Some good news the Paratrooper Nadav
Chaim ben Irit Chaya has woken up but still needs our prayers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367640
If you have not removed Rachamim ben
Charlotte Jacqueline please do so now re-add on Parsha Vayekhel-Pekeudi (Parsha
HaChodesh) but add Avraham Noach ben Yehudit.
Parsha Mishpatim
Last week, we received
the Asera Dibros and they are the first basic laws given on Sinai and the other
civil suit laws are a continuation from last week. The Oral Torah and Written
Torah in our Pasha may have been given before the ten mentioned above but since
there is no early or late in Torah this could be forty days later. There are 53
Mitzvos aka Commandments in our Parsha 23 positive and 30 negative.
21:1 Now
these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them. 2 If thou
buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go
out free for nothing. 3 If he come in by himself, he shall go out by
himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
The is the Hebrew
servant who had is debt.
4 If his master give him a wife, and she bear him
sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he
shall go out by himself.
He has married a
non-Jewish permanent servant-slave and since she is the master’s property and
has children that also become the master’s property. Being a Jewish
servant-slave he gets severance pay and can buy her and free her for himself.
5 But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my
master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free; 6 then his
master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the
door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall
serve him forever.
The same ear that heard
on Sinai “I am the L-RD thy G-D” {and master} then by placing a human master in
charge after a max of six years still has weak trust in G-D after he heard on
Sinai the first two commandments shall have the lobe of the ear screwed with an
awl to the lintel of the Door.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a
maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do. 8 If she
please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her
be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing
he has dealt deceitfully with her.
“Seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her” for the
poorer family ‘sold’ the daughter into the hands of the richer family to learn
etiquette and the ways of the household to become a wife to the son, brother or
the master himself. Instead she was rejected for whatever reason and feels
betrayed.
9 And if he espouses her unto his son, he shall
deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 If he takes him
another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not
diminish.
She shall have her conjugal rights, status and money
for her children and not be treated any worse if he takes another wife.
11 And if he does not these three unto her, then
shall she go out for nothing, without money.
The servant girl which
he invested in her education and up bringing shall not be redeemed like a
Hebrew servant/slave who is redeemed with money but shall go out free as he has
not taken her for a wife.
And if he does not do these three things for her: If
he does not do any one of these three things for her. Now what are these three
things? He should designate her for himself or for his son [as a wife], or he
should deduct from the money of her redemption and allow her to go free. But
this one [master] designated her neither for himself nor for his son, and she
could not afford to redeem herself [even after the deduction]. — [From
Mechilta] She shall go free without
charge: [The text] adds [another
means of] emancipation for this [maidservant] beyond what it provided for male
slaves. Now what is this [means of] emancipation? וְיָצְאָה חִנָם informs
you that she goes free when she shows [initial] signs [of puberty], and she
must stay with him until she develops [these] signs. If six years pass before
the appearance of these signs, we have already learned that she goes free, as
it is said: “Should your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman [be sold to
you, that one] shall serve you for six years” (Deut. 15: 12). What then is the
meaning of “she shall go out without charge?” If the signs [of puberty] precede
the [end of] six years, she shall go free because of them. Or perhaps it means
only that she goes out when she reaches maturity [i.e., at twelve and a half
years]? Therefore, Scripture says: “without [payment of] money,” to include her
emancipation at maturity. If both of them [i.e., that she goes free “without
charge” and “without money”] were not stated, [and “she shall go out without
charge” was stated,] I would say that “she shall go out without charge” refers
to [her being freed at] maturity. Therefore, both of them were stated, so that
the disputant has no opportunity to differ. -[From Mechilta, Kid. 4a]
12 He that smites a man, so that he dies, shall
surely be put to death.
One who strikes a man so that he dies: Several
verses have been written in the section dealing with murderers, and I will
explain what I am able to explain [about] why they [these verses] are needed. One
who strikes a man so that he dies: Why
was this said? Because it says: “And if a man strikes down any human being, he
shall surely be put to death” (Lev.
24:17), I understand [that even if he deals him] a blow without death.
Therefore, the Torah says: “He who strikes a man and he dies,” meaning that he
is liable only for a blow causing death. If it said: “He who strikes a man,”
and it did not say, “And if a man strikes down any human being,” I would say
that one is liable only if one strikes a man. If one strikes a woman or a
minor, how do we know [that one is liable]? Therefore, the Torah says: “if [a
man] strikes down any human being,” referring even to a minor or even a woman.
Also, if it said: “He who strikes a man,” I would understand that even a minor
who struck and killed [someone] would be liable. Therefore, the Torah
[specifically] says: “if a man strikes down,” but not a minor who strikes
[someone] down. Also, “if… strikes down any human being” implies even a
nonviable infant. Therefore, the Torah [here] says: “He who strikes a man,” implying
one is liable only if one strikes a viable infant, one [who is] capable of
becoming a man [i.e., an adult]. -[From Mechilta]
13 And if a man lies not in wait, but God cause it
to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee.
This is not manslaughter
but completely accidental homicide.
14 And if a man come presumptuously upon his
neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he
may die.
This murderer shall die
provided that there were witnesses and a warning. Otherwise the Beis Din has
the right to imprison him and feed him vegetables that his stomach shrinks and
then stuff him with barley and water until his stomach explodes if there is
only one witness and certain proofs.
15 And he that smites his father, or his mother,
shall be surely put to death.
Parents and children
fight but they have the commandment to honor their parents. Causing a parent to
bleed or be black and blue carries the death penalty.
16 And he that steals a man, and sells him, or if
he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
This is the You shall
not steal from the Asera Dibros vs. that of thief or robber of money or
property.
17 And he that curses his father or his mother,
shall surely be put to death.
He curses one or both
with the DIVINE NAME and some witnesses hear it and warn.
18 And if men contend, and one smite the other
with a stone, or with his fist, and he dies not, but keep his
bed; 19 if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall
he that smote him be quit; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and
shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
The Beis Din decides how
much pain, embarrassment the wound cases the man, loss of work, medical
expenses and any other compensation required.
20 And if a man smites his bondman, or his
bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be
punished. 21 Notwithstanding if he continues a day or two, he shall
not be punished; for he is his money.
The owner beat his slave
such that he suffers monetary loss without the worker, he loses out.
22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman
with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be
surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall
pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follow, then thou
shalt give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for
hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe
for stripe.
Monetary compensation
for an abortion is an uncertain life and may not have been viable life but
killing the pregnant woman is a different story and the rest per the oral Torah
is money compensation.
26 And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or
the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his
eye's sake. 27 And if he smite out his bondman's tooth, or his
bondwoman's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
The non-Israeli bondman
goes out free but the Israeli bondman has the right to flee and not be returned
to his maste
28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they
die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the
owner of the ox shall be quit. 29 But if the ox was wont to gore in
time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it
in, but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and its owner
also shall be put to death. 30 If there be laid on him a ransom, then
he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon
him. 31 Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter,
according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. 32 If the ox
gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels
of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
The Sanhedrin has to decide
what compensation as 30 Mikdash Shekels is not much in today’s terms.
33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man
shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall
therein, 34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give
money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his.
See the Mishnah below on
the oral Torah for this is one of the types of damages.
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it
dies; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the
dead also they shall divide. 36 Or if it be known that the ox was
wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely
pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own.
The ox that was not
prone to gore pays only half damages but an ox prone to gore (three times) the
only solution for that ox is the slaughter’s knife.
37 If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it,
or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
The thief has to pay
compensation for his theft. The thief is one who steals in secret but using a
weapon makes him a robber.
22:1 If
a thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dies, there shall be no
blood guiltiness for him. 2 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall
be blood guiltiness for him--he shall make restitution; if he have nothing,
then he shall be sold for his theft.
If somebody breaks into
your house he may want to kill you rather than be caught since this is a danger
to the householder, he has a right to kill in self defense.
3 If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether
it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double.
Here he gets a fine to teach
that crime does not pay.
4 If a man cause a field or vineyard to be eaten,
and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field; of the best
of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make
restitution.
Baba Kama 2A starts as
follows: MISHNAH. THE PRINCIPAL CATEGORIES OF DAMAGE ARE FOUR: THE
OX, THE PIT, THE 'SPOLIATOR' [MAB'EH] (ox, sheep or goat eating up flowers, fruits and
vegetables) AND THE FIRE. THE
ASPECTS OF THE OX ARE [IN SOME RESPECTS] NOT [OF SUCH LOW ORDER OF GRAVITY] AS
THOSE OF THE 'SPOLIATOR'; NOR ARE [IN OTHER RESPECTS] THOSE OF THE
'SPOLIATOR' [OF SUCH LOW ORDER OF GRAVITY] AS THOSE OF THE OX; NOR ARE
THE ASPECTS OF EITHER OF THEM, IN WHICH THERE IS LIFE, [OF SUCH LOW ORDER OF
GRAVITY] AS THOSE OF THE FIRE WHICH IS NOT ENDOWED WITH LIFENOR ARE THE ASPECTS
OF ANY OF THESE, THE HABIT OF WHICH IS TO BE MOBILE AND DO DAMAGE, [OF SUCH LOW
ORDERS OF GRAVITY] AS THOSE OF THE PIT OF WHICH IT IS NOT THE HABIT TO MOVE
ABOUT AND DO DAMAGE. THE FEATURE COMMON TO THEM ALL IS THAT THEY ARE IN
THE HABIT OF DOING DAMAGE; AND THAT THEY HAVE TO BE UNDER YOUR CONTROL SO THAT
WHENEVER ANY ONE [OF THEM] DOES DAMAGE THE OFFENDER IS LIABLE TO INDEMNIFY WITH
THE BEST OF HIS ESTATE.
The fire and the pit are inanimate objects that cause damage. The
difference is that the pit does not move but causes injury or damage as no
warning or guards were in place. The fire goes from place to place.
The damage causes by living animals can be either by eating or
trampling on flowers or crops, or damage like a camel carrying wood and hitting
something or one’s bull runs loose in a china shop. The Gemara call this teeth
or feet and any derivative.
5 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks
of corn, or the standing corn, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the
fire shall surely make restitution. 6 If a man deliver unto his
neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if
the thief be found, he shall pay double. 7 If the thief be not found,
then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have
not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods. 8 For every matter of
trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any
manner of lost thing, whereof one saith: 'This is it,' the cause of both
parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto
his neighbor. {S} 9 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass,
or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven
away, no man seeing it; 10 the oath of the LORD shall be between them
both, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods; and
the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make
restitution. 11 But if it be stolen from him, he shall make
restitution unto the owner thereof. 12 If it be torn in pieces, let
him bring it for witness; he shall not make good that which was torn. 13 And if a man borrow aught of his neighbor,
and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely
make restitution. 14 If the owner thereof be with it, he shall not
make it good; if it be a hireling, he loses his hire.
Up to now this last section has dealt with property damage but
what about bodily damage.
15 And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and
lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his
wife. 16 If her father utterly refuses to give her unto him, he shall
pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
If it is enticement and not rape but the male and female appear to
like each other and the father might consent. But Rape is a different story and
she cannot in either case be betrothed or married to another man.
17 Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to
live. 18 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to
death. 19 He that sacrifices unto the gods, save unto the LORD only,
shall be utterly destroyed. 20 And a stranger shalt thou not wrong,
neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt. 21 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless
child. 22 If thou afflict them in any wise--for if they cry at all
unto Me, I will surely hear their cry-- 23 My wrath shall wax hot,
and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your
children fatherless.
All these Mitzvos are important but the last one about oppressing
an orphan or widow instead of helping them will occur DIVINE wrath.
24 If thou lend money to any of My people, even to
the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye
lay upon him interest. 25 If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment
to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him by that the sun goes
down; 26 for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his
skin; wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he cries unto Me,
that I will hear; for I am gracious.
You may have lent the poor man money and for that G-D
will bless you but don’t do anything to crush him. Otherwise why lend him money
in the first place.
27 Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a ruler of
thy people.
I am thinking now of the left protesting the newly
elected government. Most of them are the Elite Class who have oppressed the
Sephardim and Religious Communities for years. Great Rabbis have called them
the mixed multitude.
28 Thou shalt not delay to offer of the fulness of
thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses. The first-born of thy sons
shalt thou give unto Me. 29 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen,
and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou
shalt give it Me. 30 And ye shall be holy men unto Me; therefore, ye
shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it
to the dogs. 23:1 Thou
shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an
unrighteous witness. 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil;
neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to
pervert justice; 3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his
cause. 4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou
shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that
hates thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou
shalt surely release it with him.
I managed to fulfill one
or both of these last two Mitzvos with a neighbor who violate my property space
not an animal but loose part of his roof.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in
his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and
righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And
thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blinds them that have sight, and perverts
the words of the righteous. 9 And a stranger shalt thou not oppress;
for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt.
Justice and mercy prevail
in Kedoshim, Shoftim and other places in the Torah.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and
gather in the increase thereof; 11 but the seventh year thou shalt
let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they
leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy
vineyard, and with thy olive yard.
This is the first
mention of Shmita and better defined in Parsha Behar.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the
seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the
son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 13 And in
all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the
name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
The keeping of the
Shabbos is mentioned here but it is so close to idol worship that one can
deduct that violating the Shabbos is an insult to G-D as much as idol worship.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in
the year.
The Torah goes on to
mention the 3 Regelim in which everybody must bring a Korban Chagigah.
… 19 The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou
shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in
its mother's milk.
Bringing of the first
fruits fits well in this section on Yomim Tovim but the last sentence seems out
of place, but the Halacha may have come down from Sinai in this order.
20 Behold,
I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into
the place which I have prepared. 21 Take heed of him, and hearken
unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your
transgression; for My name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed
hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto
thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For Mine
angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite;
and I will cut them off. … 26 None
shall miscarry, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days I will
fulfil. 27 I will send My terror before thee, and will discomfit all
the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn
their backs unto thee. 28 And I will send the hornet before thee,
which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before
thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest
the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against
thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee,
until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 31 And I will set thy
border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the
wilderness unto the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into
your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
To the Euphrates River
but only in the future.
… From now until the end the narrative turns to where we left off at
the Asera Dibros.
24:1 And unto Moses He said: 'Come up unto the LORD, thou,
and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship
ye afar off; 2 and Moses alone shall come near unto the LORD; but
they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with
him.' 3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD,
and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said:
'All the words which the LORD hath spoken will we do.' 4 And Moses
wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an
altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of
Israel. 5 And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, who
offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the
LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and
half of the blood he dashed against the altar. 7 And he took the book
of the covenant, and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: 'All
that the LORD hath spoken will we do, and obey.' … 12 And the LORD
said unto Moses: 'Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give
thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have
written, that thou mayest teach them.' 13 And Moses rose up, and
Joshua his minister; and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14 And
unto the elders he said: 'Tarry ye here for us, until we come back unto you;
and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come
near unto them.' 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud
covered the mount. 16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount
Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto
Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
A discussion of what
happened at the giving of the Torah.
17 And the appearance of the glory of the
LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the
children of Israel. 18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud,
and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty
nights.
Parsha Shekelim a wakeup call by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli
Parsha Shekelim Shemos
30:11-16 is always before Purim by at least 2 or in this year 3 Shabbosos. The
theme is giving a half Shekel to the Mishkan or Mikdash for maintenance of the
Temple, drinking wells, roads, etc. A secondary effect is a population account.
Parsha Shekelim is a
wakeup call to the effect that Pesach is 6/7 weeks away for the women of Israel
to start or at least think about Pesach Cleaning. I can make a bet that most of
the upper closet space does not have Chametz but the women may love or don’t
love to clean and air out the areas just to remember what they have in our
affluent society.
The men also begin to
learn or review the laws of Purim and Pesach. Rabbi Mimran Shlita and I have
paused our going through the 4th book of Mishnah Berurah mostly the
Ohr HaChaim but use it for Halacha from time to time. We are on the end of the
sixth book for Purim and then going to the fifth book for Pesach. Since there
are many Halachos we skip some such as baking Matzos and Koshering Utensils for
the last is a bit ingrained in us and we have Pesach Dishes. Since our local Rabbinute
or Chabad will sell Chametz on-line we go by that. There are so many Halachos
that it is enough to review the more practical ones about Charoses, search for
Chametz, burning of Chametz and the Seder Night. It is good if somebody knows
their customs for Pesach and what they buy as we have to decide on what
Hechsher of Kosher for Pesach meets our standards.
Ed-Op Rabbi Rachamim Pauli Super Powers feet of clay.
Daniel: 31 Thou, O king, saw, and behold
a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was
surpassing, stood before thee; and the appearance thereof was
terrible. 32 As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast
and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, 33 its
legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou saw
till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its
feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. 35 Then
was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the
wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation
thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, king of kings, unto whom
the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the
glory; 38 and wheresoever the children of men, the
beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into
thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of
gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule
over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be
strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down all things;
and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. 41 And whereas thou saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay,
and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of
the firmness of the iron, forasmuch as thou saw the iron mixed with miry
clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of
iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part
thereof broken. 43 And whereas thou saw the iron mixed
with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men; but they shall
not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to
another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it
shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou saw that a
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces
the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath
made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.'
The meaning is becoming
clear as the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman Empires have fallen. Now we
see the mighty Russian Superpower held off by the Ukrainians. The US losing
their strategic military reserves and let spy balloons fly over. China produces
under communism mass parts but the quality even in their military leaves a lot
to be desired. Iraq is vanquished. Iran or Persia .has a currency problem and
Turkey underwent a major earthquake. Europe has green energy themselves into a
fuel and electricity shortage. Yet all these nations are hostile to Yisrael. We
are getting closer and closer to the end of days. REPENT NOW AND AVOID THE LAST-MINUTE
RUSH that may be too late.
The forger
who saved 14000 Jews. By Dr. Yvette Alt Miller
https://aish.com/the-forger-who-saved-14000-jews/
This is also a milestone of Adolfo Kaminsky D. Jan. 9. 2023
Adolfo Kaminsky’s life
mirrored many of the upheavals in Jewish history in the 20th century. His
parents were Jews from Russia: his mother Anna fled to Argentina to escape
pogroms in the early 1900s. Adolfo’s father Salomon was posted in Buenos
Aires by a Communist Jewish newspaper. He and Anna met and started their
family in Argentina; Adolfo, their youngest son, was born there in 1925.
In the early 1930s,
the family moved to the town of Vire in the northern French region of Normandy.
They were desperately poor, and Adolfo left school at 13 to go to work. He
spent time in various jobs, then finally found a job that he greatly enjoyed,
working for a clothing dyer. He enjoyed the chemistry aspect of his job so
much that he took a second job working as an assistant to a chemist in a dairy.
The lessons he learned there would help him later on in his new life as a
resistance fighter, once World War II broke out.
In 1940, Germany
invaded France. Adolfo and his family, like all Jews, were forced to
register with the local authorities. The following year, in August 1941,
the Nazis set up a concentration camp just outside Paris in the suburb of
Drancy. The first contingent of Jews sent there were 4,200 Jewish men who
were arrested in Paris. Soon, Jews from throughout occupied France were
being transferred to Drancy.
Staffed by French
police officers, Drancy was a holding area for Jews before they were deported
to Auschwitz. Built to hold 700 prisoners, it held ten times that number
at its peak. The conditions inside Drancy were dreadful. Many people
died of disease and mistreatment. Young children were torn from their
parents upon entering the camp.
Adolfo and his family
were sent to Drancy in 1941. “I knew what awaited those who were going to be
deported,” he later recalled. As Argentinian citizens, Adolfo’s brothers
hoped that they might be spared, and one of his brothers wrote desperate
letters to the Argentinian consulate while they were imprisoned. As
Argentinians, they were allowed to send out letters, a right denied to some
other prisoners. Finally, the Argentinian authorities intervened and
Adolfo, his two older brothers and his parents were freed.
“We were still in
danger,” Adolfo later recalled. “We had to disappear.”
His father contacted a
member of a French Resistance movement, requesting help in gaining false
documents in order to hide their Jewish identities. His father sent
Adolfo, then 16 years old, to meet with a Resistance contact. “I met with
a little man nicknamed Penguin,” Adolfo remembered. “He told me, ‘I’ll
put you down as a student’.” Adolfo explained that he had to go out to
work, and the Resistance official asked him what his job was. “Clothes dyer,”
Adolfo replied.
It was a turning point
that would save not only Adolfo’s life but the lives of thousands of
others. The Resistance member looked at Adolfo and asked, “Clothes Dyer?
Do you know how to remove ink stains?” Adolfo answered yes and was
recruited to help fight.
He joined an elite
Resistance unit nicknamed “La Sixieme,” which altered official
documents. Adolfo’s entire life had prepared him for this point. In
school, he’d worked on the school paper, and knew about fonts and creating
official-looking writing. At the clothes dyer he’d learned how to dissolve ink.
And his job at the dairy taught him that lactic acid - contained in milk -
could dissolve ink, including the Waterman’s blue “indelible” ink, which was
used on French ID cards.
Adolfo wasn’t used to
breaking the law, and he never forgot the moment he did so to create his very
first forged document: his own. He created a false ID card naming him as
Julien Adolphe Keller, born in Alsace. He also created a forged passport,
baptism certificate and birth certificate to cement his new identity. It
was a pattern he would repeat over and over again, thousands of times, creating
entirely new identities for French Jews to help them hide and escape from
France.
In the beginning of
1942, the Wannsee Conference decided the fate of Europe’s Jews: the wholescale
murder of every single Jewish man, woman, and child was adopted as official
Nazi policy, applicable in all lands the Nazis held. In France, the
effect was immediate. Jews were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz in
large groups. On July 16 and 17, 1942, French police arrested 13,000 Jews
in Paris and sent them to the Velodrome d’Hiver bicycle track, where they were
imprisoned in the summer heat for several days without food or water. The
survivors were sent to Auschwitz. By the end of 1942, 42,000 French Jews had
been deported through the Drancy concentration camp.
One round up of French
Jews in particular tore Adolfo’s world apart: his mother Anna received word of
a mass arrest of Jews and traveled to Paris to warn one of Adolfo’s brothers
that he risked arrest. Anna was killed on a train as she returned
home. After that, Adolfo threw himself even more into his work.
“As a cover, we
disguised ourselves as painters,” he later related. It was an ideal way to
explain away the smell of chemicals that permeated the apartment where Adolfo
and his colleagues worked. The story satisfied their neighbors. “Same for the
inspector who came to read the electricity meter: each time he came into our
laboratory, he complimented us on our paintings.” Adolfo built equipment
to age documents out of common household items such as a pipe and a bicycle
wheel. “We made identity cards, ration cards, tobacco cards, baptism
certificates, marriage certificates, birth certificates…. They don't know who
saved them. I was a stranger,” he later described in a documentary his
daughter Sarah helped The New York Times make about his life.
Word got around that a
master forger was working in Paris. French police and Nazi officials were
charged with finding the fugitive at all costs. One day, police officers
entered a Paris Metro train Adolfo was traveling in, searching for the
forger. They moved down the aisle, shouting “Identity check! General
search!” They stopped in front of Adolfo and demanded to know what was
inside his satchel.
It contained the
forgery materials they were searching for: rubber stamps, pens, a stapler, and
50 blank identity cards. Adolfo, a slight teenager at the time, looked up
at the officers and bluffed. “Sandwiches,” he answered, offering his bag.
“Would you like to see one?” The police officers shook their heads and moved
on; it never occurred to them that a mere kid was the forger they were looking
for.
Adolfo was so
successful that his Resistance cell became a magnet for requests for false
documents to help Jews evade arrest from all over France, primarily
children. One day, Adolfo and his colleagues received an
impossible-sounding request: one Resistance group wanted to smuggle 300 Jewish
children into Switzerland or other safe destinations. They wanted Adolfo
to create 300 birth certificates, 300 baptism certificates, and 300 ration
cards. He had three days to complete the task. “My biggest fear was
making a technical mistake, a little detail that might escape me,” Adolfo
explained. “On every document rests the life or death of a human being.
So I worked, worked, worked, until I passed out. When I woke up, I kept
working. We couldn’t stop… In one hour, I can make 30 blank
documents. If I sleep for an hour, 30 people will die.”
He finished the
assignment just in the nick of time. This grueling schedule took a toll. After
years of painstaking work, Adolfo lost the sight in one eye. He estimated
that he created documents for 14,000 Jews, the majority of them children.
Adolfo’s work as a
forger did not end with the conclusion of World War II. Already in 1944,
Jewish partisans from the Land of Israel began to plan to help Jews who’d
survived the Holocaust set sail for Europe and travel to Mandatory
Palestine. “Bricha” means escape in Hebrew, and was the name given
to the audacious, top-secret plan to smuggle desperate Holocaust survivors to
the Land of Israel.
The British controlled
the Land of Israel at the time, and opposed any Jewish
immigration. Nevertheless, after the Holocaust, nearly a quarter of a
million Jewish survivors gathered in Displaced Persons Camps in Germany,
Austria, and Italy, with the goal of traveling to ports along the Mediterranean
and boarding ships that would take them to the Land of Israel, or Mandatory
Palestine as it was called at the time. Thousands of Jews managed to move
to the south of Italy, where they awaited Bricha ships that
would try and outrun the British blockade and make it to the port of Haifa.
Adolfo created false
papers for Jews seeking to immigrate to Palestine. He later moved to
Israel and worked as a forger for the Irgun, the Jewish underground movement
which fought for Jewish independence from British rule.
Adolfo went on to work
as a forger for various radical political movements around the world, including
in Algeria, where he lived for a time, and in Latin America. He never told
his family about his political work. From the 1970s onward, he began working as
an artistic photographer, capturing cityscapes and other images of beauty in
France. However, he remained haunted by the Holocaust and the loss of so many
of his friends and relatives and his fellow Resistance members during the
Holocaust. Many of his friends from the French Resistance who’d survived
died by suicide after the war.
“I remember one day: I
knocked on all the doors on a list that I received the day before and spent all
night learning by heart,” he later explained. “The names and addresses of
dozens of Jewish families that would be rounded up the next day at dawn.
I remember a widow on Oberkampf Street. Her name was Madam
Drawda. When I offered to make her documents she got offended: ‘Why should
I hide? I haven’t done anything, and I’ve been French for many
generations.’ I tried everything to convince her. I knew if she stayed she
and her children would be deported and sent to die.”
She - as well as her
children - likely perished.
“I continued to
fight. I think that’s what saved me,” Adolfo explained. By aiding
resistance groups all over the world, he was able to feel that he continued to
help others and make a difference.
Adolfo married Jeanine
Korngold in 1952; they divorced soon after. He married again decades
later. He passed away on January 9, 2023, and is survived by his wife and
four children, as well as nine grandchildren. “I’ve had a very happy life
with an adorable wife, with children,” he explained in a 2017 documentary about
his life. “It’s truly something to be proud of. But there are so
many corpses. If I hadn't been able to do anything, I wouldn’t have been
able to bear it.”
Milestone: Morris Amitay, 86,
Lobbyist for Soviet Jewry and Israel. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-731385
Milestone: Raquel Welch, 82,
Actress. https://news.sky.com/story/raquel-welch-hollywood-actress-dies-at-82-after-brief-illness-12811943
Milestone: Ted Lerner, 97, real
estate developer who brought back baseball to Washington. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ted-lerner-real-estate-developer-who-returned-baseball-to-washington-dies-at-97/
Milestone: Dr. Moses Elisaf, 68, MD
and first known Jewish Mayor of Greek City. https://www.timesofisrael.com/moses-elisaf-first-jewish-mayor-of-a-city-in-greece-dies-at-68/
Inyanay Diyoma
Friday afternoon ramming attack
death toll now at 3. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367286
Rocket shot down. https://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-sirens-sound-in-gaza-border-town/
Terrorist shot dead in Samaria: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367287
Third Flying Object shot down. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-says-us-detected-third-flying-object-alaska-day-shooting-canada
IRS goes after Jewish Non-Profits
not Arabs. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367491
There were terror attacks and
arrests. Rockets from Gaza and a reply. The left trying to take down the elected
government of Israel with even pressure from the Biden Administration on protecting
unjust courts that support confession by torture.
Have a wonderful coming week,
Rachamim Pauli
