The Mystical Aspects of Shabbos

New shiur from Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Opening the Gates

''Karma'' is the word given to the Hebrew term ''midda kneged midda'' - measure for measure

Judges and police officers you shall appoint in all your cities..... [Shoftim 16:18]

This verse can be understood in the light of the teaching found in the Talmud in Berachos [61b] that "Tzaddikim are judged by their yetzer tov [good inclination] and the wicked are judged by the yetzer hara [evil inclination]. The average person is judged by both."

The righteous have an admonisher inside them who reproves and reprimands them even about the good deeds that they perform. He points out the defects and shortcomings of their actions, how they are lacking and how they should have been performed for the Almighty Creator. In this way they are "judged by their yetzer tov".

The wicked are just the opposite. Not only do all their actions appear good in their eyes, but their evil inclination shows them that even the evil deeds they do are good. Thus, the wicked are judged by the yetzer hara.

But the average person is judged by both, and as the Tanna taught, "we are average people" - that a person should always consider himself a beinoni, average, as someone who walks on both paths. On the one hand, he should constantly rebuke himself, debating his own actions; he should consider himself to be falling short of properly serving Hashem and fulfilling his obligations. When doing mitzvos, he should understand well that he has not acted properly with true clarity and purity as befitting the service of the Almighty; he should be humble and lowly in his own eyes.

Even so, one should not consider himself wicked, Heaven forbid, as our Sages taught: "Do not be wicked in your own eyes" [Avos 2:18] Otherwise if one does consider himself wicked, he will have no motivation to perform the mitzvos, not to learn Torah or pray or perform any good deed. He will give up hope, resigned that he is not worthy enough to do these things. Therefore, one must hold on to both paths at the same time in order to be complete. Then he will fulfill the teaching of our Sages "With all your heart" [Devarim 6:5] - with both inclinations. This is the meaning of "we are average people" and the "average person is judged by both".

Thus it says "Appoint for yourself judges and police officers". This refers to the two judges we spoke about, the good and evil inclinations. The good inclination is an "officer" since it polices the nation, preventing them from committing any offence, and so the good inclination admonishes and rebukes man for his misdeeds and shortcomings in serving G-d.

"In all your cities" [literally "gates"] - every mitzvah and holy act has its own gate. When a person learns, prays, or does any other act of holiness in this world, he opens the gates to that specific mitzvah above.

Source: Mipeninei Noam Elimelech
Translated by Tal Moshe Zwecker

Hawaii Conspiracy vs Reality

Conspiracy theory is that the fires in Lahaina Hawaii were started by a DEW - a Directed Energy Weapon.  To see photos of these DEWs, enter the term into Google and click on Images.

I don't think it was a DEW.... but it was a similar thing that happened, however it came from Hashem.

Here are some photos of what people are talking about. [this is not my concept, I am taking it from people who know a lot more than I do about these things]

"Geostorm" is a movie, I haven't seen it, but it has nothing to do with this.

These photos are actually showing something called an "ion bleed off" from another planet.

Here are some more, taken at other places in the world.

The reason why the fires became so intense from this ion bleed off in Hawaii is because of winds from Hurricane Dora.  It was perfect timing. Only Hashem can do this.

I remember the fires in Australia, a few years ago, the winds were insane, and I was nowhere near the fires, I live in the city.  The wind felt strange, it was angry, I felt Hashem's power in that wind. 

I don't believe that any fire so huge as to destroy an entire city can be anything other than the Hand of G-d.  

This man is explaining how the wind fanned the fire, and from what he is saying, it is obviously the Hand of G-d.  In the same way it happened in Australia, first there was a drought, no rain and very dry vegetation, and then the fire starts, fanned by incredible wind.

Now if you're still having trouble believing in a second solar system passing by us, I have more photos and videos to put up, but that will be in another blog post.  

The 18 Decrees of Beit Shammai

Rabbi Efraim Palvanov

Two thousand years ago, two Jewish academies dominated the Judean landscape: Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. While Jewish law is said to always follow Beit Hillel, there was a time when Beit Shammai managed to forcefully vote in 18 decrees. The Talmud states this day was as terrible for Israel as the day of the Golden Calf. 

What really happened at that fateful event? What were the 18 laws? And why do we still observe them

 today?

For a written summary of this class and lots more information click here

 

Individual Tests

I searched my blog for this image... and then saw it was on a post for the current Parsha Re'eh... 

and I needed to blog this today, because I know I was being tested last week when I had to

block anonymous comments, and I think I learnt something huge. 

''...for the Lord, your God, is testing you...'' [Re'eh 13:4]

One of the basic teachings of the Torah is that God does not expect of a human being anything which is beyond the human capacity to carry out.  This is quite understandable, for even a human being, who is very far from absolute perfection, would not expect of a tool that he has fashioned any more than he has put into it.

Certainly God, the Creator of man, knows man's capacities.  From this, it immediately follows that when a person faces any kind of a test of faith, it is certain that he has been given the capacity to overcome it.  And the more difficult the test, the greater are the individual's capacities.

The reason that an individual is tested is not because God wants to know how he will acquit himself, but in order that this person be afforded the opportunity to realize his potential, even that which is unknown to him.

And when one's potential capacities are released and activated, they become part and parcel of his or her arsenal, to be used for personal as well as communal benefit.

Source: Excerpt from a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Role of the Body and Soul in this World and the Next

Rabbi Shimon Kessin

Hashem Will Bless You

Art Barbara Rochlitz

Text by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

It is written, “Because of this thing, Hashem your G-d will bless you” [Re'eh 15:10].

The term hazeh (“this”) has a numerical value of 17.

The Sages say, “He who gives a small coin to a poor man obtains six blessings, and he who speaks comforting words to him obtains eleven blessings” [Bava Batra 9b]. 

Hence the verse states, “Because of hazeh [this] thing, Hashem your G-d will bless you.”

Source – Kol Eliyahu

Melbourne's Meteor

They are calling it a meteor but no-one really knows what fell from the sky last night.

Melbourne, Australia.