Appreciating the Bad

''Everything will be okay in the end.... if it's not okay, it's not the end..''  [that quote has been attributed to several different people, but it was actually written by John Lennon and more recently made famous in a movie called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which I happened to watch on TV the other night.  

When you are taken down in any way, or are inflicted with some kind of terrible event, and you begin to lose faith and wonder why this is happening to you..... that's a very good quote to remember.  It's not the end.  We haven't got there yet.  Terrible things are happening everywhere and most of them are there to bring us back to Hashem.... the lower the descent, the higher the potential ascent.  In Hebrew this is ''Yerida l'tzorich Aliyah'' - descent for the purpose of ascent.

You can't rise to the highest highs unless you have experienced the lowest lows.  

And so it is with the world... the lower it sinks, the higher it will rise when Moshiach's time has come.  It is necessary that the world sinks to the lowest point possible, because the coming of Moshiach will cause it to rise to the highest point possible.

So appreciate your suffering for what it is.... a stepping stone to a higher level of existence.

Twice every Seven Years

And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. [Va'etchanan 6:9]

Now that my shoulder is healing, I am able to do things that I should have done sooner, such as check my mezuzot !  They are supposed to be checked TWICE every Seven Years.

Most people are under the false impression that you are supposed to have them checked once every seven years. The fact is that the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states that they need to be checked by a scribe twice in every seven year period. That means about every 3.5 years.

The benefits of having a kosher mezuzah on every door post in your home cannot be underestimated.  That means every doorpost, not just the front door [of course with the exception of any room that contains a toilet as such a room is tamei - impure].  And if you have a gate with a lintel over it, that needs a mezuzah as well.  A gate without a lintel doesn't require one.

Make sure the mezuzah is the right way up and the Shin/Daled/Yud is visible on the front.  An upside down mezuzah in its case is not going to work properly.

To learn more about the mitzvah of the mezuzah see here and here.

As it happens, all my mezuzot were kosher, but I decided to buy a bigger newer one for the front door anyway.  The bigger the better.  And it was the Lubavitcher Rebbe who campaigned for bigger mezuzot, as opposed to those tiny little scrolls that everyone used to have when they were trying to hide them from their anti-semitic neighbours.  If, however, you do happen to live in a place where you are worried about anti-semitism, place the mezuzah just inside the front door.  You might want to check with a Rabbi first about this though.

This is one mitzvah you should do, not only because it is commanded of us, but because it gives you incredible protection spiritually and physically.

The Greatness of Torah Part 3

Rabbi Mendel Kessin - to see Parts 1 and 2 click on the KESSIN label below

The Sound of the Earthquake: The Voice of the Earth

Everyone has heard about the massive earthquakes that hit Los Angeles on July 4 and subsequent even bigger aftershocks more recently.

The quakes came during the Parsha of Korach, where the ground opens up and swallows the evil ones.  Thankfully no-one died as a result of the quakes [or so I read, whether that is actually true or not I do not know], but the ground did open up in several places.

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The Israeli city of Tzfat has suffered several devastating earthquakes. After one of them in the year 1839, the Chassidic Rabbi, Rebbe Avraham Dov of Avritch, said the following: "This catastrophe is a sign of the redemption. The Talmud in Sanhedrin alludes to the time when the Mashiach will redeem us. He will come when 'This gate shall collapse, be rebuilt, collapse, be rebuilt again and again, until there will not be enough time to rebuild it before the Mashiach comes.' The word gate in Hebrew is _sha'ar_. These same three (Hebrew) letters when reshuffled, spell the word _ra'ash_ (meaning earthquake)...May this be the last 'collapsing of the gate' mentioned in the Talmud, and may we soon see the final redemption in our time - Amen."  Source:  God and Earthquakes

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"V'Chol Yisroel Asher Sevivoteihem Nasu L'Kolam" - all of Bnei Yisroel that were around them ran from the voice [Korach 16:34]. Which voices were they running from? The Mizrachi says it could not have been from the screaming of the people falling into the open earth or else all the people would run towards the voices to see this strange event, and not away from it. Instead he says it was from the booming noise of the earth opening up. 

The Tosfos Yom Tov says that the voice was that of the earth speaking and announcing that the sinners were swallowed alive and still living inside the bowels of the earth. He brings proof from the pasuk that says [Korach 16:30], "U'Phatzta HaAdama Et Piha" the earth opened its mouth. The word Phatzta implies that it opened its mouth to speak because the word that is used in this parsha to describe the opening of the ground is "VaTiftach HaAretz Et Piha". 

Maybe this would explain the mishna in Pirkei Avos [5:8] that says that one of the ten things created Erev Shabbos Bein HaShmashos was "Pi HaAretz" - the mouth of the earth that swallowed Korach. if it meant the crack in the earth then why would this be a special creation? The earth splitting was not a one time event and happens from time to time. Moreover, a crack is not a creation. Maybe it means the mouth of the earth that spoke, similar to another creation in this mishna, the mouth of the donkey of Bilam who spoke.

The Greatness of Torah Part 2

Rabbi Mendel Kesssin




To see Part 1 click on the KESSIN label below

Created at Twilight

"But if Hashem will create a phenomenon, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them" [Korach 16:30]

Rashi cites the Gemara in Maseches Sanhedrin [110a]: "If the mouth of the earth is a creation from the six days of Creation," said Moshe Rabbeinu, "then fine. But if not, may Hashem create one!"

Why, asked the Chasam Sofer [R' Moshe Sofer], did Moshe Rabbeinu have any doubt as to whether or not the mouth of the earth had been created during the six days of Creation?  For Chazal state [Avot 5:9] explicitly:

Ten things were created at twilight on the eve of the first Sabbath:

the mouth of the earth

the mouth of the well

the mouth of the ass

the rainbow;

the manna;

Aaron's staff;

the Shamir, writing;

the inscription on the tablets of the Ten Commandments;

and the tablets themselves. 

How then could Moshe have overlooked this Mishnah?

One of the ten things enumerated by Chazal, answered the Chasam Sofer, was "Moshe's grave".  This grave, whose location is unknown, was also created at twilight of that erev Shabbos.

Hashem therefore concealed all ten things from Moshe so that he would not hear of his own passing.  Thus, Moshe had to request "If the mouth of the earth is a creation from the six days of Creation, then fine. But if not, may Hashem create one!"

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Prediction: Second Elections Will Fail -Gog u Magog by Tishrei

Rabbi Yekutiel Fish, an expert in Jewish mysticism who blogs in Hebrew under the title ‘Sod Chashmal,’ told Breaking Israel News that the final redemption is very close indeed. He also noted two clear signs that this is so, signs that will be seen in newspaper headlines.

 “According to our calculations, there will be a war by the end of the summer, certainly before the Jewish high-holidays,” Rabbi Fish said.

One of his calculations was based on a section of the Talmud.

The disciples of Rabbi Yossi the son of Kisma questioned him, asking when the son of David (the Messiah) will appear. And he answered: I am afraid you will request from me a sign as well. And they assured him that they would not. He then said to them: When this gate will fall, be rebuilt and fall again, be rebuilt again and fall again. And before it will be rebuilt for the third time the Messiah will appear. Tractate Sanhedrin (78a).

Rabbi Fish explained that the term שער (gate) refers to government or leadership, as seen in a verse in Deuteronomy.

You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes (gates), in all the settlements that Hashem your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. [ Shoftim 16:1]

Read the entire article at Breaking Israel News

Reincarnation and Souls

Art Carolee Clark

Questions and Answers from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh of the Gal Einai Institute

Q: When people see a deceased relative in a dream, is it their own reflection or is it more objective? Is this real communication?

A: It depends. If the person is a tzaddik, it is a real communication. If it is a regular person, it can be something just within himself.

Q: Is there an ongoing subconscious dialogue with the deceased, such as family members? Is it a only in one direction or are the deceased aware, as well?

A: Certainly it is a two way street. Parents are always connected to their children whether they are alive or in the higher world. They are here, they look and take interest in everything that happens in the family. The Rebbe used to write that when the family member has a happy occasion, they know.

Q: If the soul reincarnates, it is still connected?

A: if the soul reincarnates in a different person, there is a distance, but there is still a connection. In physics, it is called entanglement. יי

Q: I was wondering if one’s family members in this life are specifically connected to one’s soul and were connected in previous gilgulim (and will be in the world to come) or if it is more “incidental” so to speak and the souls of one’s family change.

A: According to the Arizal, in the more recent generations, there could be less connection at the source between souls of family members. Certainly, though, there is a connection and a definite rectification in their relationship.

Q: Is there any usefulness in bringing out events in one’s previous life in order to rectify?

According to the Ba’al Shem Tov, it is not appropriate for an individual to try to discover his reincarnations. A person’s service of G-d must be done with temimut, simplicity. This is one of the basic foundations of Judaism. The more that a person connects to G-d on a level of simplicity, the more simcha, joy, he experiences. Joy is the inner trait of Binah, the beginning of the left line of the sefirot. Simplicity, temimut, is the inner trait of hod, which is the bottom of the left line. The joy of Binah spreads down to the simplicity of hod. This is the source of happiness in life. It is not important for a person to know specifically what level he is on, or what reincarnation he must rectify. If his focus is on the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot, the rectification process will take place without his specific awareness. This is a much more practical way for a person to function in his daily life, and his ultimate goals and rectifications will be accomplished with more joy.