Elul, the KING is in the field.
A short reminder that
repentance, prayer and charity avoid the evil decree.
Parsha Shoftim
This is the second week
of Moshe’s second speech. With over 70 Mitzvos, I cannot cover all in the short
time we have. I will try to take here and there some points. Try to be alert in
the Torah Reading on Shabbos for spots that I have not touched upon.
16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy
gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge
the people with righteous judgment.
Each tribe with its customs had their
own judges that could understand the rational and actions/customs of the
plaintiffs.
19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment;
thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a gift; for a gift doth
blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
Being partial with a gift is
dangerous.
20 Justice, justice shalt thou
follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God gives
thee.
Pursue Justice is more that just being
fair and impartial it is going out to look that true Justice is served.
Sometimes in the days of the Talmud a Judge would give a Psak against the
pauper and take the money out of his own pocket to pay.
21 Thou shalt not plant thee an
Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou
shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which
the LORD thy God hates.
Certain type of trees
are outstanding in certain areas like a 2000 year old tree in the Arava Desert.
It started to dry up a number of years ago and a drip system was placed there
to keep the Tree alive. Back in the day, some of these trees were impressive on
the landscape and worshipped.
17:1 Thou
shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a
blemish, even any evil thing; for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy
God.
This is like a man who
works in a big company with a six figure salary owned by the father of the
bride and buying his wife an eight of a karat engagement ring. HASHEM created everything
including the man offering the Korban and he cannot give something unblemished!
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within
any of thy gates which the LORD thy God gives thee, man or woman, that does
that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing His
covenant, 3 and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them,
or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have commanded
not; 4 and it be told thee, and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire
diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such
abomination is wrought in Israel;
How can a servant or
citizen go to his King and start praising clerks or servants instead of His
Royal Highness?
5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that
woman, who have done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the
woman; and thou shalt stone them with stones, that they die. 6 At the
mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to
death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
This is treason against
one’s CREATOR and deserves to get the penalty for treason.
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon
him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So, thou
shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
8 If
there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood,
between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even matters of
controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the
place which the LORD thy God shall choose.
As learned as a Rabbi
is, there are others that are more learned. If not then the Sanhedrin or the
Urim and Thummim (which we have lost).
9 And
thou shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be
in those days; and thou shalt inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the
sentence of judgment. 10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of
the sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the LORD
shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall
teach thee. 11 According to the law which they shall teach thee, and
according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt
not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the
right hand, nor to the left.
The Levi or Cohain has
given you guidance in Halacha. Therefore, if you violated a Mitzvah of theirs
or a Gezaira you are in trouble. So, do not disobey in the slightest way. Do
not turn to the left or right and remain on the path that they told you to
follow.
12 And
the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that stands
to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man
shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel. 13 And
all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
This is also true for a
Mitzvah of the Rabbis. So that there will be law and order in Yisrael.
14 When
thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt
possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I will set a king over me,
like all the nations that are round about me'; 15 thou shalt in any
wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among
thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner
over thee, who is not thy brother.
If and when the people
choose a king he must be from one or the tribes of Yisrael and not a Ger. If
one of the mother’s was a Giyores, that is OK as she could be like Ruth.
Only
he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to
Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the LORD hath
said unto you: 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that
way.' 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart
turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and
gold.
As wise as Shlomo
HaMelech was, he was able to generate enough income to have horses for guarding
the king and using for his army. But too many wives (Dovid had 18 but could
manage them), Shlomo having 1,000 wives like the daughter of Pharaoh for
alliance was too much. She and a few others did not conform with the Torah and
had idols behind the king’s back. Even 18 require a visit to them a minimum of
once a month. So 1,000 would be completely unfair to the women and the king
would lose all control over them.
18 And
it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write
him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the
Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all
the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all
the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;
The King has a Mitzvah
to write or have written for him two Sifrei Torah. One for home and one for him
to go to war and read to the army.
20 that
his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from
the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may
prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
The Sifrei Torah shall
keep him in his place.
18:1 The priests the Levites, even all the tribe of Levi, shall
have no portion nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of
the LORD made by fire, and His inheritance. 2 And they shall have no
inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He hath
spoken unto them. 3 And this shall be the priests' due from the
people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they
shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the
maw. 4 The first-fruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil,
and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. 5 For
the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in
the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever.
Previously we encountered
in our Parsha the Levi as a teacher, Rabbi, guide but here as a man to begiven
Teruma or Maaser.
6 And if a Levite come from any
of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourns, and come with all the desire
of his soul unto the place which the LORD shall choose; 7 then he
shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites
do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have like portions
to eat, beside that which is his due according to the fathers' houses.
You don’t have to give to
every Cohain or Levi but are required to give. For example my granddaughter-in-law
is a Bas Cohain and if I want I can give all my Teruma to her father or
grandfather. Or my wife can say that she is giving some Teruma to her uncle or
cousins. Same with some cousins that are Leviim.
9 When thou art come into the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations
of those nations.
Stated below are some of the examples
of this behavior.
10 There shall not be found among
you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one
that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a
sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar
spirit, or a necromancer. 12 For whosoever doeth these things is an
abomination unto the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God
is driving them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be whole-hearted
with the LORD thy God. 14 For these nations, that thou art to disApossess,
hearken unto soothsayers, and unto diviners; but as for thee, the LORD thy God
hath not suffered thee so to do.
People doing these things deserve the
death penalty.
15 A prophet will the LORD thy
God raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me;
unto him ye shall hearken; 16 according to all that thou didst desire
of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying: 'Let me not
hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any
more, that I die not.' 17 And the LORD said unto me: 'They have well
said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his
mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken
unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.
If the man be a true prophet.
Nowadays, we have elder Rabbis that guide us similar to the prophets and do it
under the guidance of Torah and Halacha and we do not need miracles but to
believe and listen. ALL THE DAYS THAT RABBI CHAIM KANIEVSKY WAS ALIVE AS OUR
LEADER THERE WERE NO TERROR ATTACKS IN BNEI BRAK. EVEN THE ROCKETS FELL IN
NEARBY RAMAT GAN IN THE GULF WAR, NOTHING HIT BNEI BRAK. BUT CLOSE TO THE 30TH
DAY AFTER HE PASSED AWAY, THERE WAS A TERROR ATTACK.
20 But the prophet, that shall
speak a word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to
speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall
die.' 21 And if thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word
which the LORD hath not spoken?' 22 When a prophet speaks in the name
of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which
the LORD hath not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt
not be afraid of him.
Last week’s Parsha, we
had the false prophet but here the Prophet is shouting Torah. You shall not go
after your heart or eyes but follow the Mitzvos. Or if you eat pork, commit
adultery, violate Niddah, violate Shabbos, then oy voy-voy to you. And even an
oy does not happen. He is not to be killed as he did not lead Am Yisrael astray
but just a person who had delusions of grandeur and is not a prophet. Aka we
treat his prophecy with a grain of salt. Today he might be a Mussar Rabbi or a
Maggid. Last week, there was some boorish man who claimed he learned Kabbalah
in Dreams and the Rashbam had to clean up the poor man’s prophecy.
19:1 When
the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth
thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their
houses; 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of
thy land, which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou
shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD
thy God causes thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee
thither. 4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee
thither and live: whoso kills his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time
past; 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to hew
wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the
head slips from the helve, and lights upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall
flee unto one of these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood
pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way
is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not deserving of death,
inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
Moshe set three cities aside
on the other side of the Yarden.
14 Thou
shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in
thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God
gives thee to possess it.
The original inheritance
was family between brothers and cousins but after years people became 3rd,
4th, 17th cousins and grandpa or uncle could not solve
the disputes so the markers were needed.
15 One
witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in
any sin that he sins;
at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a
matter be established.
He said – she said
disputes cannot be settled so quickly.
… 20:1 When thou go forth to battle against
thine enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou
shalt not be afraid of them; for the LORD thy God is with thee, who brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye draw
nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the
people, 3 and shall say unto them: 'Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this
day unto battle against your enemies; let not your heart faint; fear not, nor
be alarmed, neither be ye affrighted at them;
Don’t be afraid Yisrael
for you are a lion’s whelp.
4 for the LORD your God is He
that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save
you.' 5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: 'What
man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go
and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate
it.
You can return on these
excuses from the battle.
6 And what man is there that hath
planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return
unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit
thereof.
New house, new vineyard
or new bride are good excuses lest he die in battle.
7 And what man is there that hath
betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house,
lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.' 8 And the
officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say: 'What man is
there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house,
lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.' 9 And it shall be, when
the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that captains of
hosts shall be appointed at the head of the people.
We had during Pillar Cloud
an officer who got married and the next day returned to battle only to have become
the worse wounded soldier in the war and his disfigured face needed many
operations so sometimes in pays to listen to the Torah. Of course, there is the
coward’s excuse. A man or two being to flee could cause a rout and it is best
that the cowards leave..
10 When thou draw nigh unto a
city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it
shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall
be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto
thee, and shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with
thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it.
First we offer them peace
or surrender as we still do to terrorists.
13 And when the LORD thy God
delivers it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of
the sword; 14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and
all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey
unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy
God has given thee.
This was part of the
rules of engagement of ancient times.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all
the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of
these nations. 16 Howbeit of the cities of these peoples, that the
LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that
breathes, 17 but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and
the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as
the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; 18 that they teach you not to
do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, and so
ye sin against the LORD your God.
The nations of Canaan
are threat by their existence with all their idolatry so they must be removed.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city
a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the
trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, but
thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should
be besieged of thee? 20 Only the trees of which thou know that they
are not trees for food, them thou mayest destroy and cut down, that thou mayest
build bulwarks against the city that makes war with thee, until it fall.
Israel never conquered
the Greeks or Romans for more territory and tribute but for proximity expansion
and therefore fruit trees were to remain standing for the Bnei Yisrael.
The law of the Egel
Arufa:
21:1 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God gives
thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten
him; 2 then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they
shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is
slain. 3 And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the
slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which
hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the
yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto
a rough valley, which may neither be plowed nor sown, and shall break the
heifer's neck there in the valley.
We should have Shomrim –
army or police mentioned in the first sentence of our Parsha to keep the roads
between cities. Why did the man die? Snake, heart, stroke, etc. can also kill
somebody along the way and we are perhaps responsible that we did not accompany
him/her over a good distance from the city so that he will be well and on a
safe way so that there will be reason for him to die.
5 And the priests the sons of
Levi shall come near--for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto
Him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and according to their word shall
every controversy and every stroke be. 6 And all the elders of that
city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the
heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 And they shall speak
and say: 'Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen
it. 8 Forgive, O LORD, Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed,
and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of Thy people Israel.' And
the blood shall be forgiven them.
The Egel Arufa is killed
instead of the elders, so it atones for the town or towns if directly in the
middle of both. For they should have prayed that nothing bad would happend to
their guests.
9 So shalt thou put away the
innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right
in the eyes of the LORD.
Forwarded to me by Rita
H. from George T.
German
captain Wilhelm Hosenfeld found a half-starved Jewish man in the ruins of
Warsaw in the middle of a harsh winter. Szpilman feared the worst. But, aware
that many Germans were lovers of classical music, Szpilman told him that he was
a highly respected Polish musician of Jewish faith.
Instead
of arresting him and handing him over to the National Socialist police, or
shooting him, Captain Hosenfeld asked him to play something on a piano in the
building. Szpilman played Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor.
This piece was precisely the last piece Szpilman had played during the last
live broadcast on Polish radio on September 23, 1939 when Warsaw was besieged
by the German army.
The
German captain would hide him and provide him with food and drink until the Red
Army approached the city, and Hosenfeld had to retreat with his men. He also
offered Szpilman his coat to keep him warm in the freezing temperatures.
In
his memoirs, Szpilman wrote that he asked Hosenfeld:
-
Are you German?
Hosenfeld
blushed and almost shouted passionately, as if offended:
-
Yes, unfortunately I am German. I know well what happened here in Poland and I
am ashamed of my people.
Many
of Captain Hosenfeld's writings have survived, especially his diaries.
According to Yad Vashem, the texts survived because he regularly sent the
notebooks home. In his writings, Hosenfeld emphasized his growing contempt for
the regime's oppression of Poles, the persecution of the Polish clergy, the
abuse of Jews and, with the implementation of the "Final Solution,"
his horror at the extermination of the Jewish people. On June 16, 1943, he
wrote:
"Countless
Jews have been murdered like this, without reason, without sense. It is
incomprehensible. Now the last Jewish residents of the ghetto were annihilated.
An SS Sturmführer boasted that he had shot the Jews who jumped out of the
burning houses. The whole ghetto is a burnt ruin. This is how we want to win
the war. These animals. With this horrible mass murder of the Jews we have lost
the war. We have brought an eternal curse upon ourselves and will forever be
covered with shame. We have no right to pity or mercy; we all have a share of
guilt.
I
am ashamed to walk through the city."
In
January 1945, Hosenfeld became a Soviet prisoner of war. He truthfully stated
that the sports bureau he headed was organizationally subordinate to the Ic
Department.
This
information was probably his undoing, because in addition to dealing with the
troops, this department also performed intelligence duties. To force
information from Hosenfeld about his alleged intelligence activities, he was
subjected to "strict interrogation" in the Minsk remand prison. After
six months of torture and solitary confinement, he was a broken man. He
suffered his first stroke.
With
no evidence of any crime, he was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor as a war
criminal in 1950.
Several
times he tried in vain to be extradited to Poland, where he had not only the
pianist Szpilman asking for him, but dozens of Polish Jews, and Poles in
general, whose lives he had saved by giving them employment and shelter at the
sports ground he was in charge of during the German occupation of Warsaw.
Despite
the intercession of the many people he had saved, Hosenfeld was not released.
Half paralyzed and in despair, he died on August 13, 1952, at the age of 57, in
the Stalingrad POW camp, from internal bleeding probably caused by mistreatment.
In
1957, Szpilman visited Hosenfeld's widow in the German district of Thalau and
told her that her husband had rescued him.
In
1998 it was proposed that Yad Vashem, the official Israeli memorial to
Holocaust victims, recognize Captain Hosenfeld as Righteous Among the Nations.
However,
before the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous could award the
title, it had to be proven that Hosenfeld had not participated in war crimes.
Once
his diaries and letters were made public, the case was submitted to the
Commission for review. Yad Vashem also received confirmation from the Polish
Commission for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes that his conduct
was indeed above reproach. Moreover, it was discovered that, during the Warsaw
uprising in the late summer of 1944, he had to interrogate captured fighters of
the Polish AK underground army.
Against
the orders of the SS leadership, he ensured that the wounded received medical
care; he also demanded that they be treated in accordance with the Geneva
Convention.
On
November 25, 2008, Yad Vashem recognized Wilhelm Hosenfeld as Righteous Among
the Nations.
In
October 2007, Hosenfeld was posthumously awarded the Polonia Restituta Order by
Polish President Lech Kaczyński for saving Polish citizens.
In
October 2008, a square in the Biebergemünder district of Kassel was named after
Wilm Hosenfeld.
On
February 25, 2018, a memorial stone was unveiled at the Thalau elementary
school where Hosenfeld worked as a teacher before the war. It is a tribute to
Hosenfeld's work and a reminder for future generations.
Part
of Hosenfeld's story became known thanks to Roman Polanski's film 'The
Pianist', a film that won three Oscars.
The
Astonished Bedouin by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles.
http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=1290-52
Rabbi Yosef Chaim, the great Torah sage of Baghdad, was commonly
referred to by the name of his most popular book, "The Ben
Ish Chai." Even though he was not the chief rabbi of the city, he
served as a leading rabbi there for 50 years until his passing in 1909, and was
respected by all. His sermons attracted thousands, for he was followed by the
great and the simple. What's more, his house was always wide open to the needy
and any petitioner.
One day, a loud argument between two angry men within the walls of
his Beit Din (rabbinical court) disturbed the quiet of the
morning. Whoever might have entered would have been surprised at what he saw.
The appearance of the litigants who stood opposite each other was most unusual.
One was a poor member of the local Jewish community; the other, an Arab, who
was also a local, but of shady reputation.
The Arab was the plaintiff, the Jew the defendant. Standing before the Ben
Ish Chai to present his claim, the Arab claimed that the Jew had stolen his
money and refused to return it to him.
"We went to the Iraqi court," he said, "there the Jew
denied the existence of any loan. The judge ruled in his favor, as I had no
proof for my claim. That's why I asked him to come to the Beit Din of the Rav.
I hoped that maybe here he will admit his guilt."
The Ben Ish Chai listened attentively, observing both men carefully. After
hearing the testimony of the Arab, he requested to speak to the Jew privately.
meeting his eyes, he asked, "Is the money of the Arab in your
possession?"
The Jew was incapable of impudence while facing the Ben Ish Chai. He
lowered his eyes and admitted, "Yes. That is, it was. I wanted to return
his money but I am a pauper, I have no idea from where to get the money to give
him. That's why I denied the debt in the court; I knew that if I admitted but
didn't return the money immediately, I would be thrown in prison."
The Rav then summoned the Arab. The room was quiet, the Rav was deep in
thought. He knew he had to find a way for the money to be returned to the
plaintiff.
Finally, he opened a drawer in his desk, took out a bundle of bills, held
them out to the Arab and said, "Since "All Israel are
guarantors one for the other," I will pay the debt of this Jew.
When his situation will improve he will return the money to me."
This noble gesture of the Ben Ish Chai greatly impressed the Arab. Aware
of the state of the finances of the poor Jew, it was obvious to him that the
money would not be returned in the near future, if ever. The Arab expressed his
admiration for the righteousness of Jewish rabbinical judges and returned home
joyous and satisfied.
* * *
Years went by. The Ben Ish Chai became still more famous and was now the
foremost of all the rabbis in Babylon. From countries far and wide, questions
in Jewish law were sent to him.
Despite his prestigious situation though, he yearned to leave his birth
country and move to the beloved Holy Land. An example of his longing was his
habit of scrupulously sending all the manuscripts of his many books to
Jerusalem, to have them printed there exclusively.
Eventually, on the 25th of Nisan in the year 1868, he decided to make his
wish a reality, leaving Baghdad with his brother and a few wealthy families to
travel to the Holy Land.
The way, which led through deserts, was beset with dangers. The greatest
threat was from gangs of robbers who used to waylay travelers. No one would
cross the desert on his own, but instead waited for the gathering of large
caravans. These would set out accompanied by guards.
When the Ben Ish Chai and his fellow travelers joined a caravan, they
discovered that this caravan travelled also on Shabbat. The Ben Ish Chai
decided to forgo traveling with them or any other caravan, and looked for a
Bedouin who, for a respectable amount of money would guide them, halting on
Friday till after Shabbat. He managed to find a suitable person who agreed to
the conditions -- even though not very readily -- and they set out into the
desert.
Friday afternoon, in the middle of the desert, the Ben Ish Chai announced
that they would rest and spent the Shabbat there. He asked the Bedouin the stop
but the latter wouldn't hear of it. He started yelling that it was a very
dangerous place, full of robber gangs. He refused to stay there for a full
24-hour period.
Without a word, the Ben Ish Chai and his companions dismounted their
camels, arranged their luggage for the coming Shabbat, and lit the Shabbat
candles before sunset.
Grinding his teeth in dismay, the Bedouin also stayed. However, out of
fear of a possible attack by robbers, he moved away from the group and hid
behind some rocks from where he watched the Ben Ish Chai and his group.
The Ben Ish Chai prayed the "Welcoming the Shabbat" prayer with
great devotion after which he recited the Kiddush (Shabbat
sanctification prayer recited over a cup of wine) with a pleasant melody.
During the meal he sang the zemirot (special Shabbat songs).
Suddenly the Bedouin heard a stealthy sound. Turning his head towards that
direction, he saw a gang of Muslim bandits making their way quietly towards the
Jews.
The blood froze in his veins. He didn't doubt what was going to happen
next in front of his eyes. Holding his breath he watched the leader of the gang
step ahead and move closer to the unsuspecting group.
A few minutes later, he noticed the leader of the robbers suddenly turn on
his heels and signal to the rest to retreat also. They obeyed grudgingly,
annoyed that he was denying them the easy prey they had chanced upon.
The surprised Bedouin heard the man explain to his followers that the
leader of the Jewish travelers was a great and holy rabbi, who had supported
him in a difficult financial situation by paying him from his personal funds
the money owed him by another Jew. Under no circumstance would he allow any of
them to harm him.
After the robbers disappeared, the Bedouin ran from his hiding place in
great excitement. He fell at the feet of the Ben Ish Chai and begged for
forgiveness, for now he realized even more what an exceptional person he was.
After Shabbat they continued on their way, soon reaching the Holy Land.
The Ben Ish Chai visited the burial site of the holy patriarchs and other holy
places. During this time, he was offered the position of Rishon LeZion (Sephardic
Chief Rabbi), but he decided not to accept.
At the end of the month of Elul that year he returned in peace to his home
in Bagdad, where he lived until his passing at age 75 on the 13th of Elul, in
Jewish year 5669.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and supplemented by
Yerachmiel Tilles from the somewhat literal translation by C. R. Benami,
long-time editorial assistant for www.AscentOfSafed.com, of an article in
Sichat Hashavua (#1338).
Connections:
1) This week's Torah portion was Shoftim / "[Rabbinical] Judges."
2) Tis coming Friday, 13 Iyar, is the 113th yahrzeit of the Ben Ish Chai.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Hai (27 Av 1834 - 13
Elul 1909), is one of the most important Sephardic Jewish sages in the last two
centuries. At the age of 25, he succeeded to his father's rabbinical position
and continued in it for 50 years. In 1869 he visited the Holy Land and was
offered the position of Rishon LeZion (Sephardic Chief Rabbi),
but he did not accept. A great scholar and Kabbalist and highly regarded as a
pure and holy man, is rulings are adhered to still today by many Sephardim
world-wide. He published many important books on Jewish law, Midrash, Kabbalah
and Ethics.
Long story of adopted holocaust infant cut by me. Full
Story:
Holocaust orphan Jackie Young searched painfully and
unsuccessfully for the identity of his biological father for most of his life.
He has known for decades that he was born to a Jewish Viennese
woman in her early 30s, who was deported in June 1942 to Maly Trostenets, a Nazi killing center near Minsk, Belarus, where she
was murdered. The woman’s name, Elsa Spiegel, appears on Young’s original birth
certificate. It was noted that she was unmarried, and the space for the
father’s name was left blank.
Young miraculously survived as an orphaned infant for two years
and eight months at the Terezin (Theresienstadt) camp-ghetto in
Czechoslovakia. “Because Ashkenazi Jews are an endogamous population,
people can appear to be closer relatives based on their DNA than they actually
are on paper according to historical records and family trees,” she said.
Within five days of reaching Young in early June to request his
DNA test results and permission to research on his behalf, Mendelsohn and
Newman had answers. Not only did they identify Young’s biological father, but
they were also able to reverse engineer a family tree based on matches in DNA
databases and historical documents. The tree goes back to the early 1800s and Young’s
second great-grandparents. The family was based in Lackenbach, which was then
part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and is in Austria today.
Young’s father was named Adolf Kornfein, and he was born in 1894.
It seems that Kornfein, a tailor, was in a relationship with the much younger
Elsa Spiegel following a divorce or separation from his wife.
“We can surmise this from
the records showing that Kornfein, his wife Hilda (née Schlesinger), and
teenage son Wilhelm were living together at the same Vienna address in 1938.
But in 1942 he was living alone at a different address,” Mendelsohn said.
Records showed that on June 2, 1942, Adolf and Elsa were both on a
transport to Maly Trostenets. Hilda and Wilhelm were deported to Auschwitz on
July 17, 1942.
“We have been able to
establish that Adolf and Elsa lived within a short distance of one another at
that time. We don’t know if they were on the same transport because they were
together, or simply because the Nazis were rounding up all Jews living within a
certain area,” Newman said.
Elsa Spiegel handed her baby, named Yona Jakob Spiegel, and born
at the Rothschild-Spital (Jewish hospital) on December 18, 1941, to an
orphanage before her deportation. Young found two accounts of this, with one
saying he was three and a half months old, and another that he was five and a
half months old.
Young was deported to Terezin in September 1942 and was interned
there between the ages of nine months and three and a half years. He has been
able to establish that he was the sole survivor among the 15 children without
parents who were together with him on the same transport to the camp.
“The only explanation I can
come up for my being looked after and survival is that I must have been a pawn
in the Nazi’s propaganda campaign to deceive the Red Cross,” Young said.
Whereas Young finally learned about his father and paternal family
recently, he incrementally and painstakingly uncovered bits of information
about his mother over decades.
As a teenager, a relative let it slip that he had been born in
Vienna. However, his adoptive parents hid from him that he was a concentration
camp survivor. It was only when he needed proof of his Jewishness to get
married in a synagogue that he learned this distressing fact. Even then, his
adoptive parents didn’t want him to read the relevant documents, and they
remained uncooperative for the rest of their lives.
All these years later, he still doesn’t know much about his birth
mother and her family.
Whereas Young finally learned about his father and paternal family
recently, he incrementally and painstakingly uncovered bits of information
about his mother over decades.
To confirm their findings, Mendelsohn and Newman needed to find a
close relative on Young’s biological paternal side to take a DNA test to prove
the genetic match. Adolf Kornfein had four siblings. The genealogists tracked
down Adolf’s brother Samuel’s only grandson in the US, Bill Kornfein. He agreed
to take the test.
“Our daughters are adopted
and we always hoped that if they wanted to look for their birth parents,
someone would help them in their search,” Kornfein said in explaining his
decision to provide his DNA.
Then came the wait to see if there was indeed a match with Young.
“We sat on pins and needles
for four to five weeks until the results came back,” Mendelsohn said.
Kornfein, a retired
lawyer from the St. Louis area, is indeed Young’s first cousin once removed.
Both his parents were Holocaust survivors, and he was born in Switzerland,
where they fled during the war. He and his wife are thrilled to discover this
new relation and have been calling, emailing, and sharing photos with Young and
his wife.
A mystery in Orion. An international team of astronomers has revealed why the
star Betelgeuse famously dimmed back in 2019. The dying star coughed out a huge
chunk of material weighing several times more the Moon, which then blocked out
some of its light. https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/betelgeuses-great-dimming-the-aftermath/
Milestone: Arlette Andersen, 98,
holocaust survivor and lecturer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358806
Milestone: Sanz Zviller Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Goldman, 66, 20 years as a supervisor at the Rozhin
Yeshiva. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358930
Milestone: Mikhail Gorbachev, 91, the man who
let down the iron curtain and the Jews out. https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-leaders-groups-mourn-mikhail-gorbachev-the-man-who-freed-soviet-jewry/
Inyanay Diyoma
While Israel is facing a school
strike, in FL the following is happening: Governor
DeSantis followed the recommendations of a Grand Jury, suspending 4 School
Board members and appointing 4 replacements.
Man injured in old city shooting released
from hospital. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358824
Friday there was an attempted
lynching by Arabs incited by Arab MK. 5
arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358826
Girl playing in Jewish Town shot in
stomach by stray bullet. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358819
Diamond magnate appeal corruption sentence.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-diamond-magnate-steinmetz-back-in-switzerland-to-appeal-corruption-sentence/
74th victim of Arab-Arab
murder. https://www.timesofisrael.com/40-year-old-man-fatally-shot-in-ramle-police-detain-5-relatives-for-questioning/
US Customs seize 3000year old relic.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-agents-seize-potentially-3000-year-old-egyptian-artifact-shipped-from-europe/
Russia sends home S-300. https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-sends-s-300-back-home-from-syria-amid-ukraine-invasion-satellite-images-show/
Hundreds of accurate missiles
destroyed. https://www.timesofisrael.com/images-show-heavy-damage-to-syrian-weapons-base-in-strike-attributed-to-israel/
Iran weeks from breakout. https://www.debka.com/mossad-chief-barnea-calls-emerging-nuclear-accord-a-strategic-disaster-with-iran-just-weeks-from-breakout/
Air France pilots’ brawl in
mid-flight. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358864
Looking for Moshe. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358870
Mansour Abbas threatens to reveal
private conversations with Netanyahu if the later does not stop lying. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358838
IDF foils smuggling of 10 guns. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358840
Shots fired at 2 IDF positions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358886
Jihadist arrested six terrorist
wounded. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358895
Iranian Drone exercise. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358891
First Israeli woman to catch Monkey
Pox. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358885
TX Dem. Candidate for Gov. have
infection. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358888
W.H. close to Iran deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358890
IDF Intel be prepared for war with
Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358843
Charedi Zionists will not join Ben
Gvir. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358875
Anti-Vax doctor permanently loses
license. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358874
Kentucky antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358802
Record low turnout among Arab
Sector. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358884
Two Libyan forces kill 30+ in skirmish.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-30-killed-in-tripoli-clashes-between-forces-backed-by-rival-libyan-regimes/
Top Ukraine Rabbi warns against trip
to Uman. https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-ukraine-rabbi-urges-against-uman-pilgrimage-warns-of-russian-hostilities/
80years ago: German Gen. Erwin Rommel captured
the Libyan port of Tobruk and advanced into Egypt. https://www.timesofisrael.com/80-years-ago-nazis-almost-knocked-britain-out-of-wwii-to-take-the-entire-mideast/
In Tzfat, medical residents warned
by hospital head he will fire them. https://www.timesofisrael.com/hospital-chief-warns-medical-residents-hell-fire-them-for-threatening-to-resign/
Bride arrested as Groom flees. https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-arrest-bride-in-wedding-dress-in-northern-town-as-wanted-groom-flees/
Israeli-German and USA teams make
special astronaut uniform. New Missile. https://www.timesofisrael.com/nasa-on-track-to-trial-moon-rocket-on-monday-despite-lightning-hits/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/nasa-to-test-new-moon-rocket-50-years-after-apollo/
Monsoon flooding in Pakistan kills
1000+. https://www.timesofisrael.com/nearly-1000-dead-from-monsoon-flooding-in-pakistan-toll-rising/
Transport Min. wants Shabbos
Violation. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/2118054/transportation-minister-plans-to-run-tel-aviv-light-rail-on-shabbos.html
Artificial sweeteners and gut
research. The scientists conducted their experiment with the four most
common sweeteners: saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, and stevia. The first two
appeared to significantly impair glucose response, but all four of them caused
changes in the gut bacteria, the microbiome. https://www.timesofisrael.com/artificial-sweeteners-can-harm-sugar-levels-shouldnt-be-assumed-safe-israeli-lab/
We have nothing to lose. Medical
Residents start resigning. https://www.timesofisrael.com/200-medical-residents-to-hand-in-resignations-in-protest-of-26-hour-shifts/
Study: Medicine has no effect on
young adults. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-shows-pfizer-covid-pill-of-no-benefit-in-younger-adults/
Paul Neuman’s daughters sue his
charity Org. https://www.timesofisrael.com/paul-newmans-daughters-sue-late-actors-charity-foundation-over-fund-allocations/
Shooting at Yosef’s Tomb injures 2
Israelis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358944
Another Jew murdered by Muslim in
France. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358971
Another daytime gunfight with
terrorists. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358959
Meron Disaster letters sent out to
high officials. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358970
Nahum Barnea less talk more action
on Iran. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryxdxgqko
Israeli Athlete to run 300 miles to
honor Munich victims. https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/byvilvqjs
IAEA Iran enriching Uranium at faster
pace. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358937
Diane W. Bederman: Screaming for
abortions but what about women who miscarry and cannot have. https://dianebederman.com/while-screaming-for-the-right-to-kill-the-unborn-the-cries-of-those-who-miscarry-or-cannot-conceive-are-ignored/
Yeshiva U. asks to block LGTBQ-pride
club. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/08/29/yeshiva-university-files-emergency-application-seeking-reversal-of-court-ruling-ordering-recognition-of-lgtbq-pride-club/
Police launch probe into Arab MK
regarding riot at Shmuel HaNovi’s Tomb. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358941
Brawl at Concert. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358940
Tracy Chamoun runs for President of
Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358948
Jewish Home in talks with Chaim
Amsalem former Shas MK. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358912
Leaping Lizards smugglers arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358919
COS degrades Charedi Unit. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358947
Munich Victims Families receive more
compensation. https://www.timesofisrael.com/families-of-munich-olympic-victims-said-close-to-compensation-deal-with-germany/
Russia displeased with Iranian
Combat Drones. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-delivers-first-combat-drones-to-russia-for-its-war-on-ukraine-report/
Iraqi Shiites vs. Iran. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-shuts-border-with-iraq-after-20-killed-in-violence-over-sadrs-resignation/
IDF identifies civilians who helped
the Jihad launch rockets that fell on Gaza. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hybkciiyi#autoplay
If elected Italian Candidate would
move Embassy. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/08/30/italian-ex-deputy-pm-commits-to-recognizing-jerusalem-as-israels-capital-moving-embassy-if-coalition-elected/
Same sect of Chassidim that went to
Yosef’s Tomb arrive in the Ukraine. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/08/30/despite-threat-of-russian-strikes-hasidic-pilgrims-arrive-in-ukrainian-city-of-uman/
Ben Yishai – Euro Nuke Deal falls
short. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syyw11jqjo
Fake Israeli Passport a bad Syrian
Forgery. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjftuyoko
Fake Deal will not stop Iranian
Nukes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358996
Teacher’s strike averted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359015
Arab rioters on Tuesday evening broke into the Bnei Akiva branch
in Lod and attacked the students with rocks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358994
Gasoline prices to drop again until
Dec. https://www.timesofisrael.com/gasoline-prices-set-to-drop-midnight-wednesday-but-not-by-as-much-as-expected/
1000 Arab Terrorists go on hunger
strike. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358988
Estate Manager named for Tvika Pik’s
heirs. https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/skgd6fjji
Israel-Japan sign agreement on
cooperation. [Maybe Iron Dome to Japan?] https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-tokyo-gantz-signs-defense-deal-with-japan-as-global-tensions-simmer/
Need to prevent oil spill from
Yemeni Civil War. https://www.timesofisrael.com/time-bomb-un-says-abandoned-red-sea-oil-tanker-off-yemen-could-cause-disaster/
Novak to play in Israel Tennis
Tournament. https://www.timesofisrael.com/novak-djokovic-to-headline-tel-aviv-tournament-after-us-open-withdrawal/
NYPD is beefing up patrols in Williamsburg.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/nypd-to-up-patrols-around-williamsburg-synagogues-amid-rise-in-antisemitic-attacks/
Narcan is looking for anti-Fentanyl
Injections. https://www.timesofisrael.com/narcan-inventor-developing-new-overdose-treatment-to-combat-fentanyl-scourge/
Pollard endorses and takes back
endorsement after strong criticism. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-spy-pollard-endorses-shaked-despite-her-misplaced-loyalty/
Lung Fluid could provide clues to
cancer and injections. https://www.timesofisrael.com/lung-fluid-may-provide-basis-for-cancer-treating-vaccines-israeli-research/
Some Nuke Deal Iran seizes and
releases US Ship. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359001
Why are more people going to
duckduckgo.com instead of google? Google does not approve of Trump Media. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359004
Cohorts: Biden denounces criticism
of FBI. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358997
Zionist Spirit will pass threshold –
Hendel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358998
Hit the gas instead of brakes -
flies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358980
Ben Gvir too moderate. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/358987
Arabs who murdered brother indicted.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359101
Israel attacked Aleppo Airport after
dlvy. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359065
Two terrorists turn into Shachidim. https://www.timesofisrael.com/two-palestinians-reported-killed-in-separate-overnight-west-bank-clashes/
Six terrorists arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359094
Did Israel cave on hunger striker.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359067
Only son dies in training accident. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359091
Antisemitic Banner hung at UC Davis
x2. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359055
Sarah Palin loses Congress in AK. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359072
Friend of Putin moderate on the
Ukraine falls from hospital window suddenly! https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359108
Tortured into confession has
conviction approved by top court. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359089
Privately owned and public lands in
area C taken over by Arabs. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359099
AP Photographer who photographed
Iranian Jews fled Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359112
Israel gives surgery to African
Girl. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/skbphlcyj
School’s open drive carefully. https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-weeks-of-uncertainty-1st-day-of-school-begins-for-2-5-million-israeli-pupils/
Brain Tumors vanish after ‘power
source’ cut off. https://www.timesofisrael.com/brain-tumors-vanish-in-mice-after-israeli-study-finds-and-destroys-power-source/
Spain giant hailstones kill toddler.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/10-minutes-of-terror-giant-hailstones-kill-toddler-in-spain/ 10cm=4in
Bulldozer and tug boats help clear
Suez Canal Tanker. https://www.timesofisrael.com/vessel-runs-aground-in-suez-canal-briefly-blocking-the-vital-waterway/
Tusk of 4M high elephant killed by
early man. https://www.timesofisrael.com/giant-prehistoric-elephant-tusk-uncovered-in-southern-israel/
Mural funded by the Public of
Termite Jew Man. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/08/31/municipal-funded-mural-in-new-york-criticized-for-featuring-prominent-antisemite-louis-farrakhan-reports/
Antisemitic Iman runs from French
Authorities. https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/08/31/antisemitic-moroccan-imam-on-run-from-french-authorities-following-deportation-order/
Man with toy gun tries to
“assassinate” Argentine VP before her trial said to be a public opinion ploy. https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20220902-argentina-vp-kirchner-unharmed-after-man-points-gun-at-her-face
Charging electric vehicles require a
lot a fossil fuel electricity. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-systems-that-charge-electric-vehicles-in-15-minutes-to-deploy-in-europe-us/
Underage TikToker has a ground swell
party. https://www.timesofisrael.com/underage-tiktoker-running-for-knesset-eyes-groundswell-of-support-for-protest-party/
FL Jury allowed to see Swastikas
drawn by Parkland Killer. https://www.timesofisrael.com/judge-allows-jury-to-view-swastikas-drawn-by-florida-school-shooter/
Ehud Barak – anti-Bibi may be on to
something. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rj88rioji
Swedish Dr. wins lawsuit for being
dismissed. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s15lidryo
Latest Poll: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359156
MO Bagel feeds the poor for free. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359163
50 Bipartisan Lawmakers against Iran
Deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359143
She asked for reheated coffee and
was stabbed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359123
5,000 ex-Israeli IDF Officers
against Iran Deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359125
Aleppo Airport has a lot of runway
holes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/359138
Ultra-left of Bernie Sanders,
Fetterman will not debate Oz, https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberal-media-largely-defends-fetterman-skipping-oz-debate-stroke-remarks-some-are-calling-him-out
Have a healthy, peaceful
and restful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
