I know that many of my readers like a bit of Kabbala and desire to learn all the secrets. The reason I bring down the Sefiros is that they are mentioned in the counting of Omer and therefore we have to try to understand what Chessed of Chessed through Malchos within Malchos is. The Rambam knew Kabbala and in Yesod HaTorah brought down even the Halachos of Kabbala but he warned us to learn ALL THE HALACHOS WELL BEFORE GOING INTO KABBALA! Chapter 4: Halacha 13
The matters discussed in these four chapters concerning these five mitzvoth are what the Sages of the early generations termed the Pardes, as they related: "Four entered the Pardes...." Even though they were great men of Israel and great Sages, not all of them had the potential to know and comprehend all these matters in their totality.
I maintain that it is not proper for a person to stroll in the Pardes unless he has filled his belly with bread and meat. "Bread and meat" refer to the knowledge of what is permitted and what is forbidden, and similar matters concerning other mitzvoth. Even though the Sages referred to these as "a small matter" - for our Sages said: "'A great matter,’ this refers to Maaseh Merkavah. `A small matter,’ this refers to the debates of Abbaye and Ravva" - nevertheless, it is fitting for them to be given precedence, because they settle a person's mind.
Also, they are the great good which the Holy One, blessed be He, has granted, [to allow for] stable [living] within this world and the acquisition of the life of the world to come. They can be known in their totality by the great and the small, man or woman, whether [granted] expansive knowledge or limited knowledge.
Parsha Emor
This Parsha has 63 of the 613 Mitzvos; 24 pos. 39 prohibitions. We have finished the section with the holiness of Yom Kippur, the holiness of Am Yisrael and now we move the section with the holy of holies of humanity, the Cohain who serves HASHEM and is our representative before the heavenly court as a lawyer goes before THE JUDGE on our behalf. His holiness has to be more than ours. While in most cases a divorced woman especially nowadays is often not at fault, the fact that she got divorced is like a blemish on her behalf. Since a bas Cohain does not serve before HASHEM she is allowed to marry a divorced man. An ordinary Cohain can marry a widow or even perform Yebum (taking a brother’s wife). The Cohain Gadol can only marry a virgin because he is on the top of the scale.
21:1 And the LORD said unto Moses: Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them: There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people;
Even for a man as great as Moshe but for an ordinary dead Jew or as in the case of Rabbi Akiva, a Cohain helped bury him because of the horrible Romans something not learned in history classes. The brutality that was Rome not the glory of Rome should have been taught with their crucifying the first five people in the towns that they captured.
Let none [of you] defile himself [for a dead person] among his people: While the dead person is among his people [and therefore has people, non- kohanim, to bury him]. This comes to exclude [from the prohibition a Kohen who comes across] a מֵתמִצְוָה, [a dead person for whom no one is in calling distance to attend to his burial and thus it is incumbent for people to attend to him]. — [Torath Kohanim 21:4]
2 except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother;
This is an ordinary Cohain and not a Cohain Gadol.
3 and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, that hath had no husband, for her may he defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. 5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or profaned; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God. 8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of thy God; he shall be holy unto thee; for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.
He cannot profane himself for a great Sage or a King but only for one of the 7 close relatives mention on line 2. The Torah places these restrictions upon him and it is because he has to be holy to sanctify THE HOLY ONE!
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
The requirements for the Cohain Gadol are the strictest of the strict for he enters Kodesh HaKodeshim on Yom Kippur.
10 And the priest that is highest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head go loose, nor rend his clothes; 11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these shall he not take; but a virgin of his own people shall he take to wife.
An ordinary Cohain can marry a widow but not one who was a harlot but the Cohain Gadol is required to marry only a virgin.
15 And he shall not profane his seed among his people; for I am the LORD who sanctify him. 16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
One of my friends is a Cohain who has a metal plate in his leg. He can only flay, chop-up a Korban or prepare Olive Oil or flour for the use in the Temple. He is allowed to eat Teruma and part of a Korban but cannot sacrifice or officiate in the Beis HaMikdash.
17 Speak unto Aaron, saying: Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout their generations that hath a blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath anything maimed, or anything too long, 19 or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed, 20 or crook-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath his eye overspread, or is scabbed, or scurvy, or hath his stones crushed; 21 no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that hath a blemish, shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire; he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
As I wrote above he can eat what only a Cohain eats but cannot perform the service unto HASHEM.
23 Only he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not My holy places; for I am the LORD who sanctify them. 24 So Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
22:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they hallow unto Me, and that they profane not My holy name: I am the LORD. 3 Say unto them: Whosoever he be of all your seed throughout your generations, that approaches unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from before Me: I am the LORD.
The Cohain had a Mitzvah to be Tahor and in a state of Kodesh all the time.
4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath an issue, he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso touches any one that is unclean by the dead; or from whomsoever the flow of seed goes out; 5 or whosoever touches any swarming thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; 6 the soul that touches any such shall be unclean until the even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his flesh in water. 7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. 8 That which dies of itself, or is torn of beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. 9 They shall therefore keep My charge, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it: I am the LORD who sanctify them. 10 There shall no common man eat of the holy thing; a tenant of a priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. 11 But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his money, he may eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they may eat of his bread. 12 And if a priest's daughter be married unto a common man, she shall not eat of that which is set apart from the holy things. 13 But if a priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread; but there shall no common man eat thereof. 14 And if a man eat of the holy thing through error, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give unto the priest the holy thing. 15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they set apart unto the LORD; 16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things; for I am the LORD who sanctify them.
The accidental eating of a holy part can occur. For example eating of the cheeks or believing that one animals was his own peace offering when the part he was eating was a gift to the Cohain or a holier sacrifice. Such a man would have to pay an added 20% of the value but if on purpose it was Kares.
… 23:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: The appointed seasons of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed seasons. 3 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work; it is a Sabbath unto the LORD in all your dwellings.
[For] six days…: Why does the Sabbath [designated by God,] appear here amidst the festivals [designated by the Sanhedrin]? To teach you that whoever desecrates the festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he had desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever who fulfills the festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath, [and his reward is as great]. — [Beer Basadeh ; Torath Kohanim 23:144]
It is a Sabbath unto the LORD in all your dwellings whether before Har Sinai, Eretz Yisrael or Chutz L’ Aretz one is to observe the Shabbos from the time of candle lighting or even an hour plus earlier until the three average stars can be seen Motzei Shabbos.
4 These are the appointed seasons of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at dusk, is the LORD'S Passover … 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest.
[you shall bring…an omer] of the beginning of your reaping: the first of the harvest [from the fields. Thus, one is permitted to proceed with the general harvest only after this omer has been reaped.]- [Sifthei Chachamim; Men. 71a] omer: a tenth of an ephah (see Exod. 16:36). That was its [the measure’s] name, like “And they measured it with an omer” (Exod. 16:18).
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
The Karites interpret this to mean literally the Motzei Shabbos after Pessach falls so if Pessach falls on a Shabbos like this year they are equal to the Jews in observance of this otherwise if Pessach falls on a Sunday they are six days behind us. We interpret from Oral Torah Motzei Shabbos as Motzei Pessach which we rest like Shabbos but can cook for the Yom Tov if it is a weekday. On the day after the rest day: מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת. On the day after the first holy day of Passover, [since a holy festival day is also שַׁבָּת, rest day , in Scripture]. For if you say [that it means] the “Sabbath of Creation” [i.e., the actual Sabbath, the seventh day of the week], you would not know which one. - [Men. 66a] (Note the Karites base their calendar on the ability to view the moon and not the average rebirth of the moon like us so their Yom Tov can be a day or two off from us and their Yom Kippur can be Erev Shabbos or Motzei Shabbos if I am not in error.)
12 And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering unto the LORD.
You shall offer up [an unblemished lamb in its [first] year]: It comes as obligatory for the omer [not as part the additional offerings of Passover.
13 And the meal-offering thereof shall be two tenth parts of an ephod of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savor; and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a Hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the offering of your God; it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
The Omer is barley but this includes wheat and the other grains of the five species. One cannot eat from the new until he is able to bring the grain offering.
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete;
From the morrow of the rest day: On the day after the [first] holy day [of Passover]. — [See Rashi on verse 11; Men. 65b] [seven weeks;] they shall be complete: [This verse] teaches us that one must begin counting [each of these days] from the evening, because otherwise, they would not be “complete.” - [Men. 66a]
16 even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD.
The day after the seventh week: הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: שְׁבוּעֲתָא שְׁבִיעָתָא, “the seventh week.” You shall count until the day after the seventh week: But not inclusive, making forty-nine days. The fiftieth day, [on which] you will bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new [wheat crop]: [lit., “(You shall count) fifty days and bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new (wheat crop).” But we count only forty-nine days. Therefore, the meaning is:] On the fiftieth day, you shall bring this [meal offering of the new wheat crop]. But I say that this is a Midrashic explanation of the verse [since it requires the forced attachment of the words חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם to the continuation of the verse regarding the meal offering, whereas the cantillation signs attach them to the preceding words regarding the counting]. But its simple meaning is: “until [but not inclusive of]…the day after [the completion of] the seventh week, which is the fiftieth day, shall you count.” Accordingly, this is a transposed verse. a new meal-offering: This is the first meal offering brought from the new [crop]. Now, if you ask, “But was not the meal offering of the omer already offered up (see verse 10 above)?” [the answer to this is that] that is not like other meal offerings-for it comes from barley [and hence, this meal offering is new since it is the first meal offering from the wheat crop].
17 Ye shall bring out of your dwellings two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephod; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, for first-fruits unto the LORD. 18 And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams; they shall be a burnt-offering unto the LORD, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD. 19 And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace-offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before the LORD, with the two lambs; they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day; there shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no manner of servile work; it is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
I am the Lord, your God: Who is faithful to give reward [to those who fulfill My Torah].
… 44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the LORD.
24:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 'Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
Command the children of Israel [and they shall take to you pure olive oil… to kindle the lamps conti: This is the passage of the commandment of the lamps, and the passage [that begins with] “And you will command…” (Exod. 27:20-21) was stated only in context of describing the construction of the Mishkan , i.e., stating the necessity of the menorah. And the meaning [of that passage] is: “You will eventually command the children of Israel regarding this” [namely, here in our passage]. pure olive oil: Three [grades of] oil are extracted from an olive: The first [drop of oil that the olive issues after crushing] is called זָ, “pure,” [and is used for the menorah; the second and third oils that result from grinding are used for the meal offerings]. These [grades of oil] are enumerated in Tractate Men. (86a) and in Torath Kohanim (24: 210). continually: Heb. תָּמִיד. From [one] night to the next [i.e., even though it was to burn only until the morning-see verse 3-it was continual (תָּמִיד) in that it was to be lit each night]. This is similar to the continual burnt offering (עוֹלַת תָּמִיד) which was only from day to day, [as in Num. 28:18].
This is to have an eternal flame before HASHEM. This is followed by the fellow who was from the tribe of Dan from his mother and an Egyptian from his father and he curses like an Egyptian and curses HASHEM.
… 15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying: Whosoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger, as the home-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. 17 And he that smites any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
This does not include self-defense or in battle.
18 And he that smites a beast mortally shall make it good: life for life.
Monetary reparations so if the bull is worth 8-10,000 NIS today on the meat market he must either replace the bull with a bull worth that much or hand the raiser the money for the dead beast.
19 And if a man maims his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him: 20 breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he hath maimed a man, so shall it be rendered unto him.
so shall be done to him: Heb. כֵּן יִנָּתֵן בּוֹ. Our Rabbis explained that this does not mean the actual infliction of a wound, but payment of money. [And how is an injury estimated? The victim] is evaluated as a slave [if he would not have had the injury, and how much with the injury, and the difference is the compensation]. This is why Scripture uses the expression נְתִינָה, “giving,” [thereby alluding to] something that is “handed over (הַנָתוּן)” from hand to hand. — [B.K. 84a]
In the Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat, the author explains that nowadays we do not have experts that can evaluate pain, embarrassment, healing, loss of work and one other type of damage occurred by blinding or losing a tooth, etc. The price of labor today varies from country to country and State to State if a teacher in Texas earns $35,000 a year he/she will not be compensated like the NY or CA teacher earning 80,000 a year. How can we determine the difference in embarrassment of an Angela Jolie who appeared in films with lack of dress vs. a Beis Yacov girl who lost her clothing due to a fire or an accident caused by an irresponsible individual? Should I rule that since anybody can buy the Jolie movie for $20 or less that is her compensation while the Beis Yacov girl should get the movie star’s salary as if she was in the movie or should Angela get a star’s salary for the embarrassment? Today we do not know.
21 And one who injures an animal shall pay for it. And one who strikes a person shall be put to death.
And one who injures an animal shall pay for it: [Verse 18] above is speaking of one who kills an animal, whereas here it is speaking of one who inflicts an injury upon it. And one who strikes a person shall be put to death: even if he did not kill him, but just inflicted an injury upon him. For the term נֶפֶשׁ is not used here. Scripture is speaking here of someone who strikes his father or his mother. And Scripture places this case in juxtaposition to the case of someone who strikes an animal [in order to teach us that]: just as if someone strikes an animal [he is liable only if] it is alive, so is one who strikes his father [or mother liable only if] they are alive. This comes to exclude the case of one who strikes [his father or mother] after [their] death. [Why is this case excluded here?] Since we find that one who curses his [father or mother] after [their] death is liable [to the death penalty-see Rashi on Lev. 20:9 Scripture finds it necessary here to teach us that one who strikes [his parent after death] is exempt. And [this juxtaposition also teaches us that] just as in the case of [one who strikes] an animal, [he is liable only if he inflicted an] injury, but if there was no injury, there is no compensation-likewise, one who strikes his father is not liable [to the death penalty] unless he inflicts an injury upon him. — [Torath Kohanim 24:250]
22 One law shall be exacted for you, convert and resident alike, for I am the Lord, your God.
G-D does not distinguish between the convert or the regular Jew in Halacha: I am the Lord your God: the God of all of you. Just as I attach My Name uniquely upon you [native Jewish people], so do I attach it uniquely upon the converts [to Judaism].
23 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and they brought forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses
Rambam Laws of Kings and their wars Chapter 10 http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188355/jewish/Chapter-10.htm
Halacha 1
A gentile who inadvertently violates one of his commandments is exempt from all punishment with the exception of a person who kills inadvertently. In such an instance, the redeemer of the blood is not executed for slaying the killer, nor may the latter seek asylum in a city of refuge. However, the court will not execute him.
When does the above apply? When he inadvertently violates a command without sinful intention; for example, a person who engages in relations with his colleague's wife under the impression that she is his own wife or unmarried.
If, however, one knew that she was his colleague's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him or it occurred to him that this act was permitted or one killed without knowing that it is forbidden to kill, he is considered close to having sinned intentionally and is executed. This is not considered as an inadvertent violation. For he should have learned the obligations incumbent upon him and did not.
Halacha 2
A gentile who is forced by another person to violate one of his commandments is permitted to transgress. Even if he is forced to worship false gods, he may worship them. For gentiles are not commanded to sanctify God's name.
A gentile minor, deaf-mute, or fool is never given punishment for they are not bound by any commandments.
Halacha 3
A gentile who converted, was circumcised, and immersed in the mikveh, and, afterwards, decided to forsake God and revert to his previous status as a resident alien is not granted permission to do so. Rather, he must remain as an Israelite in all matters or be executed.
If he was a minor and immersed by the court, he may repudiate his conversion when he attains majority and assume the status of a resident alien alone. However, if he does not object as soon as he attains majority, he is no longer given the opportunity to object and his status is that of a righteous convert.
Therefore, if a Jew has relations with a girl below the age of majority who was immersed in the mikveh by a court, the money due her as payment of her ketubah or as a fine for raping her or seducing her is placed in the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not repudiate her conversion. This step is taken lest she take the money, attain majority, and then, repudiate her conversion. Thus, she would derive benefit as a gentile from monies to which she is only entitled according to Jewish law.
Halacha 4
A gentile who converts after cursing God's name, worshipping false gods, engaging in relations with a colleague's wife, or killing a fellow gentile is exempt from punishment.
In contrast, if he converted after killing a Jew or having relations with a Jew's wife, he is liable. He is decapitated for killing the Jew and strangled to death for engaging in relations with a Jew's wife. He is given the latter punishment because the laws governing him have changed.
Halacha 5
It has already been explained that gentiles are always executed by decapitation except in cases when one engages in relations with the wife of a Jew or a consecrated maiden. In the latter instance, he is stoned to death.
If he engaged in relations with a Jew's wife after they married, but before they ever engaged in relations, he is executed by strangulation.
Halacha 6
According to the Oral Tradition, gentiles are forbidden to cross-breed animals and graft different species of trees together. However, they are not executed for violating this prohibition.
A gentile who gave a Jew a blow is liable to die for causing even the most minimal damage. Nevertheless, he is not executed.
Halacha 7
Only Abraham and his descendants were commanded regarding circumcision as Genesis 17:9-10 states: 'Keep My covenant, you and your offspring... circumcise every male.'
The descendants of Ishmael are excluded as implied by Genesis 21:12: 'It is through Isaac, that your offspring will be called.' Esau's descendants are also excluded, for Isaac told Jacob Genesis 28:4: 'May God grant Abraham's blessing to you and your descendants,' implying that only he is the true offspring of Abraham who maintains his faith and his upright behavior. Thus, they alone are obligated in circumcision.
Halacha 8
Our Sages related that the descendants of Keturah who are the offspring of Abraham that came after Isaac and Ishmael are also obligated in circumcision. Since, at present, the descendants of Ishmael have become intermingled with the descendants of Keturah, they are all obligated to be circumcised on the eighth day. However, they are not executed for failure to perform this mitzvah.
Halacha 9
A gentile who studies the Torah is obligated to die. They should only be involved in the study of their seven mitzvot.
Similarly, a gentile who rests, even on a weekday, observing that day as a Sabbath, is obligated to die. Needless to say, he is obligated for that punishment if he creates a festival for himself.
The general principle governing these matters is: They are not to be allowed to originate a new religion or create mitzvot for themselves based on their own decisions. They may either become righteous converts and accept all the mitzvot or retain their statutes without adding or detracting from them.
If a gentile studies the Torah, makes a Sabbath, or creates a religious practice, a Jewish court should beat him, punish him, and inform him that he is obligated to die. However, he is not to be executed.
Halacha 10
We should not prevent a gentile who desires to perform one of the Torah's mitzvot in order to receive reward from doing so, provided he performs it as required. If he brings an animal to be sacrificed as a burnt offering, we should receive it.
If a gentile who observes the seven mitzvot gives charity, we should accept it from him. It appears to me that it should be given to the Jewish poor for the gentile may derive his sustenance from the Jews and they are commanded to support him if necessary. In contrast, if an idolater gives charity, we should accept it from him and give it to the gentile poor.
Halacha 11
The Jewish court is obligated to appoint judges for these resident aliens to judge them according to these statutes so that the world will not become decadent.
If the court sees fit to appoint the judges from the resident aliens themselves, they may. If it sees fit to appoint them from among the Jews, they may.
Halacha 12
Should two idolaters come before you to have their dispute judged according to Jewish law. If they both desire to be judged according to Torah law, they should be judged accordingly. If one desires to be judged according to Torah law and the other does not, they are only forced to be judged according to their own laws.
If there is a dispute between a Jew and an idolater: If the Jew will fare better according to their laws, they are judged according to their laws. When the judgement is rendered, the judges explain: 'Your law obligates this judgement.' If the Jew will fare better according to our laws, they are judged according to Torah law. When the judgement is rendered, the judges explain: 'Our law obligates this judgement.' It appears to me that this approach is not followed in regard to a resident alien. Rather, he is always judged according to their laws.
Similarly, it appears to me that in regard to respect and honor and also, in regard to charity, a resident alien is to be treated as a Jew for behold, we are commanded to sustain them as Deuteronomy 14:21 states: 'You may not eat any animal that has not been properly slaughtered... give it to the resident alien in your gates that he may eat it.' Though our Sages counseled against repeating a greeting to them, that statement applies to idolaters and not resident aliens.
However, our Sages commanded us to visit the gentiles when ill, to bury their dead in addition to the Jewish dead, and support their poor in addition to the Jewish poor for the sake of peace. Behold, Psalms 145:9 states: 'God is good to all and His mercies extend over all His works' and Proverbs 3:17 states: 'The Torah's ways are pleasant ways and all its paths are peace.'
LBJ and the Jews thanks to Dina M.
This is a most fascinating bit of history about President Lyndon Johnson and his Jewish connections! (Thank you Neil Tarasoff for posting this)!
An interesting piece of American and Jewish history, well worth the read.
A few months ago, the Associated Press reported that newly released tapes from US president Lyndon Johnson's White House office showed LBJ's "personal and often emotional connection to Israel.” The news agency pointed out that during the Johnson presidency (1963-1969), "the United States became Israel’s chief diplomatic ally and primary arms supplier."
But the news report does little to reveal the full historical extent of Johnson's actions on behalf of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Most students of the Arab-Israeli conflict can identify Johnson as the president during the 1967 war. But few know about LBJ's actions to rescue hundreds of endangered Jews during the Holocaust - actions that could have thrown him out of Congress and into jail. Indeed, the title of "Righteous Gentile" is certainly appropriate in the case of the Texan, whose centennial year is being commemorated this year.
Appropriately enough, the annual Jerusalem Conference announced this week that it will honor Johnson.
Historians have revealed that Johnson, while serving as a young congressman in 1938 and 1939, arranged for visas to be supplied to Jews in Warsaw, and oversaw the apparently illegal immigration of hundreds of Jews through the port of Galveston, Texas....
A key resource for uncovering LBJ's pro-Jewish activity is the unpublished 1989 doctoral thesis by University of Texas student Louis Gomolak, "Prologue: LBJ's Foreign Affairs Background, 1908-1948.” Johnson's activities were confirmed by other historians in interviews with his wife, family members and political associates.
Research into Johnson's personal history indicates that he inherited his concern for the Jewish people from his family. His aunt Jessie Johnson Hatcher, a major influence on LBJ, was a member of the Zionist Organization of America. According to Gomolak, Aunt Jessie had nurtured LBJ's commitment to befriending Jews for 50 years. As young boy, Lyndon watched his politically active grandfather "Big Sam" and father "Little Sam" seek clemency for Leo Frank, the Jewish victim of a blood libel in Atlanta
Frank was lynched by a mob in 1915, and the Ku Klux Klan in Texas threatened to kill the Johnsons. The Johnsons later told friends that Lyndon's family hid in their cellar while his father and uncles stood guard with shotguns on their porch in case of KKK attacks. Johnson's speech writer later stated, "Johnson often cited Leo Frank's lynching as the source of his opposition to both anti-Semitism and isolationism."
Already in 1934 - four years before Chamberlain's Munich sellout to Hitler - Johnson was keenly alert to the dangers of Nazism and presented a book of essays, 'Nazism: An Assault on Civilization', to the 21-year-old woman he was courting, Claudia Taylor - later known as "Lady Bird" Johnson. It was an incredible engagement present.
FIVE DAYS after taking office in 1937, LBJ broke with the "Dixiecrats" and supported an immigration bill that would naturalize illegal aliens, mostly Jews from Lithuania and Poland. In 1938, Johnson was told of a young Austrian Jewish musician who was about to be deported from the United States. With an element of subterfuge, LBJ sent him to the US Consulate in Havana to obtain a residency permit. Erich Leinsdorf, the world famous musician and conductor, credited LBJ for saving his live.
That same year, LBJ warned Jewish friend, Jim Novy, that European Jews faced annihilation. "Get as many Jewish people as possible out of Germany and Poland," were Johnson's instructions. Somehow, Johnson provided him with a pile of signed immigration papers that were used to get 42 Jews out of Warsaw.
But that wasn't enough. According to historian James M. Smallwood, Congressman Johnson used legal and sometimes illegal methods to smuggle "hundreds of Jews into Texas, using Galveston as the entry port.
Enough money could buy false passports and fake visas in Cuba, Mexico and other Latin American countries. Johnson smuggled boatloads and planeloads of Jews into Texas. He hid them in the Texas National Youth Administration. Johnson saved at least four or five hundred Jews, possibly more."
During World War II Johnson joined Novy at a small Austin gathering to sell $65,000 in war bonds. According to Gomolak, Novy and Johnson then raised a very "substantial sum for arms for Jewish underground fighters in Palestine." One source cited by the historian reports that "Novy and Johnson had been secretly shipping heavy crates labeled 'Texas Grapefruit' - but containing arms - to Jewish underground 'freedom fighters' in Palestine."
ON JUNE 4, 1945, Johnson visited Dachau. According to Smallwood, Lady Bird later recalled that when her husband returned home, "he was still shaken, stunned, terrorized, and bursting with an overpowering revulsion and incredulous horror at what he had seen."
A decade later while serving in the Senate, Johnson blocked the Eisenhower administration's attempts to apply sanctions against Israel following the 1956 Sinai Campaign. "The indefatigable Johnson had never ceased pressure on the administration," wrote I.L. "Si" Kenen, the head of AIPAC at the time.
As Senate majority leader, Johnson consistently blocked the anti-Israel initiatives of his fellow Democrat, William Fulbright, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Among Johnson's closest advisers during this period were several strong pro-Israel advocates, including Benjamin Cohen (who 30 years earlier was the liaison between Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis and Chaim Weizmann) and Abe Fortas, the legendary Washington "insider."
Johnson's concern for the Jewish people continued through his presidency. Soon after taking office in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Johnson told an Israeli diplomat, "You have lost a very great friend, but you have found a better one."
Just one month after succeeding Kennedy, LBJ attended the December 1963 dedication of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in Austin. Novy opened the ceremony by saying to Johnson, "We can't thank him enough for all those Jews he got out of Germany during the days of Hitler."
Lady Bird would later describe the day, according to Gomolak: "Person after person plucked at my sleeve and said, 'I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him. He helped me get out.'" Lady Bird elaborated, "Jews had been woven into the warp and woof of all [Lyndon's] years."
THE PRELUDE to the 1967 war was a terrifying period for Israel, with the US State Department led by the historically unfriendly Dean Rusk urging an evenhanded policy despite Arab threats and acts of aggression. Johnson held no such illusions. After the war he placed the blame firmly on Egypt: "If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision [by Egypt that the Strait of Tiran would be closed [to Israeli ships and Israeli-bound cargo]."
Kennedy was the first president to approve the sale of defensive US weapons to Israel, specifically Hawk anti-aircraft missiles. But Johnson approved tanks and fighter jets, all vital after the 1967 war when France imposed a freeze on sales to Israel. Yehuda Avner recently described on these pages prime minister Levi Eshkol's successful appeal for these weapons on a visit to the LBJ ranch.
Israel won the 1967 war, and Johnson worked to make sure it also won the peace. "I sure as hell want to be careful and not run out on little Israel," Johnson said in a March 1968 conversation with his ambassador to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg, according to White House tapes recently released.
Soon after the 1967 war, Soviet premier Aleksey Kosygin asked Johnson at the Glassboro Summit why the US supported Israel when there were 80 million Arabs and only three million Israelis. "Because it is a right thing to do," responded the straight-shooting Texan.
The crafting of UN Resolution 242 in November 1967 was done under Johnson's scrutiny. The call for "secure and recognized boundaries" was critical. The American and British drafters of the resolution opposed Israel returning all the territories captured in the war. In September 1968, Johnson explained, "We are not the ones to say where other nations should draw lines between them that will assure each the greatest security. It is clear, however, that a return to the situation of 4 June 1967 will not bring peace. There must be secure and there must be recognized borders. Some such lines must be agreed to by the neighbors involved."
Goldberg later noted, "Resolution 242 in no way refers to Jerusalem, and this omission was deliberate." This historic diplomacy was conducted under Johnson's stewardship, as Goldberg related in oral history to the Johnson Library. "I must say for Johnson," Goldberg stated. "He gave me great personal support."
Robert David Johnson, a professor of history at Brooklyn College, recently wrote in The New York Sun, Johnson's policies stemmed more from personal concerns - his friendship with leading Zionists, his belief that America had a moral obligation to bolster Israeli security and his conception of Israel as a frontier land much like his home state of Texas. His personal concerns led him to intervene when he felt that the State or Defense departments had insufficiently appreciated Israel’s diplomatic or military needs."
President Johnson firmly pointed American policy in a pro-Israel direction. In a historical context, the American emergency airlift to Israel in 1973, the constant diplomatic support, the economic and military assistance and the strategic bonds between the two countries can all be credited to the seeds planted by LBJ.
ADDITONAL NOTE: Lyndon Johnson’s maternal ancestors, the Huffmans, apparently migrated to Frederick, Maryland from Germany sometime in the mid-eighteenth century. Later they moved to Bourbon, Kentucky and eventually settled in Texas in the mid-to-late nineteenth century.10
According to Jewish law, if a person’s mother is Jewish, then that person is automatically Jewish, regardless of the father’s ethnicity or religion. The facts indicate that both of Lyndon Johnson’s great-grandparents, on the maternal side, were Jewish. These were the grandparents of Lyndon’s mother, Rebecca Baines.11 Their names were John S. Huffman and Mary Elizabeth Perrin.12 John Huffman’s mother was Suzanne Ament, a common Jewish name. Perrin is also a common Jewish name.
Huffman and Perrin had a daughter, Ruth Ament Huffman,13 who married Joseph Baines14 and together they had a daughter, Rebekah Baines,15 Lyndon Johnson’s mother. The line of Jewish mothers can be traced back three generations in Lyndon Johnson’s family tree. There is little doubt that he was Jewish.
Johnson's Hidden Jewish Loyalties
True horror stories of three women. Woman number one was cheated on by her husband who had not made payments on their home, he left her she lost her home and was alone with a child. Another was cheated out of her family home with corrupt judges and corrupt police and Islam involved. Finally to just catch up on the latest news, I ended up reading the article at the end of this section. I know a similar story involved with a man who was an Orphan at a young age and the wife kicked him out of his house. He ended dying of a heart attack a short time after his divorce. WHY AM I WRITING THE HORROR STORIES OF 4 PEOPLE? TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THERE IS JUDGEMENT AND A TRUE JUDGE AND THAT NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME! There comes a time when one must pay for the stealing and suffering caused. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-arends/divorce_b_1453809.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl15%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D156834
Netzach, Hod, & Yesod By Moshe Miller
Whereas chesed and gevura signify unbounded loving-kindness and its constriction so that finite creatures can receive according to their ability, netzach and hod are the two sefirot which define the ability of the recipient to receive. In addition, they perform together as the "joint distribution committee", which decide how, and in what measure, each recipient will get its due.
Let us give an analogy: A professor wants to teach his student calculus, let us say. Of course, the professor wants to teach his students as much as possible in the shortest possible time, so that the students can go on to other subjects in math (this is the attribute of chesed, the desire to give more and more is the attribute of chesed). But the professor is well aware that his students' present level of understanding is insufficient to grasp the entire theory of calculus in a single lesson. So he divides up the subject into several lectures, explaining only one section of the theory at a time (this is the attribute of gevura, limiting and dividing the outflow of benevolence). When the professor actually explains the subject, he takes into account the individual abilities and limitations of each of his students, and he explains the subject accordingly (this signifies the functioning of the attributes of netzach and hod).
The powers of prophecy…derive from the sefirot of netzach and hod
On the Fourth day, the sun and the moon and the stars were created. Light was too infinite and sublime to be of use to the finite worlds; thus, on the Fourth day, a finite, usable form of light was apportioned. On the Fifth day birds and sea-creatures were created, the first recipients of G-d's benevolence and the first created beings able to fulfill the commandment pru u'rvu, "be fruitful and multiply".
According to Kabbala, the powers of prophecy and divine inspiration derive from the sefirot of netzach and hod -- for they actually receive the effusion of G-dly light.
Yesod
Just as the sefira of tiferet harmonizes and balances chesed and gevura, so too, yesod harmonized and balances netzach and hod. However, there is an additional unique aspect of yesod in that it acts as the channel through which malchut receives its proper measure of light and life force. Whereas netzach and hod distribute the divine efflux and determine the character and the amount the recipients receive, yesod is the actual distribution point. Thus, yesod functions as the connector between all of the sefirot which precede it, and the recipient, malchut, below it.
In order for the distribution to reach its intended destination, there must be a proper channel of communication between the giver, yesod, and the receiver, malchut. The distributor (yesod), must be able to identify the recipient (malchut) in order to apportion content to its intended recipient. This is why yesod is also called emet ("truth") in Kabbala. Yesod makes sure that the light and life force is delivered to the proper destination.
But the "identification" process does not only mean that the recipient fulfills the necessary conditions that must be met in order for it to be able to receive. Much more than this, there must be an internal bond between yesod and malchut, a bond of love and understanding. Yesod arouses the desire to receive from within malchut, and malchut in turn arouses within yesod the desire to give. In this way, yesod unites itself with malchut in complete empathy, so that the "giving" is direct, face to face, and indirect, back to back, as it were.
Thus, yesod can be defined as the divine attribute which binds G-d to His creation in a bond of empathy and love. This is why the sefira of Yesod is also called "saint" ("tzadik" in Hebrew) as in the verse "a saint is the foundation of the world" (Proverbs 10:25). A tzadik, or saint, arouses mankind to seek G-d. At the same time he draws down G-d's compassion and goodness into the world. Thus he is the foundation of the world.
Transcend your limited nature… that part of yourself which is simply natural
On the sixth day of Creation, the animal kingdom was created, including the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, created in the Divine Image. Both animals and man are told "be fruitful and multiply", which also means to use G-d's benevolent kindness to grow and expand in G-d-consciousness. But an additional duty is given to man. Be fruitful and multiply and rule over the animals and the birds and the fish. In other words, be over and above them -- and not among them. Transcend your limited nature, transcend that part of yourself which is simply natural, like the animal world, and become the Divine Image in which you were created. The drive to do this is initiated by the power of yesod, the tzadik.
Malchut By Moshe Miller
The tenth and final sefira is called malchut. Malchut contains two completely opposite qualities, called hitnasut, meaning "exaltedness," and its opposite shiflut, meaning "humility". In the explanation of the sefira of keter, we noted that keter, the beginning, is wedged in malchut -- the end. The reverse is also true -- that malchut is wedged in keter. We explained that this means that the final product, malchut, is the original intention of the entire process of emanation. When malchut is still contained in the original intention (that is, in keter), it is in a state of exaltedness. And when it descends to its place as the last of the sefirot, it is in a state of humility. However, it is not that malchut is in one state or the other; rather, it is in both states simultaneously.
…malchut is both the receiver and the consummation of giving
On one hand, malchut receives all that it has from the other sefirot and is described in Kabbala as "having nothing of her own"; thus, the Zohar compares malchut to the moon which has no light of her own. On the other hand, malchut is the final revelation of the Divine Light for which the entire process began; it was for the purpose of malchut that all the sefirot were emanated. Thus malchut is both the receiver and the consummation of giving.
In the explanation of keter, we said that the great depths of water hidden under the earth, the tehom rabba, symbolized keter. The well-spring, from which flows a small quantity of pure watersymbolized chochma, and a broad and mighty river, which begins from its source in the wellspring of chochma, symbolized bina. Malchut signifies the sea into which the river flows. It is the actualization of the entire revelation which began as a single tiny point of trickling water. Whereas chochma is the potential to be, malchut is the actual being, the final manifestation, the original intention. It is for this reason that malchut is also called "Shechina" -- the Divine Indwelling Presence, the immanent revelation of G-d. And so the sea returns to the tehom rabba, as the final revelation fulfills the original purpose.
G-d blessed the Seventh day and sanctified it
The seventh day of Creation, the Shabbat day, is therefore a cessation of work. The Sages say, "He who works prior to the Shabbat will eat on the Shabbat." That is to say that all the six days of Creation which precede the Shabbat must do their work if the culmination of Creation is to be revealed on the Shabbat day. The Zohar (III, 92b) states, "Each day does its work". By fulfilling its function each day's purpose is consummated. The Zohar expresses this perfectly, stating, "From the Shabbat day all other days become blessed." This applies both retroactively and proactively. The Torah states at the completion of Creation, "And the work was complete… and G-d blessed the Seventh day and sanctified it"; on this phrase the Zohar declares: "the supernal crown (keter elyon) is the crown of Kingdom (keter malchut)". The most elevated of the sefirot, keter, is thus linked to the most earthly, malchut.
Emanations Interact By Moshe Miller
The sefirot represent the various stages of the Divine creative process, whereby G-d generated the progression of created realms culminating in our finite physical universe. The sefirot constitute the interacting components of a single metaphysical structure whose imprint can be identified at all levels and within all aspects of Creation.
The sefirot exist not only as individual entities
The sefirot exist not only as individual entities. In addition to their separate and unique identities, they also interact in configurations depicted in Kabbalistic texts as having the structure of the human body; this is called the tzelem Elokim (the supernal "image of G-d"). Just like the body, the sefirot are arranged in vertical arrays along three parallel axes, each representing a mode of divine influence upon Creation. Hence, each sefira is associated with the particular limb or organ that corresponds to its position in the anatomical sefirotic structure. This configuration is also referred to in kabbalistic literature as a sulam ("ladder") or an eitz ("tree").
The interaction among the various sefirot takes place through a network of connecting tzinorot ("channels"), which carry the flow of divine energy throughout Creation. These connections suggest various sub-groupings of the sefirot, each reflecting a certain dynamic amongst the sefirot which they include. The loftiest triad of sefirot defines the cognitive dynamic; it is comprised of Keter, Chochma and bina (or alternatively, in the power of the soul, chochma, and bina and da'at). The sub-grouping comprised of chesed, gevura, and tiferet defines the primary emotions. The triad of netzach, hod and yesod defines the instinctual and pragmatic forces. Malchut may be viewed as either an appendage of this last sub-grouping or as an independent entity receiving and manifesting the energies that precede it.
Another way of dividing the sefirot is into partzufim ("visages" or "profiles"). A partzuf is described in terms of the human form and is used to represent the expansion of a sefira (or group of sefirot) into an independent configuration with ten sefirot of its own. According to Kabbala, the sefirot of keter, chochma, bina and malchut each possess two interrelated partzufim; whereas the six sefirot from chesed through yesod form their own common and independent pair of partzufim.
In the configuration of the sefirot, keter appears at the top of the middle axis, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the skull. The sefira of keter develops into two partzufim; its outer partzuf is referred to as Arich Anpin, and its inner partzuf is referred to as Atik Yomin.
Chochma appears in the configuration of the sefirot at the top of the right axis and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the right hemisphere of the brain. In its fully articulated form, chochma possesses two partzufim: the higher of these is referred to as Abba Ila'ah ("the supernal father"), whereas the lower is referred to as Yisrael Sabba ("Israel, the Elder"). These two partzufim are collectively referred to as Abba ("the father").
Bina appears in the configuration of the sefirot at the top of the left axis and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the left hemisphere of the brain.
In its fully expanded form, bina also possesses two partzufim: the higher of these is referred to as Imma Ila'ah ("the supernal mother"), whereas the lower is referred to as tevuna ("comprehension"). These two partzufim are collectively referred to as Imma ("the mother").
The union of chochma and bina, the "father" and the "mother" (the right and left hemispheres of the brain, known in Kabbala as "the higher union"), is constant and is referred to in the Zohar as "two companions that never separate". This union is necessary for the continuous re-creation of the world, beginning with the birth (from the womb of "mother" bina) of the seven attributes of the heart, each corresponding to one of the seven days of Creation.
…daat represents the inner dimension of keter itself within the realm of consciousness…
Daat is the third and last conscious power of intellect in Creation. Generally, daat is only enumerated among the sefirot when keter is not. This is due to the fact that daat represents the inner dimension of keter itself within the realm of consciousness. Hence, daat appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the middle axis, directly beneath keter, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the cerebellum (posterior brain). In the Zohar, da'at is referred to as "the key that includes six." The "key" of daat opens all six attributes of the heart (the emotions) and fills them with life-force.
Chesed appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the right axis directly beneath chochma and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the "right arm."
Gevura is the fifth of the ten sefirot and is the second of the emotive attributes in Creation. Gevura appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the left axis directly beneath bina and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the "left arm."
Tiferet is the sixth of the ten sefirot and is the third of the emotive attributes within Creation. It appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the middle axis directly beneath daat (or beneath keter, when daat is excluded). Tiferet corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the upper torso (in particular, the heart).
Netzach is the seventh of the ten sefirot, and the fourth of the emotive attributes within Creation. It appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the right axis, directly beneath chesed, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the right leg.
Hod is the eighth of the ten sefirot, and the fifth of the emotive attributes within Creation. It appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the left axis, directly beneath gevura, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the left leg.
The two sefirot of netzach and hod are referred to as "two halves of a single body." This is so because more than with respect to chesed and gevura (the right and left arms), netzach and hod (the right and left legs), can only perform their function in unison -- walking together.
Netzach and hod are referred to in the Zohar as "the scales of justice". Netzach merits while hod concedes ("acknowledges" or "confesses"). As the two hips of the body, they are responsible for the general state of equilibrium of the body.
Yesod is the ninth of the ten sefirot and is the sixth of the emotive attributes within Creation. It appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the middle axis, directly beneath tiferet. Yesod corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the procreative organ (in the male; in the female, to the womb).
The six sefirot from chesed to yesod join and develop to form the partzuf of Zeir Anpin. Zeir Anpin (or z"a in Kabbalistic shorthand) receives its "head" or "brain power" (the three higher sefirot of chochma, bina and da'at) from the higher partzufim of Abba and Imma.
Malchut is the last of the ten sefirot. It is the final emotive attribute within Creation (or, more precisely, the manifestation of what is contained above it in a potential or latent state, as explained above). Malchut appears in the configuration of the sefirot at the bottom of the middle axis directly beneath yesod. Malchut corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the "crown" of the procreative organ (the corona in the male; the labia in the female). Malchut also corresponds to the mouth and is often referred to as "the world of speech," insofar as the spoken word represents the essential medium of self-expression, allowing one to not only reveal himself to outer reality but to guide and influence that reality as well. Hence, speech allows one to exercise authority and "kingship", the literal meaning of malchut.
…kingship requires utmost sensitivity to the needs of the realm which one seeks to rule
Malchut also serves as the means to identify with outer reality. Analogously, exercising kingship requires utmost sensitivity to the needs of the realm which one seeks to rule. Conversely, every individual aspect of creation must accept Divine authority, for only then can the ultimate good of the mundane realm be assured.
The soul can only perceive and ascend to the higher sefirot through the portal of malchut. "This is the gate to G-d, the righteous shall enter through it" (Psalms 118:20). In one's service to G-d this means receiving upon oneself, in total commitment, "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven". When this is not done, the result is galut haShechinah -- the exile of the Divine Presence.
Although we have counted more than half of the Omer Already, I have finished the Sefiros and their interaction on an intermediate level of higher learning.
Two little stories and a big lesson for new comers to Judaism
This week I received on two different occasions questions from the east and west coast of the States regarding Glatt Kosher Meat. I want to repeat myself a short story. My wife made a cake for a Yahrzeit Siyum that I made. People asked me real stupid questions like does my wife check the eggs who gave the Heckshir for the sugar, flour, oil etc. and then they did not eat. If you don’t trust a person then don’t eat! If you are not interested in eating then be quiet! For to embarrass a person in public and put him through the scrutiny of Hezballah, Assad and water boarding over a cake is ridiculous! Kosher I keep for HASHEM Yisborach and Glatt Kosher I can keep for a Chumra for myself or my fellow man. I was sent to the Golan Heights during Shmita Year on border patrol and as a Para-medic for the Armored Corp. I was given a leave after a week and asked Rabbi Simcha HaCohain Kuk Shlita what should I do as I don’t believe in selling the land of Eretz Yisrael. He told me neither do I but you have to eat and you have to be alert as a front line soldier – depend on the Heter of selling the land for it is good and when you come home return to your custom and that is what I did.
This week I received on two different groups questions about Glatt Kosher vs. regular Kosher. In FL we have a problem with Chalav Yisrael milk for example. It comes from NY and by the time it arrives in FL by truck after the long processing from the farm to the supplier in NY to the truck doctor to the distributor to the stores in FL it is close to spoiling. I go according to Rav Moshe Feinstein who permitted regular milk in the States. I got a question from MA and another from CA on the subject of meat. It seems that because the Glatt Kosher Meat (93 to 95% of the meat) costs more; the butchers were adding fat to the ground beef to cheapen it as compared to the regular kosher. If there is a difference between the person slaughtering or the Rabbi giving the Heckshir on the meat between Orthodox or non-Orthodox that is one thing but if both the Rabbi and the Schochet are Orthodox everything is fine and one need not go over-board. My daughter and eldest son keep Glatt and that is what I serve them in my house. ALL OF KOSHER IS BASED ON TRUST. SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY WILL NOT EAT PRODUCTS FROM THE 5 GRAINS THAT WAS PRODUCED BEFORE PESSACH. HA-HA THE JOKE IS ON THEM AS RABBI AND DAYAN MIMRAN SAYS FOR UNLESS YOU KNOW THE PRODUCTION CODE DATE OF EACH COUNTRY YOU ARE BOUND TO HAVE SOME PRODUCTS THAT WERE SOLD BEFORE PESSACH EVEN MONTHS LATER SO DO NOT KID YOURSELF. The answer is I keep Kosher for HASHEM! I keep Glatt Kosher to impress man! In Eretz Yisrael since Chalav Yisrael and regular milk is the same price and available readily in the stores – it is very easy to keep it as compared to the Jews in the seven Continents outside of Israel.
Rabbi Trugman Shlita tells a story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT4-mBJGg2o&feature=related
From Stephanos: English Subtitles of a story in Yiddishe as told by the late Lubavitcher Rebbe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mEjqxgi6VzM#!
Israeli Elections by Oct. 16th? http://www.debka.com/article/21958/
As Yisrael braces for a horrendous war in the future: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4222093,00.html
Good News for men who like Pizza and Oregano: http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=267788
A seal from the times of the first Beis HaMikdash found: http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/another-rare-find-in-jerusalem-dig/
Inyanay Diyoma
Islamic honor for the dead: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4221310,00.html
US does wishful thinking on Iran but is prepared just in case. http://www.debka.com/article/21955/ and http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4221592,00.html
My friend Nancy sent me this on how Obama is going to save money for bare essentials: http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-lifts-freeze-on-192-million-aid-package-to-palestinian-authority/
Israeli Politics http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/155211
Rumors of War an hour and 14 minute video from via Shona produced by Glenn Beck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbBWju8HPG4
When I made Aliyah there were not too many Americans in Israel so I became not by choice perhaps through the army and other functions a full Israeli. One of my neighbors mentioned a story of an MD who prefers to live here 3 weeks a month travel for one and make more money than an Israeli Doctor. There is in my Yeshuv a few Israeli Schuls and one mostly an American Schul. This film was produced I believe by one of my neighbors. He is here at least 20 years. http://ishopforisrael.com/living-the-dream/ yet I am still proud to be an American!
I guess I am disrespectful to Muslim dead by not being a Necrophile. Last week the Muslim Brotherhood talked about this: http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/5238--fatwa-necrophilia-religiously-acceptable-practice-in-islam
Barak Obama’s men in Israeli Politics: http://www.debka.com/article/21958/
Cut off your political enemies before they can organize: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4222240,00.html
Unemployment and inflation: http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Rogers-inflation-commodities-us/2012/04/27/id/437267??s=al&promo_code=EC43-1
In 1965 the late Paul Harvey gave an Ed-Op “If I were the devil”. http://web.gbtv.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=20240495
Iran is rolling on the floor laughing at the west: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1805
Bigotry and Hatred is alive and well in the United States against small minorities: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/04/28/native-american-blind-man-mutilated-by-staff-at-rapid-city-hospital/
Winds of War picking up speed: http://www.debka.com/article/21964/
What a surprise, I could never have guessed or could I? http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/ohio-bridge-bombing-suspect-was-occupy-member/
In Israel some Jewish women get charmed by Muslims. http://www.debbieschlussel.com/49247/so-you-wanna-marry-a-muslim-palestinian-in-america-what-could-go-wrong-hamas-man-kidnaps/
Iran wants to attack the USA from a barge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uBB5qk-9V-I#!
Now for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “Skin Deep”
