Friday, July 12, 2019

Parsha Balak, story, exclusive on the Trump economic plan.


Correction per both Chabad and Art Scroll: Parsha Chukas one ‘K’.


If you did not see Rabbi Lazer Brody Shlita on-line this week, he is sitting Shiva for his mother. Also Rabbi Dr. Joel Bernard Aaron passed away and his family is sitting Shiva this week. Condolences with the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim.


Parsha Balak


22:2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was overcome with dread because of the children of Israel.

Moav was a small nation. All of a sudden by their border is about two million or more of the Bnei Yisrael that scared Balak greatly.

4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian: 'Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.'--And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.

Up until now, Midian was unaware. In fact, if they had sent to Chacham Yisro or his sons, they might have gotten an answer about the people being blessed and the head is married to a woman from Midian. But instead they fell for the political rhetoric of Balak and joined in an alliance.

5 And he sent messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying: 'Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. 6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me; peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom thou blesses is blessed, and he whom thou curses is cursed.' 7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak. 8 And he said unto them: 'Lodge here this night, and I will bring you back word, as the LORD may speak unto me'; and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 9 And God came unto Balaam, and said: 'What men are these with thee?'

Of course ELOKIM knows who the men are, but this is a way to open up a conversation with Balaam without scaring him or appear threatening to him.

10 And Balaam said unto God: 'Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent unto me [saying]: 11 Behold the people that is come out of Egypt, it covers the face of the earth; now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.'

They want me to put a curse on the Bnei Yisrael.

12 And God said unto Balaam: 'Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.'

Balaam did have prophecy but made himself out to be more than what an honest man would prevail. Balaam had the chance to say that G-D has blessed this people and good out and greet them with bread and water.

13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak: 'Get you into your land; for the LORD refuses to give me leave to go with you.'

He left two openings. One he did not say that the L-RD has blessed this people and he said leave with “you” but perhaps a different delegation?

14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said: 'Balaam refuses to come with us.' 15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. … 18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak: 'If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do anything, small or great.

This is one truth that he says but still we see at the end with Midian his conspiracy to thwart the expansion of Torah in the world. How can he be such a prophet with nightly out of body experiences that he contacts the L-RD while Moshe had to be contacted and wait patiently for HASHEM? Perhaps his call to prophecy started as a child or even a reincarnation of somebody who lived before the Mabul (flood of Noach). Such an individual soul would have an automatic higher level of connection with HASHEM. However, like the generations before Noach, the spirituality was used for profit and there was no real Yeras Shemayim (fear of heaven) involved or doing some for the sake of heaven.

19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will speak unto me more.' 20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him: 'If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.'

Didn’t I tell you that they are blessed so why are you pestering ME? Ok, you asked for this you could have told the truth the first time around so you are now in big trouble.

21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD placed himself in the way for an adversary against him.--Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.-- 23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

I assume that the donkey was not used to turning off a path.

24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a hollow way between the vineyards, a fence being on this side, and a fence on that side. 25 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD, and she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; and he smote her again.

The Medrash says that the wall was made from Gal Aid aka Gilad area where Yacov and Lavan constructed in Beresheis 31:44 – 52. 52 This pile is a witness, and this monument is a witness, that I will not pass this pile [to go] to you and that you shall not pass this pile and this monument to [come to] me to [do] harm.

26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD, and she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff. 28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?'

Shalosh Regelim (literally 3 holidays in other places in the Torah = Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos).

29 And Balaam said unto the ass: 'Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee.'

He wants to kill Yisrael with his mouth but needs a sword to kill a donkey.

30 And the ass said unto Balaam: 'Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden all thy lifelong unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?' And he said: 'Nay.'

Lifelong is interpreted by the Medrash to mean that he used her in place of a wife.

31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.

It took this to open up his eyes to will of the L-RD.

32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him: 'Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary unto me; 33 and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.'

She would have lived but because an inferior animal was used to repute the highest form of creation, man; I now take her from you for she has completed her mission on this earth!

34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD: 'I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stood in the way against me; now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back.' 35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam: 'Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

You hate Yisrael so much so in the end it will be your undoing. I will let you continue.

36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto Ir-moab, which is on the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. 37 And Balak said unto Balaam: ‘Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore came thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honor?'

See I am giving you honor as a powerful religious leader like a head of State.

38 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to speak anything? the word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.'

Before G-D I am not like a regular human with independent words and thoughts. Rather I am like a computer or robot and whatever HE puts in my mouth shall come out - N

39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kiriath-huzoth. 40 And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. 41 And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into Bamoth-baal, and he saw from thence the utmost part of the people.

23:1 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.' 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. 3 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the LORD will come to meet me; and whatsoever He shows me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height. 4 And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.'

Tractate Berachos Bavli states that when HASHEM gets angry between the astronomical dawn and the dawn when one can pray, Balaam had a sign and prayed Tachanun then. It is this time when a complain on somebody or a curse can be brought.

5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.' 6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak brings me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate Israel.' 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated?

I can only curse one that is not cursed by G-D but rather blessed?

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

They are so holy that they have to dwell alone (assimilation will only bring about the family being cut off from Torah Judaism).

10 Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine end be like his!

Balaam wanted the death and burial of a Jew but because he was so wicked he died by the sword for destroying many members of Shimon due to immodesty mixed with idols.

11 And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.' 12 And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?' 13 And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou may see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.'

What a mistake you made. Let’s try it again like most politicians instead of changing their ways. We shall call it “Cast Lead” then “Pillar Cloud” then “Protective Edge” do the same thing and expect different results.

14 And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.' 16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.' 17 And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the LORD spoken?' 18 And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?

Hello do you think that G-D is a Dude Politician like you? You promise and change your mind, HE promises and keeps it!

20 Behold, I am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back. 21 None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them. 22 God who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox. 23 For there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it said of Jacob and of Israel: 'What hath God wrought!'

Yisrael has been wrought by G-D from the 10 trials of Avraham, from the Akedah of Yitzchak and the prays of Yacov and cannot be undone.

24 Behold a people that rises up as a lioness, and as a lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

Yisrael is like a Lavi that hunts her prey and not worth going against.

25 And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.' 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?' 27 And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou may curse me them from thence.'

Balak did not have a Dr. Phil for an advisor to ask him, “How is this cursing business working for you?” So he keeps trying that perhaps he can go and persuade HASHEM to curse.

28 And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looks down upon the desert. 29 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.' 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

Balaam was wiser than Balak and knew that the curse could not work but he had been told by the angel to do the bidding of Balak and what he said would go.

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened; 4 The saying of him who hear the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes: 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!

Each tent entrance did not face the entrance of another tent unlike today with apartments facing each other and one can see what the neighbor is cooking or too much. Baba Basra states that damages from looking and knowing things is damage. So those that have this Alexa or other devices are being listened too sometimes by humans from google and your cellphone camera can be used by the NSA, CIA, FBI, MI6 etc. unknown to you!

6 As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters; 7 Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters; and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

This is not Agag mentioned in Sefer Shmuel but rather a very ancient tall and mighty king who was a legend that the other Agag was named after.

8 God who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be every one that curses thee.

This is a repetition of the blessing given to Avraham. However, since Yishmael and Esav came from him, it is appropriate now to let Yisrael know that they have inherited the blessing.

10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honor.'

Just like Balaam wanted to kill the donkey after the third time, he was now subject to the wrath of Balak and was taking the brunt of his fury. What held Balak back is that Balaam might curse him instead.

12 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Spoke I not also to thy messengers that thou didst send unto me, saying: 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what the LORD speaks, that will I speak?

I warned you that I was like material in the hands of the artisan and could not go to the left or right of how HASHEM molds my words.

14 And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.' 15 And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened; 16 The saying of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes:

When I saw the Angel, I fell on my face in a trans-like state.

17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Seth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also, even his enemies, shall be a possession; while Israel doeth valiantly. 19 And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city. 20 And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said: Amalek was the first of the nations; but his end shall come to destruction. 21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said: Though firm be thy dwelling-place, and though thy nest be set in the rock; 22 Nevertheless Kayn shall be wasted; How long? Asshur shall carry thee away captive. 23 And he took up his parable, and said: Alas, who shall live after God hath appointed him? 24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, and they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall come to destruction. 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.

Yisrael never took over Seir so this is the vision for the end of days. As for Moav they shall continue to the time of Hezekiah and then they will be dispersed among the nations. 
25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab.

The place is called so because of the large amount of Acadia Trees. Shittim is Hebrew for Acadia Trees.

2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

It does not matter if the woman is a Goya or a Left-wing atheist Jew who demands that you remove your Yarmulke for female favors. It is the same as you abandon HASHEM. That is why it is important to wear Tzitzis so that you should look at them before removing them in front of such a woman. I have always wondered if Adam HaRishon had Tzitzis if he would have stopped before eating the Pri from the Tree of Knowledge. Of course he was naked and innocent.

3 And Israel joined himself unto the Baal of Peor; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.'

The cult of Peor was a fertility cult in which the worship was done by defecating in front of the statue and doing what cults like this do. In Bavli Sanhedrin there is a story of a Ben Yisrael who wanted to make fun of this idol Peor and he defecated in front of the statue and smeared the stuff with a rock on the face of the statue and body. The priest came out and was so happy and please at the intensity of the worship by a Ben Yisrael. The Rabbis ruled that he did this by Shogeg (without intent to worship) but he had to bring a Korban Chatas for this was the way of the worship of this idol.

5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel: 'Slay ye everyone his men that have joined themselves unto the Baal of Peor.' 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midian woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.

Zimri, prince of Shimon or a prince of Shimon, brought Kozbi into his tent as a wife. He did this in front of Moshe and the elders and said, “Moshe you married Zipporah from Midian and what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” Moshe did not know how to answer him. There was a big difference as Yisro was Cohain Midian of HASHEM and Kozbi was from Avoda Zara.

7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

He ran them through and dragged them out as they were dying for an example of a Chillul HASHEM for all of Yisrael to see. He remained a Cohain Tahor as they died outside the tent. Nobody else would dare go near a woman from Midian.

9 And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.

As bad as Balak and Balaam were, in our history especially with the three weeks coming up was the inquisition or forced conversion of Jews or the exile from the Alhambra Decree. The exile occurred on Tisha B’Av 5252 or the same day that Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 CE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_Decree thanks to a reminder from Yaffah Batya who deals with Conversos and Anousim. 


Thanks to my son Chaim:
The Jewish Wife I never had by Adam Ross


David Cohen was the only Jew living in the tiny city of Myrtle Point, Oregon, five hours from the nearest Jewish community. An online chat with a rabbi on Aish.com was about to change his life.

- Hi it’s Rabbi Broker, can I help you?
- My name is David Cohen. I have too many questions, I don’t think you have the time.
- What about what’s on your mind at the moment?

That was the beginning of a remarkable correspondence that would span the next two years.

Born into a non-observant Jewish family in Coos Bay, Oregon, David Cohen, now 56, lived most of his life knowing very little about his Jewish heritage.

“I knew I was Jewish,” David Cohen told Aish.com, “I couldn’t forget that since I had such a Jewish sounding name, but that’s pretty much all I had. I didn’t know any other Jews.” His sole Jewish memory as a child is of his paternal grandfather taking him aside aged eight to tell him, “You need to know you are a Cohen.” The words flew right over his head. He had no idea what it meant.

His parents were divorced when he was a young boy and he relocated a number of times. Forging a career in medical research, he met Kristen in a drama class at a college in San Francisco and they were married in 1984, later relocating back to Oregon where they raised four sons.

With a strong feeling he was Jewish but with no one to ask any questions to, he buried his curiosity and the years rolled on.

Since David's entire Jewish identity boiled down to his Jewish name, he wanted to give his children Jewish names as well, hoping this would somehow connect them to the Jewish people. With his wife’s approval, happy for the children to be connected to an identity with good values, they each received a name rooted in the Torah. Joshua is now 29, Daniel, 24, Jacob, 22, and their youngest Zachary 18.

After three of his children had grown up, with the eldest serving in the US army in Afghanistan, David retired and turned his talents to art. The change in life also gave space for an increasing desire to connect more to the religion his name had never allowed him to forget.

“My wife encouraged me,” he says. “She saw it was important for me and was happy to learn and participate with me in this journey.”

In 2017, wanting to start practicing Judaism in some way, David approached his sons over a family meal. Expecting a long awkward silence, their response came as a surprise as each of his sons said they also wanted a stronger connection.

“I had expected a very difficult conversation, but each of them simply said, ‘What do we do, Dad?” Left surprised but empowered, David said he would try to find out more information. With the nearest Jewish community 200 km away in Portland Oregon, he decided to search online.

He first searched on sites connected to Reform and Conservative Judaism but did not find what he was looking for. He broadened his search and within a few clicks David visited Aish.com and read an article about a family celebrating their first Shabbat.

“Even though I had no idea even what Shabbat was, it was a good start.” After finishing the article, he felt completely out of his depth. “How do you go from never celebrating Shabbat in your life, to leading your family in something like this? The more I read, I grew more anxious I would stifle any initial interest my family had in the first place.”

As David finished the article, the icon for Aish.com’s Live Chat service popped up on his screen: “Can I help you? This is Rabbi Broker.”

Feeling like a deer in the headlights, David didn’t type back. “If it was a real rabbi, I didn’t want him to know who we were.”

Continuing his searching the following day with more and more questions, the live chat invitation popped up again and this time David accepted Rabbi Broker’s offer to help.

“Hi I am David Cohen,” he opened up, “I have so many questions - you don’t have time to answer them all.”

“Let’s start, with what’s currently on your mind.”

David’s reply, “We don’t know what we are doing.”

That hidden Kiddush cup from Kristen's grandmother was the first hint that the Cohens had deeper connections to the Jewish people than they ever imagined. But the family was so distant from Jewish knowledge and practice, David couldn't begin to connect the dots.

Kristen’s grandmother’s box also yielded two crystal candlesticks and a decorated cover they could use to place cover the loaves of bread. None of this registered to David.

Sunset came on Friday and the Cohen’s began their first Shabbat. Kristen lit candles, David made a blessing over the wine which he had downloaded and written out in English, the family washed their hands and they ate some bread. They enjoyed a meal together and that was their first taste of Judaism. The date, now etched in David’s memory was January 19, 2017.

“Although none of us really knew what we were doing, we all felt something amazing was happening and we decided to continue this Friday night routine. We haven’t missed a Shabbat since.”

The next morning, keen to report back to Rabbi Broker, David went back online, not aware that Shabbat lasted from sundown to sundown. He was disappointed to find the live chat service was not working.

He finally reached Rabbi Broker to relay the good news. “It’s me David Cohen from Oregon,” he began typing in the chat box, elaborating about the family’s new experience. "Rabbi Broker was so excited for us, full of encouragement. It was the first moment in my life that I truly felt that I wasn’t an outcast. I don’t even know if I‘ve ever even spoken to a rabbi before this, you can’t imagine how amazing that feeling was.”

Over the weeks that followed David and Rabbi Broker would connect over 20 times using the Live Chat, before corresponding via email as Rabbi Broker helped David to find answers to more of his questions. For David, each conversation forged a closer connection to Judaism and the Jewish people.

“You have to drive over a mountain range to reach the nearest shul. We were so isolated where we were, and I had felt that isolation in my bones for decades. As I started talking to Rabbi Broker that all began to melt away.”

“He was so kind, he really wanted us to succeed, and not take on too much.” With Rabbi Broker's help, David eventually made a connection with Rabbi Michael Caplan in Portland, Oregon, who would also play a significant role in the Cohen's journey. The family would drive to meet him, and build a face-to-face connection with a Jewish community for the first time in their lives.

“One of our goals is to help foster a live relationship with a rabbi in their local community," Rabbi Broker explained. “Recently, one mom got in touch saying her son had relocated across states for work reasons and had now had no Jewish social network. We quickly connected him to what was going on locally. We have also connected people to counseling in their area.”

Along with his interest in Jewish practice David desired to learn more about his family roots. Using a genealogy website, he was amazed to be able to trace back six generations, even finding gravestones with a symbol of two outspread hands, a common addition to the tombstones of Cohanim depicting the Priestly Blessing. Suddenly his grandfather’s words began to fall into place.

Then they decided to research Kristen's family history as well. The results shocked the family. Kristen’s maternal grandmother had moved to the United States from Lublin, Poland after World War II. Before the Holocaust, Lublin was bustling with Jewish life. Kristen's grandmother's family had been forced from one ghetto to another during the Holocaust, and were all murdered in a Nazi death camp. Her grandmother was the sole survivor. Traumatized by what had befallen her family, and unsure what would await her in the US, she decided to keep her Jewish identity hidden.

“Although Kristen had grown up knowing she had Polish roots, and recalled occasionally hearing a foreign language spoken at home,” David said, “she had no idea back then that this language was probably Yiddish.”

After 25 years of marriage, David discovered that his wife's mother's mother was in fact Jewish. “It was still a big shock," David said. "Kristen grew up not knowing a thing. It took her a little while before she accepted she was Jewish."

This discovery served as a further impetus for the Cohens to grow Jewishly. The entire family began learning with different teachers online. “Each of us had a different set of interests, questions and needs. On Friday nights we share what we have learned with each other.”

“One of my greatest concerns which I put to Rabbi Broker was about helping my sons and wife with their own journey in Judaism, and how to effectively do it with each at their own pace. He answered, ‘The best thing you can be is an example.’ I took that advice.”

“Each time we would find out something new, we would try to incorporate it into our lives. One day, I learned the wine we use on a Friday night should be kosher, and on another occasion one of my sons learned how to make kugel and he would share it with his friends at high school.”

The Cohen’s Shabbat table eventually became a meeting point for the sons' sets of friends, intrigued by the family’s newfound customs. There was no other Jewish family in the city.

“At one point there were regularly 20 people sitting round our Shabbat table singing Shalom Aleichem. Even our non-Jewish friends had learned the words.”

The family’s rollercoaster journey continued when David saw an ad for a free trip to Israel with Birthright. His youngest son, 18-year-old Zachary, returned with inspired insights about Jerusalem, the Galilee, and a deeper experience of living a Jewish life surrounded by Jews in the ancient Jewish homeland. Intrigued, David decided it was time for the whole family to visit Israel.

They took a month-long trip to Israel where the Cohens enjoyed their first visit to the Western Wall, tasted the Shabbat atmosphere in Jerusalem and connected with Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser, a teacher at Aish HaTorah. It was on this occasion that he and his four sons all underwent circumcision.

“I have never imposed anything on my family,” David said. “One of the things that I’ve been very careful about is to let everyone travel their path at their own pace. I asked my sons what they thought about having the circumcision. I explained what it was, some of its significance as being the key vehicle to enter the covenant, and that of course it was their choice. Once again I was taken aback when each of them said they wanted to deepen their Jewish commitment and agreed to have the procedure.

Afterwards at a celebratory meal, when asked by one of Rabbi Glaser’s students why he had chosen to undergo circumcision in his 50s, David recalls his reply. “I felt my soul had somehow been crying out to me all of my life, it was a decision that came from deep within.”

On August 28 this year, David, Kristen and their family will be moving to begin a new life in Safed in the north of Israel, a beautiful city, steeped in Jewish tradition with a rich history of Jewish mysticism.

On choosing the city to be their home, David, now an established artist, had no idea of the creative side of the city, which is home to a renowned artists’ colony. “I believe that God has guided our path to this beautiful and blessed place. We have been blessed in a way I couldn’t have ever imagined. I am looking forward to tapping into the unique spirituality that exists there, as inspiration to incorporate Jewish themes into my artwork.”

Despite David and his family’s trailblazing journey, he has never met Rabbi Broker. Prior commitments during the Cohen’s trip to Israel mean that this meeting will have to wait for August when they set foot in Israel as new citizens.

“It is a moment I have played over in my mind many times. He has given my family and I such loving support.” David is currently preparing a painting of the seven fruits of Israel which he intends to present to Rabbi Broker as a gift.

“I just hope he is a hugger and doesn’t mind having a Jew that was lost in the wilderness cry on his shoulder. I have a deep gratitude to him and to Aish.com for reaching out to me.”

“I hope my story will give others the courage to reach out and say hi to the rabbi in the little pop up screen on Aish.com.”

Rabbi Broker is also excited to meet David and his family. “I am so inspired by David and his family's incredible journey. Their story is remarkable and illustrates the soul's burning desire to grow spiritually. I am so excited to meet him and his family face to face."

If you want to learn with a study partner over the phone and learn more about your Judaism, go to the above mentioned URL and click the connection also you will see the picture of the Cohen family.



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Inyanay Diyoma


Exclusive: I spoke to one of the architects of the financial aspect of the Trump Plan. He understands where Trump and Kushner are with their plan and their reasoning. I told him that I believe that they are completely wrong. You cannot bribe me with a billion dollars to turn into a Christian and you cannot bribe an Arab who his happy being in his tent with his animals near-by to go out. He agreed with me but also understands Trump.

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Have a peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
Posted by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli at 12:35 PM