Thursday, August 23, 2018

Parsha Ki Seitzei, 3 stories, Elul Mussar

 
Parsha Ki Seitzei

Our biggest enemy is our Yetzer HaRa. The largest evil inclination within mankind is the desire for physical pleasure. The Torah does not think it a sin when the husband and wife in ritual purity have relations. The Kabbalah views it as a merging of two souls into one with the Shechina above. Even when the couple is past child-bearing age or in Biblical Times pre-child-bearing age it was no looked on as a sin. In Judaism, the original sin of Adam and Chava was disobedience to ELOKIM and not as the Christians teach.

21:10 When thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God delivers them into thy hands, and thou carries them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a woman of goodly form, and thou hast a desire unto her, and would take her to thee to wife;

The Torah does not permit raping captive women but does permit taking them and marrying them because HASHEM understands the nature of man. The problem arises in the fact that the woman has been taken from her land, house and family and even if treated as a wife has been physically humbled by the captor. She has inert hatred for her captor no matter how well he treats her. There of course are exceptions as the Christian Lebanese when we had the Shalom Ha Galil War were not captives and one Israeli Christian Arab fell in love with a Lebanese Girl and they held a wedding with her parent’s blessing. Most of the time it is not the case and the wife can produce a child who will hate the father and rebel.

12 then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

This makes her ugly unto the soldier and her feel more humble without her hair. Without her being beautiful will he still desire her?

13 and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month; and after that thou may go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

She shall then go to the Mikvah and have a wedding ceremony and be a wife. Because he has not abused her, perhaps she will grow to love him as a wife.

14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

She shall be a free woman and capable of earning her keep dressed like an Israeli now.

15 If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated;

He brought this new captive home to a house where he already had a wife so the first wife feels hated. Another possibility is that she is less liked similar to Leah and Rachel and feels hated. (Remember Yacov is buried next to Leah and not Rachel.) HASHEM made sure that if a future Yacov would have a Reuven, Reuven would be the first born and not Yosef even though both were first born children. A different commentary appears in the Art Scroll that attributes the hated wife to being the captive woman who has produced a rebellious son.

16 then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son of the hated, who is the first-born; 17 but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; for he is the first-fruits of his strength, the right of the first-born is his.

It is most likely the eldest son of the first wife his first fruit, Bechor for if she bore him a daughter then his Bechor for the second wife would get the inheritance under any circumstances.

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not hearken to the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; 19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

Our Rabbis say that this is the son of the captured woman. His mother harbored animosity towards his father and this made him into a rebel.

20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city: 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he doth not hearken to our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.' 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Such a child is put on trial if he is brought before the elders between the age of 13 years and one day until 13.5 years. If at that age he is a glutton and a drunk all the more so if he grows he will start to steal and kill to support his habit(s) and therefore is put to death. However, there is another condition that the voice of the mother and father are similar as they speak in “our voice” or one voice. Some say there never was or will be such a son and another Sage claimed to have seen a grave of such a rebel.

22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree; 23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is a reproach unto God; that thou defile not thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

The man was killed by the court for his sin but this is his atonement and the dead person should be honored as he was created in the form of G-D.

22:1 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep driven away, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely bring them back unto thy brother.

It is not only his animal but that of a Jewish enemy and applies to all objects.

 2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, and thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother require it, and thou shalt restore it to him.

Even strangers “Hey mister, Hey Lady you dropped your …”.

 … 4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

 No shirking of your obligation towards your fellow man. YOU ARE YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER according to Judaism.

 5 A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

 Cross dressing is an abomination (Torah’s wording). Abomination is also used to describe homosexuality and idol worship.
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young; 7 thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, but the young thou may take unto thyself; that it may be well with thee, and that thou may prolong thy days.

The bird’s nest and honoring parents are the only Mitzvos that have lengthening of days. However, it needs not be in this world. For it happened that once a boy was told by his father to take a bird next from a high tree. He slipped and was killed. The Rabbis say basically that he finished his Mitzvah performance in this world and was recalled to the next world having completed his mission on earth. If we were to look at such a story before our own eyes without the explanation, we might become heaven forbid disbeleavers. 

8 When thou build a new house, then thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence.

The Hebrew is written on this Mitzvah as if to say: “The man whose destiny is to fall will fall from the roof if you do not prevent it.” If G-D has declared that he die or be injured from falling let it be on public land but not on your property.

Shatnez forbidden mixtures already mentioned in Parsha Kedoshim: 9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed; lest the fullness of the seed which thou hast sown be forfeited together with the increase of the vineyard. 10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. 11 Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together.

From Parsha Shelach Lecha at the end: 12 Thou shalt make thee twisted cords upon the four corners of thy covering, wherewith thou cover thyself.

If one hates his wife and publically charges her with being promiscuous after betrothal which was contracted but not consummated marriage. 13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 and lay wanton charges against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say: 'I took this woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity';

For this carries the death penalty for adultery. Nowadays we neither have betrothal as in the Torah nor do we consider a maid over 12.5 years old a virgin as she might have used tampons or something else or through some accident lost it. The husband is fined 100 Shekels whether she was from the best of the Cohanim to a girl from the slums. Mishnah Arachim 3:5.


… 22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel. 23 If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a man, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die: the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife; so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.

It was 1969 in a neighborhood in Queens NY with the windows opened. 37 neighbors heard the woman’s scream and some watched her being stabbed to death. Nobody wanted to get involved nobody called the police. The Torah tells us to get involved but if this was to happen today no woman would be put to death.

25 But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man take hold of her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die. 26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death; for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and slays him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the field; the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

The rapists over-powered her.

28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.

The husband is fined 50 Shekels whether she was from the best of the Cohanim to a girl from the slums. Mishnah Arachim 3:4. This is a lesser fine than that of the Lashon Hara on the woman as it is physical abuse and the other is an abuse of reputation.

23: … 10 When thou go forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing. 11 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chances him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp. 12 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he may come within the camp.

The Torah envisions an army of totally ritually pure and spiritually clean and rich soldiers. Such a clean and pure army is invincible by the greatest enemy.

13 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad. 14 And thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sit down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee. 15 For the LORD thy God walks in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy; that He see no unseemly thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

A good reason for covering up after one does his needs in the field is to prevent another soldier from stepping in it. A secondary benefit is that flies and disease does not spread.

16 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a bondman that is escaped from his master unto thee;

The Torah does not require a person to be a Harriet Tubman and run an underground railroad but it does require a person to prevent abuse.

… 18 There shall be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 19 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Harlotry and Sodomy meaning Homosexual Behavior for if it is with a woman it is called in Hebrew “not the [usual] way”. This is the third time that Homosexual behavior is called an abomination.

20 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest.

This does not include financial loans but a special Heter must be drawn up.

21 Unto a foreigner thou may lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou put thy hand unto, in the land whither thou go in to possess it. …
24:1 When a man taketh a wife, and marries her, then it cometh to pass, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he writes her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,

What could be unseemly? She does not cover her hair, big on Lashon Hara, immodest in her actions. Or she perhaps abuses the children. One of these is a ground. We do not want people living with a spouse that they are repulsed by.

… 5 When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business; he shall be free for his house one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken.

This does not apply to a Mitzvah War such as fighting Amalek according the modern Halacha.

… 7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, and sell him; then that thief shall die; so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

This should be the rule for kidnappers too.

… 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam, by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt. … 14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. 15 In the same day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and set his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD and it be sin in thee. {S} … 17 Thou shalt not pervert the justice due to the stranger, or to the fatherless; nor take the widow's raiment to pledge. … 19 When thou reap thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go back to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.

All this section of which I took a small selection are to remind us that our wealth and health come from HASHEM. This is read not far before Rosh Hashanah as a word of caution into us.

… 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it after thee; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.  … 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. …11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smites him, and puts forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets; 12 then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.

The Rabbis do not take this literally but such a woman is wicked for she could have jumped on the back of a man or taken an object to hit him. Grabbing him in the privates certainly reflects on the woman. He was not raping her but fighting with her husband.

… 13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. 14 Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small.

We are not talking about various weights such as 1 gram, 5 grams, 10 grams etc. to use on a scale to balance things but rather tricking people into buying substandard things and selling them as complete and wholesome items. See Parsha Kedoshim about righteous weights and measures and being up to standard.
17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt; 18 how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were enfeebled in thy rear, when thou was faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.
This Parsha warns us not to forget the punishment of Miriam for her speaking bad of her brother and also not to forget what your enemy did to you.



An older story on 22:1 and a new one - the electrician

One day, I was climbing the stairs at work. I saw something that looked from my height like golden foil of a candy wrapper on the stairs but it looked a bit too gold. I picked it up and it was a bracelet. I don’t really write descent Hebrew unto this day so one of my Israeli Colleagues helped me draft the following notice that I put up on bullet boards. If anybody lost something of value please call internal number 1234 ask for RP and supply a detailed description of the lost item.

It turned out that the bracelet belonged to a young lady named Zahava. From time to time we would greet each other good morning or evening and I left the company to work in another city at the main branch.

In the meantime, I wanted to strengthen my wife in Torah and I took her for something like a 5-day or weeklong seminary for couples some of whom were non-religious or turning religious. Lo and behold Zahava was there. She was pretty firm in her religious beliefs but wanted to strengthen her husband.

Zahava’s husband was a Sephardic sort of Traditional Jew. Similar to the American Conservative observance with the exception that the only religious authority was the local Orthodox Rabbi there is no need among the Sephardim for an extra religious branch. Either you observe fully or you don’t but you respect your Rabbi.

The husband was an electrician and was usually careful on safety. One day he got a shock that almost killed him and left him unconscious. His wife told him to go to the Synagogue to bless the Gomel Blessing. He did and Zahava convinced him that G-D kept him alive for a purpose and that he should become stronger in Torah and Mitzvos.

I saw Zahava one last time at a rally between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at our main plant with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. She told me that her husband was still religious.

Another fellow at the seminary was pretty anti-religious and only came because of his wife. He underwent a 180-degree change. Years later, he told me that his boys were going to Yeshiva Hesder. That was over 19 or more years ago.


Ki Seitzei L’ Milchama Emm Ha Yetzer

We are close to the middle of Elul. The Shofar is blowing but is anybody listening? The day the world is judged for who will live or the opposite is fast approaching. I am sitting here in FL thinking of my achievements or lack thereof both spiritually and mundane. Sometimes things are beyond our ability. What have I done that I could do better and what I should avoid. It is great removing oneself from the usual environment. I am not bound by the usual confines and routine. So I can reflect but can you?

Our Sages tell us that a person sins once he or she awed by the situation and thinks of repentance twice the sin is starting to be embedded and three times a custom. Chaim S. told me many years ago of his grandmother tried to find work during the depression. Work was 7 days a week. Many Orthodox Jews would work and be fired.

His grandmother tried to hold on to Shabbos but the situation got worse and worse until finally one Shabbos she had to put food on the table for her children. The first week she was afraid to the core of her soul. The second week less, until at a certain point the violation became such that after the great depression, she never went back to being Shomer Shabbos.

Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale Shlita wrote at the beginning of Elul about laziness. Laziness at home – not doing the chores that one should be doing. Laziness with one’s body which includes exercise, bathing, grooming and teeth brushing. Laziness with spirit to break and fix your bad habits and then laziness in Torah and Mitzvos.

There are three main sections of the Yetzer. The first is with observance of pray, Shabbos or Yom Tov, the second one deals with the laziness in following the laws of Kashrus and lastly the observance of family purity. Pray starts to become routine. We are all busy in the modern society and I am as guilty as the next running here and there. Prays day in and day out have after years and years become warn. The only prayers that I work hard on now are the healing prayer and the pray that G-D listens as I pray for others. I have neglected a lot of the praise, thanks, etc.

However, Shabbos-Yom Tov, Kashrus and Family Purity are Mitzvos between man and HASHEM. The internet sometimes exposes that somebody who was supposed to observe Shabbos is on line. If one does not purchase a Big Mac and bite into it in public we would not know anything the same with Family Purity – although I told you how the Jordanian Spies were exposed on the Kibbutz as the wife did not go to the Mikvah for more than 10 months and the ladies figured something was off.

Many of the other Mitzvos are between man and man and we have to be zealous to observe not to embarrass or hurt our fellow Jew. If one looks at the sins mentioned that we have the majority of breast beating they are in the category of sins between man and his/her fellow.

Last Shabbos I could not advertise at all except on my own Facebook Page for the Blogspot. I was chief shopper, cook, washer, cleaner and USPS mail reader. I ended up only one day in the gym, which is rare for me when I am healthy. I am about to reach a milestone in my publishing of the blogspot and that is 250,000 pages. I am planning to condense of the Parshiyos Beresheis that I have done into one book on creation with a complete linear and linear Rashi Translation.


Clutching the sleeve by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles


Oh, hers was a bitter lot. Her husband had left her years before. Not that their marriage had been perfect, but still, did he really have to steal away like a common criminal without even telling her that he was leaving, or even granting her a divorce?

No divorce was the worst part of it all. Now she was "chained" to the man who had betrayed her. Without a divorce document, she could not remarry.

She tried looking for him, sending letters to rabbis in communities all over Poland. She even tried consulting the greatest Talmudic scholars, hoping for a "loophole" that would allow her to remarry. But nothing panned out. She had almost resigned herself to the fact that she would live alone for the rest of her life.

As a last resort, she and her brother-her faithful brother, who had supported her even when her friends abandoned her-traveled to the city of Kozhnitz. There lived the great Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael, who was known far and wide as a wonder-worker.

"Rebbe," she sobbed, "you are my last hope! My husband left me years ago, and I desperately want to move on with my life. Tell me. Please! Where O where shall I turn?"

The Rebbe listened intently, his large eyes mirroring the raw pain and agony of her words. Then, turning to his assistant, he asked that a pail of water be brought into his study.

"Look into the pail," said the Rebbe to the woman, "and tell me what you see."

"I see a large city," said the incredulous woman. "I can see houses, streets, shops . . ."

"Now look for the marketplace. Can you make it out?" prodded the Rebbe.
.
"Yes, yes," she replied, "I can see the marketplace. It's lined with shops on either side."

"Now look into the windows of the shops, and tell me what you see."

"Rebbe! I see my husband," she replied excitedly. "He's aged a bit, but I would recognize him anywhere. He is sitting around a table with a group of workers, and they are all sewing. He's putting the finishing touches on an ornate sleeve right now. I've seen him do this dozens of times. You know he was a tailor, my husband . . ."

"Good," said the Rebbe. "Now take your hand and grab the sleeve from him."

As if in a trance, she took her hand and plunged it into the cold water, and withdrew it holding the sleeve-still warm from the iron!

"Good," said the Rebbe. "I want you to hold on to that sleeve. With it and G d's help, you will get a divorce from your husband."

"Rebbe, "pleaded the brother and sister, mystified; "please instruct us. Where should we go next?"

"You can go wherever you'd like," was the Rebbe’s cryptic reply.

"But how can we possibly hire a coachman if we don't even know where we wish to travel?" they asked. "Please guide us, Rebbe."

"Go in peace," said the holy man of Kozhnitz. "The good and merciful G d will prepare everything for you."

They stumbled out of the Rebbe’s humble home, and there stood a gentile coachman next to a coach that was harnessed to two fine steeds.

"Can you take us?" they asked the man.

"Yes, get in," he replied without the usual discussion about destinations and fares.

Within minutes they found themselves in a vast and dark forest. They could scarcely see the path, but they had no fear. Clutching the sleeve, the woman had faith in G d and His messengers.

Suddenly, the two of them found themselves tumbling on the hard ground. "We must have fallen asleep," they said to one another, "and the coachman must have dumped us out of his coach and ridden off."

They stumbled through the forest until they came to the edge of a large city. "This is the city I saw in the bucket," the woman said hopefully to her brother. "Thank G d, the Rebbe’s words are proving to be true. Let's walk through the city until we find the marketplace I saw."

Sure enough, they soon saw the marketplace. "My dear brother," she said, "let's quickly go to the rabbi of this town and ask him how we should best approach this matter. After all, my husband can easily deny having ever been married to me, despite the miracles that have brought us here."

They made their way to the rabbi's home and told him the chain of events that brought them to his city, even showing him the sleeve that they had brought with them.

"Thank G d," said the rabbi, "He who has not abandoned our generation, and has placed His holy spirit upon the great sage of Kozhnitz.

"I know your husband well," said the Rabbi. "He has established himself in our city. He has a wife and children here, and is regarded as an upstanding member of the community. But fear not. Everything will turn out well; just hold on to that sleeve."

The Rabbi then told the brother and sister to make themselves comfortable in the small alcove next to his study, and immediately summoned the tailor.

"Rabbi," said the tailor quizzically, "is there something you need done? Does your clothing need repair?"

"I just have some questions for you," answered the Rabbi. "Do you have a wife?"

"A wife? Of course I do. Everyone knows that I am married and have a family."

"But were you once married before you came here and started your family?"

"Rabbi," said he with a twinge of nervousness, "I was never married before. I came here free as a bird."

"Tell me," said the rabbi, "what were you sewing today?"

"Funny you should ask," he replied, relieved that the conversation had shifted to a less touchy subject. "It was the strangest thing. I was sitting at the table working with my fellow craftsmen. I was holding the sleeve of a cloak I was making for a nobleman."

"All of a sudden," said the tailor, "the sleeve flew right out of my hands. We all watched in shock as it flew out of the room, as if it were a kite in the hands of a child. We looked everywhere for that sleeve-I had invested hours of work into it-but it was gone. It was like a miracle had happened."

"And what would you give me if I were to give you back your sleeve?" asked the Rabbi.

"There is nothing I could give you," said the tailor, "because there is no way you could possibly give me back that sleeve. It's gone forever."

"Oh, I can do it," said the Rabbi, sliding open the door of the alcove. The tailor gazed at the sleeve in amazement.

"Come in," the Rabbi bade the woman, "and give your husband what is rightfully his."

The long-suffering woman placed the sleeve on the table, as the tailor gazed at the sleeve in amazement. He was so astonished by its miraculous return that he didn't even notice who had carried it in.

"This is indeed your sleeve," said the Rabbi sternly, "but this is your wife!"

The man looked up and fainted.

After he was revived, the husband humbly gave his wife a divorce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: Translated and freely adapted by Menachem Posner for //Chabad.org from Sippurim Nora'im by Rabbi Yaakov Kaidaner, who heard it from a follower of the Kozhnitzer Maggid, Rabbi David, who personally interviewed a number of people involved in this miraculous event. Reprinted with permission. Lightly edited by Yeachmiel Tilles.

Biographical note:
Rabbi Yisroel Haupstein of blessed memory: [5497 - 14 Tishrei 5575 (1737 - Sept. 1814 C.E.)], the "Maggid" (preacher) of Kozhnitz was a major disciple of the Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lyzhensk and, along with the 'Seer' of Lublin, the main spreader of the Chasidic movement to Poland-Galitzia. He acquired his position in Koznitz at age 28, and lived there for the rest of his life, known for his passionate prayer and many miracles. He is the author of the chassidic-kabbalistic work, 'Avodas Yisrael' and fifteen other kabbalistic books. His miraculous birth to an elderly couple is the subject of a famous Baal Shem Tov story.

Connection: Weekly Reading of Ki Teitzei - rules of divorce (Deut. 24:1-4)


$3.2 billion purchase of soda stream. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5331967,00.html



Warning: Contaminated streams in Northern Israel rats, cattle or other animals suspected. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5331358,00.html


US consulate in Haifa closing down: Suspension of Services at the U.S. Consular Agency in Haifa

This is a joint message from U.S. Embassy Jerusalem and U.S. Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv.
The U.S. Consular Agency in Haifa (26 Ben Gurion Boulevard) will be closed for public services from September 1, 2018, until further notice.  This includes appointments for American Citizen Services (passports, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, notarial services, and other special consular services).

U.S. citizens needing consular services may schedule appointments at the American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.  Individuals with appointments scheduled at the U.S. Consular Agency in Haifa on or after September 1, 2018, should attend their appointments at the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.
U.S. EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM (14 David Flusser Street)
https://il.usembassy.gov // JerusalemACS@state.gov
U.S. EMBASSY BRANCH OFFICE IN TEL AVIV (71 HaYarkon Street)
https://il.usembassy.gov // TelAvivACS@state.gov
U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL IN JERUSALEM (18 Agron Road) (for U.S. citizens in Gaza or the West Bank)
https://jru.usconsulate.gov // ConGenJerusalemACS@state.gov






Professor Netanyahu’s bones turn over in the grave his son Bibi Netanyahu for Shabbos violation. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250965

Finally Facebook removes Iranian anti-Israel pages. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5333983,00.html

Inyanay Diyoma




Iran and Syria not Gaza should be the focus. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-august-19-2018/

Iran continuing missile development rolling out for Haj time a new jet fighter. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-it-will-unveil-new-fighter-jet-continue-developing-missiles/




Israel may close one border crossing. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250712





Changes in senior staff at the IDF. www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250786
Released terrorist caught with knife. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250796

Israelis captured hold up ceasefire. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250809


$3.2 billion purchase of soda stream. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5331967,00.html


Rescue in Afghanistan. https://www.debka.com/mivzak/163949/




It is reality that controls ceasefire. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250853

Lieberman give the Arab triangle to the PA. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5332651,00.html

Arab gets Hamas money – arrested. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250806





If the US attacks, we will hit Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250904

Warning anti-Israel candidates in Borough Park and the 5 towns. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/22626

The land that eats its inhabitants. IDF to question officers in the death of terrorists! https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5332349,00.html


Bedjuin soldiers try to rob gas station. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5333277,00.html


N. Korea has stopped dismantling rocket testing facility.


Brits and French scrap flights to Iran. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250974

A peaceful and blessed Shabbos start preparations for Rosh Hashanah,
Rachamim Pauli
Posted by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli at 11:04 PM