I start this week’s Parsha on a concerned note: I have not received an e-mail from Emanuel or Gail Winston now for a number of weeks. My friends whom I have never met in person, I have learned to respect for their dedication to all of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. Let us pray that all is well with them.
This Motzei Shabbos is Lag B’ Omer where it is customary to have camp fires and many go to the graves in Israel of Tzaddikim and of course sing this Sephardic melody on the occasion of the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: Modern Breslov Chassidim http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWvfIppSuq0
Parsha Bechukotai
One does not have to be a Moshe Rabbaynu, Yehoshua ben Nun, Yechezkel, Yeshaya, Daniel or Yermiyahu to figure out that a major war between Yisrael and the Yishmaelim based on Inyanay Diyoma (current events). Over the past years of writing the Parsha I have emphasized the blessings as the world turns over before the Moshiach I too go from the very positive aspects to the warnings and admonishments. One can see that financially and politically hard times are ahead for the world in general and Israel in particular until the days of the Moshiach.
26:3 If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; 4 then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread until ye have enough, and dwell in your land safely. 6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
Wonderful blessings and I could write a lot about the abundance that comes from HASHEM. However, I see perhaps not in you or I but in mankind in general a lot of people with no yoke of heaven and uninterested.
14 But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; 16 I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
This is to see that all you end up living in fear and all your labors are in vain. But because you have rejected me; I will reject you and will: 17 And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursue you.
At this point it is only a chastisement and not a full punishment for the L-RD is long-enduring and patient. But …
18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
The first rebellion against HASHEM the punishment is relatively light. Now the punishment is getting harder and a famine is about to come into play.
21 And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
The punishment is going to 49 times harder than the original punishment.
22 And I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate. 23 And if in spite of these things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto Me; 24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins.
If you want to be a bunch of stiff necked sinners and sin via Gashmiyus things and only think of here and now physical pleasures rather than the beautify Ruchaniyus of the spiritual pleasures and Mitzvos. So each violation brings more and more retribution.
25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. … 34 Then shall the land be paid her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and repay her Sabbaths.
This is not the regular Shabbos but Shmita.
The situation will continue until those left will go into deep repentance.
… 39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked contrary unto Me. 41 I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring them into the land of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43 For the land shall lie forsaken without them, and shall be paid her Sabbaths, while she lies desolate without them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My statutes.
G-D extracts measure for measure. This principle applies to all the Nations of the earth and the recent almost Tsunami of a Flood along the Mississippi River of millions of innocents has been a punishment for demanding that Israel give up land and uproot families from their homes. Only a spiritually blind person could not realize this. For the physical blind might have been Tzaddikim in a past life that requested blindness so that they would not go astray after their eyes but the spiritually blind person has more problems than the physically blind. For in the true world they shall see!
44 And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
While the situation is very gloomy, the remembrance of the covenant and the deeds of past Tzaddik will eventually bring out the Geula and the Moshiach.
27:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according to thy valuation, 3 then thy valuation shall be for the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if it be a female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and upward: if it be a male, then thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
The valuation of a person vowing his value to the Temple is not based on knowledge for an expert doctor, lawyer or engineer at 60 is better than a student at 20 but rather the value of a day laborer who works from sunrise to sunset. The value is set by the Torah and has nothing to with physical strength either. For it is obvious that a woman body builder is physically more fit than an amputee. Any person trying to make hay out of this does not know what he is talking about.
… 14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. 15 And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy valuation unto it, and it shall be his.
Another valuation which in this case Beis Din intervenes to determine the value.
…32 And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. 33 He shall not inquire whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he change it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
Sometimes we want the best for ourselves or for G-D so the Torah advises us on this random search. This may also explain why sometimes both the righteous and the wicked are judged together by the L-RD for they all have passed under the staff of judgement in this world. What will be in store for all in the next world is another story altogether.
34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Chazak – Chazak v’NitChazak! We have finished the book of Vayikra and next week we start Bamidbar (Numbers)
Perkei Avos Chapter 4 Mishnah 1 – 5
1. Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As is stated (Psalms 119:99): "From all my teachers I have grown wise, for YOUR testimonials are my meditation."
If you don’t or cannot learn from other people either you are egotistical to the extreme or blinding yourself to their merits and qualities. I learned a lot of simple faith and sense from ordinary people in rural areas of the States and all the more so from people filled with Torah on farms in Eretz Yisrael. Perkei Avos in Chapter 6 will talk about David giving a person praise as a teacher even though he only learned one thing from him.
Who is strong? One who overpowers his inclinations! As is stated (Proverbs 16:32), "Better one who is slow to anger than one with might, one who rules his spirit than the captor of a city."
For Barzilai the Giladi put a sword between himself and Michal when Shaul took her from David and annulled her marriage by decree. Barzilai realized that he would be held accountable in the next world so he sinned not. Since Barzilai conquered his Yetzer being in a tiny room at night with Michal and they were not wearing clothing for the Antarctic Winter to put it mildly, he is an example of a Gebor (A man of Severity).
Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot. As is stated (Psalms 128:2): "If you eat of toil of your hands, fortunate are you, and good is to you"; "fortunate are you" in this world, "and good is to you" in the World to Come.
Sometimes my wife and I think back to the days before we had saved up money and were much poorer. We lived simply and sufficiently we were not worried about becoming poor do to financial crisis as we had nothing but were happy. Often a child who is not bullied is the best example about somebody happy with his/her lot.
Who is honorable? One who honors his fellows. As is stated (I Samuel 2:30): "For to those who honor me, I accord honor; those who scorn me shall be demeaned."
The biggest honor one can receive is mutual honor. For if you honor and love your fellow man they in turn will honor and love you but if you hate and step on your fellow man all the honor that they give you is false just look at the toppling of the statues of Stalin, Saddam, Assad and others. But when one visits Washington DC close to 150 years after the Civil War or over 200 years after the Revolutionary War and lo and behold the Memorials of Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison, etc. are their along with memorials of men who gave their lives for their country. For these people honored and respected others.
2. Ben Azzai would say: Run to pursue a minor mitzvah, and flee from a transgression. For a mitzvah brings another mitzvah, and a transgression brings another transgression. For the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and the reward of transgression is transgression.
In the world of business one looks for the fat salaried jobs rather than the menial tasks. Once a quality inspector who was not too was assigned to help the man who really broke me into Engineering. She was to check that a backup set of punch cards were available for the computer and stamp on the back of each “spare”. I watched her do about 15 to 30 and hour and talk so much to my teacher. It was watching something in slow motion hour after hour. I asked her what the reason for such slowness is. She replied that it was beneath her dignity to do such things. I got angry and starting doing the stamping and another engineer joined me. In a few minutes we had gone through all the punch cards. I preferred to see her doing nothing than making a joke out of work. The same thing with a Mitzvah, for one Mitzvah will lead to another and the Torah will be strengthened and the whole world worth something because of this man. While one sin or lack of a Mitzvah will be like the woman coming to work just to get a pay check and not doing her menial job. In Chassidus they say ‘hop’ a Mitzvah. For a person who jumps up and grabs a Mitzvah will be kept from sin. (play on words between Yiddish and English)
3. He would also say: Do not scorn any man, and do not discount anything. For there is no man who has not his hour, and no thing that has not its place.
Some people are lesser than you or humbler than you and easy to bully but beware G-D made man in his image and each and every one of us has a purpose.
4. Rabbi Levitas of Yavne would say: Be very, very humble, for the hope of mortal man is worms.
You just won a quarter of a billion dollars in the lottery don’t let it get into your head for after you roll in money in the end your body will be covered up and turned to dust so you are no better than the earthworm. If one thinks this he will never be a braggart or a bully.
Rabbi Yochanan the son of Berokah would say: Whoever desecrates the Divine Name covertly, is punished in public. Regarding the desecration of the Name, the malicious and the merely negligent are one and the same.
Make doing a Kiddush HASHEM and things for the sake of heaven your daily goal and ambition.
5. Rabbi Ishmael the son of Rabbi Yossi would say: One who learns Torah in order to teach, is given the opportunity to learn and teach. One who learns in order to do, is given the opportunity to learn, teach, observe and do.
“And the people of Israel shall guard the Shabbos to make the Shabbos throughout their generations” – Exodus. By preparing, making and observing the Shabbos it is more just learning in theory the Mitzvah. It is embedding the Mitzvah in us and our children by example. Shabbos becomes special so it continues to the next generation(s). For one who learns just to teach is a theoretician. I have read about the slaughter of birds and animals in the kosher way. But until I go into a slaughter house and observe how the knife is sharpened, inspected, the animal slaughtered and checked for kashrus, I have done nothing. This prepares not only for learning, teaching but for the existence of Torah and keeping kosher.
Rabbi Tzaddok would say: Do not separate yourself from the community.
One must give and get support from his community. For those who give also receive. The Guardian of Israel notes those who fight for us whether Jew or Goy. For those who entrust themselves to be with their fellow Jews will reap the support, love and Torah from the community and those who separate themselves will find their Torah forgotten and themselves cast aside for others who have stepped up.
Do not act as a counselor-at-law (when serving as a judge). Do not make the Torah a crown to magnify yourself with, or a spade with which to dig. So would Hillel say: one who make personal use of the crown of Torah shall perish. Hence, one who benefits himself from the words of Torah, removes his life from the world.
I have made it my business from my early days in studying in the Yeshiva not to take money for my Torah and Mitzvos. If I get money such as a Shamash for cleaning a Schul, the money usually ends up in some charity before the week is out. One should not let things go into his head that he is an engineering or medical consultant even internationally and the same for a Rabbi. Do the following experiment as told to me by an Indian Clerk named Moses Varulkar: Take a bucket of water. Shake and stir the bucket with your hand and make a whirlpool and waves. Then take you hand from the bucket and let the drops drip back in. The status of the water in the bucket as compared to the status the water after a short time that your hand is removed will be equal. This is your influence in this world.
Those who use their profession for self-aggrandizing will in the end over step their bounds and fall. This past week a Socialist was caught in a $3000 a night hotel room forcing his advantage on a proletarian. Obviously his form of Socialism was for him to become magnified and to dig up what he could from this world. (The late Tzaddik Rabbi Glixman lived on $2000 a month for being a Rabbi in a far out place almost at the end of FL)
Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s on Omer Counting from the Chabad Organization Library
Day Three of Week 5: Tiferes of Hod
31st Day of the Omer
Examine if your humility is compassionate. Does my humility cause me to be self-contained and anti-social or does it express itself in empathy for others. Is my humility balanced and beautiful? Or is it awkward?
Just as humility brings compassion, compassion can lead one to humility. If you lack humility, try acting compassionately, which can help bring you humility.
Exercise for the day: Express a humble feeling in an act of compassion.
Day Four of Week 5: Netzach of Hod
32nd Day of the Omer
Examine the strength and endurance of your humility. Does my humility withstand challenges? Am I firm in my positions or do I waffle in the name of humility?
Humility and modesty should not cause one to feel weak and insecure. Netzach of hod underscores the fact that true humility does not make you into a "doormat" for others to step on; on the contrary, humility gives you enduring strength. Is my humility perceived as weakness? Does that cause others to take advantage of me?
Exercise for the day: Demonstrate the strength of your humility by initiating or actively participating in a good cause.
Day Five of Week 5: Hod of Hod
Lag BaOmer- 33rd Day of the Omer
Examine the humility of humility. Everyone has humility and modesty in their hearts, the question is the measure and manner in which one consciously feels it? Am I afraid to be too humble? Do I mask and protect my modesty with aggressive behavior? Learn to cultivate your humility by interacting with people who are more refined than yourself, evoking in you modesty and humility that motivates you to grow.
Humility must also be examined for its genuineness. Is my humility humble? Or is it yet another expression of arrogance? Do I take too much pride in my humility? Do I flaunt it? Is it self-serving? Is my humility part of a crusade or is it genuine? Do I have expectations due to my humility?
Exercise for the day: Be humble just for its own sake.
Day Six of Week 5: Yesod of Hod
34th Day of the Omer
Humility should not be a lonely experience. It ought to result in deep bonding and commitment. There is no stronger bond than one that comes out of humility. Does my humility separate me from others or bring us closer? Does my humility produce results? Long term results? Does it create an everlasting foundation upon which I and others can rely and build.
Exercise for the day: Use your humility to build something lasting.
Day Seven of Week 5: Malchut of Hod
35th Day of the Omer
Walking humbly is walking tall. Dignity is the essence of humility and modesty. The splendor of humility is majestic and aristocratic. Humility that suppresses the human spirit and denies individual sovereignty is not humility at all. Does my humility make me feel dignified? Do I feel alive and vibrant?
Exercise for the day: Teach someone how humility and modesty enhance human dignity.
Day One of Week 6: Chesed of Yesod
36th Day of the Omer
Week Six - Yesod
Bonding is the ultimate emotional connection. While the first five qualities (love, discipline, compassion, endurance and humility) are interactive, they manifest duality: the lover and the beloved. The emphasis is on an individual's feelings, not necessarily on mutuality.
Bonding, on the other hand, is a complete fusion of the two. Without bonding no feeling can be truly realized. Bonding means connecting; not only feeling for another, but being attached to him. Not just a token commitment, but total devotion. It creates a channel between giver and receiver. Bonding is eternal. It develops an everlasting union that lives on forever through the perpetual fruit it bears. Bonding is the foundation of life. The emotional spine of the human psyche. Every person needs bonding to flourish and grow. The bonding between mother and child; between husband and wife; between brothers and sisters; between close friends. Bonding is affirmation; it gives one the sense of belonging; that "I matter", "I am significant and important". It establishes trust - trust in yourself and trust in others. It instills confidence. Without bonding and nurturing we cannot realize and be ourse lves.
Bonding channels all five previous qualities into a constructive bond, giving it the meaning "foundation". Whereas all other human feelings are individual emotions, separate stories of a building, each a necessary component of human experience, bonding channels and integrates them all into one bond which creates a foundation upon which the structure of human emotions firmly stands. Bonding is giving all of yourself not just part; it is not one emotion but all of them. So Yesod completes the spectrum of the first six emotions.
The foundation of Yesod is different from an ordinary foundation. It does not just rest beneath the higher levels of the structure, but encompasses them all. An effective bedrock of the emotional psyche cannot remain separate but must include and permeate all the emotions. Only then can bonding be constructive and everlasting.
Day One of Week 6: Chesed of Yesod
Love is the heart of bonding. You cannot bond without love. Love establishes a reliable base which allows bonding to build on. If you have a problem bonding, examine how much you love the one (or the object) you wish to bond with. Do I try to bond without first fostering a loving attitude? Is my bonding expressed in a loving manner?
Exercise for the day: Demonstrate the bond you have with your child or friend through an act of love.
Day Two of Week 6: Gevurah of Yesod
37th Day of the Omer
Examine the discipline of your bonding. Bonding must be done with discretion and careful consideration with whom and with what you bond. Even the healthiest and closest bonding needs "time out", a respect for each individual's space.
Do I overbond? Am I too dependent on the one I bond with? Is he too dependent on me? Do I bond out of desperation? Do I bond with healthy, wholesome people?
Exercise for the day: Review the discipline in your bonding experiences to see if it needs adjustment.
Day Three of Week 6: Tiferet of Yesod
38th Day of the Omer
Bonding needs to be not only loving but also compassionate, feeling your friend's pain and empathizing with him. Is my bonding conditional? Do I withdraw when I am uncomfortable with my friend's troubles?
Exercise for the day: Offer help and support in dealing with an ordeal of someone you have bonded with.
Halachos from Danny Shoemann
If you forget to count the Omer at night, then you should count the next day - but without a Bracha. You then continue counting (at night) as usual with a Bracha. If you forgot to count during the night as well as the following day, then you should still continue counting the Omer, but you may no longer make the Bracha. If you're unsure if you counted the previous night, you may continue counting with a Bracha. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 120:2
One should not stare at a field that is ripe and ready to be harvested, so as not to cause damage by Ayin Hara. (Ayin Hara: Being somewhat envious of other's success, triggering a heavenly judgement which causes that success to become a failure.) Obviously one may not stare at other people with the intent of causing them an Ayin Hara. Similarly one should not watch other people at work if they do not want to be watched. The correct behavior when seeing busy people is to wish them success and bless them with prosperity. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 183:6
One may not do activities in one's own property that would cause damage to the neighbors. One may not pour water or other liquids - even from a drainpipe - near the neighbor’s wall. One may not store warm things near a neighbor's wall - including compost - as the heat damages the wall. In both these cases one has to move the potential damage away; at least 3 Tefachim (24 cm, 9") from the wall. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 183:7
In the time of the Bet HaMikdash, if a person couldn't bring the Korban Pessach on Erev Pessach, they have a 2nd chance a month later. In the afternoon of 14th Iyar they would bring the Korban Pessach and roast it. After nightfall they would eat it with Matza and Marror. The leftovers were burnt the next morning. Unfortunately this year we again missed both chances to bring the Korban Pessach. Source: Bamidbar 9:9-12
Lag B'Omer - the 33rd day of the Omer - will be on Sunday. No Tachanun is said on Sunday, and צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק is not said on Shabbat at Mincha. One may have haircuts on Friday (tomorrow) already, in honor of Shabbat. All other customs of mourning are to be observed until the morning of Lag B'Omer. Those who have the custom to mourn from Rosh Chodesh Iyar, resume the mourning customs after Lag B'Omer. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 120:6, 7
Note: Many Sephardim only stop the mourning on the 34th day of the Omer and don't allow haircuts on Friday. Shabbat Shalom - Danny
My Return to (or newly discovered) Judaism Part 2
When I left off the story a few months ago, it was Menachem Av 5726. I had become an agnostic after discovering the Principle of Cosmic Unity. After half-debating and perhaps more questioning a Physicist named Himmelstein, I concluded that there was a good possibility that HASHEM truly existed. During my questioning I asked the question “How come there were miracles recorded in the Bible and we do not see them today.” (Remember this was before the Six Day War and the New York Times and liberality reigned as king.) He told me that if one was pure (his meaning was ritually pure or Tahor) one could work a miracle. He told me how Yeshu stole the DIVINE 72 letter NAME from the Beis HaMikdash and worked miracles until his Rebbe came and made him impure. (This sounds today to me a lot like the Yeshu in the time of Yehuda Ben Perachiya who was in the Temple in Alexandria, Egypt. – not the other two mentioned in the Talmud) I of course was so far removed from Judaism that I went off thinking about being pure of heart. That was the last time I ever saw Himmelstein as he went off to get his doctorate from Columbia University and I went off to Greenwood Lake, NY for my summer vacation. He also clarified to me the misconception of heaven and hell that I had gotten from the belief of a Catholic girl who loved me at the age of 12 and wanted me to convert to marry her. (I had some news for her.) He explained to me the seven days of mourning, the month, eleven months and a year and also Kaf Keller. My doubts about an unfair G-D regarding life after death were gone and a true and straight path in the next world was laid out before me.
Rowing my boat, swimming, hiking, and observing the Perseid Meteor Shower was my cup of tea for rest, research and relaxation. I might have been ritually pure as Greenwood Lake was a Glatt kosher Mikvah. I went that night to the ‘Indian Park’ dock to sit out and observe meteors. That particular dock put me out further over the water with a greater area of sky to view than my ‘Greenwood Lake Estates’ beach (The ‘Estates’ were fancy bungalows with one or two all year around houses.) I was staring at the sky. In the back of my mind was the relatively recent conversation that I had with Himmelstein. As I looked up at the sky, I noticed a strange phenomenon. I had seen many times in New York City a halo around the moon but never in all my numerous observing of the sky since the age of 7 did I see a halo around a star. (Neither do I recall seeing such a thing since.) I began thinking of Yacov Avinu and the ladder to heaven. The fogginess and the halo looked like a tunnel to that particular star in heaven. The night was poor for observing meteors. I had seen one and then another but nothing special. I began thinking with my stubbornness on watching meteors for hours and even losing a girl friend or two for it, I could not think of a purer person in the world for observing meteors. Perhaps as the fellow said, I could work a miracle out of purity. Now I did not know the 72 or three 42 letter names of G-D in Hebrew in fact I was only thinking and praying in English.
I put my left hand over my head as I had no hat or Yarmulke and I thought. “L-RD, G-D of the Universe, if you exist show me a sign. If you do, I will learn Hebrew, become religious and go to Israel. I have been told that one who is pure of heart can work a miracle. I have seen only two meteors this hour. - At this point my right hand is stretching behind me on the dock as I continued looking at the widest field of vision with the halo star in the middle. - If you exist send a meteor across the sky right now!” As my right hand moved to touch the dock by my hip (like within a nanosecond), a meteor shot out starting from the halo star moved about 40 degrees across the sky, changed shade of color and magnitude so it was no figment of my imagination.
About a week later, my friend Howard Dyckoff came with two other friends from the Astronomy Club and I told them of what had happened to me. One of them later became a Unitarian Minister but probably forgot about my story. Howard introduced me to his mother who convinced me to read the Torah through in English and after months helped arrange for my learning for a Bar Mitzvah with Rabbi Klayman, an Orthodox Rabbi.
As I may have written, I just read the Bible in English and just before Rosh Hashanah 5768 met with Rabbi. During the course of the year, I had already learned about Tephillin from watching the news of the 6 Day War and my friend Joel Klein telling me that ‘those black boxes on the head and on the arm were not for soldier communication with each other but Tephillin for communication during prayer to G-D’. I had also seen the soldier bowing down towards a wall in Yerushalayim. I know that the Jews don’t pray to sticks and stones so what was up? He told me that the wall was the only remaining part of the Temple and that they were bowing down unto G-D. And right before meeting with the Rabbi a Danny Levy who came in with a bunch of Orthodox Jews began praying one evening in my classroom. Somebody said “Baruchu” and the others said “Baruch HASHEM hamuvorach” two blessings and the “Shema” some more Kaddish and silence. Suddenly, I wanted to know why they were bowing and how to pray with them. I asked Danny to purchase for me an English/Hebrew prayer book. When I met the Rabbi, I think Mrs. Dyckoff bought me a Yarmulke, I had the prayer book and the Rabbi took me to buy Tephillin, “The Hertz Pentateuch”, “Code of Jewish Law”, I bought “Iyob”, “Proverbs”, “Psalms”, “Koheles” and a book to learn for my ‘Bar Mitzvah’ around my 21st birthday. I also signed up for a Hebrew course with Professor Posner. He was merciful seeing that most of the students were there to get an A and I was there to really learn and did charity by giving me a C in the course.
I see a need to continue the story with a part 3 and hopefully next week.
Another Pamphlet from Autistic Children taken with a grain of salt
The Autistic Children supposedly receive messages from HASHEM. Rabbanim have warned not to treat them too deeply but there is some truth to it. It supposedly was predicted before the flooding of the heartland of the United States and it is mentioned in the message. There were questions asked to the children and they seem to indicate a trend in the monetary situation that Glenn Beck has been warning about the collapse of the US Dollar followed by the collapse of all the major monetary systems. The Egel HaZahav (golden calf) of mankind is about to collapse. (I am not getting into politics on how to avoid it or how to speed it up – these are the words allegedly from the autistics)
We are soon going to have a great war first with the Arabs among themselves as written in the Malbim in Daniel and Yechezkel and then with the west and finally all against tiny Israel. The safest place in the world to be at this time will be in Eretz Yisrael and the Autistics warn Jews to hurry here. Much of civilization will be destroyed and food shortages will prevail. (The biggest problem about storing things like rice and other items is that they get worm or bug infested from the eggs inside of some grain after time but canned items can be stored for a year plus and rotated on a first in first out basis)
Jews are asked to repent. But that is nothing new; I have been working on myself and others for a long time.
An oldie but goodie miracles and prophecies from 5766
We have been witnesses to the greatest “hanhaga” (leadership) of HASHEM during the past years and especially during the past weeks since Biblical Times. Small and large miracles on a daily basis in every corner of main conflict in the north, south, Yerushalayim, Valley of Sharon and Shomron occur at once. One story of G-D trying to get a man to repent can be illustrated by an article that appeared in Yediot Ahronot Friday July 21 page 9.
Tamar and Aytan Ganor from Nahariya and their two daughters aged 2 and 4 packed up and left the city when a Katuysha fell across the street from them. They went to Tamar’s father in Tiberius. There a Katuysha fell on the house opposite them. So they packed up and went to Nazairet Illit. There too a Katuysha fell. So 35 year old Aytan decided to go back home on Wednesday to pick up more clothing for the children and a rocket whizzed over his head as it fell not far away. On Thursday morning on his way to work, a Katuysha fell by the road a few meters from his car. The police recorded the incident and the whole story and now Aytan says he is taking the family to Beer Sheva to relatives there. He is just hoping that that Iran has not given Hezballah the Zilzal 2 missiles that can hit Beer Sheva and the Patriots and Arrows can act against them.
Speaking of Zilzal flying missiles, take a look a Yeshaya (Isa.) 18:1. The Hebrew says Tzitzil with wings. The words have a bit similar sound. Thanks to Rav Eliyahu Shatz Shlita. 1 Ah, land of the buzzing of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia; At first this seems nothing to do with the missiles that we have to deal with or the end of days. But wait, we have to read further down the Chapter: 2 That sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters! Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and of glossy skin, to a people terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that is sturdy and treads down, whose land the rivers divide! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the horn is blown, hear ye. 4 For thus hath the LORD said unto me: I will hold Me still, and I will look on in My dwelling-place, like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the bud becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the shoots will He take away and lop off. 6 They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth; and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. {S} 7 In that time shall a present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people tall and of glossy skin, and from a people terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that is sturdy and treads down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
It is obvious that we are at the End of Days. (In relationship to 6,000 years what is a decade or more a half of a percent of time plus.)There are many thoughts and ideas about World War III and some think it started on Sept. 11, ’01 while others are talking about it now. The first idea seems right but the real big battles to be fought are yet to come. It is Islam against the rest of world and not all Moslems but things have a way of catching up and taking hold that are wondrous in our eyes.
Olmert's and Peretz's mistake: To possibly allow NATO troops to do our job in cleaning up Lebanon. Once NATO is on our door step we can prepare soon for the war of Gog and Magog. They will be used against us as Emmanuel Winston has already warned us.
And from around Shavuos 5766:
1) The sniper shooting at the soldier at Kibbutz Manara missed and he was not killed.
2) The Kassam landing at the house of a relative of the Defense Minister. She lives in Sederot a few blocks from Amir Peretz. She heard the warning and from her sleep she thought that the Kassam would hit her house. It only hit her roof and porch and she and hers escaped miraculously but she is as Elvis sung “All shook-up”.
3) Today a car was shot at with numerous rounds of ammunition. Only glass injuries. (You remember the young boy Pinchas ben Sarah Rivka who was shot up last summer, he is slowly recovering in a hospice in the middle of the country and still needs prayers. Yet he lives!)
I read dozens of old miracles including a man carried up by a tornado and set down with no injury and this short one: Miracle in Tiberius A Tiberius residence took a direct hit. A woman and family went to be with her mother-in-law and offered her house to her sister from Kiriat Shemona. The sister said, "Nothing doing, the Katyshas are running after me from Kiriat Shemona to Haifa". Had either been there, there surely would have been injuries or deaths due the force of the hit.
Most of the miracles I skipped over but a few short ones I thought I would bring down:
HASHEM is with us
An Arab was carrying a case with 5 kg of explosives. He infiltrated from Ramallah thanks to the supreme leftists on the Supreme Court delaying the building of the security fence. He walked in carrying the bomb from east Yerushalayim. At the entrance to Yaffa Street, he was stopped by a police check point that usually is not located there. He started to run and was tackled. He would have been shot had he continued. He was asked to show his case. Under the 'work jeans' was a bomb. It took a while for the bomb disposal unit to clear it out of Yerushalayim.
Another Miracle in Tzfat
In Zefat one Katyusha landed in the same field as yesterday and one hit a factory close to another hit. This factory either produces Freon containers for air conditioners or had the gas. Two firemen suffered from the Freon for a few minutes. The Katyusha did not explode and was dismantled. The sirens did not go off but after the Katyusha fell in the valley, the people at the factory headed into the shelter saving their lives.
A Miracle left over from the Gulf War
During the Gulf war I reported how a Scud missed the Department Store by a few meters and fell on the Bible on Allenby Road in Tel Aviv and did not explode. I also reported on how the Scud landed in the middle of the fuel tanks and although it exploded caused no damage because the lines were closed the night before. Now somebody in the Haifa Electric Company blurted out that during the Gulf War a Scud landed directly on their roof and caused minimal damage and another overshot the refinery and landed into the sea. The Reading Electric Plant was also missed. Just to let you know: “HE THAT GUARDS YISRAEL NEITHER SLUMBERS OR SLEEPS”.
Non-Jew gets a Miracle
I saw this posted on a friend’s page on Facebook in the form of a movie: On Sept. 20, 2006 a man named Jeff Markem is on his way to work. He calls his boss on via his cellphone. The boss tells him to go to the emergency room. Jeff manages to drive to the emergency room. He collapses and expires on the floor when he gets there. He did not remember driving there. Dr. Chauncey Randall was on duty in the ICU. He received a message to get to the emergency room. When he got there a team of physicians were already working on Jeff. They worked on him for 40 minutes with the defibrillator a number of times but no response. The doctor wrote out and signed a death certificate and walked out of the room. Suddenly as he rushed out the door a voice came into his head and said pray for the man!
The doctor returned to the body and said, “Our FATHER in heaven please forgive this man for being a non-believer.” Chauncey asked another doctor to make one more try with the defibrillator. This time the body responded and a pulse showed up and the man began breathing on his own with his hands twitching in three minutes. Upon awaking Jeff described seeing a light but sitting alone in darkness. Jeff is now a believer.
Predictions of the Rebbe.
From Steve: The late Lubavitcher Rebbe foreshadowed and warned us, many years ago after the Camp David accords, what might happen if we behave in a particular way, and unfortunately Israel did not listen:
"...A Palestinian state in the heart of Eretz Yisrael - and make no mistake, that is exactly what "autonomy" means - is an open invitation for full-scale terrorist attacks on all parts of the land, G-d forbid."
"...The very terms of the treaty are bogus. Its purpose is to bring "peace" if Eretz Yisrael gives back Sinai, Yehuda and Shomron, etc. But how can Egypt promise such a thing? Egypt has no control over the other Arab countries and certainly none over the terrorists...”
"...Sadat, the “friend” of Eretz Yisrael, is dead, and who can predict what his successors will do?"
"...We will be left without peace - and without the Sinai, the oilfields, the settlements or the airfields. No peace and our security infinitely diminished."
"...the 'peace' was counterfeit from its inception, and the enemy remains the same. We surrendered all for nothing."
"... The humiliating concessions made by Eretz Yisrael under the Camp David accords are a direct result of Jewish weakness. Instead of basing our claim to the land on G-d's promise to His people, we prefer to rely on the goodwill and generosity of the non-Jew. Instead of being proud and firm in our identity, we adopt non-Jewish attitudes and quail and cower before the gentile nations..."
Please Remember: "For should the nations of the world say to Israel, 'You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nation [of Canaan],' Israel will reply to them 'The whole earth belongs to the Holy One, Blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. Of His own will He gave it to them, and of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us.'" (Rashi, Bereishis 1:1).
As I looked back for the second half of my personal journey back to Torah because the first part occurred at the end of April - Iyar and the second part occurred in the beginning of or mid-August Menachem Av or Elul it was written with a time gap. I have not found the continuing link but I found some Moshiach predictions of our times from the Gemara:
Editorial from 5766 (The soldier mentioned in the Editorial is Maj. Roe’e HY”D)
Kira, one of the moderators/administrators of the Torah Forum pointed out to all that the first day of the break from Yeshiva study, 12 soldiers were killed in one incident and 3 or 4 others in combat. The Leaders of Israel and the general populace do not support the idea that Torah study saves lives and produces miracles. One of the soldiers killed by the Katuysha was a fellow living in Yehuda whose family is endanger of losing their home as soon as the war ends. The sister begged him please refuse to go do not become canon fodder for the politicians. My heart is torn in two. We need the army against our enemies and to refuse to go we might me over the Mitzvah of do not stand idly by over the blood of your brothers. However, we cannot risk our lives to defend our home and family when the same government is going to destroy our homes and force us out on the street in violation of everything that the Torah stands for. Where are we here?
WE ARE THROUGH OUR EREV RAV GOVERNMENT GOING TO REWARD THE TERRORIST IN THE END. ALREADY OUR ‘LEADERS’ ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP THE SHAABA FARMS THAT NEVER WERE LEBANESE JUST TO GIVE VICTORY TO HIZBALLAH. G-D asks Cain “Ayacha?” (Where are you?) Dr. Phil would say, “What were you thinking?” Usually he says this to parents who let their kids run all over them or in reverse cases abuse kids. Sometimes he uses this on a spouse who cheats on their partner. Our leaders (Shalom Achshav Amir Peretz) did not want to go into Lebanon or 6 km in or up to the Litani River and yet the troops now are going in. Do you know why? Because our leaders have the face of a dog! They hear the people shouting “Hit them again, harder, harder.” So they move it. Why the face of a dog? Well most dogs like to run ahead of their masters to the junction. At that point they wait to see which way the master is going. If he goes straight or to the right or the left they run ahead again. I did not like Eric Sharon’s actions in the end, but he was one of the last leaders we had. The rest in both parties are worried about public opinion. David King of Israel had 0% approval rating when he started facing Golyad. When Golyad’s head was in one place and his body elsewhere David got 100% approval rating. Funny but before the feat he had 100% approval rating from HASHEM but while as popular as he was, when he took Bat Sheva, it took the Novi Natan to tell him that HASHEM lowered David’s approval rating. The greatness of David and Hizkiyahu was not their iron fisted rule but they were humble enough to withstand rebuke by Noviim. One or two words from the prophet and they repented. David fasted and did supplications before HASHEM and Hizkiyahu married even through he knew Menashe would be born from him.
I want to end with the Mishnah on Sotah 49A to B: WHEN R. MEIR DIED, THE COMPOSERS OF FABLES CEASED. WHEN BEN AZZAI DIED, THE ASSIDUOUS STUDENTS [OF TORAH] CEASED. WHEN BEN ZOMA DIED, THE EXPOSITORS CEASED. WHEN R. AKIBA DIED, THE GLORY OF THE TORAH CEASED. WHEN R. HANINA B. DOSA DIED, MEN OF DEED CEASED. WHEN R. JOSE KETANTA DIED, THE PIOUS MEN CEASED; AND WHY WAS HIS NAME CALLED KETANTA? BECAUSE HE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF THE PIOUS MEN. WHEN R. JOHANAN B. ZAKKAI DIED, THE LUSTRE OF WISDOM CEASED. WHEN RABBAN GAMALIEL THE ELDER DIED, THE GLORY OF THE TORAH CEASED, AND PURITY AND ABNEGATION PERISHED. WHEN R. ISHMAEL B. FABI DIED, THE LUSTRE OF THE PRIESTHOOD CEASED. WHEN RABBI DIED, HUMILITY AND FEAR OF SIN CEASED. R. PHINEAS B. JAIR SAYS: WHEN [THE SECOND] TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED, SCHOLARS AND NOBLEMEN WERE ASHAMED AND COVERED THEIR HEAD, MEN OF DEED WERE DISREGARDED, AND MEN OF ARM AND MEN OF TONGUE GREW POWERFUL. NOBODY ENQUIRES, NOBODY PRAYS [ON THEIR BEHALF], AND NOBODY ASKS. UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. R. ELIEZER THE GREAT SAYS: FROM THE DAY THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED, THE SAGES BEGAN TO BE LIKE SCHOOL-TEACHERS, SCHOOL-TEACHERS LIKE SYNAGOGUE-ATTENDANTS, SYNAGOGUE-ATTENDANTS LIKE COMMON PEOPLE, AND THE COMMON PEOPLE BECAME MORE AND MORE DEBASED; AND THERE WAS NONE TO ASK, NONE TO INQUIRE. UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MESSIAH INSOLENCE WILL INCREASE AND HONOUR DWINDLE; THE VINE WILL YIELD ITS FRUIT [ABUNDANTLY] BUT WINE WILL BE DEAR; THE GOVERNMENT WILL TURN TO HERESY AND THERE WILL BE NONE [TO OFFER THEM] REPROOF; THE MEETING-PLACE [OF SCHOLARS] WILL BE USED FOR IMMORALITY; GALILEE WILL BE DESTROYED, GABLAN DESOLATED, AND THE DWELLERS ON THE FRONTIER WILL GO ABOUT [BEGGING] FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITHOUT ANYONE TO TAKE PITY ON THEM; THE WISDOM OF THE LEARNED WILL DEGENERATE, FEARERS OF SIN WILL BE DESPISED, AND THE TRUTH WILL BE LACKING; YOUTHS WILL PUT OLD MEN TO SHAME, THE OLD WILL STAND UP IN THE PRESENCE OF THE YOUNG, A SON WILL REVILE HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER WILL RISE AGAINST HER MOTHER, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, AND A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD; THE FACE OF THE GENERATION WILL BE LIKE THE FACE OF A DOG, A SON WILL NOT FEEL ASHAMED BEFORE HIS FATHER. SO UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.
In the Mishnah the following ending appears which is not in the Bavli: R. PHINEAS B. JAIR USED TO SAY: HEEDFULNESS LEADS TO CLEANLINESS; CLEANLINESS LEADS TO PURITY; PURITY LEADS TO ABSTINENCE; ABSTINENCE LEADS TO HOLINESS; HOLINESS LEADS TO HUMILITY; HUMILITY LEADS TO FEAR OF SIN; FEAR OF SIN LEADS TO SAINTLINESS; SAINTLINESS LEADS TO (THE POSSESSION) OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS TO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD; AND THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD COMETH THROUGH ELIJAH OF BLESSED MEMORY, AMEN.
Melech Shlomo says in Koheles: “There is nothing new under the son.” Just like General Elazar wanted a call up before the Yom Kippur War and Golda and Dayan held him back and made him the scapegoat. So too today the faults of the upper political and military yes men are going to make General Judah Adam a scapegoat. He is a general the son of a general just like a man would expect a broker the son of a broker to know more about finance than your average college graduate in economics. Oh well his father Yekutial HY”D was a great General who was cut down by a sniper in Lebanon and now his son’s career is being cut down by politics in Lebanon.
My friends, we are in the times right before the Moshiach. This is one of our darkest hours. It will get much darker soon until the dawn of “That Day”. Be strong and of good faith in HASHEM. Learn, Repent, give Charity, Pray and do your best to help your fellow man.
Prophecy from Gemara Sanhedrin 97A by guessing in 5766 that the 9/11 attacks were the start of this process.
The rabbis taught: In this Sabbatical period in which the son of David will appear in the first year there will be fulfilled what is written, in [Amos, iv. 7]: "And I caused it to rain upon one city, and upon another city I caused it not to rain." In the second year, arrows (tokens) of famine will be sent. In the third, a great famine, from which men, women, and children, pious men and men of good deeds will die, and the Torah will be forgotten by their scholars. (The cutting to the child allowances and Yeshiva stipends.) In the fourth there will be abundance, and not abundance. In the fifth there will be great abundance, and the people will eat, drink, and enjoy themselves, and the Torah will return to her scholars. (This year 5766) In the sixth, voices will be heard saying that the Messiah is near. In the seventh, (5768 was the closest year when this was written) war will be, and at the end of the seventh, ben David will come. Said R. Joseph: Were there not many Sabbatical periods which were like this, but still he did not come? Said Abayi: Were then the above-mentioned voices heard in the sixth? And was there war in the seventh war? And secondly, has it then happened in the same order as said above? There is a Boraitha. R. Jehudah said: The generation in which the son of David will come, the houses of assembly will be converted into houses of prostitution. Galilee will be destroyed. The place called Gablan will be astonished. Men of the borders of Palestine will travel from one city to another, but will find no favor. (Sounds a lot like Gush Katif and Northern Shomron) The wisdom of the scribes will be corrupted. (By the Israeli High Court of Injustice and by politicians feeding bad information to their Torah Sages) Men fearing sin will be hated. (Especially by the mass media) The leaders of that generation will have the nature of dogs. (They go according to public opinions and to avoid jail.) And truth will be missing, as it reads [Is. lix. 15]: "And thus is the truth missing." What does this mean? It was said in the college that it passes away like flocks. 1 "And he that departeth from evil is regarded as foolish." Said the school of Shila: He who turns away from evil is regarded as foolish in the eyes of the people. Said Rabha: Previously I thought there is no truth in the whole world. However, I met thereafter a certain rabbi named Tubuth, according to others R. Tibumi, and if the whole world filled with gold would be given to him, he would not change his word or tell a lie. It happened once that he came to a city named Kushta (truth). And the inhabitants of that city would not change their word, and it never happened that one should die an untimely death. And he married one of its inhabitants, and she bore him two children. It happened once that his wife washed her head and a female neighbor came to ask for her, and he thought that it was not nice to say that she is washing her head, and therefore said that she is out. And the two children died. And when the inhabitants came to ask him what was the reason that such an unusual thing happened to him, he told them the truth. And they requested him to move away from their city in order not to cause untimely death.
R. Nehuraia taught: The generation in which the son of David will come, young men will make pale the faces of the old, old men will rise before youth, a daughter will rebel against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, the leaders of the generation will have the nature of dogs, and a son will not be ashamed when his father reproaches him. (Did anybody ever hear of such a thing!)
There is a Boraitha: R. Nehemiah said: The generation in which ben David will come, insolence will increase, an evil man will be honored, (Could this really happen in our political and media circles today?) respect will be missed, the vine will give forth its fruit abundantly; wine, however, will be dear, and all the governments will be turned over to Minuth (will embrace the religion of the Minim), and no preaching will avail. And this is a support to R. Itz'hak, who said that ben David will not come unless all governments will be turned over to Minuth. Where is to be found a hint to this in the Scripture? [Lev. xiii. 13]: "It is all turned white, he is clean."
Note that the Moshiach can come at any time and the Gemara is a bit vague. Still the time frame appears to be with the intelligence suggesting by the end of 2007 is the dead line for dealing with Iran.
This week as part of a discussion with a Reform Convert and another non-Orthodox Convert on a discussion board I wrote: I have no doubt about your sincerity to be a Jew. My wife has a green card for the States. We watch Fox News and she knows a lot about the States. We have a home in FL and she has a FL license but until she spends 5 full physical years in the States and passes the citizenship test she will not be a US citizen no matter how she feels. Now true conversion to Judaism is based entirely on the book of Ruth. She was married to Machlon and had kept kosher and observed how Machlon fully observed Shabbos. She also went to the Mikvah as Naomi told her before going to be with Boaz. She met essentially all the requirements of an Orthodox Jew.
I have encountered a number of couples where she is on board and he is not. I tell them that I cannot convert them until both members of the couple is on board. I know a non-Jew who is married to a Cohain and truly wants to convert, but I cannot convert her as he is a Cohain and conversion would produce Challalim so as far as Judaism she is better off being a non-Jew and her children converts. There can be a leeway given to a convert here and there and the Shulchan Aruch allows for this. However, there are certain things we cannot allow. Having come from the Reform and moved through Conservative Judaism on my way to becoming Orthodox; If the Conservative Rabbi is Shabbos Observant he is palatable unto my tastes but not the whole movement for the whole Orthodox movement. The Reform have almost moved into Unitarianism and the eating on Yom Kippur in Reform Schuls is disgusting. I am not even going into other practices.
I say using a baseball analogy that why settle for a double or a triple when one can get a home run. The Conservative Rabbis at least learn Talmud and Shulchan Aruch. I have encountered Reform Rabbis who never even learned a Mishnah all the more so the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch. The Reform Rabbis learn in their Seminary how to solicit donations, give a funeral orator "Woe unto us that Jimmy Cricket is no longer", teach a Bar Mitzvah, perform a marriage (not necessarily according to the laws of Moshe and Yisrael) and the Conservative Rabbis sometimes use a short cut in the marriage but it is Kosher provided that the witnesses are kosher.
There are many fine things that a layman does not know that make the difference between a real Rabbi, a Posek, A Ruv, a Dayan etc. and I can tell you from my own dealings with people and cases that I have discussed with the Dayan Rabbi Mimran that to issue a Pasak in Torah is not easy for one has to weigh the sides. To grant a divorce takes special learning which I have, but not enough experience on the various Hebrew names and nicknames of people which are very important. I did not tell them what Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote about their ‘marriages’ which is good as if they get or don’t get a divorce there is not Maumzerim coming from these ‘marriages’.
I would be surprised if more than a handful of Reform Rabbis could even pass the Conservative Rabbinate tests. It is like saying you just won a car choose between a Cadillac, fiat or the latest car made in China. Orthodox Judaism is your Cadillac or Lincoln Continental as compared to the other two branches. As sincere as one is in their feeling Jewish it is a matter of "You shall love the LRD thy GD with all thy heart, all thy strength and all thy might" Devarim Chapter 6. That means observing the Mitzvos and Halachos according to both the Oral and Written Torah. Just like there is no such thing as a wee bit pregnant, a wee bit adultery, there is no such thing as a wee bit observant.
I received the following in my in-box: Depending on the person and the situation, G-d answers or waits to answer their prayers in different ways. This person, who has come to us on many occasions (thank G-d with a lot of success), was fortunate enough to see an incredible 180 change, perhaps just for the purpose of relating his story to you now...
'Mark' as we will call him, came to us during the worst of the recession asking us to pray for him that he will be successful in his sales. He was a salesperson of manufacturing parts in a company of more than 30,000 people worldwide. Seeing the situation get worse he became worried for his job stability as he had certain quotas to maintain. We prayed 40 days for him. However, as the economy slid, so too did his sales.
Mark was worried. He asked us to pray 40 days for him again, and so again we did. However Mark's sales continued to take a downward turn along with his co-workers'. Things went from bad to worse when Mark accidentally quoted the wrong price to a buyer and became entwined in a lawsuit against his company. At that point, Mark decided to do a serious spiritual accounting and point the finger not at G-d and unanswered prayers, but at himself and his spiritual work in this world.
Mark resigned to accept wholeheartedly G-d's decision against him and to trust that all that was happening was for the best, and that perhaps his job was not meant to be. He stayed positive and aware - all the while maintaining a state of trust. However, he simultaneously did not give up hope, but instead asked us to pray another 40 days for a positive outcome in his court case and in his sales, because he felt that trust did not equal quitting. Rather, it meant to continue praying for his goals and to trust the results. We did it and held his hand through the process.
On the 40th day, Mark logged into the Kotel webcam and was number 40. He felt that G-d was with him. He then received a call that the court case was dropped. Then, as if all at once, Mark started to sell millions and millions of dollars of supplies in the worst economy to hit his market in decades. He sold so much that his employer called him up to say that he had been awarded the prize of the top salesperson of the YEAR (out of more than 30,000 employees)!
Mark was invited to a ceremony in his honor, awarded a $10,000 bonus and a large trophy honoring his accomplishments. He was stunned and over-joyed. He desperately wanted to come to Israel and go to the Kotel and say psalm 21 to thank G-d. The next day an old friend from Israel called him and offered him a free ticket to Israel to celebrate his wife's birthday. Mark came and went to the Kotel to say the same psalm his prayer agent had said there for over 120 days. He sent us a picture of him in the Old City streets, but asked us not to share it with you for privacy reasons.
I love this story, not only for its Josef in Egypt-like rags to riches-ness, but especially for the lesson it seems to teach. When we focus on ourselves, accept G-d's decrees and trust Him wholeheartedly while continuing to beat down His door to answer our prayers, we are more likely to receive the blessing for which we are looking.
May we all be successful in using our tests to the maximum and to witness revealed blessings as a result,
Batya Burd Founder Westernwallprayers.org *a project of Kollel Tefilat Moshe
A mazel tov to my friend R. who completed conversion finally after a number of years of delay and from Elisabeth about another convert: http://www.aish.com/sp/lal/96276268.html
Inyanay Diyoma
An aside note: Primary Candidate Ron Paul is against foreign aid. He says things about isolationism but coming out of the other side of his mouth is end the boycott of Gaza. I call that anti-Semitism with a diploma.
Arabs Riots: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144158
Ehud Barak’s show of weakness only leads to more trouble: http://www.debka.com/article/20936/
Ehud – How many spies did you let in? http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=220742
You have my humble thanks Ehud for this idiocy too: http://www.debka.com/article/20945/
Maybe there will be hope for me after all: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/15/scientists-find-genetic-s_n_862237.html?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%7C213325
Old rusted mines don’t work. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144212
This August stand of Yisrael in Yerushalayim: http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/05/16/coming-this-summer-restoring-courage-in-israel/
Leftist help infiltrator get to Tel Aviv thank you Ehud Barak and the far left: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144236
The terrorist from Kashmir takes over: http://www.debka.com/article/20942/
Please read this and remember it on Nov. 6, 2012 http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/obama-bans-weapons-sales-to-israel-yet-sells-billions-in-arms-to-arab-states/
| From Moshe Feglin: May 8, '11 Translated from Maariv's NRG website |
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M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “Special Ops” parts 1 and 2. Good Shabbos Everyone. The Torah tells us this week "You shall perform My statutes, keep My ordinances and perform them then you will live on the land securely." (Vayikra 25:18) We see here that the Torah promises us security if the Jewish people keep the Torah. The following story is one of the most amazing stories we have ever printed. This story demonstrates how Hashem is with those who keep His Torah. Good Shabbos Everyone. It states in the Holy Torah this week, "If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments and perform then... you will dwell securely in your land... I will walk among you, I will be G-d unto you and you will be a people unto Me." (Vayikra 26:3-12) We see from here that the reward for keeping the Torah is that we merit having Hashem with us. The following continuation of our inspirational true story shows how Hashem escorts the Jewish people in Exile. Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Menachem Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Tsviah bas Bracha Leah Mazal Tov to Reb Yisroel A. Ganzweig, Lakewood, |
Have a wonderful Shabbos and a peaceful one and good health to everybody.
Rachamim Pauli
