Last week I had zero time to advertise on the net. If you did not look for my Rosh Hashanah special the commentary is also good for Yom Kippur. There will be no issue for Erev Sukkos as I will be working on the Creation Story this year hopefully just plain Torah, G-D and Angels and leave the science to my upcoming book ble neder. http://rabbipauli.blogspot.com/2020/09/rosh-hashanah-special-few-thoughts.html
Liab HaCohain came up with a brilliant comment about my disappointment that the Moshiach was not revealed in 5780: Good year! I was under the impression that Moshiach is here, waiting for us. It is we who have not shown up, yet another year.
Parsha Hazinu
The heavens and earth are witnesses if you are going to observe the Torah. Heavens can send upon you storms, winds that knock down trees. The earth can quake and slide. Or you can be blessed with fine rains from heaven and good crops growing from the ground.
32:1 Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
If you observe the Mitzvos it will be like the dew on grass and rain on the herbs.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He. 5 Is corruption His? No; His children's is the blemish; a generation crooked and perverse.
G-D is perfect but we are corrupt.
6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not He thy father that hath gotten thee? hath He not made thee, and established thee?
Remember you teachings.
7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee.
Learn your history from the elders. If not you or your children will have to repeat it. Already I received a post from Barbara that 63% of US children do not know what happened in the holocaust.
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. 9 For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance. 10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
You are HIS special children so behave that way.
11 As an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovers over her young, spreads abroad her wings, taketh them, bears them on her pinions-- 12 The LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with Him. 13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he did eat the fruitage of the field; and He made him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14 Curd of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drank foaming wine.
G-D has been great to you and provided for you.
15 But Yeshurun waxed fat, and kicked--thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou didst become gross--and he forsook God who made him, and contemned the Rock of his salvation.
G-D has raised you as children but the children have rebelled against him.
16 They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations did they provoke Him. 17 They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your fathers dreaded not. 18 Of the Rock that begot thee thou were unmindful, and didst forget God that bore thee.
No-gods can also mean sports heroes, Hollywood Stars, driving to a baseball game being played on Shabbos close to or during the World Series. To each his false god.
19 And the LORD saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of His sons and His daughters. 20 And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.
A nation that goes to and fro after this or that political party instead of sticking to the party of G-D fearing men. Tehillim 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
21 They have roused Me to jealousy with a no-god; they have provoked Me with their vanities; and I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation. 22 For a fire is kindled in My nostril, and burns unto the depths of the nether-world, and devours the earth with her produce, and sets ablaze the foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap evils upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them;
There are 76 forest fires right now burning in the Rocky Mountains but the dangerous ones are in California where the people have through their voting record and lack of religious practice abandoned all semblance of G-D with neither fear nor love.
24 The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt, and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, with the venom of crawling things of the dust.
As Titus was conquered by a mosquito that entered his head so too all creatures or a virus like Corona can come against the less observant.
25 Without shall the sword bereave, and in the chambers terror; slaying both young man and virgin, the suckling with the man of gray hairs. 26 I thought I would make an end of them, I would make their memory cease from among men; 27 Were it not that I dreaded the enemy's provocation, lest their adversaries should misdeem, lest they should say: Our hand is exalted, and not the LORD hath wrought all this.'
When the first few people died of Corona, in Israel their names and stories were told. But as the numbers rose to 1335 the dead became anonymous and nobody knew of them other than a statistic.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. 29 If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their latter end. 30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had given them over and the LORD had delivered them up?
For in truth WHO is the ONE that can cause people to live or die? WHO judges them and writes them in the book of life or takes their soul?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter;
Are you drinking the wine of Kiddush and Havdalah or Yayin Nesech (poured before idols)?
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of asps. 34 'Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries? 35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, against the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that are to come upon them shall make haste. 36 For the LORD will judge His people, and repent Himself for His servants; when He sees that their stay is gone, and there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
This Parsha is often Shabbos Teshuva for knowing that the people have to be awakened.
37 And it is said: Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted; 38 Who did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? let him rise up and help you, let him be your protection. 39 See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I have wounded, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.
How appropriate this is before Yom Kippur. Sometimes, we have to remember WHO declares with a child will be born or wither somebody will return his Neshama to HASHEM.
40 For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say: As I live forever, 41 If I whet My glittering sword, and My hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine adversaries, and will recompense them that hate Me. 42 I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.'
The people may have followed after other non-G-D fearing nations but now they will be destroyed.
43 Sing aloud, O ye nations, of His people; for He doth avenge the blood of His servants, and doth render vengeance to His adversaries, and doth make expiation for the land of His people.
In the end, HASHEM will grant strength to his people and bless them with peace.
44 And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said unto them: 'Set your heart unto all the words wherewith I testify against you this day; that ye may charge your children therewith to observe to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days upon the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'
Pay attention, observe the Mitzvos and you will inherit and keep the land.
48 And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying: 49 'Get thee up into this mountain of Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession;
Now is the time to see from the mountain the land all the way to the great sea to the west, the Hermon and further to the north and the Dead Sea, Negev to the south.
50 and die in the mount whither thou go up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people. 51 Because ye trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 For thou shalt see the land afar off; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.'
You will be rewarded in your life time to see the land but not enter it. You will be taken by a divine kiss and the entrance to the cave will be covered by an earthquake triggered landslide.
Parsha Zos HaBracha
33:1 And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said: The LORD came from Sinai, and rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came from the myriads holy, at His right hand was a fiery law unto them. 3 Yea, He loves the peoples, all His holy ones--they are in Thy hand; and they sit down at Thy feet, receiving of Thy words. 4 Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
The Gematria of Command is 611 and these are the number of Mitzvos that Moshe gave to Am Yisrael. Where are the other 2 of the 613? The answer is that the people heard the first two of the Asera Dibros directly from HASHEM Yisborach.
5 And there was a king in Yeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
As sort of a dying birthday present to Moshe, the people accepted HASHEM as king.
6 Let Reuben live, and not die in that his men become few.
Reuven and Shimon had less members so they needed an extra push in the blessings.
7 And this for Judah, and he said: Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him in unto his people; his hands shall contend for him, and Thou shalt be a help against his adversaries.
Yehuda shall rule and fight the rest of the nations of the world.
8 And of Levi he said: Thy Thummim and Thy Urim be with Thy holy one, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; 9 Who said of his father, and of his mother: 'I have not seen him'; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew he his own children; for they have observed Thy word, and keep Thy covenant. 10 They shall teach Jacob Thine ordinances, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt-offering upon Thine altar. 11 Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise up against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
Levi will be the moral compass of the planet.
12 Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day, and He dwells between his shoulders.
Benyamin has the mountains and the Temple will be by the shoulders.
13 And of Joseph he said: Blessed of the LORD be his land; for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that couches beneath, 14 And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and for the precious things of the yield of the moons, 15 And for the tops of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, 16 And for the precious things of the earth and the fullness thereof, and the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brethren.
Ephraim was the seat of the kingdom of Yisrael.
17 His firstling bullock, majesty is his; and his horns are the horns of the wild-ox; with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. 18 And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out, and, Issachar, in thy tents. 19 They shall call peoples unto the mountain; there shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand.
This was the famed partnership of Zevulun and Yissachar. Zevulun would engage in trade and finance the prayers and Torah Learning of Yissachar.
20 And of Gad he said: Blessed be He that enlarged Gad; he dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm, yea, the crown of the head. 21 And he chose a first part for himself, for there a portion of a ruler was reserved; and there came the heads of the people, he executed the righteousness of the LORD, and His ordinances with Israel.
Blessed is He Who grants expanse to Gad: This teaches us that Gad’s territory extended far eastward. — [Sifrei 33:20] He dwells like a lion: Because Gad was near the border, he is therefore compared to lions, for all those who are located near the border must be mighty [like lions, in order to protect themselves from attack]. — [Sifrei 33:20] Tearing the arm [of his prey, together] with the head: Anyone slain by the Gadites could be readily identified: they used to cut off the head together with the arm in one blow. — [Jonathan Ben Uziel]
22 And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's whelp, that leaps forth from Bashan.
Dan was split into two areas one at the base of the
23 And of Naphtali he said: O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the sea and the south.
Favorably satisfied: Naftali’s land would fully satisfy all its inhabitants. Possess the sea and the south: The sea of Kinneret fell within Naftali’s portion; moreover, he took a rope’s length of fishing-coast on its south[ern shore] for spreading out his nets and trawls. — [B.K. 81b] Possess: Heb. ×™ְרָשָׁ×”. This word is in the imperative form and is equivalent to [the simple command רֵשׁ] in “Go up and possess (רֵשׁ)” (Deut. 1:21). The fact that the accent is placed on next to the last syllable in the word, namely on the reish, proves this point, like the words: ×™ְרַשׁ (possess!), ×™ְדַ×¢ (know!), לְקַ×— (take!) and שְׁמַ×¢ (listen!). Now, when one adds a hey at the end of this [simple command] form, the accent is on next to the last syllable of the word to become: לְקָ×—ָ×” סְלָ×—ָ×” ×™ְדָ×¢ָ×” שְׁמָ×¢ָ×” Here also, ×™ְרָשָׁ×” is an imperative form. Accordingly, in the Masoreth Gedolah, we find this in the alphabetically arranged imperative forms of verbs, which have their accents on next to the last syllable.
24 And of Asher he said: Blessed be Asher above sons; let him be the favored of his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Iron and brass shall be thy bars; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
Asher had plenty of oil for he received the hills where oil trees thrive.
26 There is none like unto God, O Yeshurun, who rides upon the heaven as thy help, and in His excellency on the skies. 27 The eternal God is a dwelling-place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He thrust out the enemy from before thee, and said: 'Destroy.' 28 And Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of corn and wine; yea, his heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy art thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee? a people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and that is the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall dwindle away before thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
Yisrael will never ever be a ‘normal’ nation. The ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mamelukes, etc. have all gone and went but Am Yisrael is alive with everlasting blessings from HASHEM. Even when punished in the diaspora, we are still HIS people.
34:1And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, even Gilead as far as Dan; 2 and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the hinder sea; 3 and the South, and the Plain, even the valley of Jericho the city of palm-trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the LORD said unto him: 'This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying: I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.' 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor; and no man knows of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
And Moshe saw the land, lay down on the ground, was kissed by HASHEM that his soul departed and the grave sealed by HASHEM. Living to 120 years with sharp wit and no cataract is wonderful a special blessing.
8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.
Now the time was ripe for the Bnei Yisrael to enter Eretz Yisrael.
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Yehoshua was granted prophecy, had experience and was accepted.
10 And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face; 11 in all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;
There will never ever rise a prophet to this level and prophecy will come in dreams or other ways but never face to face.
12 and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak
A special Request for all Talmidei Chachamim from the Gadol HaDor Minister of Torah Shlita. To learn the Rambam Hilchos Shmita and then the rest of the laws of Shmita written in books on the subject. I bring down here the basic introduction and Chabad Translation Hebrew-English on the subject. Please try to learn 2 Halachos each day. When complete continue with other books. The next Shmita will be 5723.
Introduction to Hilchos Shemita https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1007161/jewish/Shemita-Chapter-1.htm
They contain twenty-two mitzvot: nine positive commandments and thirteen negative commandments. They are:
1) That the earth should rest in the seventh year from all labor
performed because of it;
2) Not to perform agricultural work during this year;
3) Not to perform work with trees during this year;
4) Not to harvest produce that grows on its own in an ordinary manner;
5) Not to harvest grapes in an ordinary manner;
6) To give up ownership of all the produce of the earth;
7) To renounce all debts;
8) Not to pressure a debtor, nor to demand payment from him;
9) Not to refrain from lending before the Sabbatical year so that one will not
forfeit his money;
10) To count the years in sets of seven;
11) To sanctify the fiftieth year;
12) To sound the shofar on
the tenth of Tishrei [of
the fiftieth year] so that the servants will be released as free;
13) Not to perform agricultural work during this year;
14) Not to harvest produce that grows on its own in an ordinary manner;
15) Not to harvest grapes in an ordinary manner;
16) To provide for the redemption of the land during this year; this refers to
the laws pertaining to ancestral fields and purchased fields;
17) That the land never be sold in a permanent manner;
18) The laws pertaining to [the sale of] homes in walled cities;
19) That the tribe of Levi should
not receive a tribal inheritance in Eretz
Yisrael; instead, they are given cities to live in as presents;
20) That the tribe of Levi not take a portion of the spoils [of war];
21) To give the Levites cities
to dwell in [together with] their open land;
22) That the open land of their cities never be sold [permanently]; instead
they have the opportunity to redeem it whether before the Jubilee year or afterwards.
These mitzvot are explained in the ensuing chapters.
Regarding part of Halacha 5 of the Rambam: Nor may one cut an abnormal outgrowth from a tree, remove dried leaves and branches, a number of people have taken shelter from the sun under Eucalyptus Trees and have been hit by branches and died. In cases like this, Pekeuach Nefesh is more important than Shmita and the branch(es) can be cut or removed.
On the 28th of Elul it was 3 years since the passing of Rabbi Yacov Lustig Zal and this is the you tube of the Chesped that was given then. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da8iru1CT7c&feature=youtu.be
The Ballerina of Auschwitz Ronda Robinson
https://www.aish.com/ci/s/The-Ballerina-of-Auschwitz.html?s=sh1
The Ballerina of Auschwitz Dr. Edith Eger offers keys to free ourselves from our own prisons of the mind. She’s about 6 years old, delighting in her body’s strength, flexibility and grace – and stretching into a full split. Edith Eger’s Hungarian ballet master claps with joy then lifts her off the ground and over his head. “Editke,” he says, “all your ecstasy in life is going to come from the inside.” The young dancer will remember those words and a similar refrain by her mother years later when she comes face to face with Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Angel of Death, in Auschwitz. The youngest of three girls, Edie Eger grew up in Kassa, Hungary, one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities, which became Kosice with the creation of Czechoslovakia. Her mother made clear she would never be beautiful like Magda, the oldest sister. Klara, the middle sister and violin prodigy, had the talent; she was the only Jewish girl accepted by the music conservatory in Budapest. Edie had the brains. The Last Seder At her family’s Passover Seder. Edie, 16, is asking the four questions At the end of the meal, her father cries and kisses Magda and Edie on the head. Klara, forewarned, has stayed in Budapest. In the middle of the night German soldiers pound on their door, storm into the bedroom and spirit the family away to a brickworks factory with other interned Jews. Edie wears a blue silk dress with bows. They are allowed one suitcase for four people. Weeks later in a dark crowded train bound for Auschwitz, her mother tells Edie, “We don’t know where we’re going. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Just remember, no one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.” When the cattle car doors open in May 1944, a sign proclaiming “Arbeit Macht Frei” greets the Jews of Kosice. The Nazis separate them into men’s and women’s lines. Edie doesn’t realize she will never see her father again. Mengele commands her mother to go to the left. “You’re going to see your mother very soon. She’s just going to take a shower,” he says ominously. A female kapo coldly dashes Eger’s hopes. Pointing to smoke from distant chimneys, she says, “Your mother is burning in there.” Staring at the chimney atop the building their mother had entered, her sister Magda reassures her, “The soul never dies.” No One Can Take Away Your Thoughts “I heard every day that I was never going to get out alive,” Eger recalled in a recent Zoom lecture hosted by Chabad Intown Atlanta. When hopelessness overwhelmed her, she thought of her mother’s words as they pressed together in the dark crowded cattle car. “No one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.” She thought of her boyfriend and their picnics by the river, envisioning the future they had planned. She focused on helping her sister Magda survive the hell in which they found themselves. Commanded to entertain Mengele with a ballet performance, Eger imagined herself dancing for fans at the Budapest opera house. By some miracle, she was able to view the seasoned killer before her as a pitiful prisoner of his evil choices. She was free in her mind, which he could never be. Her performance netted her a loaf of bread – which she Print with images Large-sized text Print 2/3 "The worst prison is not the one the Nazis put me in. The worst prison is the one I built for myself.” shared with Magda and their bunkmates, a gesture that would later save her life. They would lift her up when she stumbled on a death march to a subcamp of Mauthausen, too weak to walk. In May 1945, American soldiers discovered her lying in an Austrian forest, barely alive beneath a pile of dead bodies, with a broken back, typhoid fever, pneumonia and pleurisy. After a year when her body had healed, she married Bela Eger – a Hungarian man she had met in a tuberculosis hospital in the Tatra Mountains – and became a mother. Healing her mind, however, would take much longer. It became her passion and vocation after they settled in the United States. No Prozac in Auschwitz In her first book, The Choice, which she wrote at age 90, Dr. Edith Eger recounted her life before the Holocaust, when she was training for the Olympics as a gymnast, and after the war, when she reared a family, went to college and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology. The energetic great-grandmother maintains a busy clinical practice and holds a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Diego. She also serves as a consultant for the U.S. Army and Navy in resiliency training and the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Eger has been called a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of choice in our lives. “I’ll be forever changed by her story,” Oprah Winfrey says. Eger’s new book, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life, released in September, serves as a practical guide to the healing she has done in her own life and with patients in her clinical work. In each chapter she explores a common prison of the mind, closing with the keys to free ourselves. For instance, in “No Prozac at Auschwitz,” she reminds readers that the opposite of depression is expression, and encourages us to feel so we can heal. As she says, “What comes out of you doesn’t make you sick; what stays in there does.” The title of the chapter came from one of her patients, a physician addicted to prescription drugs. He said he had realized there was no Prozac at Auschwitz – no way to self-medicate, numb out, forget the pain of hunger, torture and imminent death. Don’t Call Me Shrink; Call Me Stretch In an exclusive interview with Aish.com, Eger quipped, “I tell people don’t call me ‘shrink,’ call me ‘stretch.’ I stretch people’s comfort zones. I ask you to face all your fears, because fear and love don’t co-exist.” The 5-foot ballerina with twinkling eyes and glowing face takes her own advice. “For many years I had tremendous problems with anger,” she admits. “Forgiveness is release, and I couldn’t let go until I gave myself permission to feel and express my rage. I finally asked my therapist to sit on me, to hold me down so I had a force to push against, so I could release a primal scream.” In Eger’s world, there is no forgiveness without rage. Whatever imprisons our minds, we must go through the valley of the shadow of death and not become stuck there. She explains: “Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself, not allowing the past to rule your life. While suffering is inevitable and universal, we can always choose how we respond… We can choose to be our own jailors, or we can choose to be free.” She continues, “It may seem wrong to call anything that came out of the death camps a gift. I am here to tell you that the worst prison is not the one the Nazis put me in. The worst prison is the one I built for myself.” Dancing for Mengele 3/3 Surprisingly, Eger says she found God in Auschwitz. “My God was with me. I look at Auschwitz as an opportunity to discover my inner resources and to become closer and closer to my God.” The elegant La Jolla psychologist credits God with transforming her hatred into pity, to helping her feel sorry for the guards and view them as the actual prisoners. “They were born to be beautiful and have joy and love and passion for life. But they were taught to see Jews as a cancer to society.” Many decades later, a fellow ballerina validated Eger’s perspective. On May 4, 2019, the 74 anniversary of her liberation and a national day of remembrance in the Netherlands, Eger spoke at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Then she watched Igone de Jongh, the prima ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet, perform a piece inspired by Eger’s first night in Auschwitz when she danced for Mengele. Calling the Dutch ballet one of the most cherished experiences of her life, Eger was awed by the depiction of beauty and transcendence – in hell. Mengele appeared to be a hungry ghost, sad and empty, trapped by his need for power and control. At the end, de Jongh descended from the stage and walked directly to Eger. With tears in her eyes, the ballerina embraced the Holocaust survivor and gave her a huge bouquet. The audience roared with applause and a standing ovation. Eger continues to dance through life, happy to perform her signature ballet high kick after her talks. She will celebrate her 93rd birthday Sept. 29. “I will never retire,” she declares. “The meaning in life is when you can be useful. The only way I think I survived is that I can serve others.”
Strategic Repentance forcing oneself.
We all have some bad character traits and some bad habits. When we consider doing teshuva, repentance, for them, we are apt to think as follows: "I am really out of control. Why do I do those terrible things? I should be stronger! How can I increase my self-control so that I can overcome those strains, temptations, etc.?"
That sort of thinking can be useful. But it is not the only helpful approach. Another attack is this: "When do I fail like this? What is there in the environment? What else has happened that day? Under which specific circumstances do I fail? And what can I do to change those circumstances?" The technique of changing the circumstances in which we generally fail is what I call "Strategic Teshuva."
Traits and habits generally have "triggers." For example, certain people provoke an angry, aggressive response. Other people may not pose a problem. Or the "trigger" might be specific activities, such as driving in heavy traffic ("road rage"), caring for fighting siblings, waiting in lines at the bus terminal, filling out government forms, and so on.
The same is true for other temptations. Laziness comes naturally when one is surrounded by computer games, bad literature, inviting beaches and – most important – other lazy people. (A boy from Los Angeles told me it took him six years to get his bachelor's degree because certain courses interfered with his beach schedule!) Illicit pleasures attract most strongly when they are readily available and when others in the neighborhood indulge.
Our first responsibility is for our actions. When the "triggers" of the bad habits and traits occur, it is extremely difficult to stop the habits and traits from acting. One solution is to try to avoid the triggers. Change the environment. Move your residence if you can. If you can't, spend as much time in another environment which will provide respite from the temptation. (The most effective positive environment is doing mitzvot with other people: Learn in a beit midrash, a study hall, visit the hospital with others, plan a chesed project with others, teach Torah in a school, etc.) Certain activities cause tension which triggers anger. If you cannot avoid those activities, alternate with relaxing activities.
A second solution is to add something to the environment which will make it easier to do the right thing. If you have trouble getting up for praying in shul, make a study partner for ten minutes before praying. Then, when the alarm rings and you reach over to push the snooze button, you will think: "But what if my study partner comes and I'm not there?! How embarrassing!" – and you will get up!
In many cases you can make a contract with yourself: If I succeed in overcoming the temptation (enough times) then I will allow myself something I very much enjoy. This is what psychologists call a "behavior contract." Thus I have a personal incentive to do the right thing. For example: "If I get through the meeting without getting angry, I will allow myself to buy that picture for the wall/go to that restaurant/etc."
The key is to control the environment by avoiding some things and creatively adding others so that it will be easier to do the right thing.
Now, some people think that this cannot be right. This means that we are only running away from our problems, not solving them! The problem is precisely this: I am not able to overcome those temptations. How do I solve that problem? By avoiding them, or by adding extra incentives?
There are two answers. First, who says that the only problem is to overcome the desire? On the contrary: Our first responsibility is for our actions. Suppose someone cannot control a desire to steal from Macy's. If he shops only in Bloomingdale's, or he rewards himself for not stealing from Macy's, he has not overcome the desire – but at least he is not stealing!
Second, often we can only overcome the desire if we have a respite from the wrong actions. As long as the bad habits and traits are active it is very difficult to gain control.
Therefore, avoiding the triggers and adding payoffs may be the only way to gain control. Yes, the ultimate goal is to become immune to the temptations. But this may require two stages: First avoiding the triggers and adding payoffs; and then developing the psychological strength to resist. Trying to do without the first stage may make the second stage impossible.
Think of addictions. You cannot simply tell the addict: "Stop using that stuff!" He can't stop, and all the therapy in the world will not help while he is still on the drug. But if he enters a sanitarium where the drug is unavailable, then the therapy can help him become immune to the temptation to use drugs.
Strategic teshuva may thus be the necessary first step to complete teshuva. But it is more than that. If that is all that you can manage at the moment, then strategic teshuva is enough to gain atonement. God does not ask more of us than we can do. If you avoid the triggers, add incentives and start to work on immunity, then in the meantime you have atonement for all the past mistakes even before you achieve immunity. Isn't that worth it?
Reprinted with permission. Rabbi Gottlieb's website can be found at www.dovidgottlieb.com
Story and new prayer of the RAMBAN. https://www.aish.com/jw/s/Rambans-Newly-Discovered-Prayer.html?s=shl
The prayer: https://blog.nli.org.il/en/lbh-rambans-prayer/
Please, O Lord who creates without having a creator∙
And who conceived a thought and power from potential to action, brought forth light which illuminates all of the lights from the beginning until the end, for all of the illuminations∙
The words of God are pure words (Psalms 12:7)∙
Please, with your unseen, refined and pure power, establish my thoughts in your service, in awe, in trembling and in reverence∙
You have brought to light every mystery∙
Make me wise to know your commandments, and as a hawk soars over its prey (Job 29:36), allow me to understand and guide me in the path of your commandments∙
And in the ways of repentance (teshuva) instruct me∙
Because you are a God who desires the repentance of the wicked∙
And the spirit of grace flows forth onto those who know and those who do not know, and in the attribute of your beloved ones from ancient times, bless me with sublime favor, as my absolute light∙
And this is your favor that you shall do for me∙
And may I not tremble in fear of you (Job 13:21)∙
And raise me up on the balance of grace∙
And guide me in your truth and fulfill me from its delights∙
And from their great light, enlighten me∙
And like the mountain of your inheritance (Jerusalem), bring me and plant me∙
And between two cherubs, may your word come and console me∙
And desire me and receive me∙
And may the foundation of your world establish my soul and may it be bound up in the bundle of life, the pure soul you have placed within me, and in the great all-encompassing crown, may it be included∙
Include me in your exalted attribute of goodness, with every blessing and splendor∙
Please, with these crowns, which are ten in number∙
And in them lay the secret to everything∙
May my supplication come before you∙
And may your ear be inclined to my joy∙
And may my prayer come before the sanctuary of your holiness∙
And from the good oil of the two olives and the wellspring, pour upon the seven candles of the entirely gold menorah (Zechariah 4:3)∙
And shower upon he who longs for your kindness and sees your goodness through spiritual channels from higher wellsprings and lower wellsprings (Joshua 15:19)∙
And you are the one who knows that I do not unburden my plea before you due to my righteousness, but rather by the merit of my forefathers I have based it, and by the greatness of your mercy and your humility and the memory of your thirteen attributes∙
From Barbara M. Children are not being taught true history but agenda history. ttps://www.pix11.com/news/national/survey-63-of-young-americans-dont-know-6-million-jews-were-killed-in-holocaust
Miracle MK saved in a middle of a stroke on Shabbos. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287777
Saudi has massive stone structures. https://www.timesofisrael.com/mysterious-massive-stone-monuments-in-arabia-some-of-worlds-oldest-study-says/#gs.gct62r
From Jeff R. Kashrus for Pesach is virtual and it starts now. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-16/kosher-during-coronavirus-rabbis-inspect-chinese-food-plants-virtually
From Joe G. Communists and the riots in the USA. https://vimeo.com/459567700?fbclid=IwAR3k8xrWLNrviqKgr3X6QQ9LDEZcZpRGW3FfWuF6tc5dXZ4i-RMU19RRv6M
In Memorial Ruth Bader Ginsburg. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287576
In Memorial Rabbi of Neve Dekelim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287549
Israeli Supreme Court a farce of injustice. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287648
Latest Poll shows Bennett’s gain. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287823
After 47 years together Yacov converts to Judaism gets a Bris, Bar Mitzvah and marries according to Moshe V’ Yisrael. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287884
Inyanay Diyoma
Corona cases and deaths expand. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287579
Will Kuwait join peace agreement? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287572
400 buses plus cars and tens of thousands of Yerushalayim people to protest Bibi. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287545
US to ban certain Chinese phone apps. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287566
700 Breslov Chassidim leave Ukrainian Border. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287547
Iran threatens crushing blow to US. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkABWAEBv
Netanyahu lockdown a sham – Ed Op. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByZ7NslBP
US tries to make a territorial deal with Lebanon and Israel. https://www.debka.com/us-brokered-israel-lebanon-talks-on-sea-land-border-disputes-off-to-a-good-start/
US reinforces against Russians on Syrian-Iraqi Border. https://www.debka.com/us-brokered-israel-lebanon-talks-on-sea-land-border-disputes-off-to-a-good-start/
In Memorial Ruth Bader Ginsburg. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287576
In Memorial Rabbi of Neve Dekelim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287549
Chinese Virologist escapes to the west and blows the whistle on genetic engineered Corona Virus release. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mP7T-Dg4j4
Government orders hospitals to stop non-emergency operations. https://www.timesofisrael.com/hospital-chief-government-abandoning-us-with-order-to-end-elective-surgeries/#gs.g8vi4f
IDF to open field hospital. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287638
Ganz to visit USA for one day. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287674
Woman dies due to cyber-attack. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287636
6,926 new cases 1316 dead and yet they want protests to continue. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Byhz1w00SP https://www.debka.com/tougher-covid-restrictions-stalled-by-tussle-over-protest-demonstrations/
Jerusalem and Ashdod over-crowded with Covid. https://www.timesofisrael.com/flooded-by-cases-hospitals-in-jerusalem-and-ashdod-stop-taking-virus-patients/#gs.gcsf7t
Most Israelis back stronger lockdown. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287778
More bad examples of violations from up-high. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HkwOXbUBP
How can I ask my Rabbis to close Synagogues when demonstrators are allowed to travel all over and congregate? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287764
High delegation to Bahrain. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287780
Iranian terror stopped in Bahrain. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/By6MPGHBP
Iran gets sanctions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287652
Iran threatens terror. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287653
Zoom bans Leila Khaled terrorist event. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287765
Sudan may sign with Israel before Nov. 3rd. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287783
Why is HDQ being banned? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287783
Honduras to move Embassy. https://www.timesofisrael.com/honduras-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem-by-end-of-2020-israel-says/#gs.g8tgwu
Terrorist infiltrate from Gaza. https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-detains-4-who-crossed-from-gaza-strip-carrying-knife/#gs.gcv1zq
Former female soldier sues BDS for millions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287733
Pentagon to keep Israel’s military edge. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HysleDdSD
Anti-Netanyahu protesters shoot themselves in the foot by Ben Dror Yemeni. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJrcN1UHD
Fake News NYT divides Arab Christians from Muslims. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287745
Iran executes wrestler. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irans-zarif-says-wrestler-afkari-executed-for-murder-not-role-in-unrest-643063
Wild boars of Haifa. https://www.ynetnews.com/environment/article/SyOq28UHP#autoplay
Miracle MK saved in a middle of a stroke on Shabbos. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287777
Saudi has massive stone structures. https://www.timesofisrael.com/mysterious-massive-stone-monuments-in-arabia-some-of-worlds-oldest-study-says/#gs.gct62r
Hezballah depot blows up. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HkMqUdDrP
Complete Lockdown for two weeks. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Skdphhtrw
16-day lockdown. https://www.debka.com/israel-enters-full-16-day-lockdown-on-friday/
Cases per day at crises proportions. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/CRPZ3XLUR
Rambam Hospital converts parking garage into Corona Ward with 770 beds. 770 Eastern Parking Lot is now a ward. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Skdphhtrw
Why Ben Shapiro is leaving CA. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287603
Suspect sent ricin to WH. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287592
Republican was shot and killed in MN. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287631
F-35 to Gulf could be strategic for Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287621
Yom Kippur scapegoat. Netanyahu is looking for. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJxWUAdHP
China sterilizing Muslims. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287796
Two Policemen shot in KY. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287846
Application fights Presidential Order. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287838
Hunter Biden linked to human trafficking. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287853
PM to meet Sudanese Leader. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287848
Eiffel evacuation after Allah Hu Akbar. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287789
Finance Ministry is to blame for Hospital Crises. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287800
In the morning there was a TV interview with a young man who got Corona twice now a young lady. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287873
Opposition blasts lockdown. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287854
Social Media intolerant of diversity. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287831
After 59 Corona Deaths in one day, lockdown begins with wavers for defense industries, construction and more. https://www.debka.com/israel-enters-full-16-day-lockdown-on-friday/
Netanyahu and his cigars, free pickles and falafel in the market but this time it becomes a Chillul HASHEM. https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-brings-dirty-laundry-white-house-cleaning-report-2020-9
Protests are important but it is time to stop Ed-Op. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r100cACYHD
UAE-Israel fighting Iranian Cyber Threats. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HknJEH9rv
No banning of protests outdoor prayers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287921
President takes an emergency phone call during a press conference. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287879
Mike Bloomberg trying to buy votes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287893
Netanyahu wants to scapegoat him. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287861
Do diaspora Jews understand the danger? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287910
Gmar Chatima Tova (a good signing) in the book of health, life and happiness. This Blogspot is going on a two-week vacation to allow me to learn, write for my book and research things. Hope to be back in good health and adding more Torah.
Good Shabbos and good year,
Rachamim Pauli
