A little Administration Trivia. The following post did not go through on a few groups on Facebook. IT SEEMS THAT FACEBOOK DID NOT LIKE SOMETHING ON PARSHA TAZRIA PART 1 AND PASSOVER WITH THE 4 MIRACLES SO LOOK BACK IN THE BLOGSPOT AKA DRASHA FOR
This year turns out to
be a unit of 19years since the Six Day War. Bechukosai always falls close to or
just before the anniversary of the Six Day War. 26:8 And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you
shall chase ten thousand. We celebrate this week Yom Yerushalayim or the
freeing of the old city and Har HaBeis from the nations of the world. Only we
had a pork-eating Defense Minister who gave back the keys to the Arab Wafq. He
was afraid that the Orthodox might G-D forbid demand the Temple be rebuilt. The
opportunity was there and he threw it away against HASHEM. Still as Orthodox
Jewish we should give thanks and say Hallel with or without a Bracha as
miracles did happen. In fact down below I wrote up a very condensed details of
some miracles in our own day.
The Molad of the month of Sivan is Friday Morning
followed by Rosh Chodesh.
Parsha Bechukosai
Throughout the last few
Parshiyos, we have been advised to keep the commandments. This week we come up
with a new concept of reward and punishment. If you do or if you go against the
Torah we have seen such an occurrence with the Egel HaZahav (golden calf).
26:3 If
ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; 4 then
I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce,
and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
The Torah is your contract and your Mitzvos are
fulfilling the contract. This is what happens to those who observe regarding
rains, produce of the field and fruit. The people are free from Egypt and now
everybody will have his own parcel of land. Will the person want a trade to
move to the city or stay in the country with a trade and a farm? Also one will
have security to follow the Mitzvos.
5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and
the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread until
ye have enough, and dwell in your land safely.
Observing also means sufficient income and living
in safety.
6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie
down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease out
of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
All evil beasts whether mammals, reptiles, insects
and more shall not bother you and an enemy sword (in modern terms – rocket,
drone, RPG, gun, grenade, etc.).
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall
before you by the sword.
This Parsha always falls close to the time of the
Six Day War. Such miracles happened.
8 And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred
of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the
sword.
During the Six Day War the total population of
the Arabs was about 75 to 1 over Israel and we won.
9 And I will have respect unto you, and make you
fruitful, and multiply you; and will establish My covenant with
you. 10 And ye shall eat old store long kept, and ye shall bring
forth the old from before the new.
You will have so much produce that you will have
spare. The wine will mellow and your olive oil will be plenty.
11 And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul
shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your
God, and ye shall be My people.
You love ME and MY Commandments and you will be
MY people.
13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of
the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the
bars of your yoke, and made you go upright. 14 But if ye will not
hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments;
The nations will have no power over you. The IJC
and ICC and US shall not bother you or dare tell you how to behave.
15 and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul
abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My
covenant; 16 I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over
you, even consumption and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul
to languish; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat
it.
However, if you become ‘wise-guys’ and forget
about ME and the commandments. Then I will take away MY special Hashgacha. You
will not only not be protected.
17 And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be
smitten before your enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye
shall flee when none pursues you.
In fact, you will not be protected, but you shall
be in such a shaky security situation that you shall be in fear and flee when
nobody pursues you. A SPECIAL SECURITY WORD. TRUST IN
HASHEM. IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY ON SUNDAY TWO WOMEN RUNNING TO THE SHELTER
FELL AND WERE INJURED. SENIORS LIKE MYSELF HAVE A MINUTE AND A HALF TO GET TO
THE SHELTER. EVEN IN MY PRIVATE HOME, I HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO WALK/LIMP TO THE
SHELTER 18 STEPS DOWN TO THE BASEMENT AND CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR.
18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto
Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I
will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and
your earth as brass.
You will be punished by no rain and cannot plow.
Either you will release who is the RULER/MASTER of the World or you will find
out the hard way.
20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your
land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield
their fruit.
If you read by book review one could realize in
the reading how the Jewish Slaves of Auschwitz worked hard for an insufficient
amount of food. Pulling out gold from the teeth of the dead, taking about
clothing or tooth paste for hidden diamonds or money to be given to the Reich.
Such would be the agriculture in Eretz Yisrael of the people abhorring the
Mitzvos as stated further as the punishments get worse in this chapter.
21 And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken
unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your
sins. 22 And I will send the beast of the field among you, which
shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in
number; and your ways shall become desolate. 23 And if in spite of
these things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto
Me; 24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you,
even I, seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon
you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered
together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye
shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your
staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall
deliver your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be
satisfied.
At first you will have partial starvation.
27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, but
walk contrary unto Me; 28 then I will walk contrary unto you in fury;
and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins.
The first punishment was educational to bring
about repentance, but if you will not repent then the educational punishment
from love turns to angry and fury.
29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the
flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30 And I will destroy your high
places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and cast your carcasses upon the
carcasses of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.
Worship idols and you will eat the carcasses of
your children or in the case of the Midrash on the second Mikdash of your
parents. Midrash Eycha.
31 And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring
your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.
You want to bring Korbanos but they will not be
accepted.
32 And I will bring the land into desolation; and your
enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Vegetation will die and what was once green will
be brown and dust and trees and vineyards will die. Olive groves will wither.
33 And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will
draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your
cities shall be a waste.
You will be sent into exile.
34 Then shall the land be paid her sabbaths, as long as
it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land
rest, and repay her sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall
have rest; even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon
it.
You didn’t observe Shabbos or Shmita properly
then the land will rebel against you.
36 And as for them that are left of you, I will send a
faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a
driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword;
and they shall fall when none pursues.
All the Goy has to do is stamp his feet or curl a
fist and you shall flee and he is doing so as a joke.
37 And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were
before the sword, when none pursues; and ye shall have no power to stand before
your enemies.
You will be in panic from the Goyim even if you
are not pursued.
38 And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land
of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And they that are left of you
shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the
iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 And
they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their
treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked
contrary unto Me. 41 I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring
them into the land of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised
heart be humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity;
Finally, the few remnants of Bnei Yisrael will do
Teshuva a movement similar to my generation that was so lost and broken among
the nations started to return to Torah. The rebellion of my Reform Ancestors
had come to an end and the organ music and choir on Friday Night did not draw
my generation into the “Free Synagogue”.
42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also
My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and
I will remember the land. 43 For the land shall lie forsaken without
them, and shall be paid her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them; and
they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they
rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 And
yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject
them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My
covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for
their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out
of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I
am the LORD. 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which
the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand
of Moses.
From the first Mikdash the main exile was mostly
70 years but from the second Mikdash the groundless hatred had to be dealt with
for a longer period. It took being placed in cattle cars and bunkers filled
with lice and other problems with murder rampant or being shoved into the same
tank or half-track with your political and religious opposites to awaken a bond
between men that the
27:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When
a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according to thy
valuation,
This whole section is about dedicating the value
of oneself to the Temple by vow. It also teaches us the value of one who sells
himself to a master if he becomes too poor. One can dedicate animals or a house
within a city to the Temple.
Our Sefer ends with charity vows to the
Mishkan/Mikdash and the value of humans if sold into slavery. Today if we
estimate a Shekel at 96 or 100 grams of silver that is less than four ounces of
silver. In western society what is it for 3.428 x 50 x even the highest recent
value of $34 or $5,827.60 to sell oneself into servitude and a female only x 30
or a person my age x 15 instead of 50. One has to go according to relativity to
understand such a society.
In fact, if I go back in time to the first year I
was alive, a ride for an adult on the New York Subway was a nickel. A think
glass bottle of coke was a nickel. A very good salary for a person with
experience was around $7.500 a year and a PhD or expert MD might make $20,000 a
year. There was a book 7.5cents that was made into a play and a movie called
the Pajama Game. The workers sing a song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHxpbHiOess
Where they dream of the money they can have in
20years if they save it.
3 then thy valuation shall be for the male
from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be
fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if
it be a female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels.
That was a nice sum of money and it went pretty
far in those days. A small apartment in Israel at the time the State was formed
was about 3,000 Shekels in Tel Aviv or less than $800. That two or three room
flat today would be many hundreds of thousands of dollars or more due to the
location. 85 to 80years ago in the Holocaust a Jew could not even sell himself
to a non-Jew.
5 And if it be from five years old even unto
twenty years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and
for the female ten shekels.
In today’s terms it is a small fee, but in a poor
agricultural society it was a sum of money. Remember, a Ketuvah for one’s wife
or widow was 200 Shekels which would be perhaps in our terms $1,000,000 such a
sum was supposed to sustain her all her widowhood until she passed on. Perhaps
it was even more that that in value today.
6 And if it be from a month old even unto
five years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male five shekels of
silver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of
silver.
This is the root of paying 5 Shekels or US Silver
Dollars to the Cohain for the first-born redemption.
7 And if it be from sixty years old and
upward: if it be a male, then thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for
the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be too poor for thy valuation,
then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him;
according to the means of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
A person my age has wisdom and experience but
cannot physically work like a man under 60. We are slower, fumble, need more
rests to breathe. Our working in the field or even as a carpenter, smith,
tailor or other professions that existed then are not the same speed and
strength of the younger man. I saw my father-in-law Zal carry into his butcher
shop a quarter of a slaughtered cow or bull at the age of 60 or more. But when
he reached retirement age, he sold the shop. By the time he was 90 he was happy
if he could move himself from place to place. That is the way of the world. My
father-in-law up until a few weeks before his passing made himself useful by
opening and closing the Synagogue on the Moshav where he lived and purchasing
the food for the third Shabbos Meal and bringing it to the Synagogue. The
left-over bread that was too much for him, he fed to the cows.
9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an
offering unto the LORD, all that any man gives of such unto the LORD shall be
holy. 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a
bad for a good; and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then both it and
that for which it is changed shall be holy.
Once one puts aside an animal for a Korban, it is
dedicated and cannot be changed as it is now holy even if he just found a
fatter or stronger animal.
11 And if it be any unclean beast, of which
they may not bring an offering unto the LORD, then he shall set the beast
before the priest. 12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be
good or bad; as thou the priest values it, so shall it be. 13 But if
he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy
valuation.
A dog is forbidden and perhaps dangerous animals
with paws such as bears and wild cats (lions, tigers). But one can bring a
racing horse, mule, donkey and standard non-kosher farm animals that are valuable
and redeem their worth. We see that Yacov sent to Esav a number of milk-camels.
14 And when a man shall sanctify his house
to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall value it, whether it be good or
bad; as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. 15 And if he
that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of
the money of thy valuation unto it, and it shall be his.
So if you happen to own a house that is worth for
argument sake $100,000 you would have to pay to the Mikdash $120,000 to redeem
it. If the price was $500,000 then $600,000 to the Mikdash.
16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD
part of the field of his possession, then thy valuation shall be according to
the sowing thereof; the sowing of an omer of barley shall be valued at fifty
shekels of silver.
This is the basis for our evaluation. If the
field produces 10 Omer of Barley then it is worth 500 shekels.
17 If he sanctify his field from the year of
jubilee, according to thy valuation it shall stand.
Whatever was the evaluation during the Yovel that
is the cost basis.
18 But if he sanctify his field after the
jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years
that remain unto the year of jubilee, and an abatement shall be made from thy
valuation.
The field is redeemed as if 1-49 years remain
until the Yovel.
19 And if he that sanctified the field will
indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy
valuation unto it, and it shall be assured to him. 20 And if he will
not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not
be redeemed any more.
From reading this, I would not advise a man to
devote his hereditary field to the Mikdash unless he just happened to have cash
on hand to redeem it. For if devoted, then sold it cannot be redeemed. One is
playing with fire for his ancestral story rights.
21 But the field, when it goes out in the
jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession
thereof shall be the priest's. 22 And if he sanctify unto the LORD a
field which he hath bought, which is not of the field of his
possession; 23 then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy
valuation unto the year of jubilee; and he shall give thy valuation in that
day, as a holy thing unto the LORD. 24 In the year of jubilee the
field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the
possession of the land belongs. 25 And all thy valuations shall be
according to the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs shall be the
shekel.
He has to pay the value to the Mikdash
26 Howbeit the firstling among beasts, which
is born as a firstling to the LORD, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox
or sheep, it is the LORD'S. 27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then
he shall ransom it according to thy valuation, and shall add unto it the fifth
part thereof; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy
valuation.
The first-born kosher animal belongs to the Cohain.
One Mitzvah that is rare is the redemption of a donkey or other non-kosher
animals.
28 Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a
man may devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or
of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing
is most holy unto the LORD. 29 None devoted, that may be devoted of
men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death. 30 And all
the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the
tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will
redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part
thereof. 32 And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever
passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
10% of the new born animals go to the Mikdash.
33 He shall not inquire whether it be good
or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he change it at all, then both it
and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
The new born animals are counted. Number ten is
sent to the Maaser Pen.
34 These are the commandments, which the
LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit
Chazak
The hidden miracle in a tragedy. By Rachamim Pauli
If I heard right this
occurred on Jan.6th. The Engineering Unit has prepared to blow up a
series of tunnels in Gaza. The operation is delayed that the press can come in
and view the tunnel shafts about to be blown up. The tunnels are packed with
explosives. The unit has not slept all night and it is late in the afternoon
near sunset. There is a unit wiring up a tunnel deep in the earth and 10
soldiers instead of 4 are wiring together the explosives or dealing with them.
The “tough-guy” actor, Amedi, is with 4 other soldiers returning explosives to
a van.
They have been in one
place too long and enemy soldiers or snipers are firing at them. A tank from
the 188th division spots the source and fires a shell hitting the
enemy. Another shell is fired but it hits a lamp post and live electrical wires
hit the explosive lead wire. Six soldiers die outright and Amedi is burnt and
injured.
All the tunnels blow
up except one. The explosives have not yet been hooked up to the others. Inside
the tunnel is six IDF Soldiers who miraculously survive the blasts and their
own explosives do not go off.
Book Review
The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland.
It is not my habit to
recommend books. This is the first Holocaust Book that is readable and one does
not get horrified immediately on the spot. It starts out with the background of
a young man from his early teens and the gradual Nazification of Slovakia. He
knows Czech, Slovak, German and some Hungarian. Maybe he learned other languages
but he and other Jews have been forced out the school system. He is supposed to
be sent to a work camp. He escapes to Hungary but has to return to Slovakia to
get papers that he is a non-Jew from the resistance. On his way to get the
papers, he makes a mistake and is sent to the work camp he tried to avoid.
There is a transport
train leaving the camp and he joins it but in ends up in Auschwitz. The
description of the happenings in Auschwitz and Birkenau are introduced to us
slowly by the author as if the 18year old puts two and two together. Unlike
other Holocaust books, we are not introduced early into the killing machine but
slowly. Walter/Rudolf realizes this and a few pages on realizes that in such a
way that the reader can stomach what is going on.
He has a few miracles
and a lot of Hashgacha (guidance from above) that keeps him alive even when he
was once sent to the left. It is not my purpose at this time to tell the
miracles and I am close to half-way through; but if I read in my spare time [similar
to the Vilna Gaon] more than a quarter of the book in a week, it is excellent.
Two more miraculous occurrences:
A Lt. Col. Was
interview in the hospital on Tuesday. I did not get his name but he said
something to the effect that if the bullet that struck me was a cm to the right
or to the left, you would probably be interviewing my widow.
The mother of Amit
Buskila was interviewed on TV regarding her daughter’s rescue. The girl was
brought up by her uncle and mother. The uncle is so non-religious that he said
with the mother the first Pasuk of the Shema without a head covering. The
mother, at least since Simchas Torah has her head and body covered like a
Charedi. She was busy saying Tehillim for her daughter every day.
A short time before
Amit’s body was found, the soldier who recovered the body had a dream. In the
dream, Amit told the soldier where he would find her body in a blue bag behind
sandbags. She told the soldier that she wanted to give her mother peace of
mind.
“For Mama!” Both stories were on
Channel 12 TV.
Most extraordinary
opportunity refused! By R. Yerachmiel Tilles
https://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5784/1381-38.html
A certain merchant who was a chasid of Rabbi Aharon-Leib of
Premishlan [1] had occasion to pass through Lyzhansk in the course of
business. It would be a pity, he thought, to be so far from home and not to
utilize this opportunity to visit one of the towering figures of the
generation, the Rebbe Rebbe Elimelech of Lyzhansk, In order to be able to
do this in a clear and focused frame of mind, he first settled his various
business affairs in the district, and arranged to be back in town for Shabbos.
On Friday morning, after immersing himself in the mikveh (ritual
bath), he went to greet the Rebbe.
Rebbe Elimelech welcomed him, and then said: "Are you not one of the
chasidim of Rabbi Aharon Leib of Premishlan? Tell me, now, why is your Rebbe so
conceited?"
And Rebbe Elimelech repeated the phrase in the hearing of all those who
happened to be present: "So conceited! So conceited!"
And not only then, but again and again at each of the Shabbos meals -
until the merchant's joy at the privilege of meeting the exalted tzadik turned
to distress.
Nor did his departure from Lyzhansk lighten his burden, for when he came
to Rebbe Elimelech to receive his parting blessings, he was told: "When
you come home, please tell your Rebbe in my name that he should not be so
conceited."
His arrival home threw him into a quandary. Rabbi Aharon Leib was certain
to ask him, as he always did whenever his chasidim came home from a journey,
whether he had anything of interest to report. He would have to say that he had
met Rebbe Elimelech. Rabbi Aharon Leib would then ask, naturally enough,
whether he had seen or heard anything noteworthy or quotable. He would then
have to say…
But how could he ever bring himself to mouth such words? At length,
realizing that there was no way out of fulfilling the explicit instruction of
Rebbe Elimelech, he spoke to his Rebbe and withheld nothing.
"Woe is me!" said Rabbi Aharon Leib. "Who knows how I have
sinned in the sight of G-d, and what blemish the tzadik has discerned in me?
Indeed, I am in such a sorry state that I do not even sense what my sin is, and
therefore do not even know how to go about repenting!"
Calling in his wife, he said: "The tzadik of Lyzhansk sees that I am
a sinner. I must journey there at once to find out from him in what way I have
transgressed, otherwise I will not know how to repent. But the road to Lyzhansk
is a long, long road, and even when I finally arrive there I know I will no
longer have the strength to look after myself."
The rebbetzin assured him that she would share the rigors
of the journey with him and see to his needs. They hired a wagon, trundled
along for six whole says, and arrived at Lyzhansk just in time for Shabbos. A
sinner such as himself, thought Rabbi Aharon Leib, would certainly not be
granted admission to the Friday night table of the tzadik, so he asked his wife
to go out to the market place to buy a bottle of wine and two loaves of challah,
while he himself went off to find the local mikveh, so that he could immerse
himself for purity's sake in honor of the holy day.
Entering the rebbe's house, he found himself among hundreds of chasidim
who were also waiting to receive his greeting of Shalom. He made his way
through the crowd and extended his hand to receive the rebbe's handshake, being
careful to keep his head bowed so that the tzadik should not see his face.
Rebbe Elimelech, however, sensed at once that this was Rabbi Aharon Leib, and
wanted to call him back, but the guest had already hurried off to his lodging
place. From there he went to a nearby shul for evening prayers, then back to
his modest little room, there to sing Shalom Aleichem, the hymn
that welcomes the ministering angels who on Shabbat eve accompany every Jew on
his way back from shul.
At the same time, Rebbe Elimelech asked his shames (attendant)
and his chasidim to search through the whole town until the found the guest
from Premishlan. When they returned without having found him, Rebbe Elimelech
stood up and protested: "A guest of the stature of Rabbi Aharon Leib is
here with us in town; will I not have him at my table for Shabbos?!"
He again gave the order that his chasidim were to search through the whole
of Lyzhansk, from house to house, room by room, until they found this same
Rabbi Aharon Leib, and to inform him that he himself would not sit down to
conduct his Friday night this ('table' opened to the
public after they first finished their own meal) until his guest joined him
there.
Again they set out, and searched once more, until they found him at his
lodgings in the low-roofed cottage of a penniless melamed (teacher)
on the outskirts of town.
They gave him the message and brought him to the rebbe's table, where
Rebbe Elimelech expressed his delight at his arrival by giving him a seat of
honor by his side. Surprisingly, though, several times in the course of the
meal he said: "Who would believe that Rabbi Aharon Leib should be so
conceited!"
And, as before, not once, but at every one of the Shabbos meals he
repeated this comment in public.
When the day of rest was over Rabbi Aharon Leib called on the Rebbe in
order to take his leave - but first to find out just what was the conceit that
he had perceived.
"Why, is there any conceit greater than this?" answered Rebbe
Elimelech. "On many occasions Eliyahu the Prophet has come to me with the
complaint that you do not want to learn Torah from his mouth. He, the Prophet
Eliyahu, wanted to teach you Torah, and you refuse! Think how many tzadikim have
longed and yearned for this privilege - and you decline the offer! In any case,
I promised Eliyahu that I would try to persuade you to change your mind."
"I apologize that even after your persuasion," answered Rabbi
Aharon Leib, "I cannot agree."
"Why so?" asked his host.
"Because my desire," said the guest, "is to do my own hard
work in the study of the Torah. For how does King David express it? 'When you
eat of the labor of your hands, happy shall you be, and it shall be well with
you." (Psalms 128:2)
"And the same lesson we learn in the Talmud: 'The Torah truly becomes
the possession only of him who gives his very life in the effort of its study.'
For this reason I have not been taught by him, not will I be taught by him. I
will only pray to the Almighty that He give me the strength to toil always in
the study of his Torah."
The tzadik gave him his blessing, and Rabbi Aharon Leib made his way back
to Premishlan, where he continued to serve his Maker by an honest day's labor,
day by day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Modified and supplemented by R. Yerachmiel Tilles from the
English edition of Sipurei Chasidim. The original Hebrew was
composed and published by a leading Torah GIANT of the 20th century, Rabbi
Shlomo-Yosef ("Shay") Zevin [1890-1978] in 1955. [The
translation into English by Reb Uri Kaplan was published by Artscroll in 1980
and titled by them "A Treasury of Chasidic Tales."]
As an introduction to the above story, Rav Zevin reports (and R. Kaplan
translates):
I encountered this story in a manuscript written by the hand of Rabbi Raphael
Wolf of Skoli, Galicia, who died in Jerusalem early in 1929 at the age of
ninety years plus. Rabbi Raphael heard it from an elder chasid of repute by the
name of Rabbi Alter of Yazlivitz, who heard it from the mouth of the tzadik Rabbi
Meir of Premishlan (who died in 1850), son of Rabbi Aharon Leib, the protagonist
of this story.
Why this week? See the first three words of this week's Torah reading, Bechukosai,
with the explanation of Rashi. See also the next-to-last Mishna in this week's
chapter of Perkei Avos, 5:21. (See also the last clause in
Avos 4:10)
Biographical notes:
Rabbi Aharon-Leib of Premishlan [? - 2 Adar 1783] was the son of an elder
disciple of the Baal Shem tov. He himself was a follower of Rabbi Yehiel-Michil
of Zlotchov and then the Rebbe Eliemelech of Lyzhansk, and the father of the
very well-known and wildly popular tzadik and Chasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Meir of
Premishlan, whom he named for his deceased father.
Rebbe Elimelech of
Lyzhansk [5477 - 21 Adar 5547 (1717 - March 1787)], was (along with his
brother, Reb Zusha) a major disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch,
successor to the Baal Shem Tov as the leading Rebbe of the
subsequent generation in Poland-Galitzia, most of the great Chassidic dynasties
from that region stem from his disciples. His book, Noam Elimelech,
is one of the most popular of all Chassidic works. [It is told that before he
died, Rebbe Elimelech bequeathed the sight of his eyes to the Seer of Lublin,
the spirit of his heart to the Kozhnitzer Maggid, the soul of his mind to Rebbe
Menachem-Mendel of Rimanov, and the power of speech to Rebbe
AvrahamYehoshua-Heshel of Apt. Other major disciples included Rabbi
Naftali-Tzvi of Ropshitz, Rabbi Mosh-Leib of Sassov, and Rabbi Klonymo-Kalman
Epstein, known as the Maor VaShemesh]
Footnote:
[1] Father of the very well-known and popular tzadik and Chasidic Rebbe, R.
Meir of Premishlan.
From Jewish Republicans minus whom to vote for.
I don’t hide my political beliefs but have no gain by
alienating readers.
I guess this will truncate in the BlogSpot try to
keep an open mind.
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Join Dirshu's Kinnus Olam HaTorah at the
Prudential Center, Sunday, June 9, 2024. Reserve your seat online at DirshuSiyum.org or call 929-522-1121!
Milestone: Richard Sherman, 95, he
was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as a song writer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390538
Inyanay Diyoma
May 25th & 26th
Day 232 and Day 233 start of week 34
12 rockets from Rafah to the center
of country. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390569 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390564
Rocket parts and RPG in school https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390559
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/05/24/for-jewish-americans-never-again-has-never-felt-so-real/
Transportation Min. lack of backing.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/rot-and-corruption-ag-said-ready-to-investigate-miri-regev-after-damning-report/
Soldier succumbs to wounds. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390570
Reservist who called for
insubordination released. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390571
May 27th,
Day 234
Two Hamas commanders taken out. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390588
Previously: (Thursday), IAF fighter jets
directed by the IDF and ISA struck and eliminated in central Gaza the terrorist
Deya Aldin Alsharafa, deputy commander of Hamas' national security forces in
the Gaza Strip. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390504
Take this claim with a boulder of
Salt from the Dead Sea. https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-claim-35-dead-in-strike-on-gazas-rafah-as-idf-says-it-targeted-hamas/
Snipers that eliminated our soldiers
get 72pigs. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390519
The IDF announced on Sunday evening that Staff
Sergeant Sahar Sudaei fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390579
Gazans infecting other prisoners
with scabies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390599
2300year old gold ring found. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390606
US, Egypt and Israel discuss
reopening Rafah crossing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390589
Worried about digital weapons going
to Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390545
Appeal of Jewish Iranian at risk. Human rights organizations in Iran reported that the appeal
of Arvin Ghahremani, a 20-year-old Jewish man who was convicted of murder after
he killed a Muslim man who stabbed and attempted to murder him, was rejected,
putting him at imminent risk of execution. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390548
Left MK admitted Netanyahu is not an
obstacle. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390618
Arab Arson: Firefighters from the Samaria Regional
Station, together with volunteers, are currently working to extinguish a fire,
comprised of three separate blazes, which is spreading towards the homes in the
Jewish town of Peduel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390620
Ben Gurion’s glasses stolen and
recovered. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390608
6year old falls to her death. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390614
US landing craft breaks moorings. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-802621
Shots fired outside of Toronto Girl’s
school. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-802625
Video of abducted girls debuts in
Times Sq. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjomvf0mr
IJC vs. Israel halt war give Hamas
Victory. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390499
German Synagogue attack foiled. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390515
Nasrallah’s mother dies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390522
Nasrallah’s threat: Hezballah has
surprises in store. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390523
Hamas’s psychological warfare. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390521
May 28th
Day 235
From Earl F. In Naperville, Illinois
(near Chicago), and Arab mob attacked a pro-Israel rally, burned the Israeli
flag. attacked Jewish demonstrators. RP: I guess the police were
defunded.
UAVs from Iraq to Eilat. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390660
Iran enriches Uranium further. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390664
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told the families
of kidnapped soldiers that "80% of the military objectives have been
achieved, and achieving the remaining 20% will take more time". https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390653
Op-Ed Diane Bederman on her visit to
Israel. https://dianebederman.com/safe-spaces-pekuach-nefesh-and-turn-the-other-cheek/
UAV intercepted in western Galil. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390654
How about carpet bombing like in
Afghanistan and Iraq by the USA. Don’t give me Mussar! https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-laments-devastating-rafah-strike-urges-israel-to-better-protect-civilians/
2 Incidents - Bat Hefer area not
secure. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390646
Worried residents. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390627
Nikki Halley visits Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390635
IDF to investigate Rafah strike. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390638
The University of Toronto (U of T) on Monday
turned to the courts in an effort to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian
Arab protesters from its downtown campus, The Canadian Press reported.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390666
He should not have been there but he
should not have been pushed to the ground. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390633
Hezballah targeted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390613
2 stabbed in Yerushalayim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390629
No more tunnel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390624
May 29th
Day 236
A few days ago, the Israeli TV said
that Moshav Margaliot above Kiriat Shemona needed volunteers for the cherry,
blueberry, raspberry and other crops. I guess Hezballah saw what I saw as they
sent a few RPG’s and rockets that way.
Central Western Israel: Residents
feel it is a matter of time before a major attack from Tulkarem houses shot at.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390739
Suspicious aerial phenomena downed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390731
Recording of two Arabs that the fire
came from a Hamas munitions depot and not fr4om the IDF Strike. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390702
Jihad releases video of captive. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390709
This is not Normandy they don’t
build piers like they used to. Half of the $320,000,000 sinks, floats away. And
they christen it with beer and sunk the pier. https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-suspends-aid-deliveries-via-gaza-pier-after-it-suffers-serious-weather-damage/
Nicky Halley awarded Jerusalem
Prize. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390706
IDF tanks in central Rafah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390696
Absurd genocide charges against
Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390707
Agricultural Products in Peril. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390554
https://www.timesofisrael.com/florida-official-sued-over-record-700m-investment-in-israel-bonds/
Three Nahal 50 soldiers killed in
booby-trapped house. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390745
Arab Construction Workers practice military takeover of civilian
building. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390740
Algeria at UN calls for cease fire. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-804102
IDF using robot tanks. https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-804074
Jabaliya: In one of the strikes, a terrorist
armed with an RPG missile identified by Unit 636, was eliminated. Another
terrorist who was in the area, tried to attack the troops, and was immediately
eliminated as well. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390755
Sen. Lindsey Graham gets award. On his fifth visit to Israel since
October 7, US Senator Lindsey Graham came to the Israel National News -
Arutz Sheva studio in Jerusalem and spoke about the Hamas massacre,
the International Criminal Court, Saudi Arabia, the US, and terrorism, as well
as the US’s support for Israel in ensuring a future of peace in the Middle
East. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390754
Turkish Ruler: Netanyahu is a
vampire. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390752
The man who appeared in the video while masked,
wearing a military uniform and holding a weapon, calling on the political
echelon to intensity the fighting in Gaza, was identified as Ofir Luzon from
Herzliya. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390703
In one operation, a terrorist cell that had fired
mortar shells toward IDF troops was eliminated in an aerial strike directed by
ground troops. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390685
According to estimates by the Rehabilitation
Department, around 8,000 of the injured soldiers who will be absorbed by the
year's end are likely to suffer various mental ailments, including anxiety,
depression, post-trauma, difficulty adjusting, and communication difficulties. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390681
Starting in August 2024 Israel is changing its entry requirements, and will require
visitors from visa-exempt countries to obtain an electronic travel
authorization (ETA) in order to enter the country, the Population and
Immigration Authority announced. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390686
Arab hit and run or ramming? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390677
Hezballah threatens Galil head. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390690
Arrested terrorists sings where have
all the explosives gone? Short time passing.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390649
Putting explosive in safe-zone. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390644
Op-Ed Ron Ben Yishai new war
strategy. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjmz00slnr
Another country for the PLO. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hy2mvsxnr
Nasrallah: Israel is Nazis. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjzvrnqvr#autoplay
Jerry Seinfeld emotional after
Israel visit. https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/byeyz6mec
Mexico goes against Israel. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-804084
Pentagon wants to rebuild pier: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-804095
Deadly weather in the middle of the
US. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-803756
Who will be the Chief Rabbi of
Ashkelon? https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-803950
The Torah rules in Leviticus 19:28 that permanent tattooing
on the body violates Jewish law, “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for
the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.” In addition, the
Rambam (Maimonides) saw the origin of this prohibition as an act of idolatry,
arguing that it was a pagan custom.
Tattoo ink often contains carcinogenic chemicals, including
primary aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and metals.
“The tattooing process invokes an immunologic response that
causes translocation of tattoo ink from the injection site. Deposition of
tattoo pigment in lymph nodes has been confirmed but the long-term health
effects remain unexplored. We used Swedish National Authority registers with
full population coverage to investigate the association between tattoo exposure
and overall malignant lymphoma as well as lymphoma subtypes,” the researchers
explained. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-803871
May 30th
Day 237
2 soldiers die in a ramming attack
and one in battle. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390786
One of the most
disturbing things I got from the news was that Israel plans at least 7 more
months of cleaning up Gaza. https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-israeli-official-says-fighting-in-gaza-likely-to-last-at-least-another-7-months/
Although I am in contact with Barry Shaw, it is hard for me to
follow all the news, learn and teach Torah so it is nice that people like
Thomas, Mitchel and Monique B. send me various articles.
A
very disturbing report from the Study of Global Antisemetism and Policy (ISGAP)
claims that the Bafrayung Fund, which belongs to one of the richest and most
politically involved Jewish families in the US, sent large sums of money over
the past few months to encourage and fund anti-Israel student protests.
Leading this fund is Rachel
Gelman, aged 33, a descendant of the famous clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss.
Gelman is a relative of US Rep. Dan Gelman (D-NY). This report, which looked
into the funding sources of the National Students for Justice in Palestine
(NSJP) movement, found the Bafrayung Fund to be the most substantial monetary
supporter of the organization, which was behind the anti-Israel protests on
American campuses in which Jewish students and professors were threatened.
This organization also calls for
the elimination of Israel, and uses the common threat "From the river to
the sea Palestine will be free." The Gelmans also fund other anti-Israel
action groups such as donating $60,000 to the Palestinian Youth Movement and
$40,000 to the Arab Resource and Organizing Center that are engaged in boycotts
and other anti-Israel activities.
Rachel Gelman's mother, Susie,
was one of President Biden's candidates for the position of ambassador to
Israel. Between 2016 and 2023 Susie served as chairperson of the Israel Policy
Forum, During her tenure, she regularly criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu and
his governments.
Another
example of wealthy and influential Jews funding and encouraging the demise of
the Jewish State.
For
shame!
Barry
Shaw,
The
Israeli Mossad is warnings about potential Iranian terror attacks in Europe
before and leading up to the Olympic Games in France.
Barry
Shaw,
The
View from Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390804
Somebody asked me if I
feel more secure in Israel than I do in FL. https://www.aol.com/womans-remains-found-jaws-alligator-191837367.html
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/05/29/columbia-university-anti-zionist-group-endorses-hamas/
Op-Ed the last hope for American
Democracy. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390790
Israel now controls the Israel-Egypt
Border to the sea. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390765
Israel intercepts cruise missile
from Iraq. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390800
Border Police officers have arrested six
individuals suspected of stealing agricultural produce belonging to a farmer
evacuated from Metula in northern Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390795
Two grandchildren lost in battle weeks apart. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390809
Getting close to the longest Shabbos daylight
in the northern hemisphere. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/shabat
Driver cusses Jewish School Children. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390784
Man donates kidney to injured IDF
soldier. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390758
Instagram removes pro-Israel post
but… https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390758
Op-Ed the IDF shed the illusion of a
small IDF. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bycs4bfec
Op-Ed Ben Yishai new step by step
release. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjmz00slnr
Last but not least with Arab Villages
not so far from us my wife is a bit concerned. Bat Hefer was shot at. Who is to
say that driving towards the local grocery after Schul, I will not be shot at.
On the other hand, our area prior to Oct. 7th supplied them with a
lot of construction work and some break-ins.
Weapons in UNWRA complex and school.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-804383
May 31st
Day 238
There is a growing number of military
officials and citizens of northern Israel that are calling for military action.
Hezballah is destroying house-house in the north and little is being done to
stop their RPG’s.
A letter I received from an MD: The Israel
Health Ministry is offering medical students interest free loans for
school. Perhaps, the pay of 5000 Shekels/month for experienced doctors
has something to do with the fact that physicians are either leaving for other
countries, or not going into medicine. The propaganda from the government
that all must sacrifice for Israel, with little for themselves is no longer
tenable. After 12 years of training, doctors are paid less than the
janitors that clean the hospitals. There are a
number of factors. 26hour intern shifts at lousy pay. Basically near slave
labor conditions for a few years until becoming a qualified MD. Reserve Duty up
to the age of 50 while in other countries doctors have better hours, better pay
and better status. I quit being a teacher when a Stevedore told me that he made
5 times my salary without an hour of over-time. As an engineer, I got a
mentally satisfying job without having to have 180 kids to control, 300 plus parents
to deal with, principals and educational inspectors. Nurses have it worse than
doctors both in times on their feet and pay.
Two soldiers die in two combat
sections of Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390851
Second video of captive shown. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390817
IDF troops are continuing intelligence-based
operational activities in the area of Rafah. During the activities, IDF troops
located numerous weapons, including long-range rockets, RPGs, explosive
devices, vests, ammunition, and additional military equipment. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390856
The family of 24-year-old Eden Yerushalmi, who
was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nova Music Festival in Reem to Gaza
on October 7, on Thursday evening permitted the publication of a recording of
the conversation Eden had with the Israel Police’s 100 emergency line, moments
before her abduction. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390846
Montreal Jewish School shot at. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390850
Border Police eliminate 5 terrorists. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390827
While many Native Americans such as
Apache, Cherokee, and less known tribes claim Jewish Ancestry and sympathetic
to Israel. False ones are anti-Israel. https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/05/30/elizabeth-warren-speak-anti-israel-conference-hosted-group-accused-promoting-terrorism/
The Trump verdict scared the heck
out of Billionaires. Suddenly, the money is flowing like a dam burst. https://www.aol.com/finance/prominent-billionaires-wall-street-silicon-080018796.html
RFK Jr. unfair playing field. I want
to beat Trump fair and square. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6353987780112
A healthy, peaceful,
restful and wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
