Current Events and Tu B'Shvat

Latest from Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Includes discussion about VP Mike Pence's speech, Bibi Netanyahu's visit to India and the connections to Tu B'Shvat, and the Messianic process.

When the Tzadik Decrees

Art Maya Angelou

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto 

When I was a young boy, I used to watch Father, zy”a, light many lamps in cups of oil in memory of the tzaddikim, may their memories be blessed. Father would light untold amounts of these lights, to the extent that he would often say that if he had eye problems, it was surely due to the smoke that emanated from them. Nevertheless, he would scrupulously light the wicks with unbridled joy and deep concentration.

One day, Mr. Amram Ben-Chamou, a”h, came to visit precisely when Father was lighting the candles. Mr. Ben-Chamou explained that he suffered from heart problems. The doctors had informed him that if he suffered another heart attack, no matter how light, he would die.

“Does the number twenty-six, which is the numerical equivalent of Hashem’s Name, י-ה-ו-ה, find favor in your eyes?” asked Father.

“Yes!” answered Mr. Ben-Chamou.

“In that case, Hashem will add another twenty-six years to your life, in the merit of the tzaddikim for whom I am now lighting candles,” was Father’s blessing.

Mr. Ben-Chamou was pleased with these words and left with a spring in his step.

Twenty-six years came and went. Mr. Ben-Chamou was struck with a heart attack. His wife, who stood devotedly at his side, called me up to ask that I come and bless him with a complete recovery. I asked to speak with the sick man. He said to me, “I want you to know, honored Rav, that I am on the brink of death.”

“Why do you talk like that?” I asked, surprised.

“Your father, zy”a, blessed me that I live another twenty-six years. This coming Monday completes twenty-six full years from the time of that blessing. I am sure that I will die then. Nothing can help.”

That very Monday, he returned his soul to his Maker. I was left with the lesson of the greatness of tzaddikim, who are able to decree what will be. Hashem fulfills their decrees, in the merit of their attachment to Torah throughout their lives. Moreover, this tale teaches the significance of lighting candles in the memory of the tzaddikim of old.

Ploughing Together

Art by Vitaly Urzhumov

One of the Torah’s 613 commandments is the prohibition of ploughing a field, harnessing an ox and donkey together. Many reasons and insights have been presented to explain this mitzvah.

The Zohar reveals to us some of the mystical depth behind this commandment. It writes that the shor (ox) represents Esau and the Western world, while the chamor (donkey) represents Yishmael and the Arab world. The Torah is alluding to us in this commandment that if these two powers join together – i.e. the “ox” and the “donkey” plowing together - they can destroy the entire world.

The Mystics add that if the Jewish people do a collective teshuvah and repent from our errant ways, as the prophet exhorts us: “Shuvu banim shovavim …Return, O wayward sons…” [Jeremiah 3:14], we will reach shleimus (perfection) and thus be able to eliminate the power of the shor [Esau] v’chamor [and Yishmael], which will ultimately lead to Bias HaMoshiach, the Coming of the Messiah, speedily and in our days.

To prove this connection they point out that the Hebrew words “Shuvu banim shovavim”, “shleimus”, “shor v’chamor”, and “Bias HaMoshiach” all have the exact same gematria (numerical value) – they all equal 776 - and are thus related to each other on a mystical level.

Source: Torch Torah Weekly

The Messages in ''Shirat Devorah''

This week's parsha is Beshalach, where we read the Haftorah of Shirat Devorah: The Song of Devorah. The following text was written by Joel Gallis a''h and Dr Robert Wolf

The Zohar says that the upcoming, final war of Gog and Magog will be similar to the war with Sisera in that it will also have tremendous miracles. These miracles will be due to the merit of Devorah. And a Torah Code analysis of the Song of Devorah, confirms this. The words, Mashiach, Gog and Magog, are all secretly coded in the song, overlapping each other, each coded with an interval of 102 spaces. 102 is the gematria of emunah (true faith). And it's interesting that the codes appear in the verses where Devorah admonishes the tribes that didn't participate in the war, and praises the ones that did. This is a hint that we all must be willing to fight for Jewish survival. When Hashem sees our emunah and effort, He then takes over.

Shirat Devorah - Devorah's Song - is located in the haftorah for Parsha Beshalach. We should read it, and if we can, sing it often, for her song is indeed about the final redemption and Mashiach. We should sing this song now and show our great emunah to Hashem, thanking Him in advance for destroying our enemies completely.

The Song of Devorah applies to all Jews, but it is especially connected to the Jews in America. In order to place our complete trust and faith in G-d, we must place our entire essence in Hashem's hands. But how can we do that when we, and most of our possessions, time and energy, are invested in lands away from our true home. The Song of Devorah is the key to unlock the door to our redemption, because it is the Song of total freedom. Freedom from the world of material possessions, the urge to accumulate, and the phony happiness and pleasures we derive from our wealth. This total freedom, will free us from the Soton's hold on us. The Song of Devorah can break the chains that bind us to the material temptations of America. Evidencing this is the fact that there are 356 words in the song, the same as the gematria of America, אמריקה.

The following text of Shirat Devorah is from Chabad.org

Judges: Chapter 4

4. Now Deborah was a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth; she judged Israel at that time.

5. And she sat under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-el, in the mountain of Ephriam; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali. And she said to him, "Indeed the Lord, God of Israel, commanded, 'Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun.

7. And I shall draw to you, to the brook Kishon, Sisera, the chieftain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will give him into your hand.' "

8. And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me then I shall go, but if you will not go with me, I shall not go."

9. And she said, "I shall surely go with you, but your glory will not be on the way which you go, for into the hand of a woman will the Lord deliver Sisera." And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10. And Barak gathered Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand men went up at his feet; and Deborah went up with him.

11. Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses; and he pitched his tent as far as Elon-bezaanannim, which is by Kedesh.

12. And they told Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor.

13. And Sisera gathered all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-goiim, to the brook Kishon.

14. And Deborah said to Barak, "Rise, for this is the day which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Did not the Lord go out before you?" And Barak went down from Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men after him.

15. And the Lord confused Sisera and all the chariots and all of the camp with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled on foot.

16. And Barak pursued the chariots and the camp, to Harosheth-goiim; and all of Sisera's camp fell by the edge of the sword, not even one was left.

17. And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18. And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not." And he turned in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a garment.

19. And he said to her, "Give me now a little water to drink, for I am thirsty;" and she opened the flask of milk and gave him to drink, and covered him.

20. And he said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent; and it shall be, if any man comes and asks you and says, 'Is a man here?,' then you shall say, 'There is not.' "

21. And Jael, the wife of Heber, took the tent-pin, and placed the hammer in her hand, and came to him stealthily, and thrust the pin into his temple, and it pierced through into the ground; and he was in a deep sleep and weary; and he died.

22. And behold, Barak pursued Sisera, and Jael came out to meet him, and she said to him, "Come and I will show you the man whom you seek," and he came to her, and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temple.

23. And God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.

24. And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed constantly harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan.

Chapter 5

1. Now Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying.

2. "When breaches are made in Israel, when the people offer themselves willingly, bless the Lord.

3. Hear, O kings, give ear, O princes; I, to the Lord I shall sing, I shall sing to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4. Lord, when You went forth out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dripped; also the clouds dripped water.

5. The mountains melted at the presence of the Lord, this (was at) Sinai, because of the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans ceased, and travellers walked on crooked paths.

7. The open cities ceased, in Israel they ceased, until I Deborah arose; I arose as a mother in Israel.

8. When they chose new gods, then there was war in the cities; was there seen a shield or a spear (when the) forty thousand (went against) Israel?

9. My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people, (saying,) 'Bless the Lord.'

10. The riders of white donkeys, those that sit in judgment, and those that walk on the path, tell of it.

11. Instead of the noise of adversaries, between the places of drawing water, there they will tell the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of restoring open cities in Israel. Then the people of the Lord went down to the cities.

12. Praise! Praise! Deborah. Praise! Praise! Utter a song. Arise Barak, and capture your captives, son of Abinoam.

13. Then ruled a remnant among the mighty of the nations; the Lord dominated the strong for me.

14. Out of Ephraim, whose root was against Amalek; after you (will be) Benjamin with your abaters; out of Machir came down officers, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the scribe.

15. And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, as was Issachar with Barak; into the valley they rushed forth with their feet. (But) among the divisions of Reuben, (there were) great resolves of heart.

16. Why do you sit between the borders, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? At the divisions of Reuben, (there are) great searchings of heart.

17. Gilead abides beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why does he gather into the ships? Asher dwelt at the shore of the seas, and by his breaches he abides.

18. Zebulun is a people that jeopardized their lives to die, as did Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

19. The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

20. From heaven they fought; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

21. The brook Kishon swept them away, that ancient brook, the brook Kishon; tread down, O my soul, (their) strength.

22. Then were pounded the heels of the horses by reason of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.

23. 'Curse you Meroz,' said the messenger of the Lord, 'curse you bitterly (you) inhabitants thereof,' because they came not to the aid of the Lord, to the aid of the Lord against the mighty.

24. Blessed above women shall Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, be; above women in the tent shall she be blessed.

25. Water he requested, (but) milk she gave him: in a lordly bowl she brought him cream.

26. She put forth her hand to the pin, and her right hand to strike the weary; she struck Sisera, pierced his head, and wounded and penetrated his temple.

27. At her feet he sank, fell, lay; at her feet he sank (and) fell; where he sank, there he fell down dead.

28. Through the window the mother of Sisera looked forth, and peered through the window; why is his chariot late in coming? Why tarry the strides of his chariots?

29. The wisest of her princesses answer her, she too returns answers to herself.

30. 'Are they not finding (and) dividing the spoils? A damsel, two damsels to every man; a spoil of dyed garments to Sisera, a spoil of dyed garments of embroidery; dyed garments of embroidery for the neck of the spoiler.'

31. So may perish all Your enemies, O Lord; but they that love Him (should be) as the sun when he goes forth in his might." And the land rested forty years.

A Hebrew/English format of Shirat Devorah can be found at Mechon-Mamre

I'll Have What She's Having

Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his lot, as it is said: ‘When you eat the toil of your hands you are fortunate and it is good for you’ [Psalms 128:2]

Rabbi Mizrachi has a knack of stating things that should be so obvious to us, and yet we never realized it, or put it into words.  

In this shiur [39:30-41:00] he talks about the fact that people can be happy and comfortable with life, but get resentful and envious when they compare what they have with someone else.

We love our own home.... and yet when we get to go inside the house of a new friend and see what she has.... we think we want/need that.

It's a challenge to be content with your own lot when people around you seem to have so much more money and a better life. If this is your challenge, try becoming friends with people who have less than you do to help you appreciate what you have.

Everything is fine.... until you compare.

Don't compare.  Everyone has a different mission in life, and different needs.  Everyone has exactly what they need to complete their own mission.  Hashem doesn't make mistakes.

Wake Up Call

A large family of my favourite bird - the kookaburra - have taken up residence in a tree very close to my home.  Every morning and evening I am treated to their laughing sounds. It's said that when you hear the kookaburras during the day, rain is on the way.

If you have never heard a kookaburra - native to Australia and New Guinea only - here is just one kookaburra laughing.... now multiply that sound by six....

And for Leah.... here is Joe's photo of a junior kookaburra eating mince meat.

Parshas HaMon

Art: Heidi Malott

Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Riminov [1745-1815], a disciple of the Holy Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, instructed everyone to read "Parshat HaMann" specifically on the Yom Shlishi [Tuesday] of Parshat Beshalach in the "Shnayim Mikra v'Echad Targum" format, i.e. reading the Hebrew verses twice and the Aramaic translation of Onkelos once.   This year it will occur today Tuesday 23 January.

Not to be confused with the evil villain of the Purim story, Parshat haMann [The Chapter of the Manna] is found in the 16th Chapter of the Book of Exodus: verses 4-36. This Chapter details the episode of the miraculous "Manna" [bread from heaven] that sustained the Children of Israel during their 40-year journey in the desert.

Rav Yosef Caaro, the "mechaber" [compiler] of the monumental Halachic text, the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 1:5, instructs us to recite it daily. Other giants of Halacha also point to the importance of reciting it daily: The Tur 1; Aruch Hashulchan 1:22; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 1:9.

By so doing, every Jew acknowledges that his/her livelihood comes from only from Hashem. Reciting the Parshat HaMann daily strengthens one's Emuna and Bitachon [belief and trust] in HASHEM, and is a "Segula for Parnassa" [auspicious for having a healthy income].

To read Parshat haMann in Hebrew [with the Aramaic translation of Onkelos], please visit: Tefillos.com

English version here: Ou.org

Read more at: Zchus Avos and Why Parshas Hamon is recited on Tuesday

Olam Ha-Bo in An Instant

Unknown Artist

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

Commenting on the verse that states, “the Children of Israel walked on the dry land amid the sea” [Beshalach 15:19], the author of Noam Elimelech writes, “Just as the Children of Israel did at the Red Sea, the great Tzaddikim managed to perceive the unlimited greatness of the Eternal, even as if they found themselves on dry land in the middle of the Red Sea.”

One may ask a few questions on this passage:

1. How can one imagine that, on the one hand, the Children of Israel had reached such a spiritual level that they saw the Divine Presence, could even point out G-d, and had Divine inspiration enough to sing the Shirah with Moses, yet on the other hand were forced to purify themselves of the forty-nine levels of impurity once they left the sea [Zohar, Yitro 39a]?

2. Why did they have the merit to see the Celestial Chariot when they passed through the Red Sea, while at the same time they were still stuck in their impurity and continued to worship idols? The Children of Israel should have normally purified and sanctified themselves first, having the privilege to see the Shechinah only after receiving the Torah.

It is because our Sages teach that one can merit the world to come in an instant [Avodah Zarah 10b, 17a]. Incidentally, one can also lose it in an instant. They could therefore not linger for a second longer, and well before reaching the threshold of the fiftieth gate of impurity, they reached elevated spiritual levels. “For they were driven from Egypt for they could not delay, וגם [and also] provisions they could not make for themselves” [Bo 12:39]. The word וגם has the same numerical value (49) as מט (forty-nine levels of impurity). Yet in their impurity, they nevertheless did offer the Passover sacrifice, and did circumcise themselves, mixing in this way (as we have seen) the blood of the Brit with that of the Passover sacrifice.

Even though they knew that they were not meritorious, they believed in G-d Who promised to strike all the firstborn of Egypt in the middle of the night [Bo 12:29]. If they sprinkled blood on the lintel of their doors, He would pass above them and spare them [v.13].

The behavior of the Children of Israel is thus unique in the annals of history. What other people managed to believe in G-d and offer Him sacrifices while wandering in the desert, in an uncultivated land, far from G-d and devoid of the Torah to guide them?

It was the survivors of the plague of darkness that repented and merited the world to come in a few moments. When the Eternal saw that they devoted themselves completely to Him, even thought they were still impure, He blessed them with shefa (abundance), with light and holiness, and enabled them to reach great spiritual heights in allowing them to witness the miracle at the Red Sea. It was because He looked into their hearts and knew that they aimed only to obey Him.

The Children of Israel nevertheless had to rectify all their sins in the desert. Imbued with holiness when then passed through the Red Sea, they knew exactly how to get rid of their impurity, and how to get closer to the Holy One, blessed be He.

But those who didn’t improve their behavior showed that, in fact, they refused to get closer to G-d and to leave Egypt. Therefore they died in the plague of darkness because they wanted to “help” the forces of evil that function in the night [Zohar II:164b]. It was thus the darkness that punished them [cf. Shabbat 105b]. The Eternal also revealed Himself as much to those that didn’t believe in Him, as to those that recognized Him without even having received the Torah or witnessed the miracle at the Red Sea. They could therefore rectify all their bad traits and merit the world to come in an instant.