Parsha Bechukosai
We have dealt this whole Sefer with
Holiness of Korbanos, intimate relationships, Am Yisrael, HaCohanim and
finishing up with the Kedusha of the land and the valuation of people and
property. This week, the blessing part reminds of the six-day war which
occurred in the sixth week of Omer Counting. Yom Yerushalayim will occur next
week though.
26:3 If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My
commandments, and do them;
This is an oral contract being
written down in our Parsha. If this then that. So there are good clauses and
fines for violating the contract.
4 then I will give your rains in their season, and the land
shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their
fruit.
Observe and you will be well
nourished no locusts, blight on crops, etc.
5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the
vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread until ye
have enough, and dwell in your land safely.
Not only will you eat well, but you
shall dwell in the land safely.
6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down,
and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of
the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
Unlike this week when four people
were bit by snakes you will not even feel these beasts or in some cases never
see them.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before
you by the sword. 8 And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a
hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you
by the sword.
The blessing of the six-day war was
such a number like this ratio or even better in our favor.
9 And I will have respect unto you, and make you
fruitful, and multiply you; and will establish My covenant with
you. 10 And ye shall eat old store long kept, and ye shall bring
forth the old from before the new. 11 And I will set My tabernacle
among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
One will also drink seasoned wine
and nowadays 12, 15, 18year old whiskey.
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye
shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth
out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have
broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright.
When you keep the Mitzvos, I will
be in your midst and keep MY part.
14 But if ye will not hearken
unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 and if ye shall
reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not
do all My commandments, but break My covenant; 16 I also will do this
unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that
shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your
seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Rejecting the Mitzvos will make ME
go away. For it is written ‘Blessed is the man who sits in the council of the
Righteous” Tehillim 1:1 but if not, I will remove MYSELF from wickedness.
17 And I will set My face
against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies; they that hate you
shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursues you. 1
Worse than not being with you, I
will set MY FACE against you for your sins and violation of our contract.
8 And if ye will not yet for
these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for
your sins.
A person with a few ounces of brains can see today
what is going on both in the States and Israel. It is time to wake up my
readers to what the L-RD G-D wants vs. our political ‘leaders’ today. [This
includes members of the Israeli Right who don’t follow Kosher, Family Purity,
Shabbos and Yom Tov and place G-D on the ‘back-burner’ out of sight but in
truth they are out of their minds. Including, Mr. I. Ben Gvir, who violates the
Dictum of Rabbi Avraham HaCohain Kuk Zal, not to go up to the Temple Mount and
the Sages not to provoke the Goyim. We are one lamb among 70 wolves and we don’t
have to stir them up.]
Each time you go against ME it gets
worse. My ideal is prosperity for the times of the Moshiach and fences around the
Torah. Now translate on the political agenda where one had energy independence
for luxury living and it is being canceled by a canceled oil pipe line causing
inflation and less supply.
19 And I will break the pride
of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as
brass.
You thought that you were doing
what the popular and right thing to save the planet and help the global economy
by letting everybody into the land of opportunity. But you for looking into
what G-D wants for the end of days.
20 And your strength shall be
spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the
trees of the land yield their fruit.
Bureaucratic regulations for
farmers and baby formula are stifling production. G-D wants man to trust him
and follow commandments. G-D is not looking for us to tell G-D to do but follow
HIS commands. When one makes sexual aggression and supports what the L-RD calls
an abomination and teach tolerance and love for it to children! Then how can
you expect the Shechina to be upon you?
21 And if ye walk contrary
unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues
upon you according to your sins.
Plagues like Monkey Pox after
Corona for people who have interspecies relationships with primates.
22 And I will send the beast
of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your
cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate.
Four Snake bites this week in Israel
is no accident.
23 And if in spite of these
things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto
Me; 24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you,
even I, seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon
you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered
together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye
shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
But this stiff-necked people both
in Israel and other places will bring war upon the world.
26 When I break your staff of
bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your
bread again by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
The inflation and run away
manufacturing and farming costs will bring this about.
27 And if ye will not for all
this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; 28 then I will walk
contrary unto you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times for your
sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of
your daughters shall ye eat.
This is the most horrid part of
going against HASHEM’s will.
30 And I will destroy your
high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and cast your carcasses upon the
carcasses of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.
Idols can be socialism, green new
deal, BDS and other false things. I have seen politicians follow globalism like
a religion instead of looking into what our Creator wants of us!
31 And I will make your cities
a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell
the savor of your sweet odors. 32 And I will bring the land into
desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at
it. 33 And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out
the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall
be a waste. 34 Then shall the land be paid her sabbaths, as long as
it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land
rest, and repay her sabbaths.
Mad men with lunatic ideas like
defund the police are making the US Cities unsafe today. In Israel, it is the
lack of modesty, kashrus, family purity and Shabbos Observance that causes
terrorism.
35 As long as it lies desolate
it shall have rest; even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye
dwelt upon it. 36 And as for them that are left of you, I will send a
faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a
driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword;
and they shall fall when none pursues.
At least most of the observance of
Shmita is growing and the Hetair to Sell the land saves the other farmers from
this punishment now.
37 And they shall stumble one
upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursues; and ye shall have
no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And ye shall perish among
the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And
they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies'
lands; and also, in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with
them. 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of
their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me, and also
that they have walked contrary unto Me.
It is a horror movie I am watching
on the news. When one picks a person for vice-president based on race only who cannot
answer a serious question but giggles. And one picks a judge who can’t define
what a woman is because it is based on race. If a black woman like the Lt. Gov.
of VA or former Secretary of State Rice was picked for VP or some Democrat with
on their caliper with brains I would not write this.
41 I also will walk contrary
unto them, and bring them into the land of their enemies; if then perchance
their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of
their iniquity; 42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and
also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember;
and I will remember the land. 43 For the land shall lie forsaken
without them, and shall be paid her sabbaths, while she lies desolate without
them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because, even
because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My
statutes.
You go contrary to ME, I will go
contrary to you. When your stupidity of not going in MY ways is over, I will be
there to redeem you.
44 And yet for all that, when
they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I
abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I
am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the
covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in
the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the
LORD. 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the
LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of
Moses.
I will be with you and the
righteous but hidden.
27:1 And the LORD spoke
unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according
to thy valuation, 3 then thy valuation shall be for the male from
twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be fifty
shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
The valuation for a man and woman
is based on what one would pay for a slave at auction. Obviously, a child under
5 is not worth much. From 5 to 20years is worth more. From 20 to 60years a
person has strength. After that it is downhill. But the experience of a man or
a woman over 60 makes them worth more that a youth despite the weakening of the
strength, eyesight and hearing.
4 And if it be a female, then thy valuation
shall be thirty shekels.
A man can haul so and so much
material or dig such and such a ditch. A woman, who is dainty, cannot do the
same amount of work.
5 And if it be from five years old even unto
twenty years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and
for the female ten shekels.
They are young and have not reached
their strength.
6 And if it be from a month old even unto
five years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male five shekels of
silver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of
silver.
The same value as a Pidyon HaBen for
males.
7 And if it be from sixty years old and
upward: if it be a male, then thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for
the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be too poor for thy valuation,
then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him;
according to the means of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
A slave was a blue-collar worker. The
Torah Society did not evaluate white-collar workers who most likely would not
be slaves and with their talents not sold into slavery.
9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an
offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be
holy. 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a
bad for a good; and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then both it and
that for which it is changed shall be holy. 11 And if it be any
unclean beast, of which they may not bring an offering unto the LORD, then he
shall set the beast before the priest. 12 And the priest shall value
it, whether it be good or bad; as thou the priest values it, so shall it
be. 13 But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth
part thereof unto thy valuation. 14 And when a man shall sanctify his
house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall value it, whether it be good
or bad; as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. 15 And if he
that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of
the money of thy valuation unto it, and it shall be his. 16 And if a
man shall sanctify unto the LORD part of the field of his possession, then thy
valuation shall be according to the sowing thereof; the sowing of an omer of
barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sanctifies
his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy valuation it shall
stand.
A house in the country aka farm
house and farm will return to the owner in the Yovel but in a ‘walled’ city or
metropolis today if sold can only be redeemed within a year.
18 But if he sanctifies his field after the
jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years
that remain unto the year of jubilee, and an abatement shall be made from thy
valuation. 19 And if he that sanctified the field will indeed redeem
it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy valuation unto it, and
it shall be assured to him. 20 And if he will not redeem the field,
or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. 21 But
the field, when it goes out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a
field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's. 22 And
if he sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the
field of his possession; 23 then the priest shall reckon unto him the
worth of thy valuation unto the year of jubilee; and he shall give thy
valuation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD. 24 In the year
of jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him
to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 And all thy valuations
shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs shall be the
shekel. 26 Howbeit the firstling among beasts, which is born as a
firstling to the LORD, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it
is the LORD'S. 27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall
ransom it according to thy valuation, and shall add unto it the fifth part
thereof; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy
valuation.
There were special priests who
understood how to appraise houses and animals.
28 Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a
man may devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or
of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing
is most holy unto the LORD. 29 None devoted, that may be devoted of
men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death. 30 And all
the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the
tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy unto the LORD.
One who pledges the value of his
house, animals or self should have the money to redeem ready to give the
Cohain, Temple or combination.
31 And if a man will redeem aught of his
tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof.
If I were to place my value as a
slave or 15 Shekels I would have redeem myself from the Temple with an added
20% value or 18 Shekels. The Shekels would be 20 grams of pure silver each or
360 grams of silver.
32 And all the tithe of the herd or the
flock, whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the
LORD.
This is the Mitzvah or Maaser
Behayma.
33 He shall not inquire whether it be good
or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he change it at all, then both it
and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
The 10th animal whether
fat, thin, healthy or not shall be given to the Cohain.
34 These are the commandments,
which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
This commandments were given the
first year of freedom on Mt. Sinai.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak
Perkei Avos 4:16 Rabbi
Yaakov would say: This world is comparable to the antechamber before the World
to Come. Prepare yourself in the antechamber, so that you may enter the banquet
hall.
Who was two-gun Cohen? By the Cape Jewish Chronicle.
https://aish.com/who-was-two-gun-cohen/
Despite the various
accounts written of this powerful and colorful figure of the early part of the
last century, few people have actually heard of Morris Abraham ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen.
A glance into the Encyclopedia Judaica reveals that he really did exist,
offering but a brief description of his origins and his life.
It is an article that
was passed on to the Chronicle written by the American Rabbi Marvin Tokayer
that details what he describes as a “truth is stranger than fiction” story of a
man “frequently and referred to as ‘the uncrowned Jewish king of China’.”
Moishe Abraham Cohen
was born in London’s East End in 1887, to poor Orthodox Polish immigrants. “Fat
Moishe” was a bad youngster, a pickpocket and street kid who ended up in a
reformatory, but stuck to his criminal ways.
Indeed, Moishe was
such an embarrassment to his family and the community that at age 16 he was
shipped off to a relative in Saskatchewan, Canada, in the hope that he would
come right. But that didn’t happen. Instead he became a peddler and gambler,
and even potentially violent gun-toting crook.
In 1908 Dr Sun Yat-sen, the charismatic Chinese
revolutionary leader, befriended Morris Cohen in Canada.
It so happened that at
that time, the beginning of the 20th Century, a number of poor Chinese
immigrants came to Canada to work on the railways and to seek out a better
life. They suffered much discrimination and misfortune and Morris, as he was
now known, having lived a similar experience as a Jew in England, felt a
sympathy and close cultural bond with these people, becoming something of a
protector to them.
In 1908 Dr Sun
Yat-sen, the charismatic Chinese revolutionary leader who was striving for the
independence of his people from the corrupt Imperial system, came to Canada to
enlist the support of the Canadian Chinese community. In Morris Cohen he found
a trusted ally and a mutual bond was created, with Morris becoming his personal
bodyguard in Canada.
Their friendship
deepened and Morris – who had with the passing of time become a very wealthy
real estate speculator – was instrumental in providing the Chinese with arms
and ammunitions and support for their cause.
In 1912 the Chinese
Imperial Government had been toppled and a few years after World War 1 (in
which Cohen fought in the Canadian army), in 1922, Sun Yat-sen persuaded him to
come to China, where he made him his aide-de-camp, bodyguard, arms buyer and
friend and promoted him to the rank of colonel.
After grazing his
right arm during a battle, Cohen realized that he had to become adept at
shooting with both hands and thereafter toted an automatic in his shoulder
holster and a Smith & Wesson on his hip. Hence the nickname ‘Two-Gun
Cohen’.
The Chinese, however,
had come to regard him with immense respect, referring to him as Mah Kun, or
General Mah.
During this period,
according to Rabbi Tokayer, Morris Cohen played an instrumental role in
advancing the economy, political status and intelligence arm of the Chinese
Republic.
Cohen helped foster Chinese support for the Zionist
movement towards the creation of the State of Israel.
Another vital role of
our Jewish hero was his fostering of Chinese support for the Zionist movement
towards the creation of the State of Israel, as reflected when, in 1920, Sun
Yat-sen wrote, “I express my sympathy to the movement which is one of the
greatest movements …” offering support “to restore your wonderful and
historical nation which has contributed so much to the civilization of the
world and which rightly deserves an honorable place in the family of nations.”
When Sun Yat-sen – the
first President of China – died in 1925, Two-Gun Cohen, as a close family
friend, was the only foreigner present at the private funeral, even (in top hat
and tails) leading the procession of tribute.
Thereafter, Chiang
Kai-shek, Sun’s successor, continued the ‘romance’ with Cohen, who, as his
adviser, helped the leader organize his Kuomintang Army. For this he elevated
Cohen to the rank of general – “Not only the first Jew, but the first person of
European descent to hold such a post in the Chinese military,” writes Rabbi
Tokayer.
From 1926 to 1928
Cohen functioned in all but name as the Nationalists’ war minister, taking part
in campaigns both against the Communist rebels, which began in 1927, and also
the Japanese. He undertook several secret missions to Europe to purchase arms
and organize support for the Nationalist forces.
In the full-on civil
war between the two Chinese factions – the Communist People’s Republic of
China, led by Mao Zedong, and Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China – amazingly,
General Cohen was the only one trusted by both leaders, and was called on by
both sides to become their ‘middle-man’ or ‘conduit’, traveling between Taipei
and Beijing.
In the war with Japan,
Cohen was captured in 1941 and incarcerated in the notorious Stanley Prison in
Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, where he was tortured, but refused to give any
information to his captors.
He was ultimately
released in a prisoner exchange in 1942 and repatriated to Canada, where he was
well received.
Yet with all that,
writes Rabbi Tokayer – and certainly for us Jews – Two-Gun Cohen achieved his
greatest triumph after he had retired to live quietly in Montreal.
This involved the vote
by the 5-member Security Council on whether the motion for the partition of
Palestine into two states – one Jewish and one Arab – should be put before the
General Assembly. One veto would “scuttle the debate’, and while the USA, the
Soviet Union and France were for it and no veto from Britain, the “entire Arab
orbit’ would be trying to secure the veto of the 5th member, the Republic of
China.
The outcome was by no
means certain, with intense last-minute lobbying on both sides.
General Wu was leading the Chinese delegation to the UN.
Cohen smiled. It was he who had appointed Wu a general.
“Zionist leaders in
San Francisco were desperate to meet with the Chinese delegates to present
their position, but were refused. Rabbi Israel Goldstein, an astute member of
the Zionist group, made a quick phone call to Montreal, bringing Cohen to San
Francisco for an emergency meeting.
“When informed that a
diplomat by the name of General Wu was leading the Chinese delegation to the
UN, Cohen smiled knowingly and announced that it was he who had appointed Wu a
general. Cohen met with Wu the following morning – and the rest is history.
China did not vote against the partition, but instead abstained, contributing
to the passage of the motion.
“After 2000 years of
exile, the State of Israel would now become
a reality.”
Some years later
Two-Gun Cohen returned to England, where he died in 1970 at the age of 83.
And a final note from
our source: “His funeral was attended by representatives from both Chinas – who
were still at war with each other – demonstrating their deep respect for the
loyal friend of China. His tombstone was etched with traditional Kohanic and
English inscriptions … But what sets this tombstone apart from all the others
in the austere Manchester cemetery is an inscription in Chinese characters that
a grateful Mme Sun Yatsen, the vice-Chairman of the Republic of China penned,
acknowledging Mah Kun as a hero of China. It is a tribute to the man who was,
if not by birth, then certainly at heart, a true brother to the Chinese
people.”
History of the Jews of
Yemen by Rabbi Menachem Levine
https://aish.com/history-of-the-jews-of-yemen/
A lone Jewish person remains in Yemen, down from seven in February, according to a new
United Nations report about the treatment of religious minorities in conflict
zones. (Gabby Deutch, Jewish Insider March 14, 2022) In the early 20th century, Jews
in Yemen numbered over 50,000; today, there is one Jew left. There are
reportedly a handful of “hidden Jews” in Yemen who have converted to Islam but
secretly practice Judaism.
Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that separates
them from Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and other Jewish groups. The roots of the Jews
in Yemen—Teiman in Hebrew— can be traced back to Biblical times.
Yemen is mentioned in Jewish scriptures in various places. It is noted as the
place of origin of Job’s friend Eliphaz. Additionally, the famed Queen of
Sheba, discussed in the Book of Kings where she visits King Solomon, is said to
have heard about King Solomon from Jews in Yemen, which was located near the
kingdom of Sheba.
Although the province is not mentioned in the Mishna or the
Talmud, there is an assumed reference in Josephus’s book, “The Jewish War.”
Josephus states that he had informed “the remotest Arabians” regarding the
destruction, and the assumption is that he is referring to the Jews of Yemen.
The immigration of the majority of Jews into Yemen appears to
have taken place at the beginning of the 2nd century. In the ancient Jewish
cemetery at Beth Shaarim, there is an inscription in one of the rooms,
describing those buried there as “people of Himyar” (the Yemenite Kingdom). The
assumption is that their bodies were sent from Yemen for burial in Israel, not
that they died while visiting Israel, just as many people today ask to be
buried in the Land of Israel.
There are fascinating legends regarding how the Jewish community
in Yemen was founded.
One local Yemenite Jewish tradition says that Jews came to the
Arabian Peninsula at the time of King Solomon. Some say this was because King
Solomon sent Jewish merchants to Yemen to prospect for gold and silver to use
for the Temple in Jerusalem. Others say Jewish artisans were sent to the region
when they were requested by the Queen of Sheba, during that same time period.
Another tradition, that of the Jews of Saana, states that their
ancestors settled in Yemen 42 years before the destruction of the First Temple.
It is also said that in the time of the prophet Jeremiah approximately 75,000
Jews, including Kohanim and Levites, traveled to Yemen.
The tradition of the Jews of Habban (southern Yemen) is that
they are the descendants of the tribe of Judah that belonged to a brigade
dispatched by Herod the Great to assist the Roman legions fighting in the
region. The tradition is that they arrived in the area before the destruction
of the Second Temple, and did not return to the Land of Israel.
Jews that lived in the Arabian Peninsula before the Roman period
concentrated mainly in two areas – Yemen and Hejaz (today's Northwest Saudi
Arabia).
There is a fascinating story regarding the King of Himyar and
the Jews. Apparently, King Abu-Kariba Assad laid siege to Yathrib (modern-day
Medina) to avenge the death of his son who had been killed by the inhabitants
of the city. During the siege, the king became deathly ill and two medically
knowledgeable Jews from Yathrib, Kaab, and Assad, entered the enemy camp and
saved his life. After hearing the king, they pleaded with him to lift the siege
and make peace with the city.
Not only did the king end the war, but he was also so impressed
with the Jews that he embraced Judaism, along with his entire army. Upon his
return home, he brought two Jews back with him to teach the populace and
insisted that all his people convert to Judaism. The conversions, however, were
not total, and there remained as many pagans as Jews in the land. There is also
debate whether he converted out of genuine belief or out of political
expedience. It is clear though that Judaism flourished in Himyar at this time,
and many inscriptions with Jewish terms (“God of Israel”) are found dating to
the 6th and 7th centuries.
The size of the Jewish population of Yemen for the first five
centuries C.E. remained steady at about 3,000. The Jews were scattered
throughout the country but carried on extensive commerce with other locations,
and thus the Jews possessed many Jewish texts, and were knowledgeable of their
heritage, although there were few scholars at that time.
In 628 CE, some of non-Jewish Yemenite leaders and tribes
converted to Islam. Shortly afterward, Mohammed sent his cousin Ali to Sana'a
to create a strong Islamic central authority in Yemen.
During this period of Muslim rule, the Jews were designated
as Ahl al-Kitab, protected People of the Book. They were granted
freedom of religion conditional on their paying Jizya, a poll tax.
Active Muslim persecution of the Jews began in full force under the
Shiite-Zaydi clan (the sect currently followed by the fanatical anti-Semitic
Houthis in Yemen), when they seized power from the more tolerant Sunni Muslims
early in the 10th century.
Under the Zaydi rule, which lasted nearly 1,000 years, Jews were
treated as second-class citizens and were oppressed by the rulers and
population. They were considered impure, and could not touch a Muslim’s food,
had to walk on a Muslim’s left side, could not build houses higher than a
Muslim's or ride a camel or horse, and when riding on a mule or a donkey, they
had to sit sideways. Upon entering the Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off
his footgear and walk barefoot. If attacked with stones or fists by Islamic
youth, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself.
The Orphan’s Decree was a law that if a father died, his
children were to be taken by the state and forcibly converted to Islam.
Although this law was largely ignored during Ottoman rule, during the period of
Imam Yahya (1918–1948) in 1922, the cruel law was enforced with strictness.
Orphaned Jews were abducted from the community, and neither pleas nor bribes
were accepted to release them. The community and relatives of the orphans
searched for ways to save the children from this tragedy, and at times were
able to prevent the forced conversion by marrying off the children quickly, as
a married person was considered an adult and not able to be taken by the state.
Sometimes the children were able to be moved to a large city and hidden with a
Jewish family and other times they were taken out of the country.
In the late 12th Century, a false prophet arose in Yemen and
proclaimed that Judaism and Islam were now one and the same. He used quotes
from the Torah to prove his claim, and since the majority of the population was
not that learned, he was very influential. The greatest Torah scholar of Yemen,
Yaakov ben Natanel al-Fayyumi, wrote to the Rambam (Maimonides) in 1172 to ask
for his response. The Rambam responded with the soon-to-be-famous Iggeret
Teiman, Letter to Yemen, elaborating on the answer and clarifying the
foundations of Jewish belief. This letter made such an impression on the Jews
of Yemen that they included the name of Rambam in the Ḳaddish prayer, praying
that he live a long life and his name be blessed.
Following his Letter to Yemen, the rabbis of Yemen would send
letters to the Rambam, and he would teach through the letters he sent. He also
sent them a copy of his Mishneh Torah the codified Jewish law, and this magnum
opus was copied meticulously in Yemen. In the Geniza in Cairo, many letters
from the 12th century and onward were found, demonstrating the close connection
between the Cairo community and the rabbis in Yemen that began with the Rambam.
Despite their geographic isolation, the Yemenite Jews maintained
contact with important Jewish centers, particularly with Egypt and Babylonia.
Throughout their history, they had great scholars.
In the 14th century, Rabbi Nathanael ben Isaiah wrote an Arabic
commentary on the Bible. In the second half of the 15th century, Rabbi Saadia
ben David al-Adani was the author of a commentary on the Bible, and Rabbi
Abraham ben Solomon wrote on the Prophets.
Rabbi Shlomo Adani (born 1567) was also a native of Yemen and is
considered one of the greatest commentators on the Mishna. He was born in
Sana'a, Yemen to Rabbi Yeshua Adani, a leading rabbi of the city. The family
immigrated to the land of Israel in 1571, where he completed his book
entitled Melechet Shlomo in 1624. His work is considered a
classic and is partially printed in most of the editions of the Mishna with
commentaries. There are also streets in Jerusalem, Beersheba, and other Israeli
cities named after Rabbi Shlomo Adani.
Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, born in Yemen in 1720, is considered the father of all
contemporary Sephardic kabbalists. After he was miraculously saved from a
difficult situation, he fulfilled his vow to go to the Holy Land of Israel and
to live in Jerusalem.
When travel became easier with the opening of the Suez Canal in
1869, Jews began to emigrate from Yemen to then-Palestine. Many of the Jews
that moved during this time, which was approximately 10 percent of the
population, settled in Jerusalem, Jaffa, or in agricultural settlements.
In 1922, when the government of Yemen began to harshly enforce
the Orphan's Decree, as discussed in this article, even more Jews sought to
immigrate.
Following the partition vote of 1947 in which the UN voted to
split then-Palestine and give a country to Jews, Arab Muslims in Yemen,
assisted by the local police force, began rioting and murdering, killing 82
Jews in Aden and destroying hundreds of Jewish homes. This paralyzed the Jewish
community financially and frightened the Jews regarding their future in Yemen.
This increasingly perilous situation led to the emigration of
virtually the entire Yemenite Jewish community between June 1949 and September
1950 in Operation Magic Carpet.
During this period, over 50,000 Jews emigrated to Israel.
A more minor, continuous migration was allowed to continue until
1962 when a civil war put an abrupt halt to any further Jewish exodus.
Today the overwhelming majority of the half a million Jews
worldwide of Yemenite descent live in Israel. They are the legacy of 2,000
years of Yemenite Jewry.
From Nesli Series on
Miracles Royie on Annapurna
The 10th highest peak
in the world. In the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes one peak over
8,091 meters (26,545 ft). Like Har Nevo where Moshe died it is a series of
peaks this series is 55km long with thirteen peaks over 7,000 meters
(22,966 ft), and sixteen more over 6,000 meters (19,685 ft).
The climb is fraught with dangers
and this time. Royie decided to take the challenge to climb the peak. It was the
season for the optimum climbing conditions and Royie and a bunch of others
started the climb being physically fit, in his 30’s and wanting to do something
different.
For a few days, the decent was
fine and the group of Israelis and perhaps other nationalities were making nice
progress. Then they set up at about 5,000 meters a base camp. This is an area
where most climbing expeditions start and finish. The height is similar to the
highest European Mountain, Mt. Blanc.
From the base camp they proceeded
to a series of established cabins up the mountain. On one occasion, they
reached a cabin and slept there. They started climbing and a fierce storm
brew-up. The guide decided to return them to the cabin. The temperature was
dropping in the cabin as the storm gained force. The guide said that they would
die in the cabin and suggested that they either go down or on to a better
heated cabin. I believe the former but the story is a bit vague in my head.
They start trekking down. Royie
is falling behind the group and their foot prints are being covered by the snow
storm. Royie decides that if he has lost them, he still remembers where the
cabin was as he went straight. It is better to take his chance next to the
heater. Maybe he will live or at least in the cabin they will find his body.
Royie sleeps in the cabin not
knowing if he will wake up or not for one sleeps to death in hyperthermia. Well
against the thought of the guide and all the odds, Royie does wake up.
After a few hours the storm ends.
He makes it downhill until he reaches the group. Royie has severe frost bite
sin a few fingers and loses them. However, Royie survived against all odds.
Three from the group did not complete their journey to the safer area and after
searching their bodies were found.
Royie was that one in a million
survivor under the conditions that existed.
Milestone: Uri Savir, 69, architect of the Oslo
Agreement. https://www.timesofisrael.com/uri-savir-chief-peace-negotiator-of-oslo-accords-dies-at-69/
Milestone: Ricky Gardiner, 73, guitarist who
composed piece on Auschwitz. https://www.timesofisrael.com/guitarist-ricky-gardiner-whose-riff-opened-iggy-pops-the-passenger-dies-at-73/
Inyanay Diyoma
Master Sgt. Noam Raz, dies of his wounds from
Jenin Area Battle. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327493
Charedim happy as Religious Affairs Min.
resigns. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327505
Islamist in Germany suspected attack. https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-five-stabbed-and-wounded-on-german-train-in-suspected-islamic-terror-attack/
UAE ruler dies at 73. https://www.timesofisrael.com/uae-ruler-sheikh-khalifa-bin-zayed-al-nahyan-dies-at-73/
Mafia: https://www.timesofisrael.com/relative-of-top-crime-boss-shot-seriously-wounded-in-suspected-hit/
Rioters try to make a display during reporter’s
funeral and police took the bait. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327521
Another raid in Syria. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327512
Saar why are we opening the Gaza Crossing? https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/saar-opposes-reopening-of-gaza-crossing-take-hamas-sinwar-out-of-comfort-zones/
Another terrorist hops the fence and
fortunately is caught. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327517
Anti-black and an Antisemite kills 10. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327533
Months ago, the FDA closed down the Abbot
Laboratories Baby Formula plant without either reopening it or finding an
alternative supply while baby formula was bought and stowed away for migrants.
The result of such wonderful planning a critical shortage of formula that may
lead to retardation. https://www.foxnews.com/media/nationwide-baby-formula-shortage-heartbreaking-melania-trump
Lt. Col. Who died in anti-terrorist operation
in 2018 named: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327535
Terrorist who shot soldier should get electric
chair. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327540
Twitter Deal on hold until it cleans up fake
accounts its value may be less. https://www.timesofisrael.com/elon-musk-says-he-put-44-billion-twitter-deal-on-hold-over-fake-accounts/
Arab MK filmed hitting police requesting
Knesset deal with it. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327508
Not only Lufthansa also Austrian antisemitism. https://www.timesofisrael.com/nearly-1000-antisemitic-incidents-in-austria-in-2021-jewish-community-group-says/
Ed-Op Caroline Glick: https://www.newsweek.com/palestinian-terrorism-meets-israeli-paralysis-opinion-1697349Ed-Diane
Ed-Op Bederman: https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/04/05/abbas-playing-both-ends-against-the-middle/
Idiot attacks Church. https://www.aol.com/news/authorities-multiple-people-shot-california-212012791-220517941.html
What scares me is after attacking
blacks and church goers some deranged character might choose the chosen people.
People leaving the teaching profession. Shortage
of 9,000 teachers due to low pay. Why would somebody with an academic degree
want to be a teacher or social worker when unskilled workers earn more. Strike
by teachers expected. https://www.timesofisrael.com/teachers-union-threatens-strike-over-new-salary-agreement/
70years ago about 10,000 children disappeared
in Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-first-time-grave-of-alleged-disappeared-yemenite-baby-to-be-exhumed/
The Negev and Galil may not be a majority
population of Jews. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327601
Yemina to block anti-Netanyahu law change in
Nationality Law. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327603
20year bit in the neck by snake. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327607
Bedouin place rocks on rails. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327608
Terror attack foiled. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327600
Bennett weighs removing terrorist families to
Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327602
Pres. Herzog flies to UAE to comfort the
mourners. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327573
Bennett against rebel MK. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327622
Cable car to be built in Yerushalayim. https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-rejects-petitions-against-plan-to-build-cable-car-to-jerusalems-old-city/
It turns out that the deranged
individual who attacked a Taiwanese Church earlier this week was also Chinese and
maybe a fanatic communist. Dr. Joseph Chang sacrificed his life fighting when
wounded to save others and allowed people to attack the lunatic. A hate crime
but not of bigotry against Orientals.
Did Russia try to bring down IAF aircraft? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327644
Attempted ramming attack by Arab rioters. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327649
260 Ukrainian Defenders of Steel Mill
evacuated. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-says-more-than-260-fighters-evacuated-from-mariupol-mill-as-defense-ends/
MK’s push to release Health Ministry report on
the kidnapping of Yemenite Children during the years after the founding of the
State of Israel. {See story from Aish on the Jews of
Yemen} https://www.timesofisrael.com/mks-push-to-release-report-of-health-ministrys-action-in-yemenite-children-affair/ People following me for years have seen my writings on the
systematic kidnapping of Yemenite Children and selling them to childless people
as orphans.
Trying to rewrite the Netanyahu indictment
shows a willingness to take down a politician at all costs – the ends justify
the means not truth and justice. (Personally, I would like to see somebody else
at the helm of the Likud but I was and will be for real truth and justice.) https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-on-prosecutors-request-to-amend-corruption-indictment-in-your-face/
IDF tests sirens in Tel Aviv, Haifa and more
places. https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-test-air-raid-warning-sirens-in-tel-aviv-haifa-on-monday/
Spouse fight that went awry. https://www.timesofisrael.com/woman-found-dead-in-ashdod-ex-husband-arrested/
Danger of Iranian Nukes to Hezballah. https://www.debka.com/iranian-cruise-missiles-sent-to-hizballah-could-carry-nuclear-warhead-sea-blockade-planned-for-israel/
57,000 Israelis may have their Russian Pensions
slashed. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/h177wwgv9
Israel mulls ending Corona Tests for
Foreigners. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/hkz2gxgd5
Israel must stop apologizing for crimes it did
not commit. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hj28tfjd9
Hurt by the way Bennett dropped him. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327655
Graphologist and evidence against threat. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327651
Law revoking terrorist citizenship would not
stand Supreme Court. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327656
Arabs riot in Hadassah Hospital. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327650
In an anti-Iran Drill, US Refuelers to work
with Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-us-refuelers-to-take-part-in-largescale-israeli-drill-for-strike-on-iran/
Fire Dept. warns of town in the Yerushalayim
Area with hazards. https://www.timesofisrael.com/fire-chief-says-jerusalem-area-towns-fiddling-as-surrounding-woods-set-to-burn-again/
IDF downs Hezballah Drone. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327679
Religion not Gaza contributes to terror wave. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/by11zknbwc
Drug smuggler gets her sentence commuted. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b17davzdq
Emily Levi diagnoses herself. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-diagnoses-her-rare-condition-while-watching-greys-anatomy/
USN releases footage of UFO’s triangles from
night vision goggles and cameras but who/what they are is still unknown. Human
Adversaries? ET? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327700
Flight that killed 132 Chinese may have been
suicide by plane! https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/china-eastern-airlines-crash-132-dead-may-have-been-intentional-report
NATO hails Finland and Sweden. https://www.timesofisrael.com/nato-chief-hails-historic-moment-as-finland-sweden-apply/
Cleveland HS Nazi. https://www.timesofisrael.com/cleveland-high-school-lacrosse-player-plays-with-swastika-on-his-leg/
Israel re-establishes relations with Chad. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-presents-credentials-in-chad-after-50-year-hiatus/
Zelensky asks film industry for help. https://www.timesofisrael.com/invoking-chaplins-hitler-zelensky-urges-cannes-filmmakers-to-find-anti-war-voices/
Russian Google wants to relocate to Israel. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hkomngbd5
Bennett welcomes Settlements. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sydsv711v9
The Israel Ministry of Defense inaugurated the national pavilion
at the 2022 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa,
Florida. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327787
Son of
Noam Raz tells Bennett that he is at fault too. https://www.timesofisrael.com/son-of-slain-counterterrorism-officer-tells-bennett-he-is-as-much-to-blame-as-killer/
HBO visits Chelm. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/18/sacha-baron-cohen-to-narrate-comedy-special-about-classic-jewish-folktales-of-chelm/
Only a matter of time until government falls. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327876
Yesterday a drone was shot down but Jihad has aerial
photos. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327877
Iranian Plot to kidnap through lure Israelis
abroad. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327854
Illegal antiquities seized. https://www.timesofisrael.com/massive-bust-of-illegal-antiquities-trade-seizes-1800-coins-and-ancient-artifacts/
Ed-Op Alex Fishman – What to do about Hamas
Leader? https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkocrbh89
Surprise – the UN is biased against Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327724
US cleared of targeting civilians. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327730
1,000 new centrifuges. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/17/iran-working-on-1000-centrifuges-at-new-underground-site-weeks-away-from-material-for-bomb-israel-says/
Supremacist 180 page manifesto against blacks
and Jews. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/17/white-supremacist-shooters-manifesto-railed-against-orthodox-jews-moving-into-ny-nj-suburbs/
CUNY has always been left but now for
boycotting Israel. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/19/cuny-law-faculty-endorse-israel-boycott-resolution/
Attack down under on Jewish Men. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/17/australian-police-investigating-antisemitic-attack-on-jewish-men-in-melbourne/
Historic Synagogue in Mariupol destroyed. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/18/invading-russian-troops-destroy-historic-synagogue-building-in-ukrainian-city-of-mariupol/
Israel to airlift injured Ukrainians send more
medicines. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/18/israel-to-airlift-injured-ukrainians-for-medical-treatment-send-more-medicine/
Israel sends first medical cannabis seeds to
USA. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/05/18/first-shipment-of-israeli-medical-cannabis-seeds-sent-to-us/
Pollard visits Benyamin Region. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327723
Remains of Jewish Criminal found floating in a
bag near Toronto. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327728
Doctors struck on Thurs. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327721
Iran producing drones in Tajikistan. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327729
Watch terrorist shot during attack. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327664
IDF relocates drill from Arab Town. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327719
Sullivan- Ganz meeting. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327809
Ger Tzedek quits Brooklyn Nets over Shabbos. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327818
Arab infiltrator neutralized. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327805
Ed-Op Saudis happy as Hezballah suffers setback
in Lebanon. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sk7pbhfpc
Ed-Op Yemeni - Nakba is from Arabs backing
Nazis. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1bpi7cl5
Ed-Op Tariff - Druze are not mercenaries. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hym7ti1vq
Have a healthy, happy and peaceful
Shabbos. We have one week left to Yom Yerushalayim and two weeks to Chag
Shavuos.
Rachamim Pauli
