31 July 2017

May This Be The Final Fast

9 Av 5777

I urge everyone to recall the root of all our troubles on this date.

It started on the 17th of Tamuz with the fear that Moshe would not return as promised, so the Golden Calf was built to be his replacement and to lead us back to Egypt. 

Then, the next big thing which happened on Tisha b'Av itself was the result of the bad report by the spies about the Land of Israel which made Am Yisrael cry from fear and refuse to enter the Land.

Fear resulting from lack of emuna in Hashem led to disobedience and rebellion against Hashem.

This was the root of our problems then and it remains the root of our problems today. Until this problem is solved, nothing will ever change. If we do not solve it ourselves, Hashem will force His own solution, but it will be much better and easier for us if we do it ourselves. That is why the delay has been so long. But, Hashem won't wait forever.

  • Lack of faith and trust in HKB"H ---> Fear ---> Disobedience to G-d's will ---> Exile
  • Faith and trust in HKB"H ---> No Fear ---> Obedience to G-d's will ---> Redemption

~~~

Tisha B'av - Introduction Part 1

Tisha B'av - Stories from Destruction of 1st Beit Hamikdash Part 2



30 July 2017

"Jewish Intellectual Arrogance"

8 Av 5777

Avraham Sheinman on "Jewish Intellectual Arrogance"


27 July 2017

Binyamin's Message (Tamuz)

4 Av 5777

BS"D
Facilitated Communication with Binyamin
Jerusalem, 12 Tamuz 5777

There Aren't A Lot Like These

I'm very excited, very, very excited. Because I feel that the end is approaching in giant steps! I'm fearful, and I'm happy, but it's scary to think what could be in the very near future. All of us see already that there are wars in our world, very difficult wars, the most violent, murderous wars. Of death in a horrible manner, of lacking love for humanity, of murder of women and children... Oy! What can I tell you, something horrible and awful, and no one can stop it. And those who cry out against it - they also are murdered... from both sides...

And we Jews living in Eretz Yisrael, and here in Eretz Yisrael - a huge danger. Millions upon millions of enemies surrounding us, but the time has come for a still larger, still scarier war which will affect the whole world. And not only that, it will collapse the economy, too. I don't know at all how the world economy is still standing, because in all the Western countries the evildoers have stolen most of the money in the banks. It all operates on "thin air", on "make-believe", there's almost no money at all in the banks. It's all numbers moving from computer to computer. And it has to collapse. How can it be that there is actually some economic progress in America?! What has Trump done until today to repair the damage that Obama did? Destruction that another two hundred years can't fix, just to destroy and rebuild anew. Here and there he does something, but it's not enough. It will take a hundred years just to repay the debts of America the Great and Powerful.

And Europe - same story. And Australia - same story, and China - same story, and all of them, Russia, for sure same story, and we 'idiots' who believe in the evildoers, who believe in the doctors, who believe in the lawyers, and judges who sit in the courts of the goyim, and even in Israel which is pretend courts of Jews. We believe that they will help us, the mechanic will help us, the technician will help us, they are all helping us, we depend on them, but they are liars, and they can't save us. No one can save us, not 'Social Security', not Bituach Leumi, and no government office, no one, just HKB"H.

Nothing will help us, only those who have very great trust in HKB"H will get through the near future relatively easily, only with absolute trust. The world we have now is so evil, since Hashem has returned to the world all the wicked who ever lived, with all the terrible things they do, with all their idolatry, they're all here right now. And we see a world full of evil that is impossible to describe. We see a huge lack of holiness, you could vomit from the lack of holiness that exists in our world today, and especially also among the Jews, and even Jews like Chareidim.

The whole world is disgusting, wanting to go against nature, with everything. They are trying to make new creations to make another nature. They're taking the human body and trying to turn it into something else. They even have a plan to connect human beings to parts of machines, which will be half human and half machine. They've made a lot of films about it, so that people will get used to this whole idea, it's sick, it's sick, it's going against the nature that G-d created, woman - woman, man - man. Everyone has a role, woman - it's mother, it's wife of her husband, she makes the home, the husband - he works and he learns Torah, and he comes close to Hashem together with his family, and they make a home of modesty, of holiness, of Torah and mitzvot, and etc., holidays and etc. That's our role in Olam Hazeh, and never go out to make all kinds of careers, in stupid things, no! The world is becoming something anti-HKB"H, Hashem yishmor.

But, don't worry, Hashem will finish them. All the evildoers will completely disappear. And those faithful ones who trust in Hashem will remain. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! Whoever is with Hashem - Hashem will be with him. Whoever loves HKB"H - Hashem will be with him. Don't be afraid. But, it's not enough to not be afraid, we have to believe, we have to make a connection with HKB"H and start now if we have not started yet. Begin now to come closer and closer to Hashem, until we find Hashem, until we feel how Hashem caresses us and loves us and sends us only good. This is what we need to do in order to prepare for the near future. Because without this kind of preparation, we will suffer very, very much. I pity the Jews abroad because there it will be so much worse, But every Jew who understands that we need to come close to Hashem, and will begin now, this moment, to do it - every Jew who believes with all his strength that whatever HKB"H does is for our good, every Jew like this will be saved. And every gentile who believes in HKB"H, not oto ha'ish [JC], but in the name of Hashem alone - he also will be saved. There aren't very many gentiles like this, and there aren't very many Jews like this. Questions?

Q. What do you say about everything that's going on now between North Korea, South Korea, and the US...

A. It's all preparing us for war, if you're thinking there won't be a war - I'm sorry to tell you there will be a war. I don't know how long it will be - because the star will also arrive. And we are already entering into a difficult situation, everyone needs to hold tight, so to speak, to HKB"H, strongly, very strongly.

Q. What about the prayers rabbis and tzadikim are doing in all kinds of places?...

A. They feel and know that we are in very great danger, I only hope that a lot of people will go with them, because it is most important, ah, what would have happened before WWII, if only the Jews had prayed, if they had run to the kivrei tzadikim, and Europe was full-full, until today it's full of tzadikim, the graves of tzadikim. If only they had done this, if only they had made large assemblies, and returned in repentance, it wouldn't have been, the Nazis would not have had the power to do what they did to the Jews, but each one was more interested in his "business as usual." Therefore, no one prayed especially, and did not fear especially until the bombs began to fall. Then suddenly they were scared. And then they started to run. But, in Hungary, they sat quietly after everyone knew more or less what was happening, and did not flee, they simply continued like nothing - until they arrived, until the Nazis came. If only they had gone in large groups and cried and done teshuvah together - the whole Shoah would have vanished!

There's No Hope

4 Av 5777

The US State Department says the Arabs are attacking Jews in Israel because they lack hope. An Israeli pundit said the same thing in a recent interview. 

Let me assure everyone reading here that there is absolutely no hope for Arab aspirations in Eretz Yisrael. Of course, those Western-minded Arab sympathizers are thinking hope for an independent, democratic state where they will be masters of their own fate - an end to "occupation." But, those who understand the enemy know that it is the hope of pushing every last Jew in Eretz Yisrael into the sea (or under the ground) that drives them. And in this regard, there is no hope for them.

There is no hope of Jewish annihilation that will ever come to fruition. There is no hope that our enemies' plans will succeed in driving us off our land. Because they are not fighting the Jews, they are fighting Almighty G-d!

No, there is no hope for them.

26 July 2017

More Unwitting Prophecy? Halevai!

4 Av 5777

Maybe this is the precursor to actual prophecy's return at the End of Days. I very much hope this statement is what's called an "unwitting prophecy," one which comes true, but not in the manner the person saying it had intended.

"...Top Muslim Official: Worshipers won’t return to Al-Aqsa Mosque"

If only it would be true!! Imagine if this signals the end of the Muslim presence on the Temple Mount! How close must Mashiach be?

A lot of the news is repetitious so, when we read a title that sounds like the same thing we've already read five times, we tend to move on. However, that would be a mistake with this article which I found to be well worth the read and with a different focus from anything else I've seen, very informative, very insightful. Here are some highlights.
At the Temple Mount, it’s not about metal detectors, it’s about sovereignty
...The initial quarrel over metal detectors has evolved into a battle over sovereignty at what is possibly the world’s most sensitive holy site.
Complicating matters for Israel is the fact that the thousands of Palestinians heading to pray in the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem every day have no clear leader.
While the Jerusalem Waqf — a branch of the Jordanian government that administers Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem — may have initiated the boycott of the Temple Mount in protest at the metal detectors, the situation has spiraled out of its control.
...It’s now the street controlling the Waqf.
As one worshiper at nighttime prayers outside the Mount put it on Tuesday, “Do we have a leader? Yes. The unified voice of the people.”
...Many Palestinians have become tired of politics, but their religion and its symbols remain a force of mass mobilization.
Underlining this, Tuesday night saw the largest crowd of worshipers since the start of the crisis....
...Another man explained that the current Temple Mount crisis was the fulfillment of a Quranic prophecy about a struggle between Jews and Muslims at Al-Aqsa.
For one whole minute during the Tuesday evening service, the crowd chanted “Oh God, Oh God” repeatedly with the fear of losing Al-Aqsa likely at the forefront of its thoughts — however improbable this seems to Israelis, and no matter how many times Israel promises it won’t change the status quo at the site.
[On a soul-level, they know it's coming to an end and this may already be it!]
...Mohammas Rowais, from Ras al-Amud, said goals now included “for the police to be completely removed from the site, and for religious Jews to stop going up there.”
Now, at the same time as - during the most intense period of - our mourning over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, not only do we have this sudden, unexpected confrontation with our enemies, but we are also being forced to confront a long-standing internal debate - the very character of what we call The Jewish State.

Here are two takes on it...
Nationality Bill fuels fiery Knesset session
...The bill was intended to anchor the status of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people in law. This includes legally enshrining Israel's democratic character, its state symbols, Jerusalem as the capital, Hebrew as the official language and the right of return for Diaspora Jewry.
The bill also seeks to grant the right to preserve the heritage of all residents of Israel, regardless of religion or nationality, and protect the holy places of all religions.
Opposing Nation-State Bill Means You Think Zionism Is Racism
..."This committee is meant to write a foundational document that will establish what the State of Israel is, what is its character, and in what light will state authorities and institutions function," committee chairman Amir Ohana (Likud) said. "Whoever says this bill is racist is saying that Zionism is racism.
...It is the natural right of the Jewish People to be like every other nation and stand on its own in its sovereign state."
"Are we strong enough as a society to gather around the joint Zionist ethos and define it?" Ohana asked.
...Joint List chairman Aiman Odeh said: "We didn't come to Israel, Israel came to us. Our language is part of this space, of our homeland...No apartheid law will erase the fact that there are two nations here."
On the soul-level, everybody knows we are at a major turning point in the history of the world. Everything is going to change and no act of Congress or Parliament, no street-protests or uprisings are going to stop it.

Eizeh Fashla! Eizeh Busha!

Av 5777

A "Right-Wing" Likud-led government with all the "religious" parties in its coalition has proven that our redemption will never come by means of this failed Zionist regime. It's time we owned up to that fact. Nothing has made it clearer than the events of this week.
  • Arab-Muslim men carry weapons onto Temple Mount and use them to kill two Israeli-Druze policemen.
  • Israel closes the Mount and installs security measures at all entrances to catch any future weapons smuggling into the compound.
  • Arab-Muslims riot. Imams incite.
  • An innocent Jewish family pays the ultimate price, an Arab-Muslim "neighbor" butchers four of its members "for the sake of Al-Aqsa.
  • An Arab-Muslim Jordanian attacks an Israeli Embassy guard who shoots and kills his attacker and an "innocent" bystander. 
  • He and the Embassy staff are held hostage until the recently installed security apparatus is dismantled from the Temple Mount gates.
  • US envoy Greenblatt travels to Amman, PM Netanyahu speaks to King Abdullah by phone.
  • The Israeli Embassy guard and staff are released and returned to Israel.
  • The Security Cabinet meets.
  • The metal detectors are removed, cameras previously installed and approved by the WAKF are removed.
  • "Smart technologies" are to be employed sometime in the future on the Mount at a cost to Israeli taxpayers of 100 million sheqels.
  • PM Netanyahu smiles and takes a bow.
The State cannot protect its police, it can't protect its citizens, it can't protect its sovereignty. It can't formulate a policy and stick to it. But, it can pay out huge sums of money. 

Where is the famous Jewish pride that Zionism is supposed to guarantee as every Jew's birthright? There is no Jewish pride in capitulation to foreign powers and subservience to Islam and its atrocities. Might as well take this flag down...


And replace it with one of these.


If I really thought I was living in a Jewish State and this was the flowering of my redemption, I'd be mightily tempted to look for an exit. Because this is no Zionist dream, it's a Zionist nightmare. And there is no political party that can make a difference. The whole thing is rotten through and through.

Sure, some poll claims 77% of the Israeli public (which is likely 100% of the Jewish Israeli public) is unhappy with the way the Prime Minister has handled this "crisis". However, they still are not ready to accept that the flaw is with the system, not who occupies the PM's office. What is their knee-jerk response? Elect Bennet, elect Feiglin! I don't understand why they can't see that anyone who aspires to this office will still be hamstrung and constrained by the current democratic system and its coalition politics.

I think the root problem of why we seem to be stuck in a rut, constantly repeating the same errors over and over again with seemingly no way out of the destructive loop is our flawed concept of what the State represents and our relationship to it.

It might be worth repeating here something I wrote in 2002 with reference to the "birthpangs" analogy:
...at conception, the developing embryo implants itself in the wall of the womb by means of a vital structure called the placenta. This blood and nutrient-rich organ is the life-sustaining source for all the physical needs of the fetus during the entire term of gestation and this is its sole purpose and function. When the infant has entered the world, nature itself condemns the placenta for destruction, as it now serves no further use. 
...The Land of Israel and the People of Israel---together---are the laboring woman. Only Am Israel living on the soil of Eretz Israel will give birth to the Torah-government headed by Mashiach ben David, which will itself be the vehicle for the Complete Redemption---may it come speedily in our days! 
If this analogy holds true, it is easier to understand the relationship of the secular Zionist state to the eventual Torah-based government of Mashiach which will bring true peace and the knowledge of The One G-d to the whole world. The “Zionist entity” serves as the ‘placenta’ until which time as it becomes irrelevant. It is a grave mistake to confuse the two constructs. Who, with his eyes fixed on the birth of his long-anticipated and anxiously-awaited son, would desire the bloody placenta over the infant? There are clear signs even now that the ‘placenta’ is breaking down and losing its ability to nurture the nearly viable fetus. On the contrary, if labor did not spontaneously begin at the pre-determined end of the gestation period, it must be induced, because the placenta will begin to destruct within the womb and instead of ensuring life will actually become a threat to the life of the unborn child. 
All the physical signs point to this birth being long overdue. And surely, even now, HKB"H is inducing the labor.

I'm looking forward to raising a flag like this...


...sometime very soon!

25 July 2017

Russia Taking Advantage Worrisome

2 Av 5777
Russia posts troops 8km from the Israeli Golan
Russia has quietly moved troops to a point in southern Syria that is 8km from Israel’s Golan border, in the face of Israeli objections, DEBKAfile reports exclusively. Moscow used the uproar over the Temple Mount standoff and the diplomatic crisis between Israel and Jordan to cover its creeping troop deployment almost up do Syria's borders with Israel and Jordan.
...Most of the Russian troops were recruited in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, republics known for their Muslim extremist activity.
Israel has repeatedly objected to the proximity of this Russian military presence, and asked the Trump administration to prevent it. But the protests from Jerusalem went unheeded in Washington and Moscow. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis regard the creation of US-Russian sponsored ceasefire zones in southwestern Syria as an essential component of their military cooperation in Syria and the war on ISIS.
...Moscow announced the Russian deployment after the fact in messages to Washington, Jerusalem and Amman. They were all too engrossed in coping with the crises that had sprung up over Temple Mount and in relations between Jerusalem and Amman to pay much attention to this Russian fait accompli.

24 July 2017

Kashering The World With Water

2 Av 5777

(hat tip Mr. Gallin)

Published on Jul 24, 2017 by BBC News
A Buddhist temple in central Myanmar has been swallowed by rising floodwaters after heavy rainfall.

NEVER BEFORE...

1 Av 5777
Rosh Chodesh

Never before, to my knowledge or experience, have world events been so centered on the Temple Mount davka during this time period like it has this year. May it only be an omen for good for Am Yisrael and may we hear only good news!

Chodesh tov umevorach!

22 July 2017

"Pre-Messianic Woman"

29 Tamuz 5777
Erev Rosh Chodesh
Yom Kippur Katan

Very highly recommended!

Rebbetzin Tamar Taback

Pre-Messianic Woman Series: Part 1 - Preliminaries

21 July 2017

"Annul the Oath"

27 Tamuz 5777
Erev Shabbat Kodesh

Rabbi Mordechai Sitorsky

Parashat Matot Masay: Annul the Oath


~~ Shabbat shalom! ~~

20 July 2017

Are We There Yet?

26 Tamuz 5777

Not yet, but we're getting close.

A thousand years after political Rome had fallen and Christian Rome had replaced it as empire, "Rome" divided itself between East (Orthodox Church/Russia) and West (Catholic Church/US).

Interesting how West went partners with Evangelicalism (pro-Israel) and the East with Islam (pro-Arab).

As the circle closes on history, are we now witnessing the reunification of these two halves of Eisav at the End of Days?

Trump Russian contacts pre-election
US/Russian cooperation in Syria

Kushner and Greenblatt in Israel pushing a peace process

Russia and Iran on Israel's northern border

...Just thinking out loud.

19 July 2017

Where Is Home?

25 Tamuz 5777

Klal Yisrael "married" HKB"H under a mountain chuppah in the wilderness. The Torah is our ketubah. Heaven and Earth were the witnesses and Eretz Yisrael is the home He provided for us. (Bamidbar 15:2) It was meant to be for all time. But, we were unfaithful to Him and He sent us away from Him and locked the door so we could not return home. After 70 years, he welcomed us back. We put the house in order and resumed our life together in the marital home.

After a time, strife and discord developed and became so bad that the home became a battlefield and once again, HKB"H sent us away and locked the door. Our plight was so miserable, that He sent messengers to tell us that, like the first time, when His anger had cooled and we had learned our lesson and done proper teshuvah, He would surely bring us back again. (Yeshayahu 14:1) But, no one knew how long that would take. Still, we had the promise, something to hold onto through the night of exile. This was our comfort. And this was our pain.

So many lost hope and memory that when the door was unbarred and thrown wide open, only a few entered through it. Our home had been abandoned for so long that we did not even recognize it. Strangers and sojourners had moved in and set up camps in our ruins.

HKB"H sent workers ahead to begin repairs and they set up temporary quarters and accommodations to serve their needs as work on the infrastructure progressed. Some family members volunteered to live in the squalid conditions which prevailed at first in order to oversee the workers and ensure that everything would go according to HKB"H's plans. As time went on, more and more family members arrived and moved in, making it possible for still others to join them. 

When all is in order and the physical structure has been completed, the workers will be dismissed and given their pay and the remaining family members will be brought back. When that day comes, we will renew our wedding vows with HKB"H, the Shechinah will return to a rebuilt Holy Temple and we will all live happily ever after.

This is no fairy tale. This is the unfailing promise of the Creator of the world. And what we have now, this place called The Jewish State, might better be called The Jewish Estate. It's where the home of the Jewish people is being renovated. The Land of Israel is not so much the Jewish Homeland since our first patriarch did not originate from here, but it is the Jewish Home. It is the home where our Beloved brought us as a new bride and where we were intended to live with Him in marital bliss for all time. HKB"H and Klal Yisrael are both so eager to be reunited in our home that we both put up with a lot of mess while the renovations continue, but always with an eye toward the final product, when everything has been restored.

It's not an accident that the National Religious party became the "Jewish Home" party. Despite the fact that it is completely not representative of the Jewish Home in any way, it was meant to be a message. Just like what happened so suddenly with Har Habayit this past week. Nothing has really changed, but it was meant to send a message to us, the faithful, the hopeful, the eager to be at home again in Eretz Yisrael.

That message is this: It's almost finished! Almost everything is in place and ready for the grand homecoming celebration! Make yourselves ready for it!!

Remember: It is in Eretz Yisrael where the tribal lines will be redrawn (Yechezkel 45). It is to Eretz Yisrael that Mashiach will come and from Yerushalayim that he will reign. And it is from Yerushalayim that the Torah goes forth to the whole world!

18 July 2017

A JEW CAN LOVE ZION AND NOT BE A ZIONIST

24 Tamuz 5777

I tried. I really did. When I made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, I had never even heard of “Zionism,” knew nothing about it. All I knew was that the Torah said the Land of Israel was a wonderful gift of God to His beloved people and that it was in the Land of Israel that God wanted His people to live. That’s all I knew when I made aliyah from love of HKB”H and faith in Him. That’s all I needed to know.

After I arrived, I quickly began to learn what the situation was and for the first time I heard about Zionism and “Religious” Zionism in particular. At first I tried to fit into that group. I read books written by Rabbi Kook and translated by his students. I got into political activism and started going to rallies and protests. I toured a lot of settlements and finally even found one that accepted me. But every experience left a bad impression of one sort or another. And the more Torah I learned, the less I identified with the so-called National Religious crowd.

Today, they have a famous rallying cry whenever Jews are slaughtered in Eretz Yisrael. They proclaim “The Zionist response to terror is to build!” But, the Torah response is to eliminate the enemy. The very idea that the Jewish-Israeli public should be placated for the murder of their brothers with (empty) promises of more building is just too ridiculous to comment on.  But, you’ll hear it every time there is another incident – “Building is the Zionist response!” – and you’ll look and you’ll see that the person saying it has a kippah on his head. What a chillul Hashem!

Now I claim a spot in a sparsely occupied spiritual space where plain old unvarnished  Torah-dedicated Jews live. We follow no particular Rebbe, but we know the truth when we hear it and support anyone who disseminates it. We refuse to be brainwashed by any “ism,” even one claiming to be “religious.” Like King David wrote (Tehillim 84.11), “…For one day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere; I prefer to stand exposed at the threshold of my God’s house than to dwell securely in the tents of wickedness.”  This is the basis upon which I came on aliyah to Eretz Yisrael and the reason I would do it over and over again, regardless of who or what rules over us here or whether the economy is booming or depressed. All that matters is being obedient to my Master, loyal to my King, faithful to my Father, in love with my Beloved in the home He created for me. I can’t NOT live here. It is my life and breath. I’d smother anywhere else.

In other words, any concept of “Zionism” had nothing to do my decision to be here or to remain here. I tried to buy into the idea that well, Zionism was originally a Torah concept – “Zion” and all that – but, when religious Zionists find common cause with the rebels against Hashem and His Torah and with idolaters calling themselves Christian Zionists, when the same ones speak disparagingly of their fellow chareidi Jews and often denigrate them and see them as “other,” then it just doesn’t wash. I have no problem at all identifying with my chareidi brothers and sisters, but I despise rebels and idolaters.

Allow me to share something from Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, ztz”l, Hy”d, student of the Chafetz Chaim, which he wrote around 1940:
Over the years, the nationalist idea begat a child that was named “religious nationalism.” The name implies that religion alone is not enough; it has to be perfected by adding nationalism. The very name “religious nationalism” constitutes a denial of one of the fundamentals of Judaism: “The Torah of Hashem is perfect” (Tehillim 19:19) – It lacks nothing: it is flawless. The Torah warns us, “Do not add anything to it” (Devarim 4:2) – and the Sages say: “He who adds [to the word of Hashem] subtracts [from it]” (Sanhedrin 29a). Since modern Jewish nationalism is essentially idol-worship, it follows that “religious nationalism” is nothing short of idol-worship coupled with service to Hashem. (Source: The Era Preceding Mashiach)
As soon as the “ism” was tacked onto the word Zion, it ceased to represent the age-old Jewish dream to return to Jerusalem and re-establish the Kingdom of David and instead became the Jewish pride movement which values military power, technological progress and the admiration of the nations. The Israeli Knesset with its Arab (terrorist) members became its Sanhedrin, the IDF (savior of the people) became their Mashiach and Yad Vashem became their Holy Temple. By adding the “ism” to Zion, they created another new religion to which everyone calling themselves a Zionist was welcome and held to be a brother or sister – no matter whether they were secular rebels against the Torah, Christian idolaters or Muslim sympathizers.


The term Zionism (ציונות) never appears in the Tanakh or in any Torah source. It does not appear in rabbinic writings earlier than the 20th century. As time goes on, the spoiled fruit of religious Zionism becomes more and more apparent. This will very likely be the final idol to fall before Mashiach is revealed.

16 July 2017

UNINTENTIONAL PROPHECY?

23 Tamuz 5777

Our Jewish sources tell us that when Eisav is "up," Ya'aqov is "down." And vice versa. They will never be "up" at the same time. Eisav/Edom/Romethe Christian world, i.e. Western Civilization today is exemplified best by the United States of America. There are many allusions to the connection between America and Rome like the Pax Americana as just one example. But, that is not the intended subject of this post. 

What is most important to all of us anxiously and earnestly looking for the geulah shleimah is the fact that this Empire is in decline, because it means Mashiach is on the way. It is beyond me why Jews and righteous Gentiles alike agree with President Donald Trump's call to "Make America Great Again!" Anyone who says this or agrees with it is saying essentially that he does not want the galut to end; that he does not want to experience redemption!

But, it's not going to happen anyway. America - the West - is on it's way out as also indicated by this unwitting "prophecy."
"The Great American Eclipse"
August 21st is the date of “the Great American Eclipse”, and the hype around it is already starting to reach a fever pitch. It is being called “the Great American Eclipse” because this will be the first total solar eclipse ever that is only visible in the United States. In other words, since the United States became a nation there has never been a total eclipse that was only visible here and nowhere else.

...this eclipse will actually cast a “shadow” over the entire nation.
And what is this world power, this leading nation of the free world being eclipsed by? The Moon, symbol of Am Yisrael!

When this event takes place in America, it will be 29 Av (Yom Kippur Katan) on the Hebrew calendar, but in Israel, it will already be Rosh Chodesh Elul - the first of the Forty Days of Awe. According to Space.com the path of totality will be 70 miles wide. [See here for place and time in the US.]

The significance of the Number 70 in relation to this...
...Seventy is a double-sided coin, representing on one hand the ultimate unity, and on the other hand, the epitome of disunity. When Jacob and his household traveled down to Egypt to be with his son, Joseph, the Bible tells us, "All the offspring of Jacob, seventy soul." Not souls, in the plural form, but the singular word—soul. The commentaries explain that the degree of unity among the family members was such that they were as one man, one soul, one drive.
Yet earlier in history, a generation after the great flood in Noah's time, a group had arisen to build a structure that would reach the heavens. They would ascend it and fight G‑d. This became known as the Tower of Babel. As punishment for their rebellion, G‑d planted strife and disagreement among them by causing each to speak a different language and not understand his fellow workers. From the unfinished Tower of Babel, the different languages separated from each other, and formed seventy nations.
When disunity came to the world, it took the form of seventy. When we see a true example of togetherness in the Bible, it takes the form of seventy. It's a number than can be pulled either way, all depending on you.
What a description of the United States! United in name, disunited socially and politically. And what a way for HKB"H to get the attention of the entire world right at the beginning of the Days of Repentance. It will be very interesting to see what follows "The Eclipse of America" and what state the world might be in by the time Yom Kippur arrives.

Does The Shoe Fit?

19 Tamuz 5777

"Great Satan, Little Satan" - If The Shoe Fits

The Quds Day celebration in Iran held on the final Friday of Ramadan eerily echoed the early days of the Islamic Revolution with its chants of “Death to America! Death to Israel!”

In a speech given at the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini referred to the United States as the “Great Satan” and to Israel as the “Little Satan.” This was no doubt partly in response to decades of interference by the Western powers in Iran’s internal affairs.

Perhaps the most egregious example of this took place in the early 1950s when the United States and Great Britain conspired to overthrow the Iranian Premier Mohammad Mossadeq. He was hugely popular with the Iranian people as he sought to nationalize the country’s industries, most notably the oil industry. Outside forces instigated a coup and overthrew Mossadeq. (In 1953, the American CIA admitted to its role in the matter.)

The Shah, who replaced him, was widely viewed by Iranians as a puppet of the West and not representative of the Iranian people or their interests. Increasing public dissatisfaction led to violent demonstrations and riots which in turn drove the Shah to flee Iran. He found refuge in the United States and the door was opened to the return of the formerly exiled Khomeini, a further tragedy for those Iranians who had no desire to live under an oppressive Islamic regime.

The world has witnessed this scenario being replayed all over the globe. The West calls it democracy-building, while its enemies call it imperialism. Consequently, the United States was generally despised and Israel, in its eagerness to embrace Western democracy and culture, was viewed as a direct threat to the Islamic world.

Part and parcel with this “democracy” came humanistic values with names like tolerance, pluralism, diversity and the “rights” of the individual, no matter how dangerous they may be to society as a whole. Countries which do not welcome a division of religion and state view such values as an existential danger to their chosen way of life. They view the symbols of Western culture as indicative of all that they find wrong with it, things like Coca Cola, McDonald’s, movies and MTV. All these things give America the well-deserved Hebrew appellation “Am-reika” – an empty nation promoting empty calories, empty values, and empty morals, superficiality with little real substance.

“Satanic” is the descriptor the Ayatollah chose to use. But, even if one would not go that far, one must still ask himself, looking from this perspective, whether Israel deserves the label “Little Satan” or Little America? Is Israel, as the Middle East’s only democracy, a conduit for the spread of liberal Western norms and values into the more conservative Arab world?

In the name of ”democracy,” the Holy Land now hosts Gay Pride parades attended by hundreds of thousands including tens of thousands of foreigners. This is a Western “norm,” but it is by no means a “norm” for the Middle East. In the name of “democracy,” Christian missionaries are running rampant across the country preying on the youth, lone soldiers, Holocaust survivors -- the most vulnerable elements of our society.

Is the Arab world justified when it implies by the moniker “Little Satan” that Israel is a local source of unwanted Western influence? Israel needs to seriously consider the possibility, for our own good.

Just look at how several U.S. Congressmen and the Trump Administration came out with statements either condemning or questioning our government’s decision on the matter of prayer arrangements at the Western Wall. “Egalitarianism” is another Western value that Israel is bidden to adopt and enforce. God forbid!

Israeli society is meant to exhibit the perfect balance between the oppression of Islam and the liberalism of the West. But, before that can happen, Israel must understand that it cannot be a “light to the nations” by hoisting Lady Liberty’s torch as a small U.S. outpost in the Middle East. It can only be accomplished when Israel understands and embraces her mission and her destiny to be a “light to the nations” by upholding the Torah in all its details. The world needs Israel to show both sides how it should be done.

Even if the shoe fits, that doesn’t mean we have to continue wearing it!

10 July 2017

Are Some Jews Just So Important That They Are Above the Halachah?

17 Tamuz 5777

How is it possible that any Jew would enter in here at this Vatican-owned "Guesthouse" called "Our Lady" with an actual statue of Mary and Baby Jee-zeus on top of it??? (Not to mention what is inside!!)


On Wed/Thurs, July 12th and 13th, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Rabbi Yuval Cherlow will be the Jewish speakers at the Catholic-sponsored Jerusalem Conference on Forgiveness for the Renewal of Individuals, Families, and Communities. Peta Pellach of the Elijah Interfaith Institute is billed as the "Master of Ceremonies." (See the brochure.)

At least Rabbi Sacks' appearance is to be via video. 

One of the stated objectives is to "to better understand what forgiveness is from the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."

Is there anyone out there with a connection to Rabbi Cherlow who can verify his participation at this venue?  Maybe you can talk him out of it!


~~~~~~~~


It'll be a few more months yet, but in December 2017, this same venue, the Pontifical Institute - Notre Dame - of Jerusalem Center, in partnership with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin's Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) will also host "A Celebration of The Life And Legacy of Pope Saint John XXIII" under the heading "I am Joseph, your brother."

An all-day celebration of learning and fellowship for Jews and Christians of all backgrounds to honor the achievements of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII. The son of poor sharecroppers, Roncalli became a Vatican envoy who secretly saved countless lives during the Shoah and as Pope John XXIII revolutionized the Catholic Church and its relations with the Jews. If not for him, Jewish-Catholic reconciliation might not have been possible.
There is no reasoning with them. They just won't stop this chillul Hashem! 

Can Israel Be Too Jewish?

16 Tamuz 5777

Apparently, Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma thinks so...
Along with his love for Israel, Sharma is concerned about anti-democratic things happening in the country. “Israel’s strength and its ability to survive depends on the vitality of its democracy, its liberal and pluralistic nature, its freedom of press and freedom of expression, no less than its military superiority,” he says. "Values such as separation of powers and the free press, the fact citizens and organizations can criticize government policy without being outlawed or arrested—all of this makes Israel unique in the Middle East and grants it international legitimacy. Israel depends on the support of the West, which is based on shared values, shared morality and common governing methods. If Israel abandons these principles, in 20-30 years, it will not enjoy the same legitimacy and support it enjoys today.”
According to Sharma, “The democratic nature of Israel is as important as its Jewish nature, and I don't think you need to strengthen one at the expense of the other. Today, Israel's Jewish nature is expanding at the expense of its democratic and pluralistic nature. When you see things like this happening, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify with Israel from the outside. This is bad hasbara.” (Source)
Ah! There you have it in a nutshell. We are only Eisav's "brother" when we are being "Ya'aqov" - his twin. But when we rise to the elevated status of "Yisrael," the relationship comes to an end. No doubt "Israel's Jewish nature is expanding" refers to recent controversies over conversion authority and egalitarian access to the Kotel.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of this message. They will fight any attempt we make to rise above them and to fulfill our Divine destiny. But, they can't stop it. Mashiach will arrive to lead the way forward and this is what ultimately will bring on the War of Gog uMagog.

07 July 2017

"The Future of Am Yisrael"

13 Tamuz 5777
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Balak

Rabbi Mordechai Sitorsky

Parashat Balak: The Future of Am Yisrael

06 July 2017

How Much Lower Can We Go?

12 Tamuz 5777

Two articles caught my attention and made me ask myself how much lower can our people go?
N. CAROLINA PRIDE PARADE SET FOR YOM KIPPUR, DISAPPOINTING JEWISH MARCHERS
“It’s very disappointing to us. It’s another example of our calendar not being respected,” said Adam Organ, Executive Director of the Raleigh-Cary Jewish Community Center.
...Several Jewish groups have marched in the parade in recent years.
Carolina Jews for Justice said in a statement that: “No group of people, Jewish or otherwise, should have to choose between our LGBTQ identities and the other identities that are important to us and shape our lives.”
What are they upset about? That the holiness of the day is being marred by the public celebration of what is sin even for gentiles? No! They are upset that if they go to pray in the synagogue on Yom Kippur, they will be forced to miss out on the celebration.
Bentching on a Treif Hamburger, RL
by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times
A RELIGIOUS FRIEND WHO WORKS in an office in Manhattan related the following story:
A formerly observant colleague came into my office and said, “You are going to find what I did this past Shabbos pretty bizarre. I had a Slider at White Castle – and they are the best burgers by the way – before I took a trip. After I ate the burger, I bentched and said Tefilas haDerech.”
The incident is certainly quite sad. It should motivate us all to double down our efforts in bringing our estranged brethren back to their Torah birthright. The episode, however, does bring up a halachic question. Should someone who has consumed a treif burger bentch afterward?
What the rabbi in the article does not address is the additional question of saying Tefilat HaDerech before traveling on Shabbat

If the man had any yirat Shamayim, he would have been too ashamed to address HKB"H in the midst of his sinful behavior. Without yirat Shamayim, why pray at all? Better not to draw attention to yourself.

04 July 2017

Made in America: Exporting Disease and Death

10 Tamuz 5777

Seeds of Death: Unveiling The Lies of GMO's



Of course, Israel has no law requiring labeling of GMO products. It is too much the lapdog of the United States. Heaven forbid Israeli politicians should upset American interests or sensitivities on this matter. I could not even find out if any GMO crops are being grown in my own country!
Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?
...it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.
GMO TIMELINE: A HISTORY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

03 July 2017

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Transhumanism

10 Tamuz 5777

Just in case you haven't yet heard of it...
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, or 4IR, is the fourth major industrial era since the initial Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. The Fourth Industrial Revolution can be described as a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, and impacting all disciplines, economies and industries.
...The Fourth Industrial Revolution builds on the Digital Revolution, representing new ways in which technology becomes embedded within societies and even the human body. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields, including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, The Internet of Things, 3D printing and autonomous vehicles.
In his book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, describes how this fourth revolution is fundamentally different from the previous three, which were characterized mainly by advances in technology. These technologies have great potential to continue to connect billions more people to the web, drastically improve the efficiency of business and organizations and help regenerate the natural environment through better asset management.
“Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution” was the theme of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
Transhumanism
Transhumanism (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international and intellectual movement that aims to transform the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology.
Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human as well as ethical limitations of using such technologies. The most common transhumanist thesis is that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into different beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the natural condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings.

02 July 2017

Will This Be the Final Birur?

9 Tamuz 5777

Will this threatened separation between Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jews prove to be the final birur before Mashiach comes?

Israeli Orthodox Jews have not moved an inch from what has always been. It is the Diaspora which comes now and insists on changes which will harm Torah, Torah Jews and the Land of Israel. Their Diapora ways are not Jewish. They violate Jewish law and promote Western culture and norms. It is they who are separating from us! Not the other way around. We are just standing our ground!

Where are the voices of Orthodoxy in the Diaspora? Why are there no reports of them attempting to offset the outcry of the renegades who are appealing to Congress and the Trump Administration against their brothers in Israel? Why is no one announcing publicly that this separation at the Kotel and the need to convert (for the sake of the convert him or herself!) in a manner acceptable to all Jewry is our norm and has been for centuries?

The following concerns a "Jewish" American, not an American Jew. He thinks he can use money to get his way. This is the method America employs around the world to advance its own agenda. The Jews in America have assimilated this idea. It's called a BRIBE!!

Tycoon withdraws funds from Israel amid Kotel, conversion crisis
“As you know, I actively support Israel,” [Isaac] Fisher began. “But I wish to inform you that my support is being suspended until the Israeli government changes its decision on the Kotel and conversions.”
Please, Mr. Fisher! Keep your money!! If Israel needs it, HKB"H will get it to us another way, because it all comes from Him anyway! We Israeli Jews who are faithful to our Holy Torah do not want you and your kind to have this merit any longer. Furthermore, it seems your money anyway supports organizations with anti-Torah views. Better for us that your money remain in America.
Diaspora Jewry can’t fight Western Wall battle alone
Op-ed: Despite the injustice suffered by Jews in the US and other countries, the holy site’s fate won’t be determined by those who don’t live here. Without the active involvement of Israeli Jews, the public domain will be shaped by those who care more—in this case, the Haredim. ...At the moment, this battle is headed towards a major knockout.
It's a lot more than just the Chareidim! They want it to be a war between Chareidim and all other Jews. I and my family would never be considered Chareidi or accepted into a Chareidi community, but our hashkafah is the same because it is TORAH hashkafah!! We have always stood side by side with our Chareidi brothers at public demonstrations and we will continue to do so in the future because real Jews unite around the TORAH.

Excellent article: The Right to Religious Expression - within the bounds of the Higher Law.