Cyclone Debbie

Bearing down on north Queensland in Australia is Cyclone Debbie which had intensified into a hurricane and is now hopefully classed as a Category 4 but possibly Category 5.   Thousands have been evacuated from the area.   The largest storm to hit Australia since Yasi in 2011.

Cyclone Debbie Descends

Other Peoples' Money

''He shall return the article that he stole, the withheld funds, the article left for safekeeping, the found article.... or anything else regarding which he swore falsely" [Vayikra 5:23-24]

Gedolei Yisrael have always exercised great caution when dealing with the money of others, so that they would not be guilty of the severe transgression of theft.

by Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

One erev Shabbos, when R' Isser Zalman Meltzer returned from the mikveh, he suddenly realized that he had used two clothing cubbies at the mikveh.

Perhaps I took someone else's space, thought R' Meltzer. I might very well owe the mikveh attendant twice the amount that I usually pay!

One of his family members saw how much the matter was troubling R'Meltzer, so he offered to go to the mikveh and pay the attendant for the extra cubby.

"It is I who must go" replied R' Meltzer. "For the halachah states explicitly that one who steals from his fellow must not only repay him, but he must verbally appease him as well. The responsibility to appease the attendant is my responsibility alone."

Communal Benefits

Art: Xinature

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

One of the questions often asked of the great poskim is how a person can atone for the sin of theft if he cannot remember the people from whom he has stolen!

In the book Tuvcha Yabiu, Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein Shlita advises one who wants to repent and atone for the sin of theft to donate some money for the needs of the community.

The Rav Shlita cites an amazing incident that occurred in Israel, an incident that he himself witnessed:

“Someone had placed some comfortable benches next to the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron. A few years ago, when I went to Meron, I saw a Jew who was lying down on one of these benches, and when he got up he said something like, ‘Oh, how it’s good to relax on these benches!’

“As it turned out, the man who was responsible for placing the benches there had sinned against the very same Jew relaxing on them. Since this Jew had benefited from these benches, it was considered as if the transgressor had atoned for his sin, thereby erasing it. The same applies to returning a stolen object: If we do something for the community by donating things that the public needs, and if we also pray to Hashem so that those against whom we have sinned will forgive us, we will attain atonement and forgiveness for our sin.”

Pesach: Will we go out of exile this year?

Rabbi Alon Anava

Korea: Rabbi Nachmani's Prophetic Words

This is a re-blog, for the readers who have not ever seen it, inspired by the latest post from Dov Bar Leib.

Rabbi Levi Saadia Nachmani zt''l, speaking in 1994 [about a month before he passed away], warning us about Korea's nukes.

Waiting for You

Artist Unknown

"For hundreds of years, perhaps since the beginning of Creation, a piece of the world has been waiting for your soul to purify and repair it.

And your soul, from the time it was first emanated and conceived, waited above to descend to this world and carry out that mission.

And your footsteps were guided to reach that place. And you are there now."

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

Real Love

Real love is reciprocated: "As in water, face reflects face, so is the heart of man to man" [Proverbs 27:19]. Reflections in water are an apt metaphor for the reciprocity of feelings.

The Hebrew word for "water" - mayim - is a reflection of itself: it is the same read forwards or backwards.

Love is reciprocated, though, only if it as strong as the love of father for son, brother for brother, or husband for wife. Weak love might not be returned.

"Love your neighbour like yourself" - love him so strongly that he will naturally reciprocate with love like you have for him.

from the writings of the Ben Ish Chai

The First Tablets -v- The Second Tablets

There are a number of key differences between the first and second tablets:

The Tablets themselves: The first tablets were ''the work of God'' [Ki Tisa 32:16], whereas the second tablets God told Moshe to ''carve for yourself'' [34:1]

The writing:  The Talmud states that only the first tablets possessed the quality of ''God's writing'', which would have caused the words to be forever engraved in Israel's heart and never forgotten [Eruvan 54a and Rashi ibid]

The spiritual level of Israel: By the first tablets, the Jewish people were tzadikim [saintly], whereas by the second tablets they were ba'alei teshuvah [penitents].

The spiritual level of Moshe:  Moshe was given ''one thousand lights'' as a present when the Torah was given, but with the sin of the golden calf they were taken away.

The second tablets had the advantage that (a) they were given with ''halachot, midrash and aggadot'' and (b) Moshe's face shone with light when they were given.

Source: Lubavitcher Rebbe Hayom Yom 17 Tamuz