The Future Redemption

Parshat Nitzavim:

The future redemption: Moses warns of the exile and desolation of the Land that will result if Israel abandons G‑d’s laws, but then he prophesies that in the end, “You will return to the L‑rd your G‑d . . . If your outcasts shall be at the ends of the heavens, from there will the L‑rd your G‑d gather you . . . and bring you into the Land which your fathers have possessed.” 

The Talmud Talmud [Sanhedrin 97a–98a] mentions various signs to identify the generation in which Moshiach will arrive.

In that generation:

• Torah scholarship will be diminished. 
• There will be many troubles and difficult decrees. 
• The younger generation will not respect their elders. 
• There will be inflation in food prices. 
• The government will turn towards heresy (denying the Torah). 
• People will despair of the Redemption. 
• People will have no money left in their pockets (i.e., savings). 
• The Jewish people will not have supporters. 
• The generation will be either entirely righteous or entirely wicked. 
• There will be no fish available for purchase, even for sick people. 
• There will be no arrogant people left amongst the Jews. 
• There will be no judges or enforcers left amongst the Jewish people.

Source: Chabad

Rosh HaShanah -What is it all About?

Rabbi Mendel Kessin, new shiur

Word Power

The Baal Shem Tov taught:

Your soul is mixed with good and evil, in order that it should be free.

Therefore, when you speak holy words, they draw down new life from holiness, and when you speak evil words, they draw down new life from the root of evil and the Other Side. The latter causes you to do evil.

So everything in your life, whether for evil or for good, depends upon your speech.

Mad World

Art: Mike Worrall

This is for me, and everyone else who's feeling the same way right now.

"A king was informed by his chief minister that there had been blight on the crops that year. They were affected so greatly that anyone eating the grain would become insane. "But" said the minister, "there is no need for us to worry. I have set aside enough grain from last year's harvest for the both of us that will last until the harvest of the following year."

The king shook his head. "No," he said. "I will not allow myself any privileges other than those shared by my subjects.  "We shall eat of the same grain," the king continued, "and we shall both go insane together with the rest of the population. But here is what we shall do. You and I will mark our foreheads with an indelible imprint, so that when we go insane, I will look at you and you will look at me and we will know we are insane."

[Rebbe Nachman of Breslov]

Prayer for Rain

Here in Australia we have been praying for rain to ease the terrible drought affecting our country. Looks like we're going to get bucket loads of rain in a few days time.... praying that we do.

Photo Kaycee Kennedy

"You shall have complete and accurate stone weights" [Ki Teitzei 25:15]

Throughout the generations, gedolei Yisrael scrupulously kept the mitzvah of maintaining accurate weights and measures.

In a certain city, the sages decreed that a fast day be held on account of the lack of rain. The entire city fasted as the sages had ordained, but rain still did not fall.

That night, the Rav of the city had a dream. In it, he was told that if a particular storeowner would lead the community in a prayer for rain then rain would, indeed, fall.

The next day, the Rav gathered the entire community to pray together for rain. To everyone's surprise, he asked the storeowner to lead the services.

The storeowner declined, claiming that he was but a simple man and unfit to lead the prayers. The Rav, however, did not relent, and he explained that it was specifically the storeowner who could come to their aid and no-one else.

The storeowner left the shul and returned holding a pair of scales that he used to weigh his merchandise.

He approached the bimah and cried out "Master of the Universe! The two pans of these scales parallel the two heis of Your Great Name! The bar parallels the vav, and the handle parallels the yud.

"Master of the Universe! If I have used these scales dishonestly and thereby desecrated Your Holy Name, I hereby accept upon myself whatever punishment I deserve! But if I have acted in an upright manner, then I pray that You send us rain of blessing!"

As soon as the storeowner finished his words, the sky filled with clouds, and it began to rain.

Source: Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

Real Love

from the writings of the Ben Ish Chai

Real love is reciprocated: "As in water, face reflects face, so is the heart of man to man" [Proverbs 27:19]. Reflections in water are an apt metaphor for the reciprocity of feelings.

The Hebrew word for "water" - mayim - is a reflection of itself: it is the same read forwards or backwards.

Love is reciprocated, though, only if it as strong as the love of father for son, brother for brother, or husband for wife. Weak love might not be returned.

"Love your neighbour like yourself" - love him so strongly that he will naturally reciprocate with love like you have for him.

Your Own Piece of The Land

Guest post by Chaim Apsan

That we live in special times, close to the Messianic age is already no surprise. Our sages already stated in numerous places that the world would go crazy before Mashiach shows up, our enemies would rise to threaten us and a great war would ensue.

Yet, Rashi himself added a beautiful sign: the Land would give its fruit, welcoming the return of the lost nation. This, we see with our eyes.

Now, perhaps we are also witnessing a new sign of the coming redemption which has escaped our radar: the possibility of every Jew owning his share of the Holy Land, something thought to have been reserved for the Messianic age.

Founded by Rabbi Meir Leibowitz, Kinyan Eretz Yisrael has risen to the task of leasing Land to Jews so that they can perform the Mitzvot dependent on it. The idea came some 14 years ago, when Rabbi Meir bought two farms, one in Moshav Mazkeret Batya for planting wheat and one in Moshav Zichron Yaakov for the cultivation of grapes.

How to proceed

Contrary to what was back in the days, acquiring your piece of Eretz Yisrael is now easier than ever. All you need to do is access Kinyan Eretz Yisrael's website , choose between grapes and wheat (or both), whether for 1 year or 3 years (in which there's a big discount) and pay.

And that's it! From this moment onwards, you own your own 4 amot of Land in which you are able to perform all its 28 Mitzvot, including Ma'asrot, Terumot, Leket, Shikhekhah, Shmittah and many others.

It's noteworthy that Rabbi Meir has been working closely with the guidance of the tzaddikim of our generation, in order to reach out for Jews around the world. Some of the great names include Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman ZT"L, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ZT"L, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Shlita, the Admor of Boston, the Admor of Novominsk Shlita and Rabbi Yisroel Belsky ZT"L. These and many others have already given their brachot and haskamot to Kinyan Eretz Yisrael.

During harvest time, Rabbi Meir and his team dedicate a week to the performance of the Mitzvot. All members who have bought plots of Land are welcome to come and do the Mitzvot themselves. This is a unique opportunity to show our love to this wonderful gift Hashem has given us.

In case someone is unable to come, Kinyan Eretz Yisrael's rabbis are ready to perform the Mitzvot on their behalf (thereby also giving them the merit). In this case, all produce will be given to Jewish families in need.

Concluding remarks

With all the challenges our generation pose, we are blessed to be able to acquire our portion of the Eretz Yisrael and show our love to it in ways our parents and grandparents could only dream of.

Kinyan Eretz Yisrael fills a void in the performance of Mitzvot, which was once the domain of farmers. To allow every Jew to possess his own share of the Holy Land has been Rabbi Leibowitz's intent from the start (as he explains in an interview in Hamodia 3 Adar, 5767 – February 21, 2007, see more on the website).

Rav Kook already taught [Moadei Harayah, pp. 419-20]:

“We have a great obligation to awaken the ancient love of Zion: a love that is eternal and burns in a flame of holy fire within the hearts of the Jewish people wherever they may be. We must fight with all our strength against any hatred of our holy land—which has begun to affect some of us. With a mighty arm of the spirit and with the eternal holiness of the beloved land, we must destroy the contamination of the spies, a contamination which began to spread at the very point of the possible redemption.”

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, this is a unique opportunity to increase in our Avodat Hashem, acquire new merits and hasten the geulah shleimah, may we see it soon with our own eyes, amen.

Dreams and Mazal

I put this video on the blog two years ago, and it came up on my FB feed today.... I watched it again, and it's really a stand-out lecture.  If you didn't see it previously, take the time to listen now.  There is so much information here: about the soul, it's structure inside our bodies, it's journey as we sleep, testifying in the Heavenly Court, how to protect your soul while your sleep, all about your dreams and how to know if they are real or just nonsense, why you may feel like your are falling when you wake from a dream... and so much more.