Day 23 of the Omer
It's easy to see within the Hebrew letters which spell out Nepal (נפאל) the same letters which spell the Hebrew word meaning "fall" (נפל). According to Morfix: "to fall, to stumble; to drop, to decline; to collapse, to be defeated, to surrender, to be conquered; to be killed; to fall by the wayside (a proposal, plan); (colloquial) to fall on (a day, date); to descend...."
In the case of this devastating earthquake, all of the above would apply. But, beyond the message that the whole world is poised to fall in the same way that Kathmandu has fallen, I found a deeper message in a CNN report about the earthquake - a video essay called "Why was Nepal unprepared?"
"...In Nepal, people always talk about this 'impending' earthquake. So, the experts had always warned that every 60-70 years there will be a major earthquake in Kathmandu. Now, the last major one, a magnitude about 8.4 on the Richter scale, that was back in 1934. So, an earthquake was almost overdue. Even though Nepal and Nepalese have been aware of this so-called 'impending' earthquake, no one actually believed that it would happen...."
(Yeshayahu 2:11-19)
...The haughty eyes of man will be humbled, and the height of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day. For the Lord of Hosts has a day over everyone proud and high, and over everyone exalted, and he shall become humble. And over all the cedars of the Lebanon, high and exalted, and over all the oaks of the Bashan; And over all the high mountains and over all the exalted hills; And over every lofty tower and over every fortified wall; And over all the ships of Tarshish and over all coveted floors. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day. And the idols shall completely pass away. And they shall come into the caves of the rocks and into the hollows of the earth, because of the fear of the Lord and because of the splendor of His pride, when He rises to break the earth.Believe it.
Jack Tiwari, president of the America Nepal Society, begins most mornings with a short prayer to the dozen or so Hindu deities who sit atop the altar at his home in Northern Virginia. He thanks the gods for giving him another day, offers them some sweets and asks for good health and happiness.
ReplyDelete...
On Saturday, though, Tiwari was awoken at 5 a.m. by news that a massive earthquake had devastated his Himalayan homeland. For the next several hours, he frantically tried to reach his parents and extended family, who still live in Nepal, and pored through pictures on Facebook and other social media searching for hints about their fate.
...Tall towers and pagodas, monuments to Nepal's deep Hindu and Buddhist roots, were toppled and reduced to rubble. The majestic temple devoted to Shiva, the Hindu deity and its twin, the Narayan temple pagoda, which drew centuries of pilgrims to Kathmandu, are now in ruins.
- a voice in the wilderness
"Voice", please give the source of your information. We might want to learn more.
DeleteOn Facebook, for example, a number of followers of Tibetan Buddhism are sending aid and prayers to several monasteries from that tradition in Nepal. One phrase comes up again and again: Om mane padme hum, which can be translated several ways, most commonly as "jewel in the lotus."
DeleteKnown as the "heart mantra," the phrase invokes Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion. (Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who forgo nirvana in order to help others.) When the mantra is chanted, Buddhists, particularly in Nepal, believe Avalokiteshvara appears and helps people in need, Lewis explained. The earthquake struck as Nepal was holding a centuries-old ceremony dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the scholar said.
- a voice in the wilderness
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/26/world/nepal-earthquake-buddhists-hindus/index.html
Delete- a voice in the wilderness
"The earthquake struck as Nepal was holding a centuries-old ceremony dedicated to Avalokiteshvara...."
DeleteIt does seem like the worst of the world's disasters consistently happen to places where outright idol-worship is going on. I wonder if that is any indicator that these will make up the one-third that is destined for total destruction.
It's weird, but the part of that tower left standing looks somewhat like the remains of the Hurva looked. Tzippi
ReplyDeleteActually the Before photo of the tower looks a bit like the Washington Monument in the middle of the National Mall in Wash. D.C. ...which was made unusable by an earthquake in Northern Virginia (see commenter above) back in 2011 or 2012. Of course the Washington Monument only developed a severe crack making the upper floors unusable and unsafe. It did not end up like the Churva.
DeleteThe first thought that came to mind after learning of this terrible tragedy was the avodah zorah that it is famous for and that so many young Israelis, looking for 'spirituality', run there for some 'spirituality. Can one even imagine a Jew running from EY, the holiest of holy, looking for ruchnios in a place overflowing with avodah zorah? Also, they run to climb the mountains instead of hiking the Land of Israel and sitting and studying Torah. H' is showing us that He is destroying the avodah zorahs; just hope it is a lesson Jews are understanding. Am afraid that there will be many 'natural' disasters until every Jew and the world at large learns that only HE runs this world. The secular youth have been denied any knowledge of Judaism because there is no Jewish education in the public schools in the medinah at this time. H' y'rachem. Praying that every Yehudi wakes up and that decent humanity also wake up and realize Ein Od Milvado.
ReplyDeleteSorry, just wrote a comment but forgot to put my name. Raizy
ReplyDeleteThere is an article in the JPost about how Israel has not done more to protect its citizens from an expected earthquake. All homes before 1980, and that's lot, are not reinforced. So we are also in an area prone to quakes. [its difficult to correct errors on your blog, maybe you can do something to allow 'backspace' and then the correction?] I mean typos!
ReplyDeleteI have no control over Blogger's system. However, it does offer an option to "preview" and "edit" your comment before publishing. I think that's what it's for - typos.
DeleteFarmers in India disparity:
ReplyDeletehttps://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/dust-storm-lightning-kill-five-in-up-epidemic-of-suicides-reported-as-climate-unravels/
Jewish Google executive killed on Mt. Everest:
ReplyDeletehttp://forward.com/news/breaking-news/306850/google-executive-dan-fredingburg-killed-in-everest-avalanche-triggered-by-n/