Loneliness

Never succumb to feelings of loneliness. No matter where you are, God is close by.

Remember: Feeling distant from God is subjective, not objective; it is just your own feeling, not reality.

[Rebbe Nachman of Breslov]

It is still possible to repair



 'The Shoemaker' by Elena Flerova

R' Yisrael Salanter was returning home very late one night. As he walked through the dark alleyways, he suddenly noticed that a light was still burning in the home of the shoemaker. He knocked on the door and entered his home.

"Why are you still sitting and working at such a late hour?" asked R' Salanter.

"As long as the candle burns" replied the shoemaker, "it is still possible to repair."

Those words made a great impression upon R' Salanter and, from then on, he repeated them on many occasions.

"Do you hear?" R' Salanter would ask. "As long as the candle burns, it is still possible to repair! As long as a person is alive and his soul is within him, he can still repent and rectify his deeds."

Sustenance

The Midrash Rabbah relates a story about a Kohen who used to examine individuals afflicted with tzara'as. The Kohen was extremely poor, however, and he was desperate for a means to earn a livelihood.

Perhaps, he thought, I should leave Eretz Yisrael and seek my fortune abroad. It is much easier to make a comfortable living overseas....

The Kohen discussed his plans with his wife, and he said to her, "People often come to me to examine their tzara'as marks, and I feel bad leaving them.  Let me teach you how to examine these marks, so that while I'm away, you will take my place and perform the necessary examinations."

His wife agreed, and the Kohen began to teach her the laws of tzara'as.

"When a person comes to be examined", instructed the Kohen, "make sure to observe his hair. It is important for you to know that each strand of a person's hair grows from a separate opening, and each one is nourished from its own follicle.  If you see that the openings around the hairs have dried out, then you can be sure that the person has tzara'as."

"Listen to what you are saying!" responded his wife. "If HaKadosh Baruch Hu has provided each hair with a wellspring from which to draw its sustenance, how much more so you, His very handiwork. Hashem will most certainly provide you with a livelihood! Why must you wander so far away, and search for a livelihood in chutz la'aretz?"

The Kohen heeded his wife's profound words and remained at home.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Iranian Video: "Mahdi is Near"

New evidence has emerged that the Iranian government sees the current unrest in the Middle East as a signal that the Mahdi--or Islamic messiah--is about to appear.

CBN News has obtained a never-before-seen video produced by the Iranian regime that says all the signs are moving into place -- and that Iran will soon help usher in the end times.

While the revolutionary movements gripping the Middle East have created uncertainty throughout the region, the video shows that the Iranian regime believes the chaos is divine proof that their ultimate victory is at hand.

'The Coming is Near'

The propaganda footage has reportedly been approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government.

It's called The Coming is Near and it describes current events in the Middle East as a prelude to the arrival of the mythical tweflth Imam or Mahdi -- the messiah figure who Islamic scriptures say will lead the armies of Islam to victory over all non-Muslims in the last days.

Full article at: CBN News  [Hat tip: Moriah]

Rebuke

"He should be brought to Aharon the Kohen..." [Tazria 13:2]

The Kohanim (priests) were people of inherent kindness who blessed the Jewish people with love.  Therefore, when it came to declaring somebody with the severe condition of tzara'as, which required total isolation from the Jewish camp, it was imperative that this harsh judgment be done out of love, so the Torah required it to be done by a Kohen.

From this we can learn a powerful lesson: that if one feels that another person has acted disgracefully and one wishes to chastise him, one must first examine one's own motives to see if one's desire to rebuke another is truly being done out of love.

Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

It's All Good

Always look for the good in yourself.

Focus on that good, highlight it, and turn even depression into joy.

from the writings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Brave New World

Art by Schnette

Essay: Stress Before Redemption by Roy (Yisroel) S. Neuberger   Hat tip: Devorah Designs

Dear Friends:

During our Biblical Redemption, the foundations of Egypt crumbled. We don't have to imagine what that means; the world has witnessed it in Japan.

"Several times I heard from the holy Chofetz Chaim that we can learn about the end of our exile from what happened at the end of our exile in Egypt, as it says [Micha 7:15], 'As in the days of your leaving Egypt, I will [in the Final Redemption] show wonders.'" [Rabbi Elchonen Wasserman zt"l as quoted in Redemption Unfolding by Rabbi A. A. Mandelbaum]

Egypt, the world's most powerful country in Biblical times, crumbled like the World Trade Center crumbled on 9/11. But the Final Redemption may take place on an even larger scale. Since the Jewish People are now spread all over the world, our future Redemption will have to be correspondingly gigantic. Do we not ask G-d to gather us from "the four corners of the earth"? During the Final Redemption the entire world structure as we know it may be dismantled, just as the structure of Egypt was dismantled in ancient days.

Redemption does not have to be violent. All decent people hope that Moshiach will come peacefully. But that, after all, depends on us! If the Children of Israel do teshuva, all will be well!

If not ....

One thing should be clear: following the Final Redemption, the world will look completely different. The Maharal writes, "a complete change will come over the world, to the extent that the world of Moshiach will be considered a new creation in comparison to the world as we know it." [Netzach Yisroel, Ch.47] The direction of world affairs will be the Torah! "Ki Mitzvion taitzai Torah u'dvar Hashem miYerushalayim... From Zion will come forth Torah and the Word of G-d from Jerusalem." [Yeshaya 2:3] G-d will be One and His Name One.

The process has already begun. Every area of life is in crisis. As a result, we are exposed to enormous stress, be it financial, medical, psychological, family, children ... the list goes on and on!

"Maase avos siman l'banim... The actions of the Fathers are signs for the Children."

In Egypt eighty per cent perished during the Plague of Darkness because they "did not wish to depart [from Egypt]" [Rashi on Exodus 10:22]. The stress in Biblical Egypt was enormous. So strong was the pull of the surrounding culture that a huge percentage of the Children of Israel were unable to extricate themselves from its influence! This is a message for our contemporary world!

Today, people are under enormous strain. You see it in hair-trigger tempers. You see it in aggressive driving. You see it in lack of proper behavior, as people rush to put themselves first. You see it in desperate attempts to acquire money. You see it in lavish expenditures on vacations and luxuries, attempts to find peace in a world in which there is no peace!

"Moshe spoke to the Children of Israel, but they did not heed him because of shortness of breath..." [Exodus 6:9]. In Egypt, the stress was so great that many of the Children of Israel did not listen to the voice which would have saved them if they had listened. The same danger exists today. We are so panicked that we are not behaving rationally. If we hold on to the unreality of the surrounding culture, G-d forbid, that "support" will break like a flimsy reed and we will perish when that culture goes under! But if we grasp onto the Torah -lehavdil! - we will live forever!

"Moshe said to the people, 'Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem that He will perform for you today!" [Exodus 14:13]

Let's learn from this! The Torah is telling us what happened in Egypt so that we may survive during the events of the Final Redemption. Our Rabbis have explained: "In the final war before the coming of Moshiach, all the Jews who fear Hashem will survive. Hashem will say to them, 'All those who are removed from the secular, worldly culture ... you are Mine.'" [Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein zt"l, Leket Rishimos]

THERE IS NO SOURCE OF SUPPORT BESIDE HASHEM AND HIS TORAH!

In Egypt, the Tribe of Levi escaped slavery because they were completely involved with Torah!

King David's life was in constant danger. How did he survive? He visualized himself as standing constantly before the Presence of G-d. "Shivisi Hashem l'negdi samid... I have set Hashem before me constantly." [Psalm 16]

When we pray, do we envision the Holy Temple? Soon B"H the Presence of G-d will return to Zion, and the HolyTemple will stand before our eyes. If we envision this future event, then we have an "anchor" by which we can steady ourselves as the chaos whirls around us.

Our Rabbis spoke words to sustain us.

"Hashem is with me; I have no fear! How can man affect me?" [Psalm 118]

"Ani maamin be'emunah shelemah ... I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come." [Rambam, Principle 12]

May we all soon "hear ... for a second time ... in the presence of all the living ... 'I am Hashem your G-d.'" [Shabbos Mussaf Kedusha]

A Whiter Shade of Pale

"If he has turned completely white, he remains pure" [Tazria 13:13]

R' Yochanan in Maseches Sanhedrin [98a] taught: "Mashiach, the son of David, will only come to a generation that is either entirely meritorious or entirely guilty".

This statement is difficult to understand, noted the Chasam Sofer (R' Moshe Sofer).  For while it is easily understood why a generation that is entirely meritorious would be worthy of receiving Mashiach, on what basis would a thoroughly guilty generation receive him?

We find a similar difficulty in the verse: "If he has turned completely white, he remains pure".  If a small affliction is considered impure, why is it considered pure when it covers the metzora's entire body?

We can answer both questions with one answer. Skin afflictions come upon an individual in order to inspire him to repent for his misdeeds.  Now, if his entire body has turned white, he will definitely be humbled to repent completely and sincerely. There is therefore no need to declare him impure.

The same applies to a generation that is completely guilty.  The way to awaken a generation that is full of sin is not with reproach but by sending them Mashiach ben David.  Then they will return to Hashem in complete repentance.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

The Talmud states: "The son of David [Moshiach] will only come when every government becomes heretical".

Rabah said: "Where do we see [an allusion to] this in Scripture?  From the verse: "he has turned completely white, he is ritually pure." [Sanhedrin 97a]

Rashi explains: "Just like when the affliction has spread throughout the entire skin the person is ritually pure, so too when all the governments have become heretical, the redemption will come."

This sign of redemption could be seen as either:

a) A negative sign, that people have become so corrupt that G-d is forced, so to speak, to save the world and bring redemption.

b) A positive sign, that the world has become so refined that it is clear to everybody that any regime or government which is not based on Torah is heretical and corrupt.

This parallels the two views expressed above:

a) If the corruption of governments is a negative sign, it follows that G-d is "forced" to bring the redemption, so to speak, despite the world.  This corresponds to the view that the law ("he has turned completely white, he is ritually pure") is a super-rational decree of scripture, which is followed despite the fact that it is illogical.

b) But if the corruption of governments is a positive sign, it follows that G-d is bringing the redemption because the world has become good. This corresponds to the view that the law is logical.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe