teshuva and HaShem will send the final redemption and His Moshiach thru our merits, Amen Ken Yehi Ratzon.
==============================================================
Rabbi Tzaddok Shlita email:
"I really should finish the commentary, it is most important, especially for right now..."
http://www.koshertorah.com/PDF/Della-Reina.pdf

Weekly Torah reading, parshas Toldos. פרשת תולדות קרית התורה

2011-11-25T13:28:00.001-05:00

Click image to listen.

Dollars and sense

2011-11-24T12:12:00.001-05:00

The Lubavitcher Rebbe in the 80's and early 90's would stand for hours on end distributing blessings and single dollars bills to thousands. This would usually take place on Sundays right outside the Rebbe's office at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.

Recently, some yeshiva students have brought back this practice and, just like the Rebbe used to do, they distribute dollar bills to whoever shows up on any given Sunday at the same spot in 770. However one may feel about this, the following story is somewhat unusual.

Someone that I know personally often goes to get these Sunday dollars. On a recent Sunday, while passing by 770, he decided to forego his habit this one time and was not planning to go in. Suddenly someone started shouting his name, he turned around and it was someone he knew and that person was excitedly waving a photograph in my friend's face.

My friend took a look at the photo and in it was him receiving a dollar from the Rebbe some 30 years earlier. My friend then turned back and got his Sunday dollar. Coincidence? I don't think so!

Peaced out

2011-11-23T10:53:00.001-05:00

‏Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1980 stated "The peace accords with Egypt are dangerous for the Jewish People and who knows what may happen in a year." And in 1981 "Who could imagine what the situation will be in thirty years from now?"

Both statements came true: Sadat was murdered a year late and Mubarak was overthrown thirty years later. It is well known that the Lubavitcher Rebbe opposed the peace treaty with Egypt and warned about the grave consequences to the future security of Israel, and the dangers to the nation that these accords will bring. At the time the Rebbe′s call was a lone cry in the wilderness opposing the Begin peace festival .

‏Dr. Tzuriel visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 5741 (1981). During his visit he wanted to know why the Rebbe was so vehemently opposed to the peace pact with Egypt. "I argued with the Rebbe why he is so strongly opposed to the peace accords with Egypt, and why he is so worried about the ceding of the oil wells.‏"How can we trust this pact?" asked the Rebbe. "Who knows who will rule in Egypt in a year from now, and who could imagine what the situation will be there in thirty years." ‏One year later, Anwar Sadat was murdered, and Dr. Tzuriel shared the Rebbe′s wondrous words with his friends. ‏"We are witness, right now, how the second part of the Rebbe′s sentence was so prophetic: "who could imagine what the situation will be there in thirty years!
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Israel expects a "grave erosion" in its peace agreement with Egypt and is even preparing for the possibility of the historic deal collapsing altogether. The comments by Matan Vilnai, the minister for civil, reflected the government's grave concerns that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood could make major gains and even win elections in Egypt that begin next week. Brotherhood leaders have said they do not seek to outright end the 1979 peace accord with Israel. Like many liberal and secular factions, they say they want amendments in the deal, particularly to change provisions that bar the Egyptian military from deploying in the Sinai Peninsula, near the border with Israel. Many in Egypt see that provision as a blow to national pride and as fueling insecurity in the desert territory.Vilnai said he did not expect the peace agreement to unravel immediately since Egypt's post-revolution government will be preoccupied with domestic issues."But once the regime stabilizes, as we expect it to do, we expect that there will be a grave erosion of this agreement. And we have to prepare for such a situation," Vilnai said. The peace agreement is a cornerstone of Israeli security. Israel's first with an Arab nation, it has kept a once-volatile border quiet for three decades and allowed the military to divert resources to deal with Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah guerrillas across Israel's northern border in Lebanon.Israeli security officials say they have been pleased with the Egyptian military's performance in stabilizing the country since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. Israeli defense officials confirm the Israeli military has already begun preparing for a number of scenarios, including the possibility of the peace agreement being canceled. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive security issue, and it was not clear whether the preparations are limited to discussions or include actual drills or troop deployments. The army declined comment on any preparations it may be making. But it denied a report that Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, raised the possibility of peace collapsing.

The Russians are coming...

2011-11-20T10:44:00.001-05:00

There's an oral tradition passed down from the Vilna Gaon (see Chevlei Mashaiach BiZemaneinu, p. 134), that when the Russian navy passes through the Bosporus it will be time to put on Sabbath clothes (in anticipation of the coming Mashiach.)

"The Bosporus is the narrow strait in Turkey that links the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea through the Dardanelles strait. The Jewish sages warned that the generation who witnessed the Russian preparation to invade Israel should prepare their hearts because the coming of the Messiah was at hand."

--------------------------------------------

Haaretz Published 12:52 18.11.1

Report: Russia warships to enter Syria waters in bid to stem foreign intervention

Syrian official says Damascus agrees 'in principle' to allow entrance of Arab League observer mission; 22-member body proposed sending hundreds of observers to the to help end the bloodshed.

Russian warships are due to arrive at Syrian territorial waters, a Syrian news agency said on Thursday, indicating that the move represented a clear message to the West that Moscow would resist any foreign intervention in the country's civil unrest.

http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/world/1.1569642

It's crazy!

2011-11-17T13:38:00.001-05:00

More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2010, according to an analysis of prescription data, including more than one in four women.

The report found that use of drugs for psychiatric and behavioral disorders rose 22 percent from 2001. The medications are most often prescribed to women aged 45 and older, but their use among men and in younger adults climbed sharply. In adults 20 to 44, use of antipsychotic drugs and treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder more than tripled, and use of anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax, Valium and Ativan rose 30 percent from a decade ago.
The statistics were taken from Medco's database of prescriptions and is based on 2.5 million patients with 24 months of continuous prescription drug insurance and eligibility.
Women are twice as likely as men to use anxiety treatments, as 11 percent of women 45 to 65 are on an anxiety medication. Women are also more likely than men to take antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Abilify, which treat disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. However, among men 20 to 64, use of the drugs has quadrupled over the last decade.
"There has been a significant uptick in the use of medications to treat a variety of mental health problems; what is not as clear is if more people — especially women, are actually developing psychological disorders that require treatment, or if they are more willing to seek out help and clinicians are better at diagnosing these conditions than they once were," said Dr. David Muzina, a psychiatrist and national practice leader of Medco's Neuroscience Therapeutic Resource Center.
Pharmaceutical companies have also sought and received approvals to market their drugs to larger groups of people.
Drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are prescribed to boys more often than girls, but adult women now take the drugs more often than men. ADHD prescriptions to adult women grew 2.5 times from 2001. However ADHD prescriptions for children have been declining since 2005.
That reflects a decline in prescriptions for psychiatric and behavioral drugs for children. Medco found that prescriptions of those drugs for children have dropped since 2004, when the FDA warned they were linked to suicidal thoughts when used in people under 19. The company said less than 1 percent of children use antipsychotics drugs, although the figure has doubled since 2001.
In the "diabetes belt" states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, about 23 percent of people are on at least one psychiatric or behavioral disorder drug. Diabetes is particularly widespread in those states and the condition is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety disorders. The lowest rate of prescriptions was found in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where less than 15 percent of people are using those medications.

Tell the truth!

2011-11-11T00:27:00.001-05:00

Chaim Herzog (the sixth President of Israel) in an interview to Kfar Chabad magazine, told a very telling story.

In the mid-70's in Hebron there was a certain "incident of military significance" in which the Israeli Army reacted very vigorously. Arab states, of course, demanded discussion of the incident in the UN Security Council which was to take place after Simchat Torah.

Chaim Herzog, then Israel's ambassador to the UN, had arrived at hakafos at the headquarters of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the famous "770".

The Rebbe spotted him in the crowd, stopped the hakafos, and called him over. The following exchange then ensued:

The Rebbe: When Moses divided the Land of Israel for the 12 Jewish tribes in accordance with the will of God, all the tribes received an allotment, except for the tribe of Levi. Instead, the tribe of Levi received 48 cities. Hebron is one of the cities of the Levites, and you, Chaim Herzog, you're from the tribe of Levi, and Hebron is your family's inheritance. When you address the Security Council, tell them what I said. And add that this is strictly your own business because it's happening in your own backyard. If you are uncomfortable to say it in English, speak in Hebrew, they will translate it. And you will see that this will end the whole story.
Interviewer: And what did you do?
Herzog: I spoke exactly as instructed by the Rebbe and in English. And the discussion ended without adopting any resolution!
Interviewer: Incredible! How do you explain that?
Herzog: The Rebbe himself explained it to me. He said: "Think about who's sitting in the UN?

Christians who know that everything you say is true, because they too believe in the Torah. Muslims, most of whom also believe in it and a few idolaters who nobody cares about. "

So I saw firsthand the impact of speaking the truth.

The Chabad 10

2011-11-04T14:16:00.000-04:00

The Rebbe asked his chasidim to do as follows:

  1. Men's dress code: hat and jacket in the street

2. Women's dress code: modest attire, sheitel in the street   

3. Daily study Chitas, Rambam/Sefer Hamitzvos,   

4. Allocate time to do Mivtzoyim-Outreach  

5. Tehilim Shabbos Mevorchim  

6. 30 min daily to analyze children's chinuch

7. Men: Minyan for men,  

8. Women: One tefila per day,  

9. Occasional farbrengen wth fellow chasidm  

10. Charity before Shacharis & Mincha

Go, go....

2011-11-01T16:58:00.002-04:00

In the weekly chapter "Lech Lecha", we have the first commandment by G-d to the first Jew, Abraham: "Go away from your land, your native land, from your father's house to a land that and I will show you." G-d commanded Abraham to leave everything, to sacrifice everything to do His will. "Go away from the land" can be interpreted to mean - forget your earthly desires, inclinations and habits and going away "from your homeland" - can mean freeing oneself from the conventions and customs of one's environment, "father's house" can mean - leave what you were taught at home from the parents, to rise above conventions. All this towards one end: "go away ... to a land that I will show you. " - Achieve full unity with the Almighty through self-sacrifice and devotion to His will.Abraham first recognized the existence of G-d at the age of three years and we know that he performed the commandments even before they were given at Sinai 500 years later. However, to achieve a complete unity with God, he lacked the fulfillment of the commandment of going and leaving everything completely aside to sacrifice his desires for the sake of the Will of God. This then is the mission of every Jew in this world. Since the soul is in the body, the Jew follows the laws of nature, he has built-in tendencies and it is affected by his environment, but in spite of this, every Jew has the strength to rise above himself and overcome limitations. Through the study of Torah and the commandments, a Jew can spread the Divine in the world and thereby elevate it.Abraham fulfilled the mission and went, taking with him all of his possessions. The full service of Abraham was that he fulfilled the commandment with his whole being so that even the members of his household and his belongings obeyed.

On the way to the Promised Land, Abraham took with him his nephew Lot, whose goals were completely opposite to the objectives of Abraham - "And Lot went away from the East," that is, in other words, he became distant from G-d ("East" in Hebrew, "Kedem"is related to one of the names of God - "Kadmon") and therefore we're told, he "pitched his tents in Sodom." Lot lived in Sodom, a city of evildoers and sinners, but Abraham did not forget about him and constantly worried. This had a positive effect on Lot when he displayed self-sacrifice in giving shelter to travelers in Sodom, where it was illegal.Serving G-d by Abraham affected all around him, the whole world, even the lowest and the fallen part of it. The commandment to "Go ..." marked the beginning of a new kind of service of G-d, one that doesn't rely solely on the strength and abilities of man. This type of serving G-d is based on the full commitment and desire to do everything to fulfill the Will of God.

Based on Likutei Sichos, Vol. 5, pg. 57-67

Last Nuclear ‘Monster Weapon’ Gets Dismantled

2011-10-24T15:31:00.004-04:00

"They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." Isaiah 2:4

Messianic Era will be marked by an end to warfare and universal peace. This looks like a step in that direction.

In the 1960s, the skies above the United States were patrolled by agents of the apocalypse. Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses circled the North American continent, 24 hours a day with two megabombs in their bellies. Those B-53 bombs each weighed 10,000 pounds. Were one to drop on the White House, a nine-megaton yield would destroy all life out into suburban Maryland and Virginia.

It was the ultimate Cold War weapon. And on Tuesday, it will no longer exist.

Out at the Energy Department’s Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, the last of America’s B-53s is in storage. Come Tuesday, it will be dissected: The 300 pounds of high explosives will be separated from its enriched uranium heart, known as a “pit.” The pit will be placed into a storage locker at Pantex, where it will await a final, highly supervised termination. It’s the end of the era of monster weapons.

First brought into the U.S. nuclear stockpile in 1962, the B-53 was so big because it was so dumb. With poor precision mechanisms for finding a target. Its accuracy was horrendous, what it lacked in smarts it made up in strength. The nukes that vaporized Hiroshima were a mere 12 kilotons; the B53 provided nine megatons — 9,000 kilotons — of destructive power.
And it was designed to burrow deep. The B53 wasn’t just any old megabomb. It was the first bunker buster. U.S. nuclear doctrine called for it to be delivered over suspected underground Soviet command-and-control facilities. The dumb bomb wouldn’t destroy them so much as it would destroy everything remotely near it, leaving — literally — a smoldering crater. That was the U.S. plan in a nuclear war right up until the implosion of the Soviet Empire.
At its height, the U.S. had 400 of the mega-gravity bombs. But it was decommissioned in 1997, so it’s not as if the U.S. suddenly finds itself without its massive gravity bomb. It’s been a slow process of destruction ever since, although Pantex spokesman Greg Cunningham says that he can’t say how long it takes to destroy one of the bombs.
The America’s nuclear arsenal remains enormous; the U.S. will still have 1,500 atomic weapons, by the time the latest U.S.-Russia nuke treaty runs its course. But with the end of the B-53 comes a belated end to a Cold War relic.
It was one heck of a whopper. We have nothing that comes close to it in the stockpile anymore, and neither does Russia. It’s the end of an era.

Gaddafi put away $200 billion

2011-10-23T11:46:00.003-04:00

Gaddafi put away more than $200 billion in bank accounts, real estate and corporate investments around the world before he was killed, according to Libyan officials. That's double the amount of previous estimates.

The size of the hidden cash, gold reserves and investments is "staggering", a person who has studied detailed records of the assets said Friday.

"No one truly appreciated the scope of it."

If true, Gaddafi will go down in history as one of the most rapacious as and bizarre leaders, on a scale with Mobutu Sese Seko in the Congo or the Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

During his 42 years in power, Gaddafi steered aid and investments to benefit his own family and tribe, but denied support for much of the country, especially the eastern region that resisted his family's despotic grip on power.

US officials were stunned last spring when they found 37 billion in Libyan accounts and investments in the US and quickly froze the assets before Gaddafi or his aides could move them.

Governments in Europe seized control of another 30 billion and it's estimated that Gaddafi had stashed another 30 billion elsewhere in the world, for a total of about $US 100 billion.

Investigations determined that Gaddafi secretly sent tens of billions more abroad over the years and made sometimes lucrative investments in nearly every major country, including the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Most of the money was under the name of institutions such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank, the Libyan National Oil Corp and the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio.

Investigators said Gaddafi and his family members could have had access to any of the money if they chose to.

Noah's Ark, tall as a skyscraper

2011-10-23T11:25:00.001-04:00

В году 1536 (2224 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира, когда было Ноаху 480 лет от роду, заповедал Всевышний Ноаха строить ковчег. И сажал Ноах и растил деревья для ковчега в области Арарата. И было, когда видели люди то, что делает он, удивлялись и спрашивали его: «для чего деревья эти?» И говорил им Ноах слова Божьи о Потопе и увещевал их оставить пути их грешные. Но не слушали его люди и насмехались над ним и проклинали его. И говорили люди: «Не страшен нам потоп. Если будет вода из недр земных, есть у нас железо и замостим им мы все источники. Если же с небес построим мы лодки легкие из папируса и умеем мы плавать. А если же потоп огненный есть у нас нечто называющееся «алита» поглощающая огонь — не страшимся мы. По силам нашим справиться со всем». И продолжали насмехаться над Ноахом. И говорили еще — если и будет потоп, то погубит только семейство Ноахово.

И видя прегрешения того поколения и зная о приближающемся Потопе, не взял себе Ноах жену и не имел детей. Но в году 1554 (2206 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира открылся Всевышний Ноаху и заповедал ему взять себе жену и родить детей. И пошел Ноах и взял себе в жены Нааму, дочь праведного Ханоха. И было Ноаху 498 лет, а жене его Нааме 580 лет от роду. И было по прошествии двух лет в году 1556 (2204 г. до н.э.) родился у Ноаха первенец и назвали его Яфет говоря: «дал мне Всесильный простор («яфта») на земле». Хам — второй сын Ноаха — родился в году 1557 (2203 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира. А в году 1558 (2202 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира родился Шем. И родился Шем обрезанным.

И было в году 1661 (2099 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира умер Лемех отец Ноаха. Но не следовал Лемех по путям отца своего — праведного и мудрого Метушелаха. И все праведные умерли в том году. И замыслил так Всевышний, дабы не видели люди праведные как постигнет их близких несчастье.

И закончил Ноах в том году, за 5 лет до Потопа все приготовления к постройке ковчега. И раскрылся Всевышний Метушелаху и Ноаху и сказал им, скажите всем людям слова мои, может быть оставят пути свои грешные. И заповедал Ноаху идти в некое место и начать строить ковчег согласно тому, как заповедал ему Всевышний и показал в видении Божественном.

И строил Ноах ковчег 5 лет. А люди продолжали вопрошать его, видя столь удивительное строение. И отвечал им Ноах, но не слушали его люди и продолжали насмехаться над ним и угрожали ему разбить ковчег, когда придет час Потопа Великого. И закончил постройку ковчега в году 1656 (2094 г. до н.э.) от сотворения мира. И была длина ковчега 300 ама (864 метра), ширина его 50 ама (144 метра) и высота 30 ама (86,5 метров). И был 1 ама (48 см.) того времени равен 6 ама нашим. И были стены ковчега покаты и сводились на крыше его к ама (48 см.) чтобы стекали воды потопа с них. И было в ковчеге три палубы, и сотни отделений на каждой.

И взял Ноах жен для своих сыновей из дочерей Эльякума, сына Метушелаха в году 1656 (2094 г. до н.э.).

Noah, the first man with fingers. נח , האיש הראשון עם האצבעות

2011-10-23T04:33:00.001-04:00

In the year 1042 (2718 BCE) from Creation, in the 55th year of Methuselah's rule, Seth, Adam's son, passed away. He was buried in Arbel. Methuselah's other son, Lemech was 168 years old at that point and there was a famine in the land.

Thirteen years later (2705 BCE), Lemech married Ashmaa and his father Methuselah told him that Lemech would have a son whose descendants would populate the world.

He also told him - "And beware and do not call your son by his real the name so that he won't be killed through witchcraft. " Methuselah was a great sage and knew that to perform witchcraft, the sorcerer needed to know the person's name.

A year later, in the year 1056 (2704 BCE ) from the creation of the world, a son was born to Lemech and he was the first one born after the death of Adam.Ever since Adam had sinned, creatures refused to submit to humans and the land was cursed also. Adam inquired of G-d, how long the curse would endure. He was told that the curse would be lifted when a baby would be born circumcised. And indeed, when Lemech had a son, it was discovered that he was born circumcised and he was named Menachem as if to say: "This one will comfort us." But the baby's real name was given by his grandfather Methuselah who called him Noach (Noah) so as to shield him from the sorcerers.

Noah was the first man born with fingers. Up until then, people's hands were not split into fingers.

After the birth of Noah, the famine ended and Adam's curse was lifted. The earth brought forth produce and creatures stopped rebelling against people.

Noah was the first to invent the plow, the sickle and the hoe to cultivate the land. Before Noah, people used their bare hands to work the land. Seeing all that made Noah had done, people became joyful and sang songs. Ever since then it's been the custom to sing more intensely when plowing than when engaging in any other activity.

Raw Deal

2011-10-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Guest post by R. Haskelevich.

I just returned from Israel with a heavy heart. While there, someone ventured to compare the absurd exchange of an Israeli boy (Gilad Schalit) and a thousand dangerous cutthroats to the exchange of a beautiful esrog (a citrus fruit used to perform a commandment during Sukkot) for a thousand pairs of tefillin (phylacteries).

The exchange is absurd but the comparison is even more so.

Even to debate this is distasteful. The only reason I’m not deleting this (a reference to a Facebook discussion) is in order not to deny freedom of speech to some sober-thinking people.

What is this, Gilad Shalit - a beautiful etrog, and thugs - phylacteries??

In the 13th century, one of the greatest rabbis, the MaGaRam (Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg) was arrested by a German ruler who wanted to extract from the Jewish community a huge amount of ransom money. The arrest had no legal basis and was pure extortion. Aware of his responsibility, Rabbi Meir issued a Psak-Din (ruling), which forbade the Jewish communities to redeem him. And thus he died in prison.

The reason for his Psak-Din was a Jewish law that states that captives cannot be redeemed for more than they‘re worth, otherwise this can lead to hostage taking to extort exorbitant ransoms.

Given the weak nerves of the Israeli public, terrorists are now treating Israel like a battered woman. She’s is hurt but delighted that after the beatings, in tears and with dirt on her face, she would get some candy. Yes, there are such weak creatures that are brought up to tolerate bullying and get pleasure out of it.

But that’s not the issue. Who created Hamasstan on our land? Who gave them a place to thrive in, bombard our children with missiles, and stockpile weapons of mass destruction?

Our political leadership, that’s who. Who made them leaders? We, the people did.

People do not need a new Messiah but it is necessary that they internalize the ideas of the Rebbe - Messiah, the Ruler. People need to be enlightened and afforded the knowledge of what the Rebbe has to say on the subject. Almost no one in Israel is doing that and the discussion on this page is a vivid testimony.

Bibi is now in a difficult political situation due to a wave of protests. None of the politicians is willing to give up their seat. In order to give legitimacy to the deal, Bibi asked the spiritual leader of Shas, Ovadia Yosef to agree that the deal was worth it. The Israeli Supreme Court would then "approve" the transaction, followed by the head of the Shabak who would express his "professional" opinion that that was the best possible deal that could be cut.

Ovadia Yosef, in this case himself a politician, and his Halachic opinion is worth nothing. If he had not agreed with Bibi’s the policies, he would’ve had to leave the government. How can he be objective?

(Besides, while in Jerusalem, I found out some interesting information, such as when Obadiah, fearing police pressure, rapidly and radically changed his opinion on the issue of Army conversions. It’s unseemly for a Rabbi to act in such a way).

The only ones who are not afraid to tell the truth, is Hamas. They immediately stated that kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, even of drug dealers was a very profitable business, and it would now continue in full swing.

Why are we even keeping terrorists in Israeli prisons to begin with? If we didn’t have them, there’d be much less to exchange. Why aren’t they hanging upside down from the gallows? Why aren’t they buried wrapped in pigskins (a very shameful burial for a muslim but the British used to do just that)? Because of Jewish mercifulness? Because of Jewish complexes?

How many more children must die because of this pseudo humanity ?

“R’ Elazar said: One who becomes compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.” (Midrash Rabba, Ecclesiastes 7:16.)

Jews in the Holy Land. What Jews?

2011-10-17T01:50:00.002-04:00

Original article here.

Welcome to the Holy Land: Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi in Hebron, Bilal Ibn Ribah mosque in Bethlehem and Al-Burak Wall...

Israel's decision some time ago, to include the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb in a plan to preserve its heritage and religious sites, was met by a predictable reaction from the Arab (and Islamic) world and once again showed the real essence of the "Arab-Israeli conflict" which is a Jihad by Arabs against the Jews.

Conflict resolution works only if the parties recognize each other's right to exist. Absent that, a conflict is irresolvable. The key questions of borders, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees are difficult, but could be resolved if Arabs recognized the right of Jews to live in their land.

Arabs do not recognize it. Their policy, strategy, and ideology are directed to disconnect the Jews from the Land of Israel, first virtually, and then physically, to expunge the Jews from the history of the Holy Land. They claim, without batting an eye, that Jews have no relics, no holy sites, and no past in Eretz Yisrael. In other words, they do not belong to this land and have no right to exist on it at all.

This genocidal approach is a hallmark of Islam. Power and possession are key to it. This approach extends to all other faiths and cultures as well. The idea is to strip away others of their spiritual and national base to achieve total physical domination.

Orientalist Koenraad Elst in Negationism in India: Concealing the Record of Islam writes: "In all the lands it conquered, Islam replaced indigenous places of worship with mosques. In Iran, there are no Zoroastrians or Manichean shrines. In Central Asia, there are no Buddhist temples left. In India (except where Islam penetrated late) there are practically no Hindu temples that have survived the Muslim period (over 10,000 destroyed). But there are thousands of mosques built on the foundations of Hindu temples ." Todays the same policy is being carried out towards Israel and is abetted by the West's ignorance, hypocrisy and spinelessness.

Jerusalem has never been a holy Muslim place. Statements about the city being "the third holy place of Islam" only began to appear in the 1930's. First they were made by Jerusalem's Grand Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini, a Nazi collaborator, who attempted to stir up religious fanaticism among the apathetic local population. Al-Husseini worked vigorously to raise Jerusalem's status as an Islamic holy center. He renovated the mosques that had fallen into complete disrepair on the Temple Mount while conducting an unceasing campaign against the imminent Jewish "threat" to Muslim holy sites.

Earlier on though, Arab historians referred to Jerusalem and especially the Temple Mount, as the Jewish holy site only. In the 13th century the Arab geographer Yakut wrote: " Mecca is holy to Moslems and Jerusalem to the Jews". On the Temple Mount "triumphant soldiers of Islam" acted in the same way as they had everywhere else: they destroyed the local holy sites and replaced them with their own. When Caliph Omar entered Jerusalem, there was only one holy site on the Temple Mount at that time: a Byzantine Church. Caliph Abd El Malik built here the Dome of the Rock that is still incorrectly called the "Omar Mosque". 20 years later his son, Abd El-Wahd, reconstructed the church and converted it into the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Historian M. Lehmann wrote: "Mohammed instituted a strict prohibition against facing Jerusalem in prayer, a practice that had been tolerated only briefly in order to lure Jews to convert to Islam. When that failed, Mohammed put an abrupt stop to it on February 12, 624. Jerusalem simply never held any sanctity for the Moslems themselves, only for the Jews."

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran once! The myth of Jerusalem being "the third holiest place in Islam" began to spread quickly after 1967. Muhammad is believed by all Muslims to have ascended into heaven alive at the site of the Dome of the Rock. Earlier this legend was not considered to be basic in Muslim mythology. Rabbi Yosef Katz wrote that the present Arabian name of Jerusalem, "el-KuDS," is an abbreviation for another Arabic name used for Jerusalem until the last century, "bet el-maKDeS". The name "BeT el-MaKDeS" is a translation of the Aramaic and Hebrew "BeiT ha-MiKDaSH," i.e. "The Holy Temple."

Jerusalem became a holy city of Islam thanks to Haj Amin Al-Husseini. In 1947 the Saudis published a "Fatwa" (a religious ruling) calling for "rescuing the Temple Mount from the Jews." After 1967 Yassir Arafat used this slogan to transform the conflict with Israel into a religious war. Today Arabs deny that there ever was a Temple here or any Jewish connection to Jerusalem. What's more, the existence of the Jews, as a religious and ethnic community is also denied. The PA Mufti, Ikrima Sabri said that there was no such thing as the Western Wall. He claimed that it was a "part of the walls of the Al Aqsa mosque" called "Al Burak Wall."

For decades the Jerusalem Waqf has been destroying unique Jewish antiquities on the Temple Mount under different pretexts. Thousands of tons of dirt full of artifacts have been carted away and dumped.

As regards Me'arat HaMachpela and Rachel's Tomb, Gen. 23 tells us that Abraham purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs to bury his wife Sarah. Gen. 35, 19 describes that Rachel "died and was buried on the road to Efrat which is Bethlehem."

It had happened about two thousand years before Islam appeared. Now we learn that Me'arat HaMachpela and Rachel's Tomb have always belonged to Arabs. According to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas the Israeli decision is a "serious provocation that may lead to religious war." The USA, EU and UN have urged Israel to exercise restraint. We also learn that both sites have no connection to the Jews. One of them is named the Sanctuary of Abraham (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi), and the second Bilal Ibn Ribah mosque. Incidentally, Bilal Ibn Ribah mosque was built by the Muslims only a thousand years ago.

Why Russians in Israel don’t want peace

2011-10-16T17:09:00.002-04:00

Bill Clinton is right: Israelis from the ex-USSR are not really interested in a peace agreement. Clinton’s claims that Russian-descendent Israelis are an obstacle to peace can be understood in different ways. But excluding their emotional component, one must recognize that the immigrants from the former Soviet Union are mostly opposed to the peace process itself and here's probably why.

The rose-colored glasses of “multiculturalism” hide the fact that there are three civilizations in this world: postmodern liberal democracies, states of classical political culture and traditional patriarchal communities.

As Western civilization passionately abandons its national-religious idea, just as fervently the other two insist on their own values and originality.

In Europe, the ideological divide between these two cultures passes along the border of the former Eastern Bloc. Eastern European countries, irrespective of their economic successes or level of democratic development, are strikingly different from their neighbors in the West. Because of Nazism and communism, repressions and totalitarian ideology, they are hardened to senseless slogans, illusions and idealistic dogmatism.

Eastern Europe and the Far East countries derive vital strength from their history, mythology and tradition. They are developed communities but also inseparably tied to their past, and it is not so important whether this connection gets a religious or cultural frame.

THE MAIN issue is not politics. It is the cult of national dignity, mistrust of universalist theories and a resistance to any trespassing of their space, both geographical and spiritual.

It is impossible to imagine a Ukrainian leader bowing to a Middle Eastern sheikh, or a Polish prime minister kissing the hand of an African despot.

Hindus will not build a mosque near the site of one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks; Serbs don’t feel guilty toward the Albanians of Kosovo who deprived them of their heritage; Russian intellectuals, actors and academics don’t wish to “understand” the Chechen insurgents, who carried out terrible acts of terrorism in their country.

Have you ever heard about Czechs regretting the transfer of the Sudeten Germans? Are Bulgarians sorry for the exile of 250,000 Turks in the 1950s? AND, FINALLY, there is the third group of people in the world still living in the dynamics of patriarchal-feudal relations.

Absent trappings of Western civilization (cellphones, Internet, laptops, etc.), much of Arab and African landscape is a gloomy and cruel world. This is a world where clan norms and blood feud laws rule, where, largely, women are considered inferior to men. Adultery is punished by stoning, and rivals are eliminated with explosives, “road accidents” and poisons.

Everything considered different, from sexual orientation to critical discourse is met with censure.

It's a world of a patriarchal economy concentrated in the hands of a few, the gap between rich and poor, and some terrifying traditions and beliefs.

SOME IN the West voluntarily make themselves hostages to the patriarchal world, but classical culture resists to this selfdestructive tendency.

Israel is a state with a mosaic society. It consists of different groups of populations, from postmodernists to natives of patriarchal countries of Asia and Africa, to “Russians.” For postmodernists, Israel is no more than a hindrance on their way to utopia, and the word “peace” has sacral sense. For “Russians” in Israel, peace with feudal-patriarchal societies has no value because they don’t trust them. They put their own survival above illusions and doubtful experiments. They know the price of the “peace” which Clinton has established in Kosovo.

According to such “peace” the Serbs of Kosovo had a choice between exile and death.

The writer is a reporter at the Russian-language weekly Novosty Nedely. He came to Israel from Moscow in 1988 and is the author of Ways of God and coauthor of Jewish Atlantida (in Russian).

Original article

j this, j that

2011-10-09T18:19:00.002-04:00

Sanhedrin 43a-b

There's a section of the Gemara that was censored and does not

appear in standard texts of the Talmud.

The Mishnah teaches that before the condemned man is taken to
be killed a public announcement is made: So-and-so the son of
So-and-so is to be taken to be killed by stoning for committing
a particular capital crime. Anyone who has anything to say
on his behalf should come forward to speak

up for him.

The Gemara makes a point of noting that according to the
Mishnah the public announcement is made at the time that the
death penalty was to be carried out. This stands in apparent
contradiction with the following story that appears in a baraita:

On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For

forty days before the execution took place, a herald

went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned

because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel

to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything on his behalf,

let him come forward.' But since nothing was brought
forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of the
Passover.

The Gemara concludes that Yeshu's situation was unique

since he was connected with the government. Since the

government was interested in his case, the Jewish court

wanted to ensure that everyone would recognize that

he was given every opportunity to defend himself.

The Gemara lists his five disciples, Matthai, Nakai, Nezer,
Buni and Todah, all of whom are presented as offering biblical
proof that they should not be killed based on how their names

appear in Tanakh, and the Sages respond with corresponding

passages that show that these names –

and the people attached to them – can be destroyed.

All of the Talmudic stories that refer to Yeshu are

confusing and difficult to understand, particularly

since they do not parallel stories about Jesus that

appear in other sources. It is possible that we have

hints here to incidents that were not preserved in other

traditions.

Moshiach by the numbers

2011-10-09T12:06:00.003-04:00

The Prophets, particularly Isaiah, make many references about the Messiah, what he will do, and what will happen during his reign.

1. Isaiah 1:26: "And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City." An allusion to the Sanhedrin being re-established."(Isaiah 1:26)
2. Once he is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
3. The whole world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:11-17)
4. He will be descended from King David (Isaiah 11:1) via Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:8-10, 2 Chronicles 7:18)
5. The "spirit of the Lord" will be upon him, and he will have a "fear of God" (Isaiah 11:2)
6. Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership (Isaiah 11:4)
7. Knowledge of God will fill the world (Isaiah 11:9)
8. He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations (Isaiah 11:10)
9. All Jews will be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 11:12)
10. Death will be swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8)
11. There will be no more hunger or illness, and death will cease (Isaiah 25:8)
12. All of the dead will rise again (Isaiah 26:19)
13. The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11)
14. He will be a messenger of peace (Isaiah 52:7)
15. Nations will recognize the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13-53:5)
16. The peoples of the world will turn to Jews for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23)
17. The ruined cities of Israel will be restored (Eze. 16:55)
18. Weapons of war will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9)
19. The people of Israel will have direct access to the Torah through their minds and Torah study will become the study of the wisdom of the heart (Jeremiah 31:33)
20. He will give you all the worthy desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4)
21. He will take the barren land and make it abundant and fruitful (Isaiah 51:3, Amos 9:13-15, Ezekiel 36:29-30, Isaiah 11:6-9)

The Rambam on "oyso ish"

2011-10-06T16:51:00.000-04:00

The Rambam’s Words

These are Maimonides" words, written in his Laws of Kings (11,4):

"Even Jesus the Christian, who thought he was the Messiah... was the subject of a prophesy in the Book of Daniel (11, 14): "...also the renegades of your people will exalt themselves to fulfill the vision - but they will stumble." Could there be a greater stumbling block than this [Jesus]? For all the prophets spoke of the Messiah who will redeem and save Israel, who will ingather all its exiles, and who will strengthen them in the fulfillment of the Torah"s commandments - while he [Jesus] caused Israel to be killed by the sword, their remnants to be dispersed and humiliated, the Torah to be switched for something else, and most of the world to worship a G-d other than the G-d of Israel! But - the thoughts of G-d cannot be fathomed by human minds. For our ways are not like His, and our thoughts are not like His. All these activities of Jesus the Christian, and the Ishmaelite who came after him, are all for the purpose of paving the way for the true King Messiah, and preparing the entire world to worship G-d together, as is written (Tzefaniah 3,9): "For then I will convert the nations to a pure language, that they may all call in the name of G-d and serve Him together."

"How will this work? For by then, the world will already be filled with the idea of Messiah, and Torah, and commandments, even in far-off islands and in closed-hearted nations, where they engage in discussions on the Torah"s commandments: some say that the Torah"s commandments are true but are no longer binding in these times, while others say that there are hidden, deep meanings to them, and that the Messiah has come and revealed their hidden secrets. But when the true King Messiah arrives, and will succeed and will raise them up, all the peoples will immediately realize that they had been taught lies by their forefathers, and that their ancestors and prophets had misled them."

Preparing the Way

From these words of the Rambam, we learn that even though Christianity negates the Torah, and promotes a different redemption and a different redeemer – even so, the very discussion of these issues arouses thoughts and anticipation throughout the world of great events. And even though these are misdirected, the hearts are still ready and waiting. When the Messiah, King of Israel, reveals himself, everyone will immediately recognize him, and will realize that "Moshe is true, and his Torah is true."

This will lead to the redemption of the entire world and their understanding that "The L-rd, our G-d, is One, and His Name is One."

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz was asked : Did the founder of Christianity have any links to Kabbalah?  Answer: He employed forbidden methods. His motives are still not fully understood. In any case, he was a son of the Jewish people and by now has certainly gone through all the appropriate stages of repentance in the Other World. Proponents of the so-called "Judeo-Christian ethics" see him as a prophet and a popularizer of the ideas of the Torah and the Kabbalah. Well, popularizers have been many but the end result is what’s important. From Christianity we’ve witnessed rivers of spilled Jewish blood as a result.

12 minutes to midnight

2011-10-05T01:57:00.001-04:00

In the book Matzmiach Yeshua (He who brings about salvation). there is a passage in which the author reports that the Vilna Gaon zt"l (the genius of Vilnius, 1720-1797) said that the war between Gog and Magog - popularly known as Armageddon outside the Jewish world - will last twelve minutes. In those 12 minutes, one third of the world will die, one third will be injured and one third will survive.

This is a repost from here with an interesting commentary:

"Nu, a war so short whether it be 12 minutes or three hours could only end with such finality if the war is nuclear. At this time neither Syria nor Turkey are nuclear powers. Iran is really trying hard to become one at this time, but in part because of Stuxnet it has not yet achieved its goal. The wild card in all this, as Rav Levi Sa'adiah Nachmani said over 15 years ago is North Korea. They have a ton of weapons grade Uranium and Plutonium. And when Olmert was PM, Syria and North Korea were caught with their pants down building a nuclear bomb factory. So bye bye bomb factory. Curious, in Rav Nachmani's discussion of this issue he quotes the pasuk in Ha'azinu, "For fire will have been kindled in My nostrils and blaze to the lowest part of She'ol. I shall consume the earth and its produce, and set ablaze what is founded on mountains." At this point he said that She'ol is a reference to Seoul, that would be in South Korea not North Korea. Now what was Rav Nachmani referring to? I am sure he was saying that the nuclear material for Syria and Iran would come from North Korea not South Korea. So why mention Seoul?

Several years ago I wrote a blog post "Korea is in the Twilight Zone." I postulated that from high noon on Yom Shishi, the year 5751, the world would slowly enter Yom SheKulo Shabbat. This would start to happen about 101 degrees to the east of Jerusalem, for when it is high noon in Jerusalem, the stars have already come out about 101 degrees to the east of Jerusalem at the same time it is sunset 90 degrees to the east of Jerusalem. So that includes about 11 degrees of longitude which are in the twilight zone. The only country that is completely within the twilight zone is South Korea. Yet, the stars come out line is less than two degrees to the east of Kobe, Japan. So to travel about 100 degrees in the 250 years between 5751 and the year 6000, one degree on the globe enters Yom she'kulo Shabbat every 2.5 years. So right on schedule when Kobe, Japan entered yom she'kulo Shabbat between four and five years after the end of 5750, Kobe experienced a massive earthquake. So while the Korean Peninsula began to cross into Yom She'kulo Shabbat in 5771, Specifically Seoul, South Korea enters Yom She'kulo Shabbat in 5775, the coming Sabbatical year. I would venture an educated guess that this very short nuclear war will take place at that time, during the 2nd and final stage of Gog UMagog specifically in the Sabbatical year 5775."

Special Rosh Hashana foods

2011-09-21T23:32:00.000-04:00

There are certain, highly symbolic foods eaten over Rosh Hashana
that carry with them wishes and hopes for the new year.

We dip an apple in honey as a wish for a sweet new year.

Carrots, meren in Yiddish, similar to mer (Yiddish for more).
We ask G-d to increase our merits as well as to nullify
negative decrees directed at us (carrot in Hebrew is gezer,
similar to gzeiros (decrees).

Onions (karti in Aramaic meaning to cut off). We ask G-d
to destroy our enemies.

Beets (silki in Aramaic, meaning to remove). We ask
the Almighty to do away with our enemies.

Dates (tаmri in Aramaic, meaning to destroy). We
ask G-d to destroy all those that hate us (yetamu).

Pumpkin (kara in Aramaic). We ask G-d to rip up (kara)
our verdicts and to declare (also kara) our merits.

Pomegranates "So that our merits should increase like
seeds in a pomegranate". A pomegranate contains 613
seeds, just like the number of mitzvos in Torah.

Fish so that we "increase on Earth like fish in the water".
Torah is our life and we can't exist without it just like fish
can't live outside water.

Ram's head as a remembrance of the ram sacrificed
instead of Isaac (Genesis 22:13) with the wish to be
"the head and not the tail" in the coming year.

http://www.moshiach.ru/food/culinaria/1746_18_15.html

Islamization of History and Geography

2011-09-19T00:50:00.003-04:00

Professor Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University explains: Islam's basic attitude is that all of history and geography are Muslim.

During a conference at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, Prof. Sharon warned against the attitude of Islam to history and geography.

“The basic attitude [of Islam] is that all history is, in fact, Islamic history. That means that all the major figures of history are Muslims, from Adam down to our own time.”

Sharon said that this attitude assumes that any Jewish or Christian religious figure, be it the Jewish Kings David or Solomon and even the Christian Jesus, is in fact a Muslim figure, a fact that essentially dismisses any Jewish or Christian claim that is faith-based.

According to the Muslims, says Sharon, “Since the creation of the world there has been only one religion and that is the religion of Islam. So if anybody says, for example, that there is a place connected with Solomon and that’s the place where Solomon’s Temple stood, a true Muslim would tell you: ‘Yes, you’re absolutely right, but don’t forget that Solomon was a Muslim.’”

He added, “You can understand that through Islamization of history you’ve got Islamization of geography. Anywhere that was connected with these prophets, which were all Muslims [according to Islamic attitude], becomes Muslim territory.”

Sharon said that from Islam’s point of view, their appearance in history was that of a liberator, that is to liberate all the Muslim areas, according to their belief, that Jews or Christians took over.
“There is no Islamic occupation,” he said. “If somebody occupied anything, it will always be
somebody else, not the Muslims. There’s no Islamic occupation, there’s only Islamic liberation.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148027

Unpleasant Facts in the Middle East

2011-09-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

by Steven Plaut

In this Post-Oslo era, the delusions and denials of the "Oslo peace process" are being acknowledged. Those returning to Earth from Fantasyland in the "Oslo" parallel universe must bear in mind some unpleasant facts of life in the Middle East.

1. The Arabs have never come to terms with Israel's existence within ANY set of borders whatsoever and are still seeking the destruction of Israel and its population.

2. ANY Palestinian state, regardless of who rules it, will produce escalated violence, terror and warfare in the Middle East, not stability or peaceful relations. It will seek warfare with Israel, not solutions to the economic and social problems of its citizens.

3. The only reason Arafat and the PLO ever wanted control of the West Bank and Gaza was to use them as bases for attacks on Israel. It's the only real use to which they will be put by any future Palestinian state.

4. There is no stopping the bloodshed and war in the Middle East other than by Israel adopting a clear policy of R&D (Re-Occupation and Denazification) of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Any other proposal for stabilization and pacification is delusional.

5. Denazification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip must be based partly on Denazification imposed on Germany and Japan after WWII. Additionally, such Denazification will have to stay in place for decades. No other way exists for Israel to prevent the daily massacre of its civilians by the Palestinian terrorists.

6. Most Palestinians have lived outside Israeli "occupation" for years, and their "liberation" from Israeli "occupation" only produced Nazification, terrorism, mass murders, and radicalization. Their pacification requires re-imposing of martial rule by Israel.

7. The instability of the Middle East is not caused by Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands but by PLO-Hamas occupation of Israeli lands.

8. There was never in history an Arab Palestinian state.

9. The Palestinians have no legitimate claim to the right to set up their own state. It is doubtful whether they ever did have such a right, but even if they did - they forfeited it thanks to decades of terrorism, savagery, mass murders and barbarism. Like the Sudeten
Germans.

10. Palestinians are Arabs and Arabs have 22 states. There is no reason why they should be entitled to a 23rd, and the creation of such a 23rd state in the West Bank and Gaza will escalate Middle East violence and world terrorism.

11. The Palestinians are not and never were a "nation". They are not even a tribe. They are a branch of Arabs with minor secondary cultural differences that distinguish them from Syrians, Lebanese or Jordanians.

12. The Middle East conflict cannot be resolved through endless exhibitions of niceness and restraint by Israel. Niceness, restraint, and goodwill gestures are interpreted by the Arab world as weakness and as signs that the Jews are on the run.

13. The Palestinians are not "mistreated" by Israel, but ARE poorly treated by the PLO and Hamas.

14. The only Arabs in the Middle East with any semblance of civil rights are those who live under Israeli rule.

15. Israeli Arabs are the best-treated minority in the Middle East and treated far better than are Arabs living in Arab states. If the intifada "uprising" were in fact due to oppression and mistreatment of Arabs by a government, then Israel should be the only
country in the Middle East that does NOT have an intifada.

16. Oslo has radicalized and Nazified most Israeli Arabs, who now side with Arab parties and politicians who call openly for violence against Jews and the destruction of Israel.

17. No concessions by Israel would result in the Arab states coming to terms with Israel's existence.

18. There are no Arab democracies or any support for democracy among significant minorities within the Arab world.

19. Israeli assassination of Palestinian terrorists is in fact a substitute for retaliation in kind against the Palestinians for bombings of Israeli children and other civilians. The alternative to such assassinations is bombings of Palestinian civilians.

20. Israeli settlements are the "mine canaries" of the Arab world. There is no reason why Jewish civilians should not be free to live in peace within Arab countries truly seeking peace with Israel, just as Arabs live at peace within Israel and within the United States. The attitude of the Arab world in general and of the PLO in particular towards such "settlements" is indicative of their attitudes towards Israel and Jews in general. If the Palestinians are NOT seeking peace with the Jews, and they are not, then the real problem is that Israel has built too few settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

21. Today it is the purpose of Israeli settlements to prevent replication of Gaza in the West Bank. To do so, Israel needs to build MORE settlements!

22. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that does NOT deal with Islamist terror through wholesale massacres of the people in whose midst the terrorists operate.

23. There is an inverse relationship between the material comfort of Arabs living under Israeli rule and political moderation. The better off they are materially, the more violent and radical they are. More generally, Arab radicalism and terror are positively correlated with comfort and education and wealth. Bin Laden and his people were filthy rich. There have been no undernourished Palestinian suicide bombers.

24. Palestinians almost universally endorse terrorism and violence against Jews.

25. Israeli Arabs endorse terror and violence against Jews by large majorities. They also support al-Qaeda.

26. There are no visible Palestinian public figures who oppose violence, terror and Islamist fascism.

27. There is not and never has been a Palestinian "peace movement".

28. The PLO is itself very much a manifestation of Islamist fascism and was founded by Islamist fundamentalists.

29. Peace cannot be achieved through pretending that war does not exist.

30. The Israeli Left is responsible for the bloodshed in Israel. The Israeli Left rescued the PLO from oblivion in the early 1990s, armed it, and allowed it to become entrenched in the suburbs of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli Left is as wacky as is the pro-Taliban campus Left in the United States.

31. The only peaceful terrorist is a dead terrorist.

32. Israel cannot restore the credibility of its military prowess through "signaling," but rather only through using that prowess and putting its military might to actual use.

http://stevenplaut.blogspot.com/

When you go out to war

2011-09-05T21:13:00.004-04:00

This weeks Torah portion states (Deut. 21:10) "When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives."

The plain meaning is that Jews are allowed to capture those with whose nation they're fighting, but a deeper understanding hints at the process of emergence of the Jewish Divine Soul - "when you go out" from its source and its descent into our material world - "against your enemies". This is necessary to conquer this world - "and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands" to fill with it holiness through Torah study and performance of mitzvos - "and you take captives".

This war the Jewish People has been fighting since its birth and will complete it with Moshiach's coming. A hint to that effect is in the next chapter - "When you enter the land." When that happens, the Jewish people will receive their reward from G-d.

Even though it's a "war", G-d grants every Jew a "tranquility of the heart and mind" for Torah study and performance of mitzvos are only possible in a tranquil setting. Not only that but now, on the threshold of Redemption, G-d not only gives the means and opportunity to stay focused and be victorious in this war, He also gives us a foretaste of the reward awaiting us in the future.

Torah tells us that a hired worker must be paid his wages on the same day that he finishes his work and it's forbidden to put off paying the worker until the following day. Likewise, the A-mighty acts towards the Jewish people by giving us reward for every mitzvah that we do, thus even before the "war" is over, we can taste the fruits of future victory.

Based on a sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

http://www.moshiach.ru/torah/49/1597_14_49.html

On extraterrestrial life

2011-09-01T00:50:00.002-04:00

By Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, A''H

It's a Torah axiom that the entire universe was created for the sake of man. The Talmud indicates that there are around a quintillion ( 10¹⁸ or a billion billion)* stars in the universe and states explicitly that they were all created for the sake of man. It further states that all the angels and spiritual worlds also only exist for this purpose. This raises a question. How is it possible that man, living on Earth, should be the center of the universe? Our Sages realized the vast number of stars in the universe, and also realized that many of them were much larger than the Earth.

Size and quantity alone are meaningless to an infinite God. The human brain is vastly more complex than the galaxies and contains more information then the entire inanimate universe. Beyond that, man is endowed with a Divine soul that towers over even the highest angels.

Such a vast universe for the sake of man does not defy logic but we still need a reason for its necessity. Some sources say that by contemplating the greatness of the universe, one can begin to comprehend that of God, and thereby fear Him all the more. However, if we speak of the possibility of extraterrestrial life, we must explore the question somewhat further.

One of the first to discuss extraterrestrial life was Rabbi Chasdai Crescas. He concludes that there is nothing in Jewish theology to preclude the existence of life on other worlds. As possible evidence for extraterrestrial life, he then quotes the Talmudic teaching that God flies through 18,000 worlds. Since they require His providence, we may assume that they are inhabited.

Of course, this Talmudic quotation is by no means absolute proof, for it may be speaking of spiritual worlds, of which an infinite number were created. It's possible to support this opinion from the verse (Psalms 145:13), "Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds". However, here, too, this may be speaking of spiritual universes. The exact opposite opinion is that of Rabbi Yosef Albo, author of the Ikkarim. He states that since the universe was created for the sake of man, no other creature can exist possessing free will. Since any extraterrestrial life would neither have free will nor be able to serve a creature having free will (as terrestrial animals and plants serve a terrestrial man), they would have no reason for existing and therefore be totally superfluous.

One could bring some support to this second opinion from the Talmudic teaching that every land where it was not decreed for man to live was never subsequently inhabited. However, here again, it is not absolute proof, since this may only refer to our planet.
Between these two extremes, we find that the Sefer Habris states that extraterrestrial life does exist, but that it does not possess free will. The latter is the exclusive possession of man, for whom the universe was created. The 18,000 worlds mentioned earlier, in his opinion, are inhabited physical worlds.

The proof that he brings for his thesis is most ingenious. In the song of Deborah, we find the verse Judges 5:23), "Cursed is Meroz ... cursed are its inhabitants." in the Talmud"18 we find an opinion, that Meroz is the name of a star. According to this opinion, the fact that Scripture states, "Cursed is Meroz ... cursed are its inhabitants" is clear proof from the words of our Sages for extraterrestrial life.

But even this proof is subject to refutation. For the Zohar also follows the opinion that Meroz is a star, yet states that "its inhabitants" refers to its "camp," that is, most probably, to the planets surrounding it. Nevertheless, the simple meaning of the verse seems to support the opinion of the Sefer Habris. The Sefer Habris goes on to say that we should not expect the creatures of another world to resemble earthly life, any more than sea creatures resemble those of land.

He further states that although extraterrestrial forms of life may possess intelligence, they certainly cannot have freedom of will. The latter is an exclusive attribute of man, to whom was given the Torah and its commandments. He proves the latter thesis on the basis of the above mentioned Talmudic teaching that all the stars in the observable universe were created for the sake of man.

One may ask: if the inhabitants of extraterrestrial worlds, such as Meroz, have no free will, why were they cursed? However, we do find that beings, such as angels, can be punished for wrongdoings even though they do not have free Will.

However, the basic premise that of all possible species only man has free will, is well supported by the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Kordevero in his Pardes Rimonim. Using tight logical arguments, he demonstrates that there can be only one set of spiritual worlds. Although God would want to maximize the number of recipients of His good, His very unity precludes the existence of more than one such set. Since this set of worlds deals specifically with God's providence toward man because of his free will, this also precludes the existence of another species sharing this quality.

The basic premise of the existence of extraterrestrial life is strongly supported by the Zohar. The Midrash teaches us that there are seven earths. Although the Ibn Ezra tries to argue that these refer to the seven continents , the Zohar clearly states that the seven are separated by a firmament and are inhabited.24 Although they are not inhabited by man, they are the domain of intelligent creatures.

We therefore find the basic thesis of the Sefer Habris supported by a number of clear-cut statements by our Sages. There may even be other forms of intelligent life in the universe, but such life forms do not have free will, and therefore, do not have moral responsibility.

Freedom of will is not at all an observable quantity. Indeed, the main proof that man does indeed have free will comes from the fact that God has given him moral responsibility, namely the Torah. t is in this sublime, yet unobservable quality, that man is unique. However, if we assume this to be true, we would return to the basic question of Rabbi Yosef Albo, mentioned earlier: If such creatures never have any utility for man, what is their reason for existence?

We find a most fascinating answer to this question in the Tikunei Zohar. Speaking of the verse (Song of Songs 6:8), "Worlds without number" the Tikunei Zohar states, "The stars certainly are without number. But each star is called a separate world. These are the worlds without number."
The Tikunei Zohar further states that every Tzaddik (righteous man) will rule over a star, and therefore have a world to himself. The 18,000 worlds mentioned above would therefore be that number of stars, presided over by the 18,000 Tzaddikim that are alluded to in the verse (Ezekiel 48:35), "Around Him are eighteen thousand." However, these may only refer to those worlds visited daily by the Divine Presence, but there may be innumerable worlds for the lesser Tzaddikim.

We therefore have a most fascinating reason why the stars were created, and why they contain intelligent life. Since an overcrowded Earth will not give the Tzaddikim the breadth they require, each one will be given his own planet, with its entire population to enhance his spiritual growth.

Once we know that the stars and their planets were created as an abode for the Tzaddikim, we might naturally wonder how they will be transported to them. The Talmud even provides an answer to this. Discussing the passage (Isaiah 40:31), "They shall mount up with wings as eagles," the Talmud states that in the Future World, God will grant the Tzaddikim wings to escape the Earth. The Zohar goes a step further and states that "God will give them wings to fly through the entire universe."
In a way, this teaching predicts the event of space travel. But more than that, it provides us with at least one of the reasons why space flight would be inevitable as part of the prelude to the Messianic age. This, of course, could bring us to a general discussion of the role of modern technology in Torah hashkafah (perspective), a lengthy subject in its own right.

* Berachos 32b. The exact number given there is 1.0634 x 10¹⁸, very close to the number of stars in the observable universe.

On that day....

2011-08-28T01:27:00.001-04:00

This is how events might unfold on that momentous day. May we witness this immediately, amen.

“By the CNN Wire Staff – Brooklyn, NY.

A couple of reality-defying events are occurring in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn this afternoon and we have yet to hear a plausible explanation as two rabbis who passed away in 1950 and 1994, respectively, have suddenly reappeared together at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. Additionally, a huge box-shaped cloud bank the size of a 30-story building has parked itself directly on top of this corner building.

The rabbis in question, Joseph Isaac and his son-in-law, Menachem Mendel Schneersohns were the 6th and 7th rabbis of the Lubavitch Chassidic movement known for its outreach to Jews throughout the world. Both men were charismatic leaders born in Russia in 1880 and 1902 respectively. Both came to these shores on the eve of World War II.

A huge throng of their followers has formed around the building with crowds estimated at over 500,000. Some are claiming that this is the beginning of the Resurrection of the dead, a cornerstone belief in Orthodox Judaism.

Most of the non-Chassidic residents of the neighborhood have fled in sheer panic and abject fear leaving property and cars behind.

It is being reported at this hour that Arabs living around the Temple Mount area have also fled en masse leaving Israeli authorities bewildered but clearly not unhappy over this turn of events. Similar mass fleeings of arabs is being reported all over Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Most of those fleeing are headed over Jordan and disappearing into the desert as if following some Pied Piper’s call.

Several police choppers are patrolling the sky's and police are sending in reinforcements to control the peaceful but clearly excited crowd spilling over for blocks around.

Several major religious leaders have refused to comment on the implications of this as the news is spreading around the world. Riots are being reported around the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other major christian and moslem strongholds with rioters shouting slogans blaming their leaders for lying to them.

President Obama will address the nation later this evening. Stay tuned to this unfolding story."

15th of Av

2011-08-15T14:23:00.001-04:00

Everything in the world has two aspects: a physical and a spiritual. Real serving of G-d requires a combination of these two in whatever we do. For instance, the mitzvah of tzedakah is fulfilled when a person physically gives money to charity. The physical aspect doesn’t even require any specific intention. The Talmud tells us that if one person lost money in the street and another, a pauper, found it, then the former has fulfilled the mitzvah of charity.

The main focus of prayer is to arouse and feel within ourselves love towards Hashem. The love of G-d is a strictly “spiritual” commandment for, although it's connected with the body, it's not material and is independenf of the body.

This is reflected in 15th Av. Talmud tells that beginning with the 15th of Av, the nights become longer with those who increase the time spent learning Torah. This also lengthens their days.

This again is a duality i.e. Torah study (the spiritual) affects a physical aspect (length of days). This idea of a dual comforting (our efforts towards a complete commitment to G-d) can help us transform the causes of destruction that occurred in the past and thus speed up the coming of Moshiach.

The Gates of Three, Part 1

2011-07-27T16:37:00.003-04:00

Three good qualities did G-d create in this world through three tzaddikim (righteous people). The qualities are: old age, gray hair, and sickness.

1. Old age - through Abraham. From the time of Creation until Abraham was born, there were 20 generations, during all that time they were not plagued with any diseases. When a son was born and became an adult, they could not tell the difference between him and his father or the difference between a teacher and a student and they were not able to extend proper respect because of that. Abraham however, asked from G-d - " Sovereign of the World, if it pleases you, make a distinction between the young and old, father and son, teacher and student." G-d responded by saying - "it is worth it for me to bestow this quality through this righteous man." (Breishis Rabba 65:9)

2. Sickness - through Jacob, our forefather. Before Jacob's times, a person would die suddenly while traveling, without showing any sings of sickness. But Jacob asked of G-d " Sovereign of the World, let a person get sick and lie on his bed in order to bequeath inheritance to his sons." To this G-d agreed. (Breishis Rabba 49:33)

3. Healing - through Chizkiyohu, King of Judea. From the time of creation, there had been no decease from which a person could recover. Chizkiyohu prayed to G-d "Sovereign of the World, may it be Your Will that a person may recover and get up from his bed in order to sing praises and offer thanks to You all the days of his life." And G-d agreed.

An American Evolution

2011-07-23T22:38:00.020-04:00

Soul geography

2011-07-22T14:16:00.005-04:00

Rebbe’s advice

Describing the beauty of Eretz Yisroel, G-d says “..a land where rocks are iron…” (Deut 8:9). The Land of Israel has to be populated by people of whom the Talmud says “if a wise man isn’t tough as iron, he can’t be considered a wise man …” The Jewish soul is akin to iron. It can withstand any pressure and can stand up to a test that’s been ongoing for millennia. Its name is Exile.

To topple a strongman

It says in Tanya that to overcome the evil inclination, one needs alacrity.
In order to develop alacrity in the soul, one needs to live joyfully, with an open heart. To accomplish this one needs to cleanse one’s soul of all sadness and preoccupations. If you have succumbed to laziness and heaviness, know that you’re threatened with a condition known as a “stone heart”, this is when a person is unable to be sympathetic to someone else’s misfortune and doesn’t feel the weight of their own problems. This is usually accompanied by sadness. Two people may be engaged in a fight and one of them may be much stronger than the other. However, if the stronger one isn’t light on his feet, he will be defeated.

(From the writings of the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe)

When three really are one

2011-07-21T17:08:00.003-04:00

"On three things does the world rest: Torah, G-dly service (prayer), and kind deeds" (Pirkei Avos 1:42).

"World" in a microcosm refers to man and service has to be in a way where it impacts another. This can mean the giving of tzedakah that affects the way he prays afterwards and specifically, this merit enables asking G-d for one's needs.

This then leads to the study of Torah in a way of "from the synagogue to the study hall" and thus man is able to comprehend G-d's Torah - they amuse themselves with it before me. This ability to understand is a great miracle and can only take place when a person connects him/herself to G-d, this is an aspect of prayer.

These three aspects have to be in a way of a three-branched thread where all three are intertwined together. Even though in actuality, all three act as one unit, when it comes to tsedaka that's done with sincerity, study of Torah in a way that he feels that G-d is completely involved, and sincere prayer, this immediately amounts to a three-branched tread.

When a Jew is connected to G-d, even during exile, there's no reason for him to despare , especially if he or she decides to work with all three aspects, as outlined above, with complete sincerety. Additionally, a Jew must not be satisfied with one's own situation but be proactive when seeking out other Jews to work with and get them involved in the three-pronged approach. All this will have an aspect of prayer and then the good deeds will stand out even more, with greater suceess.

Therefore, the giving of tzedakah that's given after the preparations to Torah study should not be viewed simply as tithing or giving a fifth of one's earnings but rather כל אשר לאיש יתן בעד נפשו
"whatever a man wil give to save his soul"

From a sicha of 12 Tammuz, 5740 (1980)

17 Tammuz

2011-07-19T02:09:00.005-04:00

The principal event marking the 17th of Tammuz is the breaking of the First Tablets. This requires an explanation inasmuch as there were 40 days between the Giving of the Torah at Sinai and the breaking and certainly the Children if Israel had learned them very well and even wrote them down out of a sense of love for Torah.

If that’s the case, what was so significant about the Tablets which were engraved with the Ten Utterances to the extent that a fast day was established to commemorate their breaking?  To understand this, we need to consider the difference between writing and engraving. In writing, the parchment and ink are two separate entities in contradistinction to engraving whereby the letters are comprised of the material itself.

This applies to the Tablets containing the Ten Utterances. At the time of the Sinaitic Revelation, all aspects of Judaism were “engraved” in the very being of all Jews for all times. The fact that a Jew is able to choose out of his “free will” is only a superficial apperance and it's impossible to change the reality of that "engraving".

An instruction from all this is as follows: all the 613 Torah commandments, the seven Rabbinic ordinances, and all the stringencies and Jewish customs are “Torah.” All of those were included in the Ten Utterances and they have to be etched into the life of each and every Jew to the point where they won't be able to distinguish within them, i.e. everything is Torah.

From a Sicha of 17 Tammuz, 5741 (1981)

Parshas Pinchas

2011-07-15T19:26:00.006-04:00

Before Jews entered the Land of Israel, it got divided among the twelve tribes.

As per G-d’s instructions, Moses used two guideleines:

1. Rational: the larger the tribe, the bigger the real estate.
2. Suprarational: division by drawing lots only.

The Almighty, in His wisdom arranged things in such a way that the two ways of apportioning would not be in conflict.

We need to give thought as to how these teachings impact our lives. Any part of Torah brings out our connection with G-d. This, of course, apllies to everyday living, the Land of Israel and our rights to it. This connection is a result of our efforts to fulfill His Will. This relationship is remisniscent that of a buyer and seller.

The buyer (a Jew) brings into the store his fulfilled mitzvos and his good deeds. The Seller (G-d) accepts this “currency” and deals out, in return, healthy chidren, a good livilihood, and real happiness. On top of that, He gifts each Jew with their share in the Holy Land. The more is paid in, the stronger the roots.

This type of relationship with G-d was practically the only and principal one before the Revelation at Sinai and it reflects commonsensical laws: the more we strive to fulfill His Will, the bigger the reward. Or the opposite…

When Sinai happened, G-d chose the Jewish People and made us His children, His firstborns. Prior to Sinai, our Jewish work was done to the extent that we could do it. Afterwards, at Sinai, G-d permitted “the higher “ to descend to the “lower” and the lower realms to rise to the higher ones.

In other words, if a Jew, through his own efforts, makes an appropriate vessel, then a Divine flow from the highest realms will fill it and the impact is that much greater. This is akin to the idea of a lottery, he who wins is automatically the chosen one, regardless of merits or talents.

The Almighty picked the Jews out of His free will, which is above reason.
This now means that our actions carry His power and might. And unlike the above-menbttioned parable with a buyer/seller, such type of connecting to G-d looks very much like a gift. A transaction can only take palce if the full purchase price of an item is put forward. The purchasing ability depends, of course, on the buyer’s means. With a gift though, it’s a different picture. Even someone of modest means can be gifted with a priceless pocession , such as the Holy Land. And because it is the Will of the Giver, the Jew will posses this Land for all evernity.

(Based on a sicha by the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Blood money

2011-07-12T19:14:00.002-04:00

It’s explained that when the daughtersof Zelophechad demanded from Moses - "Give us an inheritance,etc." Moses did not want to adjudicate the case himself, instead, he brought the matter before G-d "because the daughters ofZelophehad revealed in their claim that their father was not against Moses (he had not taken part in Korach's conspiracy). G-d did indeed listen to their claim and it was judged favorably. Nevertheless, this whole incident has an appearance of giving a "bribe" by the daughters' suggestion, even though bythen it had already been more than 38 years since the incident of Korach!

(The Rebbe now ties this in with Knesset discussions on land transfers to arabs in 1979) And the important teaching from this to the religiousparties in the Knesset that receive money for the yeshivot based on how they vote is that theyshould have the courage, etc. not to participate in debates involving handingover territories to the enemy, Heaven forbid, because those yeshiva subsidies are "bribes !" And the "eyes of thewise are blinded by bribery, etc. !"

How they can call it a "religious achievement"when even by a single “yes” they place, G-d forbid, many Jews in immediate mortaldanger?!

When you get money foreducation by putting G-d forbid, Jews in danger, it’simpossible to get a religious education out of this. It's blood money. And mayit be G-d’s will that it willindeed be that "The word of G-d stands forever.." and everyone willsee that G-d "will not take bribes!" It’simpossible to bribe Him by building more yeshivos, etc. at such a price. And we should beprivileged soon to witness the division of the land as it will be in thefuture!!

(from a Fabrengen of 15 Tammuz, 5739)

ג' חלקים מהתוועדות ט"ו תמוז ה'תשל"ט

Lot, lotto, lottery

2011-07-11T18:21:00.002-04:00

The verse “through lot shall the Land be apportioned” (Numbers 26:55) speaks about the allocation and distribution of the Land of Israel. Spiritually, it will be understood through a statement of the Alter Rebbe that every Jew has a specific mitzvah with which heor she is uniquely connected on the soul level.

This matter is above reason andunderstanding and is like a lottery which has a connotation of being above thenatural order of things. And if the evil inclination is opposing a certainmitzvah, it’s a sign that this specific mitzvah needs to be performed carefullyand meticulously. Just as this concept exists spiritually, it also appliesphysically in the sense that atevery moment and in every place there’s something that needs rectification.

According to many Rishoinim, the idea of a lottery connotes refining and making a clearidentification as to what belongs to whom to the extent that no additionalsupport is required. Likewise, this applies in spirituality where one’sspecific service is uniquely suited to his/her soul. And if a person isexperiencing difficulties in performing certain commandments, that’s an indicationthat they must wage war with their evil inclination. Nevertheless, what to dois made known to him/her in amanner of a lottery (i.e. direct indication, transfer) and all that remains is accept an ownership over whateverthat may be.

From a sicha at the Farbrengen of 12 Tammuz, 5717 (1957)

א' השיחות דהתוועדות י"בתמוז ה'תשי"ז

Jewish Education

2011-07-10T20:44:00.004-04:00

We have to apply specific efforts in matters of educating the young of Israel.

Although there are numerous institutions dedicated to educating our young, there’s still a great number of Jewish children that are in the category of אובד שה “stray sheep.” And even though we live in the United States where people are free to do what they want, there are many parents who send their children to schools that teach everything the opposite of the straight path and Torah values.

The truth is, those parents themselves were educated in similar schools and thus can be viewed as kidnapped children, nevertheless it’s imperative that they be made to understand the requirements of a true Jewish education. In our days, when most such people are in the pursuit of the dollar, they need to be reminded that it’s not the goal of their existence and need to be influenced gently but sincerely to change their ways.

משיחת פורים ה'תשמ"ג

A lion's share

2011-07-07T16:58:00.005-04:00

This week's Torah portion states: "He crouches and lies like a lion and like a lioness; who will dare rouse him? ” (Numbers 24:9)

The Medrash points out that this is a reference to the time of Exile, from King Tzidkiyahu until Moshiach. That even in the time of Exile, the Jewish people are like a lion and a lionesss and there’s no boss over them. It follows that when it comes to Torah and mitzvos, the entire concept of Exile doesn’t apply.

In order not to get accustomed or even think that the world and/or Exile can control a lion and a lioness, we are shown periodically open miracles even in the time of Exile (such as the release and liberation of the Previous Rebbe, 12-13 Tammuz). This is so that we can acknowledge that even now there’s no one except G-d.

This is the teaching from the miracles of 12/13 Tammuz: a Jew has to know and be aware that in any place and at all times he or she is a lion or lioness and are “bnei chorin”, free people in matters relating to Torah and mitzvos and they are not to be concerned with limitations of time and place.

(From a sicha at a 12 Tammuz farbrengen, 5716)

You've got mail

2011-07-04T12:19:00.006-04:00

It's been an accepted practice with the Rebbeim of Chabad from time to time to focus their mental, meditative attention on their followers. Just as a water surface reflects someone looking at it, this type of focusing leads to a strengthening of connection between the Rebbe and his follower.

This is the reason that at times and suddenly a person feels this pull of connection.

This phenomenon is akin to receiving messages from Above reflecting the concept of “shuvu bonim shoyvevim” (return, you wayward children), meaning that even though we don’t hear them physically, our metaphysical selves are capable of receiving them. This is a kind of spiritual "email" that has an effect on the soul in the body and this prompts the person to stirrings of repentance. Along the same lines, that’s how it is with the righteous who are likened to their Creator, who are able to affect this matter of connecting.

As is known, this arousal to connect to the Rebbe doesn’t come from the person but rather from Above and because the Rebbe thought about him or her and, the person is obligated to utilize these stirrings that’s “not his” in action, which is his/hers!

Even when a tzaddik is present in his physical body, he’s able to "broadcast" these waves of arousal. How much more so when a tzaddik isn’t limited to physicality (his body), it becomes then even easier to connect to the Rebbe. And every year this capacity increases.

משיחת י' שבט ה'תשכ"א

One hundred million dollars, cash.

2011-07-01T15:49:00.000-04:00

Do you see what I see?

2011-07-01T13:21:00.011-04:00

Once a woman who had never flown on an airplane before, decided to visit her son in California. Before buying the ticket she wanted to get a blessing from the Rebbe, which she did. Shortly after takeoff, one of the wings caught on fire and the pilot had to make an emergency landing. Afterwards, the woman, upset and furious, ran into the Rebbe's office yelling - "You knew what was going to happen to this flight! How could you have given me your blessing??!"

The Rebbe's response was: "Because of your merits, many Jews on this flight were saved. Is that bad?…"

(as related by R. Yoel Kahn)

The Head of the generation

2011-07-01T02:33:00.003-04:00

On Shabbos, Aug. 17, 1991 (7th of Elul, 5751) during the farbrengen, the Rebbe explained the significance of the head of the generation.

The Rebbe clearly explained the relationship of the head of the genration vis-à-vis other Jews. From other addresses of the Rebbe we know that the head of the generation is the Rebbe himself, it would then follow that Moshe Rabbeinu equals the head of the generation which in turn means the Rebbe.

Here’s what the Rebbe said –
“ He, the leader of the generation is the tzaddik of the generation and is the foundation of Creation, as it says in Proverbs 10:25 “…but the righteous stand firm forever.”

The Tzaddik is the Foundation Stone ( which was the basis of the Temple) and is present in the physical world without any changes including after the burial as opposed to the Ark of the Covenant which was buried (Tractate Yoma54b). He is the judge and prophet present in every generation as a manifestation of a constant Divine force that’s the foundation of the entire existence.

I.e. his existence is evidence of the fact that the world exists and if we were to suppose that the tzaddik is gone, even for a split second, the world could not continue to exist. From this it follows that even after 3 Tammuz, the Rebbe continues his influence even though we can’t see the Rebbe currently. The analogy with the Foundation Stone is telling in the sense that just like it is hidden yet we know that it’s present on the Temple grounds, the same would apply to the Rebbe.

The only other possibility capable of negating the aforementioned would be the presence of another head of the generation but as the Rebbe mentioned many times, beginning in 1951 and numerous times after that, that this generation is the last generation of exile and the first generation of Redemption. And this generation obviously includes the Rebbe himself!

www.moshiach.ru

Tammuz the 12th

2011-06-30T19:12:00.002-04:00

On the verse (Num. 21:21) “Israel sent messengers…”, Rashi explains that “in other places it states that the mission was dependent on Moses … these verses complement each other, this one locks and this one unlocks , i.e. reveals that Moses is Israel and Israel is Moses. The leader of the generation is the whole generation and he is everything.” This idea also explains what is stated further in the verse that “ a star will shoot from Jacob ." There are two explanations to this: 1. This is a reference to Moshiach. 2. This is a reference to all Jews since every Jew has a spark of Moshiach and Moshiach contains each one’s spark. There’s a “spreading” or influence of Moses in every generation including the leader of our generation. Based on that, we will understand the significance of the 12^th of Tammuz,the Previous Rebbe's birthday, the descent of the the soul of the leader (the 6th Rebbe ) down below. This relates to everyone in the generation and it is within the abilities of everyone (only if he submits himself to the leader and accepts his rulership) to be an emissary and to do that which the leader needs to do to the extent that he himself becomes “like him” in actuality.

The Tetragrammoton - השם המפורש

2011-06-28T01:40:00.008-04:00

The Tetragrammoton (YKVK) has a numerical value of 26, but the letters Hey (ה) and Vav (ו) each can be spelled three different ways: (Note: "K" here indicates the letter Hey.)

The Heys: The Vovs: The Yud:

HY= 15; VYV = 22; YVD= 20

HA = 6; VAV = 13;

HH = 10; VV = 12

Thus the YKVK can also be spelled differently depending on the spellings of Hey (ה) and Vav (ו).

There are four general expansions of YKVK.

The first is YUD HY VYV HY (יו"ד ה"י וי"ו ה"י) and is expanded with Yuds. This is the name A"V (ע"ב) its numerical value is 72

The second is YUD HY VAV HY (יו"ד ה"י וא"ו ה"י) and is expanded with Yuds and an Aleph. This is the name SA"G (ס"ג) its numerical value is 63.

The third is YUD HA VAV HA (יו"ד ה"א וא"ו ה"א) and is expanded with Alefs. This is the name M"AH (מ"ה) its numerical value 45.

The fourth is YUD HH VV HH (יו"ד ה"ה ו"ו ה"ה). This is the name B"AN (ב"ן), its numerical value is 52. It is called Ban (ב"ן) though the proper form is Nav (נ"ב), the greater value preceding the lesser. This is to avoid the confusion with Av (ע"ב).

These four spellings-out (Av-72, Sag-63, Mah-45, and Ban-52) correspond to the five Profiles (Partzufim) which are represented by the name YKVK;

72 is Keter and Chochmah, represented by the tip and body of the Yod (י).

Keter and Daat (Knowledge) are seen as unconscious and conscious manifestations of the same principle thus maintaning the ten categories. The 72 Name is thus associated with ChBaD.

63 points to Binah, represented by the first Hey (ה).

45 corresponds to the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin (Miniature Face) represented by the Vav (ו). These are the emotions (midos).

52 corresponds to Malchut, represented by the final Hey (ה).

Together, they correspond to all 10 Sfirot.

Kabbalah and Torah knowledge

2011-06-24T14:06:00.002-04:00

Kabbalah is a hidden Torah (sometimes called "secret", but that isn’t quite right) and literally means "received knowledge". Kabbalah unfolds as an in-depth study of the Torah. If you can picture somehow all the knowledge that mankind possesses in the form of spheres, we get four levels:

Level 1 (topmost) is scientific knowledge. Revealed and studied by direct observation of nature and life.

Level 2, below Level 1, is the written Torah (TaNaKh). Most of it is accessible to study by anyone, Jew or gentile and siginificant lessons in what G-d wants and how to relate to others can be derived from it. One major proviso is that it msut be studied with the classical commentaries, such as Rashi, et al. to get first of all, the proper meaning and secondly, to understand it and be able to apply it. It will also help, given enough depth, in scientific studies.

Level 3 is the Oral Torah. Without the Oral Tradition, the study of the Tanakh is limited, the Oral Tradition adds color and dimension, at the very least, and the study of the Talmud, which is part of the Oral Tradition, by most opinions, is a significant component of the commandment to study Torah. This level mostly pertains to Jews as the gentiles’ mission is “yishuv ha’olam”, i.e. settling or making the world civilized through the fulfillment of the Seven Noahide Laws and for that, the preceding two levels are more than adequate.  

Level 4 is the hidden Torah, the Kabbalah. Accordingly, its study supplements the Oral Torah. Hence, just as the study of the Oral Torah devolves on Jews only (for the most part), likewise, the study of Kabbalah is also restricted.  

  Level 1 is accessible by default to everyone. Levels 2 and 3 are conditional, i.e. open to any Jew but limited to gentiles insofar as their need to fulfill their Noahide obligations, that is, study of only those parts of the Oral Torah that help with the Noahide cammandments. Otherwise it’s considered infringement on someone else’s heritage. Level 4 is concealed in general and one needs to expend a great deal of effort to attain it and properly use.

 Overall, the study of each succeeding level without mastery of the previous makes (with the exception of Level 1, the sciences) no practical sense and is of limited value.   Realistically speaking, the study of pure Kabbalah is not easily accessible or practical even to most Jews as there’s plenty to achieve in levels 2 and 3 and to most people Kabbalah is esoteric and is poorly understood. The one exception is the study of chassidus which can be viewed as a subset or superset (depending on one’s view) of Kabbolah which, unlike pure Kabbolah itself, is quite necessary for the practical performance of mitzvoth and maintenance of a relationship with G-d.

 Kabbalah demands of its students fairly stringent requirements. And even those who are able to read and somewhat comprehend the works of Kabbalah, if done without the proper approach, cannot be considered real kabbalists.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz on Chassidus

2011-06-22T12:22:00.008-04:00

Q: How is chassidus relevant to Jews today?

R. Steinsaltz: My background is such that chassidus was the only way that Judaism appealed to me. To ignore chassidus is like going back to the Judaism of the Gemorrah and ignoring the Acharonim. The reason chassidism did not spread all over the world was assimilation and the destruction of the Jews, due to the pogroms in Russia and the Holocaust.

Q: Can chassidus provide any understanding and comfort with respect to these tragic events?

R. Steinsaltz: Since the expulsion from Spain, the only theology that our people have had is the theology of the Kabbalah. Kabbalah is accepted not only by chassidim, but also by those who opposed it. The Vilna Gaon was possibly more deeply involved with and wrote more about Kabbalah than many of the chasidic masters put together. Even the Sefardim have been taken with the Kabbalah. So kabbalistic ideas don't belong only to the chassidic point of view. They are a part of a general Jewish psychology and theology.

R. Chaim Vital in his kabbalistic work Sefer Etz Hayyim writes, that our world is such that it's mostly evil. Evil is the ruler of this world and there is very little good in it. In the 18th century dispute between Leibnitz and Voltaire, Leibnitz said we lived in the best of all possible worlds, Voltaire mocked Leibnitz and felt that we lived in the worst possible world. From a Jewish point of view, my answer is: "We are living in the worst of all possible worlds in which there is still hope." There are worlds below us in which there is no hope at all, and this is what we call "Hell." But to speak of the entire structure of the world: it really is a world teetering on the edge. If it were to be just ever so slightly worse than it actually is, its basic structure would become entirely hopeless; the balance would be irreversible and evil would be irrevocable.
Evil can be conquered, but we live in a world in which we have to deal with a vast amount of evil. This is not usually understood as a Jewish idea, is really a statement of what I would call "Jewish optimism." If a person sees the world as warm, fuzzy, he's a fool. An optimist is one who, in spite of seeing the terrible facts, believes that there can be improvement. If everything were all right, then you wouldn't have to be an optimist. I do believe that we, as Jews, are optimists because we are a people with hope and we have a theology of hope.

Q: But has G-d placed us in this worst of all possible, but hopeful worlds for a reason?

R. Steinsaltz: You're referring to certain mysteries that simply can't be grasped. One such is the purpose of Creation. The Midrash mentions that the Almighty had a taiva (desire), to create a Creation and if you have a desire, you don't ask "why". A taiva can't be explained. To answer a question about the "why" of Creation, can be proven to be impossible. Such questions are unanswerable, not because we lack knowledge, but by definition. Yet this much can be said: When you speak about the world from this point of view, it is, so to speak, an experiment in existence, an experiment where rectification is possible. So in a way, existence in any other world is not "proof." Proof in the most extreme case occurs only when you can do things under the worst of circumstances. If I want to test a new car, the way to do it is to put it through the most extreme conditions. I cannot test it by driving it off a cliff, but I can test it on the roughest terrain where I come to the edge of a cliff and have to stop. How is a new plane tested? They put it through nearly impossible conditions short of the plane disintegrating. Otherwise the whole experiment doesn't prove anything. The same with Creation. Creation would have been pointless unless it were a Creation under precisely these difficult circumstances. So, theologically speaking, the worst possible world in which there is yet hope is the only world in which Creation makes sense.

Q: You have made an analogy to a mathematical problem that can only be solved by positing a point in a third dimension. Could you elaborate on this and could you explain what the problem on earth is that we need to solve and how does the point in the higher dimension solve it?

R. Steinsaltz: I made a similar point when I spoke to a group of science historians in Russia. It was a group of people, supposedly atheists, and I argued that without getting to the fifth dimension, problem in this world can't be solved. By problems of the world I mean all the basic questions, not just the theological and philosophical ones such as "What is the purpose of things?" "Why are we here?" or "What is the justification for the things we experience?" But I am speaking of other, more mundane questions as well. I don't believe that you can resolve problems of economic justice or social equity from within any given "earthly" framework. This is because such frameworks can't assure their own success. You can show, for example, that there are many elements that will make even an egalitarian framework socially and economically problematic and which will lead to its collapse. So most of the questions of the world, economic, ecological, philosophical come to an impasse and are unsolvable within the framework of our own world. This is because the world contains enough contradictions, enough destructive elements, so as to eliminate any possibility of a solution. The only way we can solve these questions is through movement into a higher dimension or world.

One example: you cannot have an egalitarian society in which justice prevails unless you have a belief in something higher. Democracy is based, strangely enough, on a religious principle. Democracy would be totally irrational unless we held firm to the belief that we have souls and that these souls are all equal to one another. As it states in Orwell's 1984, one can't rationally make the statement that all men are equal, this is simply because it is obviously untrue. People are not equal from any point of view. Therefore, to create a society based on the notion that the vote of a wise person carries the same weight as that of a drug addict, you must posit that they have equal souls. This is also true with respect to the rights of man as well. Why should a person who is the highest intellectual be regarded as equal to somebody who is ignorant or who is a criminal with respect, for example, to the right to be saved by a given medical procedure? Therefore, this belief that people have souls and that souls are of inestimable, equal value, is the source of every social structure we hold dear.

Q: And that's how that point in the fifth dimension solves the equation?

Rabbi Steinsaltz: Yes, without having the (unprovable) notion that we have souls, we would be unable to have a just society. An egalitarian society would collapse under the weight of people's natural differences. The notion in The Talmud that one should have self sacrifice with respect to bloodshed is based on the question: "What makes you believe that your blood is redder than the blood of another?" One might well answer: "What do you mean `what makes me believe ...'? This guy is a no-good lowlife and I am so and so, the great. I should be killed to save the life of this miserable wretch?" But by Jewish law, if am ordered, at the expense of my own life to kill him, I cannot. I must be killed rather than kill another person regardless of any difference in status. Because who knows that my blood is redder and I am superior? This statement serves as the basis for the very possibility of law. Where does it come from?

Q: So you feel that the world is riddled with these contradictions and in every case, not just here, the higher world is needed to resolve them?:

R. Steinsaltz: Yes, but that's just one example. We don't have enough time for all the world's other problems.

Sing Yechi ! שירו יחי

2011-06-22T02:32:00.002-04:00

Click on image to play video
ללחוץ על התמונה כדי להפעיל את הוידאו

Tanya 17 Sivan

2011-06-19T11:16:00.004-04:00

The purpose of the contractions brought about by Gevurah(severity) is also motivated by Chesed (kindmess), this concealment makes creation possible. Gevurah and Chesed are fused. What makes the fusion possible is that they are both united with the light of the Ein Sof. Even when in a revealed state and appear to be two disparate entities, they are essentially one.

The Name Elokim is the Name indicating the attribute of Gevurah and tzimtzum. Each of G‑d’s Names denotes a particular Divine attribute. The Name pronounced Keil is the attribute of Chesed. The Name that indicates the attribute of Gevurah or tzimtzum is Elokim; i.e., when the light of the Ein Sof garbs itself in Gevurah to bring about its own tzimtzum and concealment, it is known by the Name Elokim.

It is also numerically equal to hateva (nature) or 86. “Nature” signifies the ordered way of the world. Because it's repetitive, we're accustomed to it and take it for granted. We're not conscious of the Divine power and life-force concealed in those things which have an established order and are repeated constantly.

The Name Elokim conceals the light that brings the world into existence. The supernal light constantly creates the world ex nihilo but Elokim conceals this light, so that it's invisible to created beings, so it looks as if the world exists — without having to be constantly renewed, as if permanently programmed — and is conducted according to the laws of nature, independently of any supernatural influence. Thus, even those things which are observed to undergo some degree of renewal are also perceived as “the way of nature,” inasmuch as they follow these seemingly immutable laws.
The word טבע (“nature”), can mean “entrenched” and “submerged”. This means that the laws of nature are so “entrenched” in creation that it is difficult to detect the ongoing process of its renewal. Also, just as a submerged object is completely concealed by water, so, too, is the Divine life-force utterly “submerged” and concealed within created beings.

And this Name Elokim, not as it exists in its supernal source, but as it acts through the attribute of Gevurah, so that the world appears to be conducted in a natural manner, is a shield and a sheath for the Name Havayah, The Divine Name Havayah is like the illuminating sun, while the Name Elokim conceals its light as does the sun’s shield, thereby enabling created beings to benefit from it. It conceals the light and life-force which flows from the Name Havayah and bringing creation into existence from naught, this being the purpose of Havayah, the Name itself meaning “to bring into existence.” This light and life-force is concealed by Elokim, so that it should not be revealed to the creatures, which would thereby become absolutely nullified.

It is only through the concealment effected by the Name Elokim that created beings are able to exist.

The quality of this Gevurah and tzimtzum is also an aspect of Chesed, through which the world is built. This is an allusion to the verse that states: “For I declared that the world be built through [the attribute of] Chesed.” For inasmuch as the world could not possibly have been created without the tzimtzum and concealment afforded by the Divine Name Elokim, it follows that the ultimate intent of this tzimtzum is actually Chesed.

And this is the quality of Gevurah which is included in Chesed. I.e., this is a form of Gevurah through which an act of Chesed is accomplished. As such it is included within Chesed.

Religion Done Right!

2011-06-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

!א גיתן שבת

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz on the anti-circumcision movement

2011-06-16T16:10:00.002-04:00

Propaganda against circumcision is neither new nor altruistic. Its periodic manifestations seem to stem from the psychological issues of its disseminators. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered circumcision to be un-aesthetic. In the Roman Empire, circumcision (except for Jews) was a capital crime. Whatever their reasons, they at least did not purport to disapprove on bogus medical or moral grounds.
In particular, the idea that circumcision can be compared on any level to the genital mutilation of women is simply delusional. Meanwhile, circumcision’s benefits include reducing the risk of HIV infection by about 60%.

Likewise, the notion that parents do not have any right over “someone else’s body” is obviously not correct. Parental authority is well established, from piercing toddlers’ ears, to deciding whether children will be born at all.

On the other hand, the religious importance of circumcision for Muslims and Jews is very great. Jews consider circumcision to be “the covenant of the flesh,” a very important religious and mystical tie of the people with the Lord.

The Breadline

2011-06-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

"...remember to set aside some of it as an offering to me. ²⁰From the first batch of bread dough that you make after each new grain harvest, make a loaf of bread and offer it to me, just as you offer grain. ²¹All your descendants must follow this law and offer part of the first batch of bread dough."

Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:18-21

It’s explained in Midrash that whoever fulfills the mitzvah of (separating) challah (bread), it’s as if they nullified idol worship! How so? A person may feel that there is a need to daily plow, sow, grow, harvest, collect, winnow, mill, etc. grain to have bread to eat. This is, in a more expanded view, a metaphor for all manner of sustenance. Seemingly, a person may claim that it’s their merit and efforts within the natural order of things that bring the daily bread and this is done by getting involved in the sowing through baking process. Comes along the mitzvah of challah and proclaims that “the first batch of bread dough ” is given to G-d and not as charity but as an obligation and as a recognition that sustenance is not due to one’s strength but it’s really G-d, Who gives the power to succeed. And specifically through this, we bring blessings upon our homes. By doing this mitzvah, we nullify the appearance that natural occurrences in the world are somehow extraneous to G-d or outside of Him, i.e. not controlled by Him. I.e. we strip away that layer of reality that masquerades as forces outside of G-d's sovereignty. One could argue that, seemingly, gentiles also enjoy bread (sustenance) but without the added "burden" of mitzvah of challah. Seemingly it may be so, however, when Jews perform this commandment, they reveal and "blatantly" so, the truth that also in "natural" occurrences there is “ein od milvado”, that there’s nothing except for Him only. This concept isn’t necessarily demonstrated when we study Torah or perform mitzvahs but rather when we ‘re out in the world/field and reveal also there Emes Havayeh (the truth of G-d)

From the sichah of Sivan 26^th, 5736 (1976)

An English Puzzle

2011-06-15T18:51:00.002-04:00

Kate Middleton who recently married Prince William is Jewish according to an Israeli sephardic rabbi who claims that both parents of Kate’s mother were Jewish.

But what about the prince? One source maintains that Princess Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, was Jewish (born Frances Ruth Burke Roche—a Rothschild). If that's the case then Princess Diana and both her sons would be Jews.
   The London Daily Mail quotes sources that Diana was conceived during her mother’s affair with the Jewish banker tycoon Sir James Goldsmith (originally Goldschmidt). The report says that Frances was estranged from her husband, Earl Spencer (Viscount Althorp), and had an affair with Sir James Goldsmith just at the time that Diana was conceived. Strengthening the case, a report points to striking resemblances between Princess Diana and Sir James Goldsmith’s other three children, Zak, Ben, and Jemima Goldsmith.
   If that's true then Diana would be Jewish with a Jewish mother (Frances Ruth Burke Roche—AKA Rothschild) AND a Jewish father (Sir James Goldsmith). In turn William, the future King of England, would be a Jew.

Chabad of Buckingham Palace, anyone??

The Final Hammer Blow to Exile

2011-06-13T12:02:00.004-04:00

"The Exile is over, ladies and gentlemen of the jury."   If you ever took part in an auction or were present at a trial (not as a defendant, hopefully), you probably noticed the "man with the gavel." It's common practice worldwide that when a debate or an auction is finished, the presiding judge or auctioneer uses a special hammer (gavel) to signal the end of the proceedings.

In accordance with the well-known instruction of the Baal Shem Tov, a Jew should learn from everything he sees and hears. December 5, 1987 was the anniversary of the Rebbe's wedding (14 Kislev), the Rebbe then announced that we need to complete all the prep work in exile in a manner of "the blow of the hammer". Hence, the Rebbe concluded: if anyone hears the sound of a hammer, then they need to know that the only reason for this is to remind them of the need to complete their personal "work."   But what exactly is this work or where is that last nail waiting to be hammered in?

According to the Rebbe, we do not know the exact answer, that's why we need to perform another commandment and then another, and another ... Then it is possible that among them would be that which was required of us to do.   Four years later, in 1991, the Rebbe told us that all the work in exile had been completed and we need to greet Moshiach, in actuality. Therefore, by fulfilling mitzvos, we must bear in mind that the world is already fixed and this is only necessary for the Redemption to begin unfolding.

from www.moshiach.ru

Messianic Tsunami - הצונאמי המשיחי

2011-06-10T05:51:00.005-04:00

This is an excerpt from an address by R. Adin Steinsaltz on the occasion of the Rebbe's centennial in 2002. It mentions tsunami and is dated March 11. March 11, 2011 is, of course, when a devastating tsunami hit Japan.

The full article is here.

"...When we speak about the coming of Moshiach, we speak about a mega-event, a major phenomenon that changes everything. We may not be fully prepared and we don't know the how, what, or when of this event, but we are talking about major changes. One of the consequences of this statement is that, if we are expecting things to change in a major way, we will have to make major changes, too. Next to the truly momentous changes we are anticipating, all of our trivial arguments shrink into trifles; our disputes are comic, not just painful. Many of the things that people fight about are the sheerest, shallowest nonsense, especially if we compare these quarrels to the establishment of an entirely different order. ... Who will remember all these foolish people who were fighting about such things? When the tsunami is about to envelop the world...everything will be moved..."

Rebbe's letter, Eve of Shavuos, 1960

2011-06-06T15:24:00.005-04:00

With God's help, the Days of Restrictions.
5720 (1960) – 200^th yahrtzeit and ascension of the Baal Shem Tov

Brooklyn, New York

Peace and blessings!

Days of limitations which are days immediately prior to the giving of the Torah, require a particularly deep and inner reflection about what the Torah is.

The holy Torah is not a collection of laws on different subjects, rather Torah surrounds the entire person from his first moment to his last, as well as all aspects of everyday life.

This is the inner meaning of Torah as a life-teaching.

Moreover, as explained by the Sages, Torah envelops the entire creation in all of its details. Just as before constructing a building. one needs to draw up plans. likewise, the Creator outlined in the Torah all of creation to its lowest level in inanimate nature.

And this leads to one of the most fundamental teachings of general Chassidus as the Baal Shem Tov points out, that the words in the Torah: "Forever, the L-rd, thy word is established in heaven" mean that the divine word continues without interruption - "Let there be firmament" - stands firm in the heaven, as the Alter Rebbe explains in detail in the teachings of Chabad Chassidus, especially in the book "The Gate of Unity and Faith .”

This means that all that there is - in heaven above or on earth below, all the details of their components - are alive and exist only by the words of G-d that creates, maintains and animates them without the slightest interruption.

This implies another fundamental idea - that a private providence - direct Divine Knowledge and a general providence, surrounding all the details, refer to all creatures ranging from man, the crown of creation, to the very smallest grain of sand.

Hence, we can conclude that, in essence, it's a clear law in the Shulchan Aruch and a main idea of Chassidus, highlighted by the Baal Shem Tov that serving the Most High should be in all ways - in all our interactions and in detail, starting from the study of Torah and observance of 613 commandments, to the most simple of actions and events in everyday life.

And from all the events and phenomena we need to draw lessons in love of G-d and fear of Him. These are sources for a Jew’s getting his spiritual energies to fulfill the Torah and the commandments, instructions and prohibitions. Thorough this, a Jew becomes filled with this internal life force and carries out his/hers Jewish duties in the best manner possible..

Such thoughts are especially appropriate on the eve of the Baal Shem Tov’s yahrtzeit which should lead to implementation of all of this in all aspects of daily life, whether personal life or in general terms in all that happens in the world.

The spreading out of sources of Chassidus, which is an integral, inner part of the Torah, will reach the farthest points of all creation. This will speed up the true and complete liberation through the righteous Moshiach, when all creations will feel that "I am the -L-rd, thy G-d. "

With blessings for kabolas Torah

Be simcha and be’pnimiyus

Menachem Schneerson

Awesome video

2011-06-05T15:18:00.001-04:00

Plains Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.