I wrote this before reading Lazer Brody's The Imminent Geula: Mister "V" and some of the information below is also contained there. I guess as we approach The End, we're all thinking along the same lines.......Nevertheless, here it is:
The U.S. was founded on the Fast Day of 17 Tammuz 1776. This year America's Independence Day 4th of July again falls out on 17 Tammuz [Shabbat this year] , the beginning of the period known as the ''three weeks'' when the Jewish people remember the destruction of the holy Temples.
It will be the 239th Independence Day, meaning that America will be entering into its 240th year of Independence. 240 is, by the way, the gematria of Amalek [the perpetual enemy of the Jewish people] and the gematria of Dollar.
Since the founding of America on July 4 1776 the two dates have coincided 10 times, in these years: 1776, 1795, 1833, 1844, 1852, 1863, 1882, 1901, 1939 and 1996. This year 2015 marks the 11th time the dates coincide.
With Confederate flags down and Rainbow flags up, America is slowly morphing into something new altogether.
Heightened threats of terror attacks all over the world and a Summer of Hate demonstration planned for Golders Green in London, all coming in the middle of Ramadan [June 18 - July 17 this year]. Certainly the ISIS terror attacks of the past week in other parts of the world have shown us that these warnings are not just speculation.
The Parsha for the week - Balak - relates the curses that were turned into blessings - a sign for us, no doubt, that all the terrible things we are living through now will ultimately be turned into good, may it happen speedily in our days !
A person who pays attention to his surroundings
will ask why, in recent times, we have been using
disposable plastic items, all made from petroleum
products. The textile industry also uses a great deal
of plastic. The reason is that in these last times preceding
the Final Redemption, the Holy One, blessed
be He, wants to draw all the sparks of holiness that
have been dispersed throughout the world, even in
the most distant places, including sparks of holiness
hidden in oil wells. Hence G-d inspired the creation
of these disposable items created from petroleum
products, as well as all the other steps required in
their production.
Thus a Jew finds himself at home and recites the
shehakol blessing over a plastic cup or utensil, be it
for a Shabbat meal or any other meal, and he says
the blessing with the proper concentration. Through
such blessings, all these sparks of holiness are drawn
out and elevated to their rightful place. Even sparks
found in rocks and dispersed throughout the world
are elevated when marble or similar material is imported from various
countries and used in the construction of synagogues and houses of study.
Hence even these sparks are elevated. It is precisely now, just prior to
the Final Redemption, that the Holy One, blessed be He, is hastening to
liberate these sparks.
As a result, through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot, we draw
forth and redeem the sparks of holiness that are found among non
Jews. Hence we must strengthen ourselves in Torah and mitzvot, and
take upon ourselves the yoke of Torah with devotion and a sincere
love for Hashem. With every mitzvah that we accomplish, we must
make an effort to be focused and act solely for the sake of Heaven
and the glory of Hashem.
"A star will shoot forth from Jacob, and a staff will arise from Israel"[Balak 24:17]
Rambam understood the verse above as referring to King David and Moshiach. The Jerusalem Talmud, however, uses the metaphor of a "star" in this verse to refer to even the ordinary Jew.
At first glance, this appears to be a contradiction, for Moshiach represents the highest perfection possible in a human being, whereas the "ordinary" Jew includes every Jewish person, even the most simple. However, the matter can be reconciled based on the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that every Jew contains within him a "spark" of the soul of Moshiach. The verse therefore refers to both Moshiach himself and the "Moshiach" within us.
The presence of this "spark" of Moshiach has a twofold implication:
a) The verse states the star will "shoot forth" suggesting that one's personal spark of Moshiach should be revealed and "shoot out" into the world;
b) Every Jew is able to speed up and bring about the actual manifestation of Moshiach through revealing his own spark and adding in Torah and Mitzvot.
Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe PS: Jupiter and Venus will merge into a dazzling “super-star” in the Western horizon by the end of June, NASA says. The conjunction of the two planets has been building during the month of June and will culminate in a spectacular display on June 30.
Written by Yosef Peretz, Mirrer Yeshiva Kollel, Jerusalem
The Talmud (beginning of Tractate Berachos) compares a person's soul to G-d himself; just like G-d sees but is not seen, so too the soul of a person sees but is not seen and just like G-d fills the entire world, so too the soul of a person fills his entire body, etc.. What does this mean and from where does the soul "see"? The Kabbalah answers that the soul of a person "sees" through his eyes.
If you look into someone's eyes, you're not just looking at a biological camera. You are accessing the deepest recesses of the person.
"The candle of G-d is the soul of man".
"A mitzva is a candle and Torah is light".
The Talmud teaches, "sin extinguishes a mitzva but sin doesn't extinguish Torah".
The Zohar explains: sin extinguishes a mitzva and mitzva is a candle. So sin extinguishes a candle. But which candle? The candle of G-d - which is the soul of man. So, when a person sins, he extinguishes his own soul. He then walks through life in darkness (until he repents). Conversely a righteous person who has reached a high level of purity, has eyes that literally glow with a tangible spiritual light. I know from experience that looking into the eyes of such a person can have a life-long effect.
Having said that, a person should be very careful what he exposes his eyes to. Whatever you expose your eyes to, know that you are exposing your deepest essence - your soul. If you look at the wrong things, you literally extinguish some of the spiritual light in your eyes. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler taught (Michtav m'Eliyahu) that if a person does not sense holiness inside himself, it's a sign that his soul has left him.
This is why, according to the Talmud, it is forbidden to look at the face of a wicked person. When you look at his (or her) face, your soul absorbs some of the ruach (spiritual energy) of this person. Your soul which is beyond the physical, senses all the deeds and all the twisted drives and views of this person through his eyes and you become a little bit like him.
This is why children inherit the character traits of their parents. By constantly looking into their eyes, they absorb all of their parents' deepest spiritual traits.
The Torah forbids accepting a convert from the nations of Moab and Amon for all generations. Why? Because these nations demonstrated a lack of hakaras hatov (gratitude) to the Jewish nation when they were about to enter Israel. But why are their descendants excluded for all time to convert? Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian z''l explains (beginning of Lev Eliyahu) since their parents did not have proper gratitude, they will transmit this evil trait to their offspring and their offspring to their offsprings, and so forth forever and ever. By constantly looking into their parents' eyes, the children will inherit completely all of their spiritual traits.
Conversely, looking in the eyes of a Tzaddik (righteous person) elevates you. A person who has reached a high spiritual level has eyes that shine forth with a spiritual light. This is why it is so important to learn Torah from a great Rebbi and not just from books. The Talmud says, if your Rebbi does not look like an Angel of G-d, do not learn Torah from him. Only if you sense "Sinai" in this person should you learn Torah from him. Such a person will transmit to you the non-verbal, "internal" part of the Torah and the proper character traits which can only be transmitted through eye contact. No amount of learning in books can help you here.
I heard from Rabbi Simcha Wasserman zt''l that "when you review your lesson, picture your Rebbi's face while he was giving over the lesson. This way, you will review not only the verbal part of the lesson but also the non-verbal messages in the lesson".
The Steipler wrote (beginning of Kareina D'Igarta) every interaction with a person leaves a spiritual mark on you. The Chafetz Chaim said, the first time he saw a Jew willfully transgressing the Shabbat, he cried for an hour. The second time it lasted only 20 minutes. Why the change? He had exposed his eyes and therefore his soul, and was now no longer on the same level of purity as before.
One who is constantly surrounded by people with no faith is in great danger of becoming like them. This is not because of sharing their ideas. No! During every interaction, your soul absorbs some of the "ruach" (spiritual essence) of the person. If you don't strengthen yourself continuously, you will slowly become more and more like him. This is why it is so important to live in an area with a strong Jewish community. The Rambam wrote, if you can't find a community of righteous people to live in, you should move to the desert.
On a deeper level, everything you come across contains the "ruach" (spiritual essence) of it's source. I heard from Rabbi Shmuel Nussbaum of Gateshead (who is now a Rosh Kollel in Israel) that every book you read, contains part of the soul of the author. If you read the book of a tzadik, you are not only receiving the information he wrote. The soul of the tzadik also has a hashpa (a spiritual influence) on you.
Conversely, when you read the news from CNN or some novel, you should know that you are not just reading innocent information. You are putting your mind into the mind of the author, absorbing the spiritual energy and the drives and mentality of this person and you will tend to become like him (or her). Watch out! They didn't tell you that in the fine print!
Rav Kook zt''l
The same is with the holy Torah. When a person learns, his soul is absorbing the spiritual energy of the Almighty himself! (Although in this case, the Almighty provided two conditions in order for the Torah to transmit the spiritual light (see Derech Hashem Vol.4:Ch.2). The first is proper Yira (reverence) and tikun hamaase at all times - striving to fulfill what you are learning. Without that, learning Torah is like reading a science book.)
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter says a person can learn the laws of an ox that gores a cow, and it will help him in controlling his mouth from saying lashon hara (slander). Why? The light in the Torah, elevates his soul and gives him the spiritual strength needed to fight off the evil inclination to slander.
Think before you look as it says by Avraham in the Akeida - "And Avraham lifted his eyes". Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm zt''l says that from here, we learn that even lifting your eyes should be a calculated and weighed decision. Watch your eyes. Be careful what you read and what you look at. Try to attach yourself to a righteous person and you will become like him. Look at the picture above and in the eyes of the holy Tzadik - Rav Kook zt''l and you will taste greatness.
Big investors are fleeing stocks.
In a note on Tuesday, Jill Carey Hall Bank of America Merril Lynch’s wrote that the clients’ net sales of US stocks amounted to $US4.1 billion last week, the largest since January 2008.
The strategists wrote that investors pulled the most money out of healthcare and financial stocks.
Last week, outflows from healthcare were the largest on record, they said.
Concerning this, those who speak in parables say "Come to Heshbon...."[Chukat 21:27]
In Maseches Bava Basra [78b], Chazal expound on this verse as follows: "Regarding this hamoshlim would say - This refers to those who rule [hamoshlim] over their yetzer hara. 'Come to Cheshbon' - Come and let us make a calculation [cheshbon] of world importance." This teaches us that it is incumbent upon each individual to evaluate his deeds in order to determine whether or not he is acting properly.
R' Yitzchak Blaser, one of the primary figures in the Mussar movement, was approached by members of his community who requested that the Rav rouse them with words of inspiration in light of the upcoming High Holy days.
"Allow me to draw a parable" he began. "A caravan lost its way in a forest. For a week the travelers wandered around aimlessly, unable to find their way out. Suddenly, the men saw a lone figure walking in the distance. They quickly made their way toward him and asked him to show them the way out of the forest.
"My brothers and friends" replied the man, "you have been roaming this forest for only a week. I, however, have already been lost for several weeks. Let us try to find the way out of here together, perhaps then we will be successful."
"But there is one area in which I can be of assistance" continued the man. "I will tell you the paths that I have already tried, and we will know not to mistakenly tread them again."
"This applies to our own situation as well" said R' Blaser with great humility. "I am just as lost as you are; only more so, for I am old and have already been lost for many years. Yet my experience can be of benefit, as I will be able to enlighten you as to things that I have seen in my life which I have investigated and found to be trivial and meaningless!
"You can trust me on those matters that it would not be worth your while to try those things.
"Come, let us search together for the path that leads to complete repentance!"
Here is the latest Rabbi Anava video recorded on the Kavanah Show.
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"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
