Parsha Tetzaveh
Most of this section of the Chumash we learn for the sake of heaven. We will most likely never ever have a Mishkan again and only a Temple in the Future as far as I know based on Yechezkel and Chachamim. But still the Menorah, Table, Lamp and using pure olive oil, the Paroches or covering separating sections will still be existing. The jewels on the Ephod of the Cohain Gadol will exist along the clothing for the Cohanim, the bells and the Avnet or belt of the Cohain Gadol or the individual Cohanim will be produced.
27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring un to thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
Our Sages of blessed memory compared the Bnei Yisrael to Olive Oil the more you beat them finer and finer the purer and better they get. It is unfortunate but sometimes the people have to be reminded that they have a Father in Heaven who cares, educates, disciplines and makes rich or poor.
21 In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
An eternal night burning inside the Mikdash or Mishkan. Now G-D does not need light as HE created the light aka escaped photons on the first day and saw it was good.
28:1 And bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. 2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for splendor and for beauty.
The garments of the Cohain Gadol was sky blue to dark blue and gold. (Based on the Techelles of today.)
3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office.
I have been told that twinning goats’ hair together into a thread is a real specialty. These tailors had that skill and the particular skills and experience for dying Techelles
4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of chequer work, a mitre, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office. 5 And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.
Remember all this is hand woven from ‘scratch’ no known design before and was done. Once the first garment of the Cohain Gadol was produced there was an example to see and work from. With all the adversary problems maybe by a dream or Ruach HaKodesh, the women and maybe a few male weavers and tailors put together the garment with the metal parts in the Ephod (apron) and with the stones.
6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined to the two ends thereof, that it may be joined together. 8 And the skillfully woven band, which is upon it, wherewith to gird it on, shall be like the work thereof and of the same piece: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, according to their birth.
The old Torah-Tidbits archives disappeared from the net so I hope I have the correct sources. On the right shoulder was Shimon, Yehuda, Zebulun, Dan, Asher and Benyamin. On the left shoulder was Reuven, Levi, Yissachar, Naphtali, Gad, Yosef. I recall that Torah Tidbits had a dispute if one the names was longer and went from stone to stone for equal letters or there were six full tribes and six full tribes. Note the modern Yahalom is identified as diamond and not pearl. Also in the Jewish Encyclopedia a diamond. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6574-gems
11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel; thou shalt make them to be inclosed in settings of gold. 12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13 And thou shalt make settings of gold; … 21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.
The following source is Chabad and reliable. Top row from right to left as follows and the rows underneath. Reuven is right, Shimon in the middle and Levi is left.
Barekes (Carbuncle) Levi, Pidah (Prase) Shimon, Odem (Ruby) Reuven Yahalom (Pearl) Zevulun, Sapir (Sapphire) Yissachar, Nofek (Emerald) Yehuda Achlamah (Crystal) Gad, Shevo (Turquoise) Naphtali, Leshem (Amber or Jacinth) Dan Yashpeh (Jasper) Benyamin, Shacham (Onyx) Yosef, Tarshish (Crystallite) Asher https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3960528/jewish/The-High-Priests-Breastplate-Choshen.htm
Each stone had its own Kabbalistic and physical vibrations in this world and the upper world and the order and combination on the Cohain Gadol produced a spiritual linkage for the tribes and nation to the higher elements.
22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate plaited chains of wreathen work of pure gold. 23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. … 28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a thread of blue, that it may be upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. 30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the LORD; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
Urim and Thummim are lost to us and we have no idea what they were and how they worked.
31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 And it shall have a hole for the head in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a coat of mail that it be not rent. 33 And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about.
There are two slightly different pictures shown the one on the right looks more like what I suspect was the garment. https://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=temple+institute+ephod&s_it=img-ans&v_t=loki-tb-sb&fr=loki-tb-sb&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftempleinstitute.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F04%2Fephod-versions-small.jpg#id=6&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftempleinstitute.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F04%2Fephod-versions-small.jpg&action=click
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister; and the sound thereof shall be heard when he goes in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
On the mundane scale this is like a bell or buzzer ringing when somebody enters a store. Here the HOLY ONE might be in all HIS glory and the soul would depart if he did not hide between the Cheruvim
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO THE LORD.
For this reason, the Cohanim bless with their hands under the Tephillin shel Rosh area.
37 And thou shalt put it on a thread of blue, and it shall be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity committed in the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow, even in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. 39 And thou shalt weave the tunic in chequer work of fine linen, and thou shalt make a mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make a girdle, the work of the weaver in colors.
The belt was to separate the heart from the bottom half of the body.
40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make tunics, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and head-tires shalt thou make for them, for splendor and for beauty.
Only from the seed of Aaron could be a Cohain and they had to serve with their pants and belts for modesty and the garments and turban were for beauty. A stranger or a Cohain who serves without his garments shall die.
… 43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they go in unto the tent of meeting, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die; it shall be a statute forever unto him and unto his seed after him.
This is an eternal statute that only from the seed of Aaron and dressed in the special Cohanic Robes.
29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest's office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish,
When Aaron and Sons are to be dedicated to Kahuna, they will offer these Korbanos.
2 and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened spread with oil; of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water. 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 6 And thou shalt set the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put tunics upon them. 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them; and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. 10 And thou shalt bring the bullock before the tent of meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock.
Then after the bull the rams and the Cohanim shall be consecrated for all generations.
11 And thou shalt (ritually) slaughter the bullock before the LORD, at the door of the tent of meeting. 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger; and thou shalt pour out all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covers the inwards, and the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and make them smoke upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp; it is a sin-offering. 15 Thou shalt also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay (ritually slaughter) the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and dash it roundabout against the altar. … 19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. 20 Then shalt thou (ritually) slaughter the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and dash the blood against the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons' garments with him. … 30 Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on, even he who cometh into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. 31 And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and seethe its flesh in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting. 33 And they shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. 34 And if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee; seven days shalt thou consecrate them. … 38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year day by day continually. 39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at dusk. 40 And with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at dusk, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
The Rams are the Korban Tamid (daily offering) and if we had the Mikdash today would offer them as such.
42 It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee.
30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia-wood shalt thou make it.
This Mizbayach is only for incense.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be the height thereof; the horns thereof shall be of one piece with it. 3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. 4 And two golden rings shalt thou make for it under the crown thereof, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make them; and they shall be for places for staves wherewith to bear it. 5 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7 And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he dressed the lamps, he shall burn it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at dusk, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
Constant burning of incense.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-offering, nor meal-offering; and ye shall pour no drink-offering thereon. 10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year; with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement once in the year shall he make atonement for it throughout your generations; it is most holy unto the LORD.'
On Yom Kippur when with atone with the required Kippurim.
Adopted disabled girl discovers that her idol is her biological sister.
By Sara Yocheved Rigler
https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Who-Got-the-Better-Deal.html?s=hp1
Had I been in the hospital in Salem, Illinois, on October 1, 1987, when a baby girl was born without legs, my heart would have clenched in pity for this poor child, and my mind would have railed at the unfairness of her fate. So grotesque was her deformity that her parents chose to leave her in the hospital.
Three months later, Sharon and Gerald Bricker decided to adopt the baby. The Brickers already had three sons, ranging in age from 10 to 14. “It bothered me,” Sharon later explained, “that there was a little girl who was left at the hospital, and she had no legs. So I thought she needed a family who would love her and take care of her.” They named the baby Jennifer, and brought her home to rural Hardinville, Illinois, a town so small that it had not a single traffic light.
Gerald was a carpenter. Sharon had worked in a bakery, but was a full-time mother by the time they adopted Jen. What kind of couple adopts a legless baby? A couple who wants to give, love, and nurture. And that’s what they did.
Jennifer grew up in a home thick with love and laughter. Her older brothers adored her. But neither her parents nor her brothers coddled her. “Can’t” was not part of the Bricker vocabulary. As Jen would later declare: “If you put your mind to it, you can do it. If you were never given limits, then you think, ‘I can do anything.’”
And she did. Alongside her three big brothers, she would climb trees, do handstands and flips, and jump from high places. Using her strong arms, she played softball, basketball, and volleyball, and became proficient in gymnastics and tumbling. Her parents constantly encouraged her, sometimes having to adapt equipment for Jen to play a particular sport. When Jen wanted to roller skate, her parents devised skates that she could attach to her hands.
When Jen was in second grade, she announced to her parents that she wanted to become a gymnast. Her idol was Dominique Moceanu, a petite gymnast whom Jen avidly watched on television. In 1995, at the age of 13, Dominique Moceanu became the youngest gymnast to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. National Championships. And at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Dominique, 14, won a gold medal with the other members of the “Magnificent Seven,” the U.S. gymnastics team. Jen was inspired watching Dominique, the youngest and the smallest on the team, a true champion.
Sharon and Gerald enrolled Jen in a gymnastics class, then a class in tumbling. Over the next four years, Jen won several tumbling competitions. When she was 12, Jen became the Illinois State Champion in tumbling. She also competed in three national meets and one Junior Olympic meet.
With her positive, upbeat attitude and strong self-esteem, Jen was always accepted by her schoolmates. In the early grades, whenever a child stared or asked where her legs were, Jen answered matter-of-factly, “This is the way God made me.”
Once a child in her class referred to her as “handicapped.”
Astonished, Jen replied, “I’m not handicapped.”
“But you use a wheelchair,” the boy declared, to prove his point.
With the umbrage of an insulted adolescent, Jen countered, “That’s just to keep me from getting dirty.”
Jen had always known that she was adopted. When she was 16, she asked her mother if she had any information about her biological parents. Sharon took out the official adoption papers. It was supposed to have been a closed adoption, but by a clerical error the name of her biological parents appeared at the top of one page. The name was “Moceanu.”
Jen’s biological sister was the Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu.
“You had been my idol
my whole life,” Jen wrote to Dominique four years later, “and you turned out to
be my sister! I was in extreme disbelief… My uncle is a retired private
investigator, and he got in contact with Dumitru, your father. He talked to
your father, and he did not deny that I was their biological child, but he
would not return my uncle’s phone calls after that. So we stopped trying to
contact you for a while because I did not want to seem pushy, and I wanted to
do this right.”
Worried that Dominique would think she was crazy or trying to cash in on the fame of a celebrity, Jen took four years “to do this right.” She copied all the relevant documents. She assembled pictures of herself, which eerily resembled pictures of Dominique’s younger sister Christine. And she wrote a long, heartfelt letter. Finally, as Dominique would later write, Jen “put her heart in a package and shipped it off to a complete stranger.”
Dominique’s reaction was shock – and anger at her parents for keeping this secret from her for 20 years. As a child, Dominique had longed to have siblings. She had no idea that, when she was six, her parents had abandoned their baby in the hospital. When she was eight years old, her sister Christina was born. “I treasured her from the day she was born,” Dominique wrote in her autobiography, Off Balance. “Christina was my everything, and I was so happy to have her.”
After getting Jen’s package, when Dominique confronted her father, he stated flatly that they were impoverished immigrants without money or health insurance, and a Romanian doctor at the birth told them that raising a handicapped child would involve large medical expenses. So he decided they could not afford it, and put the child up for adoption. And that was that.
As for Dominique’s mother, she painfully related what had happened:
Your father said that our little girl was born with no legs. I never saw my baby. I never held her, never touched her, never even smelled her. I desperately wanted to, but your father told me we had to give her up and that was that. … You know your father – once a decision is made, that’s the end of it. (Off Balance: A Memoir, page 23)
Indeed, Dominique knew her father. Born and raised in Romania during the oppressive, Communist Ceausescu era, Dumitru Moceanu was an abusive, controlling husband and father. Immediately after marrying 19-year-old Camelia, he, with his bride, immigrated to the United States. Nine months later, Dominique was born.
By 1996, having won a series of gymnastic championships, 14-year-old Dominique had become America’s darling. She was featured in Vanity Fair and her first autobiography, Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion, hit #7 on the New York Times Best Seller List.
But behind the limelight lurked a dark, menacing shadow. Dominique’s father was a classic abuser: controlling, violent, and given to bursts of rage. As Dominique would describe him in her memoirs:
As a father and husband, he ruled our house with an iron fist. Decisions were made by him, obeyed by us, and explained by nobody… My home life throughout my childhood was turbulent, at best. Tata’s rage and temper tantrums took a toll on my family. We [she, her mother, and sister] often found ourselves hiding in separate rooms. I can barely recall a single holiday when my father didn’t make a scene or create some kind of chaos. We were always walking on eggshells. (Off Balance: A Memoir, page 21)
At the age of 17, Dominique ran away from home and filed for “emancipation” – to be legally and financially independent of her parents. It turned out that her father had taken almost all of her post-Olympic earnings from shows and endorsements – almost a million dollars. The high-profile court proceedings left Dominique free, but feeling guilty, pained, and humiliated, as she was denounced by the media, which blazoned the headline: SPOILED BRAT DIVORCES PARENTS.
Then, at the age of 26, married and expecting her first child, Dominique discovered that she had a sister she never knew. The most poignant parts of her memoir are her comparisons between the traumatic childhood she suffered and the golden, happy childhood Jen enjoyed:
As Jennifer describes it, her home life was stable and full of love and support. She says her parents had minor arguments and bickered here and there like any other family, but they always “talked out” their problems, so there was never lingering tension in their home.
Jennifer’s words, “talked out,” stuck in my mind. How I had wished my parents did more talking when I was young. I mostly remember Mama and Tata either arguing when they disagreed or not talking at all. And the tense moments in our home were far more common than the peaceful ones. Many of Christina’s and my childhood memories were plagued with fear, sadness, and occasional threats of violence. When I think about these painful times, I am happy for Jennifer that she had such a positive home life – and I can’t help but think that the Bricker home was a better place for Jennifer to grow up than mine was. …
During our first conversation, I found myself thinking, Thank God someone was watching over her, so she didn’t have to suffer like Christina and I did. (pp. 102-103)
On October 1, 1987, in a hospital in Salem, Illinois, a baby girl was born without legs. Her sister, born intact, became a champion Olympic gymnast, showered with fame and wealth. Whose life was blessed? Whose life was cursed?
This year is in Israel Purim MEFULASH especially in walled cities thus we have Friday, Shabbos and Sunday in cities like Yerushalayim and those that had walls in the days of Yehoshua.
A Special Favor from the Most Unexpected Source
By Rabbi Y. Tilles
http://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5781/pdf/s1211MexicoKhomeini.pdf
This amazing story took place many years ago in Iran. It was related by a witness, Rabbi YehudaEzrachian, one of the Rabbanim in Iran at the time. HaRav Avraham-Mordechai Hirschberg (now deceased), a beloved student of HaRabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, later in life became the chief rabbi of Mexico. He was an erudite scholar, and he was also a man of action with expansive ties to heads of state and prominent personalities.
The year was 1979, when the Islamic revolution broke out after the Persian Shah(ruler) was deposed and replaced by the notorious Ayatollah Khomeini, a rabid hater of Israel. Until that year, ties between Iran and the West were cordial. After the revolution, however, all those ties were cut off immediately.
There was an American consulate in Teheran at the time. When the revolution broke out, demonstrators sent by the new government, which hated the West - especially America –stormed the American consulate and took everyone inside hostage. They then presented a list of demands to the American government as a condition for their release.
Exhausting negotiations dragged on for a year and a half between representatives of the American government and of the Iranian regime. In the meantime, more than fifty captives were living in the consulate compound, among them Jews, under deplorable conditions. As the negotiation continued, with no end in sight, the captives were suffering.
During that time, the Americans managed to arrange for a delegation of four neutral clergymen to enter Iran, and to visit the captives in the consulate to provide them with some encouragement. Three prominent priests were chosen for the mission, along with Rabbi Hirschberg, for the Jewish captives.
It was Chanukah when Rabbi Hirschberg arrived at the consulate. He lit the Chanukah candles with the captives, offered them effusive encouragement. He spoke to them about the story of Chanukah -how a handful of Jews prevailed over masses of non-Jews in battle. His message infused them with hope and inner strength; some even grew closer to their heritage as a result.
As Rabbi Hirschberg’s visit drew to a close and he was preparing to return home with the rest of the delegation, they were surprised to discover that they were not being allowed to leave just yet. The evil Khomeini, seeking to humiliate the Americans and promote himself, demanded their public attendance at a mass Muslim event that was scheduled to take place in Teheran’s central square. Millions were expected to be in attendance. The center point of the ceremony was a high dais on which senior regime officials –including Khomeini -were seated. Alongside them were the four American representatives, Rabbi Hirschberg among them.
Many more than a million Muslim men filled the square and the surrounding streets. The prayers began, in Persian. When the signal to bow was given, the religious figures on the stage all knelt on their knees and bowed –including the Christian priests. After
them, the millions of Muslim men all bowed too, and also prostrated themselves, as is their custom. Of all the millions, one man remained standing tall –Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Hirschberg, similar to Chananya, Mishael and Azariah in their time, He did not move, standing out among the masses.
The Ayatollah Khomeini sensed something, and flew into a rage. He immediately summoned Rabbi Hirschberg to him, and through a translator, asked him why he had not bowed, while his three American friends, the Christian priests, had?
Rabbi Avraham Mordechai –despite being overcome with fear and sure he was going to be sent to his death–did not display any of his inner angst. He turned to the translator and politely asked him to explain to the ruler that our Torah states that one must not bow in idol worship, and because he did not understand Persian, he did not know to whom everyone was bowing. As such, he was forbidden from joining them. It is possible that the priests who did bow were familiar with the Persian language and knew to whom they were bowing. But because he did not know, he was compelled to remain standing.
His innocent words of truth took the evil ruler by surprise, and also found favor in his eyes. Instead of killing Rabbi Hirshberg or otherwise punishing him, he instructed the interpreter to tell the rabbi that he liked his answer. He was impressed by the fact that he was not a flatterer like the three priests in the delegation were.
This was a truly remarkable turn of events. Khomeini was known for his burning hatred of Jews, and yet, he respected and admired the Jewish rabbi for adhering to his religion.
When Reb Avraham Mordechai understood from the translator how much of an impression his words had made on the Ayatollah, he decided to utilize the opportunity to try to help his Jewish brethren in Iran. He asked to set up a meeting to discuss their plight with him. The Ayatollah agreed and told him when to come.
At the appointed hour, Reb Avraham Mordechai arrived at the Ayatollah’s residence. When the audience began, the Rabbi said with tears in his eyes: “I want to plead for my Jewish brethren who live here. I have learned that the remaining Jewish residents are suffering terribly at the hand of their neighbors and enemies. Perhaps the ruler in his compassion can save them and help prevent this persecution.”
The Ayatollah first tried to argue that the Jews were collaborating with his enemies. But Rabbi Hirschberg, with his humble nature, was able to influence him by calmly proving that the Jews had no hatred for the ruler and the revolution at all. On the contrary, they hoped and yearned for the new government to protect them from their harassers.
Surprisingly, the ruler agreed to the request, whereupon Rabbi Avraham Mordechai seized the moment to make one more petition, relating to something he had become aware of during his conversations with members of the community. When the revolution broke out, a curfew was imposed throughout Iran, each night, until the early morning hours. This was very difficult for many Jews, who were used to going to pray in their shuls(synagogues) at dawn so they could then go to work. Now, due to the curfew, they could not fulfill their religious practices.
Once more he received help from Heaven. The Ayatollah agreed to this request as well. He promised he would issue an order to the Iranian police commander that from that day on, if they saw a person during the curfew in the early dawn hours carrying a tallit &
Tefillin case, they should accept that as a sign that he is not an enemy of the revolution, but rather a Jew performing his religious duty and rising early to pray in synagogue.
This remarkable accomplishment made waves, and generated tremendous encouragement throughout the community, as everyone was able to see how a Jew who fulfills the commandments of his religion proudly and is not afraid of scoffers or those who threaten him ultimately merited to find such special favor in the most unexpected place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and expanded by Yerachmiel Tilles from the version on //bneyemunim.co.il, where Mipikudecha Asichah, Vol. II p. 21, is cited as the source.
Connection: On Purim, we read in the Scroll of Esther that Mordechai did not bow down to Prime Minister Haman, the descendant of evil-incarnate Amalek. So, too, we do not bow down to the descendants of wicked Haman.
1 Book of Daniel Chapter 9.
Opposition wins 60 seats in poll. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297136
Monday Poll Netanyahu-Bennett 62: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297248
Poll – Friday: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297569
Poll – Friday Netanyahu fails. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297540
Inyanay Diyoma
3 N. Koreans charged in Global Hack. https://www.wnd.com/2021/02/doj-charges-3-north-koreans-global-hacks/
TX declared a disaster area. https://www.foxnews.com/us/live-updates-texas-storm-2-20-21
Moscow Court rejects opposition leader’s appeal. https://www.foxnews.com/world/moscow-court-rejects-navalnys-appeal
Biden’s remark on Chinese Muslims bigotry. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-comments-on-chinas-uighurs-bigotry-masquerading-as-cultural-sensitivity-h-r-mcmaster-says
Democratic opposition to nomination. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-tanden-no-vote-joe-manchin
Foreign Agent who befriended Biden to jail. https://www.wnd.com/2021/02/foreign-agent-cultivated-connections-joe-biden-headed-jail-12-years/
NY Nursing Home Scandal. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lee-zeldin-to-save-new-york-cuomo-must-go
Is Biden’s Iranian initiative stuck in the sand? https://www.debka.com/are-bidens-moves-for-nuclear-diplomacy-with-iran-stuck-in-the-sand/
Beginning fourteen days after receipt of the second dose, the vaccine is 95.8% effective in preventing infections, 98.0% effective at preventing fever and respiratory symptoms, 98.9% effective at preventing hospitalizations due to coronavirus, 99.2% effective at preventing serious infections due to coronavirus, and 98.9% effective in preventing death due to coronavirus. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297165
FBI arrests Capitol Rioter blames Jews. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297163
Iranian Judoka wins silver metal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297161
Israeli Dog Unit father of 3 missing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297150
Another embassy to Yerushalayim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297153
Likud-Netanyahu hold talks with PLO in regard to votes for elections. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Bkh8lRlfu
105year old founding member of the IAF promoted to Col. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/21/105-year-old-israeli-air-force-founding-member-promoted-to-colonel/
Israel Concern over Biden talks. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/19/concern-in-israel-over-us-announcement-welcoming-nuclear-talks-with-iran/
German Jews angry at no charge for attacker. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/19/german-jews-angry-at-prosecutors-decision-not-to-charge-hamburg-synagogue-attacker-because-of-mental-illness/
Pfizer CEO mother miraculously saved in the last minute. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/19/pfizer-ceo-recounts-familys-miraculous-story-of-survival-in-wartime-greece/
Arab nurse says Shema with Chabad Chassid as the man dies. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/arab-nurse-recites-shema-yisrael-prayer-for-dying-hasidic-patient-659544
Trump to speak at CPAC. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-to-speak-at-cpac-conference-in-first-public-appearance-post-white-house
WA white supremacist arrested. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/19/cops-in-spokane-washington-arrest-white-power-activist-for-swastika-vandalism-at-synagogue/
Church leaders recycling antisemitism. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/19/christian-leaders-remain-silent-as-the-church-recycles-its-oldest-hatred/
Contractor dies in Iraq. https://www.aol.com/news/iraq-rocket-attack-kills-contractor-025347903-101412776.html
Six years after terror attack. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/14/survivor-of-copenhagen-terror-attack-remembers-security-guard-dan-uzan-we-live-because-of-him/
Oil spill. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297259
Family opposed to vaccine lose pregnant mother and unborn. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297200
Sat. Night anti-Israel ‘joke’. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297243
Why did she want to cross the border? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297235
After over 70 years, Yemenite families to get compensation. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297235
Infections drop 50% as vaccines increase. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/r1Yq8xxGO
15 major cities to reopen schools. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByNEPGeMd
After pressure from the Central Government some cities caved in.
Iranians want to enrich Uranium to 60%. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297296
Female Jewish Superintendent pushed out over equality. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/22/jewish-former-new-york-superintendent-says-in-lawsuit-she-was-pushed-out-over-equity-platform/
Civil Rights Advocate calls Orthodox Jews Extremists. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/22/top-ny-civil-rights-advocate-under-fire-for-calling-orthodox-jews-extremist-bloc-in-media-interview/
Cabinet split over US stand on Iran. https://www.debka.com/israel-cabinet-split-on-backing-us-iran-nuclear-diplomacy/
500,000 US deaths from Covid. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJYgX11GMO
11Charedim fake Corona tests and are ill. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H1mKjqMGd
Study 94% of Covid patients have symptoms 3 months later. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297333
Ex-Covid Chief by June we will be finished. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297336
Wave of vaccinations after pregnant woman died. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297331
Secret talks between Riyadh and Yerushalayim between Houthi attacks and Biden. https://www.debka.com/concerns-over-bidens-iran-policy-aired-in-reported-saudi-israel-talks/
Neo-Nazi who stole Pelosi’s laptop wanted to sell it to the Russians. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297524
Anti-Vax MD loses Medical License. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/r1B611hzz00
CPAC cancels speaker who calls Judaism a lie. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297321
Blinken pushes 2 State Solution. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297305
Army reveals how the woman crossed the border. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297305
Ben Shapiro on Woke training. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297335
Marc Levin on how to handle media bias. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297332
Pre-curfew groups. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BklNQANzO
Changes to the Dimona Atomic Facility. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryivVC4G00
Rafael tests 100KM missile. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297513
Israel’s red line 1000 precision missiles. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297500
Bernie Sanders criticizes Israel on lack of non-Arab Citizen Vaccines. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297473
NY Corona Variant found. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297473
We will vaccinate children before summer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297452
Pelosi speaks to Netanyahu. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297468
Gas pipeline Israel to Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297463
Samaria Jews fends off knife terror. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297425
Don’t get drunk on Purim: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297427
Mediterrean fish forbidden after pollution. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297459
Latin American store removes antisemitic objects. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297465
Israel to vaccinate 100,000 workers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297424
More than half of Israel vaccinated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297566
Man spied on Iron Dome for Hamas. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297569
IDF new helicopter. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297531
Soldier dies from stray bullet. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297570
US attacks pro-Iranian Militia in Syria. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297549
4 ME countries working on alliance. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297555
Israel sent vaccines to 19 nations halted. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJUmKvHGO
New Biden policy snubs Saudi Prince exposes Israel’s Nuclear capacity. https://www.debka.com/new-biden-policies-snub-saudi-prince-uncover-israels-reputed-nuclear-program/
Israelis challenge Black Hole Assumptions. https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-signal-from-faraway-galaxy-israelis-challenge-black-hole-assumptions/
BLE NEDER NEXT WEEK WILL START THE LAWS OF WHEN SHABBOS IS EREV PESACH HILLEL – SHAMMAI AND THE WEAVERS.
Good and healthy Shabbos, Purim Samayach,
Rachamim Pauli
