31 March 2019

The (As-Yet) Unrecognized Disaster

25 Adar II 5779

Most people today never think about where the food in their local grocery store comes from and never imagine that it could disappear overnight.

With winter crops just about ready to be harvested and spring crops needing to get into the ground, "apocalyptic" flooding and snowfalls have destroyed the former and are preventing the latter.  The video below focuses on the devastating Mid-West floods in the USA, but this is happening worldwide.  Record weather disasters are destroying food supplies and it won't be long before people will begin to take notice at the grocery checkout.  By this time next year, we may be experiencing severe shortages.
Cyclone Idai 'might be southern hemisphere's worst such disaster'
The devastating cyclone that hit south-eastern Africa may be the worst ever disaster to strike the southern hemisphere, according to the UN.

Cyclone Idai has swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe over the past few days, destroying almost everything in its path, causing devastating floods, killing and injuring thousands of people and ruining crops.
"As Many As A Million Calves Lost In Nebraska" – Beef Prices To Escalate Dramatically In Coming Months


How Much Food Prices Will Rise After Midwest USA Floods

28 March 2019

Parashah: "The Meaning of Life"

22 Adar II 5779
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Shemini - Parah - Mevorchim

Parashat Shemini – The Meaning of Life – Rabbi Meir Kahane

The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them. A fire came forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died before Hashem. (Lev. 10:1-2)

Dear friend, open your mouth wide and I will fill it with a major, albeit harsh, principle from the Torah of life: Since life on this earth is only a vestibule for the banquet hall which is the World-to-Come, only an instrument of G-d whose purpose is to bring man and the world to holiness and the yoke of G-d's kingdom, and since true life occurs only in the World-to-Come, the world of truth, it follows that in order to attain this goal and teach people fundamental lessons, G-d sometimes shortens peoples' lives.

Sometimes, those who pass away are righteous, innocent persons, even children and infants, and the fools and the “dead” who move around among us see in it only cruelty, or even lack of logic, direction and Divine conduct in the world. Life was given to man as a loan, a loan that he must pay off when the time comes, and that he is not entitled to refuse. As our sages said (Avot, end of Ch. 4): Perforce you were formed and perforce you were born; perforce you live, perforce you shall die, and perforce you have to give a strict account before the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. The two sons of R. Meir and his wife Beruriah died. Our sages describe how Beruriah acted before revealing the tragedy to her husband (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei 964): Beruriah set food before R. Meir. After he had eaten she said, “Master, I have a question to ask. Someone previously gave me a deposit to take care of for him. Now he has come to reclaim it. Should I return it or not?” R. Meir replied, “Daughter, if someone has a deposit, is he not obligated to return it to its owner?” She then said, “I would not return it without your knowledge.” Taking his hand, she brought him up to the bedroom. She pulled back the bed sheets and he saw his two sons lying there deceased. He began to cry and said, “My sons, my sons! My teachers, my teachers! My sons in proper behavior. My teachers in that they would enlighten me with their Torah.” At that moment she said, “Master, did you not tell me that we must return a deposit to its owner? 'The L-rd gave and the L-rd has taken away. Blessed be the name of the L-rd' (Job 1:21).”

Life is nothing but a deposit from G-d. It is decreed that one should live a specific length of time, and during that time he should fulfill the mission incumbent on him. Like anyone guarding a deposit, a person must guard his life, neither damaging nor making improper use of it. When the time comes, he must return it to its owner. Man's life on earth is exceedingly short; it passes in the blink of an eye. On the one hand, it is qualitatively of enormous importance, for only through it can a person fulfill the duty for which he was created. On the other hand, however, how brief and transient life is! It is compared to “the potsherd that breaks, the grass that withers, the flower that fades, the shadow that passes, the cloud that vanishes, the breeze that blows, the dust that floats, the dream that flies away” (U'Netaneh Tokef). Our true, eternal existence is in the World-to-Come, not here on earth. As our sages said (Avot 4:16), “This world is like a vestibule before the World-to-Come. Prepare yourself in the vestibule so that you may enter the banquet hall.” This carries both encouragement and a warning, and we must assimilate the whole message with pure acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. A person must understand his mission on earth and the idea that life was given only to fulfill that mission. He must understand how brief and transient life is and how much emptiness pervades it. Once he understands these things, he will recognize that he need not fear either the day or moment of death as long as he pursues life by accepting the yoke of Heaven and being constantly ready to sanctify G-d's name through self-sacrifice. If someone has attained immortality by doing G-d's will, what does he lose if he suddenly leaves this world? One should not delude oneself into viewing longevity as an end in itself. The main thing is life's quality: how a person lives. Does he attain true life as defined by G-d? When a person exists on this earth without accepting the yoke of Heaven and without readiness to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, that is not “life” at all, but a bestial existence.

By contrast, if someone's life was cut off in its prime through his sacrificing himself, that person was alive before, he is still alive now, and he will remain alive forever in the World-to-Come. The wise person who understands G-d's ways and Torah will thus never fear. He will always be ready to sacrifice his life to sanctify G-d's name, and precisely in this way, to continue living. When G-d wishes to demonstrate how great, awesome and just He is, He shows no favoritism even to the righteous. He killed the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous (and not only did He kill them, but He took their souls on the most joyous and holy day, that of the Tabernacle's dedication). What great suffering was caused to Aaron, their father, and Elisheva, their mother! Dear reader, let us consider our grave duty to fear G-d. As explained above, G-d will sometimes take a person before his time to teach a profound idea that will sanctify His name. G-d's doing so involves no cruelty whatsoever. On the one hand, life on this earth is short and fleeting. It is not eternal. If someone dies young, as much as a tragedy it is for his relatives and friends, he is really only leaving this earth a few years before he would have anyway. 

On the other hand, someone whom G-d kills to teach that person's nation and contemporaries and the world a Divine lesson that will sanctify G-d's name, thereby ascends to greatness. Our sages said (Vayikra Rabbah 2:1), “Ten things are called precious... From whence do we know that the death of the saintly is among them? It says, 'Precious in the sight of the L-rd is the death of His saints' (Ps. 116:5).” Thus, those saints who die to sanctify G-d's name are precious, and their death is precious.

G-d suffered greatly for having killed Nadab and Abihu, who were righteous. As our sages said (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:23): “Nadab and Abihu died before the L-rd” (Num. 3:4): The Torah's mentioning their death in several places teaches that G-d was sorrowful because Aaron's sons were dear to Him. Likewise it says, “I will be sanctified through those close to Me (Lev. 10:3). Vayikra Rabbah (20:10) says, “The death of Nadab and Abihu was twice as hard on G-d as it was on their father.” R. Eliezer HaModai says (Sifri, Pinchas 137): Consider how dear the righteous are before G-d. Wherever it mentions their death it mentions the sin that led to it as well. Why does it go to such lengths? To avoid giving mankind the pretext to say that righteous men died because they had acted corruptly in secret. Thus, in four places it mentions the death of Aaron's sons, and in each it mentions their sin to make known that they had no sin but this. One should be aware that in all four places where G-d mentions Nadab and Abihu's sin, He points to the strange fire that they brought in the Holy of Holies. This was their sin, as noted in previous sources. When they saw the fire descend, they became excited and followed their own Halachah that it was a mitzvah to bring regular fire as well. They wished to stress the connection between G-d's holiness and that of man. At the root of all this was their desire to enter the Holy of Holies, to commune there with G-d, and to offer an incense that would be accepted. Although Nadab and Abihu were righteous and wished to come close to G-d, the outcome of their deed was the diminishing of G-d's glory and of Israel's reverence for Him. Hence G-d made Nadab and Abihu an eternal example, an everlasting reminder of the crucial principle that we must demonstrate fear of G-d through reverence for the Temple: This is what G-d meant when He said, 'I will be sanctified through those close to Me, and thus glorified before all the people.' Aaron remained silent (Lev. 10:3).

Besides the general reverence all are obligated to feel, there are concrete limitations on a persons' entering the Temple, depending on who he is. If he is an Israelite, his being pure or impure has a bearing, as does the type of impurity itself. If he is an ordinary Kohen, his being physically blemished, not cutting his hair or wearing torn clothes has a bearing. If he is the Kohen Gadol, he faces other limitations when he enters the Holy of Holies once each year. Although the reason for these limitations is the levels of holiness within these boundaries, entering in opposition to that holiness indicates a lack of fear of G-d, the levels of holiness having been fixed chiefly so man would experience that fear. What emerges from all this is that G-d gave us life to perform a specific task, and created man to fulfill that task and bring the world holiness, purity, humility, fear of Heaven and acceptance of G-d's yoke. This being the case, when the times demand it, G-d might also remove someone from this earth to teach a specific idea. We need not mourn such a person. Rather we must stand silently as did Aaron and accept sentence. We must transcend our natural sorrow and be joyful about this exalted soul. G-d's holy ones are likewise adored and lauded through this, for by their early deaths they complete their role on this wretched earth in holiness and acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, and there is nothing greater than that. No exit from this earth could be more exalted. (Source)

~ SHABBAT SHALOM UMEVORACH ~

26 March 2019

It's All a Show!

19 Adar II 5779

Take a fear-mongering media...
Bracing for Gaza’s ‘million man march’
Analysis: The West Bank is at a boiling point, the Palestinian economy is weak and the motivation for terror attacks high, and now Hamas is planning its biggest demonstration ever to mark the anniversary of the ‘March of Return’; Israel fears events may spin out of control with dozens of casualties and a possible military confrontation
DEBKA: Hamas has announced a buildup for a major escalation of attacks on Israel to mark the first anniversary of its March of the Million on March 31.
Israeli Forces In The Northern Command Preparing For A Difficult “Land Day”
PLUS a couple of rockets hitting near Tel Aviv for a touch of reality (the long suffering of the Jews in the south doesn't matter in their greater scheme)...









Together with an election championed by the "leader of the 'free' world"...



And what you have is a BIG SHOW put on by Eisav and the Erev Rav meant to manipulate the Jewish people via their emotions. It's called herding the sheeple and everyone is vulnerable except those firmly attached to Torah and HKB"H! 

All of this is designed to soften the Jews' resolve for making major concessions in order that Oslo, the Road Map et al. in itheir latest incarnation aka the Deal of the Century gets through!!  However, they vastly underrate our resolve!

PS: That Golan announcement that so many hailed as a "Purim miracle" was in reality just part of another Hamanic plot.  Wait and see!  

And by the way, lest you think I accuse Trump, let me hasten to say that if you want to identify the plotters, look at the line of people standing behind Trump during the press conference.  Trump is just their front guy.

25 March 2019

Mashiach Before the Election (Part 5 - FINAL)

19 Adar II 5779

Continuing from Part 4... 
Pesikta Rabbati 37: "I will greatly rejoice [sos asis]" (Isaiah 61:10); [Why the double wording for rejoice?] Sos refers to the Messianic era; asis to the fall of wicked Rome.  "My soul shall be joyful in my G-d" (Ibid.): This refers to the War of Gog and Magog.
I have elaborated on this in order to make clear to the nation smitten with insanity, blindness and mental confusion just how great redemption "in haste" can be if we are but worthy of it. What intelligent person would not be willing to exchange redemption of suffering and holocausts, horrors and Messianic birthpangs - Heaven help us - for redemption in glory and majesty?  Yet such redemption cannot come so long as Israel depend on the nations and lack complete faith in G-d.  It will not come as long as Israel profane G-d's name by their refusal to expel from Eretz Yisrael the Ishmaelites, who revile and profane G-d's name, as long as the Temple Mount remains a den of alien Ishmaelite foxes who come near yet are neither killed nor banished.  As long as Israel fear flesh and blood and therefore refuse to perform mitzvot and great deeds for fear of the nations' reaction, redemption "in haste" will be impossible.  No redemption based on Kiddush Hashem can arrive while Israel concede regarding Chillul Hashem.
If Israel do not merit redemption "in haste," and the end passes and redemption "in its time" arrives, G-d will free Mashiach ben Yosef, yet only so that he can go to war accompanied by suffering, tragedy and horror, and indeed he will be slain in this war.  Only a few will follow him, whereas the vast majority of Israel will ridicule and oppose him, and the mixed multitude of the impoverished regime which will be in control will fight him as well (according to the Gra, Armelius is the head of the mixed multitude, and he will slay Mashiach ben Yosef).  There will be a great fall at the start of redemption, yet it will pave the way for the final redemption of Mashiach ben David.
Whether redemption comes "in its time" or "in haste," Mashiach ben Yosef will act to promote Kiddush Hashem, namely, through the conquest of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, and he will do things which will anger the nations, yet he will not fear them.  Precisely these deeds of his which sanctify G-d's name will bring the final redemption, by the fact that all the nations will go to war against Israel, and Israel will be alone with no helper but their Father in Heaven.  Only in this way will we be able to achieve the final redemption through Kiddush Hashem - G-d against the whole world.
...Mashiach ben Yosef will be the spark which will begin to burn and destroy Esau. 
...G-d will bring the final redemption the same way He brought the first, in order to be elevated and sanctified, and in order to show the world that "His ways are as of old" (Habakuk 3:6). And in order to lower the proud and prove to them that He directs the universe, G-d will cause the Messiah to emerge precisely from the country of Gog, as he did with Moses who grew up in the palace of Pharaoh and went out from there to smite the Egyptian.  Our sages said (Tanchuma, Shemot, 8):
Pharaoh would hug and kiss him, and Moses would remove Pharaoh's crown from his head and cast it down the way he would do later on.  Likewise, G-d said to Hiram, "I have brought forth from your midst, and it has devoured you (Ezek. 28:18).  The daughter of Pharaoh was raising the one who would ultimately punish her father and her land.  Just so, the Messiah, who will in the future punish the nations, will grow up with them there in their country, as it says, "There shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down and consume its branches" (Isaiah 27:10).
Similarly we find (Tanchuma, Tazria, 8):
The Messiah, who will in the future punish Gog and Magog and his forces, will grow up with them there in their country, as it says, "There shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down and consume its branches" (Isaiah 27:10).
The trouble and grief of Gog and Magog will surpass all the troubles and holocausts of the past, Heaven help us.
...Yet certainly, even redemption "in its time" with all its terrors shall end with G-d's final, majestic victory over His enemies through His revenge and anger, and the revelation of the glory of His kingdom throughout the world.
...Indeed, at the end of the [MBY] process, G-d will rout and defeat the nations who come with Gog, and Mashiach ben David will appear.
This concludes the quotations on the subject of Mashiach ben Yosef (chapters 30 and 31) taken from Rabbi Meir Kahane's, ztz"l, Hy"d, Ohr HaRa'ayon: The Jewish Idea.

We are very close to the ultimate end - redemption "in its time."  But today, there still remains a chance for "in its time I will hasten it" (Isaiah 60:22), meaning that even in a scenario of redemption "in its time," God will "hasten it" so that it still comes a bit sooner than the ultimate end and retains an aspect of mercy which would otherwise be denied us.

Pray for Mashiach ben Yosef's freedom to come and redeem us NOW - even before the election!  But, if not, he still will surely come - in its time.

24 March 2019

Mashiach Before the Election (Part 4)

18 Adar II 5779

Continuing from Part 3...
...Again and again we must stress the difference between redemption "in its time" and redemption "in haste," and the fact that both in Scripture and in our sages' writings we find constant mention of two possible processes.  That is, there will be only one process, but what it will be depends on us.  The same applies to Mashiach ben Yosef, all his grief, and the war he wages when he is ultimately sent to inaugurate redemption.   Will that war be a debacle fought by minuscule remnants of Israel, or a fast, glorious victory?  Will he be killed?  All this depends on whether redemption comes "in its time" or "in haste," and that, in turn, depends on our own deeds.  May G-d have mercy and give us the strength and will to fulfill His word. 

If we undergo redemption "in its time," there will be great and bitter weeping as the nations rise up to destroy Israel. Also our enemies from within, the impoverished regime and its supporters, Jews who deny and loathe G-d's Torah, will declare war on G-d's Torah and try to remove it from the world.  It will be a time of heresy and blasphemy; and if the end comes - and redemption "in haste" through Israel's merit is no longer possible - Mashiach ben Yosef will fight all of Israel's enemies, Jew and non-Jew alike.
Kol HaTor (Ch. 2, Part 2:2) quotes the Gra's holy words:
Our chief effort on behalf of the ingathering must be to produce men of faith worthy of being the two Messiahs in the gates of Jerusalem and of restoring the Divine Presence, the aim of complete and true redemption and Kiddush Hashem.  According to our master, the Gra, we must come to G-d's aid through men of valor, the two Messiahs, and learn in practical terms everything there is to know about their characteristics and duties.

The general duty of the two messiahs, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David, together throughout the generations, is defense and war against the three chiefs of impurity - Esau, Ishmael and the erev rav, the "mixed multitude." Mashiach ben Yosef's special duty is confronting Esau, [and he comes out of 'Esau'] the impurity of the left, that of Mashiach ben David is confronting Ishmael, [and he comes out of 'Ishmael'] the impurity on the right, and together they work against Esau and Ishmael, the ox and the donkey of impurity.  The mating of Esau and Ishmael comes through Armelius, angelic prince of the erev rav, and it can destroy Israel and the whole world, Heaven help us!  The main striving of the erev rav is to mate Esau and Ishmael and separate the two Messiahs, and our own main battle is to shatter and rout the power of the erev rav, the impurity of evil Armelius, from Israel.

The erev rav is our greatest enemy.  It is what separates between the two Messiahs [one here in Eretz Yisrael and the other one trapped there in the Land of Edom].  Its impurity operates only via indirect deception.  Hence, the war against the erev rav is the hardest and most bitter, and we must gird ourselves with our last strength toward this end.  Whoever does not actively take part in the war against the erev rav automatically becomes a partner to its impurity, and whoever he is, he is better off not having been born.  The main strength of the erev rav is in the gates of Jerusalem, especially at the entrance to the city on the western dividing line.
The erev rav is that part of the Jewish People intent on war against G-d and against the truth and credibility of His Torah.  With them we face an uncompromising battle to the finish, and the Gra emphasized this in his call to holy war against them.  When he says that whoever does not actively fight the erev rav becomes their partner and is better off never having been born, he means to warn against the distorted tolerance and groundless love which are the main impediments in this war
...It thus emerges from the study of Mashiach ben Yosef, the Inaugural Messiah and Messiah of War:
1)  Already at Creation, G-d prepared the Messiah (in other words, two Messiahs), as our sages said (Pesikta Rabbati, 36)...
2)  Mashiach ben Yosef is the inaugural Messiah who starts off the redemption by fighting the nations.  He begins the physical redemption without which there can be no spiritual redemption, through ingathering, the conquest of the Land and the war with the nations, as befits the anointed of war.
3)  Mashiach ben Yosef is kept in suffering as long as Israel suffer in exile.  He symbolizes the options of redemption "in its time" or "in haste." ***  If Israel repented through deeds that prove faith and trust in G-d, thereby sanctifying G-d's name, G-d would redeem Mashiach ben Yosef and he would start the redemption.  He is ready and present in every generation, for even the redemption from this exile stands ready to be fulfilled in every generation.
4)  If Israel merit it through the right acts of repentance, the war of Mashiach ben Yosef will end in speedy, glorious victory, without Messianic birthpangs.  Through deeds of faith and trust in G-d (i.e., deeds performed without fear of the nations' reaction), Israel will be ready to recognize the Messiah and follow him.....
(Pesikta Rabbati 37)...
...the Patriarchs will in the future rise up in the month of Nissan and will say to the Messiah, "Ephraim, righteous Messiah! Although we are your ancestors, you are greater than we, because you suffered for our children's sins and underwent hardships not experienced by the early or later ones.  You were the object of ridicule among the nations for Israel's sake, and you sat in sightless gloom.  Your skin shriveled on the bone and your body was as dry as wood.  Your eyes lost their luster through starvation, and your strength dried up like a potsherd.  All this occurred due to our children's sins.  Do you wish our children to benefit from the bounty G-d has showered on Israel?  Perhaps due to the immensity of your suffering on their behalf, and the time you spent imprisoned, you are displeased with them?"
The Messiah shall reply, "Fathers of the world, all that I did, I did only for yours and your children's sakes, for yours and your children's glory, that they might benefit from this bounty which G-d showered upon Israel."  The Patriarchs then say, "Ephraim, righteous Messiah!  You should be pleased, for you have pleased both us and G-d."
R. Shimon ben Pazi said: "At that moment, G-d shall raise up the Messiah to the highest heavens and envelop him in His glorious splendor, before the nations of the world, the wicked Persians.  He shall say: Ephraim, righteous Messiah!  Judge these and do whatever your heart desires, for if not for overpowering mercy on your behalf, they would already have obliterated you from the universe in a moment...."
To be continued, iy"H.
__________________________________
*** "in haste" [Kislev 5746 - before the intifadas and before Oslo] or "in its time" [Nissan 5781] - In the aspect of "in 'it's time,' I will hasten it" [Adar 5779 at the '33rd level' ] Hamevin yavin.

Bibi's Mouthpiece - Israel HaYom

17 Adar II 5779

According to Eli Yishai's latest facebook post, the Israel HaYom publication - a known Netanyahu mouthpiece - reports that in their poll, Yachad receives 0.0% of the vote!!  Do you still think polls can be trusted???

(Rough translation):
I was pleased to see last weekend that the Yahad party receives a 0.0% (!) Survey in Israel Today.

You read well, neither 2% nor 0.1% but really 0.0%.

Do you know why I was happy? Because finally everyone is discovering the true face of the polls. Tell me, my fellow reviewers. Do you really think that someone believes that the movement of Yahad is zero percent?!

As long as you were "encouraging" a few tenths of a percent, someone might have been deceived, but now everyone understands that apparently the same forces that wielded the veto and are causing fear of the veto, have a good reason to fear the Yahad movement under my leadership. They know that I will not let Bibi form a unity government with Gantz and Lapid in order to reach a peace agreement. So they do everything to torpedo our running.

Do you understand how it works? They work in the underground to hide us from the polls, and then they claim that you are running with them, harming them and harming the right! Those who hurt the right are the ones who worked to torpedo all our unity with other parties. And now it's the same people who are insulting us in the polls, even though they understand that if you get in, that's four more seats to the right!

I just want to remind reviewers of some data. Who might be spared the disgrace after the election results:

The Yahad movement brought 126,000 votes to the Knesset!

The Yahad movement brought in only a few months ago municipal elections, more than 26 representatives throughout the country. And she did not deal with all the cities!

The Yahad movement now has a list of 100,302 supporters registered last month (!) In the ingenious voices project on the Yahad website, which has already been copied by the Likud and other parties.

So if a hundred thousand registered and expressed support, they are 0.0% for them, so think of the tens of thousands we have not reached and not yet registered. I cheer up.

So I'm here to tell all the friends, I feel, like you, the rage at the deliberate disregard. I get the screenshots of almost all the surveys that do not even list Yahad in the list of options, do not even register it manually in the other option, In complete contradiction to the instructions of the Elections Committee.

In the link below, read what you are not told about the industry of lies that shape public opinion and erases parties in the public consciousness.
Industry lies of election surveys 
The number of respondents is tiny and does not represent, the majority refuse to answer and the timing is irrelevant, but the media suffers from a severe and hasty survey. The results - usually wrong - drive politicians to a wild horse race. We all lose.

22 March 2019

Parashat Tsav

15 Adar II 5779
Shushan Purim
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Tsav

Rabbi Mordechai Sitorsky

Parashat Tzav: The "Right" Way to Look at Purim



~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

BONUS: The P-Word

17 March 2019

Mashiach Before the Election (Part 3)

11 Adar II 5779 

Recapped and continued from Part 2...
...G-d set ground-rules for [the Messiah]: "In the future, the sins of these stored away with you will place you under an iron burden. They will make you like this calf whose eyes have dimmed. Their burden will suffocate your spirit. Through their sins, your tongue will cleave to your palate. Do you wish this?" The Messiah asked, "Is that pain going to last many years?" and G-d answered, "I swear by My life and yours that it shall last no later than the year seven thousand [i.e., the latest possible end, as noted previously from Avodah Zarah 9a]. If you are unhappy with this, I will make them suffer starting now." The Messiah replied, "Master of the Universe! Joyfully do I accept it upon myself so that not one Jew be lost... It is what I want!"...

The rabbis said, "The week in which the Son of David comes, iron bars shall be brought and placed on his [MBY] neck until he is bent over, and he will cry out tearfully until his voice ascends to Heaven. He will say, "Master of the Universe! How long can my strength hold out? My spirit? My soul? My limbs? Am I not flesh and blood?"...

G-d will then reply, "Ephraim, Righteous Messiah! You undertook this from the Six Days of Creation. Now, your pain will be like Mine, for since the day Nebuchadnezzar went up and destroyed My house and burnt My sanctuary and exiled My children among the nations, I swear to you that I have never sat down on My throne; and if you don't believe Me, observe the dew that has settled on My head"... The Messiah will respond, "Master of the Universe!  Now, I am consoled.  It suffices for the slave to be like his master."
Here we learn several principles of global importance regarding redemption.  First, the Messiah spoken of here, namely Mashiach ben Yosef and not Mashiach ben David, is the chief redeemer, for he inaugurates redemption.  Second, his suffering all the years of the exile, through G-d's tormenting him, parallels that suffered by Israel.  Third, this suffering is grossly compounded, for were Israel to repent properly, he would be freed from his torment to go and save Israel, such that both he and they would be redeemed.  Fourth, Mashiach ben Yosef parallels G-d, for also the Divine Presence is in exile, and G-d, too, so to speak, suffers the Chillul Hashem of Israel's lowliness.  Fifth, (merely hinted at here), if repentance "in haste" does not arrive, and redemption "in its time" comes instead, redemption of grief and tragedy, G-d will send Mashiach ben Yosef to wage war against the nations.  In that case, the vast majority of Israel will still be unfit for redemption and will not recognize him and their own mission - to repent through deeds of faith and trust in G-d so that they sanctify G-d's name, the key to redemption.  Then Mashiach ben Yosef will go forth with minuscule remnants as inaugurator of redemption to provoke the nations, and the start of redemption will be accompanied by tragedies and Messianic birthpangs, as stated.  Even Mashiach ben Yosef will fall in this bitter period, until Israel's sins are purged and Mashiach ben David arrives.

Part 4.

"Hang On For Dear Life!"

10 Adar II 5779

Purim 5779 The Purim Roller-coaster: Hang on for dear life! - Rabbi Richter

What is the intrinsic connection between Purim, and the standoff between Esav and Yaakov?

15 March 2019

"The Awful Sin of Amalek"

8 Adar II 5779
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Vayikra - Zachor

[See my comments at the end.]

Shabbat Zachor – The awful sin of Amalek – Rabbi Meir Kahane

“Remember what Amalek did to you, on the way, when you were leaving Egypt, that he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindmost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. It shall be that when Hashem, your G-d, gives you rest from all your enemies around, in the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven – you shall not forget!” (Deut. 25:17-19, Maftir of Shabbat Zachor)

Amalek’s sin is the great and eternal sin of those who refuse “to know Hashem” and to accept His yoke upon themselves, and who thereby desecrate His Name.  The Children of Israel were on the way, and the word ba-derekh (“on the way”) appears here twice, indicating that they were both on the way out of Egypt and on the way to the Land of Israel: both of these components together prove G-d’s power and might in the eyes of the nations, so that they would accept the yoke of His sovereignty.  And now Amalek, the foremost and most brazen representative of “I do not know Hashem” launches himself against Israel, in an attempt to demonstrate both to Israel and to the rest of the world that G-d has no power, and that He is not the G-d of history. (Peirush HaMaccabee, Sefer Dvarim, Chapter 25)

This is the key to understanding why G-d was more angry at Amalek than at any other nation.  This was the awful sin of Amalek, regarding which it is said (Ex. 17:16), “The hand is on G-d's throne.  The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations”. Our sages also comment (Pesikta Rabbati, Ch. 12): “The hand is on G-d's throne”: R. Levi said in the name of R. Chama of the school of R. Chaninah, “So to speak, as long as Amalek's offspring are on earth, G-d's name is not complete [In the verse, “G-d” is represented by the short form yud-kei], neither is His throne complete [represented by kes rather than kisei]. Once Amalek's seed is uprooted, G-d's throne is complete and His name is complete.”  King David said, “Enemy! The waste places are come to an end forever, and the cities which you did uproot, their very memorial is perished” (Ps. 9:7). What follows? “But the L-rd is enthroned forever. He has established His throne for judgment.”

Amalek set out to annihilate Israel, as our sages said (Tanchuma Yashan, Yitro 4), “Why was it called 'Amalek'? Because it is am lak, 'the nation that licks'. Amalek set out to lap up Israel's blood like a dog.”  Even more than this, however, Amalek came openly to insult G-d and blot out His name. Mechilta (Ibid., Parshah 1) comments regarding (Ex. 17:8), “Amalek arrived”: “Amalek came openly.  In all their other attacks they came in stealth...but not here.”

Amalek attacked G-d's throne, as our sages said (Tanchuma, Ki Tetze, 11): One verse reads, “You must obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Deut. 25:19), and another reads, “I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek” (Ex. 17:14). How can the two verses coexist? Until Amalek attacked G-d's throne, Israel were commanded to obliterate them. Henceforth, however, G-d said He would do so Himself. Can flesh and blood attack G-d's throne? Rather, because they destroyed Jerusalem, of which it says (Jer. 3:17), “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the L-rd”, G-d said He would obliterate them.

Amalek's sin is the waging of brazen warfare against G-d, as they did when Israel left Egypt. Yet when any other nation, as well, curses and fights G-d, Amalek's sin clings to them and they become like Amalek.  Thus, although Amalek, the nation, did not destroy Jerusalem, our sages say that Jerusalem's destruction constituted Amalek attacking G-d's throne.  This teaches that whoever attacks G-d's throne is called Amalek.  We must understand and remember this principle for our own times.
Since, in the nations' eyes, Israel's weakness and lowliness, and their suffering at the nations' hands, are interpreted as G-d's weakness and inability to save His people, and that is a Chilul Hashem, it follows that Israel's power, exaltation and victory over their own enemies and the blasphemous enemies of G-d is a Kiddush Hashem.

[For illustration, this is a quote from one of Rabbi Kahane's earlier popular books, “Listen World, Listen Jew” pp. 120-122]  Do you want to know how the Name of G-d is desecrated in the eyes of the mocking and sneering nations? It is when the Jew, His people, His Chosen, is desecrated!  When the Jew is beaten, G-d is profaned!  When the Jew is humiliated – G-d is shamed!  When the Jew is attacked – it is an assault upon the name of G-d![...] What he [the non-Jewish persecutor] is really saying is: “There is no L-rd, there is no G-d of Israel and if there is, He is an impotent and helpless god.  For if He truly existed as the Omnipotent and All-powerful Sovereign of the Universe, His people would not be in exile, they could not be at my mercy, they could not be beaten and shamed and humiliated by me.”

This is the desecration of G-d's name. Every pogrom is a desecration of the Name.  Every Auschwitz and expulsion and murder and rape of a Jew is the humiliation of G-d.  Every time a Jew is beaten by a gentile because he is a Jew, this is the essence of Chilul Hashem.  An end to Exile – that is Kiddush Hashem.  An end to the shame and the beatings and the monuments to our murdered and our martyred.  An end to Kaddish and prayers for the dead.  A shaking off of the dust of the Exile and its shame and a return to a Jewish state of our own created with the fire and the spitting of Jewish guns.  A Jewish fist in the face of an astonished gentile world that had not seen it for two millenia.  This is Kiddush Hashem.  Reading angry editorials about Jewish “aggression” and “violations” rather than flowery eulogies over dead Jewish victims.  That is Kiddush Hashem.

The State of Israel came into being not because the Jew deserved it, but because the gentile did.  It came into being not because the Jew was worthy of it but because the Name of G-d had reached its fill of humiliation and desecration.  “I do this not for your sake, O House of Israel, but for Mine holy Name's sake which ye have profaned among the nations”. 

G-d established a principle that as long as Israel possesses a sovereign government with the power to blot out Amalek's memory, it is a mitzvah and a duty for them to do so.  For this reason our sages said (Sifri, Re'eh, 67): Israel were commanded regarding three mitzvot for when they entered the Land: to appoint a king, build the Temple and destroy Amalek's seed.  I would not know which one comes first if not for Scripture saying, “The hand is on G-d's throne. The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations” (Ex. 17:16).  As long as a king sits on G-d's throne, we destroy Amalek's seed.  How do we know that “G-d's throne” refers to a king? It says (I Chronicles 29:23), “Solomon sat on G-d's throne to reign.”

We must understand that today, with G-d kindly having restored our land and sovereignty, we must once more share with Him in blotting out Amalek if its existence is clear to us.

[Asides from current events like Arab attacks on Israel, Iran’s threats and other brazen attempts to delegitimize or coerce Israel, there is one more aspect of this in our times, mentioned by Rabbi Kahane in another one of his popular books, “Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews”, p. 271]: Jewish self-respect and honor must be resurrected with an end to the humiliating obscenity of carefree political relations with the Amalek of our times, Germany.  Was there a greater abomination than that of Israel establishing relations with Germany less than a decade after Auschwitz?  And for money reparations, of course!  Today, there is not the slightest feeling of guilt on the part of the Israelis who happily travel on business or vacation to Munich and Frankfurt and Hamburg; many of whom live there. There is no guilt on the part of a state that regularly sends youth on cultural and sports excursions to walk on the land stained with Jewish blood.  There is no guilt felt when Jewish and Israeli leaders travel to Germany and eat and drink with the Germans at state dinners, or when a high-ranking German official arrives in Israel and the Israeli army band plays the German national anthem, “Deutschland Uber Alles” as the new Hebrews stand at attention with respect.   The Germans owe us reparations. The money does not absolve them of one sin, of one crime, of one murder. But they owe us reparations for property and we owe them nothing.  Political and cultural ties will be cut with the Germans and they will be expected to fulfill, to the letter, their obligations to the Jewish people.

G-d will go forth to avenge His great name, profaned among the nations, and to avenge the Jewish People, through whose humiliation and distress at the hands of the nations His name was profaned.  The Prophet Obadiah was an Edomite convert, as our sages say (Sanhedrin 39b):  “Obadiah was an Edomite convert, illustrating the adage that, 'the axe comes from the very forest.' Rashi explains, “From the forest, itself, comes the wood for the handle of the axe that chops it down.  Such was Obadiah to Edom and David to Moab, David being descended from Ruth the Moabite.

Who, as much as Obadiah, a former non-Jew, knew the nations hatred of the Jewish People!  Addressing the redemption, Obadiah prophesied (Obadiah 8-12, 15): Surely, says the L-rd, on that day I shall destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the Mount of Esau. Your mighty men, O Yemen, shall be dismayed, such that everyone from the Mount of Esau shall be cut off by slaughter.  For your violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you and you shall be cut off forever.  On the day that you stood aloof, that strangers took his force captive and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, you too were one of them. You should not have looked on the day of your brother, the day of his misfortune, nor rejoiced over the children of Judah on the day of their destruction.  For the day of the L-rd is near upon all the nations. As you have done, so shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return upon your own head.

As long as exile and servitude were decreed for Israel, G-d restrained Himself. Hence, the fools thought He did not exist, and they mocked the Jewish people (Ps. 115:2): “Why should the nations say, 'Where is their G-d'”?  Yet His silence in the face of His name being profaned was a heroic act.  G-d, despite His silence, has not forgotten the insult, there being no forgetting before His throne of glory. Revenge is concealed with Him for the future, sealed up in His treasury, and vengeance and retribution are His.  (Source)
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Regarding the two missiles launched over Gush Dan on Thursday night, for which no one was taking credit, here is my take on it.

The only reason for anyone in Aza to shoot off missiles over Tel Aviv like that would be on orders from high up.  That would be Iran.  And why would it be in Iran's interests to shoot missiles over Tel Aviv?  The Egyptians were there coordinating a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and that does not suit Iran's interests.  I think it was a shot across the bow and a warning to Egypt to butt out of what is happening between Aza and Israel. And a show to Israel that they can start up with us in a major way any time they choose.  However, the primary purpose of all of it, of course, is to bring Am Yisrael to teshuvah so Mashiach can come and redeem us.

This is very apropos to Shabbat Zachor since "Aryan" Iran is very Amalek-like and Persian Iran is where the Purim story took place and Haman's, y"sh, evil plan actually accomplished such teshuvah.  Maybe Persia (Iran) will once again serve as the tool to bring about major teshuvah in our days at this time.


~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

14 March 2019

"WE BELIEVE IN THE TORAH"

7 Adar II 5779


...Prime Minister Netanyahu has made numerous efforts, along with efforts exerted by Chareidi lawmakers, to persuade Yishai to drop out of the race. In fact, last week the Prime Minister telephoned the spiritual leader of the party, HaGaon HaRav Meir Mazuz Shlita, Rosh Yeshivat Kisei Rachamim, requesting that the Rabbi instruct Yishai to drop out of the race.

Rabbi Mazuz was unwilling to accept the Prime Minister’s words, expressing criticism against Shas leader Aryeh Deri. The conversation did not achieve its intended goal, as the rabbi refused the request, and the party is running for Knesset as planned.

...the banner of the campaign was released “we believe in the Torah” (‘מאמינים בתורה’). A number of the rabbis present addressed the audience, and then Yishai took the floor, citing how there are growing efforts to torpedo Judaism and Torah, adding, “they do not understand that if there is no Judaism, there will be no Zionism”. He explained to his audience that there is no alternative to the Torah, to which we remain committed.

[See more about party plans HERE. H/T to KD.]


Rabbi Mizrachi on Rabbi Mazuz



London - Charged With Spreading Hate, Brooklyn's Rabbi Mizrachi Banned From Entering UK 


CLICK TO ENLARGE
Torah Code Regarding Election in Israel 

"Election" connects to "In the first month on 4." Farther down comes the year - "5779."

The election is set for 4 Nisan 5779.

It includes the words "Ben Yishai" and "Mashiach" as well as what I think are the main issues of this election: "Torah, Teshuvah, Kedushah" and "Shabbat" which occurs four times!

In a similar code, the word "Shabbat" occurs seven times!

We see from the promise and the threat from the leftists to run buses on Shabbat that this is a very big issue.

This election is part of a war against Torah, Teshuvah, Kedushah and Shabbat - a war against Judaism itself and all who cling to Torah and Mitzvot. That's why we have to support anyone who stands up for these things.

And it is no coincidence that it is scheduled to take place in the month of Nisan!

13 March 2019

UPDATE on Eli Yishai and Yachad News

6 Adar II 5779

"Democracy" does not determine right and wrong.  Only the Torah does that and its Truth is inescapable.
(TOI - 11/03/19)  Gay Knesset candidates file incitement complaint against Haredi rabbi
Three gay Knesset candidates on the Blue and White party slate file an incitement complaint today against a prominent Haredi rabbi, Meir Mazuz,....
Eli Yishai responded to this on his Facebook page (rough translation)...
I read with astonishment the announcement of Blue and White party members who intend to file a complaint against the Maran Rosh HaYeshiva Hagaon Rabbi Meir Mazuz, shlit"a, in respect of statements made against members of the abomination community.

Simply disgraceful, impose a reign of terror against rabbis in Israel. Who are you to silence the Gadol HaDor from saying it? The words of the Rabbi are the words of the living G-d that appear in the Holy Torah, nothing he said is a novelty of his own.

This is exactly why Maran Rosh HaYeshiva was determined in his decision that Yahad would run for the Knesset, despite the polls that did not always compliment him. Party will end the rule of terror and silencing people who are not in line with their unacceptable agenda.

I invite the people of Israel, religious and secular as one, to support us and vote for Yahad in order to return the mandate to the sane majority in the State of Israel.

Other announcements as follows...

Humble words which you will never hear from any other politician
During an interview I gave on Channel 12, we heard from the interviewer, Mr. Oded Ben Ami, horrifying and shocking remarks with regard to Heaven. I immediately expressed a firm protest and demanded a retraction, but to my great sorrow, I made a mistake by remaining in the studio.
Looking back, I think I should have gotten up and left immediately. Chatati, aviti, pashati (I sinned), and I ask for mechilah, slichah and kaparah (forgiveness and atonement). I will not interview with Oded Ben Ami again until he retracts his harsh words and asks forgiveness from the Creator.
Yehonatan Yosef to be in Third Position
Here at the 'Yahad' party, the legacy of the greatest of Israel is not just an election slogan. Obeying the Maranan and Rabbanan is a guiding light for us and in their light we will go.
Yehonatan Yosef, grandson of Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt"l, is nominated to third place (on the party slate). Together we will ensure the continuation of Maran's legacy for the people of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel.
Congratulations
Yasher koach to the brave soldier of Tzahal who liquidated the terrorist who infiltrated a house in Hebron in order to stab Jews. This is the only way to end any attempted attack: a bullet in the head and a dead terrorist. Without fear, without concern for consequences - to liquidate. As our sages taught: "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."
 This is a voice that the entire country needs to hear from a national platform on a regular basis.