''Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-hachiros'' [Beshalach 14:2]
This verse, said the Ohev Yisrael [R'Avraham Yehoshua of Apta], hints at an important lesson.
It teaches us just how cautious one has to be not to violate the grave sin of lashon hora.
וְיָשֻׁבוּ וְיַחֲנוּ לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת - A person is required to sit [lasheves] and pause for a moment [výachanu] - before [lifnei] he lets his mouth loose [pi hachiros].
The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, arrived on the shores of America in March 1940, after a miraculous escape from Nazi-occupied Poland. Arriving in New York, he set for himself the task of building a Jewish infrastructure to replace the one going up in flames in Eastern Europe. In fact, he established his first yeshivah in the Western Hemisphere on the very night that he arrived. In the decade that followed, many more Torah schools and other religious institutions were founded by his devoted emissaries across the United States and Canada.
The Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn and his
predecessor R' Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn in 1949
Though the Rebbe’s spirit and resolve were indomitable, his body was battered and broken due to beatings and abuse at the hands of the KGB, as well as multiple health issues, including debilitating multiple sclerosis. The Rebbe’s speech was also impacted; after a few years, only those in his closest circle, such as his family and secretariat, were able to comprehend his slurred words. As a result, the Rebbe stopped orally delivering chassidic discourses in honor of special dates on the Jewish and chassidic calendar, as was his custom. Instead, in advance of these propitious dates, he would submit written discourses for publication, to be studied by his chassidim when that day arrived.
The tenth of Shevat was the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe’s grandmother, Rebbetzin Rivkah. In the year 5710 [1950], the tenth of Shevat would fall on Shabbat. In honor of the occasion, the Rebbe submitted for publication a discourse entitled Basi L'Gani [“I have come to My Garden”].
On that Shabbat morning, the Rebbe passed away at the age of 69.
The year that followed was one of apprehension for Chabad-Lubavitch chassidim. Many immediately recognized that the Rebbe’s son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was eminently suited to succeed his father-in-law, due to his outstanding scholarship and piety. But Rabbi Menachem Mendel humbly refused to accept the mantle of leadership.
After a full year of pleading and cajoling on the part of chassidim, Rabbi Menachem Mendel relented. On the first anniversary of his predecessor’s passing, Rabbi Menachem Mendel accepted upon himself the leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. In traditional Chabad chassidic form, he did so by delivering a chassidic discourse during a farbrengen [chassidic gathering] on that historic day.
The new Rebbe’s discourse was also entitled Basi Legani. In fact, it was based upon the very discourse that his father-in-law had submitted a year earlier. He started off where his predecessor left off . . .
In the decades that followed, every year on the 10th of Shevat, the Rebbe would host a grand farbrengen, in keeping with chassidic tradition that designates the yahrtzeit of a righteous person as a highly auspicious day. For the chassidim, the day had additional import—it was the anniversary of the date when the Rebbe assumed leadership.
And every year at the 10 Shevat farbrengen, the Rebbe would say a chassidic discourse that started with the words Basi L'Gani, always based on a different chapter of the original discourse penned by his predecessor. It became increasingly clear that the themes addressed in this discourse defined the Rebbe’s leadership.
What does this special discourse discuss? Which garden? Who’s coming to the garden? And why is this arrival in the garden such an important message for our generation?
The Garden
The words “basi legani” are taken from Solomon’s Song of Songs.
The garden is our world. Announcing His arrival here in this garden is G‑d Himself—who refers to it not as “a garden,” but as “My garden.” All that He created belongs to Him, but of all the myriad spiritual emanations and worlds, there is only one to which He refers as “My,” because it is only here—the very lowest realm—that He wants to call home. The divine light shines ever brightly in the supernal worlds, but only in this physical world does G‑d wish to manifest His very essence.
His shechinah [presence] was here when He created this world. But it was driven away by a series of sins, starting with Adam and Eve’s eating the fruit of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Subsequent sinful generations drove the shechinah further away, as it ascended from one heaven to the next.
This was no glitch in the plan; it was anything but.
Just as G‑d created the world with the vision that it would serve as His domicile, He also had a clear vision as to how this domicile would be created. He envisioned a world characterized by frightful spiritual blackness, wherein creations—possessors of free choice, capable of embracing the darkness or rejecting it—would repress the darkness, and ultimately transform it into light.
There must be a world which [on the surface] is inhospitable to its Creator. And through the difficult work of banishing and transforming the darkness, it becomes a beautiful “garden.” A place that G‑d is delighted to inhabit.
Over the years, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, elaborated on the many concepts discussed above. The Rebbe’s inaugural discourse in 1951, explains the special relevance of these ideas to our generation.
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“We are now very near the approaching footsteps of Moshiach; indeed, we are at the conclusion of this period. Our spiritual task is to complete the process of drawing down the shechinah—the essence of the shechinah—specifically within our lowly world.”
Experts are saying that an extinction level event is happening in Japan as the Fukushima No.1 power plant records its highest level radiation reading since the March 2011 earthquake/tsunami.
Talmud Sanhedrin 98a
Above is the relevant page of the Talmud: translation - "Mashiach ben Dovid will not arrive until someone seeks a fish for a sick person and cannot find one."
Rashi: When the waters will be congealed and fish cannot swim in such waters.
Who needs oil to congeal the waters when you have a radiation level of 530 sieverts per hour. The searing radiation level, described by some experts as “unimaginable,” far exceeds the previous high of 73 sieverts per hour at the reactor.
The following is part of a Sicha from the Lubavitcher Rebbe delivered on 14 Iyar 5740 regarding the war of Gog u Magog.
Rabbi Yochanan quotes Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai regarding Gog u Magog. It seems like it is a terrible tragedy for the Jews, but as it says in Sanhedrin and other sources: ''Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: ''When King David ran from his son Avshalom, he exclaimed Ma raba tzorei - How big are my problems?" whereas on the passuk Lama ragshu goyim uleumim yehegu rik - Why do nations gather and people speak futility?'' he doesn't say ''how big are my problems?'' but the opposite.
On yehegu rik - speaking futility : Rashi and other commentaries explain that it's not tzorei - tragedy, but rik vahevel - speaking futility. It has no meaning for the Jews.
Goyim are fighting between themselves, gathering and talking, but it's all ineffective. Why? Because He who sits in Heaven laughs and mocks them.
Lubavitcher Rebbe painted by Robert Kremnizer
Hashem is instigating Egyptians amongst themselves and different nations between them. Then comes the question: How should a Jew view this?
We have the decree from Torah that even though nations are gathering and talking negatively, still for the Jews it has absolutely no meaning. But not because of our own strength, G-d forbid, but because He who sits in Heaven laughs and mocks them.
And that's why it's not affecting the Jews. They call it tragedy? G-d forbid! The nations come up with different ideas but it's all Hevel Larik - futility. Why? Because Hashem is with us.
The fact that they are gathering, Jewish people know that it's all pointless. because He who sits in Heaven laughs and mocks them. He is not just notifying, but He is mocking and laughing at them. As it says ''He who touches them, is touching the Apple of my Eye''. That is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is saying about the seventh year. He is talking about the year of the Coming of Moshiach.
Right at the end of the seven years of wars, Moshiach comes. Which wars? The ones where the nations gather and speak futility. The story of Egypt, the story of Afghanistan, another story, that fight, another fight, but in relation to Jews ''the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps''.
Why? Because Jews are connected with the Guardian of the Jews. Then he sees in a revealed way that Hashem in Heaven laughs and mocks them. And the war of Gog U'Magog is not affecting the Jewish people.
Gog is fighting with Magog and it says in Tanach that it will be in Jerusalem, but that has nothing to do with the Jewishness in Jerusalem, and not in the city of Jerusalem, rather it's around Jerusalem. The Jews are standing strong because Jerusalem is a city where King David lived and the name ''Yerushalayim'' comes from the words ''yiras Hashem shleima'' which means ''complete fear of G-d''. And Jews who are complete G-d fearing people bring it into actuality and the city of Jerusalem will stay untouched.
And the nations are Utzu Eitza - contriving a scheme - but when the Jewish people behave in a manner of ki imanu Kel - G-d is with us - then dabru davar velo yakum - their conspired plot will not be materialized.
We are seeing so many things happen today at a quick pace. Obama, the Muslim US president – OUT, Trump, a more Judeo-Christian oriented man – IN.
The United Nations is relabeling the Land of Israel as Islamic.
Vladmir Putin has forces in Syria, PM Netanyahu is attacked on all sides inside and out of Israel, and the Jewish community of Amona is being destroyed. There is talk of the new U.S. President, Donald Trump (with his Jewish daughter and grandkids) being good for Israel, and then there is the dangerous and controversial Islamic emigration to the West. So — what do we make of all this? Is the stage being set for the Messianic age?
Rabbi Mendel Kessin joins Tamar Yonah to talk about ‘The Messianic Process: Trump, The United Nations, and Gog and Magog’.
"A king was informed by his chief minister that there had been blight on the crops that year. They were affected so greatly that anyone eating the grain would become insane. "But" said the minister, "there is no need for us to worry. I have set aside enough grain from last year's harvest for the both of us that will last until the harvest of the following year."
The king shook his head. "No," he said. "I will not allow myself any privileges other than those shared by my subjects. "We shall eat of the same grain," the king continued, "and we shall both go insane together with the rest of the population. But here is what we shall do. You and I will mark our foreheads with an indelible imprint, so that when we go insane, I will look at you and you will look at me and we will know we are insane."
Update: He was murdered by terrorists Israel's intelligence agency Mossad launched an "active investigation" into the case o...
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"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
