Friday, August 18, 2017

Parshiyos Re'eh - Shoftim, story


Vacation time and even Rabbis go on a work – rest vacation. Part of the vacation is buying new white shirts so that I look nice for the Chaggim coming up and even every day for a Talmud Chacham should set an example. The other part is to view a work of creation, the eclipse, if I am lucky enough to get to the area and have clear skies. Despite the threats from North Korea, I am more relaxed than the real threats from Gaza and Lebanon which can be at any moment any day or from Iran sometime after they get a bomb. With North Korea it is like a Sumo Wrestler making noises at the opponent if one examines the language.



Parsha Re’eh


With two Torah Portions this week which are rich in Mitzvos there is too much to cover for the layman and so the only thing one can hope for is a bit of emphasis on a few of the Mitzvos. Since all Mitzvos are part of a chain with 613 links one cannot leave out one and expect the chain to have full strength. The sending away of the mother bird is a simple Mitzvah and perhaps harder to do than counting the Omer or saying Kirias Shema but still it holds even an important place in Kabbalah. The three cardinal Mitzvos which one must forfeit his own life is to do Avoda Zara, to murder somebody else or be murdered and to commit a forbidden lewd act. There are three essential Mitzvos that preserve the Jewish Identity and they are Shabbos, Kashrus and Taharos Mishpacha. Last of the cardinal Mitzvos is education to continue the Torah from generation to generation. For even if a person is too poor to give charity or in a survival situation and has no Siddur for praying, Tallis or Tephillin, he can still manage to attempt to perform the Mitzvos with all his heart, soul and might. 


11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:


The idea is to choose the blessing and do everything in one’s power to avoid the curse. The initial time of Yetzias Mitzrayim until the Churban of the first Mikdash 2448 to 3338 was 890 years in which the nation thrived. So we are dependent each man upon his fellow and education and reviews are necessary. The second time of Jews in the land lasted from 3408 until 3828 or 3830 (the is a discrepancy between our tradition and the Roman Calendar – since our calendar is accurate there is a good reason to believe the earlier date and dictatorships are known to forge history. However, since there was confusion and murders in the second Churban, we could be off slightly. Our Rabbis wrote 420 years but that might have been rounded off and it was really 422 or the Temple lasted 420 years and it took 2 years to build a safe environment for sacrifices. I cannot decide one way or the other but there is no dispute on the 420 year minimum.)


27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day; 28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.


In order to get a full understanding of the situation, we must remember that this is part of the second Drasha in Devarim. The Drasha continues from Chapter 5 through Chapter 27 and was mentioned on one day. This is part of 600,000 men listening to Moshe. He probably did his Drasha like the late Lubavitcher Rebbe did in a Verbrengung where he spoke and give a small break with singing or something and then continued. For if we don’t take this as one long Drasha, we miss out on the mountains for the blessings and the curses as they are mentioned here but chapters away.



 
29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou go to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Eval.


At this point we forget about these places for a few Parshiyos but they are mentioned further on in the speech which the Bnei Yisrael are listening to.


30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the terebinths of Moreh?


Are they not [on the other side of the Jordan]?- [: Moses] gave [geographical] landmarks [describing the mountains]. Beyond: Heb. אַחֲרֵי, [I.e.,] after crossing the Jordan, much further on in distance, for that is the meaning of the expression אַחֲרֵי, “beyond”; wherever [the term] אַחֲרֵי is used, [it signifies]“a great separation [in time or place].” beyond: Heb. אַחֲרֵי, [I.e.,] after crossing the Jordan, much further on in distance, for that is the meaning of the expression אַחֲרֵי, “beyond”; wherever [the term] אַחֲרֵי is used, [it signifies]“a great separation [in time or place].” Opposite: Far off from Gilgal. [near] the plains of Moreh: This is Shechem, as is stated: “to the place of Shechem, to the plain of Moreh” (Gen. 12:6).


Schem is in the valley or plain between the two mountains. There is some prophecy here as Gilgal will not exist until the cross the Yarden as mentioned during the circumcision ceremony after they enter Eretz Yisrael before Yericho.


31 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. 32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day. 12:1 These are the statutes and the ordinances, which ye shall observe to do in the land which the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye shall surely destroy all the places, wherein the nations that ye are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree. 3 And ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place.


The first order of business is to remove all traces of the cults of Avoda Zara from the land. This serves a dual purpose to purify the land and prevent any stray Ben Yisrael from going off into these strange cults claiming that he needed the gods of the land to succeed. For the Bnei Yisrael had been infected with the culture of Mitzrayim and their gods and the likes. A similar situation exists today with women’s styles. Where the worse immodesty from the Goyim of the world combines to disgrace many a Jewish teen who sees these things on Television and takes upon themselves to be like the styles that are foreign to Torah Modesty.


4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. 5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, even unto His habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come; 6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock; 7 and there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. 8 Ye shall not do after all that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes;


You will have a place to gather unto and offer the Korbanos Chagigah at the three Regelim. It will be relatively centralized.


…15 Notwithstanding thou may kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.


You shall eat the animals that you slaughter in a Kosher Manner anywhere. At this point the Torah starts a review of the animals and birds that are Kosher.


16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.


This applies to the domesticated animals but fowls and animals found in the wild such as deer, gazelles, giraffes, etc. even if penned in require that the blood be covered. This Mitzvah is given elsewhere.


… 13:1 All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.


Once the Torah has been given, it is codified and canonized, one cannot add or subtract from it even a fraction of a Yud.


2 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams--and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 3 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee--saying: 'Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them'; 4 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God put you to proof, to know whether ye do love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. … 6 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken perversion against the LORD your God, … So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.


This is not only a test but to clean up the Bnei Yisrael from diverging from the Torah. All the Kosher prophets have only come to strengthen the Torah and Mitzvos and gotten the people to repent. Sometimes they have come with warnings of destruction but in the end there will be a redemption of the people.


7 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying: 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 8 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 9 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him;


If your own brother or close relative loses his faith and goes over to Avoda Zara, you shall not listen to him or pity him out of love but do unto him as you would a stranger.


10 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 11 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to draw thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 12 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.


This goes even for the city in which you grew up in and you shall move out, go to the Sanhedrin and have they send a delegation to enquire of this and over-turn the whole city. Rabban Gamliel did this with his student Shaul. He sent Shaul to uproot the early Christians who put on Tephillin, kept Kosher, family purity, Shabbos. He gave him a Heter to put on an act and feign blindness, call himself Paul, tell of a dream where people ate pork and did not observe Shabbos. It worked in one way, the religion changed and some Jews came back to Judaism while others split and worshipped another religion. All were under Roman Control and the Sanhedrin had no power over them. After which the religion became popular to the nations and it brought in many while Judaism preserved its fundamentals.

… 3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the beasts which ye may eat: … 9 These ye may eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales may ye eat; 10 and whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye shall not eat; it is unclean unto you. 11 Of all clean birds ye may eat. … 20 Of all clean winged things ye may eat. 21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dies of itself; thou may give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou may sell it unto a foreigner; for thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.

This is the restatement of the laws of Kashrus in a nutshell and the repeating of the prohibition of eating meat and milk together. We see that in the times of the Mishnah so that people would not be confused as fowl, cattle and sheep were called “meat”, the Rabbis forbade fowl with milk too in order to guard the Torah. What was once proper under the authority of Rebbe Yossi HaGalili became forbidden. (Chullin if my memory serves me about Daf 109)
 
… The next section deals with rejoicing before the L-RD with Maaser Sheni followed by giving the tithe to the Leviim and poor in the third and sixth years.


15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because the LORD'S release hath been proclaimed.

These are loans to the poor and if they cannot return them, leave them and the L-RD will repay you in kind.

3 Of a foreigner thou may exact it; but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall release. … 6 For the LORD thy God will bless thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.

There is a special blessing in the observance of this and you will not be dependent upon others.

7 If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; 8 but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wants. 9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee.

Do not co-sign a loan or give more than you would normally give – just my good financial advice, but give to the person. If he pays back, we can rejoice and if not he has received our charity instead of where we normally give it. This is my advice so that it is always a win-win situation and not a win-lose situation. For supporting the poor or Kollelim is part of the will of HASHEM so we win a Mitzvah in any case. If the poor pays back, the money goes to the Kollel or a free loan or whatever our normal charity donation is for Schul, Mikvah, medical equipment loans or medical research. The poor should not starve, be without shelter or clothing.


10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou give unto him; because that for this thing the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou put thy hand unto. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore, I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.'

It seems that for the reason of Gilgul Neshamos people are tested with being poor and being rich and how they act with their lack of money or money ensures them a place in heaven.

12 If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.

Man to pay off his debt or to survive. A woman in order to marry the rich man or his son upon reaching maturity. For a maid might be of very good stock a Bas Cohain or Levi and her family dirt poor that they cannot afford her upbringing. She is sold for the purpose of marriage or there is a famine and the girl is sold in order to live. This girl is given priority into marrying into the family.

13 And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty; 14 thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.

In the age of servants and slaves there was no idea of worker’s compensation. The Torah revolutionizes the world with worker’s compensation and either retirement money or money to get back on the worker’s feet as a free man.

… 19 All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.


… 16:1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD thy God; for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. … 9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn shalt thou begin to number seven weeks. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God after the measure of the freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as the LORD thy God blesses thee. … 13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress. 14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. … 16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks, and on the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty; 17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee.

This is the preservation of the religion and the meeting of families together in the place of holiness.



Parsha Shoftim


16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God gives thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, justice shalt thou follow, that thou may live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.


This is the basis for justice and civilization. BUT THIS MUST BE DONE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.


… 2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have commanded not; 4 and it be told thee, and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with stones, that they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.

Minimum is two witnesses and they must be willing to be the starting executioners.

8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose. 9 And thou shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days; and thou shalt inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment.

Go to your leaders and teachers of Halacha. In the generation of Moshe and afterwards they were the Cohanim and Leviim. But by the end of the Second Temple they were the Rabbis and Sanhedrin.

10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the LORD shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee. 11 According to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

Once you have gone to the Rabbis or Sages, you shall do as you have been told and not what your heart tells you to do to the left or the right.

12 And the man that does presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that stands to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.


In short if you go to a Rabbi or Beis Din for a Psak accept it and listen to it.


14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me'; 15 thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou may not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.


He must be a full Ben Yisrael which could according to the language be a Ger Tzeddek but not a Ger Toshav aka a Ben Noach. All the more so a stranger from the nations. Ideally it should be a G-D fearing person born as a Ben Yisrael.


… 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer.


That is going to a séance to contact some dead spirit or as Shaul did a person who placed bones and other enchantments to raise the spirit of Shmuel during this first year after burial before his Neshama had settled in the next world. (See the Malbim Sefer Shmuel).



12 For whosoever does these things is an abomination unto the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God is driving them out from before thee.


The nation should stay clear of these people.


18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'


A true prophet will arise to guide you but a false prophet shall be put to death. How do we know he is true? If he says a good thing will come to pass that is fine. If a person says a bad thing is to come like Yona at Nineveh and it does not happen due to repentance, he still might be a true prophet.


19:1 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses; 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD thy God causes thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither. 4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso kills his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the helve, and lights upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live;


The man slaughterer must flee into exile. For had he prayed, the blade of the ax would not have flown off to kill the neighbor.

… 11 But if any man hates his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one of these cities; 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. … 14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.


Remember that the close neighbor was also most likely close family. Everybody had the land divided according to their tribes and father’s house. So one who does this would be literally stealing from his brother.


15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.


You need two to establish something otherwise the judge confronts the equivalent to he said to she said situation.

16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to bear perverted witness against him; 17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days. 18 And the judges shall inquire diligently; and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
… 20:1 When thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for the LORD thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, 3 and shall say unto them: 'Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your heart faint; fear not, nor be alarmed, neither be ye affrighted at them; 4 for the LORD your God is He that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' 5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: 'What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard... 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? … let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.' … 'What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.'


There is an allowance for a person that just built a house, planted a vineyard and the newly wed. However, in a Mitzvah War to protect Eretz Yisrael, one is not exempt. It happened to me in 1982 and to a few that were injured in the Pillar-Cloud Operation and Protective Edge Operation. However, the coward has a way out.


… 19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou may eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?


One cannot destroy fruit bearing trees especially in Eretz Yisrael.
21:1 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God gives thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; 2 then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain. 3 And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that …

The city should have protected their guests.


6 And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 And they shall speak and say: 'Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive, O LORD, Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of Thy people Israel.' And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD.

The elders of the city did not send up somebody to accompany the man or pray for him. Similar to the Cohain HaGadol and the unintentional murderer.

Funeral on Monday by Rabbi Y. Tilles


The woman tried to control her tears as she knocked on the door of Rabbi Shloima Poupko (1928-2003) one Friday morning. Originally from New York, Rabbi Poupko had joined the Johannesburg community in the 1950's, where he served as the Chief Rabbi and also as the pulpit rabbi of the Sydenham Highlands North Synagogue.
The woman, a neighbor of Rabbi Poupko, knew that he was willing to help everyone in the Jewish community in South Africa. Rabbi Poupko opened the door. One look at his visitor told him that something was very wrong. "I need your help. It's ... it's my nephew. David Kauder. He's just four years old, and the doctors say he's going to die on Monday."
The woman took a deep breath, then explained. "David was hit by a car six months ago. He's been in an irreversible coma ever since. Today, the doctor came in and told us that his funeral would be on Monday."
Rabbi Poupko was taken aback. How could the doctor have spoken in such a manner? I've never heard of anyone, let alone a doctor, speaking like that. It's barbaric to say such a thing!"
"Can you help us?" the woman begged. There was no time to spare. Rabbi Poupko grabbed his jacket, ran outside, and asked his driver to take him to the Florence Nightingale Nursing Home, where David was being treated.
Less than ten minutes later, he was striding down the corridor, searching for the room that held the gravely ill David Kauder and his family. Rabbi Poupko found a grim scenario as he peeked around the door. The boy lay motionless in bed, only the faintest rising of his chest giving any indication that he was still alive. His parents stood nearby, looking helplessly at their son.
Rabbi Poupko greeted the nurse, then quietly asked about the boy's status. The nurse slowly shook her head. "It's not good. The doctor says his funeral will be on Monday."
Once again, Rabbi Poupko was shocked by these callous words. He gave a quick glance at David, lying silently on the bed. There was a good chance that the young boy-though appearing unaware of his surroundings-could actually hear every word. How could the doctor have spoken in this way?
"Please give that doctor a message from me," Rabbi Poupko declared. "Tell him that no one only G-d knows whose funeral will take place when on Monday!"
Rabbi Poupko returned home to find David's aunt anxiously awaiting his return. He invited her into his office. "Please sit down for a few minutes. I'll be right with you."
Rabbi Poupko had decided to send a telegram to the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, asking him to pray on the boy's behalf. There wasn't enough time before Shabbos to write a detailed explanation, so Rabbi Poupko simply wrote the boy's name and his mother's name, and urged the Rebbe to pray immediately for the child's recovery.
That task done, Rabbi Poupko returned to the aunt and told her to invite the entire family-many of whom were not religious-to come to his house for kiddush and the Shabbos meal that Friday night. "Let them know that they won't be able to drive back. They'll either have to walk, or if it's too far, we'll be happy to arrange accommodations for the night."
That Friday night, over forty Kauder family members showed up at Rabbi Poupko's house-uncles, aunts and cousins. After making kiddush, Rabbi Poupko spoke to them about the significance of kashrus, Shabbos, family purity and Jewish education. "We all want David to have a full recovery," Rabbi Poupko declared, "but we have to do something to arouse Divine Mercy for the One Above to reverse the Heavenly decree."
The family members unanimously agreed to accept these mitzvos upon themselves. "It's not that hard," they reassured each other. "We can do it-for David's sake." Early Sunday morning, Rabbi Poupko was awakened with a call from the nursing home.
"I can't give any details on the phone," the nurse said breathlessly. "Could you please come down to the nursing home right away?" Rabbi Poupko sat frozen, trying to fight down the surge of panic and despair that had welled up at the nurse's words. He couldn't help imagining the worst.
Forcing himself to stand up, he immediately set out for the nursing home, ready to face whatever was coming. Rabbi Poupko walked cautiously into David's room-to be greeted by a room full of people, including a beaming Mr. and Mrs. Kauder and a bewildered array of doctors and nurses. The source of their bewilderment was right in front of them. Little David was awake and out of bed, pulling the tubes out of his mouth and crying, "Mama, Mama!"
One of the assisting doctors, the disbelief evident upon his face, turned to Rabbi Poupko and exclaimed, "This is an absolute impossibility!"
Like the doctors, Rabbi Poupko could hardly believe his eyes. Yet he knew what he had to do. He immediately gave praise and thanks to Creator for performing this open miracle for the Kauder family.
One year after David's miraculous recovery, Rabbi Poupko received an unexpected letter from the Satmar. "You should know that the souls of the family made a strong impression in Heaven," the Rebbe wrote. "Since you encouraged them to return and accept the mitzvos, the Heavenly Judgment was changed and their child was spared."
Rabbi Poupko was astonished. There had been no time to tell the Rav anything about the Kauder family on that hectic Friday-no time, in fact, to do much more than write David Kauder's name. Yet the Satmar Rav had known it all.
Editor's note: At first I thought to omit this part of the original article (before the paragraph beginning "One year after"). In the end I decided that's not fair, so I include it here as a P.S.:
One person was absent from the scene of the miracle. David's doctor-the one who had predicted the boy's funeral for Monday-happened to have the day off. He was tinkering with his car in front of his house, changing a tire, when a truck parked further up the hill suddenly came rolling down. The doctor didn't see it coming-until it smashed into his car a moment later. He never had a chance. His funeral was on Monday morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from "Shabbos Stories for the Parsha" (Noach 5772), as posted from an email of "Good Shabbos Everyone," where it was taken from "Visions of Greatness" by Reb Y. Weiss (Volume VII)
Biographical note:
Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum [of blessed memory: 5648 - 26 Av 5739 (1888 - August 1979 C.E.)], was part of an extraordinary escape from Bergen-Belsen in 1944, after which he went to the Holy Land. In 1947 he moved to the USA, where he established himself as the Satmar Rebbe, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, doing extensive work in establishing Torah education networks. Famed as the leader of Hungarian Jewry and the largest Chassidic group in the world, and as the spiritual leader of the opposition to a secular-based Jewish government in Israel, he was also one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation.
Connection: Seasonal-the 38th yahrzeit of "Reb Yoelish." I either heard this from Rav Glixman or somebody else or read it. The doctors are no prophets and it is HASHEM in the end who decides who will live and who will die. I remember the ending very well.

From Adele: I tried to take a nap ... but my husband was watching MSNBC ... all I could hear is what a Racist that our President is... all that I can say is... he may be a lot of things ... but does anyone remember the signs in Florida? 
If you tried to drive into BOCA RATON. There was a sign it read...NO JEWS OR NEGROES ALLOWED..
Does anyone here remember but me? 
OUR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ... sued and had those signs removed ... we could not even stay in a Hotel there ... not until you got to Miami
... my parents remembered too..
What is wrong with people now? 
President Trump is not a Racist
... he may be a lot of other things that really are wrong with him ... but to say he is a Racist ... is just a lie!
He really needs to be more careful about what he says
... the left is working very hard to bring him down even if it means destroying our Country!


Church sells land to Jews but then tries to retract. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233838


From Gary. I have been told that his has been banned for not being PC this Bugs Bunny Cartoon. https://www.facebook.com/UnleashedCountryBoys/videos/933154830059666/






Before HaRav Uri Zohar became religious he produced a movie “To save the Life Guard” but little could one believe in a drowning of a life guard who was only 39. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5004271,00.html



Inyanay Diyoma




Trump – Putin deal endangers Israeli and Jordanian Borders: http://debka.com/article/26183/Trump-Putin-deal-imperils-Israeli-Jordan-borders


Egypt kills Jihadist who attacked Copts. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233766


IDF captures terror cell who shot at IDF Post. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233472


Argentina honors an Argentinean Israeli Dr. who treated Syrians. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5001807,00.html


Ed- Op: Once ISIS is eliminated the Jihad of Iran – Hezballah will take over. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5000180,00.html


On Shabbos female terrorist attacks Charedi but stabs Arab. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233807




ISIS is out Iran in and Israel will not take it. Talk by Netanyahu is cheap. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233870


Dr. Martin Sherman Humanitarian Paradigm part 2: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/20861




Paris – car rams into Pizza Place. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233935


Kim freezes attack as Defense Secretary says we have a chuck wagon come and get it. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233938


Rabbi leaves Venezuela.


Truck’s crane knocks down bridge. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233952


Can it be that an Arab incites terrorism! http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5003036,00.html


Nazis aka National Socialists are bad but the alt left is worse. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/234008


In Virginia the Nazis paraded in front of a Synagogue: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/234003




Ed-Op Ben Dror Yemeni we must stop the radical Israeli Arab movement. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5003662,00.html






Ed-Op by Jack Engelhard: First they came for our statues. Whether destroying statues of Robert E. Lee or Abraham Lincoln - those who try to erase the past are eerily reminiscent of UNESCO denying the Jewish roots on the Temple Mount. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/20888


Good Shabbos all as next week I will be traveling to and from the Eclipse in the mid-west. Hope to be back in two weeks.

Rachamim Pauli

Friday, August 11, 2017

Parsha Ekev, story, news


Parsha Eikev


Moshe is now stating important Halachos for the Bnei Yisrael and things about Eretz Yisrael such as it is a land flowing with milk and honey and the oil of olives.


7:12 And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep with thee the covenant and the mercy which He swore unto thy fathers, 13 and He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; He will also bless the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy land, thy corn and thy wine and thine oil, the increase of thy kine and the young of thy flock, in the land which He swore unto thy fathers to give thee. 14 Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou know, upon thee, but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. 16 And thou shalt consume all the peoples that the LORD thy God shall deliver unto thee; thine eye shall not pity them; neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.


If you truly love HASHEM and follow the commandments, then you will succeed and be in good health. Good and prosperous you will be over all the peoples of the world. However, if you leave people in the land that are horrible to mercy and justice they will snare you either by idol worship or physically.


If you are afraid of the numbers of the nations in the land don’t worry: … 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a God great and awful. 22 And the LORD thy God will cast out those nations before thee by little and little; thou may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and shall discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed. 24 And He shall deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to perish from under heaven; there shall no man be able to stand against thee, until thou have destroyed them.


Observe the Mitzvos and you will succeed.

… 8:3 And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.  

In Perkei Avos = Ayn Kemach, Ayn Torah and Ayn Torah, Ayn Kemach. Meaning if there is no flour aka bread there is no Torah but if there is no Torah there will be no flour. It is a From here we can see that the more Torah learning, the more prosperity in the world. The height was the two brothers Yissachar and Zevulun. Zevulun was busy in commerce and would support their brother tribe learning and teaching Torah. As a result, both prospered.

It should be noted that the Christians are big on this Pasuk as Yeshu was a Torah Teacher and he preached this often and the saying was credited to him and not the Torah.

… 7 For the LORD thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; 9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou may dig brass. 10 And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD thy God for the good land which He hath given thee.

Eretz Yisrael will provide you with plenty of food and natural resources.

11 Beware lest thou forget the LORD thy God, … 17 and thou say in thy heart: 'My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.'

This is not for everything comes from HASHEM alone.

18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God, for it is He that gives thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I forewarn you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.

Each coin has two sides. Do good and observe and be blessed. Don’t observe and be punished.

9: 1 Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou know, and of whom thou hast heard say: 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' 3 Know therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He who goes over before thee as a devouring fire; He will destroy them, and He will bring them down before thee; so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the LORD hath spoken unto thee.


You will see with your own eyes what will be done to these nations and their cities. I remember a time when 3,000,000 Israelis in 1967 defeated 150,000,000 Arabs and their armies. I remember in 1973 in a surprise attack that Arab armies stopped advancing when the road to Afula and Tel Aviv was open. It is only through observance or the covenant between the Avos and HASHEM that we are here in Israel today and not so much on our observance but on Chessed HASHEM.
           
4 Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the LORD thy God hath thrust them out from before thee, saying: 'For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land'; whereas for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.

Let not your heart be troubled, fear not the nations for their wickedness cannot support them in a holy land.

5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may establish the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 Know therefore that it is not for thy righteousness that the LORD thy God gives thee this good land to possess it; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Only though HIS Chessed and the merits of your forefathers will you be able to live in the land.

At this point Moshe reminds them of the sin of the Egel HaZahav and the Spies to shame them and remind them of the Chessed from HASHEM.

… 10: 1 At that time the LORD said unto me: 'Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount; and make thee an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark.' … 10 Now I stayed in the mount, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me that time also; the LORD would not destroy thee. 11 And the LORD said unto me: 'Arise, go before the people, causing them to set forward, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give unto them.'

So now the time has come to possess the land. Now let me suggest to you what HASHEM wants from you to inherit the land.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul;

HASHEM require both fear and love as a husband is afraid to lose his wife or vice versa. One must work at this. It is constant review and renewal. One must not take love for granted. Serving HASHEM has to be whole hearted and with one’s will.

13 to keep for thy good the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day?

In order to do what HASHEM wants from you, you have whole heartedly keep and observe the commandments. These are not things that are back burner items but always priority before you so that HASHEM is before you/us always.

… 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

The conclusion is:


11: 1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep His charge, and His statutes, and His ordinances, and His commandments, always. 2 And know ye this day; for I speak not with your children that have not known, and that have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm,


I am not speaking to a generation who has not seen firsthand the miracles of Egypt, receiving the Decalogue, the Korach Rebellion and other miracles but:



7 but your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He did. 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it; 9 and that ye may prolong your days upon the land, which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey.


Remember your history and miracles. Keep and preserve through observance of the Mitzvos. Then you and your children will have a land flowing with milk and honey.


10 For the land, whither thou go in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and didst water it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drink water as the rain of heaven comes down;


It is unlike the irrigation of the land from the Nile. You will have to store rain water or gather from springs and wells.


12 a land which the LORD thy God cares for; the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.


Each year the land is judged by your actions on Rosh Hashanah. Observe and a good judgement. Don’t observe and you are in trouble.


13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou may gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied.


This is the middle blessing of the Shema. Observe and you will receive proper rains and substance.


16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 and the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain, and the ground shall not yield her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD gives you.


Disobedience and non-compliance with the commandments ends up with a horrible punishment. Therefore the words shall be bound upon your soul and impressed upon you by wearing Tephillin and having a Mezuzah on the door.


18 Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sit in thy house, and when thou walk by the way, and when thou lie down, and when thou rise up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; 21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.


Your actions affect your children therefore educate them to follow the commandments.


… 24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.


The borders of the land are as far as your armies and people walk between the Euphrates, western sea aka Mediterrean. From the tip of Lebanon until the river in Sinai.



25 There shall no man be able to stand against you: the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as He hath spoken unto you.



All in the family by Rabbi Y. Tilles

One day in the years between WWI and WWII, a chasid visited his Rebbe, the Imrei Emmes of Gur, to consult about his financial worries. He said, "For years, I've been buying merchandise at a good price from a Jewish corporation in Berlin, which I then sold for a nice profit. But I recently received a letter from them, stating that they won't be selling to me anymore. Now I don't know how I will earn a living.…"
The Imrei Emmes asked, "What can I do to help?" and the man had to admit that he didn't know what the Rebbe could do.
The Imrei Emmes was pensive for a few moments, and then he said, "Soon, I will be traveling with my brother-in-law, the Rav of Bendin, to the resort in Marienbad. En route, we will pass Berlin. Ask my brother-in-law whether he is willing to make a stop in Berlin, to visit this company. If my brother-in-law agrees to take this detour, I also agree. We will speak with the heads of the company. Perhaps that will help you."
The man thanked the Imrei Emmes, and went to the Rav of Bendin. His response was, "If this is what the Gerer Rebbe desires, of course I concur."
So the Imrei Emmes and his brother-in-law stopped in Berlin, and went to the company. The proprietor didn't recognize them, but was impressed by their scholarly and rabbinic appearance. The Imrei Emmes introduced himself, "My name is Avraham Mordechai Alter. In Poland people call me the Gerrer Rebbe. And this is my brother-in-law, Hanoch-Zvi HaKohen Levin, the Rav of Bendin. We are also mechutanim ("relatives through marriage"-the daughter of one is married to the son of the other).
The owner jumped from excitement. "Can you repeat what you just said?"
The rebbe repeated, "I am the rebbe of Gur, and this is my brother-in-law and mechutan, the rabbi of Bendin."
For some reason, these words made him very happy. His partner was upstairs. He called him down. The partner came down, and the proprietor asked the Imrei Emmes to repeat what he said a third time.
The Imrei Emmes obliged: "I am the rebbe of Gur," he said, "and this is my brother-in-law [husband of my sister] and mechutan, the rabbi of Bendin."
The two business partners looked at each other, smiled broadly, and began to dance energetically. The Imrei Emmes and his brother-in-law stood there astounded, wondering what this was all about.
Finally, one of the partners explained: "We are also brothers-in-law. I have a daughter, he has a son, and we thought that it would be nice if the children marry each other. But on second thought, we were concerned that perhaps it isn't proper for cousins to marry each other. So we pushed away the idea to the back of our minds. But this caused a problem, because to run our busy business, we need to speak with each other often. Due to our indecision, an uncomfortable tension rose between us and we hardly spoke. We weren't able to run a business successfully this way, and contemplated closing it.
But now you come to our store and tell us that you are brothers-in-law and also mechutanim. That means our children can marry one another--if you did it, so can we! Our dancing was kind of an advance engagement celebration, because we are so happy. In addition, we won't lose our livelihood either. We will be able to speak normally with each other, and remain in business. It is like a miracle!"
When the partners calmed down, the first businessman said, "I'm sorry for carrying on. I didn't even give you a chance to tell me why you came."
The Imrei Emmes explained that he came to help one of his chasidim. "He used to buy from you, but he received a letter stating that you won't be selling to him anymore."
The proprietor replied, "There is nothing to worry about. I will write another letter, stating that he is welcome to do business with us as before, and you can bring it to him. We only sent that last letter because we thought we were closing shop. But now that we know that our children can marry, our business can continue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from Torah Wellsprings: "Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman," as compiled and translated by Rabbi Boruch Twersky.
Biographical notes:
Rabbi Avraham-Mordechai Alter (1866 - 6 Sivan 1948), the son of the Sfas Emmes, was the third Rebbe in the Gur dynasty. Known as the Imrei Emmes after the title of his major book, he was the spiritual leader of over 250,000 Chassidim in pre-WW II Poland. In 1940, he managed to escape with three of his sons to Israel (then Palestine), although the vast majority of his followers did not survive. He began to rebuild the Gerrer community in Jerusalem, but he died there during the siege of Jerusalem on Shavuos, 1948.
Rabbi Hanoch-Zvi HaKohen Levin [1870 - Shabbat, 6 Adar A,1935], a chasid and major Torah scholar in Poland, was the chief rabbi of Bendin before World War II. He was the grandson of Rebbe Hanoch of Alexander and a son-in-law of the second Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Yehuda-Aryeh- Leib Alter, the "Sfat Emet," who said about him that "the Rav of Bendin is a complete person."


Miracle or luck – saved by a question: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233443


Police probe of Netanyahu widens with second State Witness. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4999183,00.html






Ed-Op Fishman – Dialogues about Jewish – Muslim interaction going down the drain as the Mufti – Fatach fight us. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4997621,00.html




Israeli Marriage Statistics for Tu B’ Av. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4999716,00.html


Although the Torah permits a 12 year old female to marry a 13 year old male in this case the court had to permit 16 yrs & 11mos. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233714



Inyanay Diyoma









Jordan moving away from the peace accord with the King’s action. http://debka.com/article/26172/Abdullah-in-Ramallah-will-strike-anti-Israel-stance


Hezballah boosts role in Lebanon despite the claim given to Trump. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4999225,00.html



Lieberman weak on security more stones from Arabs. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233461




From Gary. I might not be happy with Pamela Geller 100% and she does things that I would not do. The problem is that Google deleted 40,000 references from her. Facebook is censoring her. Big brother is here now. https://www.facebook.com/JewishPatriots/videos/1915843792067989/


Lebanese “army” drives out Al Nusra. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233520














Just because you are black does not give you a license to call everyone racist says left-wing Jew. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233605


Bennett warns of expanding Iranian Empire: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233607


Trump talks tough but Mathis warns the N. Koreans that the regime will end. http://debka.com/article/26176/Mattis-warns-NKorea-to-stop-before-it-is-destroyed




The rise and decline of Benjamin Netanyahu Ed- Op Ben Dror Yemeni. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5000120,00.html




Visiting Israel this week, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer insisted that his party remains “overwhelmingly” pro-Israel. If only that were so... Sadly, the party’s rising stars are on the other side.

...The White House hopefuls [Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillbrand] may be responding to the shift by the party’s base against Israel. After all, they heard all the booing at the 2012 Democratic Convention when the chair rammed through platform language recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Then again, Schumer is 66 and Hoyer 78, while Booker’s 48 and Gillibrand 50. In the Democratic Party, reliable support for Israel looks to be a thing of the past.
Last week, Booker was one of four Democrat votes against the Taylor Force Act in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Booker and Gillibrand have joined liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the ACLU in opposing the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.


A good Shabbos all NEXT WEEK MAY BE A DOUBLE PARSHA AND THEN A BREAK FOR ONE WEEK AS I OBSERSE THE ECLIPSE WITH THE HELP OF HASHEM AND THEN TRAVEL BACK TO ISRAEL.

Rachamim Pauli