We Are All "Firebrands Rescued From The Flames"

17 Sivan 5785
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Beha'alotcha    

War Update:  B'chasdei Hashem, the 100 drones launched towards Israel were all taken out before they could reach us.  No ballistic missiles were launched because all which were arranged on launchers ready to be fired were taken out by our Air Force.  But, keep in mind this is just the beginning.

Instructions for Shabbat:  The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rishon LeZion and President of the Great Rabbinical Court Rabbi David Yosef and President of the Chief Rabbinate Council Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar, called on the public to observe and follow the Home Front Command instructions "in every location" - including synagogues on the Sabbath. They clarified that "gatherings should not be held in open areas and buildings" and asked to increase prayers this Sabbath, recite Psalms chapters 20, 121 and 130, as well as add the Avinu Malkeinu prayer.

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"When you go to wage war in your Land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound short blasts of the trumpets, and you shall be recalled before Hashem, your God, and you shall be saved from your foes."   (Bamidbar 10.9)

Israel Realtime (yesterday)...

🔸Prayers and blowing of shofars and trumpets now taking place at the Western Wall Plaza for the success of IDF soldiers and security forces fighting on the various fronts. "And when you come from war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you and your enemies in distress, you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be saved from your enemies" (from this week's Torah portion)  

Stone Edition Chumash Commentary...

When you go to wage war in your Land.  The Torah commands that the trumpets be sounded to arouse the congregation whenever the Land is struck by distress, whether it is war, epidemic, or drought.  The blasts are a call to repentance and a reminder that distress is a product of sin.  For people to interpret such problems as merely coincidental is cruel, because this will prevent the nation from changing its ways and cause them to continue the corrupt practices that caused misfortune to befall them in the first place (Rambam, Hil. Taanis 1:1-20).

Haftarat Beha'alotcha: A Message For Our Time...

"Sing and  be glad, O daughter of Zion, for behold! - I come and I will dwell among you- the words of Hashem."  (Zechariah 2.14)

Commentary...

...the prophet turns to Joshua who was victim of the same sin that plagued much of the nation in the wake of the Babylonian exile.  His sons had married gentile women and Joshua had failed to chastise them.  In his vision, Zechariah sees the Satan condemning Joshua for this lapse, which was symbolized by the soiled garments he was wearing.  But God defends Joshua on the grounds that he is a firebrand rescued from the flames; he was immersed in the flames of the exile's spiritual and physical destruction, and as such cannot be condemned for the past.  The angel garbs him in the pure vestments and the turban of the high priesthood - but warns him that henceforth he must obey the commandments.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM UMEVORACH ~