Tests of Faith

I am not a regular reader of Shmuley  Boteach's articles, however it was after I read this one: Why Did G-d Allow Seven Jewish Children to Die in a Brooklyn Fire that I was inspired to write my own understanding.

We are told many times that we will be tested before the coming of Moshiach.  We will be tested on many levels.  The tests will become harder and harder, in order to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hashem wants - no, Hashem needs - to know where we stand.

No death is ''accidental'',  no birth is accidental, no marriage is accidental. Every single thing that happens in this world is guided by Hashem's Hand.

The fact that these children died because they came from an observant Jewish home, who kept food warm overnight, by means of a blech,  for the Shabbas meal, can bring people to two different conclusions.  The first obvious conclusion that some people may draw from this is that being orthodox is not necessary, and indeed it is dangerous.... we are putting our lives at risk by observing these ''outdated'' rituals.  Who needs a blech when we have ovens that will heat up at the touch of a finger?  Obviously orthodoxy is a dangerous way to live.  We have proof !

But children can die in many other ways as well...... these children died davka because they were orthodox.  They died for their religion, al Kiddush Hashem.

How many times has G-d stepped in and we have experienced a ''miracle''.  I'm sure you can come up with your own experiences, but I remember being at someone's house for a Shabbos lunch many years ago, it was an extremely hot day summer's day, and the air-conditioning was working well. Suddenly there was the sound of a mini explosion and the air-con died.  One of the guests suggested the host check out the situation and asked where the main controls were situated.  The host, being a baal teshuvah and very serious about Shabbas, refused and said he would call a contractor when Shabbos had ended.  Some of us were pretty concerned, and worried about it for the rest of the day.

As it turned out, the contractor arrived early the next morning, and told them that he couldn't believe the house hadn't burned down, that the electrical wiring had blown and they were bloody lucky as their house could have been destroyed.  He shook his head and got to work.

So yes there are miracles, and yes there are tragedies.  You can't throw your hands up in the air and denounce orthodoxy because a tragedy happened to an orthodox family.  Our faith is being tested. Which path will you choose to follow?  That is what G-d wants to know.

I believe that those children were only meant to live for their respective years.  Three years, five years, seven years..... those souls were perfect souls with only a few years to spend in this world before their final resting place in Gan Eden, where we all aspire to be.

They were all sent to the one family in Brooklyn, to be brought up as orthodox Jews and die al Kiddush Hashem.  Their parents must indeed be incredibly worthy of the job of raising such great neshamas.

The continued suffering of the mother and daughter who are fighting for their lives is of great concern to us all.  We should continue to pray for them....

Please pray for a Refuah Shelema for: Gilsom Gila bat Siporah Frances [Gayle Sassoon] and Siporah bat Gilsom Gila [Siporah Sassoon, daughter of Gayle and Gaby] who survived the fire and are currently in the hospital.  Daily Tehillim

Israel Beware of Obama

First he comes for the banks and health care, uses the IRS to go after critics, politicizes the Justice Department, spies on journalists, tries to curb religious freedom, slashes the military, throws open the borders, doubles the debt and nationalizes the Internet.

He lies to the public, ignores the Constitution, inflames race relations and urges Latinos to punish Republican “enemies.” He abandons our ­allies, appeases tyrants, coddles ­adversaries and uses the Crusades as an excuse for inaction as Islamist terrorists slaughter their way across the Mideast.

Now he’s coming for Israel.

Continue reading at: NY Post

Click on the OBAMA label below to read the warnings that I have been blogging since 2007.

Super Moon, Blood Moon, and The Effects of an Eclipse

Click on the links below to read the articles:

Super Moon tonight

Astronomical Events ''Before the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord''

Nissan to Arrive in Astronomical Splendour

Blood Moon April 4 - Pesach first night

The Effects of an Eclipse 
Source: Based on Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Vol. XV
"The Rebbe's Treasure: Interpretations of Talmudic Stories"

The Talmud [Sukah 29a] states that eclipses are bad signs for the world. The Talmud then elaborates on what can cause an eclipse:

An eclipse of the sun occurs for the following four reasons: For not having eulogized a chief judge (a chief judge is comparable to the sun, for he enlightens and clarifies things for the community - Maharsha); for not having helped a betrothed maiden when she called for help (to save her from ill treatment); for committing adultery and for killing two brothers on the same day.

Because of the following four reasons the moon and the stars eclipsed:

For committing forgery, for false witnesses, for raising sheep and goats in the land of Israel (that is, for letting goats and sheep pasture from other people's fields - Rashi), and for cutting down fruit-bearing trees.

The Shaloh [Noach p.274b] explains that seeing the lunar eclipse implies a bad sign. Hashem would ascertain that the Jews would see it if they were sinning. However, if they were not sinning, Hashem would darken the sky so that the eclipse would not be visible.

This interpretation is not satisfactory, for the Talmud states: "For the following reasons an eclipse occurs and not an eclipse is seen". The very occurrence of an eclipse is a consequence of the aforementioned sins and not the sight of the eclipse. Furthermore, in cloudless locations such as Egypt [see Rashi Vayigash 47:10 and Vaera 7:17] the Jews would always be capable of seeing the eclipse regardless of their behaviour.

The Rebbe's Commentary:

How can we say that something as natural and predictable as an eclipse can have an affect on people's welfare? Furthermore, how can we say that the actions of people can provoke the occurrence of something that takes place as regularly and naturally as an eclipse?

It is a wellknown fact that Torah scholars had a vast knowledge of science in general and astronomy in particular. Astronomy was very important for the Jews in order to establish the calendar and proclaim the new months. Even great non-Jewish individuals would ask the Rabbis scientific questions. Therefore, we cannot say that the Rabbis were uttering nonsense when it came to the subject of the eclipse.

Mazal - or constellation - occurs when the stars are in a certain position. Some days or times are auspicious for a good mazal, others are known to be times in which misfortune could happen, G-d forbid, due to the unfavorable mazal. So at certain moments, the mazalot can have influence on the people. Even the day on which one is born has an influence on his characteristics (Shabbat 126a). Therefore, specific mazalot provide people with good or bad tendencies. (Nevertheless, the Rambam in Hilchot Teshuva 5:4 says that a person is not controlled by his natural tendencies and he has the power to change them)

During the time of an eclipse, the stars are in a position that can have a bad influence on the people. At such a time, the four aforementioned sins are more readily transgressed! For this reason the eclipse is a bad sign for the Jews, because they are more likely to sin than at some other time. As a result, they might be punished. Hence it is not our actions that cause the eclipse, but rather the eclipse that can alter our actions, triggering a heavenly punishment.

Therefore, if Jews are doing Hashem's will, the effects of the eclipse will not concern them. Chazal even say that we should not worry about the influence of stars if we do what Hashem wants. For as long as we do not let the bad mazal alter our actions, we do not deserve any punishment.

Jews are not limited by the boundaries of nature, including the celestial bodies. We have the power to change our mazal by doing good deeds. Our mazal depends on our actions and our prayers.

Rivka's Candles

L''Aliyas Neshama Esther Rivka bas Moshe

Art: Michoel Muchnik

In recent years the custom for girls to light Shabbos candles before they are married has re-emerged.  This is actually an ancient practice which is indicated by Rashi's comment to verse 67. 

Here we see that Rivkah lit candles before she was married, for only after Yitzchak had taken her into "the tent of Sarah his mother" and witnessed her Shabbos candles burning for the entire week, did he take her to be his wife.  In fact, it was primarily the observance of this mitzvah that proved to Yitzchak the suitability of Rivkah as a spouse, and a mother in Israel.

Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavicher Rebbe

Surrounded by Angels

Photo: Source unknown

Every action we do creates an angel. A good action creates a defending angel, a bad one creates a prosecuting angel.

One lie will lead to many more lies, creating more and more prosecuting angels.

Every day contains the potential for the creation of good angels who will defend and assist you in times of need.

The path you choose to follow is the path along which you will be lead. Good deeds will lead to more good deeds.... while lies and deception bring about a continuing cycle of lying to cover up the previous lies.

There is a way to break the cycle, and that is to about-turn, and retrace your steps. This is teshuvah - returning to the right path. This path ensures a continual helping hand from Above.

Any obstacles encountered whilst retracing your steps are called "tikunim" - corrections. Each one is a test, tailored to suit your needs. Passing each test is achieving a tikkun in that area, or with a particular person.

Sometimes tests come all at once, and sometimes they are few and far between. Each person will be given exactly what they require at exactly the right time.

Tikunim can also relate to actions done in past lives. You may have owed someone an apology from another lifetime. You have met up now, in order to achieve a rectification.

As long as you are on the right path, the obstacles will be easily taken care of. The key is to have trust [bitachon] in Hashem and never give up or be side-tracked. But even if this does happen, you can again retrace your steps and return. Teshuvah is never out of anyone's reach.

A life without bitachon leads to worry and anxiety:

ביטחון - bitachon - trust

דאגה - deagah - worry or anxiety

דאגה contains the first 5 letters of the alef-beis, minus the letter "beis" - which stands for "bitachon" showing us that a life without trust in Hashem will result in worry and anxiety.

באר - baer - is the Hebrew word for "well"

בור - bore - is the Hebrew word for "bore/pit"

Whilst they sound the same, and have similar meanings, there is a major difference between the two.

A Baer is a living well, a well containing water that is "alive".

A Bore is a hole, containing dead stagnant water or worse.

The difference between the two words in Hebrew is the Aleph in the centre of the word באר.

The Aleph represents Hashem [Adon Olam]. If you have Hashem in the middle of your life, you will access the well of the living waters. If you remove Hashem from the centre of your life, it becomes a bottomless pit.

21 Adar: The Rebbe of Rebbes: R' Elimelech of Lizensk

"Today, in our bitter exile, there are people who receive ruach hakodesh more easily than in the time of the prophets." [Noam Elimelech]

Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk was the student of Dov Ber of Mezerich, the brother of Meshulam Zushia of Anipoli. He was born in 1717, and died on 21 Adar in 1786  [ this year - Thursday 12 March 2015]

During the lifetime of Dov Ber of Mezerich he traveled widely with his brother all over Poland to spread Hassidism. After Dov Ber's death, Rebbe Elimelech settled in Lizhensk and attained great fame, thanks to his lofty life. During his lifetime, Lizhensk was turned into a center of Polish-Galician Hassidism. There, many famous Tzadikim and Hassidic activists of Galicia were educated and obtained their inspiration during the 18th century.

Rebbe Elimelech is the author of “Noam Elimelech” [Lvov 1798], a book of commentaries on the Pentateuch. In that book, the role of a Tzadik is set out and explained, and the doctrine of Hassidism is explained in greater detail. This book was subject to an intense investigation by the opponents of Hassidism. Many of his expositions are published in his work “Darche Tzedek”, and other works.

The Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a, a direct descendant of the "Noam Elimelech", stated that Rebbe Yisroel of Ruzhin said that 500 years before Rebbe Elimelech was born, the world received abundance in his merit. Now, after his death, even more so!

It is said that Rabbi Elimelech promised anyone who would visit his grave that they would not leave this world without teshuva.



Kever of Rabbi Elimelech in Lizensk, Poland [Photo: יהונתן וואקסמאן]

Ohel of Rebbe Elimelech, Lizensk Poland [Photo: יהונתן וואקסמאן]

After Rebbe Elimelech passed away, Rebbe Reb Zisha of Hanipoli was approached by his brother’s students to be their new leader. Rabbi Zisha declined and explained his reason with a parable. “The possuk in Bereshis 2:10 states “And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden and from there it split into four paths.”

The Torah is eternal and alludes to all events above and below for all generations. Eden alludes to our holy master the Baal Shem Tov. The river was his student the holy Mezitcher Maggid. The garden refers to my brother the Rebbe Elimelech.

This then is the meaning: a river flows from Eden to water the garden, the Torah flows as water from the Baal Shem Tov by way of the Mezritcher Maggid to the Rebbe Elimelech. From there it separates into four paths: they are :

1.The Holy Rebbe the Chozeh or Seer of Lublin;

2.The Holy Rebbe Avodas Yisrael the Koznitzer Maggid;

3. The Holy Rebbe Mendel Rimanover; and

4.The Holy Ohev Yisrael the Apta Rav.

Stories of Noam Elimelech

The Light of The Rebbe’s Prayer Sash

related by the Rabbi of Madin, grandson of the Ropshitzer

Rebbe Elimelech had a custom that after the afternoon Mincha service he would converse with his close followers. He would then proceed to a special private room to pray the evening Maariv service alone in seclusion, purity and sanctity.

Rabbi Naftali Ropshitzer, a student of the Rebbe always yearned to also be in that room. He constantly wished to see the deeds of his Rebbe and how he prayed at that time. Once he stole into the room unnoticed and hid beneath the bed. The holy Rebbe entered and closed the door behind him. He took his “gartel,” the traditional sash or belt used by Hassidim for prayer and preceded to fasten it about himself.

The first time he wound the sash about his waist the whole house was filled with an awesome unbelievable light. The second time he tied the gartel winding it around, the light grew in intensity until the Ropshitzer could no longer endure it. He grew weak and found himself fainting. He called out in a loud voice.

Rebbe Elimelech heard the cries of distress coming from his student and recognized their source. “Naftali my son are you here?” the Rebbe asked. “Fortunately, you did not remain here for the third and final time I wound the gartel. If you had remained your soul would have surely left your body from the intensity of the great light. Therefore leave now.”

An unusual guest for Tea

related in the name of The Shinover Rebbe

The author of the Hasidic work Maor va’Shemesh was a student of the Rebbe Elimelech. Once he asked the Rebbe Elimelech to be allowed to serve him, thereby learning directly from his Rebbe. Rebbe Elimelech conceded and asked him for a cup of tea. After preparing the tea, the student entered the room to give it to the Rebbe. Inside he saw the awesome figure of an old man sitting beside Rebbe Elimelech. He was overcome by fear, trembling and shaking so much so that he dropped the cup spilling the tea on the floor and ran out.

Later Rebbe Elimelech saw his student and asked him why he hadn’t given him the tea he requested. He answered that he had brought it but when he saw the figure of the old man he was so frightened he spilled the tea. The Rebbe then said to him in Yiddish “Oy vey iz das kind voos ken nisht kiken dem taten in poonim arayn: Woe is to the child who cannot look his own father in the face.” That old man you saw was none other than our forefather Avraham peace be upon him!

More information can be found at : JewishGen

Words That Hurt

Onaas Devarim – Words that Hurt

by Rabbi Chaim Morgenstern

It is unimaginable for any G-d fearing Jew to earn a living by cheating (onaas mamom). However in our daily lives, we may be transgressing a more severe prohibition than cheating – onaas devarim. Chazal say that onaas devarim is more severe than onaas mammon because a) a person feels more distressed when his feelings are hurt and b) money earned dishonestly can be returned whereas hurt feelings cannot be undone [Bava Metzia 58b].

When we speak about prohibited speech, the first thing that comes to our minds is lashon hara. Although many of us are aware of the severity of speaking lashon hara, there seems to be a lack of awareness of both the scope and severity of the prohibition of onaas devarim.

General Principles

The Torah commands us "Lo sonu ish es amiso," – do not aggrieve one another [Vayikra 25:17]. Rashi explains this to be a prohibition against causing pain or anguish to another with words, hence the term "onaas devarim." Nevertheless, this issur is not limited to words, hurting another’s feelings in writing or with a gesture is also included in this prohibition [Chafetz Chaim,Chovas Hashemira ; Shulchan Aruch Hagra"z, Hilchos Ona’a] There is a famous homiletic saying on the passuk, "Ki ve’apam hargu ish," [literally, "in their anger they killed a person", Bereishis 49:6] with a mere "twist of the nose (af)," one can kill a person.

One does not have to give another person "a devastating blow" to transgress the prohibition of onaas devarim. The Chazon Ish writes that onaas devarim applies even if the other’s feelings were only momentarily hurt [Letters, Vol. 1 #211]. For example, if a person was distracted immediately after being hurt and does not feel the discomfort or emotional pain anymore. This applies especially with children, who may be easily distracted and then forget their previous distress.

The prohibition applies even when no one else is present, and applies even in the privacy of your home between husband and wife or parents and children [Shaarei TeShuva 3:214, Chafetz Chaim, P’Sicha, Prohibition # 13].

Embarrassing another or hurting another’s feelings in the presence of two other people is a more severe aveira, as it also includes the prohibition of malbin pnei chaveiro be’rabim, shaming another person in public.

Continue at Daf Yomi Review

“One who is careful not to hurt other people, all the blessings mentioned in the Torah will befall him and he will enjoy a pleasurable life in This World and the Next.” [see Letter from Rav Shteinman ]

Significant Deeds

Based on Sichas Shabbos Vayakhel-Pekudei 5748 - Lubavitcher Rebbe


G-d said to Moshe: "Go down, for your people that you have brought up from the land of Egypt have become corrupt."  [Ki Tisa 32:7]

Only "three thousand men" [Ki Tisa 32:28] were actively involved in the sin of the golden calf, which was a comparatively small percentage of the Jewish population of a few million.

Nevertheless, G-d told Moshe to "go down", on which Rashi comments: "Descend from your high position. I gave you this high position only for their sake."

From this we see that a comparatively small number of Jewish people were of great significance, to the extent that they affected Moshe himself, who was not even present.

From the negative, we can also learn the positive: how significant the good deeds of even a small number of people can be for the entire Jewish population.

Who Is a True Convert?

The Numbers Add Up

אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת

"These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony...." [Pekudei 38:21]

Rabbeinu Bechaya points out that the numerical value of the words "HaMishkan"  הַמִּשְׁכָּן and "Ha'eidus"  הָעֵדֻת correspond to the total number of years that the first Beis HaMikdash, second Beis HaMikdash and Mishkan stood.

The numerical value of Mishkan is 410, alluding to the 410 years that the first Beis HaMikdash stood.

The numerical value of the word HaMishkan  (415) plus the five letters that are used to spell it, equals 420.  This alludes to the second Beis HaMikdash which stood for 420 years.

The numerical value of Ha'eidus is 479. This alludes to the Mishkan Ha'eidus which stood for 479 years.

In Maseches Yoma [21b] Chazal enumerate five items that were present in the first Beis HaMikdash but were lacking in the second:

1) The Aron Ha'eidus (the Ark)

2) The Ner Tamid (the Lamp that burned continuously)

3) The Divine Presence

4) Divine Inspiration

5) The ability to inquire of the Urim v'Tumim

This statement of Chazal, said the Chasam Sofer, is alluded to in the verse אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת  The word "haMishkan", containing a hei (numerical value 5) at the beginning, alludes to the first Beis HaMikdash which possessed these five attributes. The word "Mishkan" however, alludes to the second Beis HaMikdash which lacked these five items.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

''Netanyahu Made One Mistake''

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday March 3, was powerful and enthusiastically received. It exemplified leadership in a way that Americans have not seen for years. The elected leadership of the US conspicuously displayed their awesome delight from the speech; somehow it restored their own dignity and faith in the role of America today. As a result of the Jewish Prime Minister of a tiny country speaking his mind with unwavering resolve, moral clarity and historical dignity, all those present in the gallery felt better about themselves and their own duties in a confused and bloody world.

Continue at :    Netanyahu Made One Mistake

Purim Sameach

For Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast a pur-- that is, the lot -- to consume them, and to destroy them... Therefore they called these days "Purim" after the pur...   Esther 9:24-26  Read more

Purim is the holiest day on the Jewish calender, even holier than Yom Kippur

For everything you need to know about Purim customs click here



Chassidishe Penguin


''Happy'' Purim


28 minutes of non-stop Purim music


The Maccabeats Purim Song

Netanyahu's Speech to Congress [Full Video]

Purim, Obama, Iran and Anti-Semitism

Some interesting lectures from Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson

Should Netanyahu Address Congress? Purim, Obama, Iran, and Anti-Semitism
[the sound is not great, but it is listenable]

Achashverosh and Haman in Therapy: The Psychological Brilliance of Esther 
Reading the Megilah from a Psychological Perspective

The Purim Codes

[adapted from Keeping Posted with NCSY, Fall 1999 edition and also from Torah.org article by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld]

There is a famous "code" in Megillat Esther :- towards the end of the story, King Ahashveirosh allows the Jews to avenge themselves of their enemies on the 13th day of Adar. In Shushan, the capital, the Jews kill 500 men and hang Haman's ten sons on a gallows. Queen Esther then approaches the King with an additional request: "...allow the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow as they did today, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows" [Esther 9:13]. It's curious that she would request the hanging of Haman's already slain sons. Nevertheless, the King complies.

The Hebrew word for "tomorrow" ["machar"] occasionally refers to the distant future. Further, the Sages tell us that whenever the word "king" appears in the Megillah it alludes to the King of kings as well. Thus, the verse could be understood as a request by Esther to G-d to again hang the ten sons of Haman at some point in the distant future. Now, when the Megillah lists the ten sons of Haman during their hanging [Esther 9:7-9] there are a number of unusually-sized letters. [There is a tradition to write certain letters in the Torah larger or smaller than the standard size.]

According to the most accepted tradition, there is a large 'vav' [numerical value = 6] and a small 'tav' [400], 'shin' [300] and 'zayin' [7]. The following suggestion has been made: The large vav refers to the sixth millennium [of the Hebrew calendar]; the small letters refer to year 707 of that millennium. The meaning, then, is that G-d agreed to hang Haman's ten sons again in the year 5707 = 1946-7.

When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged [Esther 9:6-10], three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest [most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another]. The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters "Taf-Shin-Zayin" represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.

On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were: "PURIM FEST 1946!". [In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946]


It is fairly safe to assume that (a) Streicher did not know about the three small letters in the Megilla, (b) he did not know that these letters corresponded to the year in which he was being hanged, and (c) even had he known, he would have had no motivation to reinforce the validity of Jewish texts, traditions, or prophecies. One could not ask for a more independent confirmation of the all encompassing knowledge to be found in the Sifrei Tanach.

Rabbi Weissmandl - a great Hungararian scholar and holocaust survivor - made a number of findings concerning Megillat Esther using skip distances of 12,111 letters - the exact number of letters in Megillat Esther. If one starts with the first regular mem [as opposed to the "final mem"] in Bereishis 4:14, where the name Esther [vocalized differently] appears for the only time in the Torah, and count at intervals of 12,111 letters, one finds spelled out the phrase "Megillat Esther." Coincidence? I think not.

The Three Keys

Art: "Key" by Nikoletta Bati

"Engrave on it with signet-ring [type] engraving: "Holy to Hashem" פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם קֹדֶשׁ לַי־הֹוָ־ה 
[Tetzaveh 28:36]

In Maseches Ta'anis (2a) R' Yochanan states that there are three maftechos, three keys, in Hashem's possession that He never entrusts to others:

*the key to childbirth

*the key to rain

*and the key to resuscitating the dead.

The Gemara derived this from three verses:

*Hashem does not entrust the key to childbirth to a messenger, as the verse states: "G-d remembered Rachel; G-d hearkened to her and He opened (vayiftach) her womb" [Bereishis 30:22]

*Hashem does not entrust the key of rain to a messenger, as the verse states: "Hashem shall open for you His storehouse of goodness, the heavens, to provide rain for your Land in its time" [Devarim 28:12]

*And Hashem does not entrust the key of resuscitating the dead to a messenger, as the verse states: "Then you will know that I am Hashem, when I open your graves" [Yechezkel 37:13]

These three keys, remarked the Vilna Gaon, are alluded to in the verse: "Pituchei chosam kodesh laHashem" - פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם קֹדֶשׁ לַי־הֹוָ־ה -

The acronym of the word  חֹתָם [Ches, taf, mem] which means "seal" hints to the following words:

Ches - Chayah [a woman who has recently given birth]

Taf - Techiyas HaMeisim [the resuscitation of the dead]

Mem - Matar [rain]

The verse can therefore be read as follows:  "The keys of [pituchei] childbirth, resuscitation of the dead, and rain - ChoTaM - are designated for Hashem's use only ["kodesh laHashem"].

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Ta'anis Esther 5775

Something to think about 

Once there was a King in Shushan, the most powerful ruler in the world, who had a strong disdain, dislike or perhaps even hatred of Jews. 

Today there is a President in Washington, the most powerful ruler in the world, who has a strong disdain, dislike or perhaps even hatred of Jews. 

Once there was a Persian who wanted to kill all the Jews, but needed the King's authorization to proceed with his plan. 

Today there are Persians who want to kill all the Jews, but need the President's authorization to proceed with their plan. 

The King didn't really care, as long as there was something in it for him - lots of money. 

The President doesn't really care, as long as there is something in it for him - a deal with the Persians.  

The Jewish Queen wanted to tell the King what was really happening, but going in to talk to the King was dangerous. 

The Jewish Prime Minister wants to tell the President and his Congress what is really happening, but going to talk to them is dangerous. 

Some people thought she shouldn't go, it would just anger the King and make things worse. 

Some people think he shouldn't go, it will just anger the President and make things worse. 

She asked the Jews to fast and pray for the success of her mission. They did so, the King accepted her words and the plot to destroy them was thwarted. 

Will we fast and pray for the success of his mission? Will the President and Congress accept his words? Will the plot to destroy us be thwarted? 

We commemorate the fasting prior to the Queen's plea to the King on Taanis Ester. 

The Prime Minister of Israel has been invited to address the United States Congress on March 3. 

This year Taanis Ester begins on March 3.

Reincarnation and the Afterlife [video]

Rabbi DovBer Pinson

Can we remember past lives? What happens after we die? A glimpse into the journey of the soul on the other side of life's curtain, including insights into near-death experiences, Heaven and Hell, and the Afterlife journey. 

The Bride's Debt

It once happened in Safed, that a disciple of the Holy Ari had to go on a long journey. Before departing, he came to his teacher for a letter of recommendation. The Ari wrote it for him, then blessed him and said "May G-d be with you, and may you go in peace".

The disciple then asked "Master, can you tell me anything about what will happen when I get there?"

"You will marry a beautiful woman" the Ari replied. "And she is your destined soulmate for this life. But after you have been happily married for only six months, she will suddenly die. And here is the reason: In another incarnation, this woman was a man, and you were also a man then. He was your dearest friend, but he also caused you some legal trouble for six months. Finally, he brought a lawsuit against you in the civil courts, which caused you to lose 600 gold coins, even though you were innocent of his charges.

"Now" continued the Ari, "this friend from another life is once again reincarnated - as the woman you will marry on your journey. His soul has come to make atonement for his sins against you. For the six months of trouble that he caused in that life, you will have six months of happiness in this life. The inheritance you will receive when she dies is to repay you for the 600 gold pieces you lost in the past life. But even though you know this, you should be kind and patient to this woman, and grant her forgiveness for the trouble she caused you in the previous life."

And everything happened exactly as the Holy Ari said it would.

[Shivchei Ha-Ari, 16th century]

The Time Has Come

R' Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev lifted his pure eyes to Heaven and said: "Master of the World! You have exhorted us in Your Torah, "You shall not cause any pain to any widow or orphan. [Mishpatim 22:21]" 

We, Your nation Israel, are orphans, as the Navi laments: "We have become [like] orphans, and there is no father." [Eichah 5:3]

"I turn to You today, O Father in Heaven, and I beseech You to have mercy upon Your nation of orphans who are languishing in a bitter exile.  The time has come for You to take us from darkness into light!"

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein