Mo'adim LeSimchah!!!!!

16 Tishrei 5785 
Chol Hamo'ed Sukkot
Erev Shabbat Kodesh

B"H!!  All of the honor belongs to HaKadosh Baruch Hu.  He chose the lowliest of soldiers to do His bidding.  And so shall be the end for all our enemies!!!!

OSINT/ IR
Joe Truzman@JoeTruzman 

New details about the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar:

Yesterday morning, a soldier from Battalion 450 spotted a suspicious individual inside a building and opened fire on him. Later, in the day , the fighters observed three figures attempting to move stealthily between houses. Troops quickly identified these individuals as terrorists. Two of them were covered with blankets, likely not Sinwar, and were ahead, trying to clear the path for him. Troops engaged them with gunfire, injuring the terrorists, who began to scatter. Two of them took refuge in one building while Sinwar entered another.

Troops opened fire from a tank, providing light gunfire support as well. Sinwar was alone in his building and ascended to the second floor. The troops launched a shell and then rolled two grenades into the area. They also deployed drones to assist in the operation.

One drone captured a glimpse of a masked figure with a wounded arm sitting inside a room. Realizing a drone was approaching, the terrorist grabbed a piece of wood and threw it at the drone. The fighters responded by firing a shell at that location.

In the morning, troops entered the room and uncovered the body’s face, ultimately revealing it to be Sinwar.

Report by @ItayBlumental

Sukkah vs. Gog

14 Tishrei 5785

Erev Chag Sukkot

The War of Gog and Magog:

The Haftara of Shabbat Chol Ha-mo’ed Sukkot

By Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein

Translated by David Strauss

The haftara for Shabbat Chol Ha-mo’ed Sukkot (Yechezkel 38:18-39:16), which deals with the war of Gog and Magog, is one of the most famous prophecies in Scripture. It has succeeded in taking hold of the human imagination and penetrating deeply into our cultural and religious consciousness. The destruction of the existing and imperfect world, the ultimate war against evil, the heavy price of blood, and God's victory over men of flesh and blood are powerful images that leave a profound impression on the human soul. Thus, this prophecy has become part of the inalienable property of the Jewish and general world.

It is quite understandable, then, that this prophecy was included in the haftarot cycle. However, its relationship to the festival of Sukkot is not at all clear, and is even surprising, for what is the connection between a blood-drenched world war and the festival of Sukkot? How does the sukka of peace connect to war, and what is the relationship between the refuge and shelter of the sukka and the destruction and desolation described in this prophecy?

The reading of the haftara of Gog and Magog on Shabbat Chol Ha-mo’ed Sukkot is not merely a custom, but an obligation of Talmudic law. The gemara in Megilla (31a) mentions it along with the other haftarot read on the various holidays to this very day; we thus see that Chazal already saw an essential connection between the prophecy and the festival.

In answer to this question, Rashi (Megilla 31a, s.v. be-yom) identifies the war of Gog and Magog with the war fought in the end of days that is mentioned at the end of the book of Zekharia in the chapter that serves as the haftara on the first day of Sukkot. As Rashi puts it, "'On that day, when Gog shall come' is the war mentioned in Zekharia in 'Behold, the day of the Lord comes.'" Indeed, there is significant correspondence between these two prophecies. Both deal with a future war of defense fought against nations oppressing Israel in which God Himself rises to fight against the enemies of Israel, making use of very similar methods of fighting. Both campaigns are decided by way of supernatural means introduced by God, the focus of which is a great earthquake that utterly overturns the regular natural order, as a result of which pandemonium breaks out, causing "every man's sword to be against each other." From this perspective, we can certainly speak of very similar accounts issuing from the mouths of Yechezkel and Zekharia, and conclude from this that we are dealing with the same war, as is argued by Rashi.

Based on this, we can explain why we read the story of Gog and Magog on Shabbat Chol Ha-mo’ed Sukkot, for the prophecy in Zekharia makes explicit mention of the festival of Sukkot. According to Rashi, the two haftarot read on the festival of Sukkot deal with the terrible war that will take place in the future, "on that day," for they are one and the same war. On the first day of Sukkot, we read the account of that war as it appears at the end of the book of Zekharia, mentioning the festival of Sukkot at the conclusion, and on Shabbat Chol Ha-mo’ed, we read Yechezkel's account of the same war.

[Read the rest here. ]

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The sukkah is the safest place to be!!!!  We are protected while doing a mitzvah and in this case, we are surrounded with the mitzvah!!

~ CHAG SAMEACH and SHABBAT SHALOM ~

Don't Be Confused

13 Tishrei 5785 

If you follow the news, and I understand why many don't, the announcement about the US sending a THAAD array to Israel might cause some confusion.

Biden sends antimissile system and 100 troops to Israel, deepening U.S. role

...The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, or THAAD, is the latest indication that the United States expects the Israeli assault to be “so comprehensive that the Iranians will have to respond,” said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert who has advised multiple Republican and Democratic administrations. 

...“The THAAD Battery will augment Israel’s integrated air defense system,” said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. “This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.”

[Harrison] Mann said the risk to U.S. soldiers who will crew the THAAD system is clear.

“Those soldiers will be operating from Israeli military bases, which Iran already demonstrated the will and capability to strike, at a time when additional Iranian strikes are expected imminently,” he said. “Even if we make the unreasonably optimistic assumption that this THAAD battery can defeat any and all missiles headed its way, the Israeli military cannot guarantee the safety of these troops from drones, which have successfully penetrated Israeli bases in the past.”

First they tell us only diplomacy can work, there must be a ceasefire, (even now in Lebanon!), but at the same time they continue to send war materiel to Israel. To understand how to possibly resolve the confusion, it is helpful to backtrack to 2008 to "Site 512"...

“Site 512,” a Secret US Military Base in Israel to Detect Iranian Missile Launches

According to previous reports, the primary function of the military base known as "Site 512" is to operate a long-range radar facility for the United States. This facility is tasked with monitoring any ballistic missile launches by Iran or its proxy groups against Israel and other allies in the Middle East.

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Located atop Mount Har Qeren in Israel’s Negev Desert lies a secret United States military facility, known only to defense observers as “Site 512,” approximately 20 miles from the Gaza Strip.

According to previous reports, the primary function of this base, “Site 512,” is to operate a long-range American radar system.

This system is designed to monitor any ballistic missile launches by Iran or its proxy groups against Israel and other allies in the Middle East.

In recent days, this long-range radar facility has been actively assisting Washington and Tel Aviv in detecting Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.

The main objective of “Site 512” is to track ballistic missile threats; however, it is not equipped to monitor the thousands of rockets launched by Palestinian militants against Israel.

...Capable of detecting targets from 540 miles to nearly 1,860 miles away, the AN/TPY-2 radar is among the most powerful on the market for tracking ballistic missiles.

Specifically developed to detect and track short, medium, and long-range ballistic missiles, the radar operates in the X-Band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which allows for clearer target visibility.

...Months before the recent escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. Army allocated $32 million (equivalent to approximately RM153 million) to construct additional housing facilities for its troops stationed at this secret military site.

This likely indicates efforts to increase the presence of U.S. military personnel at “Site 512” and to expand its long-range radar capabilities in Israel.

There is also a potential plan to add about 1,000 U.S. troops to “Site 512”. — DSA

[See also U.S. Deploys X-Band Radar In Israel In Shield Against Incoming Iranian Missiles Such As Shahabs.]

My best guess, and one that makes a lot of sense in my opinion, is that this THAAD Battery is coming to protect Site 512 and its contingent of American military personnel.  It makes sense even more so when you consider the damage done to a base in the Negev in the last onslaught of Iranian ballistic missiles.

Apparently, I'm not the only one asking this question or coming to the same conclusion.  [See Why the US is giving Israel a powerful Thaad anti-missile system.]

The upshot of all this is that there is no need for confusion as long as you keep your mind focused on one overriding fact:  the USA is not our friend and is only ever looking out for their own best interests, especially when they conflict with ours.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

If you haven't already read my 2013 blog post on American military bases in Israel, I invite you to do so now:  "Not-so-secret US Military Involvement in the Jewish State".

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I noticed this yesterday. Everything is in motion right now.  And GoguMagog was always connected to Sukkot!

Israel Realtime Updates (15/10/24 AM)

❓WORLD WAR EVENTS that may indirectly affected Israel:

.. North Korea threatening South Korea, and blowing up bridges and roads that cross the borders.

.. Russia brings a military alliance pact with North Korea, who is supplying them with heavy ammunition for use against Ukraine, to their parliament.

.. Russia is “clawing back” Russian territory invaded by Ukraine over the summer and pushing hard on the Ukrainian fronts.

.. China, in a ‘drill’, encircled Taiwan with mass military and air forces - and directly describes the exercise as practice for an invasion and takeover.

.. Effect on Israel: The US has ally commitments to South Korea and Taiwan, and is a major supplier of war equipment to Ukraine. Some resources may be redirected.

.. Could these events be coordinated? Possibly.

"Truth About Christianity!..."

13 Tishrei 5785 

IMPORTANT MESSAGE from the Rav...

Greetings everyone!! This class was filmed 2 months ago, but never uploaded as our camera team was drafted into the army.  It is Part 5 of an extremely important subject never dealt with before in English.  The Tur in his law book (Orach Chaim 417) explains how the 3 major festivals correspond with our 3 forefathers.  Sukkot is represented by Jacob.  Jacob, more than anyone else, represents separating from the evil nations and religions.  Esav desired Jacob to join him; however, Jacob refused....  A great new year to all.  Yehuda

"...Holding No Punches!"

HOLIDAY REMINDER:  The Chr*stian Sukkot invasion will be most noticeable on October 21st when, instead of the traditional parade, the Municipality has designated Gan Sacher for the marchers and their festivities.  Advise the Jewish public to be anywhere else that day!!

[Details here.]

It's Not Just Hurricanes

11 Tishrei 5785

Going from Earth Weather to Space Weather, the aurora borealis is not just a beautiful atmospheric display.  It is indicative of a geomagnetic storm.  In the aftermath of Category 4 Hurricane Milton's landfall, the United States saw the results of a G4 geomagnetic storm.  Don't know why the NBC Nightly News broadcast chose to include their report on it in their segment for "Good News."

The Not-So-Good News

See Jaw-Dropping Northern Lights Across Planet On Historic Night

Red and green Northern Lights have been seen across the U.S. and the world from regions that rarely see displays after one of the most powerful geomagnetic storms in the last twenty years.

...Every U.S. state save for Hawaii glimpsed an aurora borealis display overnight on Thursday, Oct.11, through Friday, Oct. 12, while all of Europe — as far south as Turkey — and China also witnessed the event.

...A G4 (Severe) and possibly even more potent geomagnetic storm occurred after a particularly fast-moving coronal mass ejection — a cloud of charged particles from the sun — erupted from the sun on Oct. 8 in the wake of the strongest solar flare in the current solar cycle.

That CME moved at 2.5 million miles per hour, according to NOAA. “It’s the fastest CME we have measured in this solar cycle thus far,” said Shawn Dahl, Service Co-ordinator at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, in a press briefing on Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a forecast for a G4 (Severe) geomagnetic storm for both Thursday and Friday, though the latest prediction is for the aurora to be visible at low latitudes only in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 11.

That proved correct, with displays of aurora — including vast red pillars — waxing and waning throughout the night, varying in intensity and occasionally reaching severe storm conditions.

The CME struck Earth at 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT), disrupting the Earth's magnetic field and quickly achieving G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm conditions at 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT), according to NOAA.

NOAA warned on Oct. 10 that the upcoming severe geomagnetic storm conditions disrupt satellite communications, power grids and GPS services, possibly affecting ongoing recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

...During the night it reached Kp 9 — the highest there is — which NOAA defines as aurora moving towards the equator to become very bright and active.

...Geomagnetic activity is at its strongest for 20 years because the sun is close to a particularly intense "solar maximum" — the peak of its 11 year solar cycle — and also close to the equinox, when Earth’s axis is tilted side-on to the sun.

...More frequent and powerful geomagnetic storms, leading to intense and widely observable Northern Lights, are expected to continue through 2026.

HEADS UP - COMET TONIGHT!!! 

DNA Proof: Columbus Was Jewish

11 Tishrei 5785 

So the centuries-old rumor turned out to be true.  Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) was a Spanish Jew.

This news was revealed only yesterday, fittingly on Columbus Day...

Christopher Columbus was Spanish and Jewish, documentary reveals

...The 15th explorer was Jewish and from Spain, according to Columbus DNA: His True Origin, a programme broadcast on national broadcaster RTVE on Saturday to mark Spain celebrating its national day and commemorating Columbus’s arrival in the New World.

Researchers led by forensic expert Miguel Lorente tested tiny samples of remains buried in Seville Cathedral, long marked by authorities there as the last resting place of Columbus, although there had been rival claims. The team compared them with those of known relatives and descendants.

Countries have long argued over the origins and the final resting place of the divisive figure who led Spanish-funded expeditions from the 1490s onward, opening the way for the European conquest of the Americas.

Many historians have questioned the traditional theory that Columbus was from Genoa in north-west Italy. Other theories ranged from him being a Spanish Jew, Greek, Basque or Portuguese.

Lorente, briefing reporters on the research on Thursday, had confirmed previous theories that the remains in Seville belonged to the explorer.

He said: “Today it has been possible to verify it with new technologies, so that the previous partial theory that the remains of Seville belong to Christopher Columbus has been definitively confirmed.”

Research on the nationality had been complicated by a number of factors including the large amount of data but “the outcome is almost absolutely reliable,” Lorente added.

For further exploration, see the following...

Was Columbus secretly a Jew?

(CNN) - Today [May 24, 2012] marks the 508th anniversary of the death of Christopher Columbus.

Everybody knows the story of Columbus, right? He was an Italian explorer from Genoa who set sail in 1492 to enrich the Spanish monarchs with gold and spices from the orient. Not quite.

For too long, scholars have ignored Columbus’ grand passion: the quest to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims.

...Columbus, who was known in Spain as Cristóbal Colón and didn’t speak Italian, signed his last will and testament on May 19, 1506, and made five curious – and revealing – provisions.

Two of his wishes – tithe one-tenth of his income to the poor and provide an anonymous dowry for poor girls – are part of Jewish customs. He also decreed to give money to a Jew who lived at the entrance of the Lisbon Jewish Quarter.

On those documents, Columbus used a triangular signature of dots and letters that resembled inscriptions found on gravestones of Jewish cemeteries in Spain. He ordered his heirs to use the signature in perpetuity.

According to British historian Cecil Roth’s “The History of the Marranos,” the anagram was a cryptic substitute for the Kaddish, a prayer recited in the synagogue by mourners after the death of a close relative. Thus, Columbus’ subterfuge allowed his sons to say Kaddish for their crypto-Jewish father when he died. Finally, Columbus left money to support the crusade he hoped his successors would take up to liberate the Holy Land.

...Columbus’ voyage was not, as is commonly believed, funded by the deep pockets of Queen Isabella, but rather by two Jewish Conversos and another prominent Jew. Louis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez advanced an interest free loan of 17,000 ducats from their own pockets to help pay for the voyage, as did Don Isaac Abrabanel, rabbi and Jewish statesman.

Indeed, the first two letters Columbus sent back from his journey were not to Ferdinand and Isabella, but to Santangel and Sanchez, thanking them for their support and telling them what he had found.

Christopher Columbus — the hidden Jew?

Two fleets set sail from Spain’s Port of Palos on August 3, 1492, floating together down the Rio Tinto. On one vessel was the final batch of expelled Jews, who, rather than repudiate their faith and become conversos (Christian converts) in the face of death if they remained in their home country, set out for an unknown fate in a new world. Leading the other ships, named the Pinta, Niña, and Santa María, was a little known explorer named Christopher Columbus.

Whether fact or legend, there are those who say that Columbus set out with the expelled Jews because he had stalled his voyage, originally set for August 2, by one day; that year, August 2 was the commemoration of Tisha B’Av, a fast day of mourning for the fall of the Jewish Temples.

For some scholars, the shared launch date is more than coincidental. Is it possible that Columbus too was a Jew in search of a better future?

Since the late 1800s, Columbus historians have diligently worked to unearth the true origin story behind the man who set sail for India in 1492 and instead unwittingly found a new world.

Jamaica, Jews and Christopher Columbus: The Fascinating History of Jews in Jamaica

Probing Question: Was Christopher Columbus Jewish?

Yom Kippur 5785

9 Tishrei 5785
Erev Yom Hakippurim

To all whom I may have offended or hurt over this past year, I beg your forgiveness as it was entirely unintentional.  My prayer is that I may be forgiven as I have freely forgiven all who have wronged, offended or hurt me.

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(Excerpted from The Book of Our Heritage by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov)

It's a mitzvah to eat and drink heartily on Erev Yom Kippur.  ...all who eat and drink on the 9th, and fast on the 10th, are considered by Scripture as if they had fasted on both the 9th and the 10th.

The reason why eating on the ninth is considered so great a deed that it is equivalent to having fasted, is that by doing so, we show our joy that the time for our atonement has arrived; ...since we cannot partake of a festive meal on Yom Kippur, we do so on Erev Yom Kippur instead; ...[it] provides us with the physical strength needed on Yom Kippur to focus ourselves on prayer, supplication and reflection that will lead us to teshuvah.

Rav Yehudah Richter says that if on Erev Yom Kippur we eat well (what is good for us and in proper amounts) and with proper intention and say all the brachot correctly and with intent, we can thereby make a tikun for all the sins we made with regard to eating for the entire past year. 

* * *

This is my favorite piyyut of the Yom Kippur service.  I love the words...

* * *

R. Nir Ben Artzi on erev Yom Kippur 5781: "On this Day of Atonement, every single Jew must ask the Creator of the world for our righteous Messiah. A Jew who is connected to Judaism and tradition will seek our righteous Messiah now in mercy! HaKadosh-Baruch-Hu believes in His children, the people of Israel, in their prayers on this special Yom Kippur, that they will ask for the Messianic King at the closing time! Let them ask for the Messianic King at the time of Neilah! That's the main thing!"

May our fast be easy and our atonement be complete.  

G'mar chatimah tovah! Chag sameach! 

The US Conflict of Interest (Yankees Go Home!!)

8 Tishrei 5785

🔹US factors: Washington proposed to Israel that the US impose new economic sanctions on Iran instead of attacking and damaging economic targets.  (Israel Realtime)

To the United States, our children are nothing but cannon fodder for advancing American interests in the region.  Make no mistake!  They have their own plans which directly conflict with our own.  Therefore, they are not honest or objective brokers and have no business dictating to our leaders or micro-managing our war.  They cannot be trusted!!!  Just when I think I can't be shocked anymore...

Beirut and the Birth of the Fortress Embassy

April 10, 2024

On a late July day in 2023, amid the pine tree hills overlooking the Bay of Beirut, 14 bright yellow tower cranes and thousands of workers toiled over the construction site of the third US embassy in Lebanon.

At over 40 acres, the new Beirut embassy, a 19-structure ziggurat that dwarfs any government facility in Lebanon, is the second largest in the world after Baghdad’s. Its billion-dollar estimated budget rivals the cost of the US embassy in London, and it is about four times its size, despite Britain having ten times Lebanon’s population and 130 times its GDP.

No specific reason has been offered for building such a massive compound in Lebanon. According to the State Department’s website, the “primary purpose” of any US Embassy is to “assist American citizens,” visiting or living in the host country.[1] But such explanations are belied by Lebanon’s relative size and economic status. Rather, the new embassy, like that of Baghdad, speaks to longstanding US military interests and activity in Lebanon and the wider region. 

...Less than 60 miles south of the new embassy, the Lebanon-Israel border region is also home to major European military interests, namely, the sprawling multinational military base at Naquora hosting the over 10,000-strong United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), led by France, Italy and Germany. Asian nations, too, have become increasingly large stakeholders in Lebanon. China is building its own sprawling cultural center, comprising an opera house and music conservatory on the new marina harbor front north of Beirut. Turkey and several Arab Gulf states have also been vying for Lebanese hearts and minds with soft power cultural projects, including plans to fund museums and cultural spaces.

The global competition over Lebanon extends to its natural resources, as exploration of gas fields buried under the eastern Mediterranean Sea is rapidly progressing. The United States arbitrated a long-standing dispute over demarcation and ownership of the fields in 2022, resulting in a historic maritime border deal between Israel and Lebanon after years of uncertainty and even threats of war. A consortium involving French, Italian and Qatari oil firms began drilling exploratory wells in 2023, and although no significant reserves have been tapped, the process is set to continue in 2024. Israel on the other hand, has already begun extraction.

(This article is too long to quote in its entirety but it is a crucial "must-read" to have the whole picture of what is going on in our region and how it affects our children's future and the decisions made in the halls of government.  I strongly recommend it.)  

U.S. Troops in the Middle East: Mapping the Military Presence

October 1, 2024

As of October 2024, U.S. defense officials said there were some forty-thousand service members in the Middle East, many on ships at sea in the region. In total, the United States has military facilities across at least nineteen sites—eight of them considered to be permanent by many regional analysts —in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. military also uses large bases in Djibouti and Turkey, which are part of other regional commands but often contribute significantly to U.S. operations in the Middle East.

All host countries have basing agreements with the United States, except Syria, where U.S. forces are opposed by the government. Qatar hosts U.S. Central Command’s regional headquarters. Bahrain hosts the most permanently assigned U.S. personnel and is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. As of early August, the navy had multiple large warship formations conducting operations in the region, including a carrier strike group and an amphibious assault group.