Friday, October 12, 2018

Parsha Noach, 3 stories, news.



HaKaros HaTov: For months some virus or more has been on my computer due to charging my cellphone via my computer. A friend of mine, David Cohen, put in an SSD (Solid State Device) instead of my old hard drive. I reinstalled first a clean version of windows 10 into my computer and from there he worked to make the SSD a clean copy with my version of windows 10. From there, he added the other programs. It took him a lot of time. So he gets credit for a clean and fast version of this week’s blogspot.

Parsha Noach

Last week, the Parsha ended with “Noach found grace from HASHEM”. This week we continue with Noach building a family and the Teva for 120 years and the animals coming into the Teva.

A little background from the generation before the flood is provided in the commentary below.

6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God.

There is a debate among the Sages. One says, “In his generation” means for that wicked generation he was outstanding but if he lived in the generation of Avraham or Am Yisrael in full glory, he would not have been such a Tzaddik. Others say that if he was righteous then, all the more so in a more righteous generation.

10 And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Corruption at all levels of society and full of Hamas. Perhaps the best example in our day also from the same area of the world was Saddam Hussein. He would take what he wanted. He saw a general with a pretty wife, if the general did not divorce her, the general lost his head. Both Avraham and Yitzchak mention this custom that was prevalent in their day. The earth suffered from murder. The first one was Kayn and then an accidental murder or man slaughter by Tuval Kayn in the 7th generation but by the next generations it became first degree murder. Slight thievery became the thing. It was like tasting a candy or two at a store and not buying. They did that with fruit and vegetables or nuts. Having all sorts of promiscuity between humans and species. Hollywood and the left today are not far behind this in their promotion of films, philosophy of anything goes, etc. The Sages classified this using my translation as blood-shedding, promiscuity and thievery. All this was topped off with an icing of idol worship as long ago they forgot their creator.  

12 And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

There was one Tzaddik alive who prevented by his study of creation and praising G-D the destruction of the earth. That Tzaddik was Metushalah. However, due to the sin of Adam, he could not live forever. Once he was gone, the earth and all beings that had been corrupted would have to be destroyed.

13 And God said unto Noah: 'The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Noach was the grandson of the Gadol HaDor. He still had saving traits along with his education that he passed on to his family but unfortunately the neighborhood was so bad that he could only keep righteousness in his small environment.

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; with rooms shalt thou make the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

In the book “In search of Noah’s Ark” the author pointed out that the Lubavitch Chassidim show the Teva as rectangular in nature similar to the Ark of the Covenant. (Also they do not show the two Luchos which Moshe brought down from Sinai as rounded off but straight 90 degree rectangles.

15 And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

If the population of the whole world from Adam was in the fertile crescent area there would be no need for having boats. The climate was different and people were vegetarians based on that they only ate plants and trees in Gan Eden. This included the carnivorous animals. After the heat, water and pressure of the deluge, the earth no longer yielded the same products as before. Instead of living 900 years plus, people’s life expectancy was falling to 100 plus.

16 You shall make a skylight for the ark, and to a cubit you shall finish it to the top, and the entrance of the ark you shall place in its side; you shall make it with bottom [compartments], second story [compartments], and third story [compartments].

Not like the cartoon pictures of Noach and the flood but based on the wording, the entrance was on a higher level. One needed a gang plank to get to that level and the animals, stowage and waste was below. Since the EPA did not exist, I assume that much of the waste was shoveled overboard once the rain stopped.

A skylight: Heb. צֹהַר, lit. light. Some say [that it was] a window, and some say [that it was] a precious stone, which gave them light. — [Gen. Rabbah 31:11] And to a cubit you shall finish it to the top: Its covering slanted upwards until it narrowed at the top to one cubit (Gen. Rabbah 31:11), so that the rain should run down (the following does not appear in certain editions) (from both sides) (Sanh. 108b, Maharsha). You shall place in its side: so that the rains should not fall into it. Bottom [compartments], second-story [compartments], and third-story [compartments]: three stories, one above the other; the upper compartments were for people, the middle ones for [animal] dwellings, and the bottom ones for waste matter. — [from Sanh. 108b]

17 And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall perish.

Everything on the planet is about to perish.

18 But I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

But you and your family will be saved. The question arises. Did Noach try to pray as Avraham did for Sodom? Or he did not even try to pray?

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

This is a general rule for preserving the various species.

20 Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.' 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

You can imagine the great undertaking by a family to earn enough money and work on the project of gathering food. The animals came by themselves. Those that had not been subject to bestiality or interbreeding between two species.

7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah: 'Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, each with his mate; and of the beasts that are not clean two [and two], each with his mate; 3 of the fowl also of the air, seven and seven, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

From the Kosher Animals we shall have seven of each species. This will serve for future sacrifices and also as the world goes over from herbivorous to also carnivorous species. For in Gan Eden every creature was herbivorous. Now the earth would not produce forth trees and herbs that acted as soya meat does today. The lions, tigers, and others lived off of these species. There was essentially one season as the earth had no tilt then and the orbit was rounder. The temperatures at the equator were similar at the poles too. 12 hour days and 12 hour nights. (Note my opinion here contrasts the Medrash and Gemara in Avodah Zara that states that Adam brought death into the world where creation started on 25th of Elul. It was now winter and the days were getting shorter. He saw that Dec. 21st was the shortest day and then the world stabilized. On Dec. 25th of the Solar Calendar he made a party. – I have a feeling that this Aggadah came about 3700 plus years later (after creation) due to another religion and trying to explain the festival.) For me, it appears that the nature of the world changed causing the flood, the axis to shift and perhaps the orbit of planet too mentioning rainbows and seasons later on.

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I blot out from off the face of the earth.'

This is the death of Metushalah and the earth shined in primeval light per the Medrash. 7 days of Shiva occurred to the late Gadol HaDor. People could have learned Mussar, become fearful of the light and go out and quickly build a small ship, store food and pray like the people of Nineveh and Yona. The generation was so steeped in themselves, pleasures, thievery, idol worship and murder that they could not witness HASHEM anymore. This is similar to atheists and various promiscuity in our generation. 

5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

He and his family were the only ones who kept the tradition of Adam.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creeps upon the ground, 9 there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

At first it rained a small drizzle. This should have awoken up the generation but fools laugh as Noach went in. Then the rain became steady, then tropical until the rate of rain became phenomenal.

10 And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Great depths of water springing upwards. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/earths-rocks-contain-hidden-oceans-worth-water-n130961 This explains the water vapor in Volcanoes, geysers and fountains.

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

The rain alone was not enough to make oceans that had once upon the second day of creation that covered the world until the dry land formed. Now the planet was returning to the origins of earth before the separation of waters and nothing could physically survive when the deepest mountains were covered with the water

13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

The 17th of the second month.

14 they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. 18 And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

We recently saw or read in the news about Hurricane Florence that placed 40 inches of water in North Carolina in perhaps 36 hours. Imagine 40 days with no where to run off. On top of this water sprang up from underground.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

The story of the deluge is all over the earth from China to Greece to the Peruvian Indians high in the mountains. It must have happened and only the few survived.

21 And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and every swarming thing that swarmed upon the earth, and every man; 22 all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died.

Plants or at least their seeds did not die as they don’t have nostrils.

23 And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were blotted out from the earth; and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark.

If they perished why write “blot out”? This indicates that the fish at up all traces of them and the bones started dissolving in the water.

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

The ground was so saturated that the water remained 15 Amos about the mountains for 150 days until the ground trickled the water back down into the rocks that had released them. You may ask if HASHEM commanded the waters to be released why not have them reabsorbed at a high rate? I do not know the answer. It might be more natural for release quickly during more volcanic heat and absorbed naturally by the rocks slower.

8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; 2 the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.

With the wind and sun, some of the water was reabsorbed into clouds as the other water drained off. We are having the second day effect of the water under heavens and the water in heavens and the dry land reappearing. However, this is not in one day but in the course of months.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

The importance of the Torah telling us Har Ararat shows that the Torah is Emmes. For if the story was untrue, the Teva would have rested on Har Tzion, Har Nevo, Har Sinai or Har Hermon but not so far away. The Greeks for example have it resting on Mt. Olympus and the Peruvians somewhere in the Andes.  

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 And he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

This was Erev Shabbos when the dove returned. The Olive tree indicated that greenery was again on the land. There is a dispute with the Rabbis if the flood started on the 17th of Marcheshvan and ended on the 27th of the month a year later or it started in Iyar. Marcheshvan is the rainy season in Israel and Iyar is the start of the summer season. The Olive leaves are young and lighter green in the spring.

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him anymore.

While doves can be homing pigeons, they prefer freedom rather than be cooped up.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dried. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry.

The earth no longer looked like quicksand or mud pits but solid ground.

15 And God spoke unto Noah, saying: 16 'Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth; that they may swarm in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.' 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him; 19 every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moves upon the earth, after their families; went forth out of the ark.

The nature of man and animals is to roam on the land. Noach now had be given permission to release the animals.

20 And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled the sweet savor; and the LORD said in His heart: 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.

The Korban was on the level of that of Hevel and high quality meaning the best of best of these animals. It was from love and gratitude with Kavannah (intent and feeling). HASHEM’s anger at man and beast was now placated.   

22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.'

This may indicate that originally the earth had 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. There were no seasons as the poles rotated before the flood on an up and down axis and the temperatures were even throughout the world. Now the earth’s axis tilted perhaps from a planetary encounter. So with the exception of the equator area, the time of light and darkness would vary and different seasons would occur.

9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.

This is the first of Bnei Noach commands. He would receive six more. https://asknoah.org/7-commandments or https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-noahide-laws/

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teems, and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be for food for you; as the green herb have I given you all.

Like in the far east where monkeys, snakes, all ocean animals can be food so it was for all mankind. Yet there was a tradition for clean animals from Adam that Noah via Metushalah had received orally.

4 Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man.

This is similar to the law of Kashrus.

6 Whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man.

Besides not eating blood in animals one is forbidden to murder another man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; swarm in the earth, and multiply therein.'

The Mitzvah given to Adam and Chava is now repeated for you to replenish mankind on earth .

8 And God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: 9 'As for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth.' 12 And God said: 'This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the cloud,

Two things we learn here: 1) prior to the flood the rainbow did not appear because there was more of a fog that watered the ground as described in Chapter 2 about Gan Eden. 2) Even if the rainbow existed before, it might be that now this was a sign that mankind deserved to be destroyed but was saved by this covenant. This would mean that we must repent.

15 that I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.'

Since the ancient elements were air, fire, earth and water; the earth would never more be destroyed by water. However, there appears to be the possibility of nuclear war (fire), massive earthquakes or volcanoes (earth) or gas asphyxiation. Essentially, we are alive because of HIS Chessed.

17 And God said unto Noah: 'This is the token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.'

So the rainbow was established or now had a new meaning.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and of these was the whole earth overspread. 20 And Noah the husbandman began, and planted a vineyard. 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Noach was too drunk to resist being castrated by Canaan so that he would not have any more children. However, he was not as drunk as Lot for he knew very well what was going on.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

A fool goes and jokes about the great embarrassment he caused Noach but the loyal sons cover up the embarrassment in a way that he is not made more of a fool of.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him. 25 And he said: Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Either he was told what had happened or he realized upon becoming sober what had occurred. Canaan got cursed.

26 And he said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be their servant. 27 God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be their servant. 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

All of chapters 10 and 11 may be of some value for knowing the nations of the world such as Magog but not so much for day to day Judaism. Even the Pelug of the languages from a Torah standpoint bothers us very little. From our standpoint we need the 10 generations for ancestry but mostly this:

… 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terach. Terach begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 And Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terach took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terach were two hundred and five years; and Terach died in Haran.

With the Torah establishing the lineage of Avram, the death of Noach, splitting of the languages and nations we end this Parsha with the end of the era. Next week we shall start back in time as Avram leaves Haran to establish a new monotheistic religion based on the teachings of Adam to Metushalah to Noach to Avram. We shall see that Shem and Ever (the ending of the name is pronounced like air and the R is rolled a bit).  


A Large Glass of Strong Wine by Rabbi Y. Tilles

It happened that the Baal Shem Tov was sitting around a table and talking with a group of his followers at the home of a wealthy supporter in the State of Walachia.
The conversation turned to a wine made from an extraordinary type of grape that could only be found in the valley where they lived. This special grape wine was so strong that it was only served by mixing a very small amount of it into a large glass of water.* And they all agreed that even then, it was still almost too strong to drink.
The Baal Shem Tov asked if he could try the wine, but not mixed with anything else. Of course the host, a faithful chasid, obliged, but he filled only a very small glass with the wine. When he served it to him, everyone watched nervously as the Baal Shem slowly sipped and savored the wine, and then drank the remainder in one swallow.
When he finished, the Baal Shem Tov said in a surprised voice, "This wine is so delicious, why did you serve it in such a small glass?"
The host answered: "Because Rebbe, it is so strong that it is actually dangerous to drink a large amount."
"I am not afraid of strong wine," the Baal Shem Tov replied. "In fact, I would like another glass of that wine. And this time, please serve me a large glass."
The host filled a large glass with the special strong wine and handed it with trepidation to his Rebbe. Without hesitation, the Baal Shem Tov quickly drank the whole glass.
They all stared at him in fright as the Baal Shem Tov's face turned beet red, and his hair stood straight up from his head as though it were on fire. Both the host and his guests were so afraid that they could not move or even speak.
But before anything more happened, the Baal Shem Tov passed one of his hands across his face and at once he returned to normal.
There wasn't a sound in the house. The host and his guests could barely breathe.
The Baal Shem Tov broke the silence, saying: "Our holy Sages of the Talmud (mentioning them should be for a blessing) taught: 'Wine is strong but fear removes its effect.' When we really see the greatness of the Holy One Blessed be He, we are struck by fear and trembling, and that completely counteracts the effects of even the strongest wine!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition of Tzvi-Meir HaCohane (Howard M. Cohn. Patent Attorney) on // baalshemtov.com.

* Editor's note: Like the wine of Talmudic times that had to be diluted 3 parts water to 1 part wine.

Biographical note:
Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer [of blessed memory: 18 Elul 5458 - 6 Sivan 5520 (Aug. 1698 - May 1760 C.E.)], the Baal Shem Tov ["Master of the Good Name"-often referred to as "the Besht" for short], a unique and seminal figure in Jewish history, revealed his identity as an exceptionally holy person, on his 36th birthday, 18 Elul 5494 (1734 C.E.), and made the until-then underground Chasidic movement public. He wrote no books, although many works claim to contain his teachings. One available in English is the excellent annotated translation of Tzava'at Harivash, published by Kehos.

Connection: Weekly Reading -- "He [Noah] drank of the wine and became drunk." (Gen. 9:21)


Rabbi Shraga Simmons met Nadia Murad, who just won the Nobel Prize for Peace. http://www.aish.com/ci/s/The-Nobel-Peace-Prize-Winners-Israel-Connection.html?s=ss1

In 2014, pick-up trucks bearing the ISIS black flag stormed into the village of Kocho in northern Iraq, with the stated goal of ethnically cleansing all Yazidis. While 19-year-old Nadia Murad watched in horror, jihadists savagely slaughtered over 1,000 people – including her six brothers and mother.
Survivors were forced to convert to Islam. Then, Yazidi boys were sent to train as jihadist fighters, while thousands of young women and girls – including Nadia – were tortured, gang-raped, and sold on the slave market.
After a harrowing escape from ISIS captivity (taking advantage of false identity papers and a liberal German immigration policy), Nadia launched a global crusade to advocate for victims of sex crimes and human trafficking. Those efforts culminated this week as she joined a list of heroes including Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elie Wiesel as recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Behind this remarkable story is a Jewish connection.
Over the millennia, Yazidis have been repeatedly subjected to massacres, often at the hands of Muslim extremists. That's why a half-million Yazidis lived in isolated, mountainous regions near the Iraqi-Syrian border, where they formed independent villages and clung tenaciously to their unique culture and heritage.
Visiting Israel last year, Nadia spoke of the Yazidis' kinship with the Jewish people:
Like the Jewish people, we have always survived. These experiences inspire us to hold onto our culture and identity. And importantly, our experiences drive us to stand up for others who are being persecuted...
For three years, ISIS has stolen the authorship of the Yazidi story. But we will not let them write our future. My time in Israel has shown me that in the wake of oppression and genocide, a community can emerge stronger.
Nadia's 2017 memoir, The Last Girl, became a best-seller and raised awareness of efforts to end sexual violence as a weapon of war – long before the #MeToo movement swept the world.
Just as Nazi officers were prosecuted by the global community, Nadia is determined that crimes committed by ISIS will be punished. Speaking last year in Israel, she said:
We must work together with determination to prove that genocidal campaigns will not only fail, but lead to accountability for the perpetrators – and justice for the survivors...
Many girls in the refugee camps who are survivors of the genocide are ready to give evidence... to talk about what happened to them.
Today, Nadia uses her growing international platform to advocate for the safe return of 3,000 Yazidis still in captivity, and for the Yazidi people's "return to our homeland."
In 2017, addressing a packed hall at Beit Hat'futsot in Tel Aviv, Nadia thanked the Jewish people "for giving us hope” and requested Jewish "mentorship to rebuild our community":
Like the Jews, the Yazidis have shown resilience in the face of oppression. Holding onto your identity can be a force of resistance. Every time we practice a traditional custom or stand up for one another we refuse to let our perpetrators be stronger than us...
The Jews and the Yazidis share a common history of genocide that has shaped the identity of our peoples, but we must transform our pain into action... I respect how you rebuilt a global Jewish community in the wake of genocide. This is a journey that lies ahead of my community.
In the spirit of the Torah teaching, "Don't stand idly by" (Leviticus 19:16), we hope that Nadia Murad, with a Nobel Peace Prize on her resume, inspires people worldwide to join the fight for freedom and justice for all.


How will we be remembered and who will write our history? This concern was the underlying motivation behind, ‘Oyneg Shabbes’, a group of Jewish rebels of the Warsaw Ghetto who sought to preserve the history and culture of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Consisting of journalists, scholars, and historians, this clandestine movement sought to fight back against Nazi propaganda through the only weapons they had: pen and paper.
The amazing true story behind the ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ group is the subject of a new documentary, Who Will Write Our History, based on the book by historian Samuel Kassow. Spearheaded by Executive Producer Nancy Spielberg and Director Roberta Grossman, the films tells this incredible story of heroism and survival through the teamwork of preservation and academia, and most importantly, through faith and perseverance. It chronicles the dedication and bravery of the 60 members of the group who sought to keep the memory of the Jewish people alive, long after their own lives were tragically taken.

Led by a young Jewish historian named Emanuel Ringelblum who understood the importance of recording and documenting life in the Ghetto, the ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ group (named for the Hebrew translation ‘the joy of the Sabbath’) collected writings from each of its members and various documents from September of 1939 to January of 1943. Its earliest members were frightened that there would be no Jewish survivors left to share their stories of the brutality of the Nazi regime, or even to continue the heritage of Judaism in Europe. This would leave the Germans with the freedom to rewrite the history of the Jewish people.

To properly chronicle their terrifying life under German occupation, the ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ group understood that everything about life in the ghetto was of the utmost importance. They began compiling and collecting documents that chronicled Jewish culture and history, and buried these collections deep underground within the confinements of the Warsaw Ghetto, with the hope that they would one day be discovered.
As the group’s leader, Ringelblum collected the personal testimonies from each volunteer and smuggled the documents on the inside of his clothing to three designated burial locations. The materials were hidden inside metal crates and metal milk cartons and buried deep within undetected buildings of the ghetto. Ringelblum foresaw that once the Germans completed their liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto’s population and sent their surviving members to extermination camps, the ghetto would be likely destroyed.

To keep the collections safe, only three of the 60 members were aware of the precise locations of these documents. Should any member be caught by German soldiers, they would be unable to divulge the location, even if tortured. Rachel Auerbach was the surviving member privy to the collections’ location, and one of only three surviving members of the original ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ group. Shortly before the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, Emanuel Ringelblum managed to escape the ghetto and remained hidden in a bunker in the Aryan side of Warsaw. Tragically, he and his family were executed in 1944 when his hiding location was later discovered by the Gestapo who had been searching for remaining Jews hidden in bunkers throughout Poland.

After the uprising, the German soldiers nearly destroyed the entire ghetto, setting fire to buildings and executing anyone left inside. After the war, Rachel Auerbach began leading an excavation of the ghetto to discover the three lost archives. The team found two of the ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ archives that survived the destruction of the ghetto. The painstaking work of the ‘Oyneg Shabbes’ would not be in vain.

Who Will Write Our History made its debut at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and will open in limited release across North America. The book by Samuel Kassow is available to purchase online https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307455866/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=themicmin0b-20&linkId=f8f28869b7bfed30144bde4a93e265ba&language=en_US



Children who experienced anti-Semitism. I wrote about 12 year-old Mary Ann who wanted to save my soul and marry me when we grew up but most of the time it was not so pleasant a childhood with the neighborhood children. It seems that I was not the only Jew who grew up like this. https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/08/jewish-actor-william-shatner-talks-about-facing-a-great-deal-of-antisemitism-as-a-child/




When HASHEM blindsided the Israeli boastful military staff. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5355484,00.html

Man fills out Lotto for 6 days of Beresheis wins a million NIS. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252972

2000 year old mention of Yerushalayim found. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252967



Tragedy two small children die in fire. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252994


Inyanay Diyoma



The truth comes out about the Judge. https://conservativedailypost.com/judiciary-committee-releases-report-summarizing-fbi-report-on-kavanaugh/




Business revenge & terror attack. At 7:39 AM an Arab walked into the boss's office. He had been fired. The female assistant and boss were critically shot and after 2 plus hours trying to save them on the spot. The 54 year old wounded in the abdomen area is now in moderate condition. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252849

Arab terror in Galil where is PETA? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252811





Terror attack one Arab shot me other saved me. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252969

Simple way to prevent Alzheimer hard work or Beis Medrash. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252948

Netanyahu doesn’t want early elections. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5366989,00.html




Anti-Semitism Report. 2 from Germany, 1 from Sweden, UK Newspapers or the NY Times, US Left loving Palestine and hating Jews and Israel. https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/10/israel-boycotters-disrupt-holocaust-film-screening-in-berlin/  https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/10/german-far-right-leader-accused-of-echoing-hitler-in-attack-on-globalized-class/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/10/jewish-group-denounces-antisemitic-arson-attack-in-sweden/?utm_content=news1&utm_medium=daily_email&utm_campaign=email&utm_source=internal/
NY Times and UK papers against Israel. https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/10/for-second-time-in-three-weeks-leading-uk-papers-ignore-deadly-palestinian-terror-attack/?utm_content=blog1&utm_medium=daily_email&utm_campaign=email&utm_source=internal//
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/10/the-progressive-movement-and-antisemitism/?utm_content=blog1&utm_medium=daily_email&utm_campaign=email&utm_source=internal// Enough antisemitism.


Religious General to be secretary for Defense Minister. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253103



Yossi Yehoshua powder keg in the west bank. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5366441,00.html




While the vast majority of Arabs are OK 25% can be terrorist. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253156


Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli

Posted by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli at 1:38 PM