Elul to Tishrei
I was talking with Rabbi
Shlomo Mimran Shlita. I told that I wanted to awaken my readership for the day
of Judgement. He is Sephardi and has been saying Selichos since Rosh Chodesh
Elul and we start next Motzei Shabbos. He brought down Parsha Re’ 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a
blessing and a curse: This week: 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and
death and evil, 16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD
thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and
His ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the LORD thy God shall
bless thee in the land whither thou go in to possess it.
We know that there are three types of
people who are judged on Rosh Hashanah. They are Tzadikim (righteous), Benonim
(in between people) and Rashaim (wicked). The Rambam (Maimonides) adds that one
should view himself and the world (Hilchas Teshuva) as on the scales before
HASHEM on Rosh Hashanah and one more sin will tip the scales towards death and
one more Mitzvah will save the whole world towards life.
Le Ha Seporno (according to) one must
take an extreme position or that of a Tzadik to save the world. – R’ Mimran in
a conversation with me.
The thief who saved a baby a story by Rabbi Lazer Brody thanks
to Avraham Winograd.
Can a thief have the
merit to save a human life? What did he do?
One day a family parked
their car and accidently left their child inside. A car thieve was in Bnei Brak
and happened upon the car. As he started driving he heard a baby crying. The
baby was suffering from heat exhaustion. Without hesitation, he drove the baby
to the nearest hospital. The doctors thought that he was the father. He made up
a story about his friend’s car. He returned to the car to find the name of the
family on the insurance. They came to the hospital hugged the man and insisted
on a reward. He would not hear of it. He was invited to them for Shabbos.
On Friday Night they
made a big meal honoring him and the next day a large Kiddush in the Schul. The
man wanted to leave but they insisted that he get a blessing from a big Rabbi.
So, before he knew it, he was facing the Rabbi. Seeing the penetrating glace of
the Tzadik he told him that he was a miserable car thief. The Rabbi said that
no ordinary thief could have such a merit to save a human life. The Rabbi said,
“I don’t have such a merit to save a life. – You must have done something.”
“Well Rabbi, when I steal a car, I check the glove compartment for the
insurance. If it is only ‘accident-third party’, I leave the car alone but if
full insurance, I steal it as financially there is not much loss.” That
thinking of the victim was enough to give the thief the merit to save a life.
R. sent me the
following question privately: I was wondering if there are things that I can
do to prepare my body for such a fast (Yom Kippur).
The best thing is to
avoid Caffeine as much as possible eat grapes and perhaps drink perhaps a beer
for body salts and minerals, chicken soup and something like chicken easier to
digest. After the fast and Havdalah, chicken soup, chicken and perhaps one beer
for the salt and minerals.
Again, from Avraham
Winograd, a tape of a Jew who was a computer expert and was asked to speak
before Microsoft. There was one problem he was an observant Jew and they wanted
him to speak before the conference on Shabbos. The vice-president of Microsoft
offered him to write what ever sum he wanted after refusing.
However, the man
refused. Finally, the company was forced to change the date to a Sunday. The
vice-president told Bill Gates the story. Bill Gates asked if he ‘threw money
at the guy?’ There was an answer: “Yes, but there are certain things that money
can’t buy.” Gates, “I wish I had something that money can’t buy.”
Every Jew has the
Shabbos keep it, guard it as it is more precious than all the money in this
world. The reward of course is in the next. Yet I wish to say that it is
Shabbos Observance that prevents people going mad, having strokes and heart
attacks. It is the best medicine and cure for all of us.
Parshiyos Netzavim-Vayelech
Ki Tavo ended the second
of the three Drashos of Moshe Rabbaynu in Devarim. Now the people are gathered
before Moshe on the 7th of Adar 2488. In a few hours after Moshe’s blessings,
he is to go up the mountain and will never come down again.
His is an amazing story.
His mind and eyes are sharp like on the day he started his redemption mission
to bring the people into the Promised Land. He will not complete the job mostly
because of their faults and one mistake on his part by not speaking to the rock
in Meribah.
29:9 Ye are standing this day all of you before the LORD your God:
your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of
Israel, 10 your little
ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp, from the
hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water;
The whole nation is there. They know it is Moshe’s
final countdown before the next world. He has been told and they were told by
him that Yoshua is going to lead them into the land. Still what would one give
to hear a Gadol HaDor a for one last time. I heard a Rabbi Yitzchak Shlita say
that Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water does not refer to the simplest people
in society but a time period from TU B’Av when wood stopped being collected for
the Temple until Sukkos when water is collected from the spring of Shiloach.
11 that thou should enter into
the covenant of the LORD thy God--and into His oath--which the LORD thy God
makes with thee this day; 12 that He
may establish thee this day unto Himself for a people, and that He may be unto
thee a God, as He spoke unto thee, and as He swore unto thy fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 13 Neither
with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 14 but with him that stands here with us this day before
the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day.
You are receiving a promise/covenant from G-D
today to bring you into the land.
15 for ye know how we dwelt in
the land of Egypt; and how we came through the midst of the nations through
which ye passed; 16 and ye have seen
their detestable things, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which
were with them-- 17 lest there
should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away
this day from the LORD our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest
there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood; 18 and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of
this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying: 'I shall have peace,
though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart--that the watered be swept away
with the dry'; 19 the LORD will not
be willing to pardon him, but then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy shall
be kindled against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book
shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under
heaven; 20 and the LORD shall
separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the
curses of the covenant that is written in this book of the law.
Turning away from the Torah will produce this
result especially bowing down to false gods or no god.
21 And the generation to come,
your children that shall rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come
from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the
sicknesses wherewith the LORD hath made it sick; 22 and that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and
salt, and a burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows
therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the
LORD overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath; 23 even all the nations shall say 'Wherefore hath the
LORD done thus unto this land? what means the heat of this great anger?' 24 then men shall say: 'Because they forsook the
covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; 25 and went and served other gods, and worshipped them,
gods that they knew not, and that He had not allotted unto them; 26 therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against
this land, to bring upon it all the curse that is written in this book; 27 and the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger,
and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it
is this day'.
Samuel Clemens when he saw the land upon his
visit saw the desolation but being a non-Jew did not understand the Mussar of HIS
ANGER. Yeah, he did not see because of serving other gods or forsaking the Bris
in order to run nude in sports and look like the uncircumcised Goyim. He did not
connect the curses to the desolation of the land. If I could take him here
today like An American Yankee in King Arthur’s Court then he would view
an entirely different land with the return of the people.
28 The secret things belong
unto the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to
our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
G-D gives us some Kabbalah but the deep secrets
of the souls, reincarnation – when, how and why, are HIS.
30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these
things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before
thee, and thou shalt bethink thyself among all the nations, whither the LORD
thy God hath driven thee, 2 and
shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all
that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul; 3 that then the
LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will
return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither the LORD thy God hath
scattered thee. 4 If any of thine
that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the
LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee. 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land
which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee
good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
The first time it took 70years to awaken the
people but with all the intermarriage, conversion some force and some voluntary
caused the second redemption to take longer as the generations became comfortable
outside of Eretz Yisrael.
6 And the LORD thy God will
circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
The Nation will start to repent and be accepted
to return.
7 And the LORD thy God will
put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that
persecuted thee. 8 And thou shalt
return and hearken to the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which
I command thee this day.
In Gaza and elsewhere they will have work
accidents with explosives and rockets.
9 And the LORD thy God will
make thee over-abundant in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body,
and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the
LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy
fathers; 10 if thou shalt hearken to
the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which
are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
The observance of the Mitzvos will lead to
wealth. But we see an Erev Rav (mixed multitude) going against the Torah can destroy
and delay things including bringing on a war as the enemy sees us divided.
11 For this commandment which
I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far
off. 12 It is not in heaven, that
thou shouldest say: 'Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us,
and make us to hear it, that we may do it?' 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest
say: 'Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to
hear it, that we may do it?' 14 But
the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou
mayest do it.
Torah is not in heaven or over the sea but right before
you written down.
15 See, I have set before thee
this day life and good, and death and evil, 16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy
God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His
ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the LORD thy God shall bless
thee in the land whither thou go in to possess it.
Choose life and you will be blessed.
17 But if thy heart turn away,
and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and
serve them; 18 I declare unto you
this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days upon the
land, whither thou pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it.
You are warned. If you remain in Eretz Yisrael
even if you don’t observe, it is like you have a G-D (he will be close to you
to admonish or reward you). But if you are in Gallus and observe the Mitzvos it
is as if you don’t have a G-D as you do not come to Yisrael to serve HIM.
19 I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the
blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and
thy seed; 20 to love the LORD thy
God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for that is thy life, and
the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore
unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
In the Kabbalah and physics there is a frequency
resonance in inanimate objects that comes from HASHEM. Therefore, the heavens
and the earth can be witnesses. The earth can open up as in Korach or the
heavens send down lightning or a meteor as a waking warning.
31:1 And Moses went and
spoke these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them: 'I am a
hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; and
the LORD hath said unto me: Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The
LORD thy God, He will go over before thee; He will destroy these nations from
before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them; and Joshua, he shall go over
before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
The L-RD is gathering me in today to my eternal rest and
Yoshua will be your leader.
4 And
the LORD will do unto them as He did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the
Amorites, and unto their land; whom He destroyed. 5 And the LORD will
deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the
commandment which I have commanded you.
As the L-RD fought your battles with Sihon and Og, so shall HE
fight against your enemies. Remember the song by the sea “The L-RD is a MAN of
war, HASHEM is HIS NAME (Shemos 15:3).
6 Be
strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them; for the LORD
thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake
thee.'
From now on Chazak V’ Amatz being strong and courageous and
the theme repeats itself about 4 times if my memory serves me in Yoshua 1.
7 And
Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel: 'Be
strong and of good courage; for thou shalt go with this people into the land
which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause
them to inherit it.
Yoshua has been the servant of Eved HASHEM aka the slave of
the L-RD, Moshe.
8 And
the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not
fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.'
Yoshua must be trembling at the awesome task of leading the
nation. Before he was an assistant and Chief of Staff now he is the King of the
people.
9 And
Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, that
bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of
Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: 'At the end of every
seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of
tabernacles, 11 when all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy
God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all
Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the
women and the little ones, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they
may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to
do all the words of this law; 13 and that their children, who have
not known, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in
the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'
This occurs on Sukkos after the Shmita Year.
14 And
the LORD said unto Moses: 'Behold, thy days approach that thou must die; call
Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a
charge.' And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of
meeting. 15 And the LORD appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud;
and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
Yoshua is receiving prophetic messages in the tent.
16 And
the LORD said unto Moses: 'Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers; and
this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land,
whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant
which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be kindled
against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from
them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon
them; so that they will say in that day: Are not these evils come upon us
because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide My face in
that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are
turned unto other gods. 19 Now therefore write ye this song for you,
and teach thou it the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this
song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.
As one last act before you are gathered in with the souls of
your fathers, you are to teach the people this song (Hazinu) or our next
Parsha.
20 For
when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore unto their fathers,
flowing with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten their fill, and waxen
fat; and turned unto other gods, and served them, and despised Me, and broken
My covenant; 21 then it shall come to pass, when many evils and
troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a
witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I
know their imagination how they do even now, before I have brought them into
the land which I swore.'
This will not happen right away. In fact, it will culminate only
850 years from now on Tisha B’Av. Repentance and observance can prevent this.
22 So
Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of
Israel. 23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said: 'Be
strong and of good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into
the land which I swore unto them; and I will be with thee.' 24 And it
came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a
book, until they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites,
that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26 'Take this
book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD
your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. 27 For I
know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you
this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my
death?
This is a logic in Rabbi Yishmael’s 13principles of learn. It
is called in Hebrew a Kal V’ Chomer (of from the easy case to difficult case). It
was easier to observe when I was alive as punish was swift and the people saw it.
But how much more difficult is it to observe when I will be gone and punishment
delayed.
28 Assemble
unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak
these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against
them. 29 For I know that after my death ye will in any wise deal
corruptly, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil
will befall you in the end of days; because ye will do that which is evil in
the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him through the work of your
hands.' 30 And Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel
the words of this song, until they were finished:
The Nazi Officer who
saved 100 Jewish Families by Kylie Ora Lobel
Dr. Albert Battel
turned against Hitler and risked his life to save Jews.
https://aish.com/the-nazi-officer-who-saved-100-jewish-families/
Dr. Albert Battel
was a German loyalist. Born in the Province of Silesia in 1891, a part of the
German empire, Battel served in the German Army during World War I. The war was
devastating for Germany; the country lost 12% of its population and 13% of its land to
the Allied forces.
In the aftermath of
WWI, Battel attended the University of Berlin and the University of Breslau,
became an attorney, and practiced in Breslau, Poland (now renamed Wroclaw). As
Hitler began his ascent to power, Battel heard him speak and was inspired to
join the Nazi Party in the early 1930s, serving as a lieutenant in the
Wehrmacht army reserves.
When Battel was 51,
he was stationed in the town of Przemysl in Poland, working as the adjutant to
Major Max Liedtke, the local military commander. On July 26, 1942, the Nazis
were planning to “resettle” the Jewish ghetto there, which was a code word for
“liquidate.”
Battel couldn’t
believe his eyes: Jewish children and adults were beaten. Families were
separated from each other and sent to their death in the concentration camps.
Others were killed on the spot.
This was a moment of
truth for Battel. He so deeply loved his country, but at the same time,
liquidation was not an act of patriotism. It was murder.
Could he go through
with it?
Battel’s conscience
kicked in. Though he wanted to serve his country, he couldn’t stand idly by as
people were being beaten and killed.
He summoned Major
Max Liedke, his superior, and together, they ordered that the bridge over the
River San – the only way into the ghetto – be blocked. When the SS commando
tried to cross over to the other side, the sergeant-major tasked with
overseeing the bridge threatened to shoot the soldiers unless they retreated.
This happened in the middle of the afternoon, with the local inhabitants
watching in shock.
Later in the day,
Battel got army trucks to go into the ghetto and save 100 Jewish families. He
placed them under the protection of the Wehrmacht and they were not sent to
Belzec concentration camp, like so many others.
Sadly, the rest of
the 24,000 Jews in the town were murdered.
Following the
rebellion, the Nazis launched a secret investigation into Battel. They didn’t
make it public because the entire incident was so embarrassing. The
investigation reached the highest level of the Nazi party; Martin Borman,
Hitler’s right-hand man and chief of the Party Chancellery, read the
documentation and evidence against Battel. Heinrich Himmler, the chief
architect of the Holocaust and another high-ranking Nazi Party leader, was
going to have Battel arrested immediately after the war ended.
Not only had Battel
defied Nazi orders – he also showed kindness towards the Jews prior to this
event. Before the war, a party tribunal indicted Battel for giving a loan to a
Jewish colleague. Then, when he was serving in Przemysl, he shook hands with
Dr. Duldig, the chairman of the Jewish Council there and a friend of his from
university.
Battel had no idea
he was being investigated. He had been released from the army in 1944 because
of a heart condition and returned to Breslau. He was drafted into the
Volkssturm, a German militia that was founded right before the war ended and
under control of the Nazi Party, with Himmler serving as commander. While in
the Volkssturm, Battel was captured. After the war ended, he was released, and
he settled in West Germany.
Because the
investigation against Battel was kept secret, it was never revealed in his lifetime
that he had gone against the Nazis. Following the war, he was unable to
practice law anymore because of his affiliation with the Nazi party. He passed
away from heart disease in 1952 in Hattersheim, near Frankfurt.
In 1963, some of
Battel’s actions were revealed during a war crimes trial involving Himmler’s
records. The documents showed that Battel was called a “friend of the Jewish
people,” and the judge in the case said that Battel was a Nazi who chose
to “stand up for the
cause of human dignity.”
Later on, Dr. Zeev
Goshen, an Israeli lawyer, was researching Battel’s story. In 1981, he urged
Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, to designate
Battel as a gentile who was Righteous Among the Nations. Israeli Michael
Goldmann-Gilad, who was a teenager in the Przemyśl ghetto when Battel rescued
the families, confirmed the story.
When talking about
Battel, Goldmann-Gilad said, “We Jews knew that we had a protector in him. A
few of the people Dr. Battel took out of the ghetto survived and are in Israel.
Few like him risked their position and life out of decency and humanity.”
Another survivor, Toni Rinde, saw a photo of Battel and also confirmed how he
saved her family during the liquidation.
Today, a tree is
planted in Israel to honor Battel and his legacy. Out of thousands and
thousands, he was the one and only Nazi officer to risk his life, take a public
stand against Hitler and his evil party, and save countless precious lives in
the process.
When the Jews found Refuge in the Sikh Empire by Dr.
Yvette Alt Miller
https://aish.com/when-jews-found-refuge-in-the-sikh-empire/
A story kingdom saved the lives of hundreds of Jews.
In the first half of the 19th century, visitors to
the Sikh Empire, centered in modern-day Pakistan, were amazed by the splendor
of its royal court. London’s Victoria and
Albert Museum describes it as “one of the most magnificent in
the whole of India.” Ranjit Singh, the maharaja who ruled in opulence,
maintained a solid gold throne for state occasions, though he usually preferred
to eschew luxury and often sat on the floor with his subjects.
Ranjit Singh was a brilliant military leader and statesman
known as “The Lion of the Punjab.” He was a member of the Sikh faith, a
monotheistic religion which developed in the 1400s in the Punjab region of the
Indian subcontinent. The Sikh Empire he forged stood for 50 years, until it was
conquered by British East India forces in 1849. During Ranjit Singh’s rule, the
Sikh Empire was known for religious tolerance. In the annals of the region’s
bloody history, his rule stood out as a golden age of peace and security.
In an almost forgotten episode of both Jewish and
Sikh history, the Sikh Empire Ranjit Singh founded came to the aid of Jews in
their hour of need. In the midst of horrific anti-Jewish violence miles away,
the Sikh Empire opened its doors to Jews, helping save hundreds of lives. The
Sikh Empire became a home to a now long-forgotten Jewish community in the heart
of Pakistan’s Punjab region.
While the Sikh Empire was flourishing, over a
thousand miles to the northwest a very different region was engaged in
long-running fights and violence. In the early 1800s, the city of Mashhad -
today Iran’s third largest city - was a semi-autonomous region, buffeted by
local fighting and struggles between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
In the annals of the region’s bloody history, Ranjit
Singh’s rule stood out as a golden age of peace and security.
Regarded as a holy city by Shi’ite Muslims, no
non-Muslim was allowed to live in Mashhad. Nevertheless, Mashhad was home to a
small Jewish population who were caught up in the region’s struggles. The story
of how this unlikely Jewish community came to be was a testament to the
region's war-torn history.
Even though Mashhad was a tortuous, months-long
journey away from the regions of the Sikh Empire, the Jews of Mashhad were
intimately linked to the homeland of the Sikhs. A generation earlier, the
fearsome Persian ruler Nader Shah had conquered the Punjab region, as well as
other vast swathes of territory in India. Known for his bloody cruelty, Nader
Shah tortured and killed his enemies with abandon - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and
others - and plundered as many priceless riches as he could from the Indian
subcontinent.
Shah brought his treasures back to Mashhad for
safekeeping. There was only one problem: Nader Shah was a Sunni Muslim and the
majority of the population of Mashhad were members of the Shi’ite branch of
Islam. He feared that local Shi’ites would turn on him and steal his riches.
So, in 1741, Shah turned to nearby Jewish communities, forcing scores of Jewish
families from their homes and communities to move to Mashhad, where they were
compelled to guard his spoils.
The fact that Mashhad, as a holy Muslim city, was
closed to non-Muslims didn’t bother Shah at all: He ordered a special quarter
constructed for the Jews, separating them from the rest of the city. This
ghetto was known as the “Idgah,” or “place of celebrations.” The Jews were
considered dhimmis, people who were tolerated but had to put up
with a lesser status than the Muslim majority, display obsequiousness to their
Muslim betters, and pay special taxes.
For over 90 years, the Jews of Mashhad nonetheless
flourished, building a vibrant community filled with a central synagogue,
Jewish schools, and cultural institutions. Many of Mashhad's Jews worked as
international traders, bringing vital industry to their corner of Persia. Yet
they were often barely tolerated, resented for their separate religion and for
their material success by their Muslim neighbors.
Anti-Jewish sentiment in Mashhad finally boiled over
on March 27, 1839, two days before the start of Passover. Local Shi’ite Muslims
had just celebrated a Muslim festival remembering the death of Imam Hussein,
founder of the Shi’ite sect of Islam. Religious fervor was bubbling throughout
the Muslim neighborhoods. Tragically, all it took was the actions of one
teenage boy to bring it to a violent pitch.
A Jewish woman had consulted a local Muslim doctor
about ways to cure what he diagnosed as a case of leprosy. Bizarrely, the
doctor advised her to use dog blood as part of a cure. When he heard this, a
local Muslim teenaged boy began yelling that a Jewish woman had taken a dog and
named it Hussein, like the founder of their religion. Anu: The Museum of the
Jewish People, in Tel Aviv, describes what happened next: …try and visualize
the picture. Thousands of Muslims are observing the (religious holiday) in the
mosques, which includes self-flagellation and bloodletting to commemorate the
suffering of their holy one, Hussein. And at the height of this ecstatic
ritual, they hear that the dhimmi, who were residents of inferior status - and
in this case the Jews - had dared to disrespect one of the holiest Muslims by
naming a dog Hussein….
Shi’ite Muslims rampaged through the Jewish ghetto,
attacking everyone they could find. The attackers raped Jewish women, kidnapped
Jewish children, and murdered over 30 Jews during the pogrom. They burned down
the town’s synagogue and stole Jewish property as they devastated the
community. Finally, the attackers gave the Jews of Mashhad a devastating
choice: either convert to Islam en masse, or else the mob would kill the Jews’
children.
About 300 of Mashhad’s Jews converted
to Islam; local Muslims called it the Allahdad, or “God’s justice.”
For generations, the Jewish community maintained their Jewish traditions and
way of life in secret, much like the secret Jews of Spain during the
Inquisition. Hundreds of Jews fled. Given their region’s historic links with
the Punjab area, and the well-known openness of the Sikh Empire which ruled the
Punjab at the time, many Jews fleeing Mashhad sought refuge there, particularly
in the city of Rawalpindi, near the present-day Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Once in Rawalpindi, the
fleeing Jews of Mashhad settled in Rawalpindi's Babu Mohallah neighborhood. It
was located close to the city’s main railway station, so it was an ideal
location from which to continue working in international trade.
Transplanted to a new land, the Jews of Mashhad were
no longer barely-tolerated hated interlopers as they had been back in Persia;
in the Sikh Empire, these desperate Jewish refugees now enjoyed a level of
security and respect they'd never had in Mashhad. The Jewish refugees built a
beautiful synagogue and a communal hall in Rawalpindi, and flourished for over
a century. Ranjit Singh, who founded the Sikh Empire, died in the same year
that his kingdom welcomed Mashhad's Jews. Yet his legacy of openness and
tolerance.
Jews remained in Rawalpindi long
after the death of the Sikh Empire in 1849. Yet the tolerance and acceptance
that the Sikh Empire showed to these desperate refugees should never be
forgotten. In a terrible moment of deadly danger, the Sikh Empire opened its
doors, saving the lives of hundreds of Jews.
With the partition of the Indian subcontinent into
two nations, Pakistan and India, in 1947, most of the area’s Jews fled to
India, settling predominately in Bombay, and later moving to Israel. Nearly all
of the Jews who remained in Rawalpindi left in the 1960s.
Saif Tahir, a writer in Pakistan, visited the old
Jewish neighborhood in Rawalpindi in 2016 and found it completely devoid of
Jews; locals were too afraid to even talk about the Jews who once lived in
their city. He did find one old synagogue that was still standing; the exterior
of the building was adorned with Jewish stars of David. Tahir noted that it
looked much like a synagogue in India built by Jews from Iraq and Iran in the
1800s.
The haven that the Jews of Mashhad found in 1839,
when Rawalpindi was part of a progressive, open Sikh Empire, is long gone. The
welcome and safety that they received there, when Rawalpindi was part of an
expansive and open Sikh Empire, deserve to be remembered today.
Miracle Minyan. Our Minyan started during Corona outside with two
alternative spots for rain in the winter. For Mincha-Maariv we usually have of
pool of 22 people and we stopped the Shachris Minyan as it began getting too
hard to maintain on a daily basis with people floating in too late.
Thursday Sept. 7th, It looked like Mincha of 21st
of Elul and Maariv of the 22nd of Elul was going to be two short.
Sudden Eli, who was supposed to be on deliveries for his business showed up.
Eli grabbed two young fellows from the street and we prayed 4 minutes after
sunset. Then for Kaddish we grabbed another fellow instead of the two that had
left. A father of a boy praying with us came home from work and we made it.
Rabbi Schatz told me this was a real miracle Minyan today.
From Sherlyn. Former vice president at Pfizer,
Dr. Mike Yeadon: "When the UN, and Bill Gates, and Klaus Schwab tell you
that you won't be travelling, you won't have a private car, there won't be any
flights, you won't own anything and you'll be happy, you probably won't live in
your own house… When they tell you that, you should assume that they're serious
about it."
The most popular song today in
Israel. Keren Shemesh a ray of sun (and hope). He is apolitical in the
happenings around us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP6Vm9c4e2Y
Milestone: Shabtai Shavit, 84,
former head of the Mossad. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376593
Milestone: Bill Pinkney, 87, first Blackman
to circle the earth was a Jewish Sailor. https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-sailor-bill-pinkney-first-black-person-to-circle-the-globe-solo-dies-at-87/
Inyanay Diyoma
Sept 2nd
Netanyahu seeking to deport a number
of Eritreans. 170 injured including many police in clubbing of rival groups and
bricks brought as munition. Hospitals had to separate the red shirts from the
blue shirts. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-757256
Damage: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376438
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday
denied ultra-Orthodox reports he was preparing for the collapse of his
government in return for a US-backed
normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-757170
Hamas,
Jihad meet with Nasrallah for united front. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-757303
Vitamins
C and E might help spread Cancer. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-757233
NYPD
may use drones like Israelis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376435
A 98-year-old man
has been charged in Germany with being an accessory to murder as a guard at the
Nazi Sachsenhausen concentration camp. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376434
Member of proud boys gets 10years. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376430
The Prime Minister's Office denied Friday that a
decision was made on the instructions of the Minister of National Security
Ben-Gvir to the Israel Prison Service to limit the visits of security
prisoners' families. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376427
Riots on Gaza Border. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376433
The IDF reports that a short while ago, IDF and
Israel Border Police forces conducted counterterrorism activity in the town of
Aqabah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376409
Weekly protests. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-september-2-2023/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/tycoon-mohamed-al-fayed-whose-son-was-killed-in-princess-diana-crash-dies-at-94/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/insurgents-in-northwest-syria-kill-at-least-9-soldiers-as-fighting-surges/
Sept 3rd
Deporting illegals on the agenda. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376459
Golan – 15 dictators on Supreme
Court. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376456
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who also served as
Energy Secretary and United Nations ambassador under the Clinton
administration, has died at the age of 75. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376454
N. Korea tactical nuclear drill. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376455
Iran's air force has received a batch of advanced
Russian combat trainer jets to "improve the training and combat capability
of the air force", AFP reported on Saturday, citing local media. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376458
Boy am I glad this is Bush’s
“Religion of Peace” I would hate it if this was one of Jihad.
At the request of National Security Minister
Itamar Ben-Gvir, and with the assent of the Interior Ministry and the
Prosecutor's Office, most of the detainees from the riots that occurred
yesterday in southern Tel Aviv will continue to be held in administrative
detention, even with a relatively low level of evidence. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376473
3rd squadron of F-35
being purchase. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376479
Border Police officers arrested an Arab terrorist
who threw a pipe bomb at Rachel's Tomb. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376463
IDF soldiers from the Golani Reconnaissance and
Duvdivan units are operating this morning (Monday) to arrest wanted terrorists
in the Jenin refugee camp. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376517
Sept 4th
Raid in Jenin. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyzymgm02#autoplay
Chief Justice is compromised on
reasonability law. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376516
6 Israeli men arrested for raping a
British Tourist (3rd accusation by a British Female against
Israelis). https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1whfqqr2
Daughter of IDF Capt. Born in
Bergen-Belsen who saved soldier’s gets the thanks. https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/rjub0wma3
American Samoa Island is sinking. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/hy006cypth
IDF destroys an outpost is helping
terrorist. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376514
We will rebuild and rebuild again
and again. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-757456
View Eritrean rioters one with gun. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376511
Another earth-like planet might be
in the Kuiper Belt. https://www.jpost.com/science/space/article-757346
Homo Erectus family walks on all
four? https://www.jpost.com/science/article-756977
Israel could be part of regional and European solutions to
fiber optics and natural gas linked to the Arab world. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-757437
Israeli-Iranian Movie. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-757418
Ukrainian Defense Minister relieved
of duty. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-757438
Aug 5th
Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Ayin, the police officer who
was stabbed by a terrorist in the Old City of Jerusalem on Monday evening. The terrorist has been arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376551
Associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
clarified in a conversation with Israel National News on Monday night that there
are no agreements regarding the judicial reform. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376550
Jill Biden has new variant of Covid.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376555
3 injured as car crashes into Bar. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376554
Ganz leads Netanyahu in new poll. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376544
Explosives captured at Gaza
Crossing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376543
Illegal infiltrator with pistol
arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376569
The Finance Ministry, under the instruction of
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism), has found a solution to
a decades-old problem which until now has prevented Israel from collecting the
Palestinian Authority's (PA) debts to Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376563
Baal HaTanya’s birthday, many visit
his grave. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376561
IDF and Israel Border Police Forces targeted a
building that contained several ready-to-use explosive devices and served as a
headquarters for wanted suspects in the Nur Shams Camp. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376564
Eastern Syria Unit 127 in the Hezbollah
organization took command of the production and transportation of Iranian
drones from Syria to Russia. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards established a
number of production and assembly facilities for Iranian drones on Syrian soil,
the drones that arrive disassembled from Iran through Iraq to Syria are
assembled under the close supervision of elements from the Hezbollah
organization (Unit 127). An assembly facility is located at the Syrian Air Force
base T-4, another one (of two) located in the Panorama area in the Deir ez-Zor
district. (Abu Saleh)
https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/09/04/musk-fuels-white-supremacist-ban-adl-campaign-social-media/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-aide-to-first-gentleman-emhoff-set-to-lead-us-back-into-unesco/
Aug 6th
Terrorist arrested by undercover
soldiers. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-757770
169 https://www.timesofisrael.com/two-men-gunned-down-in-galilee-near-site-of-august-quadruple-murder/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ethiopian-israeli-says-police-at-rally-ignored-his-grave-burns/
Saudi-Israeli still not ripe. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376599
ADL against toxic Musk. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376601
Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio was sentenced
on Tuesday to 22 years in prison. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376592
The “Israeli” men in
Cyprus on rape are Druze from a pro-Assad area.
At my age walking and
balancing are starting to be a problem but this Senator older than I can do the
side-step dance. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sidestepped
questions about his health. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376595
Dozens of Rabbis signed a letter calling on the
public to come and participate in the right-wing rally that will be held this
week. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376575
A month delay and terrorist’s house
not destroyed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376583
Terrorist who shot border policeman
is a Shachid. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376577
Tulkarem smugglers worked for Jihad.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376571
Lunatic/terrorist tried to open
flight door. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-757740
Leaked info ruined compromise. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-757673
Human slavery in Brazil. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-757756
Early humans made limestone spheres.
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-757748
The U.S. Embassy in
Jerusalem is repeating this important message from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv for
your information and preparedness. We strongly support Embassy Kyiv’s
warning against travel to Ukraine for any purpose.
Message for U.S. Citizens Considering Travel to Uman,
Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah
Security Alert:
U.S. Embassy Jerusalem
Location: Israel, the West Bank,
and Gaza
Event: The U.S. Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens do
not travel to Ukraine. This recommendation applies to U.S. citizens
considering travel to Uman during Rosh Hashanah for the pilgrimage to the grave
of Rebbe Nachman.
Since the start of the war in
Ukraine, all parts of the country have experienced Russian airstrikes hitting
civilian buildings and critical infrastructure, including houses of worship,
often with little or no warning. Uman has been the site of multiple
Russian missile attacks as recent as June. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv
continues to operate with reduced staffing and has limited capacity to assist
U.S. citizens in Ukraine.
The State Department’s Current Travel Advisory for Ukraine Is
Level 4: Do Not Travel
Sept. 7th
Kushner-Graham urge Trump to back
Israel-Saudi deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376653
Mexico leading party chooses former
Jewish Mayor to be presidential candidate. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376650
Must protect Joshua’s Mizbayach. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376657
Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on the podcast of an
influencer known for his broadsides against the Jews, including accusing them
of owning “almost everything,” in the upstart Republican presidential
candidate’s latest dustup involving Jewish issues. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376655
2 wounded in stabbing in
Yerushalayim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376628
4 Roman swords found from Bar Kochbar
Period. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376611
Caroline Glick: "Oslo is the
DNA of Israel's strategic thinking."
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376619
It has been cleared for publication that a plane
carrying 12 Israelis traveling from Dubai to Singapore unexpectedly landed in
Malaysia, a country that Israel does not have diplomatic relations with.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376629
https://www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-investments-in-israel-plunged-60-in-1st-quarter-this-year/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-leading-kosher-authority-orthodox-union-certifies-lab-grown-meat/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/09/06/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-throws-first-matzah-ball-pitch-mets-game-jewish-heritage-day/
When smoking not only hurts your
health but becomes too expensive. An unspecified number of passengers
aboard a flight from Tel Aviv to Athens were detained by Greek authorities on
Wednesday for smoking on the flight following an unscheduled landing in
Thessaloniki due to weather conditions. https://www.timesofisrael.com/passengers-aboard-tel-aviv-athens-flight-detained-for-smoking-on-plane/
Shabbos marks 53years on
the secular calendar of my Aliyah which was Tet B’ Elul.
Motzei Shabbos we start
saying Selichos.
Have a healthy, peaceful
and restful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
