The
most propitious time for repentance is the month of Elul as it hints at the
words “Ani L’ Dodi V’ Dodi Le” meaning I am for my beloved (G-D) and my beloved
is for me. The Molad physically is 5:14 PM Yerushalayim time but the average
Molad is about 8:18 PM on Monday and Rosh Chodesh will be on the 3rd
and 4th day of the week. It is on Wednesday that we start saying L’
David HASHEM twice a day blowing of the Shofar in the morning at the end of the
service.
Please
delete from the prayer list the following names that I have no way of tracing if
prayers are still needed Mordechai Chai ben Bracha Yehudis who was injured prior
to our entrance into Gaza so it is 5 weeks and hopefully he is recovering well
now, Shaul Yacov ben Chana and Chana bas Yocheved.
Please
add for now Refuah
of חנה מלכה בת קרינייע( Chana Malka Bat
Kraina)
Miracle(s)
Alert: 24 Menachem Av 5774:
A
woman living in the sea area before Ashkelon had given birth a month ago and had
a bad feeling when renewed hostilities broke out yesterday sent the infant
northwards to her parents and was spared a direct hit on her house by a rocket
as she was picking up the older daughter from a neighbor who was baby-sitting
her. (See post of 25 Av re: at least 150
rockets) The second miracle was within perhaps natural means a man was in his
car and the siren went off. He got out and as we say in the US Armed Forces “Hit
the Deck” the shrapnel did havoc with his vehicle but most of the pieces passed
over him and he had to be treated only in the local dispensary for minor scrapes
and abrasions.
Parsha
Eikev Part 2
We
continue with the commandments and encouragement to live in Eretz Yisrael. Note
in this week I have written a discussion on non-Jewish religious statues on how
a Jew should feel towards them and why for a non-Jew they are not considered
bona fide idols that existed. Having this on the net I don’t want to make
enemies for Israel therefore I explain the whole situation in Parsha Re’eh.
This is not the first time Moshe has mentioned this but it is good for us lest we forget.
7 For the LORD thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;
The olive trees are also for pure oil and the honey is from dates. These are the 7 species that require a special blessing after eating an oil’s bulk.
9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou may dig brass. 10 And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD thy God for the good land which He hath given thee.
This indicates mineral wealth as the Moshiach gets closer we have discovered gas and soon there are good chances that oil will be discovered. As the Torah Observance increases so does the wealth it is part of HASHEM’s equation of life for the Bnei Yisrael.
11 Beware lest thou forget the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command thee this day; 12 lest when thou hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 15 who led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16 who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might afflict thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 and thou say in thy heart: 'My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.' 18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God, for it is He that gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
We must always remember it is not our brains, strength or inheritance that gives us wealth and food but from HASHEM. The owner of Hadar Crackers got a disease which was killing him. He could not eat. He said, “I have enough grain to feed Yerushalayim for months, but cannot enjoy it.” He recognized the power of HASHEM.
19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I forewarn you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.
Externally many of the people who died in the Shoah were more religious than most of us. Were they sacrifices to spare us or was it only external. Every once in a while my friend Jack Kamplansky asks, “I had righteous parents, brothers and sisters and how come I survived and they not as they were more religious than I?” Nobody has the answer only HASHEM Yisborach. The questions are there did they get caught in the Holocaust as a Gezaira and miraculously a few like Yisrael Meir and Naphtali Lau survived to rebuild Eretz Yisrael and Judaism from the ashes. We do not know but something causes the miracles to happen to us in Eretz Yisrael and something caused 30% of the Jews to be wiped out in the last generation and only HASHEM knows why.
We are now told not to fear our enemies and they will use every dirty trick in the book to try to slaughter us in every cruel way like the mutilation of the bodies of the three boys which I refused to describe. It is bad enough to murder but there is a sickness to mutilate a body.
9:1
Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to
dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified
up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou know,
and of whom thou hast heard say: 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' 3 Know
therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He who goes over before thee as a
devouring fire; He will destroy them, and He will bring them down before thee;
so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the LORD hath
spoken unto thee.
There
is nothing to fear but HASHEM for HASHEM will fight your battles and bring them
down. Moshe then describes the rebelliousness of the nation and that HASHEM
wanted to destroy them. Perhaps herein lies the answer to Jack’s question
because the righteous ones were caught with the wicked as the Gezaira went down
for we did not have a Moshe, servant of G-D, to pray for
us.
…
25 So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and forty nights that I fell
down; because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26 And I prayed unto the
LORD, and said: 'O Lord GOD, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, that
Thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness, that Thou hast brought forth out of
Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Remember Thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to
their sin; 28 lest the land whence Thou broughtest us out say: Because the LORD
was not able to bring them into the land which He promised unto them, and
because He hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.
29 Yet they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, that Thou didst bring out by
Thy great power and by Thy outstretched arm.
Moshe
then goes on to describe what HASHEM told him through the death of
Aaron.
…10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD thy God require of thee, but
to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve
the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul;
And
now, O Israel: Even though you did all this, His mercy and His affection are
still upon you, and with all that you have sinned against Him, He demands
nothing of you, except only to fear [the Lord, your God,…] Only to fear [the
Lord your God,…]: Our Rabbis derived from this verse [“And now… what does… God
demand of you”] that everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of
Heaven (Ber. 33b).
13 to keep for thy good the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day?
12 – 13 Don’t ask what HASHEM can do for you but to do what HASHEM wants and then HE will bless you.
To
keep the commandments of the Lord: and this too, is not for nothing, but-for
your good-that you should receive a reward.
14 Behold, unto the LORD thy God belongs the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that therein is.
To the average person this understanding was equivalent in Moshe’s day as to saying from the smallest sub-atomic particle to the vast universe around us HASHEM is all encompassing to our understanding today. Rashi interprets this to mean how desired Yisrael is of everything in the universe.
Behold,
to the Lord your God belong: everything, and even so-“Only your forefathers the
Lord desired”-out of everything [i.e., the whole universe].
15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you, above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
The
foreskin of your heart: Heb. עָרְלַת לְבַבְכֶם,
the blockage and covering of your heart.
It is as if you have Orlah on your heart and you need to cut away the blemish so that the pure blood from the pure heart will make your body ready for the days of Moshiach. Ah you say that the Moshiach hasn’t come yet! If so, perhaps we still have to purify ourselves to truly do the Mitzvos Le Shem Shamayim.
17 For the LORD your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awful, who regards not persons, nor takes reward. 18 He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Try to remember the orphan and widow and be nice to the Ger. What happens if the Ger becomes poor due to bad circumstances and he has no family? – Then give him food and raiment!
19 Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
You should not regard a person because he or she is blond or black and in your youth you were bullied or attacked by one of these groups of people but remember that the blood or black is now your fellow Jew and just as you love an Ashkenazi, Yemenite or Sephardi so too shall you love the Ger or Giyores. Remember Boaz did not refrain from marriage with Ruth and the Moshiach came out of it.
20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve; and to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His name shalt thou swear. 21 He is thy glory, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and tremendous things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
11:1
Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep His charge, and His
statutes, and His ordinances, and His commandments, always. … 8 Therefore shall
ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be
strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it; 9 and
that ye may prolong your days upon the land, which the LORD swore unto your
fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey.
As
one should not be afraid of the Anak one should also go and possess the land
promise to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yacov and with the Mitzvos you will find a land
flowing with milk from almonds plus your flocks and herds and the honey from the
dates dripping from the trees.
10
For the land, whither thou go in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt,
from whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and didst water it with
thy foot, as a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, whither ye go over to possess
it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water as the rain of heaven comes
down; 12 a land which the LORD thy God cares for; the eyes of the LORD thy God
are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the
year.
Remember
that in Parsha Bechukosai that this is a condition that we must observe the
Mitzvos.
Now
we learn the second paragraph of the Shema. 13
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments
which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with
all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give the rain of your land
in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in
thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will give grass in thy fields
for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied. 16 Take heed to yourselves,
lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and
worship them; 17 and the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and He shut
up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain, and the ground shall not yield
her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD gives
you. 18 Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul;
and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for
frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, talking
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. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the
door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; 21 that your days may be
multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land which the LORD swore
unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
Since
it is sworn, HE will keep HIS oath.
22
For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do
it, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave unto Him,
23 then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall
dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place where
ever the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and
Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be
your border.
All
you have to do is follow the Mitzvos and walk there.
25
There shall no man be able to stand against you: the LORD your God shall lay the
fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as
He hath spoken unto you.
As
Rachav told to Yehoshua that the men have become timid and you can conquer.
Parsha
Re’eh
This
week and the next two Parshiyos contain 170 Mitzvos in Total. Moshe is finishing
up the written Mitzvos of the Torah in his last days.
This
week we have a Kashrus reminder of the kosher and non-kosher animals so that
when we stop eating the Mann we will eat only Kosher in Eretz Yisrael even
though there are donkeys, camels, hares, wild boars, foxes, wolves, coyotes,
weasels, hyenas and others non-kosher animals running wild. Remember your body
and components of the soul in this world are effected by what you eat! Rabbi
Wein Shlita writes about remembering the lessons of history in our Parsha.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15551#.U_b5msYcTIU
11:26
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
The
blessing from Har Gerizim and the curse from Har Eval.
27
the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God,
which I command you this day; 28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the
commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command
you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
We
Jews today cannot understand the need to worship idols or a pantheon. We cannot
understand a religion which made a Jew who followed the unity of HASHEM into a
demigod and a trinity or one taking the moon god of Mecca and turning it into a
monotheistic religion. We have lived with an invisible G-D who is boundless
without shape or form but the concept is too deep for many. If in modern times
this cannot have a profound meaning on the average man who can believe in
electrons invisible moving along a wire to produce light in a bulb or radio or
TV waves. Yet when it comes to an all-encompassing boundless G-D the nations
have trouble with this.
29
And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land
whither thou go to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount
Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Eval.
One
who travels to Har Gerizim or we call Har Bracha will see a green mountain and
opposite it is Har Eval which is desolate. I wonder if the English word ‘evil’
has a route in the name of this mountain.
30
Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in
the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside
the terebinths of Moreh? 31 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to
possess the land which the LORD your God gives you, and ye shall possess it, and
dwell therein. 32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances
which I set before you this day.
What
or which Statutes? Therefore Moshe now specifies.
12:1
These are the statutes and the ordinances, which ye shall observe to do in the
land which the LORD, the God of thy fathers, has given thee to possess it, all
the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye shall surely destroy all the places,
wherein the nations that ye are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high
mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree. 3 And ye shall break
down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with
fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall
destroy their name out of that place.
We
have a conflict of interests here in our times. The Torah tells us not to
tolerate Statues that the non-Jews have in the land but we have to be cautious
as Yacov was with the people of Schem as we are few. So how do we resolve the
conflict? The question exists today if the Statues in Eretz Yisrael are true
idols in the sense of what once was or semi-idols like the Egel HaZahav which
was a representation of the foot of the Divine Throne. Per the internet those
that have Statues: The
Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.2 billion members worldwide.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also referred to as the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy,
is the second largest Christian church in the world, with an estimated
225–300 million adherents. Yisrael has enough enemies
in the world and we cannot act like the Taliban did to the Buddhist, Hindu and
Christian Statues in their Jihad. There is also a question if these statues are
really idols as their belief is basically tending to be monotheist despite the
trinity of partnership which we have only ONE CREATOR for. The Statues are not
really attributed with power or offered sacrifices today like the groups in the
land. Do I appreciate seeing a statue of a Jewish Woman who lived 2000 years ago
in Eretz Yisrael or a dead Jew that is crucified by the Romans in my land – the
answer is no and I am taken aback. When I see a painting of the save even and it
is not three dimensional it is a little less hurtful to my sensitivities. Israel
has Buddhists, Hindis and ether religions here in very small numbers
but our Rabbis have determined that real Avoda
Zara as it existed once does not exist in Eretz Yisrael today. Therefore there
is no reason to attack these statues. I would
not be surprised when the great shofar is blown announcing the coming of the
Moshiach that there will be objects turned to dust instantly but not at
our hands.
4
Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. 5 But unto the place which the LORD
your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, even unto
His habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come; 6 and thither ye
shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the
offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the
firstlings of your herd and of your flock; 7 and there ye shall eat before the
LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and
your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
You
shall bring a peace offering 3 times a year on the Chaggim and thank G-D for the
blessings.
8
Ye shall not do after all that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is
right in his own eyes; 9 for ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the
inheritance, which the LORD your God gives thee. 10 But when ye go over the
Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit, and
He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
HASHEM
promises us to dwell in safety something which we do not full enjoy today. Even
if one non-religious Jew in Eretz Yisrael is scraped by shrapnel we are not
dwelling in safety!
11
then it shall come to pass that the place which the LORD your God shall choose
to cause His name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you:
your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offering of your
hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD. 12 And ye shall
rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and
your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your
gates, forasmuch as he hath no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to
thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou see; 14
but in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou
shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command
thee.
The
Mitzvah of the Korbanos is not the sacrificing of them but sacrificing before
the L-RD in the central gathering place.
15
Notwithstanding thou may kill [should read
slaughtering kosher and with the proper knife and blessing] and eat flesh
within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the
blessing of the LORD thy God which He has given thee; the unclean and the clean
may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart. 16 Only ye shall not eat
the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water. 17 Thou may not eat
within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thine oil, or the
firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vow, nor
thy freewill-offerings, nor the offering of thy hand; 18 but thou shalt eat them
before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou,
and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and
the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy
God in all that thou put thy hand unto. 19 Take heed to thyself that thou
forsake not the Levite as long as thou lives upon thy land.
You
are still required to bring sacrifices only to a central place for the tribes.
Remember the Mitzvos of Eretz Yisrael include Teruma and Maaseh and they should
be given with full heart and the women to give Challah to the Cohain.
20
When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised thee, and
thou shalt say: 'I will eat flesh', because thy soul desire to eat flesh; thou
may eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul. 21 If the place which the LORD
thy God shall choose to put His name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt
kill [slaughter] of thy herd and of thy flock,
which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat
within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul. 22 Howbeit as the gazelle
and as the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat thereof; the unclean and the clean
may eat thereof alike. 23 Only be steadfast in not eating the blood; for the
blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.
We
are not allowed to drink animal blood but drain it with water and salt or
roasting out. The PLO murdering the Prime Minister of Yarden in Sept. 1970 or
ISIS today and drinking human blood is the lowest form of depravity to try to
steal the spirit of the enemy. My pigs and dogs eat these disgusting beings who
call themselves human.
24
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
The
blood of kosher wild animals needs pouring out on the earth and
covering.
25
Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children
after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD. 26
Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto
the place which the LORD shall choose; 27 and thou shalt offer thy
burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God;
and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out against the altar of the
LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. 28 Observe and hear all these words
which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after
thee forever, when thou does that which is good and right in the eyes of the
LORD thy God.
And
you will be blessed.
29
When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou
go in to dispossess them, and thou dispossess them, and dwell in their land; 30
take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they
are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods,
saying: 'How used these nations to serve their gods? Even so will I do
likewise.' 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God; for every abomination
to the LORD, which He hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons
and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their
gods.
This
includes a moon god of Mecca turned monotheistic today but it is forbidden to a
Jew.
13:1
All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not
add thereto, nor diminish from it. 2 If there arise in the midst of thee a
prophet, or a dreamer of dreams--and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 3 and the
sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee--saying: 'Let us go
after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them'; 4 thou
shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of
dreams; for the LORD your God puts you to proof, to know whether ye do love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Nor
is one is allowed to make a miracle like the son of Rabbi Yehuda ben Prachiya
who make a miracle of the loaves of figs in Tzefat and was cursed by his father
that he aged on the spot. He did this only to feed the hungry workers pressing
him and not to be a false prophet but not to make miracles like
this.
5
After the LORD your God shall ye walk, and Him shall ye fear, and His
commandments shall ye keep, and unto His voice shall ye hearken, and Him shall
ye serve, and unto Him shall ye cleave. 6 And that prophet, or that dreamer of
dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken perversion against the
LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out
of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which the LORD thy
God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of
you. 7 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or
the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee
secretly, saying: 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which thou hast not known,
thou, nor thy fathers; 8 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you,
nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto
the other end of the earth; 9 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto
him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt
thou conceal him; 10 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first
upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 11 And
thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to draw
thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage. 12 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no
more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.
It
is a mitzvah to kill the ben Yisrael that turns the nation from
G-D.
13
If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God
gives thee to dwell there, saying: 14 'Certain base fellows are gone out from
the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying:
Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known'; 15 then shalt thou
inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and
the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee; 16
thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,
destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the
edge of the sword. 17 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst
of the broad place thereof, and shall burn with fire the city, and all the spoil
thereof every whit, unto the LORD thy God; and it shall be a heap forever; it
shall not be built again. 18 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing
to thy hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show
thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as He hath sworn
unto thy fathers; 19 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God,
to keep all His commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is
right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
Both
the false prophet and the city that worships idols are dealt with in Tractate
Sanhedrin.
14:1
Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make
any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou art a holy people unto
the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be His own treasure out of
all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
This
idol related ceremony still exists among the shite Muslims.
3
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the beasts which ye may
eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 the hart, and the gazelle, and the
roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the
mountain-sheep. 6 And every beast that parts the hoof, and hath the hoof wholly
cloven in two, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that ye may eat. 7
Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that only chew the cud, or of them
that only have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rock-badger,
because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you; 8
and the swine, because he parts the hoof but chews not the cud, he is unclean
unto you; of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not
touch.
This
leaves us with milk in certain countries is forbidden as they milk pigs or
camels depending on the area. Belgium imports camel’s milk for some of their
chocolates so be warned. Also some chocolates uses emulsifies made from
non-kosher sources. The Rabbis hold because of this that certain game balls such
as Rugby and American Football made from Pigskin is for bidden to touch on
Shabbos or Yom Tov but we are Tumay now for weekdays and many are liberal on
this use.
9
These ye may eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales
may ye eat; 10 and whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye shall not eat; it is
unclean unto you. 11 Of all clean birds ye may eat. 12 But these are they of
which ye shall not eat: the great vulture, and the bearded vulture, and the
ospray; 13 and the glede, and the falcon, and the kite after its kinds; 14 and
every raven after its kinds; 15 and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the
sea-mew, and the hawk after its kinds; 16 the little owl, and the great owl, and
the horned owl; 17 and the pelican, and the carrion-vulture, and the cormorant;
18 and the stork, and the heron after its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 19
And all winged swarming things are unclean unto you; they shall not be eaten. 20
Of all clean winged things ye may eat. 21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dies
of itself; thou may give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates, that he
may eat it; or thou may sell it unto a foreigner; for thou art a holy people
unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
There
are 3 prohibitions in the Torah about milk and meat. (1) Not to eat this mixture
(2) not to cook this mixture and (3) not to have any pleasure from this mixture
such as giving to a pet or selling to a non-Jew.
22
Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which is brought
forth in the field year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God,
in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe
of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and
of thy flock; that thou may learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
There
is a Mitzvah to go to the gathering place aka Yerushalayim and bring the tithe
and first born of the animals and the tithes of the
field.
24
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it,
because the place is too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to
set His name there, when the LORD thy God shall bless thee; 25 then shalt thou
turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the
place which the LORD thy God shall choose. 26 And thou shalt bestow the money
for whatsoever thy soul desires for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for
strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asks of thee; and thou shalt eat there
before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household. 27 And
the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no
portion nor inheritance with thee.
Remember
(second time this week) to give Teruma and Maaseh.
28
At the end of every three years, even in the same year, thou shalt bring forth
all the tithe of thine increase, and shall lay it up within thy gates.
This
is poor man’s Maaseh or Maaseh Ani. (Note in my English transliteration Ani can
be ah-knee meaning ‘I’ or aw-knee meaning ‘poor’ so take it with the
context)
15:1
At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
Of
the Jewish ‘slave’ aka servant who was a thief and sold to you until Shmita.
2
And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which
he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his
brother; because the LORD'S release hath been proclaimed. 3 Of a foreigner thou
may exact it; but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall
release. 4 Howbeit there shall be no needy among you--for the LORD will surely
bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to
possess it-- 5 if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy
God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day. 6 For
the LORD thy God will bless thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend unto
many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations,
but they shall not rule over thee. … 19 All the firstling males that are born of
thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt
do no work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
20 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the
LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21 And if there be any blemish
therein, lameness, or blindness, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not
sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates; the
unclean and the clean may eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart. 23 Only
thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as
water.
16:1
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God; for in
the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 2
And thou shalt sacrifice the passover-offering unto the LORD thy God, of the
flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause His name
to dwell there. … 13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after
that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress. 14
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and
thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the
fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 Seven days shalt thou
keep a feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose;
because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the
work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful. 16 Three times in a year
shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall
choose; on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks, and on the
feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty; 17 every
man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God
which He hath given thee.
"What
won't a father do for his daughter? I jumped out in front of the Rebbe, blocking
his path.
At
first her parents didn't think this was something to particularly worry about.
They assumed it was a minor infection that would soon go away. But the swelling
continued to increase, and her eye started to drip blood and ooze pus.* They
rushed her to the emergency room and subsequently to each of the local eye
doctors, but none of them were able to diagnose the cause of the problem.
Instead they referred them to more expert doctors in the nearest large city,
Haifa. But the doctors there too were at a loss how to help her, and sent them
onward to a medical center in Tel Aviv. Weeks after that they went to Israel's
leading hospital, Hadassah in the Ein Kerem district of Jerusalem, but there too
no solution was found. Meanwhile the condition of her eye steadily
worsened.
Several
of the specialists they visited proffered explanations, but they conflicted one
with the other. One proposed that the root of the problem was a malfunction in
the eye itself. Another thought it to be a form of skin disease, while a third
claimed it must be the result of an allergy. All agreed that the damage was very
serious and that she would probably lose all vision in that eye.
For
seven months the girl suffered from severe pain, and the whole time her eye
continued to deteriorate.
Soon
thereafter Rabbi Grossman flew to the USA on behalf of his Migdal Ohr
educational institutions and charitable organizations. When he shared the pain
of his daughter's situation with one of his friends in New York, the latter
recommended that he seek a consultation with Dr. Albert Hornblass, a Jewish
doctor in New Jersey who was an internationally known ophthalmologist of good
reputation, and chairman of the Ophthalmologic Surgery department at New York's
Eye, Ear and Throat hospital.
Rabbi
Grossman arranged an appointment. He related to the doctor the background of his
daughter's eye problem, and showed him the copies of the medical records from
Hadassah-Ein Kerem that he had brought from Israel. The specialist was warm
towards him, but explained he couldn't possibly provide a diagnosis without
seeing the eye itself. So the rabbi immediately purchased a ticket for his
daughter, and by 6AM the next morning she had already landed at JFK
International Airport.
When
he met her, after they exchanged greetings, her next words were a request to go
immediately to see the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Her
father complied. As soon as they reached Brooklyn from the airport, they hurried
over to 770 Eastern Parkway, Lubavitch international headquarters and the
location of its main synagogue and yeshiva, as well as the Rebbe's office,
arriving there only a few minutes before the Rebbe was due to appear for the
morning prayer service.
They
were not the only ones. Both sides of the lane leading to the entrance were
packed with people anticipating the opportunity to see the Rebbe at close range,
and maybe even to be noticed by him. Rabbi Grossman and his daughter joined the
crowd.
Finally
the long grey Lincoln parked in front, and the Rebbe stepped out from the back
seat. At that moment Rabbi Grossman determined to request the Rebbe's blessing,
even though this was not a time or occasion when the Rebbe interacted with his
Chasidim or other visitors. As the Rebbe approached the entrance, Rabbi Grossman
brazenly jumped in front of him and blocked the path! "What won't a father do
for his daughter?" he shrugged in retrospect.
"Rebbe!"
he cried out with great emotion. He gestured with his hand. "Here is my
daughter. The one I wrote to you about with the eye problem. She very much needs
the Rebbe's blessing for a complete healing."
The
Rebbe already knew about the eye problem of Chaya-Rivka Grossman. He had
received by mail several reports and requests for a blessing over the course of
the year. He looked over to where she was standing and briefly glanced at her
damaged eye. In less than a second he turned to Rabbi Grossman and said,
"Immediately do a mezuzah check, and may she have an immediate complete
recovery. And may you merit to raise her to a life of Torah, Jewish marriage and
good deeds."
Rabbi
Grossman called out "Amen v'Amen!" and ran for the nearest public telephone as
soon as the Rebbe passed from sight. He told his wife what the Rebbe had said
and that she should try to summon right away the expert sofer (scribe)
whom they always use, and he should minutely examine all the mezuzahs in
the house.
Rabbi
Grossman returned to "770" to pray in the Rebbe's minyan. At the same
time, his wife,succeeded to contact the sofer and explain to him the urgency of
an immediate visit.
It
did not take long to discover the problem. An entire word was blotted out from
one of the mezuzahs! Which word? "Ainecha"-"your eyes," in the
verse, "and they [the words in the head-tefilin] should be for an
ornament between your eyes (Deut. 6:8, 11:18). The scribe immediately replaced
the defective mezuzah with a high-quality one that he had brought with
him, just in case.
After
the prayers, Rabbi Grossman went to meet his daughter at the "Ess 'n
Bentch" restaurant across Kingston Avenue. "Abba ('Dad')," she said
excitedly; "what is going on with my eye?"
"What
do you mean?" he worried.
"I
sense that something is happening. It feels like it doesn't hurt as much."
Rabbi
Grossman, who did not yet know the results of the scribal inspection, looked at
her eye, but couldn't see any change. He suggested to her that she go back to
the apartment where they were staying and rest from her long all-night journey.
"In the afternoon," he added, "we have an appointment with the
doctor."
After
a long nap, she reported happily that her eye didn't hurt any more. Rabbi
Grossman looked, and indeed the swelling was almost entirely gone. Chaya-Rivka
suggested they not bother traveling to the doctor, but her father insisted they
should still go.
In
the doctor's office, Rabbi Grossman presented Chaya-Rivka to Dr. Ornblatt and
handed to him the folder of her medical records, which now included the results
of the most recent examinations which she had brought with her. The doctor
looked at her eye and at the X-rays and the charts of examinations and test
results in her thick folder. Then he looked at both again, even more carefully.
"I can't understand this," he said wonderingly. The condition of her eye as I
see it now is pretty much normal. It does not match at all the descriptions in
this folder. Yet there are CAT scan results here that are dated just a few days
ago, showing swelling, bleeding and pus. How can that be?"
Rabbi
Grossman, who by then had heard about the invalid mezuzah in Migdal
HaEmek, told the doctor the whole story about the Rebbe's blessing and the
mezuzah checking. The doctor's eyes bulged. "We have witnessed an actual
miracle!" he exclaimed.
Day
by day her eye continued to improve. She returned to Israel, while Rabbi
Grossman remained in USA.
Weeks
passed. At a major Chasidic farbrengen (gathering) with the Lubavitcher
Rebbe, during an intermission between talks while the crowd was singing soulful
Chasidic tunes with great passion, Rabbi Grossman approached the dais and asked
the Rebbe for a blessing that he should be successful in his mission in
America.
"Amen!"
said the Rebbe. And then immediately added, "Is your daughter
alright?"
"Much
much better," said the happy father, and asked for a blessing for her
too.
"She
should get even better," responded the Rebbe. "Completely
better."
And,
of course, that is exactly what happened.
Eighteen
years later, in 2003, Rabbi Grossman was in New Jersey as the Guest of Honor at
a local Jewish community event. When he entered the synagogue on Shabbat Day, a
congregant wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) jumped from his seat, ran to
him, hugged and kissed him with enthusiasm and then started crying. Rabbi
Grossman felt a bit embarrassed because as hard as he tried, he couldn't place
who this man was, although he did seem a bit familiar.
The
man noticed his confusion and announced, "I am Dr. Hornblass, the eye doctor who
saw with my own eyes the miracle that occurred for your daughter through the
blessing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Since then I am continually aware with clear
knowledge that there is G-D."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source:
Transcribed and adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from a speech by Rabbi Y. D. Grossman at a dinner in the Emperion Hall in Tsfat on the eve of Gimmel Tammuz 5774 (June 30,2014 C.E.) in honor of the 20th Yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (n.d., z.y.a). Supplemented with a few details from an 8-minute JEM video of Rabbi Grossman telling the story (in Hebrew, with English subtitles) a few years ago -- http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/2111305/jewish/Seeing-is-Believing.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source:
Transcribed and adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from a speech by Rabbi Y. D. Grossman at a dinner in the Emperion Hall in Tsfat on the eve of Gimmel Tammuz 5774 (June 30,2014 C.E.) in honor of the 20th Yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (n.d., z.y.a). Supplemented with a few details from an 8-minute JEM video of Rabbi Grossman telling the story (in Hebrew, with English subtitles) a few years ago -- http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/2111305/jewish/Seeing-is-Believing.htm
* Editor's note: Other renditions of the story
contain a quite different and more frightening description of the eye problem,
based on details supplied by other family members, but I thought it appropriate
to stick with what I heard with my own ears from Rabbi Grossman
himself.
Connection:
Weekly Readings (both last week and this): "Shma Yisrael...an ornament between
your eyes."
Biographical
notes (in order of appearance):
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, chief rabbi of Migdal Ha'Emek since 1969 at age 23, is a sixth generation Jerusalemite. He is a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council and a recipient of the Israel Prize and many other prestigious government awards for his successful efforts to bridge the gap between the religious and secular populations in Israel (thus his nickname from 40 years ago, the Disco Rabbi). His Migdal Ohr educational institutions and charitable organizations in Migdal Emek service thousands of underprivileged and at-risk children and teenagers.
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, chief rabbi of Migdal Ha'Emek since 1969 at age 23, is a sixth generation Jerusalemite. He is a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council and a recipient of the Israel Prize and many other prestigious government awards for his successful efforts to bridge the gap between the religious and secular populations in Israel (thus his nickname from 40 years ago, the Disco Rabbi). His Migdal Ohr educational institutions and charitable organizations in Migdal Emek service thousands of underprivileged and at-risk children and teenagers.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe: [11 Nissan 5662 - 3 Tammuz 5754 (April 1902 - June 1994 C.E.)], became the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty after his father-in-law's passing on 10 Shvat 5710 (1950 C.E.). He is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second half of the 20th century. Although a dominant scholar in both the revealed and hidden aspects of Torah and fluent in many languages and scientific subjects, the Rebbe is best known for his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew on the planet. His emissaries around the globe dedicated to strengthening Judaism number in the thousands. Hundreds of volumes of his teachings have been printed, as well as dozens of English renditions.
Ed-Op
See-bar L’ Miss-see-bar or a reason for a party or shooting or a
riot
In
our Jewish Faith the people do not become mob-like even through in the days of
Moshe we see happenings. Three boys were abducted we prayed. One Arab was
abducted there were riots all over. The Jihad and Hamas from Gaza search with a
magnifying glass for a pretext to fire and ISIS doesn’t even bother. When Jesse
Jackson called NY “Hymie Town” which is most racist in nature did you see the
Jews riot? It went in one ear and was filed in the anti-Semite file behind the
Nazi file. But this man uses the race card at every turn.
Recently
in MO an unarmed black teen was killed by police in a disturbance which set of
more disturbances, looting and rioting. What happened to the moral blacks that I
knew when I grew up who were honest and would not steal and had respect for
authority. They were not all “Uncle Toms” but hard working and good individuals.
Was it my neighborhood schools and did I only see ‘the cream of the crop’ – I
doubt it! It was communist infiltration in the late 60’s that provoked the black
community.
These
were not the good honest folks who followed Martin Luther King who were G-D
fearing blacks. There is so truth out there. The teen who was killed stole some
high caffeine drinks from a store and perhaps something stronger just before the
disturbance. He was filled with over energy and when the disturbance broke out
and a shot or two were fired at cops they shot back killing the unarmed teen.
Was he a Tallis that was pure Techeles? Definitely not! Were the cops
trigger-happy without a clear sniper target? Most likely! But with a black chief
of police and an internal review board isn’t it best not to riot and loot but
let the investigation see what happened. Ah but this is a mid-term election year
and Obama has to rouse up the base via the race card to bring his voters to save
the Democratic Senate. For him this is a gift from Allah.
The
riots by the Arabs and the damage they caused to their own light-rail stations
in Yerushalayim and the destruction of the local stores in MO which makes poor
hard working blacks travel more to get goods after an exhausting days’ work only
hurts them in the end (no light-rail service or local stores). Only education
can stop real mobs.
Then
on the other hand there was a strong protest about an Arab marrying a Jewish
girl but no riots in the streets. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184130
Albert
sent me this from Winston Churchill. CHURCHILL's
COMMENTS on MUSLIMS...He saw it coming!
Written 115 years ago...
Winston
Churchill 1899. "Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the
influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow
it.
No stronger retrograde force exists in the world."
============================================================
CHURCHILL ON ISLAM Unbelievable, but the speech below was written in 1899... (check Wikipedia - The River War). HERE IS THE SPEECH:
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome ..."
Sir Winston Churchill; (Source: The River War, first edition, Vol II, pages 248-250 London).Churchill saw it coming......
No stronger retrograde force exists in the world."
============================================================
CHURCHILL ON ISLAM Unbelievable, but the speech below was written in 1899... (check Wikipedia - The River War). HERE IS THE SPEECH:
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome ..."
Sir Winston Churchill; (Source: The River War, first edition, Vol II, pages 248-250 London).Churchill saw it coming......
But for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, the Seattle coffee magnate who grew up in a modest Brooklyn Jewish family, dealing with Israel has always been a touchy issue. In 2004 he was accused by supporters of the Jewish state of caving in to Arab pressure when he moved to shut down Starbucks operations in Israel. At the same time, the coffee king came under fire from pro-Arab activists for backing Zionist organizations in America. When trying to run a multinational mega-business, Schultz has learned, addressing customers’ political sensitivities is a balancing act.
(Anti-Israel) activists… described Schultz as a “propagandist for Israel,” mentioning that he was honored in 1998 by Aish HaTorah, a pro-Israel Orthodox organization. A representative of Starbucks confirmed that Schultz received an award from Aish HaTorah, but the company insists it does not raise funds for Israel.
The recent boycott campaign, launched July 22, had gained only 333 supporters online by August 12 (HA HA HA!). It did, however, create an Internet buzz that reignited many of the claims against Starbucks that had been leveled in the past.
Starbucks responded by reposting an updated version of its Israel policy, stressing emphatically that the company has nothing to do with the Israeli government. “No. This is absolutely untrue,” the company stated in response to claims that Starbucks or Schultz provides financial support to the Israeli government and army. It also rejected as “absolutely untrue” claims that it had given such assistance in the past. Starbucks posted similar statements on its website in 2006, 2009 and 2010, when Middle East turbulence also prompted calls to boycott its outlets.
Describing Schultz’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Starbucks spokesman said, “The company and Mr. Schultz have been steadfast in urging peace in the Middle East and a stable and safe Israel.” He added that “Mr. Schultz is a proud Jewish American.” Asked about Starbucks’s view on the movement to boycott companies supporting Israel, the spokesman said, “The company does not have a position on this issue.”
While noncommittal on Israel, Schultz has not shied away from mixing politics into the coffee his company serves to millions of Americans every day. Under his leadership, Starbucks has staked strong positions in support of GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS and has called on customers not to enter its shops with OPENLY-EXPOSED GUNS as some gun rights proponents believe they are legally entitled to do. The company, however, also chose a more business-oriented approach when pushing strongly for a bipartisan budget, and when voicing only reserved support for a minimum wage increase and for Obamacare.
An integral part of Seattle’s Jewish community for years, Schultz has kept his Jewish life private. He has not taken up leadership positions in communal institutions and has not made his mark as a major funder of Jewish causes. “His involvement is minimal,” said Bruce Phillips, a professor of Jewish communal service at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles who studied the Seattle Jewish community. “He’s very low profile.” Schultz is not listed as a key donor of the Seattle Jewish federation.
“Mr. Schultz supports a range of Jewish spiritual and humanitarian causes,” said a spokesman for Starbucks, who would not provide details regarding Schultz’s charitable giving to the community. Schultz has made public, however, some of the non-Jewish causes he supports, including a $5 million job creation fund, a $30 million gift to support Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and a $1 million donation last year to United Way.
A fundraising official for a Jewish organization said that while Schultz’s donations to Jewish causes are smaller in size and unannounced, he is often approached by Jewish groups and maintains ties with some of their senior officials. These ties have come in handy in the past, when Starbucks faced criticism relating to Israel. The company closed its business in Israel in 2003, during the height of the second intifada. This step, which the firm said was taken due to business considerations, led to a barrage of criticism from pro-Israel activists who claimed the company had caved in to anti-Israel pressure. It was the Anti-Defamation League that went to bat for Starbucks, issuing a statement saying there was “no evidence” to support these claims.
Meanwhile, some online pro-Israel activists have launched a counter-boycott campaign against Starbucks on the Buycott app, calling for consumer retribution against what they view as Schultz’s eagerness to distance his firm and himself from Israel. “If he’s so concerned that anti-Israel boycotters will hurt his business,” authors of the counter-boycott petition wrote about Schultz, “let’s show him what pro-Israel folks can do!” The counter-boycott, whose organizers go unnamed in the on-line petition, has gained nearly 1500 supporters within two days.
I
got this in Hebrew and via Bing Translator out came the English I read it once
if I have time, I will try to edit – Thanks to Chaim O. A
letter from a resident of Gaza who spread on Facebook. Truth about
Hamas
Personal
and heartbreaking story, July 2014 Letter from Ahmad, a member of
GAZA
Somehow
came to me through a letter from Ahmed who lives in Gaza City. I knew Ahmed's
father, Musa, who worked years ago as a locksmith shop in South Tel Aviv.
Nice
man that came out every morning from Gaza at 0400 and begins work at 6: 30 in
the shop in Tel Aviv. Musa made a good living for himself and his family was
able to buy an apartment in Gaza City. Ahmed Musa's son would come from time to
time with the father to help him at work. Ahmad, who is the father of thirteen
children's writing.
"Years
ago when Dad had to leave work in the Middle, he started working at a small shop
in Gaza. Making a living was difficult and I was working with him to help
support the household. In 2006, out of the Gaza Strip, one minute behind began
to go out on the town with a group of thugs vans Hamas in ?Kourou, Greece,? shot
to beat and kill anybody they think is against them and was afraid to go
outside. We sat for a few days in the House, Dad wouldn't let anyone out. After
a few days only and I dad went to work in the shop and get some income. Every
time we heard the approaching vehicles are filled with fear and seek a place to
hide. One day stopped a van with a bunch of thugs from Hamas near the shop, they
entered the shop and took a workshop. Two days later he returned with a round
face and spoke with him, I sat back and listened.
The
latter informed him that his workshop from now work for Hamas, and only for
Hamas. They set the prices and the power required of him. From that day all came
from Hamas, an armed thug sitting in the shop and we produce tubes with wings
and I then intended to launch rockets. One day the truck comes with thugs from
Hamas, attacked my dad took him out of the workshop.
Never
saw my dad.
The
shop owner asked me not to come to work, I asked what was going on with my dad
and I got was Hamas discovered that dad worked and suspected of collaborating
with Israel and transferred it of suspected collaborators. Later I realized I
just killed him and threw his body into the pit. Life became increasingly
difficult job we had a small allowance of money every month, barely enough for
bread and milk. One day asked me to go with him for a few special days, because
I needed the income went to him. We arrived at the apartment in Gaza were 6
guys, put us into a box of the truck sitting in the dark closed and we couldn't
see anything, we drove for about an hour and then took us inside a closed
structure. We didn't know where we were. Show us a hole in the ground and told
us to get down, the decline was frightening, and we found ourselves in a ditch,
went inside a few hundred meters and got to the end. There we waited 2 thugs
from Hamas, gave us tools, explain to us what to do and we started to dig and to
extend the tunnel. The work was hard, the air is stuffy, worked in shifts of 8
hours and 4 rest. We stayed in the tunnel about 10 days, the GSE Hamas pass
every day, they were yelling and hitting us when they thought that the low rate.
After about 10 days took us, gave each of us a little money to close van and
took us in central Gaza. We didn't know where we were and what we dug a tunnel
and the pay was low, but was. I didn't come back to that
job.
I
thought to go back to work in the shop, I went there and the shop was closed. I
asked the neighbor what had happened and they fear that the workshop had moved
elsewhere and no one knows where. They said every morning comes with closed box
truck, all employees of the shop into a box and they come back late at night. I
found myself working in temporary jobs in order to get food for my family. All
the time we are living in fear on the streets from time to time comes with truck
stop Hamas armed Goons are attacking civilians, gunmen kill and beat off. We see
in Gaza the rich, members of Hamas live in luxurious homes, drive new cars,
sending children to school abroad and most Gazans live in poverty without
work.
Fear
of hooligans and Hamas.
Sometimes
the kids tell me that Hamas is giving out candy to kids in different locations
in the Gaza Strip, the kids are going to get candy and the next thing we hear
teleported away missiles and rockets against Israel.
Israel
is returning fire to the place and disabled children. I am writing you this
letter because the situation is very difficult. Luckily we live in Gaza but our
families that live in other areas in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas runs
perpetrators of war kept firing missiles on villages and we kept Gazans injured
and we have nowhere to hide. Hamas organized in their bunkers underground, some
of them don't even reside in the Gaza Strip, are protected and not care about
the rest of the war in Gaza.
There
were many families who rent rooms or space to Hamas in their homes, livelihood
and it gave them a rocket toward Israel at from their homes. Many homes are then
bombarded by your aircraft. We are so afraid of hooligans, who Hamas is afraid
of bombs from you all the time, big explosions heard whistling rocket or missile
fire and know that it's going to blow soon after you
bomb.
We
heard about the tunnels Hamas dug to Israel and realized that I was working on
building a tunnel like this, we don't understand why they're doing it to harm
Israel rather than develop and improve residents ' lives. Hope all my family and
I will be alive. But I have hope, I know that Hamas would take all the money
that the world will give to rehabilitate Gaza, buy more weapons and build more
villas for senior Hamas. The GSE Hamas will continue to drive their vans and
cruelty in people. I can tell you that we know that some Hamas leaders are
sitting in bunkers beneath hospitals and a school in Gaza. They know that you
don't hurt them too bad there. We pray
that the world help us to let go of the fear of war.
Wonders
of creation: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/20/thousands-of-species-found-in-lake-under-antarctic-ice/20950145/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D518155
Inyanay
Diyoma
Ed-Op:
What is the difference between a lunatic asylum and the State of Israel? The
management is supposed to be sane: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-Fray-Have-we-all-gone-completely-mad-371170
I
could have told you this a year ago:
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-says-little-chance-of-reaching-nuclear-deal-with-West-by-November-371256
You
can always trust the Arabs to refuse generous Israeli Offers to want more always
piggish! http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-threatens-war-of-attrition-371253
Jihadists
vs. Assad record a battle on the Golan Heights: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4559192,00.html
I
knew that this would come before Moshiach so now I can dust off my suit because
PM is weak: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184093#.U--o58YcTIU
PS
thank Peres and Rabin for giving them weapons.
What
ever happened to the road blocks and the army – oh the army is dismantling
Yeshuv heh Moshe Yaalon! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184099
Now
stores are being attacked in the west by Islamists: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4559270,00.html
If
I am not back in 5 minutes, I’m dead! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184106#.U_BIf8YcTIU
Hey
Gringo guess what arrived via a Mexico Tunnel? ISIS! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184107#.U_BLQMYcTIU
You
come and you pick a nice banana republic - Obama and Kerry to babysit
Israel:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184109#.U_BZNsYcTIU
No
human rights for Jews: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=9637
Gentlemen
may cry “deal-deal” but there is not deal. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4559322,00.html
Do
you remember when I said that I had computer trouble here and there well blame
Iran: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184124#.U_F128YcTIU
From
Shelly: IDF tests a new tunnel detecting system. http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/19872/idf-successfully-testing-terror-tunnel-detection-system/?utm_source=FBbin
Three
possible tunnel entrances found on Kibbutz: (It was seen on TV but I have no
newspaper article)
Keeping
the US and Europeans out of the loop in local move against Hamas: http://debka.com/article/24197/Netanyahu-Sisi-Abbas-lineup-tells-Hamas-Accept-an-extra-month’s-truce---or-Ramallah-will
No
more trains to Sderot for they wanted the cheap route not the army advised
route: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184144#.U_GwrMYcTIU
And http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184133#.U_GvwMYcTIU
If
the WMD did not go completely to Syria then from Steven E. H. the Sunnis were
hiding them and ISIS is Sunni: http://politicalears.com/blog/bush-exonerated-isis-uncovers-weapons-of-mass-destruction-in-iraq/
Homes
of terrorist from the Shomron destroyed: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-destroys-homes-of-the-murderers-of-the-three-kidnapped-Jewish-teens-371375
PLO
wants more terrorists released what a surprise:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184150#.U_HM3MYcTIU
Their
leader lives in Dir Quadis which I can view from my window where I sit. They
planned terror and a Coup:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560000,00.html
Also
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184166#.U_I7ksYcTIU
Another
lovely was from Beit Liquiya up road 443
Rumors:
Ceasefire to be extended? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184167#.U_JJasYcTIU
Swedish
Woman attacked by Muslims because she had a star of David http://www.tlvfaces.com/swedish-woman-attacked-muslim-group-wearing-star-david/
House
Yidden: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Candidly-speaking-The-deafening-public-silence-of-American-Jewish-leaders-371354
I
do not know how much of this is from the PLO and how much is Mr. Timid PM or not
true: http://debka.com/article/24200/Cairo-draft-accord-may-embody-Israeli-concessions-on-security-in-return-for-Hamas-truce
Watch
the dead Gazans come to life in this film when they thought the cameras were off
a great Pallywood Production:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdYa-lnSgaE
Porous
Mexican border: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-to-US-We-will-drown-all-of-you-in-blood-371469
Aug
19 = 23rd of Menachem Av 5774 Day 43 of Protective Edge
Cease
and they fire - Here we go loop de loop: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184201#.U_NvYcYcTIU
We
got 3 rockets hit 10 targets: http://www.israelnationalnews.co19
m/News/News.aspx/184198#.U_NvnsYcTIU
US
volunteer to Givati Missing cause for concern: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/American-lone-IDF-soldier-missing-since-Sunday-police-say-371489
Lod
is a partially Arab City so I do not know which ethnic group the teens were from
but I can only suspect:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560063,00.html
ISIS
attacks minorities:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/19/painful-exodus-mosuls-christians-recount-flight-from-historic-home-under-isis/
“Only
With Sovereignty from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea will Israel have
Lasting Peace, Independence, Freedom & Security in a Jewish & Democratic
State”
Dear
Family & Friends,
Although
we’ve had no incoming rockets, missiles & other ‘projectiles’ for the last
few days, we are still in a War over Gaza. The War of Words in the
International MSM (MainStreamMedia), featuring with full pictures: all the
hatred from the anti-Israel/pro-Muslim hordes; all the false accusations by the
UN (Ugly Nothing – as dubbed by Steven Shamrak below) with their UNHRC (United
Nations Human Rights Council); all the guilty verdicts pre-given by the Council
selected by the UN to stuff Israel into their Kangaroo Pocket; all the schmutz
thrown at Israel by its designated Chairman whose name strangely rhymes with
“Shabbos”….. Maybe the Arab Muslims will declare him a “secret Jew” &
discredit him. That would be rich. (PS: I just learned from Sha’I Ben Tekoa’s
Thursday Radio Webcast that Schabas’ father was Jewish. Wow! Another
self-hating Jew lurking inside of him - trying to get back at his
father!)
All
these words are deadly because they set us up to be murdered
again.
It’s
a War of Words but it is still deadly. The ongoing ‘cease-fires’, their violent
breakage, their restarts & stops, are compelling reading from Cairo.
Compelling because it seems so stupid to be giving concessions to Hamas kills
its own children, women & men in order to kill ours. Hamas brags about
this.
The
shoot their weapons from within their civilians homes, hospitals, schools,
mosques. They killed 160 of their own children (count as of 2012 Palestine
Studies report) building their murderous tunnels from which they planned (we
found their plans!) to enter Israel’s Gaza border communities, kibbutzim, cities
to capture, kidnap, murder hundreds of our children, women & men – on our
Rosh HaShanah! September 24th!
Hamas
declares in its Charter that they intend to murder us, over-run & eliminate
our Jewish State to take over the whole Holy L& of Israel from the River to
the Sea by Blood (Ours!). Islam orders them to take back any L& upon which
they ever tread, by Blood! That’s their battle cry. They mean our Blood but,
if it’s theirs, if they die in battle – then they are honored as Shahids
(Martyrs) to have streets & schools named for them.
Note:
their current phrase “from the River to the Sea”. I should head all of
my reports with the Declaration that “ISRAEL IS THE SOVEREIGN JEWISH STATE FROM
THE RIVER TO THE SEA!” I’ve said it often, written it often, headed most of our
invites to Conferences & Seminars with the phrase: “Israel & the Jewish
people will only have Peace, Security, Freedom, Religious Rights when we finally
demand this one simple, pregnant concept: “ISRAEL IS THE SOVEREIGN JEWISH STATE
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA”.
Israel
is ours by Right! G-d created the world by His Word. He gave the Jewish people
the L& from the River to the Sea (at least) to settle & spread His Word,
His Commandments for living well to the other nations. We were supposed to
conquer the tribes living in Eretz Yisrael when we entered after 40 years in the
desert; after receiving the Torah & His Commandments from Mt. Sinai; after
He rescued us from slavery in Egypt….. He told us to eliminate Amalek because
Amalek would continue to pursue & try to kill us. We didn’t. Now we get a
Amalek rewind every few decades. Will we ever learn?
Israel
is ours - also by Law. After WWI the victorious Western nations divided up the
defeated Muslim Ottoman Empire into several Muslim Arab states & one tiny
Mandate, the Palestinian Mandate, to be administered by the British for the
purpose of creating a Jewish Homeland & a State when our governing
institutions were established. The orders within the British Mandate were to
encourage ‘close settlement of the Land’. Sound familiar?
The
laws establishing the Arab Muslim States and the Jewish Mandate in the Middle
East were ratified by the League of Nations at their meeting in San Remo, Italy
1921 AND NEVER ABROGATED SINCE! When the League of Nations became the United
Nations, the member countries ALL voted to accept ALL the treaties set by the
League of Nations. Therefore, the Arab & Muslim countries voted to accept
the British Palestinian Mandate which was established for the Jewish people’s
“close settlement of the Land”.
(Important
to remember: the word “Palestine” was invented by the Romans to erase the
Jewish connection to the territory of Judah after the Bar Kochba Rebellion was
suppressed in 135 C.E. It was an insulting pick of a name, after the
disappeared, violent Philistines of the coast. But, it was still ours by its
virtues of being described in our Torah. Remember: The Land; The People; &
the Book! The name of Palestine was invented to hide our true Jewish heritage
in Eretz Yisrael.)
(BTW,
you should also remember that the Real British Mandate included both sides of
the Jordan River – until Winston Churchill, the British Colonial Secretary in
1921 cut off almost 80% of the Original Palestinian Mandate to give as the
Emirate of Transjordan to Abdullah, the great-grandfather of the current King
Abdullah II. He was made Emir of Transjordan so he wouldn’t challenge his
older brother, Faysal who was “given” Iraq to rule. In Jericho, 1948, Abdullah
was proclaimed King of Palestine. So the Hashemites rule a people who are 80%
“Palestinian”. It’s not been a happy ‘marriage’.)
I
hope we have quiet, no shelling, no Terror attacks by Hamas-directed
Palestinians in the SOVEREIGN State of Israel. But, if they send 1 shell, let
us please FINISH THE JOB! FIGHT TO WIN! Let our soldiers not have died in
vain!
All
the very best, Have a safe, peaceful day & night,
Gail/Geula/Savta/Mom
From
Gail: The Gaza War: Appearance vs. Reality by Louis René Beres August 19, 2014
at 5:00 am
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4624/gaza-war-reality
Why
is Hamas putting its weapons in the middle of homes, schools, hospitals &
mosques in the first place?
Palestinian
violence has been persistent in violating all rules of engagement, despite the
signed Oslo II Interim Agreement of 2005, Article XIV of which states that the
West Bank & the Gaza Strip shall be completely
demilitarized.
Now
that the dust has begun to settle in Gaza after Israel's Operation Protective
Edge, it is again easy to feel sorry for the beleaguered Palestinians. As
everyone knows who looks at The New York Times & CNN, the
lingering images are incontestably painful, & continue to look
"asymmetrical" & "disproportionate."
How
could Hamas have been the aggressor when so many more Arabs than Israelis were
killed? Surely the side with greater civilian losses must always be in the
right. How could it be otherwise?
The
people of Gaza (together with those many Israelis still forced to live under
terrorist rocket attacks) are indeed victims of regional violence. But their
victimization was not caused by any outside enemy. On the contrary, Palestinian
suffering remains the direct result of a criminal Hamas leadership. Why is Hamas
putting its weapons in the middle of homes, schools, hospitals & mosques in
the first place?
Moreover,
this Palestinian leadership sits safely away from Gaza, either tucked away in
Qatar or the comfortable parts of Europe. "Martyrdom" is always welcomed, as
long as it is someone else's.
Contrary
to carefully scripted outbursts from Hamas, Israel's defensive responses were
never gratuitous or contrived. Unlike their adversaries, Israelis receive
absolutely no joy from killing others. Hamas, Islamic Jihad & related terror
groups operating from Gaza, on the contrary, always seem to take calculated
steps to ensure that Israeli reprisals will kill or injure Palestinian
noncombatants. By directing elderly women & young children to those areas in
Gaza from which lethal rockets will intentionally be launched into Israeli
homes, hospitals, & schools -- with the knowledge that the Israelis will
have to return fire to the places from which the fire originated -- Palestinian
leaders openly violate the most elementary restrictions of the laws of war.
Under international law, holding civilians in front of one as a shield is
specified as a crime.
Ironically,
these criminals are now proposing to bring Israel's leaders before the
International Criminal Court.
Now,
after an expectedly inconclusive end to Operation Protective Edge, several major
Palestinian terror groups will begin to prepare for expanded attacks on Israel.
Such attacks, possibly in cooperation with certain allied jihadist factions
(perhaps even with the Islamic State, [IS], which is now slaughtering its way
across Iraq), could include chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction.
Over time, especially if Iran transfers some of its growing inventory of nuclear
materials to terror groups, Israel could even face Palestinian-directed nuclear
terrorism, perhaps launched from trucks & ships, as well as from
nuclear-tipped rockets & missiles.
Should
Iran be permitted to become nuclear-capable, as now seems a certainty, it could
send ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads against Israel, as it has
repeatedly threatened to do, despite the stipulations in the UN Charter that
member states are prohibited from threatening each other. Israel's Arrow
ballistic missile defense system would require a 100% rate of success, but no
such system of perfect reliability is possible.
Israel
has always tried during war to keep its essential counterterrorism operations in
Gaza consistent with the established rules of international humanitarian law. By
contrast, Palestinian violence has been persistent in violating all rules of
engagement, despite the signed Oslo II Interim Agreement of 2005,
Article XIV of which states that the West Bank & the Gaza Strip shall be
completely demilitarized. [1]
Furthermore,
although the word "occupation" has been tirelessly repeated in the media for a
month, there is no "occupation" of Gaza. Every last Israeli left Gaza in 2005,
in the hope that the Palestinians, reciprocally, would finally cease their
self-destructive excursions into terror & instead use the opportunity to
build a productive state. All restrictions on how goods could enter Gaza grew
out of the concern, now seen as justified, that instead of building a productive
state of its own, Hamas was using the material it imported to build a city of
terror tunnels from which to attack Israel. What country could possibly permit
that of a neighbor who keeps pledging to destroy it?
Louis
René Beres was educated at Princeton (Ph.D., 1971), & is the author of many
books & articles dealing with terrorism & international law. His most
recent legal writings can be found in the Harvard National Security Journal
(Harvard Law School); Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs; The International
Journal of Intelligence & Counterintelligence; The Brown Journal of World
Affairs; & Oxford University Press. Professor Beres' popular writings are
published in US News & World Report; The Jerusalem Post; The New York Times;
& The Atlantic. Dr. Beres was born at the end of World War II in Zürich,
Switzerland&.
[1] 3.
Except for the Palestinian Police & the Israeli military forces, no other
armed forces shall be established or operate in the West Bank & the Gaza
Strip.
4.
Except for the arms, ammunition & equipment of the Palestinian Police
described in Annex I,
& those of the Israeli military forces, no organization, group or individual
in the West Bank & the Gaza Strip shall manufacture, sell, acquire, possess,
import or otherwise introduce into the West Bank or the Gaza Strip any firearms,
ammunition, weapons, explosives, gunpowder or any related equipment, unless
otherwise provided for in Annex I.
Missing
lone soldier committed suicide he loved the IDF but it was something else.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184208#.U_Og7cYcTIU
Wanted
to finish the summer with events in various cities not any more http://debka.com/article/24203/Israel-leaders’-stubborn-belief-in-Hamas-desire-for-war-s-end-led-the-country-into-war-of-attrition
Aug
20 = 24 Menachem Av 5774 Day 44
Somebody
very high up in Israel leaked a video regarding our security and the opposition
has called upon the officer of the courts attached to the government to
investigate including the Prime Minister. Last night 60 areas heard sirens as
over 50 rockets were fired. 2000 of the released reserve soldiers called back to
duty. During the night our intelligence picked up information that Mohammed Def
the Offense Minister of the terrorists was meeting his wife and daughter in the
building of Sheik A. The son of the Sheik is one of assistants to the rocket
brigades. Three bodies were pulled out one the wife one the daughter and some
injured in the building but it is unknown if Def was killed or injured. This
morning a heavy barrage of rockets were launched at Ashkelon and
Ashdod.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184229#.U_RA2sYcTIU
Hamas
Confirms:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560644,00.html Note
for about 10 to 15 seconds they hold the baby injured up to the cameras instead
of cleaning the wound and rushing to the hospital it is for drama and the life
of the baby is propaganda for them
Rockets
- Last night:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560337,00.html Revised:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560729,00.html
Netanyahu's
thought process brought us back to war according to
Debka:
http://debka.com/article/24203/Israel-leaders’-stubborn-belief-in-Hamas-desire-for-war-s-end-led-the-country-back-to-war-
Danny
Danon confirms Debka's assessment. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184227#.U_RBRcYcTIU
Aug
21st = 25th Menachem Av 5774 Day
45
If
the arch-terrorist was in the house targeted changes are that he is dead but if
not he is warned again. Netanyahu’s speech showed two men. The prepared speech
he was calm but the spontaneous press conference he was nervous and appeared
afraid to do anything.
Total
of 168 rockets as far north as Petach Tikva sent to us. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4560729,00.html
Per
Israeli Intelligence estimates arch-terrorist was killed but not official yet:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184248#.U_TG4sYcTIU
Hamas
tried to hit Natural Gas Fields: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184247#.U_TIUMYcTIU
Israelis
anti-Mafia war suffers set back: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184236#.U_TJvcYcTIU
Obama
has a personal fight with Netanyahu: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4559971,00.html
Cairo
Security Forces decapitated: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184246#.U_TbmMYcTIU
Guess
who is funding ISIS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184242#.U_TcUMYcTIV
Ed-op
on our full gas in neutral by Netanyahu:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4561119,00.html
The
US failed to rescue the two journalists held by ISIS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184260#.U_VkosYcTIU
Hamas
takes credit for the murders of the teens: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184257#.U_VmUMYcTIU
Israel
leads the west in demographic birth rate but poverty is a different story:
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-leaders-in-birth-rate-but-poverty-major-challenge-371733
Aug
22nd = 26th Menachem Av 5774 Day
46
If
you notice that the Day number is different, I corrected it today as my count
was off by one day. Well I sort of felt neglected that I had not heard a siren
this round and two rockets were intercepted on their way to my area and the Arab
Areas close to me and my red alert applicate went off loud and clear. The
terrorists all in all sent 109 rockets into Israel yesterday. This morning a
number of attacks already totally 20 rockets. In Qatar, Maashal calls together
all the Hamas representatives to perhaps make a truce deal after his main
commanders were killed and they are running lower and lower on supplies.
According to estimate only about 2500 rockets are left. However, I am worried
that it is wishful thinking on our part and that they can produce a lot each day
and the supplies of spare pipes and powder are large enough just shrapnel
bearings they might be running low on and will have to use metal shavings from
the lathes making the rockets.
It
was the Hamas Leader in Qatar who exposed the arch-terrorists and to think that
3 ‘collaborators’ were killed on the spot and 7 taken in for questioning by
Hamas. They should have gone higher up in their own organization. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184292 Here is the story of the murder of the three:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4561996,00.html
More
reservists called up after the head commanders in the south of Gaza were killed.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4561660,00.html
Jan
Berman, hero, was Injured as he saves kindergarten teacher and children in the
south: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4561539,00.html
Hamas
Chiefs being knocked out: http://debka.com/article/24207/Hammering-Hamas-chiefs-with-pinpointed-intelligence-is-Israel-s-new-war-focus-Ministers-in-mutiny
Aborted
air strikes endanger out soldiers and civilians: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184307#.U_btTsYcTIV
Gail
Winston published this Ed-Op from Jackie Mason and serious: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Thank-God-for-the-Republican-gentiles-371433
If
a siren goes off either duck, walk but don’t run. About 3 or 4 people have been
seriously or moderately injured by running to shelter. The probability of being
injured in a panic run is great. The probability of being hit is much smaller.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184287
A
way to treat cancer: https://www.facebook.com/UniversalFreePress/photos/a.145136705532577.25873.142868065759441/757857840927124/?type=1&theater
This
morning: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Abbas-expected-to-visit-Cairo-as-Gaza-rockets-continue-to-target-Israel-371945
AND
THE L-RD hardened Pharaoh’s heart if Hamas can have a heart: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184304#.U_buUWMUPSs
Boca
Raton FL a real fish tale: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/21/four-foot-shark-eaten-by-massive-grouper-in-one-bite/20950622/?ncid=webmail3
The
Sinai Desert does not have much traffic and the drivers’ race there and
terrorist run wild but: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4561995,00.html
Did
we contaminate the windows or was the rag contaminated? Or is it Sci-Fi?
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/21/nasa-skeptical-of-russias-iss-claim/20950801/?ncid=webmail9
Now
for M. Wolfberg’s Story “Do the right thing” found in my mail the missing
“Elephant Steps”
Good
Shabbos Everyone. The Torah this week spells out the rewards for living a life
dedicated to mitzvahs. As it states in the opening verse of the Parsha, "This
shall be the reward when you listen to these laws, and you observe and perform
them; Hashem, your G-d will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that
He swore to your forefathers. He will love you, bless you and multiply you...
You will be the most blessed of all the peoples..." (Devorim 7:12-14)
Hashem has given us a limited number of days on this earth. Happy is the man who realizes the purpose of life and uses his limited time wisely. The purpose of life is happiness in growing closer to Hashem, through the performance of mitzvahs. We must therefore use our time wisely in this world by focusing on Torah and mitzvahs.
There once was a man named Yankel who planned to travel from Eretz Yisroel to America by ship. A month before the sea voyage, Yankel noticed on the ship's itinerary that the ship would stopover in France for one day.
Yankel was very excited at the possibility of visiting France. He immediately began to learn French, spending all of his free time mastering the language. Yankel also went to a tailor and had the tailor fashion for him a suit in the latest French styles.
When it finally came time for the ship to sail, Yankel realized his mistake: Yankel had spent all his free time preparing for his one day in France, but he had neglected his final destination of America. It was too late; he boarded the ship without a word of English and with no clue of American customs.
The ship soon arrived in France. Yankel's fellow passengers were envious of Yankel as he came down off the ship like a perfect Frenchman. Yankel was able to talk to the locals in their language and he was able to shop in stores.
By the next day, it was already time for the ship to set sail. Yankel had enjoyed himself, but he dreaded the last leg of journey, because he was not prepared at all for life in America. (adapted from The Midrash Says)
Hashem should be kind to us and grant us long lives; however, we must know that our ships can sail at any moment to our final destination. This world is merely a preparation for the world to come, as the Mishnah says "this world is similar to a lobby before the world to come, prepare yourself in the lobby in order to enter into the banquet hall." (Avos 4:21) It is ironic that we often envy those whose success is in based on their wealth! We would do better to envy those who are spiritually successful, because those people are best preparing themselves. In this world we do mitzvahs which bring us closer to Hashem and prepare us for the World to Come.
One of the most powerful mitzvahs we can do in this life is the study of the Torah. In fact, the study of Torah is greater than all other mitzvahs of the Torah! Why is that so? Because it is only through learning Torah that we will know the correct path to take in life. We therefore must utilize as much time as possible in life learning Torah. The following amazing true story illustrates the importance that one great Torah leader placed on the use of one's time wisely on this earth to learn Torah.
He was a relatively young man; however, Naftali Trop's legendary ability to dissect a topic in the Talmud was enough of a qualification for the Chofetz Chaim to hire the young man as the Rosh Yeshivah of the Radin Yeshivah. Reb Naftali was was commonly known as the "Granat" (an acronym for Gaon Reb Naftali Trop). The young men in the yeshivah loved their rebbi and eagerly drunk in every word of Torah that he spoke, always thirsting for more.
Sadly, Reb Naftali's was struck with illness, and his physical condition began to deteriorate to the point where he was no longer able to teach as he had for over twenty-five years. The young men of the yeshivah, his devoted students, stormed the gates of Heaven, beseeching Hashem to grant Reb Naftali a complete recovery.
But it was to no avail, as his condition worsened. Shifts were arranged for groups of students to recite Tehillim - Psalms for the recovery of their beloved rebbi.
One group of young men even went so far as to take up a most unusual collection — asking fellow yeshivah boys if they would donate time from their own lives, to give to their rebbe. The boys quickly responded. Some gave days, other weeks and some were even willing to give up to a year.
All tolled, the amount of time they had accumulated was over five years' worth of life. And now they wanted to approach the Chofetz Chaim, Reb Yisroel Meir Kagan, for a pledge.
They knocked on the door to the Chofetz Chaim's room and presented their idea to the venerated sage. The Chofetz Chaim listened and then placed his hand over his forehead. The furrows of his forehead bore evidence of the burden of this critical decision. Reb Naftali was considered one of the "oros Shel olam" (lights of the world) and no one knew that better than the Chofetz Chaim.
After a few moments the Chofetz Chaim looked up and announced that he had come to a decision. The young men waited breathlessly. "I've thought about it. Because of Reb Naftali's greatness I am willing to give — one minute of my life to Reb Naftali!"
Had they heard correctly? They were astonished! The Chofetz Chaim blessed them and thanked them for their noble work on behalf of Reb Naftali. They exited the room and walked back to the beis medrash - study hall. But one notion dominated their thoughts. There is absolutely no one in the entire world who is more sensitive and giving than their rebbe, the Chofetz Chaim. And there is no one who is more aware of Reb Naftali's greatness than he. Yet all he would give was one minute of his life!
How precious, then, is time! How precious is life! Perhaps what the Chofetz Chayim was teaching the bochurim - yeshiva students is that the greatest merit for Reb Naftali's recovery would be for them to use their time properly.
They returned to the beis medrash, related what had transpired, discussed it and agreed to return to their learning with a new understanding of what a moment of Torah learning can accomplish. (Reb Yechiel Spero, Touched by a Story 2, p. 214)
A Torah lifestyle is a rewarding path for every Jew. Let us therefore take advantage of every minute, especially to perform the greatest mitzvah, the study of Torah which leads to happiness, mitzvahs and goods deeds. Good Shabbos Everyone.
Hashem has given us a limited number of days on this earth. Happy is the man who realizes the purpose of life and uses his limited time wisely. The purpose of life is happiness in growing closer to Hashem, through the performance of mitzvahs. We must therefore use our time wisely in this world by focusing on Torah and mitzvahs.
There once was a man named Yankel who planned to travel from Eretz Yisroel to America by ship. A month before the sea voyage, Yankel noticed on the ship's itinerary that the ship would stopover in France for one day.
Yankel was very excited at the possibility of visiting France. He immediately began to learn French, spending all of his free time mastering the language. Yankel also went to a tailor and had the tailor fashion for him a suit in the latest French styles.
When it finally came time for the ship to sail, Yankel realized his mistake: Yankel had spent all his free time preparing for his one day in France, but he had neglected his final destination of America. It was too late; he boarded the ship without a word of English and with no clue of American customs.
The ship soon arrived in France. Yankel's fellow passengers were envious of Yankel as he came down off the ship like a perfect Frenchman. Yankel was able to talk to the locals in their language and he was able to shop in stores.
By the next day, it was already time for the ship to set sail. Yankel had enjoyed himself, but he dreaded the last leg of journey, because he was not prepared at all for life in America. (adapted from The Midrash Says)
Hashem should be kind to us and grant us long lives; however, we must know that our ships can sail at any moment to our final destination. This world is merely a preparation for the world to come, as the Mishnah says "this world is similar to a lobby before the world to come, prepare yourself in the lobby in order to enter into the banquet hall." (Avos 4:21) It is ironic that we often envy those whose success is in based on their wealth! We would do better to envy those who are spiritually successful, because those people are best preparing themselves. In this world we do mitzvahs which bring us closer to Hashem and prepare us for the World to Come.
One of the most powerful mitzvahs we can do in this life is the study of the Torah. In fact, the study of Torah is greater than all other mitzvahs of the Torah! Why is that so? Because it is only through learning Torah that we will know the correct path to take in life. We therefore must utilize as much time as possible in life learning Torah. The following amazing true story illustrates the importance that one great Torah leader placed on the use of one's time wisely on this earth to learn Torah.
He was a relatively young man; however, Naftali Trop's legendary ability to dissect a topic in the Talmud was enough of a qualification for the Chofetz Chaim to hire the young man as the Rosh Yeshivah of the Radin Yeshivah. Reb Naftali was was commonly known as the "Granat" (an acronym for Gaon Reb Naftali Trop). The young men in the yeshivah loved their rebbi and eagerly drunk in every word of Torah that he spoke, always thirsting for more.
Sadly, Reb Naftali's was struck with illness, and his physical condition began to deteriorate to the point where he was no longer able to teach as he had for over twenty-five years. The young men of the yeshivah, his devoted students, stormed the gates of Heaven, beseeching Hashem to grant Reb Naftali a complete recovery.
But it was to no avail, as his condition worsened. Shifts were arranged for groups of students to recite Tehillim - Psalms for the recovery of their beloved rebbi.
One group of young men even went so far as to take up a most unusual collection — asking fellow yeshivah boys if they would donate time from their own lives, to give to their rebbe. The boys quickly responded. Some gave days, other weeks and some were even willing to give up to a year.
All tolled, the amount of time they had accumulated was over five years' worth of life. And now they wanted to approach the Chofetz Chaim, Reb Yisroel Meir Kagan, for a pledge.
They knocked on the door to the Chofetz Chaim's room and presented their idea to the venerated sage. The Chofetz Chaim listened and then placed his hand over his forehead. The furrows of his forehead bore evidence of the burden of this critical decision. Reb Naftali was considered one of the "oros Shel olam" (lights of the world) and no one knew that better than the Chofetz Chaim.
After a few moments the Chofetz Chaim looked up and announced that he had come to a decision. The young men waited breathlessly. "I've thought about it. Because of Reb Naftali's greatness I am willing to give — one minute of my life to Reb Naftali!"
Had they heard correctly? They were astonished! The Chofetz Chaim blessed them and thanked them for their noble work on behalf of Reb Naftali. They exited the room and walked back to the beis medrash - study hall. But one notion dominated their thoughts. There is absolutely no one in the entire world who is more sensitive and giving than their rebbe, the Chofetz Chaim. And there is no one who is more aware of Reb Naftali's greatness than he. Yet all he would give was one minute of his life!
How precious, then, is time! How precious is life! Perhaps what the Chofetz Chayim was teaching the bochurim - yeshiva students is that the greatest merit for Reb Naftali's recovery would be for them to use their time properly.
They returned to the beis medrash, related what had transpired, discussed it and agreed to return to their learning with a new understanding of what a moment of Torah learning can accomplish. (Reb Yechiel Spero, Touched by a Story 2, p. 214)
A Torah lifestyle is a rewarding path for every Jew. Let us therefore take advantage of every minute, especially to perform the greatest mitzvah, the study of Torah which leads to happiness, mitzvahs and goods deeds. Good Shabbos Everyone.
Good Shabbos Everyone. In this week's
portion Mattos
the Torah tells us how the Bnai Yisroel used horn blasts in their battles
against Midian. In this vein, the Midrash discusses some of the other uses of
horn blasts in Jewish communal life.
The Midrash tells us that in earlier times, the custom on erev Shabbos (Friday afternoon) was to blow three horn blasts to inform the public that the Holy Shabbos was approaching. The attendant of the shul would go up onto the highest roof of the city and there he would blow the horn. The first set of horn blasts was blown earliest in the day, in order to give notice of Shabbos to those workers in the fields who were the farthest away from the city. The second set of blasts was later in the day and was directed at those working even closer to the city. The third set of blasts began as the final moments of Shabbos approached. By the end of the third set of blasts, all of the residents of the city were to cease from all the creative labors which are forbidden on Shabbos.
It is interesting to note that to this very day, many Jewish communities in cities such as Jerusalem and Monsey, New York, use horns to announce the arrival of Shabbos.
Besides the interesting historical value of this discussion in the Midrash, what spiritual lesson can we take out of the fact that Shabbos is announced with horn blasts? The commentators teach us a beautiful and inspirational lesson based on this section of the Midrash.
This world is compared to the six days of the week, while the World to Come is compared to Shabbos.(See Sanhedrin 97a) As we approach the World to Come, which is a time of the eternal Shabbos, horn blasts are being blown to call Jews home to Torah and mitzvahs. The first set of blasts is now being blown. As we mentioned above, in earlier times, this first blast was to call those workers home who were furthest away, in order to give them enough time to come home. So too, as we approach the redemption and the World to Come, the world of the eternal Shabbos, the first horn blast has been blown for those Jews furthest away to come home to Torah observance.
We should recognize certain events in our lives as the horn blast calling us home. The further we are away from Hashem, Torah and mitzvahs, the sooner we must begin coming home, in order to be ready for the days of the eternal Shabbos. The following amazing and even humorous true story illustrates how one Jew heard the horn blast and made his way home.
Rabbi Eliezer Sandler was fortunate; in 1973, he became the first full-time Chief Jewish chaplain in the South African army since World War II. As part of his duties, Rabbi Sandler would visit bases throughout South Africa and Namibia. At that time, the army was fighting terrorist elements who were trying to destroy the fabric of South African society.
On his first visit to a certain base, Rabbi Sandler was told that there were three injured Jewish servicemen in the infirmary.
"I will go there at once," said Rabbi Sandler. The first two patients were clearly ill, their faces were gaunt and pale. One wore a cast from the hip down. The other was recovering from malaria. But the third patient surprised Rabbi Sandler. This third patient was a tall healthy-looking soldier who did not seem to be hurting in any way.
"Why are you here?" Asked Rabbi Sandler in puzzlement. "I am recovering from shock." The young soldier explained. "You see, I was trampled by an elephant."
"An elephant!" Said Rabbi Sandler in astonishment. The soldier nodded and said: "Let me tell you my story: I was part of a reconnaissance patrol. We were roaming though the jungle, looking for the enemy. Now remember, this is a wild jungle. Besides the human enemy, we also have to contend with the danger of wild animals such as lions and tigers. And when you see those animals close up in the African jungle, they look a lot larger than when you see them in a zoo!"
"As the radio man, I always carry radio equipment on my back. The radio gear is a big heavy package. If we spot the enemy, it is my job to call it in on the radio.
"Well, one day we happened to bump into a huge elephant. By buddies were bored and they decided to have some fun by teasing the elephant, pulling at its ears and tail. Nothing much happened at first. But eventually the elephant got angry. He raised his tusks in the air, he blasted his horn and trumpeted his war march, and started coming for us.
"We got the message, and we started running away as fast as we could. But my radio pack was heavy; it slowed me down. I tripped over a root on the jungle floor and fell flat on my face. Seconds later, the elephant ran right over me!"
"Now, elephants are pretty heavy. (An adult male African elephant can be up to 11 feet tall and weigh up to 6 metric tons!) The radio pack on my back was squashed to the size of a penny. So why am I still alive? That is just it. It was an absolute miracle. The ground happened to be soft sand, and when the elephant ran over me I sank right into the ground. I ended up completely unhurt. I am here just to recover from the shock."
Rabbi Sandler was in shock himself when the soldier completed his amazing story. "I have never heard a story like that," Rabbi Sandler began to say. "You know, you have to bench gomel (the thanksgiving blessing) and offer thanks to G-d for saving you."
"I have never heard of that," said the soldier with interest. "How does it work?"
"You have to go to a shul and make the blessing with a minyan." Rabbi Sandler explained.
The soldier raised up hands and said "I am afraid that I still do not know what you are talking about."
Rabbi Sandler explained to the under-affiliated soldier some of the basics of Jewish ritual, including the idea of praying together in minyan (a quorum of ten men) in a shul. The young man listened intently. Unfortunately, he had grown up without any real Jewish education. After hearing what Rabbi Sandler had to say, the soldier was even more interested in giving thanks to G-d, but there was no synagogue or minyan in the African jungle.
After his recovery, the soldier returned home to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he finally had the opportunity to "bench gomel" in a shul on a day when the community read from the Torah. However, the soldier did not stop at just "benching gomel." He was determined to find out more about his heritage, the heritage which he was deprived of while growing up. Little by little, the young man learned more and more about Torah and mitzvahs. Today, the young soldier has come home and is totally Torah observant. All of his Torah is because of the foot of an elephant! (Visions of Greatness Vol. 5, Rabbi Y. Weiss, p.90)
In our story, the soldier heard the horn blast from an elephant. We should recognize the horn blasts in our own lives. These blasts are sounded to bring us home to Torah observance; so that we will be prepared for the the times of the eternal Shabbos, the World to Come. Good Shabbos Everyone.
The Midrash tells us that in earlier times, the custom on erev Shabbos (Friday afternoon) was to blow three horn blasts to inform the public that the Holy Shabbos was approaching. The attendant of the shul would go up onto the highest roof of the city and there he would blow the horn. The first set of horn blasts was blown earliest in the day, in order to give notice of Shabbos to those workers in the fields who were the farthest away from the city. The second set of blasts was later in the day and was directed at those working even closer to the city. The third set of blasts began as the final moments of Shabbos approached. By the end of the third set of blasts, all of the residents of the city were to cease from all the creative labors which are forbidden on Shabbos.
It is interesting to note that to this very day, many Jewish communities in cities such as Jerusalem and Monsey, New York, use horns to announce the arrival of Shabbos.
Besides the interesting historical value of this discussion in the Midrash, what spiritual lesson can we take out of the fact that Shabbos is announced with horn blasts? The commentators teach us a beautiful and inspirational lesson based on this section of the Midrash.
This world is compared to the six days of the week, while the World to Come is compared to Shabbos.(See Sanhedrin 97a) As we approach the World to Come, which is a time of the eternal Shabbos, horn blasts are being blown to call Jews home to Torah and mitzvahs. The first set of blasts is now being blown. As we mentioned above, in earlier times, this first blast was to call those workers home who were furthest away, in order to give them enough time to come home. So too, as we approach the redemption and the World to Come, the world of the eternal Shabbos, the first horn blast has been blown for those Jews furthest away to come home to Torah observance.
We should recognize certain events in our lives as the horn blast calling us home. The further we are away from Hashem, Torah and mitzvahs, the sooner we must begin coming home, in order to be ready for the days of the eternal Shabbos. The following amazing and even humorous true story illustrates how one Jew heard the horn blast and made his way home.
Rabbi Eliezer Sandler was fortunate; in 1973, he became the first full-time Chief Jewish chaplain in the South African army since World War II. As part of his duties, Rabbi Sandler would visit bases throughout South Africa and Namibia. At that time, the army was fighting terrorist elements who were trying to destroy the fabric of South African society.
On his first visit to a certain base, Rabbi Sandler was told that there were three injured Jewish servicemen in the infirmary.
"I will go there at once," said Rabbi Sandler. The first two patients were clearly ill, their faces were gaunt and pale. One wore a cast from the hip down. The other was recovering from malaria. But the third patient surprised Rabbi Sandler. This third patient was a tall healthy-looking soldier who did not seem to be hurting in any way.
"Why are you here?" Asked Rabbi Sandler in puzzlement. "I am recovering from shock." The young soldier explained. "You see, I was trampled by an elephant."
"An elephant!" Said Rabbi Sandler in astonishment. The soldier nodded and said: "Let me tell you my story: I was part of a reconnaissance patrol. We were roaming though the jungle, looking for the enemy. Now remember, this is a wild jungle. Besides the human enemy, we also have to contend with the danger of wild animals such as lions and tigers. And when you see those animals close up in the African jungle, they look a lot larger than when you see them in a zoo!"
"As the radio man, I always carry radio equipment on my back. The radio gear is a big heavy package. If we spot the enemy, it is my job to call it in on the radio.
"Well, one day we happened to bump into a huge elephant. By buddies were bored and they decided to have some fun by teasing the elephant, pulling at its ears and tail. Nothing much happened at first. But eventually the elephant got angry. He raised his tusks in the air, he blasted his horn and trumpeted his war march, and started coming for us.
"We got the message, and we started running away as fast as we could. But my radio pack was heavy; it slowed me down. I tripped over a root on the jungle floor and fell flat on my face. Seconds later, the elephant ran right over me!"
"Now, elephants are pretty heavy. (An adult male African elephant can be up to 11 feet tall and weigh up to 6 metric tons!) The radio pack on my back was squashed to the size of a penny. So why am I still alive? That is just it. It was an absolute miracle. The ground happened to be soft sand, and when the elephant ran over me I sank right into the ground. I ended up completely unhurt. I am here just to recover from the shock."
Rabbi Sandler was in shock himself when the soldier completed his amazing story. "I have never heard a story like that," Rabbi Sandler began to say. "You know, you have to bench gomel (the thanksgiving blessing) and offer thanks to G-d for saving you."
"I have never heard of that," said the soldier with interest. "How does it work?"
"You have to go to a shul and make the blessing with a minyan." Rabbi Sandler explained.
The soldier raised up hands and said "I am afraid that I still do not know what you are talking about."
Rabbi Sandler explained to the under-affiliated soldier some of the basics of Jewish ritual, including the idea of praying together in minyan (a quorum of ten men) in a shul. The young man listened intently. Unfortunately, he had grown up without any real Jewish education. After hearing what Rabbi Sandler had to say, the soldier was even more interested in giving thanks to G-d, but there was no synagogue or minyan in the African jungle.
After his recovery, the soldier returned home to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he finally had the opportunity to "bench gomel" in a shul on a day when the community read from the Torah. However, the soldier did not stop at just "benching gomel." He was determined to find out more about his heritage, the heritage which he was deprived of while growing up. Little by little, the young man learned more and more about Torah and mitzvahs. Today, the young soldier has come home and is totally Torah observant. All of his Torah is because of the foot of an elephant! (Visions of Greatness Vol. 5, Rabbi Y. Weiss, p.90)
In our story, the soldier heard the horn blast from an elephant. We should recognize the horn blasts in our own lives. These blasts are sounded to bring us home to Torah observance; so that we will be prepared for the the times of the eternal Shabbos, the World to Come. 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 please 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
