Last week, Parsha Re’eh we had a
review of the laws of Kashrus. https://drrichswier.com/2024/08/30/over-9-deaths-linked-to-deadly-boars-head-deli-meat/
Parsha Shoftim
We continue with Moshe’s
speech of the blessing and the curse and have seen neither so far.
16:18 Judges and
officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God gives
thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous
judgment.
Judges shall be of ten,
fifty, hundred and a thousand. So every village had a local Judge or Judges to
make up a small Beis Din. Then into towns and cities. Eventually into Judges of
the Tribes and the Great Sanhedrin.
19 Thou
shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou
take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words
of the righteous.
Family members cannot be
judges and the same with friends.
20 Justice,
justice shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which
the LORD thy God gives thee.
You shall search for the
truth and true justice.
Thou
shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the
LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set
thee up a pillar, which the LORD thy God hates.
What about Gal-Ayd of
Yacov and Lavan? For Yacov it was a border marker and for Lavan it could have
been something else but it was not meant to be like a Mercury traveler prayer.
17:1
Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a
blemish, even any evil thing; for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy
God.
All sacrifices to HASHEM
must be whole without blemish. Not like Kayn vs. Hevel as Kayn gave inferior
animals as Korbanos and Hevel gave the best of the fruits.
2 If
there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy
God gives thee, man or woman, that does that which is evil in the sight of the
LORD thy God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 and hath gone and
served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the
host of heaven, which I have commanded not; 4 and it be told thee,
and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be
true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 5 then
shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have done this evil thing,
unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with
stones, that they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three
witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness
he shall not be put to death. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be
first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
The death penalty could
only be in front of a small Sanhedrin of 23 with spare judges, a doctor and
perhaps experts in the audience. Two witnesses minimum against the transgressor
and they shall be the first to lay their hands upon the guilty and preform the
sentence before anybody else.
8 If
there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood,
between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even matters of
controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the
place which the LORD thy God shall choose. 9 And thou shall come unto
the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days; and
thou shalt inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of
judgment. 10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the
sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the LORD
shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall
teach thee.
It could be that your
local Judge of ten or even fifty has only learned so and so much law. [Perhaps
a younger Rabbinical Student with neither knowledge of life nor learning upon
learning and reviewing the laws time after time]. In such a case an older Rabbi
with ten, twenty or thirty years can review the case. Finally, near the Mishkan
or Mikdash (Tabernacle or Temple) would be the elders of the Sanhedrin.
11 According
to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which
they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the
sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the
left. 12 And the man that does presumptuously, in not hearkening unto
the priest that stands to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the
judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from
Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more
presumptuously.
On the basic level, the
Leviim were the teachers of Am Yisrael from their 24 cities going to the small
towns in the district to teach young boys the basics until they were old enough
to learn a trade, farm and marry. Some of the Leviim learned more and the
Priests having more time, learned deeper. In my opinion based on the stories of
the great Torah Leaders of the Talmud and Mishnah there were always a few like
the pairs of Perkei Avos, the Princes from Hillel who led the Nation and
earlier generations even had prophecy that received spiritual energy from the
existence of the Mishkan or Mikdash and the Korbanos. The 72 letter NAME was
used a few times on Yom Kippur that brought about love and fear of the L-RD
G-D.
14 When
thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, and shalt
possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I will set a king over me,
like all the nations that are round about me'; 15 thou shalt in any
wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among
thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner
over thee, who is not thy brother.
Prior to Dovid becoming
the Melech, the king could be from any tribe like Moshe, the Levi, Yoshua from
Ephraim/Yosef, Shimshon from Dan, Shaul from Benyamin, etc. Once Dovid is
anointed king it is from him and his seed forever like Aaron and the
priesthood.
16 Only
he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to
Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the LORD hath
said unto you: 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.'
Shlomo had a lot of
horses but they were for his generals and army. I assume
17 Neither
shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall
he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Silver and gold comes
via mining, taxes on conquest. The first is great but the other two are at the
expense of your population either through taxes or losing soldiers in war and
the Torah does not approve of over-accumulation of wealth. As for too many
wives there is a chance like with Shlomo that they change his heart away from
the true Derek (path of) HASHEM.
18 And
it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write
him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the
Levites.
The Melech has to write
two Sifrei Torah. One to be stored near his Throne for prayers and Torah
Reading on time. The second, a smaller Sefer Torah, to take with him into
battle or while traveling.
19 And
it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that
he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and
these statutes, to do them; 20 that his heart be not lifted up above
his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right
hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom,
he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
By keeping the Torah and
having one on hand for himself and advisors, he will keep on the straight path.
18:1
The priests the Levites, even all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor
inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire,
and His inheritance. 2 And they shall have no inheritance among their
brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He hath spoken unto them.
The Cohanim get the 24
gifts from the sacrifices, Teruma and the Leviim get Maaser 10% of the crops
minus their own 10% for the Cohanim meaning Teruma-Maaser so in conclusion a
total of 2+% of all crops go to the Cohanim and 9% to the Leviim. So they have
time to serve the populace and don’t have any need for agricultural land.
3 And
this shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that offer a
sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give unto the priest the
shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. 4 The first-fruits of thy
corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep,
shalt thou give him. 5 For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of
all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons
forever.
The Cohanim receive the
right shoulder, cheeks and stomach plus the first fruits.
6 And
if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourns,
and come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which the LORD shall
choose; 7 then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as
all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the
LORD. 8 They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which is
his due according to the fathers' houses.
There were 24 families
of Cohanim that received traditions and worked in the Temple. So they served
twice a year. Then add on a week of Pesach, Shavuos, Sukkos and Rosh Hashanah –
Yom Kippur we get to close to 52 weeks. Actually there appears to be rotation
for 13 month years vs. the shorter 12
Jewish Months.
9 When
thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, thou shalt not
learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall
not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass
through the fire, one that uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a
sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar
spirit, or a necromancer. 12 For whosoever doeth these things is an
abomination unto the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD thy God
is driving them out from before thee.
Today we have geological
sounding instruments that might tell us where to dig a well but not Diving
sticks. Neither I will create things through talk (Hebrew: Abracadabra) and
assorted seances.
13 Thou
shalt be whole-hearted with the LORD thy God. 14 For these nations,
that thou art to dispossess, hearken unto soothsayers, and unto diviners; but
as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
There are certain
traditions and customs of peoples living in an area. Example Sassafras roots
are good for you. Maple tree sap makes a nice syrup. But their soothsaying,
divinations are not kosher for you. Dreams and Pasukim coming to mind are
something else.
15 A
prophet will the LORD thy God raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of
thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
A prophet can be true if
he says something bad is about to happen like Yona to Nineveh and the people
repented and G-D repented from destroying them. However, if he says something
good is going to happen: And it does not pass do not harken unto him but if he
says something else good happens, then it should come to pass to believe him.
16 according
to all that thou didst desire of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the
assembly, saying: 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither
let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.' 17 And the LORD
said unto me: 'They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I
will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I
will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken
unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of
him. 20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in My
name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name
of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'
Prophesizing in any
other name outside of HASHEM makes the ‘prophet’ subject to the death penalty.
21 And
if thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not
spoken?' 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not
spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of
him.
If he says that the
Moshiach is coming on such and such a date but doesn’t come we ignore the man.
However, if he says that we are in the footsteps of Moshiach and he can come on
any day that comes (like the Rambam) he is not a false prophet but on the other
hand has not proved anything.
19:1
When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God
gives thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their
houses; 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of
thy land, which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou
shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which the LORD
thy God causes thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee
thither. 4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee
thither and live: whoso kills his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time
past; 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to hew
wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the
head slips from the helve, and lights upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall
flee unto one of these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood
pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way
is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not deserving of death,
inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. 7 Wherefore I command
thee, saying: 'Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.' 8 And if
the LORD thy God enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn unto thy fathers, and
give thee all the land which He promised to give unto thy fathers--
And the accidental man
slaughterer or safety neglecter shall flee to one of them.
9 if
thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day,
to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in His ways--then shalt thou add
three cities more for thee, beside these three; 10 that innocent
blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee
for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
We do not practice
avenger of blood today. There are all sorts of discussions of the avenger. What
happens if the person killed is a child of the man slaughterer, parent, spouse,
brother etc. and there was only love and no animosity? Medical doctor who
slipped during an operation or a nurse who gave formaldehyde instead of
distilled water? (This happened in an Israeli Hospital by accident).
11 But
if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him,
and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one of these
cities; 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him
thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may
die. 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the
blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
If it is a case of first
degree murder or second degree murder of somebody that hater wanted to disable,
the avenger can do his job.
14 Thou
shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in
thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that the LORD thy God
giveth thee to possess it.
Even though we have
modern surveying measurements, we had a marker on the northwest side of my
property on top of a septic connection with a pipe running down to the sewer
below on the border of my property. Three neighbors had built walls ending on
the connection. The forth did a survey that took a meter from my property and
his expert measured it twice. The only thing that saved me from a big dispute
was the pipe which ran between our two properties that would have cost him a
small fortune to move. Somebody made an error. Either all three of us were
supplied the wrong data or the fourth neighbor was supplied the wrong data. The
northeast marker was in the correct place.
15 One
witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in
any sin that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three
witnesses, shall a matter be established.
To establish a case in
law, we have to have a minimum of two witnesses on one side of the dispute
otherwise it becomes a he said/she said dispute and nobody knows whom to
believe.
16 If
an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to bear perverted witness
against him; 17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is,
shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges that shall be in
those days. 18 And the judges shall inquire diligently; and, behold,
if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his
brother;
This is of course a
violation of the Asera Dibros. However, it happened that Shimon Ben Shetach and
the Sanhedrin tried 80 witches in Ashkelon and some of their families were also
wicked and they conspired to have two witnesses accuse his son of a violation
punishable by death through these false witnesses. Eventually, they murdered his
son.
19 then
shall ye do unto him, as he had purposed to do unto his brother; so shalt thou
put away the evil from the midst of thee. 20 And those that remain
shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the
midst of thee. 21 And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Only true justice.
20:1
When thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and see horses, and
chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for
the LORD thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt.
Anybody who has been in
an area where artillery is fired and such noises and ground shaking is fearful.
This is even if it is friendly artillery.
2 And
it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach
and speak unto the people, 3 and shall say unto them: 'Hear, O
Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your
heart faint; fear not, nor be alarmed, neither be ye affrighted at
them; 4 for the LORD your God is He that goes with you, to fight for
you against your enemies, to save you.' 5 And the officers shall
speak unto the people, saying: 'What man is there that hath built a new house,
and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in
the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is there that
hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and
return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit
thereof. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath
not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle,
and another man take her.' 8 And the officers shall speak further
unto the people, and they shall say: 'What man is there that is fearful and
faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart
melt as his heart.' 9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an
end of speaking unto the people, that captains of hosts shall be appointed at
the head of the people.
This gives an out to
people weak at heart so that they shall not break ranks and flee the battle.
10 When
thou draw nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto
it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open
unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall
become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee. 12 And if it will
make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt
besiege it. 13 And when the LORD thy God delivers it into thy hand,
thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;
This is not from the seven nations but other nations that we go to
war with. Why all he men? At the time of the Torah, it was a military
convention to take a city and smite all the males. I am currently reading The
End of Everything by Victor Davis Hanson. He describes Alexander the Great
and the rebellion of the city of Thebes and the slaughter of the men of the
city.
14 but
the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city,
even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou
shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given
thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far
off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 Howbeit
of the cities of these peoples, that the LORD thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but thou
shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and
the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as the LORD thy God hath commanded
thee; 18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations,
which they have done unto their gods, and so ye sin against the LORD your
God.
These Nations must be not
be saved alive as a Gezaira from the L-RD. Their evil is too great.
19 When
thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it,
thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for
thou mayest eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of
the field man, that it should be besieged of thee? 20 Only the trees
of which thou know that they are not trees for food, them thou mayest destroy
and cut down, that thou mayest build bulwarks against the city that makes war
with thee, until it fall.
It is forbidden to cut
down fruit bearing trees for war.
21:1
f one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess
it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten
him; 2 then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they
shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain. 3 And
it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders
of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with,
and which hath not drawn in the yoke. 4 And the elders of that city
shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which may neither be plowed
nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the
valley. 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near--for them
the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of
the LORD; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke
be. 6 And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain
man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the
valley. 7 And they shall speak and say: 'Our hands have not shed this
blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive, O LORD, Thy people
Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the
midst of Thy people Israel.' And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So
shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt
do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD.
The above section is called Egel Arufa – the calf with a broken
neck. It teaches us that we should have safe cities and safe entrances and
exits from the city. This would mean in modern terms shelters and iron dome to
protect travelers going in and out of the city.
The Picture
and the Poem by Sivan Rahav Meir
https://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5784/1393-50.html
Ms. Sivan Rahav-Meir started her report with:
This is one of those stories that you would tend to think is a fairy tale,
unless you heard it firsthand:
Boris Heikin, 87, grew up in Kharkov, Ukraine - where he was denied his
Jewish heritage and identity. He made Aliyah in the 1990s. Recently[1], he sat
with his family and looked through old pictures; among them was a picture of
his grandfather, who was a religious Jew. Behind the picture were written words
in Hebrew, which Boris didn't understand at all.
Ina, his daughter, translated them for him. It turns out that they came
from the poem of a Russian-Jewish poet, Simon Frug, and were written down by
his grandfather:
The time is near when our Nation
The son that forgets who his parent is,
Will not understand even one word of his own language,
The Holy Tongue in which his Torah is written.
The daughter says these lines speak precisely about her father, who has
difficulty understanding Hebrew. She added:
"We all had a feeling that this was not meaningless, that this is his
grandfather's will for us to keep the legacy." She continued:
"We called "Hebron Tefillin" to order tefillin for my
father for the first time in his life. Pinchas Dell, a Sofer (scribe) and a
guide in the factory, was moved by the story. He is used to making tefillin for
boys approaching age 13, not an elder who is 87 years old."
"He came over to my father's home specially to teach him how to wrap
tefillin. Later, my father sat and watched YouTube videos in Russian on how to
put on tefillin in order to practice it, and now he keeps this practice up.
"We learned from him that it is never too late - that all the
attempts of big empires to turn our light off will never succeed and that even
very old prayers in the Ukraine can be revived and fulfilled in Rishon LeTzion
after almost 100 years. My father's grandfather was so afraid that the chain
would break, but here in Israel…it didn't."
Boris Heikin, 87 and the poem (go to link above to view)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Modified by Yerachmiel Tilles from an article by Sivan Rahav-Meir in
her column, "Torah from a TV Anchor," and reprinted in the Jewish
Press, 18 Sivan 5779/June 21, 2019
Sivan Rahav-Meir is a famed and much
admired Israeli journalist, primetime news reporter, publicist, and TV and
radio anchor.
Why this week?: The mitzvah of
tefillin is mentioned in this week's Torah reading, Ekev (6:8).
Footnote: [1] Around six years ago, a number of months before this article was
originally published in 2019.
Sivan
has been a channel 12 reporter and her husband Yedida Meir is on the “Patriots”
on Channel 14. They are modern Chabad followers.
Jealous Spouses and lovers another wake-up call.
Ladies if you are
married to a jealous spouse or have a jealous boy-friend then run, flee find a
witness protection program this is very serious. If you know somebody in that
situation the jealous man is a physical danger to a woman the reverse might
involve poison but is much rarer.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) —
Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died at a Kenyan hospital where
she was being treated after 80% of her body was burned in an attack
by her partner.
She was 33. https://www.aol.com/ugandan-olympic-athlete-dies-being-065213436.html
In Sri Lanka, the
daughter of the caretaker of my late mother-in-law had knife wounds all over
her face and 128 stiches from a jealous husband for no reason at all.
The case of two Benny
Solomon(s). I knew them both and their wives.
Benny number 1 was a
good friend of mine from work and I had him over for the Pesach Seder some
50years ago. I called him up after the news broke and he told me that Reporters
were surrounding his house mixing him up with Benny number 2.
Benny 2 and his wife
worked in the same company as I. Benny 2 had even a Yarmulke on his head. He
began about a month or two before the murder-suicide going to his wife’s
friends and checking up on her. He kept accusing her of cheating for no reason.
Then on Shabbos murder-suicide over an imaginary jealousy.
The last case had a
happier ending for the girl. She was many years ago the caretaker of my late
mother-in-law. Every time, she left the home to buy medications or take the
elderly lady to the doctor, she was told by her boy friend to photograph her
location.
Similar to the story
of 1001 Arabian Nights of the Genie who locked up his woman on a desert isle
discovered by sailors, she found a different Israeli. One day she gave my
mother-in-law notification and ran away with the second Israel to her country
of origin. The jealous one was left high and dry.
Jealousy never pays
and restricting one’s partner/other half does not work out well. If anybody is
in a situation with a jealous person – don’t walk but run from such a situation
it may save your life and perhaps his.
Also this week in the
news was the death of a man who murdered his children because his wife got
custody and if he could not have them then nobody see Inyanay Diyoma.
Jobless, twenty-seven years old and single by Rabbi
Yerachmiel Tilles
https://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5784/1395-52.html
[Keep in perspective that this story was
written sixteen years ago. - yt]
Sara is a vivacious, upbeat young woman who
knows where she's going and how she's getting there. But if you had met her a
few years ago, you wouldn't have gotten the same impression.
"I was born in Canada and spent my
earliest years there," begins Sara. "When I was still very young, my
parents started to become more involved in Judaism and eventually became fully
Torah observant. Within a few years, they decided to move to Israel.
"We moved to a settlement in the Shomron.
My four siblings and I went to religious schools in the settlement." Sara
continued in the local schools until she reached high school age. "As we
didn't have a high school in our settlement, I began attending a religious high
school in Petach Tikvah. The other students there were also from 'Religious-Zionist'
background."
Although religious girls in Israel can be
exempt from regular army service, amongst the Religious-Zionists, girls are
encouraged to fulfill "Sheirut Leumi" (National Service). At the end
of high school, most of Sara's friends chose to do Sheirut Leumi. "By that
time, I had become a bit of a non-conformist, and I decided to do regular army
service. To be honest," Sara says with a smile, "I just wanted to be
able to have an excuse to trade in my skirts for pants!"
Sara's parents were less than happy with her
decision to do regular army service. Nor was Sara prepared for life in the
non-religious world of the army. Unfortunately, her observance of mitzvot (commandments)
quickly waned. By the end of her first year in the army, Sara stopped going
home for Shabbat and spent weekends off with friends.
When she finished her three-year army service,
she no longer retained any semblance of a religious lifestyle. She decided to
move to Tel Aviv, where she managed to find a job as a manager in a security
company. "My time was divided between work and home, with not much else in
between. I was working 16 hours a day."
But a few years of the work/sleep/work cycle
made Sara realize that she needed more meaning in her life. So she decided that
she would become a police officer! She served for a few years in the most
crime-ridden area of Tel Aviv until she got a notice in the mail that would
eventually be the push to help her find true meaning in her life.
"As a police officer, I received a draft
notice to help the Israeli forces in the 'Disengagement,' the expelling of
Jewish families from their homes in Gush Katif. This hit me hard; even though I
was no longer religious, I had a strong love of Israel. I knew I would not be
able to evacuate my fellow Jews from their homes. I was told by my superiors
that I had two choices: either to serve or to go to jail for disregarding a
direct order."
Sara chose a third option. "I moved to
Canada, to live with my grandmother. But the reality of my life quickly hit me.
I was jobless, 27-years-old and single. Plus, when I arrived in Canada, I
hardly knew anyone.
"I began by asking some people where I
could find fellow Israelis. I was told that the best place to start was the
Chabad House for Israelis in Montreal called MADA." There Sara met many
young Israelis who, like her, were not particularly religious but were looking
for a "home away from home."
Sara attended events periodically at MADA,
though she didn't change her lifestyle very much. She did, however, become close
with Reut and Barak Hetsroni, staff members (and more) at the MADA Center. She
eventually decided to spend a Shabbat with the Hetsronis, who turned out to be
Chabad representatives, and to observe the entire Shabbat.
"From the minute we lit the candles until
the Havdala ceremony at the end of Shabbat, I just could not stop crying! As a
former police officer in the toughest area of Tel Aviv, I wasn't one to cry.
Nor could I figure out why I was crying. But it finally occurred to me that I
was crying because I had restarted my journey for real to find true meaning in
my life."
Sara quit her job that required her to work on
Shabbat and started teaching at the Lubavitch girls elementary school in
Montreal, Beth Rivkah. "I taught 5th grade. I was in charge of praying
with them every day and I taught them Hebrew language and Prophets. I did this
for six months and loved every day of it.
"Reut encouraged me to attend Machon
Chana Women's Institute in Brooklyn, a seminary primarily for young women who
had not grown up in observant homes. But I wasn't ready to leave my comfort
zone."
Throughout the summer, Sara received many job
offers in Montreal and in Israel. She also wanted to finish her university
studies. She discussed the various options with a woman in Montreal whom she
had met through her teaching in Beth Rivkah and whom she had begun to consider
her "mentor."
"She told me that of all of the options
there was one I had not considered but that she really believed was best for me
- to become a student at Machon Chana. I decided to follow her advice and moved
to New York a few weeks later."
Before leaving Montreal, Sara went to say
"goodbye" to her grandmother. "My grandmother handed me a dollar
bill from the Lubavitcher Rebbe and said that it was for me.
"She explained that 30 years earlier she
had joined a group of people from Montreal who were traveling to the Rebbe. The
Rebbe had distributed to the group dollar bills that they were to give to
charity. (In general, people kept the dollar from the Rebbe and gave a dollar
or more from their own money to charity.) The Rebbe handed my grandmother three
dollars: One for herself, a second for her husband, and a third one, explaining
it was for her granddaughter who would need it one day.
"'I think this is the right time,' my
grandmother told me."
Sara nods her head. Yes, this was the right
time and Machon Chana is the right place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Revised and supplemented by Yerachmiel
Tilles from an article by Yehudis Cohen on LChaimWeekly.org (#1011).
Yehudis Cohen is the long-time excellent editor-in-chief of the weekly
four-page Chabad publication, L'Chaim.
Biographic note:
Nissim-Barak and Reut Hetsroni are Lubavitch emissaries in the Westbury
neighborhood of Montreal. In 2018, Rabbi Barak became the Chaplain and
Spiritual Advisor at JGH [Jewish General Hospital] in West-Central Montreal.
Milestone: Michael Lerner, 81,
Leftist Progressive Rabbi pro-two State Solution. https://www.timesofisrael.com/michael-lerner-influential-rabbi-activist-and-founder-of-tikkun-magazine-dies-at-81/
Milestone: Eliyahu Rips, 75,
uncovered the Bible Code. https://www.timesofisrael.com/eliyahu-rips-mathematician-who-claimed-to-find-hidden-code-in-bible-dies-at-75/
Inyanay Diyoma
The video made the
news but there was no article on Sept. 6th of the blowing up Mahmud
Ali’s car by the rival Arab Mafia in Ramla on Sept. 5th right next
to a kindergarten with children meters from the explosion.
Aug. 31st
Day 330 starting week 49 closing in
on 11 months.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/fierce-clashes-in-jenin-as-idf-continues-major-west-bank-operation/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395450
https://www.timesofisrael.com/polio-vaccination-campaign-in-begins-in-gaza-health-officials-say/
Statistics revised upwards: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395455
https://www.timesofisrael.com/several-israelis-injured-in-brawl-at-egyptian-hotel/
Wanted to give up half of
Yerushalayim. https://www.timesofisrael.com/several-israelis-injured-in-brawl-at-egyptian-hotel/
Hezballah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395443
"The Prime Minister is not telling the truth
about the Gaza Strip clearly," Segal began. "He tells it, but in an
ambiguous manner. And the truth is this: As far as it depends on [Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, Israel plans to stay in Gaza for at least a
generation. This is why a double-lane highway is being paved on the Philadelphi
Corridor now; this is why entire divisions are positioning themselves where
Rafiah Yam, Netzarim, Elei Sinai, Nisanit, and Dugit once were."
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395433
IDF destroys ready to launch
rockets. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395439
Paris second gold – swimming. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395440
Sept. 1st
Day 331
https://www.timesofisrael.com/3-killed-in-southern-west-bank-shooting-attack-idf-pursuing-gunmen/
CYA Those who murdered don’t want a
deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395484
Mayor of Yerushalayim accompanies
orphan to class. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395479
No limit to wickedness of Hamas. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395476
Biden: "I am devastated and outraged. Hersh was among the
innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in
Israel on October 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’
savage massacre. He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world. I have
gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395473
Israel not forceful enough with
Hamas. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395477
Man charged with attacking two
Jewish Students in Pittsburgh. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395471
Reserve Pilot dies in a crash
13years after his brother died in a plane crash. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395436
Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, head of the Mir
Yeshiva in Jerusalem, on Thursday visited the home of Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch,
head of the Eida Haharedit rabbinical court, to ask his advice on the matter of
American students arriving for a "gap year" program in Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395416
Medical Miracle. I
thought that he was gone but I operated anyway. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/by1pxcssa
Yehuda and Shomron no longer a
secondary front. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hj8mfjb2r#autoplay
Third gold and one bronze for Israel.
https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rkirb3zn0
Saar time for campaign in the North.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-817026
Sept. 2nd
Day 332
Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef spiritual
leader of Shass has called for the immediate release of hostages. A one day
general strike is in progress as I write this. Ben Gurion closed for two hours.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395537
https://www.timesofisrael.com/histadrut-labor-union-announces-nationwide-strike-over-failure-to-release-hostages/
Op-Ed Diane Weber Bederman: Her first paragraph sort of reminds me of my day when I was
a Reform Jew assimilated completely but with more rural values than the stuff
up city. A copy and paste and Diane reflects most of my values as I moved
towards Torah Judaism: I grew up in the 60’s-the age of sex drugs and rock and roll. Meh. I didn’t fit in. And looking back,
I realize why the music didn’t speak to me. It was the era that ushered in
feminism – the demeaning of motherhood, the emasculation of men, the
destruction of the family unit and attacks on Western Culture – the culture of
free will and freedom. https://dianebederman.com/the-country-westerneconomy/
Egyptian security sources said the altercation
began after an Arab Israeli tourist verbally insulted an Egyptian employee,
leading to a brawl that involved other tourists and hotel staff. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395531
Former Nazi Film Director may have
had a part in a massacre of Polish Jews. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395533
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau harshly
condemned the killings of six Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395535
Danny Danon demands UN action after the
murders. Warning “Don’t hold your breath until they act.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395534
Car Bomb stopped: Binyamin Regional Council head
Israel Ganz commented, "A great miracle occurred this morning in Binyamin.
The terror in Judea and Samaria requires a war effort exactly like that in Gaza
and Rafah. We must reach the population and destroy all of the neighborhoods
and terror infrastructure, and turn them into dust. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395540
Op-Ed Ruthie Blum: Kamala’s Moral
Equivalent. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395539
The IDF announced on Sunday that with the
direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF struck Hamas terrorists who were
operating within a command and control center embedded inside the area that
previously served as the “Safad” school in Gaza City. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395497
According to a senior administration official
quoted in the report, the US has been engaging with Egypt and Qatar to outline
a final "take it or leave it" deal. Israel commentator said, “Netanyahu is waiting for Nov. 6th.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395526
Firefighters rescue injured woman and five
children from home. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395543
Arab team made gestures and turned their backs
during the anthem causing a riot. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395519
Terrorist who murdered three police
officers perishes.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395500
Sept. 3rd
Day 333
This week a friend of mine is
undergoing a heart procedure Henia bas Rachel.
Not to be confused with my wife,
Henya.
Possibility of terrorism w/AI. https://www.foxnews.com/category/tech/artificial-intelligence
Vote on Phila rout a grave mistake. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395587
Netanyahu: We do not reward
terrorism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395570
Biden and Harris forced us to feed
the weakened enemy in war time. https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/09/02/trump-blames-biden-harris-death-american-israeli-hostage-white-house-decries-evil-hamas/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/09/02/university-maryland-cancels-pro-hamas-oct-7-rally/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-use-considerable-force-near-pms-home-to-disperse-protesters-urging-hostage-deal/
My wife told me that Yoni Netanyahu sacrificed his life for
hostages but it looks like Bibi is sacrificing hostages for politics.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/2-said-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-on-vehicle-in-south-lebanon/
Troops from the Engineering Unit of the Gaza
Division and the Northern Gaza Brigade, in collaboration with the Yahalom Unit,
uncovered and destroyed, based on prior intelligence information, an attack
underground tunnel route of Hamas in the Beit Lahia area. Mini-rail link
inside. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395609
IDF Ground Forces Commander Major General Tamir
Yadai will resign his position for personal reasons. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395607
Former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, on
Monday urged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to treat
Hamas like a terrorist organization instead of pressuring Israel to agree to a
hostage release deal.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395584
Psychological terror: Hamas on Monday evening published a video of Eden Yerushalmi,
one of the six hostages who were murdered and whose bodies were retrieved by
the IDF over the weekend. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395578
Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi of
Britain, on Monday criticized the British government’s decision to suspend some of its arms sales to
Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395581
this is not Tony Blair’s relations.
When she return she had a 40 pulse. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395588
Hamas flag at NYC Rally. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395586
Antisemite gets 10years in FL Jail. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395590
Two oil tankers, the Saudi-flagged Amjad and the
Panama-flagged Blue Lagoon I, were attacked on Monday in the Red Sea off the
coast of Yemen, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar
with the situation. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395582
Next Thursday Lufthansa Flights. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395583
Asking for more Israeli concessions
is like saying to Hamas: “Go and murder hostages.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395573
Arab arrested damaging cars. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395576
So far in the operation in Jenin, 14 terrorists
have been eliminated in exchanges of fire and airstrikes, approximately 20
weapons have been confiscated and 25 terrorists have been apprehended. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395568
Sept. 4th
Day 334
The Torah is Emmes
(truth) and Netanyahu is speaking with a forked-tongue. In Jan. or there about
General Brick suggested that we go into Rafah and dig a trench 50 meters deep
two sides and let the sea come in. Netanyahu said “It will cost too much”. Ganz
and Eisenkot said that he procrastinated about going into Rafah when they were
in the government. Since 1996 he as earned the nickname Pinocchio. Yonatan
Netanyahu gave his life to save hostages while Bibi Netanyahu appears to
sacrifice hostages to save his government. At 77years of age and from the right
of center, I have no reason to put a left wing government in power but the
truth must be told. Emmes is 441 in Gematria add just something Katan (little)
159 you get 600 = Sheker or lie.
Job for former Ambassador President
of MDA. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395631
Gazan ‘Journalist’ fled to Egypt. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395629
The US captured an ISIS leader who
helped escapees of the terror group after they fled a detention facility in
Syria, according to US Central Command. https://www.aol.com/news/us-captures-isis-leader-helped-205815045.html
Jordan welcomes stoppage of some
military licenses from Britain. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395645
Salvagers abandoned an initial effort to tow away
a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea which was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels
as it “was not safe to proceed,” a European Union naval mission said Tuesday,
according to The Associated Press. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395648
US Jew wins 2 gold medals. Ezra Frech entered the Paris Paralympics as one of the United
States’ most promising rising stars. The 19-year-old, who had broken his own
world record in the high jump in July, has lofty standards for himself,
telling NBC earlier this year, “I want my legacy to be the
greatest Paralympian of all time.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395650
The haredi parties in the Knesset have announced
that they will not vote in favor of the budget on Monday unless the matter of
budgets for haredi schools is resolved, Kan Reshet Bet reported.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395655
Allison Pearson, the chief interviewer of the
British Daily Telegraph, sharply criticized the British government
and Foreign Minister David Lammy for their decision to ban about 30 arms sales
licenses to Israel, due to "suspected violations of international law.”
Pearson defined the move as "a shameful betrayal of a heroic ally,” adding
that the timing comes "at one of the most difficult times in Israel's
history. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395659
A new street in Prague has been named in honor of
Sir Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who rescued hundreds of mostly
Jewish children from the Nazis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395660
Explosive Device inside of baby carriage. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395638
Wednesday morning to noon at least
two dozen rockets fired. UAV shot down past night. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395646
The University of Maryland has revoked a permit for pro-Palestinian Arab groups to hold an event on the one-year
anniversary of the October 7 attacks in Israel, following concerns from Jewish
groups that such an event could glorify the Hamas killing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395641
Sept. 5th
Day 335
115 rockets. https://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-pounds-galilee-with-over-70-rockets-causing-heavy-damage-but-no-injuries/
Attack
on Israeli Consulate in Munich. Man from Austria is a Muslim with ties to Iran.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395726
Op-Ed. https://www.timesofisrael.com/under-netanyahu-israel-is-in-existential-danger/
Terrorists thrive in the Jordan
River Valley where there is no Jewish Settlement and the main smuggling route
from Iran-Iraq-Syria-Yarden into the Shomron and then Yehuda. 5 taken out. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395710
Student Eden Yadegar shared a video of the sit-in
to social media site X and wrote, “My walk to Secretary Hillary Clinton’s
course at Columbia SIPA today on the second day of classes. This is the direct
consequence of 11 months of inaction and fecklessness. We just want to go to
class, but apparently that’s a task too tall for Columbia.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395708
I have a funny feeling that each
side is provoking the other. https://www.timesofisrael.com/court-orders-sanctioned-settler-to-stop-vandalizing-palestinian-familys-property/
When you are dealing with a stubborn and
infertile mule this is what happens. https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-school-teachers-strike-may-certainly-last-until-late-october-union-head-says/
A senior US official told reporters on Wednesday
that "there are things the United States can do [to] fully account for
Israel's security needs" should the IDF withdraw from the Philadelphi
corridor as part of a hostage release deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395702
Against a Palestinian State – they want to
murder us. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395666
Political surprise Liz Cheney does
not like Donald Trump. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395706
Israeli Poll: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395701
Over the past night, based on IDF and ISA
intelligence, IAF aircrafts conducted a targeted strike on terrorists who
operated in a Command and Control Center used by the Hamas terrorist
organizations and the Islamic Jihad, which was embedded in the humanitarian
area in Deir al-Balah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395712
Should he have been
eating Trafe? The family of an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor in Virginia
has sued Boar’s Head, claiming that listeria from the meat company’s products
is responsible for his death. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395732
The IDF is on high alert ahead of the possibility
that masses of Gazans will arrive Thursday to the Netzarim Corridor, following
"fake News" announcements distributed to Gazans. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395728
Menachem Horowitz, an Israeli journalist and a
resident of Kiriat Shemona in northern Israel, criticized the management of the
war in the north of Israel and suggested that the military and political
echelons give Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah an ultimatum. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395730
Sept. 6th
Day 336
Nearly 90% agreed upon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395762
Sales Force buys Israeli Company. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395765
The number of significant attacks remained high
but largely stayed the same, with 25 such attacks in August compared to 24 in
July. The number of overall attacks that were foiled rose from 53 in July to 90
in August, an increase of 37 attacks over the previous month. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395775
The Biden administration on Thursday denounced
Tucker Carlson after he hosted a guest on his show this week who suggested
the Holocaust happened by accident, calling the interview “a disgusting and
sadistic insult to all Americans”, CNN reported. Yad Vashem
chairman Dani Dayan condemned the interview with Cooper and wrote on X,
"Tucker Carlson and Darryl Cooper engaged in one of the most repugnant
Holocaust denial displays of the last years. Antisemitic, ahistorical and
deranged, … https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395770
I could never put my finger on it,
but something in my gut made me disgusted about Tucker Carlson when he was on
Fox (perhaps from a reincarnation).
Sinwar planned to take hostages and
self to Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395749
He warned of Oct. 7th but
will happen again. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395738
Satire Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEuN_DluQWY
Colin Gray, 54, the father of suspected shooter
Colt Gray, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts
of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395764
Time
to prepare for Shabbos. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/shabat
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/09/05/societies-that-hate-jews-endanger-every-single-citizen/
Have a healthy, happy,
restful and peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
