The Subtle Evil

G-d spoke to Moses saying "Take revenge against the Midianites for the children of Israel."

[Matot 31:1-2]

In contrast to other wars, where the Levites did not fight, Rashi writes that the Levites were required to fight in the war against Midian. However this is difficult to understand in light of Rambam's explanation that the Levites were exempt from fighting because "they have been separated out to serve G-d as His ministers... therefore they were also separated from worldly matters." Why was an exception made in this case?

The explanation is that the war against the seven Cana'anite nations was fought in order to conquer and settle their land, which would then lead to a life of plowing and sowing the land. Thus the Levites who were "separated from worldly matters" did not participate in this war.

However, the war against Midian was not fought in order to conquer territory, but rather it was purely "to carry out G-d's revenge". Thus the war did not fall into the category of "worldly matters" but rather, it was solely an act of serving G-d - fitting indeed for the Levites, who "have been separated out to serve G-d as His ministers".

According to Chassidic thought, the war against the seven Cana'anite nations alludes to the "battle" of refining one's overtly undesirable character traits which fall into seven broad categories, stemming from the seven emotional faculties of the Animal Soul. Consequently, this "war" is not relevant to the tribe of Levi, or to those who aspire to their spiritual level - as Rambam writes that this could be "any type of person... whose spirit inspires him, and he resolves in his mind to set himself apart (from worldly pursuits), to stand before G-d and serve as His minister, to work for Him, and to know G-d".

In contrast, the war against Midian involved fighting against a subtle type of evil which is found in virtually every personality, even those who dedicate themselves as fulltime "ministers" of G-d. Thus, even the Levites, and those among the Jewish people who devote themselves "to stand before G-d and serve as His minister" must participate in waging the spiritual war against Midian.

What is the "subtle evil" that can plague even the most dedicated servant of G-d? Chassidic thought explains that this is a lack of unity and camaraderie between one man and another, indicating underlying emotions of divisiveness and unjustified hatred. All this arises from a sense of over-inflated self-importance, which causes a person to be intolerant of others and eventually view them as enemies. Clearly the war against these attributes is very important indeed.

Source: Based on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's Likutei Sichos vol 28 p.344

Gene Simmons: Obama Has No #&$#% Idea !

Gene Simmons - ......  is not happy with Obama's plan for Israel.... [see video]

Like there's no tomorrow...

Kismet

How appropriate that my one millionth visitor landed on this site today - the eve of Judgment Day, May 21, 2011 - aka "The End of the World as We Know It" .....

Hysteria regarding "Judgment Day" has reached fever pitch on the internet - whether they are mocking it or believing it - it's got everyone's attention.

Anyway....that particular date [tomorrow] has also been singled out by some Jewish sages [past and present] - it is the 17th of Iyar, erev Lag B'omer 5771.

To quote R'Akiva and R'Nati at Mystical Paths :

"....in our time and recent generations there has been a plethora of dates given. In recent years it’s increased to statements of holy rebbes, rosh yeshivas, mekubalim, tzadikim that we’re almost there, we’re there, we’re there soon, etc.

According to the Gra, the Vilna Gaon, one of the ways he taught (or rather wrote down, it wasn’t really to be shared) to calculate the ketz on it being “before it’s time in it’s time” gives an “early” date of the 17th of Iyar, 5771 and a “late” date of Rosh Chodesh Av, 5771.

As we stated in Part 1 of this FREAKING OUT article series, a (small) number of tzadikim in Jerusalem have given a warning that it’s best for Jews to be in Israel by the 17th of Iyar this year."

Have a peaceful Shabbat, thanks for reading my blog....
and I'll see you next week iy"H

Obama and The Evil at the End of Days

This article was first published in 2008.


IDENTIFYING THE EVIL AT THE END OF DAYS - by Joel Gallis a"h and Dr. Robert Wolf

Yaakov [Jacob] called for his sons and said, האספו , gather and assemble yourselves. That is, unify and become a single nation with לב אחד , one heart, and I’ll tell you about your descendants' redemption at the end of days. When you have a לב אחד , [gematria of 45], then you will have a גאולה, a redemption, [gematria of 45] at the end of days. But there was no unity among the brothers. There still were bad feelings and finger pointing among them. They did Tshuvah with respect to their brother Yosef, but with respect to each other, they were separate tribes. And so, Yaakov could not reveal to them what would befall their descendants at the end of days. He thought that perhaps one of his sons had sinned. He then searched the names of each of his 12 sons to see if the letters ח or ט, the main letters of the word for sin, were present in any of his son’s names. He was relieved when he realized that these letters were absent from their names. He then thought that perhaps their lack of achdus was worse than he imagined. If so, their merit to learn about the future final redemption was lost. Yaakov then searched their names again to see if the letters ק and ץ from the word קץ [end] were present in any of their names. Once again these letters were absent from all 12 names.

Yaakov then realized the extent of their disunity and began to give them various brochos. Although he was not allowed to tell about events affecting the Jewish People thousands of years in the future, Yaakov had already hinted at the identity of the evil that would befall their descendants at the time of the end. He also hinted that the lack of unity that they possessed would continue until the final days. For the gematria of האספו is 152, and that is the same as the phrase עד היום הזה [until this day]. For until this very day, there still has not been achdus, or unity, among the Jewish People.

However, there was one brief period of time of a לב אחד , at Mount Sinai when the Jewish People received the Torah. This unity lasted until Moshe’s death, and because of it, Moshe was able to tell the Jewish People before he died what will occur to their descendants at the end of days. He said that the Jewish People would stray from the path of Torah, and that if they angered Hashem through the work of their hands, במעשה ידיכם  then evil would befall them, וקראת , at the end of days. The only other time this word וקראת is used in the 5 Books of Moses, is when Hagar was told that she would have a son, and she should call him וקראת , by the name Yishmael. This word, וקראת , which normally is connected to proclaiming and voicing something, is surprisingly used here to tell us that when evil befalls the Jewish People, it was proclaimed in Heaven and does not happen by chance. So just what is the connection between Yishmael and the end of days? The connection is that the descendants of Yishmael are the evil that will befall the Jewish People at that time. We will anger G-d through the work of our hands, במעשה ידיכם [a gematria of 501], and the evil of the ישמעאלים [also a gematria of 501] will befall us.

So what could we have possibly done with our hands that would anger Hashem? With our very own hands, we finance and work to put the wrong people in power over us. This action results in our downfall. By putting into power leaders in Israel who don’t believe in G-d, we help bring about a spiritual collapse. And by electing dangerous leaders in America and other countries, we assist in bringing our physical and moral downfall. We vote for these people, we put them in power, and we raise money for them. This inappropriate work of our hands will bring evil upon us in the form of Yishmael.

For not only is 501 the value of במעשה ידיכם [the work of our hands], and our punishment, the ישמעאלים , but it is also connected to the next President of the United States that we are helping put in power through Jewish efforts. For 501 is also the gematria of ראש - representing the new head, or leader of America.

So who will be the new ראש of America? Our readers probably will be shocked to learn that 501 is also the gematria of ברק חוסיין אובאמה - Barack Hussein Obama. 

Hashem watches as countless Jews, especially in Hollywood, California, rush to send their money to Obama’s campaign chest. And so, with our own hands we are in the process of taking a descendant from Yishmael and placing him as our Rosh in the White House, just 7 years after 9/11. He is indeed the evil that will befall us at the end of days, the evil that Moses spoke to our ancestors about. 

But there are those who argue that Obama is youthful and energized in his appearance and his ideas. Why shouldn’t we believe him when he says the magic words that he is a friend of Israel? How do we really know he’s dangerous to us? Not only is his name the same gematria as Yishmaelim, evidencing that he is a Muslim although he denies it, but it also has a further connection to a wave of impending evil against the Jews and the rest of the world. At our Passover seders we spill a drop of wine when we mention each of the 10 plagues, and also when we mention the abbreviation of those plagues by saying דצך עדש באחב . Well this abbreviation of the 10 plagues also has a gematria of 501, the same as Barack Hussein Obama and the Yishmaelim.

Obama and radical Muslims will bring as much havoc, destruction, and confusion to the world as all the 10 plagues together brought to Egypt. It’s interesting how Rabbi Yehudah, who made the acrostic or abbreviation of the plagues, took the first Hebrew letter of each plague. However, with respect to the last plague, מכת בכרות , the killing of the first born, he took the bais [the first letter of the 2nd word of the plague], rather than the mem [the first letter of the first word]. Perhaps he knew that in the future, during the end of days, there would be an Obama. Perhaps his message is a warning to us that has been encoded in the Haggadah for nearly 2 thousand years until today.

The foreign minister of Hamas has recently endorsed Obama for president. The Los Angeles Times devoted a lengthy front-page story headlined, “Allies of Palestinians see a friend in Barack Obama.” Ali Abunimah, a resident of Obama’s district, claims that Obama said several years ago when running for the Senate, that he was sorry he couldn’t talk more about the Palestinian cause since his primary campaign had constrained what he could say. Daniel 7 [25] deals with the last king of the 4th beast of exile who will humble 3 other kings. Rav Saadia Gaon stated that the 3 kings or leaders who will be humbled, are from Israel, Greece [representing Europe], and Yishmael [representing the Arab nations]. This haughty, arrogant king will speak words against G-d and the Jewish People, and he will try to change the times and the law. How interesting is it that this very word, change, is the key word used by Obama in his campaign?

The coded, end of days message that Yaakov gave over to his sons was not deciphered by them. But our generation, the generation alive at the end of days, can understand the clues and break the code. In Yaakov’s statement there are four words אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית [that will befall you in the end]. The word אשר that describes the identity of the evil has a gematria of 501 the same as Barack Hussein Obama. And if you look at the word באחרית , in the end, the first 3 letters contain the initials of Obama. The bais is for ברק Barack, the aleph is for אובאמה Obama, and the ches is for חוסיין Hussein. May Hashem protect us from this evil and bring Mashiach speedily in our days.

In the verses below, starting from the א of the first נשיא [President], every 7 letters spell out the name Obama in Hebrew:

Ezekiel 38
יחזקאל פרק לח

א ויהי דבר-יהוה, אלי לאמר. ב בן-אדם, שים פניך אל-גוג ארץ המגוג--נשיא, ראש משך ותבל; והנבא, עליו. ג ואמרת, כה אמר אדני יהוה: הנני אליך, גוג--נשיא, ראש משך ותבל. ד ושובבתיך, ונתתי חחים בלחייך; והוצאתי אותך ואת-כל-חילך סוסים ופרשים, לבשי מכלול כלם--קהל רב צנה ומגן, תפשי חרבות כלם.

[Translation] And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying

Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;
and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed most gorgeously, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords:

Can you see it?

This is a photo from 2008 - a Lag B'Omer bonfire - but some people can see a face, right in the centre of the photo: a woman smiling.  Please leave a comment if you can see it.  Don't strain your eyes for hours... you either see it straight away, or not at all.    The face is of someone who died a few months before this photo was taken. [Yes it's really there]

The Sound of Silence

Art: Charnine

Most people these days are going about their lives as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening.  I can't really understand it, because to me the world is on the verge of something huge, and yet only a small percentage of people seem to "see" it.   Not only can people not see what's going on in front of their eyes, they can no longer hear either..... as Rebbetzin Jungreis writes:

The Rebbetzin's Viewpoint

By: Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

`Deaf and Dumb` 

I have often written and said that we are living today in remarkable but dangerous times in which we can hear (provided we know how to listen) the footsteps of Messiah. Ours however, is a generation that has difficulty hearing. We are saturated with constant noise, not only by world events that are so rapidly unfolding that before we digest one, another is upon us. But we are also assailed by our own tumultuous, seductive life styles – lifestyles that are conducive to self-absorption and “deafness”.

You might, of course, wonder at the appropriateness of the word “deafness”. “Isn’t that a bit too extreme?” No! Even if there was a stronger expression, I would resort to that, because indeed, our generation has become deaf – no matter how thunderous the call of Hashem may be.

But still you might ask, “Why deaf?” What is there in our society that inhibits a person from listening? Why should our generation be more deaf than those that preceded us? To be sure, in every generation we have had problems hearing that “still small voice” that comes in many shapes and forms. However, in our generation, that blockage has become even more acute. There are so many sounds that divert us from hearing. Nowadays, it is rare to see anyone take even a moment to think. There was a time when people took walks to contemplate or they secluded themselves to give themselves time to think and review their lives. Today however, such happenings hardly occur, if at all. Today, when you see people walking, they are always involved in some activity, be it talking on their cell phones, text messaging, scrolling through their e-mail on their blackberrys, or listening to their I-pods. And should they steal some moments to seclude themselves, there are always other diversions vying for their attention, be it the internet, TV, or video games, etc.

In the interim, time relentlessly passes by, and with every moment, events unfold that we don’t hear or see. Not only have we lost our ability to hear, but we have also lost our ability to talk.... to hold a conversation. Nowadays, people communicate through e-mail, texting, or twitter. This has become so prevalent that children no longer speak to parents, couples no longer speak to each other. They find it much easier to text or resort to other technological means of communication, because through these methods, they don’t have to hear a response – another voice which might question or negate their message. Nor are they obliged to hear expressions of love which might make them feel guilty or indebted. There is an old Yiddish saying, “There was a time when parents taught their children to talk, but now, children teach their parents to keep quiet.”

Regardless of our reaction however, the messages continue.... the sounds become louder and louder, demanding a response, but how can we respond if we no longer know how to hear? Deaf, dumb, and blind, we continue to march on to the sound of our own music and congratulate ourselves on our open-mindedness and ready acceptance of all life-styles.

So it is that we never learn. Even the most world-shaking events go unheeded. Neither the Holocaust nor the rebirth of Israel after two thousand years of exile has made us stop and re-think our lives.

I could go through countless happenings of our contemporary life, but I will skip to 9/11 a tragedy which spoke thunderously to all the citizens of our USA. Remarkably, even then, we continued to remain deaf, and perverted its message to that which we regarded as “politically correct”.

We have become so inured that we see nothing unusual in the constant escalation of natural disasters, be they tsunamis, floods, tornados, earthquakes, nuclear spills, and so on. Nor do we see anything remarkable about dead birds falling from the skies or dead fish – sardines washing ashore. Even though they numbered a million. Nor did we wake up when financial disaster overtook us. Overnight, we witnessed the collapse of giant corporations and industries.... the melt-down of Wall Street and the devaluation of the dollar, all of which we once believed to be invincible.

Our inability to hear rendered us deaf and blind to the messages behind the toppling of powerful governments – governments that for years were controlled by dictators who ruled with iron fists. We delude ourselves into believing that that which we are witnessing is the establishment of democratic societies, the dawn of freedom and peace in the dark world of the Middle East. We refuse to consider that the mobs on the streets are the precursors of even more tyrannical dictatorships. Take, for example, Egypt, which we believe to be the perfect example of the democratic dream fulfilled. In our blindness and deafness, we refused to pay heed to the heinous shouts of “Jew! Jew” as Lara Logan, the CBS foreign correspondent was barbarously attacked (although Lara Logan is not a Jew). Nor has the world paid heed to the destruction of churches and the killing of those of the Christian faith. Yes, all this is unfolding in the “democratic new Egypt”. Paradoxically, neither Rome nor any other Christian denominations have raised voices of outrage. The silence is deafening. Why? Why? But we dismiss that question as well. We have our own problems. We can’t really get involved in world events. It won’t help anyway, so the call continues to be sounded and we continue to remain blind, dumb and deaf.

[to be continued]

Source: Hineni

The Greatest Privilege

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch, the Friediker Rebbe, writes:

In the winter of 5673 [1913] I went to visit my father, who was staying in Menton, France. Every day we would walk for hours along the seashore and I was privileged to hear of things which had never been told to anyone: practices, stories, visions and ideas of my holy ancestors, transmitted through the generations from rebbe to rebbe.

Father spoke much about "thinking chassidus" - meditating upon concepts of chassidic teaching - before prayer, while wrapped in tallis and tefillin. He discussed the topic continuously over the walks of several days and enumerated its many virtues. Thinking chassidus, he said, refines the body, making the mind and heart receptive to G-dliness. It repels the "animal soul", cleanses the "natural soul", subdues the "intellectual soul" and illuminates the world. It draws down a revelation of light in all worlds, from the highest to the lowest of levels. It transforms the essence of one's natural character, and illuminates the five levels of one's "Godly soul", nefesh, ruach, neshama, chaya and yechida.

All this applies to any individual who is involved in "the service of the heart" [i.e. prayer] and prepares properly for prayer, but how much more so to the perfectly righteous tzaddik. My father continued to describe at great length the heights attained by a tzaddik, concluding "one attains an appreciation of G-dly delight, ah Getleche ziskeit, a G-dly sweetness".

With G-d's help, I shall never forget that glorious moment, the sight of that holy face flaring in ecstasy as he enunciated the words "a G-dly sweetness". At that moment, I truly understood Rabbi Schneur Zalman's definition of a merkava [chariot] to the Almighty, those who "all their days... do not cease for a single moment to bind their minds and souls to the Master of the Universe".

To stroll within the splendorous natural surroundings of the Menton shore, and to be so immersed in G-dly delight, to so relish "G-dly sweetness" - this can only be an atzmi [a quintessential one; one who's every act, thought and character trait is utterly in line with and permeated by the very essence of his soul], a rebbe the son of a rebbe, a Jew of self-sacrifice, one for whom G-d is forever standing over him and the light of his soul is openly manifest within his being.

For a long time we walked along the shore without a word. All who met or passed us noticed the look of his holy face, shining with a G-dly light. Suddenly, as one who awakes from sleep, he turned to me and said:

"Yosef Yitzchok! Listen! All the benefits of thinking chassidus in tallis and tefillin prior to prayer, both for the ordinary chassid and for the tzaddik, are utterly insignificant compared to a single privilege: if the Almighty grants a person an aptitude for and a delight in doing a Jew a favour. If the Almighty grants a person that his fellow should be more dear to him than himself.

"It is worth one's while to toil five hours a day for five days, toil of the body and toil of the soul, to comprehend the Divine - if the result is that one truly desires to do a Jew a favour."

Father concluded by quoting Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov: "A soul descends to the world and lives seventy, eighty years, in order to do a Jew a favour physically and particularly in a spiritual matter."

Source: "Once Upon A Chassid" - Kehot Publications

A Message for the President of the USA, from King Solomon

U.S. President Barack Obama will call on Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders and agree to additional concessions that will enable a resumption of the peace process, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Tuesday.

The newspaper claimed to have obtained a draft of Obama's planned speech at the State Department on Thursday in which he will outline his administration's Middle East policy, in light of the anti-government protests that have swept the region over the past year.

The president is also expected to announce his solution regarding the status of Jerusalem and call for its division. The U. S. envisions the city as the shared capital of the two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side in peace.

Source: Xinhuanet

King Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs and authored the Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

He became ruler in approximately 967 B.C.E. and his kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the north to Egypt in the south. His crowning achievement was the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

People from surrounding nations came to hear Solomon’s wisdom. The first and most famous incident of his cleverness as a judge was when two women came to his court with a baby whom both women claimed as their own. Solomon threatened to split the baby in half. One woman was prepared to accept the decision, but the other begged the King to give the live baby to the other woman. Solomon then knew the second woman was the real mother.

Jerusalem can be compared to the baby in this story. Any person who condones the cutting in half of Jerusalem, is not the real mother. Jerusalem belongs in the hands of those who will treat her the way she is meant to be treated - in one piece, in the hands of her rightful owners, the Torah-true Jewish people.

Moshiach's Rainbow and Lag b'Omer

Photo: National Geographic

Why is Lag b’Omer celebrated with bonfires and bows and arrows?

by Rabbi Yossi Marcus

The bonfires celebrate the immense light that was brought into the world by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai [who passed away on Lag b’Omer], especially on the day of his passing.

The bow commemorates the fact that during Rabbi Shimon’s lifetime no rainbow was ever seen. [Bereishit Rabbah 35:2] Note: This was a good thing because the rainbow appears when the earth deserves punishment. The first time a rainbow appeared was after Noah’s flood, when G-d said that He will no longer destroy the world, rather He would send a sign: the rainbow. During Rabbi Shimon’s lifetime, the world was filled with merit because of him and therefore never saw a rainbow. [Genesis 9:8-17 and Rashi there]

There is a Kabbalistic tradition that on Lag b’Omer a rainbow will appear in a different color, which will symbolize the arrival of the Messianic age [Bnei Yissaschar]

Gods of Wood and Stone

I blogged this a long time ago, but it disappeared during The Great Blog Deletion of 2010 [mine, not Google's]..... anyway I managed to find parts of it on the internet and put it back together, in response to some of the comments at this post at the Jewish End of Days blog.

In the Hebrew text of [Deut 4:27-28]  where the Torah speaks about two religions of "wood and stone", we can find the words "Yeshu" and "Mecca" encoded, obviously referring to Christianity and Islam.

"And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations to where the Lord will lead you. And there you will worship gods, man's handiwork, wood and stone, which neither see, hear, eat, nor smell."

An Equal Distance Lettering count of 50 letters within these passages identifies the two religions. The blue letters reveal the name Yeshu [Jesus]  The red letters reveal the word Mecca in reverse.

 וְהֵפִיץ יְ-ה-וָ-ה אֶתְכֶם, בָּעַמִּים; וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם, מְתֵי מִסְפָּר

בַּגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר יְנַהֵג יְ-ה-וָ-ה אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה

[27] And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations to where the Lord will lead you.

 וַעֲבַדְתֶּם-שָׁם אֱ-לֹהִים, מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם: עֵץ

וָאֶבֶן–אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יִרְאוּן וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּן, וְלֹא יֹאכְלוּן וְלֹא יְרִיחֻן

[28] And there you will worship gods, man's handiwork, wood and stone, which neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.

And here is Rabbi Yossi Mizrahi explaining it all in a video:

Torah Codes: Gilad Shalit encoded in the Story of Yosef

Just as we saw in the Jonathan Pollard Torah Codes , where Pollard's name is encoded in the story of Yosef, so is the name Gilad Shalit.  The codes note that one is in captivity in Edom, and one in captivity with the Yishmaelim.

Update: Also see: In the Blink of an Eye

Rebbe Elimelech's Tea Mug

Reb Mordechai of Neschiz was a disciple of Rebbe Elimelech. When the Rebbe passed away, Reb Mordechai inherited the Rebbe’s tea mug. The Rebbe would say that when one drinks tea, he is in the spiritual realm of Asiyah, the World of Action, and he can do many things that otherwise he could not do.

Once, a barren woman asked Reb Mordechai to intercede on her behalf to Rebbe Elimelech that he should pray for her to bear children since the doctors had given up hope. “Go to him during tea time,” was Reb Mordechai’s advice. She did and received a blessing. Indeed, Reb Mordechai used to say, “Many barren women were blessed with children because their plight was mentioned to me while I drank tea from Rebbe Elimelech’s mug.”

The holy Rebbe Meir of Premishlan taught that this is hinted at in the prayer “Tehei hasha’ah hazos she’as rachamim — May this time be an auspicious time of mercy.” The word for “may,” תהא, can be read as תה, “tea.” Therefore the prayer can be read: “Tea time is a time of mercy.” In fact, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim, used to say that Reb Mordechai of Neschiz was able to resurrect the dead using the tea mug of his Rebbe, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk.

[Ohel Elimelech 130]

The 13th Gate

Reb Chaim Vital says in the name of the Arizal that there are twelve gates in the Heavens corresponding to the twelve tribes and each tribe has a designated entrance for their prayers. Each gate and their approach are different from the others.

Each of the tribes had their own specific Nusach Hatefillah [specific prayers]. The Holy Arizal established a Nusach that corresponds to all twelve of the tribes. The "Nusach Arizal" are the prayers for those who do not know their tribe.

The Chasam Sofer writes this concept in the name of the Maggid of Mezritz. He explains that in fact, there are thirteen gates in Heaven for our tefillos to pass through. Each gate is for one of the tribes and everyone’s tefillah can pass through the thirteenth gate.

In Reverse





"...and I will remember My covenant [with] Jacob, and also My covenant [with] Isaac, and also My covenant [with] Abraham I will remember." [Bechukotai 26:42]

Why are the forefathers listed in reverse order? asked R' Shmelke of Nikolsburg.

Chazal have taught us, answered the Rebbe, that "The world depends on three things - on Torah study, on the service of G-d, and on kind deeds [Pirkei Avot 1:2]

Each one of the forefathers was noted for a different character trait.

Yaakov embodied Torah study.  He was "a wholesome man abiding in tents" [Bereishis 25:27] who studied Torah in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. 

Yitzchak, who had been bound to an altar, represented service of Hashem.

Avraham, the paradigm of hospitality, represented the trait of kindness.

The order in which the verse lists the forefathers - Yaakov, Yitzchak and Avraham - corresponds to the order utilitzed by Chazal to enumerate the three things upon which the world depends: first "Torah", then "service of G-d" and finally "kindness" [Torah, Tefilla, Tzedaka]

Source: Rabbi Yitzchak Bronstein

Planets Align Sydney [photo]





Sydney: Friday 13 March 6:00am

Photos: Trev and Steve

Italians Panic and Etna Erupts

As thousands of people fled Rome fearing the predicted earthquake for May 11 [which instead hit in Spain], Mt Etna began erupting.

Moshiach's Revenge, bin Laden and the Two Pesachs

Hat tip: DK

If you watched the Bin Laden Torah Codes video, you may have wondered why the words  "cursed will be bin Laden, and the revenge will be to the Moshiach" were all encoded together in one long sentence.

The explanation is found in Lazer Beams' latest post :

".....the Zohar says that when Moshiach comes there will be 2 seven day Passovers - Pesach Mitzrayim, like we have now, and Pesach Moshiach, the Passover of Moshiach. Pesach Moshiach will start on the last day of our current Passover - Pesach Mitzrayim - and will celebrate the miracles involved in the coming of Moshiach. This is why the haftorah on the last day of Passover deals with Moshiach. Pharoah's final fall was on the last day of Passover. Bin Ladin was killed on the last day of this second Passover, the Passover of Moshiach..."

The Gardener

Art Susan Rios

R' Aharon Rokeach of Belz was a holy man. He was completely dedicated to Divine service, and his mind was constantly filled with elevated and holy thoughts.

One day, he summoned his attendant and requested that he hire a gardener to cultivate the garden in his courtyard.

The members of the Rebbe's household were astounded by this strange request. Why was the Rebbe, who lived every day of his life with exacted sanctity, suddenly concerned over the garden's aesthetics?  Despite their bewilderment, they nevertheless hurried to do his bidding.

On erev Rosh Hashanah, the Rebbe instructed his attendant to inform the gardener that today would be his final day of work, as the coming year would be a shemittah year.

The Rebbe's pure intentions were now fully understood.  Everything he had done was simply in order to practice the mitzvah of shemittah.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Above Nature

"When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord.
You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce,
But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard." [Behar 25: 2-4]

One of the reasons for the Sabbatical year is to allow the land to rest for a year, to enhance its fertility. From this it follows that after six consecutive years of intensive agriculture, the land is at its least fertile point in the seven year cycle. So the Torah's promise that the land "will yield produce [sufficient] for three years" in the naturally infertile sixth year, is totally irrational and requires a person to accept an authority which is higher than his mortal understanding.

The Talmud [Sanhedrin 97a] compares the six agricultural years to the six millenia of this world, and the Sabbatical year to the seventh millennium [when the Redemption will have arrived].

Since the Jewish people suffer from a gradual regression in spiritual stature as the generations pass, a person might ask: "How could the efforts of the spiritually weak and "infertile" sixth millennium bring the true and complete redemption?

The Torah answers: It is the super-rational self-sacrifice and commitment to Judaism of the final generations of exile, that will bring the blessings of the Redemption.

Based on Likutei Sichos vol 27, Lubavitcher Rebbe

Family First

"If your brother becomes poor" [Behar 25:25]

R' Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, the Rebbe of Kapishnitz, once visited the home of one of his chassidim who was known to be wealthy.  The Rebbe knocked on the door and waited for a response.

The chassid opened his door, and was taken aback by the sight of the holy Rebbe standing at his doorstep.  "Why did the Rebbe have to trouble himself to come to my home?" asked the wealthy man. "The Rebbe could have summoned me and I would have come at once."

"It is I who needs you" answered the Rebbe, "and this is why I have come."

"How can I be of assistance?" asked the man.

"I know of a certain family" replied the Rebbe, "that is in desperate need of help.  The husband is without work, the wife takes care of the young children, and, to add to their hardship, they have a son who is ill and requires special medical attention.   Their expenses are well beyond their means."

"But Rebbe" said the wealthy man, "did this necessitate you having to exert yourself by travelling to my home?  Why did the Rebbe not simply send me a messenger, and I would have gladly given whatever sum of money that was needed!"

"This particular request is of great importance to me" responded the Rebbe.  "It was therefore essential that I come to your home personally."

"I am prepared to give as much money as necessary!" exclaimed the man. "To whom shall I send this money?"

"Send the money" answered the Rebbe, "to your brother."

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Yom HaZikaron

Every year Yom HaZikaron takes places on the fourth of Iyar, which this year is May 8th. Also known as Israel Memorial Day, Yom HaZikaron is a time to remember all those who lost their lives in struggle for Israeli independence as well as the soldiers who have died while serving in Israel's armed forces. Victims of terrorist acts are also remembered.

The Persian Magicians

Last week we heard the news Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery:

Allies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been been accused of using 'black magic' to keep the leader in power.

Twenty-five people close to the leader, including the chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have reportedly been arrested and charged with being 'magicians' and invoking spirits to try and influence his policy.

And with a hat tip to my good friend Devorah Designs..... who found this blogpost from 2006 written by Yeranen Yaakov, where he notes that:

"Rashi on the Gemara in Sanhedrin 98.... explains that before Mashiah comes, the Persian magicians who bother Israel will be destroyed."

You can find it here: End of Days - Where are we?

Iyar: the month of Healing

The Sefer Ta’amei HaMinhagim writes that our new month of Iyar is tried and tested as a time for refuah, healing, from the ailments and pains that may affect a person. Why is this so? He brings the B’nai Yisaschar, who teaches that most weakness and illness come from foods which do not comport with the person’s nature or composition.  Read full article at: Days of Mashiach

There are a couple of ways to assist in your own healing, and that is by saying the Unique Healing Prayer [but you have to do it properly and say every chapter relating to your [Hebrew] name, instructions are at the site].... and the other thing to do is to change your eating habits for the following reason:

"The reason a person's health returns through taking medicines is that his soul sees that he is able to control himself and to act contrary to his physical desires and habits. Perhaps he is accustomed to eating bread and other foods, but now he curbs his desires and submits to a medical regime, taking bitter medicines for the sake of his health. His soul sees that he has the power to control his impulses in order to achieve a certain goal, and she therefore comes back to him in the hope that he will curb his desires for the sake of the true purpose - which is to carry out the will of the Creator" (Likutey Moharan I, 268).  Read a lot more at Redemption of the Soul

Gluten Free

Gluten is poison, as far as I'm concerned anyway.  It slows the blood, makes you feel heavy and glutenous, and causes many strange symptoms which some doctors don't acknowledge is simply the body's reaction to gluten.  Try eliminating gluten from your diet for just one week, and see what happens.  You may be amazed at the difference.... little things that used to bother you will disappear. 

Do we recite a Blessing on Medication?  Rabbi Eliezer Posner says:

If the medicine has a good taste, such as flavored chewable pills, recite the Shehakol blessing. [Seder Birchat Hanehnin 7:8] Flavorless medicine, such as pills that you swallow, do not require a blessing—but we do say a prayer that the medicine should take effect:

"May it be Your will that this medicine shall bring healing."

No blessing is recited on water that you drink to swallow down the pill. If you are swallowing it down with a beverage other than water, then you do recite the appropriate blessing on that beverage. [Tip: recite the blessing, take a sip, swallow the pill and then drink it down with the rest of the beverage.]

A Good Heart

"Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai received the Torah from Hillel and Shammai. He used to say, 'If you have studied much Torah, do not keep the goodness for yourself, because this is what you were created to do.'

"Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai had five [primary] disciples . . . He said to them 'Go out and discern which is the proper way to which a person should cling.'

Rabbi Eliezer says 'A good eye.'

Rabbi Yehoshua says 'A good friend.'

Rabbi Yose says 'A good neighbor.'

Rabbi Shimon says 'One who considers the outcome of a deed.'

Rabbi Elazar says 'A good heart'.

R' Eliezer Zvi Safran [d.1898] writes: After Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai taught that a person who has studied Torah has an obligation to share what he has learned, he told his students to "go out" in the world and begin teaching. However, people's souls are different, and each person needs to find a mentor to whom his soul can relate. Therefore, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai told his students to identify and make known their own approaches to spiritual success so that would-be students could choose an appropriate teacher from among them and cling to that teacher.

Rabbi Eliezer responded: A good and kindly eye is the key to success because one who looks kindly on others will consider how his mitzvot and sins will affect them, and will make proper choices accordingly.

Rabbi Yehoshua contended: One's own "good eye" is not enough. The key to spiritual success is having a good friend. Since no one can be on guard against sin at every moment, a good friend will help a person remain on the proper path. Thus it is written [Kohelet 4:9-10] "Two are better than one . . . for should they fall, one can lift the other; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and there is no one to lift him."

Rabbi Yose stated: A good friend can't help if he is not nearby. Rather, a good neighbor is the key to spiritual success.

Rabbi Shimon said: Even a good neighbor cannot be at your side constantly. However, if this neighbor can appreciate the outcome of your deeds, he can counsel you before you face a spiritual crisis. [Mitzvot, too, R' Safran observes, must be performed with forethought. Every mitzvah has its time and place, and not every good deed is appropriate at every moment.]

Rabbi Elazar argued: No! What good are a good eye or a discerning and insightful neighbor or friend if one does not himself have a good heart. That is the key to spiritual success! [The mishnah records that the master, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, agreed with this last opinion]

Exile and Redemption

Source: Extracted from "Letters of Fire" by Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson [Feldheim Publ]

The Gemara tells us that the sprouting of Mashiach will occur in a lowly and fallen generation, a generation that finds itself in a situation of spiritual decay. [Sanhedrin 95,96]

This "rot" רקב will precede the "morning" בקר of redemption.  From the midst of a decadent, "rotten" generation the sprout of the seed of David will come forth.  This resembles the decay of the outer portions of a seed in the earth, enabling the inner germ to sprout and rise.

The Satan, who is identical with the primeval snake, will reveal its negative power in all its force and scope before the coming of Mashiach.  However, Mashiach will destroy the snake.  According to the Kabbalah, this is shown by the fact that the words נחשׁ (nachash - snake) and משׁיח (Mashiach) have the same numerical value: 358.

For every negative force in the universe, G-d created an equal positive force.  The counterbalancing force to the snake (358) is the Mashiach (358).  One might note that the word Mashiach משׁיח is spelled with the same letters as ישׂמח - "yismach" - "he will rejoice". 

The redemption depends upon the unveiling of all the evil in the world.  This can be explained in accordance with the Kabbalistic teaching that the forces of evil trap people in their net by mixing a little truth into their misleading ways............  this teaches us that the small amount of truth that is joined with evil gives it its power of existence; this deceptive coloration is what entraps people.  In time to come, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will reveal the hidden secrets of evil and show its true content.  The following verse in Ovadyah, referring to the downfall of Edom, alludes to the deceptive guise of truth in which evil clothes itself: "How Esav will be investigated, his hidden things revealed!"

The dispersion of the Jewish people in the diaspora will come to an end with the redemption.  When we add an א to the word גולה (golah - "diaspora") it becomes גאולה (geulah - "redemption").  The brother of the Maharal, in his work Sefer Ha-Chayim, explains that the  א, whose numerical value is "one" (אחד- echad) symbolizes the unity (אחדות - achdut) of the Jewish people, which is an essential ingredient in transforming the diaspora (גולה) into redemption (גאולה).

Before the redemption, the forces of evil will reach their end, as it is written: "I shall cut off the horns of the wicked; the horns of the righteous will be exalted." [Tehillim 75:11]. The word קרן (keren) can mean both "horn" and "corner".  Benei Yissaschar states that this latter meaning is also intended by our verse, which would then read: "I shall cut off the corners of the wicked" [Benei Yissaschar 101a].  The word for "the wicked" is רשׁעים (resha'im); the "corners" of this word are ר and ם.  When these "corners" are "cut off", what remains are the letters of ישׁע  (yesha - "salvation"). The "corners" of the word צדיק (tzaddik) are the letters צ and ק.  Together they spell קץ (keitz - "end").  The remaining letters are די (dai - "enough"), which in reverse order spell יד (yad - "hand").  Thus, when the "corners" of the righteous are exalted, the world will merit to see the End (קץ) of Days, when the Creator of the world will say "Enough (די)!" to Israel's exile.  Then the hand (יד) of Divine providence over the entire Creation will be revealed to all.

The letters רם (ram - "exalted") have the numerical value of 240, which equals that of עמלק (Amalek), indicating the arrogant pride of that wicked nation. Amalek is the root of evil, strengthening the destructive powers among the nations by blocking the eyes of Divine providence from seeing the world.  Cutting off and removing this רם from the world will bring rescue and redemption.  When evil is removed from the world and Mashiach comes, the redeemed people "will find rejoicing and happiness; sadness and sighing will flee" [Yeshayahu 35:10].  This happiness which will arrive with the coming of the Redeemer is expressed in the word משׁיח "Mashiach", whose letters spell  ישׂמח   "he shall rejoice".

Speech Therapy

"Ten things were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight.... [two of these were] the ketav and the michtav...." [Pirkei Avot 5:9]

Both ketav and michtav could be translated as "writing", but if so, one of them is redundant. Michtav can also mean "speech" as in "The michtav of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness" [Isaiah 38:9].  Hezekiah did not write anything; he spoke of his gratitude to G-d for healing him [Midrash Shmuel].

Why was speech created on the eve of the first Shabbat?

Observant Jews rarely commit the cardinal sins. Our problem today is sins of speech: profanity, lashon hara, falsehood, scoffing, flattery and idle chatter. We tend to take these lightly, but G-d is very particular about our speech. On the day of judgment He will scrutinize every word we ever uttered [or wrote]. To make this point, He created speech on the eve of Shabbat at twilight.

Just as the world was created in six days and the seventh was a day of rest, so the world will last in its present state for six millennia and then enter the Messianic era, the Shabbat of history. In our times - twilight on the eve of the great Shabbat - the evil inclination concentrates its attacks on our speech.

from the writings of Hacham Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad [The Ben Ish Hai]

The Forbidden Marriage of the Kohen

"They may not marry....." [Emor 21:7]

Letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l

By the Grace of G-d
19th of Sivan 5717
Brooklyn N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing

This is in reply to your letter in which you write about the case of the Kohen who is contemplating marrying a divorcee. I am surprised that there should be any doubt on the part of any Jew about the strict prohibition of such a marriage, inasmuch as it is emphatically prohibited, both in the Written Law as well as in the Oral Law. So strict is the prohibition, that a kohen who violates this law desecrates his sacred calling, which is his heritage of countless generations.

The point I do wish to emphasize here is that in all matters of matrimony, the happiness of two partners is involved, and if there is any issue, the happiness of children and future generations is at stake. Obviously a marriage which has been prohibited by the Creator and Master of the Universe is one that cannot possibly be a happy one, and is certain to be harmful to both parties concerned.

In other words, if the said kohen has any feelings for the divorcee in question, he should realise that his marrying her would expose her to untold harm, not only in the afterlife and in a spiritual sense, but also in this life, and even in a physical and material sense. The fact that this may be beyond one's comprehension is immaterial, for it is certain that the Creator of the world knows best what is good for His creatures, and since He has so strictly prohibited such a marriage, there can be no doubt that it is harmful. Therefore, even on humanitarian grounds, the said kohen, if he has any feeling for the said divorcee, should give up the idea and avoid causing himself and her irreparable damage, physically and spiritually.

I trust that you will find the suitable words to explain the seriousness of the matter to the person in question, which no words can really overemphasize.

With blessing.....

Also see: Kohanim and Forbidden Marriages

Ahmadinejad Wipes Himself Off The Map

Iran leader Ahmadinejad has been missing for the past eight days......

Powerful MPs in Iran have called for a closed debate on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's apparent boycott of his official duties.

The president has not been seen at his office for eight days, missing two cabinet meetings and cancelling a visit to the holy city of Qom.

Analysts believe an internal power struggle may be under way.

Story: BBC News

Why Me?

"...You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood...." [Kedoshim 19:16]

The Baal Shem Tov taught that everything that a person sees is orchestrated by G-d as a specific message to him. 

This is the inner significance of Rashi's comment to verse 16: The fact that you see someone whose life is in danger proves that "you are able to save him".  For the fact that G-d allowed you to witness this event must surely be for a practical reason - namely that you, of all people, have the ability to save this person.

Likewise, if one sees a person "drowning" spiritually, it is a sign from Above that one has the ability to draw him back to the fountains of living Judaism.

[Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe]

The Fifth Year

Arbol de higo (fig tree) by  Ivette Guzmán-Zavala

"In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit" [Kedoshim 19:25]

While the fruits of a tree's fourth year are holy, and may be eaten only in Jerusalem, the fruits of the fifth year may be eaten anywhere.

According to Chassidic thought, the fruits of the fifth year actually correspond to a greater degree of spirituality than those of the fourth year. This is because the ultimate expression of spirituality is not that which must remain confined to a certain holy place (such as Jerusalem). Rather, the greatest holiness is that which permeates the mundane fabric of everyday life, so that even the lowest parts of this physical world are devoted to the "praise of G-d".

Based on Likutei Sichos, Lubavitcher Rebbe

Revenge is [not] Sweet

"You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people" [Kedoshim 19:18]

There are times, said the Chofetz Chaim, that a man grows angry with a friend who did not do him a particular favor.  Such feelings are completely unjustified.

To what can this be compared?  To a man who was walking down the street, looking for his friend.  As he passed people in the street, he would ask them "Have you seen my friend perhaps?"

"Try looking for him in the town square," he was told.  "There are many people gathered there; maybe your friend will be among them."

He went to the town square, searched for his friend, yet he did not find him.

Would it even ocur to him to feel anger toward those individuals who directed him to the town square?  Of course not! He realizes that he must simply continue his search.

The same thing applies to the prohibitions of taking revenge and bearing a grudge, said the Chofetz Chaim.  We are forbidden to feel anger towards a friend who did not do us a favor.  What reason can there be to be angry with him?  Hashem obviously did not designate him as the one who would bestow this particular kindness upon us.  We must simply turn to someone else, and place our request with him; perhaps he is the one who will be able to assist us. 

If a person accustoms himself to constantly thinking in this manner, he will never bear a grudge or feel the need to take revenge.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein