Parsha Bechukosai
The
first word of our Pasha is “if” or a condition. It is a contract between HASHEM
and the Bnei Yisrael. If you observe, then you will get this and that but if
you get sick of doing Mitzvos then you will get this punishment and if you
still don’t behave yourselves then worse. Menashe read this with me in Schul
yesterday and he was horrified at the magnitude of the punishment like the eating
of children that occurred during the siege of northern Israel during the days
of Elisha HaNovi.
26:3 If ye walk
in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; 4 then I will give your
rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of
the field shall yield their fruit. … and dwell in your land safely. … 11 And I
will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I
will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. 13 I am
the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye
should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made
you go upright.
Up
until now for obeying and now for disobeying.
14 But if ye
will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 and if ye
shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye
will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; 16 I also will do this
unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that
shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your
seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. … 18 And if ye will not yet for
these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for
your sins. … 21 And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me;
I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. … 26 When I break your staff of bread, ten
women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread
again by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. … 27 And if ye will
not for all this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; 28 then I will
walk contrary unto you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times for
your sins.
The
cycle is getting worse and worse the more that G-D hides HIMSELF, the more the
people sin, the more they sin the punishment grows sevenfold.
29 And ye shall
eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30
And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and cast
your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.
31 And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto
desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. 32 And I will
bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be
astonished at it.
When
Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain came to Israel in the late 1800’s he did not find
a land flowing with milk and honey but a few trees and barren rocks even the Arab
Population was low for there was nobody to sell goods to or work for. A few
Jewish families lived in Israel. It was only towards the end of days that
settlers started moving in and gathering water for agricultural settlements.
Eventually, more and more trees were planted and roads were built. Where there
are only Arabs, the hills are basically barren. Where the Jews are green with
trees, grass and vines. We call this the physical green line and now
settlements are popping up bring green across the line into the line in Yehuda
and Shomron.
33 And you will
I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you; and your
land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. 34 Then shall the
land be paid her Sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and ye are in your
enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and repay her Sabbaths.
Of
course this is more than just the Shmita or Shabbos of the land but rather
other sins. For if you hold by 420 years that would be 60 Shmita years or 600
years of the diaspora. Therefore 2,000 years must constitute more sins and perhaps
violation of Shabbos.
35 As long as
it lies desolate it shall have rest; even the rest which it had not in your Sabbaths,
when ye dwelt upon it. 36 And as for them that are left of you, I will send a
faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a
driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one flee from the sword;
and they shall fall when none pursues. 37 And they shall stumble one upon
another, as it were before the sword, when none pursues; and ye shall have no
power to stand before your enemies.
The
lack of fear of G-D will cause fear of man and more fears that become
exaggerated to such an extent that the people live in a constant state of
panic.
38 And ye shall
perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And
they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies'
lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with
them.
There
will be nothing we can do and persecution, pogroms, forced conversion and worse
of all assimilation shall take its toll on our people physically, financially
and spiritually. It is easy to convert a Reform Jew to another religion because
he has no spiritual food for his Neshama. I was lucky in that I returned to
Torah Judaism but others were lost to Buddhism, cults and Christianity.
40 And they
shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their
treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked
contrary unto Me. 41 I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring them into
the land of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be
humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then will I
remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My
covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
The
Diaspora ends with the confession and return to the Bris between Am Yisrael and
the HOLY ONE BLESSED BE HE.
43 For the land
shall lie forsaken without them, and shall be paid her Sabbaths, while she lies
desolate without them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity;
because, even because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My
statutes.
This
is a theme which I see all the time Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael are tied to
each other something that the USA or other places are not tied together.
44 And yet for
all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them,
neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant
with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember
the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt
in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
There
will be places, parts of the nation and Rabbis in Gallus that will allow for
people to live in peace and prosper. But this depends on Torah Observance.
46 These are
the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between Him and the
children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
27:1 And the
LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD,
according to thy valuation,
This
section deals with the valuation of people, fields and slaves/servants. But for
dedication to the Temple and for selling a thief to a wealthy person or selling
oneself into servitude during a famine.
34 These are
the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in
mount Sinai.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak
The Ultimate kindness
(a story from Lugano)
You might
have heard about the tragic car accident in Quinto (south of Switzerland) this
past Tuesday evening. I would like to share with you what my colleague Rabbi
Yakov Kantor of Lugano wrote to his community following the sad event. Needless
to say, I admire his work and dedication: "Shir and
Anat Mittelman, a mother (56) and daughter (27) from Israel, whowere touring
Italy and Switzerland, were stopped in the pre Gotthard traffic, and killed
instantly (despite having seat belts fastened), when a distracted driver rammed
into them from behind. What followed was 48 hours of litigation and efforts to
arrange the immediate release of the deceased, waive the autopsy order and see
to the complete burial in Israel as soon as possible. The funeral is taking
place now and the family is somewhat comforted by the relatively quick burial.
There were many people who were understanding and involved, the Polizia
cantonale, the state judge, centro funerario Lugano and the Israeli consulate
in Bern. Within the community thanks must be extended to Mr. Elio Bollag, and
Mr. Shmuel Castro. Chabad of Ticino was highly involved and instrumental
throughout many of the details and procedures in front and behind the scenes.
Thank you for your support, as our supporter you take part in this tragic but
exceptional Mitzvah. May we share good news.
My
Return to Judaism Part 3
We each have our ups and downs and no path is completely smooth.
Around Elul 5726, Howard took me to meet his mother. She did not keep kosher in
the sense I do today but she was the most religious person whom I had come in
contact with at the time. She only had one set of pots but cooked the meat and
milk dishes separately and I believe it was kosher meat. She would light
Shabbos candles each week. For me that was a giant step above where I had been
all my life! She told me to read the Bible and pray by myself. [This was the
same JPS Version which is available on line and I use the translation which is
more like KJV than Chabad or Art Scroll at times. Yet I use it here for it is
free and on-line.] Though May she worked on me to go get a kosher Bar Mitzvah
with an Orthodox Rabbi. She contacted Rabbi Klayman (perhaps with a C) and made
an appointment for me to see him. I already wrote about seeing Tephillin for
the first time during the Six Day War and obtaining my first Siddur.
The Six Day War broke out after my last finals of my Sophomore
year and I went to City College that day to check my grades and meet up with my
friend Joel Klein. (I wonder now if he is the head of the NYC Board of
Education and allowed a special Arabic/Moslem School in the Public School
System a few years ago.) As we got off at 42nd St to head to the
Port Authority Terminal to take the Warwick Bus Line to Greenwood Lake New York
for Astronomy Observing and just relaxing, we encountered a bunch of Jewish
Youths collecting money for Israel. He gave $5 which was his week’s allowance
and I gave $1 which was my week’s allowance. I mention this to show that
charity is relative to the donor.
We rode up to the Lake and each night on the news watched the
victories of Israel against the three surrounding nations. Meantime
back in Israel some towns were being shelled by Yarden especially areas of
Yerushalayim like Kiriat Zands where a shell did not explode near a natural gas
canister. The Israelis were not told of the victories and the press in Israel
was silent not like today. On the day that Yerushalayim was liberated, I saw the
strangest sight that angered me. You see I had friends in the army and army
reserves and was at that time applying for or thinking of applying for the
diesel submarine Navy Reserve Officer Training Course. In the end I did not go
because they would not guarantee my participating as an officer candidate so I
figured that I would wait until I graduated and try for an aircraft carrier or
the air force. Here I had donated a week’s allowance and the US Army did
not have a communication device on the left hand and on the head above the
middle of the forehead and yet ‘poor’ Israel had it for all the soldiers at the
wall and then even a stranger thing happened the fellows started bowing down
(genuflecting) to this wall. I mentioned this to Joel as I knew that he had
been educated much better than I in Judaism. He told me the black boxes were
not army communication devices but Tephillin and the wall was the wall of the
Temple and the soldiers were praying that way to G-D. (Wow what a relief and
double wow how ignorant I had been of my own people and religion.)
I met the Rabbi in Elul and he took me to buy a pair of Tephillin.
It was a very small pair and cost only $54 and I bought the Hertz Chumash and
Code of Jewish Law. He lent me a book by Rabbi Avraham Carmel “How Strange was
my Path” and another book with the story of the boy who whistled on Yom Kippur
– I think it was called “The Torah as our Guide” and as I read it on that Yom
Kippur 5728, I cried like a baby as that boy was me who got to the town either
whistled or held the Siddur upside-down and save Am Yisrael from a Gezaira when
he said, “MASTER OF THE WORLD, I cannot read Hebrew but you know the words
except my prayers as if I prayed them with Kavannah. I began putting on
Tephillin and I praying part of the morning service each day at home in
English. On the 50th day after putting on Tephillin my prayers were
really answered. There was a meeting with three Astronauts and Astronomers. All
my life I wanted to be a professional Astronomer and here I was going to meet
with Dr. Fred Whipple of the Smithsonian. (Dr. Whipple a number of years ago
from the original posting at the age of 98. November
5, 1906–August 30, 2004) I showed him my meteor research. He invited me to
come for a job interview. That was G-D’s way of repaying me in this world and
getting the astronomy out of my blood so that I could get to real work for the
next not only for myself but for others.
The year went by quickly and an old friend from the boy scouts
named Sivan helped me with the blessings for the Haftarah for my Bar Mitzvah
and although I could only read nicely Chapter 2 of Yehoshua, the people in
Schul were impressed by me and that I was a returnee to Judaism. Around Sukkos,
I had begun praying in the local Conservative Schul called the “Sunnyside
Jewish Center” and began following the prayers. It was far from ideal. 15 and 16-year-old
girls would Daven next to the tall thin 20-year-old fellow. A flock of sheep
and I was basically the only Ram around. I tried my best to concentrate on my
prayers Shabbos morning as most of the other times there was only men. In my
spare time, I was reading the “Gates of Repentance”, “Path of the Just”, and
“Ways of the Righteous”. IN THOSE DAYS OF BEING NEW TO JUDAISM AND PRAYING EACH
WORD WITH INTENT IN ENGLISH IT WAS HARDEST OF ALL ON THOSE SHABBOSOS WITH
FEMALE DISTRACTION NEXT TO ME. This is perhaps one of the greatest reasons that
I am against mixed prayers. When on field trips years later with the men
praying in front of the women or the women meters away on the side, the distraction
was not there. At home my wife is a full partner and advisor but at prayer we
go our separate ways and that is the best way to serve HASHEM. (If I want to
sit together with my wife in mixed seating at a wedding or in a movie that is a
different story but never ever at prayer.)
I began joining the Mincha / Maariv Minyan at work and during this
time I met (now Rabbi) David Willig and others at the Jewish Lunch table on
South Campus and somebody loaned me “Rejoice O’Youth” by Rabbi Avigdor Miller
(now of blessed memory). It took about 50 pages to knock evil or evolution by
Darwin out of my head. Instead of a Random evolution, I see a master plan
evolution by a CREATOR.
In early June 5728, I went up to Boston and rented a room in
Cambridge, MA to work for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. I used to
turn on and off the lights on Shabbos as I knew no better but I made Kiddush
and did not work or travel. I had to come in for my Bar Mitzvah on Shabbos 21st
and did not time my bus and subway to Brooklyn and came in a few minutes after
sundown. I don’t recall if it was at this time or my second visit to Brooklyn
that Howard convinced me to fly back to Boston and I took my first plane flight
then.
I had one more relapse on Shabbos. I had always been curious to
meet my European Family and Cousin Andre Horgen from France was passing through
NY. I hitched a ride toward Greenwood Lake and got there a bit after sundown
and the next day I traveled too. The only two times that I traveled since then
was on border patrol in the army and once I had to take a girl who swallowed
pills to the hospital on Shabbos – Pekuach Nefesh. Perhaps had I not met him
and violated the Shabbos, things would have been different. As he married
Christina, a non-Jew. I wonder to this day if I had guarded that Shabbos if I
could have prevented it?
One of my friends was a ‘fanatic’ Chabad follower and he observed
meticulously Shabbos. He told me that I should not turn on and off the lights
on Shabbos. To check him out, I asked my more modern Jewish friend Myron if
this is true and he told me yes. So from around Mar Cheshvan 5729, I became
completely Shomer Shabbos. David Willig, another David and a nice girl named
Suri encouraged me to try to join Yeshiva Haichal HaTorah. I went down for the
Feb. Semester and was accepted on the grounds that I had no money, could help
in the office, at Bingo, substitute teach, proctor exams etc.
I finally began learning Gemara and Mordechai Rubin introduced me
to the Blackman Mishnayos which I still read to this day on my plane flights
over and over again. I watched the Rabbis, learned the Shabbos Songs, began to
give Drashos and learn from the CCNY library the Midrash Rabbah and bits of the
Zohar (until I got learned enough to quit reading it for a while). The seeds
had been planted now for what we call a Torah Yid.
I have already written about the last time I saw my father alive
was when he brought me to the Yeshiva. I was on my own saying Kaddish and
graduating from College. Since I had been dating and now it was time to get
serious and build a family, that summer and fall I began looking for a wife. I
also went down to the Bostoner Rebbe at that time and I think it was he who
suggested Haichal HaTorah. Associating with both Litvak and Chassid, I was
being to become a member of the Frum world but not good enough for a Shidduch
with their daughters. Modern Orthodox was a bit too weak for me then as I was
on an upswing. Eventually I placed Yiddishkeit above all else and married a
girl with other problems. Eventually for the sake of my children and myself, I
would have to divorce. This was one of the prices I had to pay for keeping
myself from sin and not being able to wait until I was more learned. There were
some close relatives and distant relatives of my Rosh Yeshiva whom I did date.
One was cripple but that did not bother me but her personality was not exciting
enough. Other I was dating when my first wife turned my head with her
Yiddishkeit and beauty. Still I got some nice children out of it. My problem at
the age of 22 is that I went for the outside package. A sadder and wiser me a
bit older when for an inner package and the outside wrapping concerned me less
when looking for a wife.
To be continued.
G-D had plans
for me in the Knesset: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4806435,00.html
Catriona E M. I'm an unmarried, single woman, in a liberal
community, I'm pro-egalitarian and love to do guy's stuff like martial arts and
DIY. But tichel just looks pretty cool from a fashion point of view. Also, the
argument of sniut (Tznius = modesty) is quite understandable. I don't see why
woman have to "sell" their body and show loads of skin just to be
m'sameach men. So wearing tichel (kerchief) can feel quite empowering. The
visiting student rabbi in our community said it's absolutely fine even for an
unmarried goi to wear tichel. That's the progressive point of view, though.
It has been over a year perhaps two since I wrote about
modesty. A woman in the summer time according to the liberal rulings of Rav
Moshe Feinstein should wear a closed blouse that has what my wife calls 3/4ths
sleeves that cover the elbow and a dress that covers the knees sitting down.
The Chofetz Chaim and the Holy Zohar wrote fire and brimstone about a married
woman who does not cover her hair. A woman should marry a man who respects her
intelligence and being and not because he likes her legs or cleavage. For how
long does love last if it is based on the physical either beauty or money for
if that goes one has to have intelligence and a give and take.
PS
it is not a progressive point of view but that of the most conservative
ultra-Orthodox Rabbis.
Farmers protest middle-men after told to destroy crops and
sell directly to public under cutting the ones who raise the price by 5 to 10
times https://www.facebook.com/events/261136874238499/
Ed-Op on
internal Likud Politics and it reflects 20 years behavior of Benyamin
Netanyahu: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4806361,00.html
Two Likud
Knesset Members wanted Christian Missionaries to enter the country to guarantee
their seats. Now with 66 coalition members they are not in power to do
anything: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212843#.V0cS0I9OI5s
Mr. Politically
incorrect is alive and well at 90. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/don-rickles-was-politically-incorrect-before-it-was-incorrect-and-hes-still-going-at-90/2016/05/24/3b5e0422-1868-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html
Inyanay
Diyoma
Guess who is
one of the big Clinton Foundation donors. If D. Trump got them for a mere
$200,000 donation to come to his wedding all the more so $1 - $5,000,000! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212576
Yaalon
resigns and Rabbi Glick replaces him. No tears on my part! http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4805583,00.html
Hypocrite
takes private jet to receive environmental award. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/05/21/dicaprio-takes-private-jet-extra-8000-miles-to-collect-environmental-award.html?intcmp=hplnws
Ed-Op
military correspondent attacks Bibi for hurting Al Sisi: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4805609,00.html
Bibi
attacked by his enemies in the press and TV. http://debka.com/article/25440/Bibi%E2%80%99s-foes-seeking-a-Promised-Land
Dr.
Martin Sherman has left the Jerusalem Post for this paper Pitfalls of peace: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16157
Besides
George Soros, guess what Barak Hussein paid money to J-Street for backing
Iranian Deal. Read “Traitors and Carpetbaggers in the Promised Land” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212592#.V0EmAJF96M8
Undercover
Police did not identify themselves attacked an Arab – since I am not super
pro-Arab it is bad: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4806449,00.html
Since
this is not a major newspaper I would not put this past him to pull money from
Veterans for Syrian Immigrants but I like to check out the truth so at this
point I take this with a grain of Dead Sea Salt: http://reagancoalition.com/articles/2015/obama-pulls-2-6-billion-from-veterans-and-reallocates-4-5-billion-to-syrian-migrants-moving-to-u-s.html
Jewish woman and daughter
stabbed in kosher restaurant: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212711
Iran claim that it can
destroy Israel in 8 min. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212717#.V0PfvpF96M8
Donations to
Veterans by Trump in his fund raiser called into question but he hits back: http://www.aol.com/article/2016/05/24/donald-trump-veterans-donations/21382908/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl40%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D-1532570006_htmlws-main-bb
Oren Shaul and
Hadar Goldin are not buried why not hold these terrorists in pig skins until
our fighting men are returned? After they take advantage of Bibi-Yaalon return,
Police Minister orders freeze on returning. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Erdan-orders-freeze-on-returning-bodies-of-Palestinian-attackers-454914
US bombs Shiites
so Iranians can take over Iraq and move closer to Israel and Saudis-Yarden. Not
so smart! http://debka.com/article/25444/Iran’s-Soleimani-leads-US-backed-attack-on-Fallujah
Elkin covers
for Netanyahu but it is not true and intelligence should have been provided to
security cabinet ministers: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212775#.V0VXO49OI5t
Comptroller’s
report shows that Israel blundered fighting BDS: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4807490,00.html
After too many
lines at airports TSA executive given the boot finally: http://www.aol.com/article/2016/05/24/5-years-1-firing-tsa-shakeup-highlights-how-rarely-its-execs-g/21383259/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl41%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D-157895706_htmlws-main-bb
Attorney
General angry of political interference in army trial: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212774#.V0VbjY9OI5s
Why
Home Schooling or Religious Schooling is necessary: Ed-Op from Dr. Harry: For all the
justifiable press coverage of Barack Obama's federal guidance on transgender
students in the public schools, its most dangerous provision has largely gone
unnoticed – and it has nothing to do with bathrooms.
The most outrageous provision of his transgender bathroom order does not even involve locker rooms, where teenagers of the opposite sex will change and shower next to one another.
The most offensive part of the new policy is that, under the Obama administration's federal guidance:
School districts must allow biological males and females to spend the night together in the same hotel room on field trips;
Colleges must let men who say they are transgender be roommates with one or more women; and
School officials cannot even tell those young women or their parents in advance that their new roommate is a man, without risking a federal lawsuit.
The plain wording of the Obama administration's diktat is clear enough, yet it has not been reported, even by conservative news outlets.
Republicans get it wrong, again!
The most outrageous provision of his transgender bathroom order does not even involve locker rooms, where teenagers of the opposite sex will change and shower next to one another.
The most offensive part of the new policy is that, under the Obama administration's federal guidance:
School districts must allow biological males and females to spend the night together in the same hotel room on field trips;
Colleges must let men who say they are transgender be roommates with one or more women; and
School officials cannot even tell those young women or their parents in advance that their new roommate is a man, without risking a federal lawsuit.
The plain wording of the Obama administration's diktat is clear enough, yet it has not been reported, even by conservative news outlets.
Republicans get it wrong, again!
Molotov
Cocktails thrown at border police on Har Scopus near Hebrew U. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4807991,00.html
Another heat
wave and sudden fires. Some might be from Lag B’ Omer ceremonies but in Kiriat
Mattesdorf witnesses saw somebody set the fire. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4808264,00.html
Being the only
full Jew on the block I got bullied more than anybody else: Anti-Semitic Attack
in NH CT. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/kill-the-jew-12-year-old-boy-brutally-beaten-at-school-in-shocking-hate-filled-attack/#.V0cfPP9sJLA.facebook
Iran and
Hezballah planning a series of terror attacks according to intelligence: http://debka.com/article/25446/First-test-for-Lieberman-from-Iran-and-Hizballah-
ISIS down
under: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212885#.V0gdQpF96M8
Shin-Bet stops
rocket parts to Gaza: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4808463,00.html
Have
a healthy, peaceful and good Shabbos,
Rachamim
Pauli