This week we start Sefer Beresheis (Genesis)
Prayers for Men: Shalom Charles ben Gracia, Daniel ben Rivka, Ephraim ben Mazel, Zev ben Rachel, Yisrael Ben
Dovid ben Drorah Rivka, Meir Melech ben Bracha, Peter Bruce ben Golda Chaya, Dovid ben Zahava, Chaim ben Miriam, Eliezer Binyamin ben Faige Dinah
Women: Karen Neshama bas Esther
Ruth, Chaya Melecha Rachel bas Baila Alta, Miriam bas Irene Taita Malka, Drorah Rivka bas Chana, Leah bas Sara, Esther
Georgette bas Misooda, Mine’ Dulah bas Maxine, Rachel Izel bas Sara, Devorah Rosa bas Freyda Leah, re-added temp.
Miriam Esther bas Golda Chaya, Dina bas Sara.
Melech Dovid ben Surah Pearla, is in
long time care and recovery.
I also received this from Neal Z. Please
continue to keep Izzy in your thoughts and in your prayers (Yisroel Alter ben
Chava Chana), as the power of our collective prayers can hopefully continue to
penetrate the heavenly gates of mercy!
Motzei Yom Kippur Rabbi Zev Wolf ben
Chana Rasher had a heart attack – Tehillim (Psalms) or healing prayers.
Remember those Jews living in the
diaspora that there is a two day Yom Tov followed by a Shabbos which requires
and Eruv Tavshillin.
Parsha Beresheis
A little personal
reflection over the last Chumash Cycle. It was on Simchas Torah last year that
I got to the Minyan in the Corner and started praying as usual. During the
repeat of the Shemona Esray, I heard a lot of planes and said to one of the
Congregants: “I have a feeling that something is going on in the north.” “Oh,
didn’t you hear that Hamas invaded in the south and troops are being called up.
Then cars started driving around the Yishuv calling up people. One stopped for
a son to hug his father before going off to war. Our Gabbai/Rabbi of the
Minyan, Rabbi Goldberg, was supposed to be giving the Kiddush. Suddenly a
police car pulls up with a Border Policeman stepping out to give instructions
for the Kiddush that he is in charge of – the Gabbai/Rabbi. Iron Dome goes off
later on with contrails almost over our heads. Let us hope that this cycle goes
better.
We start the Chumash
Cycle with the dispute is the earth 5785 years old in a Universe that is
supposedly 13.5 Billion Light Years old and 96 Billion Light Years Wide.
Somehow the Astronomy makes less sense than the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rashi.
The Rebbe knew what the scientist said as he had an advanced degree in
Engineering and yet said we are 5785 years since creation.
1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Over the years I have spent most of my time commenting on this chapter.
This year, I shall go through it fast and spend more time in other chapters.
The Torah according to our tradition was written 974 Generations before the Big
Bang. Written or the blueprint in G-D's mind? Was the creation of heaven and
earth already thought out before the Big Bang? Or do we go according to the
generalization that there is no early or late in the Torah?
2 Now
the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep;
and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
This appears to be the
creative thought of G-D as on one had we see that the earth is not yet formed
and void and on the other hand there is a surface with water. All this before
the Big Bang and the creation of light. In short, in the planning stage. Or it
is per the generalization? For the Torah is neither a scientific or a history
book but a guide of Am Yisrael.
3 And
God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light. 4 And
God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the
darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the
darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one
day.
The whole story of the
Big Bang in 5 sentences.
6 And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' 7 And
God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament
from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And
God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a
second day.
The separation of the
atmosphere, clouds and sea occurred on the second day.
9 And
God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,
and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.
From a watery planet
with an atmosphere dry land with mountains and continents appeared.
10 And
God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called
Seas; and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said:
'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing
fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was
so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herb
yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed
thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 And
there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Plant life emerges on
the land and in the sea.
14 And
God said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day
from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and
years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament
of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so. 16 And
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night; and the stars. 17 And
God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And
there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
The planet has now
cooled off and is captured by the sun. The primeval radiation and heat is now
cooling off.
20 And
God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl
fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.' 21 And
God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creeps,
wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its
kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed
them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth.' 23 And there was
evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
So life begins in the
sea and swarms onto the land.
24 And
God said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind,
cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was
so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after its
kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the
ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
All the animals on the
ground were created.
26 And
God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon
the earth.'
Our image either the
royal we or with consultation with the Angels. The Midrash relates it was in
consultation between the attributes of Mercy and Justice with the later being
pushed down so that man could be created.
27 And
God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and
female created He them.
After the plural, the
Torah returns to singular langue making it appear close to the attributes
arguing above.
28 And
God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creeps upon the
earth.'
The original man appears
to have been a Siamese Twin with two sexes and bodies but that is in chapter
two and here man is a male and female.
29 And
God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the
face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding
seed--to you it shall be for food;
It appears to me that
the lion and lamb could coexist in Gan Eden as the plants yielded proteins that
did not require the consumption of meat or fish. Today soy protein and others
after the
30 and
to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given]
every green herb for food.' And it was so.
The ground yielded
proper vitamins and minerals that vegetable protein was sufficient for a vegan
way of life.
31 And
God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there
was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 2:1 And the heaven and
the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the
seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh
day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the
seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work
which God in creating had made.
When we make Kiddush, we
start off with Yom HaSheshe Yud and then a Hey. The next two words in Hebrew or
the first in our sentence are Vav and Hey or the NAME of the L-RD. The last
letters of this sentence of the last three words are Aleph Mem Tav or Emmet
meaning HASHEM IS TRUTH. The main reason that the Bnei Yisrael observe Shabbos
is that we are the people of HASHEM and secondary partners in Creation as we
are Created in HIS Image.
4 These
are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in
the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5 No shrub of the
field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the
LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to
till the ground; 6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and
watered the whole face of the ground.
I read in the book “In
search of Noah’s Ark” the idea that perhaps before the flood there was no
rain on earth and only the mist watered the land.
7 Then
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
In the Gemara there is a
story of a Rabbi who studied creation and was able to create man from dust. The
story of the Golem of Prague created by the Maharal is very interesting and
known in Prague not only in the Jewish Community. The Maharal used the NAME and
put it in the Golem’s mouth. HASHEM did not need such and a human can talk. In
fact in Kabbala there are four types of ‘life’ – inanimate, plant, animal and
talking (Midaber). The Golem was lacking the power of speech but not mankind.
וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו - he blew into his nostrils. He made him both of earthly and heavenly matter – his body from earthly
matter, and his soul from heavenly matter. The reason for this was that on the first day both heaven and earth
were created; on the second day God created the sky as part of heaven, and on the third day the dry land became
visible – on earth; on the fourth day He created the
luminaries as part of heaven, and on the fifth day the water produced
swarms of low-creeping creatures,
etc. – on earth. Therefore it was necessary to
create on the sixth day something composed of both heavenly and earthly matter, for
otherwise there would be envy within the Creation, in that one day more would
have been devoted to the creation of one section than to the other.
8 And
the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom
He had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow
every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
The Midrash has a lot of
stories and the tree of life and tree of good and evil were the same tree. One
brought about life with the ability to destroy the Yetzer HaRa while the other
one had no control. Thus eating from ‘life’ one working in AI would not produce
destruction while now we could create destruction.
10 And
a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted,
and became four heads.
The two rivers in Africa
described here might be the Nile and Congo Rivers but there are other rivers in
Africa.
11 The
name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasses the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good;
there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
This is in Africa.
פִּישׁוֹן - Pishon. This is the Nile, the river of Egypt. It is called Pishon (פִּישׁוֹן) because its water is
plentiful and overflows to irrigate the land, the word coming from the same root as וּפָשׁוּ פָּרָשָׁיו “their riders will
increase.” Another interpretation of the name Pishon is that it is the place where פִּשְׁתָּן (flax) grows, for it is
said about Egypt: “The flax workers who sow flax on the river will be ashamed.”
13 And
the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasses the whole
land of Cush.
גִּיחוֹן - Gichon. It is so called because it flows
with a roar, its roar being very loud, similar in meaning to וְכִי יִגַּח “If a work-bull gores,” for it gores and then goes on and roars.
This is why I am
uncertain if this is the Congo River, Zambezi River or the River with Victoria
Falls.
14 And
the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goes toward the east of
Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
These are the rivers
which supply the mainstay of the fertile crescent.
15 And
the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and
to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou
eat thereof thou shalt surely die.'
It says in Tehillim 90:4
“A day in the sight of the L-RD is 1000 years”.
18 And
the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make
him a help meet for him.'
Man is not meant to be a
hermit or live alone. He/she needs somebody to talk to somebody to walk with (I
wrote that to my wife on her 39th birthday and now we are both using
walkers for any distance).
19 And
out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and
whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name
thereof. 20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of
the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a
help meet for him.
21 And
the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He
took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead
thereof. 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man,
made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.
She stood before Adam
and since he was Ish she was called by him the feminine form Isha.
23 And
the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'
The Isha was part and
parcel of the DNA of the Ish so they were a couple.
24 Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife,
and they shall be one flesh.
After marriage the new
future couples would become as one flesh.
25 And
they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
They had the innocence
of a baby.
3:1
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said unto the woman: 'Yea, hath God said: Ye shall not eat of
any tree of the garden?'
Quoting the Midrash:
Only three creatures have relations face to face and only these three
creatures, G-D has spoke directly to: man, the fish and the snake.
2 And
the woman said unto the serpent: 'Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we
may eat; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
God hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die.'
Adam placed a fence
around the tree by saying “Not to touch it.” In doing so, he essentially led to
their downfall from Gan Eden. The snake wanted to have relations with the woman
and by Adam eating the fruit, he would die and the snake would get her.
4 And
the serpent said unto the woman: 'Ye shall not surely die;
The serpent heard the
command and knew that it was not forbidden to touch the tree so in the end the
serpent went on the tree and pushed Chava into the tree.
5 for
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.'
The serpent knew this
but she was not cunning or looking at the serpent as an object for relations.
6 And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight
to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her,
and he did eat.
The fruit looked and smelled
good.
7 And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles.
וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי עירמים הֵם - they realized that they were naked. Even a blind person knows when
he is naked! What, then, is meant by “they realized that they were naked”? They
had just one commandment from God, not to eat of
the Tree of Knowledge, and they now realized that they were stripped of it.
8 And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of
the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD
God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto
the man, and said unto him: 'Where art thou?'
Since G-D knows were
every electron, photon and quark is it is just a matter of opening a
conversation with them.
10 And
he said: 'I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked; and I hid myself.'
The whole world is naked
- animals, birds, fish so it must mean of Mitzvos.
11 And
He said: 'Who told thee that thou were naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?'
Now you have given
yourself and your sin away.
12 And
the man said: 'The woman whom Thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat.'
Like many, Adam does not
want to take responsibility he is trying to find an excuse.
13 And
the LORD God said unto the woman: 'What is this thou hast done?' And the woman
said: 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'
She has an excuse for
she was beguiled by the culprit.
14 And
the LORD God said unto the serpent: 'Because thou hast done this, cursed art
thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
The serpent took upon
himself to cause the sin, G-D does not give him a chance to make an excuse and
he gets the full curse.
15 And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.'
You wanted to have
relations with her now there shall be enmity between you and she.
16 Unto
the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain
thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee.'
The woman who had
painless childbirth before shall now give birth with pain.
17 And
unto Adam He said: 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and
hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat
of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of
thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it
were thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'
Now you shall have to
work hard to produce food from plants, you will no longer get free food but you
will have to work.
20 And
the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all
living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments
of skins, and clothed them.
He called her Chava and
they learned how to make garments from skins.
22 And
the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and
evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life,
and eat, and live forever.' 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth
from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So
He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the
cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the
tree of life.
At this juncture, man
knew how to return alive into Gan Eden but the Angels kept him away. He could
never get close to the tree of life or perhaps the ability to renew his DNA.
4:1
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: 'I
have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.'
This happened in Gan
Eden and she gave birth after intercourse without gestation.
2 And
again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground.
Also born in Gan Eden.
Cain was born with a twin sister and Hevel with two sisters or more wives than Cain
this appears to be the original and main cause of jealousy.
3 And
in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the LORD.
Inferior quality fruit.
Sort of small kosher Esrog but not one of the very large perfect Esrogim that
the Rabbis of great status buy or are given as gifts from the growers.
4 And
Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering;
He brought the first
born, fattest and strongest of his animals.
5 but
unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and
his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain: 'Why art thou
wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Cain and Hevel are still
on the level that G-D speaks directly to them. Except in a dream today, no one
speaks to G-D.
7 If
thou do well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou do not well, sin couches
at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over it.'
You did not bring the
best or do your utmost. In short, you were slacking or lazy in your efforts.
[We have this with students in school. One will put in five minutes of effort
to answer his homework assignment and another a large and longer effort to
complete the assignment.]
8 And
Cain spoke unto Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the
field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Hevel actually won the
initial round after the Cain attack, but he was then hit from behind and
murdered.
9 And
the LORD said unto Cain: 'Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said: 'I know not;
am I my brother's keeper?'
Rabbi Y. Frand Shlita: The Sefer Avir Yakov makes an
observation, to which Americans with a good sense of history can relate. For
those of us old enough to remember “Watergate” (June 17, 1972) – what was the
big mistake of that infamous political scandal which led to the resignation of
President Richard Nixon? The big mistake was not the breaking into the
Democratic National Committee Headquarters. The big mistake was the cover-up
that followed the burglary! Kayn’s burial of Hevel in the ground is the first
“cover-up” in world history!
10 And
He said: 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood cries unto Me
from the ground.
Cain thought that he
could bury Hevel and that would take care of getting rid of the body and the
evidence. However, he could not understand that G-D is omnipresent and the
Neshama of Hevel was before HIM in the next world.
11 And
now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand. 12 When thou till the ground, it shall
not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou
be in the earth.'
The earth had become
weaker after the sin of Adam and now it was much weaker than that.
13 And
Cain said unto the LORD: 'My punishment is greater than I can
bear. 14 Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of
the land; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever finds me will
slay me.'
Whosoever – in the
future. Rav Shalom Schwadron ZTZAL used to say to married Torah Scholars before
the summer vacation “That everyone is competing to get the curse of Cain,
instead of learning Torah in one place, you go and wander from town to town
you’re your families until you return to Kollel. “
15 And
the LORD said unto him: 'Therefore whosoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold.' And the LORD set a sign for Cain.
He had a scar or
something on his forehead that basically conveyed ‘don’t murder’.
… 21 And
Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 And Enoch
walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons
and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty
and five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God
took him.
He literally earned his
way into Gan Eden and became an Archangel.
25 And
Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begot
Lamech. 26 And Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech seven hundred
eighty and two years, and begot sons and daughters. 27 And all the
days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died.
When one does the
calculation, he died 7days before the
flood. It was his merit that kept the destruction from coming. Both Chanoch and
Methuselah had special spiritual merits that allowed men to live.
28 And
Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begot a son. 29 And he
called his name Noah, saying: 'This same shall comfort us in our work and in
the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath
cursed.'
Noach will find a way to
redeem us from the curse that the L-RD had put on the ground. Little did he
know that after the flood, the minerals and the strength of the plants would go
further down causing the life span of man to drop from close to a thousand
years to that of close to 120 years and in most generations younger.
30 And
Lamech lived after he begot Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begot
sons and daughters. 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred
seventy and seven years; and he died.
Note that Lamech died
while his father, the Tzadik was alive. Thus, he did not have any ability to
postpone the flood after Methuselah died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem,
Ham, and Japheth.
100, 99 and 98 years
before the flood.
6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, 2 that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they
chose.
These according the
Medrash and Zohar and fallen Angels while some commentaries claim that they were
princes. Up until 1945CE (5705 our year) the Emperor of Japan was considered a
god and the same for Pharaoh in his time. There are commentaries that call them
princes.
3 And
the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for that he also is flesh;
therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.'
Noah was given prophecy
of the flood and what to do to save himself, but he still did not produce
children worthy of surviving the flood. For based on the age for marriage and
children in the previous generations, it is improbable that somebody would wait
600 years before having a child.
4 The
Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of
God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same
were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
These were giants and
their height was approximately 9feet tall or 2.7meters.
הַנְּפִלִים - The
fallen ones. Giants,
so called because
they fell (נָפְלוּ) and caused the downfall (הִפִּילוּ) of the world. The usual Hebrew term for giants is עֲנָקִים. Destruction
of the generation of Enosh, when the ocean rose and flooded a third of the
world, the generation of the Flood were not humbled to take a lesson from them.
אֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ- Continued to
consort. The women bore children who were giants like them. אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּֽׁם - (lit.) Men
of names - i.e., those who had distinctive
names: Irad, Mechuyael and Methushael, who were so named on account of their eventual destruction – they
were wiped out (מְחוּיָאֵל – “wiped out by God”) and torn out (מְתוּשָׁאֵל – “torn out by God”)
from the world. Another
explanation: אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם means: “men of
devastation (שִׁמָּמוֹן),” who devastated the world.
5 And
the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the
earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said: 'I will
blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and
beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repents Me that I have
made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Having been influenced
by his grandfather, the Tzadik Methuselah, he kept himself worthy enough to
save himself and his family. The wickedness of the generation was too much for
him to influence them. If we compare our own times those folks who have fallen
into the WOKE education seem to be lost from us no matter how much we try to
education them. This appears to me what Noach faced.
3 Miracles of the war
Charity saves from death – a miracle.
There is a Midrash with
a story that Tzeduka saves from death and goes on to explain physical death.
There was an article in Yeted Neeman about a man who gave to the Rav of
Dovev in the north money for a Kollel in Tiberia. While he was in Dovev, Hezballah
sent a rocket that directly hit his house. Shrapnel penetrated his body but no
vital organ was hit. A millimeter away here a half centimeter away there. Yes,
not only in the times of the Midrash but today Tzeduka saves from death.
Algemeiner Article had
that a Gedera School was hit with an Iranian Missile and was almost decimated
but B”H because of the alert, no children were there.
Moyan Mula in Gaza
Moyan and his family
are Israelis. They speak Hebrew and have a business in India. His wife and his
two sons and daughter are there right now. Moyan felt that he was helped with a
hand from above and here is his story:
Shortly after Oct. 7th
of last year, Moyan came back to Israel to be in the IDF.
He was assigned to
Gaza and there is a film of some of the battle. He was fighting in mid-Nov.
when he had a premonition to move from the spot that he was standing. He moved
back or to the side or both. The spot where he was standing took an RPG and
sent shrapnel flying all over. His friend, David, died from his wounds and six
or seven others were seriously wounded.
He continued fighting
to neutralized Hamas. After returning to help evacuate the injured, the doctor
noticed something protruding from his back. He said, “You have blood all over.”
“It is probably from my comrades in arms.” But when they removed his outer
garments, there was pieces of shrapnel from back to toe all along the side of
him and perhaps in other places.
Moyan took a while to
recover and his wife and children came to visit him while he was still in a
wheel chair. Now he is well enough to appear on TV but still needs healing
before returning to India.
Perhaps a fourth and fifth Miracle
Israel TV is showing
the amount of weapons store in each house and field tunnel and shaft along the
border. Tens of thousands of bullets, thousands of RPGs, tens of thousands of
grenades, scopes, thousands of rockets, mortars, mines and other armaments.
That they did not attack on Oct. 7th before the Northern Front had
time to train for them would have been catastrophic. What we saw in Gaza was
child’s play against rag tag murderers and cut throats but not a terrorist arm
with thousands of commanders.
The attack on the
Netanyahu Residence had less damage as the UAV was stopped by a tree.
Miracle Shrapnel stuck
in Yarmulke. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397581
The Bamboo
Roof Test by R. Y. Tilles
https://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=1401-03
Jews eat in a sukkah, a branch-covered booth, during the
autumn holiday of Sukkot-that is, most everyone, except Rabbi Yitzchak
Greenberg and his wife Sara, who for eight consecutive years could not eat in
their sukkah. No, this is not in the Soviet Union or some other country where
religious freedom does not exist, or where Jews are such a minority that they
are afraid to be different. No, this was New York City where Jews are
everywhere and where religious freedom reigns.
Rabbi Greenberg earned his living as a high school science teacher in the New
York City public school system. On the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, he served
as the rabbi at the Interboro Jewish Center in East New York. The once
flourishing Jewish neighborhood had become quite dangerous, yet the Jews who
remained in the neighborhood had pure, simple faith. In the mid-Sixties, they
had built a beautiful synagogue, with a stained-glass skylight and colorful
murals on the walls.
Every Friday afternoon, Rabbi and Mrs. Greenberg would leave the comfort and
safety of their Oceanside, Long Island, home and move into an apartment in East
New York. The rabbi and his wife fell in love with the members of the
synagogue, who were all so sweet and kind and sincerely religious. When Rabbi
and Mrs. Greenberg would arrive in synagogue on Friday evening, everyone would
stand and applaud. They deserved it! After services, as a safety precaution,
the forty or so congregants, who were all middle-aged and elderly, would walk
the Rabbi and his wife to their "Shabbos apartment," and afterwards
to each other's homes.
During those years, one Jew after another was maimed, robbed, and even
murdered, some in their own apartments. Nobody was safe. In the back of the
synagogue, there had once been a sturdy wooden-framed sukkah. But
every night during the Sukkot holiday, youngsters who lived in the apartment
building overlooking the synagogue's yard would hurl bricks and boulders onto
the loose and flimsy bamboo poles that served as the schach [1] that
covered the sukkah. Good luck pronouncing it, but this schach has to resemble
the porous nature of the "Clouds of Glory" that protected the freed
Hebrews as they wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert.
Finally, in 1985, a week before Rosh Hashanah, the synagogue's president
telephoned Rabbi Greenberg, "Rabbi, we're closing the shul. We
can't even get ten men for a minyan."
Sad as he was to see the synagogue close down, Rabbi Greenberg was happy to
finally have a chance to celebrate the upcoming Sukkot holiday in a sukkah. And
what a perfect location for a sukkah-on the patio of his Oceanside home, facing
the waterfront. He built a sukkah and it looked gorgeous. His wife adorned the
table beautifully with silver candlesticks and fine china. Rabbi and Mrs.
Greenberg eagerly looked forward to the evening, when they would eat the first
festival meal in their sukkah.
Just before sunset, Mrs. Greenberg lit the Yom Tov holiday candles. Suddenly,
it became dark. Thick, dark clouds filled the sky. Without warning, CRAAACK!
Lightning zagged across the darkened sky. Thunderous clapping and a fierce
storm whipped across the waterfront. For five minutes, the house shook from the
thunder and violent wind.
The storm ended as suddenly as it had begun. Fearing the worst, Rabbi Greenberg
walked onto the patio. "Ribono Shel Olam? Master of the Universe!" he
cried.
Amazingly, the sukkah was still standing (actually leaning, which was good
enough for it still to be considered kosher). However, the bamboo poles, which served
as the sukkah's makeshift roof, had crashed on the set table, knocking over the
candlesticks and bouncing the china to the ground. Bamboo poles were everywhere
except on top of the sukkah. Without the schach above, the sukkah was not
considered a sukkah.
The Rabbi felt dejected. It was already evening and the Sukkot holiday had
begun. The first two days of Sukkot are special like the Sabbath, and Jewish
Law forbids one to build a sukkah on those days; one is not even allowed to
touch the bamboo, let alone put it back on the sukkah's roof.
It's enough of a test of faith when it rains on the first night of the
seven-day Sukkot holiday. Some people may even take it as a slight, or in a
humbler spirit, as a sign of God's displeasure. After all, God invites every
Jew to sit in His holy booth and then He dumps water on us!
A chasid tries to look at every situation in a positive light, and would view a
rainstorm on the Sukkot holiday as a test from God. The chasid will show God
that he loves the mitzvah of sitting in the sukkah so much that he will
joyfully eat in the sukkah even when the rain is pouring through. But Rabbi
Greenberg did not even have that opportunity, because according to Jewish law,
his sukkah was no longer valid to eat in.
"We sacrificed and suffered these past eight years not eating in a sukkah.
And now this happens!" Rabbi Greenberg vented to his wife, who was quietly
cutting vegetables for a salad. This was a difficult test, even for a chasid.
Rabbi Greenberg trudged upstairs to his study and searched in his tomes of
Jewish law. In such a case, where he had no other sukkah to eat in, did the Law
permit him to place the bamboo back on? He found the ruling: the schach can
only be replaced on top of the sukkah by a non-Jew.
Where was he going to find a handy person tonight to fix his sukkah and come
out in this weather?
Just then, Rabbi Greenberg recalled a story he had heard years earlier.
About 200 years ago, in a shtetl in Eastern Europe, the entire community
chipped in money to help a poor bridegroom get started in a business. Following
the community's advice, the groom bought a horse and wagon and drove to the
market to buy flour, which he would then resell in the village.
One day, he bought sacks of flour with the remainder of his money, and
carefully loaded them onto the wagon. While riding home, a violent gust of wind
flipped his wagon over. All the sacks of flour were flung onto the rocky
ground. The sacks burst open and the wind blew the flour away. The young man
turned upright the empty wagon, and feeling totally distraught drove straight
to his Rebbe. The sad groom told the Rebbe about the terrible misfortune.
After a few minutes of deep meditation, the Rebbe said, "God made that
wind. I have to call Him to a din Torah (a rabbinical court
hearing)."
The Rebbe wept and pleaded the case for the groom. Minutes passed. Finally, the
Rebbe looked up and smiled. "You have won the case. Now, return to your
village and all will be well."
On the road home, the groom's wagon got stuck in the mud. The unlucky groom
took a broken branch and tried to dig out the wheel. The branch struck against
something hard and he pushed it out of the mud. It was a chest! The young man
pried it open and, behold, it was overflowing with gold coins and jewels.
After searching in vain for its owner, a judge ruled that since apparently
robbers had hidden this treasure in the ground and there was nobody to whom he
could return the treasure, the groom was allowed to keep it. The couple
invested their fortune wisely, and became known throughout the land for their
generosity and warm hospitality.
After recalling this poignant story, Rabbi Greenberg put his head on the table
and cried. For eight years, he had been unable to eat a holiday meal in a
sukkah because of the danger of eating outside in a sukkah in East New York.
But, now, Rabbi Greenberg finally had the opportunity to eat in his own sukkah
and God's wind had blown it down.
After intense concentration and heartfelt tears, Rabbi Greenberg lifted his
head, smiling. "Dear," he said to his wife, "I feel like I won
the court case."
Barely two minutes had passed, there was a knock on the door. A man stood at
the door with a toolbox and rope. "Robby! What are you doing here?"
"I came to fix your booth," Robby said. Then, without even waiting
for a response, Robby entered the house, walked through the living room and
dining room, and stepped onto the patio.
Rabbi Greenberg was in shock. He had not seen Robby for nine or ten years.
Robby, who was not Jewish, worked as a licensed electrician for an observant
Jew in Spring Valley, New York. Each time the business was going to be closed
for a Jewish holiday, Robby would take the homebound train to Oceanside, Long
Island, and pop into the nearby Ocean Harbor Jewish Center. There he would find
Rabbi Greenberg, who at the time served as a part-time rabbi of this synagogue,
and would ask the rabbi what the upcoming holiday that was providing him a
vacation was about.
Now, standing on the Rabbi's patio, Robby set down his toolbox and ropes, and
inspected the damage to the sukkah. Rabbi Greenberg stood behind him, shaking
his head in disbelief. "Robby, you've never been to my home. How did you
know where I lived?"
"I knew you lived in Oceanside [Robby lived in Long Beach, which was one
town over], so I looked up your address in the phone book," Robby
answered, while anchoring down the sukkah with ropes. "Now, Rabbi, if you
don't mind waiting inside your house, I'll be finished in no time."
Twenty short minutes later, Robby stepped into the house. "It's all done,
Rabbi. So now, have a happy holiday."
"Robby, who sent you? How did you know to come here? You must be an angel
of G*d."
"No, I'm no angel," Robby laughed. "During the storm, a crazy
feeling lured me to go onto my veranda. When I saw the strong winds, I said,
'Now it's that holiday of booths. I bet Rabbi Greenberg's blew down and he
needs help.'"
Robby smiled. "Rabbi and Mrs. Greenberg, have a beautiful holiday."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Modified and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from an article
by Tzvi Jacobs, who heard the story directly from Rabbi Yitzchak and Sara
Greenberg.
Tzvi Jacobs, born in 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina, is the author of "From
the Heavens to the Heart." He currently lives in Monsey, New
York. His books are now available on Amazon in book and Kindle editions. See
TzviJacobs.com.
Why this Week? Festival of SUKKOT
Footnote:
[1] Doesn't have to be bamboo. Branches of palm trees, corn husks, grain
stalks, reed or rattan woven mats, etc. so long as they grow naturally and the
roof made from then is porous enough that stars can be seen through it and rain
can't be kept out completely.
A Courageous Outrageous Tipsy Simchas Torah Blessing
By Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles
https://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5785/1402-04.html
Rabbi Shneur Lipskar tells a moving story about his experience at
the home of Rabbi Asher Tamarkin, the Chabad shaliach (emissary)
in Kazakhstan when he was a Bochur (yeshiva student).
Lipskar, who lives in Jerusalem, traveled with two other Chabad yeshiva
students to Karaganda,[1] Kazakhstan for Tishrei (the month of holidays
that begins with Rosh Hashana) in the year 5780 (Sept. 2019) to
assist Rabbi Tamarkin, who arrived there in 2015 with his wife Rachel to
establish Chabad of Karaganda.
"When we entered his home for the first time, I didn't see any
children," Lipskar wrote. "After a few hours passed and no kids
returned from school or child care, I suddenly understood that they don't have
children, although they had been married already for almost ten years.
"The thought that they didn't have children struck me hard. How is it
possible to run a Chabad house, to conduct classes and deliver lectures, to
help Jews with the daily Mitzvos and other good deeds, and then return to a
childless home? A clean and neat house - too neat, no toys on the floor. No
sleepless nights, no children to gently cover with his Tallis during Birchas
Kohanim[2]. How is it possible?
"We spent the time building a sukkah in the courtyard, davening (praying)
with the congregation and helping Jews to bless on and shake the lulav.
And then came Simchas Torah. Back home we were used to enthusiastic
crowds on Simchas Torah, but in Kazakhstan it wasn't like that. Mainly elderly
Jews attended and it was quiet.
"But we didn't want to simply fulfill our obligation by dancing. We wanted
to truly rejoice. So we began to drink and toast l'chaim ('To
life!')- another cup and another cup and…, in between singing and taking turns
to hold and hug the Torah scrolls.
"Afterward we had the festive holiday evening meal. The other two students
sobered up somewhat. I didn't. Rav Asher said a short Torah interpretation. We
sang some more and then I requested that we sing Yeladim by
Eviatar Banai [a moving song about children by a well-known Israeli singer]. No
one else knew it so I sang it by myself and everyone was quiet and listened.
The song is about children, on the emotional moment that one's child leaves to
yeshiva boarding school with only his parents' prayers for well-being and
success to accompany him. The song suddenly reminded me of the 'matter' that no
one mentions. But I was drunk enough not to think about what's appropriate to
say or not say.
"I shouted with great pain: 'Reb Asher, you are a good Jew! And you have a
heart of gold! You could have been a stay-at-home Chabadnik in Kfar Chabad, but
you chose the difficult path of being a shaliach of the Rebbe in a distant, very
foreign, Muslim land! You gave your whole life for the Rebbe! You deserve
children!'
"There was silence. R' Asher turned white. but I continued to talk. 'We
three are issuing a Pasak (a rabbinical ruling that you
deserve a ben Zachar (a baby boy) before the end of this new
year. I swear to you that you and your wife will have a ben Zachar
within this year!'
"I then hugged him enthusiastically. R' Asher whispered 'Amen' with
intense Kavana (focused intention), whereupon I was
immediately carried to my room by my friends (where I promptly threw up).
Lipskar concluded his story: "An hour ago I got a phone call from the two Bochurim
that were with me. After almost ten years with no children, a baby boy was born
to R' Asher that day!
"And that day was exactly nine months since my shalichus
mission in Kazakhstan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and annotated by Yerachmiel Tilles from
the report in "Yeshiva World News," as posted on
//theyeshivaworld.com (July 13, 2020).
Editor's note: FYI, under the online post mentioned in the above source note,
several readers posted comments and theories and calculations, attempting to
debunk the claim made in the last sentence of the story. All are based on a
false premise: that "since my shalichus mission in Kazakhstan" means
"since the date of my blessing." How silly. If that is what the
author meant, that is exactly what he would have said.
Footnotes:
[1]The fifth most populous city in Kazakhstan, 1st and 2nd being Almaty
(Alma-Ata) and Astana the capital. Karaganda has a population of approximately
half a million.
[2]A blessing delivered to the public once on each biblical festival (in the
Land of Israel it is done on Shabbat as well, and in Jerusalem daily).
Milestone: Adam Abeshouse, 63, https://www.timesofisrael.com/adam-abeshouse-decorated-jewish-producer-for-a-list-classical-musicians-dies-at-63/ example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdjEj9XFnKI
Milestone: Yehuda Bauer, 98,
Holocaust researcher and writer of 40 books. https://www.timesofisrael.com/yehuda-bauer-influential-holocaust-scholar-dies-at-age-98/
Inyanay Diyoma
Oct. 12th and 13th
Day 372 and 373
This morning radio host, V. Green,
said that her mother-in-law lives in the next room. https://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-fires-rockets-drones-at-israel-throughout-yom-kippur-herzliya-home-hit-by-uav/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/nicaragua-severs-ties-with-israel-over-gaza-war-calls-it-enemy-of-humanity/ They will regret it
during the Judgement mentioned in Zachariah in the Haftarah of Sukkos
"You simply disconnect a part from Lebanon,
the 15-16 southern kilometers, until Hezbollah renounces the destruction of
Israel. If they don't relent, neither will we," Lieberman said in an
interview with 103FM. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397538
Two Soldiers injured on Yom Kippur and one
seriously the day after. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397550
Moshe Or, brother of Avinatan who was abducted to
the Gaza Strip, called for more action for the release of the hostages in an
interview with 103FM. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397547
Captured leaving tunnel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397552
The IDF once again expanded its ground offensive
in southern Lebanon over Saturday night. As part of the expansion, an IDF
division has started offensive maneuvers in a new area in southern Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397544
Prior to offensive closed military zone and
updates. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396639 and https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-824331
What we long suspected from his
encryption to his son that looked like a Beit Samekh Dalet. Christopher Columbus, the 15th-century explorer who
discovered the Americas, was of Sephardic Jewish descent, Spanish scientists
announced Saturday after a DNA examination. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397548
Drone intercepted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397531
Austin to Gallant (we haven’t gone
in yet and he wants an exit plan- from where?) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397530
2nd time in 5 months: According to Toronto Police, the gunmen targeted the Bais
Chaya Mushka Elementary School at 4:05 a.m. Saturday morning. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397532
A prominent German neo-Nazi fell to his death
while hiking on what is believed to be Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's favorite
mountain, the New York Post reported. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397518
Iran prohibits pagers and
walkie-talkie on flights. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397534
Obama goes against Trump. If you
don’t vote Kamala then you aren’t Black.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397527
2024
Nobel Prize in
Literature was awarded to the South Korean author Han Kang. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature
Bill Maher tells Chapel Roan to
wake-up. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-824359
Oct. 14
Day 374
There were two UAV’s that came in.
One was shot down. The second was below the radar at roof top level and lost
from view. Somebody did not put brain in gear and sound the alarm. At the same
time, Golani Soldier Trainees and their leaders/commanders sat down to eat
after marching in Vaadi Ara. The UAV has a TV built in, I suppose, and the
dining room lite up was a good military target. https://www.timesofisrael.com/four-soldiers-killed-seven-seriously-hurt-in-hezbollah-drone-strike-on-military-base/
Names of the soldiers. Yosef was the
grandson of a soldier killed in action. "In 1948, members of the Hieb clan tied their fates to
the fate of the State," explained Hussein al-Hieb, head of the
Tuba-Zangariyye local council. "In an initiative by Yigal Alon and Sheikh
Abu Yousuf, during the War of Independence, the 'Palhib' unit was founded, and
since then, an unbreakable treaty has formed." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397605
Protos: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397583
Joe said to Bibi if you want this
you will not bomb in Beirut and we didn’t.
Pallywood propaganda productions: https://www.timesofisrael.com/25-said-killed-in-idf-strikes-on-gaza-hospital-school-army-says-terror-center-targeted/
Op-Ed Peter Deutsch, former
Democratic House Rep. Why I am voting Trump. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-823624
Col. Aviri and Dalia Navon lost two
First Sgts Grandsons. Elkana Navon in Jenin and Itai Fogel in Jabaliya.
Children of both their son and daughter.
Two soldiers injured in southern
Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397600
Miracle Shrapnel stuck
in Yarmulke. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397581
Hezballah is alive and killing: Levy referred to reports and rumors
that, "in the last few days Israeli officials have been talking in an
arrogant and boasting way, claiming that 'Hezbollah is collapsing and we have
destroyed most of its rocket array.'" https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397623
Russian Immigrants sometimes after
leaving Communism are more interested in money that being Jewish. It has been cleared for publication
that as part of a joint operation, the ISA (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police
Lahav 433 investigation unit uncovered an Iranian intelligence cell that worked
to enlist and operate Israeli citizens. As part of the investigation, police
arrested Vladislav Victorson, aged 30 from Ramat Gan. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397611
Defense Minister – we are working on
solution to drones. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397612
Updates: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396639
IDF Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi,
arrived Sunday night at the Golani Brigade Training Base and conducted an
initial inquiry into a UAV strike on the base, which killed four soldiers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397602
Rabbanit Leah Koledetski, daughter of Rabbi Chaim
Kanievsky, on Sunday evening moved the families of hostages held in Gaza, when
she showed them how her husband, 70-year-old Rabbi Yitzhak Koledetski, has
slept since the October 7, 2023, massacre. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397597
Out late today. I was cutting palm
branches from my tree.
Oct. 15th
Day 375
Yesterday, the radio reported that
Netanyahu promised Biden in order to get the THAAD system that we would not
bomb Beirut and 5 buildings were not bombed with all the rockets underneath. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397641
A policeman aged approximately 30 was killed
Tuesday morning in a shooting attack near the Yavne Interchange in southern
Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397664
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjgprjsyyg#autoplay
In lieu of the attack, there will be
more sirens in more areas until the drone threat is completely verified
stopped.
From Thomas from Barry Shaw: Against
Pallywood it is 8 minutes. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10170003896250392&id=668790391&mibextid=qi2Omg&rdid=b6Mnt2XC0pLc2PwG
My Pal Joey was a play on Broadway
when I was about five. Joe is helping us but letting Hamas/Hezballah
recover. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397661
The ISA has published that Abed Balaal, a senior
Hamas commander in Turkey deported in exchange for Gilad Shalit, was behind the
Tel Aviv bombing attack about two months ago. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397663
Israel is running low on Arrow and Iron Dome
Missiles. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397657
We supplied Gaza with fuel: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397668
Footage from S. Lebanon: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397669
Yediot Aharonot reported Tuesday morning that in the last 72 hours, Israel
has conceded on three fronts - Beirut, Iran, and humanitarian aid to the Gaza
Strip.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397660
Two months after the
explosion that rocked southern Tel Aviv, which a suicide bomber set off
injuring a 33-year-old man, Israel Police and the Shin Bet revealed that they
apprehended the cell that orchestrated the attack. In a synchronized operation,
Tel Aviv’s Central Unit and the Shin Bet detained eight terrorists, along with
the driver who drove the suicide bomber from Shu'afat refugee camp to the Tel
Aviv explosion site. Indictments are set for a military court on Tuesday. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r15noooj1l#autoplay
Because of the building of the
Sukkah and other items, Part 2 may be tomorrow or late today.
Oct. 16th
Day 376
Prayer request for Rabbi
Zev Wolf ben Chana Rasher who suffered a heart attack after the Yom Kippur
Fast.
Biden Administration threatens arms
embargo of Israel wants Arab votes MI and MN: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ry9wea3jje
Another Iranian Assassination
attempt this time from a Ukrainian Immigrant. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r17byjtjje
After almost a week Beirut attacked.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-824840
Spain is now anti-Israel not neutral
any more. https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-long-shot-wartime-proposal-spain-and-pa-push-for-reprise-of-1991-madrid-peace-summit/
This is the biggest threat to an IAF
Plane: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-824341
https://www.timesofisrael.com/agriculture-ministry-police-raid-puppy-mill-rescue-30-neglected-dogs/
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/10/15/umass-amherst-student-government-passes-bds-reaffirmation/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/researchers-uncover-hidden-tomb-under-indiana-jones-landmark-in-petra/
Getting ready for Iran: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-824803
After Nasrallah was killed, they
fled. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-824769
In Jenin, we ambush terrorist. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397717
IDF intelligence identified a regional UNRWA
clinic that had been taken over by terrorists and turned into a weapons storage
facility and a hideout for terrorists in the area. The terrorists who had
barricaded themselves in the clinic fired at the troops and were eliminated.
Additionally, directed by IAF aircraft, the soldiers eliminated a terrorist
cell that fired. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397687
The British government on Thursday announced new
sanctions target three "illegal settler outposts" and four
organizations that it claims "have supported and sponsored violence
against communities in the West Bank." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397680
Navy shells Hezballah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397719
97year old survivor sits out sirens.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397719
Sergeant Koren Bitan, a 19-year-old soldier from
Rosh HaAyin who served in the Bislamach Brigade, fell in combat in the southern
Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Monday evening. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397628
More UAV’s stopped. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397618
Hamas Aeriel Unit eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397631
Fell 4 meters during Siren. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397632
Rockets on Tel Aviv. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397626
US Citizens leave Lebanon
immediately. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397649
More aid into Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397643
Iran ends direct talks with US. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397647
Iranian Commander shows up but with
two guards next to him. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397647
Oct. 17th
Day 377
While my Jewish Brothers and Sisters
outside of Israel are celebrating Sukkos and having joy. A soldier saw three
suspicious terrorists in a building and ordered a tank hit on it. The 50th
Paratrooper Brigade came to check out the building and found three terrorists
dead. Two unknown but the body of Yahya Sinwar was lifeless. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397749
5 soldiers die in Lebanon and
between Lebanon and Gaza, 9 injured. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397757
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/17/us-strikes-stealth-bombers-houthis-yemen
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-strike-said-to-target-weapons-depot-in-syrias-latakia/
Hezballah Commander eliminated 150
other targets hit. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397751
Hezballah Northern Commander gone. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397743
Jihad and Hamas targeted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397750
Danon responds to UN accusations. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397745
UK possible sanctions on Min. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397735
A visibly Jewish teenager was assaulted in the
suburbs northwest of Paris, The Jewish Chronicle reported,
citing French media outlets. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397743
Columbia University temporarily suspended
Business School assistant professor Shai Davidai’s campus access, reports
the Columbia Spectator. Davidai claims that this this is “Because I
was not afraid to stand up to the hateful mob following October 7.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397734
Investigation leaks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397727
Troops from the Alexandroni Brigade's Battalion
7012 on Wednesday blew up Hezbollah's central operations command center in
southern Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397722
Oct. 18th
Day 378 end of week 54
The question now is if there is a
chance for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza on semi-reasonable terms? https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-to-view-sinwars-death-as-singular-opportunity-to-advance-hostage-deal/
Wounded and alone the footage before
Sinwar was killed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397762
Biden – Sinwar’s death good for the
world. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397760
IDF Spokesman – Our work is not done
until the hostages are home. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397764
Candle Lighting today: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/zmanim/cities_cdo/aid/3559639/country/Israel/jewish/Candle-Lighting-Times-Around-the-World.htm
Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir did not
serve in the IDF the later criticizes Charedim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397729
More details on the pagers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397737
Infiltration and attack from Yarden.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397778
Bennett crushes everybody in the
polls. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397773
An indictment will be filed Friday against a
Jerusalem Arab who planned to carry out terror attacks to avenge residents of
Gaza and the Hamas terror group. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397777
Another Hezballah Commander eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397771
Oct. 19 and 20
Day 379 and 380 start of week 55
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-drone-targets-netanyahus-house-in-caesarea-pm-wife-not-home-no-injuries/ No siren in Caesarea.
IDF soldier Sergeant Major (Res.) Yishai
Greenbaum, critically injured several days ago during fighting in southern
Lebanon, died of his wounds on Saturday. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1k00f5wx1g
2
soldiers fell. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397797
180 rockets with one dead. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-825190
Main Hezballah tunnel complex in
stone blown up. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397794
Secular court fights religious Jews
and now the IDF. https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-tells-state-to-draw-up-formal-procedure-for-gaza-medical-evacuations/
IDF drops leaflets with photo of
dead Sinwar asking for people to surrender life hostages and they will get
money and a passport. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-825221
Yazidi Woman freed by the IDF. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-825066
Another reserve brigade
joins in. The IDF is working "vigorously and quickly" with the aim of
finishing the work in the area near the border in southern Lebanon, as well as
the plan to attack Hezbollah's fire and command and control arrays "within
days to weeks." No more. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syh00qbmgjx#autoplay
Leaked US Docs. On Israeli attack. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjohuzgxkx#autoplay
Quick advancement in Hezballah. Hezbollah has replenished its ranks of commanders and key leadership
positions with operatives whose names were previously unknown to Israel, an
Israeli official told The New York Times on Saturday. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h19nduwlyx#autoplay
Triple saturation: Hezbollah, which
reportedly has more than 1,000 drones left in its arsenal, including
explosive-laden ones, has ramped up the use of these aircraft, launching
coordinated strikes on multiple Israeli targets—mainly military and government
sites. Over the past 24 hours, there has been a noticeable decrease in rocket
and missile attacks, with fewer and less accurate strikes hitting Israeli
territory. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjinheze1l#autoplay
American Security Company to oversee
aid in Gaza? Plans for attack on Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397826
The police arrested a suspect who stabbed a
worshipper during the morning service on Shabbat at a synagogue on Hafetz Chaim
Street in Jerusalem. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397827
Harris appears to agree that Israel
is committing Genocide. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397815
Sinwar’s body is ready for pigskin. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397782
Approximately 1,500 Hezballah
terrorists killed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397791
Underground complexes destroyed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397788
Oct. 21st And 22nd
Day 381 and Day 382
I woke up at 4:44 AM, showered and
decided to sleep until six. I made the morning Brachos and was about to take my
medicines and have a cup of coffee when the siren went off. At just around 5 AM
there had been an attack on Haifa. Now at 6:34 Beit Arieh, Nili and Modiin
Illit. Sun about 200 rockets, Mon about 200 rockets and the wake up calls
today. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397780
It was he who helped get Sinwar. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397966
Hammer turns over killing Yishai
Mann. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397956
https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-shot-dead-in-northern-arab-town-of-umm-al-fahm-2/ rises to
191 today.
The
IDF has announced that on Thursday, with the direction of IDF and ISA
intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on an operational meeting
point for numerous Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397961
Action against France by FM. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397876
Rockets from the north. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397940
US Vice President Kamala Harris said, in an interview with MSNBC's Al Sharpton,
that “the number of innocent Palestinians who have been
killed in Gaza is really unconscionable and we have to be honest about that”. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397934
AJC to Harris stop genocide claims. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397937
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States
Michael Oren on Sunday called on the White House to state unequivocally that
Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, after Vice President Kamala
Harris appeared to agree with a
heckler who accused Israel of genocide. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397882
Blinken visits Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397936
Hamas rule by committee. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397939
The forecast now gives Trump a 52 percent chance
of winning the 2024 presidential race, while Harris holds a 42 percent chance. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397885
Poll after Sinwar. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397875
Charedi soldier used as an example
seriously injured. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397858
Hezballah cell eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397886
UNIFIL more accusations at
Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397884
The IDF intercepted two UAVs which were fired
towards Israeli territory on Sunday evening and early Monday morning. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397880
Former US President Donald Trump, in an interview
with Al Arabiya on Sunday, slammed the Biden administration
and Kamala Harris for their failure to prevent bloody conflicts in Ukraine and
the Middle East. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397883
Oct. 23rd
Hoshana Rabbah Day 383
Last night, there was a UAV that was
lost for 45 minutes while about a million sheltered in place. One could see on
TV that it was hit by Iron Dome but seemed to fall far but fly forward. It was
actually on its way to the ground. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397780
Yesterday, a UAV hit a military
lunch room injuring 3 and killing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397972
The
IDF announced on Tuesday that a deputy commander Major (Res.) Rabbi Aviram
Hariv, 43, a resident of Dolev and a rabbi at the Dolev girls' high school,
fell in battle in Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397978
After today’s attack on Tel Aviv,
residents of Sidon were told to evacuation certain buildings. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/398007
Every second house we found weapons.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/398010
THEY WOULD NOT HIRE A JEW TO WORK IN
SUCH A SENATIVE POSITION FOR FEAR OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL BUT AN IRANIAN IN ORIGIN
MUSLIM WAS GOOD FOR THEM. TRUMP CALLED THEM THE ENEMY FROM WITHIN. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397997
The
IDF announced on Wednesday morning that over the past several days, the IAF
struck and eliminated the Hezbollah commanders of the Jibchit, Jouaiya, and
Qana sectors. These terrorists were responsible for numerous attacks on Israeli
civilians, including the firing of rockets and anti-tank missiles toward
northern Israeli communities. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397999
Happy Simchas Torah and
for those in the diaspora a good Shabbos. Prayer for Rain starts at Musaf
tomorrow.
Rachamim Pauli
