Friday, August 17, 2018

Parsha Shoftim, JBJ and two other stories, news


Parsha Shoftim

Last week we had 55 Mitzvos mentioned in Moshe’s Drasha. This week another 73 Mitzvos. Similar to Kedoshim being holy we have being righteous in judgement.
16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth 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.

Bribes blind the eyes of a judge. We cannot have a corrupt society. We have to run after and pursue true justice.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which the LORD thy God hates.

This is not a monument like Yacov and Laban made separating the border of Turkey and Eretz Yisrael but throwing stones as a good like sign to the god of travel.

17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, even anything; for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

The Korban is to either the tree, a pile of stones or the idol. It is not liked to the resting place of Yacov, Beis El where he dedicated the foundation of the future Temple.

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 does 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.

Last week we had 10 or more Mitzvos that were related to Avoda Zara. This week we continue with more and again the death penalty.

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.

One against one makes i a he said, she said situation and there is no proof. This is what injustice with “States Witnesses” is as there tends to be many lies. For one known criminal sells himself to the police to convict another.

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.

Assuming that the person is a criminal, the witnesses must be the first to lay their hands upon him. This tends to scare off false witnesses.

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. 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. 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.

This whole section is in case that there is no Yeshiva in the area and the Cohanim and Leviim were assigned to be teachers of Am Yisrael. They received the Teruma and Maaser and were freer to learn and teach Torah. In this case they would be instead of the Sanhedrin. However, a Sanhedrin of 23 and perhaps 71 in a Tribal area should have been available. However, there were some things that were so difficult known in the Gemara as Tayku (until Tishbi {Eliyahu HaNovi} comes and explains to us the Halacha) that they must have consulted the Urim and Tumim in the Mishkan until the destruction of the first Temple. [See a fresh Lubavitcher Rebbe story and the rejected message below].          

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.

This is written prior to Melech David and one could only appoint a Ben Yisrael. After David only from his seed until the end of time.
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you: 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.' 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18 And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites.

The Sages put an end to more than 18 wives for a King after Shlomo. For Shlomo had too many wives and they turned his heart away. If he multiplies silver and gold he over taxes the nation. He must write or commission to be written a Sefer Torah.

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; 20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.

The king must learn Torah and Halacha and keep it to the letter and set an example to the Nation.

18:1 – 8 deals with the gifts to Cohanim and Leviim.

9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. … 13 Thou shalt be whole-hearted with the LORD thy God.

You shall avoid what the nations are doing and follow completely and whole heartedly what HASHEM has commanded you.

… 15 A prophet will the LORD thy God raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Last week, Moshe warned about the false prophet now he mentions the true prophet. Not every prophet was predicting the future. So predicted what would happen if one went astray and others just called out Mussar Lectures for the people.

16 according to all that thou didst desire of the LORD thy God in Horev in the day of the assembly, saying: 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.' 17 And the LORD said unto me: 'They have well said that which they have spoken. 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.

Because the nation was so afraid of the Voice of the L-RD, they could not become all prophets but needed one as an intermediary between Am Yisrael and HASHEM. The prophet is for guidance. Rabbis are here today and sometimes get help from heaven even though they did not know it at the time.

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.'

He was not told in a dream or vision but imagined through false narrative his prophecy. In those days if they had some credibility they were brought before Sanhedrin. We have a few such people in our time. There was this man claiming to be G-D with proofs in front of Yeshiva University when I was in College. I was told about him and some of the boys wanted to have fun and would ask him for his proofs. Others claim to be Moshiach but they neither bring Shalom to the world or the Mikdash to Yerushalayim. Of course other claim to be Napoleon and most of the individuals are institutionalized. I encountered one who claimed that Yeshu was the Moshiach because he said in the Gospel of Mathew the Shema. I asked him how could he be the son of G-D with the unity and he started to quote that since it said HASHEM ELOKAYNU HASHEM Ehud that was three. I realized that he did not read with commas and the person was just a sick individual and there was no hope for him. Such as he might have been brought before the Sanhedrin in Temple Times.

21 And if thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.

This is only for a good prophecy as a bad prophecy such as Yona on Nineveh did not occur as they harkened and repented through pray and fasting.

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.

There is no accident before HASHEM. HE caused you to inherit the land. HE caused the accident to happen. For there are ways to ´manslaughter´ somebody due to a debit from a previous reincarnation. For if X murdered Y or for whatever reason happened in a past life, X can repent in this life and be exposed by Y either accidently or on purpose as he ran for a political office so as to embarrass him out of obtaining the office. Or Y could end up being hit by a car or pushed in such a way as to hit or fall on X thereby killing him with Y being almost unscathed.

4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso kills his neighbor unaware, and hated him not in time past;

An example of the wood cutter and his axe flying off is given. If the man dies, the family can send out an avenger of blood from one of the close relatives. Nowadays, this Mitzvah of the avenger of blood and fleeing to the city of refuge until the Cohain Gadol dies is literally outdated in a modern society. However, for manslaughter a person in the future could be sent to one of these cities or Yerushalayim.

… 9 if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in His ways--then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three; 10 that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. 11 But if any man hate 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.

The one who does first degree homicide deserves death.

13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Nowadays my compassion for the illness of those with the unnatural sickness of homosexuality or transgenderism and pray that they return to health before they act out something or mutilate their bodies. However, if we lived in a true Torah Society, the Rabbis would have to have compassion upon the society as a whole and the innocent who might be influenced towards this evil thing.

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.

Stealing property or going over the boundaries into the neighbor´s area is a violation of the torah.

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.

The Torah does not allow a he said, 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. … 21 And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Sometimes, we have to control our mercy and try hard as we try always to be merciful and compassionate and he we cannot be.


A tale of two mothers – reincarnation? http://www.baba-mail.co.il/video.aspx?emailid=39379


I believe I posted this story or a similar version a few years ago. I received this from Judith and since the last time I posted this I had a much smaller audience I thought that I would post this now:
Lyndon Johnson and Israel

A few months ago, the Associated  Press reported that newly released tapes from US president Lyndon Johnson's  White House office showed LBJ's "personal and often emotional connection to Israel ." The news agency pointed out that during the Johnson presidency  (1963-1969), "the United States became Israel 's chief diplomatic ally and  primary arms supplier."

But the news report does little to reveal the  full historical extent of Johnson's actions on behalf of the Jewish people  and the State of Israel.  Most students of the Arab-Israeli conflict can  identify Johnson as the president during the 1967 war. But few know about  LBJ's actions to rescue hundreds of endangered Jews during the Holocaust -  actions that could have thrown him out of Congress and into  jail.  Indeed, the title of "Righteous Gentile" is certainly appropriate in the  case of the Texan, whose centennial year is being commemorated this  year.

Appropriately enough, the annual Jerusalem Conference announced  this week that it will honor Johnson.

Historians have revealed that  Johnson, while serving as a young congressman in 1938 and 1939, arranged for visas to be supplied to Jews in Warsaw , and oversaw the apparently illegal immigration of hundreds of Jews through the port of Galveston, Texas ....

A key resource for uncovering LBJ's pro-Jewish activity is  the unpublished 1989 doctoral thesis by University of Texas student  Louis Gomolak, "Prologue: LBJ's Foreign Affairs Background,  1908-1948." Johnson's activities were confirmed by other historians in  interviews with his wife, family members and political associates.

Research into Johnson's personal history indicates that he  inherited  his concern for the Jewish people from his family. His aunt  Jessie Johnson Hatcher, a major influence on LBJ, was a member of the  Zionist Organization of America . According to Gomolak, Aunt Jessie had  nurtured LBJ's commitment to befriending Jews for 50 years. As young boy, Lyndon watched his politically active grandfather "Big Sam" and father "Little Sam" seek clemency for Leo Frank, the Jewish victim of a blood libel in Atlanta

Frank was lynched by a mob in 1915, and the Ku Klux Klan in Texas threatened to kill the Johnsons. The Johnsons later told  friends that Lyndon's family hid in their cellar while his father and  uncles stood guard with shotguns on their porch in case of KKK attacks.  Johnson's speech writer later stated, "Johnson often cited Leo rank's lynching as the source of his opposition to both anti-semitism and isolationism."

Already in 1934 - four years before Chamberlain's Munich  sellout  to Hitler - Johnson was keenly alert to the dangers of Nazism  and presented a book of essays, 'Nazism: An Assault on Civilization', to  the 21-year-old woman he was courting, Claudia Taylor - later known as  "Lady Bird" Johnson. It was an incredible engagement present.

FIVE DAYS after taking office in 1937, LBJ broke with the "Dixiecrats" and supported an immigration bill that would naturalize illegal aliens, mostly Jews from Lithuania and Poland. In 1938, Johnson was told of a young Austrian Jewish musician who was about to be deported from the United States . With an element of subterfuge, LBJ sent him to the US Consulate in Havana to obtain a residency permit. Erich Leinsdorf, the world famous musician and conductor, credited LBJ for saving his live.

That same year, LBJ warned Jewish friend, Jim Novy, that European Jews faced  annihilation. "Get as many Jewish people as possible out of Germany and Poland," were Johnson's instructions. Somehow, Johnson provided him with a pile of signed immigration papers that were used to get 42 Jews out of Warsaw.

But that wasn't enough. According to historian James M. Smallwood, Congressman Johnson used legal and sometimes illegal methods to smuggle "hundreds of Jews into Texas, using Galveston as the entry port.

Enough money could buy false passports and fake visas in Cuba, Mexico and other Latin American countries. Johnson smuggled boatloads and planeloads of Jews into Texas. He hid them in the Texas National Youth Administration. Johnson saved at least four or five hundred Jews, possibly more."

During World War II Johnson joined Novy at a small Austin gathering to sell $65,000 in war bonds. According to Gomolak, Novy and Johnson then raised a very "substantial sum for arms for Jewish underground fighters in Palestine." One source cited by the historian  reports that "Novy and Johnson had been secretly shipping heavy crates  labeled ' Texas Grapefruit' - but containing arms - to Jewish underground 'freedom fighters' in Palestine ."

ON JUNE 4, 1945, Johnson visited Dachau. According to Smallwood, Lady Bird later recalled that when her husband returned home, "he was still shaken, stunned, terrorized, and bursting with an overpowering revulsion and incredulous horror at what he had seen."

A decade later while serving in the Senate, Johnson blocked the Eisenhower administration's attempts to apply sanctions against Israel following the 1956 Sinai Campaign. "The indefatigable Johnson had never ceased pressure on the administration," wrote I.L. "Si" Kenen, the head of AIPAC at the time.

As Senate majority leader, Johnson consistently blocked the anti-Israel initiatives of his fellow Democrat, William Fulbright, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations   Committee. Among Johnson's closest advisers during this period were several  strong pro-Israel advocates, including Benjamin Cohen (who 30 years earlier  was the liaison between Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis and Chaim  Weizmann) and Abe Fortas, the legendary Washington "insider."

Johnson's concern for the Jewish people continued through his presidency. Soon after taking office in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Johnson told an Israeli diplomat, "You have lost a very great friend, but you have found a better one."

Just one month after succeeding Kennedy, LBJ attended the December 1963 dedication of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in Austin. Novy opened the ceremony by saying to Johnson, "We can't thank him enough for all those Jews he got out of Germany during the days of Hitler."

Lady Bird would later describe the day, according to Gomolak: "Person after person plucked at my sleeve and said, 'I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him. He helped me get out.'" Lady Bird elaborated, "Jews had been woven into the warp and woof of all [Lyndon's] years."

THE PRELUDE to the 1967 war was a terrifying period for Israel, with the US State Department led by the historically unfriendly Dean Rusk urging an evenhanded policy despite Arab threats and acts of aggression. Johnson held no such illusions. After the war he placed the blame firmly on Egypt: "If a single act of folly was more responsible for  this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous  announced decision [by Egypt that the Strait of Tiran would be closed [to  Israeli ships and Israeli-bound cargo]."

Kennedy was the first president to approve the sale of defensive US weapons to Israel, specifically Hawk anti-aircraft missiles. However, Johnson approved tanks and fighter jets, all vital after the 1967 war when France imposed a freeze on sales to Israel. Yehuda Avner recently described on these pages prime minister Levi Eshkol's successful appeal for these weapons on a visit to the LBJ ranch.

Israel won the 1967 war, and Johnson worked to make sure it also won the peace. "I sure as hell want to be careful and not run  out on little Israel," Johnson said in a March 1968 conversation with his  ambassador to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg, according to White House tapes recently released.

Soon after the 1967 war, Soviet premier Aleksei Kosygin asked Johnson at the Glassboro Summit why the US supported Israel when there were 80 million Arabs and only three million Israelis. "Because it is a right thing to do," responded the straight shooting Texan.

The crafting of UN Resolution 242 in November 1967 was done under Johnson's scrutiny. The call for "secure and recognized boundaries" was critical. The American and British drafters of the resolution opposed Israel returning all the territories captured in the war. In September 1968, Johnson explained, "We are not the ones to say where other nations should draw lines between them that will assure each the greatest security. It is clear, however, that a return to the situation of 4 June 1967 will not bring peace. There must be secure and there must be recognized borders. Some such lines must be agreed to by the neighbors involved."

Goldberg later noted, "Resolution 242 in no way  refers to Jerusalem , and this omission was deliberate." This historic  diplomacy was conducted under Johnson's stewardship, as Goldberg related in  oral history to the Johnson Library. "I must say for Johnson," Goldberg  stated. "He gave me great personal support."

Robert David Johnson, a  professor of history at Brooklyn College, recently wrote in The New York  Sun, Johnson's  policies stemmed more from personal concerns - his  friendship with leading Zionists, his belief that America had a moral  obligation to bolster Israeli security and his conception of Israel as a  frontier land much like his home state of Texas. His personal concerns led  him to intervene when he felt that the State or Defense departments had  insufficiently appreciated Israel 's diplomatic or military needs."

President Johnson firmly pointed American policy in a pro-Israel direction. In a historical context, the American emergency airlift to Israel in 1973, the constant diplomatic support, the economic and military assistance and the strategic bonds between the two countries can all be credited to the seeds planted by LBJ.

ADDITONAL  NOTE: Lyndon Johnson's maternal ancestors, the Huffmans, apparently  migrated to Frederick, Maryland from Germany sometime in the mid-eighteenth century. Later they moved to Bourbon, Kentucky and eventually settled in Texas in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. According to Jewish law, if  a person's mother is Jewish, then that person is automatically Jewish, regardless of the father's ethnicity or religion. The facts indicate that  both of Lyndon Johnson's great-grandparents, on the maternal side, were  Jewish. These were the grandparents of Lyndon's mother, Rebecca Baines.  Their names were John S. Huffman and Mary Elizabeth Perrin. John Huffman's mother was Suzanne Ament, a common Jewish name. Perrin is also a common Jewish name. Huffman and Perrin had a daughter, Ruth Ament Huffman, who married Joseph Baines and together they had a daughter, Rebekah Baines, Lyndon Johnson's mother. The line of Jewish mothers can be traced back three generations in Lyndon Johnson's family tree. There is little doubt that he was Jewish.


And the message could not go through by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli


Zvi Greenhaim Shlita is an upcoming Cantor singing already before the Prime Minister, Chanucha Lighting in Israel, Berlin and another European City. Zvi has been invited to congregations in West Palm Beach, FL and other places besides his native Eretz Yisrael. On one of his visits to FL, Zvi was encouraged by the Chabad Shaliach to write a message to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The message was close to the grave site, it fell out of the hand of the Shaliach. Then a second time. An enquiry was made as to the reason and it said check the Tephillin. Zvi went to a Chabad Sofer in Miami Beach and had is Tephillin Checked. It seems that despite being previously checked, the Tephillin were missing two letters in two words. The situation was corrected.

Last Shabbos, Zvi made a party and told his story in front of the Chabad Congregation in Ramat Modiin. My forester child, Menashe, attended and repeated the story to me.

I watched Zvi grow up and perhaps my singing in my Sukkah when I was younger encouraged him. I used to listen to him trying to advance in his singing as a teen and even a falsetto voice to his tour of duty in the IDF and his becoming a Chazan in some of the various Schuls in my neighborhood. I had the pleasure of listening to him do Kabbalas Shabbos the evening before his Kiddush.  


The Sash and Cloak by Rabbi Y. Tilles


The "holy Ruzhiner" Rebbe, on the lofty occasion of the bar-mitzvah of his youngest son, Mordechai Shraga-Feivish, just before personally girding the thirteen-year-old with his first gartel (a black silk woven prayer sash), recounted the following episode:
He began by saying, children in that area was unfortunately not the best. Attributing this grave situation to their own spiritual failings, the populace there gathered and voted to send two representatives to the Maggid to ask his instruction and his prayers for divine assistance.
They said to him, "Please recommend to us a man to act as our preacher, shield and shelter." The Maggid's response was to hand the two men his overcoat and dispatch them to [the Belarus city of] Vitebsk saying, "Travel there and inquire about Reb Mendele. He will be your preacher, shield and shelter."
They joyfully took the overcoat, and immediately journeyed to Vitebsk. When they arrived in the city, they asked where they could find Reb Mendele. People told them that there are many Mendeles here but no Reb [a distinguishing honorific] Mendele. The representatives repeated their inquiry to various other people, but they all replied with a similar response.
Later, they encountered a venerable old man and asked him as well where could they find Reb Mendele? He too responded that there are many Mendeles here but no Reb Mendele. In desperation they implored him, "But the Maggid of Mezeritch sent us to Reb Mendele!" When he heard the Maggid was involved, he said, "Perhaps he had in mind my son-in-law. He frequently travels to the Maggid, and also, I notice that all the Mendeles regularly gather by him. So maybe he is the one whom the Maggid intended you to meet."
The two went to the son-in-law's home but he was not there. So they asked his wife his whereabouts. She told them that he was in the study hall and would definitely not return home until he finished his studies. However, when they told her that the Maggid had sent them to her husband, she answered that if so, certainly she would go to call him home.
When he arrived home, he was accompanied by all of his Mendele companions. The Lithuanian representatives said to him, "The Maggid sent us to you for you to become our preacher, shield and shelter."
"I will not be a preacher nor a shield nor a shelter," he retorted.
But when they gave him the [Maggid's] overcoat, he immediately acquiesced to their request.
As soon as he put on the overcoat, a sudden great awe fell upon his friends, the other Mendeles. They accepted him as their leader, called him by the distinctive high title of "Rebbe" and shuddered in his presence.
The Holy Ruzhiner concluded, "This episode illustrates the meaning of the verse [Deuteronomy 17:15], 'You shall set a king over you […from among your brothers.]' One moment he was a regular peer and the next moment, through simply donning a single garment he became a [leader likened to a] king."
Having said all this, he dressed his son in a bekesheh [traditional long jacket], and belted his gartel [thereby coronating and symbolically transforming his son from a youth into a full-fledged Jewish adult destined for greatness as a communal leader].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from a translation with annotations by Refoel Leitner from the book Irin Kadishin, where the complier, Naftali-Hertz Flintenstein, states, "I heard this story from several trustworthy individuals, some of whom heard it from Reb Yitzchak Toster, who himself was present during the proceedings described."
Biographical notes [in order of birth]:
Rabbi Dov Ber [of blessed memory: c.5460 - 19 Kislev 5533 (c.1700- Dec. 1772 C.E.)], the son of Avraham and Chava, known as the Maggid of Mezritch, succeeded his master, the Baal Shem Tov, as the head of the Chasidic movement. Most of the leading Chasidic dynasties originate from his disciples and his descendents. The classic anthologies of his teachings are Likutei Amarim and Torah Ohr (combined by Kehas Publishing as Maggid Devorav l'Yaakov), and Ohr HaEmmes.
Rabbi Yisrael Friedmann of Ruzhin [of blessed memory: 5557 - 3 Cheshvan 5611 (1797 - Oct. 1850 C.E.)] was a great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov. At a young age was already a charismatic leader with a large following of chasidim. Greatly respected by the other rebbes and Jewish leaders of his generation, he was -and still is-referred to as "The Holy Rhyzhiner Rabbi" Six of his sons established Chassidic dynasties, several of which --Sadigora, Chortkov, Bianna, etc-- are still thriving today.
Mordecai-Shraga ("Feivish") Friedman, (1835-1894), youngest son of the holy Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin, became the first Rebbe of the Husiatyn dynasty. His thousands of chasidim included many prominent scholars.
Connection: Weekly Reading of Shoftim - the verse Deut. 17:15 is mentioned in the story.


I always purchase bobby pins and rubber bands that hold hair for my wife and my daughter when I visit the States and from time to time renew my supply of senior multivitamins. One of the stores I visit is Walmart. Glad I was not in Philly. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/at-least-5-shot-inside-philadelphia-area-walmart-suspect-in-custody-investigators-say/ar-BBLWmYu?ocid=spartandhp

BDE David ben David a Shoah survivor and fighter in Gush Etzion passes away at 98. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250535






Antisemite winds MO State Rep. Primaries. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250366

Wine company that was too Zionistic for Charedi Kashrus. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250432

Earthquakes and Eclipses it is rare that month after month a partial solar eclipse occurs. Although there were some activities in Java after the first eclipse the rest of the world did not feel it. The day or so after the second, a 6.4 in Alaska. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/alaskas-north-slope-hit-by-strongest-quake-noted-in-region/ar-BBLPAnz?ocid=spartandhp

New Manned Missions from the US. http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/10/united-launch-alliance-preps-for-return-manned-space-missions-from-cape-canaveral.html



The power of belief good for Jews and non-Jews. www.facebook.com/100007541057587/videos/2015898148671534/?t=0

Vacationers pick up a bacterial infection on Golan streams.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5328061,00.html



Soldier running away from cooking pinned down by officer as the army deserves hot food. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5330512,00.html

Netanyahu questioned in graft affair. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5330491,00.html



Inyanay Diyoma




They wanted to look at the floor but … https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5325022,00.html

Syrian first lady undergoes cancer treatment. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5325205,00.html

Fishman Gaza ceasefire plan much ado about nothing. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5323611,00.html

Besides Fishman now Debka says that the Cairo Ceasefire Plan is dead. https://www.debka.com/hamas-extortionate-demands-derail-gaza-truce-talks-in-cairo/


Despite the rhetoric and the fact that Thurs. was worse than Protective Edge, Netanyahu does not act. His popularity falls 64% according to Maariv it is bad handling. https://www.debka.com/israels-cabinet-decides-against-a-new-gaza-campaign-to-halt-hamas-rocket-aggression/

Iran tightening the noose around Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250314




Unopposed Arab Socialist for Congress. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5325337,00.html
Terrorist throw grenade at soldier. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250352
Iran tests anti-ship missile. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250357
Photo of Corbyn at grave of terrorist. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5326552,00.html
Suicide Plane. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/11/suicidal-airline-employee-who-stole-plane-from-seatac-airport-had-bizarre-conversation-with-air-traffic-control-before-crashing.html

New Manned Missions from the US. http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/10/united-launch-alliance-preps-for-return-manned-space-missions-from-cape-canaveral.html

Iran tightening the noose around Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250314




Unopposed Arab Socialist for Congress. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5325337,00.html

Terrorist throw grenade at soldier. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250352

Iran tests anti-ship missile. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250357

Photo of Corbyn at grave of terrorist. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5326552,00.html

Suicide Plane. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/11/suicidal-airline-employee-who-stole-plane-from-seatac-airport-had-bizarre-conversation-with-air-traffic-control-before-crashing.html
I was reading the editorials over the weekend. It was almost 100% consensus that the way the Arabs view Israel is that of a weak power.

Defense Minister on Hamas big talker. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250444


Erdogan is beginning to sound more and more like Hitler. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250447

Totally and completely antireligious candidate for COS protested by bereaved families. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250440

Tried to sell National Security Info on dark-net. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5327890,00.html

Calling for death penalty against terrorist. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5327662,00.html



Londonstan more terror: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45180120



Former Mossad chief Russia can not remove Iran from Syria. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5328062,00.html

Who is freezing the growth of Yerushalayim? – Netanyahu. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250484

Lieberman goes against the Torah and grants concessions to Gaza. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250481

Iran has developed new short ranger missile. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250455


Trump signs defense bill with $500,000,000 missile defense to Israel and $50 million tunnel detection. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250495

Goldin Family petitions High Court against the stalling of Netanyahu. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250562


How could it be that somebody from the religion of peace in Londonstan do this? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250565





Iran in Syria hurts Russian influence. Does the US and Russia agree about Iran in Syria? https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5330464,00.html

Afghanistan is having an ISIS/Al-Qaida surge 3 major attacks recently. Source Fox News.

Hamas is weakened according to former PM Advisor. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250676

Prof. Goldin: Government conduct is worse than betrayal. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250674

Woman killed in hit and run with Arab from across the green-line according to police is most likely not terror. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5330475,00.html

Getting ready to fight stronger Hezballah. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5330314,00.html

A good Shabbos all,
Rachamim Pauli

Posted by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli at 1:54 PM