Look on the Bright Side

HT: Commenter at Absolute Truth

The ''Flame''

Disclaimer: This is speculation.

HT: Dov bar Leib


We already saw the star on the East swallowing the seven stars on the North [see this post]

when a star on the East side will swallow seven stars on the North side, and a flame of black fire will be hanging in the firmament 60 days..... [Zohar]

And now we have something called the "Flame Virus'' [a hint?]

Exactly 60 days before Tisha B'Av. The Flame virus is now being called the most dangerous malware virus ever created, as revealed today by Russian sources:

A massive, data-slurping cyberweapon is circulating in the Middle East, and computers in Iran appear to have been particularly affected, according to a Russian Internet security firm. Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab ZAO said the "Flame" virus was unprecedented both in terms of its size and complexity, possessing the ability to turn infected computers into all-purpose spying machines that can even suck information out of nearby cell phones.

Source: Flame Computer Virus Strikes Middle East, Speculation Continues
 Also see: Telegraph

Hidden Secrets in Torah

Extracted from ''Letters of Fire'' by Rabbi M. Glazerson

The Torah has a revealed [nigleh] and a hidden [nistar] aspect.  One who looks at it in a superficial manner deals only with the revealed aspect.  However, if one deeply contemplates the Divinely-given Torah, one begins to discover the secrets hidden beneath the revealed aspect.

The root  סכה can mean either ''to cover'' or ''to see''.  In his works Kad Ha-Kemach and Sidduro shel Shabbat, Rabbeinu Bachyei mentions the dual meaning of the root  סכה, and relates it to a verse in Mishlei:  ''An utterance spoken in the right context is like golden apples in silver coverings''.  The word for coverings is maskiot, which comes from the root שׁכה.  Since the letters שׁ and ס are interchangeable this root is equivalent to סכה.  The silver coverings, says Rabbeinu Bachyei, have small holes in them, through which one can see סכה the golden apples within.

The ''golden apples'' within the coverings symbolize the secrets of the Torah, while the ''silver coverings'' symbolize the revealed aspect.  Only by means of the ''coverings'' - the revealed Torah - can man glimpse the ''golden apples'' within; for the secrets of the Torah are deeper than the ocean and wider than all the world, and man's intellect would not be able to grasp them at all without the aid of the revealed Torah.

Thus the covering - סכה - is what makes the seeing - סכה - possible.  Similarly, the משׁל mashal [fable or simile] or סמל [semel - symbol] is like a שׂמלה [simlah - garment].  On the one hand, it covers the inner content, but on the other hand it enables one to view and understand it.

If a person is lazy and does not exert himself in his studies, he will not see the inner meaning and will be left only with the outer ''covering'' - סכה.   His Torah study will be full of unresolved questions and apparent contradictions.  But one who labors indefatigably will discern - סכה - the truth hidden within the Torah.  Labor [עמל - amal] leads to revelation of the inner secrets of both the person who studies and of the Torah which is studied.  Thus, the letters following עמל in the alphabet are  פנם [penim ''inner''].

פ follows ע

נ follows מ

ם follows ל

The Torah's outer cover, its revealed meaning, enables one to see its inner light.  This may be compared to tinted glasses which are necessary in order to gaze at the sun.

The Last Revelation

There is a tradition that King David passed away on Shavuos: in the year 2924 [837 BCE].  Read more here: The Shepherd Who Became King

The Baal Shem Tov also left this world on Shavuos:

On the day of his passing from the world [the first day of Shavuos], the Baal Shem Tov was in his bed surrounded by his closest chassidim. Only Reb Hershelah Tzvi, the Baal Shem Tov's only son, was absent.

The chassidim warily asked, "Rebbe, don't you want to give your son a few last instructions?"

The Baal Shem Tom answered with a sigh, "How can I? He is still sleeping."

A few Chassidim rushed out to wake Reb Hershelah. "Reb Hershelah, quick, wake up, your father the Rebbe is getting ready to leave the world."

"Oh no," answered Reb Hershelah with a shock, "that's impossible! I don't believe my father is passing on to the next world."

"Reb Hershelah," they said with a solemn voice, "the Rebbe said that he will leave the world today."

Reb Hershelah quickly dressed and rushed to his father's room. When he arrived at his father's side, Reb Hershelah started weeping, "Father, father, please don't leave us."

The Baal Shem Tov reached out and held his son's hand. "My dear son, I'm going to depart from this world. One thing I want you to know is that you have a very holy soul. When your mother and I conceived you, the very Heavens shook. At that time, I had the power to bring any soul I chose, even that of Adam HaRishon [the first man]. But I selected your soul because it was very holy and possessed all that you will need."

"Please father, tell me something before you depart," begged Reb Hershelah. So the Baal Shem Tov started to speak to his son, but his voice was barely audible.

"Father, I can't understand what you are trying to tell me," said Reb Hershelah in a distraught voice.

The Baal Shem Tov gathered his strength and spoke louder, "My dearest son, there is nothing that I can do now. Just listen and remember this Name." Then the Baal Shem Tov motioned to his son to come closer. Reb Hershelah bent down very near to his father and the Baal Shem Tov whispered the Name to him. Then he said, "Whenever you concentrate on this Name, I will come and study with you."

Reb Hershelah spoke, "But what if I forget the Name?"

"Come close to me again," said the Baal Shem Tov, "and I'll tell you a way of remembering the Name."

After the Baal Shem Tov whispered the way to remember to Reb Hershelah, he closed his eyes and his soul ascended.

And to this day, no one knows the Name or how to remember the Name.

And so it was.

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane Cohn from a story in SHIVCHEI HABAAL SHEM TOV and translated in IN PRAISE OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV by Mintz and Ben Amos.

No Common Ground

Two people in Vilna had an argument that required a Din Torah. The agreed to choose the Dayanim through Borerus, where each one chose one Dayan and the two Dayanim would choose the third. One side chose the Vilna Gaon. The other side chose someone who wasn't a Ben Torah and the Vilna Gaon said he would not hear the case together with this other Dayan. He said that the Daas of a Ba'al HaBayis is completely different from Daas Torah and they would never see things eye to eye. 

When the Vilna Gaon was asked where his basis for this was in the Torah, he said that it can be found in Parshas Bamidbar. When discussing the encampment of the Shevatim, the Torah says each Degel had three Shevatim under it. By the last Shevet in each group the pasuk say's "U'Mateh," and the Shevet... By Zevulun who was last in the Degel of Yehuda, right after Yisachar, it says [Bamidbar 2:7] "Mateh," without the letter "Vav".

The Vilna Gaon explains that the letter Vav connects what is written previously with what the Torah is saying now. Since Yisachar learned Torah, and Zevulun were the businessmen, their outlook was always different and there was no common ground between the two. Therefore, the connecting "Vav" was left out.

Source: Revach.net

Nevua: An Out of Body Experience

Shavuos: How Could the Bnei Yisroel Oversleep The Day of Matan Torah?

Our Minhag is to stay up all Shavuos night in order to make sure we don't oversleep on the morning of Kabalas HaTorah. Chazal tell us that on the morning of Matan Torah the Bnei Yisroel were sleeping and Moshe Rabbeinu had to wake them up and bring them to Kabalas HaTorah. How could this be? Weren't they up preparing all night for this unprecedented historic event?

Reb Chaim Yaakov Safran, the Komarna Rebbe, in the Hakdama to the Chumash Heichal HaBracha, answers as follows. 

The Rambam says that there are many levels of Nevuah [prophesy]. Typically, it is an out of body experience where the Navi's neshama reaches such a high level that it leaves his body, which remains in a trance, while the neshama receives the nevuah. The Rambam calls this "sheina", sleep. In order to prepare to hear Hashem's words at Har Sinai the Bnei Yisroel brought themselves to this state of "sheina". 

On the other hand, Moshe Rabbeinu who had purified his soul and body to a state of perfection, was the only Navi in history that was able to receive nevuah in a perfectly conscious state. This is called "Aspaklariya HaMeira".

This explains the midrash. Bnei Yisroel went to "sleep" or "sheina" to enable themselves to hear Hashem's words. Until, that is, Moshe Rabbeinu woke them up. He brought them up to his level of Aspaklariya HaMeira in order for the Torah to be given to humans and not angels. At Har Sinai we heard, for the only time in history, Hashem speak while we were fully conscious.

Source: Revach.net

Shavuos: Torah, Tikkun, Segulas and More

Reb Boruch of Mezibuzh says that on Rosh Hashana we are judged on material matters, but on Shavuos we are judged on spiritual matters. [Botzina Dinehora] 

It says “ad mochoras haShabbos”, meaning that we have the whole sefira including the 50th day to teshuva and purify ourselves (the word “sapir” can mean purify). And if one can’t purify himself, even on the last day, then he has no choice but to attach himself to the Tzadik Emes, and he will lift him up and purify him. Through his attachment to the Tzadik Emes, he will be able to do teshuva. [Divrei Dovid] 

Read the post at: Shavuos - Torah, Tikun, Segulas and more

The Media and Chassidic Women

Chaya writes:  When you slam Orthodox Jews because you think you're defending or somehow liberating the women of our communities, you're actually doing us a huge disservice.

Hi. I'm Chaya, and I am a Chassidic Jewish woman. I am also a media professional with a degree in Women's Studies from a large, very liberal university (magna cum laude, baby!).

In the past few days, I've been reading the backlash against "the asifa," a recent mass meeting of religious Jewish men meant to draw a few boundaries around Internet use in our homes (meaning religious Jewish homes; not your house).

Whenever religious Jews make a stink about some cultural issue, the media moves in on it with a bizarre kind of vengeance. Like yesterday, Katie J.M. Baker published an article on Jezebel about the event, in which she actually compared Jewish men to ants!

See: "While men in traditional Orthodox garb filed into Citi Field as steadily as a never-ending line of ants approaching an anthill…" Um, where have I seen Jews compared to insects before? Oh, wait, WWII. 

 Continue reading at: What Women's Media Needs to Know about Chassidic Women