Please re-add Chaim Dovid ben Chana Golda.
Parsha
Vaeschanan
Rabbi Beryl Wein Shlita in his Drasha last week wrote about the Goy in a completely Orthodox neighborhood in Monsey, NY who continued living there. When asked if he felt alone there, he said, “No I love the serenity of your Shabbos.”
3:23 And I besought the LORD at that time, saying: 24 'O Lord GOD, YOU have begun to show Thy servant, Thy greatness, and Thy strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth, that can do according to Thy works, and according to Thy mighty acts? 25 Let me go over, I pray Thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.' 26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and hearkened not unto me; and the LORD said unto me: 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.' 29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth-Peor.
Moshe is now ending the Mussar and since the hearts of all are now ready to receive the laws, he continues. He even covered in his Mussar his own short-comings which most politicians refuse to admit.
4:1
And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I
teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which
the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the
commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Once the Torah is set in writing there will be no more Mitzvos.
The Rabbis have ordained certain things such as Chanucha, Purim, fast days but
they are with the Rabbis. For that reason, if one cannot fully fast on Tisha B’Av
by the fact that he or she has to take medications they do not need to worry
about a Shuir but drink what they need to swallow. Although they refrain from
eating and drinking normally. However, if one is ill over and above his/her
normal medication, it is easier to eat and drink but Yom Kippur from the Torah
one eats and drinks less than a Shuir unless very ill and for that a
Rabbi/Doctor should be consulted for I could drink with the Shuir liters upon
quarts of liquid every 9 minutes and do it within the Shuir. The same with eating
less than an olive’s bulk and the Ashkenazic Rabbis are very lenient here.
… 7
For what great nation is there, that has God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our
God is whensoever we call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there, that hath
statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you
this day?
These are what set us higher than other nations. For in Iran and
Syria there is the death penalty for homosexuality but the enemies or even
suspected enemies of the regime are systematically raped in the name of Islam.
So you tell me. I don’t want to go into the Crusades or Inquisition but there
was no turning of the other cheek towards Jews.
… 23
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God,
which He made with you, and make you a graven image, even the likeness of anything
which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the LORD thy God is a
devouring fire, a jealous God.
This is the last part of the Mussar before the laws and a warning
below:
25
When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been
long in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image, even the
form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy
God, to provoke Him; 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this
day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over
the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall
utterly be destroyed.
This is the Kabbalistic concept of inanimate things having the
power to offer witness in the next world for or against people. [I brought down
a number of years ago the story of the pit and the weasel written by my great-grandfather
based on tractate Niddah.]
27
And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in
number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.
…41 Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan toward the
sunrising; 42 that the manslayer might flee thither, that slays
his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto
one of these cities he might live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness,
in the table-land, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites;
and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
He is setting aside the future Mitzvah showing them what they must
do on the Eretz Yisrael side of the Yarden.
5:1 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Hear, O
Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day,
that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. 2 The LORD our God made a
covenant with us in Horev. 3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers,
but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD spoke
with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.
Many of you who were under 20 at the time and the women
witnessed the giving of the law on Sinai.
11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God
commanded thee.
This is an active guarding of the Shabbos lest one
fail. Prior to Shabbos setting a closure or tape on the light switch and
shutting off the refrigerator light. Shabbos clocks on air conditioners.
12 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
Not work but any of the 39 Melachos and their
derivatives. One is not allowed to write for example and the Rabbis instituted
calculations (outside of one’s head for we cannot stop the mind from wandering).
However, even though an abacus is not per sec forbidden by the Torah to be used
inside a tent or house, the spirit of Shabbos is violated. There were other
things that people did not do even Erev Shabbos such as judgements, haircuts,
washing lest one forget to pray Mincha or have enough time to prepare for
Shabbos.
13 but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it
thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor
thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and
thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.
This was for the benefit also of the non-Jewish
Servants. Over the centuries the concept of Shabbos Goy developed especially in
colder climates where one needed heat in the winter and coal or wood furnaces had
to be stoked or other things for an ill but not dangerously ill person
(preventive medicine). A recent example happened where a person had an
emergency and had to go to a hospital Erev Shabbos. The person would not be
admitted but would be on such pain killers that he/she could not walk home. A
Rabbi from the Star-K was consulted and the person arranged before Shabbos for
a non-Jewish Cabbie which he/she used to drive them home when the hospital called
and the payment would be after Shabbos.
14 And thou shalt remember that thou was a servant in the land of
Egypt, and the LORD thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an
outstretched arm; therefore, the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath
day.
The rest for a non-Jewish Servant was a revolutionary
idea and that of an Israel sold as a servant.
…27 But as for thee, stand thou here by Me, and I will speak unto
thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou
shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to
possess it.' 28 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath
commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 29 Ye
shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye
may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days
in the land which ye shall possess.
Not to the right or left but do the commandments
straight forward with good intentions in your heart. Examples are the effort
needed the holidays with the cleaning and purchasing of Pessach or the building
and purchasing for Sukkos. The Mitzvos should be done out of love but modern
people have all sorts of financial and time pressure. Sometimes one gets
distracted by the high prices of Lulavim and Esrogim before Sukkos and despairs.
However, right before the holiday, the prices fall as the salesman wants to
make a sale and not take a loss on left over goods. I recommend this for poorer
Jews but there are also Synagogues that buy in bulk from stores and receive
cheaper prices. Everybody is happy for those who want to choose will go to a
less crowded store and those will receive kosher Lulavim and Esrogim. My former
work place does this and each year one can buy up to three sets.
You are going to get a good land. Be positive for the following is the basis for all the Mitzvos.
4
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 And thou shalt love the
LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 7
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, …
This is Judaism 101 for all generations and people went into the
fires of the inquisition on this the swords of the crusades and jihad with
these words on their lips. I have heard about the people who survived the
Holocaust of those who sang “I believe …” and “the Shema” before they perished.
Do them – how important are these words. In my family there is a story of my father’s great-aunt Mathilda who was given a beautiful cake for her 80th birthday. She said it was so pretty she would put it aside for it was too beautiful to eat up at once. The cake eventually developed mold. So when the Mitzvah comes hop aboard the Mitzvah Train and do it. In Yiddish you will always hear “Hop the Mitzvah”.
I was about to write my story when I got on What’s
App from Rabbi Barak Kochavi Shlita a story of Ahavas Chinam (unbounding love
for a fellow Jew). You will soon see Mida Knegged Mida at the end (measure for
measure).
For every action from HASHEM there is an equal
reaction. Or Charity saves from death. A true story.
A number of years ago in Chevron there was a soldier
from Kiriat Malachi [translation Los Angles in English]. The soldier was on
patrol. Suddenly, out of nowhere came an Arab Y”MS who stabbed him in the lower
back and damaged some internal organs. The terrorist escaped and lucky a
soldier from a different unit came and saved the fellow enough to give him
first aid and evacuated him to the hospital in Beer Sheva. He took out from the
soldier’s pockets the papers who he was and the hospital contacted the parents.
When they arrived, he returned to his unit.
The parents started saying Psalms asking for HASHEM
to save the soldier. The professor in the hospital after a long operation
managed to change the prognosis from gravely injured to very seriously injured
with a good chance of recovery.
A month went by and the mother contacted the radio to
broadcast her name and phone for the rescuing soldier to call her. She wanted
to do HaKaras HaTov (thanking him). After a year she brought her plea to the
first TV station but with no results. Finally, after a year and a half, she put
a sign in her mini-market.
Time went by and it was now two years and a woman
visiting her mother in Kiriat Malachi walks in. Before taking the bus back to
Beer Sheva, she wants to make some purchases as the bus will arrive a bit
towards the closing of the stores. She sees the sign and says that she is the
mother of the soldier. She calls up her son and says, “Remember, the story that
you told me of Chevron where you saved the soldier who was bleeding to death.”
He says, “Of course!” “Well here is his mother.” They talk and they are both
very religious so the mother invites them over for a thankyou meal. They
accept.
They get together. In the middle of the meal the
mother of the hero looks at the mother of the other soldier and turns white and
asks to speak to the mother of the rescued soldier in private. She is offered
water but refuses. She then says do you remember 22 years ago there was a young
pregnant woman who was married but had no money to pay for her future family.
The young lady was full of tears and red-eyed from crying. She did not want to
do anything bad but was thinking of having an abortion because she had no money.
The store owner gave her the day’s receipts so she could continue on without an
abortion. The baby that was born turned into the rescuer of the other soldier.
Proving once again that Tzeduka saves from death not only in the next world but
in this world.
Part 8 of my return to Judaism by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli
This week, I will start on my entrance into the Yeshiva
World. As I was now in a Jewish Group at South Campus my friend David Willig
(now Rabbi David Willig Shlita) suggested that I go to the Bostoner Rebbe. The
Rebbe and Sarai had mentioned Yeshiva Haichal HaTorah near my University.
During the interlude in the Semesters from the first
half of my senior year to the second half, I went down to 630 Riverside Drive
for an interview. After offering my services as a tutor and substitute teacher,
I was accepted without tuition and I got free meals and board.
In my Yeshiva, I was lucky to be placed in the Shuir of
the Rosh Yeshiva as most of my College learning was at night, it was easy
enough to attend during the day. I was assigned to have a Chavrutha Avraham
Arieh Winograd. We would learn and have great fun together for the Purim Song
writing contest.
Rabbi Yacov London of blessed memory taught with the
most unique method of all the Yeshivas that I have attended. He required that
we know the “case, law and reason for the law” for each phase of the Gemara.
The older or more experienced fellows also looked into the 13 principles of
Rabbi Yishmael from which one the law was made. The Rabbi also asked “What was
bothering the commentator Rashi?” especially on the Chumash.
One fellow in my class, Mordechai Rubin, introduced me
to the Blackman Mishnayos in English and I bought the set in semi-hard cover
and use them still today for translation and even helping Menashe with some
words that he has trouble with. (For example the Mishnah does not use the full
Hebrew word for after-birth but a shortened version and Menashe had never come
across such a word.)
My best days in the Yeshiva were Shabbosos as we all
ate together including the younger children of the Rabbis who rode tricycles
then in the dining room. I would learn in the College Library both the Soncino
English Medrash Rabbah on the Parsha and often the translation of the Zohar in
which I would learn Pshat. If somebody in the Yeshiva ‘stole’ my Drasha, I
would have material for another Drasha. It often happened that the fellows
prepared something even fellows well advanced like Baruch, Mordechai and
Gedaliah and they would say that one of the fellows who had a turn before them
took what they prepared.
We did have a funny incident with one fellow in the
Yeshiva who gave a serious argument to the Rabbi. He was trying to say in
Yiddish the word for opposite but in Yiddish it sounds like fur and he got
stuck on the second letter stuttering. “Rabbi Fu...Fa… and it went on instead
of ‘verkert’ and we could only express the utmost self-restraint as not to
embarrass him for it was sounding like something one would not say in front of
a Rabbi. For once much later on, I was helping the Rabbi with Bingo by selling
sandwiches and drinks to the attendees of the game and before the election one
of the local politicians who was Jewish came to speak before the attendees. His
daughter shook hands with the Rabbi who normally avoid all women. The Rabbi
told me that he could not embarrass the woman especially a politician’s
daughter. He then sited Perkei Avos that one who embarrasses his fellow in
public has no place in the next world.
One of my good friends was Rabbi Aaron Vachss Shlita
who had been a classmate of mine in a history course in the College. He was my
Rebbe for the next year.
The Yeshiva was a great place to study and our
maintenance man was a Frum fellow who also knew how to learn. He would go on to
move to Yerushalayim and work for Aish HaTorah (I believe as one of the
teachers) so as not to belittle him, I will just not mention his name. One of
the problems with the Yeshiva was heat in the winter as the boiler in the old
cobblestone building that was once a nunnery or something was not as good as
the tenement that was our dormitories. He would be in charge of people whom the
Rabbi tried to raise from skid row that gave them work in the maintenance of
the Yeshiva and then recommendation for a regular job.
The Rabbi know many donors and had a name for himself
but always had problems paying all the bills like electricity and other large
bills for the buildings. Cakes, cookies and Challah he would get from a bakery
or two Erev Shabbos of things that they did not sell. The main thing was
learning Torah, Gemara and Halacha with the Gemara which we did learn.
Perhaps one last story or two of the Rosh Yeshiva. When
he was a younger fellow there was an old Rabbi named Leibowitz who could not
make it up the steps of his Yeshiva to give a Shuir. The Rabbi would carry him
up. Prior to opening up the first Baalei Teshuva Yeshiva, the older Rabbi
taught mathematics at Columbia University. The Rabbis had me wake up the
Bochurim as once the Rabbi in his youth woke up somebody for learning and got a
shoe thrown at him. So in the morning the Younger Rabbi would come into my Room
which was an extension of Baruch’s room and say Modeh Ani (we thank thee who
has restored my soul). I then would quickly dress and go around from room to
room to wake up the whole dorm.
With the younger Rabbi as Dean of the High School, many
of the young men who passed through the doors ended up living in Eretz Yisrael.
Perhaps proportionately to other Yeshivos, the percentage of graduates that
went on to Eretz Yisrael is much larger. I was speaking to the younger
Rebbetzin on my last trip to the States and her then 5-year-old Chana now has
two married children living in Eretz Yisrael.
In summation,
the amount of Talmud we learned was about a Daf a week but of high quality of
case, law and reason so that we could go on to higher levels. Since many of the
fellows did not have much of a Torah background beforehand, the foundation was
solid. What the Rabbis did not teach, the older boys would teach us by example.
Part 9 will cover some other Baalei Teshuva Yeshivos
such as Hadar HaTorah of Lubavitch, Shalom Hartman Institute and a few words on
Aish HaTorah. I am only familiar with institutions that existed 46 years ago or
so and not all the wonderful institutions like Machon Meir and others that have
sprung up over the years.
From the Medrash via Cindy G. Titus's Death:
Our Sages tell us: When Titus was traveling back to Rome on a ship with the Jewish captives and the vessels of the Holy Temple, a storm at sea threatened to drown him. He said: "It seems that the G‑d of these people only has power over water. When Pharaoh came, He drowned him in water. When Sisera came, He drowned him in water. Now He is about to drown me in water. If He wants to show His strength, let Him come onto dry land and fight with me there!"
Our Sages tell us: When Titus was traveling back to Rome on a ship with the Jewish captives and the vessels of the Holy Temple, a storm at sea threatened to drown him. He said: "It seems that the G‑d of these people only has power over water. When Pharaoh came, He drowned him in water. When Sisera came, He drowned him in water. Now He is about to drown me in water. If He wants to show His strength, let Him come onto dry land and fight with me there!"
A Divine voice came forth
and said to him: "Wicked one, the son of a wicked one, descendant of Esau
the wicked, I have an insignificant creature in My world called a gnat. Come
ashore and do battle with it!" Titus went ashore and a gnat came and
entered his nostril, and pecked at his brain for seven years.
One day, Titus was walking past a blacksmith's shop.
The gnat heard the noise of the sledgehammer and became silent. Titus said:
"There is a remedy!" Every day they brought a blacksmith and he
hammered in Titus' presence. To a gentile blacksmith he would give a handsome
stipend, but to a Jew he would say: "It is sufficient that you see your
enemy suffering!"
For thirty days they brought smiths to hammer in
Titus' presence. Then the gnat adjusted to the noise of the hammer, and
continued pecking at Titus' brain even when the hammers were struck.
Rabbi Pinchas ben Arova said: "I was with the
great men of Rome at the time when Titus died. They examined his brain and what
they found in it was the size of a small bird!"
As Titus lay dying, he instructed his servants:
"Burn me and scatter my ashes over the seven seas so that the G‑d of the
Jews cannot find me and bring me to judgment."
Holocaust Hero: http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/3400563/jewish/Philip-Bialowitz-90-Took-Part-in-Death-Camp-Revolt-That-Freed-Hundreds.htm
Ancient Synagogue found that existed when the earliest Christians
were observant Orthodox Jews with a Messianic belief: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4841308,00.html
This is prior to Rabban Gamliel sending Shaul to remove the
Messianics from Judaism.
Jewish man at 35 is the oldest swimming gold medalist in Olympic
history. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216468
From Chaiya: Films of the Kotel over 100 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq32TmaEEos&feature=youtu.be
The Solar Flare of the cold war that almost started a nuclear war by
Chris Stubenrauch: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/1967-solar-storm-nearly-took-us-soviets-brink-war/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=sky-mya-nl-160812&utm_content=870615_SKY_HP_eNL_160812&utm_medium=email
On May 23, 1967, amidst the high-strung economic and political tension
of the Cold War, all three of the United States' ballistic missile
early-warning radars became simultaneously jammed. Located in the high-latitude
areas of Alaska, Greenland, and the United Kingdom, these radars were designed
to detect incoming Soviet missiles, and any attack or disruption of these
radars were considered to be an act of war.
The United States Air Force, believing their radars had been
intentionally jammed by the Soviet Union, authorized aircraft with
nuclear-strike capabilities to take to the skies. Timely information from
space-weather forecasters, who realized that it was a powerful solar flare
jamming the radar, managed to prevent military action just in time.
Delores Knipp (University of Colorado, Boulder, and National Center
for Atmospheric Research) collaborated with retired U.S. Air Force officers
involved in forecasting and analyzing the storm to bring this story to light in
a recent article published in the journal Space Weather.
Today is TU B’Av or women’s proposal day. Article
where Marriages fail: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216643
Inyanay
Diyoma
Note: As the election in the States and in the future in Israel
approaches I express my opinions, facts and data from others. My intent is the
best for Israel. I have a friend whom I have known for well over 60 years and
60 years ago attended his Bar Mitzvah. He is very high up in the Democratic
Party and one can be friends. The main goal here is for the production and
distribution of words of Torah. My politics is based on what I personally
believe is best for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and to bring the Moshiach. So if
you see my political opinions vs. pure news please take this into account for
my intent is not to get people angry but to enhance my view of the world. So
please skip political opinions if they agitate you.
Rebuilding of the Gush Katif Synagogue(s) 11 years later. Similar
to Chashmonayim – Yemenite, Sephardim, Ashkenazim and Chabad Chassidim in one
massive complex of Synagogues including a different Yemenite Synagogue with a
different Nusach across the street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374kQ1DeJB0
Are
the Arabs using germ warfare or is just an unlucky year? Many Arabs work in
food processing plants. First it was Cornflakes. Then Humus: http://hamodia.com/2016/08/11/salmonella-returns-time-hummus/ Tahini: http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-tehina-products-pulled-from-shelves-in-new-salmonella-scare-1001145698 French
Fries with dangerous germs: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4840558,00.html
British teen lured to be an ISIS Jihad Bride dies in air strike: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/British-teen-who-joined-ISIS-killed-in-Syria-air-strike-463976
Medical clown helps save and treat injured child who refused
treatment: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216322
I don’t know if Trump wants this verification of claim that proves
that Obama founded ISIS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216384
Iranian Nuclear Chief on what is going on: http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/08/09/irans-atomic-energy-chief-rejects-rumors-of-waning-nuclear-activity-boasts-imminent-tsunami-in-industry/
In Yiddish “You should not know from Tsoros.” http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/dc-leaks-publishes-george-soros-files-showing-millions-contributed-to-anti-israel-causes/2016/08/14/
Wednesday Dec. 9, 1992 long before the exile of the Jews from Gush
Katif 11 years ago, Dr. Martin Sherman wrote on the dangers of giving up Gaza: http://www.strategic-israel.org/article.pdf
Love begets love and hate begets hate: http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspect-charged-in-daylight-slaying-of-new-york-imam-and-friend/
Hezballah working on their Shiite base: http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/08/15/lebanese-journalist-fiery-anti-israel-rhetoric-by-hezbollah-chiefs-aimed-at-shiite-base-interview/
Hezballah Facebook recruitment in Yehuda and the Shomron stopped by
the Shin Bet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4842264,00.html
The next conflict with Hezballah or Hamas should be the last as we
strengthen defense and offence: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4842472,00.html
The Establishment is to keep us down. In Kansas the common sense
folk ousted one: http://endingthefed.com/nevertrump-kansas-gop-lawmaker-loses-primary-to-pro-trump-challenger.html
Traffic accident on border injures 7 soldiers. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216528
Israel wants Abbas re-elected: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4842659,00.html
Guess who are anti-Semites from Rabbi Ginsburg Shlita: http://strongandresolute.blogspot.co.il/2016/08/hillary-is-vicious-anti-semite-and.html
Russian Base in Iran with anti-aircraft missiles: http://debka.com/article/25611/After-bombers-Russian-S-400s-for-Iranian-base
Israel and the Sunnis are beginning to View Iran the same way: http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/08/08/top-israeli-diplomat-says-jewish-sunni-arab-states-coming-to-view-mideast-through-same-prism/
US removes Nukes from Turkey: http://debka.com/article/25613/Rushed-evacuation-of-US-nukes-from-Incirlik
A peaceful and healthy Shabbos to all remember to guard
this holy Mitzvah,
Rachamim Pauli
