Fire and Brimstone: What Does It All Mean?

by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

The continuation of my article for the Jewish Press on the power of prayer was ready to go but then tragedy hit. A tragedy of a magnitude that none of us could have envisioned. Not even in our wildest imagination. New York the capital of the world -the invincible citadel is shaken to its core and before our very eyes buildings tumble - our highways are flooded - our bridges and tunnels are closed down - filthy disease carrying sewage enter our homes - and they sink in water - our cars float away - people lose their homes - and worse their very lives. We who prided ourselves with the most advanced state of the art technology stood humbled - our lights dimmed - we were left in darkness - our electricity betrayed us. We watched helplessly as our beautiful neighborhoods turn into war zones. What do we do? How are we to understand this?

Those of you who have read my books or heard me speak can testify that whenever suffering befalls us I search our holy books to find illumination and guidance. I turn to my most loyal friend, my friend who has always been at my side who has given me comfort and strength, my friend who never betrayed me, my sefer Tehillim, my Book of Psalms. "Hashem gave us the Torah and we gave Him the Book of Psalms" - the Psalms which were written by King David - the man who experienced every pain - every suffering that can befall mankind - each word that David wrote was drenched with his tears and his words speak for all eternity - for all mankind. 

The devastation occurred on Monday, October 29th - the 13th day of the month of Cheshvan. The Psalm designated for the 13th day of the month is Psalm 69. I opened to it and the words jumped out "Save us oh G-d for the waters have reached onto my soul". And there is more. This Psalm does not leave us in the cold - it also provides our remedy - our answer. "Va-ani, s'filosi l'cho Hashem'' - but as for me, my prayer is to You Hashem". Yes we must turn in heartfelt prayer to our Heavenly Father and beseech His Mercy - His Salvation. 

I look at the "Parasha" and once again the opening passage speaks - our father Abraham whose kind hospitality had no bounds - opens his home to strangers. That which our forefathers experienced - that which shaped their lives has become part of our DNA - lives forever in our yiddisha neshamas. I think of all the many people who were left homeless and then I think of those who lost power and were left in cold darkness. I know of a woman standing in her home - waist deep in water with fish swimming all around her while she was desperately searching for photographs of her father and mother who are no longer here. Who can comprehend the pain - the suffering? And then let us think of all the wonderful people who opened their homes like our father Abraham. I know for I am one of those who had to evacuate and I too have benefited from that hospitality and as I am writing this column I continue to benefit from that chessed. And there is more, much more.

Maimonides - Rambam taught that when suffering is visited upon us we are commanded to cry out and awaken our people with the sound of the "shofar". He taught that everyone must be alerted. Everyone must examine his or her life and ask, what is my life all about? How would I rate if I were given a "neshama check" up? What does my Judaism, my Torah, really mean to me? Maimonides wrote that if we regard the tragedies that befall us as simply "the way of the world - natural happenings" we would be guilty of "achzarius - cruelty". At first glance it is difficult to understand why Maimonides would chose the term "cruelty" to describe those who claim to be rational 21st century citizens and see trials and tribulations "as the way of the world". They may be unthinking, apathetic, and foolish, blind obtuse or just cynical agnostics but to accuse them of cruelty is rather farfetched.

The answer is simple - if we regard our pain and suffering as "mere coincidence" and feel no motivation to examine our lives, abandon our old ways and change - then indeed, such an attitude is "cruel" for it invites additional misfortunate upon ourselves and others. It would be the height of cruelty to dismiss that which we just experienced and all that preceded it for several years now as mere happenstance. "Daas Torah" - our great Torah luminaries of past generations including the Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, and others told us that we are entering the final stages of history - a period of time called "Ikvsa Di Meshiach - Footsteps of the Messiach". So I ask you, can we remain silent? Would doing so not be an act of "cruelty"?

Ours is a generation that has been challenged again and again. We have had so many wakeup calls - some terrifying - and some more subtle but no matter what we have remained indifferent to them all. I will not go back to the time of the Holocaust although by every right I should for if that didn't shake us up what would? Sadly, nowaday's very few people can even identify with that monstrous period. It has long been buried in history.

So let us try to commence with 9/11 - but I'm afraid even that story has become tired. The flames of the twin towers are no longer vivid in our minds and the fellowship - the kindness - that ensued in its wake is all but gone. So let us just focus on more recent events.

During the summer of 2002 a terrible tragedy occurred in a bungalow colony in the Catskill Mountains. A mother had just bathed her infant baby and put her in her carriage for a nap. Suddenly out of nowhere a wild bear appeared, snatched the baby and made off with her. The baby was never again seen. This shocking story did appear in newspapers and was reported in the media but seldom did I meet people who were actually aware of it. Nor did I encounter too many of those who were aware of the Talmudic teaching that the generation that will witness a wild beast snatching a baby from its cradle should sound the shofar to awaken the nation. But alas the shofar was not sounded and we were not awakened. With the years our slumber has become deeper. There were no alarm clocks capable of awakening us - I should probably qualify this - there is one ring that does make us jump and that's the ring of financial crisis. But no sooner does that alarm stop ringing then we return to our old ways and continue to sleep.

During the past few years the number of catastrophes has multiplied to such an extent that we have all but become immune to them. Natural disasters -tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes, earth quakes, nuclear spill outs, uncontrollable fires, unknown diseases, barbaric savage acts of terror have become all too common and we no longer notice them. Could this be a wakeup call warning us? Somehow it never even occurred to us to ask that question.

Time and time again I have written, spoken and cited the teaching of our Sages - "K'ymei Tzescho....the manner in which you departed from Egypt so shall it be at the end of days". How did we depart from Egypt? What was that which broke the chains of bondage and opened the iron gates? Every child knows the answer and so do we: the 10 plagues. Have we witnessed the 10 plagues in our generation? Of course not you'll protest. But then think again, and think again..!!!!! What was the first plague in Egypt? Blood....the Nile River that the Egyptians worshiped - the Nile River where Jewish children's lives were snuffed out - became blood. Again you might ask; what on earth does that have to do with us? "Think". The Nile was the god of Egypt. Once again you might protest - we are not pagans - we worship the real G-d. But, do we really? Has it ever occurred to any of us that we are the generation that worships with passion and fervor the god of money? And in worshiping it we are prepared to sacrifice everything - even our families - our children. The plagues of Egypt continued to plague us and they came in many shapes and forms. Pestilence....bed bugs in New York. Do you remember that? Yes bed bugs in the finest places - elegant hotels - exclusive shops and mind you it wasn't only in New York. The bed bugs crawled everywhere. And then there were the dead birds falling from the sky by the hundreds of thousands -the dead fish and sardines washing up on the shore by the hundreds of thousands? One of my students asked me - "how about the wild beast that invaded the streets of ancient Egypt we haven't seen that". Really, I said, "you don't remember Ohio when one morning people looked out of their windows to see if it was sunny or raining and low and behold they saw lions- tigers - wolfs - and bears. Can that be? Were they hallucinating? Did they lose it? But as always, for this too there was a rational explanation. Some animals had escaped from their cages. There was nothing to worry about we assured ourselves - it's one of those crazy things that can happen.. And then there was the earthquake in New York City. To be sure it was an unusual phenomenon. I recall people's reaction - laughing..where were you when it happened - did you feel it? And so the earthquake became just another "fun" experience.

And now SANDY arrived in all her fury - mocking us - mocking our technology - mocking our invincibility - mocking our arrogance. This time we are silenced - this time we stand humbly - we tremble and we cry. How did this happen? How could this be? Things like this can only occur in primitive places - places that are far away from civilization - away from the hubs of the United States but it happened and we cannot escape it - this time we couldn't find an explanation because this time it was our house. This time it was our community. This time it was we who were drowning. This time was different. This time we cannot escape it. or will we stubbornly pursue our old ways and remain deaf, dumb and blind? It's all in our hands. Hashem is calling.

I was listening to the news. The anchor was interviewing one of the most prominent meteorologists and asked, "Is SANDY different from all other natural catastrophes? Is there any parallel to her? "No, this is totally different", he responded. "This calamity had many shades and shapes and they fell upon us at the very same time as one - floods, fires, snow, winds, and rain - all converged upon us. Yes, this time it was different. But the question we must ask - will we be different? Will we get it? Or, will we continue with our sick obsessions, worshiping the "god of Money" and succumb to the enticements of our degenerate society?

Do you remember the story of Elijah the prophet and Jezebel -that satanic evil queen who seduced our people into worshiping pagan gods? Elijah rose like a lion and went to battle to save our people and bring them back to Hashem. And G-d responded and sent a great miracle for all to see and hear. The people actually witnessed the Hand of The Almighty and proclaimed in unison - "Hashem Hu Ho Elokim - G-d He is G-d"! Elijah rejoiced. The people understood. But Jezebel gleefully said, "Wait until tomorrow"! And tragically she was correct. Tomorrow came and it was all forgotten. And the question we must now ask ourselves is -will we forget - will we go back to business as usual? Or - will we remember Tehillim - Psalm 69; "the waters have risen to our souls" and now from our souls our prayers must reach to the Heavens Above.

"V'ani, s'filosi l'cho Hashem" - but as for me, my prayer is for You Hashem...

With Brochos - Blessing from the depths of my soul

Esther Jungries

Letter from Lakewood

Received via email from a reader:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Lakewood

With much of Lakewood still without power for days, I humbly feel that Hashem is trying to send us a message that "we" are putting out the light of the beauty of Lakewood, the largest town in the US of Torah learning. The light of the Kedusha the light of thousands of Torah learners right here in our town of Lakewood is being distinguished by us with our actions.

We have more Yeshivas and Mesiftas than in any other town or city in America BY"H so we have more responsibility to keep Hashem happy with our way of life.

It's time for all of us to make a Cheshbon Hanefesh and see what could be corrected to bring back the light of the Schinah to Lakewood the town of Torah and Chessed.

If we don't take this storm seriously who knows what other difficult message Hashem might have to send us in order to wake up and do Teshuva?

Take a moment and think...are we living a spiritual life at least similar to our great grand parents, the way they lived when they arrived in America some 70 years ago? or are we indulged in our clothing, i.e. shoes, jewelry, belt, coat, & mink coats, handbags, boots, shopping, hunting for bargains, living in restaurants, redoing our kitchens every so often, always planning our next vacations, now Leshem Mitzvah we are busy planning our winter vacation, and of course don't forget Motzai Shabbos hot Pizza & fries, eating it in the pizza shops in mixed company, we have turned into a major planning board not leaving enough time to see and plan our lives as "how to serve Hashem better”.

Lets be honest it's almost impossible to walk the streets and keep our eyes clean, and yes, I am referring to neighborhoods of Bnai Torah and Chasidim, not in Harlem, Miami Beach or Las Vegas.

This "FrankenStorm" has been felt by many of us we are all suffering because of it in one way or another, but..... The million dollar question is: are we waking up to Hashems cry?

Now let’s be strong and say to Hashem: OK we are ready to change our ways of life, our materialism lifestyle that we have lived up to now will change!!! We’ll start getting ourselves ready for the coming of Moshiach by living a true Torah life. BTW When Moshiach arrives there will be nothing left of all our Gasmius, so get a head start...and get rid of it now lets be more careful with all of the Halocos and Mitzovos of our special sweet Torah.

p.s.  I would like to ask everyone to take this Frankenstorm warning from Hashem very seriously.

Who Are You Voting For?

If you're an American, I'd be really interested to hear who you will be voting for and why.  Please leave a comment and let us know....

Malchus Beis David - The Reign of Moshiach ben David Explained

Yishai Beckow's third book of audio recordings is called Malchus Beis David. It attempts to examine three issues:

 - what does the Written and Oral Torah tell us about the structures of Malchus Beis David, and what can we learn from this about how Moshiach Ben David's government will operate in Israel?

 - how is it possible to extrapolate from these levels of government and Torah sources on the government of Chutz La'Aretz, the area outside of Israel, under the renewed kingship of the House of David?

 -While Moshiach will be an absolute monarch, does this mean democracy is gone in Ge'ulah? What checks and balances are there in this time, and how does this whole operate to involve the average person in their world in this time? 

To download and listen, click here

The Fallen Sukkah of David

by Rabbi Gedaliah Aharon Kenig zt''l - founder of Nachal Novea community in Tsfat and foremost Breslev leader of the previous generation.

Integrating the mind through perfect faith

Reprinted from Tzaddik Magazine [Fall issue]

The sukkah is associated with King David.  It is thus called the ''Sukkah of David''.  It could have been called by another name, like the ''Sukkah of Israel'' or the ''Sukkah of Moses'', yet our sages connect sukkah to David haMelech.

The fourth evening of the holiday of Sukkot marks the yahrzeit of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, who is referred to as the nachal novea mekor chochma - ''the flowing river, source of wisdom'' [Proverbs 18:4].  He proclaimed an astounding concept to the world:  ''There is no such thing as despair!''  Nothing in the world is beyond hope.

How can such a claim be made when everything points in the opposite direction? Everyone experiences situations textured with despair to the point that it appears the entire world has ended.  Everything seems black, with no glimmer of light.  The despair these situations engender is called the ''Fallen Sukkah of David.''

Yet Rebbe Nachman asserts: ''There is no such thing as despair!''  Although it is impossible to avoid difficult situations, the mind possesses a special power that can prevent one from falling completely during hard times.  On Sukkot we pray:  ''May the Compassionate One raise for us the ''Fallen Sukkah of David''.  Conceptually, the Sukkah of David represents a spiritually cleansed mind connected to a higher spiritual level, a place beyond our own intellectual perception of the world.

Integrating the Mind

According to the kabbalah, the sukkah represents the levels of perception beyond the conscious mind called makifim or ''external intellect''.  In contrast, pnimim or ''internal intellect''' is the knowledge we have successfully acquired.  These two levels are dynamically related: when the higher intellect enters our mind enabling us to understand it, the new insight becomes encompassed within our internal intellect.

Makifim are those levels of understanding that transcend intellectual grasp. They surround and hover above the conscious mind, radiating understanding into the internal intellect.  It is this upper level of intellect surrounding the mind that is called sukkah.  This is similar to a physical sukkah, which completely surrounds us.  During the holiday of Sukkot, we are required to enter the sukkah with our entire body, which includes the head, our intellect. Without the entire body entering the sukkah, the mitzvah of sukkah remains unfulfilled.

''David merited the crown of malchut - kingship'' [Kohelet Rabbah 7:2]

The physical universe and everything that occurs within it, is part of the lower level of the World of Action, and connected to the kabbalistic sefira of malchut.  Malchut itself possesses a type of ''intellect'' expressed as the animating intelligence contained by everything in the world.  This intelligence corresponds to King David and the lower internal intellect mentioned earlier.  The crown of King David, however, symbolizes the higher surrounding intellect, corresponding to the concept of sukkah.

When we don't understand why things are a certain way in the world, the power of faith should be exercised. Faith draws down the highest light into any situation. If you believe that there is a G-d Above Who governs the world, you won't dismiss something as meaningless just because you don't understand it. On the contrary, despire your current inability to understand, you will know everything is functioning according to a Higher Plan which is just and fair.  This faith will then illuminate your entire reality. In every situation, you now connect the upper surrounding intellect, called sukkah, to the lower internalized intellect, corresponding to your current perception of how the physical world operates.  When you believe that whatever happens is governed from Above, it is clear that it is good.

''When I dwell in darkness, G-d will be a light for me'' [Micha 7:8]

Even if I am sitting in darkness and don't understand what is happening, if I nonetheless believe that everything is just and fair because it is supervised by G-d, then this faith is a light for me.  Despite the darkness, it does not even occur to me to despair, since the same governing Power that brought me here to this situation or state of mind will do everything for my good and ultimately take me out of this darkness.

Through this expression of lower intellect, you will now attain the higher intellect, called sukkah.  The merging of these two intellects is called the ''Sukkah of David'', which occurs when your perception of the way the world operates [Malchut David] is joined with the upper surrounding intellect [sukkah].  The opposite occurs when the two are separated, a division caused by thinking everything is under the jurisdiction of nature and human agency.  ''David'' is separated from sukkah - our perception of this world is separated from the upper intellect, faith in Divine governance of the world. This state is called ''The Fallen Sukkah of David''.

Thus, when Rebbe Nachman says ''There is no such thing in the world as despair'', he is drawing down the highest light into the human heart to give us the ability to understand that regardless of the difficulties we experience, there is a higher Power in charge of every detail in the world.  The process of attaining this level of understanding is called ''raising the fallen sukkah of David''.  Sukkat David is the rectified state of mind where the upper and lower intellect are united.

Turning Darkness into Light

G-d created us in order to know Him.  How is it possible for a limited physical human being to know G-d, Who is Infinite?  It is only possible to know G-d through facing the difficult challenges in life, and strengthening ourselves to get through them.

During times when it is extremely difficult to find G-d, one may fall, since it seems that G-d doesn't exist. The difficulty of the search itself brings one to a state of nothingness. By strengthening oneself during these moments, the very obstacles which prevented perception of G-d can be transformed into a vessel for Divine light.

Sometimes we undergo bitter situations where our understanding disappears completely. Even though we want to believe in G-d, we live inside a dark cloud. However much we search, we cannot find Him. This is a very dangerous situation, because we are unable to see G-d in spite of a sincere desire to find Him. What can we do?

Rebbe Nachman has advice for this dilemma as well.  Cry out ''G-d! Where are You? I don't see you but I believe You are here! Where are you?''  These cries will eventually enable you to return to your proper place, because the question of ''Where are You?'' indicates a belief in the existence of the thing for which you are searching.  You believe G-d is present, but you just don't know where.  The repeated cries of ''Where are You?'' from the depths of the heart are answered with: ''Here! Deeply inside, where You have always been.''

''The whole world is filled with His Glory''

One begins to sense G-d's direct supervision over every detail. Anything that seemed unjust or unfair is now understood as being orchestrated in a wondrous way for the good. Only by passing through darkness and obstacles can we draw closer to G-d, which is a fulfilment of the Divine will.

Sometimes during difficult times we say ''Oy! This is too much! I've had enough obstacles and darkness! I'm finished!''  This way of thinking is erroneous, since we were not created to remain on a single level.  On the contrary, we were created to continually ascend from level to level.  Difficult situations are necessary in order to progress and come closer to G-d.  The message of Rebbe Nachman is that it shouldn't even occur to a person to despair and think ''I can't go on''.  Strengthen yourself over and over again, and eventually you will make it through.

There is always a limit to difficulties because G-d doesn't leave us in difficult straits forever.  The only purpose of obstacles is to create a vessel to receive light. Material obstacles and the vessels they can create have measure and definition. However, G-d's light is unlimited.  We need only to strengthen ourselves and not give up. Sometimes one becomes so weak in the last moment and loses everything. This is a shame, since at that very moment a vessel is being completed to receive a higher light. At the end, the darkness can become so overwhelming that we think we are lost and give up completely, G-d forbid.

Constantly strengthening oneself is the secret to our existence.  There is no book in the world that can tell the entire awesome story of what the Jewish people have undergone since inception. Yet, despite everything, we continue to exist. This is only because of our patience, trust and will to strengthen ourselves anew each time, despite constant suffering.  We will continue to develop, and with the help of G-d, we will exist until the end, when the purpose for which we were created will be fulfilled. To know the unlimited light of the Infinite One.

Vessels to receive light are formed through obstacles. By overcoming the obstacles, the obstacles themselves are transformed into vessels of pleasantness.  Rebbe Nachman calls this pleasantness ''supernal delight'' which can now flow into completed vessels.  The delight that the upper intellect can experience is more pleasant than anything in this world. This is the meaning of ''May the Compassionate One raise for us the Fallen Sukkah of David.''

Rebbe Nachman is proclaiming to the entire world a message that everyone must hear.  There is no such thing as despair! There is no situation beyond hope! The Jewish people have always found themselves in difficult situations, and today is no different. Instead of losing hope, we must strengthen ourselves with perfected faith, especially during the days of Sukkot, when we bring our entire physical being into the sukkah.  We will then be worthy of being illuminated with a new light, which will reestablish the ''Fallen Sukkah of David forever''.  Amen.

Translated and adapted from a shiur given in Tsfat.

Gmar Chatimah Tova

Gmar Chatimah Tova - Literally: A good final sealing.  Idiomatically: May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for Good.

"Gmar" comes from the root word that means to finish. Although it's not biblical, it appears quite a bit in the Talmud [Avot 2:16 Yevamot 12:6]. Chatimah is also talmudic and can mean a signature or a sealing [Pessachim 104]. 

The word "chotemet" or stamp [the ink kind, not the postal kind] is a derivative of "chatimah." Of course "tova" means good. 

The days of repentance are divided into two parts: The first the inscribing begins on Rosh Hashana and finishes Yom Kippur when the final "sealing" [chatima] of our fate takes place. Many sages give us a second chance - an extra 12 days until a really final sealing on Hoshana Rabba [the 7th day of Sukkot]. That is why many people finish their correspondence during this time of year by writing or saying Ktivah V'chatima Tova - "may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." 

On or right before Yom Kippur, people modify that and wish "Gmar Chatima Tova." Technically you can say it means 'may your finished sealing be good' - which would be fine if you are redoing your apartment, but for the rest of us may you all have a healthy peaceful and fulfilling year.

The Geulah Process

I'm listening to some extremely interesting audios - Everything is a Message from G-d - by Yishai Beckow, and if you have the time, I highly recommend visiting his blog and tuning in.

I recently had an email discussion with Yishai, on the topic of Moshiach and the various dates that are often predicted on different websites.  I think the current '''date'' for everything changing is Hoshanah Rabah, according to some bloggers.   We've heard so many different dates, and they all turn out to be non-events - at least insofar as the appearance of Moshiach is concerned - and subsequently we may find ourselves becoming fed up with the process and losing all hope, when we believe the hype surrounding a particular day in the near future, and nothing happens !

So I asked Yishai if I could blog his response to my question regarding all these dates and waiting for the sudden appearance of Moshiach.  This is what he wrote [reprinted with permission]:

Re: Ge'ulah - it is a process, not a single event. There are many steps and stages we need to go through. It won't happen instantly, and is still happening. Don't expect to see one night a certain world and the next morning a different one. We need to go through everything. Soon enough, I think you will see that this process actually started a long time ago. Probably with the burning of Yosef's kever, which was either 2000 or 2001. 

But it is so complex and so many things need to happen, we don't see the forest for the trees. The final stage will quite literally be overnight. And our davening etc right now IS working. It just takes a lot of work and momentum to overcome the inertia of Galus, and puts a strain on those of us who tend to over-work, and who are very focused on this issue. But by the time we will have been through so many different things, we will know what is happening. Right now, it is only the opening rounds, so to speak. 

So it IS happening. Just not on the time frame you or I might wish. That said, it's a big world, with lots of people. H' has to work out the best way for every person put together, which makes it not something any one person's calendar dictates. Don't give up, and don't stop davening. If you are interested in a discussion of the process, R' Tatz' Messianic Era discs are excellent. 

There is a comment from the Baal Shem Tov on the times preceding Ge'ulah: he says it will be as thought H' ties a big rope around the world and is shaking it vigorously. Those of us whose emunah is not strong enough will fall off. We need to hold onto the rope for dear life. That is how I already feel, and I suspect you do too. Don't let go. No matter how crazy life is or gets, the reality is that things are not out of control. We are all here now for a reason, and none of us are expendable. Nor are we expected to enjoy the painful parts. If we can hold on, we can also hold others on, and do much good. 

I think in the end, H' will show us that by helping others we are helping ourselves, and that the reason for the bleak outlook is to enhance the merit of having remained loyal. And remember "if I didn't fall down, I couldn't get up." It happens to all of us -.....We get back at it slowly. Mitzvah gereret mitzvah - one mitzvah leads to another. Start somewhere, and you'll see it comes back together.

Honey's Message

by Rabbi Aron Moss

Honey is a miraculous substance. It can do the impossible. Just try this experiment with your family at the Rosh Hashana table:

Dunk a slice of apple into a bowl of honey

Lift the apple out of the honey

Hold the apple over the bowl and allow a shaft of honey to drip back down into the bowl

While it is oozing downwards, quickly lift the apple until the shaft breaks.

Watch carefully. The honey on the apple starts to fall a little, and then climbs back upwards towards the apple, defying the laws of gravity

Say "Wow!"

The upward climbing honey gives us a moving message for the new year. Even if you have fallen, you can always climb back up. Even if you have become disconnected, you can reconnect. You may have become estranged from your people and from your G-d. You may have lost your way in life and fallen to a very low place. But you can always pick yourself back up. No force in the world can stop a Jew coming home.

The honey may fall downwards, but at a certain point it turns around. In fact, it is the falling down that causes the bouncing up. The further you have strayed from Judaism, the more rebound energy you have built up for your return.

A Jewish soul wants to be Jewish. Materialistic distractions can only hold us back for so long. Our inner pull towards G-d is stronger than the pull of gravity towards the earth. Honey always bounces back. So can we.

Also see: Healing Powers of Apples and Honey