Friday, March 9, 2012

The Mayan Calendar, December 21 and Judaism

Extracts from The Mayan Culture and Judaism by Rabbi M. Glazerson and Professor R. Haralick

click here
Reprinted with permission. I have extracted only a small portion of the information in the book.....I strongly recommend you purchase it  to fully understand all the concepts.


The Mayan calendar counts time until the year 2012, after which we encounter a situation of no more time from their point of view; a time when there will be complete knowledge.  We will have the power to heal, to create and to change everything.

According to Mayan astronomy, our galaxy orbits the Pleiades every 26,000 years*.   In 2012 there will be a completion of the cycle.... and there will be a new dawn for mankind.  In space there will be a situation in which the planets are directly aligned [an occurrence which happens once every 26,000 years], including the earth, the sun, the Milky Way, the Pleiades, Sirius and others. This will happen at exactly 11am on December 21, 2012,  and at 11:11 there will be a stream of new light of pure awareness that will shine without interference from the planets.

*It is important to point out that even though the calculations of the number of years in the Mayan tradition comes to numbers higher than the maximum 6,000 years of Jewish tradition, there is no inherent contradiction to the Torah of Israel. As the Ramban says in his commentary on the Torah [Genesis, 2], the world is supposed to continue for 6,000 years that mirror the six days of creation.  This refers to the physical world created within the system of time.... according to the teachings of relativity in science, the passage of time exists only in the physical world.... the greater the central mass the slower time moves, when the universe began to expand, the meter of time increased its rate. [Similar to the concept mentioned here] 


The Gemara in Nedarim [8:2] states:
Reish Lakish states: ''In the World to Come, there will be no Gehinnom [hell]. Rather, Hashem will remove the sun from its sheath, and the righteous will be healed by it, while the wicked will be punished by it, as it says [Malachi 3:19] ''A sun will come which will burn like a furnace; all the wicked and all the evildoers will be like straw, and the sun will incinerate them... But a sun of kindness will shine for those who fear Me, with healing in its rays.''

The Abarbanel explains this verse:
''The sun performs opposite actions and, depending on the circumstances, it will burn or heal. It whitens laundry and browns the ski, it melts wax and freezes salt, and therefore, whereas the evildoers who are empty and dry like straw will be burnt, the righteous ones who are damp and moist, will be healed.''

 וְעֵת-צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקֹב, וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ
''...and it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but out of it shall he be saved'' 

It is interesting to note that the gematria of the words ''and a time of trouble'' is 772, which equals the value of the words ''time of clarity''.  This reinforces the idea that at that time it will be a time of tzara [trouble] for the wicked, and it will conversely be a time of tzohar [clarity] for the righteous.

According to the Mayan calendar, the year 1992 is the first year of the last phase [period 20] of the final stage [13th stage] of the great cycle. It is striking to note that the year 1992 was the year תשׁנ''ב  -
5752 years from the creation of the world, which was the beginning of the time after midday Friday, [on the cosmic clock] when the special Shabbat atmosphere began to descend on the world [according to the holy Arizal]. The Mayans refer to these 20 years as the purification of the earth.  During this period, the earth will become completely purified, including the hearts of the people. Evil will be uprooted and goodness will prevail.  The cycle will culminate on the 21st of December 2012, effectively ending the characteristics of civilization as we know it.  After this, humanity will advance into a new type of civilization.

Rav Kushilevsky comments that when discussing the year 2012, one must take into consideration the wellknown fact that the Vilna Gaon considers the birth pangs of Moshiach to be of 70 years' duration.  In the same vein, there are 70 words in Psalms chapter 20 which include ''May Hashem answer you on the day of trouble''.  In the year 5702, the Holocaust began in full force and, as the Aish Kodesh wrote:  ''The terrible tragedies and horrible, unnatural deaths that the cruel Nazi beasts inflicted upon the House of Israel in the year 5702, in my scope of knowledge of the words of the sages and the Book of Chronicles, there has never before been such suffering...''

From this we infer that the year 5702 began the birth pangs of Moshaich. If we add another 70 years from 5702 in order to get to the date of the actual ''birth'', we get the year 5772 - 2012.

In this time of the ''footsteps of Moshiach'' the aspect of the mixed multitudes [Erev Rav] will be strengthened and the leaders of Israel will emerge from the Erev Rav, as it says in the holy Zohar in various places. This has proven itself true when, in recent years, the government of the State of Israel has consisted of parties and ministers who are committed to fighting against the Torah values of Israel. The Rabbis in the Talmudic tractate, Sanhedrin [98:1] discussed this: ''the kings will turn into heretics'', and as it is said in the commentary, this is also referring to the kingdom of Israel.

The sages tell us in the Talmud that this state of affairs will bring Israel to recognize that ''We have no one to lean on except our Father in Heaven'', as is evident in our days when Israel is having such difficulty fighting off our enemies. This will result in the complete return [teshuvah] of the Jewish nation to their heritage, which is the foundation of the final Redemption, ''Because Israel will only be redeemed if they return''. [Sanhedrin 97: 2]

Please note: the date of December 21, 2012 is thought to be significant by many people and religions.  But Redemption can come at any time, and we hope for Moshiach every day.  The information contained in this blog post is not a prophecy or a prediction, merely a distribution of knowledge that is currently available to us.  Things can change in the blink of an eye. [More to come on this topic, stay tuned]

Thursday, March 8, 2012

How Do We Prove that Judaism Is Not Racist?

Art: Raphael Nouril
Why Did Esther Not Refute Haman's accusations against the Jews?

by Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson


"I wouldn't belong to a club that would have me as a member."
-- Groucho Marx

"The modern Jewish maxim is Incognito, ergo sum, 'I am invisible, therefore I am.''
-- Sidney Morganbesser.

The Case for Genocide
In the biblical book of Esther, Haman, the viceroy and second in command in the large and powerful Persian Empire, and whose defeat we celebrate on the holiday of Purim [this year Thursday, March 8th], makes a short but powerful presentation to the Persian king, Ahasuerus, attempting to persuade him to embrace his plan of Jewish genocide.

"There is a certain people," Haman says to Ahasuerus (1), "scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from all the other nations, and they do not observe the King's laws. Therefore it is not befitting the King to tolerate them. If it pleases the King, let it be recorded that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand silver talents … for deposit in the King's treasuries."

Haman's argument is straightforward and clear: Jews are different. They are alien, outsiders, an obstruction to normal society. They don't fit into the rest of the human family. They have their own faith and their own laws, which they feel are superior to the king's laws. They are a nuisance, a threat, a growth in an otherwise harmonious and integrated society. They ought to be disposed of.

The Talmud (2) records an oral tradition describing Haman's presentation in some more detail. "They don't eat from our food," Haman lamented to Ahasuerus; “they do not marry our women, and they do not marry their women to us [ironically, at this point they were both unaware that the King's wife was Jewish]. They waste the whole year, avoiding the King's work, with the excuse: Today is the Sabbath, or today is Passover."

Haman also discusses bad Jewish habits: "They eat, they drink and they mock the throne. Even if a fly falls in a glass of wine of one of them, he casts away the fly and drinks the wine. But if my master, the King, touches a glass of wine of one of them, that person throws it to the ground and does not drink it (3)."

The Jews, Haman argues, see themselves as superior to us; they will forever stand out. Who needs them?

Repeating Haman's Words
Some six centuries after Haman, these same words are repeated by Philostratus, a third-century teacher and resident of Athens and Rome, who summarizes the pagan world's perception of the Jews.

"The Jews," Philostratus wrote, "have long been in revolt not only against the Romans, but against humanity; and a race that has made its own life apart and irreconcilable, that cannot share with the rest of mankind in the pleasures of the table, nor join in their libations or prayers or sacrifices, are separated from ourselves by a greater gulf than divides us from Sura or Bactra of the more distant Indies (4)."

The same argument, in one form or another, would be repeated thousands of times throughout history. The greatest Roman historian, Tacitus, living in the first century CE, had this to say about the Jews:

"The Jews regard as profane all that we hold sacred; on the other hand, they permit all that which we abhor… toward every other people they feel only hate and enmity, they sit apart at meals and they sleep apart, and although as a race they are prone to lust, they abstain from intercourse with foreign women."

One example he mentions to describe the moral conflicts between the Romans and the Jews is worthy of note. "The Jews," Tacitus writes, "regard it as a crime to kill any newborn infant." The Romans, as the Greeks before them, killed mentally and physically handicapped infants. In their minds, keeping such children alive was pointless and unaesthetic (5).

First Lady Intervenes
Back to the Haman story of Purim. The viceroy's arguments persuade the King. A decree is issued from the Persian throne. Every Jewish man, woman and child living under Persian dominance would be exterminated on a particular date.

Then, in a delightful turn of events, the First Lady, the Jewish queen Esther, invites her husband and Haman to a drinking feast. As we recall, Esther, from all the thousands of young women who were brought from across the Empire as potential candidates for the role of queen, succeeded in gaining the affection and grace of the King. "The King loved Esther more than all the women, and she won more of his favor and grace than all other women; he set the royal crown upon her head (6)." Years later, during this wine feast, the King makes a pledge to Esther that he would fulfill every request and petition. She utilizes the opportunity to make the fateful pitch.

"If I have won Your Majesty's favor and if it pleases the King," Esther tells Ahasuerus (7), "let my life be granted to me as my request and my people as my petition. For we — I and my people — have been sold to be destroyed, slain and exterminated. Had we been sold as slaves and servant-girls, I would have kept quiet. The compensation our adversary [Haman] offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer [by exterminating us, rather than selling us as slaves]."

Clearly, Esther is attempting to approach the issue from two sides, a personal one and an economical one. First, she exposes her Jewish identity. The queen is a member of the people condemned to death. Esther knows, however, that this alone may not do the trick, so she continues to discuss dollars and cents [Haman too, as recorded above, used a two-point approach in persuading the King: logic and money]. By selling the Jews as slaves, Esther argued, Ahasuerus would be profiting far more than by exterminating them. The money Haman offered him is miniscule vs. the potential profit from their sale into slavery.

The King, who never realized that Esther was Jewish, is outraged at Haman. He has his minister executed and his decree subverted. In subsequent conversations with Esther, Ahasuerus grants the Jews the right to self-defense against anybody who would dare to harm them. The entire climate in the Persian Empire toward the Jew is radically transformed. Esther's first cousin, a Jewish sage, Mordechai, is appointed viceroy, replacing Haman.

Yet, one question remains. Haman did not argue the case for Jewish extermination on the basis of senseless venomous passion. He presented what was to the King a sound and persuasive argument. The Jews, Haman argued, were an alien growth, a bizarre people, a separatist nation that would not accept the King's ultimate authority and even considered their law superior to the King's. A leader could not tolerate such a "superior group" in his empire.

This is a strong accusation. The King accepts it and as a result issues a decree demanding his subjects dispose of all the Jews — men, women and children. Yet nowhere in her entire dialogue with the King does Esther refute this argument. Why did Ahasuerus consent to the abolishment of his original plan if he believed Haman's outcry to be valid?

One might argue that Esther's charm and grace were the exclusive factors for the King's change of heart. Yet, as proved above, it is clear that Esther does not rely on this alone. That is why she presents a logical argument for slavery vs. genocide. She refutes the economic offer made by Haman by demonstrating that the king would lose money. How, then, could she ignore the powerful and persuasive argument of Haman advocating a "Judenrein" society?

What is more, Haman's accusation had some truth to it: The Jews indeed have their own set of laws which they will not break even if it contradicts the law of the King. The Jews are indeed a people who remain distinct from other nations! Esther needed to address these major issues.

When False Notions Face Reality
Some questions are canceled out via answers; some arguments refuted by counter-arguments. But there are those beliefs or notions that require neither debate nor dialogue to disprove them. Reality does the job. When reality is exposed, they dissolve into nothingness.

Haman's argument fell into this category. Esther responded to Haman's argument for Jewish genocide not by dialogue, but by her sheer presence. The moment she identified herself as a member of the Jewish people and as a product of the Jewish faith, Haman's previously attractive "thesis" vanished.

Ahasuerus knew Esther intimately. She was his wife. He sensed her soul, he touched her grace, he cherished her personality. He adored her body, her glow, her charm, and would do almost anything for her [as he explicitly told her]. He knew that Esther's character and values were noble, dignified and pure. He chose her from thousands upon thousands of young women, all of them not Jewish. Yet the king never realized that she was Jewish—a daughter of the Jewish people and a product of the Jewish faith.

When Ahasuerus suddenly discovered that she was a proud member of the Jewish people, an adherent of the Jewish faith, he immediately realized the falsehood of Haman’s arguments—not through dialogue and debate, but through Esther’s very living presence. Esther’s day-to-day life demonstrated, louder than any argument could achieve, the absurdity of Haman’s arguments that the Jews threatened society. Looking at Esther, seeing her refinement and inner beauty, and learning that this was a "product" of the Jewish people and the Jewish way of life, the King understood that this alien Nation who lived by another code, ought not to be loathed, but respected. They may be very different, but it is an otherness that elevates other nations rather than threatens them. [Leo Tolstoy wrote: "The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illuminated with it the entire world (8)."] The Jew may be very different, but it is this "otherness" that has the power to inspire all of the nations of the world to live and love deeper, to encounter their individual path to G-d.

When the Persian King learnt that the royalty of Esther was a symptom of her Jewishness, he did not need to hear anything else. He got it. The last thing he needed to worry about was the Jewish people and their faith. If anything, they would prove to become the greatest blessing for his Empire. The decree was annulled.

Should We Hide?
The lesson for our times is clear. Sometimes Jews think that by hiding the “otherness” of Judaism and the Jewish people they will gain the approval of the world. Yet the facts prove otherwise: Assimilation, eclipsing the otherness of the Jewish people, has never assuaged anti-Semitism. Tradition tells us (9) that the Jews of Shushan [the capital of the Persian Empire at the time of the Purim story] were quite assimilated. Yet, this did not deter the Persian viceroy and king from believing that despite all of the Jews' compromises and attempts not to be "too Jewish," they were still strange, distinct and different.

This pattern has repeated itself in every milieu since. Never in history has assimilation solved the problem of Jew hatred. Jews in Germany were the most assimilated and integrated in mainstream society, yet it was in that very country where the worst Jew hatred in history sprouted.

Scores of great non-Jewish thinkers, sympathetic to Jews as well as to anti-Semites, saw in Jews and Judaism something different, bizarre and extraordinary. In Tolstoy's letter above he continues: "The Jew is the religious source, spring and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions." John Adams wrote that "the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation (8)." Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, believed that the Jews introduced to the world the "slave virtues" like "pity the kind and helping hand, the warm heart, patience, industriousness, humility, friendliness," designated "for the weak and envious (10)." Hitler blamed the Jews for inventing the life-denying reality called conscience. Today, many academics and laymen believe that the Jews are responsible for the great conflict in today’s world.

As much as we attempt to run from our identity as Jews, the non-Jewish world reminds us of who we are and where we came from. The non-Jew senses that since the day the Jew stood at Sinai, he or she has been different.

The solution for the Jewish people is therefore not to deny its otherness. That will never work. Rather, the Jew ought to embrace his or her Jewishness, and just like Esther, be proud with the lifestyle and moral ethic of Torah. When we learn how to embrace our otherness with love and grace, rather than with shame and guilt, it will become a source of admiration and inspiration for all of humanity.

Just like Esther, the presence of a Jew who is permeated by the love and dignity of Torah and Mitzvos—speaks for itself. The grace of a true Torah Jew, the integrity, the innocence, the discipline, the modesty, the moral code, the sensitivity to all that is noble and dignified in life, the love for man and G-d which Torah inculcates in the Jew, the majesty of a Shabbat table and the depth of Torah wisdom—all these refute the arguments of Haman more than debate can ever hope to achieve.

Reb Chaim of Volozhin once remarked: "If a Jew doesn't make Kiddush [to sanctify himself by maintaining a distinctly Jewish lifestyle], then the non-Jew will make Havdalah for him [by making the Jew realize he is truly different]."

Israel, for example, will never succeed portraying itself to the world as “a regular country.” Its choice is either to run from its destiny or to embrace it, and thus become a source of pride for the entire world.

[This essay is based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Purim 5729; March 4, 1969 (11)]

To view the footnotes click here

Australia East Coast: Rains, Floods and Evacuations

The Murrumbidgee River is rising and threatening to breech levy banks and flood the city. A view of North Wagga
showing houses under more than a metre of water. Picture: Brad Newman Source Daily Telegraph
The flood crisis gripping huge swaths of the eastern states was likely to last for weeks, emergency services warned yesterday as evacuations continued for thousands of residents and consumers were told to brace for fruit and vegetable price hikes.

Read more: Wave of Destruction Hits

Do You See That Which You See....[Part 2]

by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
In my last column I described some of the prophesies, wake-up calls that would befall our people in the days of ikvesei d`Moshiach - in the days when the footsteps of Messiah can be detected. But unfortunately, we have yet to attune ourselves to the sound of those footsteps.

The following is a continuation:
Had you heard the prophesies of which I spoke in my last article when they were written centuries ago, you might have laughed and scoffed - even if you read them as recently as 1970, you would have been hard put to believe it, for of all the Moslem countries, the Shah's Iran was probably the friendliest. But today, the impossible has become possible, and events are unfolding so rapidly that we have difficulty absorbing their impact. So how are we to understand it all?

The Yalkut compares our suffering to birth pangs. But birth pangs are deceptive, when the contractions begin, it's easy to ignore them since they are mild and occur between long intervals. As the birth becomes imminent however, the contractions intensify and the pain becomes more intense. And just when it appears that the woman can no longer endure the pain, the baby is born and new life enters the world. It is these labor pains to which we are witness today, How long will the labor last? It's anyone's guess, but one thing is certain - please G-d, the birth is sure to take place. In the interim however, we may very well ask. Is it possible to ease the suffering? Is it possible to protect ourselves from these painful contractions?

Every woman in labor needs help to ease her pain and speed the birth of her child. So too, we need help to lessen our pain and hasten the coming of Moshiach. We have been blessed by our sages who are perfect doolas and have the perfect doola - the perfect formula to assure us an easy and painless birth.; "Let he who wishes be spared the birth pangs of Messiah occupy himself with Torah and gemilus chasidim [acts of loving kindness] and let him be scrupulous about Seudah Shlishis - the third Sabbath meal."

The first two recommendations - Torah and gemilus chasidim are self-explanatory and do not require much elaboration, for he who is committed to Torah and mitzvos and to reaching out with loving kindness, must, of necessity, become a better, more spiritual person. But eating a third Sabbath meal is not as readily comprehensible.

We are enjoined to have three seudos - meals - on the Sabbath, - Sabbath eve [Friday night], Sabbath noon [following prayer in the synagogue] and the third seudah - meal - in the late afternoon as the Sabbath Queen prepares to depart. Through these three meals, we honor the three Patriarchs, the three sections of our Holy Writ (Torah, Prophets, and the Writings), and we also recall the three Sabbath meals of manna that G-d provided us during our sojourn in the wilderness [Exodus 16:25].

This final Sabbath seudah is called Shalosh Seudos, which translated literally, means "Three Meals" rather than Seudah Shlishis - the third meal. Our sages explain that the reason for this is that all three Sabbath seudos are embodied in this one.

This third meal presents a most auspicious time for prayer. And to this very day, when I close my eyes, I can hear the sweet voices of my revered father and beloved husband of blessed memory, leading their congregations in singing Psalm 23, the psalm that is traditionally chanted at the Shalosh Seudos.

Hashem is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." The task of the shepherd is a lowly and lonely one. Day in and day out he is destined to wander from place to place, seeking pasture for his flock, and yet, David did not hesitate to refer to G-d as a Shepherd, for he perceived that G-d's love is so total, so encompassing, that when it comes to caring for His children, nothing is beneath Him. What a magnificent and fortifying thought - for no matter where life takes us, even if we have to walk in the treacherous valley overshadowed by death, we need not fear, for G-d, our Shepherd, will always be there to lead us to greener pastures, even if at first, we do not recognize that the pasture is green.

Still, it is difficult to comprehend how the mere eating of a third meal, singing Psalm 23, and discussing words of Torah could have such awesome power that they can actually protect us from the suffering that will accompany the birth pangs. But there is a profound lesson at the root of this teaching. The first two Sabbath seudos are eaten when we are hungry, but after a festive noontime seudah, we are hardly in the mood for yet another meal. So it is not to satiate our hunger that we gather around the Shalosh Seudos table. Rather, it is to celebrate the Sabbath and sing her praises, and that is why the Third Meal encompasses them all. The Third Meal is symbolic of the conversion of the physical to the spiritual and ultimately, that is our purpose - to become spiritual beings and to free ourselves from the shackles of materialism - and that is something that our generation, obsessed with materialism and the pursuit of pleasure, has yet to learn.

You might of course wonder, "Why must we experience birth pangs in order for Messiah to come? Why can't he just announce his presence?" But the Messianic period will be very much like Shalosh Seudos, when we sit around the table - not to satiate our physical hunger nor to glory in our materialistic achievements, but to celebrate our spiritual attainments.

In order for this to happen, we will have to divest ourselves of all the icons that we hold dear. Therefore, our hallowed institutions, the bastions of strength in which we placed our trust, will have to fall away. It is that painful disintegration to which we are witness to today. From the corporate - financial world to government to religious institutions to science and medicine, they have all failed us. And worse, we no longer feel safe or secure in our daily lives. Terrorists and suicide bombers have all become a reality of our existence and no army or police force is capable of shielding us from them. Shorn of all our defenses, we stand vulnerable and terrified, and wonder what life is all about as we see our idols crumble before our very eyes. Tragically, it never occurs to us that Hashem is calling us.... His message is loud and clear, so let us seize the moment and return to Him before the fire becomes an inferno that could, chas v`sholom, consume all of us.

How long will these birth pangs last? Until we recognize the simple truth - that "we can rely on no one but Avinu She'bashamayim - our Heavenly Father." So let us sound the shofar, awaken ourselves from our lethargy, and heed the voice of our Father calling us.

The Megillat Esther Code [video]

This is a video showing the story of the hidden code in Megillat Esther - the hidden message about Haman's 10 sons. A few versions of this video are available, this is the kosher version. [Hat tip Andrew]

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Purim: Edom -v- Paras

I wonder if there was a special message - a hint, if you like - in the gift of the Megillah from Bibi to Obama yesterday.....

Remembering that the Gulf War in 1991 ended on Purim, [as foretold by the Lubavitcher Rebbe], and the second Gulf War [Iraq] began on Purim 2003.

Will there be a Purim war in 2012?
It's certainly looking like it, and it's probably a good time for prayer.



[The following was received via email from Jacob]


The Righteous Tzadikim have said that when the Megillah says that the King couldn’t sleep it was referring to the King Of The Entire Universe.

There is a power in the world every Taanis Esther and on Purim to wake the King.

Every Jew must feel deep In his heart and in his soul the danger the Jewish people are in. We are literally in the same situation where the lives of every Jewish man, woman and child are in danger.  One doesn’t have to be a chacham to see that we are in deep danger.

Every man, woman and child must cry and scream TO WAKE OUR KING FROM SLEEP to draw down
His mercy from above upon us.  [The Rabbis actually say it is our sleep that makes it seem like the King is sleeping but when we arise like a lion the King Of Kings will rise and completely destroy our enemies. Amein Kein Yehi Ratzon.

It has been passed down that the prayer read by Esther to beg and plead to Hashem before approaching Achashveirosh was Tehillim [Psalm] 22.   This Psalm has the power to nullify harsh decrees.

The Tzadikim have said that through the Fast of Esther and the happiness of Purim, Klal Yisrael can and will destroy any decree upon Hashem’s beloved people.

May it be this year that our enemies, wherever they may be, whether within or without, be obliterated forever. Amen!!!


Tehillim 22

Psalms Chapter 22 תְּהִלִּים

א לַמְנַצֵּחַ, עַל-אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר; מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד.
1 For the Leader; upon Ayeles ha-Shachar. A Psalm of Dovid.
ב אֵלִי אֵלִי, לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי; רָחוֹק מִישׁוּעָתִי, דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִי.
2 My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, and art far from my help at the words of my cry?
ג אֱלֹהַי--אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם, וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה; וְלַיְלָה, וְלֹא-דֻמִיָּה לִי.
3 O my God, I call by day, but Thou answerest not; and at night, and there is no surcease for me.
ד וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ-- יוֹשֵׁב, תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל.
4 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou that art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
ה בְּךָ, בָּטְחוּ אֲבֹתֵינוּ; בָּטְחוּ, וַתְּפַלְּטֵמוֹ.
5 In Thee did our fathers trust; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.
ו אֵלֶיךָ זָעֲקוּ וְנִמְלָטוּ; בְּךָ בָטְחוּ וְלֹא-בוֹשׁוּ.
6 Unto Thee they cried, and escaped; in Thee did they trust, and were not ashamed.
ז וְאָנֹכִי תוֹלַעַת וְלֹא-אִישׁ; חֶרְפַּת אָדָם, וּבְזוּי עָם.
7 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
ח כָּל-רֹאַי, יַלְעִגוּ לִי; יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה, יָנִיעוּ רֹאשׁ.
8 All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head:
ט גֹּל אֶל-יְהוָה יְפַלְּטֵהוּ; יַצִּילֵהוּ, כִּי חָפֵץ בּוֹ.
9 'Let him commit himself unto the LORD! let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighteth in him.'
י כִּי-אַתָּה גֹחִי מִבָּטֶן; מַבְטִיחִי, עַל-שְׁדֵי אִמִּי.
10 For Thou art He that took me out of the womb; Thou madest me trust when I was upon my mother's bosom.
יא עָלֶיךָ, הָשְׁלַכְתִּי מֵרָחֶם; מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי, אֵלִי אָתָּה.
11 Upon Thee I have been cast from my birth; Thou art my God from my mother's womb.
יב אַל-תִּרְחַק מִמֶּנִּי, כִּי-צָרָה קְרוֹבָה: כִּי-אֵין עוֹזֵר.
12 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
יג סְבָבוּנִי, פָּרִים רַבִּים; אַבִּירֵי בָשָׁן כִּתְּרוּנִי.
13 Many bulls have encompassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
יד פָּצוּ עָלַי פִּיהֶם; אַרְיֵה, טֹרֵף וְשֹׁאֵג.
14 They open wide their mouth against me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
טו כַּמַּיִם נִשְׁפַּכְתִּי-- וְהִתְפָּרְדוּ, כָּל-עַצְמוֹתָי:
הָיָה לִבִּי, כַּדּוֹנָג; נָמֵס, בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי
15 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; {N}
my heart is become like wax; it is melted in mine inmost parts.
טז יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ, כֹּחִי, וּלְשׁוֹנִי, מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָי; וְלַעֲפַר-מָוֶת תִּשְׁפְּתֵנִי.
16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my throat; and Thou layest me in the dust of death.
יז כִּי סְבָבוּנִי, כְּלָבִים: עֲדַת מְרֵעִים, הִקִּיפוּנִי; כָּאֲרִי, יָדַי וְרַגְלָי.
17 For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.
יח אֲסַפֵּר כָּל-עַצְמוֹתָי; הֵמָּה יַבִּיטוּ, יִרְאוּ-בִי.
18 I may count all my bones; they look and gloat over me.
יט יְחַלְּקוּ בְגָדַי לָהֶם; וְעַל-לְבוּשִׁי, יַפִּילוּ גוֹרָל.
19 They part my garments among them, and for my vesture do they cast lots.
כ וְאַתָּה יְהוָה, אַל-תִּרְחָק; אֱיָלוּתִי, לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה.
20 But Thou, O LORD, be not far off; O Thou my strength, hasten to help me.
כא הַצִּילָה מֵחֶרֶב נַפְשִׁי; מִיַּד-כֶּלֶב, יְחִידָתִי.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword; mine only one from the power of the dog.
כב הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, מִפִּי אַרְיֵה; וּמִקַּרְנֵי רֵמִים עֲנִיתָנִי.
22 Save me from the lion's mouth; yea, from the horns of the wild-oxen do Thou answer me.
כג אֲסַפְּרָה שִׁמְךָ לְאֶחָי; בְּתוֹךְ קָהָל אֲהַלְלֶךָּ.
23 I will declare Thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.
כד יִרְאֵי יְהוָה, הַלְלוּהוּ-- כָּל-זֶרַע יַעֲקֹב כַּבְּדוּהוּ;
וְגוּרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ, כָּל-זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל.
24 'Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him; all ye the seed of Yaakov, glorify Him; {N}
and stand in awe of Him, all ye the seed of Israel.
כה כִּי לֹא-בָזָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּץ, עֱנוּת עָנִי-- וְלֹא-הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ;
וּבְשַׁוְּעוֹ אֵלָיו שָׁמֵעַ.
25 For He hath not despised nor abhorred the lowliness of the poor; neither hath He hid His face from him; {N}
but when he cried unto Him, He heard.'
כו מֵאִתְּךָ, תְּהִלָּתִי: בְּקָהָל רָב--נְדָרַי אֲשַׁלֵּם, נֶגֶד יְרֵאָיו.
26 From Thee cometh my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear Him.
כז יֹאכְלוּ עֲנָוִים, וְיִשְׂבָּעוּ-- יְהַלְלוּ יְהוָה, דֹּרְשָׁיו;
יְחִי לְבַבְכֶם לָעַד.
27 Let the humble eat and be satisfied; let them praise the LORD that seek after Him; {N}
may your heart be quickened for ever!
כח יִזְכְּרוּ, וְיָשֻׁבוּ אֶל-יְהוָה-- כָּל-אַפְסֵי-אָרֶץ;
וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ, כָּל-מִשְׁפְּחוֹת גּוֹיִם.
28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD; {N}
and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.
כט כִּי לַיהוָה, הַמְּלוּכָה; וּמֹשֵׁל, בַּגּוֹיִם.
29 For the kingdom is the LORD'S; and He is the ruler over the nations.
ל אָכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ, כָּל-דִּשְׁנֵי-אֶרֶץ-- לְפָנָיו יִכְרְעוּ, כָּל-יוֹרְדֵי עָפָר;
וְנַפְשׁוֹ, לֹא חִיָּה.
30 All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall kneel before Him, {N}
even he that cannot keep his soul alive.
לא זֶרַע יַעַבְדֶנּוּ; יְסֻפַּר לַאדֹנָי לַדּוֹר.
31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord unto the next generation.
לב יָבֹאוּ, וְיַגִּידוּ צִדְקָתוֹ: לְעַם נוֹלָד, כִּי עָשָׂה.
32 They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done it. 

Obama: Live Press Conference

President Obama will host a live press conference today at 1:15p.m. [about one hour from time of publishing this post] - 8.15 pm Israeli time

He is expected to discuss the situation in Syria, concerns about Iran's disputed nuclear program and the U.S. economic situation.

Click here for link to listen live:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

Spiderman Prepares for Purim