14 Adar 5778 Chag Purim Just in time for Purim... Trump peace plan could recognize Palestinian state – report
Arab diplomats quoted as saying yet-to-be revealed plan will nix refugees' right of return, raze far-flung settlements, place Jerusalem's Old City under international protection It was entirely predictable(last five paragraphs). Now, when we are making our requests of HKB"H today, let's ask that He make Trump's plan as successful as Haman's, y"sh. But, this time, with open and revealed miracles! No more hiding!!
Sugar, sugar and sugar! A lot of empty, nutritionless calories. With the invasion of western culture into the Jewish State, this is the kind of mishloach manot that can be seen all over at all the shops in Israel. I'd like to encourage all my readers to resist the temptation to buy these ready-made baskets and invest some time, effort and imagination into creating healthier versions, perhaps something more in keeping with our time-honored traditions. Even something simple like these cheery butterflies meets the halachic requirements for mishloach manot. See the following...
There is a mitzvah to send one gift called Mishloach Manot, consisting of two foods, to one person on Purim. After fulfilling one Mishloach Manot according to the halacha, one may give more even if they don’t fulfill all the stringencies of Mishlaoch Manot. Anyone who increases in sending Mishloach Manot is praiseworthy. Some explain that we’re supposed to give gifts in order to increase friendliness and spread kindness and peace among Jews. Others explain that the obligation is meant to supply people with food for the Purim Seuda especially those who are poor and are embarrassed to ask for money.
Mishloach Manot should be given during the day of Purim and not the night. It is preferable to give it before eating the Seudat Purim. The food being sent should be cooked or ready to eat,.... Canned food is considered ready to eat and is acceptable. ...Many say that each food should be something that could serve as a course in a meal. If one sends bread it counts as one food and only one other is required. ...A drink counts just like a food, but some are strict to give two foods.
Women are obligated to fulfill Mishloach Manot. However, if she’s married she may fulfill her obligation if her husband sends more than one. ...If a Mishloach Manot is addressed to a group of people such as a family one should make sure that there’s 2 separate foods per person of the group. (Source)
10 Adar 5778 Shavua tov! Introducing Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff. According to his Wikipedia entry, he is an English American rabbi, educator, and writer. He is on the Judaic studies faculty of the Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University and is also the Assistant Director of Admissions. Hajioff served as the official rabbi for Birthright Israel in Manhattan, New York. Hajioff is also the author of three books: Jew Got Questions? (2014), Will Jew Marry Me?: A Guide to Dating, Relationships, Love and Marriage (2016), and The Future: A Guide to the Jewish Messiah, Israel, and The End of Days (2018). He has several excellent shiurim on the subject of Mashiach at his Youtube channel, like the one posted below and also, an entire series on Megillat Esther, as well as many more. Happy Listening and Learning!
...In total, some 4,500 soldiers from the two militaries will take part in the exercise — 2,500 of them from the United States’ European Command (US EUCOM) and 2,000 from the Israel Defense Forces. This is a substantial increase from the 2016 exercise, in which some 3,200 soldiers took part.
The Juniper Cobra exercise is scheduled to begin on March 4 and will formally run until March 15, though some American troops will stay in Israel and continue training with the IDF until the end of the month, the army said.
...On Monday, a top IDF general warned that this year was more likely to see war break out between Israel and the Iranian-led axis of Tehran, Damascus, and the Beirut-based Hezbollah terrorist organization — all three of which have called for Israel’s destruction — as the trio’s victories in the Syrian civil war will allow them to focus their attentions on fighting the Jewish state.
“The year 2018 has the potential for escalation [of military conflict], not necessarily because either side wants to initiate it, but because of a gradual deterioration. This has led us to raise the level of preparedness,” Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of IDF Operations, told Army Radio in a rare interview.
Russia has deployed two of its most advanced and sophisticated stealth jets in Syria, in a power move likely to draw US criticism, as the Pentagon expressed its alarm earlier this month over recent close calls with Russian planes in the war-torn country.
Satellite images by Israeli company ImageSat International this week showed the fifth generation jets — two Su-57 fighter aircraft — at Russia’s airbase in the coastal Syrian city of Latakia. A source in the defense ministry confirmed to RBK news agency this week that the two planes were sent to the Hmeimim base “for a test in real conditions.” The jets are said to be a potential rival to the US’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which American forces use in patrols over Syria.
The deployment came with a covert warning to Israel by a Russian official, who said that the presence of the Su-57s will doubtlessly send a political message, serving as a deterrent “for aircraft from neighboring states, which periodically fly into Syrian airspace uninvited.”
Government sources in Moscow reported Saturday, Feb. 24, that four fifth-generation Sukhoi-57 jet fighters are currently deployed in Syria after a second pair landed Friday. ...The Su-57’s weapon bays are designed to carry Russia’s new nuclear tactical X-50 air-launched cruise missile, although it is not known whether the aircraft in Syria are carrying them. DEBKA Weekly’s military sources see President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send the Su-57 fighters to Syria as substantially raising the big power stakes in Syria after the loss of dozens of Russian troops on Feb. 7 to massive US artillery and air strikes that decimated the Russian, Syrian and pro-Iranian forces crossing the Euphrates River. An American radar-invisible F-22 took part in that raid. The Russians have dubbed the Su-57 the “F-22 killer.”
It is also Russia’s response to Israel’s air offensive on Feb. 10, which targeted the shared Russian-Iranian T-4 air base near Palmyra and smashed four Iranian Revolutionary Guards forward command centers in Syria, after downing an Iranian drone. It is also seen in Moscow as a challenge for Israel’s newly acquired fifth-generation US F-35 combat aircraft.
Does Putin intend to order his mighty airborne strike force to go into battle against the US or Israel in the boiling Syrian arena? If he does, he will be launching the first contest between the most sophisticated warplanes ever devised for a test of superior might between the US and Russia and a war escalation unprecedented, even in Syria.
Meanwhile, nothing like provoking HKB"H with yet another graven image on holy soil and one representing the Christian man-god no less!
A 1,034 lb. male lion will be given to Israel this spring if plans go as expected,....
This lion will be a gift from American Christians to the Jewish state in honor of its 70th anniversary as a modern nation.
...The large than life, 105 percent size is based on the dimensions of the largest male lion ever known. An additional 5 percent was added for God, according to the Christian sculptor and evangelist.
For thousands of years, the lion has been a symbol of the Jewish nation, King David and the Messiah. It is even referenced in the first and last books of the Bible, in Genesis 49:10 and Revelation 5:5. (Source)
This is, of course, in keeping with Christian tradition and "Lion of Judah" is a popular appellation for JC of Nazareth. Hashem yerachem!
8 Adar 5778 I'm not here to tell you how to think. I'm here to provide you with "the other side of the story" so you can make a well-informed decision about where you stand on certain issues - no matter which way you choose to go. Cyberspace seems to be curiously heavily weighted in favor of only one side at the moment. With regards to a bombastic statement attributed to a prominent Bnei Braq rabbi, Da'at Torah says the following...
6 Adar 5778 This is the week of Parashat Zachor: "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way." But, it's not enough to remember what Amalek did. We have to also remember why he was successful against us.
Idolatry in the camp of Israel (The Book of Our Heritage, Eliyahu Kitov)
You followed me in the wilderness in a land that was not planted (Yirmeyahu 2:2) – The Sages explained: This [the complete dependence on G-d that characterized Israel’s existence in the desert] is only temporary and will last only as long as you are on the way [to the Land of Israel] and until the Torah is permanently implanted within you. Afterwards, you shall enter the land which is My place, and you will plant at the time of planting, sow at the time of sowing, and harvest at the time of harvesting, and I shall grant you bounty greater than any other nation or land.
However, the imperative to remove all traces of idolatry and to serve only G-d—this is incumbent upon you now and for generations to come. Have you removed the foreign gods from your midst? Have you brought yourselves under My wing and shattered all of your idols? Let Amalek come and examine you. If your hearts are completely with Me, you have nothing to fear. But if there is among you a man or woman whose soul still clings to the idols of Egypt and their abominations, let them [the idols] come and save you from the wicked Amalek! The verse therefore states: And Amalek came (Shemos 17;8)…and he tailed after you [striking] all the weak who fell behind (Devarim 25;18).
After he tailed after you—R. Nachman explained: All those whom the “protective cloud” cast out were caught by Amalek. The Sages explained: This refers to the tribe of Dan who were cast out by the “protective cloud” because they were all idol-worshipers. The idol which Michah had created was in their midst, and there were many among them who had not wholeheartedly resolved to serve God alone (Yalkut Shimoni, Parashas Ki Setze).
The complete obliteration of Amalek will occur at the time of the final redemption, immediately preceding the month of Nisan. A trace of that obliteration is felt each year during Purim, which falls in the month preceding Nisan. The reading of Parashas Zachor was therefore prescribed for this time of year.
Now, Amalek comes to threaten us again, davka this week at this time of year...
And sinners among our people have allied themselves with idolatry at the center of power in our country, davka now, this week before Purim, Parashat Zachor, in the shadow of the threat of war with Amalek.
May all the enemies of God and Israel fall, never to rise again.
In the war for hearts and minds, we've lost the minds of the vast majority of people already. They are so far gone that I don't see any possible way to get them back. Take this story as a case in point...
...Samaria residents were astonished to discover Monday night that the Arab village of Baita had posted on its Facebook page that the IDF had informed them ahead of time about the evacuation of the Evyatar outpost, News 0404 reported.
Evyatar was established in April 2016, near the Tapuach junction, by some 50 families, in memory of Evyatar Borovsky HY’D, who was stabbed to death at the Tapuach junction five years ago.
The first post, at 8:18 AM Monday, declared: “By the promises of the occupation army on Friday… The outposts are scheduled to be removed today from mount Sbeih…” (sic)
Amazingly, Monday night the outpost was evacuated, which suggests the IDF move had been coordinated with the village that produced the very murderers of Evyatar Borovsky. The evacuation of seven homes was violent, and three Jewish residents – while the murderers looked on.
Have they become so inured to the fact of these "uprootings" that they are only "shocked" that it was done with so little compassion and regret?
...The Samaria Settlers’ Committee meanwhile issued a statement saying, “It is inconceivable that the Civil Administration would coordinate the evacuation of a settlement with a village of murderers … The Civil Administration seems to have forgotten who is an enemy and who is a friend.”
Do their ears even hear what their mouths say??? Does a "friend" (not to mention a "brother") violently uproot a person from his home??? I call on these people to reclaim their lost minds and return to sanity!! Those who come to uproot are also the enemy. Do not be shocked or surprised when they make common cause with those who do not appear in the guise of friendship or brotherhood.
3 Adar 5778 I recently heard from Rav Richter the following which he brought from the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, if I am not mistaken... There are two issurim regarding Jews, gentiles and the drinking of wine: 1) Jews may not drink wine together with gentiles; and, 2) Jews may not drink wine served by gentiles. [See further here and here.] The resulting separation that this brings about between Jews and gentiles is what saved us during this season of time on two different occasions. The two "Peh" holidays - Purim and Pesach - feature the drinking of wine prominently in their narratives. In Egypt, we kept our language, our Hebrew names and our distinct mode of dress, remaining separate and apart from the Egyptians, hence we merited to drink the four cups of wine at the Pesach seder. On the other hand, in exile in the Persian Empire, the Jews sat and ate and drank wine in the presence of King Achashverosh and his nation at a grand banquet and were nearly destroyed as a result. Now, every Purim, when we sit and drink wine in holiness with our fellow Jews at the Purim seudah, we are making a tikun for that sin of mixing with the gentiles and drinking wine with them. With this in mind, it is no mystery why the ovdei avodah zarah of Hayovel attached themselves davka to the wineries of Eretz Yisrael. Their stated goal from the very beginning was to eliminate the separation between Jews and gentiles. As admitted and even admired by one Jewish writer: "As a group of Christian Zionists, Hayovel acts as a bridge between the two religions in a totally unprecedented manner,...." Further to the wine, their idolatrous worship of the man-god Yeshu is indivisible from their volunteer work davka in Israel's vineyards!
HaYovel Ministries has designated "worship leaders" to guarantee that "praise and worship" is ongoing continuously in the vineyards during the working period.
Volunteer Nate Taylor: "A group of worship leaders who have taken different times throughout the day to make sure that there's continuous praise/worship and prayer throughout the vineyards. These vineyards belong to our Abba (God, the Father) in that our praise and worship is an important part of that cycle to recognize who Ha-Shem is. I believe it does motivate and encourage others, not only to work harder and faster, but they're not even thinking about that, they're thinking about how we praise Ha-Shem throughout the day, not only with our words and our lips, but with our actions."
An affiliate of HaYovel encouraging their followers to volunteer writes: I have drunk the wine from the hills of Samaria. That is the wine that, one day, the Messiah will drink at the great reunion in Jerusalem for all His Believers!!
...What if you were among the workers, who picked the grapes, of the winery from which the Messiah picks that big bottle of wine??!!
HaYovel writes in a newsletter: At HaYovel we absolutely love weddings! .....and because we believe the vineyards have been and are being prophetically planted, pruned and harvested on the mountains of Israel specifically for the wine served at the great wedding feast in Jerusalem .....we feel it is important for us to do anything and everything we can to help. [See further here.]
The WINE is a running theme with them in their end times vision, right up to the present day.
May all the true Jews merit to do teshuvah and present themselves a pure and holy, completely separate nation to HKB"H, especially at this season which mirrors our redemption.
30 Shevat 5778 Rosh Chodesh Adar א When Adar comes in, joy is supposed to increase, but this being the tenth anniversary of the Mercaz HaRav Massacre clearly indicates that is not always the case. We can only count on such things when we are being all that we can be. The following shiur by Rav Yehuda HaCohen Richter of Elon Moreh points out where we are lacking. It's up to us to make the necessary corrections to insure that Klal Yisrael will indeed see only happy times in the month of Adar. The only solace this generation is assured is that once we have hit rock bottom, and we're pretty close now, the only way left to go is up.
24 Shevat 5778 Erev Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Mishpatim - Sh'qalim If you are looking for a different Mashiach from the one portrayed here, you will find yourself on the wrong side of the future...
23 Shevat 5778 Anyone who knows Torah, knows that we were commanded to remove the indigenous inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael upon our entry into it, to settle it.
The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:
Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their temples, destroy their molten idols, and demolish their high places.
You shall clear out the Land and settle in it, for I have given you the Land to occupy it.
You shall give the Land as an inheritance to your families by lot; to the large, you shall give a larger inheritance and to the small you shall give a smaller inheritance; wherever the lot falls shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers, you shall inherit.
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the Land from before you, then those whom you leave over will be as spikes in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land in which you settle.
And it will be that what I had intended to do to them, I will do to you.
(Bamidbar 33.50-56)
No one can say this only applied to some previous ancient time as we see clearly that it has come true with 100% accuracy in our time - terror attacks from every direction; the expulsion of entire Jewish communities; and the wanton destruction of Jewish property. That is one problem. One might make excuses about why we have been unable to remove the Arab enemy from our midst for the last 70 years. (And lest we forget, they are not only Muslims, but Christians as well!) However, a situation has developed here for which there can be no excuse and no explanation. Why have we allowed unethical people to bring in idol-worshipers from outside our land and make a home for them among us??? By our silence and inaction, we have compounded the problem many times over! How Much Trouble Can Be Caused by "Unfaithful Men"? And it is so much worse today than it was in 2009 when the above was originally written. The Divine Presence is pushed away by all these impurities and so our Divine protection is diminished accordingly. And as if that were not enough, to add more insult to injury, there are voices growing louder and louder, every day, to bring this idolatry right up onto the Temple Mount!
We have to weep for all the terror that we have brought upon ourselves because Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, Hy"d will not be its last victim. That is guaranteed as long as we continue to defy God's Law.
This is the time of the great birur - the time during which it will be decided who will go with Mashiach into the messianic age and who will be separated out as traitors and rebels against our Holy Torah. The time is coming when Mashiach will lead us to fulfill the Law in all its details. Will you be eager to follow him or will you try to stand in his way?
22 Shevat 5778 Yesterday, I mentioned Michelle Bachman in a blog post about the Israeli government's complicity in missionary activity here in Israel. It was reported that she was present at the inaugural joint "Bible-study" between Christians and Knesset Members last October. The following video is instructive about who and what is really behind this push to ensure Christians' freedom to missionize in Israel. [Are you ready to live in a Christian America?]
If you, as a Jew, are not shocked, appalled and repelled by this, then there is no hope for you. Trent Franks, the other US Congressman at the initial Knesset Bible-study, had this to say to the Forward at an event held in honor of the Presidential Inauguration:
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus and a co-sponsor of one of several bills to move the embassy and declare Jerusalem Israel’s capital, spoke about evangelical support for Israel. People often skeptical, he said, of their motives, accusing them of “just want[ing] to evangelize Israel.”
“It’s worse than that,” said Franks, to laughter. “We want to evangelize the whole world.”
Interestingly, Rep. Franks was forced to give up his Congressional seat last week in the wake of "credible claims of misconduct." Now that former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has been confirmed and sworn in as the new US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, it will likely be impossible to arrest the tsunami of missionary activity that is flooding the supposedly Jewish State. The Torah forbids the practice of avodah zarah in Eretz Yisrael, i.e. it does not advocate "religious freedom." In fact, Christian missionizing is strictly forbidden by the Torah. But, are any of us so foolish as to believe this Ambassador for International Religious Freedom will support Israel's right to ban the practice of Christian worship of its man-god idol or its insidious spread across our land in accordance with our own deeply held religious beliefs?
Sam Brownback: “[W]e should say if you’re going to work with us, we’re going to work with you; we’ll bend over backward to work with you. If you’re going to fight us, we will fight you, and we’ll fight you with every tool that we have, and we’re going to win.” (Source)
They are being very open now about their intentions because they think their time has arrived and that this White House is in their pocket. HKB"H will have the final word in this matter and we already know who wins in the end.
21 Shevat 5778 Some people think our government leaders simply need to be educated about the missionary threat to Israel and that will solve all of our problems. They seem to think the leadership is unaware of what is going on. Well, they are getting an education alright - from the Dominionist element that is taking over in Israel. We Launched Knesset Bible Study Daniel and Carol Ketchum
Thank you for praying for us toward Sunday 15 October [2017] as we hosted the opening ceremony of a monthly Bible study in the Knesset, the only Bible study of its kind with Israel’s government leaders (Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Knesset/Parliament). ...Speakers included Pastor Jim and Rosemary Schindler Garlow, US Congressman Trent Franks, US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (soon to lead worship and prayer in the United Nations in partnership with Skyline Church), and Daniel and Carol Ketchum. As Carol and I spoke, we listed twelve reasons why God called us to move to Israel. We distributed to each attendee 485 Bible references from Hebrew Scriptures. Called by the LORD to Israel
Daniel and Carol Ketchum are fulfilled in Jerusalem as we minister full-time in the following ways:
1. Hosting a new Bible study in the Knesset (Parliament) for government members: Isaiah 40:1-5 2. Leading prayer watches in the King of Kings Jerusalem Prayer Tower for Israel’s key leaders
3. Directing global intercession with the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM) core team
4. Mobilizing pastors and leaders in united, strategic prayer across Jerusalem and the Middle East
5. Discipling a new pastor, an elder, and a deacon for a congregation in Herzliya we planted in 2014 Our daily priorities and practices:
1. Loving Yeshua Messiah
2. Living holy with love
3. Evangelizing unbelievers
4. Discipling believers
5. Equipping leaders
6. Developing congregations
7. Expanding outreach globally We pray daily for spheres of culture: 1. Marriage and family 2. Congregations and synagogues 3. Education and art 4. Government and military 5. Science and technology 6. Business and economy 7. Media and sports
By their own admission, they are missionizing in Israel! And these missionaries are meeting monthly with at least 50 Knesset members to study the "Bible"! Hashem yerachem! The Israeli leadership is not clueless as some imagine. They know exactly what is going on and they not only approve, they celebrate its success!! There is no way that they are "unaware of the problem." They are the enablers of it! From the very beginning the missionaries were invited in by the government itself. Obviously, education is no answer to this existential problem. In the name of democracy, missionary activity in the "Jewish" State is protected by law!
***
"That was Esau's intention when he told Yakov, 'Let us travel together and I will go before you' (Genesis 33,12). He wanted them to join together in both this world and the world to come, to meet each other halfway, with each modifying his conduct until they were alike (Yalkut Shimoni, Genesis 133).
20 Shevat 5778 I put "religion" in quotes because all the "enlightened" people are down on religion. Today, it is all about "spirituality" because religion divides us, but spirituality unites us. So they claim. Some of the rabbis teaching on the internet are agents of the Vatican's effort to create a world religion, wittingly or unwittingly. Maybe they have also been mislead and think they are revealing a new truth to the world. Again, timing is everything. I'm sure that Mashiach will reveal to us deeper truths from the Torah than have been known before, but that will only come after our bodies and minds have been upgraded post-geulah shleimah, when the yetzer hara has been externalized once again and we regain the level of Adam before the cheit. Again, the failure to WAIT - in Gan Eden as well as at Har Sinai - was the failure of these two great tests. This same test is facing us now. DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE MISLEAD. DO NOT FAIL THIS TIME. Caution: If your faith is shaky, do not listen to this video. God forbid that what I share for instructional purposes should mislead anyone down this path to perdition. You should be able to pick out the obvious errors. Prepare yourself, warn others.
