Zelda bas Lieba, Bat Sheva bat Adi, Rachel bas Esther, Asher Baruch ben Avraham and Yisroel Binyamin Rafael ben Shulamit need our prayers.
Avraham Nissan wrote the quote of the week based on Sotah 49B: “The world as we know it is ending quick as predicted this generation of leadership is the face of the dog we are alone lost mis-guided .But as a collective counter-force we can usher in the Redemption in a glorious manner. This will happen either way Hashem gave us free will to be a partner if we so choose but if not Hashem will go forward with his divine plan and we will probably have much suffering as a wake up call .”
FRAUD WARNING FROM THE VAAD OF MIAMI/BALTIMORE/CHICAGO ETC.: This subject is in town and claims to be collecting for a kiruv organization. However, he has not received a certificate from us.
Moreover, he claims to have a certificate from the Vaad in Baltimore, and also from Chicago. We contacted both of these Vaadim, and they don't have any record of giving him a certificate for such an organization. The Chicago information for the last few years is available to us online, and we didn't see any entry with his name (searched for all people with initials A. R). Therefore we requested that he give us the certificate number and date, and the name of the organization as stated on the document, and he refused to tell us. In fact, he has been uncooperative with and accusatory of us. He never provided local references that could be checked out. When people refuse to provide legitimate information to us, we have to consider all possibilities, including in this case forgery.
The subject is known to be a driver in Baltimore for other meshulachim. We have been informed by people in this community that he is requesting checks be made payable to the Agudah in Baltimore. I understand that it is their policy that if he came to them with such checks, they will not accept and cash the checks, in the absence of a proper certificate from them. However, it is a practice of some underhanded collectors to make up a story to another meshulach (and since he drives them, this is a definite possibility) and arrange to have a certified meshulach cash it for him in Baltimore. The same thing undoubtedly happens here.
If you do see him and he shows the Vaad certificates, please note at least the certificate number from each of the 2 Vaadim, and if possible the date and the name of the organization. If possible, a photocopy would be appropriate, and please notify us – the Vaad of Miami. Also Rav Heinemann Shlita of Baltimore knows of this corruption.
Parsha Chukas Part 2
This Parsha starts out with dying and purification from tuma. Of course without a Temple and without a Parah Aduma (Red Heifer) we are all Tumay today. In fact I took my visiting son, Asher to see the graves of my step-father and mother. I found no better a place to write about death and illness except in perhaps with Avraham after the bris and then after the death of Sara.
As I started writing last week, the OU Spring Issue of Action was mostly about visiting the ill and stories of dying from a point of Chezuk of a dying woman and her efforts to make the world a better place person by person to a Rav telling an elderly frum man that it is OK to be angry at G-D for giving him cancer. But talk to G-D and tell HIM why you are angry as HE has shoulders wide enough to vent one’s anger.
I was reading this as I had driven my friend Yacov Armand ben Cecilia to the Hadassah Hospital and I was looking in as an observer. The next day I was in the emergency room and not even given a blanket that I requested from a nurse at Tel HaShomer. In fact the nurse did not respond when I pressed the button until a frum girl saying Tehillim did me a favor to call the nurse. I also needed Zantac – fortunately I had my own supply of Maalox and took 7 in place of a 300 mg Zantac.
So much for the great medical service I received. The night shift doctor finally made it a point to visit me at 5 AM so that by 9 AM I got 150 mg of Zantac. Without outside pressure my mother OBM once needed oxygen but she was out in the hall way. Without my visit who knows when I would have lost her. Being a Paramedic, I know what it means understaffed medical personnel but somebody should try somehow to fulfill minimum requests of patients and needs. Without outside help a person could be lost. Don’t think that I am complaining about myself but the whole understaffing of hospitals by the government and our medical system.
Even a private operation in which the parents of a little girl paid for went wrong because a doctor purposely fell asleep during the operation and purposely turned off a monitor which could have saved the little one’s life. That doctor received 7 years in jail but that will not revive the dead girl.
The Talmud tells us that a visit to an ill person takes away 1/60th of the disease. However, 60 or even 600 visitors will not cure the disease. The articles brought down that humor not only helps the patient live longer but also speeds up their cures. In an article by Steve Lipman, he brought down how Eliyahu was walking through the Shuk (bazaar/market place) with Rabbi Broka. The last asked the Prophet, “Is there anybody in the Shuk who has a place in HaOlam Haba?” Eliyahu replied, “These two men!” And Rabbi Broka inquires, “What was their great merit?” The Novi replied, “These men are jokesters and their humor cheers up many.”
All the more so for clowns and humorists who cheer up cancer and other ill patients and relieve their pain and prolong their lives will have a place in the next world.
Rabbi Dr. Zev Shostak Shlita writes about the stages of what happens to a person suffering from a fatal disease. In 1969 on her book “Death and Dying” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross writes five stages in the dying process.
1) Denial (this can’t be happening to me.)
2) Anger (Why is this happening to me?)
3) Bargaining (I promise I’ll be a better person if …)
4) Digression (I don’t care anymore. I can’t go on this way.)
5) Acceptance (I’m ready for what ever comes.)
These stages when they occur don’t necessarily follow the same order. They involve family members too. An only unmarried son may want a Rabbi or friend to talk to his mother to let go of her apron strings.
I had no answer when Esther bat Chana came to me and said, “Why me? How come not Achmed Amijenadad or Nasrallah? I told her that it was not in my power to known and understand all the ways of HASHEM. I know HIS ways are perfect but from down here we cannot see them. Rabbi Shostak told his patient that it was OK to be angry with HASHEM but tell HASHEM why you are angry. Both approaches are correct and perhaps the good Dr. Rabbi’s idea of HASHEM is big enough to understand your anger is a better approach than mine. The product of the conversation is listening to and relieving the angry.
My late cousin Rebbitzen Chedva Silberfarb Z”L bargained that she would no longer speak lashon hara and fight the phenomena known as lashon hara. Her bargaining paid off from ten days of life to three years of life. Both with her and the late Yacov Glicksman Z”L, I did not notice either stage two or four as perhaps their fundamental trust and honest belief in the straightness of HASHEM’s path that they could not be angry at HASHEM nor at their relatively young ages with young children (and a aircraft radar defense system for Am Yisrael and the west in Yacov’s case) did either digress and stop caring. They wanted to live. Yacov wanted to finish his book because he had a DEAD LINE. And Chedva wanted to see her children grow up. Yacov left 8 orphans and Chedva 3. Having been orphaned at 21.5 years old, it was hard on me to see baby Nissim there through teenage Aryeh say Kaddish for their father. Nothing pleased me more this past year but to photograph Chana bas Chedva with her daughter named after Chedva.
I don’t want to go into the devastation of parents and spouses of cancer or heart victims.
20:1 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
Up until this time, nobody knew that because of the merit of Miriam the Congregation received water. Once she died the mythical well of Miriam dried up.
2 And there was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people strove with Moses, and spoke, saying: 'Would that we had perished when our brethren perished before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, to die there, we and our cattle? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.' 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces; and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. ….
Again Moshe and Aaron fall on their faces because of the mutterings of the people. This for us is a weekly occurrence lately but part of the complaints that these great leaders had to deal with.
22 And they journeyed from Kadesh; and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came unto mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 'Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against My word at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.' 27 And Moses did as the LORD commanded; and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel
I mentioned how Aaron removed his garments except for his pants and gave them all to Elazar. He then was left alone in the cave and the Shechina came and gave Aaron a kiss and too his Neshama out. Because of the Incense and Shalom between husbands and wives that Aaron did; Samael, the angel of death had no power over him. As Hillel said, “Be a student of Aaron – love Shalom and pursue (stalk) Shalom. The peace process of Aaron was not “peace now” which could lead to appeasement at any price and war tomorrow but peace for life or eternity. It is no wonder that the Holy Spirit of the Shechina would kiss Aaron and withdraw his soul. In fact in all our reincarnation stories, we see Zimri, Cozbi, Moshe Rabbaynu, Pinchas, David HaMelech reincarnating but I have never ever heard of a reincarnation of Aaron HaCohain if you have please e-mail me at my AOL address Rachamim47.
Moshe has lost his elder siblings and family partners. He is basically alone in leading Am Yisrael until his own death. From now on until the pairs of scholars mentioned in Perkei Avos, there will be only one leader in Yisrael and he will take care of all functions.
21:1 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said: 'If Thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.'
This is exactly stage three of a person with a fatal disease but in this case an attack on Am Yisrael by Arad. To get a military idea of the area, one has to be on Shochat Junction to Arad road. Between the Nevatim Air Base on the right side of the road and the buildings of the town of modern Arad ahead to the left side of the horizon there is on the left a road running 90 degrees to the main road going directly north. This road rises to the top of the Arad plateau. At the area of the summit is Tel Arad the ruins of this walled city with a giant well for drinking water (sort of a pool about 6 to 10 meters in diameter and 20 or more meters deep – from my memory inside the wall. There was also a stone quarry for catapulting on the enemy without the walls. The walls of the city were about 6 to 8 meters high making it difficult to scale but not impossible for young strong soldiers to do so.
3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and the name of the place was called Hormah.
This may have occurred before the death of Aaron because Tel Arad is on the western side of the Dead Sea and Har Hor is on the eastern side. It would be with sheep, cattle, camels and children a journey of at least a few days. It appears to me to be a combination of a number of things here.
1) The King of Arad was the ruler in charge of defending Eretz Canaan from an attack from the South. He therefore went to battle against a massive immigration of people coming out of the African Continent. His object to take a few slaves and out of fear drive the refugees away.
2) The Kings Sichon and Og seemed to be the north eastern flank of Eretz Canaan and to defend this area from invaders. They too are wiped out.
3) The Plishtim were to guard the sea side and they were not in the attacks nor were they really one of the Canaanite tribes – Hittites, Hivites, Jebushi, etc. – so they were never official at war with Am Yisrael until the time of Judges and Samuel. Finally David and Shlomo take care of them. The whole name Palestine was invented by a Roman Emperor who knew this history to embarrass and belittle the Jews remaining in Eretz Yisrael after the second destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and Yerushalayim by Hadrian and Hesperian.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became impatient because of the way. 5 And the people spoke against God, and against Moses: 'Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.'
Hur, Miriam, Aaron were gone and the replacement generation to those who died at the time of the desire for quail have now arisen and forgotten the history of the past 40 years.
6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said: 'We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us.' And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.' 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
Many school children in Israel know the song in Hebrew which goes: “Does Moshe’s staff make war (on Amalek)….? Does Moshe’s pole with the serpent (doctor’s symbol nowadays) revive the dead or kill people? However, when the people turned their heads and looked upwards to their father in heaven only then did they get saved!” – The Talmud Bavli.
10 And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is in front of Moab, toward the sun-rising. 12 From thence they journeyed, and pitched in the valley of Zered. 13 From thence they journeyed, and pitched on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites.--For Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites; 14 wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of the LORD: Vaheb in Suphah, and the valleys of Arnon, 15 And the slope of the valleys that inclines toward the seat of Ar, and leans upon the border of Moab.-- 16 And from thence to Beer; that is the well whereof the LORD said unto Moses: 'Gather the people together, and I will give them water.' 17 Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well--sing ye unto it-- 18 The well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people delved, with the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness to Mattanah; 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, by the top of Pisgah, which looks down upon the desert.
21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying: 22 'Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border.' 23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel. 24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities; and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon. 27 Wherefore they that speak in parables say: Come ye to Heshbon! let the city of Sihon be built and established! 28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it hath devoured Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of Arnon. 29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh; he hath given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, unto Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 We have shot at them--Heshbon is perished--even unto Dibon, and we have laid waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba. 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. 33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Fear him not; for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.' 35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him remaining; and they possessed his land.
22:1 And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho
Parsha Balak
In previous years I discussed the divinations of Balak via a bird and Bilaam making himself into a big shot as if he were G-D’s right hand man and that he can get the L-RD to do his will. Come on and stop the fairytale mister you want to curse a nation to death but you would stab with a sword a donkey which told you off.
22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?' 29 And Balaam said unto the ass: 'Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee.' 30 And the ass said unto Balaam: 'Am not I you ass, upon which thou hast ridden Medrash and performed carnal acts upon all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?' And he said: 'Nay.' 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him: 'Wherefore hast thou smitten your ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary unto me; 33 and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.' 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD: 'I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stood in the way against me; now therefore, if it displeases thee, I will get me back.' 35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam: 'Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
G-D told him that the people were blessed but he did not relate this to Balak as he wanted to play (as we say in Yiddish Moe the big shot)
23:1 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.' 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
This is for the days of the week. Hoping to catch the Bnei Yisrael. However, the power of Shabbos observance alone was capable of nullifying the curses had he said one or two as Shabbos has the power of the other six plus the holiness of itself. It is the source of the blessing. (See Lecha Dodi)
3 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the LORD will come to meet me; and whatsoever He shows me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height. 4 And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.' 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.' 6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak brings me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate Israel.' 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine end be like his!
According to our Medrash Bilaam wanted Pharaoh to throw the boys into the Nile. Yisro opposed and Iyov became scared and fled the wickedness there. Bilaam had come to curse the Bnei Yisrael despite the original warnings in his dreams, despite the Angel and the Donkey story told in Chapter 22. Now again hee hee – he thought maybe I will get the hour when G-D curses just as one sees the rooster’s red look white in the pale dawn’s light for a fraction of a second. However, while he tried to curse, the L-RD withheld his anger these days. Bilaam failed and instead of cursing and lying to Balak, he now is forced against his will to tell the truth.
Not only can he not curse whom G-D has not curse but he praises the dust of Yacov. He even prays to the die the death of the righteous. But note he wants to die like the righteous and get a place in heaven but not live the righteous. He is like Kim Yen ILL of N. Korea. He bans pornographic stuff, the internet, whiskey and other western decadence but for himself he wants this life but he wants to die before his people like the esthetics that he forces them to be. So there is a whole different vision that he has versus the righteous ways and world. On perhaps a similar analogy is the great Zionist in the USA who waits until he retires to move to Israel on his US pension and settle for the health funds here vs. the same money in the States and the high cost of Medical Insurance and worst service.
11 And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.' 12 And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?' 13 And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou may see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.' 14 And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.' 16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.' 17 And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the LORD spoken?' 18 And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good? 20 Behold, I am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back. 21 None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them. 22 God who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox. 23 For there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it said of Jacob and of Israel: 'What hath God wrought!' 24 Behold a people that rise up as a lioness, and as a lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 25 And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.' 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?'
Balak, just like Pharaoh, is looking for ways to out smart G-D and curse the Bnei Yisrael. Again another blessing. Balak is furious with Bilaam now but knows that he just needs that one curse.
24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened; 4 The saying of him who hears the words of God, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes: 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel! 6 As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters; 7 Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters; and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
This could be the name or title of the Amalek King or a high fortified place.
8 God who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be every one that curseth thee. 10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honor.' 12 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Spoke I not also to thy messengers that thou didst send unto me, saying: 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what the LORD speaks, that will I speak?
With all his unconventional weapons against the Bnei Yisrael, Balak fails because G-D protects against all his cunning, scheming and boundless hatred towards
the Bnei Yisrael.
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.
Bilaam knows that the L-RD hates immodesty and idols so what is better than a fertility cult in the middle of a public toilet for this purpose.
25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, A type of tree and there was a grove here so they called the above like the grove. and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto the Baal of Peor; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.' 5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel: 'Slay ye every one his men that have joined themselves unto the Baal of Peor.'
Baal Peor was the stupidest idol worship of them all. It was basically a public toilet for bowel moments. In Sanhedrin one Jew took a stone after his bowel movement and smeared it on the idol as an embarrassment the Priest came running out and said such powerful worship of Peor he had never seen in his life and to think a Jew could have such Kavanah and Hidurim with Divkus in pray. Needless to say the poor Yid had to bring a Sin offering (Chatas) to the Beis HaMikdash for having done so by accident.
The story of Zimri and Pinchas is mentioned below. Zimri takes the professional Escort and likes what she does so much he wants her in his tent. No conversion, no marriage, no asking permission or approval – he is brazenly creating a fact in the tent to flaunt before Moshe and the Sanhedrin even if only done in his tent. Since Am Yisrael knows it is indiscreet. The indiscression done brought down the wrath of G-D as if done by one in private that is one thing. But here the head of a tribe – like a governor running around with this mistress in public – not only a non-citizen and a non-Israeli but somebody from the depths of depravity of idol worship the worst cult of them all with a fertility ring to it. Oy the shame of it all and in brazen public disorder in the face of Moshe and Elazar HaCohain.
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. 7 And when Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.
Some people received a Parsha in their name like Noach and Sara because of their righteousness and Balak because of his wickedness. Pinchas next week becomes our Parsha from zealous righteousness.
Halacha
A husband's obligations to his wife are documented in a contract called a Ketubah. The Chattan gives a signed and witnessed Ketubah to his Kallah under the Chupa. The Ketubah must be in the wife's possession for as long as she remains married. Anytime the Ketubah gets lost, the couple needs to immediately contact a Rabbi, since they are not allowed to live together without a valid Ketubah. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 145:11
In this week's Torah Reading we will read all about Bilaam the Wizard's failed attempts to curse the Jews. The Torah commands us to kill all witches and wizards. (Shemos 22:17) It's forbidden to consult with soothsayers, witches, wizards and their ilk. To treat a life threatening situation that seems to be caused by the occult one may use a non-Jewish witch or wizard. (Whether witches and wizards really exist, or if they are simply muggers adept at sleight of hand, is a matter of dispute amongst Rabbinical authorities.) Source Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 166:5 A little humor here – if Dorothy was Jewish she would never have consulted the Wizard of Oz and would have had problems getting home to Kansas.
In this week's Torah Reading we will read all about Bilaam the Wizard's failed attempts to curse the Jews. It's a Torah prohibition to curse a fellow Jew.
E.g. Saying "Darn him!" is a sin. Cursing a fellow Jew using any reference to Hashem - in any language - would result in 39 lashes by Bet Din. E.g. Saying "The Almighty should punish Ploni" is a Torah prohibition for which one deserves 39 lashes by Bet Din. Using G-d's "real" name in any language (e.g. G-d, or Hashem as said during prayers) would add a second sin of saying His Name in vain. Even invoking the loss of a blessing - "The Merciful One shouldn't let Ploni succeed" - is a Torah prohibition. Source Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 6:3
In the year 3,339, on 10th Tamuz, the city walls of Jerusalem were breached by the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar's army. Four weeks later - on 9th Av - the first Bet Hamikdash was destroyed. For 70 years - until the second Bet Hamikdash was built - the 10th Tamuz was a fast-day. At the time of the destruction of the second Bet Hamikdash the walls were breached a week later - on 17 Tamuz. The Rabbis decided not to burden the Yidden with having to fast 2 weeks in a row. Since the destruction of the second Bet Hamikdash is more relevant to us, the original fast-day was dropped. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Taanis 4:5) claims that the walls were breached both times on 17 Tamuz, but due to the turmoil at the time of the first destruction, the date was wrongly recorded as 10 Tamuz.
Source: Tur Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 549
As we learnt in Halacha 338, for the past 5 weeks the Parsha being read in Israel was one ahead of the one being read in the Diaspora. This week in Israel we will read Parshat Balak - בלק, while in the Diaspora they will read the double Parsha of Chukas-Balak - חוקת-בלק. Henceforth we will be once again be reading the same Parsha again for almost 3 years, until after Pessach 2012 - ה'תשע"ב when we will diverge again for 6 weeks. (Pessach will end on Friday on Israel, and on Shabbat in the Diaspora.) This week's Haphtarah includes one of the admonitions to remember: עַמִּי, זְכָר-נָא מַה-יָּעַץ בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב, וּמֶה-עָנָה אֹתוֹ, בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר
O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Bilaam the son of Beor answered him... (Micah 6:5) Shabbat Shalom, - Danny
Bilaam, the sorcerer who had the power of cursing was hired to curse the Jews by King Balak. (Bamidbar/Numbers, Parshat Balak, Chapter 22)
Finally, after debating for a while Bilaam accepted the job but only when Balak agreed to give him the money he demanded. So Bilaam got on his donkey and was on the way to do his vicious plan. All of a sudden his donkey acts up and refuses to budge. He started hitting Balaam’s feet and pushing him against the wall.
Being in great pain, Bilaam was furious and started hitting his donkey. All of a sudden, the donkey starts talking back to him defending himself he says “What did I do to you that you’re beating me up??? Surprised, Bilaam responded “If only there was a sword in my hand I would now have killed you!!
The donkey says “you are on your way to curse a nation and you can’t even win over a donkey??
I think this is what Hashem is trying to teach this crazy guy AHAMADINEJAD the exact same thing. To make him realize that he even can not have control over his own country. More so to even think about destroying another country!!!! DONKEY IS TALKING NOW LET'S SEE IF HE IS GOING TO GET IT
Binyamin Jadidi
PAIN TO LIVE
It happened during WWII in the camp called Bergen Belsen. In this camp the situation was really harsh, hunger, thirst, diseases, were only a few of the many difficulties the Jews encountered there.
One morning the Nazis thought the war is almost over, liberation is around the corner and since we must show the British how good we are we will give the prisoners fresh rolls today- a real treat.
The hunger in the camps had reached its peak, one particular Jew barely ate anything for five years, all his thoughts were concentrated on how he will get that bread. If you will ask him on that moment what he would’ve preferred liberation or bread- he would’ve answered bread. That’s what the Nazis did to him his mental capacities were so much destroyed that he was not able to think about anything but food.
So he stood in line and looked at the basket filled with fresh rolls, he noticed that there weren’t so many rolls left. Maybe he thought by the time my turn comes there would be no more rolls left. Just this thought sent chills down his spine, his heart started pounding out of fear and he broke out in cold sweat. Now there were six more people in front of him, he quickly looks at the basket there are seven pieces left, he’ll get the last one. And he did, it was soon his turn they gave him his roll, he was ecstatic, bursting with joy.
Then he saw that there are more baskets filled with rolls, if there are so many rolls why not ask for a second one the Nazis wont know any better there are so many people here they’ll never catch me. And so he waited in line for a second one and he received another small fresh roll. His joy knew no bounds as he looked at the two rolls in his hands he couldn’t believe it.
As he was about to take a bite of his roll a Nazi shouted “I saw what you did Jew!” give me your rolls he shouted.
The Nazi grabbed him by the collar threw him on the floor and beat him up. And when he was sure that he died he grabbed the rolls and left.
The Jew felt death nearing, he lifted his eyes upward and said “G-d now you want to kill me, seconds before liberation??!! if you wanted to take my soul you had hundreds of opportunities to do so during these five years!!” And as his mind was filled with questions and accusations against G-d he blacked out.
When he woke up he saw the sun shining. How could this be he thought five years I didn’t see the sun shining when I woke up. Since the Nazis woke up the prisoners before sunrise and whoever couldn’t wake up wouldn’t wake up anymore. So how could it be that I slept and the sun is shining?
Slowly it all came back to him- the Nazis are not here anymore we are liberated. But why is it so quiet here? He got up and looked around everyone was dead- the rolls were poisonous!!!
G-d took care of him and had someone take his rolls away but he refused to give it away so he got beaten up so he can continue living.
It could be very bothersome to see people who feel that to grab, push and insult is an absolutely normal thing to do. People that absolutely lack human instinct .
What could we do about them? Not much.
But the better question is: What could I do about myself? And the answer is that the world of G-d is not running on a HIT AND RUN basis those who hit and grab should know that there is a bigger punch out there and that is the punch of Ribono Shel Olam.
Stay calm and relax and go through life with joy because we have the biggest body guard!
Binyamin Jadidi
Before the professor handed out the final test to his students he made it extremely clear that he under no condition will accept any final handed to him later than four o’clock. The students quickly started the final, four o’clock came and everyone handed it in, except one boy.
The student kept on writing, filling in the answers oblivious to what was going on around him.
The professor came around to his desk and told him “You know my policy I don’t accept finals its past four o’clock, you can stop writing now.”
But the boy kept on writing, ignoring his teacher.
Three minutes later the boy finishes his test. He walks over to the professor’s desk with the final in his hand. “I am sorry I cannot accept your test…” the professor said.
The student was shocked by the respond of his teacher and he said
“Do you know who I am?”
“No “said the professor.
“You don’t know who I am???”
The professor started getting angry and said
“No and I don’t want to know who you are!”
“Great!!” said the college student. As he quickly stuck his final papers into the pile of tests!!!!
The Talmud says that the mass, the community, congregation are never in danger of decrees effecting them as long as they are united. Because when there is unity the prosecutors have no power but only and only when one pulls himself away from the group then he will be put under a magnifying glass by prosecutors G-d forbid.
The professor will never be able to find that student’s final paper because it got mixed in the pile . Even though that student was in big trouble but he got away by including himself among others .
As long as we accept that we are all one, we respect , care and protect and we talk good and positive about one another we will be considered as one pile. Even though that G-d Forbid there could be a specific decree on an individual but as long as one humbles himself to be part of a group and Am Israel he will be protected.
Lets quickly stuck ourselves in the pile of Am Israel and the prosecutor will go away.
Binyamin Jadidi
The above story reminds me of a true story that happened to Dov Lebowitz. Dov was in the Ukraine and he met a famous Chassid of Rav Nachman from Uman. The Chassid was a Rebbe in himself and one of the Lamed Vav Tzaddikim who hold up the world. The Rebbe lived to 108 years old and was buried on Har HaMinuchot in Yerushalayim.
The story I heard about 15 years before I met Dov was that this Rebbe was guarded in WWII by German soldiers from the Gestapo. He promised the soldiers that if they guarded him, he would pray that they would return to their homes alive. His reputation was known to Jews in the Ukraine and many came to him. Dov used to walk the Rebbe to the Mikvah which was the local river. Dov too would dip in the river. One day there was a boy throwing rocks at the Jews and cursing them. Dov asked the Rebbe what to do. The Rebbe told Dov, “Don’t worry; he will never ever bother another Jew again.” It seems that shortly after the rock throwing incident, the boy lost his footing near the steps leading down to the river. He slipped and broke his skull open and died shortly there after.
The incident that reminded me of the story above was the University’s Final Examination. Dov had attended only one class of professor so and so. Tomorrow was the final examination. Dov had cut classes to serve the Rebbe. The Rebbe laughed at Dov when he asked what to do. The Rebbe said, “Don’t worry you know the material and will receive a good grade.” Dov went into the test bewildered. The whole test was based on one subject that they had learned that year and if Dov did not know it; well that was the end of that course. Dov picked a random question out of the pile in front of the professor. The question was on the subject that Dov had learned that one day. Dov passed with flying colors and perhaps a little Hashgacha Pratius.
As I was sitting on the plane, I couldn’t help but notice the man on my left. He was eating a non-kosher cutlet and the name on the wrapping cover read Weinstein. Hoping not to offend him, I mentioned that he had an option to order a kosher meal. With a big frown, he rolled up his sleeves showing his blue inked tattoo; grudgingly he said “It was my son, which was the final straw! I endured everything with equanimity. The entire time in the camps I had one goal, to see the liberation with my son, Kasriel Menachem. His mother, brothers and sisters were long gone, but we were going to survive.
One gloomy day, the entire prisoner population was summoned to the assembly area for a special roll call. There were a number of trap doors on the platform to accommodate several simultaneous hangings. During this tirade, my son’s hand was squeezing my arm so hard that he almost cut off my circulation. We all stampeded to get out of the line of fire… and then my son and I were separated in the frenzy, I never saw his face again! Later, I heard from others who knew us that he had been pulled aside by a soldier and was shot.”
Brushing the tears from his eyes he angrily whispered “G-d says have children! And I did, and they were all taken away!!! So now whatever G-d tells me to do I do the opposite. He says keep kosher- I eat non-kosher. He says honor the Shabbat- I go out in my car, work and I don’t observe any of the commandments.” In my dismay I could not say anything. For the remaining six hours there was an absolute silence between us, we landed in Houston and went our separate ways. I never dreamed that I would see Mr. Weinstien again.
Four years later, I decided to take my family to Eretz Israel for the Yomim Tovim, the high holidays. We went from place to place visiting the whole country. Then Yom Kippur came. I attended a Yom Kippur service in a Beit Knesset (synagogue) in Mea Shaarim.
As I stepped outside for some fresh air, I notice an elderly man sitting at the bus stop and smoking!!! As I looked closely… it was Mr. Weinstein!!! I realized there must be a reason for me to see him on the holiest day of the year. I approached him and said “Here we meet again, I am sure you know that today is Yom Kippur and they are about to say the Yizchor service (remembrance and special prayer for the departed). Come with me so you can also mention your son’s name and pray for his soul, who died for the sake of Kiddush Hashem (sanctifying Hashem’s name). This is your chance to help him be remembered and elevated in the Heavenly Court.”
A pool of tears gathered in his eyes ready to spill over onto his shirt. Clasping his arm in mine I led him through the synagogue to where the Chazzan stood. We asked him to say a special hashkava. Mr. Weinstein leaned over and whispered “Kasriel Menachem ben Yechezkel Shraga”. The chazzan’s face turned white then as he turned around and stared at Mr. Weinstein, in a strangled voice he said “Father!! And he fainted.
THE SON FOUND HIS FATHER
A day will arrive that the son (Jewish Nation) will find his father (Hashem). When they will see clearly G-d’s hand in every action that’s taking place around them Jewish Nation. The torture and fear of the enemy will not be anymore because they will become enemies towards one another. And everybody will realize that the Jewish nation is the chosen nation of G-d and He is the only one that always protects them.
This is the time that we are exactly going through. Do not lose touch and get ready for redemption. AMEN
Binyamin Jadidi
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love to seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space. We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals. We’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships. There are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or just hit DELETE… Binyamin Jadidi all thanks to the posting of Gene Alberts.
Thank You Hashem
I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.
My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section. Here, all the petitions to Hashem said in prayer are received."
I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting our petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.
Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.
The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them."
I noticed again how busy it was there.
There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station.
To my great-surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.
"How is it that?? There's no work going on here?" I asked.
"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.
"How does one acknowledge Hashem's blessings?" I asked.
"Simple," the angel answered. "Just say, "Thank you, Hashem."
"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.
"If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of the world.
"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in the dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
"And if you get this on your computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."
Also "If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.
"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of the 700 million people in the world.
"If you can attend a davening in Schul without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death... you are envied by, and more blessed then, three billion people in the world.
If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you are unique to all those in doubt and despair."
Ok, what now?? How can I start??
If you read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as a very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who can not read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.
Attn: Acknowledge Department: Thank you Hashem!!
"Thank you Hashem, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people so share it with.""
Stalin vs. Schneerson by Rabbi Jacobson or Saturday July 4th, 1927 a day of freedom.
Stalin Vs. Schneerson* *82 years later, who won?* By: Rabbi YY Jacobson If there was ever a battle fought in vain, this was it. The year is 1924. Vladimir Lenin, the father of the communist revolution, is dead; Over 900,000 people pass through the Hall of Columns during the four days and nights that Lenin lay in state. Josef Stalin succeeds him as the new leader of the Soviet Union. During the following thirty years, he would murder 20 million of his own people. Jews and Judaism would be one of his primary targets. He sets up a special government organization, the Yevsektzye, to ensure that Russian Jewry in its millions embrace the new ethos of Communism, introducing a paradise constructed of bullets and gulags. Stalin would rule with an iron fist till his death in March 1953, when four million people would gather in Red Square to bid farewell to the tyrant revered and beloved by much of his nation and by many millions the world over. At his home in Leningrad (today Petersburg), a 44-year-old rabbi, heir to some of the great Jewish leaders of Russian Jewry, summons nine young disciples. He offers them an opportunity most would refuse: to take responsibility for the survival of Judaism in the Soviet Union; to ensure that Jewish life and faith would survive the hellish darkness of Stalin’s regime. He wants them to fight till the last drop of blood, in his words. They agree. He gives his hand to each of them as a sign that they are accepting an oath, an oath that would transform their destiny forever. "I will be the tenth, he says; together we have a minyan"... An Underground Revolution The nine men were dispatched throughout the country. With assistance from similar minded colleagues, they created an impressive underground network of Jewish activity, which included Jewish schools, synagogues, mikvaot (ritual baths used by Jewish woman for spiritual feminine reinvigoration), adult Torah education, Yeshivot (academies for Torah learning for students), Jewish text books, providing rabbis for communities, teachers for schools, etc. Over the 1920's and 1930's, these individuals built six hundred! Jewish underground schools throughout the U.S.S.R (1). Many of them last for only a few weeks or months. When the KGB (the secret Russian police) discovered a school, the children were expelled, the teacher arrested. A new one was opened elsewhere, usually in a cell or on a roof. One of the nine young men was sent to Georgia. There were dozens of mikvaot there, all shut down by the communists who buried them in sand and gravel. This young man decided to do something radical. He falsified a letter written supposedly by the KGB headquarters in Moscow, instructing the local offices in Georgia to open two mikvaot within 24 hours. The local officials were deceived. Within a day, two mikvaot were open. Several months later, when they discovered the lie, they shut them down again. And so it went. A mohel (the person performing the mitzvah of circumcision) was arrested, and another one was dispatched to serve the community; a yeshiva was closed, and another one opened elsewhere; a synagogue was destroyed and another one opened its portals in secrecy. But it sure seemed like a lost battle. Here was an individual rabbi, with a small group of pupils, staging an underground rebellion against a mighty empire that numbered in the hundreds of millions, and aspired to dominate the world. It was like an infant wrestling a giant, an aunt attempting to defeat a human. The situation was hopeless. Finally, in 1927 eighty-two years ago -- they lost their patience with him. The rabbi behind the counter-revolutionary work was arrested and sentenced to death by a firing squad. Foreign pressure and nothing less than a miracle convinced the KGB to alter the sentence to ten years in exile. It was then converted to three years,and then -- quite unbelievable in the Soviet Regime where clergy and laymen alike were murdered like flies -- he was completely exonerated. This Shabbos, July 4, the 12th of the Hebrew month of Tamuz, marks the 82nd anniversary of the day he was liberated from Stalin’s death sentence and imprisonment. The individual behind the mutiny was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (1880-1950), who became the leader of Chabad in 1920, after the passing of his father. He selected nine of his young pupils to battle with him. The one sent to Georgia, falsifying the KGB document, was my grandfather, Simon Yakabashvili, my father’s father (1900-1953). He, together with hundreds of his colleagues, Chassidim throughout the Soviet Union, was arrested in 1938, tortured mercilessly and given a 25-year sentence in the Gulag. Most of his eight colleagues who accepted the oath never made it out of Stalin’s hell. They perished in the Soviet Union. (My grandfather made it out but died several tears later in Toronto). Investing in Eternity More than eight decades have passed. This passage of time gives us the opportunity to answer the question, who won? Stalin or Schneerson? Eighty years ago, Marks socialism and Lenin’s communism heralded a new era for humanity. Its seemingly endless power and brutality seemed unreachable. Yet one man stood up, a man who would not allow the awesome war machine of Mother Russia to blare his vision, to eclipse his clarity. In the depths of his soul he was aware that history had an undercurrent often invisible to most but discernable for students of the long and dramatic narrative of our people. He knew with fullconviction that evil might thrive but it will die; yet G-dliness -- embodied in Torah and Mitzvos -- are eternal. And he chose to invest in eternity. He did not know how exactly how it would work out in the end, but he knew that his mission in life was to sow seeds though the trees were being felled one by one. Cynics scoffed at him; close friends told him he was making a tragic mistake. Even many of his religious colleagues were convinced that he was wasting his time and energy fighting an impossible war. They either fled the country or kept a very low profile. But 80 years later, this giant and what he represented have emerged triumphant. Today, in 2009, in the republics of the former Soviet Union stand hundreds of synagogues, Jewish day schools, yeshivot, mikvaot, Jewish community centers. As summer is about to begin, dozens of Jewish day camps are about to open up throughout the former Union with tens of thousands of Jewish children who will enjoy a blissful summer coupled with the celebration of Jewish life. Last Chanukah, a large menorah stood tall in the Kremlin, casting the glow of Chanukah on the grounds where Stalin walked with Berya and Yezhov. On Lag B’Omer (a Jewish holiday), thousands of Jewish children with kippot on their heads marched the streets of Moscow with signs proclaiming, "Hear oh Israel... G-d is One." Jewish life is bustling in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, etc. Comrade Stalin is dead; communism has faded away as hopelessly irrelevant and destructive. The sun of the nations is today a clod of darkness. The ideology of the Soviet Empire which declared "Lenin has not died and Stalin will not die. He is eternal," is now a mockery. Stalin and Lenin are as dead as one can be. But the Mikvaot built by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1927, they are still here. If you will visit Russia this coming Shabbos, I am not sure you will find anybody celebrating the life and vision of Stalin or even Khrushchev and Brezhnev. But you will find tens of thousands of Jews celebrating the liberation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1927 and the narrative of one man’s triumph over one of the greatestmass-murderers in human history, sharing his vision, committing themselves to continue his labor of saturating the world with the light of Torah and Mitzvos. L’chayim! To comment on this article, please click here.<http://www.theyeshiva.net/Article/View/24/Stalin-Vs-Schneerson> 1) This figure was given to be by Rabbi Sholom Ber Levin, chief librarian of the Central Lubavitch Library. Please visithttp://www.meaningfullife.org/lists/?p=preferences&uid=e1e70be2b7e2119e024f5eedbeadb8c9to update your preferences.
Lynette wrote something that touched my heart even through she is a righteous person among the Nations and this is not Torah from Sinai: Married for 18 years to T. Mc the love and sometimes frustration of my life (LOL) T. (my husband) and I are walking examples of what miracles God still does in the lives of His children and how He causes all things to work together for good." I once was blind but now I see." God's grace still amazes me!
Heer’s Prime Steak Ketchup is Milchig according to the OU: The ingredient panel on the above mentioned product inadvertently lists beef extract. The OU-D designation on the product is valid. Future packaging will be revised.
Inyanay Diyoma
Editorial both men who ran for president last year stab their friends in the back. Let me start off with John McCain. He was kept in N. Vietnamese Hanoi Hilton for five years. During this time, his former beauty queen wife went out and campaigned for his freedom on every occasion. Just before he return, she was in an accident and became partially disfigured. His abandonment of this woman for outside looks was bad enough. Last year, he ran a lackadaisical campaign without any energy. When he picked Sarah Palin, the crowds started coming to rallies. She energized the base and brought both Republicans and Non-Republican crowds out for McCain-Palin. After the election, he let his staff members and comedians make fun of Sarah and never came to her defense. The first behavior you might attribute to an immature man that suffered from trauma of captivity, but the second one he was no spring chicken. It is obvious that this man has a big flaw in his character and does not view loyalty as a two way street. Our Sages tell us about the L-RD: Do HIS will so the HE will remove other’s will against you. A big difference in the concept of loyalty here!
During the Campaign last year, Barak Obama went to AIPAC and talked very hard line in favor of Israel. But the next week he went to CAIR or some similar group in that he reversed is wording. Now comes this news report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132168
Isn’t this political cartoon the real truth: http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/obamas-3am-phone-call.html
A few words on Dafur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv97eC06d2I
I liked the great Satchmo and Elvis’s voice but Michael Jackson pointing to his private parts disturbed me: I received this via Ruth:
Tammuz 4, 5769, 6/26/2009 *Michael Jackson, Anti-Semite*
Back in November 2005, Jackson was caught on tape in a voicemail to one of his former business managers calling Jews "leeches".
While much of the world mourns the untimely death of the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson, it is worth recalling one of Mr. Jackson's more unfortunate qualities: he was an anti-Semite.
In case you think I am making this up, allow me to refresh your memory. Back in November 2005, Jackson was caught on tape in a voicemail to one of his former business managers calling Jews "leeches". The tapes were played on ABC's Good Morning America program, and Jackson was heard saying, "They suck…they're like leeches. It's a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose."
And in 1995, Jackson provoked a firestorm of protest when he released an album called History containing a song entitled "They don't care about us" which had the following lyrics: "Jew me, sue me" and "Kick me, kike me". He subsequently promised to re-record the song and delete the offending lyrics.
But then, in February 1996, Jackson nonetheless released a video of the song in which he had re-instated the brazenly anti-Semitic remarks.
So before you go shedding a tear in Michael Jackson's memory, take a moment and consider the hate that he spewed against Jews, both in private and in public. And then maybe you'll consider saving those tears for someone far more deserving. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245924953365&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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Cap and trade a national energy tax – the danger by Eric Cantor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6yeo65Ni7k&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Frepublicanwhip.house.gov%2Fblog%2F2009%2F06%2Fcap-and-tax.html&feature=player_embedded
The great Syrian Peace Plan – “Islam is the religion of peace.” – G.W. Bush: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245924943807&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
More attacks in the USA on Synagogues – oink: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132089#replies
LAWSUIT AGAINST AMERICANS AGAINST HATE CHAIRMAN JOE KAUFMAN DISMISSED APPELLATE RULES KAUFMAN A JOURNALIST AND RULES THAT CASE HAS NO MERIT TO CONTINUE
(Dallas, TX) The lawsuit and restraining order that were filed against the Chairman of Americans Against Hate (AAH) Joe Kaufman by seven Dallas-area Muslim organizations, in October 2007, were thrown out this past week by the State of Texas Court of Appeals, Second District of Texas Fort Worth.
The seven plaintiffs included the Muslim American Society (MAS), which the U.S. government has called a front for the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, and three Islamic centers owned by the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), an organization that was named a co-conspirator in the 2007/2008 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Hamas financing trial.
The groups claimed in the lawsuit that Kaufman had written an article for FrontPage Magazine that libeled them, yet not one of the groups was actually named in the article. It was about the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and its connection to the financing of terrorism overseas. Kaufman, in October 2007, had flown to Texas to lead a demonstration outside an ICNA-sponsored event to expose this information to the public.
Drug resistant Mexican Flu: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529467,00.html
Ladies new women’s rights legislation in Israel in progress: The new Knesset takes up speed - and finds Tzipi Hotovely, MK, right in the center of humanity.
1. Chairwoman for the Status of Women wants a norm of "Six month maternity leave"
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3725448,00.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244371093494&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
2. Opposite problem of justice - mistreatment of women by opposite sex beZawa
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3736037,00.html
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?s=hotovely
3. Straight problem - can Tzipi Hotovely take Obama back to his White House lawn and put him into custody of his great gardening wife?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3730328,00.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1088930.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3726514,00.html
4. Competence without any problems - elaborate fast and strong argumentation - 2 great Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhUpEwSnSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFHr4d3qrS4
....and there should be more.
5. Learn w Rav Leon Ashkenazi to connect Yahadut and WesternCiv
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244035000489&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
TodaRabba for your time,
as can be understood from the reports and seen at the videos,
TZIPI Hotovely, MK, is incredibly elaborate and well-spoken - but as a woman in war-stricken and warrior-heeding Israel, she has to speak too fast, and not often enough her words get the deep and emotionally lasting effect her competent and caring mind deserves.
In the languages of Hebrew and English, she breaks the spell against the Jewish people, all women and all peaceful people.
Her Hebrew is a great example of how the Holy Language can resound in the smart soul as a hope for mutual understanding, inner spiritual development and humane sensitivity.
Two perils emerge:
1. Her losing the inner melody of the mental integrity by agro-abrasive opponents,... - so peaceful personal life with perceptive warmth is important now.
2. Making her speak too fast - though still incredibly clear and just - and by that giving her in a sexist way too few respect and importance as a equal political thinker; even Golda Meir, but for sure the other Tzipi suffered from lack of respect 4 women.
How can we help her?
Shalom Sameach - lets help Tzipi Hotovely build a happy peace for all,
From Monique: Demilitarized Palestinian State? By Prof. MK Arieh Eldad
Once upon a time, there was such a state.
"I don't think there's a Palestinian nation. There's an Arab nation. I don't think there's a Palestinian nation. That's a colonial invention. Since when were there Palestinians? I think there's only an Arab nation. Until the end of the 19th century, Palestine was the southern part of Greater Syria."
If I had said this, I would undoubtedly be called a Jewish nationalist, a racist, and worst of all - detached from reality. Yet, note well, these words were spoken by former MK Dr. Azmi Bishara in an interview with Yaron London several years ago. Bishara is a leader of Israeli Arab citizens who openly identify with the enemy, and who was forced to flee Israel under suspicion of aiding Hizbullah in wartime.
When Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his Bar-Ilan speech, he could have used these words. He could have ripped the mask of deception from the terrible historical lie that we have taken to our hearts as if it were written on the Tablets of the Law given at Sinai. "Two States for Two Nations" has become holy dogma and anyone who challenges its validity is suspected of blasphemy.
But even if we assume that Netanyahu wished to speak in terms acceptable to Europe and the United States, rather than to fight a battle which he considered lost, still it would have been better had he not deceived his listeners with the scam known as "a demilitarized state."
When I heard the speech, my initial reaction was: "There ain't no such animal." Of course, I don't mean nano-states such as Andorra or the Vatican, which have themselves chosen not to maintain an army. There is no real state in the world defined as a demilitarized state. And Netanyahu did not make do with a misleading general statement, he went into details: the state won't have missiles and rockets and planes, and will not be able to sign treaties.
The more I listened to this and said to myself that there is no such thing, I was reminded of something quite bothersome. Was there once such a state? And then one of my friends reminded me there had been.
"It will be forbidden to Germany to maintain or build fortifications... in this territory (West of the Rhine).... It is forbidden for Germany to maintain an army.... the German army will not include more than seven infantry divisions.... It is forbidden for Germany to import or export tanks or any other military hardware.... The German naval forces will be limited and are not to include submarines. The armed forces of Germany will not include any air forces.... In the political realm, Germany is forbidden to enter into any treaty with Austria."
So it was written and sealed in the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, as part of the Paris Peace Conference following the First World War. Essentially, Germany became a demilitarized state and was also limited from a political perspective.
So what happened? Did the "demilitarized" status prevent the Second World War and, worst of all, the destruction of European Jewry?
By 1922, an agreement between Russia and Germany had been signed in the Italian city of Rapallo. The agreement was open and met the terms of the Versailles Treaty, but the conference that prepared it was secret; and there, Soviet Russia and Germany agreed on joint establishment of weapons factories, poison gas and ammunition. German army officers were sent to Russia to be trained in the use of weapons that were forbidden to be maintained in Germany. In Germany, civilian factories were refurbished into arms factories, funded, as it were, by private individuals, not the state.
When I heard about the widespread activity of Jews in the Obama court and about the extreme anti-Israeli stance they are taking, and about the anger of the extreme Left in Israel over Netanyahu's speech - in that he did not express a willingness to take in Arab refugees, give away Jerusalem and dismantle settlements, all as a prepayment for negotiating with the enemies of Israel - I again thought of the Rapallo Treaty. It was the Jewish foreign minister of Germany, Walther Rathenau, who stood behind the agreement that years later gave Nazi Germany its powerful war machine. And it was Erhard Milch, the son of a Jewish father, who subverted the Versailles Treaty and, in the guise of civilian aeronautic companies and flying clubs, established Lufthansa, which during the war became the Luftwaffe, the German air force that in weeks overcame Poland and France and bombed London in the Blitz. The Jewish people can be trusted to bring forth warped members who will arm the "demilitarized Palestinian state", if one should ever come to be.
The lesson being that there is no political power that can prevent a sovereign state from doing whatever it wants. Netanyahu knows that if ever a Palestinian state should, Heaven forbid, be established, Israel will not be able to declare war on it if it should choose, for instance, to sign an international tourism agreement with Cyprus or a transfer-of-technology agreement with Iran. If pipes are manufactured in Tulkarm, Israel will not be able to start a war that can be justified in the eyes of the world if steel cutters turn the pipes into Kassam rockets. Since nothing other than Israeli force could possibly preserve demilitarization, Netanyahu is deceiving the people of Israel and promising them something that cannot be delivered.
But all of the above is not the main thing. The main thing is that Netanyahu has recognized the right of Arabs to establish a sovereign state in our homeland. None of his conditions and reservations can hide this abomination. Whoever recognizes the right of his enemy to establish a state in his homeland has abandoned all principle and all that is left to do is argue over the price. Whoever has left his religion and changed his faith cannot insist on observing the commandments of what is no longer his faith. Whoever has abandoned his patrimony has no basis on which to insist on continuing to build on its lands.
Cap and Trade 1500 pages of stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPqYsFhgQo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clKj7VWVUu8&NR=1
On European Demographics C. F. sent me from the Heritage Foundation of the Moslem Demographic take over of Europe due to birth control and abortions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlkEYoKC-kA&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div
Mind Control: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5119805n
The Egyptians killed two Somalis trying to infiltrate into Israel. Israel has become a foot journey for African Refugees. We are over extended with them. They know that by coming here they will not be enslaved as in Arabia, sexually abused as in Africa, Arabia and other countries and will be treated as human beings with worker’s rights.
Anti-Settler bigotry in the left wing press in Israel: http://www.hebron.com/english/articles.php?type=leftnews
Valerie sent me this from the RutiMizrachi.blogspot "Ema, I've been thinking about the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett."
"Nu? The IDF doesn't have enough work to keep your mind busy?"
"Cute, Ema. I'm doing guard duty. Right now I'm guarding a rusted jeep from 1948 and a chicken coop that even the Arabs don't want."
"Okay... so you're thinking about American celebrities. Nobody from your own era to keep your mind busy? Some rapper -- they're dropping off the twig fairly regularly -- or some actor... who's that Superman fellow who recently died? Keith What's-His-Name?"
"Heath Ledger, Ema. Batman. The Joker, actually. When was the last time you were at a movie?"
"I dunno, Honey. You guys keep telling me they're not appropriate for me... It's been a while."
"Well, anyway... I want to tell you what I was thinking about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Because he was 50, and she was 60."
This resonates, because Mike was my contemporary, and Farr -- what ought one to have called her, in a chummy way? -- Mrs. Majors was the contemporary of the Dearly Beloved.
"Nu? So what's on your mind?"
"I was thinking about how different you and Abba are from them, even though you are the same ages. That you made different life choices. Good choices." He continues. "You and Abba are like alkaline batteries."
I had thought that I was paying attention -- but with Soldier Boy, even the slightest mental lapse can leave one stranded a verbal continent away. "Uhhhhhhh... batteries...?"
"Alkaline batteries, Ema. See, the Army doesn't use lithium batteries, because -- while they burn bright and strong -- they run out of power way too quickly -- they die too quickly."
I am beginning to regain my hold on the conversation. "And alkaline batteries?" I prompt.
"Alkaline batteries last a long time, and have a slow, graceful decline."
I wonder briefly how many heavy machine gunners talk about the "slow, graceful decline" of alkaline batteries.
"Well, Abba and I are glad that you are happy with the life choices we made, Sweetheart. I daven for us that we will show you a very slow, very graceful decline."
"Amen!"
NETANYAHU FOLDS UNDER US PRESSURE FOR PULLING OUT OF WEST BANK TOWNS BEFORE PEACE TALKS by DEBKAfile forwarded with comments by Emanuel A. Winston, Middle East Analyst & Commentator
Perhaps I am mistaken but, I find extremely articulate politicians too often without a brain in their heads. I observe Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fumble away the Jewish nation with grandiose statements about how he was going to Europe to make Israel’s case. Too bad he was too late and the Americans got there before him.
A deep thinker would have known that the scurrilous team who surrounds President Barack Obama would have easily pre-planned to ambush Netanyahu.
One is reminded - again - of then PM Yitzhak Shamir at the Madrid International Conference of 1991 when he was out-maneuvered by then Secretary of State James Baker III and those pejoratively called his "Jew-Boys", i.e., Dennis Ross, Aaron David Miller and Daniel Kurtzer - later to include Martin Indyk.
But, President Obama has his "Jew-Boys" too: Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and the notorious Jew-haters from past administrations who have re-entered the White House ‘clout clique’ through its ever revolving door and are now advising him: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft, Baker (again) and Jimmy Carter - all Thinking, Thinking - "How do we subvert the Jewish State of Israel?"
I could not help but wonder if Netanyahu was well aware of their continual scheming plots? Did he agree to collaborate in a plan to give away Jewish cities, towns and Land and yet pretend he was “merely” outmaneuvered? Tough Luck but, Bibi could say "It wasn’t my fault!"
In Obama we see another articulate speaker in the process of bankrupting America by taking over and virtually nationalizing the banks, insurance agencies, auto industries, “et al”. Obama has covered over his maneuvers with a flow of smooth, deep words - with no viable solutions.
Obama speaks of Islam as if it was a sane, peaceful religion, even the radical forms of Islamist Terror/Blood cult with its virulently anti-West, anti-Judeo-Christian values, which teaches its children as young as 3 years old to kill themselves while killing Jews, Christians - any "infidel" (non-Muslim). That’s definitely an act of child abuse by the Muslim clerics and the parents who kow-tow to their orders. Obama acts as if Islam is wholly compatible with Democratic values of freedom. The people of Iran know better.
How do these various charlatans mesmerize their publics and cheat them out of their own rights?
While Obama steals the American nation and disposes of its Constitution, does Netanyahu collaborate with those greater plans, led by the ring-in-his-nose put there by an American President, in cahoots with those of the Muslims and Arabs who adhere to the blood cult of Terrorism?
The peoples of each of these two democratic nations may have been cheated out of their own sovereignty and the rights they deserve.
The corruption and the gross stupidity of some of these leaders will likely result in a great war in which their nations will be filled with the dead and dying.
No doubt, these leaders will be horribly punished in this life and the next but, that will make no difference to those who must die, be grievously wounded or suffer the death of their loved ones for their leaders’ betrayals.
How sad that what could have continued to be thriving civilizations may too soon be reduced to rubble.
Have a wonderful and peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
