''Don't Miss the Train - Mashiach is Coming''

On July 13th, 2016 Rabbi Alon Anava was interviewed on the Kavanah Show on 101.9 ChaiFm on the topic of the urgency of getting ready for Mashiach.

The Tenth Red Cow

"They should take some of the ashes of the burnt purification offering [of the red cow] and place them in a vessel [filled] with spring water" [Chukat 19:17]

Rambam comments: "Nine red heifers were prepared from the time this mitzvah was given until the destruction of the Second Temple.  The first was prepared by Moshe, the second by Ezra, and there were seven from Ezra until the destruction of the Temple.  The tenth will be made by King Mashiach - May he be speedily revealed! Amen, may this be your Will!"

The fact that Rambam mentions the tenth red heifer that "will be made by King Mashiach" in his legal Code [the Mishneh Torah] is understood, since Rambam included in his Code many laws that will only be applicable in the future era.  What is difficult to comprehend is why he concluded this law with a prayer "May he be speedily revealed! Amen, may this be Your Will!"  Surely a legal Code is not the place for the author to record his personal emotions and feelings, or to lapse into prayerful wishes?

It could be argued, however, that with his "prayer", Rambam did teach us a point of Jewish Law - or, to be precise, three points:

Judaism requires a person:

1) Not merely to believe [intellectually] in Mashiach, but also to actively await and yearn [emotionally] for his coming [Laws of Kings 11:1]

2) Inevitably, feeling this void will lead a person to pray for Mashiach's coming, just as he prays for any other thing that is lacking in his life.

3) And being that the requirement to believe in Mashiach is in force at all times, it follows that likewise, a person must yearn and pray for Mashiach constantly.

Therefore:

1) Rambam included prayerful wishes here in his legal Code to indicate that awaiting Mashiach must not be only expressed intellectually, but emotionally too.

2) He stresses that Mashiach should come "speedily" to indicate Mashiach's coming should be a personal heartfelt desire.

3) He recorded the above principles, not in his codification of the laws concerning Mashiach, but here out of context, to indicate that one must express a yearning for Mashiach constantly, whatever the context of one's discusion happens to be.

Source: Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Appreciation

by Rabbi Eli Mansour

“The nation settled in Kadesh; Miriam died there and was buried there. The nation had no water…” [Chukat 20:1-2]

Why did Bnai Yisrael suddenly run out of water when Miriam died?

Rashi explains that as Bnai Yisrael traveled through the desert, a miraculous, mobile well accompanied them to ensure that they would have a constant, adequate water supply. This well was provided in the merit of Miriam, an exceptionally righteous woman and prophetess, and once she died, the well was taken away, leaving the people without water.

The question, however, remains, why didn’t the well remain even after Miriam’s death? Was her great merit insufficient to continue providing the nation with water even after she passed on?

The Keli Yakar [Rav Shelomo Efrayim Luntschitz of Prague, 1550-1619] offers a remarkable explanation. He notes that when the Torah reports the death of Miriam, it simply states that she died and was buried. No mention is made of eulogies or mourning, in contrast to the Torah’s accounts of the deaths of Aharon and Moshe, where it is explicitly mentioned that the nation wept for the loss of their leader. It seems, the Keli Yakar observes, that the people were not moved by Miriam’s death, and did not properly eulogize or mourn for her. They failed to appreciate the fact that their constant water supply was directly and solely due to her. God therefore took away the well so that the people would appreciate what an exceptionally righteous person they lost. As they did not properly appreciate the miracle of the well and Miriam’s greatness which provided it, it had to be taken away.

The Keli Yakar’s insight teaches us the importance of appreciating everything we have while we have it. If we take everything we have for granted, then God is compelled to take it away, Heaven forbid, so we can appreciate just how valuable it is.

Unfortunately, we take so many things for granted in our lives. People do not generally appreciate their vision until, God forbid, they or someone they know suffers vision loss. We do not appreciate our health until, God forbid, we or someone we know takes ill. We do not appreciate our children until we meet a childless couple.

Each morning, we are required to recite a series of Berachot thanking Hashem for things that may appear simple and trivial. First and foremost, we recite “Elokai Neshama” to thank God for restoring our soul, for enabling us to wake up in the morning. We recite the Beracha of “Poke’ah Ivrim” to thank Him for our eyesight, “Malbish Arumim” to thank Him for our clothing, “Zokef Kefufim” to thank Him for allowing us to stand up straight, and “She’asa Li Kol Sorki” to thank Him for our shoes. We receive all these gifts, and so many more, each and every day, and our Sages who composed the liturgy wanted to ensure that we thank God for each one of them.

These blessings, like most of our blessings, are not fully appreciated until they are taken away from us. I once saw somebody I know running out of a burning building in a bathrobe; he was at the gym when a fire erupted, and he had no time to put on his clothes. This is when I appreciated the Beracha of “Malbish Arumim.” When we hear of somebody who wrenched his back during the night, we appreciate the Beracha of “Zokef Kefufim.” The Beracha of “She’asa Li Kol Sorki” came into focus for me after a bizarre experience I had once when I traveled to Mexico City to deliver a lecture in a large synagogue there. The hotel in which I stayed offered a free shoeshine service, whereby guests leave their shoes outside their room at night and then have it returned shined early the next morning. So, I left my shoes outside the room, and when I opened my door the next morning to go to the synagogue for Shaharit and my lecture…they were not there. I went down to the lobby to meet the people who had come to take me to the synagogue, and they saw me there without any shoes. This is when I appreciated the Beracha of “She’asa Li Kol Sorki,” that even the shoes on our feet should never be taken for granted.

Rav Avigdor Miller [1908-2001] would occasionally put his head in a sink full of water for several moments, until he needed to come out of the water for air. He explained that he wanted to feel grateful for the air we breathe at every moment of our lives. In order to truly feel appreciative, he deprived himself of air for several moments, during which time he was able to appreciate how precious the air is.

Part of the reason why it’s so difficult for us to appreciate our blessings in life is because we’re so busy complaining about our “problems.” These “problems” are things like traffic jams, a flat tire, a head cold, a misbehaving child, or a broken piece of furniture. When our emotional energy is expended on worrying about these “problems,” we are not able to feel happy and grateful for our blessings – that we have a spouse, children, a roof over our heads, a source of livelihood, friends, clothing to wear, and so on.

One Rabbi recommended that we each compile a list of ten blessings in our life and keep this piece of paper with us when we pray the daily Amida. When we reach the Modim section, in which we thank God “for Your wonders and favors that are given at all times,” we should look at the list so we can be grateful for the particular blessings in our lives. This will help us experience true gratitude, and appreciate what we have while we have it, so that the Almighty will continue showering us with these blessings and not, Heaven forbid, take them away from us.

Such Thoughts May Lead to Haughtiness

by Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

''This is the statue of the Torah....'' [Chukat 19:2]

Rashi explains that the subject of the Parah Adumah [red cow] is referred to as ''statute'' [chukah] because this mitzvah ''is a decree [issued] by Me; you have no right to reflect upon it!''  That is, parah adumah is a decree that you may not question.

R' Eliyahu Meisels, the Rav of Lodz, had taken upon himself the task of collecting money for a certain young man in dire straits.

He turned to one of the wealthy, but miserly, men of Lodz to contribute towards the cause.  After much urging on the part of R' Meisels, the wealthy man yielded and gave him a considerable sum for tzedakah.

But then, the wealthy man began boasting about his act of kindness and he spared no effort publicizing what he had done.

The young man who had been the recipient of the tzedakah was humiliated by having his situation made so public.  In his distress, he asked R' Meisels to speak to the wealthy man and request that he cease talking about his act of tzedakah.

The Rav invited the arrogant fellow to his home and rebuked him for the anguish he had caused the young man.  He then added the following thought:  ''In the Torah's passage dealing with the parah adumah, Rashi explains that it is called a ''statute'' because this mitzvah ''is a decree [issued] by Me; you have no right to reflect upon it!''

''The same applies to the mitzvah of tzedakah'' concluded the Rav.  ''Before the person gives tzedakah he must think: It is a decree issued by Me - this is the will of Hashem!  However, once he has given the tzedakah ''you have no right to reflect upon it'' - it is forbidden to give tzedakah and afterwards reflect upon how much he gave and to whom, for such thoughts may lead to haughtiness.''

R' Mendel Kessin - The World Today #5 - Mashiach is very close

To watch previous parts 1-4 click on the KESSIN lable below.

Unintentional

Unknown artist

Know that the prohibition against Rechilut [talebearing] applies even if the speaker does not intend to arouse ill will in the listener’s heart against the subject, and even if the speaker believes that the subject’s actions were right and just. For example, suppose that Shimon criticizes Reuven for something that Reuven said about him or did against him, and Reuven asserts that he was right in what he said, and that Yehuda even said the same thing. Even as a defense for his own actions, if Reuven has caused Shimon to feel hatred for Yehuda, Reuven’s statement is called talebearing.

[Chofetz Chaim]

Gimmel Tammuz 5776

Art: Robert Kremnizer

The 3rd of Tammuz this year occurs on Shabbat [tonight and tomorrow].  Throughout Chabad this date is simply known as ''Gimmel Tammuz'' - the day of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe  in 5754 [June 12 1994].

The Rebbe played a huge part in my life during his later years, and whilst I did not ever meet the Rebbe in person, I have had several dreams where he has appeared and subsequently I have experienced answers to my questions and a couple of miracles.

Chabad has a mass of information on the Rebbe and Gimmel Tammuz which can be found here.

Vision of Geula has an interesting post about Gimmel Tammuz and the date of Moshiach.  Click here to read.

Shabbat Shalom!

Deliberate Inaction

From the Facebook page of a friend:

My grandfather was originally German, and everyone knew that German Jews [Yekers] were punctual, precise people! Time was important and in this vein, my grandfather referred to his wrist watch often. 

One day, my grandmother noticed he wasn’t wearing his watch and enquired after it. My grandfather, Ephraim, replied and said, “My watch was stolen at the Mikveh.” To which my grandmother queried, “And how do you know that is where you left it?” My grandfather looked at her and said, “Because I saw the person take it from my pocket.” 

This begged the obvious question, “Why didn’t you stop him?” 

To which he quietly and simply replied, “I didn’t want to embarrass him.” 

With those few words and his deliberate inaction we learn so much … how we should strive to be sensitive to others and to treat those that come into our realm.

Love This

I don't know what this is, perhaps Nibiru, perhaps not.  Whatever the case, I love the way these people are cheering Hashem.  This is how we should be all the time.  [And please ignore the final message in the last few seconds, that has nothing to do with the people cheering Hashem]

Moshe's Donkey and Moshiach

Art by Elhanan Ben-Avraham

Moshe complains about the accusations hurled against him and says "Lo Chamor Echad Meihem Nasasi" -  I didn't even take a single donkey from them [Korach 16:15]. Rashi says this refers to when he came down to Mitzrayim to redeem them on a donkey, and he paid for it from his own money. Rav Shimon Schwab asks, why would Moshe think that he should have taken the money from Bnei Yisroel.

Rav Schwab answers that the gemara in Sanhedrin [98a] says that when the geula comes, if we are zocheh [if we merit it] Moshiach will arrive on clouds, if not then Moshiach will come come as a pauper on a donkey. Why? 

The whole world needs to know that Hashem is bringing the geula and Moshiach has no power by himself. If Bnei Yisroel are Maaminim [believers] and Ovdei Hashem [servants of Hashem] then Moshiach can come in grand fashion and we will all place thanks in Hashem and not Moshiach. But if we do not recognize Hashem's hand, then Hashem will need to send a Moshiach who is powerless and destitute to show that it is not his charisma, brains, or money that will release us from the galus.

Moshe was the Goel in Mitzrayim.  Bnei Yisroel was not Zocheh and Moshe came riding into town on a donkey lacking any pomp or grandeur. He came with the stick in his hand and the shirt on his back. To show his poverty he should have asked Bnei Yisroel to pay for his donkey. Even then he did not, since he did not want to take anything from any member of Klal Yisroel.

Source: Revach.net

The Best Teshuva

Art by Lizzie Riches

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto

The Gra wrote in his holy work Alim L’Trufa the following: Until his last day, a person should afflict himself, but not through fasting and pain, but by harnessing his mouth and desires. This is considered teshuvah, and it is more effective than all the fasting and afflictions in the world.

Likewise, it is written in the sefer Rosh Hagivah that when a person wishes to fast, it is preferable that he should rather accept upon himself to abstain from speaking than to abstain from eating, because in this way he will not cause any harm to his body or his soul, and he will not become weakened by the fast.

R' Mendel Kessin, 21st Century #4 - Trump, Putin, & Mashiach [and Brexit]

To see Parts 1-3 click on the KESSIN label below.

ISIS, Obama and the Spies

Our Greatest Crisis Is Not ISIS, But Our Denial of It

By: Rabbi YY Jacobson

Terror in Turkey - Three Options

When faced with a gruesome enemy, there are two approaches: Retreat in fear, or go on the offensive.

But what if the enemy will pursue you wherever you are, so that retreat is ineffective? The only option then, it would seem, would be to take on your enemy and crush it; you’ve got no choice.

However, what if that goes against your entire way of thinking? If it runs contrary to everything you told yourself about the world around you? Then there is only one option left—and it is the most dangerous of all: deny the reality of the enemy; make believe he does not exist.

Two centuries ago, the French tyrant Napoleon Bonaparte was master of Europe. In Spain, an embattled English army under the Duke of Wellington was resisting his advance. One day a young lieutenant came into the British general's tent clutching a map in his trembling hands:

"Look, General the enemy is almost upon us!"

"Young man," the general replied coolly, "Get larger maps, the enemy won't seem so close."

This sums up the Presidency of Barack Obama.

Dismissing Reality

After the Islamic State began releasing videos of American citizens being beheaded, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett reportedly told President Barack Obama that Americans were worried that they would soon bring this violence here to the United States. Obama was unfazed.

“They’re not coming here to chop our heads off,” the president promised.

In his 2016 State of the Union address, Obama blithely dismissed the Islamic State as “fighters on the back of pickup trucks” who he said “do not threaten our national existence.”

As Marc A. Thiessen explained in a recent Washington Post column, Obama has openly declared that climate change is a much higher priority for him than terrorism because “ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States. Climate change is a potential existential threat to the entire world if we don’t do something about it.” Indeed, According to the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who spent hours interviewing Obama about his foreign policy doctrine, the President “gets frustrated that terrorism keeps swamping his larger agenda” and “his advisers are fighting a constant rearguard action to keep Obama from placing terrorism in what he considers its ‘proper’ perspective, out of concern that he will seem insensitive to the fears of the American people.”

The “proper” perspective. No wonder, Mr. Thiessen points out, the president keeps getting the terrorist threat wrong. No wonder, just before the Islamic State took over large swaths of Iraq, Obama said stopping them was not “something that we have to wade into” because they did not pose “a direct threat to us.” No wonder, the day before the Islamic State carried out its massacre in Paris, Obama boasted “we have contained them.” No wonder, the day before the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre, Obama assured Americans they were safe from a Paris-style attack, declaring “The American people should feel confident that, you know, we are going to be able to defend ourselves and make sure that, you know, we have a good holiday and go about our lives.”

Well, on June 12, 2016, 49 Americans in Orlando were busy going about their lives when an Islamic State terrorist murdered them in cold blood. Almost the same numbers of travelers in Turkey were going about their lives this past Tuesday, June 28, 2016, as they were blown to pieces.

The Cancer

Responding to criticism of President Obama’s handling of terrorism, White House press secretary Josh Earnest boasted recently of all the setbacks the Islamic State has experienced in recent months, noting that in Iraq “45 percent of the populated area that ISIL previously controlled has been retaken from them. In Syria, that figure is now 20 percent.”

That’s like a patient who ignored a cancer diagnosis bragging that he finally reduced the tumor in his lung — glossing over the fact that he let it spread and metastasize to his other organs. If he had attacked the Islamic State cancer early, Obama could have stopped it from spreading in the first place. But instead, he dismissed the terrorist group as the “JV team” that was “engaged in various local power struggles and disputes” and did not have “the capacity and reach of a bin Laden” and did not pose “a direct threat to us.” He did nothing, while the cancer grew in Syria and then spread in Iraq. Our leaders did nothing as thousands were slain in the most barbaric ways, as genocide and ethnic cleansing became a fun sport, as thousands of girls were sold as sex slaves.

Now the cancer has spread. Its goal is to sow destruction and death everywhere, from Sydney to Orlando.

According to a recent CNN analysis, since declaring its caliphate in 2014, the Islamic State has carried out more than 90 attacks in 21 countries outside of Iraq and Syria that have killed 1,390 people and injured more than 2,000 others. The Islamic State has a presence in more than a dozen countries and has declared “provinces” in Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported in 2015 that “since the withdrawal of most U.S. and international troops in December, the Islamic State has steadily made inroads in Afghanistan” where it has “poured pepper into the wounds of their enemies . . . seared their hands in vats of boiling oil . . . blindfolded, tortured and blown apart [villagers] with explosives buried underneath them.”

Gun Control Debate

Astoundingly, in the aftermath of the Orlando blood bath, our President and many leaders went back to call for gun control.

Sure, anyone with a questionable background and possible link to terror groups and a Jihadist inclination should never be allowed to purchase a weapon. That is common sense. That law should be implemented immediately. But to see the core of the issue as gun control would be akin to saying that the key solution to defeating Nazi Germany in 1945 was to avoid selling guns in Europe to anyone who wanted to own them.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. FYI, Mohammed is the most popular name for a child today on our planet. If we are to assume that the large majority of them are peaceful citizens, and only a very small fraction, say five percent of Muslims, believe in Jihad, we have on earth today 80 million (!) people who are ready to do what the Jihadist in Orlando did! That is 80 million who are ready to die so that all “infidels” die!

And even if you are a staunch optimist and claim that only one percent of Muslims embrace Jihad, that is an awful 16 million—more than the entire Jewish nation.

And what if the number is higher than five percent?

Does nobody get this?

“Radical Islam”

Tuesday, June 14, 2016, President Obama, explaining why he doesn’t use the phrase “radical Islam,” asked the question, “What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change?”

The question itself indicates the mess we are in. As Ed Rogers put it in a recent essay, the difference is that calling these terrorists what they are — radical Islamists — would be reassuring to those Americans who have doubts about Obama’s proficiency as commander in chief. After all, he is the one who used the term “jayvee team” to describe the Islamic State. He is the one who declared Iraq “sovereign, stable and self-reliant.” He is the one who took six years to declare the Ft. Hood shooting a terrorist attack and not an incident of “workplace violence.”

Using the phrase “radical Islam” isn’t about trying to make the Islamic State “less committed to trying to kill Americans.” Mr. President, it is not about the Islamic State, it’s about you. Your specific refusal to use the term rattles Americans and increases doubts about your grasp of the threat that the Islamic State presents.

Some people like to boast that our Nobel Peace Prize-winning president ended two wars. The fact is, this president has neither won nor ended any wars. At the end of his eight years in office, the United States will be facing more grinding conflicts than existed when he won the presidency.

When it came to terrorist networks, the George W. Bush administration had a mantra: We’re going to fight them over there so that we do not have to face them here at home. Obama abandoned that mantra. And now the danger is getting closer to home with each passing day.

The enemy is ruthless and cruel—a throwback to the 7th century. The greatest crisis today is not ISIS; it is a lack of leadership to confront it, or even demonstrate that it understands what we are dealing with.

At such times, what the world needs is resolute and confident leadership. We need leaders who can name the enemy, who can articulate the evil facing us, and then go ahead to vanquish it. Sadly, we got neither.

Imagine if in 1945, Roosevelt and Churchill would declare that the most serious issue facing humanity was global warming. We would deem them insane. Well, today, we have young Islamists blowing themselves up around the world every week, killing and maiming thousands upon thousands of innocents; we have ISIS operatives everywhere, and our leaders are out for lunch. Do they really not realize the depth of cruelty, barbarity, and hatred we are facing?

What type of brainwashing and venom does it take to inspire a 17-year-old to enter the bedroom of a 13 year old Jewish girl and stab her 18 times?!

It baffles me why is it that as ISIS paraded down public highways in Iraq, with thousands of fighters cheering and dancing we did not bomb them and finish them off? Why did we allow--and we still allow--this most vicious cancer to enjoy the time and freedom to grow and spread around the world?

The Spies

In this week’s Torah portion, ten of the spies whom Moses had sent to spy out the land came back with a report calculated to demoralize the nation.

“We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large ... We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are ... The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height ... We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” [Numbers 13: 27-33]

How could they say such nonsense? They had left Egypt, the greatest empire of the ancient world, after a series of plagues that brought that great country to its knees. They crossed the sea that split. They stood at Sinai. They ate the manna.

But they were struck by fear—and this is the nature of fear. When you are afraid of something, it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those who say, “We cannot do it” are probably right, as are those who say, “We can.” If you lack confidence you will lose. If you have it – solid, justified confidence based on preparation and past performance – you will win.

In every generation, we need the leaders who will fearlessly define the enemy, and then fearlessly advance to defeat it.

Source: The Yeshiva.net

To Remain in the Desert

''You will not come to the Land...'' [Shelach 14:30]

G-d does not issue a punishment to bring revenge on the sinner.  Rather, the ''punishment'' is a form of spiritual ''medicine'' aimed at correcting the spiritual deficiency caused by a sin.

With this in mind, the ''punishment'' given to the Jewish people here is difficult to understand.  Their sin was that they did not wish to enter the Land because they desired to remain in the desert where they could serve G-d without distraction; and yet, their punishment was to receive what they wanted: to remain the desert [for forty years!]  How would this ''correct' their sin of not wanting to enter the Land?

In truth however, the sin of the spies was not that they were too spiritual, but rather they were not spiritual enough.  To be involved with the physical world and remain spiritually attuned demands the highest degree of attachment to G-d.  So when the generation showed that they were lacking this level of dedication, they were given 40 more years of unrestricted Divine worship, enabling them to reach the level where they would be ready to engage in the world.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Vol 33 Lubavitcher Rebbe

Date of Nibiru Confirmed

In the latest Ben Golden message [which is in Hebrew, but perhaps Devash or someone will eventually translate although the Zohar quote can be seen here], he quotes the Zohar [parshat Balak] which gives the date for the arrival of Nibiru - the Kochav Yaakov - as the 25th day of the sixth month - Elul.  This year that date falls on Wednesday September 28.   This information appears in the final paragraph of the conversation.

And here's an incredible video of whatever is up there.

R' Eibeshutz's Prayer Secret

by Rabbi David Pinto Shlita

The gaon Rabbi Yehonatan Eibeshutz revealed a great secret in regards to prayer: In our prayers, we must focus on asking G-d to help us achieve integrity, as well as the merit of giving Him satisfaction.

He said the following [Ye'arot Devash Derush 5]:

The main focus of our prayers must consist of a desire to attain perfection, to become meritorious and give satisfaction to our Creator. This is in addition, of course, to our prayers concerning the exile of the Shechinah, the exile of Israel, and the disappearance of integrity in this world. Even when we ask for material possessions, our goal must not be to accumulate unnecessary riches out of desire or greed, but simply to not lack anything that could hinder our service of G-d.

In reality, because of our numerous sins, because everything is lacking, we have lost all wisdom and every sense of proper conduct. Men of treachery and violence grow in number, the righteous cannot protest, the wisdom of the poor is ridiculed, and nobody listens to their words.

Hence we must pray to Hashem for the means to study in relative ease without having to make requests of anyone. In regards to a person who does not occupy himself with Torah study, he should pray that he never resorts to theft, violence, or dishonesty in order to earn a living. He should pray not to encroach upon the boundaries of his neighbor, not to experience jealously or be involved either with disputes or ill-gotten gains, and even to encourage the weak and support the poor.

Supporting those who devote themselves to the study of Torah is essential to our life. It is the foundation of perfection and the reward for all that is truly good, that which was ours and which we lost. In fact it is the last thing that G-d has left us in His immense kindness: Hashem has nothing in His world other than four cubits of Halachah, which replace sacrifice and incense, thanks to which the Shechinah dwelled above the Holy Ark. In our time, those who genuinely study Torah merit the Shechinah in their presence and in the presence of those who support them, maintaining the pillar of Torah and participating in the construction of the Beit Hamikdash. Happy is the one who supports the Tree of Life.

It is therefore from this perspective that we should ask Hashem to grant us wealth. If this is not our intention, then the material possessions we receive will end up becoming a source of misfortune. This is because they will be controlled by evil spirits, and we will no longer be in control of them. As we read, a “sore evil” [Kohelet 5:12] will afflict him, for he seeks material wealth out of sheer desire, not to support the poor and those who study Torah. As a result, he will not be able to properly use such wealth, for evil spirits will control it.

This is why the Birkat Kohanim states, “May G-d bless you” – with material possessions. Yet what good is there in having money that was amassed to our sorrow, and which will lead us to Gehinnom, G-d forbid? Hence it adds, “and protect you” – from evil spirits. May we always be able to use our money for the good.

Eternal Values

Likewise, when we pray for long life, it should be with the intention of devoting it to the fulfillment of G-d’s will. As our Sages affirm, “One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come” [Pirkei Avoth 4:17]. Furthermore, our numerous sins and the burden of exile in our time still delay our access to wisdom, truth, and integrity. Thus if we only attain it at an advanced age, leaving this world prematurely is like not having lived, considered to be like “never having seen the day.” In fact what do we gain from our labor, and what will we have amassed by our work to bring an offering before G-d? Is it not true that “the reaper has gathered nothing”?

Finally, many of us would need to live more than a thousand years in order to repent of the sins of our youth, to return to Hashem, and to rectify what we have damaged in a single day of disobedience to G-d.

This is why our prayers must be aimed in the right direction: Everything must be for the truth, not for falsehood or vanity, which characterize this world of substitution and reversal, one devoid of eternal values.

Love and Positivity

''....they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner.'' [Shelach 15:38]

The turquoise strands of the tzitzit allude to ''abandoning evil'' [negative] and serving G-d out of fear; the white strands allude to ''doing good'' [positive] and serving G-d out of love.

In the current era, the turquoise dye [techelet] is not available to us, leaving all eight strands white. This teaches us that nowadays our emphasis in serving G-d should be on love and positivity.

Source: Likutei Sichos vol 8 Lubavitcher Rebbe

R' Mendel Kessin - 21st Century #3, more on Trump and Obama

To see previous videos on this subject by Rabbi Kessin, click on the KESSIN label below.

Brexit's Shmittah Hint

The world stock market plunge on Friday June 24, as a result of Brexit, occurred exactly 7 years, 7 months, 7 weeks and 7 days after the stock market crash of September 29, 2008 [erev Rosh Hashanah 5769] when the Dow fell 777 points.  Click here to see the calculation.

All those sevens hint to the Shemitah year and the oft-repeated phrase ''Motzei Shevi''it''  - after the seventh.

Sealed with Actual Tears

The United States Postal Service [USPS] in the late 80s - early 90s, confirmed that the Lubavitcher Rebbe received more pieces of mail each week than any other person in the entire country except for the President of the United States. What's amazing about this is that the US President has a whole team of people at the White House hired to open the mail being addressed to him, while the Rebbe personally opened 'each' letter addressed to him at 770.

Someone once suggested to the Rebbe that maybe he should at least use a machine to open these enormous piles of letters [arriving at 770 in huge mail bags each week from places all throughout the world], as the machine would speed up the process. The mail poured in each week from people of all walks of life, Jews, non-Jews, religious, non-religious, dignitaries, poor people, rich people, young people, old people, etc. Opening each letter by hand was very time consuming. And the Rebbe's schedule was much more busy than a normal person- the Rebbe barely slept, never took a vacation during his time as Rebbe, never left New York City during his time as Rebbe except on about two occasions to visit two different Lubavitch children's camps Upstate, and not one second was wasted.

And as the Lubavitch movement grew, so too did the mail grow.  [First it was confirmed by the USPS in the 70s that the Rebbe received more mail than anyone in New York State except that going to the State Capitol, but by the late 80s and early 90s Lubavitch was exponentially larger than it had been in the 70s.]. Yet when asked why not use a machine, the Rebbe replied that some of the letters were sealed with the actual tears of people writing to him, and he said that he could not open a letter sealed with tears by using a machine.

This was the exceptional sensitivity of the Rebbe to every person.