The Power To Change

Art: 'Triple Self Portrait' by Norman Rockwell

And the children struggled within her, and she said, "If [it be] so, why am I [like] this?" And she went to inquire of the Lord. [Toldot - Genesis 25:22]

Why did the children "struggle inside her"?

How could Yitzchak, our righteous patriarch, have a son whose very nature even in the womb was inclined towards idol worship?

G-d can either make a person's disposition naturally good or naturally bad.  But, even if a person has a natural inclination to evil, that does not mean that he is evil per se, for he is given free choice.

Rather, the reason why he was given such an inclination was to rise to the challenge and overcome it.  Thus, Eisav was given a natural tendency to evil so that he could excel in the Divine service of "quashing" the evil inclination.

Even though he failed in his task, we can nevertheless learn from Eisav that if a person has strong desires to do something bad, it means that he has been given the special Divine mission of overcoming his inclinations.

Source: Gutnick Chumash: Based on Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Waiting for Moshiach

HT: Yaak

by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Rav Segal closed with a story about a group of Polish soldiers who were told to prepare for a visit from the general.

Garbed in their uniforms, shoes polished and guns gleaming, they stood at attention. It was a hot day, and as they waited beneath a scorching sun, a few of them started to grumble. The morning dragged on with no sign of the general and the soldiers felt their resolve weakening. “Wait a bit longer. I’m sure he’ll come soon,” the commander urged them, but as morning gave way to afternoon, the general was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, the tired soldiers gave up and many of them flopped to the ground, exhausted. At that moment, the general appeared. Those who sat on the floor were humiliated, while those who had remained standing were promoted to a higher rank.

The Chofetz Chaim would retell the story and say, “He’s about to come. Don’t give up now. Stand tall and wait. He’s about to arrive.”

We are at the end of the day and have been waiting so long. The wait is getting progressively more difficult. Only a few remain standing.

In this, too, we look to our neshei chayil to inspire us. The Gemara in Maseches Brachos (17) says that women attain merit through waiting for their husbands to return home from the bais medrash.

Thus, one of the sacred responsibilities and mandates of the woman is to wait. They teach the rest of us how to wait. Now is their time. Now, as a lonely nation awaits Moshiach’s arrival, we look to the women to inspire and teach us how not to lose focus. Together, we wait for the day when the world will once again be filled with light and we will all be comforted.

Read the full blog post here

And The Water Rose Toward Her

Art: William Adolphe Bouguereau

"The servant ran toward her" [Chayei Sarah 24:17]

Rashi comments: "Because he saw that the waters went up toward her".

Where does the verse indicate, asks the Ramban, that the waters actually went up toward her?

Later on, answers the Ramban, the verse states:  "She drew for all his camels" [24:20].  In this verse, however, we find no mention of Rivkah "drawing" any water.  This teaches us that Rivkah, in fact, had no need to draw water for the water rose up toward her.

Yet, asked R' Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, why did the water not rise for her when she drew water for Eliezer's camels?

Initially, Rivkah had gone to draw water for her own personal needs.  In order that the tzaddekes should not have to burden herself with the task of drawing water, the water, instead, rose to her.  However, when Rivkah went to draw water for Eliezer's camels, she had undertaken to perform a mitzvah.  Heaven wanted Rivkah to earn as much merit as possible for her act of kindness, so, this time, the water was not allowed to rise for her.  In this way, Rivkah would receive maximum merit for performing this mitzvah, for as Chazal teach us, "According to the exertion is the merit". [Avos 5:26]  Thus the more she exerted herself, the more merit she would receive.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Water from the Kotel - Sign of Redemption - video

Once again, water is starting to flow from the Kotel.  Seems to be just a trickle right now.  Maybe it's just crying.





"By our own tradition, the moisture at the Western Wall of the Holy Temple indicates the impending redemption of the people and land of Israel, the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of Moshiach ben David, speedily and in our time, amen."

Gemara [Yoma 77b-78a] :

R' Pinchas said in the name of Rav Huna of Tzippori: The spring that issues from the Holy of Holies initially resembles the antennae of locust. Once it reaches the entrance of the Sanctuary it swells and becomes as wide as the thread of the warp. Once it reaches the entrance of the Antechamber, it becomes as wide as the thread of the woof. Once it reaches the entrance of the Courtyard it becomes as wide as the mouth of a small flask.

And this is the meaning of what we learned in the Mishna [Middos 2:6] R' Eliezer Ben Yaakov says: By this gate a stream of water, as wide as that which issues from a flask, will emerge from under the threshold of the Temple. From here onward [the stream] will rise unabatedly until it reaches the entrance of the house of David [i.e. Har Tzion, Mount Zion in Jerusalem - Rashi]. Once it reaches the house of David it becomes a swiftly flowing stream, in which zavin, zavos, niddos, and childbearing women will immerse and cleanse themselves from their tumah. As it is stated: On that day there will be a spring opened up for the house of David and for all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for cleaning and for purification. [Zechariah 13:1]

The NDE of the Young Boy in Israel [English subtitles]

End of Days Scenario as envisioned by the 15 year old Israeli boy during a Near Death Experience.

Thank you to all the people who emailed me this link, and acknowledgements to Yaak who also blogged it, and to Devash who originally blogged the Hebrew version. Just putting this up here for all my readers.

 

Did Abraham Teach his Children Black Magic?

Abraham's Gifts to His Other Sons

by Baruch S. Davidson

Question:

The Torah records that Abraham gave presents to the children he had with Hagar. Rashi says that they were filled up with tumah (dark spiritual forces). Why would Abraham do that? Why not just throw it away and give something good to them?

Answer:

The verse you're referring to is in Genesis 25:6:

And to the sons of Abraham's concubines, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac while he [Abraham] was still alive, eastward to the land of the East.

The actual words of the Talmud [Sanhedrin 91a] about these gifts are "he gave them the name of tumah." Simply understood, this implies that he gave them impure powers. However, there are obvious difficulties with this. First, as you asked, why would he want give them something evil? Second, the Torah forbids the use of black magic—how could Abraham encourage it?

This question was asked by several of the commentators of the Torah, particularly of note, are the following answers given by the 12th century Tosafists.

Some explain this Talmudic statement to mean that he gave them the right to use the name of G‑d even when in a state of physical impurity. This explanation, too, raises a difficulty. If Abraham saw them as unfit to carry on his legacy, why would he teach them and give them abilities to say the holy name of G‑d?

Therefore, most others explain that this means that he taught them how to protect themselves from the forces of tumah such as demons. This is referred to as "the name of tumah" because by knowing the names of theses negative energies they would be able to instruct them to do their will and remove them.

However, the following explanation brought in the commentary of Riva [Rabbi Isaac ben Asher II] on the Torah, is the one I found most fascinating. He points to Genesis 4:26 where the verse states that in the generation of Enoch "it became common to call by the name of the L‑rd." This is explained by the Midrash to mean that, "they would name people and idols with the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to make them idols and to call them deities." Therefore, Abraham taught his children "the name of tumah"; i.e. he taught them names for their idols that would connote the tumah associated with them, instead of calling them with names used for the one true G‑d.

There is an intriguing oft-quoted passage in the Zohar [Vol. 1 pp. 99b -100b] that sheds much light on these gifts and their relationship to the "land of the East," which may well be the Indus Valley. You can find that on our site at: Kabbalah and the East and Abraham's Presents to the East - The Zohar. From that passage, it would seem that the gifts were originally wholesome wisdom, but were later diverted to negative and impure uses.

Body and Soul

Art: C. Schloe

The Zohar teaches that Sarah represents the body, whereas Avraham represents the soul.  Even after death, the soul still remains related to the body, thus "Avraham - the soul - came to eulogize Sarah - the body - and to weep for her"  [Chayei Sarah 23:2]

Chassidic teachings emphasize the importance of the body as a tool in the service of G-d.  Since the ultimate purpose of creation is to sanctify the physical world, the body has a distinct advantage over the soul, in that it is the means by which G-d's Will is enacted.  Therefore, G-d told Avraham [the soul] "Whatever Sarah - the body - tells you, listen to her voice" [21:12], indicating that there is an inherent superiority to the body, over the soul.

Although the soul is incomparably more refined than the body, nevertheless, in the times of Moshiach we are promised that the superiority of the body will be revealed such that "the soul will be animated by the body".

Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Temple Mount: ''Beyond Dispute''

HT: Joshua W.

From a 1924 Waqf publication:  click on images to enlarge