Mikeitz, Pidyon Shvuyim and Hanukah

24 Kislev 5771

Continuing the story of Yosef Hatzadik in Parashat Mikeitz, Rabbi Sitorsky says the following...

The brothers went down to Egypt (besides for going to find food) "to reunite with their brother and to redeem him at all costs. Hanukah is the holiday of pidyon shvuyim. It's the holiday that we redeem---pada. Pada is the gematria of Hanukah and pidyon shvuyim is the gematria of l'hadlik ner Hanukah exactly."

"...the 9/11 of world diplomacy..."

23 Kislev 5771

That's what some are saying about the Wikileaks revelations.

My comments:

Davka at Hanukah, the time when the Light of 36 (Hanukah candles) begins to shine...

Two powerful signs of redemption---

1) The World of Truth is overtaking the World of Lies

2) Another prop holding up the Evil Empire has been knocked out from under it.

Foreign Policy Meltdown
Leaked Cables Reveal True US Worldview

AMERICAN JEWS!

21 Kislev 5771


WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR----AN ENGRAVED INVITATION?

"AMERICANS, I HAVE SOME BAD NEWS FOR YOU"

Parashat V'yeishev's connection to Hanukah

19 Kislev 5771

My blog roll includes a link to Rabbi Sitorsky's parashat hashavua shiurim. They are always chock full of amazing insights and connections. I recommend to everyone to hear this week's lesson in full from the website. It is amazing and so encouraging! To whet your appetite, I've made some notes of the high points below...

Parashat V'yeishev

Hanukah is in parashat v'yeishev. ...the Shlah Hakadosh tells us that golus Yavan occurred because of the sin of the selling of Yosef Hatzadik, which automatically connects this parasha to Hanukah because it is the Shabbat that we read about Mechirat Yosef. Because of Mechirat Yosef, there was a Greek exile and because there was a Greek exile, there was a geulah from Greece which was Hanukah. Hanukah is the geulah from the Greek exile, so Hanukah is the holiday to rectify the selling of Yosef. The sin of Mechirat Yosef was a blemish in the unity of Am Yisrael and a blemish in the area of speech. There was an aspect of lashon hara involved. Yosef reported on his brothers. Yosef Hatzadik is punished. Meforshim say the ten years of incarceration is one year for each brother that he spoke against and the other two years for lack of faith in Hashem, according to Rashi.

The Shlah Kakadosh tells us that Yosef is Hanukah. Avraham is Pesach, Yitzchak is Shavuot and Yaaqov is Sukkot, so Yosef is Hanukah.

Hanukah is the holiday that brings the Jews who are far away from Yiddishkeit near. It affects those neshamas that no other holiday affects, including Shabbat. The most unaffiliated Jew, even if he doesn't keep Shabbat, will celebrate Hanukah. It's for those who are outside...this is our generation.

Yosef Hatzadik brings those who were far away near. Hanukah is the holiday of kiruv. Those who don't have a tikun any other time of the year, get a tikun on Hanukah.

Yosef is a hidden tzadik. He's misunderstood; not accepted. Hanukah, too was not accepted at first. What would we be today without Hanukah? What would we be today without Yosef Hatzadik?

Yosef and Binyamin HAVE to be united.

Yosef is the rival of Eisav.

Eisav was killed on Hanukah. (Yaaqov was buried on Hanukah.) [Eisav has his 'holiday' at Hanukah time.]

Binyamin is the rival of Yishmael.

Hanukah is the tikun for pegam habrit. It prepares us for Shovavim. The story of Yehuda and Tamar is about the blemish that would prevent Mashiach and the repair for that blemish which results in the birth of Peretz, ancestor of Mashiach.

Hanukah is not complete until Yosef and Binyamin are joined. Hanukah is the fusion of Yosef and Binyamin. Hanukah is the holiday to overpower Eisav joining with Yishmael.

Yishmael is the fifth exile. Hanukah is the fifth holiday and we drink five cups on Pesach, the fifth is the cup of redemption. These five cups appear in the parasha. "Cup" is mentioned five times. Four in the story and once again at the end of the parasha. Hanukah is the fifth cup. Hanukah is the light of Melech Hamashiach. The light of the fifth geulah after the exile of Yishmael. Corresponds to the five levels of the neshamah. Yechidah, the highest level corresponding to the fifth (which also corresponds to Neilah of Yom Kippur).

Yishmael has their mosque on the very place of the Beit Hamikdash where the miracle of Hanukah happened. On Hanukah we can merit all five levels of the neshamah. The gematria of the names of the five levels of neshamah is equal to the phrase "lamed vav nerot shel Hanukah." (Yishmaelim pray five times a day.)

Vayeshev means to relax, to rest in peace and tranquility, but the stories are anything but. They are full of tragedies. Why is it called vayeshev? Right in the middle comes the story of Yehuda and Tamar which opens the way for the birth of Mashiach. And the miracle of Hanukah is hidden here. Out of all the tragedies of these stories comes the hope of Mashiach.

At the end of the parasha we see how all of the tragedies were working towards a wonderful end to provide a salvation for Am Yisrael. It's just the same now in our generation. Soon we will see how all of the tragedies that we are now suffering will end just as wonderfully.

Prepare for the next contraction...

18 Kislev 5771


Toward the end of labor, just before the birth, it can get rather rough.

CHINA, RUSSIA QUIT DOLLAR

US SENDS CARRIER TO YELLOW SEA
ISRAEL PREPARING FOR HIZBULLAH COUP IN LEBANON

The Summer that Never Ends

15 Kislev 5771

It's ten days to Hanukah and I'm still wearing my summer clothes; still running the fans at home and the a/c at work. No need even for a sweater at night. The sun is still bearing down and there's not a cloud in the sky!

By this time, it should be feeling more like autumn---a little nippy. Usually the windows frost up in the heat of the Hanukah candles' flames.

I feel like a brown, shriveled, potted plant.

HASHEM, please send us the winter rains already!!!

We all know that it's coming

14 Kislev 5771

NATO planning 'integral' role in enforcing Mideast peace deal
LISBON - NATO will play an integral role in enforcing a Middle East peace deal, but will not play a direct role in reaching that agreement, the alliance's secretary general told Haaretz this weekend.

"If a Middle East peace agreement is reached, an international military force will be needed to monitor and implement it," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

...Rasmussen will visit Israel in February of the coming year.

Or at the end of the next three-month construction freeze when Obama has said, if the Israelis and Palestinians have not yet agreed to borders, he will set the borders for them.

Interestingly, this brings us to Purim Katan, a month before Purim/Pesach, an auspicious time for redemption!

Timely Torah

PARSHAT VAYISHLACH
13 Kislev 5771/19-20 November 2010

NO FREE LUNCHES

"He selected a minchah for his brother Esau from what he had with him.These he gave to his servents. He said to his servants: When my brother Esau encounters you, he will ask to whom does it belong? You must reply: It belongs to your servant Jacob, It is a minchah to my master Esau. Jacob said to himself, I will win him over with the minchah that is being sent ahead". (Gen. 32)

The question that must be asked is: Was Jacob's conduct proper? Was it fitting for Jacob, the man of truth, to call his evil brother Esau master, bow down to him countless times and offer up such a large gift?

We certainly see an admonishment of Jacob's actions in the teachings of our holy rabbis. The Midrash brings down the following: "As a muddied fountain and a polluted spring, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. G-d said to Jacob: 'Esau was walking on his way and you sent him a message, saying "your servant Jacob says". You degraded yourself and called Esau 'my lord' eight times. I swear that I shall make eight of his offspring precede yours as king."

The Rashbam, on his commentery to the Bible, writes that "Jacob was smitten and ended up with a limp, because G-d had made a promise to him while he was fleeing that He would be with him. So, too, all who refuse to take G-d's path, or who take an opposing path, are punished."

Rabbi Kahane HY"D brings down in his work the Jewish Idea that "Jacob took the minchah, our gift to G-d, representing man's lowliness before his Maker and his faith and truth in Him, and he transferred these sentiments to Esau. This reflected great lack of faith in G-d."

Even though as a rule we are forbidden to flatter an evil person, as the Talmud teaches us: "Every individual in whom there is flattery will fall into Hell," and "Whoever flatters the wicked will eventually fall into his hand" - there is an exception, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish ruled from a statement made by Jacob to Esau (Genesis 33: 10): "For therefore I have seen your face, and it is as though I had seen the face of an angel." Tosafos explains this apparent contradiction by asserting that it is permitted to flatter the wicked in a dangerous, life-threatening situation.

Jacob's life was certainly in danger from the evil one, Esau, and he felt he had to overwhelm him with gifts, in spite of the fact that Esau's intent was to kill Jacob. For as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish taught us: It is a well-known law that Easu hates Jacob.

Throughout history, the conflict between the two brothers continues. Esau, the red one, represented by Rome, Amalek, the west, Russia and the U.S., has always set its goal to annihilate the descendents of Jacob, one way or another. So we find it interesting that it is now Esau who is giving over a minchah gift to Jacob! It was reported this week that the U.S. wants to give Israel 20 fighter jets for free, a three billion dollar deal! These are the same jet fighters which Israel had ordered from the US a long time ago and that have been held up time and time again, and are now being given to the Jewish state free of charge... Has Esau finally found his brotherly love? Has he done teshuva and wants to make right by his brother, Jacob? Undoubtedly not!

Rather, as we all know, there are no free lunches; with this minchah gift of Esau there come strings attached, many strings, strings to choke the life out of the state of Israel. Make Israel consent to permanent borders with the Palestinians and thus cut right through the heartland of Israel, thereby causing her destruction. Without proper borders to defend the Land, what use will the fighter planes serve? [Note: Delivery is to take place ten years from now.] It is important for us to remember that no matter how essential the planes are for the security of the country, the bottom line is that "some come with chariots and some with horses, but we come with the Name of the Living G-d."

Blessings,
Levi Hazan

Collision Coming

12 Kislev 5771
I saw a very interesting video recently. I'm no fan of Glen Beck---not by a long shot---but, he did a three-part interview with a couple of guys about the souring US economy and where it all might lead. Part 3 was the most interesting. Without realizing it at all, he and his guests began describing the entree to the Days of Mashiach.

You see, there is going to be a New World Order, but it's not just exactly what most people think. And you know all those baseless antisemitic accusations that the Jews are taking over the world? Well....

The prophet Ovadiah wrote:

"And on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall inherit those who inherited them. And the house of Jacob shall be fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau shall become stubble, and they shall ignite them and consume them, and the house of Esau shall have no survivors, for the Lord has spoken."

The Maharal wrote extensively in his book The Mitzvah Candle about the four world empires and how Rome/Esau would fall to Israel/Yaaqov.

For Glen Beck's guest, financial analyst Damon Vickers, this might not be so traumatic. He said:

"I would say that in spite of the fact of a new world order being potentially a scary thing, that there’s a growing awareness that all of us are a part of one planet, one community, and that we’re moving towards oneness, whether it’s facebook or whether it’s …, the society wants to be closer to one another."

For his other guest, novelist Brad Thor, it will likely be quite traumatic as he discovers that America is not the Promised Land and Americans are not the Chosen People.

“I believe in American exceptionalism. I agree [that communities should come together] in the context of America, and what makes America great and why American exceptionalism exists. It’s something that’s incredibly important for the rest of the world to follow US, not for us to be part of some one world, new world order."

According to people like this, American values are the only ones that count and everyone else in the world must be brought into line with those values, which I might add are NOT Jewish values!

Take this for example:

US State Dept: Israel Similar to Iran, Iraq and Sudan
The U.S. State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton claims that Israel violates religious freedom at the same level as Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan and China.

Israel is listed among 30 nations...where “violations of religious freedom have been noteworthy"...due to the emphasis of the Jewish State on maintaining the status quo with regard to respect for Jewish legal standards.
Do you sense a collision coming between Israel and the US? I do. Actually, it has already started---over the construction freeze. The days of little Israel meekly bowing to the the will of Mighty America are nearly done. If you know how to listen, you will see that the whole world is talking about Days of Mashiach and it is almost here. No longer will Israel be under subjugation by any of the nations and we will be completely free to live according to every word of our Holy Torah!

Quickly, in our days!!

"Hang in There!"

10 Kislev 5771

Ever hear that adage, "when you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on"? I love that one, as well as the image of the kitten hanging onto the rope for dear life. I think of it often.

Do you get the feeling that "there's a whole lot of (spiritual) shakin' goin' on" and it's getting harder and harder to hold tight? I've noticed a downward trend lately and I just wondered if it was the same by you. Everything seems to be sliding downhill. Women who once wore only skirts have taken up wearing pants. Those who previously wore pants now wear shorts. Those who minimally covered their hair have stopped covering it altogether. And a lot of people are leaving Eretz Yisrael.

Welcome to chevlei Mashiach and the process of birur. Nobody ever said it would be easy. But there is a guaranteed reward for your faithfulness. NEVER GIVE UP!!

Sifting for the Truth

4 Kislev 5771

I am constantly amazed at how many people swallow whatever garbage they are fed by the mainstream media. Even in spite of what their own eyes should be telling them! I didn't think the subject of the "mystery missile" off the coast of California, near Los Angeles, was necessarily worth a blog post until a co-worker brought it up a short while ago and asked me if I had heard about it. I'm like, what do you mean? that missile? And she goes no, it wasn't a missile, the news said it was a plane. Right then and there, I knew I had to blog it.

I saw somewhere that there were like a thousand stories on Google about this event. As soon as it happened, looking at where it originated, I told someone that I'd bet it was a message from an Iranian sub. After the research that I did about Iranian military capabilities for my story and noting the Debka report about the US surrounding Iran, it is not unimaginable. The US has been expecting something like this along its Atlantic coast, but not the Pacific. I'll bet it woke a lot of people up.

There have been confirmations from all over that, in fact, this did not originate with the US military. They lamely claimed, well, if you look at a jet's contrail from a certain angle, it can look like it's coming from the ground to the sky.

Uh-uh. Watch the video of it below. A jet flies smoothly across the sky, this thing wobbles like a rocket headed for space. Besides that the military experts know what they are looking at and they also say, not only that it is a missile, but that it was likely sub-launched.

Think about the ramifications for a bit.

***************
UPDATE @ 6:25 pm: Or then again, maybe it was CHINA.

Leaving Egypt

B"H 

30 Marcheshvan 5771

"...not since the days of the Pharaohs or the more ludicrous Roman Emperors has a head of state travelled in such pomp and expensive grandeur as the President of the United States of America."

This observation comes from a report in Britain's Daily Mail. Interesting that the writer would mention the leaders of the two exiles most embodied by America today. This blog and others have made this connection before.

This is an important and timely reminder that we are all still in exile and that America is just a reincarnation of ancient Egypt. And it will meet the same end---utter devastation and destruction. And the Jews who are connected to it, both physically and emotionally, will, G-d forbid! be lost there and never journey out to enter the Promised Land. (The exceptions are those souls who recognize it for what it is, but are trapped there and are begging Hashem every day to redeem them from there.)

America is a hateful and heartless enemy that only pretends to be righteous---like a chazir pretends to be kosher. Another holocaust is taking place there even as I write this. How many Jewish souls have been lost to the silent holocaust of rampant assimilation? And today, it is even being exported to every corner of the world, including Eretz Yisrael!! Hashem have mercy and deliver us NOW!!