Another one for the record books

25 Kislev 5773

Typhoon Bopha the Strongest ever Tropical Cyclone to hit Philippines

Storm that killed 600 threatens Philippines again

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — A typhoon that had left the Philippines after killing nearly 600 people and leaving hundreds missing in the south has made a U-turn and is now threatening the country's northwest, officials said Saturday.

There was a strong possibility the disastrous storm would make a second landfall Sunday,....

With many survivors still in shock, soldiers, police and outside volunteers formed most of the teams searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders swept down from steep hills surrounding the worst-hit town of New Bataan, municipal spokesman Marlon Esperanza said.

"We are having a hard time finding guides," he told The Associated Press. "Entire families were killed and the survivors ... appear dazed. They can't move."

He said the rocks, mud, tree trunks and other rubble that litter the town have destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood.

On Friday, bodies found jammed under fallen trees that could not be retrieved were marked with makeshift flags made of torn cloth so they could be easily spotted by properly equipped teams.

Authorities decided to bury unidentified bodies in a common grave after forensic officials process them for future identification by relatives, Esperanza said.

The town's damaged public market has been converted into a temporary funeral parlor. A few residents milled around two dozen white wooden coffins, some containing unidentified remains.

One resident, Jing Maniquiz, 37, said she rushed home from Manila for the wake of two of her sisters, but could not bring herself to visit the place where her home once stood in Andap village. Her parents, a brother and nephew are missing.

"I don't want to see it," she said tearfully. "I can't accept that in just an instant I lost my mother, my father, my brother."

She said that at the height of the typhoon, her mother was able to send her a text message saying trees were falling on their house and its roof had been blown away.

Maniquiz said her family sought refuge at a nearby health center, but that was destroyed and they and dozens of others were swept away by the raging waters.

"We are not hopeful that they are still alive. We just want to find their bodies so that we will have closure," she said.

Mary Joy Adlawan, a 14-year-old high school student from the same village, was waiting for authorities to bury her 7-year-old niece.

Her parents, an elder sister, five nieces and a nephew are missing.

"I don't know what to do," she said as she fixed some flowers on the coffin.

...Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental provinces, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives.

The typhoon plowed through the main southern island of Mindanao, crossed the central Philippines and lingered over the South China Sea for the past two days. It made a U-turn Saturday and is now threatening the northwestern Ilocos region.

Items of Interest

23 Kislev 5773

In this post, I want to share some references which might apply to the current situation.

1. From Yeranan Yaakov, an excerpt from his blog post entitled Geula Update from Rav Fish - Vayeshev, 5773

He heard from one of the grandchildren of the late Shomrei Emunim Rebbe ZT"L who told him a few weeks before his death about the year 5773 that on Hanukka, there will be fire; in Adar, much wine will be poured; and in Nissan, there will be a great vengeance against the nations.

It is also brought down in the book "Imrei Tzvi" (Koshkelov) that the Teshuva that precedes the Geula will start at Hanukka.

A Torah Codes table is brought from Rav Glazerson with "From Hanukka", "In 5773", "Teshuva", "Mashiah" - all in the Book of Devarim, which hints to the sixth millennium.

Another Torah Codes table is brought with "The Keitz", "Be'itah", "The Land of Israel", "5773".

2. In 2004, Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok posted an interview at his KosherTorah website which he had reproduced from the original (circa 1989-1994). It described a Dr. David Golander who had brought a "message" from some "secret kabbalists."  In light of the current reports about the likelihood of Syria using gas against their enemies, I thought this was worth re-reading:

Israel will have war with seven western nations and Russia. The United States will abandon us, as they did Vietnam and Lebanon. The war will begin with a gas attack; every event in the Land will be tied to gas. There will be a lot of it. This is the sign.

3. From Yehudit's "prophecy" which pre-dates the year 2005 as presented at the Dreaming of Mashiach Blog:

"In response to kassam and rockets on Northern Israel, he will give instructions to completely exterminate a city in Syria."

In a Debka article dated 4 October 2011..."If a single Syrian missile explodes in Tel Aviv, Damascus will be first to pay the price, and if the missile offensive persists, one Syrian town after another will be destroyed."

4. Already last week, it was publicized that Israel was ready to bomb Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons:

'Israel sought Jordan's permission to bomb Syria'

Israel asked Jordan on a number of occasions for “permission” to bomb Syrian chemical weapons sites, The Atlantic reported Monday, citing intelligence sources in both countries.

According to the report, Amman turned down requests a number of times in the past two months, saying “the time was not right.”

It'll be strange if all the hype and build up about Iran turns out to be fulfilled in a clash with Syria.

5. And what's with all the sudden resignations among the political elite? Are they abandoning a sinking ship? It's about time in the geulah process for the Erev Rav regime to give way to the rule of Mashiach.

Ehud Barak resigns as Israeli defence minister

Tourism Minister Meseznikov resigns from politics

MKs Itzik and Bar-On quit politics

[Danny] Ayalon, who was considered to be close to Lieberman, joined Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, who said on Tuesday that he was resigning from political life, and MK Anastassia Michaeli, who announced her departure from politics on Monday.

Peretz Submits Knesset Resignation to Rivlin

6. Found this interesting as well:

Netanyahu, Barak and Gantz abroad 'on state business'

The escalating conflict in Syria and the growing concern that Bashar Assad's army was gearing towards using chemical weapons did not stop three of Israel's top leaders from travelling abroad – all at the same time.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak made an official visit to Europe, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz left for a sensitive work visit to "a friendly state" on Monday, Yedioth Ahoronoth reported on Thursday.

Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon is replacing Netanyahu during his absence, while Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter is acting for Barak. Gantz is being replaced by his deputy, Major General Yair Naveh.

Sources within the army criticized the leaders' "irresponsible" behavior, noting they cannot recall a case in recent history when a prime minister, a defense minister and the IDF chief were all out of the country simultaneously....

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UPDATE: Kedar: Israel 'Knows How to Deal With Syrian Chemical Threat'  As Syria raises the stakes over its chemical weapons, an Israeli expert says measures are being taken to minimize the threat.

"crossing a red line"

22 Kislev 5773

Remember when they said just moving it was "crossing a red line?"

Syria loads chemical weapons into bombs; military awaits Assad's order

The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday.

The military has loaded the precursor chemicals for sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into aerial bombs that could be dropped onto the Syrian people from dozens of fighter-bombers, the officials said.

As recently as Tuesday, officials had said there was as yet no evidence that the process of mixing the "precursor" chemicals had begun. But Wednesday, they said their worst fears had been confirmed: The nerve agents were locked and loaded inside the bombs.

...U.S. officials stressed that as of now, the sarin bombs hadn't been loaded onto planes and that Assad hadn't issued a final order to use them. But if he does, one of the officials said, "there's little the outside world can do to stop it."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated U.S. warnings to Assad not to use chemical weapons, saying he would be crossing "a red line" if he did so....

Clinton: Assad May Use Chemical Weapons in Desperation

Report: Syria Loads Chemical Weapons Into Bombs; Military Awaits Assad’s Order

US: Sarin bombs ready for Assad’s “go” order. Israel's odd silence

"All the enemies of Israel will return..."

22 Kislev 5773

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said that he was Nebuchadnezar, King of Babylon, reincarnated. Many say that Iranian President Mahmoud Achmadinejad is Haman returned. Is it possible that Bashar Assad is connected to Antiochus, the Syrian-Greek bad guy of the Hanukah story? And what's more important, will Syria attack Israel (or will Syria be attacked) during Hanukah?
___________

Crash Course in Jewish History #28 from Aish.com

Alexander's vast empire did not survive his death in 323 BCE, but fragmented into three large chunks centered in Greece, Egypt, and Syria and controlled by his former generals. These three smaller empires were known as:

• Seleucid or Syrian Greece
• Ptolemian or Egyptian Greece
• Macedonian or Greece proper, including the independent city-states of Athens, Sparta, etc.

Initially, Israel falls under the Ptolemies of Egypt. They are generally liberal and open-minded in keeping with the spirit of their capital city of Alexandria which is the world's cultural center.

But this changes in 198 BCE after the Battle of Panias (or Banyas-Tel Dan in northern Israel). After their victory at Panias the Seleucids of Assyria, led by the King, Antiochus III, take over control of Israel from the Ptolemies.

The picture is volatile, however. The next Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, finds himself under a lot of pressure, holding back the Ptolemies and worrying about the rising might of Rome.

He decides that the weak link in his defenses is Israel. Israel is bordered by (1) Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea (from whence the Romans could come), and worst of all, the majority of Jews are not into Greek culture. This situation he now moves to remedy.

...Antiochus IV Epiphanes takes deliberate steps between 169 BCE and 167 BCE to Hellenize the Jews of Israel by attempting to destroy Judaism. The Book of Maccabees calls this period a "reign of terror" and describes its beginnings as:

Not long after this, the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their fathers and cease to live by the laws of God, and also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call it the temple of Olympian Zeus...(6)

One of the first things that Antiochus does take control of the Temple through influencing the office of the High Priest. He removes the High Priest from his position and replaces him with a Jew that he has in his back pocket. From this point on the High Priesthood becomes, to a large extent, a corrupt institution.

...After he installs his own High Priest, Antiochus tries to dissolve the Jewish calendar.

Antiochus, by this time, understands the Jews very well. To him these people are time obsessed ― they try to make time holy. Destroy time and you destroy the Jews' ability to practice Judaism. Therefore, Antiochus forbids the observance of Shabbat, the observance of the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh), and the observance of the holidays ― Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot.

Next, Antiochus forbids keeping kosher and studying Torah. Torah scrolls are publicly burned, and swine are sacrificed over sacred Jewish books to defile them. Indeed, Antiochus seems obsessed by swine, knowing that this animal is particularly repugnant to the Jews; he even forces the High Priest to institute swine sacrifices in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and also to permit worship there of a whole array of Greek gods. (See 1 Maccabees 1:41-64.)

Lastly, Antiochus forbids circumcision. To the Jews, this is the physical, tangible sign of their covenant with God. And it's the one thing the Greeks ― who worship the perfection of the human body ― find most abhorrent. To them, circumcision is a mutilation.

Jews resist, so Antiochus and his henchmen go about driving the point home in a crude and cruel fashion. 

...Women who allowed their sons to be circumcised were killed with their sons tied around their necks. The scholars of Israel were hounded, hunted down and killed. Jews who refused to eat pork or sacrifice hogs were tortured to death ... Even the smallest hamlet in Judah was not safe from the oppression of the Hellenists. The altars to Zeus and other pagan deities were erected in every village, and Jews of every area were forced to participate in the sacrificial services.

This type of religious persecution was, until then, unknown in human history. Up to that time, no one in the ancient world declared war on other people's religions, because the attitude of polytheism was "I'll worship your god, you worship mine. The more gods the merrier."

...In the polytheistic world no one died for their religion. No one, except the Jews...

You can read more here.

Getting Serious in Syria

22 Kislev 5773

Well, I wanted to concentrate more on getting ready for Hanukah, but the news about Syria is spreading. How ironic is it that it's the Syrian Greeks we were fighting 2176 years ago?

I realize that there have been reports of imminent threat to Israel from Syria for months now, but today, it seems to have more substance than ever, so I'm passing along the following:

Rebels Appear to be Closing in on Syria's Assad

Syrian opposition forces captured a military air field, as well as the army's 22nd Brigade air defense base, both just outside Damascus.

The capture, accomplished by the Free Syrian Army, was described by the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya news network as “an important military achievement.”

Rebel forces have also cut off a sprawling military base outside of Aleppo.

...As the clashes in the capital have further chipped away at the few loyalists who remain in Assad's administration, concerns are also growing over Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.

...Among the chemical agents believed to be held in Syria's stockpile are mustard gas, a blistering agent, and the lethal nerve agents VX and sarin, according to various analysts. Engineers working for Assad’s regime have begun combining the two chemical precursors needed to weaponize sarin gas, an American official with knowledge of the situation told Wired.com’s 'Danger Room' on Monday.

Rasmussen echoed the warnings from U.S. President Barack Obama that the Syrian government may indeed be considering using such weaponry to end the conflict.


Syrian Civil War Spills Into Lebanon

Gunmen loyal to opposite sides in neighboring Syria’s civil war battled in the streets of northern Lebanon on Wednesday, and the death toll from two days of fighting was at least five killed and 45 wounded, officials said.

The Lebanese army fanned out in the city of Tripoli to calm the fighting, with soldiers patrolling the streets in armored personnel carriers and manning checkpoints. Authorities closed major roads because of sniper fire.

The fighting comes at a time of deep uncertainty in Syria, with rebels closing in on President Bashar Assad’s seat of power in Damascus. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged Syria’s regime against using its stockpile of chemical weapons, warning of “huge consequences” if President Bashar Assad resorts to such weapons of mass destruction....


Assad’s chemical weapons units head out of Damascus toward Aleppo

As NATO in Brussels gave the go-ahead Tuesday night, Dec. 4, for the deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to protect Turkey against Syrian missiles, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources reported that convoys of the Syrian army’s chemical weapons units headed out of Damascus under cover of dark and turned north up the road to Aleppo. Their destination is not yet known.

The convoys were ferrying self-propelled cannons for firing shells loaded with poisonous sarin gas.

Syrian President Bashar Assad had evidently decided to ignore the warnings President Barack Obama issued Monday night that there would be consequences if he or anyone in Syria resorted to chemical warfare and each would be held accountable.

Our sources report that the Syrian ruler is aparently gambling dangerously on the Americans holding back from attacking the convoys as long as they deploy unconventional weapons, and would only react when they are used.

...US forces in the region, Israel, Turkey and Jordan were all braced Monday night, Dec. 3 for action against Syria in case Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered his army’s chemical warfare units to go into action against rebel and civilian targets his own country. None of the Middle East capitals are talking openly about this eventuality to avoiding causing panic.

However, oblique references to the peril and preparations for action came from US officials during Monday. White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “We have an increased concern about the possibility of the regime taking the desperate act of using its chemical weapons.” Such a move “would cross a red line for the United States.”

Without going into specifics, Carney added: “We think it is important to prepare for all scenarios. Contingency planning is the responsible thing to do.”

"Allusions to Hanukah from the Torah"

21 Kislev 5773

It's time to think about Hanukah!

Here is something interesting that I found in Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov's Book of Our Heritage on the month of Kislev:

In parashas Emor, the Torah recounts all of the special days of the year: Shabbos, Pesach, Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos. This account is immediately followed by the commandment to maintain an eternal light in the Sanctuary. Why are the two subjects juxtaposed? It would seem that Scripture is alluding to a future time when the lighting of the eternal light will also be celebrated in an annual festival after Sukkos.

A similar allusion to the establishment of the festival of Chanukah can be drawn from the juxtaposition of the Torah portion which describes the offerings brought by the nesi'im when the Tabernacle was consecrated [parashas Naso] and the portion regarding the obligation to light the Menorah [parashas Beha'alos'cha].

The Ramban, in his commentary to the latter parashah, writes:

In the Megillas Setarim of Rabbenu Nissim, I found the following statement. I saw in the Midrash that when the twelve tribes had each brought their offerings for the consecration of the altar and the tribe of Levi had not been included, God said to Moshe: Speak to Aharon and tell him that one day there will be another chanukah [consecration] which will be accompanied by the lighting of lights. And I will bring it about through your sons - miracles, salvation, and dedication which will be known by their name, the Chanukah of the House of Hasmoneans!

This is the reason why the account of lighting the Menorah is found next to the account of the offerings of the tribes.

I further saw, in the Midrash Yelamdenu [Tanchuma] and in the Midrash Rabbah as well: God said to Moshe: Go and tell Aharon: Have no fear. You are destined for something greater than this [i.e., the offerings brought by the nesi'im]. Sacrifices are brought only as long as the Beis ha-Mikdash stands, but the lights shall be lit forever. And all the blessings which I have given you, so that you might bless My children, shall never be nullified.

But is it not true that when the Beis ha-Mikdash does not stand and the sacrifices have ceased because of the destruction, that the Menorah has also ceased to be lit? Rather, the Sages were alluding to the lights of the Hasmonean Chanukah, which are lit even after the destruction.

Still other allusions to Chanukah in the Torah include:

When counting from the word Breishis [the first word in the Torah], the twenty-fifth word is or - light - an allusion to the light of Chanukah which is lit on the twenty-fifth day.

When counting the encampments of the Children of Israel in the desert [where they rested from their journey], the twenty-fifth encampment was in Chashmonah - an allusion to the Chashmona'im [Hasmoneans] who [also] rested on the twenty-fifth day.

In the merit of the learning of this Torah about Hanukah and in the merit of our ancestors who let nothing stand in the way of their moral duty to G-d and to their people and in the merit of the light which Jews spread at this season throughout the world, may Yehonatan HaLevi ben Malka receive a refuah shleimah and an immediate release from prison. Please G-d!  (Update on his condition.)

War by "Diplomacy"

21 Kislev 5773

If there was ever a doubt about who "Gog" is...

Israel accuses US of backing European settlement backlash
Israel has accused its closest ally, the United States, of endorsing a concerted European backlash against its plans to expand settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Five European countries, including Britain, have registered formal protests with Israeli ambassadors over last week’s decision by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to build 3,000 settlers’ homes and develop an area of the West Bank that could render a Palestinian state unviable.

Along with Australia and Brazil, they were joined by Egypt, threatening to destabilise its fragile regional relations.

The Egyptian foreign minister said it had registered a “strong protest” with Israel’s Cairo ambassador over the proposals.

Despite the mounting international protest however, Mr Netanyahu’s office indicated there would be no backing down over its settlement plans.

An official in Mr Netanyahu’s office told the AFP news agency: “There will be no change in the decision that has been made.”

He spoke after Israel said that, in addition to last week’s announcement, it would also revisit plans to build 1,700 homes in Ramot Shlomo in east Jerusalem, and another 2,600 in Givat Hamatos.

The Ramot Shlomo development was shelved in 2010 after it provoked a row with the US.
Britain, France, Sweden, Spain and Denmark all summoned Israeli envoys on Tuesday to protest over the settlement plans, while Germany and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, denounced it.

The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted unnamed Israeli diplomats as saying the outcry could not have occurred without the complicity of the Obama administration, which has profound differences with Mr Netanyahu over settlements.

“We would not be mistaken to say that Europe was acting with Washington’s encouragement,” the paper’s commentator, Shimon Shiffer wrote. “The White House authorised Europe to pounce on the Netanyahu government and to punish it.”

One Israeli official told the Daily Telegraph that while the US was unlikely to have ordered such a move, it may have signalled approval.

“It’s more likely that they [the Americans] have been informed and have not raised any objection, but also showed some understanding and maybe even more,” he said. “There’s probably an understanding between the US and the Europeans that this is the right thing to do at this point.”

The former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, accused Mr Netanyahu of unveiling plans to develop the previously off-limits E1 section of the West Bank to punish President Barack Obama for failing to endorse a previous American-Israeli understanding that many settlements would remain despite any future peace deal. “It wasn’t just retribution at the UN, it was retribution at the US as well,” he told the liberal Haaretz newspaper.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, dismissed the possibility of European Union sanctions against Israel but said other measures could be applied.

“If there is no reversal of the decision that has been announced, we will want to consider what further steps European countries should take,” he said.

Has the final battle for Jerusalem begun?

19 Kislev 5773

And during the month of Kislev when we celebrate the victory of battle over Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabees?

TIMELINE

29 November 2012 - The United Nations upgrades the Palestinian Authority to "State" status

30 November 2012 - The Israeli government announces approval for the building of 3,000 housing units in the area of "East" Jerusalem. “This was a proportionate response to what has happened so far,” [a] source said. “We might do more.”

2 December 2012 - Abbas 'Victory Speech': Jerusalem 'Eternal Capital of Palestine'
PA Chairman promises that someday the PA flag will fly over “Jerusalem, eternal capital of the state of Palestine.”

2 December 2012 - Israel 'Completely Rejects' UN Approval of New PA Status
The Cabinet has unanimously voted Sunday to reject the UN decision to grant the Palestinian Authority nonmember observer state status.

 After UN vote, Israel to suspend PA funds
Finance Minister Steinitz says won't transfer tax payments to Palestinians in response to UN bid. 'I'll use the money to offset their debt to the Electric Corp,' he states. PM Netanyahu: We'll continue building in Jerusalem

WORLD REACTIONS

...The New York Times reported Saturday that the Palestinian Authority has begun changing its name to “Palestine” on official documents, contracts and websites, and that several nations are considering raising the level of diplomatic relations, giving Palestinian envoys the title of ambassador. (Abbas: World said no to occupation)

New York Times says Israel gave United States only few hours’ notice of decision to pursue development that could prevent creation of viable, contiguous Palestinian state. 'This is one of the most sensitive areas of territory,' says former Ambassador Kurtzer. (US 'shocked' by new settlement plan)

The United Kingdom on Saturday weighed in on a new Israeli settlement expansion plan, urging the government "to reverse the decision." The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "extremely concerned".... (UK calls on Israel to reverse settlement building decision)

Pakistan has said the Palestinian's success in getting non-member observer state status should not incur any reprisals as Islamabad's ambassador to the United Nations called for an end to illegal settlements on the occupied territories for progress towards Middle East peace.  Pakistan's Permanent Representative Ambassador Masood Khan also voiced the hope that the new status for the long-suffering Palestinians would pave the way for Palestine's recognition as full member. (Pakistan calls for end to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine)

Where will it lead next? Take heart! It's scary - especially if you are a Jew living in "Palestine" - but, this is very good news. It means the status quo is over. The rut we've been stuck in since 1967 has been left behind. Now, full steam ahead to the complete redemption - the extension of full Israeli sovereignty over the whole Land of Israel as well as the Temple Mount!!

"People get the leaders they deserve"

16 Kislev 5773

That's an old saying. I don't know if it's true, but I do know that our leaders are a reflection of us. Come to think of it, maybe that's the reason we deserve them.

Take Barack Obama for example. His nation's economy is teetering on the edge of a financial abyss and what is he doing?

Residents Alerted to Obamas' Hawaiian Holiday Plans

The report delivered to residents living along the ocean and canal that surrounds the multi-million dollar homes at Kailuana Place where the President stays, informed them of restrictions that will be implemented for 20 days beginning December 17 and running through January 6.

...With the staff, special forces, local police presence and equipment, the President's visit adds up annually to at least a $4 million vacation courtesy of the Hawaii and federal taxpayers.

How is this any different from the throngs of Americans who put holiday shopping on Black Friday at the top of their priorities list and finance it with credit card debt that they know not how they'll pay?  There's no money, but spend, spend, spend anyway!

Closer to home, look at Bibi Netanyahu.  What the public sees portrayed in the media is not a true reflection of who he is, but who we are. We talk a good talk, but we're short on action. We make a show of loyalty to our Jewish identity, but we are afraid to anger our gentile benefactors by acting too Jewish.  G-d knows the gentiles admire the Israelis (albeit begrudgingly), but they merely tolerate the Jews (or worse). The kippah comes out occasionally, when it's use is unavoidable, but it's not for everyday. When asked "From where will my help come?" the Bibi Netanyahu Jews instantly reply, "America!"

About the "left" and so-called "center" secular there is simply nothing to say.  They are all traveling the wrong way down the road of perdition - the assimilation of the Jewish people into extinction.

Ah, but now there is hope waiting in the wings, yes?  The "right-wing" (read right-thinking) to be more precise.  Naftali Bennet (Jewish Home) as well as Moshe Feiglin (from within the Likud) are inspiring the right-wing religious Zionists. You'd think Mashiach had come.

Naftali Bennet:  Clean-shaven, no kippah. Hi-tech millionaire. Pays homage to "Jewish tradition" and settlements.   Former chief of staff for Bibi Netanyahu.  He's a younger version of Netanyahu, representing all those who really want to continue business as usual, but with some guarantee for settlements.  They have no vision for the Jewish future beyond being an extension of Edom in the Land of Israel.

Moshe Feiglin:  Bearded.  Not ashamed to wear a kippah everywhere all the time.  Gives credit to Hashem on a regular basis.  He goes up on Har Habayit and supports Jewish rights to worship there.  He is a man of faith who says he won't cave in to the demands of the gentile nations.  He's not afraid to declare that Yehuda and Shomron are ours and that Oslo is dead.

Granted, this is a huge leap when compared to the rest of the pack.  Consequently, it is tempting to dismiss the warning signs. After everything, Moshe aspires to be a politician, so he has to have the most necessary qualification to be a politician - he has to be a pragmatist.  He has to appeal to the broadest base possible in the Likud party which is after all not a religious party.  To offset his positive points which might scare off his secular supporters, he assures them that he is against religious coercion.  He is against the chametz law which bans the sale of chametz during the week of Passover and he says he is in favor of civil marriage.  Oh, and he favors legalization of marijuana.

After ten years, those who've put their faith in Moshe Feiglin's leadership, because up until now he offered the greatest hope for real change for those with a messianic vision, have been rewarded with the possibility that he might actually get a seat in the next Knesset.

This is about as good as it gets. It would seem that this non-Torah system of democracy is incapable of producing messianic leadership which will deliver us to the geulah shleimah.

As long as we continue to deceive ourselves and each other, we will continue to elect this kind of leadership, because it is a reflection of who we really are.  We really don't want Mashiach to come.  We really don't want to have Torah law as the law of the land.  We really don't want to build the Temple and reinstitute sacrificial worship.

Despite what we might think or proclaim, what most of us want is easily seen in our current leadership - an inferior copy of America where the highest priority is business success and the accumulation of wealth and all the things that wealth can provide.  And where religion and state each have their place, where religion is not a matter of nationhood, but a personal preference. And where we are not a unique nation with a G-d given mission and destiny, but one just like all the others.

When WE change and become the people deserving of a Mashiach-led regime, where Torah is the law of the land, deserving of coercion no less than current civil law which is "coerced" every day as needed, then Mashiach will be revealed before our eyes.

I'm afraid that were he standing before us today, only a handful would "vote" for him.

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A note about the picture: Yes, democracy was a Greek invention and during Kislev, the time when we battled against the Greek worldview and its attempt to obliterate the light of Torah and replace it with its own warped idea of enlightenment, it is an ideal time to take it on and continue the battle our ancestors waged so courageously.

NOVEMBER 29TH - 1947 & 2012

15 Kislev 5773

(Devarim 32:21) "They have provoked My jealousy with a non god, provoked My anger with their vanities. Thus, I will provoke their jealousy with a non people, provoke their anger with a foolish nation."

A "non people" with a non government doesn't have a heritage of its own and certainly has no need of a land.

'With UN Bid, Arabs Once Again Try to Steal Israel's Heritage'  November 29th is a day that belongs to Israel, says one historian - and the PA is trying to 'steal' it for themselves
It's no accident that the Palestinian Authority is bringing its “case” to the United Nations on November 29 – a day that has for 65 years been identified with the State of Israel.

“It's very typical of the PA to choose the day that Israel was recognized as a state by the UN as the date for their state's recognition,” said one historian. “The PA has tried to co-opt so many Jewish and Israeli symbols in the past, and the co-opting of November 29 fits right in with that,” said Moshe Siebel, a history afficianado....

It does make it easier to see who the Erev Rav are.

Meretz to Rally for PA State at Zionism's 'Ground Zero'

Ehud Olmert isn't the only Israeli who is applauding the PA's statehood bid at the UN. Far left political party Meretz, too, approves of the moves, and plans a rally in Tel Aviv Thursday night – right in front of the building where David Ben-Gurion declared a Jewish state on May 14, 1948.... A special message from PA chief Mahmoud Abbas will be read at the event. Singer Miri Awad will perform.

I'll let Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu have the last word...

“A Hand Raised Against G-d will be Removed”

Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu related to the expected UN resolution in favor of the PA bid. “They think they can change their mind after voting to establish the State of Israel, and pass anti-Semitic resolutions. Their vote has no relevance. Pharaoh also released the Jewish Nation before changing his mind and chasing them by the Red Sea. Nothing remained of him or his army. Nations voting against Israel will have to deal with the Wrath of G-d.”

Supervolcano Risk X 2

15 Kislev 5773

By now, everyone knows there is an active supervolcano in Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, but did you know there is another one in California?? And it is currently at level "yellow" alert status because of an earthquake swarm???

From yesterday...

Upswing in Earthquakes in the Long Valley Caldera Region of California  (TheWeatherSpace.com) - An upswing in California earthquakes has some people questioning the health of the faultlines. Long Valley Caldera to Mammoth Mountain are swarming at the same time.

Earthquakes are the normal in California, however within the last week an upswing in activity has been noted. The Long Valley Caldera is showing signs that magma is indeed moving down there.

The Long Valley Caldera is something that is dismissed due to the Yellowstone Super Volcano. There is evidence in the past that the Long Valley Caldera is more dangerous than Yellowstone, and just a stone's throw away from the populated regions of Southern California.

The caldera is just north of Ridgecrest off of Highway 395 and activity has been spiking within the last week.

"We don't think much is going on there, but it is being monitored," said the USGS. "We have teams in the area and have just recently finished a study on the area."

So while no one can predict what will happen, just as Yellowstone, the Long Valley Caldera is considered a super volcano that can go off at anytime.

"We've notice an increase in 2s and 3s across California as well, with poppers across Southern California," said TheWeatherSpace.com Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin. "This usually means we are going to have the stress released soon in the area. What is also interesting is Long Valley and Mammoth Mountain activity is happening at the same time. This is real interesting."

According to Jim Berkland, a retired geologist, Full Moons usually generate large earthquakes due to the tidal forces. There is a lunar eclipse tonight so the moon can't get any fuller.

The Hammer is now poised over the West Coast

15 Kislev 5773

River of storms headed for Northern California

It's shaping up as California's equivalent of a hurricane: A series of warm, wet storms arriving today that will be unlike anything the state has seen in years.

...If this comes to pass, Sacramento could receive more rain in a few days than it gets in an average January, typically the wettest month of the year.

...The first storm arrives today and lasts through Thursday. It is expected to be relatively mild.

The second hits Friday and will be the real soaker, lasting through Sunday with drenching rain and strong winds. A third, even wetter storm, may follow later on Sunday.

Sacramento could see sustained winds of 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph. The Sierra Nevada foothills could see gusts up to 55 mph.

These are warm storms and snow levels will be high – 7,000 feet and up. That means many Sierra highway passes could stay free of snow. But it also means more terrain will be exposed to rainfall runoff.

..."These are the types of events that are responsible for the biggest flood damages on the West Coast," said [Marty Ralph, an expert on the phenomenon at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.] "To me, that's the analogue to the hurricane problem."

...In Sacramento, one of the capital region's premier sporting events, the 30th annual California International Marathon, is expected to go ahead on Sunday despite the weather. Organizers say the race has never been canceled.

[Reminiscent of New York City Marathon and Sandy?]

More than 15,000 people are expected at the 26.2-mile race, which starts at 7 a.m. Sunday near the base of Folsom Dam.

...High winds and soaked ground raise the potential for downed trees and power outages.

Deja vu, except for the surge of ocean water. However, this part of California has something in common with New Orleans. It has an aging levee system which poses a hazard to area residents in the event of failure. See what this 2006 article has to say about it:

California mired in its own levee crisis
Officials, in a stalemate, struggle to find money for repairs - despite rising warnings of failing levees.

New Orleans' levees aren't the only ones getting close scrutiny these days. California's deteriorating network of water barricades - humbler in structure than those in the Big Easy but no less key to the health and safety of millions of residents - is prompting state and local officials to speak in "state of emergency" terms.

...The threat of levee failure in northern California is immediate and widespread, warn experts. Depending on where a failure in the vast system occurs, it could be hurricane Katrina-like in scale, they add.

At serious risk are cities large and small, including the state capital; the San Joaquin Valley in central California, producer of half the nation's fruits and vegetables; and drinking water for 24 million Californians.

Then there's this from two weeks ago:

California's Katrina?

The scenario is known as “California’s Katrina.” An earthquake or superstorm causes Gold Rush-era earthen levees to collapse. Saltwater from San Francisco Bay floods the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, displacing half a million lowland Californians, poisoning the water supply for as many as 28 million more who live in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Silicon Valley, and ruining farmland that produces 11 percent of the nation’s agricultural value. The eighth-largest economy in the world could be sunk for months, even years.

********
In other flooding news:

Wild storm hits Western Australia
A BRUTAL storm has left more than 50,000 homes in Perth and regional Western Australia without power, as emergency services scrambled to cope with widespread damage to schools, heritage buildings and homes across the state.

UK Floods, Worst Flooding Since 2007, Extreme Weather Global Weirding?

The UK looks set to experience its worst series of floods since at least the great floods of 2007 when areas that had never flooded in living memory experienced what would turn out to be their worst floods in over 150 years.

The latest of a series of heavy rain fall induced flooding is being experienced by the south and south west areas of England and Wales, with over 500 flood warnings in place nation wide, as one of the wettest summers on record had left the ground saturated, unable to soak up additional heavy rain fall that is resulting in the failure of drainage systems.

The current wave of flooding follows on from highly damaging flooding earlier in the year (September) that literally resulted in roads and foundations of buildings being washed away that were subsequently demolished.

The following Met Office graph illustrates the increasing volatility in the extremes of weather that the UK is facing as a drought during the first 3 months of the year gave way extraordinarily heavy rainfall from April onwards, continuing in June, and July with rainfall of as much as 225% of the annual average. The Above average rainfall has continued into this month which looks set to turn out to be another record month for rainfall.

Cameron visits flooding-hit areas  

Now SNOW is set to fall as Britain faces coldest winter for 100 years

Environmental Agency warns of more risk of flooding

'We've lost everything': Hundreds of families face being homeless for Christmas due to floods

Elderly woman found dead in flooded home

Comparatively Speaking

13 Kislev 5773

...Hurricane Sandy worse than Hurricane Katrina

Gov. Cuomo said Monday that Hurricane Sandy was in some ways even worse than Hurricane Katrina, as he announced the state would seek a whopping $42 billion in federal disaster aid.

Cuomo acknowledged that far more people died as a result of Katrina’s fury, than Sandy’s. But he said last month’s superstorm caused more property damage, and affected a greater number of people.

...Louisiana lost 214,700 homes as a result of the two storms; Sandy wrecked 305,000 homes just in New York. There were 800,000 power outages in Louisiana, compared with more than 2 million in New York.

And while 18,700 businesses were lost to the hurricanes in Louisiana, Sandy affected more than 265,300 businesses across the Empire State.

...Sandy is blamed for 135 deaths in the U.S., including 60 in New York. Katrina was responsible for 1,833 deaths.

(Hat tip Global Disaster Watch)

Stop the world, I want to get off!

13 Kislev 5773

The countdown to 21.12.2012, or The End of the World as We Know It, is now being counted in days - 25 to be exact. I don't know about you, but in light of the mess that mankind has made of this world - the poisoning of the planet and the imprisonment of its population - I'm all for the Creator hitting a reset button.

This is essentially what happened at the time of the Great Flood and also at the Tower of Bavel. Sometimes, we forget that this world and this reality are not what has always been, nor what will always be. I mean, there are people that, despite the downfall of empires across recorded history, have a difficult time imagining a world without America, which has only existed for 236 years - not even a blip on the cosmic radar. I think it is essential to understand that we are on the cusp of another Big Change, whether it actually begins or ends on the famous December date or not.

We're told numerous times in the Tanakh that the Era of Redemption will witness strange occurrences in the heavens as well as on the earth:

Yeshayahu 13.10 - "For the stars of the heavens and its constellations shall not allow their light to illuminate, the sun has become dark in its going forth, and the moon shall not shine its light."

Yechezkel 32.7 - "And with your smoke I will cover the heavens, and I will darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine its light."

Yoel 2.10; 3.3,4,5 - "Before it the earth quakes, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon darken, and the stars withdraw their shining. ...And I will perform signs in the heavens and on the earth: Blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall turn to darkness, and the moon to blood, prior to the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call in the name of the Lord shall be delivered, for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be a deliverance, as the Lord said, and among the survivors whom the Lord invites."

Yeshayahu 60.19 - "Your sun shall no longer set, neither shall your moon be gathered in, for the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be completed."

Zechariah 14.4,6, 10 - "...the Mount of Olives shall split in the midst thereof-toward the east and toward the west-a very great valley. And half the mountain shall move to the north, and half of it to the south. ... And it shall come to pass on that day that there shall be no light, only disappearing light and thick darkness. ...The whole earth shall be changed to be like a plain, from the hill of Rimmon in the south of Jerusalem; but it [Jerusalem] will be elevated high and remain in its old place...."

Malachi 3.19,20 - "For lo, the sun comes, glowing like a furnace, and all the audacious sinners and all the perpetrators of wickedness will be stubble. And the sun that comes shall burn them up so that it will leave them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of Hosts. And the sun of mercy shall rise with healing in its wings for you who fear My Name."

Speaking of the sun. You may not have seen the news report coming as it did in the midst of Amud Anan. (That's why I failed to report on it at the time.)  But, on the second day of the war - Friday, 16 November - what has been described by scientists as a solar tsunami swept across the sun's surface.  (Spaceweather.com is the place to monitor the increasing solar activity.)

Bear all this in mind as you (hopefully) re-read a previous post entitled...

What is Really Going on With "2012"

5 Iyar 5772
Day 20 of the Omer

There is a LOT of misinformation and disinformation out there about what 21.12.2012 is really all about. What does it portend and what is the proof that anything at all will happen?

In short, nobody knows for sure, even the so-called experts, because this is all new territory for humankind. But all you have to do is read the news and view videos of recent world disasters to see with your own eyes that most of what was beginning to be predicted in 2008 and 2009 is already happening - massive flooding, torrential rains, increasing intensity and frequency of earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, windstorms (hurricanes, tornadoes and typhoons), and fireballs in the heavens.

I'm going to do my best to bring you all the most salient points in a nutshell in order to increase understanding and decrease confusion. Any one of these points could be expanded into entire volumes and some have been, but I want to give you the big picture - to the best of my own ability to understand it - and then you can dig deeper on your own if you want further explanation (or repudiation, as the case may be).

First of all, the Mayan connection: Their "long count" calendar was an astronomical calendar pinpointing astronomical events into the future with great accuracy which, by all accounts, surpasses even the abilities which exist today. In other words, they have a track record which proves they knew what they were talking about. So what was it exactly that they predicted for 21.12.2012? They predicted (and scientists now concur) that our solar system would reach its closest, unobstructed approach to the center of our galaxy on that day.

We are all familiar with the idea of our planets revolving around our sun...


But, did you know that our solar system revolves around the Milky Way galaxy? I didn't. I guess I never really thought about it. However, while the earth revolves in an elliptical orbit over the course of 365 days...


The entire solar system revolves around the galaxy in a wave motion...


...crossing the galactic equator or the galactic plane (marked as a yellow line in the picture) and aligning with the center of the galaxy every 26,000 years. In case you were interested, it supposedly takes 230 million years for it to make a complete revolution around the outer realms of the galaxy.

This is important because this is the area in which the black hole at the center of our galaxy exerts its greatest gravitational pull. We will reach the center point of that crossing or the time of greatest influence on our solar system on 21.12.2012.

Anyone who grew up watching any incarnation of Star Trek knows that a black hole sucks up everything within reach of it, so it's not surprising that new asteroids are being suddenly discovered in close proximity to earth and that giant fireballs - meteors pulled off course - are increasingly being reported worldwide. This is only the latest...

Minivan-Size Meteor Created Fireball in the Sky

(See also 1Asteroid 2011, 2Asteroid 2011 and Asteroid 2012.)

Ok, so we can see how smaller objects will likely respond to the galactic center's gravitational wave and how this, in turn, will affect the larger planets, but aside from dodging space debris, the most critical element in all of this is the glowing orb at the center of our solar system - the Sun.

Interestingly, the Hebrew prophets mention the Sun often in End Times prophecies about a period of time known as "The Day of the Lord" when the earth is being transformed - a time in which the Creator of the World reveals Himself through the power and forces of nature.

(Isaiah 30:26)- "...and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of the seven days,...."

(Malachi 3:19-20)- "For lo, the sun comes, glowing like a furnace, and all the audacious sinners and all the perpetrators of wickedness will be stubble. And the sun that comes shall burn them up .... And the sun of mercy shall rise with healing in its wings for you who fear My Name." (See more sources here.)

Also, "The Song of Deborah" (Shirat Devorah) found in the Biblical book of Judges is supposed to be an account of the final redemption and it ends off with...you got it! A reference to the Sun - "So may perish all Your enemies, O Lord; but they that love Him as the sun when he goes forth in his might."

It's not by chance that "The End of the World As We Know It" (TEOTWAWKI) discussions center around solar activity. The galactic center's gravitational wave will energize the Sun, more so the closer it approaches the middle of the galactic plane, and this will spur greater than usual solar activity at a time when our Sun is already reaching its normal cyclical solar maximum (which occurs every 11 years). And it will also cause the Sun to heat up the planets, as has already been noted in the scientific community...

Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds
Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says

But, when I say "heat up the planets," I'm talking about more than heating the atmosphere, I'm talking about increased solar radiation accompanying massive solar flares which heat up the earth's core resulting in increased earthquake and volcanic activity, as well as increased speed and severity of surface winds and waves. Note this report from today's news...

Study: Antarctic ice melting from warm water below

Theoretically, the super-heated core could become destabilized from the crust leading to crustal displacement causing a geographic pole shift which some say ample evidence exists for its having happened before in earth's geologic history.

So far, we've only discussed the physical effects on the celestial bodies, but what about OUR bodies? Does this increasing gravitational field and resulting increase in solar radiation affect human beings as well? And while we've discussed physical manifestations, what about the spiritual ones? Is the soul affected, too?

I could not find ready answers to these questions, but the recent reports of abnormal behavior among airline crews may offer us a clue.

Again, this event only happens every 26,000 years, so no one has any previous experience with it, but some believe that ancient cultures like the Mayans and the Egyptians had a tradition about what to expect to happen.

One of the most bizarre Mayan prophecies demonstrates a uniquely peculiar effect of approaching a black hole...

"When the four corners of the earth rest on the dark rift, a cosmic sky portal will be opened up and souls will be harvested."
Black holes distort time and space and theoretically can produce an interdimensional rift through which people could disappear, a term the autistic children used in relation to the evildoers in the world. And it's reminiscent of Isaiah 24:18 - "...for windows from above have been opened and the foundations of the earth have trembled." But, now I digress....

It's known that in addition to the physical transformation, the Mayans expected a metaphysical transformation as well. I'll let Rabbi Glazerson's book The Mayan Culture and Judaism describe it...

...A tremendous surge of energy continually emanates from the center of the galaxy, the spiral whirlpool of the Milky Way. This energy does not approach the earth directly, rather it passes through many "stations" on the way (planets and different star systems - the most well-known being the sun) that transform this pure energy and channel it to us in a new form.

During this time there is a line-up of several planets that cause the earth to face the center of the galaxy head-on, thereby allowing us to receive this energy. This situation, according to the Maya, will significantly influence our consciousness, raising it to an extremely high level .... Just as the sun rises at a specific time, and there is the moment when the first infinitestimal ray of light shines, there is also a process in which we directly face the photonic light that comes from the center of the galaxy, and under these conditions on 21.12.2012 exactly - this sunrise will transpire. It has been scientifically verified.... We are presently experiencing an amazing awakening of consciousness. Why is this already happening? It is exactly like the rising of the sun. Long before we perceive the rising of the sun, it is already possible to see its light.

...It is the dawn of the rising of the galaxy!

These photonic rays will increasingly influence our awareness and will raise the frequency of our consciousness to the ultimate levels possible. ...If we are not able to receive these high frequencies, we will be negatively affected.

As the prophet said - "...all the audacious sinners and all the perpetrators of wickedness will be stubble. And the sun that comes shall burn them up .... And the sun of mercy shall rise with healing in its wings for you who fear My Name."

If all of this really comes about, and there certainly is evidence to support it, those who say it will be the end of the world as we know it will be correct and so will those who say it will be a spiritually transformative event which will lead to a new age of peace and harmony among mankind.

We Jews have been looking forward to just such a time for thousands of years. We call it the Messianic Era or Days of Mashiach and the Light at the center of the galaxy could very well be the Ohr Ganuz, or the Original Light of Creation which was "put away for the righteous in time to come."

Message from Moishela: "There Are Almost No Leaders and All Is Confusion"

9 Kislev 5773

There Are Almost No Leaders and All Is Confusion

It has been a very very hard day for all here in Eretz Yisroel. There have been many attacks on cities, villages, Moshavs in the South, rockets in Yerushalayim area, and Ashkelon Ashdod etc.

We’re under siege, and still Hashem has made unbelievable Nissim happen. When you consider that probably over a thousand missiles have been shot into Israel, and of course every Yid that was killed is an important person, still the casualties have been unbelievably low. Mamash a Ness! And many people are reporting unbelievable Nissim. Whole families in apartments that blew up and everyone walked out unscathed. And this type of thing has happened a few times. As much as the Arabs fire rockets at us, still comparatively they have done very little damage. True, houses have been blown up, but its still much less than the damage that was done with Sandy.

We can see clearly that Hashem is guiding us, trying to give us a message, and the message of course is “my children come back to Me. My sweet Yiddishe children come back to Me, leave the Egel HaZahav and come back to Me, leave all the stupidities of the Olam Hazeh and come back to Me. Because if not it’s going to get much worse, Hashem Yishmor.”

Now they’re speaking of a ceasefire, but they aren’t speaking to the Israelis. They are speaking to each other the American’s the Arabs, the Europeans, and they will let us know what they want Israel to do. They will bring us to the table and give us a pen and say sign. Of course ceasefires like that will only last a short time and we all know that the Arabs are notoriously known for breaking ceasefires. Usually what happens is, the Israelis keep the ceasefire meticulously, and the Arabs launch a few missiles here, a few there, but that’s not counted. The Israeli government doesn’t count it, and no other government counts it. It’s as if nothing has happened. However Am Yisroel is very angry about the situation and they have been demonstrating because they know if you don’t finish the job now then it won’t be finished. It will continue. The only problem is that most Yidden are wrong and everybody is seeing this not correctly. Hashem has sent the Americans or the Europeans or the English to force Israel into a battle; to force Israel into a battle that she can win only by a huge Ness and both Edom and Yishmoel want to take over Eretz Yisroel.

I’m warning you Am Yisroel. People from the outside have great designs planned for Eretz Yisroel, Hashem Yishmiranu. They don’t like Jews. We’re not Israelis, we’re Jews, and they hate Jews and they want Eretz Yisroel. They want it to be the center of their satanic religion. They want to show HaKodosh Boruch Hu that they are in charge or that their so called Moshiach is, really going to come to Eretz Yisroel and rule. But Hashem will not let them rule. We’re going to have a very hard time until Moshiach Tzidkainu will come and rescue us.

We have to rescue ourselves. We first have to do Teshuva, so that this hard time that’s coming upon us, will pass by with Rachamim. I told you it’s like a tunnel. We’re already in the middle of the tunnel and the door behind us is closing and the light is getting dimmer and dimmer, and we’re going forward deeper into the darkness. The darkness is still not as dark as it’s going to be. It’s going to be so dark that we’ll see nothing, nothing in front of us, nothing behind us. We won’t know where behind is and where in front is. We are going into total darkness.

Am Yisroel make it easy on yourselves. Am Yisroel, save yourselves much trouble. Save yourselves suffering. Come back to HaKodosh Boruch Hu. Those who are very far, keep Shabbos. Keep all the basic Mitzvos. Say Shema Yisroel in the morning and at night. Wash your hands (with a washing cup) when you get up in the morning and say Modeh Ani keep Taharas Hamishpacha and put on Tefillin. Get close to HaKodosh Boruch Hu. You’re not going to have another chance. Those who are supposedly close to HaKodosh Boruch Hu, dig down inside of yourselves and know what you have done wrong. Know that you’re on the wrong track and straighten it out. We’ve been wayward children, and Hashem loves us, and Hashem wants to bring us back. He is trying to show us how much He loves us with Nissim, so many

Nissim. And in America so many people have forgotten Sandy already, and so many people want to go back to their parties, but Am Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel don’t be like the Americans. Be better, be closer. Please I beg you, we should not have to go through more suffering than necessary. Please, please, I beg you. I beg you, come back, because if you come back it will be so much easier. It’s going to be hard. Believe me we’re going to go through Gehenom, but if we have Shmirah because we’re trying to be good, because we’re trying to be Tzaddikim, then Hashem will take care of us and protect us. However if we don’t want to listen to the warnings we have been getting now, like most of the Frum in America that have gone through the Frankenstorm, then we’ll be in big trouble and we’ll suffer very much.

I beg you Am Yisroel, listen to me. I want you to know that even if there is a so-called ceasefire tonight, it will be worth nothing. The Arabs feel that they have won and because of that Israel will be in very big trouble, and it won’t take long till you’ll see that my predictions are coming true.

Am Yisroel brace yourselves. Brace yourselves by doing Teshuva. Brace yourselves by loving each other, and doing Chessed for each other instead of all this Loshon Hora and Motzi Shem Rah, and all the violence in the Frum street one against the other. It can’t continue, and all of those who are working on the side of the Sitra Achra, will be wiped away.

I am saying the following to every Yid in Eretz Yisroel:

There is no reason now for any Yid to ever leave Eretz Yisroel again. I reiterate again, no reason ever to leave Eretz Yisroel again, never ever. First of all, there is nowhere to run to, and Eretz Yisroel is the place that Hashem promised us and this is where we must stay now, and we can’t save our lives by running away because there is nowhere in the world that wants Jews. There is no reason to leave Eretz Yisorel at all ever.

Tatti: Do people in America feel that things are changing?
Moishela: United States of America is a thing of the past and England is also on its way out. Many Jews feel it but many more don’t. Many are worried and are living with a black cloud over their heads trying to keep up business as usual but it doesn’t really work.

Mommy: Why were you crying so much when you woke up this morning?
Moishela: Last night a Tzaddik came to me in a dream. The Tzaddik was my Rebbe the Baal Shem Tov and with words he painted for me a vision of the near future of the world.

I saw death and destruction for much of the world,
I saw Yidden in Eretz Yisroel suffering pain and hunger and confusion,
I saw many Yidden their lifeless bodies strewn around on the ground,
I saw a group of Yidden coming together and crying out to Hashem.
They were wrapped in Talaisim and with Tefillin on their heads and arms they were crying and begging Hashem to forgive them and bring the Geula. They were begging Hashem not to destroy the descendents of Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov and telling Hashem they know the truth and begging Hashem to forgive them and bring Moshiach. Then the Tzaddik that showed me all this started to fade away and he said it’s up to Am Yisroel and then he disappeared.

Tatti: Wow that was a very frightening vision.
Moishela: Know that this is really the beginning of the end even if there is a ceasefire. The problem isn’t the Arabs the problem is that we the Yidden are not doing what we are supposed to do. The problem is that we Yidden many of us believe in Kochi VeOtzem Yodi. We are sure that we are the strong ones that our Iron Dome is what is saving Am Yisroel. There are Yidden that don’t believe that but still don’t believe in HaKodosh Boruch Hu the way they are supposed to.

There are almost no leaders and all is confusion. The world is full of confusion and evil. Almost overnight the world seems to have turned from a jolly democratic world where people had no problem planning for the future with confidence that it would come to pass and as if overnight it has turned into a world where evil is taking more and more control. Every person has become afraid and worried about their daily existence and the world seems totally chaotic, like a huge insane asylum run by uniformed Reshoim and this is very frightening.

What Just Happened?

8 Kislev 5773

Normally, when we think of eight days in Kislev, we think of Hanukah. Now, we have the eight days of Amud Anan.

What just happened this past week in Aza? Well, there is the way the public perceives it; the way the politicians plan it; what the government tells us; the way the media presents it and ultimately, the way Hashem is directing it.

Most of the world can be classified either as puppets or pawns. The puppets think they know what's happening. The pawns don't have a clue, but they make guesses - some more educated than others. Only the One Above knows what's really going on.

But, I think that if we stay focused on the big picture, look at things from the perspective of our long and eventful history and view current events within the context of the unfolding redemption, we might be able to make some sense out of the confusion.

Clearly, as much as we all wanted to believe it, it was never the government's intention to put an end to Hamas once and for all.  I read one analysis (can't recall where) that implied that this whole adventure was a live training exercise to test the Iron Dome and to eliminate Hamas's supply of long-range missiles which threatened the center of Israel in preparation for the go at Iran.  If true, then it won't be long in coming as Iran will rush to resupply them.  In fact, a shipment is en route now.

It's interesting and (eye-opening) to see who has come out as the declared winner of this most recent conflict - Muhamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt.

Drudgereport 22-11-2012:
Gaza deal seals major role for Egypt's president...

Debka 22-11-2012:
...By deferring to Egypt’s superior authority, Israel let itself be demoted to an equal footing with Hamas,....

Netanyahu and Barak’s advisers defend this concession by maintaining that it is superseded by Morsi’s dependence on Washington for the sake of American aid grants and guarantees for international credit to rescue Egypt’s economy from collapse. Cairo will be in the hands of the Obama administration and so Israel has nothing to worry about, they say.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I think this linkage between Obama and Egypt at this critical moment is a clue to where we stand in the redemption process.

We started with Egypt and we'll finish with "Egypt" - America, who is spiritual Egypt and who is headed by a man who is very likely a gilgul of one of the pharaohs. It was no coincidence that he gave his first big foreign policy address from Cairo.

But, do you know what concerns me most about all this? Two very critical things came out of Amud Anan which have no doubt doomed America and will consequently bring unspeakable suffering to its citizens and unmentionable danger to my Jewish brethren.

President of the US Barack Obama publicly and openly pressured Israel's leadership to bend to his will or else allowed it to appear as though he did.  And the Israeli "leadership" gushed praise and thanks, not to Hashem, but to US President Barack Obama.

As reported by Yeshiva World News...

Prime Minister: "I would like to thank US President Barak Obama for his support of our right to defend ourselves and throughout Operation Pillar of Defense. Thanks to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her efforts as well."

Defense Minister: "Thanks to the Obama administration and to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for the ongoing support and assistance."

Foreign Minister: "Thanks to President Obama, EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and the international community towards bringing an end to the attacks from Gaza."

Disgusting!

Out of all the thanks being poured out, not one word of thanks to HKB"H. But that's the Erev Rav regime for you. Did we really expect anything else? But, it's going to backfire because already there are comments on the internet that the public kudos to Obama for the Iron Dome "without which Israel could not have killed babbies in Gaza" is inviting retribution on America from angry Muslims.

Furthermore, as long as Israel gives credit to America instead of to Hashem, or as long as they stand in the way of us defeating our enemies once and for all, as the case may be, He will be compelled to remove America from this equation. Either way you look at it, America's days are numbered and the Jews who live within its borders will suffer the brunt of American rage against Israel.

It's not over yet.  Harder times are coming.  Make sure you are prepared.

Traumatic Stress

8 Kislev 5773

Well, you can't really call it POST-traumatic stress while it's ongoing. I would wager that there is not one Jew in Eretz Yisrael who is not suffering some kind of stress due to the current matzav. We are a small country and a tightly-knit people when the chips are down. No one remains unaffected. Even those in the north of the country where it is now quiet are surely reliving the trauma of 2006.

We are all reliving past traumas and recounting them to each other. I told a new employee about my famous "Terror Tour" of downtown Jerusalem where I can point out the place and describe each attack that occurred during the worst years of suicide bombings - three separate explosions of which I heard from my home.

I daresay there is no Jewish citizen of Israel who does not know someone who was killed or wounded in an attack over the years.

After taking my bus from home and waiting an extra long time getting through the checkpoint, I transferred to the Jerusalem lite-rail with the knowledge in the back of my mind that two dummy pipe bombs had already interrupted train service twice since last week. As soon as I took a seat, I heard one woman telling her seatmate that there had been a "pigua" on a bus in Tel Aviv. Flashback to the one I witnessed in Jerusalem where the bus roof had been peeled back like an open sardine can.

Immediately, one of my daughters called to tell me about it. I have another daughter who lives in Jerusalem, but works in Tel Aviv. I was sure she must be in her office working and not out traveling around the city.

Everyone I know is exhibiting some sign of stress beyond the usual. According to Reactions of Civilians Exposed to Terrorism and War Trauma in Israel: "...researchers have identified Israel as a natural laboratory for studying stress and its effects in the context of terrorism and war...."

Lovely.  

It's very important that we acknowledge this - to ourselves and to each other - and understand that this can be behind what otherwise might be construed as rude behavior or inattention, etc.  In short, we need to cut each other, and ourselves, some slack. Also, we need to take extra care to practice stress-reduction techniques - the foremost of which is reciting Tehillim.

And remember...this, too shall pass.

Valuable Historical Record

6 Kislev 5773

FLASHBACK VIDEO: Promises Made By ‘Gaza Disengagement’ Supporters

We will not forgive and we will not forget!

Hiding in the Diaspora

5 Kislev 5773

Those who call for Jews to hurry home to Eretz Yisrael in order to "escape" trouble are making a big mistake. Eretz Yisrael is not a place to hunker down and hide out til trouble passes over. It's the vehicle for fulfilling our national destiny. And that's never been more obvious than when buses were blowing up and missiles were raining down. But, since 1948, the Diaspora has become a place where Jews hide out from their national responsibilities. Allow me to explain further.

It all goes back to Yetziat Mitzrayim.

Hashem took us down to Egypt where we grew into a great nation and then He brought us up out of Egypt to return us to our land - Eretz Yisrael - which we were going to have to conquer.

"It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt." (Shemot 13.17)

When the meraglim - the twelve spies sent out by Moshe Rabeinu - reported back to the people, Hashem's fears were realized. Ten of the twelve convinced the people that the enemy was too great for us - that we would all die trying to conquer the land.  The two who had faith that Hashem would not let us down, but would fight alongside us, lost the battle for the hearts and minds of a large part of the People of Israel.

Then - as now - the punishment for rebelling against ratzon Hashem was exile from the land.  We lost our chance and had to wait forty years, wandering in the desert, for an entire generation to die off, before we got another chance.

The Torah tells us, and the prophets and the writings back it up, that exile from our land is a punishment and that one day, that decree would be lifted and Hashem would return us to our land.  How many times a day throughout all the centuries have we prayed for that day to come?  And yet, still there is this dichotomy of the meraglim where part of the Jewish people says, "We get to live in Eretz Yisrael," while the other part says, "We don't have to live in Eretz Israel."

It's a fact that Eretz Yisrael is the safest place for a Jew to be - and especially so as judgment begins to fall on the nations of the world - but, that should not be interpreted to mean that no trouble or trial or injury will befall a Jew in Eretz Yisrael.  No one would be foolish enough to believe such a claim.  It goes against all evidence to the contrary.  What it means is that when the trouble or trial or, G-d forbid, injury happens to a Jew in Eretz Yisrael, it catches him while he is busy about the business Hashem created him for, not hiding out from his God-given responsibilities.

It's predictable that as the situation deteriorates for Jews in the Diaspora, it will also deteriorate in Eretz Yisrael.  This is necessary to preserve free will.  History shows that the borders of Eretz Yisrael were wide open for a period of time before Hitler's rise to power in Germany, but the Arabs were perpetrating pogroms against the Jews and the British collaborated with them.  (Witness Hebron 1929.) So, even though they didn't like the climate that was developing in Europe, many European Jews held back from any serious consideration of emigratiion.  By the time it became clear how bad it was going to get there, the British White Paper had been issued, severely limiting Jewish immigration to Eretz Yisrael, and the rest of the world closed its doors (and eyes and ears) to Jews.

This is the only possible end for those who make calculations about where it is "safer" to be.  This should never be a consideration when we are deciding about making the ultimate move to Eretz Yisrael.  It's "safest" to be where you belong.  We can't run from troubles or even from death.  They are a necessary part of this reality which is preparing us for the world to come.  But, as Jews, we also can't continue to run away from our obligations to God and to our fellow Jews:

(Bamidbar 32.6-9) "...Moses said to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, "Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here? Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the Land. They went up to the Valley of Eshkol and saw the land, and they discouraged the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them."

Hashem is asking every Diaspora Jew this question today - "Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here?" Shall you live in comfort and security and indulge yourselves among the impure nations while your brothers are fighting and dying to conquer the land which you have rejected, but for which you share an equal responsibility? Neither your physical well-being, nor even that of your children (witness the generation of the desert who feared for their children's lives!) must have any bearing on this holy and irrevocable calling.

Now, look how we've come full circle again back to the meraglim:

"...Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the Land. They went up to the Valley of Eshkol and saw the land, and they discouraged the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them."

Did you, as a Diapora Jew arguing for your right to remain in chu"l even to the point of accusing the Israeli Jew of sinning by being there, ever imagine yourself compared to one of the meraglim who discouraged the people?

This is very serious business, folks! Hashem deemed them worthy of death.

Hashem commanded us regarding Eretz Yisrael - enter and conquer.  The Israeli Jew is suffering because he has not completed the second part of this commandment, but the Diaspora Jew has not even begun!  Brothers and sisters, this is a reality-changiing error and never more so than NOW!  

And a special warning to those who speak lashon hara against Eretz Yisrael, discouraging Diaspora Jews from emigrating and discouraging Israeli Jews and causing them to doubt the righteousness of their mission - if you merit gehinnom, believe me, there will be a very special place for you there.

As I write this, I bear in mind that the Truth hurts and it's never popular with the masses.