The Severity of the Sin

Art by Nick Gustafson

Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that He had brought upon Pharaoh....And the Lord did according to Moses' word, and the frogs died .... [Va'eira 8:8-9]

Why is it, asked the Chofetz Chaim, that at the Plague of Frogs, Hashem accepted Moshe's prayer as soon as he uttered it and immediately stopped the devastating plague, yet when the Jews were in the wilderness and were attacked by fiery serpents, Moshe's prayers did not have an immediate effect?

For, in that case, Hashem told Moshe: ''Make yourself [the image of] a venomous snake, and place it on a pole.'' [Bamidbar 21:8]   Only by gazing at the copper ''snake'' did those who were bitten survive.

Why was it necessary for Moshe to perform an action here in order to save the Jewish people in the wilderness, yet in Egypt, no additional action was required?

This is meant to teach us, answered the Chofetz Chaim, the severity of the sin of speaking lashon hara.

As a rule, prayer is effective for removing all misfortunes and calamities.  Therefore, when Moshe beseeched Hashem to remove the frogs from Egypt, Hashem accepted his prayer and instantly stopped the plague.  However, the fiery serpents were sent to attack the Jewish people as a punishment for speaking lashon hara.  

Since they had committed a sin which the Heavenly Court judges with exactitude, Moshe's prayers were not immediately effective.  Instead, Hashem instructed him to make an image of a venomous snake for the people to gaze at.  This way, each Jew would think of his Father in Heaven and personally repent for his sin.  Each Jew would then be forgiven and granted life.

Source: Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

My friend Rivky said to me yesterday that this is the plague of darkness, we cannot see what is going on.  

To confuse the issue even more, the impulsive and sometimes crazy Elon Musk decided to thank everyone [like he's the one who's been elected] and put his hand on his heart and salute the crowd.  

Except the salute looked a lot like the Roman salute, a.k.a. the Fascist salute, or G-d forbid the nazi salute.

Again, confusion, very easy to jump to a conclusion here.  And everyone has indeed jumped to that conclusion.  

Elon Musk is impulsive, he's emotional, he just DOES things, this time he did something that made everyone think the worst.  Darkness and confusion again.  

I'm still not worried about it, he is not a nazi sympathizer.  Remember, Moshiach comes out of chaos.

Baruch Hashem

Trump is finally in the White House and all is wrong with the world.  

Don't worry though.... like "Bob the Builder" - Trump will fix it.   [Bob the Builder is a children's show, the theme song is "Bob the Builder, he will fix it....."]

So what went wrong with the Israel deal.... and why did Bibi cave.....what's really going on?

Well I don't have a hot-line to anyone in power, but it seems pretty obvious to me, and I am heartened by the fact that Dov bar Leib agrees.... judging by his comments on his blog.

You see, Trump had to do SOMETHING to appease Gog.   If Trump hadn't done the things he did..... such as posting that video of Prof. Sachs, which Rav Chaya was so excited about...... and set up certain impressions of his attitude towards Bibi.... then things would have gone pear-shaped because Gog wanted to go out with a Bang, and that would mean causing a lot of problems for Israel.

So Trump manipulated, and took the opportunity of a conveniently timed funeral to not only sit next to Gog but to whisper into his ear, and set up an urgent meeting to discuss.  

The cease-fire deal that was made was very pleasing to Gog because it appears that Hamas and co have won this war and Israel looks like a loser chas v'shalom.  

Nevertheless, it shut Gog up and he and his puppet O'Biden went out on a high, claiming credit for the deal to stop the bombing in Gaza and free 3 hostages.

I was under the impression that when Trump said the hostages must be freed or there would be hell to pay, he meant ALL the hostages.  Seems that was not the case, which is disappointing, but this is Trump's first day of his new Presidency and this is not over yet.

Meanwhile all the Trump haters felt vindicated, and relieved that everyone could finally see the orange man's true colours...... except we haven't seen his true colours, he did what he had to do in order to avoid something worse happening.  In my humble opinion.

And you can be sure that there was a sweetener for Bibi, an incentive to persuade him to look like a defeated man in order to pull off this sting. You would have noticed how quiet Bibi went for a few days.  He was either in shock or under strict orders to stay shtum.

Far from being upset about the deal, everyone should realize that we are all on a speeding train that has only just left the station.  We have a way to go yet, but at the end of the tunnel that we are travelling through, we will see the LIGHT.

Trump is not the enemy.  Nothing is as it seems.  We are living through chaos and confusion.  Moshiach is born out of chaos.  Tracht gut vet zein gut.  Everything will be ok in the end, and if it's not ok then it's not the end.

That's my take on the situation, agree or disagree, I'm just sharing my opinion please be kind.

Eve of Inauguration Moon

Did anyone see the moon last night next to the Capitol Building?  Have a look at it... 1.18.2025 at 10:17pm - photo by Gordon K. Lau whose Instagram page is here - text below photo is from Lau's IG page

Last night’s 74.7% Waning Gibbous Moon rising over the @uscapitol from 3.3 miles away. As always, this was a single exposure capture taken at 600mm, f6.3, ISO 1250 and 1/3s shutter speed. What makes this shot unique from most other moon alignments of the US Capitol is the Presidential Inauguration flags draping the facade of the building. That of course only comes around every four years.

The Jewish Prophecy Connecting America, Islam and 2025 REVEALED

H/t Sherry 

Highly recommended that you listen to this. 

October 7 was prophesied in the Book of Ovadiah.

Jake Turx joins the podcast to do an in-depth look at the book of Ovadiah. This episode explores ancient Jewish prophecies, particularly those of Obadiah, and how they remarkably align with contemporary events, including those in 2025. It examines the roles of America, Western civilization, and their relationships with Israel and Islamic nations in the context of these prophecies. The discussion highlights themes of unity, resilience, and the consequences of societal and moral decay, providing a profound lens to view modern global dynamics. This was recorded on December 31st, 2024.

No Greater Mitzvah than Redeeming Captives [updated]

The Rambam

20 Tevet: Yarzheit of the Rambam - Moses Maimonides, Rav Moshe ben Maimon - who was among the greatest Jewish scholars of all time.

The Rambam famously said:  THERE IS NO MITZVAH AS GREAT AS PIDYON SHIVUYIM - Redemption of Captives.

It is recorded that a wagon carrying the Rambam’s body miraculously brought him to Teveria from his home in Egypt.

It is also the yarzheit of the Abir Yaakov.

If you listened to Rabbi Kessin's shiur last week The Power of Mashiach ben Yosef and the Upcoming Inauguration you will have heard this story from him.  

To read the transcript of that shiur click here.

The Abir Yaakov Abuchatzeira, grand-father of the Baba Sali

At that time there lived in Jerusalem a holy Jew, Rabbi Yitzchak Alpheya. That same night he had a dream. He beheld a Jew of refined and impressive appearance, dressed in the distinctive garment of a Moroccan Torah scholar. His whole being compelled respect. 

Turning to Rabbi Yitzchak he said: "You are accustomed to pray at the grave sites of righteous men, why do you not come to me?" 

In his dream Rabbi Yitzchak answered him: "Who are you, honored sir, and where is your resting place?" 

"I am Ya'akov Abuhatzeira." 

"And where is your resting place?" repeated Rabbi Yitzchak. 

"In Damanhur in Egypt", was the answer, and after a pause he added: "And now, go quickly to my grave; know that the saving of the Jewish People depends on you doing so!"   [Source]

You can do a virtual visit to his Kever by going to Expo Egypt where he is buried. 

Rav Yaakov Abuchatzeira (1880), grandson of the founder of the Abuchatzeira family, Rav Shmuel (Elbaz), and son of Rav Masoud, who was Rav of Tafelaletch (Taflilat), Morocco. He took his father’s position upon the latter’s petira and built the yeshiva there, which produced thousands of students. He wrote many sefarim on all aspects of Torah, including Abir Yaakov. His grandson is Rav Yisrael, the Baba Sali, and his great-grandson is Rav Meir Abuchatzeira. In 1880, he attempted to move to Eretz Yisrael, but was nifter in Damanhur, Egypt, where he is buried. [Matzav]

Rabbi Daniel Glatstein - video

Va'eira - The Rambam & Abir Yaakov's Yahrtzeit Falling Out During the Parshios of Galus Mitzrayim

"Stranger Things" in Real Life

Here's a couple of videos of what we experienced a few nights ago during the Sydney Stormaggedon.

They both came from TikTok, which has already been shut down in the U.S.  The latest rumour going round is that it has been sold to Meta.

Second video contains music: Michael Jackson "Earth Song"

Protection

Helicopters, through the night and this morning.

It's OK though, it's the State Government new Police Operation increasing their nightly patrols of the Jewish areas.