Putin, Trump and the Redemption of the Sefarim

Senator Orrin Hatch with the Cunin family Rabbis and the letter signed by all 100 Senators

A delegation of Chabad rabbis - all from the one family - are continuing the mission given to their father by the Rebbe: to persuade Russia to return the thousands of sefarim of the previous Rebbe to their rightful place in the Lubavitch Library in New York.

Senator Orrin Hatch, a great friend of the Jewish people, has led his colleagues in an effort to recover the books, and now has a letter signed by all 100 Senators in this regard.

In the 1980's the Lubavitcher Rebbe gave the task of redeeming the library to Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin, Head Shaliach of Chabad California, and this task is being upheld by his sons [and grandsons!]

Most of the books gathered in Lubavitch by the Chabad Rebbes from the early 1800s to 1915 are currently held by the Moscow Public Library. [See ChabadLibrary for more detailed information]

The story of the Schneersohn library is the stuff of a novel, or a movie—a sacred centuries-old collection of rare and holy books at the center of a longstanding and ever-widening dispute among an international cast of characters: rabbis, American lawyers, unsmiling Russian government officials, the heads of major American museums, Al Gore, and Vladimir Putin. The library in question was originally owned by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe and father-in-law of the seventh and last Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Housed in Lubavitch, Russia, Rabbi Schneersohn’s personal collection amounted to 12,000 religious books and 25,000 pages of handwritten manuscripts. During the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, half of the books were seized by the Bolsheviks and nationalized according to the Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of 1918, eventually landing in the archives of Moscow’s national Lenin Library.

[extract from Why Putin Refuses To Let The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Library Leave Moscow]

For the past 36 years there have been several attempts, but only a handful of books have been handed back, to the great disappointment of all concerned.  However,  with the new President Donald Trump and his congenial relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is hoped that successful negotiations will be able to take place so that we can finally see the return of these precious manuscripts.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that when the sefarim are returned [from Russia] we will see the Moshiach.

God's Plan

This week's Parsha, Terumah, means ''contribution'', since the Tabernacle [mishkan] was constructed from contributions made by the Jewish people.

But why is the Parsha about G-d's house named after man's contribution?

Chassidic thought teaches that G-d created the world because He had a Plan, but the Plan contains a clause: The Plan is that G-d's presence should be revealed in the world.

The clause is that this should occur by the efforts of man.

At the giving of the Torah, G-d stated His Plan.  He taught us that we can reveal His presence in the world by performing the mitzvot.

But, at that moment, everything had come from G-d.

With the construction of the Tabernacle, G-d's clause began to be implemented.  Now man had made an effort to help G-d's Plan reach fruition.

It is for this reason that our Parsha, which speaks of G-d's house, is named after man's contribution. For G-d's house could only be complete when His clause for human involvement was adhered to.

Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Exceptional Merit of Women

All of us are part of The Plan.  We were chosen to be here to witness the Final Redemption, may it come speedily in our days.   We are gilgulim [reincarnations] of the D'or HaMidbar - the generation who wandered through the desert.  We complained a lot, both then and now.  But everything we are doing, and everything that is happening to us, is a tikkun [rectification].


When the Lubavitcher Rebbe established the womens' group N'Shei Ubnos Chabad [Women and Daughters of Chabad], the Rebbe called in Rabbi Yosef Wineberg shlita who was at that time a young man and told him the following:

“It says in Kitvei Arizal [the writings of the Arizal] that the generation before Moshiach is the same generation as the Dor HaMidbar. At that time the women were exceptional in a number of areas:

• They did not participate in the Chait HaEigel [the golden calf]
• They gave their jewelry for the Mishkan.
• They showed great love for the land of Israel.

The reward for this will be that in the generation before Moshiach the Talmidei Chachamim will follow the directions of their wives.

If we want to accomplish with the men we first must accomplish with the women.”

Poppy Seeds, Sefer Daniel and Purim

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Now that the month of Adar has arrived, people will have started to make their Hamantaschen. Traditionally, hamantaschen have been made out of poppy seeds, although, of late, there are all sorts of other fillers that have popped up. Why poppy seeds?

The minhag was based upon a Ramah in Shulchan Aruch, where hecites the Kol Bo and writes [OC 695:2], “Some say that it is a custom to eat zironim – seeds on Purim, as a commemoration of the seeds that Daniel and his friends ate in Babylonia.”

Click here for recipe Poppy Seed Hamantaschen

Both the Pri Chadash and the Aruch haShulchan [OC 695:9] pose the following question:

Daniel? This is Purim – about Esther, not Daniel! Also, the Gemorah [Megillah 13a] tells us that Esther also ate seeds when she first came to the palace – Haigai fed it to her. Why then does the Ramah only quote Daniel?

Also, the Mishna Brurah mentions the Gemorah too, but does not address the question of the Pri Chadash and the Aruch haShulchan. I would like to propose the following answer.

Esther knew that there was rhyme and reason to her being taken into the palace. She knew that she was in need of a miracle. And now, those in charge of the women who were brought to the palace were offering them anything. She could have had her choice of any kosher food. Why then did she pick seeds?

Esther most certainly was aware of the miracle that happened to Daniel and his friends in the very beginning of Sefer Daniel. After ten days they were healthier and finer than all the others solely on a diet of seeds. This was the beginning of the help that Daniel rendered to his people. Perhaps she should take the same avenue.

With this answer we have greater insight into the minhag of eating poppy seed hamantaschen. Just as there was a miracle that occurred to Klal Yisroel regarding the seeds that Daniel and his friends ate, wherein they adhered strictly to the Kosher dietary laws through seeds and just like Esther tried to follow in those footsteps, so too should we merit miracles by virtue of our adhering carefully to the Torah’s dietary laws as symbolized by the poppy seeds.

There is another message about Purim that everyone could gain from. Daniel merited a miracle by keeping kosher. Esther did too. This is the reason behind our custom of eating poppy hamantaschen. Isn’t it time that every Jew who eats a Hamantashchen look into keeping kosher too?

Kever Rachel and Its Relationship to Purim

In honour of Rosh Chodesh Adar.....This may just be the most interesting shiur I have ever heard!

Rabbi Mendel Kessin is explaining everything in a way I have never heard before.  

A complete overview of how things works in the spiritual realm, the role of the Jews and the roles of the two Moshiachs. Listen to this and you will finally understand exactly how the world operates on a spiritual level.  So many questions that you didn't even know how to ask, are answered here.  I was totally blown away by this shiur.   

Did You Ever......

...... see anything like this ??

Threat on Purim

''Fire will consume Amalek / Gog.  Fire will burn them.''

Gog - Amalek - Iran - Purim - 5777 - 5778 - and the word Moshiach appears twice !

Rabbi Glazerson's latest code - and Purim is just two weeks away.

Geula: So Much Closer Now

For those of you who were a bit upset with Rabbi Kessin when he theorized, in one of his 21st Century videos, that we may have up to 15 years to wait for the Moshiach, now you can all take a deep breath and relax because in the second part of The Perception of the Divine Prophecy and the Messianic Process, he tell us to expect Him in 5778.

This makes perfect sense to me.   5777 would be the year that we are prepared for His arrival, and 5778 - the eight being the number of Moshiach - is when He finally reveals Himself.

I understand that many of you will not have the time or the patience to sit and listen to a two-hour long shiur, so I have summarized some it, but I really encourage you to listen, because I personally think that Rabbi Kessin is absolutely amazing and I could listen for days.

He spoke about the ''love fest'' of Trump and Bibi  with their arms around each other - @ 1:47 in the video below - and explained that what this really represents is Yaakov and Esav returning to each other. We are witnessing the prophecy of the Torah from 3300 years ago - that they will be brothers again.  This was like a re-union of the brothers for which there has been no precedent in the USA.   Trump is the tov sh'be Eisav - the good part of Eisav.  Hashem has groomed Trump for this role.  

The task of America now is to:

1.   Assist the Jews both in military and trade

2.   Allow Israel to build up for the kibbutz galius - [we are getting very close to Moshiach] - more on this on the video

3.   Protect Israel from Iran [or anyone else including the UN and Europe].

4.   Neutralize the two state solution.

Trump is highly instrumental in getting the world to a state of consciousness in which it can receive the Moshiach - even though Trump is unaware of this, he is just doing the will of Hashem.  Hashem has groomed Trump for this role.

Rabbi Kessin also told us that Moshiach is paralyzed and ''in jail'' - His power is necessarily imprisoned inside Him, He cannot expose this power until the world is ready.   If Moshiach were to be revealed now, most of the world would die as they could not survive the holiness and spirituality.

Netanyahu at the Central Synagogue, Sydney

Yesterday's visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to Sydney's Central Synagogue reminded me of a family reunion.  There is an obviously mutual admiration between Netanyahu and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, and the audience at the shul yesterday was enraptured by the presence of both of them. There were standing ovations, yiddish words being tossed about by Mr Turnbull and jokes made about the Central Synagogue being Turnbull's ''local shul''.  See video below.

Rabbi Levi Wolff presented a photo of Bibi with the Lubavitcher Rebbe dating from 1984 when he was Israel's Ambassador at the United Nations. Netanyahu then explained the photo to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - "This is the Grand Rebbe of Chabad and He told me "you are going to a place of deep darkness and lies, and if you will light one candle of truth, you will dispel the darkness.''