I
received this name Shaul Yaakov ben Chana. Please remove the following names
from the prayer list: Ariel ben Ruth, Zusha ben Sara and Miriam bas Basha.
Again it is a combination of Torah/Mitzvos, Repentance, Charity
and Prayer that prevent the evil decree and sports that keep us in health. With
thanks to the L-RD, I was given the all-clear to return to sports and he even
lowered my cardio-medicines. This just fits in with this week’s Haphtarah of
consolation and encouragement by the Prophet.
Parsha Vaetchanan
What would a normal person do in our day and age with a blogspot
or likes on Facebook totaling a few million people today? On You-Tube it would
be big business but not Moshe Rabbaynu the humblest of men who ever walked the
face of the earth. His only desire with all this popularity is to enter Eretz
Yisrael and he entreats with heart felt pleas HASHEM to grant him the privilege
of entering the land just to observe Teruma, Maaser, Shmita, Yovel and working
the land or even for the shortest of time and have a burial in the land. But as
we see this would not be. [For those who are mystical supposedly Rabbi Shimon
Bar Yochai and Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the holy Ari were sparks of Moshe
Rabbaynu’s Neshama.] This behavior of Moshe is the difference between 5 minutes
of glory in this world vs. eternal fame in the next world!
3:23 And I besought the LORD at that time, saying: 24
'O Lord GOD, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy strong
hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth, that can do according to Thy
works, and according to Thy mighty acts? 25 Let me go over, I
pray Thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly
hill-country, and Lebanon.'
He does not pray for health, riches, fame, glory, honor or other
things that most men seek. All he wants to do is to see Eretz Yisrael which any
of my readers can do with a plane trip of a few hours from Europe or less than
a day from the Far East or California. He was so holy and G-D fearing and loving
and yet he of all people was not able to do this. Have this in mind the next
time there is a ‘good excuse’ why you cannot make it to visit Eretz Yisrael.
26 But
the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and hearkened not unto me; and the
LORD said unto me: 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes
westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thine
eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge
Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this
people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.' 29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.
Moshe was warned according to the Medrash not to test HASHEM’s
Gezaira again and he views the Promised Land. What is amazing is that often
from Har Nevo the area can be cloudy and it was perfectly clear that day. I
wonder if HASHEM gave to Moshe also a telescopic prophecy vision? At this point
Moshe now enters his first of three major teachings of the last 200 Mitzvos.
This is a Mussar Reminder that if you cling to G-D = Chaim aka life and if you go against HASHEM = Maves aka death. Sometimes before we want to sin for there is not a man alive who is not tempted that we should think of the day of our death and then Shema. Why because not every sin is punished by death on the spot but it is put in the bank of Mitzvos and Avairos for after 120 years on this earth.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it. 6 Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'
Mathematics involved here: Axiom – Observe the Mitzvos and you will be a great nation. Draw the conclusion if the opposite happens without the curses described later on for thinking with a clear mind of a blessing once can see the lack of blessing without getting depressed but think positive and do Mitzvos.
7 For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Am Yisrael is based on the Justice and Mercy of the Mitzvos. Rabbi Yacov London of righteous memory used to drum the concept of HASHEM’s Justice and Mercy into the heads of the young Yeshiva Students but I wonder how much the teens picked up then but as a person ages and mellows perhaps this path of just and merciful actions becomes part of the blood of the Jew.
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;
One has to remember the Torah and the history of our people. We have been warned about leaving nations who do not accept us in our land and unfortunately the ‘thorns in our sides’ have become daggers in our day and age so let us keep the words of Torah 24/7 in our hearts and minds and observe them without fear of the world for Yisrael is not guided by a Chanchaga of natural forces but above nature.
10 the day that thou stood before the LORD thy God in Horeb … that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves--for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire—
You heard the voice of the L-RD in the midst of the clouds and thunderings and fear gripped you.
16 lest ye deal corruptly, and make you a graven image, even the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the heaven, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; 19 and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Most of this worship has been up rooted by the offspring of Judaism such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism but still traces exist in believes of followers who need statues, fear genies, spirits & ghosts, etc. but the world has undergone a revolution since the Bnei Yisrael left Sinai and were scattered among all the Nations of the World.
20 But you hath the LORD taken and brought forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. 21 Now the LORD was angered with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; 22 but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but ye are to go over, and possess that good land.
Soon my life will come to an end but you will enter and redeem the land of Canaan and turn it into the land of Eretz Yisrael for perpetuity.
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, even the likeness of anything which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
Jealousy is a human emotion. On a philosophical level can HASHEM really be jealous of a human made god or just angry at the human figment of the mind instead of appreciating HASHEM Yisborach.
25 When thou shalt beget children, and
children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall deal
corruptly, and make a graven image, even the form of anything, and shall do
that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke Him; 26 I call
heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly
perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye
shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And the
LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number
among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.
If you turn to idols these bad
things will happen to you and only a few remnants of the sword will be left.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of
men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
29 But from thence ye will seek the LORD thy God; and thou shalt find Him, if
thou search after Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30
In thy distress, when all these things are come upon thee, in the end of days,
thou wilt return to the LORD thy God, and hearken unto His voice; 31
for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy
thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He swore unto them.
Just put your trust and faith in
HASHEM for there is nothing else beside HIM.
32 For ask now of the days past, which were
before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the
one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as
this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? 33 Did ever a
people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou
hast heard, and live?
At this point is a repetition of
the Assera Debros with the exception from remember to observe or guard the
Shabbos.
…5:11
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee.
12 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 13 but the seventh day is a Sabbath
unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine
ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy
gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. 14
And thou shalt remember that thou was a servant in the land of Egypt, and the
LORD thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched
arm; therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. … 25 Oh that they had such a heart as this
always, to fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them,
and with their children forever! 26 Go say to them: Return ye to your tents.
HASHEM can see the future so that HE was stating a wish that the
Bnei Yisrael would with their free will observe the Mitzvos like it says in
Avos – “Put your will aside so that HE will put others wills aside for yours.”
27 But as
for thee, stand thou here by Me, and I will speak unto thee all the
commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them,
that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.'
You have a Mitzvah to possess the land.
28 Ye
shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you; ye shall
not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 29 Ye shall walk in all the
way which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may
be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall
possess.
You will be rewarded by both a physical longer age and the time in
the land of Eretz Yisrael.
You are to teach the fear and love of G-D to your children and you and they will have long lives in a prosperous land.
4 Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD
is one.
This sentence has held the remnants
of the Bnei Yisrael together through inquisition and holocaust with the word
Shema consisting of Shin-Mem-Ayin or the DIVINE NAME of 72 letters with the
other 70 names of the L-RD. Ehud ending in a Dalet combines with the Ayin to
form the Hebrew word Aid or witness that HASHEM is one. It also indicates the
Infinite realm of the L-RD over various 4’s in the world. The ancient elements
or states of matter = solid, liquid, gas and plasma; inanimate, plant, animal
and talking; east, west, north and south; sun, moon, planets and earth; and in
the Kabbalistic World various angels up until the throne of G-D.
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Loving G-D with all your heart and
soul might be easier than the might for the Rabbis interpret might as your
financial base – everything. The finances we must remember come from HASHEM
although sometimes we like to think that we amassed the fortune or inherited
the fortune that we have. Perhaps the fortune is only owning furniture in a
rented apartment or owning a home or two or perhaps stocks and jewelry. In
reading Rabbi Lau’s book we see that bribes of diamonds and a gold watch saved
little Yisrael Meir’s life in Buchenwald and got him into block 8 where a
Russian Guard protected the 7.5 year old from a hail of bullets. This is how we
should view money in the service of HASHEM. The results were worth in to Am
Yisrael with two chief Rabbis of Eretz Yisrael.
6 And these words, which I command thee this
day, shall be upon thy heart; 7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sit in thy house, and when thou walk
by the way, and when thou lie down, and when thou rise up.
The words of the Shema must be
engraved in your heart and mind 24/7 and the main point is to teach them
diligently unto thy children in every generation.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy
hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt
write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
These are the putting on of
Tephillin on weekdays and the Mezuzah on each and every house in Yisrael not
only as a protective charm but a reminded of HASHEM with the NAME
SHIN-DALET-YOD facing you upon entering and leaving the house – thus putting
HASHEM before you always a Tamid or eternal remembrance.
… We skip ahead to the Haggada with the reminder again to
educate your future generations in the history of our people and the love and
fear of HASHEM Yisborach.
20 When thy son asks thee
in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the
ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? 21 then thou shalt say
unto thy son: 'We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out
of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great
and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes. 23
And He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the
land which He swore unto our fathers. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all
these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might
preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25 And it shall be righteousness unto
us, if we observe to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as He
hath commanded us.'
We now focus on the Mitzvah to
Conquer the Land and unlike the pork eating minister we had in the Six Day War
who wanted to leave the Arabs for cheap labor we should remove other peoples
from our land.
7:1 When
the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou go to possess it,
and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite,
and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the
Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 and when the LORD thy
God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou
shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show
mercy unto them;
Who soever shows mercy to the cruel ends up being cruel to the
merciful people.
3 neither shalt thou make marriages with them:
thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take
unto thy son.
See one of the miracles mentioned below of the homicide bomber who
repented the last minute because of the Shema.
4 For he
will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods; so
will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and He will destroy thee quickly.
He children instead of being good Jews were fierce Hamas fighters
and cruel.
5 But
thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in
pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images
with fire. 6 For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God
hath chosen thee to be His own treasure, out of all peoples that are upon the
face of the earth.
We return to the concept of “You should be holy for I, the L-RD
your G-D, am holy!”
7 The
LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people--for ye were the fewest of all peoples-- 8 but because
the LORD loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore unto your
fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out
of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know
therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God; the faithful God, who keeps
covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a
thousand generations;
My children and I suffered at times because of the renegade behavior
towards HASHEM of my grandfather. However, because of his parents and theirs, I
returned to keep the love going for a thousand generations after them.
10 and
repays them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack
to him that hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore
keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command
thee this day, to do them.
JUST DO THE COMMANDMENTS AND OBSERVE THEM WELL!
Please note there is a story of archeology by Gail Winston which was
originally mailed in my daily news updates:
Dr. Gabriel Barkay In 2004, on the western slopes of Mt. Scopus at Emek
Tzurim National Park, archaeologists Dr. Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira under
the auspices of Bar-Ilan University established a project for sifting the earth
debris that had been removed from the Temple Mount. The project is funded and
operated by the Ir-David Foundation and private donors with the cooperation of
the Israel National Parks Authority.
Even though the Temple Mount has played a major role in
the history of Jerusalem, no systematic archaeological excavation has ever
taken place there, in spite of the fact that Jerusalem is one of the most
excavated cities in the world. The Waqf, the Muslim trust which manages the
site, has always objected archaeological research.
On various
occasions during the last century the Waqf conducted construction and renovations
without any archaeological supervision or control, causing severe damage to
ancient remains. The peak of these construction projects occurred during the
years 1999-2000, when large scale earthworks took place using heavy machinery;
the purpose being to create an entrance to Solomon’s Stables (an
ancient subterranean structure) which had been converted into a new mosque. In
addition, in an open area on the eastern side of the Temple Mount, the ground
level was lowered with bulldozers in order to lay new pavement slabs. About 400
truckloads of soil saturated with archaeological artifacts from all periods in
the history of Jerusalem, were removed and dumped in various locations, mainly
in the nearby Kidron Valley.
These works were illicit and disregarded Israeli
antiquities laws which require a salvage excavation prior to any construction
in an archaeological site. In a proper archaeological excavation the exact
location and context of artifacts are documented, and the finds are removed
with great care. When an archaeological site is excavated brutally with heavy
machinery, ignoring the context and finds, major archaeological data are lost
and can never be retrieved. However, out-of-context finds that are recovered
from archaeological sites still preserve some valuable archaeological
information. These finds, when studied thoroughly, can increase the information
about the site, especially if it hasn’t previously been excavated, such is the
case with the Temple Mount.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project, directed by Dr. Barkay,
was established with the purpose of sifting all the debris removed from the
Temple Mount and to try to retrieve as many artifacts as possible, using the
wet-sifting technique. Most of the finds can be identified and dated by
matching them to parallel finds found in a clear context elsewhere. This
comparative methodology is widely used in archaeological surveys studying sites
only by collecting artifacts from the topsoil.
Unique methodological techniques were developed in the
Temple Mount Sifting Project, which is somewhere between a survey and an
excavation, in order to study the finds. After the identification and
sorting, advanced quantitative analytical techniques are used to reveal the
unique patterns of the material culture of the site.
The National Parks Authority allocated a special site in
the Emek Tzurim National Park, and special installations were set up in order
to allow large groups of volunteers and visitors to participate in the wet
sifting.
From the beginning of the project it was evident that, in
order to retrieve valuable information from such a vast amount of material,
large number of volunteers would be needed, and indeed many groups have offered
their help. Maybe it is no coincidence that this kind of work could not be done
by a small group of archaeologists & students, but rather, it is a
responsibility, duty and privilege of the large crown of people to participate
in this effort. This undertaking would not be a brief operation, but a
meaningful & sustained project continuing for many years. Thus the
project is functioning as an educational tourism site that receives daily
groups of visitors from Israel & all over the world who participate in the
sifting. To date (May 2014) more than 250,000 people have taken part in the sifting,
which, in itself, is a unique phenomenon in archaeological projects around the
world.
This idea is movingly expressed in the Book of Psalms:
Thou wilt
arise, and have compassion upon Zion; for it is time to be gracious unto her,
for the appointed time is come: For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
and love her dust (Psalms 102:
14-15).
The Finds
Every bucket
of earth that is sifted contains fragments of pottery, glass vessels, metal
objects, bones, worked stones and mosaic tesserae stones. These are the most
frequent finds from the Temple Mount. The finds are dated mainly to
the First Temple Period and onwards (10th century BCE till
today). There are some finds from earlier periods, but they are scarce. In
addition to these general categories, there are numerous finds of many kinds:
fragments of stone vessels, approximately 5,000 ancient coins, various pieces
of jewelry, a rich assortment of beads, terracotta figurines, arrowheads and
other weaponry, weights, items of clothing, game pieces and dice, bone and
shell inlays, furniture decorations, ornaments, bone tools, etc. Fragments of
elaborate architectural members from buildings, among them are pillars,
architraves, mosaic floors, opus sectile tiles (see below), colored
wall plaster (fresco), and glazed wall tiles.
The finds are carefully sorted and studied in the
project’s archaeological laboratory, and once the processing and analysis are
finished, this data will help to provide fresh insights into the archaeological
and historical research of the Temple Mount.
Occasionally
very unique invaluable finds are also recovered, such as inscriptions on
fragments of walls or on pottery, and inscribed seals or sealings (bullae).
A noteworthy clay sealing that was found, has an impression bearing the letters
…LYHW (…ליהו) and…’AMR (…אמר).
It may be possible to complete the writing as “Belonging to [..]lyahu son of
Immer”. The Immer family was a well-known priestly family at the end of
the First Temple period, around the 7th – 6th Centuries
BCE, and the Post Exillic Period. Pashur son of Imer is mentioned as “Chief
officer in the house of God”(Jer. 20:1).
The
impression on the back of the sealing indicated it was originally attached to a
fabric parcel or a sack, and it may be assumed that it sealed some precious
goods that were kept in the Temple treasury which was managed by the
priests. This sealing is the first ever evidence of ancient Hebrew writing
from the Temple Mount and to the administrative activity which took place in
the First Temple.
The finds
from the First Temple Period range from the 10th century BCE
until the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE. They include an abundance of
pottery (about 15% of the total), with a relatively high proportion of jugs,
juglets, fragmented terracotta figurines (probably smashed on purpose, see: 2
Kings 13:2), pot handles with specific incised markings which may indicate a
unique cultic designation for the contents of the pots, stone
sling-shots, shekel stone weights, arrowheads, and other
finds.
To date, the
Sifting Project has uncovered more than five thousand coins, ranging from tiny
silver Persian Period coins (4th century BCE) until modern
times. The many coins that were found in the rubble testify to the rich past of
the Temple Mount. The first coin recovered in the sifting work was
very exciting due to its symbolic nature. It was minted during the First Revolt
against the Romans that preceded the destruction of the Second Temple. It
bore the phrase “For the Freedom of Zion” (חרת ציון).
The name “Zion” was the name of the Temple Mount in ancient time. The find was
particularly meaningful, inasmuch as it was in rubble from the Temple Mount
which was one of the focal points of the fighting.
An extremely
rare silver coin, which aroused great excitement when it was discovered, was
also minted during the Great Revolt against the Romans (66/67 CE). The face of
the coin features a branch of three pomegranates and an inscription in ancient
Hebrew “holy Jerusalem” (“ירושלים הקדושה”).
The reverse of the coin features an omer (ancient unit of
measure) cup with the writing: “half shekel” (“חצי השקל”).
Half-shekel coins were used to pay the Temple tax during the period of the
Great Revolt and replaced the Tyrian shekel which was used for this purpose
earlier. It appears that these coins were minted on the Temple Mount itself by
the Temple authorities. The half-shekel tax for the Temple, mentioned in the
Book of Exodus (30:13-15), required every male to pay half a shekel to the
Temple every year. The coin was well preserved, although it bears scars from a
fire which may have been the conflagration that caused the destruction of the
Second Temple in 70 AD. This is the first time that this type of coin that
originates from the Temple Mount itself.
Another discovery from the
Second Temple period and consists of a large number of floor tiles in a variety
of shapes and colors which were assembled together in various ways to form rich
geometric patterns. This paving technique is known in the Roman world asopus
sectile. Some of the tiles are dated according to parallels found in Herod
palaces. Their sizes are based on the Roman foot (c. 29.6 cm) and are
associated with the “Golden Ratio.” The writings of Flavius Josephus
testify that this technique was used as ornamentation for the Temple Mount open
courts which surrounded the Temple: “Those entire courts that were exposed to
the sky were laid with stones of all sorts” (The Jewish War 5.5.2).
This description is now finally understood thanks to these finds. Other opus
sectile tiles found in the sifting are dated to later periods. The
variety of sizes, shapes, colors and materials of tiles and the wide range of
comparative dates point to the enduring popularity of opus sectile tiles
in structures on the Temple Mount.
The Sifting Project has proven itself to be an
inexhaustible source of knowledge for the research and study of the archaeology
and history of the Temple Mount. To date, less than half of the debris removed
from the Mount have been sifted. The project is continuing full steam and many
more finds are waiting to be discovered by visitors who come to work at the
site.
Dr. Gabriel Barkay was born in Hungary in 1944, and immigrated to Israel in
1950. After graduating from Hebrew University summa cum laude where he studied
archaeology, comparative religion and geography, he graduated summa cum laude
from Tel Aviv University with a Ph.D in archaeology in 1985.
He has participated on various levels in numerous digs, and discovered the
Silver Scrolls, two silver amulets that contain the Priestly Benediction
(Numbers 6:24-26), which are the earliest recorded biblical verses ( dated to
the late-7th century B.C. First Temple period) that mention the name “YHWH.”
This makes the amulets the oldest Biblical inscriptions ever found, predating
the Dead Sea Scrolls by at least 400 years, and the first mentioning the name
of the LORD .
More recently, a 2,700-year-old clay seal was unearthed within the ancient City
of David. Under Dr. Barkay’s direction, an archaeological team at the Israel
Excavation Society Sifting Project, sifted through the dig site’s debris and
discovered the now-famous “Bethlehem Seal” dated to the 7th century
B.C.E. Dr. Barkay was the first to translate the seal’s significant three
line inscription which says “In the 7th year, Bethlehem, for the king”.
Participating in a variety of archaeological digs, Dr. Barkay is the recipient
of the 1996 Jerusalem Prize for Archaeological Research, and is a professor at
Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv. He has spent more than 30 years teaching at
the American Institute of Holy Land Studies and has taught scores of students
in tour-guide schools around Israel.
On a personal note, he speaks of being born during the Holocaust, his earliest
memory being held in the arms of his mother and knowing that he must not forget
– this he describes as a driving force in his life.
He also spoke passionately about being greeted in his home by two of his
students, dumping finds on his kitchen table and thus beginning to unravel the
secrets found in the Temple Mount dirt from the Kidron valley. He has been an
outstanding voice of indignance at the Wakf takeover of the Temple Mount, and
has been criticized by his academic peers for continuous public outrage at the
desecration of the Jewish finds on this precious site.
The Shema Miracle
Sent
by Zahava Miriam who received this from Amy Goldstein CohenAnother miracle in Gaza: Soldiers were sent to check out a mosque for tunnel openings and weapons. All of a sudden a door opened and a female suicide bomber walked in ready to detonate herself. The soldiers realized that their end had come and they screamed out Shma Yisroel etc.ped the trigger. The soldiers grabbed her and neutralized the bomb and took her in for interrogation. To their shock they discovered that she was Jewish and had made the mistake of marrying an arab who abducted her to Gaza where he beat her mercilessly and she also had 3 children from him who were suffering terribly. She told the IDF where they could find her children, who sent her to to the bombing, she also told them where there were more weapons and tunnels and other important information. The IDF went and grabbed her kids and whisked her and the children off to Israel where they turned them over to Yad L'Achim for safe keeping and recuperation. Another daughter and her children returned to Judaism and many-many lives saved. All in the merit of Shema Yisrael!\
HIDDEN MIRACLE the digger attacked with planning the bus to Betar Illit because it normally is filled with school children at that hour. School ended the day before and the attack missed the children by one day.
I heard more miracles of inactivated bombs in tunnels, booby trapped houses etc.
From Anna: A soldiers story about a miracle that happened around Aug 1st:
We
went to the place that the army sent us. I asked my commanding officer if I
could take with me the candies and cookies etc. that were sent to the soldiers
from all over Israel. I took a package of choc. Filled cookies and after two
and a half days of fighting and not a lot of food, we were inside a house and I
remembered that I had the package of cookies. I opened up the package and I saw
a message from a small boy in these exact words ". I know you are watching
over me I sent you this package. I am still small but I have one small request,
that before you eat a cookie say the
blessing over food". The soldier
with the cookie was not religious and didn't know the blessing but his friend
who was laying low in the house and who wore a Kipa was religious and knew the
blessing he crawled over to him to say the blessing and just as he finished the
blessing there was a loud BOOM..... it appears that an RPG rocket was shot at
the house and hit the exact spot where a few minutes before he was laying low. The soldier was slightly wounded just
scratched..... The soldier burst into tearsPosted by different sources. Translated by a friend and sent to us it goes without saying that Baruch HaShem this soldier was saved!
Denise forwarded this post
from Debbie Y. Just wanted to share this amazing story. The Matzah Miracle that
Saved the Residents of Kibbutz Sufa
Posted by JewishMom on Jul 30, 2014 in Current Events.
This article by Avi Jacob (and translated by Rivka Friedman)
appears on the site of Radio Kol Chai .Yet another story whereby following
Hashem's will, a disaster was averted.
Three weeks ago a group of residents came from Bnei Brak to
Kibbutz Sufa in order to harvest wheat for Pesach. They harvest the wheat every
summer when the sun beats down on the fields, thoroughly drying the wheat. The
wheat is then stored until the winter when they start the production and baking
of matzos.
Aharon Samet, owner of the “Samet” factory producing “tzitzis”
fringes, is the Badatz community supervisor for the wheat harvest. On a radio
program today with Rabbi Moshe Ben Lulu, Samet told the story of the great
miracle which occurred for the people of Israel thanks to this year’s wheat harvest.
“This year we are getting ready for the Shmitta agricultural
sabbatical year, so this summer we harvested wheat grain for two years. We
searched the whole country, looking for wheat which was sown late in the season
and needed rain which fell late. At Kibbutz Sufa right next to the Gaza border
we found an entire field sown in mid-January, which was considered very
unusual, so we found 2000 acres of green wheat which was just right for us,
“said Samet.
“We harvested the wheat,” said Samet, “and we ran into military
police, as well as undercover and regular police who came to check out who we
were.” The Gaza air campaign was already underway, and Samet and his colleagues
saw the smoke clouds over Gaza, and heard the sirens while they were busy
harvesting and transferring the wheat to trucks and moving them towards the
cleaning plant near Masmiya for cleaning the wheat, fumigating and tithing it.
Two days later 13 terrorists came from Gaza out from the tunnel
which opened into the fields near Sufa. The terrorists had been planning a big
attack, and had been counting on hiding among Sufa’s giant wheat field–which
the matzah makers had just chopped down in its entirety. The terrorists
couldn’t understand how their camouflage had disappeared.
The empty field enabled military observers to easily spot and
identify the terrorists and open fire on them. Many Jewish lives were thus
saved by the grace of Heaven.
Here's a link to the interview in
Hebrew with Rabbi Moshe Ben Lulu : http://media.93fm.co.il/uploads/2014/07/%D7%90%D7%99%D7%99%D7%98%D7%9D-%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%A1%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%98-28.07.14.mp3
Do we have to wait until the next war in Gaza for more miracles
until we get rid of this nest of Amalek? Or does Iran have to over-shoot us
with an atomic bomb to rid the world of them?
From Alex: The question I had regarding conversion I have been able
to answer. The one question left that I have is this: I understand G-D allows
bad things to happen to good people and vice versa so that we cannot have proof
G-D exists otherwise we would not have free choice. However I often lose faith
and although I would choose to believe in G-D, I find it occasionally
impossible to do so, so I do not have free choice. And also, why does G-D allow
things such as the torture of children? That can in no way be revealed as a
blessing of any sort can it? The question I had regarding conversion I have been able to answer.
The one question left that I have is this: I understand G-D allows bad things
to happen to good people and vice versa so that we cannot have proof G-D exists
otherwise we would not have free choice. However I often lose faith and
although I would choose to believe in G-D, I find it occasionally impossible to
do so, so I do not have free choice. And also, why does G-D allow things such
as the tourture of children? That can in no way be revealed as a blessing of
any sort can it?
The Tanya writes Tzaddik and Ra (evil or bad of him). The meaning
is that the righteous are broken into two classes. One who is righteous in
general like Iyob aka the Book of Job. He is 90 or 98% complete in
righteousness but has a few minor weaknesses. Another is a complete Tzaddik who
covered his evil completely. The Tanya writes Tzaddik and Ra
(evil or bad in him). The meaning is that the righteous are broken into two
classes. One who is righteous in general like Iyob aka the Book of Job. He is
90 or 98% complete in righteousness but has a few minor weaknesses. Another is
a complete Tzaddik who covered his evil completely.
Regarding free choice the
greatest example is right before your eyes. You are free to remain in your religion,
become a Noachide or convert to Judaism. These free choices depend on your
will. You are free to marry or date X or Y once you make the choice with the
women it will affect your future life. Sometimes the woman makes the choice of
rejecting you or somebody like Z crops up who is more your type before you are
convinced that you should marry either. It depends on your good deeds vs.
Your sins which are also your choice. Whether I violate or guard
Shabbos each week is my free choice.
Nobody can tell you why there is a
torture of children or children even abused by their parents. I can tell you
the following which I wrote about in my rabbipauli.blogspot.com a few months
ago. It occurred to me in the late 40’s early 50’s of the last century. I was born
after the Holocaust. I had a fascination with trains sometime between perhaps
the age of 2.5 to 4 plus I had a recurring dream of the “the cling-cling train
is coming and I got to get out of its way” this was before my vocabulary could
describe the noise of a train click-clack as it moves down the tracks. It was
not a Long Island Rail Road train or the New York Subway Trains that I knew but
a train with no seats and a wooden floor that one could peep through and see
grass growing on the tracks. Was I killed in the Shoah? Am I a reincarnation of
somebody? I have no proof except this dream and I am not alone among Jews born
in my age group. Reincarnation is not a fundamental of Judaism but it is a
believe that many have such as the Indian Karma and explains certain actions
and reactions when one meets people whom they never saw before and they like or
dislike them immediately.
When one believes in an
eternal soul and the possibility of soul repair and cleansing from this world
into going into the next many of the questions upon deep thought and reflection
are revealed. Please check into the 13 Principles of Faith of Maimonides. You
can google it for more but here is one source: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332555/jewish/Maimonides-13-Principles-of-Faith.htmhttp://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332555/jewish/Maimonides-13-Principles-of-Faith.htm
Israeli karate trainer Shai Hai was
attacked by a group of Iranians and Germans in Frankfurt, Germany, at an
international karate seminar last week.
Hai was the headline speaker at the seminar, which was attended by about 90 people and supposedly dedicated to advancing world peace and unity. He was the only Israeli at the international event.
When he got up to speak, members of the Iranian delegation and about 15 Germans began shouting at him, he told IDF Radio Monday. “They called me a murderer, said I had blood on my hands, that I came from a nation of murderers, that I had gained his position in the karate world by stepping on the bodies of Palestinians, that it is unthinkable to learn martial arts from a person who hails from a nation of murderers, ugly things like that,” he recalled.
A female attacker tried unsuccessfully to spill red paint on his clothes, Hai added. Another man tried to approach him physically. He responded with the self defense techniques he is trained in: “In a matter of seconds, he had flown halfway across the auditorium,” he said.
The organizers sent the Iranian delegation packing, and the German attackers were also thrown out. “Security men arrived, and an hour later, they were outside with their suitcases,” said Hai. Following the incident, he addressed the remaining participants and told them: “I respect those who hate me, and those who do not respect me, too. They have a right to their opinion and they can do what they want as long as they do not try to touch me or my family.”
Hai said that this was the first time he has experienced anti-Semitism, despite living outside of Israel for years. The incident had a positive side, he said, because the students got to see him using self defense in real life. This made it easier to break the ice, he said, and get straight to the lessons.
Germany, like many other European countries, has seen an alarming spike in anti-Semitism since the start of Israel's counter-terrorism operation in Gaza, prompting stern condemnation from German leaders.
____________________________________________________________
"Know that everyone cannot take the time to learn karate, but they can start a baseball team. I suggest respectfully that every yeshiva and synagogue start a Jewish Baseball League, with tee shirts, bats, and labeled balls given to each member for a small initiation fee. "Practice" is every day, and they must carry their equipment at all times, while wearing their tee shirts. If G-d forbid anyone molests them for being Jewish, I am sure they will be able to figure out what to do.
Dr. Harry Disclaimer- the Rabbis in general are not in favor of Yeshiva Students wasting their time on sports instead of all the time Torah learning. I am for Torah and Derech Eretz or way of the world as written in Perkei Avos as a defense against sin. However, we do go after the majority in a Halachic Dispute and I am in the minority. I view sports as Pekuach Nefesh and keep wondering if I would be alive today if I did not give charity freely and practice sports for my health. But as I say I am in the minority.
Hai was the headline speaker at the seminar, which was attended by about 90 people and supposedly dedicated to advancing world peace and unity. He was the only Israeli at the international event.
When he got up to speak, members of the Iranian delegation and about 15 Germans began shouting at him, he told IDF Radio Monday. “They called me a murderer, said I had blood on my hands, that I came from a nation of murderers, that I had gained his position in the karate world by stepping on the bodies of Palestinians, that it is unthinkable to learn martial arts from a person who hails from a nation of murderers, ugly things like that,” he recalled.
A female attacker tried unsuccessfully to spill red paint on his clothes, Hai added. Another man tried to approach him physically. He responded with the self defense techniques he is trained in: “In a matter of seconds, he had flown halfway across the auditorium,” he said.
The organizers sent the Iranian delegation packing, and the German attackers were also thrown out. “Security men arrived, and an hour later, they were outside with their suitcases,” said Hai. Following the incident, he addressed the remaining participants and told them: “I respect those who hate me, and those who do not respect me, too. They have a right to their opinion and they can do what they want as long as they do not try to touch me or my family.”
Hai said that this was the first time he has experienced anti-Semitism, despite living outside of Israel for years. The incident had a positive side, he said, because the students got to see him using self defense in real life. This made it easier to break the ice, he said, and get straight to the lessons.
Germany, like many other European countries, has seen an alarming spike in anti-Semitism since the start of Israel's counter-terrorism operation in Gaza, prompting stern condemnation from German leaders.
____________________________________________________________
"Know that everyone cannot take the time to learn karate, but they can start a baseball team. I suggest respectfully that every yeshiva and synagogue start a Jewish Baseball League, with tee shirts, bats, and labeled balls given to each member for a small initiation fee. "Practice" is every day, and they must carry their equipment at all times, while wearing their tee shirts. If G-d forbid anyone molests them for being Jewish, I am sure they will be able to figure out what to do.
Dr. Harry Disclaimer- the Rabbis in general are not in favor of Yeshiva Students wasting their time on sports instead of all the time Torah learning. I am for Torah and Derech Eretz or way of the world as written in Perkei Avos as a defense against sin. However, we do go after the majority in a Halachic Dispute and I am in the minority. I view sports as Pekuach Nefesh and keep wondering if I would be alive today if I did not give charity freely and practice sports for my health. But as I say I am in the minority.
From Fran Victory is ours: http://muqata.blogspot.co.il/2014/08/victory-is-ours.html
The Nation of Israel and Operation Protective Edge Uri Shachter
– Deputy Brigade Commander Nachal (Res.)
After almost a month of fighting in the Gaza Strip, with all the reactions, I find it important to clarify to the Nation of Israel that we won, decisively. Both from a military and civilian point of view, we have been victorious. From a military perspective we can begin the victory parades. Hamas is on the ropes, the most they are able to do is poke their heads out of their hidey-holes for a second to declare victory (until it gets struck by the next missile). They are unable to rearm from Egypt (something they were able to do with a free hand during the reign of the Muslim Brotherhood). For years Hamas has been building tunnels beneath our towns to use to attack them and we have been able to destroy all the tunnels. Every military goal Hamas set for itself has failed, on land, in the air and by sea.
So why are we giving them the idea that they won?!
Every contact with the enemy resulted in our overwhelming victory.
Every town we wanted to conquer, we conquered within a few hours with the help of our air force and artillery. During the Yom Kippur War (1973) we too were on the ropes having lost 2,656 soldiers in battle. We won, but unfortunately it was perceived in the national mind as a failure. In the current war, our warriors and their commanders who lead from the front, unlike Hamas who prefer to command from behind, went out to battle with a level of motivation that is hard to understand. Soldiers who, even after being wounded, refuse to leave the field of battle just so their comrades won’t have to go into battle without them. Our men continue to fight courageously, even after losing dozens of our best and brightest, knowing that we have returned the IDF to what it was meant to do, protect our civilians.
There are those soldiers and commanders who feel that we haven’t finished the mission and they want to keep striking at the terrorists. That is as it should be. If they left feeling satisfied and complete, that would be a problem. I also don’t accept the perception that the IDF is retreating. Keep in mind that there is a broader and more encompassing picture in the hands of the upper echelons and not every pundit who writes a hysterical article understands the big picture.
The army is free to fire on any position they think is necessary and positions itself wherever it needs to. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are running to Egypt to beg for a ceasefire while we haven’t even sent a representative. It’s not that they haven’t achieved anything in the current fighting, but they have lost a considerable amount. All the residents in Gaza will return to their ruined houses, destroyed for no gain or reason on their part.
It’s no less important, from a military perspective, to highlight what Israel has gone through during this period. The home front, in all its myriad of peoples, also stood like an unmoving rock (Tzuk Eitan in Hebrew can also be translated this way). It has provided the soldiers and their commanders the support that is so essential to their success. That is the true victory of the nation.
The goal of terrorists isn’t to conquer land, rather to break down and dissolve the society that it attacks. A month and a half ago, before our sweet, wonderful boys (Naftali, Ayal, Gil-Ad) were kidnapped, the nation was more fragmented than it has been for a long time. The verbal flames between groups had been whipped up to unprecedented levels.
The Charedim were calling the National Religious Amalekites, while the rest of the nation attacked them as extremists. The Charedim were looked at as corrupt parasites. The non-religious were seen as heretics, anti-Jewish, and assimilationists. Look what has happened in the last month and a half. The nation and the army together have become unified, full of strength and a deep bond to our shared traditions. Even the media, who in the past has pulled the nation in the opposite direction, has mostly lined up behind us, supporting the surge in fighting and the nation as a whole.
I have seen the nation standing strong on the home front as well. Dozens of trucks from all over the country have come to bring supplies and treats to the soldiers. A father, mourning the loss of son who had been killed in the fighting, drove a truck down to help support his other sons, the soldiers of the IDF. My own children laugh that I’m unfamiliar with the singer Moki, but he, and other popular entertainers like him, came down to play for the troops, even if they were only performing for a dozen soldiers. People organized themselves to help the wives of those soldiers who received emergency call up notices, helping with shopping, watching the kids and more. The owners of one successful Hi-Tech company bought tablets for all the wounded soldiers. Caterers and restauranteurs who have come down to provide barbecues for thousands of soldiers to help them keep their strength up, making immense efforts, even though they themselves aren’t religious, to keep the strictest Kashrut so all are comfortable eating.
And it just goes on. The mother of one Charedi soldier who was shot in the stomach wanted me to make sure that he is able to go back and rejoin his comrades still in battle. The Mir Yeshiva (the largest Charedi rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem) sent a truckload of food and equipment to the soldiers. Rabbi Steineman (the leader of the Charedi community) broke down in tears at his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah saying, “soldiers are wounded and dying on the front, how can I rejoice?” To that in perspective, it’s said when his wife passed away, he calmly informed the paramedics where she had passed and returned to his Torah learning.
On Shabbat eve there are hundreds of soldiers of all stripes and origins dancing together. You have 1500 soldiers listening to Kiddush (benediction on wine on the Sabbath) all answering amen in unison loudly enough to shake the heavens.
A platoon commander who was wounded and in the middle of being evacuated to the hospital demands that his troops, his children, are all accounted for before he goes.
I can relate hundreds of more stories of strength and courage flowing from the soldier, their commanders and our amazing nation as a whole that I’ve heard and seen in the last month.
Let us all give paid to the lie that we somehow lost and Hamas won.
Let’s all make this change together, with our families and with our workmates. Let us all finally understand, THIS is what victory looks like.
After almost a month of fighting in the Gaza Strip, with all the reactions, I find it important to clarify to the Nation of Israel that we won, decisively. Both from a military and civilian point of view, we have been victorious. From a military perspective we can begin the victory parades. Hamas is on the ropes, the most they are able to do is poke their heads out of their hidey-holes for a second to declare victory (until it gets struck by the next missile). They are unable to rearm from Egypt (something they were able to do with a free hand during the reign of the Muslim Brotherhood). For years Hamas has been building tunnels beneath our towns to use to attack them and we have been able to destroy all the tunnels. Every military goal Hamas set for itself has failed, on land, in the air and by sea.
So why are we giving them the idea that they won?!
Every contact with the enemy resulted in our overwhelming victory.
Every town we wanted to conquer, we conquered within a few hours with the help of our air force and artillery. During the Yom Kippur War (1973) we too were on the ropes having lost 2,656 soldiers in battle. We won, but unfortunately it was perceived in the national mind as a failure. In the current war, our warriors and their commanders who lead from the front, unlike Hamas who prefer to command from behind, went out to battle with a level of motivation that is hard to understand. Soldiers who, even after being wounded, refuse to leave the field of battle just so their comrades won’t have to go into battle without them. Our men continue to fight courageously, even after losing dozens of our best and brightest, knowing that we have returned the IDF to what it was meant to do, protect our civilians.
There are those soldiers and commanders who feel that we haven’t finished the mission and they want to keep striking at the terrorists. That is as it should be. If they left feeling satisfied and complete, that would be a problem. I also don’t accept the perception that the IDF is retreating. Keep in mind that there is a broader and more encompassing picture in the hands of the upper echelons and not every pundit who writes a hysterical article understands the big picture.
The army is free to fire on any position they think is necessary and positions itself wherever it needs to. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are running to Egypt to beg for a ceasefire while we haven’t even sent a representative. It’s not that they haven’t achieved anything in the current fighting, but they have lost a considerable amount. All the residents in Gaza will return to their ruined houses, destroyed for no gain or reason on their part.
It’s no less important, from a military perspective, to highlight what Israel has gone through during this period. The home front, in all its myriad of peoples, also stood like an unmoving rock (Tzuk Eitan in Hebrew can also be translated this way). It has provided the soldiers and their commanders the support that is so essential to their success. That is the true victory of the nation.
The goal of terrorists isn’t to conquer land, rather to break down and dissolve the society that it attacks. A month and a half ago, before our sweet, wonderful boys (Naftali, Ayal, Gil-Ad) were kidnapped, the nation was more fragmented than it has been for a long time. The verbal flames between groups had been whipped up to unprecedented levels.
The Charedim were calling the National Religious Amalekites, while the rest of the nation attacked them as extremists. The Charedim were looked at as corrupt parasites. The non-religious were seen as heretics, anti-Jewish, and assimilationists. Look what has happened in the last month and a half. The nation and the army together have become unified, full of strength and a deep bond to our shared traditions. Even the media, who in the past has pulled the nation in the opposite direction, has mostly lined up behind us, supporting the surge in fighting and the nation as a whole.
I have seen the nation standing strong on the home front as well. Dozens of trucks from all over the country have come to bring supplies and treats to the soldiers. A father, mourning the loss of son who had been killed in the fighting, drove a truck down to help support his other sons, the soldiers of the IDF. My own children laugh that I’m unfamiliar with the singer Moki, but he, and other popular entertainers like him, came down to play for the troops, even if they were only performing for a dozen soldiers. People organized themselves to help the wives of those soldiers who received emergency call up notices, helping with shopping, watching the kids and more. The owners of one successful Hi-Tech company bought tablets for all the wounded soldiers. Caterers and restauranteurs who have come down to provide barbecues for thousands of soldiers to help them keep their strength up, making immense efforts, even though they themselves aren’t religious, to keep the strictest Kashrut so all are comfortable eating.
And it just goes on. The mother of one Charedi soldier who was shot in the stomach wanted me to make sure that he is able to go back and rejoin his comrades still in battle. The Mir Yeshiva (the largest Charedi rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem) sent a truckload of food and equipment to the soldiers. Rabbi Steineman (the leader of the Charedi community) broke down in tears at his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah saying, “soldiers are wounded and dying on the front, how can I rejoice?” To that in perspective, it’s said when his wife passed away, he calmly informed the paramedics where she had passed and returned to his Torah learning.
On Shabbat eve there are hundreds of soldiers of all stripes and origins dancing together. You have 1500 soldiers listening to Kiddush (benediction on wine on the Sabbath) all answering amen in unison loudly enough to shake the heavens.
A platoon commander who was wounded and in the middle of being evacuated to the hospital demands that his troops, his children, are all accounted for before he goes.
I can relate hundreds of more stories of strength and courage flowing from the soldier, their commanders and our amazing nation as a whole that I’ve heard and seen in the last month.
Let us all give paid to the lie that we somehow lost and Hamas won.
Let’s all make this change together, with our families and with our workmates. Let us all finally understand, THIS is what victory looks like.
Translated from the Hebrew by Evan@Muqata
One Last Breath by Edward Lynch a touching story from
a non-Jew but it could happen to anybody
My Mom noticed a lump in her breast and went to the doctor (at the time a family friend), who suggested that it was nothing to worry about. A few months went by and she went to another doctor (a family friend) who examined her, left the examining room and returned to tell her that he scheduled a lumpectomy for the next day. When my Mom woke up from the surgery, she woke up to find out that she had undergone a double, radical mastectomy.
For 2 years, I watched as my Mom battled this dread disease. Through all her ups and downs, she was steadfast in her faith and her love for us. But, every now and then, I would check in on her at night only to hear her crying and praying to God to give her more time with her children.
Finally, she had to be admitted to the hospital, which, as a nurse, was her worse fear. She knew the end was near. For the last few days, I would sit with her and turn up the morphine so that she could rest so that when my little sister, who was 13 at the time, came to visit after school, we could lower it and she could spend time with her.
One evening my Mom had me lower the morphine so that she could talk with me and tell me what she needed me to do when she died. It was the last conversation that I would ever have with my Mom.
The next day, our whole family gathered around her and we swabbed her lips since she was so thirsty. We massaged her legs and rubbed her head to make her more comfortable. Then, as we sat at her bedside, her breathing became very difficult. It broke my heart to see “my rock” so feeble and struggle to breathe. We were all crying as she breathed her last breath….and it was over.
Nothing, for what seemed like forever. But, selfishly, I held her hand and cried and begged her not to leave yet and I pleaded for one more breath. “Please Mom, one more breath, please”, I cried. That is when I witnessed the most unselfish act of love. This frail, weak woman, who was completely wasted away to nothing and was, for all intents and purposes dead, squeezed my hand and with every bit of love she possessed and every bit of pain she had to endure…..she inhaled one last painful, agonizing breath for her children.
My heart broke for being so selfish for asking her to experience one last painful breath here on earth. So I leaned over and kissed her head and through the tears whispered in her ear, “It’s OK Mom, I will take care of everything that we talked about…….you can go home to God now.” With that, she exhaled and God took her in His arms. It was a soft, sweet, peaceful exhale.
Thank you God for my Mom, thank you God for all that she taught me, thank you God for making me the man she wanted me to be………………………..and thank you God and Mom for……………one last breath.
Film on Modesty it appears that the director
or producer was Yemenite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFNTVSWAwCk&feature=youtu.be
Inyanay Diyoma
Aug 1st
= 5th Menachem Av 5774
Game
Changer 2nd Lt. captured either alive or dead by Hamas. In the
pursuit and shelling 70 Arabs have died the IDF is shelling and bombing Rafah
but they may have tunneled him into Egypt. http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/IDF-soldier-feared-kidnapped-369720 2 IDF
soldiers died in the homicide attack.
Bibi time
to stop the BS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183607#.U9uWBWPIwq4
We cease
and they fire time and time again 6 down now Kerry and Moon the Hamas has Mooned
you! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183596#.U9tVuJuKDIU
Israel
agrees for the 6th to a unilateral we cease and they fire but they are stubborn
cusses: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553098,00.html
Unfortunately
in the mortar attack mentioned below 5 more soldiers were killed: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553194,00.html
This was
the original report - Civilians injured in Kiriat Gat and more injuries in
Shaar Ha Negev. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4552636,00.html
This is
no time for the Supreme Court to divide the nation: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183573#.U9qEx5uKDIU
Negotiating
with a powerless entity: http://debka.com/article/24153/US-and-UN-Israel-and-Hamas-agree-on-a-72-hour-truce-from-Friday-%22immediate%22-talks-in-Cairo
Baby born
post-humus to Sgt. Major who fell 10 days ago: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553077,00.html
We knew
about Hamas but could not prevent a war by fanatics: http://www.jpost.com/Defense/By-April-IDF-knew-Hamas-was-preparing-for-summer-war-369663
From
Martin Sherman Ed-Op http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Into-the-fray-Far-too-little-much-too-late-369666
Listen to
Barry Shaw: http://intnradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Shaw0731a.mp3
From
Dennis: Islamo-Fascist http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/looks-like-duck-islamist-nazi-connection?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_ca
Aug 2nd
after Shabbos = Ohr to 7th of Menachem Av 5774
Terrorist
fired rockets form Gaza Hospital: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553643,00.html
These are
the two soldiers killed with the abduction of Hadar or his body. Watch the film
of Major 2 days prior. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553428,00.html
Unknown
if he is alive or dead: http://debka.com/article/24153/Two-soldiers-killed-in-Hamas-attack-in-which-officer-feared-captured-Gaza-72-hour-truce-folds-
Special
prayers for the young students of Hadar ben Chedva Leah Goldin and more
prayers: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183605#.U9uvs5scTIU
Some Senate
Republicans tried to block aid for Israel for Iron Dome without cuts elsewhere
it passed. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183618#.U90yn5scTIU
In order
to prevent more kidnappings the IDF withdraws to safer lines: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553693,00.html
What
happened in the kidnapping attack is as follows: http://debka.com/article/24156/Hamas-denies-knowing-captive-officer’s-whereabouts-says-he-may-have-died-IDF-continues-to-blast-Rafah-
Don’t
leave Gaza without Hadar: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Family-of-captive-IDF-officer-Goldin-IDF-cant-leave-Gaza-without-our-boy-369817
More
rockets on Shabbos more than 90 mostly near Gaza, and the south but others
almost to Netanya.
Now we have to
deal with the Hezballah tunnels!
Aug 3rd
= 7th of Menachem Av 5774
Hadar
Goldin HY”D chased after the Hamas single-handedly without waiting for back-up
and died in battle details are emerging now. There will be a burial: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/IDF-declares-missing-soldier-Hadar-Goldin-as-deceased-369839
Dear
World not so dear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cxrofGkQTXM
On Friday
the Dry Bones Cartoon featured the actions of Hamas and Hezballah also is
tunneling around Yeshuvim: http://drybonesblog.blogspot.co.il/
Hamas
fired over 3000 rockets and another 3000 were estimated to have been destroyed
along with most of the lathes of Gaza with Al-Sisi not in the mood to allow
replacements. Still 20% of the lathes above ground still functional: http://debka.com/article/24158/Israeli-troop-exit-from-Gaza-without-achieving-all-goals-bodes-war-of-attrition
This is
the last photo of Adi Briga HY”D alive before the fatal battle: https://www.facebook.com/TheJerusalemPost/photos/a.167063636748650.35351.159050394216641/594153467372996/?type=1
Yesterday
a civilian was hit http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4553548,00.html
IDF is
scaling down without a full solution to the south but the threat of more air
strikes. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183641#.U93kgZscTIU
August 4th
= 8th of Menachem Av 5774
Last night was
quiet until 6:18 this morning but yesterday the enemy shot 120 rockets and
mortars and injured 2 in an area where Chabad was giving out things to the
soldiers and one could see right before sundown a Sephardi Fellow putting on
Tephillin for Mincha on TV. Israel is offering a humanitarian resupply to Gaza
from 8 AM to 5 PM if they don’t shell the crossing areas again. Today we should
finish tunnel 35 out of 35 known tunnels. So far the war has cost us 6 billion
Shekels or $1.75 billion. In Turkey, Erdovan the PM was busy saying that Israel
is purposely killing women so that they will not reproduce and children so that
they would not be soldiers. Dry statistics still about 11 soldiers in serious
condition. 35 civilians have been injured 1 Jew, 1 non-Jew and one foreign
worker killed along with 64 soldiers. One 16 year old Hamas fighter is being
treated in Israel. Most of the 1870 Arabs killed in Gaza were the ages of the
fighter mentioned to about 50 very few women and children. Photos of the
Assad’s murders appear all the time in Gaza blaming us but with scanners we can
shoot down a lot of propaganda today and the western press except Turkey has
been fair to us. Our new Allies in the fight against the Jihad are Jordan,
Saudi, Egypt and one or two other countries with monarchies or secular
governments.Using Foreign Journalists as human shields: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183673#.U950C5scTIU
Hamas has another terror tactic: intimidating foreign journalists http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/trapped-in-gaza-how-hamas-punishes-reporters-for-the-truth/story-e6frg6zo-1227007768903
Lee sent me this miracle please View the photo of the rocket by
the gas tank: http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/07/31/rocket-next-to-a-fuel-tank-unexploded-another-open-miracle-in-israel/
Where do
we go from here right now we ceased mostly but reply to fire: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183670#.U954oJscTIU
We could
have won in 10 days but here is why we didn’t (you can click don’t like). http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554293,00.html
From Gail Winston: Second Lieutenant
Hadar Goldin, hy"d, who was killed by Hamas terrorists on Friday, was a
close relative of Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, it was cleared for
publication Sunday morning. Hebrew media has yet to officially indicate
how the two were related, but the Hebrew phrase – ‘karov mishpaha’ -
indicates an immediate or otherwise very close family relationship between the
two. The gag order was implemented on the family's request, so as to not
escalate the situation with Hamas in the event Goldin was alive and being held
captive. Ya'alon related to his relative's death for the first time
publicly on Sunday afternoon.
"Hadar Goldin, z"l, is in my
family," Ya'alon stated. "I have known him
since he was born." "He and his fellow IDF soldiers fell during a
campaign to restore peace and security to Israel," the Defense
Minister continued. "I am embracing the bereaved families."
Goldin will be laid to rest at 5:30 pm
Sunday in the military cemetery in Kfar Saba. His parents asked that in
addition to family and friends, the people who cared so much about his welfare
will come to pay last respects to their son. Late Saturday, the Chief
Rabbi of the IDF, Brigadier Gen. Rafi Peretz, declared Goldin's death after a 48-hour
search for the missing IDF officer and after a special meeting was held with
religious officials and IDF staff. Goldin was killed in Gaza by
Hamas terrorists on Friday, who ambushed the Givati Brigade near Rafah in the
hours following what was supposed to have been a 72-hour ceasefire between
Israel and Hamas.
Murderous
Plans: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183674
I
mentioned our allies above in fighting Jihad by “moderate” Muslims http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/ANALYSIS-Israel-and-Sunni-powers-finally-display-convergent-interests-369957
Moderate
Imam condemns the use of human shields: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183688#.U98DoJscTIU
He doesn’t C.A.I.R.
Erdovan
and his propaganda mentioned above: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183687#.U98DCZscTIU
Hamas
?the truthful ones? don’t trust us! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183686#.U98DdZscTIU
Arab
criminals stab woman http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554233,00.html
Obama and
Kerry to work for a solution again while Gideon Saar warns against another
terror State: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554185,00.html
August 4th
last post before Tisha B’Av in the afternoon Israel Time.
BREAKING
NEWS SOLDIER SHOT ON LEAVE INJURED SERIOUSLY IN THE STOMACH BY A TERRORIST WHO
ESCAPES WITH HIS PARTNER BY MOTORCYCLE.
HE WAS BROUGHT TO MT. SCOPUS HADASSAH ALONG WITH 6 PEOPLE FROM THE
OVERTURNED BUS IN SHMUEL HANOVI NEIGHBORHOOD REHOV MOSHE DATZ. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183705#.U9-LS5scTIU
RE SHOT SOLDIER http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Motorcycle-riders-open-fire-near-Hebrew-University-in-Jerusalem-seriously-wounding-1-person-370016
Film of
the action http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554704,00.html
In the
south an infiltration attempt this minute and more attacks in the south. 2
injured in rocket attack a few minutes ago before e-mailing this.
In Syria
hundreds die every day but then again Assad is not a Jew or an Israeli. Bangladesh official says ferry carrying up to 250
passengers capsizes and they are Muslims but who cares and a Jew did
not kill them in self-defense that is the problem in the world.
Not quite
a burglary and not quite Hamas: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183694#.U98_wJscTIU
Chutzpa
first class: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183692#.U99AQZscTIU
Secure
area near the border: http://debka.com/article/24160/IDF-quietly-carves-out-1-3km-security-strip-while-pulling-troops-out-of-Gaza-A-humanitarian-truce-declared-
Hadar the
Hero who pulled a Rambo in his last minutes of hot pursuit: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Hadar-the-hero-369924
Jihad and
the Kurds has not stopped: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/04/islamic-militants-seize-2-towns-in-northern-iraq-after-fierce-clashes-with/
381
people dead in minutes: http://www.aol.co.uk/video/aerial-footage-shows-china-earthquake-destruction/518353414/?ncid=wsc-video-cards-image&_sns_authCheck=1
Among
Allies Religious Liberty is fundamental to a civilized society and still
standing firm today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYqFSaJapBY
Dear Family
& Friends,
Aug. 4, 2014 IN GREAT HONOR FOR TISHA B’AV, the ninth day of
the Jewish month of Av…which commemorates at least 5 great tragedies in Jewish
history.:
1.
Moshe sent leaders of the 12 Jewish tribes to spy out the Land of Israel
to determine a battle plan to conquer the foreign, alien peoples who were
there. Because of the sin of 10 Spies who cried because who were
frightened by what they saw. HaShem said: “Because you cried for no reason
when you saw the Land which I would give you, I will give you a real reason to
cry.” HaShem declared that the Jews He rescued from Egypt by Moshe
had to wander still in the Desert for 40 years before they were allowed into
the Land of Israel.
2.
& 3. Both Beit HaMikdash, the First and Second Holy Jewish
Temples were destroyed.
4. A
great city named Betar was conquered by the Romans during the Bar Kochba
Revolt.
5.
The violation and destruction of the Second Jewish Temple was the Fifth
tragedy which Tisha b’Av commemorates – when Turnus-Rufus plowed up the area of
the Temple and its surroundings.
More tragedies on Tisha b’Av:
6.
1492, because of the Spanish Inquisition, all the Jews living in Spain
were ordered by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella to leave.
7. WW I
began on Tisha b’Av which led to the beginning of
8. WWII
with the Holocaust.
More tragedies fell on the 9nth of Av. The First Gulf War
actually began on July 31, 1990 when Saddam first moved his army against the
country of Kuwait….
Much study is required into our ancient history upon which we build
our faith in the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the Book of
Israel. We believe The Mashiach was born to us on a recent past Tisha
b’Av.
Dr. Gabriel Barkay since 2004 has been sifting & washing the
earth from under the Temple Mount that the Muslims had dug up & thrown
away. With over 250,000 volunteers from ages 4 to 94, he has lovingly
rescued most of the 400 truckloads of soil saturated with archaeological
artifacts from all periods in the history of Jerusalem, were removed and dumped
in various locations, mainly in the nearby Kidron Valley.
I was
privileged to attend the annual Moskowitz Prize ceremony May 29,2014 on the
western slopes of Mt. Scopus at Emek Tzurim National Park when he and his
associate Zachi Dvira received the Moskowitz Prize for their 10 years of
rescue archeology.
Tonight I’ll be proud to join the 20th year of the
annual Women-for-Israel’s Tomorrow, now called The Women In Green for the
floppy green hats they used to wear. More than 10,000 proud Jews will
read the Book of Eichah sitting on the ground of Gan Hatzmaut, Independence
Park across from the American Consulate. Then, we’ll proceed to the
ancient Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and walk around the entire Old City.
Our memorial march will culminate at the Kotel, the Western Wall which is the
only remnant of the ancient Second Temple site – it is the actual retaining
wall which Herod constructed to hold up his rebuilt Second Temple. And it
is the closest we can get to praying at our ancient Jewish Holy of Holies,
because for centuries Jews have been restricted from the Temple
Mount. Even after we liberated Jerusalem in June 6, 1967, the
Jordanians - who had occupied and desecrated the holy sites of Jerusalem for 19
years from 1948 to 1967- ran away. The IDF stood at the Kotel and
Har HaBayit, our Temple Mount. They declared that “THE TEMPLE IS IN
OUR HANDS.” “HAR BAYIT B’YADEINU”.
Is it still in our hands or have we abandoned our ancient Jewish
Rights for the Beit HaMikdash to the Muslims? It’s past time to take it
back!
I won’t sit on the floor and cry for it. I will cry for the
tragedies of all our soldiers and our lost 3 boys’ pure souls. But, I
will work for regaining real SOVEREIGNTY IN OUR JEWISH LAND, for our Jewish
people and our Jewish Book! Only with the Temple Mount, Har HaBayit, can
we conquer the galut within us to achieve that SOVEREIGNTY!
See the story below of one who has been doing so since – a long
time.
Have a peaceful night, an easy fast & pray hard on how we can
really achieve our deserved SOVEREIGNTY!
All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Mom
Tisha B’Av: The Egyptians imposed upon the Gazans via the
Palestinian Authority a Cease Fire of 72 hours of course just before dozens of
rockets were fired towards Maalei Adumim, Yehuda, Rishon, Rehovot, Ramla,
Ashdod, Askelon near Gaza and in the Bedouin area near Beer Sheva.
In a security prison a few
prisoners must have seen the dry bones cartoon as they started digging an
escape tunnel in the toilet and dumping sand and dirt in the sink they got down
pretty deep.
Another
Stabbing attack: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Palestinian-stabs-guard-at-Maaleh-Adumim-and-flees-scene-370124 It appears that the subject was captured fleeing in a Taxi
with other passengers and is in police hands being questioned.
Revoke the citizenship of Arab
Terrorists: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Section.aspx/23
This is what Gail Winston wrote
about yesterday: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183742#.U-DB45scTIU
Why does this terrorist have the
right to vote and get benefits for his children? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183743#.U-DCEZscTIV
We could have done more: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555207,00.html
As per Hamas we lost the war that
is their mentality: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555136,00.html
Netanyahu might be popular among
the left and voters for Lapid and Livni and Labor but has been wounded in the
Likud and may be in the last months or years of his Prime Ministership. http://debka.com/article/24164/Israel-Hamas-talks-to-open-in-Cairo-after-72-hour-ceasefire-Netanyahu-faces-credibility-gap-at-home-
There was still groundless hatred
from a member of the Nahal Oz Kibbutz against the caravans in Yehuda and the
Shomron on TV the other day and then you wonder why the Temple has not been
built yet!
Wallace, the 29 year old Charedi
murdered from Meah Shaarim one story says that he was trying to put on
Tephillin on a Jew when he was run over by the digger. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554922,00.html
Stand With Us sends me
unsolicited e-mail and I automatically delete it but when I received this clip
from David, I decided to post this response to Euro-Antisemitism https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152279672417689&set=vb.19459912688&type=2&theater
Hamas is unpopular and spokesman
attacked: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183741#.U-DYVJscTIU
From Melanie: This map by the IDF describes Hamas: https://www.facebook.com/idfonline/photos/a.250335824989295.62131.125249070831305/828425583846980/?type=1&fref=nf
The best description of the behavior of Netanyahu came from my
friend Reuven K. who called him timorous! One thing is cautious and one thing
is to be going like you are stepping barefoot on glass with a bunker mentality.
Watch
video of tunnel building: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183766
Second
Rambo Givati tried to claim captured Soldier: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555449,00.html
After the
commercial watch a Hamas rocket launch see blue tent screen. http://www.kikarhashabat.co.il/%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%AA-%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%A9%D7%A4%D7%AA-%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%A1-%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D.html
or NDTV here https://www.facebook.com/kikarashabat?fref=photo
USA
accounts hacked: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/05/report-russian-hackers-steal-1-2b-passwords/20942451/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl24%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D511439\
From
Lenny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SS93A6GNws
Hamas
Extortion Attempt trying to play the we won card: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Hamas-threat-to-renew-rocket-fire-amounts-to-extortion-Liberman-tells-Kerry-370324
Bennett warns the Hamas not to try to
blackmail us and violate the quiet for we are strong: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183827#.U-OSlpscTIU Minister Lapid warns
Hamas not to try to test Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183817#.U-NvPZscTIU
Another tunnel or more already able to be put to use according to Arabs: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183809#.U-NwIpscTIU
Another tunnel or more already able to be put to use according to Arabs: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183809#.U-NwIpscTIU
Happy
Birthday Jonathan Pollard who turned 60 on Aug 7th.
Israeli
peace proposal: http://debka.com/article/24168/For-Cairo-deal-Israel-calls-for-ban-in-Gaza-on-all-but-light-arms-free-hand-against-tunnels-rocket-plants
Hamas
hardens their demands at their victory day parade: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556144,00.html
Protective
Edge Hospital treatment total 2,200: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183828#.U-OTYZscTIU
When the
west talks about Hamas having been massacred it encourages support: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555284,00.html
Kurds
claim ISIS bombed by the west in the meantime 100,000 Christian Refugees flee: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555284,00.html
2 Rockets
break the cease-fire 4 hours early: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183847#.U-Q4MpscTIU
Egyptian
Spy says good bye: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556254,00.html
Two
thoughts on what Hamas really wants: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556137,00.html
Hamas-ultimatum-Failing-a-Gaza-seaport-the-war-goes-on-and-thousands-of-Israelis-will-die
http://debka.com/article/24176/Hamas-ultimatum-Failing-a-Gaza-seaport-the-war-goes-on-and-thousands-of-Israelis-will-die
As for me
one of the young men in my Yeshuv home from Gaza said the Gomel Prayer
yesterday the question is will he have to go back into the fray?
Hamas
using reporters to boost their finance and discouraging the truth: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Reporter-Gazans-only-want-us-to-show-damage-not-shooting-370456
Friday - After
three hours of being bombarded with more and more rockets, the IDF returned the
fire: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183852#.U-SCuJscTIU
Bennett
demands that the negotiators in Cairo return home after we are under fire: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556399,00.html
A threat
by Bennett and Lapid together or a rocket destroying Netanyahu’s private home
to wake him up: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/IDF-airstrikes-pound-Hamas-after-rocket-attacks-mark-end-of-truce-370488
Now for M. Wolfberg’s “Tisch Above” and “Looking Good, Feeling
Good”
Good Shabbos Everyone. Tisha B'Av which
falls out this year on Monday night to Tuesday night, commemorates the
destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem some two
thousand years ago. In a certain sense, Tisha B'Av has become a national
day of mourning for the Jewish People. Many tragedies have befallen
the Jewish people on this sad day. For example, the expulsion edict from
Spain and the formation of the "Final Solution" which brought
about the Holocaust and the virtual destruction of European Jewry.
One of the more famous survivors of the Holocaust was the Bobover Rav Reb Shlomo Halberstam, whose tenth yohrzeit just passed. The Bobover Rebbe was one of the greatest Chassidic Rebbes and Torah leaders of recent memory. On December 31, 1973 at a grandchild's engagement celebration, the Bobover Rav told the following amazing story of how he and his son Reb Naftuli Tzvi, of blessed memory, survived Nazi persecution during the tough times of the second world war.
"It would be impossible to retell in one night the entire miraculous story - with all its myriad details - of how we were saved. But perhaps, in honor of this simchah, the engagement of my son Harav Naftultche's (Naftuli's) daughter, it would be fitting to show gratitude to the One Above and to publicize just one aspect of our miraculous salvation.
It was the late spring-early summer of 1943. We were smuggled across countless borders throughout our ordeal — from Lemberg to Bochnia, from Poland to Czechoslovakia, from Czechoslovakia to Hungary, from Hungary to Romania... And it wasn't just crossing the border in the middle of the night. We had to swim through streams of water - all at the risk of being showered with bullets by the border guards. On seeing the flare of gunfire from the border patrol, who could have dreamed at the time that we would survive, build families and eventually many off our children? Therefore, out of gratitude to Hashem, I will share one ordeal that I experienced with my son, who was a bachur of twelve at that time.
We fled disguised as gentiles, so at first glance we would not be caught. We had hired non-Jewish agents to smuggle us across the border. With us was my mother; my grandmother, the Limonover Rebbetzin; and other family members. Obviously, we traveled in separate wagons so that they wouldn't realize we were from one family. Since I was dressed like a gentile, I hoped it would be difficult for our enemies to discern my Jewish identity. Nevertheless, my heart was pounding as we rode along with our smugglers toward Neimark, where other smugglers were waiting for us.
We arrived at the border on Friday afternoon. I had in my possession gentile identification papers, as well as Hungarian citizenship papers. I kept my Hungarian papers well hidden, and I had some money with me as well just in case I would need to grease some pockets. We were standing there at the border Plashow and a number of officers were guard there. They could not distinguish me as a Jew but they seemed to notice that Naftulche had Jewish features.
Since many Jews were giving away their children to gentiles at that time, the guards surmised that I was a gentile who was smuggling out a Jewish child. They pointed in Naftulche's direction and hissed, "Mali Zhidak (little Jew)." Then they ran off to summon a higher-ranking officer. The officer asked to see my papers and as he scrutinized them, I anxiously watched the people all around me board the train. I knew that if I missed the train and didn't cross the border that night, all would be lost. So I turned to the officer and said in Polish, "I'm not coming with you! I have to catch the train!"
The officer insisted, "You're coming with me." I mustered the gumption to answer, "Come board the train with me and I'll show you everything there because I have to catch the train!"
I had in my possession a forged letter from the head of Bochnia's Gestapo, authorizing me to travel. The handwriting, the signature and the SS insignia were all forged, but I took the chance and showed it to the officer. "Herr officer," I told him, "I have to go now." Then I took out a thousand zlotys and handed it to him.
When I saw that he was still hesitating, I added another five hundred and said to him, "Here's 1,500 zlotys — now let me go. You saw my papers already." This time it worked. Satisfied with his small fortune, he left me alone and I boarded the train. We arrived in Neimark Friday afternoon.
Packed into my rucksack were manuscripts from my grandfather, the Djikover Rebbe, Harav Moshe Pshevorsker's tefillin, and the Sanzer Ray's walking stick. I guarded these items carefully, hoping they wouldn't be confiscated at the border, But Hashem had His plans.
Suddenly, a raid was conducted by Gestapo officers and we were token off the train. I knew that my mother and the rest of the family were in other cars, so I looked around to see if they too had been removed from the train. But I didn't see them and didn't know where they were. They handcuffed us and led us to the Gestapo office. There was such a tumult among the officers.
"We caught Zhidsl" they kept shouting. We heard civilian gentiles telling each other, "You'll see, tomorrow they'll be hanged and we'll come and watch..." We were taken to the head of the local Gestapo — Kenzhar was his name. When he saw us, he started screaming, "Accursed Jews, you wanted to sneak across the border, didn't you?" He demanded to see our papers, and I took out the document with the Bochnia Gestapo chiefs signature verifying my Hungarian citizenship. He seemed surprised when he saw the paper and then left the room, leaving us with his Polish subordinate.
The Pole turned to me and said in Polish, "Within twenty-four hours you'll be behind bars. Listen to my piece of advice: just confess. Last week a Jew by the name of Rosenwasser was caught with the same type of forged documents from Bochnia. He was brutally tortured until he confessed. What they want to know from you is only the name of the person who wanted to take you across the border.
"Look," the Pole continued in a friendly tone of voice, "you'll be treated to a bullet in any case. But why suffer the additional torment? At the end you'll confess anyway under the whip, so do it before they torture you."
We were stripped of our clothing, and our money and all our belongings were confiscated. We were told that soon my son would be separated from me. When he heard this, twelve-year-old Naftuli went over to the Polish commissar and said to him in Polish," I beg of you. let me stay with my father”.
One of the more famous survivors of the Holocaust was the Bobover Rav Reb Shlomo Halberstam, whose tenth yohrzeit just passed. The Bobover Rebbe was one of the greatest Chassidic Rebbes and Torah leaders of recent memory. On December 31, 1973 at a grandchild's engagement celebration, the Bobover Rav told the following amazing story of how he and his son Reb Naftuli Tzvi, of blessed memory, survived Nazi persecution during the tough times of the second world war.
"It would be impossible to retell in one night the entire miraculous story - with all its myriad details - of how we were saved. But perhaps, in honor of this simchah, the engagement of my son Harav Naftultche's (Naftuli's) daughter, it would be fitting to show gratitude to the One Above and to publicize just one aspect of our miraculous salvation.
It was the late spring-early summer of 1943. We were smuggled across countless borders throughout our ordeal — from Lemberg to Bochnia, from Poland to Czechoslovakia, from Czechoslovakia to Hungary, from Hungary to Romania... And it wasn't just crossing the border in the middle of the night. We had to swim through streams of water - all at the risk of being showered with bullets by the border guards. On seeing the flare of gunfire from the border patrol, who could have dreamed at the time that we would survive, build families and eventually many off our children? Therefore, out of gratitude to Hashem, I will share one ordeal that I experienced with my son, who was a bachur of twelve at that time.
We fled disguised as gentiles, so at first glance we would not be caught. We had hired non-Jewish agents to smuggle us across the border. With us was my mother; my grandmother, the Limonover Rebbetzin; and other family members. Obviously, we traveled in separate wagons so that they wouldn't realize we were from one family. Since I was dressed like a gentile, I hoped it would be difficult for our enemies to discern my Jewish identity. Nevertheless, my heart was pounding as we rode along with our smugglers toward Neimark, where other smugglers were waiting for us.
We arrived at the border on Friday afternoon. I had in my possession gentile identification papers, as well as Hungarian citizenship papers. I kept my Hungarian papers well hidden, and I had some money with me as well just in case I would need to grease some pockets. We were standing there at the border Plashow and a number of officers were guard there. They could not distinguish me as a Jew but they seemed to notice that Naftulche had Jewish features.
Since many Jews were giving away their children to gentiles at that time, the guards surmised that I was a gentile who was smuggling out a Jewish child. They pointed in Naftulche's direction and hissed, "Mali Zhidak (little Jew)." Then they ran off to summon a higher-ranking officer. The officer asked to see my papers and as he scrutinized them, I anxiously watched the people all around me board the train. I knew that if I missed the train and didn't cross the border that night, all would be lost. So I turned to the officer and said in Polish, "I'm not coming with you! I have to catch the train!"
The officer insisted, "You're coming with me." I mustered the gumption to answer, "Come board the train with me and I'll show you everything there because I have to catch the train!"
I had in my possession a forged letter from the head of Bochnia's Gestapo, authorizing me to travel. The handwriting, the signature and the SS insignia were all forged, but I took the chance and showed it to the officer. "Herr officer," I told him, "I have to go now." Then I took out a thousand zlotys and handed it to him.
When I saw that he was still hesitating, I added another five hundred and said to him, "Here's 1,500 zlotys — now let me go. You saw my papers already." This time it worked. Satisfied with his small fortune, he left me alone and I boarded the train. We arrived in Neimark Friday afternoon.
Packed into my rucksack were manuscripts from my grandfather, the Djikover Rebbe, Harav Moshe Pshevorsker's tefillin, and the Sanzer Ray's walking stick. I guarded these items carefully, hoping they wouldn't be confiscated at the border, But Hashem had His plans.
Suddenly, a raid was conducted by Gestapo officers and we were token off the train. I knew that my mother and the rest of the family were in other cars, so I looked around to see if they too had been removed from the train. But I didn't see them and didn't know where they were. They handcuffed us and led us to the Gestapo office. There was such a tumult among the officers.
"We caught Zhidsl" they kept shouting. We heard civilian gentiles telling each other, "You'll see, tomorrow they'll be hanged and we'll come and watch..." We were taken to the head of the local Gestapo — Kenzhar was his name. When he saw us, he started screaming, "Accursed Jews, you wanted to sneak across the border, didn't you?" He demanded to see our papers, and I took out the document with the Bochnia Gestapo chiefs signature verifying my Hungarian citizenship. He seemed surprised when he saw the paper and then left the room, leaving us with his Polish subordinate.
The Pole turned to me and said in Polish, "Within twenty-four hours you'll be behind bars. Listen to my piece of advice: just confess. Last week a Jew by the name of Rosenwasser was caught with the same type of forged documents from Bochnia. He was brutally tortured until he confessed. What they want to know from you is only the name of the person who wanted to take you across the border.
"Look," the Pole continued in a friendly tone of voice, "you'll be treated to a bullet in any case. But why suffer the additional torment? At the end you'll confess anyway under the whip, so do it before they torture you."
We were stripped of our clothing, and our money and all our belongings were confiscated. We were told that soon my son would be separated from me. When he heard this, twelve-year-old Naftuli went over to the Polish commissar and said to him in Polish," I beg of you. let me stay with my father”.
At first he refused, but young Naftuli
persisted. "Do you have a son?" he asked. "What would happen if
your son asked you for something? Wouldn't you grant him his request? I am
still a child. Have mercy and let me stay with my father." Somehow his
heart softened and he took us both to the same prison cell.
It was Friday night and we knew it was the last night of our lives. Since my yarmulke had been taken away, I covered my head with a sheet and got ready to daven, I sat there thinking, "Master of the Universe, is it possible that I can leave this hell alive? And if I do stay alive, will I be able to appreciate the extent of the Hashem's chessed-kindness" According to all logic, we didn't stand a chance. It was Friday evening, so we downed Mincha and then sang Lecha Dodi. I don't know if I had ever sung such a sweet, stirring Lecha Dodi, because in my mind it was the last Lecha Dodi I would ever recite. I remember davening to Hashem and saying, "We are going to be korbanos (sacrifices), so accept the korban willingly and may it atone for all our sins..." p; My heart went out to Naftulche, who was sitting next to me. "He's only twelve years old," 1 thought. "Does he know what's going to happen tomorrow?" I wanted to make Kiddush but on what? I found a small piece of bread in my pocket and deliberated over whether or not it was permissible to make Kiddush on a piece of bread. And if yes, then what would I use for lechem mishneh? (the double loaves traditionally used at Shabbos meals.)
Finally I decided that it was a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving a life); I felt that I just had to accept the holiness of Shabbos by reciting Kiddush. There was a basin in the room with a quart of water. We washed our hands, made Kiddush on the piece of bread, sang all the Bobover zemiros, and benched.
After the "seudah," I debated with myself about whether to talk to the boy about our impending fate. He had overheard the commissar say that we would be shot, so I decided to prepare him for it. I turned to Naftulche and said, "Naftulche, I have a request to make. Will you heed my request?" "Yes, father, I'll do as you say," he replied. "Listen, Naftulche," I said to my tender young son, "you should know that a Jewish soul cannot be shot. A Jew has a neshamah that comes from the Heavenly throne and a neshamah can't be shot. The body can be shot, but that is only the outer garment; our essence cannot be shot. Today, I'm your father and you're my son. Tomorrow we'll be two neshamos who were killed al kiddush Hashem. "I want to request something of you. You're a young child, they won't torture you. But me — according to what the Pole said, they're planning to torture me in order to get me to disclose the identity of our smuggler. But I'm not going to tell them. They'll beat me until the blood flows and we'll both cry out, 'Shema Yisrael Hasltem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!' We need to do it b'simcha, just like any other mitzvah, just like we do hakafos on Simchas Torah. I ask of you not to cry but to be b'simcha when we both say Shema."
As I was talking, Naftulche started to cry. "Why are you crying?" I asked him. "I won't be able to watch them torturing my father. I'll ask them to shoot me first." p; Can anyone fathom the Creator's miraculous ways? The way our story ended was nothing short of an open miracle, We were up the whole night, and when we saw the sun's rays shining through a small slat, we washed our hands and davened the entire Shacharis of Shabbos. It was about nine o'clock when we heard a knock on the door. An officer walked in, holding a pistol in his hand, and told us to follow him. He led us into the Gestapo office, where the Polish commissar greeted us with uncharacteristic excitement.
"You are lucky!" he told us. "He woke up in a good mood today!" He was referring to the chief, but I didn't know what he was talking about. The Pole took us into his superior's room, and there sat the same man who had called us "accursed Jews" the day before. Now he spoke to us calmly. "You are indeed Hungarian citizens but still, it is illegal to come here without border passes. So you will have to be penalized for transgressing the law..."
As soon as I heard the word "penalized," I knew that we wouldn't be shot. In the end, the Gestapo chief bought us train tickets and sent us back to Bochnia along with a document to present to the border patrol stating that we owed a fine of one thousand zlotys for crossing the border illegally. I was stunned. How had things changed so drastically? First he had wanted to torture and kill me — and now he was sending me back to Bochnia!
When I arrived in Bochnia, I met a yungerman, Reb Yeshaya Veitzen (who himself was later killed by the Germans), and as soon as he saw me he cried out "Baruch matir assurim" (blessed is the one who frees the captives) I had left Bochnia under the most clandestine circumstances, but somehow he'd already heard that I'd been arrested. I tried to pretend I didn't know what he was talking about, but he answered, "We heard about everything that happened to you."
As soon as I learned what had transpired that Shabbos morning. At eight o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo chief in Neimark called up the Gestapo chief in Bochnia to find out if Solomon Halberstam was indeed a Hungarian citizen and if he'd been issued a travel permit. In truth, those papers had been forgeries, but through Divine Providence the German commander hadn't been in the office then.
A Bochnian Jew named Shlomo Shtruch, who owned a top-quality mattress factory, had close connections with Polish officers. On Shabbos morning at eight o'clock, Shlomo Shtruch was sitting in the Gestapo office talking to the Polish commissar — Kanarski was his name — when the phone rang. Shtruch overheard Kanarski say the name "Solomon Halberstam" as he was writing things down in his notebook. Shtruch inquired what the problem was with Solomon Halberstam.
"They caught him at the border and they're going to shoot him," said the commissar. Shtruch jumped up and shouted, "He's my Rabbiner, You can't let him be killed!"
The Polish commissar was impervious. "There's nothing I can do about it. He crossed the border illegally; he's going to be killed." Shtruch wouldn't give up. "Kanarski, you get lots and lots of money from me, and I know about all your activities. If you want ten thousand zlotys for Shlomo Halberstam, you'll have it in an instant. You must save Shlomo Halberstam!"
The Pole yelled back, "I'm not losing my life for him. They'll kill me instead!"
Shlomo Shtruch made no attempt to hide his anger. He said sternly, "Listen, Kanarski! You have committed so many crimes. You have shady dealings involving huge amounts of money. If Shlomo Halberstam lives, then you and I will live as well. But if he doesn't live, then you won't live and I won't live! I will go to the higher authorities and report everything I know about you. It's your choice. If you want to remain alive, then save Shlomo Halberstam!"
"What do you want from me?" the Pole shouted. "Call him back fast, before it's too late!" Shtruch demanded. "I'm going out to make sure the chief doesn't come in while you make the phone call"
The Pole picked up the phone and the chief in Neimark. "Yes, Shlomo Halberstam is a Hungarian citizen," he told him.
"So what should I do with him?" the Neimark chief asked. "Send him back to Bochnia." When I later heard about this chain of events, I was moved to tears mesirus nefesh that Shlomo Shtruch displayed on my behalf. The ways of Hashem are unfathomable. It was His will that we would survive and build a new generation. And so He orchestrated the incredible of events that led to our salvation."
The Jewish Nation is eternal. We have weathered persecution in just about every time and in every place. Jews and Jewish communities have been destroyed by the evil Nations. However, Hashem has promised us that the Jewish Nation, which stays faithful to the Torah, will prevail. Good Shabbos Everyone.
It was Friday night and we knew it was the last night of our lives. Since my yarmulke had been taken away, I covered my head with a sheet and got ready to daven, I sat there thinking, "Master of the Universe, is it possible that I can leave this hell alive? And if I do stay alive, will I be able to appreciate the extent of the Hashem's chessed-kindness" According to all logic, we didn't stand a chance. It was Friday evening, so we downed Mincha and then sang Lecha Dodi. I don't know if I had ever sung such a sweet, stirring Lecha Dodi, because in my mind it was the last Lecha Dodi I would ever recite. I remember davening to Hashem and saying, "We are going to be korbanos (sacrifices), so accept the korban willingly and may it atone for all our sins..." p; My heart went out to Naftulche, who was sitting next to me. "He's only twelve years old," 1 thought. "Does he know what's going to happen tomorrow?" I wanted to make Kiddush but on what? I found a small piece of bread in my pocket and deliberated over whether or not it was permissible to make Kiddush on a piece of bread. And if yes, then what would I use for lechem mishneh? (the double loaves traditionally used at Shabbos meals.)
Finally I decided that it was a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving a life); I felt that I just had to accept the holiness of Shabbos by reciting Kiddush. There was a basin in the room with a quart of water. We washed our hands, made Kiddush on the piece of bread, sang all the Bobover zemiros, and benched.
After the "seudah," I debated with myself about whether to talk to the boy about our impending fate. He had overheard the commissar say that we would be shot, so I decided to prepare him for it. I turned to Naftulche and said, "Naftulche, I have a request to make. Will you heed my request?" "Yes, father, I'll do as you say," he replied. "Listen, Naftulche," I said to my tender young son, "you should know that a Jewish soul cannot be shot. A Jew has a neshamah that comes from the Heavenly throne and a neshamah can't be shot. The body can be shot, but that is only the outer garment; our essence cannot be shot. Today, I'm your father and you're my son. Tomorrow we'll be two neshamos who were killed al kiddush Hashem. "I want to request something of you. You're a young child, they won't torture you. But me — according to what the Pole said, they're planning to torture me in order to get me to disclose the identity of our smuggler. But I'm not going to tell them. They'll beat me until the blood flows and we'll both cry out, 'Shema Yisrael Hasltem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!' We need to do it b'simcha, just like any other mitzvah, just like we do hakafos on Simchas Torah. I ask of you not to cry but to be b'simcha when we both say Shema."
As I was talking, Naftulche started to cry. "Why are you crying?" I asked him. "I won't be able to watch them torturing my father. I'll ask them to shoot me first." p; Can anyone fathom the Creator's miraculous ways? The way our story ended was nothing short of an open miracle, We were up the whole night, and when we saw the sun's rays shining through a small slat, we washed our hands and davened the entire Shacharis of Shabbos. It was about nine o'clock when we heard a knock on the door. An officer walked in, holding a pistol in his hand, and told us to follow him. He led us into the Gestapo office, where the Polish commissar greeted us with uncharacteristic excitement.
"You are lucky!" he told us. "He woke up in a good mood today!" He was referring to the chief, but I didn't know what he was talking about. The Pole took us into his superior's room, and there sat the same man who had called us "accursed Jews" the day before. Now he spoke to us calmly. "You are indeed Hungarian citizens but still, it is illegal to come here without border passes. So you will have to be penalized for transgressing the law..."
As soon as I heard the word "penalized," I knew that we wouldn't be shot. In the end, the Gestapo chief bought us train tickets and sent us back to Bochnia along with a document to present to the border patrol stating that we owed a fine of one thousand zlotys for crossing the border illegally. I was stunned. How had things changed so drastically? First he had wanted to torture and kill me — and now he was sending me back to Bochnia!
When I arrived in Bochnia, I met a yungerman, Reb Yeshaya Veitzen (who himself was later killed by the Germans), and as soon as he saw me he cried out "Baruch matir assurim" (blessed is the one who frees the captives) I had left Bochnia under the most clandestine circumstances, but somehow he'd already heard that I'd been arrested. I tried to pretend I didn't know what he was talking about, but he answered, "We heard about everything that happened to you."
As soon as I learned what had transpired that Shabbos morning. At eight o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo chief in Neimark called up the Gestapo chief in Bochnia to find out if Solomon Halberstam was indeed a Hungarian citizen and if he'd been issued a travel permit. In truth, those papers had been forgeries, but through Divine Providence the German commander hadn't been in the office then.
A Bochnian Jew named Shlomo Shtruch, who owned a top-quality mattress factory, had close connections with Polish officers. On Shabbos morning at eight o'clock, Shlomo Shtruch was sitting in the Gestapo office talking to the Polish commissar — Kanarski was his name — when the phone rang. Shtruch overheard Kanarski say the name "Solomon Halberstam" as he was writing things down in his notebook. Shtruch inquired what the problem was with Solomon Halberstam.
"They caught him at the border and they're going to shoot him," said the commissar. Shtruch jumped up and shouted, "He's my Rabbiner, You can't let him be killed!"
The Polish commissar was impervious. "There's nothing I can do about it. He crossed the border illegally; he's going to be killed." Shtruch wouldn't give up. "Kanarski, you get lots and lots of money from me, and I know about all your activities. If you want ten thousand zlotys for Shlomo Halberstam, you'll have it in an instant. You must save Shlomo Halberstam!"
The Pole yelled back, "I'm not losing my life for him. They'll kill me instead!"
Shlomo Shtruch made no attempt to hide his anger. He said sternly, "Listen, Kanarski! You have committed so many crimes. You have shady dealings involving huge amounts of money. If Shlomo Halberstam lives, then you and I will live as well. But if he doesn't live, then you won't live and I won't live! I will go to the higher authorities and report everything I know about you. It's your choice. If you want to remain alive, then save Shlomo Halberstam!"
"What do you want from me?" the Pole shouted. "Call him back fast, before it's too late!" Shtruch demanded. "I'm going out to make sure the chief doesn't come in while you make the phone call"
The Pole picked up the phone and the chief in Neimark. "Yes, Shlomo Halberstam is a Hungarian citizen," he told him.
"So what should I do with him?" the Neimark chief asked. "Send him back to Bochnia." When I later heard about this chain of events, I was moved to tears mesirus nefesh that Shlomo Shtruch displayed on my behalf. The ways of Hashem are unfathomable. It was His will that we would survive and build a new generation. And so He orchestrated the incredible of events that led to our salvation."
The Jewish Nation is eternal. We have weathered persecution in just about every time and in every place. Jews and Jewish communities have been destroyed by the evil Nations. However, Hashem has promised us that the Jewish Nation, which stays faithful to the Torah, will prevail. Good Shabbos Everyone.
Good Shabbos Everyone. It
states in the verse in this week's portion, "And you shall love Hashem,
your G-d" One of the inspirational explanations of this verse is as
follows: The Sages explain, that the Name of Hashem should become
beloved through a Jew's behavior. A Jew should study Torah and Mishnah, serve
Torah scholars and deal graciously with his fellow man. Then others will say of
him, "Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah! Fortunate is his
teacher who taught him Torah! Woe to those who do not study Torah! He who
studies Torah — how pleasant is his behavior and how proper are his
deeds." To him may the verse be applied: (Yeshayahu 49:3). "And He
said to me: 'You are My servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified' " (Yoma
86a). The following two stories illustrate the power of a
"Kiddush Hashem" - behavior which brings honor to Hashem and the
Jewish people.
Bernie, the gentile janitor at Beis Medrash Govoha (in Lakewood, New Jersey), was wholeheartedly devoted to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, of blessed memory. One Friday morning, Bernie was seen running at top speed toward the yeshiva building, clutching a package in his hand. When someone asked him if everything was all right, he replied, "The Rabbi needs this," and he continued to run.
As it turned out, all R' Aharon had needed was to know the time. However, when R' Aharon, with his broken English, had asked Bernie for the time, the janitor had mistakenly thought that R' Aharon was asking him to purchase a certain item in a local store. Faithful servant that he was, Bernie shot out of the building like a lightning bolt before R' Aharon could stop him.
The night after R' Aharon passed away, Bernie stood in the lobby of the yeshiva with his head bowed in mourning. "The Rabbi was a saint," he told a student. "You see this coat I'm wearing? The Rabbi gave it to me." And now for our second story...
Rabbi Leibish Langer is a rebbe at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn and teaches one night a week at Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, near Queens. One night, Rabbi Langer was on his way back to Brooklyn with a carload of talmidim-students when his car hit a pothole and stalled in one of the crummier areas of Queens. He could not restart the car.
The neighborhood where the mishap occurred was known to be dangerous and the boys were tense. Rabbi Langer told the boys that they should collectively pledge money to a R' Meir Baal HaNeis tzedakah and then recite a chapter of Tehillim together.
Rabbi Langer assured the boys that Hashem would surely watch over them. Almost immediately, two policemen cruising by noticed the stranded car and stopped. Just then a yeshiva student driving by also stopped. The police radioed a road service company, which responded that its crew could be there in an hour and a half. The police could not wait there all that time, but they cautioned Rabbi Langer that if he abandoned the car he would probably not find it intact when he returned.
Rabbi Langer asked the yeshiva student to take the boys to the nearest yeshiva while he waited alone for the road service. The police cautioned him to remain in the car with the doors locked. The other two cars drove off and Rabbi Langer returned to his car, locked the doors from the inside and turned on a tape of a Torah lecture.
Almost immediately, a car passing by came to a halt and out stepped an African American fellow of imposing appearance. "Got a problem?" the man asked. "No, I'm fine," Rabbi Langer replied.
"Well, I'm a mechanic and I see you've got a problem. Open the hood and I'll see what I can do." Rabbi Langer remained in the locked car and opened the hood. It was obvious that the man was making a real effort to get the car started. Finally, the man came around to the driver's window and said, "The fuel is not going into the engine but I can't figure out why. Listen, you can't stay here alone — this is a very dangerous neighborhood! What are you going to do?"
Before Rabbi Langer could respond, the man went on. "I'll tell you what to do. Come out of the car and stand next to me. You'll see, any Jew that passes by and sees you will stop to help you out. I know — you Jews are humanitarians. And besides that, if you are standing next me, nobody will lay a hand on you!" Somehow, Rabbi Langer believed the man, and he stepped out of the car.
As they stood there, neighborhood teenagers walking by eyed them suspiciously. The man yelled at them in a language they understood to stop staring and get on their way. Within a few minutes, a former yeshiva student who had studied under Rabbi Langer pulled up. "Rebbi, what's the problem?"
"See!" the man shouted. "I told you someone would stop. Just wait, we'll be here long enough, they'll be twenty Jewish cars lined up to help you. I know you people. I worked for Elite Caterers, a fellow named Shlomo Katz runs it — now, that's a good man!"
While they were talking, the driver who had taken the boys to a local yeshiva returned to see if he could be of further help. Rabbi Langer assured the African American man that he now had enough help and that the man could leave.
Rabbi Langer thanked the man and insisted that he accept some money for his services. The man refused, and he told Rabbi Langer that in truth, he was not a really mechanic, he merely claimed that he was, in order to be able to protect Rabbi Langer from neighborhood thugs. The man left and moments later, Rabbi Langer and the other two students got the car started. One of the other two drivers followed Rabbi Langer in his car until they were safely out of the neighborhood. (Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, p. 206 Shabbos Stories)
Jews have a challenge in this life. We must always be on our best behavior. We are Hashem's people. Whatever we do reflects on Hashem. The Talmud tells us that one who makes Jews look bad, can only achieve atonement at death! (Yoma 86a) Surely therefore, one who makes Hashem look good, is guaranteed great reward. Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Leah bas Tziporah
Bernie, the gentile janitor at Beis Medrash Govoha (in Lakewood, New Jersey), was wholeheartedly devoted to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, of blessed memory. One Friday morning, Bernie was seen running at top speed toward the yeshiva building, clutching a package in his hand. When someone asked him if everything was all right, he replied, "The Rabbi needs this," and he continued to run.
As it turned out, all R' Aharon had needed was to know the time. However, when R' Aharon, with his broken English, had asked Bernie for the time, the janitor had mistakenly thought that R' Aharon was asking him to purchase a certain item in a local store. Faithful servant that he was, Bernie shot out of the building like a lightning bolt before R' Aharon could stop him.
The night after R' Aharon passed away, Bernie stood in the lobby of the yeshiva with his head bowed in mourning. "The Rabbi was a saint," he told a student. "You see this coat I'm wearing? The Rabbi gave it to me." And now for our second story...
Rabbi Leibish Langer is a rebbe at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn and teaches one night a week at Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, near Queens. One night, Rabbi Langer was on his way back to Brooklyn with a carload of talmidim-students when his car hit a pothole and stalled in one of the crummier areas of Queens. He could not restart the car.
The neighborhood where the mishap occurred was known to be dangerous and the boys were tense. Rabbi Langer told the boys that they should collectively pledge money to a R' Meir Baal HaNeis tzedakah and then recite a chapter of Tehillim together.
Rabbi Langer assured the boys that Hashem would surely watch over them. Almost immediately, two policemen cruising by noticed the stranded car and stopped. Just then a yeshiva student driving by also stopped. The police radioed a road service company, which responded that its crew could be there in an hour and a half. The police could not wait there all that time, but they cautioned Rabbi Langer that if he abandoned the car he would probably not find it intact when he returned.
Rabbi Langer asked the yeshiva student to take the boys to the nearest yeshiva while he waited alone for the road service. The police cautioned him to remain in the car with the doors locked. The other two cars drove off and Rabbi Langer returned to his car, locked the doors from the inside and turned on a tape of a Torah lecture.
Almost immediately, a car passing by came to a halt and out stepped an African American fellow of imposing appearance. "Got a problem?" the man asked. "No, I'm fine," Rabbi Langer replied.
"Well, I'm a mechanic and I see you've got a problem. Open the hood and I'll see what I can do." Rabbi Langer remained in the locked car and opened the hood. It was obvious that the man was making a real effort to get the car started. Finally, the man came around to the driver's window and said, "The fuel is not going into the engine but I can't figure out why. Listen, you can't stay here alone — this is a very dangerous neighborhood! What are you going to do?"
Before Rabbi Langer could respond, the man went on. "I'll tell you what to do. Come out of the car and stand next to me. You'll see, any Jew that passes by and sees you will stop to help you out. I know — you Jews are humanitarians. And besides that, if you are standing next me, nobody will lay a hand on you!" Somehow, Rabbi Langer believed the man, and he stepped out of the car.
As they stood there, neighborhood teenagers walking by eyed them suspiciously. The man yelled at them in a language they understood to stop staring and get on their way. Within a few minutes, a former yeshiva student who had studied under Rabbi Langer pulled up. "Rebbi, what's the problem?"
"See!" the man shouted. "I told you someone would stop. Just wait, we'll be here long enough, they'll be twenty Jewish cars lined up to help you. I know you people. I worked for Elite Caterers, a fellow named Shlomo Katz runs it — now, that's a good man!"
While they were talking, the driver who had taken the boys to a local yeshiva returned to see if he could be of further help. Rabbi Langer assured the African American man that he now had enough help and that the man could leave.
Rabbi Langer thanked the man and insisted that he accept some money for his services. The man refused, and he told Rabbi Langer that in truth, he was not a really mechanic, he merely claimed that he was, in order to be able to protect Rabbi Langer from neighborhood thugs. The man left and moments later, Rabbi Langer and the other two students got the car started. One of the other two drivers followed Rabbi Langer in his car until they were safely out of the neighborhood. (Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, p. 206 Shabbos Stories)
Jews have a challenge in this life. We must always be on our best behavior. We are Hashem's people. Whatever we do reflects on Hashem. The Talmud tells us that one who makes Jews look bad, can only achieve atonement at death! (Yoma 86a) Surely therefore, one who makes Hashem look good, is guaranteed great reward. Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Leah bas Tziporah
A Good Shabbos and a peaceful one
in good health and to my readers on vacation enjoy but just pray a bit extra
everyday a few Psalms (Tehillim) for our soldiers and civilians in harm’s way
for the murderers have not ceased in their plans or actions,
Rachamim Pauli
