Before I get into the miracles please pray for Adael Leah bas Aviva who was gravely injured in the attack and now is in serious condition.
Because of time spent writing about the miracles part two of the Autistic Children will be delayed.
Miracles in the Terror Attack
1) The first part of the terror attack occurred with somebody dressed in an Egyptian Soldier Uniform shooting from an Egyptian Outpost at an Israeli Car. The driver and wife saw the man leave the post and get down to the ground with his rifle they thought it was pray time for the Egyptian until he trained his rifle on their car and started shooting automatically bullets in their direction. The wife called the police and alerted them to the terror attack as the man drove off and telling his children to duck. Despite the numerous bullets, nobody was hurt B”H. The bus with the soldiers was hit and they fired back at the Egyptian Border Post. It still looks like there was co-operation with lover level soldiers and the terrorists despite the politically correct statements. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4111075,00.html
2) The rocket that landed in the middle of prayers in the Ashdod Synagogue did not explode but the chunks of glass and cement injured two people seriously and four others moderately to lightly.
3) Mr. Shitret was on the way home in Beer Sheva with his wife and daughter when the sirens sounded. They hid by a wall but a car that blew up sent shrapnel into their bodies. He and his wife were defined as seriously injured but his daughter was so critically wounded that she was defined as gravely wounded. Her chances of survival were pretty thin. She woke up on Wednesday saying that she was thirsty and in pain her name appears above for prayers.
4) Motzei Shabbos a man was in his car and the sirens went off. He did not have an available shelter. He got out of the car and lay down on the sidewalk nearby. The car took a direct hit as for the man he is alive to talk about it although it will take a bit of time until the government gives him compensation or an alternative car. Another man in a similar situation though was not that way for he left the sheltered area because he heard that in Ofakim there was a child hurt in a family home and thought of his wife and children – do not think a miracle will occur for you listen to the safety instructions.
5) On Thursday morning an infant of nine months, Ohri Yanai was sleeping in his parents room on their bed. A Grad or Kassam hit their house in Yad Mordechai and glass splinters entered the child after first being treated in the Kibbutz Shelter, the child was treated in the Ashkelon Hospital and with the exception of a bandage seemed very happy and playful on the Israeli TV.
Unrelated to the above on Thursday prior to the publication of this Drasha or Blog; my wife invited over an old friend from work and the guests parked their car slightly up the hill. The Toyota gears park in neutral and the handbrakes were not raised fully. We saw the car as they left on the other side of the street near a construction site where there is almost a 12 foot drop until where the neighbors will be building a shelter. The curb stopped the car and no other cars were on the road and no children during that time. And from my standpoint did not crash into my car.
Gary gets a miracle
Of course Repentance, Prayer and Charity can work miracles.
Yes, Rabbi...I have seen it with my own eyes and heard it in the voices of my children....and all your prayers and my own Accounting and Kindness all came together. A long way to go, but HaShem and you ALL are leading the way to a little miracle. Exactly ten years after a Hamas rocket took 10 lives on June 1, 2001 and almost mine. And now 10 years later, I am fighting for my life in a different way.
Parsha Reeh
11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day; 28and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
Everybody can choose what they want. If you are true to the LRD G-D you will eventually succeed and if not your success might only be in this world.
29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou go to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Eval. …
For this section click here for a short and sweet commentary: http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=48966291§ion=/tp/i/ky
12:29 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou go in to dispossess them, and thou dispossess them, and dwell in their land; 30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying: 'How used these nations to serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.' 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD, which He hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
We were told to destroy everything from the gods of the people which would disappoint archeologists but this is what HASHEM wants.
13:1 All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
One does not go to the right or left of what G-D commands and only to observe it.
Did you ever meet one the missionaries who start blabbering to you all sorts of nonsense like – he gave his only son. In addition to MY firstborn Israel in Shemos 4:22 the following tells us that there is more than one son of G-D. In fact G-D has many children.
14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be His own treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
Rat, snake, worms, etc. and other things that are detestable and often appear part of ‘reality shows’. Nor does one swallow living goldfish for that is a live creature which was popular some 80 to 90 years ago among the Goyim. (See kosher fish below)
4 These are the beasts which ye may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the mountain-sheep.
Does any modern person know what a pygarg is? It is called in Hebrew a Dishon or in modern terms an Addax and the picture of this wild goat like creature can be found here: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9F_(%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addax
All these animals live or lived in Eretz Yisrael and although Moose, Elk, Bison, Giraffe, etc. are not native to Israel, they are kosher as they part the hooves and chew the cud – now try to capture a moose or a bison and hold it still for slaughter that the Schochet is not killed in the process.
6 And every beast that parts the hoof, and hath the hoof wholly cloven in two, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that ye may eat. 7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that only chew the cud, or of them that only have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rock-badger, because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you;
The rock badger is very common around Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea area. These are the only three animals discovered after the writing of the Bible that exhibit this property. There is one and only one animals that has cloven hooves and does not chew its cud.
8 and the swine, because he parts the hoof but chews not the cud, he is unclean unto you;
This animal not only eats piggish and is sloppy but when it lies down stretches out it paws forward. I photographed this in the San Diego Zoo. It is pure Yetzer HaRa – look my feet are kosher – all right you con artist but you do not chew the cud. This is the only animal on the planet that has these features everyone else with cloven hooves chews its cud. Special tricks and feed stalls would have to be built to slaughter kosher an American Bison.
of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch.
Like the carcasses of snakes, rats, lizards and other assorted rodents, their carcass is Tumay.
9 These ye may eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales may ye eat;
Most fish are like this.
10 and whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye shall not eat; it is unclean unto you.
But not the shark or sword fish, crustaceans, all octopuses/squid, eels, sea horses, jelly fish, turtles, Dolphins, Seals, Sea Lions, and various creatures.
11 Of all clean birds ye may eat.
The Talmud in Chullin lists four signs of which some birds have two, three or all four. Most of the forbidden species are birds that feed upon carrion.
12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the great vulture, and the bearded vulture, and the ospray; 13 and the glede, and the falcon, and the kite after its kinds; 14 and every raven after its kinds; 15 and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kinds; 16 the little owl, and the great owl, and the horned owl; 17 and the pelican, and the carrion-vulture, and the cormorant; 18 and the stork, and the heron after its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
19 And all winged swarming things are unclean unto you; they shall not be eaten.
This refers to unclean locusts.
20 Of all clean winged things ye may eat. 21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dies of itself;
This is Nevaila Meat and a Trafe piece is something torn or improperly slaughtered.
thou may give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mat sell it unto a foreigner; for thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God.
These you can benefit from or even feed your dog.
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
This is the third time the prohibition appears. One is for not cooking, the second for not eating if somebody else cooked it and the third one for not benefiting from it by even feeding it to a dog.
22 Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which is brought forth in the field year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou may learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
Maaser Sheni was fruit eaten from money which redeemed in Yerushalayim and the firstlings were given to a Temple Cohain.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set His name there, when the LORD thy God shall bless thee; 25 then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose.
Placing the value of the second tithe on coins describe above.
26 And thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thy soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asks of thee; and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household. 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath neither portion nor inheritance with thee.
If you had a lot of Maaser Sheni money you could buy a Sheep or Goat as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
28 At the end of every three years, even in the same year, thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of your increase, and shall lay it up within thy gates. 29 And the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou do.
This is Maaser Ani or poor man’s Maaser in the third and six years of Shmita.
15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because the LORD'S release hath been proclaimed.
This is the Shmita year and prior to the eight year the debt must be collected or forgiven to a Jew but as to a foreigner -
3 Of a foreigner thou may exact it; but whatsoever of your is with thy brother thy hand shall release. 4 Howbeit there shall be no needy among you--for the LORD will surely bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance to possess it—
No needy would mean that everybody was blessed for completely observing the Torah will all their soul and labor.
5 if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day. 6 For the LORD thy God will bless thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.
You want the blessings and miracles then observe.
7 If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; 8 but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wants. 9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and your eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nothing; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou gives unto him; because that for this thing the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou put thy hand unto. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.'
This does not mean that every person begging you that you must give to but only the Shmita crops in your fields for there are 1,600,000 to 2,000,000 people living today in Israel below the poverty level and if I were to just try to give each one only ten Agarot it would be more than my income in Shekels for the year so obviously one cannot do that but only try his best at charity and the Sages say no more than 20% and no less than 10% of one’s income.
12 If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13 And when thou let him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty; 14 You shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou were a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing to-day. 16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee: 'I will not go out from thee'; because he loves thee and thy house, because he fares well with thee; 17 then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear and into the door, and he shall be thy bondman forever. And also unto thy bondwoman thou shalt do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou let him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years; and the LORD thy God will bless thee in all that thou does.
Some people become poor and sell themselves into slavery to be guaranteed food, shelter and at the end of six years maximum some compensation to start their own life anew.
19 All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of your ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock. 20 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21 And if there be any blemish therein, lameness, or blindness, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates; the unclean and the clean may eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart. 23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
Wild animals even if grown in captivity like the deer, mountain goat, water buffalo, etc. must have their blood covered with dirt upon slaughtering.
16: … 16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks, and on the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty; 17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee.
These are the three festivals or Chagim or Regalim in which people would go up to Yerushalayim by foot or other transportation but walk on their feet up the Temple Mount and hence the name Regalim for the plural of foot but not feet but three times going up the mount.
Perkei Avos Chapter 6 Mishnah 6 -7 http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682522/jewish/English-Text.htm
כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, שנאמר ועמך כולם צדיקים, לעולם יירשו ארץ, נצר מטעי מעשה ידי להתפאר.
Please note that all of the Chapters of Mishnayos always start with the Hebrew Sentence above: All of Yisrael have a portion in the world to come as it is stated – YOUR Nation are all righteous and they will inherit the land they are my scion groves of MY hand to show off.
6. Torah is greater than the priesthood or sovereignty, for sovereignty is acquired with thirty virtues, the priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is acquired with forty-eight qualities.
A King has 30 qualities in which, he governs and a Cohain needs 24 to succeed but a Torah Scholar is above that. We do not preclude Melech Shlomo, David or other righteous and learned kings.
These are: study, listening, verbalizing,
The Torah Scholar studies by learning the Torah through verbalizing and listening to his words. The eye reads, the mouth pronounces and the ear hers even if within his head. This way the learning is more intense and penetrating into the soul.
comprehension of the heart,
This builds up into his heart, brain, soul
awe, fear, humility,
As a result one gains the awe and fear of HASSHEM and this in turn makes him humble after witch the intellectual pursuit will give him joy.
joy, purity,
being engrossed in Torah will lead the joy of understanding new things and even some secrets of creation everyday which in turn leads to purity. What can become impure if one is learning Torah for the sake of heaven. Even if he is not learning for the sake of heaven, eventually it will be for the sake of heaven as the more one learns the greater he builds up his righteousness.
serving the sages,
One learns by serving the sages, just as we saw the young fellow watch how the Rebbe was acting in last week’s story. Rabbi Tuvia Wein of righteous memory told me how he watched the Chofetz Chaim prepare for Shabbos by sewing the Kishka (stuffed intestines).
companionship with one's contemporaries,
In the Bais Medrash one develops relationships with other scholars and learns even more.
debating with one's students,
The best learning comes from debating ones students because they ask good questions and bring up good points.
tranquility,
Torah learning can be hot and furious debates in the Beis Medrash but in the end after the debate is over one gains tranquility.
study of the scriptures, study of the Mishnah,
This leads to increasing ones brain power and keeps the Alzheimer away. One rarely sees an old Talmud Chacham with dementia.
minimizing engagement in business, minimizing socialization, minimizing pleasure, minimizing sleep, minimizing talk, minimizing gaiety,
All these take away from ones Torah learning. I found that over involvement in the stock market, Facebook and other things took away too much of my time. That does not mean in the Beis Medrash from time to time one cannot crack a joke to get the attention of the students or to wake one up but in moderation. Too much sleep and too much talk do not produce anything constructive. They are good for Esav and not for Yacov for when a Rasha talks nonsense and sleeps he is not engaged in actions that effect the world negatively.
slowness to anger,
I found nothing better for making a Tikun for myself than controlling my anger especially against fools.
good heartedness,
Goodness comes from G-D and one who learns Torah obtains this quality eventually even if he started out rotten.
faith in the sages, acceptance of suffering,
Nachum Ish Gamzu would say “Also this is for the best.” One who learns about past lives and the Beis Din shel Maalah is more acceptable to bear his suffering. However, some suffering is extreme and becomes unbearable by most of us.
knowing one's place,
One should not be a cockroach but neither should one think that he is G-D’s gift to the world or women or men by learning the vast amount of Torah and seeing more and more one becomes humbled.
satisfaction with one's lot,
Not being the type who has a thousand and wants ten thousand or has ten thousand and wants one hundred thousand but is happy with his portion in this world and makes do.
qualifying one's words,
Not being like our politicians full of bluff and puffed up bombastic words and promises that they cannot ever fulfill.
not taking credit for oneself, likableness, love of G-d, love of humanity,
No bragging, being pleasant, loves both G-D and mankind a true love not some spur of the moment love because he won a lottery or got a promotion that day.
love of charity,
he gives where he can.
love of justice,
always wants to be fair and has a great distaste for injustice.
love of rebuke,
willing listens to Mussar and loves to repair himself.
fleeing from honor,
does not seek out honor and shies away from it.
lack of arrogance in learning,
does not think that his interpretation of the Torah or way of thinking is better than others.
reluctance to hand down rulings,
he does not want to make a mistake in Halacha.
participating in the burden of one's fellow,
Rabbi Yacov Mizrachi Ztzal was a member of the Knesset and aged over sixty. I should have for his honor walked around the sand dunes but I had packages, he wrestled the packages from me even though I was around 26 at that time and helped me with my burden. This is a true example of a Talmud Chacham helping with a burden and being humble.
judging him to the side of merit, correcting him, bringing him to a peaceful resolution [of his disputes],
You do not know how important this is and if one is not up to this, he should not go into being a Rabbinical Judge.
deliberation in study,
One cannot go through his Torah studies as one reads a novel but must go over and over until he has attacked every angle of the dispute carefully.
asking and answering, listening and illuminating,
Since reading in Hebrew is harder for me, I usually listen but the course of learning Chavrutha one must ask and answer your partner and perhaps explain the difficulties.
learning in order to teach, learning in order to observe,
The first is a merit to continue Torah but that is not enough an electrical engineer cannot really be one until he has either soldered or crimped a wire and the Rabbi must be able to observe the Mitzva except special Mitzvos for women. Leviim and Cohanim which one cannot perform and only learns them for scholarship.
wising one's teacher,
Give and take with one’s teacher on Torah matters. Once a man told Rabbi Simcha HaCohain Kuk Shlita that he wanted his children to be just like himself – Rabbi Kuk questioned this and said that he wanted is children to be better.
exactness in conveying a teaching,
We already learned that one could poison a student by changing a teaching. At the time this Mishna was written down everything out of the Holy Scriptures was Oral Torah and the Mishna a short coded message of Oral Torah until the generations weakened and the troubles increased that the Talmud had to be transmitted. Up until the advent of the printing press everything was exact and precise but then the church censors came in.
and saying something in the name of its speaker. Thus we have learned: One who says something in the name of its speaker brings redemption to the world, as is stated (Esther 2:22), "And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai."
I even tell many jokes in the name of the one who sent me for this reason.
7. Great is Torah, for it gives life to its observers in this world, and in the World To Come. As is stated (Proverbs 4:22): "For they are life to he who finds them, and a healing to all his flesh." And it says (ibid. 3:8): "It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones." And it says (3:18): "She is a tree of life for those who hold fast to her, and happy are those who support her." And it says (1:9): "For they shall be a garland of grace for your head, and necklaces about your neck."
A hint at the Luz Bone where the dead will be resurrected from.
And it says(4:9): "She shall give to your head a garland of grace, a crown of glory she shall grant you." And it says (9:11): "With me, your days shall be increased, and years of life shall be added to you." And it says (3:16): "Long days in her right hand; in her left, wealth and honor." And it says (3:2): "For long days, years of life and peace, they shall add to you."
A life of peace cannot be for Torah Scholars in this world so obviously it is in the next.
8. Rabbi Shimon the son of Judah would say in the name of Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai: Beauty, strength, wealth, honor, wisdom, sageliness, old age and children are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world. As is stated (Proverbs 16:31): "Old age is a crown of beauty, to be found in the ways of righteousness." And it says (ibid. 20:29): "The beauty of youths is their strength, and the glory of sages is their age." And it says (ibid., 17:6): "The crown of sages are their grandchildren, and the beauty of children their fathers." And it says (Isaiah 24:23): "And the moon shall be abashed and the sun shamed, for the L-rd of hosts has reigned in Zion, and before his elders is glory."
One who keeps learning all the time remains a wise old man and who doesn’t becomes a dotting old fool.
Rabbi Shimon the son of Menasia would say: these seven qualities enumerated by the sages for the righteous were all realized in Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] and his sons.
9. Said Rabbi Yossi the son of Kisma: Once, I was traveling and I encountered a man. He greeted me and I returned his greetings. Said he to me: "Rabbi, where are you from?" Said I to him: "From a great city of sages and scholars, am I." Said he to me: "Rabbi, would you like to dwell with us in our place? I will give you a million dinars of gold, precious stones and pearls." Said I to him: "If you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell anywhere but in a place of Torah. Indeed, so is written in the book of psalms by David the king of Israel: `I prefer the Torah of Your mouth over thousands in gold and silver' (Psalms 118:72). Furthermore, when a person passes from this world neither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, only Torah and good deeds, as is stated (Proverbs 6:22): `When you go it will direct you, when you lie down it will watch over you, and when you awaken it shall be your speech.' `When you go it will direct you'---in this world; `when you lie down it will watch over you'---in the grave; `and when you awaken it shall be our speech'---in the World To Come. Also it says (Chaggai 2:8): `Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, so says the L-rd of Hosts.' "
This week I was offered the opportunity to buy a non-kosher winery and turn it into kosher. Theoretically it was/is a nice project. But I would be like Akvia Ben Mehalalel who found out that being at one time the Gadol HaDor and moving away found himself replace by others and the scholars did not follow him to where he went. There is nothing better than living in a place of Torah for the Torah will not follow me and I will be on a desert island with nobody to be a Chavrutha with me and my Torah knowledge and sharpening of my mind would dry up.
10. G-d acquired five acquisitions in his world. These are: one acquisition is the Torah, one acquisition are the heavens and the earth, one acquisition is Abraham, one acquisition is the people of Israel, and one acquisition is the Holy Temple. The Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 8:22), "G-d acquired me as the beginning of His way, before His works of yore." The heavens and the earth, as it is written (Isaiah 66:1), "So says G-d: The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool; what house, then, can you build for Me, and where is My place of rest?"; and it says (Psalms 104:25), "How many are your works, O G-d, You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is filled with Your acquisitions." Abraham, as it is written (Genesis 14:19), "And he blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram to G-d Most High, acquirer of heavens and earth." Israel, as it is written (Exodus 15:16), "Till Your nation, O G-d, shall pass, till this nation You have acquired shall pass"; and it says (Psalms 16:3), "To the holy who are upon earth, the noble ones, in whom is all My delight." The Holy Temple, as it is written (Exodus 15:17), "The base for Your dwelling that you, G-d, have achieved; the Sanctuary, O L-rd, that Your hands have established"; and it says (Psalms 78:54), "And He brought them to His holy domain, this mount His right hand has acquired."
11. Everything that G-d created in His world, He did not create but for His glory. As is stated (Isaiah 43:7): "All that is called by My name and for My glory, I created it, formed it, also I made it." And it says (Exodus 15:1): "G-d shall reign forever and ever."
In the Hebrew version – Chabad has this as Mishnah 12 I assume that there was a condensation of Mishnayos not of the words but of the numbers when it was translated into English.
Each Chapter of the Mishnayos ends with:
רבי חנניא בן עקשיא אומר: רצה הקדוש ברוך הוא לזכות את ישראל, לפיכך הרבה להם תורה ומצות, שנאמר: ה' חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר.
Rabbi Chananya ben Akashia says: THE HOLY ONE BLESSED BE HE wanted Israel to have merits, therefore HE gave them lots of Torah and commandments, as it is said: HASHEM wants for that righteous will increase the Torah and glorify.
HADRAN HALACHA MESECHES PERKI AVOS SALIK MESCHES PERKEI AVOS (We have finished the Perkei Avos segment of Mishnayos).
Halacha from Danny Schoemann
If possible, one should awaken at midnight and say Tikun Chatzos; lamenting the destruction of the Bet HaMikdash and the resultant loss of Torah learning as well as the numerous Mitzvos we can no longer do. If getting up at midnight is not an option, one should get up before dawn to say Tikun Chatzos. After Tikun Chatzos one should learn some Torah; Mishna or Tehillim or Mussar. At the very latest one needs to awaken in time to get to Schul before they start morning prayers. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 1:5
The Torah is divided into two parts: The written-law (Tanach) and the oral-law (Mishna and Gemara). Even if one knows parts of the written-law by heart, one should be careful not say them without a text. The exception being those verses that everybody knows by heart, like those Tehillim said often during prayers like אשרי If possible, one should pray from a Siddur, since Davening includes many verses that not everybody knows by heart. Blind people are allowed to say everything by heart.
Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 1:6
take medication may swill some of the water in his mouth as he swallows his pills or washes them down but no more unless he is required for health reasons to eat and drink in full.
1977 Patrolling the Lebanese Border opposite Fatah Land
In those days the danger of border patrol had been reduced as Saied Haddad’s forces were in some or all of the hills there called the South Lebanese Army. I arrived at Metulla with a few other Paramedics who took the course with me. We were theoretically supposed to be stationed at the Sharm-El-Sheik Air Base but that summer there was no drill or need for us so we were loaned out to Golani 51 Brigade.
Immediately I was assigned to Margaliot which is on top of Kiriat Shemona so any rocket falling short of attacking Kiriat Shemona would fall on my area. I had come from my desk job at Elta Electronics and was suddenly feeling the ground shake under me everytime the Howitzers of either 155 or 175 mm went off from a Moshav on the other side of Metulla. My friend Eli was assigned to Mt. Dov and when he was not being a paramedic was put into the watch tower to look out for terrorists. Besides the fearsome shells from the artillery going off from the guns and my staff sergeant chewing sunflower seeds and a lightning rate from nerves worrying about the patrols I was as close to shell shock as the people who went into the Yom Kippur War. As an ex-boy scout assigned to the Israel Air Force, I was not prepared for front line Golani 51 patrols.
After finding a bunk bed for my equipment, I was sent for Target Practice. I had never fired in my life a machine gun that shoots 1000 rounds or more a minute so they gave me the quickest training course the IDF ever knew and then the large anti-aircraft or armor piercing bullets. We were told because of the danger of terror attacks to take our guns with us even to the toilet. (Years later I was told by the electronic warfare unit of the IAF that I was most fighting fighter-paramedic that they ever saw because of this.)
The outpost commander had a head ache on Shabbos and I had to find him an Acamol in the dark in a kit that I had no time to go through. I managed to find the one and only Acamol left. On Shabbos just before Motzei Shabbos, I was a one man guard detail on our little outpost. I looked out towards to the Hermon to see if the sun had set – not yet but in the valley below the Hermon there was a fire fight. One group was shooting at another and a third group came in and shot at both of them. Eli got a radio call – “Are our boys in danger?” “Nope it is three different groups one against the other.”
The first reserve Golani Unit was changing places with a second Unit a day or two later and I was given a 36 hour pass. What a relief going back into civilian life for an hour or two to return to the front line completely cured any trace of shell shock that I might have had. This time, I was prepared armed for battle with ampullas of Morphine for heaven forbid an injured soldier and my heavy first line paramedic gear and 8 fully loaded magazines with one in my gun on safety. I was then off to border patrolling from Ramat Naphtali to the Banias sleeping 4 hour days in a hot bunk with flies galore and the Howitzers as lullaby music. The commander of the half-track might get relieved along with the other Golani guy and the driver but the Paramedic did the whole patrol from evening to the clearing of the area for tracks in the morning. Using our search light to see what was in Lebanon made us a great target for a heat seeking missile and we were loaded with stuff. (One patrol vehicle blew up due to some dopey idea to throw a live grenade at night from the vehicle killing the commander and injuring serious the thrower.)
From our patrol we could see the nightly shelling of the Shiites and PLO of the Sunni and Christian Villages some of the flares and bullets were pretty darn close to us. We were also put on alert from times to times as our forces went inside to gather intelligence and we were on rescue status. During some of the time a chilling fog would roll through the hills not only was it cool to cold starting out with one shirt (later I wore two shirts at night) but one could not see more than 10 feet to 30 feet in front of himself at places.
One time the other man patrol was too exhausted and dozed off and the driver also was too groggy to drive. The commander had to take over the wheel and I was the only pair of Israel eyes on patrol from the Banias to Ramat Naphtali in the wee hours of that morning. I was so sleepy I stood up and held on to the light pointing it towards Lebanon and the only people I caught was the UN Patrol with their blue hats walking along there well known path from outpost to outpost. ISRAEL HAD A HIDDEN MIRACLE THAT NIGHT as nobody fired an RPG at us and no large group of terrorist tried to cross the border then. (I cannot be certain about this but I think Gilad Shalit and his group fell asleep from exhaustion – recently a tank group near Gaza was caught sleeping by Golani – too few active patrol soldiers at one time is exhausting.
In the course of the patrols, I was with non-religious Kibbutzniks I was approached about many religious questions and answered them all. I even explained to one commander why I needed a 36 hour pass because of the laws of Mikvah. I managed to gain their respect. At that time there was an incident that a motor cyclist would purposely drive into Rehov HaShomer in Bnei Berak on Shabbos. One week the people had enough of this anti-religious pest and put a chain across the street. Racing like a mad man on the road, the fellow managed to go into the next world. I was questioned by the Kibbutzniks on this. I answered that there are Kibbutzim that grow pigs. Have you ever seen ultra-Orthodox demonstrating or poisoning the pigs on these Kibbutzim? He had no business being in a ultra-Orthodox and making noise with his motorcycle on Shabbat up and down the street. I might not have made my army buddies religious but I gained respect and love for fellow Jews by being a front line very Orthodox Jew patrolling 24/7 with them.
The next border patrols were opposite Syria and Egypt which were quieter borders when I patrolled and not like in the News today. The only knowledge of the border was a thin one strand barbed wire string on the border line with Egypt which a young 80 year old could easily slip under but we had Gush Katif in those days and it was before the Oslo agreements.
Guest Editorial from my colleague in FL.
Not long ago I heard of a couple who were calling it quits and getting a divorce. They are not youngsters and have been married for many years. The gentleman explained to me that it was not over anything dramatic such as an affair or significant change in finances but simply that they "had grown apart".
It always saddens me when I hear this to be the reason for the dissolution of a marriage because I feel it could have very easily been avoided. I am sure there were many things I am unaware of that went on in the privacy of his marriage, and while I understand that each relationship is unique, there are nevertheless certain truths and rules of relationships that breed success or lack thereof as the case may be.
I think I can guess how couples "grow apart" and what makes it more problematic is that it is a slow and insidious process that many couples are not even aware of happening to them before it is too late.
It goes kinda like this:
When a couple first meet they are very excited about one another. There is energy and discovery in the relationship and they spend tons of time together getting to know one another. The courtship process continues this way until the big day, the wedding, and then some. The first years are hopeful, energetic, dynamic and bursting with excitement.
But as the years go by and the young couple settles into a certain routine, new events enter and creep into their lives. There is making a living, a child or two or three show up; they have their interests, some shared, most not. The job(s) have their demands, kids get older; there is carpool, homework, after school activities. They look for and buy a home and that too has many demands of time, energy and effort. Not only is there mortgage, but new furnishings, fixing old ones, a sprinkler system that always seems to be on the blink, redoing the bathroom, getting rid of the old smelly carpet and "shall we choose laminated wood, engineered wood or solid; how about bamboo, I hear it is ecological?"
And so the older the couple gets, the more stuff happens in their lives to involve their time and attention. And while all of these issues are certainly important, the couple finds that they no longer have time and energy for each other. Their relationship gets relegated to the back-burner because there are so many imminent and important things to take care of. And, lo and behold, before they know it not only is that spark from their dating days long dead, there is very little sharing happening between these two folks as they become strangers to each other like two ships passing in the night.
You see, if this couple who are now in their, let's say, 20th year of marriage would go back in time and revisit those days of early courtship they would find something very fascinating. They would see that when they told their friends that they had "just met the greatest guy/gal in the world", they didn't describe him/her like this: "Hey, he is so terrific, he is going to make every mortgage payment on time and not only that but every car payment too!... and for two cars!... and both cars will be luxury vehicles!!" He certainly did not tell his friends, "She is the best... she is going to be so good at car-pooling and making sure the house is clean and orderly and I just know that she is going to find the best pediatrician for our kids once we have some!!”
And while it is true that making mortgage and car payments on time are important, and finding a good pediatrician and caring for the kids is as well, this is not why you married this person. You married them because of who they are as a person, because you enjoyed spending time and sharing life with them. You married them for their soul, for their spirit, for who they are and not for what they would do or accomplish.
But people forget that and lose sight of it because when they first dated it came naturally and effortlessly. But once real life happened and there was more on the table, they forget that they now have to make much more of an effort to be with one another. They didn’t shift gears to realize they have to fight for their time to be intimate – and I don’t just mean physically (although that too). They never told their kids, “No, it’s Daddy and Mommy’s time” and didn’t do the same to their jobs, their blackberrys, their computers and every other important obligation that seemed more pressing than each other.
Because if you don’t fight for your relationship, if you don’t nurture it, if you fail to constantly monitor it, then like every other thing that is neglected, it wilts and it dies. Maybe not the first day or week or month or year, but eventually it will … ever so slowly.
A couple “grows apart” because they failed to put in the necessary care and time to ensure that they grow together and toward each other. And while every couple is guilty of this on some level, those who have an awareness of its danger have a chance at ensuring it doesn’t harm their relationship beyond repair.
So put down your iphone, get away from the computer, tell your kids to get lost (in a nice way), forget Home Depot and take your spouse, get a bottle of wine, have a drink, look her in the eye and capture what was when you first dated her so very long ago.
Let it go,
Let it happen like it happened once before
It’s a wicked wind
And it chills me to the bone
And if you do not believe me
Come and gaze upon the shadow at your door
-Gordon Lightfoot
Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale Aish South Florida
Rabbi Lau and the problem with American Jewry
A census of American Jews was taken after World War II either immediately or in 1950. At that time the US Population was 150,000,000 people and the Jews 6,000,000 and today 6,452,030 in 2006 and 312,000,000 in July 29th this year respectively. If one considers all the Russian Jews and Israeli Jews who immigrated to the USA in the past 60 plus years one would expect with a population growth of 2.3 to have somewhere between 12 to 36,000,000 Jews. What happened? Abortion, intermarriages, one or no children per family.
I have decided to dedicate this piece to some Halachos concerning intermarriage. Talmud from Sanhedrin Chapter 9 Mishna 9 One has intercourse with a female heathen, zealous people (like Pinchas) have a right to strike him when caught in the act. If a priest performed the service in the Temple while he was unclean, his fellow-priests would not bring him to the court, but the youths would take him out of the sanctuary and split his head. If a common Israelite served in the Temple, according to R. Akiva, he was choked by the court, and according to the sages he would come to his death by Heaven.
… "One who has intercourse," etc. R. Kahane questioned Rabbah: What is this punishment if there were no zealous men? Rabbah forgot his traditional answer to this, and it happened that it was read before R. Kahan in a dream, etc. [Mal. ii. 11]: "Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination hath been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which he loves, and hath married the daughter of a strange god." And he came to Rabbah and told him that so was it read to him, and therefrom Rabbah recollected that this passage was an answer to his question, as it reads immediately after it: "The Lord will cut off, unto the man that does this, son and grandson, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that brings near an offering unto the Lord of hosts"--which means, if he was a scholar, that he should not have a son among the scholars or a grandson among the disciples; and if he was priest, that he should not have a son who should bring an offering, etc. Chiya b. Abuhu said: He who has had intercourse with the daughter of an idolater is considered as if he mingles himself with the idols. As it reads: "He hath married the daughter of a strange god." Has, then, an idol a daughter? Hence it means as is just mentioned above.
When R. Dimi, or Rabin, came from Palestine, he said that the court of the Maccabees decreed: He who does so transgress concerning the following four things: Niddah (menstruation), Shif'ha (female-slave), Goya (strangers in faith), and prostitution.
Said R. Hisda: If one comes to the court with the question, "May one take revenge on the criminal mentioned above?" his question must not be answered. And so also said Rabba b. Hana in the name of R. Yochanan, and not only this, but if it should happen that Zimri were killed by Pinchas after he separated himself from Cozbi, Pinchas would be put to death for this crime. Furthermore, if Zimri, seeing that Pinchas seeks his life, were to kill him in self-protection, he would not be punished, as Pinchas would be considered a seeker of life.
It reads [Num. xxv. 5]: "Moses said to the judges of Israel," etc. The tribe of Simeon went to Zimri ben Saul and said: They (the judges) are judging cases of capital punishment, and you keep silent! What did he do? He gathered twenty-four thousand of his tribe and went to Cozbi, pleading with her to listen to him. And to her answer, "I am a princess, the daughter of a king, and my father commanded me not to listen to any one but the greatest of Israel," he said: I myself am a prince of a tribe in Israel, and I am greater than Moses, as I am from the second tribe, while he is from the third. He took her by the locks of her hair, and brought her to Moses, saying: Son of Amram, is this damsel allowed to me, or prohibited? And should you say that she is prohibited, I would ask you, Who allowed to you the daughter of Yisro? Moses, however, had forgotten the traditional Halacha, and he and all who accompanied him wept. As it reads [ibid., ibid. 6]: "And these were weeping by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."
And farther on it reads: "And Pinchas saw." What did he see? Said Rabbah: He saw Zimri's act, from which he recollected the traditional Halacha. And he said to Moses: Granduncle, didst thou not teach me, on thy descending from Mount Sinai, that zealous men might take revenge on him who has had intercourse with the daughter of an idolater? To which Moses answered: Let him who reads the letter be the carrier--i.e., let him who gives the advice be its executor.
Samuel, however, said: Pinchas saw [Prov. xxi. 30]: "There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord--i.e., in a case where there is a violation of the Holy Name the honor of the master must not be considered (and therefore Pinchas did it without the consent of his master Moses).
R. Yitzchak, in the name of R. Elazar said: He saw the angel who destroyed the people. It reads: "Arose and took a javelin in his hand." From this it may be inferred that one must not enter with arms into the house of learning. He took out the javelin from its sheath, sharpened it, and replaced it in the sheath so that it should not be visible; and went to the headquarters of Simeon's tribe, saying: Whence do we know that the tribe of Levi is greater than Simeon's? And the people who were there thought: Pinchas himself is coming to do the same as Zimri has done. Hence the scholars decided that this is allowed.
Said R. Yochanan: Six miracles occurred to Pinchas when he came to smite Zimri. One--Zimri has not separated himself, etc. … Pinchas was able to lift both of them on his spear. They did not die until after Pinchas put them down, The Tribe of Shimon did not attack Pinchas, Zimri did not attack Pinchas as he entered and another that I do not recall.
Guys and Gals no matter how hard marry a Jew or at least a person who converts before marriage unless you are a Maumzer!
Now it is obvious that in modern Halacha we don’t take the law into our own hands and do what Pinchas did. However, we try two tactics (A) to separate the couple which we tried for centuries and this failed (B) we try to get the non-Jewish partner to convert for the sake of the child(ren). (C) If a Cohain is involved, we cannot convert the woman but we can convert the children. Here we have a situation that if the woman converted the child would be considered Halal which is a worst status than becoming a Ger. There is a Halachic trick after the woman is past child bearing age that the Beis Din might accept such a conversion but I am uncertain if this could be the case.
Mixed dating and intermarriage is not only in America. And sometimes there is something else instead of love: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4112465,00.html
Baruch Dayan Emmes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Halperin There was a Torah lecture get together some 30 plus years ago and I brought my children to see it. He said that one must use his concentration and strength to attack the Torah at this point he did a Karate Chop through 5 wooden blocks an inch or more thick each.
Torah to come to African Jews: http://www.shalomlife.com/news/15733/toronto-born-surgeon-to-deliver-torah-to-uganda/#
From the writings of Rabbi Meir Kahane HY”D regarding shelling from the Arabs: ...how one longs for the days of normalcy of World War II, when gentiles of the United States and British air forces, knowing that their own people would die unless the German back and morale were shattered, bombed German cities – with their civilians – mercilessly. They knew that they were fighting a war. A war against forces that, if they won, would plunge them and the world into a nightmare. The gentiles never invented a madness called “purity of arms”. Arms are not pure. Arms are used to kill the enemy – anyone thinking otherwise should not go to war in the first place. - “Purity of weapons". We are “better” than they. And so we remain better. Deader – but better. Warping Judaism, twisting normal logic and common sense and self-preservation, because of a sick legacy of the ghetto and the Exile, a sad need to be loved that leads us to die and thus prove to the gentile how moral we really are. So he can love us – posthumously. [Quote from “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”' p. 98,99]
-In “honor” of the meager and insufficient response (about which the world screeches, anyway) of Israel to the latest terror attacks and rocket hail from Hamas-controlled Gaza, which only guarantees future terror. We may be “better” but we're losing the war – the creeping long-time war of rockets and RPGs. Hamas must be laughing their heads off – and launching the next round. – Tzipora Liron Pinner
Rosh Chodesh Elul is coming: Shortly, it will be Rosh Chodesh Elul (August 30th and 31st), the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul. This means that there is one month and counting to Rosh Hashanah (Wednesday evening, September 28th). Many people might ask, "So, what?" or might think, "Thanks for the reminder to buy a brisket!" However, the answer to "So, what?" is that we have one month to prepare for Rosh Hashanah ... and Yom Kippur. http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=127678568§ion=/tp/i/ky
Just came before publishing - Dedicated in Memory of Dr. Mark Spiegel July 15, 1952 - July 14, 2010
"May his soul rest in peace with all the righteous of Israel"
B'H
"The Month of 'Elul' is Upon Us"
First Day of Rosh Chodesh Elul - 8/30/2011 Second Day of Rosh Chodesh Elul - 8/31/2011
According to tradition, it was during the month of ELUL that for the third time Moshe went up to Mt Sinai, and remained in direct contact with G-d for forty days. At the end of this period, on the 10th of Tishrei, Yom Kippur, Moshe bearing the second Tablets of the Law, returned to the people announcing their final forgiveness.
Ever since, these forty days have remained the most favorable period for the purification of the children of Israel. During this period we proceed to a daily examination of our deeds leading to Teshuva (repentance) and Return to H-shem, amendment of our conduct, and our reintegration into Torah Life.
ELUL is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah, (the beginning of the Days of Awe), and is the most favorable period for Mercy from heaven. During this time of the year, G-d offers us special assistance in our struggle to free ourselves from our inner enemy which aims to ruin us. When a person is summoned to judgment, he chooses the best advocates and duly prepares in advance, all the arguments and the elements for his defense in a maximum endeavor to obtain a favorable verdict.
On the approach of the Day of Judgment, summoned not before a human judge, but before the Supreme Judge Who decides our destiny, our subsistence, our fortune, our joy and our sufferings, our life itself, for the whole coming year, surely we need a great deal of preparation so as to find favor in the eyes of the Al-mighty. The only advocates to whom we can appeal are the good and sincere resolutions we take, to amend our conduct, conforming it to the Creator's will and to purify our actions, eliminating all tendencies to arrogance, honor, lust or any other selfish urge.
It was G-d's Will to associate His Mercy to His Justice, so as to offer the transgressors a chance to amend their faults. No matter how distant we believe ourselves to be from our Creator, an opportunity is always offered to us, and it is never too late to repent. The call of Maimonides is full of meaning, "The Baal Teshuva (he who amends his conduct) should not think that on account of his past faults he is far from the degree of the righteous for, on the contrary, he is loved and cherished by the Al-mighty as if he had never trespassed.
Moreover, his reward is very great for after having tasted sin, he subdued his evil inclination. Our Sages said, "The place reserved to those who amend their conduct is not accessible to even the perfectly righteous, for they the Baal Teshuva, are on a higher level than those who never transgressed, for they strive more to overcome their evil inclination."
The month of ELUL is offered to us, so as to engage in action and increase the number of mitzvos. Even if we start to practice without conviction, the action of the mitzva itself will exert a spiritual influence (Kedushah) on us, strengthening our faith and converting the habit into a deeply felt observance. Success is assured if we are ready to involve ourselves in this task.
ELUL is the month in which H-shem comes down and 'meets with us in the field,' an analogy of His Divine Closeness to us on earth at this time. H-shem say's to us, "rid yourselves of the evil inclinations which obscure Divine clarity from illuminating your way, and I, your G-d, will rid you of the harsh Judgments written".
Thus beginning with the second day of Rosh Chodesh ELUL, the Shofar is sounded every day in the synagogue after the conclusion of the Morning Services (excepting on the Shabbat). The blowing of the Shofar acts as a solemn reminder that the Day of Judgment is fast approaching, and that we should take account of our spiritual life, our achievements and failures, and make amends to G-d and man for the errors made during the past year.
The Jewish person who heeds the ELUL reminder, experiences a great spiritual uplifting in every field of conduct, and thus brings a great correction to his being and the world at large.
Sources: Mishna Torah of Maimonides Laws of Teshuva, Chap. 7,4, A. Hassan, 'Emunah'.
Yaffa
"PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF ISRAEL"
"Beyond all of the differences that stand between us, we are all the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are all one family, with one land, and one destiny"
Far out man really far out but Jewish: http://www.slate.com/id/2236079/entry/2236080/
Inyanay Diyoma
The US does not secure their border. Israel has (had) peace with Egypt and did not secure ours only used military forces and patrols and we were attacked WAKE UP AMERICA. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4110949,00.html
I wonder how many of the US voters think American and can remember back more than five minutes? http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/the_anti-american_president.html
Friend of Israel visits the wounded: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4112023,00.html
NATO does not know what they are getting with Al Qaeda taking over Libya and the tribal in-fighting that will continue for years. In the meantime all of Kaddafi's missiles are heading towards Gaza to make some Arab fun here.
Syria prepares for either war with NATO or Israel to save Assad’s Govt. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=336477
There are two words that sound the same one means in Hebrew lightning and the other means to run away or flee this man appears to be fleeing an dodging his duty: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4112533,00.html
After I received Gail Winston’s post I found this: Next to Little Red Ridinghood was the play The Martyr's Wedding http://www.theettingerreport.com/Palestinian-Issue/Palestinian-Hate-Education-(K-12).aspx
Many Jews are wary of non-Jewish help over the centuries and missionaries. But in WWII many non-Jews risked their own lives and this man lost his job for the truth and Israel http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/08/22/watch-highlights-from-glenns-courage-to-love-speech/
The Glenn Beck rally in Yerushalayim was met by the Shalom Achshav (peace now) protesters which is the Israeli version of J-Street. When MK Michaeli from the Likud walked by to the rally, things started to turn ugly. It did not look like Shalom but Milchem Jihad Achshav (A Jihad war now).
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/147129
Egypt and the terror attack: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4113302,00.html
This is the cease fire http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4113535,00.html
Mission not accomplished. http://www.debka.com/article/21234/
Regarding the we cease and they FIRE during the night of Aug. 24th to 25th 24 to 25 mortars and rockets fell in Israel. Near Ashkelon a nine month old was injured by shrapnel of course he is a fierce occupier of land settled before 1947 by Jews so obviously he is in occupied terror and Arabs have legitimate claims to this. Maybe we can do something to contract this propaganda.
Egyptian Border tension: http://www.debka.com/article/21236/ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4113973,00.html
Bibi, please say “NO!” to the Terror and deaths your people are suffering! Appeasing Egypt won’t work. Appeasing Obama definitely won’t help Israel. Listen to your heart and your people!! Comments by Gail Winston
PREEMPTION, NO RETALIATION! By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought" "Israel Hayom" Newsletter, Aug. 22, 2011
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=375
The recent surge in Palestinian terrorism behooves Israel to revisit the fundamentals of counter-terrorism.
For example, the most effective defense against terrorism – operationally, financially and morally – is not retaliation and a limited, surgical offensive, but a comprehensive, decisive, sustained and disproportionate preemptive ground offensive, which aims to obliterate terror infrastructures and capabilities, and bring the enemy to submission. A decisive defeat of terrorism requires a victory over – and not coexistence or ceasefire agreements with – terrorism; uprooting – and not just stopping – terrorism.
Any response to terrorism which is short of devastating the ideological, political, financial, logistic and operational terrorist infrastructures, reassures terrorists that they are immune to annihilation. Moreover, it nurtures their hope-driven terrorism: the hope to whack Israel’s psyche of defiance, wreck Israel’s steadfastness, and sustain the 1993-2011 trend of sweeping Israeli ideological and territorial retreats.
Furthermore, a limited response to terrorism exacerbates wars of attrition – the dream of terrorists and nightmare of democratic societies. The limited-retaliation response to terrorism adds fuel to the fire of terrorism, feeds the self-defeating assumption that, supposedly, there is no military solution to terrorism, hence significantly eroding Israel’s posture of deterrence.
Contrary to that self-defeating assumption, Palestinian terrorism was curtailed by 90% - when, in 2002, Israel's military took over the Palestinian breeding ground of terrorism in Beit Jallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus and other major towns in Judea & Samaria. Israeli military re-engagement with these areas – rather than the Fence or the Wall – reasserted Israel's initiative in the battle against Palestinian terrorism.
The more defensive and retaliation-driven the Israeli response to terrorism, the more emboldened are Palestinian terrorists, the less confident are Israelis in their government’s capability to safeguard personal and national security, the more taxing is mental fatigue, and the less convinced are Israelis in their cause.
The addiction to defense, and to limited response, has been embraced by Israel since signing the 1993 Oslo Accord, in order to resuscitate the “peace” process, which has triggered dramatically more hate-education, terrorism and non-compliance than the pre-Oslo reality. 250 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorism in the 15 years prior to Oslo, but over 2,000 have been murdered in the 18 years since Oslo.
Limited response has also been implemented, in order to soothe international public opinion - which is never satisfied with Israeli concessions - thus recklessly subordinating national security to public diplomacy considerations. Sometimes it yields false sense of security and enhances short-term tactical popularity. However, limited response always undermines long-term strategic interests and international respect towards Israel, generating more pressure on Israel, radicalizing Palestinian terrorism and distancing the area from peace.
Will Israel’s response to the current wave of Palestinian terrorism perpetuate the terrorist-preferred war of attrition? Or, will it be a milestone on the road to reclaiming the pre-Oslo Israeli posture as the role-model of deterrence, defiance of odds, determination and gumption in the battle against terrorism, which paved the road to the 1948 Declaration of Independence, the 1967 Six Day War, the 1970 deterrence of the Syrian invasion of Jordan, the 1976 Entebbe Jonathan Operation and the 1981 bombing of Saddam’s nuclear reactor?
Rather than retreating toward the pre-1967 ceasefire lines, Israel should take charge of the breeding ground of terrorism, which would enhance Israel's power of deterrence, human-intelligence and interception capabilities. It would reduce the Palestinian capability to conduct hate-education, to incite, to recruit, to train, to manufacture and smuggle terrorist and military hardware, to plan, to maneuver and to perpetrate terrorist activities. It would reduce Palestinian terrorism by 90%!
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Now for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “Cycles”
Good Shabbos Everyone. Our portion this week Eikev contains some of the most powerful spiritual lessons of the entire Torah. For example, the Torah tells us this week, "Now, O Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d to go in all his ways"(Devarim 10:12) The commentator the Chinuch explains that this verse is the source of the mitzvah to fear Hashem. (Mitzvah #432) In his commentary on this verse, Rashi quotes the Sages who saying "Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for Fear of Heaven." (Brachos 33b) The Vilna Gaon explains the meaning of the words of the Sages in a very inspirational way: (As heard from Reb Ephraim Wachsman) Hashem is the master of the Universe and everything in it, as Dovid HaMelech (King David) tells us in Tehillim (Psalms) "To Hashem belongs the earth and all it's fullness" (24:1) Thus, there is nothing we can give to Hashem because everything is His. However, there is one thing that Hashem does not have, that is fear of Himself. Therefore, we now re-read the words of the verse: "Now, O Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d" The only thing we can give Hashem is our fear of Him.
The Chinuch explains that the mitzvah to fear Hashem is one of the "continuous mitzvahs" which a person must fulfill 24 hours a day 7 days a week. What does it mean to "fear" Hashem? The Chinuch explains that it is a fear of punishment for violating the Holy Torah. The Holy Rambam explains that one of the foundations of the Jewish faith is believing that the wrongdoers will be punished.
The essence of fearing Hashem is having in mind that Hashem is watching us constantly and that there are spiritual consequences for all of actions. If uncorrected, a violation of the Torah will require rehabilitation in a place in the spiritual world called Gehinom. Gehinom is primarily a place of cleansing, where violations of the Torah are scrubbed off of the soul.
Thankfully, we can avoid being punished for our misdeeds by doing Teshuvah - repentance. The power of Teshuvah is so strong that it can fix a whole lifetime of violating the Torah. As the Rambam tells us, even someone who has for his whole life violated every mitzvah in the Book, can do Teshuvah at the end of his life, and he will not have any of his violations mentioned in his case above in the Supreme Court in Heaven. (Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah, 1:3) The following incredibly inspirational story illustrates how one Jew did Teshuvah.
Sam Zeitlin of Brooklyn, New York was one of the most successful Jewish members of the American National Cycling Team. Sam competed professionally and won many competitions in contests across America in the 1960's. Perhaps because Sam was so successful, he suffered from occasional incidents of anti-Semitism.
A turning point in Sam's life came in 1967 when he competed in the Grand Prix of the Americas, one of the most important races in America. Sam finished first - later to be disqualified. Citing a rule, which had never been enforced either before or since, the officials claimed that Sam had raised his hands in victory prior to crossing the finish line; the officials argued that by taking his hands off the handlebars of the bicycle, Sam had endangered the safety of the nearby spectators. Sam recognized the officials' decision for what it was: pure anti-Semitism.
Sam decided to leave America to pursue his sports career in another country. Although totally secular, Sam felt a connection to Israel, so he decided to move there. Soon after his arrival in Israel, he contacted the local sports federation, which was more than happy to offer Sam a position on the cycling team. Sam began training again.
One night, after strenuous training, Sam went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He had never been there before, but he knew that it was a place where people prayed. When he arrived at the Wall, he saw that people seemed to be praying endlessly. What were they saying? He walked over to two religious-looking young men and began asking them religious questions. After a lengthy conversation, the brothers recognized that Sam was genuinely searching for guidance and inspiration. The two brothers recommended that Sam contact Rabbi Gershon Weinberger, a Chicago, Illinois native who had resettled in Jerusalem with his family.
Rabbi Weinberger and Sam became close friends. Sam, Rabbi Weinberg and his family spent hours together around the Shabbos table singing and saying words of Torah. Eventually, Rabbi Weinberger suggested to Sam that he enroll in a yeshiva to learn more about his heritage. Sam agreed.
Sam moved to Bnai Brak, where he began attending yeshiva. In the morning Sam would learn Torah, while in the afternoons, he would continue his bicycle training. As time passed, Sam grew in his Torah and mitzvah observance, at the same time improving his cycling skills. He enjoyed riding on the flat highways up and down the sunny Mediterranean coastline. As he road his bike, he would sing his favorite Shabbos song: Shabbos Hayom L'Hashem.
As the Olympics drew near, trials were to be held to determine which cyclists would represent Israel's team. The Israeli Sports Federation announced that the cycling trials were scheduled to take place on Shabbos. Sam was shocked. Participating in the cycling trials would involve violating Shabbos. Sam tried in vain to convince the organizers to change the day of the trials; however, the schedule was set. There would be no changes.
Sam was torn. He had trained for several years to reach the Olympics. However, Shabbos was a holy day for Sam. In the end, Sam's decision was clear: He could not bring himself to violate the sanctity of the holy Shabbos. Life as a religious Jew meant more to him than that one blazing moment of fame.
In the summer of 1972, Israel did not send a cycling team to the 20th Summer Olympic games in Munich, Germany. The Israelis realized that their cycling team was not good enough to compete. During the games, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Olympic village. When the smoke cleared, several Israeli athletes lay dead. Back in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sam reacted to the tragedy with shock, outrage and sadness. As he reflected on the events of the previous couple of years, Sam thought of a phrase from another Shabbos song: If I safeguard the Shabbos, Hashem will safeguard me...
Today, more than 25 years later, Sam and his family sit around his own Shabbos table. As they come to sing the words of the song: If I safeguard the Shabbos, Sam says a silent prayer of thanks to Hashem for becoming a Shomer Shabbos Jew (a Shabbos observing Jew). (from, Echoes of the Maggid, R'Paysach Krohn p.105-9)
Since none of us knows how long we will live, we really should do Teshuvah every day. As the Talmud explains, "Rebi Eliezer says, 'do Teshuvah one day before you die.' His students asked him rhetorically: 'Does a man know on which day he will die?" Rebi Eliezer answered his students, 'It then makes even more sense to do Teshuvah every day, on the chance that perhaps you should die tomorrow. Such a person will then live all his days in Teshuvah. (Shabbos 153a) Good Shabbos Everyone.
Good Shabbos all and next week the laws of Noah (Noach) for his children and hopefully part two of the Autistic Children’s warning.
Rachamim Pauli
