Many Evils

Art Sarah Porter

It is written, “When many evils and distresses have befallen them” [Vayelech 31:21]

The Maggid of Dubno states that towards evening, as the peddler of goods stands in the marketplace with his baskets in hand, and most of his products are already sold, he wants to return home quickly. He therefore takes his remaining pears, prunes, and other products, and mixes them together in one basket and sells them at half price, for he wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible. 

Hence the Torah states, “When many evils and distresses have befallen them” – when you see a combination of various ills descending upon Israel, it signifies that all the “products” are almost gone, and that we have reached the remainder, the “footsteps of Mashiach,” meaning that he will soon arrive.

Source: Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

Trivial Pursuits

Photo Luis Beltran

by Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

"For I know its inclination" [Vayelech 31:21]

A man's yetzer hara schemes against him all the days of his life and tries to make him stray from the path of Torah. It is man's duty to use every strategy at his disposal in order to defeat him.

To what can this be compared? The Chofetz Chaim offered the following parable:

There were two countries that had been waging war for many years. One day, the king of one of the countries declared that whoever could resolve the dispute between the two countries and achieve peace would receive a very great reward - an opportunity to enter the king's vaults and take whatever he is able to amass in the duration of one hour.

A short while later, a certain wise man approached the king and proposed a solution to end the warfare. The king liked the plan very much and decided to use it. Eventually, peace was restored between the two countries and, as promised, the wise man was invited to the king's vaults to collect his reward.

However, when the day of reward drew near, the king became concerned: Perhaps the wise man would take the most precious treasures in his vault. The king turned to his advisers for suggestions on how to protect his treasures.

"Your highness" said one of the advisers, "I happened to discover that this man loves music. Why doesn't the king simply place the kingdom's finest orchestra inside the vault? When the man arrives, the musicians will start playing music that will enrapture him; he will be so mesmerized by the music that he will entirely forget about the king's treasures!"

The king was very pleased with the idea.

When the wise man arrived at the palace, he was immediately taken to the king's vaults. The heavy gates to the vaults were opened, and the wise man took a step inside. But as he made his way to the riches, he was frozen in his place. For emanating from inside the vault was the sweetest sounding music he had ever heard.

The wise man awoke from his trance and reminded himself why he had come. He took another step in the direction of the riches and tried looking through the treasures, but the beautiful music kept distracting him.

"I will only listen to these beautiful tunes for one more moment." said the wise man. But one moment quickly turned into two, then three and four...

Do not forget why you came here! he shouted at himself. But the music was simply too enchanting.

"The time is up!" announced a royal officer. The hour had passed.

"But I haven't taken anything yet." said the man.

"Nothing you say will make a difference now" replied the officer. "Your time has passed!" The man returned home sad and despondent over the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he had squandered. Everything had been in his hands, but he let it all slip away.

So it is in our own lives, said the Chofetz Chaim. Man receives a very special gift from Hashem. Over the course of his life he is given the opportunity to amass innumerable mitzvos.

However, the "evil adviser" - the yetzer hara - offers his "advice" and seduces man with trivialities that draw him away from Torah and mitzvos.

But then, when man reaches the end of his days and is summoned before the Heavenly court, he is painfully reminded of how he wasted his precious time, choosing to indulge in listening to worthless "music". By then, however, it will be too late.

It is incumbent upon every individual to constantly remind himself why he has come to this world. Let him not allow the yetzer hara to distract him from his true task.

Spiritual Beings in Physical Bodies

"that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring from your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you. And you shall put [them] into a basket" [Ki Tavo 26:2]

First fruits represent the Jewish souls, as the Midrash teaches that the Divine Thought to create Jewish souls "preceded everything" [Bereishis Rabah 1:4]. In this respect, Jewish souls are "first" and cherished in a way similar to first fruits.

When the soul is in Heaven, before it enters a body, it enjoys an intense, ecstatic relationship with G-d.  Nevertheless, the soul is sent down to earth in a body which conceals its relationship with G-d.  This is not without profit since, through this descent, the soul is able to carry out a mission in the physical world, which can eventually result in an even more intense relationship with G-d.  For G-d's innermost "desire" is for His mitzvot to be carried out specifically in the physical world.

This is the lesson from the requirement of first fruits being placed in a basket.  Although the fruits are the finest and first of the crop, they cannot achieve perfection without a basket.

Likewise, the Jewish soul, which is G-d's highest priority, cannot achieve perfection without coming down into a physical body, in a world of concealment and temptation, because it is precisely through that descent that an even greater ascent is achieved.

Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe vol 29

Also see: Yerida L'tzorich Aliya: Descent for the Purpose of Ascent

Is There a Death Sentence on America?

How does one connect the rioting, chaos and coronavirus in the USA to the bringing of the Moshiach?

On this show, Tamar Yonah speaks with Rabbi Mendel Kessin. He shares his views on the mystical meaning of today’s turmoil that we see happening on U.S. streets and in the halls of Washington.

This video is audio only.

Chabad in Dubai...

I'm not getting into the politics of the peace deal between Israel and the UAE, but you should know that Chabad has been operating out of Dubai for a while now...

I think I just like the listening to the soundtrack on this video.

America's Role in the Messianic Process

Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Rabbi Dudel of Lelov: Childbirth and Cholent

Rabbi Dudel of Lelov: Yarzheit 5 Elul  -[text from Inner.org]

Dovid Shlomo Tzvi Biderman of Lelov (Lelów) also known as Rebbe Dudel, was the fourth Rebbe of the Lelov dynasty. He was born to his father Rabbi Elazar Mendel Biderman and his mother, Matel Faigeh, who was the granddaughter of the Seer of Lublin. From his father’s side, he was also a grandson of The Holy Yid.

He made aliyah to Israel at the age of 6. He married Miriam, who was the great-granddaughter of Rebbe Pinchas Halevi Horowitz, author of the Sefer Hafla’ah.

Influenced by the Karlin chassidim in Jerusalem, Rebbe Dudel journeyed to the “Beis Aharon” of Karlin. When he returned to Israel, he opened a synagogue for Karlin chassidim.

After his father’s passing, Rebbe Dudel refused to become a Rebbe, and it was only after his uncle also passed away that he agreed to lead the chassidim.

Rebbe Dudel was responsible for the money distributed by the Kollel Poland for the Jews living in the land of Israel, and was even jailed because of the Kollel’s debt. He was the head of the yeshivah Chayei Olam in Jerusalem and was admired by all the residents of the city – both Jews and non-Jews.

He passed away on the fifth of Elul, 1918 and was laid to rest on the Mount of Olives. His son, Rebbe Shimon Nosson Nuta, succeeded him.

The Ana Beko’ach Spiritual Remedy 

Once a chassid whose wife was having a difficult childbirth (first birth) came to Rebbe Dudel of Lelov to ask for a blessing for a successful birth. Rebbe Dudel told him that he should say the “Ana Beko’ach” prayer seven times – not too fast and not too slow. The chassid entered the room where his wife was giving birth and did exactly as the holy rabbi had instructed him. When he reached the last two words of the prayer, “He Who knows concealed things” (יוֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלוּמוֹת), he already heard the cries of his new baby daughter.

***

The initials of the Ana Beko’ach prayer spell a Kabbalistic holy Name, known as the Name of 42 Letters. 42 is the value of the word “mother” (אִמָּא). It is a segulah (a spiritual remedy) for bringing about a state of, “the mother of children is joyous.”[1]

When the Israelites encircled Jericho seven times in order to conquer it, they blew the shofars and recited the Ana Beko’ach prayer. (Until this very day, chassidim and devout people have a custom to encircle places that need to be “conquered” while reciting the Ana Beko’ach prayer – particularly with a melody that repeats each word of the prayer seven times).

Just as the Name of 42 Letters has the power to open Jericho, which is considered the lock of the Land of Israel, so it has the power to open the womb (the womb is described in the Song of Songs as, “a locked garden… a locked spring, a sealed fountain”[2]) when the time has come for the baby to be born.

Rebbe Dudel instructed his chassid not to recite the prayer too quickly or too slowly. This is the middle road, which is accepted and finds favor in the eyes of God and man. (The Alter Rebbe of Chabad also instructed his followers to do the same when leading communal prayers—not too quickly, not too slowly). This was also the prayer of Channah, when she asked for, “offspring of men.”[3] The sages explain that she meant that they should be neither too tall nor too short; neither too small nor too fat; neither too white nor too red; neither too smart nor too stupid.[4]

Honoring Shabbat Food

Once Rebbe Dudel spent Shabbat with his chassidim in Meron. A pot of cholent was brought in. The Rebbe said to bring it to him and he ate the entire pot by himself. Afterward he explained that the fire had gone out from under the pot and the contents of the pot had spoiled. “When they opened the pot, everybody held their nose,” he said, “and I could not stand to see how they were shaming the Shabbat food. So I ate it.”

***

Shabbat is the day that Divinity dwells openly even in the physical world and is present in the food prepared for the holy day. Rebbe Dudel’s sensitivity toward the Shabbat food is the attribute of the Academy of Hillel, who were careful to honor brides. In a discussion in the Talmud, the Academy of Hillel maintains that even if the bride is crippled or blind, she should still be praised as being, “attractive and righteous.” Rebbe Dudel was willing to go to great lengths (and if the reader has ever smelled a pot of spoiled cholent, he understands what resolve it takes to eat a pot of it) to maintain the honor of the bride, the holy Shabbat.

[1] Psalms 113:9. 

[2] Song of Songs 4;13. 

[3] 1 Samuel 1:11. 

[4] Berachot 31b.

Source: Inner

Rav Arush Predicts

Someone sent me a link to the article where Rav Arush predicts the ''last Rosh Hashanah in Uman before Moshiach''  - I guess he means not just Uman, but the entire world.... his point is that it's the

Breslovers last chance to daven by Rebbe Nachman's Kever in Uman before Moshiach comes.

He also says that Moshiach could even come on Rosh Hashanah itself.

I didn't pay too much attention to the article at the time, but later I found the video of Rav Arush speaking [in Hebrew] with another Rabbi translating into English, and I found it quite compelling, so here it is: