Poppy Seeds, Sefer Daniel and Purim

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Now that the month of Adar has arrived, people will have started to make their Hamantaschen. Traditionally, hamantaschen have been made out of poppy seeds, although, of late, there are all sorts of other fillers that have popped up. Why poppy seeds?

The minhag was based upon a Ramah in Shulchan Aruch, where hecites the Kol Bo and writes [OC 695:2], “Some say that it is a custom to eat zironim – seeds on Purim, as a commemoration of the seeds that Daniel and his friends ate in Babylonia.”

Click here for recipe Poppy Seed Hamantaschen

Both the Pri Chadash and the Aruch haShulchan [OC 695:9] pose the following question:

Daniel? This is Purim – about Esther, not Daniel! Also, the Gemorah [Megillah 13a] tells us that Esther also ate seeds when she first came to the palace – Haigai fed it to her. Why then does the Ramah only quote Daniel?

Also, the Mishna Brurah mentions the Gemorah too, but does not address the question of the Pri Chadash and the Aruch haShulchan. I would like to propose the following answer.

Esther knew that there was rhyme and reason to her being taken into the palace. She knew that she was in need of a miracle. And now, those in charge of the women who were brought to the palace were offering them anything. She could have had her choice of any kosher food. Why then did she pick seeds?

Esther most certainly was aware of the miracle that happened to Daniel and his friends in the very beginning of Sefer Daniel. After ten days they were healthier and finer than all the others solely on a diet of seeds. This was the beginning of the help that Daniel rendered to his people. Perhaps she should take the same avenue.

With this answer we have greater insight into the minhag of eating poppy seed hamantaschen. Just as there was a miracle that occurred to Klal Yisroel regarding the seeds that Daniel and his friends ate, wherein they adhered strictly to the Kosher dietary laws through seeds and just like Esther tried to follow in those footsteps, so too should we merit miracles by virtue of our adhering carefully to the Torah’s dietary laws as symbolized by the poppy seeds.

There is another message about Purim that everyone could gain from. Daniel merited a miracle by keeping kosher. Esther did too. This is the reason behind our custom of eating poppy hamantaschen. Isn’t it time that every Jew who eats a Hamantashchen look into keeping kosher too?

Kever Rachel and Its Relationship to Purim

In honour of Rosh Chodesh Adar.....This may just be the most interesting shiur I have ever heard!

Rabbi Mendel Kessin is explaining everything in a way I have never heard before.  

A complete overview of how things works in the spiritual realm, the role of the Jews and the roles of the two Moshiachs. Listen to this and you will finally understand exactly how the world operates on a spiritual level.  So many questions that you didn't even know how to ask, are answered here.  I was totally blown away by this shiur.   

Did You Ever......

...... see anything like this ??

Threat on Purim

''Fire will consume Amalek / Gog.  Fire will burn them.''

Gog - Amalek - Iran - Purim - 5777 - 5778 - and the word Moshiach appears twice !

Rabbi Glazerson's latest code - and Purim is just two weeks away.

Trappist 1 - Nibiru - Kochav Yaakov

Yesterday NASA disclosed their discovery of  ''7 Earth Sized Planets Orbiting a Dwarf Star'' .

The planets orbit a dwarf star named Trappist-1, about 40 light-years, or 235 trillion miles, from Earth. That is quite close in cosmic terms, and by happy accident, the orientation of the orbits of the seven planets allows them to be studied in great detail.

I believe that is semi-fake news.  Those seven planets are pretty much identical to the orbs that we have been seeing in the sky for a long time now, which would make them a lot closer than 40 light years.

As far as I'm concerned, those seven planets are the ''seven moons'' orbiting Nibiru - the Kochav Yaakov - as described by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero.  

I'm not the only one who thinks this is actually the Nibiru system. ''And, strangely enough, they look like planets we have been photographing close to earth!''  See video below.

Geula: So Much Closer Now

For those of you who were a bit upset with Rabbi Kessin when he theorized, in one of his 21st Century videos, that we may have up to 15 years to wait for the Moshiach, now you can all take a deep breath and relax because in the second part of The Perception of the Divine Prophecy and the Messianic Process, he tell us to expect Him in 5778.

This makes perfect sense to me.   5777 would be the year that we are prepared for His arrival, and 5778 - the eight being the number of Moshiach - is when He finally reveals Himself.

I understand that many of you will not have the time or the patience to sit and listen to a two-hour long shiur, so I have summarized some it, but I really encourage you to listen, because I personally think that Rabbi Kessin is absolutely amazing and I could listen for days.

He spoke about the ''love fest'' of Trump and Bibi  with their arms around each other - @ 1:47 in the video below - and explained that what this really represents is Yaakov and Esav returning to each other. We are witnessing the prophecy of the Torah from 3300 years ago - that they will be brothers again.  This was like a re-union of the brothers for which there has been no precedent in the USA.   Trump is the tov sh'be Eisav - the good part of Eisav.  Hashem has groomed Trump for this role.  

The task of America now is to:

1.   Assist the Jews both in military and trade

2.   Allow Israel to build up for the kibbutz galius - [we are getting very close to Moshiach] - more on this on the video

3.   Protect Israel from Iran [or anyone else including the UN and Europe].

4.   Neutralize the two state solution.

Trump is highly instrumental in getting the world to a state of consciousness in which it can receive the Moshiach - even though Trump is unaware of this, he is just doing the will of Hashem.  Hashem has groomed Trump for this role.

Rabbi Kessin also told us that Moshiach is paralyzed and ''in jail'' - His power is necessarily imprisoned inside Him, He cannot expose this power until the world is ready.   If Moshiach were to be revealed now, most of the world would die as they could not survive the holiness and spirituality.

Netanyahu at the Central Synagogue, Sydney

Yesterday's visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to Sydney's Central Synagogue reminded me of a family reunion.  There is an obviously mutual admiration between Netanyahu and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, and the audience at the shul yesterday was enraptured by the presence of both of them. There were standing ovations, yiddish words being tossed about by Mr Turnbull and jokes made about the Central Synagogue being Turnbull's ''local shul''.  See video below.

Rabbi Levi Wolff presented a photo of Bibi with the Lubavitcher Rebbe dating from 1984 when he was Israel's Ambassador at the United Nations. Netanyahu then explained the photo to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - "This is the Grand Rebbe of Chabad and He told me "you are going to a place of deep darkness and lies, and if you will light one candle of truth, you will dispel the darkness.''

Australian PM Blasts UN over Israel

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has strongly condemned the UN, accusing it of a prejudiced attack against Israel over a Security Council resolution that accused the Israeli ­government of violating inter­national law with its settlement activity.

On the eve of a historic visit by Benjamin Netanyahu, who ­arrives in Sydney today as the first sitting Israeli leader to visit Australia, the Prime Minister also charged those who promoted or supported a boycott campaign with a deplorable attempt to ­­­de-legitimise the Jewish state.

In an exclusive commentary article published in The Australian today, Mr Turnbull denounces the UN for what he claims is bias, citing 20 resolutions ­between 2014 and 2015 that are critical of Israel when only a ­single resolution had been issued on the Syrian war.

Read the article here.

Also see Israeli Prime Minister lands in Sydney amid controversy