Friday, February 26, 2016

Parsha Ki Sisa, story or two, Israel's Medical Breakthroughs


This is going to be probably a one week pray for Eliyahu ben Sarah – I received a letter from an MD stating that he had a very bad infection.


From here and there. Chagai Segal wrote an article this week in which former Secretary of State George Schultz, 95, eulogized a former student of his from Israel who fell in battle.


A number of people raised non-Jews have traced their family on their mother’s side and found out their great or great-great grandmother was Jewish.


Ethical behavior and good health habits are needed. I picked up years ago EBV from eating at a Charedi 7 blessings party because of people eating from salad plate or not having serving spoons. This was a status of mine this week on Facebook and it says what I think of boorish characters. Good morning, I was at a wedding last night. What I despise about certain groups in Israel that basic manners and cleanliness are not known. THE TALMUD STATES THAT MANNERS ARE BEFORE TORAH. I left my seat and had my main course plate stolen by supposedly G-D fearing people (my coat was on my chair). THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE NEVER EVER SEEN AT A YESHIVISH, CHABAD, A MODERN ORTHODOX OR NON-RELIGIOUS WEDDING. To say the least, it was not taught to the children who grew up to become uncivilized adults. To put it mildly this was not an act that glorifies HIS NAME. I did photograph the wedding but not the women's side except family.


Parsha Ki Sisa


This week we read about the donation of half a Shekel. We will repeat it again next week in Parsha Shekelim. When HASHEM asked Moshe to command the Bnei Yisrael to be counted by the method of the half Shekel, HASHEM showed him the half Shekel coin and the weight of the coin was given. Why was the population counted by coins and not as men? It seems that the accusing angel has an evil eye but when there is a donation to the Temple or in our case the Mishkan, he has no power. (Tzeduka saves from death)


Last week we had the daily Korban mentioned and this week the giant water supply for washing the hands of the Cohanim. If the Cohain’s hands and feet were not washed, the Korban is Pasul (invalid).


31:12 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 13 'Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying: Verily ye shall keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the LORD who sanctify you.


Then nations of the world were given the 7 Mitzvos of Noach but Shabbos is for: You, the Bnei Yisrael and nobody else. For the Torah was given only to the seed of Yacov and not the nations of world. The Shabbos is the great reward.


14 Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you; every one that profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.


Keeping the Shabbos is a positive command and one who knows how to keep it with song, family meals with the best one can afford in his own situation and health. A time for prayer, singing, conversing and learning Torah and Halacha. Rest is a great plus and release of tension for the body and spiritual wellbeing.


However, those who want to observe Shabbos by starting on their own without proper guidance or visiting an Orthodox home will come across the second half of this Pasuk. For when I began observing at the age of 20-21 it was no typing of term papers and after the Schul in a relatively non-religious area it was no riding, no swimming, no sailing, and I neither had a family or sang songs as I had never heard them or seen an Orthodox home. On one hand I wanted to be part of the Jewish people and not have my soul cut off and on the other hand, I only saw the negative physical activity for 25 hours. Slowly, I came to know the Orthodox crowd at school at the age of 21 and was invited into homes and a Lubavitch Shabbaton whom my hosts had no experience dealing with a Baal Teshuva and how to be more sensitive and a few other things and over glorifying the Rebbe to a person who never saw a Talmud Chacham in his life. However, the new foods of Kugel and Chunt were stranger and tasty to me. (When I came to Israel and tasted various Yemenite and Indian – Pakistani Jewish dishes they were less exotic than my first taste of these foods that my family never ate.)


That was the hardest time for me when I began observing the Shabbos and everything was more the negative commands. It was only months later that I began to enjoy the positive side of Shabbos.


15 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.


The emphasis is rest (and relaxation) from work and making oneself holy through learning.


16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
i
As a Baal Teshuva, I did not note the positivizes of the word observing. For I should have working the summer before in the Smithsonian National Astronomical Observatory in Cambridge MA. For I had been observing the wonders of the heavens from a physical standpoint. The observing there was fun for me and I should have view Shabbos observance of refraining from work in the same light but it was like I had landed on a strange planet still coming in as a sixth generation Reform Jew.
   

17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.'


This is a contract between the Bnei Yisrael and the L-RD but not for the non-Jewish world and therefore a potential Convert prior to Mikvah is required to violate the Shabbos.


… One thing that we deal with this week in the Parsha is the golden calf. The people at the sea saw the feet of the Chayos HaKadosh that bore the Throne of G-D (See Yechezkel Chapter 1). Since the feet were those of a calf and the light blinding a bit, they made an Egel Zahav. This image was not of HASHEM but the Chariot of G-D. It is obvious that 40 days after receiving the Torah, this half of one percent of the population murders Hur and makes the image which is forbidden in two out of ten of the commandments. Since the images was not of other gods, that command was not violated. But perhaps the NAME was taken in vain.


If we had the original Luchos of Sapphire made by the hand of G-D we would have reached redemption, no enemies could hurt us but Moshe broke the Luchos. So we have the nations of the world against us and the so-called Palestinians making trouble for us. 18 And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of speaking with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. But with the sin of the Egel and the breaking of the Luchos we lost all the power of them and today even the broken pieces and their power are hidden from us.


Rebel against Shabbos a modern tale by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles: http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=952-24


Rabbi Benyamin Adelman was told this by a man he met about ten years after this story took place.
It was sometime in the 1960's when the strictly religious Jews --the so-called "Ultra-Orthodox" - of the Meah Shaarim neighborhood in Jerusalem first attempted to close their main street to traffic on Shabbat. They set up trash bins across the road and there was anger and indignation all around.

In response, some secular Jews decided to form a committee to oppose the closure of the street, calling it by a name which declared their opposition to "religious coercion." They saw it as coercive against the secular that the Ultra-Orthodox wanted to close the street which runs through their completely Shabbat-observant neighborhood. This committee against religious coercion used to bus ruffians into Jerusalem on Shabbat from kibbutzim and other places to attack and beat up Ultra Orthodox male demonstrators.

This man was one of those ruffians who went up to Jerusalem to fight religious coercion by beating up the Ultra-Orthodox in order to force them to open the main street in their neighborhood to traffic, including the city bus line #1.

One Shabbat, he was in Jerusalem with his own automobile and decided to teach those impudent Ultra-Orthodox a lesson. He drove his car down Meah Shaarim Street "like a Roman charioteer," as he described it, with pedestrians scattering in panic, pregnant women sprinting from the street and women with baby carriages bouncing across the uneven pavement. All this was to show them that they can't impose their "Shabbat" on him!

One resident, a local teacher, had the presence of mind to memorize the number of his license plate and look it up the next day at the motor vehicle Licensing Bureau. Then he looked up the registered owner's telephone number and called him up. Ascertaining that the man on the line was indeed the wild driver, he invited him to his home for Shabbat, explaining that he wanted him to see what Shabbat is and "why it means so much to us."

The driver declined, explaining that he would not want to spend the whole of Shabbat in such an environment. The teacher said, "I am inviting you to be my guest, not my prisoner. You are free to leave whenever you want. Just do me the courtesy of parking your car outside the neighborhood."

He could find no honorable way of refusing a challenge so reasonably presented, so he showed up Shabbat evening for Kiddush and the meal. They talked somewhat and he left. As he was leaving, his host invited him to return another Shabbat and, to reinforce the invitation, called him during the week.

Eventually, he came again for Shabbat. And again. And again. Over the next year or so, he became first an occasional Shabbat guest, then a frequent Shabbat guest and finally a regular Shabbos guest. Over period of two to three years, he became Shabbat observant and then fully religious.

Commented Rabbi Adelman (in the early 2000's, when the street closure demonstrations and opposition had moved to a newer neighborhood - y.t.)
:
A motorcade of secular Jews driving down Bar Ilan Boulevard on Shabbat is an opportunity to talk to them. They are in your neighborhood on Shabbat. So invite them for Kiddush. They have never seen you in a positive, sympathetic way before. Great good can come of it!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from //nishmas.org, the website of "Nishmas Chayim: Center for Torah, Chassidus and Jewish Spirituality."
Connection: Weekly Reading-the opening verses speak of the prohibition against doing certain forms of work on the Shabbat.


From Minister to Jew the story of Ahuva Gray 57 minutes (I have not yet watched this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkeIBlWrpQ
From Chabad magazine: Dear Friend,
My youngest son and I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days with my grandmother. As I balanced the needs of a toddler and a nonagenarian, the parallels between the two flashed through my mind.
My son is at that stage where he understands but does not yet talk. He uses sounds and motions, and sometimes resorts to tugging until we realize what he wants.
My grandmother is always great to talk to, yet she is at that stage where she sometimes forgets a word, a thought, or worse, a name, resulting in frustration on her part.
My son speeds up and down the stairs. I try to encourage his budding independence while at the same time ensuring that he does not get hurt.
My grandmother wishes to continue living as she always has, but her body is frail. So as I watch her cautiously climbing the stairs, I try to respect her dignity while protecting her from being hurt.
Our babies and our seniors deserve to be heard, esteemed and treated with dignity, whether they can speak or not, whether they remember who we are or not.
The Torah enjoins us to honor and respect our elders. Over these few days, I learned that dignity truly starts in infancy.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on dignity (or on my musings).
Chana Benjaminson 
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team

From the hospital treating the worst victim of the bus accident via Judith.
BS"D Sarah bas Dina, now that she is conscious she is suffering terrible pain, even though she is receiving pain killers, so let’s all Daven that Hashem take away her pain soon! And she also still needs lots of Tefillos for her hand and leg, that the treatments work and her limbs return to normal functioning. Every day that passes improves the chances of her body's not rejected the re-attached hand. Her leg is in some kind of sealed bandage almost like a vacuum that is supposed to improve oxygen and blood flow in the leg.  Please re-double your efforts in Chessed, Davening, given Tzeduka, and saying Tehillim, and remember the website for saying Tehillim: http://tehilimyahad.com/mr.jsp?r=PTkPjKUJfD

There was a kennes the other night in Ramat Beit Shemesh that was attended by 400 women! Bracha Sperling spoke about the Nissim that happened to her and Sarah on the bus (it could have been worse!), Rebbetzin Heller spoke as well.


Last week I reported on man tracks and dinosaur tracks. A more scientific evaluation shows that perhaps this was a creationist distortion of the facts. I need to see it for myself to really understand this. http://www.paleo.cc/paluxy/tsite.htm


Of course I don’t need archelogy to prove the Tenach but it does not hurt: http://www.netiv.net/critics-bible-silenced-archaeological-discoveries-prove-torah-accurate/


His only crime was being extremely right wing with no criminal activities but spreading his grandfather’s philosophy: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/rabbi-kahanes-grandson-to-see-judge-tuesday-over-administrative-detention/2016/02/22/ Detention in prison extended then you wonder why there was an American Revolution for this is left over from the British Mandate: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208441#.VsxxHZx96M8




From Judith 5 minutes - An Arab lectures the others about their working habits and ethics: Israel has made an  Oasis in the desert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPBe4J0_iaQ&feature=player_embedded


Inyanay Diyoma








Is the US paying for the upgrade of the Iranian Army? http://debka.com/article/25246/Iran-to-Russia-Take-14bn-and-build-us-a-modern-army



The three very pro-Israel candidates take the Republican Primary in SC as Hillary who won by 70% the last time had only 52.5% to a so-called nobody socialist named Bernie who got 47.5% of the votes. Considering the Clinton machine is was a big failure on her part. With Jeb out of the races the RINO’s will have to decide if they want Kasich or Rubio and even with all Jeb’s votes it is short of Trump. However if Ben Carson drops out, he will split with Trump and Cruz. We shall see. It is going to be an interesting year. As the Chinese curse goes “May you live in interesting times.” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208315


E-mails reveal what Hillary thinks of Israel and yet most of the Jews will vote for her if she wins the nomination. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4768605,00.html


Dr. Martin Sherman characterized this Ed-Op as probably the most important one he ever wrote. He looks at the left-right divide, hawkish leftist, capitalist-socialist divide and the religious-secular divide. He starts off with a quote about truth and justice from Melanie Philips. I rate this 5 stars: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-Fray-Israels-urgent-imperative-A-doctrine-of-the-liberal-hawk-445433


Between Friday night, Shabbos and Sunday there were many stabbing attempts most nipped in the bud. I believe 6 or 7 from Tzomet Tapuach, Chevron and Yerushalayim. Still better that taking an Uber Taxi in the States as one of the drivers was a homicidal maniac. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/21/us/michigan-kalamazoo-county-shooting-spree/index.html



Better late than never for Ted Cruz and I did not like the Donald J. Trump lie about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) on George W. Bush. Let us put it this way when I was younger, I did have some connections with the IDF also Debka and there were 25 Scuds etc. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208420#.VsvzOZx96M8


After being denied use of his weapon last week the 21 year old Nahal Soldier was murdered, the COS changes the rules and now soldiers that are issued weapons have them all the time: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4769554,00.html


Hamas is preparing and smuggling arms, cement and building more tunnels so Israel is prepared for a longer fiercer war: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4769439,00.html
Ed-Op on what is going on in Gaza and some idea what will cause the next war. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4769759,00.html


Sodom in the USA and you thought it was San Francisco. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's largest city has passed a law allowing transgender people to choose public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, which the governor had called a threat to public safety and warned that the General Assembly may step in.

The Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 Monday to expand protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, making it the latest frontier in a national debate on how businesses treat gay, lesbian and transgender customers. One of the revisions to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance allows people to choose restrooms corresponding to the gender with which they identify.


"I'm pleased that Charlotte has sent a signal that we will treat people with dignity and respect, even when we disagree," Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said moments after the vote.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory — a former mayor of Charlotte, one of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. according to census figures — said in an email Sunday that changing the policy on restrooms could "create major public safety issues."

"Also, this action of allowing a person with male anatomy, for example, to use a female restroom or locker room will most likely cause immediate State legislative intervention which I would support as governor," he wrote in the email to two Council members.

Roberts said she hadn't heard from McCrory as of late Monday night                   Thanks to Dr. Harry.


Spying on friendly countries. Conversations of French, German leaders were known already now it is Italy and Israel. The only secure conversation can be held in a cave surrounded by wire mesh and no electronic devices. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208426#.VsyZepx96M8


I think that Kerry actually believed that Abu Mazan wanted peace with Israel. Guess what he cannot even say a few words to calm down the terror. http://debka.com/article/25252/Abu-Mazen-rebuffs-Kerry%E2%80%99s-appeal-to-cool-Palestinian-terror-against-Israelis
Arab terrorist was wounded attempting to stab officer but the officer dies from friendly fire. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208480




Shia and Sunni plans for Islam and Sharia in Europe. ISIS and Iranian sleeper cells in Europe: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208523


From the reporter Karen Holt who picked up this story. Maybe human lives matter as it is written: Adam was created single to show that every life matters. http://now8news.com/police-find-white-bodies-in-freezer-black-lives-matter/




Argentina the 1994 Iranian Terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy the special prosecutor was murdered: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4771034,00.html


Ben Dror Yemini in a refreshingly different Ed – Op: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4768451,00.html


Fwd. by Shona: The head of Turkey is a bit swelled up in pride and wants to travel to Gaza and pick a fight with Russia. I do not know the truth about this blog but there is tension in the air between the two. http://www.socio-political-journal.com/2016/02/massive-russian-troop-buildup-threatens.html


Arab with permit waits until the unarmed guard is the last man in the Mall and then attacks with ax and knife: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208566



Have a wonderful Shabbos and stay healthy,

Rachamim Pauli

Friday, February 19, 2016

Parsha Tetzaveh, stories, news


Shmuel Carmi ben Ita will be going for another operation. Chava Bat Rachel is in the ICU.


Parsha Tetzaveh


One of the last things that a Rabbi thinks about is clothing and jewels as long as he is dressed a bit and clean. For no Talmud Chacham should look like he was working in the dust or just cleaned a chimney. Yet the ceremonial side of Judaism (Pulchan) is necessary.


Perhaps I should have brought this down last week but it came into my head this week for last week was more the physical outside building with all the materials and this week is more the garments of the Cohanim for the ceremonial side. 8 Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, says the LORD of hosts. – Chagai 2:8


Over the course of centuries stones had to be replaced. The Onyx Stones were engraved with the names of the tribes. There is a dispute as to how they were engraved if six full tribes were on each or the letters the same and one tribe had half on one and half on the other. www.ou.org/tt/ covers it check out torahtidbits archives for this.  



27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.


The Jews are compared to olive oil. Once they are beaten (I would say they beat themselves with Torah) they turn out Mitzvos which enlighten the world.


28:2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for splendor and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of chequer work, a mitre, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office. 5 And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarleot, and the fine linen.

The gold and the silver shall be mixed with Techelles and other colored garments that are hard to dye and outstanding for their beauty for the Cohain Gadol. He shall wear 8 garments and the regular Cohain 4. The famous story of the Ger that wanted to convert to be Cohain Gadol. Shammai was infuriated but Hillel told him to learn. When he learned that an ordinary Jew was not allowed to be Cohain he figured out that a stranger could not. However, he like Judaism and did convert.
 
6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined to the two ends thereof, that it may be joined together. 8 And the skillfully woven band, which is upon it, wherewith to gird it on, shall be like the work thereof and of the same piece: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

These were not simple tailors and seamstresses but masters of the trade who worked on this. The first garment was made by volunteers but later on paid masters of the trade.

9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, according to their birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel; thou shalt make them to be enclosed in settings of gold. 12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

The tribes on the stones were above everything but the Mitzneffes for his head with the words Kodesh Le HASHEM.

13 And thou shalt make settings of gold; 14 and two chains of pure gold; of plaited thread shalt thou make them, of wreathen work; and thou shalt put the wreathen chains on the settings. 15 And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. 16 Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd shall be the first row; 18 and the second row a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be enclosed in gold in their settings. 21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

A few times I have covered the physical names and colors of the stones. I mentioned in passing that each stone has a spiritual quality about it. For when HASHEM created the world, HE created the four forms of incarnation. In animate, plant, animal and talking (aka mankind). Each stone was created with such internal atomic frequencies, chemicals and spiritual properties. In fact there is a woman in Yerushalayim that has a store with a different gem for each and every birthday. For example in Sefer Yetzirah a Kabbalistic work it uses tribes for the various months of the year and various stones for each tribe etc. So if your birth month was a ruby or topaz so the woman would have a ruby color of one shade for the start of the month to the middle of the month to finally the end of the month.  

I have a lot of Kabbalistic questions in my head such as why this material and these colors? Is it because in the times of the Exodus they were rare and costly or because when their atomic frequencies are put together with the Aron and the other materials like the belt and breastplate (Avnet V’ Ephod) they produced an atmosphere for the Shechina to rest there? Of all the rare stones in the world why these? Why did the Ephod have such and such an order both the top row and then the stone/tribe underneath? Besides the special power of the frequencies of the stones, was there more Kabbalistic significance to the order and what is/was it? However, with my stage of learning and various duties, these questions may always remain unanswered for me in my lifetime and only after 120 years will I know.

Stephanie KM posted this which is one of many pictures of what the garment looked like. You could also look it up on the Temple Institute site: http://ravkooktorah.org/TETZAVEH59.htm

33 And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister; and the sound thereof shall be heard when he goes in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

Rabbi Barak Kochavi in his Drasha said that this was for all days but on Yom Kippur he wore white. I thought to myself how could this be so. So I went to the Gematria of Satan which is 364 so one day a year the Satan has no power to accuse while Am Yisrael does Teshuva. On the other days the bells and the pomegranates chased him off.

36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO THE LORD. 37 And thou shalt put it on a thread of blue, and it shall be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity committed in the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow, even in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

We see in the days of the Moshiach even mundane things will be Holy unto HASHEM. Zachariah 14:20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses: HOLY UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the basins before the altar.

A Baal Shem Tov Story on Haughtiness thanks to “Thinker”

Some 300 years ago, there lived an affluent man named Avigdor. He once brought a large sum of money to Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the chassidic movement, to be distributed to the poor on his behalf.
Accepting the contribution graciously, the Baal Shem Tov (literally, “Master of a Good Name”) inquired if perhaps Avigdor would like a blessing in return. After all, the Baal Shem Tov was renowned not only as a great Torah scholar, but also as a righteous individual who had the power to give blessings.
I am very wealthy
"No thanks!" replied Avigdor arrogantly. "I am very wealthy; I own many properties, and I have servants, plenty of delicacies and everything else I want. I have more than I need!"
"You are very fortunate," replied the Baal Shem Tov. "Perhaps you would like a blessing for your family?"
"I have a large and healthy family of which I am very proud; they are a credit to me. I don’t need—or want—anything."
"Well, then perhaps you can help me. May I request one thing of you?" inquired Rabbi Israel. "Can you please deliver a letter to the head of the charity committee in Brody?"
"Certainly," responded Avigdor. "I live in Brody and would be happy to assist you in this matter."
The Baal Shem Tov took out a pen and paper, wrote a letter, sealed it in an envelope and gave it to Avigdor. Avigdor took the letter, placed it in his jacket pocket and returned home. But he had so many projects on his mind that by the time he arrived in Brody he had completely forgotten about the entire encounter with Rabbi Israel.
Sixteen years passed, and the wheel of fortune suddenly turned. All of Avigdor's assets and properties were lost or destroyed. Floods ruined his fields of crops; fires destroyed his forests. Calamity after calamity. He was left penniless.
Creditors took his house and everything he owned. He was forced to sell even his clothing to feed his children. One day, while cleaning out the pockets of an old jacket he planned to sell, he found a letter—the letter that he had received from the Baal Shem Tov 16 years earlier! In a flash, he recalled his visit and his haughtiness when he thought he had everything. With tears in his eyes, he rushed to finally fulfill his mission and deliver the letter. The envelope was addressed to a Mr. Tzaddok, chairman of the charity committee of Brody.
He ran into the street and encountered one of his friends. Grabbing his arm, he said, "Where can I find Mr. Tzaddok?"
"Mr. Tzaddok? You mean Mr. Tzaddok, the chairman of the charity committee?"
"Yes, I must see him immediately!" replied Avigdor.
"He is in the synagogue," said Avigdor's friend. "I was there only a few minutes ago. Mr. Tzaddok is indeed a lucky man. Just this morning he was elected chairman of the charity committee."
"Tell me more about Mr. Tzaddok," insisted Avigdor.
Willing to oblige, Avigdor's friend continued, "Mr. Tzaddok was born and raised here in Brody. A tailor by profession, he was always down on his luck, never able to make a decent living. He was hardly able to support his family, and they always lived in abject poverty. He sat in the back of the synagogue, and no one ever took notice of him. Despite working many hours, he never earned much; it was hard for him to scrape together enough money for even a loaf of bread for his family.
He did not forget his former poverty
"Recently, however, the tide changed. Mr. Tzaddok was introduced to a local nobleman, and he made uniforms for all his servants. The nobleman was very satisfied with Mr. Tzaddok's craftsmanship, and his business started to pick up. He even received an order for 5,000 uniforms for the army. He became a rich man and gained respect in the eyes of the community. He did not forget his former poverty, and gave generously to many, taking an active role in communal affairs. Just this morning, he was unanimously elected chairman of the charity committee."
Hearing this story, Avigdor hurried to the synagogue and found Mr. Tzaddok busy perusing the many requests for financial assistance. He handed Mr. Tzaddok the letter. Together they read the words of the Baal Shem Tov, penned 16 years earlier:
Dear Mr. Tzaddok,
The man who brought this letter is named Avigdor. He was once very wealthy, but is now very poor. He has paid for his haughtiness. Since just this morning you were elected chairman of the charity committee, I request that you do all you can to assist him, as he has a large family to support. He will once again become successful, and this time he will be more suited to success. In case you doubt my words, I give you the following sign: Your wife is expecting a baby, and today she will give birth to a boy.
They had hardly concluded reading the letter when someone burst into the synagogue and exclaimed, "Mazel tov, Mr. Tzaddok! Your wife just had a baby boy!"
Thanks to the Baal Shem Tov's foresight, Avigdor once again became very affluent. This time, he remained humble and was admired by all.

Activating sources of income, by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=949-21

There were very few people from whom Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotsk ever agreed to accept money. And the one wealthy and scholarly chasid who did support him was distressed one day to find that the tzadik refused even his accustomed gift. Finding no rest, he finally asked the rebbe directly for his reason.

"Every livelihood," answered the rebbe, "has a cause, and the Almighty is the One Who activates these causes. It sometimes happens that He chooses to put a person to the test - to see whether he places his trust in the cause, or in Him Who causes the cause - and so He removes that cause. Now if that man had placed his trust in it, then his livelihood is cut off from Above, for by his thinking he made it in fact depend on the cause. If however he had place hid trust in Him Who activates the causes, then his livelihood continues undisturbed, and the Almighty brings other causes into play, for His emissaries are countless.
"Now in my case, he explained to his chasid, "the immediate cause of my income was -your support. So I thought: what if the Almighty wants to put me to the above test, and to remove my cause? Then you will have to become poor, so that you be unable to support me. I would therefore prefer to remove the cause myself, so that you will not have to be impoverished."
"Rebbe," cried the chasid, "I want to continue notwithstanding! And if the Almighty should want to put you to the test, and that involves my being left poor, then I accept that result willingly. Anything, so long as you do not remove the source of your income yourself!"

But only after he repeated his entreaty many times did the tzadik finally agree to accept his gifts as he had formerly done.

That same year, through some misfortune, the chasid lost his wealth and became a poor man, and was forced to seek employment as a rabbi and as the head of a rabbinical court in order to support his family.
~~~~~~~~~
Source: From A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll), as translated by R. Uri Kaploun from Sipurei Chasidim by Rabbi S. Y. Zevin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biographical note:
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotsk [of blessed memory: 5547 - 22 Shevat 5619 (1787 - Jan. 1859 BCE], although born into a non-chasidic family; early became a disciple of R. Yaakov Yitzchok [the "Seer"] of Lublin, R. Yaakov Yitzchok [the "Yid HaKadosh"] of Pshischah, and ultimately of R. Simcha Bunim of Pshischah, Superficially stern, he practiced and preached a zealous and unrelenting search for truth, whose prime enemy is self-centeredness. His oft-quoted aphorisms are characteristically pungent and unsugared. Stressed earnest Torah study. Spent the last two decades of his life in isolation. After his passing, the majority of his followers recognized his disciple R. Yitzchak Meir of Ger as their rebbe.
Connection: Seasonal-- the 157th yahrzeit of the Kotzker fell on Monday. 





Medical innovations from Israel - Arabs holding by the boycott remember this: https://www.youtube.com/embed/VO7EMKUy-28


Largest Solar Electric Plant in the world at peak will supply 120,000 people with electricity about 1% of Israel’s needs. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208155






Inyanay Diyoma

Bernie Sanders visits Midwood Brooklyn, NY and it has dozens of Kosher places so he goes and eats in a non-kosher Turkish Shish Kabab Restaurant. Of course an unnamed Israeli Prime Minister visited the USA recently and purposely ate Trafe food.

Good news that the jogger from Neve Daniel is back running within a week but his assailant terrorist is still loose.

Car ramming attempt. The report comes just minutes after police arrested an Arab man at Be'er Sheva's central station on Friday, on suspicion that he was planning to launch an attack. He was arrested on intelligence information, although no weapons were found on his person at the time of the arrest. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207942#.Vr3ohPJ96M8


Muslim attacks in Ohio Restaurant owned by Christian Israeli Arab. http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/muslim-refugee-unleashes-carnage-inside-ohio-restaurant/?cat_orig=us

3 border policeman injured in car chase/ramming. Also a 17 year old female from a Hamas linked family dies trying to stab soldiers as an Arab is stabbed to prevent her from being shot. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4765549,00.html

This beheader was on a humanitarian convoy to Gaza. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4763503,00.html

Free for all in Syria as ground invasion possible and Russian vs Turkish Planes if this continues: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207958#.Vr9qwfJ96M8




The madman who prepared the 7th Armor Brigade for the Yom Kippur War and saved the Golan Heights passes away. He is survived by 7 children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avigdor_Ben-Gal  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207962


Israeli left the professional cyber-bullies: http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/02/09/israels-crybullies/


Last week there was an article on the Nahal and this week Givati of course Golani needs no speaking for wink-wink. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4765685,00.html


After a rock-throwing shooting attack on soldiers (two neutralized Arabs) there is a stabbing attempt: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207986#.VsBsGvJ96M8 More terror. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4766061,00.html After writing this: On Sunday night, two attackers armed with homemade M-16 rifles opened fire at a police force that was being briefed about 30 meters away next to a light rail station near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.

The officers noticed a suspicious man with a bag in his hand. They approached him and instructed him to stop and put down his bag. He thn pulled out a rifle and aimed it at the officers, who responded quickly and shot him.

After having shot the first attacker, the second attacker opened fire at them. They pursued the shooter, returned fire, and neutralized him.

Both attackers were declared dead at the scene.


Yochanan mailed me this while I slept in the morning it was not there: Syria should be partitioned: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4765928,00.html


Three Sunni Muslim nations looking for Nukes and with ISIS this is not good. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Yaalon-Arab-states-are-seeking-out-nukes-in-wake-of-Iran-deal-444916


More people die or are injured from traffic accidents than war in Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208013#.VsC5d_J96M8

My grandchildren and Menashe are part of this drill: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208012#.VsC6JPJ96M8


Hasn’t the USA stolen enough lands from the natives of course this is not the Palestinians and not little Israel. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/09/ndaa-apache/





In Rochester, NY the schools had Hijab Day. The difference between them and Iran is that the girls could wear pants or colorful dresses. However, it got the ire of many parents and is a good reason to send children to religious schools or home school. The only thing that I am against home schooling is the lack of interaction with other children in learning and building up human friendships which in my opinion is necessary. However, there is no bullying, peer pressure or drugs. http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/26237/


The Schem arms industry booms as terrorist turn to rifles to attack Israelis: Also there appears to be holes or weakness in the so-called walls that they continue to penetrate Israel. http://debka.com/article/25233/Palestinians-ramp-up-terror-to-gunfire-Israel-Intelligence-still-at-a-loss




When the diplomatic corps is incompetent political bureaucrats, the more qualified IDF does the job and quietly. For in the military field there is no room for misunderstanding. Clandestine ties with Jordan, secret coordination meetings in Moscow, encrypted conference calls with the Americans, joint drills with the Greeks, and relations with military attaches from over 30 countries. As the Foreign Ministry collapses and Israel's international standing is undermined, the IDF is coming out ahead on the diplomatic front. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4766070,00.html


Could this be used against Chassidic or Sephardic Groups or only cults that endanger participants and who determines this? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208107#.VsLVw_J96M8


Israel saved Bahraini Princess in 2010 now closer ties. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208125#.VsNno_J96M8


After a stabbing attempt at the Schem Gate, Washington Post Arab Journalist and bureau chief briefly detained as journalist was provoking unrest. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4766993,00.html




Nasrallah makes a threat that is not completely idle but not 800,000 casualties: Like the EMP and the US electric Grid politicians do nothing but talk one has to build an alternative. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4767144,00.html







Nobody knows 100% if this was an airstrike or artillery one thing for sure is that Hezballah is not getting these particular weapons and munitions. http://debka.com/article/25238/Israeli-missile-attack-reported-on-Syrian-army-outposts-on-the-Damascus-Daraa-road


BDE The 21 year old Nahal Charedi married with child passes away from his wounds he is survived by a wife and a child. Only one terrorist killed. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4768062,00.html


Bus crashed this week due to high speed and cellphone that killed six and injured many. The poor bride was the worse victim that lived is slowly recovering: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208247#.VsX0HvJ96M8




Donald Trump on Israel straight from the source vote intelligently not via the press or rumors but listen: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208286#.VsbRTfJ96M8


Have a good Shabbos all,

Rachamim Pauli