Choshvei Shemo - חשבי שמו

תהילים לומר להרב מרדכי אליהו - להתפלל לרפואתו - Tehillim to Recite on Behalf of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu

2009-08-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

As you may be aware, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, a Torah leader in Israel and one of the former Sephardi Chief Rabbis, is in need of a recovery. Rabbi Eliyahu is in intensive care in the hospital in Israel. May he have a refuah among the other cholei Yisrael.

It is recommended to say Tehillim that spell out the name of the sick individual for a refuah shelaimah. These pesukim are taken from the 119th chapter of Tehillim. Rabbi Eliyahu's Hebrew name is "Mordechai Tzemach ben Mazal Tov" - "מרדכי צמח בן מזל טוב". For the convenience of the reader, I have included these pesukim below:

: מָה אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ כָּל הַיּוֹם הִיא שִׂיחָתִי:

: מֵאֹיְבַי תְּחַכְּמֵנִי מִצְוֹתֶךָ כִּי לְעוֹלָם הִיא לִי:

: מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִי:

: מִזְּקֵנִים אֶתְבּוֹנָן כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי:

: מִכָּל אֹרַח רָע כָּלִאתִי רַגְלָי לְמַעַן אֶשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶךָ:
: מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לֹא סָרְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה הוֹרֵתָנִי:

: מַה נִּמְלְצוּ לְחִכִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ מִדְּבַשׁ לְפִי:
: מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן עַל כֵּן שָׂנֵאתִי כָּל אֹרַח שָׁקֶר:

: רְאֵה עָנְיִי וְחַלְּצֵנִי כִּי תוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי:

: רִיבָה רִיבִי וּגְאָלֵנִי לְאִמְרָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי:

: רָחוֹק מֵרְשָׁעִים יְשׁוּעָה כִּי חֻקֶּיךָ לֹא דָרָשׁוּ:

: רַחֲמֶיךָ רַבִּים יְקֹוָק כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ חַיֵּנִי:

: רַבִּים רֹדְפַי וְצָרָי מֵעֵדְוֹתֶיךָ לֹא נָטִיתִי:
: רָאִיתִי בֹגְדִים וָאֶתְקוֹטָטָה אֲשֶׁר אִמְרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁמָרוּ:

: רְאֵה כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ אָהָבְתִּי יְקֹוָק כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי:

: דָּבְקָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשִׁי חַיֵּנִי כִּדְבָרֶךָ:

: דְּרָכַי סִפַּרְתִּי וַתַּעֲנֵנִי לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ:

: דֶּרֶךְ פִּקּוּדֶיךָ הֲבִינֵנִי וְאָשִׂיחָה בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ:

: דָּלְפָה נַפְשִׁי מִתּוּגָה קַיְּמֵנִי כִּדְבָרֶךָ:

: דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁקֶר הָסֵר מִמֶּנִּי וְתוֹרָתְךָ חָנֵּנִי:

: דֶּרֶךְ אֱמוּנָה בָחָרְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ שִׁוִּיתִי:

: דָּבַקְתִּי בְעֵדְוֹתֶיךָ יְקֹוָק אַל תְּבִישֵׁנִי:

: דֶּרֶךְ מִצְוֹתֶיךָ אָרוּץ כִּי תַרְחִיב לִבִּי:

: כָּלְתָה לִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ נַפְשִׁי לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי:

: כָּלוּ עֵינַי לְאִמְרָתֶךָ לֵאמֹר מָתַי תְּנַחֲמֵנִי:

: כִּי הָיִיתִי כְּנֹאד בְּקִיטוֹר חֻקֶּיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי:

: כַּמָּה יְמֵי עַבְדֶּךָ מָתַי תַּעֲשֶׂה בְרֹדְפַי מִשְׁפָּט:

: כָּרוּ לִי זֵדִים שִׁיחוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ:

: כָּל מִצְוֹתֶיךָ אֱמוּנָה שֶׁקֶר רְדָפוּנִי עָזְרֵנִי:

: כִּמְעַט כִּלּוּנִי בָאָרֶץ וַאֲנִי לֹא עָזַבְתִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ:

: כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי וְאֶשְׁמְרָה עֵדוּת פִּיךָ:

: יָדֶיךָ עָשׂוּנִי וַיְכוֹנְנוּנִי הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶלְמְדָה מִצְוֹתֶיךָ:

: יְרֵאֶיךָ יִרְאוּנִי וְיִשְׂמָחוּ כִּי לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי:

: יָדַעְתִּי יְקֹוָק כִּי צֶדֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ וֶאֱמוּנָה עִנִּיתָנִי:

: יְהִי נָא חַסְדְּךָ לְנַחֲמֵנִי כְּאִמְרָתְךָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ:

: יְבֹאוּנִי רַחֲמֶיךָ וְאֶחְיֶה כִּי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי:

: יֵבֹשׁוּ זֵדִים כִּי שֶׁקֶר עִוְּתוּנִי אֲנִי אָשִׂיחַ בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ:

: יָשׁוּבוּ לִי יְרֵאֶיךָ וידעו וְיֹדְעֵי עֵדֹתֶיךָ:

: יְהִי לִבִּי תָמִים בְּחֻקֶּיךָ לְמַעַן לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ:

: צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְקֹוָק וְיָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ:

: צִוִּיתָ צֶדֶק עֵדֹתֶיךָ וֶאֱמוּנָה מְאֹד:

: צִמְּתַתְנִי קִנְאָתִי כִּי שָׁכְחוּ דְבָרֶיךָ צָרָי:

: צְרוּפָה אִמְרָתְךָ מְאֹד וְעַבְדְּךָ אֲהֵבָהּ:

: צָעִיר אָנֹכִי וְנִבְזֶה פִּקֻּדֶיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי:

: צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת:

: צַר וּמָצוֹק מְצָאוּנִי מִצְוֹתֶיךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי:

: צֶדֶק עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶחְיֶה:

: מָה אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ כָּל הַיּוֹם הִיא שִׂיחָתִי:

: מֵאֹיְבַי תְּחַכְּמֵנִי מִצְוֹתֶךָ כִּי לְעוֹלָם הִיא לִי:

: מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִי:

: מִזְּקֵנִים אֶתְבּוֹנָן כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי:

: מִכָּל אֹרַח רָע כָּלִאתִי רַגְלָי לְמַעַן אֶשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶךָ:

: מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לֹא סָרְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה הוֹרֵתָנִי:

: מַה נִּמְלְצוּ לְחִכִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ מִדְּבַשׁ לְפִי:

: מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן עַל כֵּן שָׂנֵאתִי כָּל אֹרַח שָׁקֶר:

: חֶלְקִי יְקֹוָק אָמַרְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶיךָ:

: חִלִּיתִי פָנֶיךָ בְכָל לֵב חָנֵּנִי כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ:

: חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי אֶל עֵדֹתֶיךָ:

: חַשְׁתִּי וְלֹא הִתְמַהְמָהְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתֶיךָ:

: חֶבְלֵי רְשָׁעִים עִוְּדֻנִי תּוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי:

: חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אָקוּם לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ עַל מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ:

: חָבֵר אָנִי לְכָל אֲשֶׁר יְרֵאוּךָ וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי פִּקּוּדֶיךָ:

: חַסְדְּךָ יְקֹוָק מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי:

: בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה נַּעַר אֶת אָרְחוֹ לִשְׁמֹר כִּדְבָרֶךָ:

: בְּכָל לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ אַל תַּשְׁגֵּנִי מִמִּצְוֹתֶיךָ:

: בְּלִבִּי צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ לְמַעַן לֹא אֶחֱטָא לָךְ:

: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְקֹוָק לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ:

: בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי כֹּל מִשְׁפְּטֵי פִיךָ:

: בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי כְּעַל כָּל הוֹן:

: בְּפִקֻּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה וְאַבִּיטָה אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ:

: בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ:

: נֵר לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ וְאוֹר לִנְתִיבָתִי:

: נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי וָאֲקַיֵּמָה לִשְׁמֹר מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ:

: נַעֲנֵיתִי עַד מְאֹד יְקֹוָק חַיֵּנִי כִדְבָרֶךָ:

: נִדְבוֹת פִּי רְצֵה נָא יְקֹוָק וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי:

: נַפְשִׁי בְכַפִּי תָמִיד וְתוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי:

: נָתְנוּ רְשָׁעִים פַּח לִי וּמִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ לֹא תָעִיתִי:

: נָחַלְתִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם כִּי שְׂשׂוֹן לִבִּי הֵמָּה:

: נָטִיתִי לִבִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ לְעוֹלָם עֵקֶב:

: מָה אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ כָּל הַיּוֹם הִיא שִׂיחָתִי:

: מֵאֹיְבַי תְּחַכְּמֵנִי מִצְוֹתֶךָ כִּי לְעוֹלָם הִיא לִי:

: מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִי:

: מִזְּקֵנִים אֶתְבּוֹנָן כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי:

: מִכָּל אֹרַח רָע כָּלִאתִי רַגְלָי לְמַעַן אֶשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶךָ:

: מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לֹא סָרְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה הוֹרֵתָנִי:

: מַה נִּמְלְצוּ לְחִכִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ מִדְּבַשׁ לְפִי:

: מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן עַל כֵּן שָׂנֵאתִי כָּל אֹרַח שָׁקֶר:

: זְכֹר דָּבָר לְעַבְדֶּךָ עַל אֲשֶׁר יִחַלְתָּנִי:

: זֹאת נֶחָמָתִי בְעָנְיִי כִּי אִמְרָתְךָ חִיָּתְנִי:

: זֵדִים הֱלִיצֻנִי עַד מְאֹד מִתּוֹרָתְךָ לֹא נָטִיתִי:

: זָכַרְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ מֵעוֹלָם יְקֹוָק וָאֶתְנֶחָם:

: זַלְעָפָה אֲחָזַתְנִי מֵרְשָׁעִים עֹזְבֵי תּוֹרָתֶךָ:

: זְמִרוֹת הָיוּ לִי חֻקֶּיךָ בְּבֵית מְגוּרָי:

: זָכַרְתִּי בַלַּיְלָה שִׁמְךָ יְקֹוָק וָאֶשְׁמְרָה תּוֹרָתֶךָ:

: זֹאת הָיְתָה לִּי כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי:

: לְעוֹלָם יְקֹוָק דְּבָרְךָ נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם:

: לְדֹר וָדֹר אֱמוּנָתֶךָ כּוֹנַנְתָּ אֶרֶץ וַתַּעֲמֹד:

: לְמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ עָמְדוּ הַיּוֹם כִּי הַכֹּל עֲבָדֶיךָ:

: לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי:

: לְעוֹלָם לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח פִּקּוּדֶיךָ כִּי בָם חִיִּיתָנִי:

: לְךָ אֲנִי הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי:

: לִי קִוּוּ רְשָׁעִים לְאַבְּדֵנִי עֵדֹתֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן:

: לְכָל תִּכְלָה רָאִיתִי קֵץ רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד:

: טוֹב עָשִׂיתָ עִם עַבְדְּךָ יְקֹוָק כִּדְבָרֶךָ:

: טוּב טַעַם וָדַעַת לַמְּדֵנִי כִּי בְמִצְוֹתֶיךָ הֶאֱמָנְתִּי:

: טֶרֶם אֶעֱנֶה אֲנִי שֹׁגֵג וְעַתָּה אִמְרָתְךָ שָׁמָרְתִּי:

: טוֹב אַתָּה וּמֵטִיב לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ:

: טָפְלוּ עָלַי שֶׁקֶר זֵדִים אֲנִי בְּכָל לֵב אֶצֹּר פִּקּוּדֶיךָ:

: טָפַשׁ כַּחֵלֶב לִבָּם אֲנִי תּוֹרָתְךָ שִׁעֲשָׁעְתִּי:

: טוֹב לִי כִי עֻנֵּיתִי לְמַעַן אֶלְמַד חֻקֶּיךָ:

: טוֹב לִי תוֹרַת פִּיךָ מֵאַלְפֵי זָהָב וָכָסֶף:

:וִיבֹאֻנִי חֲסָדֶךָ יְקֹוָק תְּשׁוּעָתְךָ כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ:

: וְאֶעֱנֶה חֹרְפִי דָבָר כִּי בָטַחְתִּי בִּדְבָרֶךָ:

: וְאַל תַּצֵּל מִפִּי דְבַר אֱמֶת עַד מְאֹד כִּי לְמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ יִחָלְתִּי:

: וְאֶשְׁמְרָה תוֹרָתְךָ תָמִיד לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:

: וְאֶתְהַלְּכָה בָרְחָבָה כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי:

: וַאֲדַבְּרָה בְעֵדֹתֶיךָ נֶגֶד מְלָכִים וְלֹא אֵבוֹשׁ:

: וְאֶשְׁתַּעֲשַׁע בְּמִצְוֹתֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי:

: וְאֶשָּׂא כַפַּי אֶל מִצְוֹתֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי וְאָשִׂיחָה בְחֻקֶּיךָ:

: בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה נַּעַר אֶת אָרְחוֹ לִשְׁמֹר כִּדְבָרֶךָ

: בְּכָל לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ אַל תַּשְׁגֵּנִי מִמִּצְוֹתֶיךָ:

: בְּלִבִּי צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ לְמַעַן לֹא אֶחֱטָא לָךְ:

: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְקֹוָק לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ:

: בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי כֹּל מִשְׁפְּטֵי פִיךָ:

: בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי כְּעַל כָּל הוֹן:

: בְּפִקֻּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה וְאַבִּיטָה אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ:

: בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ:

"Bircas HaChammah" Free pdf. from ARTSCROLL and Important Note

2009-04-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

Bircas HaChammah free pdf.

(See top and bottom for Important Notes)

The Blessing of "Bircas HaChammah" is Recited this Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009 - י"ד ניסן, התשס"ט (see pdf. for more precise information on times - i.e., if necessary, up until chatzos - halachic midday (according to Jewish law)). This blessing is recited thanking HaShem. L'havdil, any service - which I've heard some may be performing, involving a "salute to the sun" - i.e. in Yoga, or any other prayer or action directed at the sun is completely contrary to Judaism and The Torah. The blessing is to HaShem (G-d) with respect to His Creation of the Sun. Praying to the Sun, whether through word/s or action/s is idolatrous, a great sin, and absolutely an abomination and repugnant to Judaism. (Worshipping the Sun in any way is competely contrary to Judaim, as we can see in the pasuk (verse) from sefer "Yechezkel" (Book of Ezekiel) (8; 16).

Artscroll has just put out a free pdf. booklet for "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה" ("Bircas HaChamah), which can be found by clicking on this link. The booklet includes the zmanim (times) to recite "Bircas HaChammah" - a short section for the Tefillos (with English), and some important laws.

Happy Pesach and meaningful "Bircas HaChammah", this one being the last - and 12th - one on erev Pesach before the year 6,000. This is very meaningful for us for the good.

Though the accepted opinion is to recite "Bircas HaChammah" on Wednesday (see the linked pdf. for the zmanim - times - for your city (or close to it)), there is an opinion of the "Aderes" - Rabbi Rabinowitz (quoted in the Artscroll "Bircas HaChammah"), that the blessing should be recited on Tuesday - closest to the time of the Tekufah (i.e. the time when the Sun is at the initial place in which it occupied when it was put in the Heavens). This is at approximately 6:39 PM Jerusalem, Israel time. Again, the blessing should be recited on Wednesday morning. See this link for the pdf. that includes times for the blessing, halachos (some important Jewish laws related to this blessing), and a section for some special tefillos (prayers) related to the blessing.

Enjoy and Happy and Kosher Pesach - פסח - and enjoyable and meaningful "Bircas HaChammah".

Remember, one should briefly look at the Sun and then recite the blessing to HaShem (G-d), it being, among other things, a recongition that HaShem was The One involved in Creation.

PDF's of "Bircas HaChammah" Prayer - Available for Download

2009-04-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi. Please find below PDF's of "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה":

http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-BIRCHASHACHAMA5769text.PDF

Halachos: http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-BirchasHachama.htm (Discusses when to recite the blessing and what to do if the sun is obscured by clouds.

"Bircas HaChammah"

2009-04-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog at http://bircashachammah.blogspot.com, though I don't know whether the site can be found except by those who enter the link location. In light of this, I am including the text from those posts, as follows:

Post #1:

Bircas HaChammah - Erev Pesach - In One Week

"Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה" - occurs once every 28 years and is the time when the sun assumes it original place, as it was at the time of creation, this being the 207th time it will occur. However, the occurrence on erev Pesach, according to calculations, has occurred only 11 times, this time being the 12th and last time for this event to occur on this date prior to the Jewish year 6,000. I plan to be posting some Torah with relation to "Bircas HaChammah" and hopefully the tefillah as well, so stay tuned. However, perhaps each of these 12 occurrences can relate to a Jewish month of the year, this one being related to Adar. May we merit to see the Mashiach revealed to the world in this cycle of "Bircas HaChammah", if not earlier.

Post #2

Bircas HaChammah on erev Pesach - 12th time

Pesach (Passover) is the holiday that relates to the freedom of The Jewish People from bondage - we were freed from Mitzrayim (Egypt) on the 15th of Nissan in the year 2448 so that we would accept The Torah, which we did just over 7 weeks later, on the 6th of Sivan (which is the date for the holiday of Shavuos).

According to Rabbi David Bleich's book on "Bircas HaChammah" (92), if one were to extend the make-up of Hillel's calendar to the time of Creation, then the upcoming date of Bircas HaChammah would be the 12th time in history to have occurred on erev Pesach - the day prior to the date of our Redemption. In reference to the 15th of Nisan - the date of our Redemption from Mitzrayim - the pasuk (Shmos: 12; 42) mentions the word "שמרים" - "safeguarding" - two times - "It is a night of safeguarding" and "...safeguarding for all of The Children of Israel for their generations". I learned that the commentary "Ba'al HaTurim" - "בעל הטורים" says that there are two mentions of the word "שמרים" - "safeguarding" - as one of the usages refers to the future Redemption, concerning which the 15th of Nisan - the first day of Pesach - פסח - is an auspicious time for the future Redemption to occur.

We learn in The Torah that the month of Nisan is the first of the months. (Shmos: 12; 2) The fact there appears to be 12 occurrences of Bircas HaChammah - ברכת החמה - on erev Pesach during the 6000 years of history perhaps can refer to the twelve months of the year, concerning which the current one can relate to Adar.

See part II tomorrow...

Part 3:

The B'racha for "Bircas HaChammah"

There are various laws with respect to the recitation of "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה". The blessing should be recited early in the day, if possible prior to the third halachic hour of the day - i.e. the latest time for the recitation of Shema (קריאת שמע).

Though there is a whole order - seder - סדר - of psalms and other sections from The Torah, which many recite for "Bircas HaChammah", in order to fulfill one's obligation, the person must recite the below blessing. The blessing may only be recited if the sun is visible. If - we hope hypothetically - the entire day is overcast, the blessing would not be able to be recited.

The Blessing for "Bircas HaChammah" (Blessing of the Sun) - ברכת החמה

ברוך אתה י-ה-ו-ה א-להינו מלך העולם, עושה מעשה בראשית:

Transliteration:

Baw'ruch atta A-doe-nawy Elo-hei-nu Me'lech ha'Oh'lawm, oh'seh ma'asei v'rei'shees:

You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, are The Source of Blessing, Who Performs the Actions of Creation:

For those who wish to recite the whole order of prayers for "Bircas HaChammah", you can search for one, find it in Rabbi David Bleich's "Bircas HaChammah", or, im Yirtzeh HaShem, I will be able to post and/or link to the Tefillos.

In the Artscroll book of "Bircas HaChammah", the order of the tefillos is as follows:

The following is a list of the tefillos included in the Artscroll
"Birchas HaChammah" by Rav David Bleich:

1. Beings with "ויהי נעם" - Tehillim: 90; 17

2. Section of "Pasach Eliyahu" from the "Tikkunei Zohar" (17a)

3. Section from The Torah - Bereishis: 1; 14 - 19

4. Yirmiyahu: 31; 34 - 39

5. Tehillim: 136; 1 - 9

6. A special "לשם יחוד" - varying opinions regarding whether it's
recommended to say it or not recommended. (See Artscroll "Birchas
HaChammah")

7. Tehillim: 84; 12

8. Tehillim: 72; 5

9. Tehillim: 75; 2

10. Malachi: 3; 20

11. Tehillim: 97; 6

12. Tehillim: 148; 1 - 6

13. The B'racha of "עושה מעשה בראשית"

14. The tefillah of "אנא בכח" (the tefillah that is also recited by
many before Shacharis and Mincha)

15. Tehillim - Chapter 67

16. Tehillim - Chapter 150 (recited by some congregations)

17. Tehillim - Chapter 8 (recited by some congregations)

18. Tehillim - Chapter 19

19. Tehillim - Chapter 121

20. Baraisa from maseches "B'rachos" (59b) the complete text in the
following section: "תנו רבנן: הרואה חמה...דתלת נגהי ארבע".

21. The section from "Perek Shirah" of the sun - beginning with "שמש
אומר" and quoting the sun's shirah - Chabakuk: 3; 11. Artscroll then
writes "ואומר" and includes the pasuk from Yeshayahu: 60; 1. I don't
think I've seen a "Perek Shirah" with the pasuk from Yeshayahu for the
sun, but maybe there's such a girsa, as it is included in Artscroll.
(I wonder if this pasuk is included in the Artscroll "Perek Shirah".)

22. The tefillah of "E-l Adon..."

23. The paragraph of "שמך ה א-להינו יתקדש... ועל מאורי אור שעשית,
יפארוך סלה"

24. Tehillim - Chapter 33 (recited by some congregations)

25. The entire עלינו tefillah.

26. Tehillim - Chapter 74 (recited by some congregations)

27. The paragraph of "אין כא-להינו" through "אתה הוא מושיענו" (recited
by some congregations)

28. The short tefillah of "רבי חנניא בן עקשיא אומר...יגדיל תורה
ויאדיר"

29. Kaddish D'Rabbanan

30. A special short "מודים" tefillah for Birchas HaChammah.

31. A special "ויהי רצון" for Birchas HaChammah.

32. "Adon Olam..." (recited by some congregations)

Gluten-Free Oat Matzahs (Matzos) -- IMPORTANT - RECOMMENDED SELLERS AND PRICES (מצות שבולת שועל -- כשר לפסח ולסדרים)

2009-03-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

GLUTEN INTOLERANT/WHEAT ALLERGY - IMPORTANT INFO. ON AVAILABILITY AND PRICES OF OAT-MATZAH -- SELLS FOR AS LOW AS $15 PER-BOX (see section below for recommended price and sellers) - please scroll down

I write this post for every Jewish person celebrating Pesach, but especially for the benefit of the thousands of people who wish to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah this Pesach (Passover/פסח) but who are unable to eat wheat matzahs, whether due to their having celiacs, having a wheat-allergy, or are gluten-intolerant in general.

Dayan Rabbi Ephraim Kestenbaum of Golders Green in London has been producing certified gluten-free matzos for about twenty-years. The matzos that are sold all are shmura and can be used to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of eating matzah during the sedarim (seders). In addition, these matzos have a high-standard of kashrus and are certified kosher with hashgachos from a number of good hashgacha organizations (kosher certifications).

Below -- Picture of Box of Shmura Matzah

QUANTITY PER-BOX:

Machine-made gluten-free oat shmura matzos (oat matzahs) (מצה שמורה) come in 1-pound (lb.) boxes (16 ounces) and include approximately 10 - 13 matzos per-box.

Hand-made gluten-free oat shmura comes 3 per-box and is about .767 pounds for the box.

Matzah meal that is gluten-free is also available.

My recommendation is to buy the machine-made as there is more quantity and weight per-box and the machine-made matzos are more stable (i.e. more likely to stay together). The machine-made matzos tend to have a pretty good "track-record" of staying together, though the hand-made are more likely to be fragile.

RECOMMENDED SELLERS AND PRICES:

Recommended Price: According to the producers of the oat-matzah, the recommended retail price is $23 in the U.S., 70 shekalim in Israel, and £ 13 in England. This price doesn't included the packing and shipping costs (which, for a cross country shipment of 10 boxes, should be roughly in the range of $10 - $20 - you can check with UPS or FedEx to get the prices, but can vary somewhat, based on type of packaging, where it's packaged, etc.).

Distributors are located in the U.S., Canada, England, Israel, Australia, Belgium, and South Africa.

For Rabbi Kestenbaum's matzos, there is a list of distributors located internationally, which can be found on the oat matzah website, at the distributor section.

U.S. RECOMMENDED DISTRIBUTOR:

There are many distributors in the U.S.

For Shipping Anywhere in the United States, please contact Karen Beleck - oatmatza@gmail.com Tel. 410 358 9580. fax: 410 764 0777

Karen has great prices and I highly recommend you contact her if you are interested in buying gluten-free matzos. She is also careful to charge for shipment after sending the package out, so that the shipment price reflects the actual cost to ship. Also, if you e-mail her, she can send you all the important information via e-mail.

KAREN'S PRICE: The prices for the matzah have gone down.

Matzah produced in July 2008 is now sold for $15 per box. The newer batch of matzos, produced in December 2008 cost $22 per-box. (offered on sale)

If you're ordering last minute or wish to buy the matzah locally (i.e. within a couple days of Pesach), I'd recommend going to the distributor list, which is pretty extensive, and look up where you can buy the matzos.

If it turns out your local place also has a good price, you can pick it up locally without shipping if that suits you better. Also, just because there are a few distributors that I recommend, it is important to note that I have not looked at the prices the matzos are sold at by many of the distributors and therefore would recommend looking at the list to find other distributors which may also have good prices who may be in your local area.

I believe that the Kollel store in Lakewood has good prices:

Kollel Food Store
(R' Avrohom Moshe & R' Chaim)
411 Clifton Avenue
Lakewood NJ 08701
Tel: 732 363 8102
Fax: 732 363 1475
E-mail: kfs403@msn.com

ISRAEL RECOMMENDED DISTRIBUTOR:

For Worldwide Internet and orders, contact : www.GlutenFree.co.il
or +(972) -3-919-1025

Cost per-box: 70 shekalim

See their website for the cost of shipping. They do subtract the 16.5% tax for international (i.e. orders that are shipped to areas outside of Israel).

If you have any questions about distributors and orders, you can also contact Rabbi Kestenbaum Rabbi E Kestenbaum of London at Tel: 011 44 208 455 9476
Fax: 011 44 208 455 3212, E-mail: sula@waitrose.com

You can also visit his website at http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzos.com/distributors.html for distributor information or at http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzos.com/ for general information.

Note: If you have seen these matzos sold for about $40 a box, please keep in mind that you can buy them at the above mentioned distributors for significantly lower.

Enjoyable and Happy Pesach - חג כשר ושמח!

Prayer for a Good, Kosher Esrog - To Be Recited on Tu B'Shvat

2009-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

To all of those for whom it is still Tu B'Shvat - ט"ו בשבט - I wish you a Shanah Tovah!

A special tefillah for a kosher esrog, for trees, and many other things, are recited on this day. For all of those for whom it is still ט"ו בשבט (i.e. Western U.S., Alaska, and some other places), you can still recite this prayer, which is from the "Ben Ish Chai" (HaRav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) - the "Prayer for a [Good] Esrog" - "תפילה לאתרוג נאה" is found below:

An English translation of the tefillah and another Hebrew version can be found by clicking on the following: "Prayer for a Good Esrog" - "תפילה לאתרוג נאה".

The above tefillah (תפילה) in Hebrew was found on "The Right Word" blog. This tefillah (I believe the same version, can be found at 613.org, by clicking on these words.

Again, Happy Tu B'Sh'vat for all of you for whom it is still Tu B'Shevat and all of the applicable b'rachos for all of The B'nei Yisrael.

ט"ו בשבט שמח!:-)

The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart: Enabling or Withholding Free Will?

2009-01-31T23:34:00.000-08:00

The Torah readings of the 10-plagues which befell the Egyptians discuss HaShem making Pharaoh's heart "hardened" and "heavy" (Shmos: 10; 1). HaShem says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened in order to place all of HaShem's signs in Pharoah's midst. (10; 1) The fact that Pharaoh's heart was hardened was not a removal of Pharaoh's free-will by HaShem. Pharaoh was opposed to freeing The B'nei Yisrael consistently. After experiencing the plagues, Pharaoh was feeling compelled to go against his own feeling and desires in order to be spared of such great suffering. HaShem was enabling Pharaoh to act in accordance with his desires, that being to keep The B'nei Yisrael enslaved, notwithstanding the plagues. Had Pharaoh, in his heart, decided that enslaving The B'nei Yisrael was wrong and had he performed teshuvah, he would have been able to free The B'nei Yisrael. However, this was not the case and was not supposed to be the case. Therefore, Pharaoh's free-will was enabled to withstand such punishment brought against Mitzrayim, enabling all of the plagues to come (for the reasons they occurred) and The B'nei Yisrael to be free from Egypt at the precise time of The Redemption - 430 years into the exile - to the day, at high-noon, this being the 15th of Nisan, a day of protection for The Jewish People throughout time. (Shmos: 12; 40 - 42) (see Rash"i on these verses)

When Under Attack Israel Uses it's Army and it's Voices

2008-12-31T23:46:00.000-08:00

The Jewish People have a special blessing - a power, not only in conducting war, with The Help of HaShem, but of overcoming our enemies through the power of our speech. Some people might wonder how words can have a great effect on something such as a war, whether positive or negative. The fact is that not only have wars begun due to words uttered, but wars have concluded due to words. There is a special power of speech, in our prayers, our Torah study, and our words in general. At such a time that The Jewish People finds ourselves under attack, even if we are not soldiers, we can assist very greatly in the war effort against our enemies by employing the power of speech - "The voice is the voice of Ya'akov..." (B'reishis: 27; 22) (see the "Torah T'mimah" on this pasuk) We have a special power in our speech. Not only is prayer and Torah study so powerful for the good and for the defeat of the enemies of The Jewish People, but avoiding forbidden speech is also very powerful. If a person has a desire or is about to say something which is fobidden, such as libel or slander (with certain exceptions, as noted in "Chofetz Chaim" - truly understand these exceptions before saying something to determine whether it is forbidden and should be avoided). Once we are careful with our speech, to avoid deterimental speech, that can serve as a great protection against those who wish to bring harm up The Jewish People. Furthermore, studying Torah, prayer, and maintaining peace amongst The B'nei Yisrael also serves to this end. For a true Chanukah miracle, in addition to the physical military action, let's take the above actions with the power of our speech and, G-d Willing see miracles in the present day and the defeat of the enemies of The Jewish People. Amein!

The Struggle with the Yetzer HaRa is The Jewish Struggle Throughout Time

2008-11-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

We are constantly in a war -that war being agianst our Yetzer HaRa - evil-inclination. There are many battles that each person faces are part of this great war, until the ultimate demise of the Yetzer HaRa when the Mashiach (Messianic age) will arrive. In contrast to many other wars, the great war against our evil-inclination is a war that we decide who wins. Not only that, but every single battle can be won by us, as long as we decide to win and fight appropriately against our Yetzer HaRa. HaShem told Kayin not to be angry and downtrodden, for though Kayin didn't bring the appropriate sacrifice to HaShem, Kayin can improve in the future. HaShem tells Kayin that it is within his power to improve his actions and not to allow himself to be overtaken by his evil-inclination, for though the evil-inclination desires get the person to sin, it is the person who "rules over him (i.e. over the Yetzer HaRa)". (see (B'reishis: 4; 6 - 7)

The Jewish War Thoughout Time is Against our Yetzer HaRa

In next week's parsha, "VaYishlach", we read of the account of our forefather Ya'akov's struggle with the angel by the Yabok crossing of the Jordan River. (see (B'reishis: 32; 22 - 30) for the account of Ya'akov's struggle with the angel) RaSh"I, quoting "B'reishis Rabbah" (77; 3), points out that the "mysterious" man - ish - who Ya'akov struggles with is none other than the ministering angel who represents his brother, Eisav. This angel is also known as the "Satan". Ya'akov's struggle with the Satan is a sign of one of the central missions of his descendants - The Jewish People. We are to also struggle - with our evil-inclinations. By overcoming our battles with our evil-inclination, we are winning the battle with the Satan - this being the same battle. There is something very important with the incident involving this struggle between Ya'akov and the Angel of Eisav (Satan), that being that the angel "saw that he couldn't overcome him (i.e. couldn't overcome Ya'akov) (32; 26), for, as HaShem told Kayin, we are the master over our evil-inclination - we decide whether we'll be victorious. The angel told Ya'akov that due to his having overcome him (as well as Lavan and Eisav), HaShem would call Ya'akov "Yisrael", signifying Ya'akov superiority over perhaps seemingly powerful forces. (32; 29) This is one of our central missions as member of The Jewish People - overcome our evil-inclination. By working to overcome our evil-inclinations, HaShem will assist us. Remember, victory over our evil-inclination is very powerful - not "only" are we achieving victory in the battle over our evil-inclination, but we are bringing great victory both in this world and in Heaven, over the evil-forces who behave as if they rule and they can't be overcome. It is truly we who cannot be overcome - all we have to do is believe that and act on that, watching the "powerful" evil forces fall before us. We must not become too confident though, for though we may win a battle - or many battles - we must constantly be vigilant and prepared to fight the future battles, until the ultimate demise of the Yetzer HaRa with the coming of the Mashiach, G-d Willing speedily and in our days. Amein!

Cheshvan: An Opportunity for Salvation or Misfortune

2008-10-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

Cheshvan is a month which offers both the individual and the world a choice of great salvation or great misfortune. This choice is largely dependant on the person's actions - whether to follow The Torah and overcome his/her negative impulses, or whether to fail and give in to them. It may seem odd that Cheshvan is the month which is viewed by some as the month that is most devoid of holidays and of meaning. It can be argued that Cheshvan is the greatest of all months, for though it may be viewed as "negative" due to the beginning of the mabbul having taken place on the 17th of Cheshvan, this is also positive in that life continued to exist, as HaShem spared Noach's family and all of the life on the Ark. Similarly, it was during the month of Cheshvan that everyone on the Ark departed, in effect bringing about the continuation of life of people, animals, and insects. (B'reishis: 8; 15 - 19) Therefore, we see the greatness.

It's interesting that the month of Cheshvan is commonly referred to as "Marcheshvan", which can be translated as "bitter Cheshvan", due to the destruction related to the mabbul that began in that month. However, the word "mar" can also be translated as "water" (Yishayahu: 40; 15), water being a sign of life. It is on the seventh of Cheshvan, which falls out on the night of November 4th this year, when people is Israel start making the request that HaShem provide us with life-giving rain. (Ta'anis, 10a)

It is within our ability to affect physical events in this world, for the spiritual effects the physical. By our improving ourselves - both in our relationships with HaShem and with people, improve our middos and conquer our evil-inclination, one battle at a time, we can succeed in turning the greatest fears that may seem to be inevitably approaching, into bygone fears that, Baruch HaShem, weren't realized. It is the evil-inclination that led man to the path of destuction prior to the flood, but it was Noach alone who essentially overcame what seemed like an insurmountable evil that afflicted society - something so widespread and ingrained, where evil seemed to have the upper hand. Noach, due to his actions, his decision to stay close to and his decision to overcome his evil-inclination, that led to the unexpected defeat of evil in a major battle. We learn in the Talmud that it is the evil-inclination that seeks our ultimate downfall. It is however within our ability to avoid, both personal downfall and to have a positive effect on all of life by working to overcome our evil inclination. We have the ability to overcome our evil-inclination, as HaShem said. (B'reishis: 4; 6 - 7) We must not listen to our evil-inclination when he tries to convince us that "it's no use to try" because he acts as if he is "unbeatable". An opponent that regularly lies and misconstrues to try to dispirit his opponent is truly afraid of his opponent, because he recognizes that if his (i.e. the evil-inclinations') opponent were to stand up to him with force, it would be the evil-inclination who would end up losing. HaShem told Kayin that he shouldn't be angry and dispirited, for he can overcome his evil-inclination. Kayin didn't take HaShem's words to heart as he should have and ended up bringing defeat to himself and victory to his opponent, the evil-inclination. It is within our power to overcome our evil-inclinations, no matter how many tacks he tries to use to "ensure" his victory. However, in reality, it is us who decide who will win.

GENERATION OF THE FLOOD SERVES AS A LESSON TO US

It is the generation of the flood that serves as an example for all of mankind. Don't be dispirited, don't give up hope, don't surrender and you will succeed. It is within our ability to bring salvation and tranquility to ourselves and all of mankind, we simply have to decide to do so.

Can we overcome the evil-inclination and "inevitable" threats against us:

"My answer to you is Yes, yes we will lead instead of our Yetzer HaRa, yes we will prosper, yes we will be safer, yes we will pass on the ideals of The Torah. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom. I'm a Torah Jew and I choose to fight. Don't give hope. Be strong have courage and fight. Fight for a new direction fight for what's right. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Stand up to defend from our enemies, stand up and fight. Fight for our future. We are worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up, we never quit, we make history, we don't hide from history. Now let's go and overcome our Yetzer HaRa and show once and for all that we can overcome all those who seek to distance ourselves from HaShem and the truth that He has blessed us with."

Quote from someone fighting for good.

May it be HaShem's Will that we end off this month better than we had started it. May we have success in overcoming our opponents who wish to endanger us - i.e. the evil inclination - and those who wish to endanger the world and The Jewish People. This is a month where there will be great change. It is still up to us what the change will be - whether for the great good or great decline. All we have to do is overcome our evil-inclination. Though it the past we may have failed, we still have the opportunity to right ourselves. May we truly recognize the supremacy that good has over evil - that we have over our evil-inclinations - and see the great beginning of the downfall of evil. When it seems that victory for evil is "inevitable" but hasn't been realized as of yet, especially when such evil feels it can have a major affect on individual lives and the world, it is truly an opportunity to overcome evil and take one-huge step toward ultimately overcoming it forever. Remember, it is the evil inclination that tries to throw up the smoke-screen in his desperation to try to get us to stop fighting, to give up, and "let him take over". But we aren't like the generation of the flood, we are very different. The forces of good have the power to prevail. The forces of evil look now to have a Cheshvan of "success" in their goals of "domination". However, this Cheshvan is different, we will better ourselves, we will not be dispirited by the smoke-screens of the evil-inclination, especially at a time when The Jewish People finds itself in great danger from abroad. We have the upper hand, we will decide to deny evil the victory he seeks to attain. Though this fight occurs as long as the evil-inclination exists, until at least until the Messianic-age, the great battle takes place in Cheshvan.

Let's show ourselves to be in control, in the lead, and the free-people of the world. The people who follow The Torah. We are referred to as "b'nei chorin" - "free-people", for by following The Torah, it is us who are truly free. We are free from our evil-inclinations. We learn that it was Pharaoh who worked the Jewish People so hard so that we wouldn't even focus on improvement.

This year, this month, in my opinion, will have a great impact on events leading to the time of the Mashiach (Messianic-age), whether it will come this year, in several years, or any other time. We must fight and not surrender until we have succeeded.

"Ben Zoma says: Who is the strong person? He who overcomes his evil-inclination, as it says [in "Mishlei"], "Greater is one is is slow to anger, than one who is strong, and one whe rules over his spirit [is greater] than one who conquers a city." (15; 16)" (Pirkei Avos: 4; 1)

Save the World this Rosh HaShanah

2008-09-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

The RaMBa"M teaches each action that an individual takes can be sufficient to turn that person's judgment on Rosh HaShanah to a positive one. Not only that, the RaMBa"M continues that a person's actions can lead to a city's merits to outweight it's demerits and spare it of destruction, this being the case for a country, and even for the entire world. (Hilchos Teshuvah: 3; 4)

In addition to saving the world through our efforts to make our merits outweigh our demerits, we could literally save the world by saving a Jewish life. In fact, there is an organization in Israel dedicated to saving Jewish babies from abortion called E.F.R.A.T. (http://www.friendsofefrat.org) This organization saves Jewish babies lives for the mere cost of $1,200. Imagine saving a life for such a small price. In addition, this organization has been strongly recommended by a number of the Jewish leaders of this generation.

Each person is unique and irreplaceable - literally a world unto themselves. (Mishna “Sanhedrin”: 4; 5) We learn in the above Mishna and in maseches “Sanhedrin” (37a) that all of those who save one Jewish life, The Torah considers it as if they have saved the entire world. Furthermore, the Mishna states that it is because each individual is completely unique from all other people that they are obligated to say - “The world was Created for my sake", it being fitting to have Created the world for each individual of B'nei Yisrael.

On this Day of Judgment, not only do we have the opportunity to be judged - G-d Willing for a year of life and blessing, but we have the opportunity to play a vital role in saving a Jewish life - saving a world.

In any case, wishing you all a shanah tovah and k'siva v'chasimah tovah!

Elul: Teshuvah and World Events

2008-08-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

This month of Elul is a time where many people have a greater reawakening to perform teshuvah than the rest of the year, as this month precedes Rosh HaShanah - The Day of Judgement for the next year. World events seem to be growing more precarious by the day - in illogical ways, whether with Israel being threatened by Iran or the relationship between America and Russia. However, all events are for our best, whether events that are clearly good, or those that might seem on the surface to be negative. The purpose of all events is to encourage teshuvah. In these especially tough and perhaps seemingly uncertain times, it is important that we make an added effort to improve ourselves and perform teshuvah. Teshuvah is a powerful form of "self-defense" against danger. The reason for punishment coming to us would be to bring us closer to HaShem by rejecting our negative actions and coming to improve our observance of The Torah, both the mitzvos and by improved middos - character traits. In sefer "Zechariah", the Malbi"m points out that though HaShem doesn't "change His mind", if events occur, such that the purpose of difficult times is removed - i.e. by people coming to repent in advance of the realization of these difficult times, then HaShem wouldn't bring these difficulties to fruition. This is something we should keep in mind, especially in light of current events. G-d Willing we will merit a smooth transition to the time of Mashiach. Amen!

Protection During Chevlei Mashiach: Acts of Kindness and Torah

2008-07-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

CHEVLEI MASHIACH: WHAT SHOULD THE PERSON DO TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM SUFFERING IN GENERAL AND DURING THE TIME OF THE "BIRTHPANGS BEFORE THE COMING OF MASHIACH"

Rabbi Elazar was asked by his students what the person should do in order to save themselves from "Chevlei Mashiach" - "חבלי משיח" - the birthpangs of Mashiach. He answered them that the person should make sure to involve themselves in Torah study and perform acts of kindness - גמילות חסדים. (Sanhedrin, 98b) The time of the "birthpangs of Mashiach" is a time that can be very hard and treacherous on the world, the Jewish People, and each individual. The above advice should be taken at all times, and would be of great benefit to those people who take advantage of it.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov is quoted in "Pirkei Avos" (4; 11) as teaching that good actions and teshuvah - repentance act as a shield against suffering.

Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar teaches that every gathering that takes place - "L'Shem Shamayim" - for the sake of Heaven, will continue to exist. This teaching, in the same mishna, is also a piece of advice: If people find themselves in treacherous circumstances, they should gather a group together and decide to all be careful about a given mitzvah. I heard a story that was told over by a woman who survived the holocaust. She and a number of her friends, seeing the terrible situation that they faced, decided to all be careful to properly observe the laws of Jewish speech - Shemiras Halashon. After the war, this woman recounted that all of the people in that group found each other. Every single person in that group had survived the war! Considering the statistics, the "chances" of such an occurrence would be close to zero. However, we are not playing "statistics" and "chances", for HaShem runs the world and all existence. Therefore, simply by following The Torah and the type of life HaShem instructs us to live, He, The True Provider of Protection, offers us His Protection. Such a story is one, probably of very many incidents throughout history where a group of people gathered together to act for the sake of Heaven. HaShem is The One Who offers protection and He tells us, in His Torah and through His scholars how we can very reasonably attain that protection, simply by being determined to take Him up "on any one of His many offers", repent, and act out our determination for the good.

PERFORMING ACTS OF KINDNESS OF OBSERVING THE TORAH

We learn in sefer "Micha" about the importance of performing kindness. The pasuk is from the Haftorah of Parshas "Balak" and states "He (i.e. HaShem) tells the person what is good, and that which HaShem seeks from you, is only to perform justice, and to love kindness, and to walk modestly with G-d". (6; 8) This haftorah deals with the situation subsequent to the sin committed by many of The B'nei Yisrael at Peor with the women of Midian and Moav. Micha is asking what great sacrifice can be brought to HaShem after having committed such a great sin. The above pasuk is the answer. The MaLBI"M (Rav Meir Leibush ben Yichiel Michel) explains the pasuk that HaShem only wants to perform justice - "mishpat" - i.e. the mitzvot between man and his fellow, to perform and love acts of kindess, doing more than that which is fitting and sufficient for him (RaDa"K- Rav David Kimchi), and to be modest in our performance of the mitzvot between man and HaShem (MaLBI"M).

We should look for every possible way that we can reasonably perform acts of kindness, as you noted in your e-mail in line with what the RaDa"K taught, i.e. doing more than would "just do" considering our situation, but we should perform acts of kindness. Each act of kindness that we perform being unique at least in some way, and carrying the potential to add greatly to benefit the quality of life of others, no matter how "small" or "insignificant" the action may appear - evening smiling at someone or asking them how their day went, for example (it might seem surprising to some people how significant of a benefit a "seemingly insignificant" action can have, both for the good and, l'havdil, for the bad). Obviously it true that each, or at least many, of our actions can carry great significance, this being evident as HaShem has blessed each of us with our unique strengths and gifts, which, if we only decide to take advantage of the opportunities that are always present, can benefit The B'nei Yisrael and help bring our unique qualities into reality through action, truly benefiting mankind and existence, both spiritually and physically. By taking advantage of every unique opportunity, as you note, we are bringing a unique gift (or gifts) to the world - unique from the respect of the individual who performs it, for only that person possesses those particularly unique gifts and qualities, as well as the love in performing the action properly, and the particular situation at that time. By working toward doing what we can to benefit the world - taking advantage of every opportunity to better ourselves and others, as well as avoiding the negatives - both negative middot and aveirot - working to overcome our Yetzer HaRa, we can truly help do our part and influence others toward reaching a state of "completion" through the way we lead our lives. G-d Willing, by doing so, we will make our unique contribution toward helping Creation realize completion, and merit that the revelation of Mashiach and of the Messianic ear which will end this longest and last galut. All we have to do is take advantage of the opportunities to better ourselves, through acts of kindness, and following the mitzvot between man and his fellow and the mitzvot between man and G-d.

Fighting to Make the World Better by Bettering Ourselves

2008-06-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone's actions play a part in the world. The RaMBa"M (Maimonides) writes that each person's actions are weighed in to the larger whole, such that the performance of a mitzvah or any good act which is in line with The Torah, such as bettering ourselves and our middos (character traits), can tip the balance of the person such that the person's good outweighs his bad and he is judged favorably by HaShem as a result, among other things. The RaMBa"M recommends that the person view each action as having the great significance of tipping the balance in favor of the person's good outweighing his bad actions. This is not only limited to the person, for it is up to us to view each of our actions as having the potential of leading to a good judgment for an entire city, country, and even for the entire world. If one seriously views each action he performs as having such a serious consequence, both favorably, and, chas v'shalom, unfavorably, he will make all the greater effort to improve himself through improving his character traits and taking advantage of opportunities to perform mitzvos. On the other hand, if the person feels the inclination to sin or allow his yetzer HaRa (evil inclination) to "get the better of him", he should determine to simply not give in to this inclination so as to avoid the potential negative consequences that he may experience, as well as the punishment that he has the power to cause to be averted from a city, country, as well as the entire world.

By Overcoming the Yetzer HaRa, we Benefit, By Giving in, We Lose

The Yetzer HaRa has no power to compel us to perform that which is evil, but rather encourages us to give in to our negative inclination, thereby losing the battle to him. HaShem tells Kayin, "...'Why are you angry and why are you downcast. Isn't it that if you improve yourself you will be forgiven, and if you do not improve, sin crouches at the opening, and it's desire is to you, and you shall rule over it.'" (B'reishis: 4; 6 - 7) Instead of listening to HaShem's advice, by which he would have been spared of the great sin of murdering his brother, Hevel, Kayin failed and actively became subservient to the inclination of his Yetzer HaRa. (4; 8) As we learn from the above, HaShem is telling each person, not just Kayin, that we are Created to rule over our evil inclination. We also see that prior to Kayin's grevious sin, he was angry and downcast. These two attributes, among others, have the great ability to lead to a person who has the potential for great good, as was the case with Kayin - the first human that was born - to come to perform such a great sin. Of course, Kayin did regret his sin and performed teshuvah (repentance) (B'reishis: 4; 13 - 14), which allowed for the punishment to be limited to exile and he did live a long life before being killed. We can use the Yetzer HaRa for our benefit by standing up to him, and we will always overcome him, B'Ezras HaShem. By overcoming the Yetzer HaRa, we serve to strengthen ourselves spiritually and benefit ourselves in The World to Come and in this world. We also increase our connection to HaShem and our spiritual level. However, in contrast, if we allow ourselves to "give in" and perform the sin, thereby gaining very limited pleasure in exchange for great loss, chas v'shalom, we have failed that battle against the Yetzer HaRa - the battle against he who is described in the gemara as the one who hates us.

Always Remember HaShem and Don't Allow Yourself to Sin

One of the pieces of advice given in "Pirkei Avos" to the person such that he won't sin is that he should always recognize that all of his actions are 1) watched by HaShem, 2) Heard by HaShem, and 3) Recorded by HaShem. It is only when we allow HaShem to be distant from our hearts, forgetting HaShem is watching our every action, or, at the very least, allowing ourselves to not focus on this fact, which provides the Yetzer HaRa the perfect opportunity to try to encourage us to sin. By distancing HaShem from our thoughts, even for one moment, we put ourselves at greater danger of deciding to follow the Yetzer HaRa instead of the mitzvos of HaShem, chas v'shalom.

"Sha'arei Teshuvah" - Remember HaShem, Fear Him at Least as Much as you
Do People

In "Sha'arei Teshuvah" of Rabbeinu Yonah, we learn that we should fear HaShem no less than we do people. If the person would not sin if a person would sin him, he shouldn't sin ever, for HaShem sees him. This was the blessing that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai gave to his students immediately prior to his passing. (B'rachos, 28b) We should be determine to better ourselves and always recognized that HaShem is watching - "שויתי ה לנגדי תמיד" - "I constantly place HaShem before me". Once we truly do this, we will not fall to sin. May we all merit to have true fear of HaShem.

שויתי י-ה-ו-ה לנגדי תמיד

Rav Mordechai Eliyahu

2008-05-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu - Mordechai Tzemach ben Mazal Tov, was recently rushed to the intensive care unit at the hospital in Israel. It is suggested that people recite Tehillim chapter 119 to spell out the rabbi's Hebrew name. Rav Eliyahu is the former Chief-Sephardic rabbi of Israel.

The Sefer Torah that was Rescued from Auschwitz

2008-04-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

There is a story in the New York Times (a newspaper I very occasionally read), concerning a sefer Torah that was rescued from Auschwitz, found buried in a metal box in the Jewish cemetary there. This story is a worthwhile read, and can be found here. The story in short is of a Rabbi Menachem Youlus of the Save a Torah organization, who found a Torah in Auschwitz after hearing a story about a Torah that the gabbai of the local synagogue buried a few days prior to the Nazi (yimach shemo) takeover of Poland and the town of Oswiecim. The Torah was found using a metal detector (and, of course, a great deal of siyata d'sh'maya).

The picture in the NYT and the Connection to Pesach (Passover) and Overcoming the Nazis and All of Our Other Oppressors

On the New York Times website, there are two pictures, one of which includes a picture of the wording in the sefer Torah (which includes G-d's Name and must be buried with respect with other shaimos). The passages of The Torah shown are found in parshios "VaEschanan" and "Eikev", which discuss the destruction wreaked by HaShem against our Egyptian oppressors and HaShem's reassurance to us to not fear our enemies greater numbers (Divarim: 7; 17 - 19). The earlier passage from parshas "VaEschanan", discusses, as well, a passage from The Torah that is quoted in the haggadah, concerning the questin of one of the four sons regarding the various commandments that HaShem has commanded us. HaShem tells us in The Torah that we should explain to our son that HaShem took us out of Egypt, rescuing us from the servitude of Mitzrayim (Egypt) "with a Strong Hand", and afflicted Egypt and the Egyptians with the plagues. HaShem tells us that we were taken out of Mitzrayim in order to be brought into Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel). (Divarim: 6; 20 - 23) The message should be clear, for the Nazis tried to wipe us out, but in the end it is our enemies - the enemies of HaShem - who are wiped off of the face of the world. The above passage being printed in the New York Times (by accident), is, of course, no coincidence, for there is nothing that happens without a purpose and nothing that is random. Rather, this is a clear message to anyone to not mess with The B'nei Yisrael (Jewish People), for it is not merely though number that one succeeds, rather, it is those who HaShem decides will succeed, which includes His Nation - for HaShem has chosen us to be His Nation though we are "...the smallest in number from among all of the nations". (Divarim: 7; 7) We recount in the haggadah that in every generation our enemies rise up against us with the intent of wiping us out, but are unsuccessful, for "The Holy One Blessed is He, rescues us from their hands". ""Pour out Your anger to the nations who do not know You and upon the kingdoms who do not call out in Your Name. For they have consumed Ya'akov and laid his dwelling place desolate." (Tehillim: 79; 6 - 7) "Pour out Your wrath upon them, and Your burning anger shall overtake them." (69; 25) "Pursue them with wrath, and destroy them from below The Heavens of HaShem." (Eichah: 3; 66)" This is a guarantee of protection of HaShem to The Jewish People from those who wish to wipe us out.

(Note: The characteristics used to describe HaShem are written in a manner which we can best understand them based on human characteristics, as they appear to us.)

Be Careful: Judging Others Favorably and Self-Improvement

2008-03-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

There's a halacha that in order for the person to have fulfilled his obligation of Shemoneh Esrei, he must have actually verbally recited the words - merely scanning the words accomplishes nothing towards this end.

Keeping that in mind, the following is an interesting true event, which I just experienced:

I had davened Mincha in the shul, and left immediately prior to the Ma'ariv Shemoneh Esrei, in order to daven at a later Ma'ariv. I had left through the far exit of the synagogue, and approximately a minute later, I noticed two individuals leaving the synagogue. I started to talk with this individual. After a short time, we noticed someone pull into the parking-lot, asking where the congregation was holding in the prayers. The other person noted that they were done (or finishing). I pointed out that they were praying Shemoneh Esrei. This person who I had been talking with, started noting how the other individual is late to the synagogue, and I kept pointing out that we should judge this individual favorably, as he probably has a good reason for coming late, that we weren't aware of. The person kept on focusing on the other individual for a minute or two, and claimed that the other person told him that he wakes up later. I explained to this individual that it's more important for a person to guard their health than to be so focused on consistently making it to the prayer on time.

I then asked the person if he had prayed, to which he responded affirmatively. I said that it must have "taken" him a minute to pray the Shemoneh Esrei. He noted that it took him about two minutes. I asked, 'How is it possible to say the words that fast' (perhaps some people could do it?!?)? He said that he just scanned the words. I told him that he didn't fulfill his obligation of Shemoneh Esrei, as he didn't recite the words. He then said that everyone makes mistakes. I pointed out that that's not a justification, but we should try to learn the halachos - our goal is to learn more so that we follow all of the halachos properly.

The above is amazing, because this person had been focusing negatively on another person, which he saw come late after scanning the Shemoneh Esrei. When it came to his fault, he brushed it aside, but was somewhat critical of the other person.

We should learn from this that, in accordance with halacha, we should judge others favorably - dan l'chaf zichus, and should be willing to correct them at times, to help them improve in their observance of the halachos. However, we must also focus on bettering ourselves and thereby helping bring an end to all evil and leading to the time of Mashiach, when truth will not only not be lacking, as it has been, (Sanhedrin, 97a) but it will be all that which remains, with falsehood no longer having a place.

New Los Angeles Law and the First Amendment

2008-02-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

The Mayor of Los Angeles has just signed a law forcing Los Angeles pet owners to spay or neuter their dogs by the time they are four-months old.

Los Angeles Law Violates 1st Amendment?

The Los Angeles law requiring Los Angeles residents to spay or neuter their animals may violate the 1st Amendment's Free-Exercise clause, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

L.A. Law and Torah Law:

In The Torah (Leviticus: 22; 24), the verse teaches that it is forbidden according to The Bible to sterilize animals, this law also being brought in the Talmud. However, this new Los Angeles law may prohibit the free exercise of Judaism, as well as any other religion that would hold it is forbidden to sterilize animals. Perhaps this law requires review.

Tu B'Shvat Tefillah for a Beautiful Esrog

2008-01-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

יהי רצון מלפניך י-ה-ו-ה א-לה-ינו וא-לה-י אבותינו, שתברך כל אילנות האתרוג להוציא פירותי-הם בעתם, ויוציאו אתרוגים טובים יפים ומהדרים ונקיים מכל מום, ולא יעלה בהם שות חזזית, וי-היו שלמים ולא י-הי-ה בהם שום חסרון ואפילו עקיצת קוץ ויהיו מצויים לנו ולכל ישראל בכל מקום שהם, לקים בהם מצות נטילה עם הלולב בחג הסכות שיבא עלינו לחיים טובים ולשלום, כאשר צויתנו בתורתך על ידי משה עבדך, "ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר כפות תמרים וענף עץ עבות וערבי נחל"(ויקרא: כ"ג, מ), ויהי רצון מלפניך י-ה-ו-ה א-להי-נו וא-לה-י אבותינו, שתעזרנו ותסעינו לקים מצוה זו של נטילת לולב הדס ערבה ואתרוג, כתקנה בזמנה בחג הסכות שיבא עלינו לחיים טובים ולשלום בשמחה ובטוב לבב, ותזמין לנו אתרוג יפה ומהדר ונקי ושלם וכשר כהלכתו.

Translation:

"May it be Your Will, HaShem, our G-d, and The G-d of our forefathers, that You bless all of the esrog trees to bear their fruit at the proper time, and that they shall bear esrogim that are good, nice, beautiful, and clean from all blemish, and that no lichen should come upon them, and that they shall be complete and they should not have any deficiencies, even pricked by a thorn. These esrogim should be available for us and for all of Israel in every place that they are, in order to fulfill the mitzvah of taking [the esrog] with the lulav on the Holiday of Succos, that shall come to us with good life, and with peace, as You have written in Your Torah by way of Moshe, Your servant, "And on the first day you shall take for yourselves a beautiful fruit of the tree, date frond, and branch of a myrtle tree, and [branches from a] willow brook..." (Vayikra: 23; 40) May it be Your Will, HaShem, our G-d, and The G-d of our forefathers, that You Help us and Assist us in this mitzvah of taking the lulav, myrtle, willow, and esrog, in the proper manner, in its proper time, on the Holiday of Succos, that shall come upon us for good life, and peace, with happiness and good-heartedness, and that You shall make a nice, beautiful esrog [that is] clean [of all blemishes and deficiencies], and complete, and kosher, according to its laws, accessible to us.

Eruv: Walled or Stringed

2008-01-08T22:57:00.000-08:00

There are two general kinds of eruv's that are acceptable, one walled and one surrounded by a string. The potential issue with the stringed eruv is that it must be checked regularly. It is important to determine that the eruv stand up on a regular basis so that it is very reliable. If the eruv falls down frequently, one should determine whether they should rely upon it until the problems are resolved and review the laws of eruv.

Moshe's Example to True Jewish Leaders

2008-01-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

If one aspires to be a true Jewish leader who fights for what is best for The Jewish People, it is recommended that he look to Moshe Rabbeinu's example for guidance.

After all, HaShem picked Moshe to lead The B'nei Yisrael out of exile. Moshe is described as the person who is the most faithful person to HaShem. (Bamidbar: 12; 7) When he went to Paroh to ask that he free The B'nei Yisrael from Mitzrayim, he wasn't giving-in to the desires of Paroh, but rather acted based on The Command of HaShem and in line with what was in the best interest of The B'nei Yisrael. Paroh told Moshe that The B'nei Yisrael could leave to the midbar to serve HaShem but should leave his animals there. Moshe responded that not only would The B'nei Yisrael take their animals, but they would also take animals that Paroh would give to him. (Shmos: 10; 24 - 26)

The point is that on an individual basis and in leadership roles, the person should act in accordance with The Torah and not based on his personal desires that run contrary to The Torah.

The Chofetz Chaim's Admonition Against Involvement in Idle Conversation in Shul

2008-01-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

The following is quoted from the Chofetz Chaim when discussing the importance of not involving oneself in idle conversation in shul: (Chofetz Chaim, Introduction, Positive Commandments, #6)

"Now that we are on the topic of the severe prohibition of idle conversation in the shul, I have seen it appropriate to mention the greatness of the stumbling-block that is created through these conversations. This being that it is common in our numerous sins that prior to the Reading of The Torah one congregant begins to relate to his friends of his anecdotes which are mixed in with lashon hara and rechilus from their beginning to their end. Before finishing the anecdote, they begin to read The Torah and the yetzer hara entices him to not pause in the middle of his story, so he finishes the lashon hara during the Reading of The Torah. Many times this person is one of the distinguished people who sits in the eastern part of the shul, his sin is witnessed by the public. By acting in this manner, he desecrates Hashem's Name publicly, that being in front of ten Jews, his sin being much greater than a typical desecration of Hashem's Name, as is explained in "Sefer Hamitzovs" of the Rambam (Prohibiton 63), see there. He violates the prohibition of "Do not desecrate My Holy Name..." (Vayikra: 22; 32)

By speaking idle conversation in shul as described above, the person violates the following prohibitions:

1. The prohibition of lashon hara and richilus which themselves include many prohibitions and positive commandments.

2. He has violated the prohibition of "Do not desecrate My Holy Name..." in front of ten Jews.

3. He missed out on the mitzvah of krias haTorah, which is the case even if he missed hearing one verse or even one word, it being a severe sin, his sin being too great to bear, for even leaves in the midst of the reading from the Torah is referred to in the pasuk, "and those who abandon Hashem will be destroyed" (Yeshaya: 1, 28) (Berachos, 8a - Taught in the name of Rav Ammi).

A number of times idle conversation takes place in the shul on Shabbos, the person's sin being much greater than during the weekdays, as is explained in a number of holy sifarim. It happens regularly that those who are accustomed to speak in the shul or in the beis medrash, will finish their anecdotes even during the recitation of Kaddish, and prevents himself from saying "Amen Yihei Shimei Rabba...", its' recitation being very sublime according to the gemara, as Chazal have said (Shabbos, 119b) that even if someone has a bit of Apikorsus, he is forgiven for it on account of reciting "Amen Yihei Shimei Rabba..." Even if the talker will respond by reciting "Yihei Shimei Rabba...", if it's recited too late (more than approx. 2 seconds after he can recite it), it is an Amen Yisomah (orphaned Amen), and Heaven Forbid that his children will be orphaned due to this, for this curse can befall one even if he pushed off the Amen out of laziness, as is explicit in the poskim (Orach Chaim, siman 224, sif 8).

Aside from the above, the talkers in our time transgress a fourth prohibition, that being idle conversation in the shul and in the beis medrash, it being a great prohibition that is elucidated in the Shulchan Aruch, as is written above... woe to those who speak and those who listen, as the Gra already wrote in his holy letter, "Alim Litirufah", that for every single word the person must descend a great deal into Shiole. It is impossible to estimate the magnitude of the suffering and the troubles that the person experiences for every single word, not one word being lost, see there for more."

I think the words of Chazal and of the Chofetz Chaim speak for themselves. The best thing to do is to only speak when you know it's acceptable.

Snipiskes Cemetary Destruction - Contact Info.

2007-12-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

As the Jewish cemetery in Lithuania is desecrated for the benefit of money arriving in the hands of some of the "powerful" in Lithuania, it appears to be a better idea to contact your local Senator or congressman. The Lithuanian government, though they praised the Vilna Gaon, it was empty words, for their own aggrandizement. The truth is that one of the best ways to stop the construction, more effective than bad publicity for Lithuania, is reminding U.S. politicians about the ongoing destruction and defilement of Jewish graves in Lithuania, all for the sake of money. There is a well-known statement in the Talmud, which is quoted in the name of Shmuel, that all of those who discredit others, claim that they have a fault or blemish which the person who does the discrediting truly possesses. (Kiddushin, 70b) One of the well-known anti-Semitic statements against Jews is that we would do anything for money. As is typically the case with anti-Semites, they'll conveniently contradict themselves to try to make the Jews look bad: "All Jews are wealthy" or "All Jews are poor", etc. For these people, they will close off reality in favor of their hatred of Jews. In fact, one of the four major sections of Jewish law deals with money. Jewish law is that which requires honesty with money and is quite contrary to the claims of anti-Semites, to say the least.

Getting back to the point, apparently the Lithuanian government is conveniently allowing the building to continue over the Jewish graves for the benefit of money. That's why it's not much use to contact them; they think it's in their interest to continue the work.

Contact U.S. congressmen and Senators and encourage them to act against the desecration of the Jewish Snipiskes cemetery:

To contact U.S. Senators, click on this link.

To contact congressmen, click here.

Dear __________,

As you may have heard, the ancient Jewish Snipiskes cemetery in Lithuania is being desecrated by ongoing construction. Please do your utmost to stop this travesty to the Jewish people and to the world at large.

Sincerely,
_________________________

Do what you can, spend your time either contacting officials, learning Torah, or whatever you can reasonably do to help protect the Jewish cemetery.

Vilna's Jewish Cemetary, the Burial Place of the Vilna Gaon, Threatened by Commercial Construction

2007-11-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

LITHUANIAN CONSTRUCTION AT JEWISH SNIPISKES CEMETERY ONGOING

The Jewish Snipiskes cemetary in Vilna, Lithuania, the site of many thousands of Jewish graves, including the grave of the Torah Giant, the Vilna Gaon, is threatened by the ongoing construction of apartment buildings over the Jewish cemetery. The United States House of Representatives has already chastised the Lithuanian government for not stopping construction over the Jewish cemetery and a bill against the construction has fifty co-sponsors and is to be added to the Houses Foreign Affairs calendar.

Despite pressure from the United States, the construction continues and the Lithuanian government seems to not be taking any concrete actions to stop the construction.

THE LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS TO CARE ABOUT THE VILNA GAON, BUT HASN'T STOPPED CONSTRUCTION AT THE CEMETERY IN WHICH HE IS BURIED

At the around the 200th yartzheit of the Vilna Gaon, the Lithuanian government did the following in commemoration of the Vilna Gaon:

"Amid much fanfare, the commemorative activities ranged from the issuing of a Lithuanian first-day cover with the Gaon’s portrait to the erection of a bust of the Gaon at the site of his former klaus. At ceremonies attended by the President of Lithuania and members of the Lithuanian parliament, and accompanied by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Gaon was praised repeatedly for "his intellectual openness; his humanistic values; his tolerance..."

Apparently, if the Lithuanian government cares so much that the leaders of the Lithuanian government show the Vilna Gaon's life so much honor, they should at the very least be consistent and defend his burial site and the entire Jewish cemetery. One might even suggest that they display even a fraction of the tolerance concerning which they praised the Vilna Gaon to work to defend the Jewish cemetery.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

1) For more information, click here - Shema Yisrael or here - Ha'aretz .

2) Contact applicable government officials in America and Lithuania.

Jewish Law (Halacha) on Loud Music at Simchas and Any Other Time

2007-10-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

ISSUR (PROHIBITION) OF LOUD MUSIC AT SIMCHAS AND IN GENERAL

For more information on the dangers of loud music, please click here to one of my previous articles.

IN SIMCHAS - JOYOUS OCCASIONS (SIMCHAS BEIS HASHOEIVAH’S, ETC.) CELEBRATED IN MODERN TIMES, THERE IS UNFORTUNATELY, EXTREMELY LOUD MUSIC. MANY OF THE BA’ALEI SIMCHA - THE HOSTS - BELIEVE THAT LOUD MUSIC MAKES THE SIMCHA MORE LEIBEDEK (JOYOUS), THEREBY INCREASING THE SIMCHA OF THOSE PRESENT. THE REALITY IS THAT THERE IS A CLEAR CONSENSUS AMONG ENT DOCTORS THAT EXPOSURE (ESPECIALLY PROLONGED EXPOSURE SUCH AS IS THE NORM AT SIMCHAS) CAUSES PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO ONE’S HEARING. LOUD MUSIC PLAYED AT SIMCHAS IS APPROXIMATELY 120 dB (decibel), WHILE TYPICAL SPEECH IS 60 dB (TO GIVE ONE THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE, AN INCREASE IN 10 dB IS A TEN-FOLD INCREASE IN VOLUME). LOUD MUSIC AT SIMCHAS IS ABOUT 1,000,000 TIMES THE INTENSITY OF NORMAL TALKING! IF ONE HAS TO SHOUT IN ORDER TO BE HEARD, THE MUSIC IS TOO LOUD, THEREFORE MUSIC SHOULD BE AT A LEVEL THAT ALLOWS FOR CONVERSATIONS OF NORMAL INTENSITY. ADDITIONALLY, IF A PERSON CANNOT HEAR AS WELL AFTER THE SIMCHA AND/OR EXPERIENCES TINNITIS, THAT IS A CLEAR INDICATION OF DAMAGE TO HEARING. IN THE U.S., 5-MILLION YOUTH SUFFER HEARING LOSS AND OVER 30 MILLION OVERALL SUFFER PERMANENT DAMAGE INCLUDING EXCRUCIATING TINNITIS (10 MILLION OF WHOM SUFFER FROM EXPOSURE TO LOUD NOISE).

ISSUR (PROHIBITION): IN LIGHT OF THE CONSENSUS BY ENT’S (EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT DOCTORS) THAT LOUD MUSIC CAUSES PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE HEARING MANY GEDOLEI HADOR HAVE COME OUT AGAINST LOUD MUSIC. RAV DOVID FEINSTEIN, SHLITA, SAID THAT STRONG EFFORT MUST BE MADE TO PREVAIL ON BAALEI SIMCHA AND MUSICIANS TO STOP LEVELS OF LOUDNESS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF CAUSING DAMAGE. MANY GEDOLIM (INCLUDING Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe; four Roshai Yeshiva from Lakewood: Rabbis Malkiel Kotler, Yisroel Tzvi Neuman, Dovid Tzvi Schustal and Yeruchem Olshin as well as the Mashgiach Rabbi Mattisyahu Salamon; Rabbi Shmuel Birnbaum, Mirer Rosh Yeshiva, The Roshai Yeshiva of Philadelphia Rabbis Elya Svei and Shmuel Kaminetsky; Rabbi Aron Moshe Shechter, Rosh Yeshiva Chaim Berlin) SIGNED A LETTER THAT STATES, “THE HOSTS SHOULD INSIST THAT THE MUSIC AMPLIFICATION SHOULD RESPECT THE FACTORS OF GOOD HEALTH AND TASTE, AND NOT DETRACT FROM THE ESSENCE OF A YIDDISHE [SIMCHA].” SIMCHAS ARE MEANT TO CELEBRATE MITZVOS. IT WOULD BE HIGHLY INCONSISTENT TO CELEBRATE MITZVOS BY ALLOWING LOUD MUSIC THAT CAUSES PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THOSE PRESENT. THE SIMCHAS BEIS HA’SHOEIVAH IN THE BEIS HA’MIKDASH DID NOT HAVE LOUD AMPLIFIERS AND PROVOKED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SIMCHA THAN THE GREAT SIMCHAS WE ARE ZOCHEH TO HAVE TODAY. THOSE WHO DEMONSTRATE - LOVE OF A FELLOW JEW - אהבת ישרא-ל BY RESPECTING THE HEALTH AND HAPPINESS OF THOSE PRESENT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY INCREASE THEIR LEVEL OF SIMCHA.

Rabbi Avraham Shapira and Torah Correctness

2007-10-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Avraham Shapira, ZT"L, passed away this past Thursday, the first day of Succos. Though he is recognized as having been one of the g'dolei hador (Torah leaders of the generation), for many reasons. However, it was his drive to support the truth and The Torah, which was one of the great attributes that led to his distinction as a great Torah leader.

To say that Rabbi Shapira was most known for any given matter, such as his halachic ruling that it was forbidden to expel Jews from their homes in Gaza, is incorrect, and to say such demonstrates that one is not aware of Rabbi Shapira's decades of leadership.

However, what Rabbi Shapira's ruling against the "Disengagement" demonstrates is that he did not allow "political correctness" to trump truth and halachic correctness. The ruling further demonstrates that Rabbi Shapira recognized that, in addition to Torah and Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael is of central importance of Judaism and it should never be treated lightly or negatively.

Rabbi Shapira, in his 90's at that time, fought the war of Torah and of HaShem, as is demonstrated from his halachic ruling, which clarifies the truth and the Torah stance on Jews giving away parts of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Shapira noted the Torah prohibition which forbids Jews from giving away any part of Eretz Yisrael, and of the severity of the sin of leaders who make halachic proclamations which address difficult halachic questions, when they possess insufficient Torah knowledge, thereby misleading the masses, chas v'shalom, and potentially causing much damage, to the extent that they can be described as "the destroyers of the world".

Though Rabbi Shapira was sharply criticized (even by some after his death) for his halachic ruling, he did not allow those people who would show contempt of true Torah leadership, dissuade him from issuing a ruling reflecting the truth, which he did so well.

It is insufficient to praise Rabbi Shapira for fighting the battle to uphold the truth. Rather, especially in our times, when Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael are under attack, and is in danger of being given to true enemies of The B'nei Yisrael, those who wish to have an Israel free of Jews, chas v'shalom, we must take Rabbi Shapira's ruling to heart. We must also ensure that the attribute to attain truth supersede that which may seem "easy" - "political correctness" - to trump The Torah - the essence of life. We must strengthen our emunah (belief in HaShem) and do what we can reasonably do to support truth in the face of the enemy who hides falsehood behind the thinly veiled concept of "political correctness".

One of the ways to know how to defend the truth, one has to be aware of the threat posed against Torah and truth, against Am Yisrael, and against Eretz Yisrael.

When and Where to Answer Amen

2007-09-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Tefillos (prayers) carry great power, when one beseeches HaShem to do something, though just because someone recites a tefillah, doesn't mean that they will get what they desire (in the end, everything happens for the best). Similarly, one should answer "Amein" (Amen), an affirmation to the prayer, only if the prayer deserves that "Amein". In addition to being an affirmation and agreement to the tefillah that was recited, "Amein" is the root of the word "emunah", which can be translated as "belief", similar to "ani ma'amin" - "I believe". It is of utmost importance for the person to make sure that they are in agreement with the entire prayer that is being said. For all prayers that were instituted by the Anshei K'neses HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), and other great Jewish rabbinic leaders, one can be completely confident that it is proper and encouraged (and often necessary) to respond "Amein" to the tefillah at the proper point in time. Nevertheless, it is still recommended that one review the tefillah so that they understand what is being said.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME HALACHOS (JEWISH LAWS) APPLICABLE TO THE RECITATION OF "AMEIN"

When one comes to respond "Amein" to the b'racha (blessing) being recited, they have a brief span of time in which they are permitted to respond "Amein", approximately two seconds (or less), or the amount of time it takes someone to recite the words "Shalom Alecha Rebbi" (assuming they are familiar with reciting the above). If one responds "Amein" either too early or too late, they do not fulfill any obligation which requires the response of "Amein", whether it be Kiddush, HaMotzei, or any of the other mitzvos through which someone can fulfill their obligation.

"Amein Chatufah" - The Snatched Amein:

When one responds "Amein" prior to the completion of the prayer it is referred to as an "Amein Chatufah", or a "Snatched Amein", this being the case as the person responds "Amein" when it is not applicable. In order for the "Amein" to count for a person to be considered as if the person truly responded "Amein" - in addition to reciting the word "Amein" properly (not "Uman", "Umein", etc., perhaps unless such is the manner in which the person regularly talks in general) - the person must wait until the one reciting the blessing has completed the final word of the blessing. Though those present have an obligation to respond at the proper point in time to the tefillah, the chazzan (prayer leader) must similarly not stretch his words out, especially at the end of a blessing and should be careful to not sing a tune that would lead any of those present (within reason) to respond to early to the blessing. For example, the last blessing in the Repetition of the Shemonah Esrei concludes with "ha'm'vareich es ammo Yisrael ba'Shalom" - "He who blesses His Nation Israel with peace". If one were to respond "Amein" too early, they would be considered as if they had not responded to that prayer, as they had "snatched" the "amein" too early. The prayer would sound like "ha'm'vareich es ammo Yisrael ba'sha'mein" - "He Who blesses His Nation Israel with fat (instead of peace)" - this being a mixture of the voices of some of the congregants and the chazzan.

"Amein Y'somah" - The Orphaned "Amein":

The orphaned "Amein" is an "Amein" that is answered too late (approximately more than two seconds). Such an "Amein" is considered very severe and may, chas v'shalom, carry along with it negative consequences. Therefore, if someone didn't answer "Amein" within the allotted period of time, if they can catch themselves, they should try to avoid saying "Amein".

MODERN DAY PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS WHICH PEOPLE MAY WISH ANOTHER THAT CAN CARRY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

The tefillos concerning which a person should be cognizant of, and often avoid responding "Amein" are often to blessings which beseech HaShem for many good things, in addition to some potentially bad things. For example, if there is an army which is comprised of good people (for the most part) and fights for a good country, many people may want to bless and answer "Amein" to tefillos on behalf of that army. Of course, we want HaShem to protect them from danger. However, when a prayer is worded in a careless manner, such as "grant them success and blessing in all their actions", such a request would carry good, along with potential bad, unless that army is known to be perfect. Therefore, one should be cognizant when responding "Amein". What if someone were to ask HaShem that all of a given country's enemies are overtaken by them. What if another good country becomes the enemy of that country. There is a simple recommendation. Simply add that the given army have "success and blessing in all of their good actions" and that the other army overcome all of the "evil countries".

There is another prayer for members of government of a given country, which states that all "constituted officers of the government" enjoy blessing, protection, assistance and being exalted. Again, such a prayer is careless. Even if a country is moral and good and a minority of the people who comprise the government have evil designs, such a prayer is asking for that which is negative, in addition to anything that might be good which is requested in the prayer. This prayer should also be reworded. Before rewording any of the above three prayers, or anything similar to them, the prayers should, at the very least, be reworded to not throw in the bad with anything which may be good.

MASECHES "KESUVOS" ON RESPONDING - AND NOT RESPONDING - "AMEIN" TO A PERSONAL BLESSING

In maseches "Kesuvos" (65a), we learn of an incident involving the daughter-in-law of Nakdimon ben Guryon. The Chachamim (scholars) gave her a portion of wine each erev Shabbos from which she benefited. She "blessed" the Chachamim that their daughters should be apportioned wine in such a manner. However, the gemara notes that she was a yavam - her husband had died and she was supposed to marry a brother of his. Since the Chachamim were careful, they didn't respond "Amein" to her "b'racha" (bracha), as the gemara records, as that would have turned out for them to be a curse, as that would in effect mean that their sons-in-law would die.

Shortly after learning this piece of gemara, I responded "Amein" to a "b'racha" from someone, wishing that I would have a lot of distractions (the implication was that they were "good" distractions) so that I wouldn't focus on a certain potentially dangerous situation that the person considered unimportant. At that time, I was trying to extricate myself from that situation, and, for approximately one week, did have distractions - I got the stomach flu. However, as I was determined to move out from the potentially dangerous environment, HaShem gave me great assistance and the distractions didn't stop me - I moved out.

I only give this example as a way to better understand the potential seriousness of answering "Amein" when it shouldn't be answered. The rabbis, it might have seemed at first glance, were being blessed by this woman. However, the rabbis were careful to not recite "Amein", as that "blessing" could have turned out to be much more of a curse than a blessing. What one must be careful about is to look past all of the good aspects of the blessing to determine whether there is something negative mixed in - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and based on that, decide whether it is of benefit or potential detriment to answer "Amein" to the given b'racha.

Fear of HaShem or Fear of Man

2007-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

It is a busy erev Shabbos, so I'll make it short.

This post is important, of course, not to the exception of the others.

What takes precedence fear of HaShem (G-d), or fear of people.

Of course the fear of HaShem takes precedence, as we learn in The Torah, "...do not fear from before man, for the judgment belongs to G-d..." (Divarim: 1; 17) We learn in many places in The Torah where we are commanded to perform a certain mitzvah, and, following that, the pasuk states, "and you shall fear from your G-d". The above-quoted phrase is preceded in the same pasuk with the judge being instructed to not show favoritism in judgment regardless of whether the person is "great" or is "small". The qualified judge in matters of Torah law, is acting as the agent of HaShem, and would not being do so if he would show favoritism in judgment, regardless of whether it turns out that the judgment is correct or incorrect.

At certain points in history, there may be groups of people that wield a lot of power, whether physical, political, or both. Therefore, many leaders within the true Torah community may feel reticent to act in opposition to such people, as it may cause a "political firestorm" or may bring "anger" against those who act. I'm talking about a situation where the side which truly represents The Torah, (not those who merely dress the part, merely putting up a veneer of falsehood), act in a peaceful manner and expose the halachic truth (i.e. true Jewish law), not allowing themselves to be personally harmed, whether spiritually, physically, or both, by the other side who really affects them spiritually, knowingly, or, often, unknowingly. The B'nei Yisrael did not worship the golden calf. There were a few thousand individuals (from the erev rav - the "mixed multitude") who actually were involved in the worship of the golden-calf. That being the case, why are the B'nei Yisrael punished in light of their not having taken part in this egregious sin? Moshe prayed to HaShem to not wipe out the B'nei Yisrael as a result of this sin, it being so egregious. The answer is, that the B'nei Yisrael, who were by far greater in number than those who worshiped the golden-calf, didn't act to stop this terrible sin (Chur acted against them on his own and was murdered by the people). The people were held accountable for not taking action to quell the spiritually (and almost physically) disastrous sin of the few thousand.

It is very simple. HaShem tells us to act in a manner which we exhibit fear of G-d, rather than fear of man, when it comes to matters of Jewish law. If someone "discovers" a law, that is accepted, and has been accepted as the halacha for many years, and he sees that, with the exception of a relatively very small number of people, no one is taking action against the wrong, claiming that "there are two sides", then ask them to provide you the halachic source for that "other side". If they provide it and it is convincing, maybe that means there are truly two sides. However, if they can't provide any sources and it turns out that the lack of opposition a given wrong is due to political considerations, then intelligently act to rally many people behind you who will help you fight the battle on behalf of Torah and the truth - your army will consist of those who fear HaShem over man, and if you act for what is truly the truth, don't be surprised by any success, for it is HaShem who determines success - not man! Have a Good Shabbos and a K'siva V'Chasimah Tovah.

The Enemies of B'nei Yisrael - Attacking on All Sides

2007-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today there is much going on in the world and, apparently, much, (probably most) of it, is clearly centered around the Jewish People - especially in Israel.

The Jewish People, or, in Hebrew, The B'nei Yisrael, are being attacked both by those outside of Israel and those inside Israel.

RECENT NEWS

TRANSFER OF THOUSANDS OF U.S. MADE M-16'S TO TERRORISTS - APPROVED BY ISRAEL'S GOVERNMENT

The government of Israel has, this week, approved the transfer from Jordan of 3,000 M-16 assault weapons to Abbas' "Presidential Force 17" - one of the Palesitinian terror groups which has used the transfer of weapons against Jews in previous terror attacks - in fact, they, along with the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for every terrorist attack in Israel over the past two years. Furthermore, Hamas, in the past, notably in their recent Gaza "takeover", claimed to have obtained $400 million worth of U.S. munitions from the Fatah terrorists, including over 7,000 M-16's, 800,000 rounds of bullets, armored jeeps, and armored personnel carriers, among other U.S. produced weaponry. As well, even if Hamas will not be able to "take control" of the Palestinian populated areas of Yehuda and Shomron (the "West Bank"), they claim to be able to obtain the weapons in any case, as they have deeply infiltrated Fatah. No surprise, they both aspire to rid Israel of all of the Jews, just that Fatah "leaders" groom themselves better and wear the dress of the "Western World". So, Israel has approved the transfer of 3,000 American-made weapons to terrorists who "aspire" to murder Jews.

If such decision as the above would be left up to American and Israeli citizens, the Palestinian terrorists would effectively be guaranteed to never obtain any weapons from Israel or the United States.

THE PLAN OF THE U.S. AND ISRAELI GOVERNMENTS TO EXPEL APPROX. 500,000 JEWS FROM YEHUDAH AND SHOMRON (ALSO KNOWN AS "THE WEST BANK")

According to a recent report in Israel National News (INN), Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, bluntly said that "the occupation of the West Bank will have to end" - in other words, "the occupation" of the approximately .5 million Jews who live beyond the pre-1967 borders of Israel, consisting of approximately 260,000 who live in non-annexed parts of the "West Bank", as well as a similar Jewish population which resides in parts of the "West Bank" which have been annexed by Israel, including outlying neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Condoleezza Rice's position reflects the position of President Bush, who, on May 26, 2005, stated, as follows:

"Any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to. A viable two-state solution must ensure contiguity of the West Bank, and a state of scattered territories will not work. There must also be meaningful linkages between the West Bank and Gaza. This is the position of the United States today, it will be the position of the United States at the time of final status negotiations."

In effect, Israel would have to get the Palestinians to agree to receive only part of the "West Bank" in order to be "permitted" to maintain Israeli sovereignty over part of the "West Bank". Of course, the Palestinians, whose avowed mission is to rid Israel of all Jews, would never agree to that!

THE FORCED EXPULSION OF SPANISH JEWS IN 1492 AND THE PLANNED FORCED EXPULSION OF ISRAELI JEWS

Perhaps surprisingly to many, the famously notorious expulsion of Spain's Jews in 1492 is comparable, at least in magnitude, to the expulsion of up to approximately .5 million Jews from the "West Bank". In the Spanish expulsion, approximately 200,000 Jews were forcibly expelled from their homes in Spain, or close to half the number of Jews that currently live in the West Bank (which came under Israeli control during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Prime Minister Olmert has reportedly made public his willingness to relinquish Israel's highly-strategic Golan Heights to Syria, thereby not only putting Israel at a great strategic disadvantage physically, but would thereby force the expulsion of the approximately 18,000 Jews who currently reside in the Golan Heights, Heaven Forbid. Olmert made the strong implication that Israel would be willing to relinquish the Golan Heights by saying that he couldn't agree to Israel's complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights until negotiating with Syria. Doing the math, approx. 480,000 Jews expelled from the West Bank and the approximately 18,000 who would be expelled from the Golan Heights would be close to .5 million Jews who would be expelled from their homes in Israel. In other words, out of the roughly 5.3 million Jews who currently live in Israel, approximately 10% of the Jews in Israel would be forcibly expelled from their homes and land in the "West Bank" and "Golan Heights", only to strengthen the Palestinian terrorists in Israel and the Syrian enemy. The magnitude of such a massive expulsion of Jews would easily double the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1492. For greater perspective, such a massive expulsion would be proportional to the forced expulsion of all legal citizens from California (approx. 30 million legal Californians out of approx. 300 million Americans). No Californian in their right mind would agree to a government proposal to give California to Mexico right now, all the more so if Mexico would hypothetically be a terrorist state.

Below is a map of what Israel would look like after the creation of a Palestinian State (with the Golan, the "West Bank", and Gaza in orange, not being included as part of the State of Israel):

RUSSIA'S LARGEST ARM'S DEAL IN THREE DECADES - TO IRAN AND ITS' MISSILE DEFENSE OF MOSCOW

Russia is reportedly close to signing a massive arms deal with Iran - so large, in fact, that it would be the larger than any other arms deal that Russia has made in the past three decades. The deal includes the sale of 250 of Russia's advanced Sukhoi-30 MKM long-range fighter planes which is reportedly comparable to the F-15E. Iran's planned acquisition of the fighter planes Russia is also reportedly now setting up the world's most advanced missile defense system around Moscow.

AMERICAN DEFENSE DEAL WITH SAUDI ARABIA

President Bush has expressed his desire to sell $20 billion of advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia, as well as five other Persian Gulf states (and has proposed in increase in Israel's military aid from $2.4 billion to $3 billion each year). The defense deal would provide Saudi Arabia with a significantly larger air-force and military, which, ostensibly would be used to counter Iran. However, as much as Saudi Arabia may feel threatened by Iran, they also strongly differ from Israel, and, as do Israel's other neighbors, pose a military threat to Israel, especially if any war were to break out. When the United States sold advanced fighters to Saudi Arabia in the 1990's, Saudi Arabia agreed to not station any of the planes in close proximity to Israel. Since then, Saudi Arabia has violated their agreement and has, indeed, stationed planes in close proximity to Israel.

Perhaps the planned dealing with Saudi Arabia has to do with the below teaching:

Rabbi Yitzchak said: "The year that the King Mashiach reveals himself, all of the nations of the world will be provoking one another. The king of Persia will provoke the King of Arabia and the King of Arabia will go to the King of Aram to take advice from them. The king of Persia will [then] return and destroy the entire world and all the nations of the world will be in an uproar and will be confounded and they will say 'Where shall we come and go, to where shall we come and go.' And He (HaShem) shall say to them (the Jewish People), 'My sons, do not fear, everything that I have done, I have done only for you. For what are you fearing, do not fear, the time of your redemption has arrived..." Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, Yishayahu, 499

Either way, it would seemingly be better for Saudi Arabia to not have the added military strength which they could use against Israel if a major Middle-Eastern war breaks out.

UNPOPULARITY OF THE CURRENT ISRAELI GOVERNMENT

The current Israeli government, which is "miraculously" holding onto power despite Olmert's 3% (possibly lower) approval rating, apparently wishes to expel up to approximately .5 million Jews from their homes. Olmert stated that anyone who believes that Israel can hold onto the areas captured in the Six-Day War is "living in a dream". Olmert argues that it is necessary for Israel to maintain a Jewish majority, and one of the ways to do so is by giving away the "West Bank". Olmert's plan to "maintain a Jewish majority" runs at odds with a recent major demographic study which states that Jews comprise at least 60 percent of the total population between Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Deputy Prime Minister Ramon recently stated that Israel should make peace with the Palestinians now, by giving away (at least) most of the "West Bank". Ramon was quoted as describing the "West Bank" as a "threat" to Israel. In addition to his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the "West Bank", Ramon stated that he wants NATO troops to be stationed in the "West Bank" once it would be transferred to the Palestinians.

In light of all of the above, according to a recent poll conducted on behalf of "Kol Israel", the government in Israel, democratically elected on March 29, 2006, currently enjoys complete trust by as much as a full 2 percent of Israel's citizens! In contrast, 45 percent of Israelis expressed "complete distrust" in the Israeli government and another 35 percent said that Members of Israel's Knesset "contribute nothing to society or democracy" - that a total of 80 percent of Israel's citizens who have a completely negative outlook on the government of Israel, or a 40:1 ratio of people who are completely unhappy with Israel's government compared to those who are completely happy with the government!

NATO AND ISRAEL

It is not only Deputy Prime Minister Ramon who has expressed his desire to have NATO troops stationed in the "West Bank" subsequent to an expulsion of up to .5 million Jews from the area, but President Bush and NATO themselves have expressed an interest and willingness to participate in the plan. According to a report in a Jordanian newspaper, the Bush Administration has a plan in place to station 20,000 American troops, under the aegis of NATO, in Gaza and the "West Bank". NATO has similarly expressed its interest of sending their army in alone as part of a deal to create a Palestinian state in the "West Bank". However, NATO would prefer to enter the "West Bank" as part of an international force.

In light of NATO's great willingness to assist in the forced expulsion of as many as 500,000 Jews from their homes, NATO's explicit lack of support for Israel concerning the survival of the Jewish State in the face of an Iranian nuclear threat, is of no surprise. Though Israel estimates that Iran will have an operational nuclear warhead by the middle of 2009, NATO has officially informed Israel that they would have to "go it alone against Iran". NATO has informed Israel that she should be prepared to defend herself from Iran on her own and not expect any international support in Israel's struggle of survival in the face of an Iranian nuclear threat which would put over 6,000,000 Jews under great danger, chas v'shalom.

Of course, us, as Jews, should always rely only upon HaShem, and that may be our test in our trying times. Of course, it is important for us to take the proper physical measures to defend ourselves as well as improve ourselves through additional Torah study, prayer, improvement of Torah observance, and improvement of our middos (character traits). Notwithstanding, the above illustrates how NATO, in particular, as well as many in the world, are willing to volunteer to kick Jews out of their homes in Israel, but are straightforward in their lack of interest to help Israel fight for her survival.

FRANCE TO DEAL WITH IRAN?

According to a recent report in Debka, the United States has given France the responsibility of dealing with Iran. What is especially troubling is that France isn't known for being tough militarily. The above is especially troubling in light of the recent diplomatic exchanges between Iran, Hezbollah, and France - all of this with the approval of Washington. It seems as if the "world", especially the part not in immediate danger from Iran's missiles, seem to be lax in showing any serious military opposition to the real Iranian nuclear threat. The "world" seems to not have learned (or not cared to have learned) about the consequences of diplomacy with an enemy which has made numerous statements about their desires to get rid of Israel. A similar thing happened prior to WWII, and the world was dragged into WWII. Preemptive military attacks tend to accomplish much more than waiting. The world, and every individual, must learn that, though (assuming the "best" intentions), may seem preferable to be passive and not preempt real problems which threaten everyday life, that it is truly preferable, more rewarding, and safer to take the action that we all know is necessary. This is the lesson that the world should take and this is the lesson that we should take in opposition to the wrongs that we witness all around us.

By doing so, with HaShem's Help, we will experience the coming of Mashiach sooner than otherwise and lead to a world where we, and the world as a whole, will not experience such real dangers.

In the meantime, it is up to us to work on ourselves in our daily lives, help make the lives of others better, spread The teachings of the Torah to others, benefit ourselves through the learning and living of Torah, and improve our middos. Through our prayers, with the benefit of the increased merit gained through our fight to improve ourselves and the world around us, may we merit to experience great miracles in the near future and welcome the true Mashiach, who's identity is unknown to us, but will be revealed to us by HaShem at the proper time.

THE POWER OF OUR PRAYERS (TEFILLOS)

Remember, never say "what can I do?", never think that you have less ability on world events than do any of the world's leaders. The Jewish People have a special power - the power of speech. In order to drastically increase our power of speech and of our tefillos (prayers), we must do our utmost in avoiding forbidden types of speech such as slander and libel - lashon hara and motzi shem ra. Remember, we learn from the phrase "the voice is the voice of Ya'akov" (B'reishis: 27; 22) that the power of the B'nei Yisrael (Jewish People) is in our mouths - "for we cry out and we are answered" (RaSh"I on Bamidbar: 20; 16). Similarly, we read shortly before the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, that "[HaShem] answers His nation at the time that they cry out to Him." This follows that which it says in Parshas "Shmos", when some of the Jewish People prayed to HaShem to redeem them from the slavery of Mitzrayim (2; 23), "...and their cries arose to G-d from the servitude". The Kli Yakar on this pasuk, explains that there were two groups of people - the good people who prayed to HaShem to rescue them from the heavy burden of the slavery and the more lowly of the people were crying out against HaShem in complaint. The Kli Yakar explains that the pasuk specifies that it was the prayers of the people who asked HaShem to rescue them, which were answered. The Kli Yakar points out that the essence of the prayers of the people, (those who were not complainers), was in the heart. From here we can see that our tefillos (prayers) should not simply consist of the utterance of words, but we should understand and mean what we are saying. It was these people who's tefillos were answered. Similarly, prior to the splitting of the Yam Suf (Red Sea), Moshe said to The B'nei Yisrael, "HaShem will fight for you, and you shall be silent." (Shmos: 14; 14) On this pasuk, the Or HaChaim explains that the Jewish People should stand in prayer and thereby you shall silence the Attribute of Judgment. By increasing their prayers as Moshe had recommended, the prayers of The B'nei Yisrael would be heard in the Heavens, thus successfully silencing the Attribute of Judgment against The B'nei Yisrael. May we, as well, through our actions and our prayers, merit to overcome any negative decrees against ourselves and override any of the negative designs against The Jewish People (The B'nei Yisrael). Amein!

Major Middle-East War this Summer

2007-07-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

There is word about an impending war to take place in the Middle-East involving Israel - this war, as word has it, will take place this summer. The "rumor" that war will take place this summer, comes from great rabbis in Israel, Kabbalists, intelligence sources, and, l'havdil, leaders in the arab world. Leaders in the "Arab world" have regularly made statements prior to the previous major wars that they fought with Israel, promising a great victory on their behalf, only experiencing miraculous defeats to Israel, at the Hands of HaShem. This follows, that which we learn by the miraculous defeat of the Egyptian army thousands of years ago, at the Hand of HaShem - "HaShem will fight for you, and you shall be silent." (Shmos: 14; 14) Shortly after the miraculous destruction of the Egyptian army at the Hand of HaShem, the B'nei Yisrael sang the following to HaShem, recognizing the great miracles that He had performed on their behalf. One of the things which they said was, "Your right [Hand], HaShem, is girded in power, your right [Hand], HaShem, smashes the enemy." (Shmos: 15; 6) RaSh"I, on this pasuk, comments that HaShem's "right Hand" did something which is impossible for a person to do - two different actions performed simultaneously - HaShem saved The People of Israel from her Egyptian pursuers, while, simultaneously, smashing the Egyptian army.

SOME RABBIS WARN OF "GREAT, MIRACULOUS" WAR IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE

Arutz-Sheva recently reports that some Kabbalists and other leading rabbis are predicting that a major Middle-East war will break out in the near future. The report quotes Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlit"a, as saying that "HaShem will soon perform great miracles for the Jewish People." Other rabbis, according to the report, have either noted that Israel is currently in a position to quickly destroy her enemies and even experience miracles on the level of the miracles that occurred at the Exodus from Egypt.

Im yirtzeh HaShem (G-d Willing), The B'nei Yisrael will achieve a major victory over our enemeis, replete with miraculous miracles, in the near future. We should all do our part in achieving this victory by learning Torah, praying to HaShem with more kavana, improving our character traits and our relationship with other people, as well continually growing in our observance of the mitzvos.

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS AND ARAB THREATS OF WAR

According to a recent report in DEBKAfile, the leader of Iran met with the leader of Syria recently. Ahmadinejad - yimach sh'mo v'zichro v'nimach z'chur m'lihazkiro - told Assad, that he should stop expressing any willingness to discuss peace with Israel, as that is hampering his plans for a war this summer. He also explicitly declared his desire for a war with Israel, this summer. According to a recent report from Arutz-Sheva, Iran has agreed to finance Syria with a great deal of armaments, valued at 1 billion dollars, including 400 takes, fighter planes, and helicopters. Furthermore, Iran has attained approval from Syria to station part of their air-force in Syria - within close striking range of Israel.

WHAT WE SHOULD DO IN THIS CONTEXT

In addition to working on ourselves, by improving ourselves through the learning of Torah, improvement in middos (attributes), and our performance of our performance of the mitzvos, we should recognize that the victory comes from HaShem and should act in accordance. The power of The B'nei Yisrael is in our mouths - "the voice is the voice of Ya'akov" - this teaches us that the Jewish People possess a special power in our mouths. We should increase in our learning of the Torah and in our concentration during prayer, as well as avoiding speaking negatively against others, and we will, G-d Willing, see victory in the near future. Amein!

The Torah's Take on Financing Our Enemies

2007-06-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

The United States House of Representatives made the obvious decision to cut aid to Saudi Arabia and has as well voted to cancel the $220 million in military aid to Egypt, in a 241 - 178 vote. However, in other news, the Olmert government in Israel - setting new records of low popularity, with only 3% support - agrees to finance the Fatah terrorist organization - one of Israel's (and all Jews') sworn enemies. Financing Fatah, by Israel releasing $562 million to the bloodthirsty terrorist organization, is supposedly meant to prop them up against Hamas - another terrorist organization that wants to kill as many Jews as possible. The vote passed overwhelmingly in Olmert's cabinet, with 20 votes in favor and 2 votes against. No surprise the Olmert government is so unpopular.

U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT: MONEY TO FATAH COULD FALL IN HAMAS HANDS

According to U.S. News and World Report, the money transferred to Fatah terrorists stands a reasonable chance of falling into Hamas hands. Nevertheless, the Israeli government, with the support of the American administration, are planning on transferring money to terrorists at the same time when the U.S. House of Representatives showed their clear opposition to providing support to terrorists.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Anyone not blinded to truth and reality, would clearly see that funding those who openly speak - in Arabic - of throwing Jews into the ocean, as well as of committing terrible acts of terror against Jews, chas v'shalom, should be fought against, both spiritually and militarily, in order to protect Israel's citizens from those who would like to use that same money to murder Jews, Heaven Forbid. If the current Israeli government would care about the interest of its citizens over their own personal "gain", then they would make sure that no terrorist is permitted to live within the borders of Israel and would take every possible action to stop the funding of those terrorists by foreign nations (the borders of Israel include the so-called "West-Bank", as well as Gaza). To take the action of financially supporting and bolstering those whose goal is to wipe out any Jewish presence in The Land of Israel, clearly demonstrates something beyond stupidity. Such an action would more properly be termed as "suicidal" and "evil". With an approval rating lower than many of the world's dictators - and still maintaining power - it is all the more clear that there is some Divine reason for the current existence of this government. The head of the government even admits that Fatah and Hamas might form a unity government and that $562 million would then likely fall into Hamas' hand - How much more obvious can things get?

Of course, there is a Divine reason for anyone maintaining power, whether they be a good leader or a dangerous leader. In this case, we, as individuals, should fight for the safety and security of all Jews both in Israel and outside Israel. Perhaps if we were to improve our character traits, performance of the mitzvos, and emunah (belief) and bitachon (trust) in HaShem, then the current dangerous government would no longer have a reason to continue in its position of "leadership".

TORAH'S POSITION ON TRANSFERRING MONEY TO MURDERERS AND TERRORISTS

The Torah teaches us to not stand idly by the blood of our fellow (Vayikra: 19; 16) - this would require the government to stop the terrorism militarily in order to protect Jewish life.

We learn that saving a life is so important, that it supersedes the laws of the Shabbat - how much more so must the Israeli government not finance murderers.

The Torah forbids murder (Shmos: 20; 12) - This is a prohibition that applies to Jews and non-Jews. One who murders another intentionally to be liable for the death penalty: How is it then that the current governments has decided to provide over a half-billion dollars to terrorists?

The Torah commands us to "choose life" - "ובחרת בחיים" (Divarim: 30; 19) - also a popular slogan used in politics recently. How can one be choosing life by agreeing to finance terrorism?

WHY MAKE "PEACE" WITH TERRORISTS? WE ALREADY KNOW IT'S GUARANTEED TO FAIL

Message from thousands of years ago to the current "leaders" of the Israeli government, as well as to all of those past "leaders" involved in attempting to negotiate "peace" with the terrorists:

"Therefore, hear the word of HaShem, people of mockery who rule this nation in Jerusalem. For you have said, 'We have made a treaty with death and [together] with Sh'ole (hell) we have made a vision, when the flooding waters of destruction shall come, it shall not come to us, for we have made falsehood our shelter and we have hidden ourselves in lies.' Therefore, so says HaShem, G-d, 'Behold, I am making a foundation of stone in Tzion, a stone of protection, a valuable cornerstone... and your treaty with death would be annulled and your vision with sh'ole shall not stand, when the flooding [of destruction] shall pass, it shall come to trample [you]." (Yeshayahu: 16 - 18)

The next verse in sefer "Yeshayahu" comes to note of the destructive results of this attempted treaty with death.

It is clear from Torah sources that such a treaty is not only bound to failure but is also dangerous.

If the current government in Israel wants to improve its standing in the eyes of its citizens, send the $562 million to the many hungry children in Israel instead of those whose desire is to murder those children, Heaven Forbid.

May HaShem send us the Mashiach soon and bring the entire world to the true recognition that safety and security comes from HaShem, not from the current government in Israel.

"Pride Parade" - Aftermath

2007-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

According to a recent article in Israel National News, though the "Pride Parade" took place, as scheduled, the post-parade "party" was cancelled due to a firefighters strike. After three petitions against the "parade" were rejected by the "Supreme Court" in Israel, including petitions by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky and Shas MK Eli Yishai, the Court finally cancelled the post-parade party due to a last-minute petition filed against the party due to a firefighters strike. The post-parade party would have almost inevitably been worse than the parade itself as the participants would have likely been more lewd than while marching in the parade. So, many people were opposed to the parade and HaShem orchestrated things to occur in a manner whereby the post-parade "party" was cancelled. We should never give up and never surrender until we win the war against promiscuity completely.

A short distance away from the parade of perversion, which, according to the news, netted 2,000 participants, l'havdil, there was a peaceful prayer rally in another part of Yerushalayim, in spiritual opposition to the anti-Torah "pride parade". This pro-Torah gathering, in opposition to the "pride parade", netted 3,000 people.

It is very interested that 7,000 policemen were sent in to "protect" the participants in the "pride parade" - that would be 3.5 policemen for each participant in the parade. Is that overdoing it? It might seem to be the case, but, perhaps not. For, we see, that HaShem protects The Jewish People when they don't doing things which would drive His Presence (Shechinah) away from their midst. The people who were at the prayer rally, I believe, did not have any "protection" from the police - protection from HaShem is far superior any day. However, to protect the "pride parade" the police set aside 7,000 policemen for the "protection" of 2,000 "pride" marchers. This simply follows that which we learn in our Holy Torah, as it says, "For HaShem your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to place your enemies before you and your camp shall be holy and there shall not be seen a thing of nakedness in your midst [lest] He turn from behind you." (Deuteronomy: 23; 15) On the above pasuk from The Torah, the Chofetz Chaim, zt"l, writes that immodesty drives the Divine Presence out of the Jewish camp. With the constant threat of terrorism, chas v'shalom, among many other things, we constantly rely on HaShem's protection, whether or not we are cognizant of that. Therefore, we should continue to fight against lewdness and fight on improvement of our Torah observance, as well as that of the entire Jewish People. Furthermore, we should work on our middos - character traits. By doing the above, we will continue to fight to preserve and increase the presence of HaShem's Shechinah within our midst. May we be successful in improving ourselves and the world around and overcome all darkness with the light of The Torah. Amein!

Opposing the so-called "Pride Parade"

2007-06-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

We are living in a time when there is constantly the threat of war hanging over the Jewish People in Israel, not to mention the threat of World War, with Iran building up a nuclear arsenal with the not-so-hidden intention to use such weapons against the Jewish People in Israel, Heaven Forbid. Now, intelligence experts in Israel are warning of a war with Syria, this war may break out as early as this summer, chas v'shalom. Taking into account last year's war with the Hezbollah, it is all the more obvious how much more so we are in need of HaShem's Help to protect us - HaShem's sheep - surrounded by packs of dangerous lions.

Now, in spite of all of this, the enemies of of HaShem and of The Torah, are determined to trample on the holiness of our dear city of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by parading through Jerusalem in under fourteen (14) hours, Heaven Forbid. These people who are taking part in the parade don't care that their "lifestyle" is considered to be an abomination by HaShem Himself, nor do they care that the vast majority of Jerusalem strongly opposes this march through Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, those individuals who hope to take part in the parade - the self-described paragons of tolerance - hope to display that "tolerance" in spite of all of those "intolerant" people who don't want their children exposed to a "lifestyle" which is truly an abomination. The "powers that be" - including the "Court" seem to not be taking much interest in preventing the "parade". S ee some of my previous posts related to the "pride parade".

Ignoring all of the danger that the Jewish People currently find themselves in, it seems as if the "powers-that-be" in Israel are forgetting - probably ignoring - the Lebanon War of last year and the unprecedented number of planned terrorist attacks which preceded/coincided with the planned time for the "international pride parade". Especially in times of war, we are warned against giving in to a state of immodesty and promiscuity, as we learn in Targum Yonasan ben Uziel on Devarim (23; 15). See some of my previous posts related to the dangers of promiscuity. It is our obligation, as we have the G-d given ability to protest, to do what we can in opposition to this "parade". We should send letters to elected officials, including to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky - see below for his contact information.

SPREAD THE WORD AND FIGHT AGAINST THE "PRIDE PARADE" IN JERUSALEM:

NOTE: IF POSSIBLE, IT IS PREFERABLE TO SEND IN FAXES OF YOUR LETTERS, AS YOUR LETTERS WILL HELP FLOOD THEIR OFFICES.

lpuri@jerusalem.muni.il

FAX: +972-2-6296014, +972-2-6296004

Eliahu Yishai - head of the Shas party: Fax #: +972-2-666-2909, email eyishay@knesset.gov.il.

Form letter to religious officials:

Dear Mayor Lupoliansky (name of other official),

I join my voice along with the majority of the residents of The Holy City of Jerusalem and many others worldwide, to oppose the "pride parade" scheduled for today. It is our responsibility to uphold the dignity of Yerushalayim, and not let the few override the many who are opposed to such a disgrace of our Holy City. Additionally, this event and events like it, threaten the security and stability in the city.

G-d has given you the power and influence to oppose this parade. If the people feel that through you they have a voice within the government, vigilantism will diminish and there will be security and stability. Even if you're not successful in stopping the parade, clear public statements of opposition would still have a tremendous impact socially and spiritually. May HaShem grant you success in these endeavors to save the Jewish People from such parades that detract from the holiness of our Holy City of Jerusalem.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Form letter to secular officials:

Jerusalem Police: Fax# +972-2-5391391. If the Jerusalem police can be convinced that the parade is a security risk, they would likely call it off.

Dear ____,

I want to register my serious concern, along with a majority of the residents of Jerusalem and many others worldwide, over the upcoming "pride parade". Such a parade is anathema to the character of the City of Jerusalem and greatly offends the values and the sensibilities of its residents. Additionally, this event and events like it, threaten the security and stability in the city.

Even if you're not successful in stopping the parade, clear public statements of opposition would still have make an important political and social impact. If the people feel that through you they have a voice within the goverment, vigilantism will diminish and there will be security and stability. I urge you to fulfill your obligation to serve the people of Jerusalem and preserve the character of this holy city.

Sincerely,
Your Name

We hope that HaShem will cancel the "pride parade", especially now that many Jews have made their voices heard in opposition to such a defilement of the holiness and sanctity of the Jewish People and of The Holy City of Jerusalem. HaShem cancelled the parade for the last two years, G-d Willing it will be cancelled this year as well.

May we have the merit in joining together with everyone else who has made their voices heard in opposition to such a parade. Amein!

Please make your opposition known against this "parade".

May we all merit to see the Holiness of Jerusalem completely restored with the coming of the Mashiach speedily in our days. Amein!

THE IMPORTANCE OF REGISTERING YOUR OPPOSITION

Sefer Chasidim (153): "...And you have saved your nefesh" (Yechezkhel) However it doesn't say you merited - zachisa - or you were correct - tzadakta, rather you have saved your nefesh - hitzalta. From here [we learn] that for everything that a person is punished and he doesn't warn him to say "do not do it", behold, [then with regards to] all of the punishment that [the sinner] receives, it is considered as if this one [who failed to warn the sinner in advance], killed him, for he should have warned him and didn't warn him and the blood of [the sinner] is demanded from [the one who could have warned the sinner]. This is [the meaning of] "...and I shall seek out his blood from your hands". (Yechezkhel: 3; 18)

Sha'arei Teshuvah (Sha'ar 3): And Shlomo said [in Mishlei] (24; 10) "You have made yourself weak on a day of trouble, your power has been limited." The explanation of the above being, "If you possess the power to save with advice or with effort and you make yourself appear as if you don't have the ability - your power will [then] be limited, middah k'neged middah. Subsequently, [Shlomo writes in pasuk 12], "Perhaps you shall say, 'Behold, we did not know of this', Behold The One who establishes hearts, He will understand, and The One Who formed your soul, He will know, and He shall return to the person according to his action." Behold, holding back from rescuing and [from] giving advice toward saving, The Holy One, Blessed is He, will consider it as if this person acted [in the negative].

Menoras Ha'Maor, chapter 3: Therefore, [one who is] a fitting leader, if he is an important person and it is fitting to listen to his words, he is obligated to rebuke the sinners and to object to [their sinning] - v'limchos b'yadam - until they perform teshuvah. And if he doesn't rebuke them and doesn't object, [the sinners] are destroyed in their evil and he is punished concerning them, as it says, "when he says to the evildoer, '[Evildoer], you shall surely die' and you did not speak to him to warn the evildoer [to return] from his path (of evil, in order to allow him to live), he is an evildoer, due to his sin he shall die and I shall seek his blood from your hand. (See Yechezkhel (3; 18) However, if you warned him and he did not return from his sin, he (the evildoer) shall die due to his sin, and you have rescued yourself. [Furthermore], we learn in maseches "Shabbos", "[Concerning] all of those who are able to object [to the wrongful actions of the people of his city and he doesn't object, he is held accountable for the people of his city."

Special Tefillah (prayer) Today for one's Children

2007-05-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

As I write, erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan quickly approaches - this year corresponding to the night of May 16 and day of May 17. There was a very great rabbi who composed a special prayer for parents to recite for their children. Though this prayer may be recited throughout the year for one's children, the Shloh - the rabbi who composed this prayer - recommends that it be said the day before Rosh Chodesh Sivan - the month on which the Torah was given - as that is a particularly auspicous time for the prayer to be recited. Any parent who wishes to recite that tefillah (prayer), can find the text and its translation by clicking on this link. Otherwise, for the Hebrew text, please find it immediately below. Artscroll offers a three page Hebrew-English translation of this special tefillah which can be found by clicking here. I would recommend checking out their site as well. (Note on reciting of HaShem's Name: On Artscroll's site, they write a "ד" which designates HaShem's Name, pronounced "א-דני", as well as writing a "אלקינו" instead of "א-להינו" - the way it should be read when reciting the prayer, and "קל" is written when it should be pronounced as "א-ל".) May all of our tefillos for the good be answered. Amein! May all of our tefillos for the good be answered. Amein!

Parshas HaMan: Recognition That All Our Sustenance Comes from HaShem

2007-04-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

It is important for each individual to recognize, not only in one's heart, but also verbally, that all of our parnasah (livliehood) and sustenance in general, comes from HaShem. One way to make such a verbal recognition is by reciting "Parshas HaMan" - the Torah portion in Parshas B'Shalach that deals with the manna that HaShem provided the Israelites in the Sinai wilderness.

THE POWER OF THE RECITATION OF "PARSHAS HaMAN"

The Talmud Yirushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud) notes that one is guaranteed that their sustenance will not be lacking if they daily recite this "Parshas HaMan" which spans sefer Shmos, chapter 16, verses 4 - 36. Keeping in mind the above, this is a very worthwhile Torah portion to recite daily. However, please keep in mind that the recitation of this portion is meant for the individual to recognize and have emunah (belief) that all of their sustenance comes from HaShem. In addition to the recitation of this Torah portion, I would recommend that a person improves his/her middos (character traits) and performance of mitzvos. Such an improvement in one's Torah observance, coupled with the recitation of Parshas HaMan and emunah that HaShem provides all of one's sustenance would be all the more beneficial (as I see it) to achieving the benefits of Parshas HaMan. According to "Tzon Yosef", one should recite the portion twice in the Torah text and once in the Aramaic text of Onkelos.

G-d Willing, we will all benefit from in improvement in our Torah observance and our financial situations. Amein!

Pesach: Salvation from Mitzrayim and Salvation from Lavan

2007-03-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

NOTE: UPDATED - 18 NISSAN

At the Pesach seder, we recite the passage from the Torah dealing with Lavan's sinister plan of wiping out our forefather Ya'akov, including Ya'akov's children, his own grandchildren he claimed to love so much. The phrase we quote is as follows:

"...an Aramean [intended to] destroy my father, and he descended to Egypt, and he (Ya'akov) lived there with a small population, and he became a great, mighty, and numerous nation." (Divarim: 26; 5)

RaSh"I comments on the above that Lavan, at the point in time that he overtook Ya'akov (Bireishis: 31; 23), he intended to "uproot everything" that would become the Jewish People, however, due to HaShem's kindness toward us, He did not allow Lavan to carry out his evil intentions. The pasuk states that "...an Aramean destroyed my father (Ya'akov)...", for the evil intentions of the gentiles are considered as if they had actually been carried out.

We know that Lavan and Paroh both intended to wipe out the Jewish People (or what would become the Jewish People), only to be stopped in their evil designs by HaShem. However, there is more of a connection between the incident involving Lavan's pursuit of Ya'akov and Paroh's pursuit of the Jewish People, than may meet the eye at "first glance" during the seder.

LAVAN AND PAROH: "PURSUE AND DESTROY" THE JEWISH PEOPLE - A FURTHER LOOK INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO INCIDENTS

Ya'akov's exodus from the "House of Lavan":

"And Ya'akov arose and he lifted his children and his wives onto the camels. And he led all of his flocks and all of his property that he acquired, that which he acquired through [the sale of] his flocks which he acquired in Padan Aram, to come to his father Yitzchak, to the Land of K'na'an... And he (Ya'akov), and all that which belongs to him, fled and he arose and he crossed the [Euphrates] River... And it was told to Lavan on the third day, for Ya'akov had fled. And he (Lavan) took his brothers with him, and he pursued him, [covering a] path [equivalent to] a seven day journey and he (Lavan) overtook him at the mountain of Gilad... And Lavan said to Ya'akov... "...There is within my power to act with evil against you, and The G-d of your (pl.) father, last night, said to me saying, 'Guard yourself from speaking from good to evil with Ya'akov." (Bireishis: 31; 17 - 18, 21 - 23, 26, 29)

The Children of Israel's Exodus from Mitzrayim:

"And it was told to the King of Egypt, for the Nation [of Israel] had fled, and the hearts of Paroh and his servants changed, concerning the Nation [of Israel], and they said, 'What is this which we have done, for we have sent Israel away from serving us. And he (Paroh) harnessed his chariot, and he took his nation with him. And he took six-hundred choice chariots, as well as all of the chariots of Egypt, and officers over all of them. And HaShem hardened the heart of Paroh, the King of Egypt, and he pursued after The Children of Israel, and The Children of Israel were leaving with a high hand (with great and a public display of strength). And Egypt pursued after them, and all of the horses, chariots, horsemen, and army of Paroh caught up with them [while they were] encamped at the Sea [of Reeds]... And The Children of Israel raised up their eyes, and, behold, Egypt was pursuing after them, and they greatly feared, and The Children of Israel cried out to HaShem... And Moshe said to the Nation [of Israe], 'Do not fear, stand up and see the Salvation of HaShem, which He will perform for you today, for just as you see Egypt today, you shall not continue to see them again, forever. HaShem will fight for you, and you shall be silent." (Shmos: 14; 5 -10, 13 - 14)

SOME OF THE SIMILARITES POINTED OUT

1. Paroh and Lavan caught up with The Children of Israel and Ya'akov, respectively, on the seventh day.

2. They both intended on wiping out what would become the Jewish People.

3. Ya'akov and the B'nei Yisrael left the servitude of their "masters" (Lavan and Mitzrayim, respectively), for whom they had no obligation to continue working for.

4. HaShem miraculously saved Ya'akov and The B'nei Yisrael from destruction at the hands of their enemies.

5. Ya'akov was shepherding for Lavan, separated from him by a three day journey, and Paroh told the B'nei Yisrael that they could journey into the desert for three days to worship HaShem.

6. Amalakite messengers informed Lavan of Ya'akov's departure. Amalakite messengers informed Paroh of the B'nei Yisrael not wishing to return to servitude in Egypt.

7. On the fourth day after the respective departures of Ya'akov and the B'nei Yisrael, Lavan and Paroh began their pursuits of their former laborers.

8. Ya'akov crossed one river on his journey from Lavan prior to being overtaken and one river afterwards. The B'nei Yisrael crossed the Nile River prior to being overtaken by Paroh and his army and crossed the Yam Suf after being overtaken.

9. Ya'akov and The B'nei Yisrael were being pursued on their way to Eretz Yisrael - to a Land of freedom from oppressors, and, most importantly, improvement in spiritual growth and the service of HaShem.

10. Lavan and Paroh, wanted Ya'akov and The B'nei Yisrael, respectively, to stay with them, because HaShem blessed these risha'eem due to the presence of the righteous progenitors of The Jewish People who were living in their midst.

11. The gimatria of Arami (in the haggadah, this word is used in reference to Lavan) + Paroh (ארמי + פרעה) = The number 606, the equivalent number of commandments that The Jewish People have over the seven Noahide laws the rest of world 606 + 7 = 613. These evildoers, by their pursuit of the future Jewish People, wished to prevent us from attaining the additional 606 mitzvos. They came armed with their weapons - כלי זין - with which they wished to destroy us. Lavan wished to destroy us with his witchcraft, using his mouth, and Paroh came with his army, employing the use of physical weapons. The pronunciation of the word for the letter "zayin" - "ז", is the same as the Hebrew word "זין", which means "weapon". The letter "ז" also resembles a sword in appearance, having two "handles", with a long line protruding from it. Thus, not only did Lavan the Aramean and Paroh wish to prevent the future Jewish People from obtaining the additional 606 mitzvos, but they wished to deny the Seven Noahide laws from them by destroying them. If Lavan or Paroh would have been "successful" in their missions to wipe out the future Jewish People, they would have denied the entire world the performance of its Seven Noahide Laws, for the world would have discontinued to exist. This is the case, for HaShem created the world on the condition that The B'nei Yisrael would accept The Torah, if they would not accept The Torah, the world would cease to exist. We learn in The Zohar that HaShem looked into The Torah and created the world from it, The Torah being the blueprint of the world. Therefore, by protecting the progenitors of The Jewish People from destruction at the hands of their enemies, HaShem saved the entire world from destruction. (Note: Our Rabbis expound that Roos, the convert to Judaism, from whom King David and the Mashiach are descended, accepted 606 additional commandments upon herself with the acceptance of The Torah Way of Life. This is hinted to in the gematria of Roos' name - רות = 606. The above teaching somewhat resembling this one.)

Parshas Zachor - The Mitzvah to Wipe out Amalek Every Generation: Who is Amalek?

2007-02-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

This week is "Parshas Zachor" - the second of the four special Torah readings, it deals with the obligation of every Jew to wipe out Amalek in every generation:

"Remember that which Amalek did to you on the path at the time that you left Egypt. That he met you on the path and he attacked all of those who were lagging behind you and you were tired and weary and [Amalek] did not fear G-d. And it shall be when HaShem, your G-d, will give you rest from all of your surrounding enemies, in the Land which HaShem, your G-d, has given you as a portion to inherit you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from below the Heaven, do not forget." (Divarim: 25: 17 - 19)

This year, Purim falls out the day after we read "Parshas Zachor". In the special Torah reading on Purim, we read as follows:

"...For you shall surely destroy the memory of Amalek from below the Heaven... And [Moshe] said, for a hand is upon the Throne of HaShem, a war for HaShem against Amalek from generation to generation." (Parshas Bishalach: Shmos: 17; 14, 16)

On this week's special haftorah for Parshas Zachor, the Malbi"m comments on the five unique aspects of Amalek that set them aside from all other nations. In the haftorah, we read of HaShem's command to King Shaul to completely wipe out the nation of Amalek and destroy all of their animals, as well as to destroy all of their property. Shaul did not properly follow the command of HaShem and left Agag alive, as well as sparing some of the animals. For this sin, HaShem determined that Shaul would lose the kingship and would be replaced by David, "your fellow who is better than you". (Shmuel I: 15; 2 - 34)

The Malbi"m explains that the differences between Amalek and other nations are as follows:

1) Nations often fight against other countries in order to conquer a country. However, Amalek attacked the Jewish People when they were merely on the path, not for territorial gain.

2) A nation may fight a war out of fear of an approaching nation that may be posing it danger. However, the Jewish People were distant from Amalek's land, having just left Egypt.

3) Due to quarrel or enmity. However, Amalek just "happened" upon the Jewish People "on the path", without any previous contact.

4) In order to demonstate a nation's might, they may decide to fight against another nation. However, Amalek attacked all of the those stragglers who were tired and weary.

5) The religious belief that G-d wishes to wipe out a nation due to their lack of belief in the religion and G-d. However, this didn't apply, for Amalek "did not fear G-d".

However, in truth, it was due to Amalek's denial of HaShem and their wish to show that HaShem is not capable of bringing the Jewish People into the Land of Israel, and their declared war against HaShem that led them to attack the Jewish People, they being HaShem's Chosen Nation.

The commentator, Sforno, when discussing the Torah portion related to the destruction of Amalek in the end of Parshas Bishalach, quotes the gemara in maseches Sanhedrin (20b), which teaches that, upon entering The Land of Israel, the Jewish People were commanded concerning three things: 1) The appointment of a king, 2) The destruction of Amalek, and 3) To build the Beis HaMikdash.

Yonasan ben Uziel comments that Amalek is to be destroyed from "the generation of the world, from the generation of Mashiach, and from the generation of The World to Come."

We read in the haggadah every year about the nations which rise up every generation, unsuccessfully seeking the destruction of the Jewish Nation. "Rather, in every generation they rise up over us to annihilate us. And The Holy One, Blessed is He, saves us from their hands."

It is interesting to note that in the Haggadah of the Tashbeitz, he mentions the Persians as one of the nations which have risen up against the Nation of Israel in the past. Today, of all the nations, Iran (Persia) is the nation which is the most outspoken in their desire to destroy Israel. However, HaShem will save us from their hands and if they try to attack Israel, chas v'shalom, they will be the one's who are assured of loss.

Concerning these types of nations which seek to annihilate us, we read from Psalms and from Eichah, as follows:

"Pour out Your anger against the nations who do not know You and upon the kingdoms who do not call out in Your Name. For they have consumed Ya'akov and have laid his Beis HaMikdash in waste." (Tehillim: 79; 6 - 7) "Pour out Your wrath upon them and [allow] Your outward anger overtake them." (Tehillim: 69; 25) "Pursue them with wrath and destroy them from below the Heaven of HaShem." (Eichah: 3; 66)

The third pasuk quoted above from sefer "Tehillim" is interesting. The RaDa"K comments that HaShem's Anger overtaking these evildoers occurs in a manner in which they are unable to flee from that anger. Furthermore, the term "pour" could refer to water. The pasuk immediately following is interesting in this context: "Their large buildings shall become desolate, in their tents there will not be a dweller." (Tehillim: 69; 26 - based on MaLBI"M) In addition, it is interesting that David, in this chapter of Tehillim, prays to HaShem to save him from from the depths of the water and from the destructive, quickly flowing waters and asks HaShem to "Save me from mire and I shall not drown, save me from my enemies and from the deep waters." (Tehillim: 69; 15) Thus, David is asking HaShem to save him from two things which can threaten the safety and well-being of a person - destructive waters and his enemies.

We ask HaShem, that just as those who are evildoers are compared to destructive water, midah k'neged midah - measure for measure, that, iy"H, they be punished with a destructive type of water, while those who are good, should, in contrast, iy"H, benefit from waters of blessing.Amein! Click on this paragraph for a further discussion of waters of blessing and of punishment, largely in the context of the salvation of the Jewish People and, l'havdil, destruction of the Egyptian army during the K'rias Yam Suf (Splitting of the Sea of Reeds).

SIMILARITIES TODAY WITH THE NATION OF AMALEK

Nowadays, there is a group of people who live in the Land of Israel and have, on the most part, been bred to live a life of death. These people murder Jews because they are Jews. They attack the defenseless, attack a Nation who believes in HaShem, they attack a Nation which is known for its military might, thus with no realistic hope of overcoming them. The Jewish Nation has time and again reached out to these people to offer them peace and Land, but, in exchange, have been the victim of violent terrorist attacks. They know that the Jewish People are a peaceful Nation and, therefore, do not fear their presence in the Land of Israel. This sounds just like the five characteristics of Amalek, described above. This also sounds like the current-day "Pilishtim", for the most part.

Interestingly enough, we read of the following description of the "Pilishtim" in sefer "Yichezkhel" (25, 15 - 17):

"So says HaShem Elokim, because the Pilishtim acted with revenge, and they took revenge with contempt of the soul, to destroy with eternal enmity: Therefore, so says HaShem Elokim, behold, I am stretching My Hand upon the Philishtim, and I am cutting off (V'hicrati) the Kereisim, and I am Destroying the remnant of the seashore: And I Shall do in their midst great acts of Revenge with Rebukes of Anger, and they shall know that I am HaShem when I Place My Revenge in their midst:"

Yechezkhel's description of the Pilishtim - "contempt of soul" and "eternal enmity" directed against the Jewish People, certainly bears resemblance to the description of Amalek's inbred hatred of the Jewish People.

The above description of the punishment of the Pilishtim may be referring to a future event directed against them, ostensibly a tsunami. For a related discussion click here.

Whoever Amalek truly is, in advance of this Shabbos Parshas "Zachor", we ask HaShem to help us rid the world of Amalek and thus bring about true peace. Amein!

[Posted 12:09]

Parshas Bishalach: Waves of Destruction and Waves of Salvation

2007-01-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

This Shabbos, we celebrate "Shabbos Shirah" - "The Shabbos of Song", for we are commemorating having sung "Az Yashir..." to HaShem for having saved us from the pursuing Egyptian forces while we were crossing the Yam Suf - "Sea of Reeds". This parsha, we will read "Parshas Bishalach", which discusses, among other things, the miraculous salvation of the Jewish People from the Egyptian army that was intent on attacking the Jewish People and regaining what they thought to be their wealth.

This Shabbos will also be Tu B'Shvat, The New Year for the Fruit Trees, thus making an already special Shabbos all the more special.

However, I am not going to discuss Tu B'Shvat so much in this post, rather, I will discuss the power of water to bring salvation or to bring destruction, of which K'rias Yam Suf is the ultimate example.

If one counts Shabbos as being the middle of the week, the fourth aliyah of the parsha would correspond to the day of Shabbos. This week, the fourth aliyah is the one that discusses the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Yam Suf and, thereby, the completion of the salvation of the Jewish People from the Egyptian people. In this aliyah, we also find included the song that the Jewish People sang to thank HaShem for their miraculous redemption from the Egyptians.

The fourth aliyah begins as follows:

"And HaShem said to Moshe, stretch your hand upon the sea and the water shall return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen. And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea and the sea returned at the time of dawn to its [original] strength and Egypt was fleeing toward it, and HaShem shook up in the midst of the Sea. And the water returned and covered and it covered the chariots and the horsemen for the entire army of Paroh who were coming after [the Jewish People] into the Sea, not even one of them remained. And The Children of Israel went on the dry land in the midst of the Sea, and the water was a wall for them, [on] their right and [on] their left. And HaShem brought salvation on that day to Israel from the hand of Egypt, and Israel saw Egypt dead, upon the seashore. And Israel saw the Great Hand which HaShem performed against Egypt, and the nation feared HaShem, and they placed their belief in HaShem and in Moshe, His servant." (Shmos: 14; 26 - 31)

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN WATERS OF BLESSING AND WATERS AND DESTRUCTION AND WHY EACH COME

In sefer "Yishayahu", we have two pisukim that discuss words that relate to water, one that refers to waters of blessing and one that refers to waters of destruction. Each of these words refer to righteous people and cruel people, respectively.

The pasuk from sefer Yishayahu, which refers to waters of blessing, states as follows:

ונתן לכם א-דני לחם צר ומים לחץ ולא יכנף עוד מוריך והיו עיניך ראות את מוריך

"And G-d will give you meager amounts of bread and small amounts of water, and your early rains (morecha) will not continue to be withheld from you, and your eyes shall see your teacher (morecha)." (Yishayahu: 30; 20)

The MaLBI"M explains that the first time that the term "morecha" is used, it refers to the early rains of blessing, as is mentioned in Parshas Eikev (Divarim: 11; 14), and the second "morecha" refers to your teacher.

The MaLBI"M refers to another example where the same word means two different things in the case of water, as follows:

ארצכם שממה עריכם שרפות אש אדמתכם לנגדכם זרים אכלים אתה ושממה כמהפכת זרים

"Your land is desolate, your cities are burned by fire, your land, in front of you cruel (zarim) people are consuming it, and its desolation is like being overturned by destructive waters (zarim)." (Yishayahu: 1; 7)

The MaLBI"M explains on the above that zarim - cruel people - consume the land's produce, the desolation being so complete and affecting every person, that it is compared to destructive waters that flow in (zarim) and destroy that which is upon the land. The MaLB"M explains this destruction as referring to the siege on Yirushalayim by the Babylonians. Such destruction is compared to destructive waters that flow in (such as a tsunami) that leave no remainder after they have brought their destruction.

From the above, we see that the Hebrew term for cruel people - zarim, is precisely the term used to describe the destructive waters, whereas the purveyors of Torah are compared to "morecha" - waters of blessing, the early rains. Therefore, we see a clear relationship between the righteous and blessing and the evil and destruction.

Elsewhere, in the context of "zerem" - destructive flowing waters, we learn in sefer "Chavakuk", that in the End of Days, the water will rise above the mountains to destroy the enemies of the Jewish People, however, the Jewish People will remain safe from such waters. The above is taken from the MaLBI"M on sefer "Chavakuk" (3; 10). Elsewhere, the MaLBI"M explains that a "zerem" of water is a flow of water that comes in and floods everything carrying what is in its path for a far distance. (Yishayahu: 28; 2)

THE CHAPTERS OF TEHILLIM THAT CORRESPOND TO THE FIFTEENTH OF THE JEWISH MONTH AND ITS SIGNICANCE IN TERMS OF WATER

The chapters of Tehillim that are recited on the fifteenth day of the Jewish month are the 77th and 78th chapters of Tehillim. Amazingly enough, both of these chapters discuss the miraculous salvation that HaShem performed for us at the splitting of the Red Sea. From what has been written up to this point, we should learn that, for those who are cruel, in this case the Egyptians, HaShem brought destructive waters to destroy them. However, in the case of the Jewish People who were redeemed to accept the Torah and bring truth and righteousness to the world, the waters had the opposite affect, splitting for the Jewish People, "preparing" a path for their ultimate salvation from their Egyptian oppressors. Here, in this case, the People that was meant to accept the Torah and purvey the Torah's teachings to one another and bring light and truth to the world, were spared, with the same water that was destrutive for the Egyptians, being a blessing for the Jewish People.

THE MIDDLE OF "SHOVAVI"M TA"T" - THE EIGHT WEEKS OF REPENTANCE (SOMETIMES IT IS REFERRED TO AS SIX WEEKS)

If destruction comes upon others, even our enemies, what can we learn from that?

Two weeks ago, in Parshas VaEira, RaSh"I comments on the phrase, "And I shall harden Paroh's heart", that since nations - in this case Egypt - would not completely wish to repent for their sins, it is better that HaShem harden Paroh's heart and bring suffering upon Egypt so that the Jewish People will witness the destruction that Egypt is suffering, and, thereby, themselves, repent. Quoting from Tzifaniah, RaSh"I supports the above statement with a verse that states how HaShem brings destruction to the nations. (Tzifaniah: 3; 6)

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CRUEL AND PURVERYORS OF THE "CULTURE" OF DEATH - SALVATION FROM SUCH EVIL

We read in chapter 28 of sefer "Yishayahu" of a prophecy relating how some leaders in the Land of Israel would make a covenant with death, employing falsehood as a necessary means to arrive at that goal.

What happens?

The chapter notes that this treaty will be washed away.

In the merit of this Parshas Bishalach, may the world witness "waters of salvation" and blessing for those are good. In contrast, the purveyors of death and cruelty, such as the Egyptians in the time of the Jewish Exodus, might witness those waters which are described as "zarim".

May HaShem bring peace and truth to the whole world speedily in our days! Amein!

The Tenth of Teves: The Downfall of Yirushalayim and the Downfall of Israel's Enemies

2006-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

The tenth day of the Hebrew month of Teves of the Jewish year 3,328 (+/- 1 year), the evil Babylonian King, Nevuchadnetzar sent his head slaughterer, Nevuzaradan, (yimach shimo), to Jerusalem to take over the city. The siege of Jerusalem began on the 10th of Teves and lasted for approximately a decade, until the first Beis HaMikdash (Jewish Temple) was destroyed. This destruction preceded the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash. Therefore, we fast on the 10th of Teves, to recount this terrible tragedy, among other tragedies that occurred on that day.

It is interesting to note that Saddam Hussein, yimach shimo (his name should be blotted out), was executed on the 9th of Teves. Saddam Hussein, yimach shimo, fancied himself and his cruel dictatorial rulership after the evil Nivuchadnetzar. He even believed himself to be a reincarnation of that terrible leader. One of his goals as "leader" of Iraq, was to rebuild Babylon, Nevuchadnetzar's city. I would not be surprised if Hussein was really a reincarnation of Nivuchadnetzar. However, either way, good riddance to him! At the end of maseches Sanhedrin, we learn that "...with the destruction of evildoers is mirth." (Mishlei: 11; 11) As Hussein, im'sh, was clearly an evildoer, not merely some people's enemy, it is only fitting to celebrate his demise, as well as others like him.

It is interesting to note the similarity between the two evildoers, Nebuchadnezzar and Hussein: Both were living like animals toward their ends, both intended on bringing destruction to the Jews of Israel, and both were cruel tyrants (among other similarites). Furthermore, Nebuchanezzar's cruel reign ended in the Jewish year 3,363, Hussein's rule ended in April, 2003, or the year 5,763 on the Jewish calendar, 2,400 years after the demise of Hussein's "hero", Nebuchadnezzar.

We should celebrate the demise of such evildoers, and, G-d Willing, this should be a sign that the four fasts discussed in sefer Zichariah, will turn to days of joy, as Zichariah had prophesied, speedily in our day. Amen!

Parshas VaYeira: The Spiritual War

2006-11-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

THE TORAH READING AND SEVEN SUB-PORTIONS: HOW TO COUNT THE WEEK:

Every week, Jewish men are supposed to review the parsha (weekly Torah reading), twice reviewing the Hebrew text and once learning a commentary for each of the verses. (Shulchan Aruch, siman 285) Each of the seven portions within the parsha can be read on each of the days of the week, starting with Sunday. If someone has not completed the weekly shnayim mikrah v'echod targum (review of the parsha), they can complete that parsha up until (not including) the upcoming Wednesday, as the first three days of the upcoming week are connected with the previous Shabbos. (Shulchan Aruch, siman 285, sif 4, sif kattan 11) Therefore, the week can be counted from Wednesday to Tuesday.

PARSHAS VA'YEIRA AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2006:

In light of the above, Friday would correspond to the third aliyah of the Torah, this week's reading being Parshas Va'Yeira. Of course, as Jews we do not believe in "random coincidence", rather, everything occurs for a reason, no matter how "random" it may appear to the naked eye. The Jewish knowledge that nothing occurs randomly can be found stated rather explicitly in the third chapter of the Book of Amos:

"Hear this word which HaShem speaks about you, Children of Israel, with regard to the entire family that I brought up from the Land of Egypt, saying. Only you have I known from all of the families of the Earth, therefore I shall visit upon you all of your sins. Do two people walk together unless they had appointed a time [to walk together]? Will a lion roar in the forest and not have prey? Will a lion cub give out his voice from his den unless he has caught [prey]? Does a bird fall on a net on the ground if it does not have a snare? Does a snare rise up from the ground unless it has caught something? Will a shofar be sounded in a city and the nation shall not tremble? If there will be an evil in a city and HaShem has not done it?" (Amos: 3; 1 - 6)

THE PLANNED PARADE OF PROMISCUITY AND PERVERSION AND THE FOURTH ALIYAH OF PARSHAS VA'YEIRA:

As is well known, the infamous so-called "World Pride" parade is scheduled to take place this erev Shabbos in the Holy City of Jerusalem, a city that stands for purity and sanctity, a city that represents the quintessential opposite of the "lifestyle" of the participants in the "Pride" parade.

If anyone had a doubt as to the perversity of the people of Sodom immediately before the cities in that area were destroyed by HaShem, the following quote from the fourth aliyah of VaYeira will quickly remove that doubt:

The two angels arrive at Sodom, one to destroy Sodom, and one to save Lot, they are invited into Lot's house and are about to "lie down" as it is nighttime.

"Before they would lie down, and the people of the city, the people of Sodom, surrounded the house, from youth to the elderly, the entire nation, from the ends [of the city]. And they called out to Lot and they said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them... And the men who were at the doorway of the house were stricken with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest, and they wearied themselves to find the doorway." (Bereishis: 19; 4 - 5, 11)

RaSh"I explains that the men of Sodom wanted to "know" the angels by committing Sodomy against them. Even after being stricken with blindness, we find that the people of Sodom wearied themselves to find the doorway and have access to the people in the house. The unbelievable desire of the Sodomites to commit evil is shown by the insistence to sin.

ORCHOS TZADDIKIM ON HAUGHTINESS:

"In summary: All of those who dress for the sake of being haughty, behold, this one forgets HaShem, Blessed is He. [He] does not care about the mitzvos and will not pursue good actions, for his entire intention is for himself, to adorn his transient body, which in the end will be for the worms. One who adorns his body [for the sake of being haughty], he is close to sexual promiscuity,... and he will come to laughter and light-headedness." Those who are haughty are considered an abomination to HaShem, as it says, "An abomination of HaShem are all of those who are haughty of heart." (Mishlei: 16; 5) The haughty individuals are also given over to the desires of their evil inclinations, for since he is abominable, HaShem doesn't assist him against his Yetzer HaRa.

Maybe the parade being referred to as the "Pride Parade" is not far off from the truth, for these people are trying to push their sexual perversions and promiscuity on the people of Jerusalem.

May HaShem answer our tefillos and Torah learning and cancel this parade. Amen!

Second Al-Qaida Threat Launched at America

2006-10-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

A senior Taliban leader has recently informed a journalist that Al-Qaida plans a major act of terror against the United States during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan ends on October 23.

Al-Qaeda Terrorist Leader Warns Muslims to Leave New York and Washington D.C.

2006-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

In a recent post I noted the threat posed by Iran and Al-Qaeda on the West, including the United States.

"NO MORE WARNINGS":

In a recent interview with a Pakistani journalist, the Al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan said, "Our cycle of warnings has been completed, now we have fresh edicts from some prominent Muslim scholars to destroy our enemy, this is our defending of Jihad; the enemy has entered in our homes and we have the right to enter in their homes..."

According to Islam, the "enemy" must be invited to convert to Islam before they may be attacked. The president of Iran (yimach shemo) invited President Bush and all Americans to become Muslim in the conclusion to his letter sent to President Bush this past May. Apparently, based on what the Al-Qaeda commander says, ignoring the letter is tantamount to rejecting it.

"LEAVE NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON, D.C."

Furthermore, he issued a particular warning to Muslims living in New York and Washington D.C.: "The American Muslims are like a human shield for our enemy; they must leave New York and Washington."

We must be open-eyed to the future and do what we can, but, rest assured, whatever happens, the enemy, the terrorists will no longer exist, for good can never be extinguished, only evil can.

"Tolerant" "Supreme" Court and "World Pride" leaders push Parade on Jerusalem's Population

2006-09-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Though I detest mentioning "World Pride" due to their perverse lifestyle, I feel that I must do my part to defend the sanctity of our holy city of Yerushalayim. With HaShem's Help and our efforts, we will overcome the intolerant forces who are attempting to "spit" on the holiness of Jerusalem and its population.

Latest News:

Though a vast majority of Jerusalem's residents oppose a so called "Pride" parade through Jerusalem, the "Supreme" Court has, of course not surprisingly, sided with "World Pride" and ruled that the municipality of Jerusalem must allow and provide security for the march scheduled for November 10. While the proponents of perversion turn to the extremely secular "Supreme" Court of flesh-and-blood to parade their perverse lifestyle in Jerusalem, we should do what we can in respect of HaShem, The true Master and Judge, and oppose this parade. Remember what we say each day in Shemonah Esrei - "Hashivah Shofteinu K'Varishonah", we want our judges back who uphold the Torah and thereby the Jewish People will prosper all the more. Remember to have special kavana on that b'racha, as well as all other brachos.

Is it Tolerant to Have "WorldPride" in Jerusalem, especially before Rosh HaShanah?

2006-09-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

This is an update on the planned "WorldPride" parade through Jerusalem. The police have refused to grant a permit for the parade so the self-proclaimed lovers of "tolerance" - the planners of the parade of intolerance are petitioning the "High-Court" in Israel to allow the parade right before Rosh HaShanah. We should not let our guard down before these perverted individuals who petition the "High Court" of flesh-and-blood to "allow" them to display their immorality publicly in Jerusalem. This month is Elul - the time when "The King - HaShem - is in the field", a time when we have a greater opportunity to petition HaShem. We should do what we can and petition HaShem to truly have the parade canceled. We should also improve ourselves in the way of the Torah. Finally, we should petition people in positions of leadership in Israel to put in the effort to block such a parade. Surely, not having the parade would be great, all the more so before Rosh HaShanah.

"Midnight Selichos" vs. "Chatzos Selichos": Which times to Recite Selichos are Kosher? Best Times and Worst Times to Recite Selichos

2006-09-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

As we approach Rosh HaShanah, it is essential to be aware of the halachically permissible times to recite Selichos (Prayers asking HaShem to forgive us), as well as point out somewhat "commonly accepted" times to recite Selichos which Jewish law forbids or strongly discourages. The following is taken from a halachic ruling by Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, relating to whether one may recite Selichos before chatzos. Chatzos refers to halachic midnight. Chatzos is the precise midpoint of the night. When calculating chatzos during the daytime, we take the midpoint between sunrise and sunset. If the daytime chatzos is at 12:45 pm, the nighttime chatzos would be at 12:45 am. It is perfectly fine to have a post halachic midnight Selichos, however to have a post-midnight Selichos (12:00 am) is problematic, no matter how many people decide it to be "an accepted custom".

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l on When to Say Selichos: Igros Moshe: Orach Chaim (section 2), Siman 105

In response to the question whether Selichos may be recited prior to chatzos, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, ruled as follows:

Rav Moshe on reciting Selichos during the last third of the night/the end of the night:

Last third of the night:We learn (I believe in maseches Avodah Zarah) that the last third of the night is the best time to recite Selichos as HaShem's Divine Presence floats though this world at that time. Selichos should be recited at a "favorable hour", therefore, when HaShem's Presence "floats around" this world, it is a time of Divine favor and therefore is a recommended time for Selichos. Rav Moshe quotes the Machatzis HaShekel as defining the night as ranging from nightfall (time when three mid-sized stars are viewable) until the first rays of dawn. The RaMBa"M rules that one should wake up shortly before daylight in order to conclude reciting Selichos shortly before it starts becoming light outside.

Chatzos: The gemara notes that chatzos is also considered a time of Divine favor and therefore many communities recite Selichos after chatzos.

First third of the night: The Rosh and the Tur rule that one may recite Selichos one-third of the way into the night as at each third of the night (each ashmura), it is a time of Divine favor (i.e. the conclusion of the first-third and second-thirds of the night are times of favor). When they rule that Selichos may be recited a third of the way through the night, they refer to at one-third of the way through the night, not after. Therefore this ruling does not permit 12 am Selichos.

Halachic Problems With Reciting Selichos Prior to Chatzos on Saturday Night:

The Sha'arei Teshuvah (Siman 581) rules that it is forbidden to recite Selichos and Vidui (confession of sins) prior to chatzos due to the holiness of Shabbos. As Shabbos recently concluded, we should not recite Selichos until after chatzos. In the siddur of the Rivatz, he notes that the Ari z"l did not permit mourning for the destruction of Yerushalayim on Saturday night. Rav Moshe notes that the Ari z"l must have meant that mourning for Yerushalayim was forbidden after Shabbos until chatzos, for that is the time when people may begin reciting Selichos on Saturday night. Rav Moshe notes that only in a type of situation where it would be impossible to recite Selichos after chatzos, one may recite Selichos earlier, provided that no one Selichos would not be recited; otherwise, there would not be an awakening to repent. If a community would fulfill the aforementioned criteria, they would have to announce that an exception is being made this year to recite Selichos earlier due to the pressing situation where Selichos would not be recited otherwise, thereby making early Selichos a necessity. In addition, they should inform everyone that next year the Selichos after Shabbos will be recited after chatzos.

My Addition: Morning Selichos: Many people find it difficult (possibly even unhealthy) to recite Selichos late at night. Often, those people recite Selichos in the morning, prior to Shacharis, (close to the conclusion of the night). When one recites Selichos during the night, he must make sure to not recite the phrases that would indicate that he is reciting Selichos at night. So, if one's choice is to recite Selichos at 12 am midnight (if it is not after chatzos) or the morning, recite it in the morning. 12 am is an arbitrary time which generally does not occur at either third of the night nor at chatzos.

Everything else being equal, I would recommend the following times to recite Selichos (in order of most recommended to least recommended):

1) Recite Selichos at the last third of the night and finish Selichos before it gets light outside.

2) Recite Selichos at chatzos.

3) On all nights except Saturday night, after a third of the night has passed.

4) In the morning.

5) Do not recite Selichos on Saturday night before chatzos - Beware of those 12 am minyanim.

With that, I conclude and wish all of Bnei Yisrael a successful Selichos and a happy and healthy year. K'siva V'Chasimah Tovah!

UPDATE: "Gay Pride" Parade Rescheduled to September 21 - Two Days Before Rosh HaShanah

2006-08-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

What sickens me does not surprise me. The side of spiritual darkness and impurity are extremely adamant about bringing great impurity to our Holy City of Jerusalem. What's more sickening (and, of course, not surprising) is that they intend to bring such great spiritual darkness to the holiest city in the world two short days before Rosh HaShanah - the days when we beseech HaShem to bring health happiness and goodness to the Jewish People. This, of course, is a test. We, of course, have the ability to overcome this darkness trying to be thrusted on HaShem's City of Holiness. We must not allow this. The police must understand that this cannot be permitted. Olmert's increasingly instable government must be made to understand that we will help push them off of the cliff of their "power" if they dare not intercede against such abominable and intolerant actions in our Holy City. With such great adversaries in the world who only want the bad for the Jewish People, we must do our utmost to show HaShem that we will fight "the wars of HaShem" and thereby merit that Hashem fight our wars! It is of course no coincidence that this parsha, Ki Tzetzei, discusses sexual purity of the Jewish People and protection during war.

The following is from Arutz Sheva:

Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem Rescheduled

By Yechiel Spira

The Open House organization has announced the International Gay Pride Parade will take place in Jerusalem on September 21st. The event was scheduled to take place in the capital in August, but was postponed due to the war in Lebanon.

Prior to the postponement, opposition to the parade was mounting, with prominent rabbis, the Vatican and Islamic religious leaders joining forces to prevent the event from taking place in Jerusalem.

August 22 - Iran Threatens to Attack the West? Torah and Insights

2006-08-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Iran and the United States, along with Europe and much of the rest of the world are at odds with each other about Iran's nuclear program. Things have been heating up as of late, including a likely veiled threat made by Ahmadinejad against the United States. Ahmadinejad picked a seemingly random date - August 22, 2006 - to respond to the West in reference to its nuclear program. This vague language uttered by a madman intent on wiping out the West, at the head of a very advanced nation bent on having nuclear weapons should be taken seriously. This is not merely one of those kind of things people can brush off by saying that he is "crazy" (he is) or that one is reading into his words to think that he is threatening an attack.

Professor Bernard Lewis of Princeton has the following to say about Ahmadinejad and his "response" on August 22:

"In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time--Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement was more precise.

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind."

HISTORICAL INDICATOR:

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor: The United States picked up information that Japan planned to call off their negotiations with the United States in the end of November, 1941. The attack at Pearl Harbor occurred just a week later.

Now, Iran may be hinting to the West that "August 22" is a day to watch out for on which they may attack the West, somewhat following Japan's lead in their indication to attack the United States.

RECENT INDICATORS:

Terrorists have stated that before a major attack (potentially nuclear), they wish to perform smaller attacks prior, according to World Net Daily. The planned downing of ten airliners bound for the U.S. was planned for today, August, 16, 2006. In addition, 3 men were found recently with about 1,000 cell phones which, it appears, they planned to use on the Makinac Bridge in Michigan. A woman recently was found with liquids, a screwdriver, and al-Qaida literature on a flight heading to America.

Ahmadinejad sent a letter to President Bush back in May inviting the United States to turn Muslim. According to Islamic law, before the enemy is to be attacked, they must first be invited to Islam. If they do not take up that offer, they can be attacked. In a recent interview on CBS, Ahmadinijad said that President Bush, by not responding favorably to the invitation to become Muslim was leading President Bush and others who refuse such an "invitation" to convert "will not have a good ending or fate."

According to WorldNetDaily, a planned terrorist nuclear attack on America is set to happen after America attacks Iran's nuclear facilities. According to a journalist who interviewed bin-Laden recently, it is likely that small nuclear bombs are already in American cities. However, the timing of a major nuclear attack on America occurring after an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities contradicts al-Qaida's plan and Iranian threats to preempt the world with a major attack.

The recent war involving Hezbollah and Israel. It is well know that Hezbollah is Iran's arm extended into Lebanon. They are provided with many of their advanced missiles from Iran. It makes sense that Hezbollah's orders in general come from Iran, their financier and arms supplier. Therefore, the order for Hezbollah to engage Israel in war almost certainly emanated from Iran. If Iran were at such a disadvantage to the rest of the world now, why are they so heated to try and drag the world, including the United States, Europe, and Israel, into war against it?

Everything here may fit together, the planned terror attacks during the same time period, Iran's "invitation" to America, Ahmadinejad warning of a bad "fate" for America, and the August 22, 2006 date.

WHAT DOES THE TORAH HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ALL OF THIS?

The below teachings may very well apply to current world events:

Rabbi Yitzchak said: "The year that the King Mashiach reveals himself, all of the nations of the world will be provoking one another. The king of Persia will provoke the King of Arabia and the King of Arabia will go to the King of Aram to take advice from them. The king of Persia will [then] return and destroy the entire world and all the nations of the world will be in an uproar and will be confounded and they will say 'Where shall we come and go, to where shall we come and go.' And He (HaShem) shall say to them (the Jewish People), 'My sons, do not fear, everything that I have done, I have done only for you. For what are you fearing, do not fear, the time of your redemption has arrived..." Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, Yishayahu, 499

From the above, it appears that Persia (modern day Iran) goes out to attack the whole world. There shall be a world power who will be dragged to war against Persia. According to Sefer Yirmiyahu, the war will involve Persia and a world-power, compared in the prophecy to a lion. The prophecy toward the end of sefer Yirmiyahu refers to this nation suffering its cities being destroyed. A couple verses later, HaShem says that the enemy (Persia) will swoop down like an eagle against this nation, inflicting great damage to its "dwellings" thus dragging its enemy out to war.

Persia is referred to as the "youngest of the sheep" a comment by RaSh"I notes that Persia is "the most contemptible of the nations". The strongmen of this nation, the victim of Persia's brazen attack are described after the attack on their soil as having the heart of a woman in the travails of childbirth.

According to the MaLBi"M, the Persians are the lion who attack the victim - the youngest of the sheep - attacking them at an instant, stunning the world and the world-power. The MaLBi"M, quotes the MaHa"Ri as saying that the attack would be on the city referred to as "Botzrah" which he claims is Rome. This quick attack on Rome is what brings their ally (one or more of the Western Powers) to war against Persia. This war against Persia is what is described as "Gog U'Magog" or probably better known as "WWIII". The reader should note that the MaLBi"M lived in the 1800's.

Metzudas David notes that Persia (Iran?) will attack a large city of the country destined to fight Persia in this major World War. Either way, in light of the above, according to Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer from there will be widespread damage inflicted by Persia worldwide, Heaven Forbid.

Though it is unclear what exactly the president of Iran refers to when he says Iran will "respond", what he means by "the West" and why he picked August 22, I think it would be prudent to take his statement as follows:

As Bernard Lewis notes, August 22, 2006 is an important day in Islam and a likely date for a major attack, possibly nuclear, Heaven Forbid, as a "response" to the "West" in reference to its "nuclear" program. As the commentator RaSh"I noted in the context of the prophesized attack by Persia (Iran?), they are the most shameful of the nations. If modern-day Persia were to attack other parts of the world, chas v'shalom, it would be a shameful act conducted what would be widely seen as a "shameful" nation. This "contemptible" nation hates America hates Europe, hates Israel and just about anything else non-Muslim. Some people think that Israel is the target of the August 22 "response". However, Iran, which views America as the "big Satan" and Israel as the "small Satan" may prefer to attack America, Heaven Forbid, thinking much as other terrorists in their nefarious designs against America. Or, Iran, hoping to engage the entire "West" may pick on Rome to attack as a very symbolic beginning of a massive war they hope to engage the West in. Either way, as noted in the medrash of Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, (a mishnaic era book, compiling the expositions of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkenos)

Everything is up to HaShem, however, it is my belief that the people who respect their fellow person, respect freedom and dignity of mankind, and have some sort of true fear of G-d will prevail in this conflict. I think the U.S. is the true victor based on the above.

Parshas Eikev: The Right War, The Wrong Strategy

2006-08-08T23:03:00.000-07:00

THE SITUATION:

This war that Israel is fighting against Hezbollah (Lebanon), and by extension most of the Arab world, is absolutely essential for Israel's future. This war against Hezbollah is the right war to fight, however it is being fought the wrong way. Though there have been many bombing raid conducted by the I.A.F. (Israel Air Force), the missiles are still falling (about 3,500 as of last count) and Israeli ground-troops are being put into great danger with operations in terrorist havens such as Bint-Jbeil. Furthermore, Israel plans to temporarily relocate 17,000 residents of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemonah. So far about half of Israel's northern population has fled. Israel has activated about 100,000 reservists (about 2% of the entire Jewish population in Israel, aside from previously activated troops). So far 105 Israelis have been murdered. Halutz, the chief of the army estimates that, chas v'shalom, we will lose 300 - 500 additional troops in a large scale incursion of likely over 100,000 reservist troops. The way to fight is the way HaShem tells us in His Torah. The Israeli army is of highest value in terms of life. Since when does wearing a military uniform make one's value less than that of the casually dressed, terrorist-supporting, enemy? The way to win a war is not to be "politically correct" but to come out with minimal loss of Jewish life. HaShem tells a judge not to fear man for the justice is HaShem's. (Devarim: 1; 17) The leadership in Israel should not pay attention to the thinly-veiled anti-Semitism displayed at the U.N. We are dealing with saving Jewish lives and the leadership are the judges. Fear HaShem and not the anti-Israel U.N.

While all of this is going on, Israel is phoning residents of buildings in Gaza and Lebanon targeted by Israel. Such a tactic, being kind to the cruel, potentially leads to greater danger to the Jewish population in Israel. Phoning residents of military targets to inform them of an impending attack almost inevitably leads to the terrorists targeted by Israel finding out and escaping the attack. Furthermore, instead of the I.A.F. being sent in to decimate terrorist strongholds such as Bint Jbeil, the ground-forces are sent in to fight Hezbollah terrorists hand-to-hand in areas that are likely heavily booby-trapped. Israel claims that the reason they do not strafe, let alone completely bomb Bint Jbeil to rubble, is because they do not want to harm civilians. Unfortunately, the government in Israel believes that Lebanese "civilians" are so valuable as to base much of their military strategy on this notion, thereby still in the midst of a war that should have been won already, while Hezbollah still fires as many as 200 rockets a day into north Israel.

Israel fights a war while warning civilians of planned bombings in advance, sending in ground-troops to terrorist enclaves instead of decimating the areas with air power first, and holding back on destroying the enemy. In essence, the "decision-makers" in Israel unintentionally act as if the civilians in Lebanon are more important than the civilians in Israel. To make matters worse the leadership in this war (seemingly all over the place) and the fact that Hezbollah has been holding out against Israel for 25 days seems to encourage other Muslims to join Hezbollah in the fight against Israel. This half-hearted wartime leadership may actually be helping strengthen Hezbollah, chas v'shalom. What must be done is fight a war to destroy the enemy.

It has been reported that some religious leaders have said that a soldier is obligated to fight in this war against Hezbollah based on Torah law where one who comes to kill you, arise up to kill him first (Sanhedrin, 72a). The rationale of these leaders would make sense if the war was fought in the correct way - placing the value of Israeli soldiers (and civilians) far ahead of the enemy's civilians. Stop warning about impending military strikes. Stop sending in soldiers onto enemy territory without first decimating the areas they are being sent into (first warning the civilian population to leave the general area unarmed). Once the area is cleared of the enemy threat as much as possible, then the army should be sent in to hold onto enemy territory and gather intelligence.

If, Heaven Forbid, one's neighbor is firing into their house on a regular basis, threatening the lives of his household, a person would be obligated to defend the household by killing the enemy. However, if someone has a grenade-launcher and is able to take out the enemy safely, he would be crazy to endanger his life in order to take out the enemy. He does not have to forgo the use of his grenade-launcher in order to fight the enemy hand-to-hand, risking his own life to minimize the chances of harm coming to the family of his enemy (who almost unanimously support his terrorism) as they are "civilians". If someone were to tell someone that the man of the house still has a Torah obligation to fight the enemy by needlessly putting his life in grave danger, that would be a complete misunderstanding of the Torah obligation to defend one's life. The Torah says that one must defend one's own life, not defend the lives of the enemy!

PARSHAS EIKEV ON THE CURRENT SITUATION:

As always, if we want to find the solution out of our difficulties we must turn to the Torah.

How to fight the enemy:

"And you shall consume all of the nations that HaShem your G-d has given to you, do not show them pity..." (Devarim: 7; 16)

Ohr HaChaim: "Do not have pity: 'This follows that which [King Solomon] said (Mishlei: 12; 10) 'And one who is compassionate to the evildoers is cruel'. [This verse means to teach us that compassion to evildoers] is not a good attribute, rather it is a bad one. Therefore, the verse in Mishlei warns us that such an attribute of compassion to the evildoers is contrary to a positive attribute, it being a negative attribute.'"

What if the enemy far outnumbers Israel?

"Perhaps you will say in your hearts 'these nations are too great for me, how can I drive them out?' Do not fear from them, you shall surely remember that which HaShem your G-d did to Pharoh and to Egypt. The great miracles which your eyes saw, and the signs and the wonders and the mighty Hand and the outstretched arm [with] which HaShem your G-d took you out [of Egypt], so will HaShem your G-d do to all of the nations which you fear from before them... Do not be broken from before them, for HaShem your G-d is in your midst, great and awesome G-d." (Devarim: 7; 17 - 19, 21)

The above is pretty self-explanatory - don't worry, HaShem will fight for you - no one will be able to overcome you.

המסת הגדלת אשר ראו עיניך, והאתת והמפתים והיד החזקה והזרע הנטויה, אשר הוצאך, י-ה-ו-ה א-להיך; כן יעשה י-ה-ו-ה א-להיך לכל העמים, אשר אתה ירא מפניהם

According to the Ba'al HaTurim, the above verse discussing the wonders performed by HaShem for the Jewish People, includes every letter in the alphabet except for the "ב" which has the numerical value of 2. This teaches us that HaShem will perform these wonders a second time, when the Mashiach comes. This follows that which it says in the book of Micha, "Like the days of your exodus from the Land of Egypt, I shall show you wonders." (Micha: 7; 15)

In Parshas Lech-Lecha (Bereishis: 15; 18 - 21) HaShem tells Avraham that his Jewish descendants will inherit the lands of the ten nations in the area, ranging from the Nile to the Euphrates. The Ohr HaChaim says that the Jews will take over all of this land in the time of Mashiach. Perhaps this war will become the war that is led by Mashiach and will be fought in a similar manner to the original conquest of the Land of Israel where the enemies are utterly destroyed (Devarim: 7; 23 - 24). The nation of Israel only seeks to defend itself. However, those nations that threaten to destroy Israel are, in essence, waging war on HaShem, and that is a war that they are guaranteed to lose. (See Balak)

Anyone who dares threaten to destroy Israel should read the following:

HaShem tells the Jewish People: "And HaShem your G-d shall give them before you and they shall be greatly confused until you destroy them. And He shall give their kings in your hand and you shall destroy their name from below the Heaven, a man shall not stand before you until you destroy them." (Devarim: 7; 23 - 24)

The point is, fight the war with air-power. Only then bring in the ground forces.

Parshas Va'Eschanan: Israel is At War with Lebanon, Not Just Hezbollah

2006-08-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

After concluding the three weeks, with Israel losing 44 soldiers and over 30 civilians, things are turning more in Israel's favor. Though improved military strategy has led to an improvement in the situation, with Israel beginning to get the upper hand (not as keen to send soldiers in to booby-trapped terrorist enclaves), the most obvious reason for this turnaround in Israel's favor is the conclusion of the three-weeks of Jewish mourning, historically a hard time for the Jews. It is still the month of Av, however, I believe that Israel will continue to see success in its war on Lebanon.

WAR ON LEBANON OR HEZBOLLAH?

Who is Israel fighting Hezbollah or all of Lebanon?

Official reports repeatedly make the claim that Israel is waging a war against the 2,000 - 3,000 Hezbollah terrorists. In defense of Lebanon, claims are made that the army of Lebanon can't hold the terrorists at bay. Who is Israel really fighting against? Unofficially (truthfully) this war that Israel is fighting is directly against Lebanon and less directly against Syria and Iran.

Who says that Lebanon views itself as one with the Hezbollah terrorists?

The president of Lebanon, the same guy crying about false claims that Israel is starving civilians. Early last week, it was reported that the president of Lebanon said that a victory by Hezbollah would be a victory of the entire Lebanese nation. In admiration of Hezbollah, in an interview with Spiegel, President Lahoud said, "Hezbollah enjoys utmost prestige in Lebanon, because it freed our country. All over the Arab world you hear: Hezbollah maintains Arab honor, and even though it is very small, it stands up to Israel. And of course Nasrallah has my respect.

In a CNN interview about two weeks ago, the Lebanese president had the following to say about the relationship with the Lebanese and Hezbollah:

"ROBERTSON: Do you mean the army supports Hezbollah at this time in their fight against Israel?

LAHOUD: ...[O]ur thanks comes when we are united, and we are really united, and the national army is doing its work according to the government, and the resistance is respected in the whole Arab world from the population point of view. And very highly respected in Lebanon as well.

ROBERTSON: If you were to call on the army now to stop Hezbollah from attacking Israel, to stop Israel therefore attacking Lebanon. Would that divide the army along sectarian lines? Would the Shiites in the army go with Hezbollah?

LAHOUD: In the first place, I wouldn't give such an order. Believe me, Hezbollah has done a lot for Lebanon in liberating this land. ... Hezbollah is part of the government. All of these subjects can be talked about after the cease-fire, because if you talk about it now it's up to the decision of the Lebanese to decide that and the government...

We're going to stay united, and that's what makes the strength of Lebanon. And we want ourselves to solve our problems, not to force these problems on us. Because when you force these problems, believe me, when we are united nobody can do it. And the proof is that when in 2000 nobody believed we could liberate our land but we could do it because the Lebanese were united and the national army was with the united Lebanon and with the resistance (Hezbollah)."

Iran and Syria - Official Arms Providers to Lebanon's "unofficial" army - Hezbollah:

Lebanon views itself as one with the Hezbollah and is armed Syria and Iran for the sole purpose of attacking innocent Jews in Israel. Recently it was reported that Iran provided Hezbollah terrorists with an upgraded Zelzal missile with up to a 250 mile range, making it capable of hitting the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev.

WHAT DO OUR ENEMIES WANT?

That which brings peace to the Jewish People is through the power of Torah learning (among other things). In the end of tractate Berachos, we learn that "Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Chaninah: 'Torah scholars increase peace in the world... great is the peace for those who love the Torah, and they do not have a stumbling block.'"

The original Palestinians, living thousands of years ago worshiped "Ba'al Zvuv" - "Master Fly". The current Palestinians, as well as many of Israel's neighbors in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran all have such an intense hatred of Israel that they would be willing to inflict strong hit on the Jews of Israel even if they were to suffer destruction. These are the people that celebrate dying in the war against the Jew.

Why do they hate the Jews so much?

Generally, a normal country who has an enemy is only willing to fight the enemy if they have a reasonable chance of victory. Amalek is different as its mission is to fight against knowledge of HaShem and its purveyors, the Jewish People, with a literally suicidal hatred. The only way to defeat such an enemy is to follow the command of HaShem and completely wipe them out. These are people that are willing to die in a losing war if they will murder Jews in the process, chas v'shalom. It is the fly that the original Palestinians worshiped that can give us some insight into Israel's enemies today. In Perek Shirah it is the fly which represents the time when the Jewish People do not learn the Torah. It is the fly that the original Palestinians made into their god. Our enemies want nothing less than no Torah. The Torah threatens them so greatly because that is what insures Jewish survival, and, most importantly, is the Jewish guidebook to spread the knowledge of G-d throughout the world. It is the power of Torah that defeats our enemies as we see from the following quote included in the beginning of Perek Shirah: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For you are raking coals on his head and HaShem shall pay you [in recompense]." (Mishlei: 25; 21 - 22) Water and bread are compared to Torah. From these verses, King Solomon teaches us that the way to defeat our enemies is through the power of Torah. Our enemies would be happy to see our shields go down by stopping our Torah learning and observance. It is for us to crush their "fly" by keeping strong in our study and upholding the Torah. It is from our parsha of Va'eschanan (Devarim: 4; 40) that we learn that only through upholding the Torah do we hold onto our land in spite of our enemies.

The Air We Breathe, The Water We Drink, The Teshuvah We Do

2006-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Though this world is a "mask" of the spirituality inherent in all of creation, there are some hints that this universe is run by a Creator that can't necessarily be "seen". Essential components to continued survival include such common things as oxygen and water. Oxygen and water are much more common than the "monetarily more valuable" items such as diamonds and gold. Yet these easy to come by products are necessary for continued existence (barring an open miracle). Without oxygen, one would not be able to live for more than several minutes. Without water, life on earth would die out after a short time, Heaven Forbid. What is common about both of these items is that they are clear. Oxygen can't be seen. Water can be seen, but only because the speed of light changes as it passes through the water. If one were to realize that just as the "invisible" oxygen and water are necessary components of life, so too, how much more so would life not be possible without the constant sustenance of G-d.

Teshuvah: A Return to The Source of Life:

Similar to one making sure they regularly breathe, not daring to step into an area with unsafe air, one should avoid, to the best of their capabilities, distancing themselves from the Creator of the Universe, The Source of Life. If one needs improvement in any of their character traits and/or their performance of the Torah and rabbinic laws, they should give it their all to overcome their inclinations that entice one to sin or be lax in performance of Jewish law. This is what teshuvah is; a return to HaShem.

There is a major difference between one who denies himself oxygen and/or water and one who is a sinner. One who denies himself oxygen and/or water will not live too much longer (barring a major miracle), however, one who denies himself the way of the Torah and stays far from HaShem may live many years as a sinner, HaShem provides the sinner with many years of life-giving power.

The Kindness of HaShem:

In the book of Yechezkhel (ch. 18), we learn how much HaShem desires that His Creations do teshuvah and return to Him. HaShem says to Yechezkhel, (Yechezkhel: 18; 21 - 23):

"And the evildoer, when he repents from all of his sins which he did, and guards all of My ordinances, and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live, he will not die: All of his willful transgressions which he did will not be remembered for him, with the righteousness that he did he will live: 'Do I desire the death of the evildoers?' so says HaShem Elokim, Is it not when he returns from his path [(of sin)], and he shall live:"

Clearly, HaShem wishes that the sinner (as well as those who are ignorant of the ways of the Torah) to return to following the Torah - the guidebook to life.

Teshuvah Protects One From Danger:

We are currently coming close to the end of the Jewish period of mourning, G-d Willing this will be the last year of mourning, next year this time being a period of great celebration. However, currently the Jewish People find itself in a situation, that, without the Help of HaShem would be hopeless. Hezbollah terrorists, Lebanon's unofficial army, has fired approximately 2,000 missiles into Israel over the past twenty days (approximately 100 missiles daily). As a result, at least 300,000 people from northern Israel fled their homes and the Israeli army is in the process of killing the Amalekite army of Hezbollah. Furthermore, Iran is trying to put the finishing touches on their nuclear program, hoping to carry out their oft-stated goal of wiping the Jewish State off the map. Of course, threats of annihilation against the Jewish People are nothing new, for, as we say at the Pesach seder, "In each generation they stand upon us to destroy us, and The Holy One, Blessed is He, saves us from their hands". In a way, however, this threat posed by Iran and her allies against the Jewish People may be very unique. In gemara Sanhedrin (97b) we learn that if the Jewish People do not do teshuvah on their own, HaShem will bring forth a leader with decrees as harsh as those of Haman (may his name be blotted out) and the Jewish People will then do teshuvah. The current day Haman is the president of Iran. He wants to lob some nuclear missiles into Israel wipe out a large chunk of the Jewish People, Heaven Forbid. However, he will not succeed for "The Holy One Blessed is He will save us from" his hands. However, each of us should follow the call of Rabbi Lazer Brody where he continuously calls for repentance of the Jewish People. This situation in Israel, it is important to note, is not limited to Jews living in Israel but effects Jews all over the world. Similarly, each of us have the blessing of Ya'akov - the power of prayer. With our teshuvah and prayer, our enemies will drop dead at our feet, G-d Willing.

Water: A Life Giving Force and a Life Taking Force:

In the book of Yeshayahu, there are two verses that refer to water and individuals. One verse (1; 7) discusses "zarim" in reference to destructive flooding waters and evildoers. The other verse (30; 20) refers to the live-giving early rains and teachers of Torah - "morecha". From this we can learn an important lesson: The Torah is compared to water, while evil is also compared to water. However, evil takes from the truth of the Torah and perverts it in order to cause destruction like a tsunami, while the Torah is life-giving water. Let us do teshuvah and hold on to the life-giving water. Once we do that, say bye to our enemies.

Letter Campaign to Jerusalem Mayor Lupolianski: Stop Entire "WorldPride" Event

2006-07-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

As you are probably aware, the international "WorldPride" event, scheduled to bring thousands of homosexuals to Jerusalem is set to begin August 6 - just over a week from now. The event itself is scheduled to last a week. Though the parade itself has been canceled, the week-long event is planned to go forward at full swing. Their event includes a day at the Knesset, where the homosexuals intend to brainwash kids to follow in their abominable sexual lifestyle, a beach party of perversion in Tel Aviv, thousands of homosexuals walking all over Israel, especially in Jerusalem, a day trying to "rationalize" how homosexuality and Judaism fit (even though the Torah notes that acts of homosexuality are an abomination that are liable to the death penalty, pending proper courts, warnings, and witnesses).

Remember, we are in the "nine days", a time of mourning for the Jewish People. Now we are in a war with Hezbollah that may turn into a major war with Iran and Syria. The Torah says explicitly that sexual immodesty and immorality lead to a reduction of Divine Protection. (Devarim: 23; 15) For the sake of HaShem, His Torah, and the Jewish People in harm's way, we must act quickly to have this disgusting intolerant event of sexual immorality be canceled. A cancellation of the parade is only one battle won. The army can't run from the war until complete victory is achieved. We must do what we can in this spiritual war to achieve complete victory. In our case, we must show HaShem that we fear Him more than we "fear" the proponents of promiscuity. By sending a letter to Mayor Lupolianski and other leaders, both political and spiritual, you are fighting for an increased level of Divine Protection for the Jewish People in our time of need. The gemara (Sanhedrin, 97b) notes that Mashiach will come once the Jewish People do teshuvah (return to HaShem by following and upholding the Torah). If the Jewish People do not do teshuvah on our own, HaShem will send a leader with decrees as evil as those of Haman (may his name be blotted out). Today we are faced with that Haman - Achmanidejad of Iran. Iran is on the verge of fitting their missiles with nuclear warheads, Heaven Forbid. It is up to us to do teshuvah (and encourage others to follow suit) while the "small" missiles pummel the north of Israel, before the threat of nuclear missiles (Heaven Forbid). Start by doing your part, simply spend even just a few short minutes of your time and send the form-letter below (or your own letter) to Jerusalem Mayor Lupolianski. Mayor Uri Luplianski: e-mail: lpuri@jerusalem.muni.il, fax: +972-2-6296014, +972-2-6296004. With the Help of HaShem, we will successfully get the entire "WorldPride" parade to stop. Remember, "Whoever is on the side of HaShem, come to me"!

Dear Mayor Lupolianski,

Right now we are a little over a week in advance of the weeklong "WorldPride" event planned for Jerusalem. As mayor, it is your obligation to do all you can to prevent the event. It is not enough to comfort yourself that the actual parade in Jerusalem has been canceled; the entire event must be canceled!

I realize that it might seem "much easier" for you to let the weeklong event take place in Jerusalem. Or, you might reason, it is up to other people with power and influence, both politically and religiously, to try their best to stop the parade. Of course there are other people who can do more to stop the parade. Regardless, it is your obligation to do your utmost to put a stop to the event. This event, as you are aware, involves homosexuals walking into the Knesset and meeting with elected leaders while introducing kids to a lifestyle of perversion. At the same time, soldiers in the north have been dying, missiles have been flying, and Iran is on the verge of possession of a nuclear bomb is threatening to annihilate every Jew in Israel, Heaven Forbid. Mr. Mayor, your city is within firing range of Hezbollah's most advanced missile, the Iranian Zelzal missile. The missile can fly a range of 200 km, capable of hitting Yerushalayim, Heaven Forbid. It is our obligation to stand up for the Torah, thereby bringing in extra Protection from HaShem against all of our enemies.

Mr. Mayor, if you succeed in stopping the "WorldPride" event, you can be assured that your reward in Heaven will be great and you can be confident that Jews all over Israel have added Protection from HaShem against our enemies. However, if Heaven Forbid, you decide not to try to do all that is within your power to stop the terrible event, you may be held responsible in Heaven for the terrible abomination in Yerushalayim - a truly frightening prospect. Mr. Mayor, please, especially during this period of the "nine days", fight the Wars of G-d. May you merit to successfully stop this event and reap great rewards, both in this world and in the next.

Mr. Mayor, we are in a war in which we could find ourselves confronted with a nuclear missile threat from Iran. No less an existential threat, is the planned desecration of our Holy Land and City. It is your turn to step up to the plate and do everything in your power to prevent the latter, and by so doing, perhaps even prevent the former.

Sincerely,
Your Name