Sunday, May 1, 2016

Parsha Acherei Mos, stories and news



Shmuel Carmi ben Ita underwent a successful operation the second time around and can be removed from the prayer list. Zvi HaCohain ben Batya, the guard who was hacked up, is now walking and recovering and B”H talking normally so he is in no danger anymore.


Parsha Acharei Mos


After two weeks of Parshiyos dealing with Tsoras and other Tuma, we return to where we left off in Pasha Shemini. If you recall the two sons of Aaron offered up strange or uncalled of fire before the L-RD in the Holy of Holies (Koshesh HaKadoshim) and it was taught that only the Cohain HaGadol can enter the inner sanctuary on Yom Kippur. We now are being taught the Yom Kippur Service. 


16:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD, and died;


And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons: What does this teach us [when it specifies “after the death of Aaron’s two sons”]? Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah illustrated [the answer] with a parable of a patient, whom a physician came to visit. [The physician] said to him, “Do not eat cold foods, and do not lie down in a cold, damp place.” Then, another [physician] visited him, and advised him, “Do not eat cold foods or lie down in a cold, damp place, so that you will not die the way so-and-so died.” This one warned that patient more effectively than the former. Therefore, Scripture says, “after the death of Aaron’s two sons” [i.e., God effectively said to Aaron, “Do not enter the Holy in a prohibited manner, so that you will not die as your sons died”]- [Torath Kohanim 16:3]


2 and the LORD said unto Moses: 'Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.


Aaron is now to receive instructions on when to enter the Kodesh HaKadoshim.


3 Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.


With this: בְּזֹאת. Its gematria [numerical value] is 410, an allusion to [the number of years that] the first Temple [would stand when the kohanim were righteous like Aaron, and it was as if Aaron lived all these years and entered the Holy of Holies]. - [Vayikra Rabbah 21:9] With this shall Aaron enter [the Holy]: And even [with] this, not at all times, but [only] on Yom Kippur, as is specified at the end of this section (verse 29 below),“in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month…” [i.e., the tenth of Tishri, namely, Yom Kippur].



These two Korban Oleh shall be brought on Yom Kippur and you shall come in for each. You will need special Kavannah, purity in body and mind, humbleness and fear combined with love for HASHEM in order to survive. For a person had to be worth of doing these things and not bribing his way or being a populist and win an election.


Tehillim 24:3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD? and who shall stand in His holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully.



4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic[RP1] , and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.


On Yom Kippur the Cohain Gadol changes garments 5 times and bathes and another 5 times also washes his hands and feet (10 times in total).


5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. 6 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.


Before you atone for others or in a Rabbi’s case give Mussar, one must give Mussar to himself. One of the best Mussar speakers today is HaRav Simcha HaCohain Kuk Shlita. He always says, “I am speaking Mussar to myself. If it happens to touch upon others so be it.” From this I learned whenever I write Mussar in the blogspot about Bitul Torah or heaven forbid bad thoughts like that of the stock market, children’s education, a vacation plan in the middle of Shemona Esray, I am not giving you Mussar or caution but to myself as especially since my traffic accident 19 years ago with a good whiplash clump on the head, my concentration and memory is not what it was the day before.


7 And he shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer him for a sin-offering.


This is now for all of Am Yisrael having atoned for himself he can atone for the people.


10 But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before the LORD, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.


The Mishna in Yoma describes the 5 stations on the way to the wilderness where food and drink were provided for the man leading the goat to precipice to throw it over. People would vie for this job but knew that they would die within the year but all their sins would be forgiven. It was a chance for Teshuva for some of the greatest sinners or even people who were more righteous but worried about their place in the next world.


11 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill RITUALLY SLAUGHTER the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the ark-cover that is upon the testimony, that he die not. 14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the ark-cover on the east; and before the ark-cover shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 Then shall he kill RITUALLY SLAUGHTER the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the ark-cover, and before the ark-cover. 16 And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness’s of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanness’s. 17 And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.


He would not pray too long. In the second Beis HaMikdash were the Cohain Gadol was bought by bribery many would die inside even if it was not the original Teva so that ropes were attached to them to drag the body out by the Leviim. Rabbi Yishmael was the replacement Cohain during these years and he used to complete the service for he desired to be Cohain Gadol but would not bribe the voters. (There is nothing new under the sun and we see this in both major political parties today in the USA “the system is rigged”!)


18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness’s of the children of Israel. 20 And when he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of an appointed man into the wilderness.


The whole ceremony is described in the Yom Kippur Prays. Please HASHEM, I have sinned for my house … Yisrael has sinned. The one sprinkling followed by 7 more. Whither on the top half of the Mizbayach or the bottom half.



22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land which is cut off; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 23 And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place and put on his other vestments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.


Not only the Cohain Gadol goes to Mikvah but also the man who takes the Azazel Goat.


25 And the fat of the sin-offering shall he make smoke upon the altar. 26 And he that lets go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. 28 And he that burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.



Also here the person must go to the Mikvah.
29 And it shall be a statute forever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourns among you. 30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD.


This day gives you atonement. It is not as holy as Shabbos as 7 people are called up to the Torah and Yom Kippur which is in second place has 6 people called up unless if falls on Shabbos. Yom Tov only has 5 people called up as the holiness drops and Rosh Chodesh 4, etc.


31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever.


Afflicting means no eating, drinking, marital relations, wearing shoes or washing more than a minimum upon rising or going to the toilet.


32 And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments. 33 And he shall make atonement for the most holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year.' And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.


…17:12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel: No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood. … whosoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 And every soul that eats that which dies of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be home-born or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even; then shall he be clean. 16 But if he washes them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.


Above is the prohibition of eating blood, trafe and Nevailah and the ignorant Jews think that they can travel anywhere and have a nice beef burger or steak which was hacked to death and contains blood violates a few commandments 1) blood 2) laws of kashrus 3) not to make oneself disgusting. So they end up being cut off from their people over a little thing like this.

18:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: I am the LORD your God.

I am the Lord, your God: I am the One Who said at Sinai, “I am the Lord, your God” (Exod. 20:2), and you accepted My sovereignty upon yourselves [at that time]; consequently, accept My decrees. Rabbi [Yehudah Hanassi] says: “It is openly known before Him, that they would eventually be scourged by [transgressing the laws of] immoral relations, in the days of Ezra. Therefore, [concerning these laws,] God came to them with the decree: I am the Lord, your God! You should know Who is placing these decrees upon you-the Judge Who exacts retribution (אלֹקִים), but Who is faithful also to pay a reward ('ה)!”- [Torath Kohanim 18:138]

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes.

Like the practice of the land of Egypt […and like the practice of the land of Canaan]: [This verse] informs [us] that the deeds of the Egyptians and the Canaanites were more corrupt than those of all other nations, and moreover, that the [Egyptians residing in that] region [of Egypt] in which the Israelites had dwelt, were the most corrupt of all. — [Torath Kohanim 18:138] And like the practice of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you: [This verse] informs [us] that those [Canaanite] peoples whom the Israelites conquered, were more corrupt than any other [people, even the Egyptians]. — [Torath Kohanim 18:138] And you shall not follow their statutes: What did Scripture omit [until now] that it did not state [and includes in this clause]? However, these are their social practices, things that assumed the status of law (חָקוּק) for them, for example, [certain days set aside for attendance at] theaters and stadiums. Rabbi Meir says: These [practices referred to here,] are the “ways of the Amorites,” [the superstitious practices] enumerated by our Sages. — [see Shab. 67ab; Torath Kohanim 18: 139]



Remember Sodom and Amora[RP2]  were Canaan cities.

4 Mine ordinances shall ye do, and My statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
You shall fulfill My ordinances: These are the laws stated in the Torah in justice, [i.e., which human intellect deems proper,] which, had they not been stated [in the Torah], would have been deemed worthy to be stated [e.g., not to steal, not to murder, etc.]. — [Torath Kohanim 18:140] And observe My statutes: These are the “King’s decrees” [without apparent rationale to man], against which the evil inclination protests, “Why should we keep them?” Likewise, the nations of the world object to them. Examples are: [The prohibition of] eating pig and wearing shaatnez [a mixture of wool and linen] (see Lev. 19:19), and the purification procedure effected by purification water [the mixture including the ashes of the red cow] (see Num., Chapter 19). Therefore it says, “I am the Lord.” I have decreed [these] upon you; you are not permitted to exempt yourselves [from fulfilling them]. — Torath Kohanim 18:140] To follow them: Do not take leave from [studying] them, i.e., you shall not say, “I have learned the wisdom of Israel-now I will go and learn the wisdom of the [other] nations.” - [Torath Kohanim 18:141]


First of all we are G-D's people and HE has just stated that HE is the L-RD and HIS HOLINESS. That is our example and standard and we have no right to turn from these statutes, ordinances and commandments.

5 Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances: [This comes to include other details of [laws pertaining to] this passage, that Scripture did not mention explicitly. — [Torath Kohanim 18:142] Another explanation: [This clause, “You shall observe My statutes and My judgments, which a man shall do,” was added,] in order to apply “observance” (שְׁמִירָה) and fulfillment (עֲשִׂיָּה) to statutes, and to apply “observance” (שְׁמִירָה) and “fulfillment” (עֲשִׂיָּה) to ordinances. For [up till now,] Scripture had mentioned only “fulfillment” regarding ordinances and “observance” regarding statutes (see previous verse). - [Torath Kohanim 18:134] And live by them: in the World-To-Come. For if you say [that the verse refers to living] in this world, does he not eventually die? [Torath Kohanim 18:134] I am the Lord: faithful to pay a reward [an attribute represented by the Name ה ]. — [Torath Kohanim 18:134]


The name of the game is not to die by a Kiddush HASHEM but to live by a Kiddush Hashem.


6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD.

No man shall come near: Heb. תִקְרְבוּ לֹא. [This comes] to admonish the female as [it does] the male. Therefore, it is stated in the plural form. — [Torath Kohanim 18:136] I am the Lord: faithful to pay a reward [not only for fulfilling positive commandments but also to the one who saves himself from sinning]. — [Torath Kohanim 18:145]


I am the L-RD in holiness. A whole set of forbidden incest in families is then set before us in the next few Pasukim and although an uncle can marry a niece, an aunt cannot marry a nephew. I assume that is to keep up the family name in Israel. Again this is not like what the Egyptians did as we know the history of the Pharaohs.

… 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are near kinswomen; it is lewdness.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter: Scripture prohibits [relations with the second woman] only through a marital tie with the first one [whether the woman or her daughter]. Hence, Scripture says, לֹא תִקַּח, denoting “taking (קִיחָה) in marriage.” Similarly, when it comes to stating the punishment [of those who transgress this matter, Scripture says], “[And a man] who takes (יִקַּח) a woman and her mother [in marriage…they shall burn him and them in fire]” (Lev. 20:14), [also using] the expression of קִיחָה, “taking [in marriage].” But if he raped a woman, he is permitted to marry her daughter. — [Yev. 97a] They are close relatives: Heb. שַׁאֲרָה הֵנָּה, they are related to one another.Eevil counsel: Heb. זִמָּה, counsel [like the word זָמַם, plotted]; as the Targum renders: עֲצַת חֶטְאִין, counsel of sins, which your [evil] inclination has counseled you to sin. Evil counsel: Heb. זִמָּה, counsel [like the word זָמַם, plotted]; as the Targum renders: עֲצַת חֶטְאִין, counsel of sins, which your [evil] inclination has counseled you to sin.


While ISIS does not trouble their heads about this think of taking a mother or aunt with a daughter or niece and put them on the same level as a wife. It is a psychological blow to the older woman. Rather ignore the older woman and take the younger one for a wife as she can understand a male liking a young woman but cannot take being on the level with her daughter. 
18 And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime.

In her lifetime: This teaches you that if he divorced her, he may not marry her sister while she is still alive. — [Yev.. 8b]

While both are not close incest relatives for starters, but unlike Yacov Avinu who lived before the Torah, one cannot do this now. Think of the rivalry between Leah and Rachel brought about by this. It has happened that during the ages before antibiotics one sister would die leaving a number of children and a younger unmarried sister would marry the widower to take care of raising the children.

19 And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

This includes his wife during her impurity.

20 And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife, to defile thyself with her.

I know a case or two of non-Jewish women in the States who had husbands in jail or the army. Divorced, remarried and even had a child only to divorce the second husband to remarry the first! Fortunately, the Torah forbids this for otherwise a man would conspire with his wife to marry Mr. $$$ and then get a nice divorce settlement and return to him with big $$$. She has been defiled by another and he cannot take her back!
             
21 And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to set them apart to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.

One of the wicked things of the Greeks and Romans was this behavior and also pedophilia with both sexes in baths. We are returning to this depravity in the States and Europe http://www.aol.com/article/2016/04/25/years-after-wifes-death-90-year-old-former-senator-to-marry-a/21350590/ Although the Arabs deny this they do this often and with beasts too. G-D set a higher physical and spiritual standard for the Bnei Yisrael.

I point out each year that the word abomination is used here. It is used three times with homosexuality twice with idol worship and once with deception in the Torah. Other times it is abominable acts or things. But the use of abomination only appears six times. Perversion appears a number of times.

23 And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto; it is perversion. (Depravity)

this is depravity: Heb. תֶּבֶל, an expression denoting prostitution, sexual immorality, and adultery. Similarly, “and My wrath, because of their depravity (תַּבְלִיתָם).” (Isa. 10:25) Another explanation of תֶּבֶל הוּא : An expression which denotes mingling (בּלל) and mixing up; [here, it refers to the perverted mingling of] human seed and animal seed. this is depravity: Heb. תֶּבֶל, an expression denoting prostitution, sexual immorality, and adultery. Similarly, “and My wrath, because of their depravity (תַּבְלִיתָם).” (Isa. 10:25) Another explanation of תֶּבֶל הוּא : An expression which denotes mingling (בּלל) and mixing up; [here, it refers to the perverted mingling of] human seed and animal seed.This is depravity: Heb. תֶּבֶל, an expression denoting prostitution, sexual immorality, and adultery. Similarly, “and My wrath, because of their depravity (תַּבְלִיתָם).” (Isa. 10:25) Another explanation of תֶּבֶל הוּא : An expression which denotes mingling (בּלל) and mixing up; [here, it refers to the perverted mingling of] human seed and animal seed.

The only one that I could understand doing such a thing was Adam in Gan Eden if he did for he did not find a help mate and had no Yetzer HaRa but after the creation of woman, one should have known better. Yet certain rural communities and the uneducated these acts are acceptable in certain societies. We are better than just physical animals with instincts.

Human seed and animal seed is like a Cohain seed with a non-Jew as the decline in spirituality is so it goes against the very nature of creation.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out from before you. 25 And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.
While the lands of the nations of the world do not vomit out inhabitants who do very horrible things, the holiness of the land will vomit out perverse and corrupt individuals. It might not be in the first generation or second generation but over a matter of time. I have been told that many of the non-religious founders of the modern State of Israel no longer have Jewish grandchildren or great-grandchildren and most do not live in Israel. There is a strong connection between the land of Israel and Mitzvos. Those who follow the Shabbos, Kashrus and Family Purity usually stay in the land and those who stray end up leaving not only the land but Judaism.

26 Ye therefore shall keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourn among you-- 27 for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled-- 28 that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep My charge, that ye do not any of these abominable customs, which were done before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

The conclusion is that despite all the lure of the Yetzer in relationships. You shall be Holy for I, the L-RD your G-D am Holy and we shall continue with this theme next week.

Normal or Nuts

We just learned in Perek 18 about all the forbidden relationships and how G-D despises abuse of holy relationships. The object of the world is to raise the mundane to the holy and not to give into depravity. What do we see? Teaching not the birds and bees with the flowers and trees to the children. But rather why homosexual parents are normal. In the USA there are many single parent households and some get involved in compounded relationships with hurt affected children. The schools are teaching to kindergarten children adult issues.

Most of my generation did not learn some of these things until just pre-puberty or early puberty. Certain actions were considered queer/strange. Love was between a husband and wife and most girls were going to be virgins until marriage. I grew up with the song “Love and marriage goes together like a horse and carriage.”

Men or women who exposed themselves in public were usually institutionalized for evaluation. Ladies’ rooms and gentlemen’s rooms were just that. A week or so before Pessach, Target made an announcement about toilets being given over to what a person feels they are. [That means if a man’s Yetzer tells him that he is a Lesbian he has the right to go into the room marked women! I would rather be institutionalized with a straight jacket and rightfully so!] We once had a pregnant woman at work who used to run into the men’s room as there was a line at the ladies’ room. Men were standing at the urinals and it was nuts. Here is a news article from this week: http://www.worldnewspolitics.com/2016/04/26/sick-man-arrested-in-womens-bathroom-at-walmart-stripped-in-front-of-children/

This week in Israel, the women of the wall, an extreme leftist Reform group mostly women with a few guys looking for one tried to have “female Cohanim” praying the priestly blessing. The Torah specifically says in a few cases the male members of the children of Aaron. Vayikra 6:18 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin-offering: in the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy. Nowadays there may be confusion in what is male and what is female and what is an it. But the Torah is clear. http://www.timesofisrael.com/womens-priestly-blessing-at-jerusalems-western-wall-curtailed/


I have my own idea of politics that I don’t usually bring into the Torah or Mussar section but the USA and Europe are on the moral decline today. It is not time to return to the extreme of the Victorian Era but it is time to take a step back and remove adult issues from the minds of children and reassert our moral standards that we can be proud of. It is time to be modest and discreet again.

How Ivan Gluck survived the Holocaust

Ivan was born in Hungary and was about six years old when the Nazis sent Adolf Eichmann into Hungary in 1943. He was lucky to be in in a zone under the auspices of Raoul Wallenberg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Wallenberg A number of houses were set up as a free and safe zone by the diplomat and the Jews here were kept alive and not deported.

To put it modestly, they had the bare minimum of food and clothing to survive the harsh winters until they were liberated. Sometime in 1944 the allies began bombing and they were not spared from the bombs. Some people were killed or wounded in the bombing. Sufficient food was scarce.

Ivan was saved when his building was bombed exactly down the elevator shaft and the bomb miraculously did not explode and it was defused. The Jews had to work for their living and they were not like the refugees of today but managed to hold out until the liberation and afterwards. For the liberation was the 17th of January 1945 and conditions were harsh. Not all the Jews who were in this zone survived.

Upon liberation, some of the local Hungarian anti-Semites started attacking the Jews but through all this Ivan survived.

Arye Leister survives WWII Poland.

On Sept. 1st 1939, Hitler started his Blitz Krieg into Poland splitting up the country with the Russians. Arye was also between six and ten at the time. A discussion was held and since they were closer to the Nazis it was decided that the women would stay with their possessions and the men would flee towards the Russian-Polish Border. Because of this, Arye would never see a Nazi Soldier the entire war. The men hopped on a crowded train car until it halted and then they continued on wagon and foot towards the Russian Border until the Russian Border came to them with the division of Poland. They were placed in work camps.

The food was meager and Arye had a father and a 17-year-old brother with him. They gave him some extra food. The father and brother were actually undernourished and eventually the brother developed typhus and died. This process took time and his brother was hospitalized but the conditions to put it mildly were not a private room in the NIH today. His father continued on for some time and they were transferred into the interior of Russia. During a bombing or due a disease, Arye lost his father too.

With barely enough food or clothing he continued on the word details throughout the war escaping bombs, cold and famine. There were anti-Semites in the liberated areas who harassed or even murdered Jews so life was not good at this time. Upon liberation he looked for his home and found a few relatives that survived out of a large family.

 Both Ivan and Arye moved to the States and are now living in Florida.

Hebrew article: Recently Orthodox Jews have started donating kidneys to help others. http://www.hidabroot.org/he/article/205807

Bnei Ephraim Synagogue in India holds a Seder: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211444#.Vx9tAo9OI5s

In the past I wrote of miracles that happened to some Jews and the Orthodox fellow who would not leave the paraplegic alone until both were gone. This is a story of a non-Jew who survived. 9/11 Story: “My faith did not save me, but it has sustained me.”–George Sleigh, 9/11 survivor” By Ben Sley
https://tamaraheater.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/remembering-911-through-george-sleigh/

I have a dear friend, George Sleigh, (pictured here), who survived 9/11. He was on the 91st floor of the North Tower at the time — no one on the floor above him, the 92nd floor and above survived. Most everyone on his floor, the 91st floor, and below lived. The plane, a fully-fueled American Airlines 767, Flight 11 from Boston’s Logan Int’l Airport, sliced into the 93rd floor to the 98th floor at an angle, trapping those on the 92nd floor and above. George was then the Manager of technical consistency at the American Bureau of Shipping with a corner office on the 91st floor. The plane was close enough that just before impact, George could actually see into the cockpit. George stated,
“I was at my desk in the morning looking forward to a normal day when I heard this loud noise. I looked up out of the window and just a few feet away from the building was this huge jet plane. The wheels were down and I could see the people in the cockpit. I thought to myself ‘Man this guy is low in the air’ but I still thought it would clear us. But then it smashed into the tower a few floors above me. I couldn’t believe it, even now it seems insane that anyone would do that, even a crazed terrorist.”
After the impact, he got out from the rubble of ceiling tiles and debris around his desk, looked up and saw exposed steel beams and the concrete underside of the 92nd floor. He didn’t know it at the time, but that concrete floor was the bottom of a tomb for more than 1,300 people. Nobody survived on the floors above him. The line between life and death that morning was as straight as a steel beam.
George said, “No one inside the buildings expected that they would fall.” He related some of the unusual, but understandable things that he and some of his coworkers did just then, thinking that the building would remain intact and that they would eventually return to their offices after evacuating for a time. George retrieved the briefcase he is carrying in the picture. Another guy went back to shut down his PC and a third watered his plants, remembering that they had withered and died for lack of water after the 1993 bombing.
George told the Newcastle (England) Evening Chronicle of his harrowing escape from the devastated building.
The stairwells became increasingly congested as hundreds of office workers fled, some of whom were badly burned. After half an hour he reached the 25th floor and it was then he saw the first firefighters going up the stairs to tackle the flames.
George said: “Their faces were grim as though they knew what they would be encountering when they got there. When I saw afterwards how the towers fell I knew those men wouldn’t have made it. It was heart-breaking.”

It was after he had was able to get down the stairwell going down for some 91 floors and was in the subway underground basement area when the North Tower collapsed. George told a group of us at a church gathering that with the billowing dust and ash, total darkness, ground shaking and rumbling, it was then he thought to himself, “I had always wondered how I would die. Now I know.” But God had other plans for George, and, miraculously, spared his life. You can see in the photo just how engulfed in dust and ash George had been at the time.
When asked whether or not his faith saved him that day, George says, “No. There were others who shared my faith who died that day. My faith did not save me, but it has sustained me.” Thank you, George, for these words of faith and hope! In that regard, a more accurate translation of Philippians 4:13 is, perhaps, appropriate here, “I can endure all things through Christ who strengthens me.” George was able to endure because of his Sustainer.
George says, “I keep Proverbs 23:4-5 taped to the top of the computer monitor which spews forth the day’s financial quotes. It reminds me, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich: have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Financial wealth is one of life’s many false idols, perhaps even the greatest one. I try to remind myself of that as I remember the events of 9/11 and as I watch each stock tick, ticker away…”.
George, continued blessings to you, my friend! God has spared you that you may tell others of His many Mercies, Grace and Sustenance even in the midst of such adversity. He is The Great Sustainer! Godspeed to you!
*I have compiled several of George’s statements as expressed in this entry from several sources I wish to acknowledge. You can click on them for the complete story:

One reason for poorer Jews to make Aliyah from the States now:
If you had to make a sudden visit to the emergency room, would you have enough money to pay for it without selling something or borrowing the funds from somewhere? Most Americans may not realize this, but this is something that the Federal Reserve has actually been tracking for several years now. And according to the Fed, an astounding 47 percent of all Americans could not come up with $400 to pay for an emergency room visit without borrowing it or selling something. Various surveys that I have talked about in the past have found that more than 60 percent of all Americans are living to paycheck to paycheck, but I didn’t realize that things were quite this bad for about half the country. If you can’t even come up with $400 for an unexpected emergency room visit, then you are just surviving from month to month by the skin of your teeth. Unfortunately, about half of us are currently in that situation.

Earlier today someone pointed me toward an excellent article in The Atlantic that discussed this, and I have to admit that The Atlantic is one of the last remaining bastions of old school excellence in journalism that you will find in the mainstream media. Of course I don’t see eye to eye with them on a lot of things philosophically, but there are some really hard working journalists over there.

The article where I found the 47 percent figure comes from The Atlantic, and it is entitled “The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans“. It was authored by Neal Gabler, and he says that he can identify with the 47 percent of Americans that don’t have $400 for an unexpected emergency room visit because he is one of them…










Since my high school days, I have been a fan of Andre Norton. Since Science Fiction was mainly for boys, she took on a male name as a 16-year-old male would never relate especially back then to Ann Marie Norton. I used to have a fast lunch and jump down to the school library to read the books. I ordered one recently that was written in 1968 called Dark Piper. It was like reading today’s paper a bunch of pacifistic leaders take in war refugees. The refugees then try to take over the planet and kill off everybody but a handful of scouts and their leaders. It even had a Dr. Corson who was more like Obama than Dr. Ben Carson the similarities were too much not to mention.


I saw a picture of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Shlita checking a Lulav and Esrog and somebody saying a Rabbi blessing cannabis. Watch out for slander of Rabbis.


Why I don’t like to travel on the holidays unless I am in a hotel close to my destination: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4795605,00.html


A wake up call from Dr. Harry to Jews that are in their world of love and peace while blaming Israel: Sri-Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian guru known best for founding the Art of Living foundation, which has a vast global community of followers, claims to have attempted to start peace talks with the militants of the Islamic State. But his efforts proved futile.

"I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man," he told Indian media, using another name for the extremist organization. "Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended."

The advocate for meditation and harmony offered this frank conclusion: "I think the ISIS does not want any peace talks. Hence, they should be dealt with militarily."

Maybe he should go work for J Street, or Peace Now in Israel. I am sure that could work very well together.


The Priestly Blessing in Yerushalayim. Next time Sukkos will have so many Cohanim: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4795865,00.html


Ancient Egyptian Seal found in the Haifa area at the ancient site of Dor. The question is - was it there from the time it is attributed to or from a Roman Collector Centuries later? http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4795739,00.html






Inyanay Diyoma


Lieberman attacks government of strengthening of Hamas in Gaza: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792220,00.html


Drill last week tested preparedness for Gaza infiltration: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/210948#.VxJzoY9OI5s


The Doctrine of the Liberal Hawk by Dr. Martin Sherman and Ed-Op: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=15819



A prosthetic retina may help the blind see again. Remember to avoid this for your loved ones if you are boycotting Israel: http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/12/07/israeli-breakthrough-may-help-blind-see-again/



IDF views religious Jews in a different way now that they have a growing influence. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792228,00.html


IDF may pull out of area A and hand that over to the terrorists: www.israelnationalnews.com/news/news.aspx/210982




Netanyahu will fly to Russia soon – revised after the cabinet meeting and sudden military drill: http://debka.com/article/25371/IDF’s-drill-secures-Netanyahu-Putin-summit-


MK warns buses will explode again if we leave Area A. Again on all the attacks against the right I blame Yaalon-Netanyahu. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211004#.VxRUGY9OI5s


Members of the Likud plan to oust Yaalon in the next primaries because he is pursuing the soldier who shot the stabber because he suspected a homicide vest on him. This Ed-Op is about a British Soldier who shot a Taliban in Afghanistan not a terrorist at home: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792015,00.html


Molotov Cocktails in some Yerushalayim Neighborhoods: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792743,00.html


Major terror tunnel at times 30 meters or 100feet down discovered made from rebuilding cement we supplied: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211037#.VxS7gI9OI5s


The truth is that after tax people’s audit threats and other pressure from GOI gov’t of Is; singers cancel appearance at rally for soldier: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/357366#.VxS-KI9OI5s




If you recall, I could not believe that a Jew was capable of such a horrible crime. He is culpable for his actions. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211106


Hamas builds now stronger, longer and better structured tunnels: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4793193,00.html



I wanted to get into the University of Michigan for their Astronomy Program with a high average from my High School but they had quotas for NY. My friend Martin with a 93% Average did not make it either but now when I see whom they let in that cannot even spell racism and is anti-Semitic perhaps the both of us were better in the City University of NY. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/04/19/arrest-anti-racism-graffiti-vandal-sparks-uproar-at-university-wisconsin.html?intcmp=hpbt3


Better late than never. 67 Yemenite Jews now want to leave: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792977,00.html

Here is why the IAF Commander accompanied Netanyahu to Moscow: http://debka.com/article/25377/Near-clash-of-Israeli-Russian-planes-over-Syria-


Horrifying tunnel crash many wounded: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4794943,00.html




Soldier goes home for Pessach despite politically correct charges: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4795069,00.html


Hot heads avoid listening to the Rabbis and try to sacrifice a Korban Pessach: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211297#.VxosqY9OI5s


Plans for a new international airport starts the first step: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4795097,00.html



Unidentified plane gets fighter jets to scramble. I heard them at about 8 AM and thought it out of the ordinary. Army chief explains army 101 on internal democracy: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211318


Dr. Martin Sherman the root causes of red herrings. http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=15889




Obama’s Saudi and Gulf summit a failure. First of all he has is priorities and policies all wrong and secondly he does not know how to negotiate: http://debka.com/article/25385/GCC-leaders-reject-Obama’s-Middle-East-policy


IDF and the Arabs gets the Sheik to rattle and roll: https://www.instagram.com/p/BD16HVDMqxB/


Arab price fixing of a bid proven in their attempt to take over Afula: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211353#.VxziNY9OI5s


Obama tries his world government on the Brits and angers many: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36108184




Desperation in the thoughts of two candidates as Trump gets closer to 1237 delegates: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211381#.Vx3TDY9OI5s


From a person who speaks Spanish: Judicial Watch recently uncovered the reality that ISIS is in Mexico, just eight miles south of El Paso, Texas and Columbus, New Mexico– and they have help from the Mexican drug cartels.

While the exact location is unknown, the area is referred to as “Anapra,” west of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Anapra is controlled by the drug cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Cartel (“Juárez Cartel”) and its “enforcement arm,” La Línea, and the Barrio Azteca gang, which ironically originated from El Paso jails.

And Ciudad Juárez is not the only location. West of it is another ISIS camp located in Puerto Palomas. The first group is training to target El Paso; the second, to target Columbus and Deming, New Mexico. Judicial Watch reports:

During the course of a joint operation last week, Mexican Army and federal law enforcement officials discovered documents in Arabic and Urdu, as well as “plans” of Fort Bliss – the sprawling military installation that houses the US Army’s 1st Armored Division. Muslim prayer rugs were recovered with the documents during the operation.



According to these same sources, ‘coyotes’ engaged in human smuggling – and working for Juárez Cartel – help move ISIS terrorists through the desert and across the border between Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, New Mexico. To the east of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, cartel-backed ‘coyotes’ are also smuggling ISIS terrorists through the porous border between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas. These specific areas were targeted for exploitation by ISIS because of their understaffed municipal and county police forces, and the relative safe-havens the areas provide for the unchecked large-scale drug smuggling that was already ongoing.
Former CIA agent Bob Baer also confirmed that ISIS cells are already in the U.S., and some of members have already entered by crossing the Mexican border.
And, that’s just inside Mexico’s borders.
Crossing the border, is also a grave concern for U.S. national security. Syrian nationals have been caught illegally entering America via Mexico. Breitbart News cited two unnamed federal agents who said several Syrians were intercepted at the Juarez Lincoln Bridge in Laredo, Texas. While the U.S. Border Patrol has yet to confirm this report, National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 President Hector Garza did confirm that he was also receiving similar reports from multiple agents. He told Breitbart:

“Border Patrol agents who we represent have been contacting our organization to voice concerns about reports from other agents that Syrians crossed the U.S. border from Mexico in the Laredo Sector,” he said. “Our agents have heard about Syrians being apprehended in the area from other federal agents. At this time, I cannot confirm or deny that Syrians have crossed, for security reasons.”








Gang of three terrorist from Schem that infiltrated east Yerushalayim caught: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211427#.Vx8aB49OI5s


Despite the talk by Netanyahu and Yaalon the walk is for more terror: http://debka.com/article/25387/New-Palestinian-pact-for-terror-


Memo of understanding to be the largest military aid package to Israel ever. Since the Iranian deal the GOI was looking forward to signing with the next president but with Hillary who gets a good deal of the Clinton Foundation from Muslims and Donald Trump wanting to cut the budget, Netanyahu decided to go for a deal now with a friendly Congress and an election year. With the current Memorandum of Understanding set to expire in 2018, Israel has been pressuring the White House to enlarge the annual aid package from $3.1 billion to between $4-4.5 billion. Israel has stated that it must increase its military spending. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4796369,00.html


US uses roof knocking tactics that Israel used in Gaza: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4796607,00.html


The next terror wave will be worse but the extended families of terrorists are getting the hint to stop it in the bud. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211482#.VyBrQI9OI5s


Drug Cartels of Mexico and ISIS team up via Highway 20 to enter El Paso, TX. http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/report-muslim-terrorists-sneak-into-u-s-with-help-of-drug-cartels/?cat_orig=us




Brother and sister terrorists neutralized: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4796733,00.html


From Sara as I saw on Israeli TV – Hezballah preparing for war and taking advantageous looks at some old rusting spots in our fence: http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-commander-hezbollah-preparing-for-war-just-like-in-2006/


Donald J. Trump pledges NO NUCLEAR IRAN and blasts Obama on Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211503#.VyF7FY9OI5s


Egyptian Rapper brought up Christian finds out that she really is Jewish: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211509#.VyG6949OI5s



Obama backs out of Carter’s Peace Deal with Egypt and Israel via the backdoor. http://debka.com/article/25389/US-Sinai-pullback-payback-for-islands-handover-




Bennett does not back down despite of threat to be fired by the PM. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4797539,00.html


Right before Modiin at the Beit Ur Tachta Check Post: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211551#.VyUFEo9OI5s






Latest into the fray about the conflict thanks to Dr. Martin Sherman: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-The-Fray-A-very-simple-conflict-452547


A little spice goes a long way against Israel’s enemies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GujLif0VZIg&feature=youtu.be




Don’t lose your humanity over a piece of bread we are not starving today: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211565


Have a good week all,
Rachamim Pauli