I am
removing the stabbed soldier woman Liron bas Tali from my prayer list as of
today. I have not heard about her and have no way of tracking her progress.
The month of Elul
Rabbi Barak Kochavi
Shlita joked that the month of Elul for some people is Oy Le V‘ Vavoy Le but
the Ari Zal HaKadosh says Ani Le Dodi V’ Dodi Le. Translated the first part is
woe and more woes to me and the second part I am for my beloved and my beloved
is for me.
Actually I see it as a
little of both for if I use the month properly I will say the first half,
repent and then when Rosh Hashanah comes, I will be on the status of a beloved.
However, if I am complacent, then by the end of the month, I may get the first
status before Rosh Hashanah. Obviously we have to use this time to prepare for
the judgement and improve our Mitzvos and Midos from whatever angle we want to
attack the preparation for judgement.
Parsha Shoftim
This Parsha contains the most Mitzvos in all the Parshiyos and
perhaps for that reason it is appropriate to start out with warnings for Judges
not to take bribes or distort judgement.
16:18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy
God giveth thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous
judgment.
Although it is incumbent upon every individual to be righteous the
tribe as a whole must also be and chose people for righteous judgement.
19 Thou
shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou
take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words
of the righteous. 20 Justice, justice shalt thou follow, that thou may live,
and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
You should always give a fair judgement and not only to prevent
blinding the justice system or perverting the righteous but for living a long
life in the land.
21 Thou
shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the
LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a
pillar, which the LORD thy God hates. 17:1 Thou shalt not
sacrifice unto the LORD thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, even
any evil thing; for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
A blemished animal we had in the last Parsha but here
the reason is given.
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates
which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil
in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 and hath
gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or
any of the host of heaven, which I have commanded not; 4 and it be told thee,
and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be
true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 5 then
shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have done this evil thing,
unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with
stones, that they die.
Avoda Zara gets the punishment of death so that it is
out of midst.
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that
is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to
death.
It will never be a he said she said situation and there
will be no State’s Witness for that is forbidden.
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to
death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the
evil from the midst of thee.
You have seen this, you must carry out the justice. You
will be rewarded in the next world for having the courage to keep the world and
the people just.
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between
blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even
matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up
unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose.
There is no one who is too rich or powerful who can
avoid the system like certain kings and rulers of Israel that killed Prophets
and Sages. There shall be a town meeting hall or court and
9 And thou shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the
judge that shall be in those days; and thou shalt inquire; and they shall
declare unto thee the sentence of judgment. 10 And thou shalt do according to
the tenor of the sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place
which the LORD shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that
they shall teach thee. 11 According to the law which they shall teach thee, and
according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt
not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the
right hand, nor to the left.
Inquire well and deep into the complaints and be wary
of an honest person being taken advantage by a scoundrel. One should not go to
the left or the right of the Halacha but one should also use his head.
12 And the man that does presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the
priest that stands to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the
judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from
Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more
presumptuously. 14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God
giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I
will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me'; 15 thou
shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose;
one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou may not put a
foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.
Prior to the Davidic Dynasty or today with a Prime
Minister, the PM must have one Jewish Parent who was born Jewish whether the
mother or the father converted. The same
goes for a Judge. Thus a Ger Tzeddek could become a Rabbi but could not Judge.
The child of a Ger could be a Judge as we have seen with Shemaya and Avtalyon.
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the
people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch
as the LORD hath said unto you: 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.'
Neither too many cars like the corrupt Saddam Hussein
Family had but a reasonable number for transportation in security.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn
not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
With Shlomo HaMelech, it was not the horses or the gold
and silver that affected him but 700 wives and 300 concubines snuck in idols
beneath his nose. The Halacha was laid down that no more than 18 wives for a
king.
18 And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is
before the priests the Levites.
Only the Davidic Kings were allowed to sit in judgement
or be judged for David listened to Natan HaNovi. He was to write or commission
to be written a Sefer Torah and he shall read it daily or have it read to him
daily.
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days
of his life; that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words
of this law and these statutes, to do them; 20 that his heart be not lifted up
above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the
right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his
kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
The King was subject to the laws of Torah and could not
violate it. Shaul had to right to take Michal away from David and Barzalai
HaGiladi put a sword in the dirt floor between himself and Michal for he was a
Tzaddik.
18:1 The priests the Levites, even all the
tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel; they shall
eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His inheritance. 2 And they
shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance,
as He hath spoken unto them. 3 And this shall be the priests' due from the
people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they
shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. 4 The
first-fruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the
fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. 5 For the LORD thy God hath chosen
him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him
and his sons forever.
These are gifts for the Cohanim.
6 And if
a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourns, and
come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which the LORD shall
choose; 7 then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his
brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have
like portions to eat, beside that which is his due according to the fathers'
houses.
The Leviim were teachers, judges and set an example of behavior
for the common man. Besides living in their 24 cities they also moved, traveled
and lived with other members of the population.
9 When
thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not
learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be
found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
11 or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a
necromancer. 12 For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the
LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God is driving them out
from before thee.
Each one is a negative Mitzvah from the passing of an infant over
a flame [originally it was to warm the new born but then become an idolatry
ceremony]. The others are forbidden except to consult the Urim and Tumim in the
Mishkan/Mikdash. Also the use of the method of the Gaon from Vilna to open up
Seforim.
13 Thou
shall be whole-hearted with the LORD thy God.
Serve HASHEM with all your heart and honestly for he is the one
that can read thought waves.
14 For
these nations, that thou art to dispossess, hearken unto soothsayers, and unto
diviners; but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. 15
A prophet will the LORD thy God raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of
thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Right now prophecy is gone but there are Rabbis with keen eyes and
help from heaven that have some semblance of prophecy.
16
according to all that thou didst desire of the LORD thy God in Horev in the day
of the assembly, saying: 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God,
neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.' 17 And the LORD
said unto me: 'They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise
them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put MY
words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto MY words
which he shall speak in MY name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet,
that shall speak a word presumptuously in MY name, which I have not commanded
him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet
shall die.' 21 And if thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word which
the LORD hath not spoken?' 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if
the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath
not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid
of him.
I laugh when some of these Evangelist Preachers say “G told me I
need $1,000,000 in contributions to carry out the work.” Or “G said to me.”
Today we have no Temple and no real Prophecy. So even with the best ESP the
good L-RD does not come down all the time to speak to people even in dreams so
visit the Yam HaMelach (The Dead Sea) and take things with a grain of salt.
19:1 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land
the LORD thy God gives thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their
cities, and in their houses; 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the
midst of thy land, which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou
shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD
thy God causes thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee
thither. 4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and
live: whoso kills his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; 5 as
when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand
fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the
helve, and lights upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of
these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while
his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him
mortally; whereas he was not deserving of death, inasmuch as he hated him not
in time past. 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt separate three
cities for thee.' 8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy border, as He hath
sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which He promised to give
unto thy fathers-- 9 if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I
command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in His
ways--then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three; 10
that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy
God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
We no longer have avengers of blood (although with
terrorist I would justify doing so) and we recognize accidental manslaughter
today plus we do not have cities of refuge. But the accidental man slaughterer
has something wrong that he did not pray that this would not have happened or
did not check his equipment. We did not have liability and law suits and the
only course then was to flee to one of these cities until the Cohain Gadol
passed away.
11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and
rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one
of these cities; 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him
thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the
innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
This is an intentional murder. This is what was
forbidden in the Decalogue.
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old
time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that
the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Trying to up root boundaries and stealing land is
forbidden.
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or
for any sin, in any sin that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the
mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. 16 If an unrighteous
witness rise up against any man to bear perverted witness against him; 17 then
both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD,
before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days. 18 And the
judges shall inquire diligently; and, behold, if the witness be a false
witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 then shall ye do
unto him, as he had purposed to do unto his brother; so shalt thou put away the
evil from the midst of thee. 20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and
shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee. 21 And thine
eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot.
There should be two witnesses to testify so it will not
be a he said - she said situation.
20:1 When
thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and see horses, and chariots,
and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for the LORD thy
God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Anybody who has been close to a battle especially nowadays with
the artillery that shakes the ground even if it is your side shooting and the
flares overhead sometimes from both sides, the tracer bullets and mortars and
the noise should have some fear inside of himself. It takes a strong belief in
HASHEM or a cause or defense to save one’s life that he stands his ground and
fights or even attacks. The Torah calms us down and tells us not to fear we are
doing a Mitzvah and a Shaliach Mitzvah is not hurt.
2 And it
shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and
speak unto the people, 3 and shall say unto them: 'Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh
this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your heart faint; fear not,
nor be alarmed, neither be ye affrighted at them; 4 for the LORD your God is He
that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' 5 And
the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: 'What man is there that hath
built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his
house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man
is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let
him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man
use the fruit thereof. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and
hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the
battle, and another man take her.' 8 And the officers shall speak further unto
the people, and they shall say: 'What man is there that is fearful and
faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart
melt as his heart.' 9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of
speaking unto the people, that captains of hosts shall be appointed at the head
of the people.
The Torah intended exemption for these people and to give the
cowards a way out so that they would not panic and cause a rout of the army. It
is a problem today with modern officers and soldiers who view each war as a
Mitzvah War. Aharon Karov was the head of a Givati Patrol who returned to fight
in Gaza and lead his men the morning after his wedding. He was the worst
injured soldier of the war. B”H he has recovered mostly and has a nice family
with his wife today.
10 When
thou draw nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it
shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary
unto thee, and shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but
will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it. 13 And when the LORD
thy God delivers it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the
edge of the sword; 14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and
all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey
unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy
God hath given thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very
far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
This was moral and compassionate by the standards of those days so
please take this to mind.
16 Howbeit
of the cities of these peoples, that the LORD thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breaths, 17 but thou shalt
utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the
Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as the LORD thy God hath commanded
thee; 18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they
have done unto their gods, and so ye sin against the LORD your God. 19 When
thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it,
thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for
thou may eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the
field man, that it should be besieged of thee?
You should not cut down fruit bearing trees. However, thinning
them for growth or for better fruit that is a different story.
20 Only
the trees of which thou know that they are not trees for food, them thou may
destroy and cut down, that thou may build bulwarks against the city that makes
war with thee, until it falls.
Trees for wood are a different story and one can use them to build
attack ramps or defensive ramparts.
21:1 If
one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess
it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; 2 then thy
elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities
which are round about him that is slain. 3 And it shall be, that the city which
is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer
of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the
yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough
valley, which may neither be plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck
there in the valley.
This is not only a murdered person but also a body found that
could have been a man who had a medical emergency and we let him leave the city
or come to enter and nobody was nearby to aid him.
5 And the
priests the sons of Levi shall come near--for them the LORD thy God hath chosen
to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and according to
their word shall every controversy and every stroke be. 6 And all the elders of
that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the
heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 And they shall speak and say:
'Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive,
O LORD, Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent
blood to remain in the midst of Thy people Israel.' And the blood shall be
forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of
thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD.
For there is the guilt of negligence of not having a well for
water or some shade for resting or a bench etc. for a person that might need
help or a patrol to check for highway robbers and murderers.
Perkei Avos Chapter Five Mishnayos
12 through 22 http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2099/jewish/Chapter-Five.htm
12. There are four types of
student. One who is quick to understand and quick to forget--his flaw cancels
his virtue. One who is slow to understand and slow to forget--his virtue
cancels his flaw. One who is quick to understand and slow to forget--his is a
good portion. One who is slow to understand and quick to forget--his is a bad
portion.
The first type of student is the
one who studies for a test or semester and deposits all that knowledge in the
rubbish bin and gets on with his life. The second is not brilliant but the
knowledge taught him will remain with him. One who is quick to learn and
retains the knowledge can become either a great MD, Rabbi, Lawyer, etc. for he
is wise and gains more and more knowledge and can put it to use or transmit it
to others. The last portion is a horrible portion for a young man and people
about 20 years older than I or more one would say that they are being to lose
it. What amazes most of us is the elderly Rabbis who although their brains run
down like most of us, their constant review of the Shass and Halacha keep their
minds clear. For we see at the end of the Chumash that Moshe’s eyes did not
grow dim. Having seen or heard of Rabbis in their late 90’s or even over 100
sharp as a bell. Rabbi Pinchas Sheinberg TzZal was sitting in the same row on
the plane as I. He wore his Tephillin as the plane was coming in for a landing
and I mentioned that it looks dark below, he said don’t worry. By the time we
had gotten down a bit, I saw his Tephillin were removed. He KNEW how to keep
them on to the last minute. [He was an Aggadic figure for wearing Tallis Katan
aka Tzitzis and Tephillin.
13. There are four types of
contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to
give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does
not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others
should give, is a Chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to
give, is wicked.
The first one wants to hop on the
whole Mitzvah. The second is a stingy person or as the joke goes a good Zionist
who gets others to contribute to Aliyah and then sends some poor fellow over to
Israel. The third type was illustrated to me in my friend Yacov Glicksman Zal.
He used to say “When a bum comes to you asking for a dime or quarter ‘for
coffee’ give him a dollar and tell him have a beer. That was the days when most
were either shell-shocked WWII Veterans or Korean War Veterans with what we
call PTSD today not the druggies of today. He gave with an open heart and an
open pocket. I know a person who checks out all of the people collecting money.
Perhaps some don’t deserve it but they come around because they have lost their
pride or have become dependent on others. He spends his time pointing them out
but on the other hand when he sees somebody who has a fresh recommendation from
a Rabbi gives nicely so in is only partially the last case. We cannot tell who
is deserving on a heavenly scale and who is undeserving we either give or
don’t.
There is also a fifth case where
one gives like he should as illustrated by the Chassid but he reaches his
limit. There is according to statists between 2 - 3,000,000 people below the
poverty level in Israel. If I were to give to each adult let us say 1,000,000 just
10 Israeli Agorot, that would be close to my entire pension without food,
electricity, gas, water, clothing for myself. The 10 cents which is about 2.5
US cents would not go far for them either. So one should give only between 10
to 20% of his income and no more. When you become a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet
in wealth, you can think about giving away a higher percentage.
14. There are four types among
those who attend the study hall. One who goes but does nothing--has gained the
rewards of going. One who does [study] but does not go to the study hall--has
gained the rewards of doing. One who goes and does, is a Chassid. One
who neither goes nor does, is wicked.
The first type I personally call
them sponges. They sit and learn Torah all their lives and do not teach nor
earn money. They just live off of the income provided by grants and the work of
their wife. The recent years, I am more in this category by rarely going but
teaching Torah and learning on my own. The learner who does and lead becomes in
his own way or circle like Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef he returns
to society what they have invested in him and perhaps with interest upon
interest Torah-wise. The last person throws Torah, tradition and Judaism
essentially in the rubbish bin and he is worse to the world than the sponge for
he does not do what he was created for.
15. There are four types among
those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the
sieve. The sponge absorbs all. The funnel takes in at one end and lets it out
the other. The strainer rejects the wine and retains the sediment. The sieve
rejects the coarse flour and retains the fine flour.
The sponge takes in all the Torah
but does not pass it on. The funnel type is what goes in one ear goes out the
other. Still there are those who remember the Aggada and perhaps juicy stories
like Yehuda and Tamar, Amnon and Tamar (generations later), the mistress story
with the tribe of Benyamin and not remembering the various Halachos. The last
puts aside the Aggada and other things and works on living and teaching the
Halacha.
16. Any love that is dependent
on something--when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is
not dependent on anything never ceases. What is [an example of] a love that is
dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not
dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan.
The first is like a politician
before the election whom you work for but are not his big bank roller. He calls
you his friend until the election and forgets about you. (This is not so a real
friend – the late Rabbi Yosef Azran Zal was my neighbor between mid-1971 until
he was elected Chief Rabbi of Beer Tuvia. When he was a minister and he knew I
was of a different party, he treated me like I was a million dollar donor when
I greeted him at a wedding or a different affair.) Have you ever read of
couples married so and so many years that one dies and the other dies or one
story I heard that the husband said Kaddish and mourned the wife for a year and
the day after the first Yahrzeit, died.
17. Any dispute that is for the
sake of Heaven is destined to endure; one that is not for the sake of Heaven is
not destined to endure. Which is a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute(s)
between Hillel and Shammai. Which is a dispute that is not for the sake of
Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company.
Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel
either heard or interpreted the law and made decisions from a different set of
internal and external reasoning. It was similar between the dispute between Rav
Shach and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Whatever either did was for the sake of
heaven. I met both in person and when I came to confront Rav Shach about
“giving up Sinai” which the Rebbe opposed after feeling the Shechina resting
upon him, I had no reason to confront him. Korach did things for his own
selfish reasons similar to any of the Democratic or Republican Presidential
hopefuls. Hillel and Shammai are disputing themselves in the Beis Medrash today
as if they were alive before us while does anybody remember Wendell Willkie or
Norman Thomas and their presidential bids?
18. One who causes the community
to be meritorious, no sin will come by his hand. One who causes the community
to sin, is not given the opportunity to repent. Moses was meritorious and
caused the community to be meritorious, so the community's merit is attributed
to him; as is stated, "He did G-d's righteousness, and His laws with
Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:21). Jeroboam the son of Nebat sinned and caused the
community to sin, so the community's sin is attributed to him; as is stated,
"For the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and caused Israel to sin"
(I Kings 15:30).
This is the way of the world – do good
and you will be credited for good if you do bad, you will be credited for that
and your followers.
19. Whoever possesses the
following three traits is of the disciples of our father Abraham; and whoever
possesses the opposite three traits is of the disciples of the wicked Balaam.
The disciples of our father Abraham have a good eye, a meek spirit and a humble
soul. The disciples of the wicked Balaam have an evil eye, a haughty spirit and
a gross soul. What is the difference between the disciples of our father
Abraham and the disciples of the wicked Balaam? The disciples of our father
Abraham benefit in this world and inherit the World To Come, and as is stated,
"To bequeath to those who love Me there is, and their treasures I shall
fill" (Proverbs 8:21). The disciples of the wicked Balaam inherit purgatory
and descent into the pit of destruction, as is stated, "And You, G-d,
shall cast them into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men, they
shall not attain half their days. And I shall trust in you" (ibid.,
55:24).
Elul is the time to reflect if you
have a good eye for others. [Example if your friend has a Buick or Cadillac and
you have the smallest and cheapest car on the market are you jealous or you say
good for him and he should be well. This is the idea of Communism for one who
for whatever reason is wealthy has been blessed by HASHEM and that his tests
and your test may be poverty.] Be humble whether you are rich or poor if you
own a company be a boss but also have compassion.
20. Judah the son of Teima would
say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer and mighty as
a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He would also say: The
brazen--to purgatory; the bashful--to paradise. May it be Your will, L-rd our
G-d and G-d of our fathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our
days; and grant us our portion in Your Torah.
Run with zest to do a Mitzvah or
at my age and older perhaps walk at your fastest pace and do it with love and
strength.
21. Ben Bag Bag would say: Delve
and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do
not budge from it, for there is nothing better.
The Bag comes for Ben Gerim or Ben
Gerim of Ben Gerim and his name was kept secret from the Romans lest he be
prosecuted. He valued the Torah over all things.
Ben Hei Hei would say: According
to the pain is the gain.
Another Ger who added Heh/Hei/Hay
to the name aka Avraham and Sarah from Avram and Sarai where the Gematria
difference in the name is plus or minus 5 or Hay. As we say in sport no pain no
gain.
22. He would also say: Five
years is the age for the study of Scripture. Ten, for the study of Mishnah.
Thirteen, for the obligation to observe the mitzvoth. Fifteen, for the study of
Talmud. Eighteen, for marriage. Twenty, to pursue [a livelihood]. Thirty, for
strength, Forty, for understanding. Fifty, for counsel. Sixty, for sagacity.
Seventy, for elderliness. Eighty, for power. Ninety, to stoop. A hundred-year-old
is as one who has died and passed away and has been negated from the world.
These are the phases of life and
today we moved up the study of Mishnah and Talmud. The one for the hundred year
old is not true for an alert Torah Scholar like some of our leading Rabbis.
From Chaim O. Mercedes Benz &
Jews - an incredible story
Life is full of irony. It is hard to believe that
Hitler and all his cronies paraded around in Mercedes Benz cars ignorant of the
fact that they were named after a Jewish girl: Mercedes Jellinek. Name: Mercedes, Adrienne,
Ramona, Manuela Jellinek. Mother Raquel Goggmann Cenubert was an Algerian
Sephardi of old Spanish/French Jewish stock. Father: Emil Jellinek a German/Austrian
Jew, diplomat, wealthy businessman, car lover and dealer who indulged in racing cars. Emil's father was a very famous
Rabbi in Vienna and his mother – obviously a Rebbetzin. (Rabbi’s wife for those
who don't know)
Emil designed the first
modern car. The builder was Daimler, the engineer Maybach and they built a
car to Emil's specifications which was named Mercedes by Emil, his daughter's
name.
Until then all cars were weird contraptions that looked more like
motorized tricycles, motorized armchairs or horseless carriages. This Mercedes
35 changed the motoring world and all car makers followed suit. Why the Mercedes name? For two
reasons. Emil settled in Nice, as Austrian Consul to Monaco, and raced
different makes of cars and called his racing team Mercedes. His
daughter's name, which also meant for him good luck in Spanish (gifts,
favors)
At one stage he raced a Daimler Phoenix with success but it
looked like a large monster, very high and unstable but he liked the engine and
mechanicals. He approached Daimler and their designer, Maybach, who were
mostly engine makers, with plans and ideas for a fast car, low, engine in
front, on a chassis with all the modern items. Thus the Mercedes 35 was born,
the first modern car which won all the races then and started a new trend in
car manufacturing. Emil carried on the tradition of calling all his
cars Mercedes. It was such a success that Daimler decided from that moment to
call all their cars Mercedes.
The second reason for the name Mercedes, is that Emil obtained the
exclusive rights to sell the Mercedes 35 in various European countries but he
couldn't call them Daimlers as the Daimler engine patents and name had been
sold to other European car manufacturers such as Panhard in France, Daimler in
UK, etc. So Daimler and Emil agreed on calling all their cars
Mercedes to avoid being sued by other Daimler patent owners. Daimler merged
with Benz in 1922 and became Daimler Benz, and agreed that all their cars would
be called Mercedes Benz.
The Jewish connection
with Mercedes Benz and the motor car:
a) The Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft engineering company was born
in 1890 and was funded by a Jewish banker Killian Von Steiner.
b) A Jew, Emil Jellinek, designed the first real modern car and the
first Mercedes.
c) All Mercedes Benz cars honor
the name of a Jewish girl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Jellinek
The Secret to a Long Life by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles Shlita
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3033891/jewish/The-Secret-of-Long-Life.htm
[For photos
go to the Chabad website above] In the summer of 5689 (1929) the sixth
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory,
traveled from Riga, Latvia, to the Land of Israel to pray at the
gravesites of Tzaddikim (righteous people). He visited the
four holy cities of Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberius and Safed, and other
locations as well.
According
to the itinerary, the Rebbe and his entourage were to arrive in Safed in
the daytime of 5 Av, the Yahrzeit of the Holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, leader
of the Safed Kabbalists in the last few years of his life (1570–1572). This
would be a most auspicious day to pray at the Ari’s burial site.
However,
car problems temporarily derailed the plan, and they were forced to stop in
Rosh Pina, a town in the Galilee a ten-minute drive from Safed.
Enter Aviv
Keller, the primary source for the events that followed, which were never
recorded in the rebbe’s diary, nor did any of the other passengers write
anything about them.
In 1878,
Aviv’s grandfather, Aharon Yirmiyahu Keller, built the first
Jewish home in the area that today is the town of Rosh Pina. Aviv himself was
born in that home on December 27, 1918. At the time of the writing of this
article he is 96 years old and still going strong. His mind is sharp, his
speech is clear, and he relates events from his long life, including his
childhood, as if they occurred yesterday. Although he was but 10 years old at
the time, he insists that he recalls every detail of the remarkable event, 86
years later.
The door
upon which the Rebbe knocked was to the home of Aviv’s uncle, Shimon Keller,
fifty feet or so from Aviv’s home. The custom of the Keller clan in those days
was to gather every late afternoon at Shimon’s house between 4 and 5 PM to
drink tea together.
“As everyone
was relaxing and conversing,” recalls Keller, “a large automobile pulled over
to the side of the road near the house. None of us had ever seen such a car
before. It was huge. In addition to the driver, it must have had space for nine
riders, including especially elevated, padded seat in the front for the most
important passenger.
“There was a problem with one of the wheels;
it was wobbling because the tire rim had loosened, and the steering wheel had
become unstable. The driver insisted they must stop. He and a few of the
passengers jumped out to consider the problem. At the same time a
distinguished, rabbinic-looking gentleman descended from the car, followed by
several others who were relating to him deferentially. My aunts and uncles had
no idea who he was.
“However,
my grandfather, who had studied in a yeshivah in his youth,
recognized him right away. ‘This is the Lubavitcher Rebbe!’ he proclaimed
excitedly. Although he had never seen him, he had read about his visit to
Israel in one of the newspapers. We all noticed that the long coat he was
wearing was made of some special sort of material.
“When my
uncle opened the door, the rebbe introduced himself and asked if we were a
Jewish family. My grandfather jumped up and hurried over to the doorway. He
pointed to the mezuzah and said, ‘Look! Of course we are
Jewish.’ He invited the rebbe to come inside. He also sent someone right away
to summon the village blacksmith to help fix the tire rim.
“The rebbe
seemed quite tall. My grandfather came up only to his shoulder. He requested a
quiet place to pray Minchah (the afternoon service). My uncle
escorted him to a private spot, and the men in our family that were present
joined him in prayer. When they finished, my uncle offered the rebbe a glass of
tea, which he accepted. Uncle Shimon added in freshly picked lemon leaves from
one of our trees, which produced an enticing aroma.
“I was just
a child. I decided I would go close and touch the interesting-looking visitor.
When I did, he looked at me and smiled.”
The driver,
a hired non-Jewish German, came in to announce that the car, which turned out
to be a Mercedes-Benz, was repaired and they could travel on. Before the rebbe
left the house, he gazed at each member of the family and blessed them all with
long life.
“I remember
his exact words: ‘Lange leben und gezunte yahren’—‘[You should]
live long and healthy years.’” Aviv smiled and continued, “The blessing
materialized, and is still materializing. My uncle—the host—lived till 96. My
grandfather lived until 89, and my grandmother, Sarah Lipsha, until
92. She, by the way, knew the entire Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur prayer service by heart, and from the women’s section would correct
the cantor if ever he made a mistake.
“As for me,
I’ll turn 97 on 24 Tevet, G‑d willing, and I hope to merit even
longer life if the Almighty so decides.”
And so the
unplanned visit to the Keller family in Rosh Pina came to an end, and the Rebbe
and his entourage resumed their journey up the steep hill to Safed. “We
escorted them until the first curve. We actually ran in front of the car, as it
was moving very slowly.”
Aviv Keller
served 20 years as the head of the town’s religious council, and another 15 as
the manager of the famous old synagogue in the Rothschild Quarter, the oldest
and largest shul in Rosh Pina, and as its cantor on the High Holidays.
Today he
lives alone in the (remodeled) house he was born and grew up in. He has 3
children, 7 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces,
nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Nearly all call him and visit him on a
regular basis. His eldest son, a “youngster” of 72, also still lives in Rosh
Pina; he provides hands-on help and daily meals. Aviv enjoys visitors (call a
day in advance!), whom he enchants with detailed recollections of the history
of Rosh Pina. May he continue to do so, in good health and with clear mind,
until at least 120.
Source:
Interview with Aviv Keller on June 30 and July 14, 2015, inspired by an
interview with him in the Hebrew weekly Sichat HaShavua three
years earlier. Aviv’s relative, Chaim Tzvi HaKohen Schechter of Safed, set up
the first appointment.
Editor’s
note: It was thrilling to see in Aviv Keller the living fulfillment of the
Rebbe’s blessing. Aviv said that before then no one in his family had ever
lived nearly so long. His own father and mother, who were not in the house at
the time of the blessing, lived to “only” 68 and 72 respectively, even though
they were both always healthy.
Low fat
or low carbs the NIH conclusion: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/08/14/scientists-sort-of-settle-debate-on-low-carb-vs-low-fat-diets/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines
The great leader predicting Moshiach soon. http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/44534/leading-israeli-rabbi-messiah-imminent-jewish-world/#ErKyST074h0xP98q.97
Martin Sherman pulls no punches here it is similar to my own
condemnation of the act which as I wrote may or may not be Jewish Terrorism.
The pattern of Tag Machir is to burn empty buildings and tents and not with
people inside. I still wonder if this was not done by Arabs. The act is
repulsive. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-fray-Trivializing-terror-412091
Ed-Op on
easier Orthodox religious conversions: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4690742,00.html
Since the
founding of the State of Israel millions of babies have been aborted years ago
it passed the 3 million baby mark we might be approaching 4.5 to 5 million this
is almost a holocaust: http://canadafreepress.com/article/74597
Judaism
is color blind only Torah is the light unto the eyes: http://www.humansofjudaism.com/humansofjudaism/arky
I am
beyond the Mars travel age group but can enjoy a 3D projection that Joel sent
me. When I was a boy there was talk about a Mars Mission in the future and it
looks more and more realistic in the not so distant future. http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/3d-portrayals-of-ophir-chasma-terrain
A
Chassidic Rebbe once said that the world (life) was a very narrow bridge. In
Tel Aviv a bridge was put up to temporarily releave traffic 39 years ago for 3
months. It lasted until today. Businesses in the area of Tel Aviv will suffer
until the subway is put in. They expect it to be ready in 2021 ha-ha the “new”
central bus station took many years of delay and Ben Gurion 2000 was delayed for
a number of years. The railroad to Yerushalayim that was supposed to be ready
10 years ago may be finished this year or next. Somebody said that in 16 years
from now probably this project will be ready and more lines will follow. One
can dream but the city is perhaps good for buses and taxis but not for private
cars any more. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199735#.VdbfLrKqqko
Inyanay Diyoma
Diane’s
Ed-Op – When will Jewish lives matter: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/when-will-jewish-lives-matter/
Remember
the Mustard Gas which the man Saddam had and Bush could not find and the
Democrats had a field day with. Well guess what one of Saddam’s former generals
is working with ISIS and lo and behold the non-existent gas materialized: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4690737,00.html
I wonder
if this is a precursor to a war with Yisrael? http://debka.com/article/24811/After-Zarif%E2%80%99s-visit-Hizballah-troops-pulled-back-from-Zabadani-in-first-retreat-from-Syrian-war-
Moving up to become an ambassador and then maybe Foreign
Minister etc.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199464#.Vc2xkLKqqko
Before
you give an Arab water be wary: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199484#.Vc-Z87Kqqko
Did you
really expect anything better from ISIS? http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4690898,00.html
Jordan
the official open purchaser of Israeli drones: http://debka.com/article/24813/Israel%E2%80%99s-first-ever-arms-deal-with-an-Arab-country-%E2%80%93-drones-for-Jordan-to-fight-ISIS
What
Chutzpa yells our partner for ?peace?? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199494#.VdAJabKqqko
From Chaim B. From Newsweek an Ed-Op from
Matt Patterson.
Years from now,
historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama as an inscrutable
and phenomenon, the result of a baffling breed of mass hysteria akin
perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle Ages. How, they will wonder,
did a man so devoid of professional accomplishment beguile so many
into thinking he could manage the world's largest economy, direct the
world's most powerful military, execute the world's most consequential
job?
Imagine a future
historian examining Obama's pre-presidential life: ushered into and
through the Ivy League, despite unremarkable grades and test scores along
the way; a cushy non-job as a "community organizer;" a brief
career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement (and
in fact nearly devoid of his attention, less often did he vote
"present"); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the
United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his
presidential ambitions.
He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as Obama's "spiritual mentor;" a real-life, actual terrorist who served as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on Earth was such a man elected president? There is no evidence that he ever attended or worked for any university or that he ever sat for the Illinois bar. We have no documentation for any of his claims. He may well be the greatest hoax in history.
He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as Obama's "spiritual mentor;" a real-life, actual terrorist who served as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on Earth was such a man elected president? There is no evidence that he ever attended or worked for any university or that he ever sat for the Illinois bar. We have no documentation for any of his claims. He may well be the greatest hoax in history.
Not content to wait
for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz addressed the question recently
in the Wall Street Journal: To be sure, no white candidate who had close
associations with an outspoken hater of America like Jeremiah Wright and an
unrepentant terrorist like Bill Ayers, would have lasted a single day. But
because Mr. Obama was black, and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberal
Dom to have hung out with protesters against various American
injustices, even if they were 'a bit' extreme, he was given a pass. Let
that sink in: Obama was given a pass - held to a lower standard because of
the color of his skin. Podhoretz continues: And in any case, what
did such ancient history matter when he was also so articulate and elegant
and (as he himself had said) "non-threatening," all of which
gave him a fighting chance to become the first black president and thereby
to lay the curse of racism to rest? Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on
the animating pulse of the Obama phenomenon - affirmative action. Not in
the legal sense, of course. But certainly in the motivating sentiment
behind all affirmative action laws and regulations, which are designed
primarily to make white people, and especially white liberals, feel good
about themselves. Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites
can pat themselves on the back.
Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow. Liberals don't care if these minority students fail; liberals aren't around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes, racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the color of his skin - that's affirmative action in a nutshell, and if that isn't racism, then nothing is.
Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow. Liberals don't care if these minority students fail; liberals aren't around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes, racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the color of his skin - that's affirmative action in a nutshell, and if that isn't racism, then nothing is.
And that is what America
did to Obama. True, Obama himself was never troubled by his lack of
achievements, but why would he be? As many have noted, Obama was told he was
good enough for Columbia despite undistinguished grades at Occidental; he
was told he was good enough for the US Senate despite a mediocre record in
Illinois; he was told he was good enough to be president despite no record at
all in the Senate. All his life, every step of the way, Obama was told he
was good enough for the next step, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary.
What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display every time Obama speaks? In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama's oratory skills, intellect, and cool character. Those people - conservatives included - ought now to be deeply embarrassed. The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of clichés, and that's when he has his Teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent he can barely think or speak at all. Not one original idea has ever issued from his mouth - it's all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that has failed over and over again for 100 years. (An example is his 2012 campaign speeches which are almost word for word his 2008 speeches) And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I inherited this mess. Remember, he wanted the job, campaigned for the task. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing to advertise his own powerless-ness, so comfortable with his own incompetence. (The other day he actually came out and said no one could have done anything to get our economy and country back on track). But really, what were we to expect? The man has never been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act responsibly?
What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display every time Obama speaks? In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama's oratory skills, intellect, and cool character. Those people - conservatives included - ought now to be deeply embarrassed. The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of clichés, and that's when he has his Teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent he can barely think or speak at all. Not one original idea has ever issued from his mouth - it's all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that has failed over and over again for 100 years. (An example is his 2012 campaign speeches which are almost word for word his 2008 speeches) And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I inherited this mess. Remember, he wanted the job, campaigned for the task. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing to advertise his own powerless-ness, so comfortable with his own incompetence. (The other day he actually came out and said no one could have done anything to get our economy and country back on track). But really, what were we to expect? The man has never been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act responsibly?
In short: our president
is a small-minded man, with neither the temperament nor the intellect to handle
his job. When you understand that, and only when you understand that, will the
current erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense. It could not have gone
otherwise with such an impostor in the Oval Office.
From Barry Shaw the windy city opposes Obama: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Chicago-Jewish-Federation-voices-opposition-to-Iran-deal-412231
The 43.5
C or 110.3 F heat proved too much for the power company in some places: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199518
Israeli
government approves the gas deal development and distribution: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4691300,00.html
From
Sheldon the Turkish racist problem against the Kurds [Don’t mention the Aramean
Genocide there either.] http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6351/turkey-racism-problem
IDF may
have to enter Syria because of ISIS or their affiliates. Here is a film of the
taking out of arch terrorist Sammy Kantar. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4691404,00.html
Analysis
why western Muslims leave the luxury for the Jihad or why western Jews make
Aliyah probably the same: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Why-Western-Muslims-leave-a-pleasurable-life-for-jihad-412317
This is
the main reason why Amalek has to be completely destroyed! http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4691318,00.html
From Shona LOCKED OUT OF THE COCKPIT (will the US wake up or crash)
From a former Navy
fighter pilot and a retired UAL Captain
We are all flying on
the Germanwings plane, with a twisted pilot at the controls. Will we just
wait, and assume the "Crash Position"?
The 'real' pilot was
locked out of the cockpit.
That set of
circumstances finally revealed the full horror of the crash of Germanwings
flight 9525.Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz waited for the pilot to leave the cockpit,
then locked the door to prevent his re-entry. Then Lubitz, for reasons unknown
and perhaps unknowable, deliberately steered the jet into a harrowing 8-minute
plunge ending in an explosive 434 mph impact with a rocky mountainside.150 men,
women and children met an immediate, unthinkably violent death.
Lubitz, in his
single-minded madness, couldn't be stopped because anyone who could change the
jet's disastrous course was locked out.
It's hard to imagine
the growing feelings of fear and helplessness that the passengers felt as the
unforgiving landscape rushed up to meet them.
Hard... but not
impossible.
Because America is in
trouble. We feel the descent in the pits of our stomachs.
We hear the shake and
rattle of structures stressed beyond their limits. We don't know where we're
going anymore, but do know it isn't good. And above all, we feel helpless
because Barack Obama has locked us out.
He locked the American
people out of his decision to seize the national healthcare system.
Locked us out when we wanted to know why the IRS was attacking conservatives.
He locked us out of having a say in his decision to tear up our immigration
laws, and to give over a trillion dollars in benefits to those who broke those
laws.
Obama locked out those
who advised against premature troop withdrawals. Locked out the
intelligence agencies who issued warnings about the growing threat of
ISIS. He locked out anyone who could have interfered with his release of
five Taliban terror chiefs in return for one U.S. military deserter.
And, of course, Barack
Obama has now locked out Congress, the American people, and our allies as he
strikes a secret deal with Iran to determine the timeline (not prevention) of
their acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Was Andreas Lubitz
depressed, insane, or abysmally evil when he decided to lock that cockpit door
and listen to no voices other than those in his head? Did he somehow
believe himself to be doing the right thing?
The voice recordings
from the doomed aircraft reveal that as the jet began its rapid descent, the
passengers were quiet. There was probably some nervous laughter,
confusion, a bit of comforting chatter with seatmates, followed by a brief
period in which anxiety had not yet metastasized into terror.
It was only near the
end of the 8-minute plunge that everyone finally understood what was really
happening. Only near the end when they [began] to scream.
Like those passengers,
a growing number of Americans feel a helpless dread as they come to the
inescapable conclusion that our nation's decline is an act of choice rather
than of chance. The choice of one man who is in full control of our
8-year plunge.
Lubitz was a
nutcase. But now we are on a 'plane' piloted by a
narcissistic megalomaniac who has locked everyone out of his cockpit.
It is very sad that
our first African American President will be judged in history as the most
inept, corrupt, wasteful, subversive, destructive, and divisive President
ever. A man twice elected because of the color of his skin rather than
the content of his character.
[Today, America is
considering E]electing a former First Lady as president because she is a woman
- who also happens to be a narcissistic megalomaniac; [if accomplished] will
likewise result in the continued practice of semantics over substance and
deception over reality. [And a person elected because of her DNA rather
than the content of her character or her credentials.]
Did you
ever wonder why Orthodox Jews don’t recognize Reform and Conservative
Conversions? The Reform marry interreligious couples and same sex couples and
some of the Conservative Rabbis have more things that are undesirable to Am
Yisrael. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199566
Barry
Shaw speaks out - three minutes: https://soundcloud.com/nationalsecurityspeaker/to-the-rabbis-and-democrats
Will the
next targets in Thailand be Jews and Israelis? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199595#.VdMKBLKqqko
Legal
Line-Backer for ICC with Arab attacks on the IDF: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4691755,00.html
Iran sets
up a new Eastern Front Command to destroy Israel. http://debka.com/article/24817/Iran-to-arm-West-Bank-Palestinians-for-new-Eastern-Front-to-%E2%80%9Cefface%E2%80%9DIsrael
Iran to
get anti-A/C missile: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Iranian-official-Tehran-to-sign-deal-with-Russia-for-advanced-S-300-missile-system-next-week-412449
ISIS
gains from Turkey’s dichotomy and the weakness of the west: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4692100,00.html
5 injured
in an attack a stone’s throw from Yerushalayim: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4692146,00.html
From
Barry Shaw more mass executions in Iran since the agreement: http://hriran.com/en/arrestsasentencesaexecutions/72-executions/2512-secret-mass-executions-resume-in-mashhads-vakilabad-prison-several-hundred-prisoners-possibly-exec.html
When you
tell the truth and are not PC you find out whom your friends are: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4692141,00.html
Flipper
arrested as the head of a major Israeli spy ring near the Gaza strip. Other
members of the spy ring are: Sharks, ducks, vultures, eagles, and even rare European Bee-Eaters, have all been
"exposed" at some point as dastardly Zionist agents.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199648#.VdRnfLKqqko
Syria -
This is a bit late in the game: http://debka.com/article/24819/Six-Russian-MiG-31-interceptor-aircraft-land-in-Damascus-to-rescue-Assad-regime
Jihad
hunger striker damages his brain due to no vitamin B intake: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199670#.VdTKZLKqqko
Mike
Huckabee is visiting Israel and his trip and is interviewed on his stand on
Israel TV and Ynet: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4692297,00.html
An
Ed-Op’s from Martin Sherman that I did not bring down: Iran - http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-Fray-Iran-Intelligence-failures-and-failures-of-intelligence-410705
Hamas
Navy Commandos stopped by Egypt before reaching Iran. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199717
Iron Dome
sent to the south while rockets hit in the north. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4692922,00.html
It’s
about time police enter hostile Arab neighborhood in Yerushalayim these
characters can vote: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199719#.VdYszrKqqko
How the
IDF views Israel’s Strategy with lack of political leadership, the general
leads: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4691716,00.html
More
stones to large rocks on road 443: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199741#.VdbT-7Kqqko
Iran using
Proxies on the Golan: http://debka.com/article/24827/The-four-rockets-fired-on-Galilee-came-from-the-new-Iranian-terror-front-on-the-Golan
Shabbat Shalom all,
Rachamim Pauli
