Rabbi Mendel Kessin - new shiur
Includes his thoughts on Iran sanctions which began November 4, Pittsburgh shootings and of course the migrant caravan.
See the difference? In this Shiur, R' Kessin says that the people in Pittsburgh who were murdered because they were Jewish, died Al Kiddush Hashem - just like the 6 million in the Holocaust. And anyone murdered because of their Jewishness, get an increased reward in Olam Haba.
Contrast this with certain other Rabbis who say that the Pittsburgh victims could not have died Al Kiddush Hashem because they drove to shul (or some-such). Those certain other Rabbis also claim that fewer than 1 million Jews perished in the Holocaust, because the other 5 million+ were supposedly not Halachic enough to be counted among Jews.
I have a problem with Rabbi Kessin's view that they died Al Kiddush HaShem, they died because they where Jews and Rabbi Mizrachi explained it very well. Why did he not mention that the guys where gay and the boy was adopted to have the brit mila. Where is here Kiddush HaShem? Did I miss something? Did anybody noticed on their graves where Magen David's and in the back crosses?
Yes, this was a tragedy and a wake up call for all Jews not to defy HaShems laws. I'm not judging here anybody that is for HaShem to do but I will not close my eyes and ears when something is so wrong and ignore it.
As to the shoa read the book A divine madness by Rabbi Avigdor Miller's Defense of Hashem in the Matter of the Holocaust. After reading the book you will see that we are in a great spiritual danger again.
Yes, you missed that the gay couple were not among the murdered. And you missed that non-Jewish babies are adopted also by Orthodox parents. You also missed that the Magen Davids were affixed for stability to wooden stakes - not to "crosses".
Do you agree that less than a million Jews were murdered in the Shoa? I wonder if my family who perished in the gas chambers were "Jewish enough" for some people's standards.
Calm down anon. There are many ways to look at this. Because it is so controversial, and it has been blown out of proportion, there are many messages for the Jewish community. Many Rabbis have differing opinions. What Rabbi Kessin did say that was important, is that it was their time to leave the world. How it occurred is secondary. We overlooked that in previous comments. We do need to defer our opinions to halachic experts, and not every Rabbi is considered an definitive expert in Halacha.
Since pgh, we are witnessing an increase in anti Semitic and/or hate crimes. This could just be the beginning.
About the caravans, which is the title for this video, the Rabbi did say this was a huge test for Trump. And it relates directly to the Gaza intruders, infiltraders, and terrorists. They are now moving into the Jordan valley and setting up farming. This relates to the Jordanian cancel of an agreement made with Rabin 25 years ago. It’s a sticky issue, and Caroline Glick wrote about it. A real mess.
I removed that comment because it was a personal attack against an actual person, as opposed to an anonymous commenter. Whilst Neshama may not be her actual name, she is a known presence on the internet and comments regularly.
Anonymous commenters have protection in that even if they are insulted, no-one actually knows who they are, so the embarrassment is limited to them alone, as opposed to a person with a name, where everyone can see the insult.
I hope that explains my reasoning for deletion of your last comment Anonymous.
I happen to agree with Neshama and even somewhat with Jewgirl. I believe this was a wakeup call from Shamayim for the Jews of the US to wake up and remember who they really are. That even for Jews (like the ones who were murdered in Ptsbgh) who know very little about how a Jew should live, they were just as much victims as any other Jew, no matter how pious or far removed from Yiddishkeit. Jews should never get too comfortable in the lands they live. History teaches that! Most have become very complacent and think we are part of other nations; they and their parents have forgotten what it is to be a Jew; this was a wakeup call, as we are nearing the end of history. As Rabbi Kessin says, 'it was their time' but they were chosen by H' to be the victims and only HE knows why but we also learn from this that they did do tikkun and in a way died on kiddush H' because now the world knows they were Jews! To answer why those two who made the bris for this adopted child survived - well, maybe that was a warning to them and H' is giving them a chance for teshuvah. We don't have the exact answers but it is a 'wakeup call', for sure. Rabbi Mizrachi on the other hand tends to 'say it as it is' and it comes out quite harsh many times, but he is giving 'musar' to awaken the Jews to the severity of what we have become as a people. This is what 'freedom' taken in the wrong way has done to our people. There is one answer - each Jew needs to do teshuva, to the best of his/her ability and to the capacity of their knowledge. May H' show us all rachamim and send Moshiach tzdkeinu, in a blink of an eye!
I agree that The Pittsburgh massacre was a big wake up call for all Jews that US is not our homeland. I get concerned that Yidden should be in US if it c"v becomes like pre World war 2. Also, which Rav can advise us when to make Aliyah. I am 1st generation American.
To Jane, you don't need to ask a shaila to make aliya. Just do it as quickly as possible, sell your home whilst you can still get a decent price and bring your family, friends and community with you. Start the ball rolling.
The American exile is the worst of all exiles precisely because the Jews are so comfortable there, not just physically but emotionally and mentally. With all the commentary I have read and heard about Pittsburgnacht, and the heated arguments it has elicted, I have come across only one rabbi who actually comes out and says, imho, the most important point which is to make aliya (Rav Richter who lives in Israel).
The next attack, chalila, is only a matter of time. It's like Amalek, jumping in and cooling the water for the next one. The Pittsburg attack will only serve to encourage the next antisemite to crawl out of the woodwork.
The old antisemitism canards are seeing the light of day. Jewish candidates clutching cash ad theme appears in 6 states http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254353
And the seat of power is intimately involved with Jews, which ultimately never helped the Jews, but actually exacerbated the situation (in the eyes of the populace).
All of this against a background of the deterioration of the political landscape in America with Democrats actually calling for violence.
Constant attacks on Jews in France is old news and only makes one wonder what on earth Jews are still doing there or anywhere in Europe for that matter, antisemitic attacks are at their highest ever in the UK, with Labour refusing to pass a motion condemning Pittsburgnacht, and now America. There is no reason to think that this will end well.
There has to be community aliya organised on a mass scale. It has to be initiated in all of these countries and pressure must be put on the Israeli government to facilitate it. In the meantime everyone must make their own arrangements as best they can.
People think that they can always just come to Israel at the last minute if they have to, but it doesn't work like that. If we've learnt anything from history is that pretty much anything, however crazy and outlandish it sounds during times of normality, can happen. What will Jews in N. America do if their bank accounts are frozen, the dollar becomes worthless, flights to Israel are suspended, martial law is imposed, a mob is braying for blood outside their homes and who knows what else.
Every Jew (including the many Israelis) outside of Israel should be making an aliya plan: selling the house, the business, packing up possessions, tying up ends. And there needs to be an organised plan by all those American Jewish organisations for vulnerable Jews who need special assistance for their particular circumstances. All of this needs to happen, but unfortunately I am not hopeful that the vast majority will do this.
Elisheva, the vast majority of jews will NOT do it, you're right. And that's simply because the vast majority of Rabbanim, if not literally all of them, do not encourage what you stated above. And in my own humble opinion, B'derech Hatevah, Israel is far from safer both physically and spiritually.
No one should make aliyah to be "safer." A Jew should make aliyah because it is a mitzvah and because if he loves HKB"H, he must love the home HKB"H prepared for his bride and wish to return to it as soon as possible.
Who remembers the reason for the first Tisha b'Av?
The reason rabbis in the Diaspora do not give tochachah about Jews leaving the exile is because they are also guilty of this sin of "settling down in chu"l" and only those who are not guilty of a sin can give tochachah against it.
Furthermore, as our sources tell us, at the end of days, most of the rabbis will be from the Erev Rav and they always wanted to return to Egypt.
A huge birur is taking place all over the world. See how this Pittsburgh event has polarized people into taking one of two sides, each one claiming to be representing the "truth." Well, Hashem's name is Truth and Ya'aqov Avinu was the epitome of Truth and the ONLY complete Truth is found in the Torah. If you want to be sure of choosing correctly and being on the right side of Mashiach, you'd better know your Torah sources or what rabbi you can really trust and cling onto HKB"H with all your might!
The aliya of the day the massacre occurred was Akeidat Yitzchak and the killer said expressly that he wanted to kill all Jews. I think that this was a very clear message from Hashem.
Each new wave of persecution doesn't come neatly packaged telling us exactly how it is going to be. The Holocaust was not the pogroms which were not the inquisition which was not the crusades etc, etc. Today was the eightieth anniversary of kristallnacht and in memory of the Holocaust I read about the Piaseczna Rebbe and the Warsaw Ghetto, about how people were walking round literally in a state of shock at what was happening. They had been living lives every bit as civilised as your lives in America. In Germany and Austria even more so. Elsewhere, I read about a Jew in Austria at the time of the Anschluss. The same description was used. He was in such a state of shock that he could hardly function.
Obviously, I don't know how this is going to play out, but I have a bad feeling in my stomach.
To Dvash, of course it is better to do any mitzvah at the highest level of love of Hashem, but failing that it is still better to do the mitzvah from fear than not do it at all. At this point, I really don't care if the Jews still in exile make aliya just to save their skin, I just want them to do it.
Thousands of years of exile have dulled the Jewish neshama into believing that galut is better than eretz hakodesh and into complete disinterest in taking an active part in the process of the geula. Now Hashem is sending wake-up calls. In the 1920s it may have been safer to have stayed in Europe, in the 1930s a turning point was reached, and in the war years, any danger of living in eretz hakodesh was dwarfed into total insignificance by the hell on the face of European soil. Is America of 2018, Europe of 1938? Of course not, because every wave of persecution is different. I can't tell you how events will unfold, but I can tell you that every exile, however illustrious, came to an end. The Jews of Spain were the doctors and the poets of the nation, so too in Berlin and Vienna half of all doctors were Jewish. The Jews were cultured and educated and went to the opera with the gentiles. I know that you think "it can't happen here" because that is what all American Jews think and it is a big mistake. Just as it happened there it can happen "here".
And to Devorah I wish that you would post the "shofar of redemption" as a blog post and Rav Richter speaking about aliya. The call of the hour is the aliya of American Jews. Don't "come together (with the gentiles)", come home.
See the difference? In this Shiur, R' Kessin says that the people in Pittsburgh who were murdered because they were Jewish, died Al Kiddush Hashem - just like the 6 million in the Holocaust. And anyone murdered because of their Jewishness, get an increased reward in Olam Haba.
ReplyDeleteContrast this with certain other Rabbis who say that the Pittsburgh victims could not have died Al Kiddush Hashem because they drove to shul (or some-such). Those certain other Rabbis also claim that fewer than 1 million Jews perished in the Holocaust, because the other 5 million+ were supposedly not Halachic enough to be counted among Jews.
I have a problem with Rabbi Kessin's view that they died Al Kiddush HaShem, they died because they where Jews and Rabbi Mizrachi explained it very well. Why did he not mention that the guys where gay and the boy was adopted to have the brit mila. Where is here Kiddush HaShem? Did I miss something? Did anybody noticed on their graves where Magen David's and in the back crosses?
ReplyDeleteYes, this was a tragedy and a wake up call for all Jews not to defy HaShems laws. I'm not judging here anybody that is for HaShem to do but I will not close my eyes and ears when something is so wrong and ignore it.
As to the shoa read the book A divine madness by Rabbi Avigdor Miller's Defense of Hashem in the Matter of the Holocaust. After reading the book you will see that we are in a great spiritual danger again.
Did I miss something?
ReplyDeleteYes, you missed that the gay couple were not among the murdered. And you missed that non-Jewish babies are adopted also by Orthodox parents. You also missed that the Magen Davids were affixed for stability to wooden stakes - not to "crosses".
Do you agree that less than a million Jews were murdered in the Shoa? I wonder if my family who perished in the gas chambers were "Jewish enough" for some people's standards.
Calm down anon. There are many ways to look at this. Because it is so controversial, and it has been blown out of proportion, there are many messages for the Jewish community. Many Rabbis have differing opinions. What Rabbi Kessin did say that was important, is that it was their time to leave the world. How it occurred is secondary. We overlooked that in previous comments. We do need to defer our opinions to halachic experts, and not every Rabbi is considered an definitive expert in Halacha.
ReplyDeleteSince pgh, we are witnessing an increase in anti Semitic and/or hate crimes. This could just be the beginning.
About the caravans, which is the title for this video, the Rabbi did say this was a huge test for Trump. And it relates directly to the Gaza intruders, infiltraders, and terrorists. They are now moving into the Jordan valley and setting up farming. This relates to the Jordanian cancel of an agreement made with Rabin 25 years ago. It’s a sticky issue, and Caroline Glick wrote about it. A real mess.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI removed that comment because it was a personal attack against an actual person, as opposed to an anonymous commenter. Whilst Neshama may not be her actual name, she is a known presence on the internet and comments regularly.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous commenters have protection in that even if they are insulted, no-one actually knows who they are, so the embarrassment is limited to them alone, as opposed to a person with a name, where everyone can see the insult.
I hope that explains my reasoning for deletion of your last comment Anonymous.
I happen to agree with Neshama and even somewhat with Jewgirl. I believe this was a wakeup call from Shamayim for the Jews of the US to wake up and remember who they really are. That even for Jews (like the ones who were murdered in Ptsbgh) who know very little about how a Jew should live, they were just as much victims as any other Jew, no matter how pious or far removed from Yiddishkeit. Jews should never get too comfortable in the lands they live. History teaches that! Most have become very complacent and think we are part of other nations; they and their parents have forgotten what it is to be a Jew; this was a wakeup call, as we are nearing the end of history.
ReplyDeleteAs Rabbi Kessin says, 'it was their time' but they were chosen by H' to be the victims and only HE knows why but we also learn from this that they did do tikkun and in a way died on kiddush H' because now the world knows they were Jews! To answer why those two who made the bris for this adopted child survived - well, maybe that was a warning to them and H' is giving them a chance for teshuvah.
We don't have the exact answers but it is a 'wakeup call', for sure. Rabbi Mizrachi on the other hand tends to 'say it as it is' and it comes out quite harsh many times, but he is giving 'musar' to awaken the Jews to the severity of what we have become as a people. This is what 'freedom' taken in the wrong way has done to our people. There is one answer - each Jew needs to do teshuva, to the best of his/her ability and to the capacity of their knowledge. May H' show us all rachamim and send Moshiach tzdkeinu, in a blink of an eye!
Excellent comment Anonymous,thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree that The Pittsburgh massacre was a big wake up call for all Jews that US is not our homeland. I get concerned that Yidden should be in US if it c"v becomes like pre World war 2. Also, which Rav can advise us when to make Aliyah. I am 1st generation American.
ReplyDeleteJane
To Jane, you don't need to ask a shaila to make aliya. Just do it as quickly as possible, sell your home whilst you can still get a decent price and bring your family, friends and community with you. Start the ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteThe American exile is the worst of all exiles precisely because the Jews are so comfortable there, not just physically but emotionally and mentally. With all the commentary I have read and heard about Pittsburgnacht, and the heated arguments it has elicted, I have come across only one rabbi who actually comes out and says, imho, the most important point which is to make aliya (Rav Richter who lives in Israel).
The next attack, chalila, is only a matter of time. It's like Amalek, jumping in and cooling the water for the next one. The Pittsburg attack will only serve to encourage the next antisemite to crawl out of the woodwork.
The old antisemitism canards are seeing the light of day.
Jewish candidates clutching cash ad theme appears in 6 states
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254353
And the seat of power is intimately involved with Jews, which ultimately never helped the Jews, but actually exacerbated the situation (in the eyes of the populace).
All of this against a background of the deterioration of the political landscape in America with Democrats actually calling for violence.
Constant attacks on Jews in France is old news and only makes one wonder what on earth Jews are still doing there or anywhere in Europe for that matter, antisemitic attacks are at their highest ever in the UK, with Labour refusing to pass a motion condemning Pittsburgnacht, and now America. There is no reason to think that this will end well.
There has to be community aliya organised on a mass scale. It has to be initiated in all of these countries and pressure must be put on the Israeli government to facilitate it. In the meantime everyone must make their own arrangements as best they can.
People think that they can always just come to Israel at the last minute if they have to, but it doesn't work like that. If we've learnt anything from history is that pretty much anything, however crazy and outlandish it sounds during times of normality, can happen. What will Jews in N. America do if their bank accounts are frozen, the dollar becomes worthless, flights to Israel are suspended, martial law is imposed, a mob is braying for blood outside their homes and who knows what else.
Every Jew (including the many Israelis) outside of Israel should be making an aliya plan: selling the house, the business, packing up possessions, tying up ends. And there needs to be an organised plan by all those American Jewish organisations for vulnerable Jews who need special assistance for their particular circumstances. All of this needs to happen, but unfortunately I am not hopeful that the vast majority will do this.
Elisheva
Elisheva, the vast majority of jews will NOT do it, you're right. And that's simply because the vast majority of Rabbanim, if not literally all of them, do not encourage what you stated above. And in my own humble opinion, B'derech Hatevah, Israel is far from safer both physically and spiritually.
ReplyDeleteSK
No one should make aliyah to be "safer." A Jew should make aliyah because it is a mitzvah and because if he loves HKB"H, he must love the home HKB"H prepared for his bride and wish to return to it as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteWho remembers the reason for the first Tisha b'Av?
The reason rabbis in the Diaspora do not give tochachah about Jews leaving the exile is because they are also guilty of this sin of "settling down in chu"l" and only those who are not guilty of a sin can give tochachah against it.
Furthermore, as our sources tell us, at the end of days, most of the rabbis will be from the Erev Rav and they always wanted to return to Egypt.
A huge birur is taking place all over the world. See how this Pittsburgh event has polarized people into taking one of two sides, each one claiming to be representing the "truth." Well, Hashem's name is Truth and Ya'aqov Avinu was the epitome of Truth and the ONLY complete Truth is found in the Torah. If you want to be sure of choosing correctly and being on the right side of Mashiach, you'd better know your Torah sources or what rabbi you can really trust and cling onto HKB"H with all your might!
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/11/newly-elected-socialist-muslim-rep-rashida-tlaib-wore-palestinian-flag-at-primary-victory-celebration
ReplyDeleteThe aliya of the day the massacre occurred was Akeidat Yitzchak and the killer said expressly that he wanted to kill all Jews. I think that this was a very clear message from Hashem.
ReplyDeleteEach new wave of persecution doesn't come neatly packaged telling us exactly how it is going to be. The Holocaust was not the pogroms which were not the inquisition which was not the crusades etc, etc. Today was the eightieth anniversary of kristallnacht and in memory of the Holocaust I read about the Piaseczna Rebbe and the Warsaw Ghetto, about how people were walking round literally in a state of shock at what was happening. They had been living lives every bit as civilised as your lives in America. In Germany and Austria even more so. Elsewhere, I read about a Jew in Austria at the time of the Anschluss. The same description was used. He was in such a state of shock that he could hardly function.
Obviously, I don't know how this is going to play out, but I have a bad feeling in my stomach.
Pittsburghnacht
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Remembering-the-11-Victims-of-the-Pittsburgh-Massacre.html
To Dvash, of course it is better to do any mitzvah at the highest level of love of Hashem, but failing that it is still better to do the mitzvah from fear than not do it at all. At this point, I really don't care if the Jews still in exile make aliya just to save their skin, I just want them to do it.
ReplyDeleteTo SK, I find it futile to argue with Jews in exile about the mitzva of yishuv haaretz. I suggest that you read Em Habanim Smeicha and this:
ReplyDeletehttp://habayitah.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-shofar-of-redemption-by-rav-kook-ztl.html
Thousands of years of exile have dulled the Jewish neshama into believing that galut is better than eretz hakodesh and into complete disinterest in taking an active part in the process of the geula. Now Hashem is sending wake-up calls. In the 1920s it may have been safer to have stayed in Europe, in the 1930s a turning point was reached, and in the war years, any danger of living in eretz hakodesh was dwarfed into total insignificance by the hell on the face of European soil. Is America of 2018, Europe of 1938? Of course not, because every wave of persecution is different. I can't tell you how events will unfold, but I can tell you that every exile, however illustrious, came to an end. The Jews of Spain were the doctors and the poets of the nation, so too in Berlin and Vienna half of all doctors were Jewish. The Jews were cultured and educated and went to the opera with the gentiles. I know that you think "it can't happen here" because that is what all American Jews think and it is a big mistake. Just as it happened there it can happen "here".
And to Devorah I wish that you would post the "shofar of redemption" as a blog post and Rav Richter speaking about aliya. The call of the hour is the aliya of American Jews. Don't "come together (with the gentiles)", come home.
Elisheva
Pittsburgh Massacre - Jewish wake-up call Rav Richter
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf1w93_IwrU
Pittsburgh Massacre - part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPX0gqj9dk8
As I suspected, Pittsburgh would seem to be the response to the chasidic singer at the superbowl. Yidden you are not Americans.
Devorah please, please post these classes on your blog.
Elisheva