No Intermediaries

What is a Rebbe? What does a mitzvah reveal?

A Rebbe is not an intermediary, we don't require an intermediary, we are already connected to Hashem.  So why do we need a Rebbe?  Rabbi Nochum Schapiro explains - 2 min video:

Is the Prophecy about Iran and Turkey Coming True?

Rav Ron Chaya

An ancient prophecy foretells a decisive war between Rome and Persia before the liberation. Yet, who are these powers today, and what role does Turkey play in this scenario? Indeed, certain geopolitical signs seem to correspond precisely to these millennia-old writings. Are we truly on the verge of experiencing the events that herald the coming of the Messiah?

[French with English subtitles.  If you make yourself a You Tube account, it remembers your settings, so as soon as you click on the "CC" your chosen language automatically appears in the sub-titles.  If you don't want to make a You Tube account, then you need to click on the Cog as well as the CC, and navigate to auto-translate and choose your language.]

Click here to watch on You Tube.

Moshiach's Coming, Climate Change and the Sun

H/t Anonymous commenter

Rabbi Sholom Zirkind

Understanding "the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold" and "climate change" at the time of Moshiach.

The Three Blessings

Chassidus teaches that the Angel Michoel is responsible for bestowing the three blessings of  health, wealth and children.  Some people have all three, some people have only one of them, and some people have none at all.  The word ''children'' does not just refer to being blessed with having children, but also that the child grows up to be a mensch... that you receive nachas [loosely translated as pride and pleasure] from your children.

The Zohar teaches that if a Jewish woman covers her hair, she will be blessed with all three..... [Likutei Sichos, vol. 13, p. 188 Lubavitcher Rebbe]

.... unfortunately, these days, it is not always that simple.   Our souls are all reincarnations and our situations in this life are probably determined by our past lives and whatever needs to be atoned for and fixed in this life  [although for women, covering the hair is still a very good way to give yourself and your family extra blessing from Above].

Of course, Torah, Tefilla [prayer] and Tzedaka [charity] can improve all three blessings.

Wealth

There are two tests – for a wealthy person, his challenge is to not believe that he is the creator [of his wealth].

For the person in dire straits, it is to still believe.

Both can be educated through the “Ma-an” [manna - the daily seeds which fell, giving the Jews food during their duration in the desert].

For the wealthy person, the Ma-an was literally the Jews' sustenance  - for though people were famously wealthy – having taken the Egyptian wealth, nonetheless they were in a desert, and the Ma-an was their sole sustenance which forced them to daily look Heavenward.

In contrast, the Ma-an was miraculous in that if you took extra even for one day, it rotted [in other words, the poor person could appreciate that extra was actually not a blessing].

How To Unlock Divine Flow 

However, the key to unlock the Divine infinite flow is by setting aside one’s ego – acknowledging that everything is merely G-d’s kindness.

We find there is a commentary that explains that after Yitzchak gave Maaser [tithe] on the produce of his fields, he discovered that the same produce multiplied one hundred times.

In other words, what Hashem is coming to teach us is that from the reward of giving Maaser, man is blessed even a hundred times more. 

We can ask, if the ultimate reward is spirituality, and fulfilling unconditionally G-d’s will, why does the Torah promise physical rewards [as we learn in the Shema]?

Furthermore, why would it be so laudable that in the messianic era so many Divine miracles will create a miraculous physical abundance [such as “When you plant, things will grow” – “The taste of the tree’s bark will be like its fruit” – all indicating a world of complete physical pleasure]

The answer is that in truth, everything in the physical flows from the Torah.

Hence when a Jew engages in the Torah [as the Zohar teaches, “First G-d creates through Torah, then Jews maintain through its study”] so this manifests not only spiritually, but also physically.

In the era of Moshiach this flow will be apparent.

Sources: Lubavitcher Rebbe: Likutei Sichos 4 Page 1099; Likutei Sichos 5 Page 12; Likutei Sichos 37 Page 79; Kabbalah Wisdom 

The Year Melech haMoshiach Appears

Rabbi Yuval Ovadia

"We are living through the famous words in the Yalkut Shimoni, but many are asleep and do not realize.  We are living history: the past, the present and the future. This is the year that the King Moshiach appears! That's what the Midrash says, it is not me saying it!  This is an ancient Midrash which has been studied for thousands of years, studied, quoted and we have waited for it to come true. Because this Midrash speaks of a year in which the Moshiach will appear. It explicitly says it will be in that year!"

[In its section on the biblical Book of Isaiah and the prophecies contained therein, a Rabbi cited by the Yalkut Shimoni states]: 

“In the year Moshiach comes all the nations of the world will provoke each other and threaten with war. The king of Persia (Iran) will provoke the King of Arabia (Saudi Arabia) with war. The King of Arabia goes to Edom (The Western Countries, headed by USA) for advice. Then the King of Persia destroys the world. And all the nations of the world begin to panic and are afraid, and Israel too is afraid as to how to defend from this. G-d then says to them “Do not fear for everything that I have done is for your benefit, to destroy the evil kingdom of Edom and eradicate evil from this world so that the Messiah can come, your time of redemption is now.”

The rest of the video is Rabbi Ovadia explaining all that is happening now which ties in with the passage above.  Click the CC to activate the subtitles on the video, then the Settings cog to Auto-translate.

Iyar: The Month of Healing

The Sefer Ta’amei HaMinhagim writes that our new month of Iyar is tried and tested as a time for refuah, healing, from the ailments and pains that may affect a person. Why is this so? He brings the B’nai Yisaschar, who teaches that most weakness and illness come from foods which do not comport with the person’s nature or composition.  Read full article at: Days of Mashiach

There are a couple of ways to assist in your own healing, and that is by saying the Unique Healing Prayer [but you have to do it properly and say every chapter relating to your [Hebrew] name, instructions are at the site].... and the other thing to do is to change your eating habits for the following reason:

"The reason a person's health returns through taking medicines is that his soul sees that he is able to control himself and to act contrary to his physical desires and habits. Perhaps he is accustomed to eating bread and other foods, but now he curbs his desires and submits to a medical regime, taking bitter medicines for the sake of his health. His soul sees that he has the power to control his impulses in order to achieve a certain goal, and she therefore comes back to him in the hope that he will curb his desires for the sake of the true purpose - which is to carry out the will of the Creator" [Likutey Moharan I, 268].  

Do we recite a Blessing on Medication?  Rabbi Eliezer Posner says:

If the medicine has a good taste, such as flavored chewable pills, recite the Shehakol blessing. [Seder Birchat Hanehnin 7:8] Flavorless medicine, such as pills that you swallow, do not require a blessing—but we do say a prayer that the medicine should take effect:

"May it be Your will that this medicine shall bring healing."

No blessing is recited on water that you drink to swallow down the pill. If you are swallowing it down with a beverage other than water, then you do recite the appropriate blessing on that beverage. [Tip: recite the blessing, take a sip, swallow the pill and then drink it down with the rest of the beverage.]

Sun Dance

Who remembers when the sun was yellow?  A yellow circle, no variations.

These days, the sun mostly appears to be white.  It looks like it's turned into a LED light.  It also changes shape, as you can see in the video.  This is a real video, it's not AI.  Notice the double lens flares as well.  Two sources of light.  You can clearly see what appears to be a second sun emerging, and that is what is causing the apparent shape shifting of our sun.  

There's hundreds of these videos of the sun behaving in this way, all taken from different parts of the world.  

 

Metzora: The Power of Speech

Rav Kook on the Torah Portion 

Only in Israel 

What is the root cause for the disease of tzara'at as described in the Torah? The Midrash explains that this skin disease is a punishment for gossip and slander. A person suffering from tzara'at is called a metzora because he is motzee sheim ra — he spreads derogatory reports [Vayikra Rabbah 16:1. See Rambam, Hilchot Tzara'at 16:15, that one fulfills the mitzvah "Be careful regarding tzara'at" [Deut. 24:8-9] by avoiding gossip].

Given that tzara'at is brought about by slander, one would expect that all peoples would be afflicted, since even non-Jews are culpable for personal damages. Yet, Maimonides wrote that tzara'at is not a natural phenomenon, but a unique sign found only among the people of Israel. Why should only the Jewish people suffer from this ailment?

Divine Speech 

There are two levels of speech. There is everyday speech, based on and limited to that which occurs in the physical universe. And there is a higher form of speech, a holy speech that God bestowed to Israel. This elevated speech does not come from the world. On the contrary, the world comes from it. This is the speech by which God created the world. "By the word of God, the heavens were made; and by the breath of His mouth, all of their host" [Psalms 33:6].

God granted us the power of His speech, this speech that preceded the world, when He gave us the Torah, the blueprint of creation. "He looked in the Torah and created the universe" [Zohar Terumah 161b]. The transmission of Divine speech to the Jewish people is hinted in the verse, "I put my speech in your mouth... to plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth" [Isaiah 51:16].

Redemption of Speech 

The Kabbalists explained that the Hebrew name for Passover, Pesach, is a combination of the words peh sach — 'the mouth speaks.' The redemption from Egypt, which paved the way for the Torah's revelation at Sinai, also redeemed the faculty of speech. For this reason, Passover is commemorated with an oral mitzvah, the mitzvah to retell the story of the Exodus. And we find that Moses, aware of this aspect of the redemption from Egypt, tried to disqualify himself by protesting, "I am not a man of speech" [Ex. 4:10].

In an essay entitled ' The Redemption of Speech,' Rav Kook wrote: "Sometimes we can sense the connection between our speech and the universe. This is the initial step to redeem speech from its exile."

"As the soul is elevated, we become acutely aware of the tremendous power that lies in our faculty of speech. We recognize clearly the tremendous significance of each utterance; the value of our prayers and blessings, the value of our Torah study, and of all of our discourse. We learn to perceive the overall impact of speech. We sense the change and great stirring of the world that is caused by speech." [Orot HaKodesh vol III, p. 285] 

Two Mouths 

The most striking expression of the difference between these two levels of speech is the remarkable statement of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai: "Had I been present at Mount Sinai, I would have requested that God create us with two mouths. One mouth to speak in words of Torah, and one mouth for all of our mundane needs." [Jerusalem Talmud Berachot 1:2]

We may lack a mouth specially dedicated to Torah and prayer, but we can still deepen our awareness of the extraordinary nature of holy speech. At the start of the morning prayers, we recite a wonderful kavanah: "I hereby prepare my mouth to thank and praise my Creator." With this short declaration, we prepare ourselves to employ our mouth for a totally different form of speech. We prepare ourselves to use the sublime speech that is rooted in the source of Divine wisdom. Since this discourse comes from the elevated speech used to create the universe, our prayers have the ability to influence the world and change its course [Olat Re'iyah vol. I, p. 192].

With this appreciation for the power of holy speech, we may understand why tzara'at only afflicts the Jewish people. Our faculty of speech, based on the Divine speech that transcends the universe, can influence the world for good and for bad. When we misuse this great power, we damage the world and are held responsible. The affliction of tzara'at — and the process of purifying oneself from it — comes to repair this wrong. The verbal communication of other nations, however, comes from within the physical universe. Since it lacks the power of elevated speech, they are not punished for its misuse. [Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe'iyah, pp. 295-296]

Source: Rav Kook Torah

Click here for link to Rabbi Kessin's book: The True Power of Speech: The Key to Both Worlds