A Slow and Lingering Death

3 Iyyar 5785
Yom Ha'atzma'ut Observed
18 Days of the Omer

"TONIGHT'S INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS CANCELLED"

They did it on Yom HaShoah and now on Yom HaZikaron
 and no one wants to admit the Truth of what is really happening. 
There is no hope for this regime.  It has forfeited any right to rule.

PEOPLE RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES DOWN HWY 1!

EXCHANGING MALCHUT FOR MEDINA IS THE ONLY OPTION

Is This A New Phase?

1 Iyyar 5785
Rosh Chodesh Bet
16 Days of the Omer 

In the last few days, three phenomenal events have taken place...

• India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers, have reached the brink of war.
• Bandar Abbas port in Iran experienced a horrendous explosion which killed 65 (at last count), injured over 1000 and left a crater in the ground.
• Spain, Portugal and some areas of France, Belgium and the Netherlands have experienced a black-out that has brought down all electrical systems.  It's still out as of this morning.

I have the feeling HKB"H is only getting started.

~ CHODESH TOV UMEVORACH ~

A New Month - A New Opportunity

30 Nisan 5785
Rosh Chodesh Aleph
15 Days of the Omer 

Via Rav Yaron Reuven's Facebook page...

~ CHODESH TOV UMEVORACH ~

Another Missed Opportunity

29 Nisan 5785
Erev Rosh Chodesh
14 Days of the Omer

"In Nisan you were redeemed and in Nisan you will be redeemed."

Coming near to the end of Nisan 5785, Edom appears to be no closer to its end.  The kings of the West are still calling all the shots and we seem to be no closer to freedom from their wicked schemes.

Despite how it appears, we will never stop hoping and praying for the end of this terrible, dark galut and the realization of the promise of a future in this lifetime!

~ ~ ~

...Going through life without contemplating the workings of the world, without looking below the surface, is oftentimes an easy and comfortable route.  But HaRav Yerucham Levovitz, the Mirrer Mashgiach, zt"l, explains that living life without contemplation is a serious mistake.  Indeed, we are obligated to look at all occurrences in our lives as osos and mofsim, nothing less than "signs and wonders," and never as products of a natural system or random events.

Rav Yerucham taught this idea almost one hundred years ago.  As an example, he cited the ongoing world interest in Eretz Yisrael.  It is not a natural occurrence that global scrutiny is centered so firmly on one tiny area of the map.  All of the world's countries, with all of their widely diverse needs and concerns, are disproportionally preoccupied with this one small country.  This is not a natural or random reality.  It is an example of Hashem's hashgachah - because Hashem "caused, causes and always will cause everything that happens."

(The End Illuminated, Chapter 2 : The Torah Perspective on Current Events by Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Sorotzkin.)

Respecting the Ultimate Power

27 Nisan 5785

Erev Shabbat Kodesh

Parashat Shemini - Mevorchim

12 Days of the Omer

Sometimes, since we can't see G-d and we often fail to meditate on His greatness and His awesomeness as revealed through His creations (volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, comets and meteors), we need reminding that He is not One to be trifled with or to be underestimated, not even to mention rebelled against!

Like Nadav and Avihu in this week's Torah portion and like Uzzah in the haftarah, even when a person has good intentions, it won't save him if he has overstepped the bounds set by the Creator of all.  

By way of a very simplistic example, I am reminded of the time my baby sister stuck a pair of tweezers into an electrical plug and it zapped her before tripping the breaker.  She got away with a scare and a burned finger, but the experience left her with a very healthy regard for electricity after that.  However, when the proper respect is given to such power and it is utilized as intended by way of proper electrical wires and plugs, it greatly improves our standard of life.  

HKB"H's power is not something we can harness and use, but He uses it to sustain the world and everyone in it.  We should always be conscious of that fact on a daily basis and bring ourselves to have a very great awe of it and respect for it.  It should be for life and not for death.  It is the will of our Creator that we live and not die.

~  SHABBAT SHALOM ~

For Your Name's Sake!!

26 Nisan 5785
11 Days of the Omer

(Source:  Daniel - Messages From Heaven)

(Tehillim 79.6 - 10)...

Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not know You and upon the kingdoms that did not call out in Your name.  For they devoured Jacob and made his dwelling desolate.  Do not remember for us the early iniquities; may Your mercies quickly come before us for we have become very poor.

Help us, O God of our salvation, on account of the glory of Your name, and save us and atone for our sins for Your name's sake.  Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the nations before our eyes the revenge of the spilt blood of Your servants.

(Yirmiyahu 10.25)...

Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not know You and upon the families that have not called in Your name, for they have devoured Jacob and consumed him and destroyed him, and have wasted his dwelling.

(Yirmiyahu 25.30-36)...

Hashem roars from on high and sends out His voice from His Holy Abode; He is roaring over His Lodging,... The commotion reaches the end of the world, for Hashem is contending with the nations, He is passing judgment on all flesh; He has delivered the wicked to the sword - the word of Hashem.

Thus said Hashem, Master of Legions: Behold, evil is going out from nation to nation, and a great storm will be aroused from the edges of the earth. The slain of Hashem on that day will cover from one end of the land to the other; they will not be eulogized nor gathered nor buried; they will remain like dung on the face of the earth.

...Flight will be foreclosed from the shepherds, and escape from the leaders of the flock.

 Is Italy's Supervolcano a
Ticking Time Bomb for the World?

A Catholic saint predicted 900 years ago that there would be a total of 112 popes until the End of Days.  Francis was the 112th pope.  He also predicted the destruction of Rome at the same time.  Is this perhaps a Bila'am-esque "prophecy"?  

The Secret of Seven

25 Nisan 5785

10 Days of the Omer

I don't have this all figured out, but it must be significant.  I'll throw out my various ideas and maybe any interested readers can help make sense of it in the comments.

~ ~ ~

Seven is the number of completion.  [See Seven: The Power of Numbers by Rabbi Eliyahu Safran -  "...no number has the power and significance of the number seven."]

This year is 77 years of the State of Israel.

Seventy-seven also brings to mind seven sevens (7x7) - 49 days of the Omer - on the 50th day we receive the Torah, or - 49 years of shmittah cycles - on the 50th year we celebrate the Yovel Year.

"Every 70 years Eisav comes to push Ya'aqov down." 

Some scholars point out that Jewish history seems to move in cycles of oppression and redemption, often around significant timeframes, including 70 years. Examples: The fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the rise of anti-Jewish persecutions roughly every few generations, and modern events like the establishment of Israel in 1948 after roughly 70 years of Zionist activity.  (ChatGPT)

In the 70th year of the State - May 14, 2018 - the US made a show of moving their embassy to Jerusalem.  From then until now their intrusive and malicious meddling in our internal affairs has only grown and become more and more open.

The final 7 years which brings completion - "the WEEK Ben David comes" (Sanhedrin 97a) ...

Year 1  (5/2018 - 5/2019):  And I shall bring rain upon one city,  And upon another city I shall not bring rain.

Year 2  (5/2019 - 5/2020):  In the second year, the arrows of hunger are sent forth.

Year 3  (5/2020 - 5/2021):  In the third year, a great famine and men, women, children, pious men, and men of great action die and Torah is forgotten from those who learn it. [This was at the height of the Covid pandemic.]

Year 4  (5/2021 - 5/2022):  In the fourth, there will be plenty but not great plenty.

Year 5  (5/2022 - 5/2023):  In the fifth, great satiation and they eat and drink and rejoice and Torah returns to those that learn it.

[In March 2020, the WHO officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In May 2023, the WHO declared an end to the public health emergency of international concern. (Wikipedia)]

Year 6  (5/2023 - 5/2024):  In the sixth sounds (or voices).

Year 7  (5/2024 - 5/2025):  In the seventh year, wars.

At the departure of the seventh, the son of David comes.

Think about it, a final period of seven years - "the WEEK in which Ben David comes" - during the WEEKS of counting the Omer leading up to the Feast of WEEKS.

And recall that it was during this same time period that two messianic wars have already been fought - one which saw the return of Eretz Yisrael (1948) to the Jews followed by one which saw the return of Holy Yerushalayim and all the other holy cities (1967) to Jewish ownership.  They are destined to be followed by a third which will see the return of the Holy Temple Mount for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple when Ben David comes motzaei shvi'it - in Sivan?

~ ~ ~

Another interesting set of sevens...

🔹 The Seven Hills of Rome:

These are the original hills on which ancient Rome was founded. They are all on the east side of the Tiber River:

Aventine Hill, Caelian Hill, Capitoline Hill, Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill

These hills are mostly associated with ancient Roman history and mythology, not Christian pilgrimage.

🔹 The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome:

These were designated as major pilgrimage sites in the 16th century, largely due to the influence of Saint Philip Neri, who promoted a spiritual pilgrimage route. They are 

St. Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, St. Sebastian Outside the Walls, 

Only a couple of the pilgrim churches are located on or near the traditional Seven Hills:

St. John Lateran — Caelian Hill and  St. Mary Major — Esquiline Hill [where Pope Francis will be interred]  (Source:  ChatGPT)

As if Eisav was trying to capture and benefit from the power of Seven! 

Most interestingly, the fallen pope, the ultimate symbol of universal Roman/Edomite influence, will be buried on the seventh day which so happens to be Parashat Shemini ("It was on the eighth day...").  It discusses the beginning of the priestly service of the Cohanim after a full seven days of observing Moshe Rabbeinu carry it out.

Is this a hint to the superiority (and victory) of Ya'aqov over Eisav?  Ya'aqov as Yisrael can rise to the level of eight - above nature - while Eisav remains restricted to seven - the fullness of nature.

The Haftarah recounts the journey of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem during King David's reign.  The commonality between Parshah and Haftarah is the deaths of Nadav and Avihu when they brought an unbidden offering to the Mishkan and the death of Uzzah when he mistakenly touched the Ark.

"David feared Hashem on that day...."  The world today could do with a lot more "fear of Hashem."

Finally, the Omer count on Shabbat is 13 - yesod sheb'gevurah.  Yesod represents the Brit which also occurs on the eighth day.  It's the foundation of our nation - the covenant HKB"H made with our Avot and which we confirmed for ourselves at Har Sinai - the event we are actually counting up to on Shavuot.  

It's also a reminder that yet ahead of us is a renewal of this covenant when the nation has done complete teshuvah at the End of Days and accepted the leadership of Mashiach Tzidkeinu!!

Yirmiyahu 31.30-33...

Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will form a covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, a new covenant. 

Not like the covenant that I formed with their forefathers on the day I took them by the hand to take them out of the land of Egypt, that they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, says the Lord. 

For this is the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will place My law in their midst and I will inscribe it upon their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people. 

And no longer shall one teach his neighbor or shall one teach his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know Me from their smallest to their greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember.

May it be so even this Shavuot!!  Ken, yehi ratzon!!

Potentials and Possibilities

24 Nisan 5785
9 Days of the Omer 

UPDATE!  "The Vatican has confirmed that the funeral for Pope Francis, who died yesterday at the age of 88, will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time."

~ ~ ~

"...all the kings of the world shall assemble in the great city of Rome. And the Holy One, blessed be He, will shower fire and hail and meteoric stones upon them, until they are wiped out from the world.  And only those kings who did not go to Rome will remain in the world.  And they shall return and wage other wars.  During this time, the King Messiah will declare himself throughout the whole world. and many nations will gather around him together with many armies from all comers of the world."   [Source: Zohar - Vayera 119a]

Which world leaders will and which world leaders will not attend Pope Francis' funeral later this week? [I don't think you'll see Putin or Xi Jinping there.]

First to announce...

The looming threat hanging over Naples stretches also to Rome...

Much is being made of the fact that the Pope died on "Easter Monday".  And you must have thought Easter was only one day.  According to Wikipedia...

Easter time is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, called the "great Lord's Day".

This period coincides with our Pesach, Counting of the Omer and Shavuot holiday!  [Remember this when the next blog post comes out!]

I'll leave you here with one more amazing fact that a family member just passed on to me...

Joy Amidst the Sorrow

23 Nisan 5785
8 Days of the Omer 

Chesed sheb'Gevurah

While Klal Yisrael mourns the heavy loss of Rav Meir Nissim Mazuz, ztz"l during these days of shivah,  HKB"H has chosen specifically this time to remove the Chief Idolater from the world.  For this we must give thanks.  His very name "BerGOGlio" hinted at his rule being part of the days when the entire world would come against Bnei Yisrael. 

This news could actually spell the end of Christianity itself at the very close of their most auspicious holiday...

900-year-old Vatican doomsday prophecy resurfaces amid Pope Francis’ illness

According to a 900-year-old book in the Vatican, 'Judgement Day' may be upon us soon, and Pope Francis might be the last leader of the Church.

"IN ITS TIME I WILL HASTEN IT."

The Seventh Day of Passover

20 Nisan 5785 - Erev Shabbat/Shvi'i shel Pesach
5th Day Chol HaMo'ed - Day 5 of the Omer

The seventh day of Pesach marks the day when many miracles were performed for our forefathers at the Red Sea. ...It was on this very date, eighty-one years before Israel stood on the banks of the Red Sea, that Moshe was cast into the river as a result of Pharaoh's edict. ...On this same date, one year before the Exodus, Moshe left Midyan at God's command to take Israel out, for on the fifteenth of Nisan, God had appeared to him from within the bush and urged him for seven days - the period of Pesach - to accept this mission.  (The Book of Our Heritage)

******** 

"And God brought a strong east wind to blow over the sea all that night."  (Shemot 14:21) - If God wanted the sea to split, He could have ordered it to do so; with one declaration. He could have transformed it into dry land. Why did He bring "a strong east wind" (...from the desert)? God sought to imbue Israel with the belief that all of the acts of Creation are dependent upon His word. The wilderness and the inhabited places, the sea and the wind, the clouds and the fire - all are the work of His hands and subject to His direction. There is no aspect of nature independent of His control. (The Book of Our Heritage) 

~ Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach   ~

3,337 YEARS AGO...

13 Nisan 5785
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Tzav - Shabbat Hagadol (Erev Pesach)

Excerpted from The Book of Our Heritage by Eliyahu Kitov (Vol 2, p. 496)...   

In Sefer ha-Pardes, which is ascribed to Rashi, we find:

People are accustomed to calling the Shabbos before Pesach Shabbos ha-Gadol, but they do not know what makes this Shabbos greater than any other.  The Children of Israel went out of Egypt on a Thursday, as is recorded in the Seder Olam.  They prepared the lamb for the Pesach sacrifice on the previous Shabbos, on the tenth of Nisan.  When they were instructed to do so, they wondered:  "If we sacrifice an animal which the Egyptians hold sacred, before their very eyes, they will surely stone us."  But the Holy One, blessed is He, told them:  "Now you will see the wondrous things which I will do for you."  The Children of Israel thereupon each took a lamb and kept it for four days.  When the Egyptians saw this, they wanted to rise up and take revenge, but they were stricken with all kinds of horrible afflictions and could do no harm to the Children of Israel.  Because of the miracles which God performed on that day, the Shabbos before Pesach, it became known as Shabbos ha-Gadol.

From the Haftarah for Shabbat Hagadol (Malachi 3.14 - 18)...

You have said, "It is futile to serve God, and what profit do we get for keeping His charge and for going about in anxious worry because of the Lord of Hosts?" 

And now we praise the bold transgressors. Yea, those who work wickedness are built up. Yea, they tempt God, and they have, nevertheless, escaped. 

Then the God-fearing men spoke to one another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and for those who valued His name highly. And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, for that day when I make a treasure. And I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. And you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who has not served Him.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~
 and
~ Chag Kasher v'Sameach ~ 

PUBLIC RENOUNCEMENT

12 Nisan 5785

Because Israeli political leaders presenting themselves as religious Jews are publicly desecrating God's name by celebrating and congratulating the appointment of Mike Huckabee to the post of US Ambassador to Israel, I feel the need to make a public statement of my own.  

Neither I, nor any member of my family, supports, let alone celebrates, the appointment of a man dedicated to enabling and advancing the spiritual shmad of the Jewish people!

Gov Mike Huckabee endorses missionaries

"He’s been endorsed by Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, who gave $5000 to Sean through his HUCK PAC."

Mike Huckabee: Background

...He entered the ministry in 1972 at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope. (Age 17)

...He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University on May 8, 1978, completing his bachelor's degree in religion before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He dropped out of the seminary after one year in order to take a job in Christian broadcasting.

...At age 21, Huckabee was a staffer for televangelist James Robison. Robison commented, "His convictions shape his character and his character will shape his policies. His whole life has been shaped by moral absolutes." Prior to his political career, he served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, from 1980 to 1986, and the Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana, from 1986 to 1992. In 1989, Huckabee ran against Ronnie Floyd of Springdale for the presidency of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Huckabee won and served as president from 1989 to 1991. 

...In April 2011, Huckabee said, "I almost wish that there would be a simultaneous telecast and all Americans would be forced, at gunpoint, to listen to every David Barton message," in praise of the Christian revisionist author David Barton.   (Source)

Mike Huckabee: An Ambassador for Christ

Barbara Rainey, March 03, 2025

...I was looking forward to talking with Mike about the similarities between acting as U.S. ambassador with our responsibility of being an ambassador for kingdom of God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Mike says, “The key the key to understanding what an ambassador is, both biblically as well as diplomatically, is that you do not carry your own message. You are the messenger of your government. In the case of an ambassador for Christ, it's not that you go and tell everybody what you think. You present God's Word as God has given it to you. So your job is to take his message ... in the same way an ambassador for a country takes the message of his or her country.”

Being appointed as an ambassador, he said, is an incredible sense of trust. “It’s not just simply going and telling somebody the difference between heaven and hell. It's doing it with the spirit of Christ and carrying that same attitude and heart because otherwise it could be very cold and indifferent and God is not cold and indifferent?” (Source)

His god (Yeshu) is not our God and Christian Zionism is based on Judeo-Christianity, a modern name for Hellenism.  

~ ~ ~

I'm including the following here because it is related.  The anti-Torah, anti-God mayor of Tel Aviv is not wrong in this instance...

Tel Aviv Mayor Raises Furor: “You Believe In Hashem? You’re Anti-Democratic”

...Perry: “You’re saying something harsh that I don’t accept. Are you saying that anyone who believes in a supreme being cannot accept democracy in the same breath?” 

Huldai replied without hesitation: “No. Because if you believe in Him, it means He is supreme. It can’t be that the Supreme Court will decide against what is written and what you believe in. Therefore, religion, by its very nature, is anti-democratic.” 

“Those who are religious go to the Rav for everything. It’s already determined and written and the Rav tells you if something is according to Halacha or not. If Halacha is the law – then we are Iran,” Huldai added.

The only thing he is wrong about is the quip about "Iran." Following halachah makes us Jews, not Muslims.  Torah Law is not Sharia Law, God forbid!!  But someone like Ron Huldai, how is he supposed to know that?  Secular Jews are scared silly of a halachic state because they envision Taliban.  How will they know how sweet and desirable and beneficial are God's laws for humanity unless we who hold by Torah and want to live in accordance with its values - NOT WESTERN, DEMOCRATIC ONES - talk about it openly and explain it and endeavor to correct all the misconceptions?

URGENT NEWS and DIRE INDICATORS

11 Nisan 5785

URGENT!!  Prayers for the refuah shleimah of HaRav Meir Nissan (Mazuz) ben Kamsana have been requested of the public.  He is in very serious condition in hospital.  Hashem yerachem!

~ ~ ~

(Via Drudge Report): STOCKS CONTINUE PLUNGE, 104% TARIFFS ON CHINA!

(Via X @ 7:25 pm IST)

~ ~ ~

(UPDATED @ 7:20 pm IST)

Unprecedented number of B-2 bombers amassed for strike...

War has never been closer...

US could be bombing Iran by weekend if Tehran doesn't fall in line

IF Iran does not sit down with US diplomats to discuss scrapping its nuclear ambitions on Saturday, massive bombing raids - and the prospect of an extended and costly US/Iran conflict could result, a national security expert warned today. Historically Tehran has refused to meet US negotiators as a matter of political principle but Donald Trump is demanding face-to-face meetings with top political and military brass from both nations.

(Open Source Intel via X)  "Several top U.S. military officials have landed in Tel Aviv.

(Israel Radar via X)  "Russian official says Moscow will not provide military assistance to Iran in case of US attack, Ynet reports."

(i24NEWS via X) 🔴 Iran transfers long-range missiles to Iraq in major escalation - report

(Eretz Israel via X):🚨 The IDF has cancelled Passover holiday leave for a large number of combat and support troops due to a high level of alert.

(Terror Alarm via X): 🚨Turkey flexes muscle in Syria, sending a large military convoy without Israel's permission. Tensions rise as Ankara pushes for a foothold, ignoring all warnings.

~ ~ ~

TURKEY, T-4 and THE TALMUD ON PALMYRA

Ten years ago, the Yeranen Yaakov blog addressed the destruction of Palmyra (ancient name Tadmor or Tadmur) as a sign for the End of Days.  At that time the city was reported to have been captured by ISIS...

In 2015, ISIS overran Palmyra, and committed barbaric and monstrous assaults on the people, cultural monuments, and artifacts of the city. The destruction of Palmyra’s magnificent monuments provoked an international outcry and prompted media attention.

ISIS began by executing Khaled Al-Ass’ad, the former Director of Antiquities at Palmyra, a devoted and outstanding archeologist who loved Palmyra like no one else. Following this horrific execution, ISIS began to destroy many of the most famous ruins—the Bel and Baalshamin temples, the tower tombs, the monumental arch and standing columns in addition to plundering the Palmyra Museum and destroying a large number of sculptures and artifacts left there.

In March 2016, the Assad forces (backed by the Russian military) recaptured Palmyra and immediately started building a Russian military base within the World Heritage Site. ISIS recaptured Palmyra in early December 2016 and destroyed the tetrapylon and damaged the theater. The Assad regime forces managed to take Palmyra back in March 2017. (Source)

According to Yaak's blog post...

...it was publicized this week that the ISIS organization captured the ancient city of Tadmur, and we find in the gemara (Yevamot 17a) [Daf | Text | English]: 

יתיב רב יוסף אחוריה דרב כהנא ויתיב רב כהנא קמיה דרב יהודה ויתיב וקאמר עתידין ישראל דעבדי יומא טבא כי חרבי תרמוד 

R. Joseph sat behind R. Kahana while R. Kahana sat before Rab Judah, and while sitting he made the following statement: 'Israel will make a festival when Tarmod will have been destroyed'. 

And as a footnote (#19) in the Soncino on the previous daf notes: Tarmod or Tadmor, (Palmyra) lay in an oasis of the desert of Syria.

[See more here and here.]

As no festival was ever held, there must yet be a fulfillment of this 'prophecy'.  This is where Turkey, the T-4 military base come in.

Erdogan is a megalomaniac who imagines he can restore the Ottoman Empire with himself at the head.  He sees an opportunity in the midst of the Syrian chaos since Assad's ouster and Israel recognizes that clearly.  Erdogan is making a move to establish Turkish military bases at the former Syrian air force's T-4 base and Palmyra base!

(Reuters, April 7, 2025)  The Islamists replacing Assad have alarmed Israel, which is wary of an Islamist presence on its border and has lobbied the United States to curb Turkey's growing influence in the country.

Ankara, a longtime backer of opposition to Assad, is positioning to play a major role in the remade Syria, including with a possible joint defence pact that could see new Turkish bases in central Syria and use of Syria's airspace.

In preparation, Turkish military teams in recent weeks visited the T4 and Palmyra air bases in Syria's Homs province and the main airport in Hama province, according to a regional intelligence official, two Syrian military sources and another Syrian source familiar with the matter.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the visits, which have not been previously reported.

Turkish teams evaluated the state of the runways, hangars and other infrastructure at the bases, the regional intelligence official said.

Another planned visit to T4 and Palmyra on March 25 was cancelled after Israel struck both bases just hours beforehand, according to the regional intelligence official and the two Syrian military sources.

Strikes at T4 "destroyed the runway, tower, hangars and the planes that were grounded. It was a tough message that Israel won't accept the expanded Turkish presence," said the intelligence official, who reviewed photographs of the damage.

"T4 is totally unusable now," said a fourth Syrian source, who is close to Turkey.  (Source)

That leaves Palmyra.  According to "Yehudit", Mashiach ben Yosef "will give instructions to completely exterminate a city in Syria."  Will it be Palmyra?  Is that when we'll make a festival over its destruction?  Or is it possible that it will happen while we are celebrating an established festival - like Pesach or Shavuot?  

Trump Offers To Mediate Israel-Turkey Talks Amid Syria

 Clash, Then Tells Netanyahu To Be Reasonable

Oldies But Goodies

10 Nisan 5785

On the Tenth of Nisan:  Preparing to Slaughter the Lamb 

~ ~ ~

From Rav Richter:  "This shiur is from five years ago but it is more relevant than ever."

The Amazing Prophecy of the Mystical Zohar for the 14th of Nissan!!

The Chaos President Bringing Down the Old World Order

9 Nisan 5785

 This is good news.  It's the prelude to Mashiach and the Geulah Shleimah...

* The United States will be severely struck because of their pride.

* The dollar will lose its value and the inflation will severely escalate.

* America will become bankrupt.

* The severe strikes on the U.S. will come thru wars and even more, thru powerful weather disasters.

* The quick escalation of Moshiach ben Yosef will contribute to antisemitism.

* Antisemitism will rise to unimaginable heights.

* Jews of the United States will be forced to flee like fugitives, because those who survived the weather disasters will not be able to survive the tremendous waves of hatred against them.

* The survivors will arrive in Israel with only the clothes on their backs and Moshiach ben Yosef will reach out to help them.  (Yehudit )

When the Money god falls,
the crash will be heard around the world.

Meet the controversial Jewish billionaire driving Trump’s tariff policy

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seen as the architect of Trump’s tariff policy, is under fire from allies who say he lacks basic economic knowledge and misunderstands how tariffs work, raising concerns about his growing influence on trade decisions

“ECONOMIC NUCLEAR WINTER”: Jewish Pro-Trump Billionaire Bill Ackman Issues Dire Warning Over U.S. Tariff Blitz

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"From the Desert to the Ends of the Earth"

6 Nisan 5785

Erev Shabbat Kodesh

Parashat Vayikra 

(Reposted excerpt by Daniel Pinner)

Having completed the building of the Mishkan at the end of the Book of Exodus, the Book of Leviticus continues very naturally with the functioning of the Mishkan: “When He called to Moshe, Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting…” (Leviticus 1:1).

The Midrash (Sifra, Vayikra 1) notes the sequence here: God first “called to Moshe”, and then “He spoke to him”. And then the Sifra goes on to note that this is the third of three occasions when God first called to Moshe and then spoke to him.

The first time was about two years earlier at the Burning Bush, when Moshe was still exiled from his nation, a humble shepherd tending the flocks of his father-in-law Yitro (Jethro). When God saw that Moshe had turned aside to behold the wonder, “God called to him from the midst of the bush, and He said, Moshe, Moshe” (Exodus 3:4).

The second time was at Mount Sinai, immediately before the Giving of the Torah: “Hashem called Moshe to the peak of the Mountain, and Moshe ascended; and Hashem said to Moshe: Go down, warn the nation lest they break through to Hashem to gaze” (Exodus 19:20-21).

The obvious question that arises from here is: what do these three events (the Burning Bush, the Giving of the Torah, and the beginning of the Mishkan’s functioning) have in common?

The simplest and most obvious answer is that all of these were events which were intimately connected with Israel’s redemption. The process of redemption from Egypt began when God revealed Himself to Moshe at the Burning Bush; the purpose of redemption was the Giving of the Torah (1); and the building of the Mishkan was the pinnacle of the redemption (2).

It is significant that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochay, one of the greatest of first-generation (mid-3rd century) Tannaim in the Land of Israel, cited these three occasions as examples of when God bestowed His glory on the Elders of Israel: “We have learned in a few places that God gave honour to the Elders. At the Burning Bush, as it is written ‘God said to Moshe…, Go and assemble the Elders of Israel’ (Exodus 3:15-16); at Sinai, as it is written ‘To Moshe He said, Go up to Hashem, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel’ (Exodus 24:1); and at the Tent of Meeting, as it is written ‘It happened on the eighth day [of the Inauguration of the Mishkan] that Moshe called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel’ (Leviticus 9:1)” (Shemot Rabbah 5:12).

So on the three separate occasions which were the three milestones on the road from Egyptian slavery to redemption, God first called to Moshe and then spoke to him. And on those same three occasions He gave honour to the Elders of Israel.

The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 5:12) continues: “And in the future time to come, it will be the same, as it says ‘When Hashem, Lord of Legions, will reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be glory for His elders’ (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Avin said: In the future God will seat the Elders as on a threshing-floor, with Himself sitting as the head of them all as the President of the Court, and they will judge the idolaters, as it says ‘Hashem will enter into judgment with the elders of His nation and its princes’ (Isaiah 3:14). It does not say [that He will enter into judgment] 'against the elders of His nation’ but rather ‘with the elders of His nation’: He will sit with them and judge the idolaters”.

We pause here to explain the somewhat cryptic reference to the Elders sitting “as on a threshing-floor”. The Mishnah records that “the Sanhedrin would sit in the shape of a semicircular threshing-floor so that they could see one another” (Sanhedrin 4:3).

This refers specifically to the Great Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Israel, which would sit in the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the Holy Temple. (Every town and city with more than 120 adult men would have its own Minor Sanhedrin of 23 judges, and every village with fewer than 120 adult men would have a court of three judges.)

Of the 71 Judges on the Great Sanhedrin, 69 would sit in three concentric semicircles of 23 each. Facing them were the Nasi (the President of the Court), and to his right the Av Beit Din (Father of the Court). The Nasi was the leader; the Av Beit Din was the second in charge (Rambam, Laws of the Sanhedrin 1:3).

So the Midrash looks back on three landmark events in the first redemption, the redemption from Egypt, when God called to Moshe and then spoke to him, which were the three times when He gave honour to the Elders of Israel.

Our parashah opens with the third of these occasions – when the Mishkan began to function.

And the Midrash then looks forward to the time of the final redemption – may it come speedily! – when God will again give honour to the Elders of Israel. And though then, at the time of the first redemption, the Elders’ honour was manifest only to Israel, in the time to come their honour will suffuse the entire world. After all, only thus will they be able to stand with God Himself, so to speak, to judge all the idolaters in the world.

And this is logical. After all, 3,337 years ago in the desert, God gave honour to the Elders of Israel in the Mishkan, which holy though it was, was but a precursor to the Holy Temple which would only be built 479 years later by King Solomon. The second Holy Temple, the one built by Ezra and Nehemiah, had a lower level of sanctity than that of King Solomon.

But the third Holy Temple, the one destined to stand for all time, the Holy Temple which the prophet Ezekiel depicts so graphically in chapters 40 to 44, will be far grander and more magnificent, and have a far higher level of sanctity, than those which came before.

So it is entirely fitting that in that third Holy Temple, God Himself will stand, so to speak, as the Leader of the Sanhedrin, to administer ultimate justice, not only to Israel, but to the entire world.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

"The Natural Order Is Suspended"

5 Nisan 5785

Excerpted from The Book of Our Heritage by Eliyahu Kitov (Vol 2, p. 471 - 472)...   

Even though the laws of nature were given to Israel as well as to the other nations, and they can choose to live naturally as do other nations and can even be more prosperous doing so, nevertheless they were also given a path of miracles and wonders which supersedes the natural order of the world - a path which is meant to be their primary objective and which is to take precedence over the natural path.  This is alluded to in the words  This month shall be the first of the months for you...of the year.  In other words, the path of renewal [the essence of chodesh, month] is to be your objective, rather than the fixed, natural order [the essence of shanah, year].  Israel's strength and virtue, and their survival throughout all the generations has come about not through natural means, but rather through the miracles and wonders by which God revealed His glory to His people.

Thus, when the Holy One blessed is He, revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, He said:  I am the Lord, your God, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.  He did not say, "Who has created you and Who has taken you out."  It is as if He mentioned the major point - the redemption from Egypt - and overlooked the minor point.

For you - for your sake.  At the time of the redemption, the Holy One, blessed is He, changed all the fixed rules of nature.  He did this to demonstrate that He is the Creator - that everything that transpires is in accordance with His will, and that the entire world was created for Israel.  When He chose to change the laws of nature and show His great strength, He did so only for the sake of His people, Israel.

God could have redeemed Israel from Egypt through conventional means.  He could also have guided them from the first in a manner that would not have led to their being enslaved in Egypt.  However, the sole purpose of the exile in Egypt was to make it clear to Israel and to the whole world that the entire universal order - with its laws and structure, end every power that there is in the world - is bound by the will of God and exists for the sake of His chosen people.  At His will, natural law is maintained, and at His will, it is suspended or changed for the sake of Israel.  The verse therefore states:  This month shall be...for you - it is for your [Israel's] sake that this new path of miracles and wonders has been introduced, to elevate you and make you exalted, just as My Name is exalted throughout the world.

~ ~ ~

In what way does Israel differ from the other nations?  For their sake, the Holy One, blessed is He, made changes in His world, to redeem them.  Moreover, He instilled within them the ability to transcend the natural order and to utilize this ability constantly.  Does the verse not state:  There is nothing new under the sun (Koheles 1:9)  But God foresaw that Israel would accept the Torah and follow its ways, and the Torah preceded the creation of the world and is above everything that was created.  He granted them this virtue, that they are renewed through miracles and wonders.  Under the sun there is nothing new, but above the sun - for those who follow the path of Torah - there is renewal and change.

And this also explains the verse in Malachi 3.19-20...

For lo, the sun comes, glowing like a furnace, and all the audacious sinners and all the perpetrators of wickedness will be stubble. And the sun that comes shall burn them up so that it will leave them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of Hosts.

And the sun of mercy shall rise with healing in its wings for you who fear My Name.

Beware the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

4 Nisan 5785 

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