Ani Ma'amin

Australian Zalman Simons - love it!

Eliyahu haNavi

 Rabb Tovia Singer speaking about Eliyahu haNavi before Moshiach - [less than 10 mins]

The Essence of Torah in One Word

 

The Alter Rebbe teaches that the essence of the giving of the Torah is hidden in one strange word in the introductory verse of the Ten Commandments in parshat Yisro: 

וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֵאמֹר

And God spoke all of these words to say. [Yitro 20:1]

The last word of the verse - “leimor/to say” - has challenged the Sages throughout the generations. Without it, the verse would have read “and God spoke all of these words,” and this would have been sufficient. What does it add to indicate at the end of the verse that these words were “said/leimor” after it was already stated at the beginning of the verse that they were “spoken/vayidaber”? 

Many answers have been proposed. In other cases where this formula is employed in Torah - for example, “God spoke to Moses, saying” [Exodus 16:11] - the Sages explain that “leimor/saying” indicates that Moses was being instructed to “say” to the people publicly what God had “spoken” to him privately. Yet in the case of this opening verse at the giving of the Torah, the Alter Rebbe points out that this explanation cannot apply. For unlike the other cases where God is speaking to one person and instructing him to repeat what was being said to others who were not currently hearing it, in the case of the giving of the Torah, the entire Jewish nation (including the souls of all future generations) was there and heard the words from God Himself. 

Rashi interprets that “leimor/saying” here means that the nation answered each of the commandments, explicitly stating their agreement to them. God “spoke” the commandments, and the people “said” we will fulfill them. 

But the Alter Rebbe provides a deeper interpretation according to Chassidus and the Torah’s mystic depths. The essence of the giving of the Torah is expressed in this word “leimor/to say,” he teaches, because the entire purpose of Torah is to enable each of us “to say” what G-d “spoke.” In other words, each of us was created specifically in order to be a vessel through which G-d’s energy is expressed and manifested. Our ultimate function and purpose is to recognize that we are the instruments of Divine communication that He utilizes to reveal Himself in a world where He had initially hidden Himself. Torah is the wisdom that enables us to understand this reality and to articulate it. Torah is the practice that enables us to nullify our ego and allow the Godliness that is our ultimate essence to flow through us without obstruction. 

G-d “speaks” the world into existence every moment. We are here as His mouthpiece, to “say” what He speaks in a language that it can be understood and integrated in this physical world. Torah enables us to translate His infinite energy into something finite and tangible - to say what He spoke - and thereby to inform the entire creation of His Oneness and His eternal omnipresence.

Source: Pnei Hashem

As Above, So Below

Looking at photos all the time, sometimes I don't even know what I'm looking at - is this Gaza or is it the sunset?  ... sometimes they all seem so similar.

"By the times of the Talmudic period, the Jewish Sages had developed a unique cosmic worldview. They saw this material world as only a reflection of the spiritual world. What happened down here reflected, in some way, much greater cosmic events that were happening in the Heavens. Thus, just as there was a Jerusalem down here on Earth, there was a Jerusalem shel ma’alah, a “Jerusalem Above” (see, for example, Ta’anit 5a)." Source: Mayim Achronim

 The World Above resembles the world below: Cf. Tractate Berachos 58a; Zohar I, 38a, 205b, 197a.

Sunset Baja Sur, Mexico

Gaza

Mereweather Beach Newcastle Australia

Gaza bombing lights up the night

Cloud of unknown origins: from last week

Gaza

Gaza - notice the red circle around the sun

Who Will Fight the Battle of Gog and Magog ?

 Rabbi Zamir Cohen [in English]    H/t Sherry

Sun, Moon and Asteroids

The first time I noticed something strange in the sky was about 7 years ago. It was first night Seder and I went outside and looked up at the moon.  It looked something like this.  

I clearly remember asking my sister-in-law to come outside and explain to me why the moon had colours all around it.  She didn't know, but thought it was something to do with Moshiach coming soon.

I have seen the moon looking like this quite a few times since then, but it was not until five years later that I found out WHY there were colours around the moon.  

I saw a video on TikTok about planets passing between Earth and the Sun, which were highly visible to us.  After a lot more investigating, I started to understand why there were these colours around the moon.

Most people in the world still have no idea why they are seeing this.  Here is a typical example of things people post and, in response to their question, they are told utter nonsense about the reason why they are seeing these colours.

There are planets all around the sun, all different colours, and this is what is creating the rainbow-like effect both around the moon and also the sun.  

If you take a photo of the sun you make well see blue flashes around it - like this photo below.  You may also notice that it is not a full circle, it's being cut off at the sides.  This is called a light pinch.  The planets around it are blocking the edges of the sun from being seen. [You won't always get the colours or the blue around the sun, it depends where the planets are on that day.  I have successfully photographed blue flashes around the sun several times.  You do need to take photos on a daily basis to maximize your chances of catching the blue.]

In the picture below, a diagram has been superimposed below the image to show you what you are actually looking at.

The blue flashes are from the blue asteroid, which is an amazing turquoise colour, causing the blue around the sun. The asteroids appear to us as a circle with stripes. This is actually the "leading asteroid" - all of these orbiting objects have been named and new drawings are issued on the 15th of every month, showing their new positions in relation to our Sun.  There is also a red, a green and a tan coloured asteroid that we see.

Here is a picture of the blue asteroid illuminated under the moon. 

You can often see asteroid trails, which people wrongly identify as chemtrails or some other man-made thing.  Asteroid trails are wider and thicker, and they don't disappear after a few minutes, they hang around for quite a long time. Below is a short video of an asteroid trail.

Talking About Mashiach

Q and A with Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh

Translated from a class given by Rabbi Ginsburgh on 22 Shvat 5777 (2017) 

Q: Should we identify the Mashiach with a specific person? If so, does he have to be someone from this generation or can he be from the past? 

A: In the Talmud, it is written that if Mashiach is from the living, he is so-and-so and if he is from the dead he is so-and-so. The example given of someone from the dead is Daniel and the example of someone from the living is Rebbe (Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi). The sages left this question open. If we try to find a Mashiach living now in this generation, we will have to work hard. 

Q: Please explain more about courage. The common definition of courage is to feel fear regarding a certain action and to do it anyway. How can we access the fountain of courage within us? 

A: Courage is the ability to emerge from all frameworks, to swim against the stream, and to think out of the box. Courage is to disagree with someone in the name of God’s truth. One of the reasons to learn Torah in depth is to attain courage. The Torah teaches the truth and the truth is generally not aligned with the current popular agenda. A person who speaks the truth needs courage. The essence of the power of Mashiach is that he speaks the truth. Mashiach is the leader, he speaks for the entire generation. The power of the speaker is that he speaks the truth even when it is not popular. This is a simple expression of the courage that we must get from the Torah. Courage is not only what we say, but the ability to lead people according to the truth of the Torah, even when that is not popular. The Lubavitcher Rebbe directed us to say unpopular things “in a manner that can be accepted.” We have to speak the truth in a manner that will enter the ears and minds of the listener. 

Q: Who is the primordial snake with whom Mashiach has to do battle? Who is Amalek? 

A: Just above we said that Mashiach dares to say things that are not popular. From this, we can understand that the politically correct is the enemy. Where is this expressed? In the media. The Primordial Snake controls the media today. If the snake will repent – he can repent – he will be the great light of humanity, as was supposed to happen with Adam. He still has the opportunity to repent today. We need courage to fight the snake. We also have to be ingenious. Kabbalah teaches that the root of wisdom is in the attribute of might of the crown. How will Mashiach accomplish this? In addition to diligence and hard work, he needs genius and creativity. Let us pray to God that He will give the Mashiach the qualities that he needs to defeat the Primordial Snake. 

Q: How does the Mashiach make war? What weapons does he use? 

A: In Isaiah 11:4 it says, “And with the breath of his mouth he will kill the wicked.” Moses said of himself that he had “uncircumcised lips.” Mashiach, however, will have very strong lips so that he will be able to kill the wicked with the breath of his lips. He kills the Primordial Snake with the breath of his lips. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says that the Mashiach will not fire one bullet. He will triumph with the breath of his lips.

Original article here

The Power of Hashem

Rashi says that after Yitro saw Hashem punish the Egyptians Midda K'Neged Midda he then declared, "Ata Yadati Ki Gadol Hashem MiKol HaElokim" -  I now know that Hashem is greater than any other power. 

What is it about Midda K'Neged Midda that makes Hashem so unique, is it the ingenuity?

Rav Shimshon Pincus explains that every Koach [strength] in the world only has its own power to use. Fire can fight water with fire only, and not water. Aside from the fact that this is its only capability, it also wants to show its opponent what makes it unique. It cannot use power that it doesn't have.

Hashem works the opposite way. To show fire who is boss, Hashem uses fire to fight fire. He uses water to fight water. This unique fighting strategy shows that Hashem is more powerful than any other force. Moreover it shows that He is the only force, and the force behind all forces. 

In a way this doesn't counter the above logic, it works with it. Hashem fights each element with His unique force. He is Echad Yachid U'Miyuchad and every possible force is His. And He shows it to everybody as needed.

Source: Revach.net