Parshah Afterthoughts

5 Marcheshvan 5780

Rav Yehudah Richter has a new video out.  It's called "Israel Haunted House."  It's a crazy story that brought a couple of things to mind that I thought I'd share for the benefit of those who will listen to it.

It's interesting that while this event took place during Sukkot, it is being recounted during Parashat Noach.  The commentary from the Stone Edition Chumash says the following about the sins which brought about the destruction of the pre-Flood world...

The behavior of people deteriorated.  At first they were corrupt - being guilty of immorality and idolatry - and they sinned covertly, before God.  Later, the earth had become filled with robbery - which was obvious to all.  Then, the entire earth was corrupted, because man is the essence of the world, and his corruption infects all of Creation (Zohar).  Such is the progression of sin.  It begins in private, when people still have a sense of right and wrong.  But once people develop the habit of sinning, they gradually lose their shame, and immoral behavior becomes the accepted - even the required - norm.  

...The Midrash teaches that they stole from one another in petty ways that were not subject to the authority of the courts.  Though this is not the gravest kind of sin, it is morally damaging in the extreme, because thievery within the letter of the law weakens the conscience and corrupts the social fabric (R' Hirsch). 

One of the Sheva Mitzvot of Noach that all mankind must follow is Not to Steal, and another is to Establish Courts of Justice.  In Rav Richter's story, we see how corrupt our society has become in Eretz Yisrael.  It should shake us to the core of our being.  The secular Law here simply does not concern itself with justice.

However, Hashem continues to keep His eye on everything that happens here.  And He is the ultimate address for justice.  But, if we want justice for ourselves, we'd better be very sure our own hands are spotlessly clean.  That can't be said, unfortunately, for the Tura Winery.

All of these episodes of theft recounted in Rav Richter's video are a result of a major failure on our part: the refusal of Jews to expel the gentiles from our Holy Land. There is simply no getting around this mitzvah. It has to be done and until it is, we will continue to suffer. When the existing government is itself lawless, it has to be replaced. And that is the starting point.

~ SHAVUA TOV ~

Three Degrees of Separation

3 Marcheshvan 5780
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Noach

I'm sure you have heard the term "degrees of separation," but maybe like me, you didn't fully understand the meaning. Here is the definition: "A 'degree of separation' is a measure of social distance between people. You are one degree away from everyone you know, two degrees away from everyone they know, and so on."

By that definition, because of the very long lifespans at the beginning of our world, there were only three degrees of separation between Adam HaRishon and Avraham Avinu. True! Avraham Avinu was born while Noach was still alive and Noach's grandfather Lamech, who was still alive when Noach was born was himself born during the lifetime of Adam HaRishon.

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There were also three degrees of separation between Adam HaRishon and Ya'aqov Avinu since Lamech also lived to see his grandson Shem born and Ya'aqov Avinu was born in Shem's lifetime.

Lamech was 56 years old when Adam HaRishon died; Shem was 93 years old when his grandfather Lamech died; and Avraham Avinu was 58 years old when Noach died.  Shem outlived Avraham Avinu by 35 years.

Here is another interesting tidbit.  Both Noach and Avraham Avinu were alive when the Dor Haflagah (those who built the Tower of Bavel) were dispersed.  

Imagine!  Lamech learned firsthand from Adam HaRishon and passed that knowledge to his son Noach and grandson Shem who taught what they knew to Avraham Avinu and Ya'aqov Avinu.  And Ya'aqov Avinu knew not only those who survived the worldwide cataclysm of the Great Flood, but his own grandfather was even an eye-witness to the events that culminated in the division and dispersion of the world's population into various nations and languages.

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~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

What Do You Know?

30 Tishrei 5780
Rosh Chodesh Aleph

I have something special I'd like to share regarding the prophecies of the End of Days in the Book of Daniel.  But, before I do, I'd like to gauge the readers' current familiarity with the text.  So, if you would be so kind, please participate in the following poll:

Please complete the following sentence:
Regarding the Book of Daniel in Tanakh,....

I am very familiar with the text and its commentaries.

I've read it and am basically familiar with what it is about.

I know there is a book by that name, but I don't know much about it.

Daniel who?

Created with Survey Maker

And if you have anything you'd like to add or share about your knowledge of the Book of Daniel, write me at tdnjslm@gmail.com.  Many thanks!

"Laws of Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan"

29 Tishrei 5780
Yom Kippur Katan
Erev Rosh Chodesh 

Laws of Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan - Rav Yosef Khiyayev 5780

NEWS: Confirmed and Unconfirmed

28 Tishrei 5780

The US President as Judge, Jury and Executioner: How Can That Be Right?

Most immediately on my mind is this leading headline on every website:  Confirmed - ISIS Terror Chief Baghdadi is Dead at the Hands of US Special Forces.

Has any government or world leader spoken out against the targeted assassinations being carried out around the world by the United States?

Who defines who is a terrorist and who decides who is guilty of terrorism and who determines that they should die and who gave them the right to do so???

What makes certain populations fair game?  Locality?  Religious beliefs?  Competing economic interests?

If you are a Torah Jew, you can't just pile on the congratulatory band-wagon, you have to ask yourself if this is even legal according to Torah law.  The nations are bound by Sheva Mitzvot to set up courts of justice.  And contrary to what they've been doing for the last 20 odd years, that justice must be extended even to those who do not live under the protections of the US Constitution!

Make no mistake.  Mashiach, and those who follow him, could potentially be labeled a terrorist, too, on the basis of whatever criteria they are using.  They've already done it with the "hilltop youth."  

Holding the Jewish State Hostage to an Anti-Torah Agenda

And on the homefront, there is an unconfirmed report that Gantz has made Netanyahu an offer: a unity government with Netanyahu on first rotation as PM on condition that chareidim are left out of the government coalition, along with full support for all anti-religious legislation introduced.  The chareidim may be let into the coalition at a later date, after such legislation has been passed, as long as they commit not to try to reverse any of it.

So, essentially, they intend to hold the entire public that wants a right-wing government with religious representation hostage to their anti-Torah agenda.  

Just What Is Avigdor Lieberman Afraid Of?

28 Tishrei 5780

If I were a psychologist, I would diagnose Avigdor Lieberman as deophobic.  It's a Latin + Greek word for "fear of God," but not the righteous kind we call yira Shamayim.  This is the kind more in keeping with an irrational hatred and a desire to be rid of the object of hatred.  There are quite a number of people afflicted with this condition living in Israel today.  For their own good, I'd advise that they make a permanent change in location.  The situation as it is developing in Israel now is not conducive to their future mental health.

Israel military is becoming ‘army of God’ says Lieberman

...according to the country’s former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, ... Israel’s military has now become the “army of God”.  

...Lieberman, who made the comment in reaction to a booklet authored by senior rabbinical figures, which contained instructions for religious Jewish soldiers on how to avoid interactions with women forbidden by Jewish law, said that the Israeli army was becoming “Hashem’s army” (God’s army). He also criticised the interference of Rabbi saying: “This … booklet for religious soldiers on the halachic laws of modesty, written by military rabbis … with the support of senior rabbinical figures, is yet another proof of the growing radicalisation of religious Zionism that is being led by the ultra-Orthodox wing.”

Russian born Lieberman, who also served a short stint as foreign minister, explained that the radicalisation of the Israeli army was a reflection of wider society. “This attempt to turn the IDF into the ‘army of Hashem,’ with conduct resembling that of a haredi [ultra-Orthodox] kollel, is part of the same messianic worldview that has penetrated Israeli society and which seeks to damage the fabric of life and the status quo on religion and state issues,” he said.

Lieberman concluded the post with a call for the booklet to be banned and rabbis that endorsed it to be barred from the Israeli army. “The distribution of this booklet to IDF soldiers must be forbidden,” wrote Lieberman, and “the rabbis who sign it prevented from serving in reserves or lecturing to soldiers.”

If only it were so!!

Return to Gan Eden

26 Tishrei 5780
Erev Shabbat Kodesh 
Parashat Bereishit - Mevorchim

Many people believe that history follows a straight line with its starting point being Genesis 1:1 and its ending point being the Final Redemption.

This picture illustrates how most people envision time.  

Time is a construct of the physical universe and does not exist on the spiritual plane.  Time is measured and counted according to the progression of the celestial bodies and our planet - all of which circle an orbit in space.  In fact, Judaism teaches that time is circular, not linear, as we also see from the yearly cycle of holidays.  

But, for time to be circular and able to draw on the light of each holiday at its appointed place in the cycle and yet not repeat the same moment in time, it must be a spiral.

But not just any spiral, it has to be a spiral with no beginning and no end.  Or rather, its beginning and its end are the same place.

What this means for us is that Bereishit, "in the beginning," we were in Gan Eden, and with God's help, in the "end," at the final redemption, we will once again find ourselves back where we started - in Gan Eden.  The difference being, we'll be back to stay.

All of history is about returning to Gan Eden.

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

"The Chaos President"

24 Tishrei 5780



And the record of this president's administration has only proven the truth of Jeb Bush's amazing insight.

US Ambassador Tells Impeachment Panel Of Trump-Ukraine Quid Pro Quo

If Donald Trump Is Impeached, All Hell Will Break Loose In America

Hashem found the man most worthy to oversee the destruction and downfall of America and it was Donald J. Trump.

America's fall will signal Israel's rise - Mashiach is truly "at the door."