There is
some good news. After 10 months in the hospital, Ayala bas Ruth has been sent
home for outpatient recovery as needed.
Chodesh Elul comes in this Shabbos and Yom Rishon. Ashkenazim only
will say Le David HASHEM while Sephardim start early morning Selichos. In my
opinion their Selichos are much better people sing them and know them while the
Ashkenazim say fancy stuff in super hard to understand Hebrew and people mutter
words. Just my two cents.
As the day of judgement approaches the seriousness and worry could
confuse Torah learning so something lighter with my comment at the end. Shaya
sent this to Rabbi A. L. and it is food for thought. Elderly man questions his
fellow "What would you rather have at our age - Parkinson’s? Or
Alzheimer?" His friend thinks and then answers." I would rather have Parkinson and spill half
a bottle of Scotch than forget where I put it." And friends that is why
our Rabbis say in Perkei Avos sit at the feet of the Rabbis and drink in their
words!
Parsha Re’eh
See that you have free choice to follow the Mitzvos and obtain a
land flowing with milk and honey or only partially follow and get a partial
boycott and political pressure. You have free will and if you are sick and
tired of the Mitzvos from last week’s Parsha you have been warned. The curses
will come later in Devarim but for now HASHEM is trying to persuade the nation
to choose life and prosperity. The language suggests that you should choose for
your own good. Later on it is an Oy-Va-Voy Lecha language as one talks to a
child and not an adult.
11:26
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
A blessing and a
curse: [i.e.,] those that were stated, [respectively,] on Mount Gerizim and on
Mount Ebal.
27 the
blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which
I command you this day;
The blessing: on the
condition that you listen [and obey].
28 and
the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God,
but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other
gods, which ye have not known.
[If you… depart] from
the way that I command you this day, to follow [other gods]: This teaches that
whoever worships idols departs from the entire path that Israel has been
commanded. From here [our Rabbis] said: One who acknowledges [the divinity of]
pagan deities is as though he denies the entire Torah. — [Sifrei]
In my opinion I can extend this to money and politicians as modern
idols that some people put before HASHEM. HASHEM will not give up on HIS Nation
but if he Nation gives up on HASHEM we can expect part or all of the curse of
Har Eval.
29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD
thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou go to possess it, that thou
shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
You shall place those
blessing: As the Targum [Onkelos] renders it: יָת
מְבָרְכַיָא,“those who bless.” Upon Mount Gerizim: [עַל,
usually “upon,” here means] “facing Mount Gerizim.” [The Levites] turned their
faces [toward the mountain] and began with the blessing:“Blessed is the man who
does not make any graven or molten image….” Each of the curses in that section
[beginning Deut. 27:15] were first stated in the expression of a blessing.
Afterwards, they turned their faces towards Mount Ebal and began [to recite the
corresponding] curse. — [Sotah 32a]
30 Are
they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the
land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside
the terebinths of Moreh? 31 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to
possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it,
and dwell therein.
Rashi notes so that the people will not be cowards the following
sign will be for them when they cross the Yarden:
For you are crossing
the Jordan: The miracles [that will occur for you during your crossing] of the
Jordan will be a sign in your hands that you will come and inherit the land [as
promised]. — [Sifrei]
32 And ye
shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you
this day.
12:1
These are the statutes and the ordinances, which ye shall observe to do in the
land which the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all
the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye shall surely destroy all the places,
wherein the nations that ye are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high
mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree. 3 And ye shall break
down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim
with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall
destroy their name out of that place. 4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your
God.
What the Rambam tells us to do and what we can do being held
hostage by the nations can only occur after we defeat them all in the war of
Gog and Magog and they will know that: Zachariah 14:9 And the LORD shall be King over all the
earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one.
…13 Take
heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that
thou see;
This Pasuk was bothering me for a meaning so Rashi came along and
explained it. For originally there were Bamos for the first born to sacrifice
but with the advent of the Mishkan and Cohanim, that became forbidden except as
Rashi states:
Beware, [lest you
offer up your burnt-offerings any place you see]: [This negative form of the
positive command in verse 11 is repeated in order] to attach a negative
commandment to this matter. Any place you see: [i.e.,] that enters your mind.
However, you may offer [anywhere] by the bidding of a prophet, for example, as
Elijah [did] on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18: 22). - [Sifrei]
14 but in
the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt
offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
This Pasuk clarifies the previous Pasuk but like Rashi I like to
analyze Pasuk-Pasuk.
15
Notwithstanding thou may slaughter and eat flesh within all thy gates, after
all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which
He hath given thee; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the
gazelle, and as of the hart. 16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt
pour it out upon the earth as water.
You can slaughter and take care of all clean animals anywhere and
not only by the tent of meeting but they are not sacrifices.
17 Thou
may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thine
oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which
thou vow, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the offering of thy hand; 18 but thou
shalt eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God
shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy
maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice
before the LORD thy God in all that thou put thy hand unto. 19 Take heed to
thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou live upon thy land.
Yet there are certain things that you are forbidden to eat and it
must be given to the Cohain or Levi. Maaser Sheni is eating only in the area of
the Mishkan or Yerushalayim nowadays as it has holiness.
…29 When
the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou go in
to dispossess them, and thou dispossess them, and dwell in their land; 30 take
heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are
destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying:
'How used these nations to serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.' 31
Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD,
which He hates have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their
daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
A boorish primitive Jew might fall into this trap saying that this
god controlled this land, therefore take heed for there is only HASHEM.
[Meseches Sanhedrin brings down the Yetzer HaRa for idol worship and incest was
strong until Shimon Ha Tzaddik and the Sanhedrin banned the Yetzer.]
13:1 All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to
do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
This is another case of the priest that made the
chapter system of chopping off what the Torah says sometimes for very vicious
reasons. For if one was to do a chapter a day, he might stop earlier. The Pasuk
brings together the idea of foreign and strange gods or in the case of the
priest his religion. Thus by adding on a son or a holy spirit, into your
equation or adding a command or removing a command; you are like committing
idolatry. Of course we the Shechina within our beliefs and that everybody has a
daughter Neshama from HASHEM within them but nobody special as a son. The only
son that is mentioned in the Torah is basically Am Yisrael. Shemos 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh: Thus says
the LORD: Israel is My son, My first-born. There is
another mention further on about us being “Children unto HASHEM”. So the
addition or subtraction of a Mitzvah is forbidden. For I have had non-Jewish
males who violate Vayikra 18:22 and 20:13 come and ask to follow 612 Mitzvos
and I refuse to give them guidance on converting to Judaism.
2 If there arise in the midst of thee a
prophet, or a dreamer of dreams--and he give thee a sign or a wonder,
Our Rabbis try to keep up the
traditional approach to teaching Torah and not the hidden Bible Codes. The
non-Jews are all excited about the codes until they come here. For in the
spacing of the false prophet is hidden the world Yeshu. Oops that is their main
foundation of belief. It could be in Pasuk 6 below as I heard this years ago.
3 and the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spoke unto thee--saying: 'Let us go after other gods, which thou
hast not known, and let us serve them'; 4 thou shalt not hearken unto the words
of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God puts you
to proof, to know whether ye do love the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul.
There is an Oral tradition some of
which is written in the Talmud Sanhedrin on witchcraft and other things that by
use of spiritual forces known in the times of the Talmud as Shayddim, one could
move objects and make tricks. The ancient knowledge of this use made things
look like miracles to the average person. We see this with the snake charmers
of Egypt and Moshe but when it came to lice, they were too small for the
negative spiritual forces to move. There appears to be one ‘magician’ that is
not playing tricks on our eyes like Uri Geller and others but he seems to use
these forces in his ‘magic’. These are negative spiritual forces or the dark
side of the force. When we sin we create these ‘dark angels’ that will attack
us after 120 years and when we do a Mitzvah, we create a positive spiritual
angel who will protect us after 120 years. The Tanya talks about a non-sinning
Tzaddik and the Ra or evil is in his thoughts but I am talking about the
average man and his Ra is within some of his deeds which will reflect upon him.
5 After the LORD your God shall ye walk, and
Him shall ye fear, and His commandments shall ye keep, and unto His voice shall
ye hearken, and Him shall ye serve, and unto Him shall ye cleave.
Despite the modern magician whom
many of us have seen walk on water or go through a glass window on you-tube, we
must pass the test and follow what HASHEM says. Fortunately, the magician does
this for business and not for religion but he does not realize the true weight
of the spiritual forces that he is dealing with. That is the way of the Yetzer,
the missionaries come to poor Israeli Jews and promise them a better life in
this world or entrance into Canada or Australia and they fall for this with the
turning away to another god from the L-RD.
6 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams,
shall be put to death; because he hath spoken perversion against the LORD your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the
house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which the LORD thy God
commanded thee to walk in.
This is not the man saying “I have
a dream that someday we shall be free” or an engineering ‘dream’ but a man
claiming that he dreamed at night so and so or such and such and we should go
after this idol or this stone in Mecca etc.
So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst
of thee. 7 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter,
or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee
secretly, saying: 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which thou hast not known,
thou, nor thy fathers; 8 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you,
nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto
the other end of the earth; 9 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto
him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt
thou conceal him; 10 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first
upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 11 And
thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to draw
thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage. 12 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do
no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.
Actually, the literal brother could
not testify but rather a close friend like a brother. One shall not say the man
is psychologically ill (we don’t have a Sanhedrin today so that is the best
that we can do) but rather we set an example of this individual and remove him
from our midst. [I don’t know how the Sanhedrin would have reacted to the
individual who stood before Yeshiva University trying to convince the students
that he was G. Rather this individual would not have been killed for the people
could see that he was out of his mind.]
13 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of
thy cities, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying: 14
'Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away
the inhabitants of their city, saying: Let us go and serve other gods, which ye
have not known'; 15 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask
diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such
abomination is wrought in the midst of thee;
First you remove the person who is
inciting idol worship. (Despite the laws against missionaries in Israel, the
G.O.I. does nothing against them nowadays.)
16 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of
that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is
therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 17 And thou shalt
gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the broad place thereof, and shall
burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto the LORD
thy God; and it shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. 18 And
there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand, that the LORD may
turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion
upon thee, and multiply thee, as He hath sworn unto thy fathers; 19 when thou
shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all His commandments
which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the
LORD thy God.
This involves the great Sanhedrin
and is described in that Meseches.
14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut
yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou
art a holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be
His own treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
We see such a ceremony every year with the Hezballah
and Shiites in Lebanon cutting their skulls with knives.
3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the beasts
which ye may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 the hart, and the gazelle,
and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the
mountain-sheep. 6 And every beast that parts the hoof, and hath the hoof wholly
cloven in two, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that ye may eat.
This section describes again the kosher and non-kosher
animals and birds.
20 Of all clean winged things ye may eat. 21 Ye shall not eat of
anything that dies of itself; thou may give it unto the stranger that is within
thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou may sell it unto a foreigner; for thou
art a holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its
mother's milk.
The Trafe or Nevailah you can benefit from by selling
to a non-Jew to eat but you cannot sell him or even give to a dog a mixture of
milk and meat.
22 Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which
is brought forth in the field year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the
LORD thy God, in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell
there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings
of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God
always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to
carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall
choose to set His name there, when the LORD thy God shall bless thee; 25 then
shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go
unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose. 26 And thou shalt bestow
the money for whatsoever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for
wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asks of thee; and thou
shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy
household. 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake
him; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
Tithe and G-D will bless you.
28 At the end of every three years, even in the same year, thou
shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase, and shall lay it up within
thy gates. 29 And the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with
thee, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy
gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may
bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou do.
The third and sixth year of the Shmita cycle is Maaser
Ani (poor man’s tithe) instead of Maaser Sheni and he gets to eat it on the
spot and you will be blessed.
15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2
And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which
he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his
brother; because the LORD'S release hath been proclaimed. 3 Of a foreigner thou
may exact it; but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall
release. 4 Howbeit there shall be no needy among you--for the LORD will surely
bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to
possess it-- 5 if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy
God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day. 6 For
the LORD thy God will bless thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend unto
many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations,
but they shall not rule over thee. 7 If
there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates,
in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy
heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; 8 but thou shalt surely open
thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that
which he wants. 9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying:
'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and thine eye be evil
against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD
against thee, and it be sin in thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy
heart shall not be grieved when thou give unto him; because that for this thing
the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou put thy
hand unto. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I
command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy
brother, in thy land.'
This is a reminder of the Shmita and the giving of
charity to the poor. What bothers me is that it appears even the days of the
Moshiach, the poor and needy will not cease.
12 If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year thou shalt let him
go free from thee. 13 And when thou let him go free from thee, thou shalt not
let him go empty; 14 thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out
of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith the LORD
thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
The Eved that is our brother gets compensation at the
beginning of the Shmita year and benefits from fruits and can regain his life.
15 And thou shalt remember that you were a bondman in the land of
Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing
to-day. 16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee: 'I will not go out from thee';
because he loves thee and thy house, because he fares well with thee; 17 then
thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear and into the door, and he
shall be thy bondman forever.
Until the Yovel.
And also unto thy bondwoman thou shalt do likewise. 18 It shall not
seem hard unto thee, when thou let him go free from thee; for to the double of
the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years; and the LORD thy God will
bless thee in all that thou do.
For this you will be blessed.
19 All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy
flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the
firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
This are various things that are given to the Cohain.
20 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the
place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21 And if there be
any blemish therein, lameness, or blindness, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou
shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.
No blemished animals shall be sacrified.
22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates; the unclean and the clean
may eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart. 23 Only thou shalt not eat
the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
The Arabs are known to drink the blood of their victims
from time to time, but not even animal blood can be eating or drunk as the
Neshama is in it.
16:1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD
thy God; for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of
Egypt by night. …9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee; from the time the
sickle is first put to the standing corn shalt thou begin to number seven
weeks. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God after
the measure of the freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according
as the LORD thy God blesses you. 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy
God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy
maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and
the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place
which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 12 And
thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe
and do these statutes. 13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days,
after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy
winepress. 14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy
daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the
stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
The Parsha ends with the three Regelim.
A death and a birth from tragedy
to joy.
Before my editorial a short story. Ten months ago a
paramedic from Magen David Adom dealt with baby Shira who was 10 months old
after a terrorist ran a car over the people waiting for the light rail. He was
shot dead as he tried to do more mayhem. The PLO gave great honors to his
family and money for his act. This week the paramedic was delivering a little
girl to a Charedi woman and she said, “I know you!” She told him of the
connection. The death of Shira vs. a torching of an Arab house which might have
been a Reichstag fire to blame the Jews will appear in the editorial as we see
how the PLO vs. Israelis behave.
Editorial on Current Side
Events in Israel
Derek Eretz (manners literally the way of the land – to behave) is
before Torah. Often on my way to the gym in an attempt to keep myself in shape
or from getting worse, I pass a fellow giving out a free newspaper. Each time I
open my car window and say thank you. When I changed cars he said to me
“renewal” in Hebrew for I must have been one of those rare people who put
manners above everything else.
Two things occurred in the last week of my vacation that I did not
bring down in Inyanay Diyoma. The first was the stabbing and murder by an
individual of females participating in a Gay Pride March. I make no apologies
for the Torah’s View on Homosexuality in males and although the Talmud
discusses the feminine aspect as only “rubbing” it is treated in Meseches
Shabbos as akin to but not prostitution but the rubbing of the body with a
strange body and preferably a Cohain should not marry such an individual.
However, nobody appointed me Pinchas to carry out the rule of HASHEM. The
individual who stabbed the women marching did reflect the anger perhaps of all
of us felt to these individuals flaunting their sin in public. The murders of
the girls or your women were done by an individual who had performed a similar
stabbing in the past and had been released from prison just weeks before. One
can blame the lack of police vigilance here than he religious community. If we
had a Sanhedrin and the Torah ruled the land, we would have had an outlet to
stop this plague on mankind; but we don’t.
The second involves the burning to death of an Arab family and
blaming right wing Jews. I do not know if a Jew did this or not. For up until
now it was the burning of Mosques, Churches and other empty places and not
families [WHICH I HAVE CONDEMNED IN THE PAST]. I could have been an Arab with a
grudge against somebody in the family and made it to look like Jews did it or a
modern version of a Muslim blood libel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4688675,00.html
One thing is for sure about the attack that two innocent people have
died and the mother-wife was burned a bit. If it was a Jew that did this, he
should pay for this horrible act. The same goes perhaps double if it is an Arab
staging an attack to blame the Jews. The detention of the two Jewish Activists
will not stop attacks but with deal with perhaps innocent people and calm down
the politicians as if they are doing something about the situation which may or
may not be true.
It is also a fact that when various professors call for castrating
or killing settlers it is called academic freedom and when a settler quotes a
Rambam Halacha on dealing with Churches and Mosques (in which the Rabbi says
“This is not how we act today!”, the Rabbi is held in police custody. Why not
tit for tat or academic freedom for all. An Ed-Op: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4688560,00.html
The real Jewish terror against
Arabs is more like burning an empty tent (which I don’t approve of) http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Suspected-arson-Beduin-storage-tent-set-ablaze-in-West-Bank-411980
This week’s story is about me and my own faith by Rabbi
Rachamim Pauli
If one gives charity
or even has plans to give charity, he is protected from losses. It was at the
end of my trip. It was a drive from up State NY that should have taken three to
four hours but I hit the rush hour coming into to Queens and JFK. By the time I
reached Israel after a brief nap on the plane and got home it was 23.5 hours on
the way. I arrived in Israel exhausted beyond my normal work until I drop. In
fact it was so bad that the next day after setting up the Shabbos table, I was
dizzy from my exhausted state.
It started out with my
wife accusing me of not putting her “plane head covering” into carry-on because
it was missing and I knew that I had placed it there. I was missing my pen and
US change purse. Worse than that, my cellphone did not work in Ben Gurion and I
changed sim with T-Mobile and I thought that I put it in my pocket but it was missing
and not in the El Al lost and found. I decided that this was not right as I was
charitable enough and had a nice pledge for my Kollel in my head. I believed
that everything would show up.
Just before we
finished unpacking, my wife gave me a big apology and a romantic hug and kiss.
She had taken out the head covering and brought it to the kitchen with some
goodies we had like pretzels to eat in case of a delay. She usually brings it
to bed room. Well one down still there was stuff missing.
The next day, the last
suitcase arrived with the last of our goods and when I woke up, I remembered
that my flight to NY was early Sunday so maybe I left my purse and pen by my
oldest son. During our phone call that was confirmed but still where was the
missing cellphone? My wife sent a text to lost and found at El Al but they did
not have the phone. My face dropped but still I believed with pure faith that
since my charity was correct, things would work out. My wife said to me to
check the ‘pockets’ of the carry-on. I did still no cellular phone. I went to
put away the dollars in storage that I had left in my office on the table as
they were a lot of singles for charity and were exploding my pocket the night
before. Sure enough under the dollars was the cellphone which I had removed
from my pocket the night before.
From this I learned a
bit of a lesson. Never give up hope. Charity is to protect from loss and even
in some cases death. Always try to give Maaser Charity all your life. Last, but
not least except in rare cases if the family flies close to Shabbos it is best
to have some food in the house rather than shop on Thursday evening. And do not
plan a trip where the travel time is so long for the return.
Perkei Avos Chapter Five Mishnayos
1 through 11 http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2099/jewish/Chapter-Five.htm
1. The world was created with
ten utterances. What does this come to teach us? Certainly, it could have been
created with a single utterance. However, this is in order to make the wicked
accountable for destroying a world that was created with ten utterances, and to
reward the righteous for sustaining a world that was created with ten
utterances.
This Chapter starts 10 utterances
mentioned in the creation of the world and 10 generations from beginning unto
Noach and from Noach unto Avraham to show us as the Sages say the tolerance of
Hashem and then the 10 tests of Avraham to show his greatness.
2. There were ten generations
from Adam to Noah. This is to teach us the extent of G-d's tolerance; for all
these generations angered Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the
Flood. There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham. This is to teach us the
extent of G-d's tolerance; for all these generations angered Him, until Abraham
came and reaped the reward for them all.
3. With ten tests our father
Abraham was tested and he withstood them all--in order to make known how great
was our father Abraham's love [for G-d].
4. Ten miracles were performed
for our forefathers in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. Ten afflictions were
wrought by G-d upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. With
ten tests our forefathers tested G-d in the desert, as is stated (Numbers
14:22), "They tested Me these
ten times, and did not hearken to My voice."
This is the Pshat and not what all
the Rabbis said in the Haggadah of Pessach. The miracles that were so great and
the ten times the nation angered HASHEM until HE let them die out in the
Midbar.
5. Ten miracles were performed
for our forefathers in the Holy Temple: No woman ever miscarried because of the
smell of the holy meat. The holy meat never spoiled. Never was a fly seen in
the slaughterhouse. Never did the High Priest have an accidental seminal
discharge on Yom Kippur. The rains did not extinguish the wood-fire burning
upon the altar. The wind did not prevail over the column of smoke [rising from
the altar]. No disqualifying problem was ever discovered in the Omer offering,
the Two Loaves or the Showbread. They stood crowded but had ample space in
which to prostrate themselves. Never did a snake or scorpion cause injury in
Jerusalem. And no man ever said to his fellow "My lodging in Jerusalem is
too cramped for me."
These miracles that happened
during the times of the Temple. Since the rains can be almost tropical at times
that is definitely a miracle and no flies in the slaughter house and the bread
being fresh and warm after a week or column of smoke so each and everyone is a
miracle even if our modern mind wants to attribute it to something else.
6. Ten things were created at
twilight of Shabbat eve. These are: the mouth of the earth [that swallowed
Korach]; the mouth of [Miriam's] well; the mouth of [Balaam's] ass; the
rainbow; the manna; [Moses'] staff; the shamir; the writing, the
inscription and the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. Some say also the burial
place of Moses and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say also the spirits
of destruction as well as the original tongs, for tongs are made with tongs.
The Shamir was either a worm or a
material that could split rocks. One person by the name of Fred Juneman
speculated that it was radioactive copper-oxide that could do this. The Sages
had a tradition and innumerated this.
7. There are seven things that
characterize a boor, and seven that characterize a wise man. A wise man does
not speak before one who is greater than him in wisdom or age. He does not
interrupt his fellow's words. He does not hasten to answer. His questions are
on the subject and his answers to the point. He responds to first things first
and to latter things later. Concerning what he did not hear, he says "I
did not hear." He concedes to the truth. With the boor, the reverse of all
these is the case.
Sometimes you think that your
friend has finished and then he or she continues so one must stop and listen.
Trying to answer complicated questions sometimes has me at least on paper
answering the second or third part first and then answering in order but that
is in writing. It is harder verbally as the second and third part of the
question or questions might be easier to answer and even starting with the
first part makes the answer harder. In which case we must answer like this: Let
me tackle the second and third part and then you will have a basis for
understanding the first part this way one does not appear like a boor and Am
HaAretz. Last but not least be honest, recently Colleges that see fibs or
exaggerations on the application turn down the student so don’t think about it.
8. Seven types of retribution
come to the world, for seven types of sin. When some tithe and others don't, a
hunger caused by turmoil ensues: some are hungry, others have their fill of
food. When all are unanimous in their failure to tithe, a hunger by drought
ensues. For not separating challah, an annihilating hunger results.
I did not plan this to coincide
with our Parsha but this is what happens to those who do not tithe or take
Challah so observe what you should observe.
Plagues come to the world for
those capital crimes mentioned in the Torah that have not been given over to
the court, and for desecrating the produce of the sabbatical year.
So this year as Shmita ends watch
out for the flu and other diseases. Gog and Magog may occur Motzei Shmita per
Sanhedrin 97 A.
The sword comes to the world for
the procrastination of justice, the corruption of justice, and because of those
who misinterpret the Torah.
The courts and Rabbinical Courts
are those who take too much time to judge nowadays and often one with a good
mouth or lawyer goes free or wins the case against a tongue-tied individual.
9. Carnage by wild beasts comes
to the world for false oaths and the desecration of G-d's name.
Exile comes to the world for
idol-worship, sexual promiscuity, murder and the failure to leave the land
fallow on the sabbatical year.
As the astronauts said, “Houston,
we have a problem.” Hopefully all this ‘Gay Pride’ and immodest dress code will
go away as a fad but woe to us if it expands.
There are four time-periods when
plagues increase: on the fourth and seventh years [of the sabbatical cycle], on
the year following the seventh, and following the festivals of each year. On
the fourth year, because of [the neglect of] the tithe to the poor that must be
given on the third year; on the seventh, because of the tithe to the poor that
must be given on the sixth; on the year after the seventh, because of the
produce of the sabbatical year; and following each festival, because of the
robbing of the poor of the gifts due to them.
These are facts and oral Torah and
indisputable. However, observance, repentance, charity and prayer avoid the
evil decree.
10. There are four types of
people: One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is
mine" is a boor. One who says "What is mine is mine, and what is
yours is yours" -- this is a median characteristic; others say that this
is the character of a Sodomite. One who says, "What is mine is yours, and
what is yours is yours" is a Chassid (pious person). And one who
says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine" is wicked.
These are characteristics of
people and most of us are the average man. I personally only play Chassid with
my wife and family although I know people who are more towards a Chassid.
11. There are four types of
temperaments. One who is easily angered and easily appeased--his virtue cancels
his flaw. One whom it is difficult to anger and difficult to appease--his flaw
cancels his virtue. One whom it is difficult to anger and is easily appeased,
is a Chassid. One who is easily angered and is difficult to appease, is
wicked.
The good Midos in this Mishnah and
the previous one can be worked upon and succeed in controlling ones temper and
easier to appease than others.
From Chaim O. The Poem that
thinks in Hebrew so it reads from bottom to top: http://patch.com/new-york/bed-stuy/chanie-gorkin-hasidic-girl-brooklyn-inspires-world-mysterious-poem-0
Today was the absolute worst day ever
And don’t try to convince me that
There’s something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness don’t last.
And it’s not true that
It’s all in the mind and heart
Because
True happiness can be attained
Only if one’s surroundings are good
It’s not true that good exists
I’m sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It’s all beyond my control
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say
Today was a very good day
Now read it from bottom to top, the other way,
And see what I really feel about my day.
And don’t try to convince me that
There’s something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness don’t last.
And it’s not true that
It’s all in the mind and heart
Because
True happiness can be attained
Only if one’s surroundings are good
It’s not true that good exists
I’m sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It’s all beyond my control
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say
Today was a very good day
Now read it from bottom to top, the other way,
And see what I really feel about my day.
I have to look into this will I join the more
liberal conversion process or not: I don’t know if this is good for the Jews or bad for the Jews: One
thing is for sure that the Rabbinute has become too bureaucratic and sticky: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199306#.VcmtVCaqqko Still top liberal
Zionist Rabbis oppose the liberal conversion policy: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199329
In one of
the last efforts before Moshiach, Chabad roves the USA in order to save Jews
now: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4687505,00.html
Jackie
Mason issues his advice: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4401845286001/jackie-mason-donald-trump-is-magic-right-now/?#sp=show-clips
From Joel
W. This Shabbos, Motzei Shabbos is the Perseid Meteor Shower (radiant point in
the north best time 1:30 to almost 5 AM) https://www.facebook.com/NasaMeteorWatch/videos/vb.335587379833828/944986465560580/?type=2&theater
GLOBAL WARMING making the data politically correct not the truth. http://conservativenewsroom.com/news/nobel-prize-winning-scientist-says-obama-is-dead-wrong-about-this/
Halacha a person should sleep on his side: Sleeping on your side could
stop Alzheimer: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/10/sleeping-on-your-side-could-lower-risk-for-alzheimer-s-disease/21220799/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl11%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D101759135
Ten
Ancient Israeli sites to visit this summer: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689849,00.html
After tumor found
on Danielle Skald's womb, she chose to try and remove it while keeping
pregnancy, despite the high risks involved; in medical precedent, doctors were able
to save both mother and child. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689056,00.html
Ilana
Mercer puts out a blog each week. This week a person I know contributed to the
Blog on Progressive Politically Correct Jews. TEVYE TODAY (Or, Fiddler
On The Roof 2)
Fiddler On The Roof 2 – The Sequel By
Myron Pauli, who,
by day, is a physicist and a father to one girl*
“Fiddler on the Roof” (the original) is coming near my
home in early June. I was thinking that the original, however quaint, is far
outdated and perhaps it is time for a sequel.
Fiddler
on the Roof 2 takes place in current America. Tevye is now a Reform Jew with several
daughters ready for marriage:
Deborah:
Daddy, I am going to get married to Sol. Sol
is a complete atheist and insists that we do not expose our children to any religion.
is a complete atheist and insists that we do not expose our children to any religion.
Tevye:
But does he give money to Common Cause and Handgun Control and Peace Now and
all the right charities?
Deborah:
Of course, Daddy.
Tevye: And he’s Jewish! You have my
blessing.
Rebekah:
Daddy, I want to get married. I am going to marry a Rabbi.
Tevye: A rabbi – what an honor!
Rebekah:
Her name is Rachel, you will love her.
Tevye: I hope she’s reform and not
conservative!
Rebekah: What kind of a girl did you raise?
Of course!
Miriam: Daddy, I am going to marry David.
He’s a practicing Reform Jew and a great husband.
Tevye: You mean you THINK he’ll make a
great husband.
Miriam: No, daddy, his six other wives tell
me he is a wonderful husband and father.
Tevye: Well, you have my blessing.
Sarah: Daddy, I’m in love – and he’s Jewish. He is a little
different, however. He works at the kiddie farm and he loves children. I hope
you are tolerant and approve of diversity.
Tevye: Can I meet him? What’s his name.
Sarah: His name is Mr. Ed. He’s right
outside.
Tevye: Mr. Ed is a horse.
Sarah: Daddy, don’t be a stick-in-the-mud.
I met Mr. Ed at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals rally. Ask him
a few questions.
Tevye: Mr. Ed, do you keep kosher.
Ed: Nay
Tevye: Mr. Ed, do you refuse to work on Saturday?
Ed: Nay
Tevye: Do you contribute to any right-wing
causes?
Ed: Nay nay nay
Tevye: You have my blessing.
Bella: Daddy, I want you to meet a great
guy whom I met at the Greenpeace rally. His name is Sven.
Tevye: Oi, a goy!
Bella: He’s willing to convert to Reform
Judaism. He’s studied all the principles of Reform Judaism. Go quiz him.
Tevye: Ok, Sven. What is the greatest
choice a woman can make?
Sven: To have an abortion. A late term, partial-birth
abortion is the highest calling possible.
Tevye: How about this one – what does the
Bible say about homosexuality?
Sven: The Bible teaches us that we must
tolerate diversity and condemn those heathens who promote heterosexuality,
monogamy, and other perversions.
Tevye: Well, you do sound learned. But I
will ask you one more question because I have to be careful. What is absolutely
forbidden according to our sacred scrolls?
Sven: Bork!
Tevye: Gotchaa! I just had a ham and
cheese this morning.
Sven: Not pork, I said Bork! Robert Bork,
that right-wing judge who would make women have coat hanger abortions and
enslave all black people.
Tevye: Of course, Sven. You are truly a mensch and
a true believer. Enjoy your life with Bella.
Hanna: Daddy, I’m going to marry Moshe.
Tevye: What’s that silly round thing on
his head?
Hanna: It’s a kippa.
Tevye: What – he’s keeping his bald spot
hidden?
Hanna: No, it’s a yarmulke. Moshe
is Orthodox.
Tevye: Oi vey!
Hanna: We’re going to set up a kosher home
in Hebron in Judea and keep all 613 mitzvot [commandments].
Tevye: No No NO NO NO!!!! He’s Orthodox!! He’s going to be an
imperialist obstruction to the Peace Process – a settler! A right-winger! Oi!
Oi! Kosher! Oi! Sabbath – oh, no! An atheist – OK. A lesbian – OK. A polygamist
– OK. A horse – OK. A goy – OK. But Orthodox! Young lady, you have gone too
far! Have you forgotten how you were raised?
I have no daughter! OUT OF MY HOUSE!
For syndication rights to http://BarelyABlog.com or http://IlanaMercer.com, contact ilana@ilanamercer.com. Read more @ http://barelyablog.com/tevye-today-or-fiddler-on-the-roof-2-2/#ixzz3ibP4qeHD
Inyanay Diyoma
Last ray
of hope in the USA to block the Iranian deal: http://debka.com/article/24794/Two-top-Congressional-Democrats-oppose-Iran-nuclear-deal-over-inspection-inadequacies-
Syria
chutzpa may knock Assad out of office after all: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199177
Israel is
not responsible for Iran’s Scientists. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199178
Hey booby
with a special supported degree from Harvard not worth a dime. I hate to clue
you in but your Jimmy Carter peanut mind cannot fathom even this: http://debka.com/article/24786/News-flash-for-Obama-With-or-without-a-nuclear-deal-Hizballah%E2%80%99s-Iranian-missiles-threaten-Tel-Aviv
Diane
sent me this article of hers. I am uncertain if this is Obama’s dream world or
he thinks we are in a fantasy world: http://en.cijnews.com/?p=4262
In order
to prevent a riot, Israel to force feed Hamas hunger striker – the last time we
let him out only to return to terror: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4688827,00.html
The Shin
Bet arrests 7 Jews without any proof because they are activists: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/BTselem-slams-approval-of-administrative-detention-for-Israelis-as-worst-tool-in-the-toolbox-411600
In the
gas (petrol) station between Modiin and Yerushalayim a man was stabbed with
moderate wounds he drove himself to the army base and asked for help area is
the 443 road under Beit Horon. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689158,00.html Victim
describes the attack stabbed 5 times as Arabs laugh: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199262
Iran is
looking to buy 100 refueling tankers from Russia Israel works on plans to
convert 767 airliners into refuelers: http://debka.com/article/24799/Israel-is-working-at-speed-to-convert-Boeing-767-into-a-long-flight-refueling-tanker
Preventing
a cyberattack by Iran: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199280#.VcjwDSaqqko
Arab sick
mentality to rape Jewish Women to leave Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOfnih22KVM
Fox
News attack on Trump with Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace was devastating: Donald
Trump loses 1/3rd of his support and drops behind Ted Cruz among
Conservatives: http://patriotaction.net/profiles/blogs/breaking-5-000-conservatives-vote-in-post-debate-poll-donald-trum But a
non-Conservative Poll tells a different story: Trump's staying power is
defying predictions of political doom and leading some Republicans to explore
ways to persuade him not to pursue a third-party bid should he falter in his
quest for the Republican nomination in 2016.
Trump led the party's 17-strong 2016 presidential field with the
backing of 24 percent of Republican voters, unchanged from before Thursday's
televised debate, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
His closest rival, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, trails at
12 percent, down from 17 percent before the debate. No other candidate earned
more than 8 percent in the online poll, conducted between the end of the debate
and Sunday. http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/11/trumps-republican-support-holds-strong-post-debate-reuters-ip/21221042/
Nuclear
Deal and the logic of Dennis Prager from Lynette: https://www.facebook.com/prageru/videos/920012101374980/?pnref=story
Terrorist
from Hamas sings about the tunnels, violations etc. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689765,00.html
Law suit
filed by victims of Iranian terror is against Lew and Kerry: http://observer.com/2015/08/victims-of-iranian-sponsored-terrorism-file-lawsuit-against-john-kerry-and-jack-lew/#.Vcoa4H2oMr4.facebook
From the
days of the Viet Nam War he lied so why believe him now. Giving to Iran
$150,000,000,000 will not put pressure on the dollar give me a break from
stupidity. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199334
How to
lose Jews – make rules of engagement: http://debka.com/article/24802/New-rules-Israeli-troops-must-fire-in-the-air-when-engaging-terrorists
Egyptian
ISIS murders an oil worker: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-Threat/ISIS-affiliate-in-Egypt-claims-to-behead-Croatian-hostage-in-Sinai-411900
Bernie
Sanders surges ahead in NH and Hillary falls behind as her e-mail server had
Top-Secret Documents: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/12/fbi-has-hillary-clinton-emails-from-home-server-official-says/?intcmp=hpbt1
China is
killing the west financially: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/08/12/us-stock-futures-slump-as-china-devalues-yuan-again/?intcmp=bigtopmarketfeatures
Obama
most likely can veto sanctions everything is selling out of Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199398
PLO peace
process wants arch terrorist as chief: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199399#.VcxOubKqqko
But if
they tunnel under the fence? http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4690502,00.html
Have a peaceful and pleasant Shabbos and strive to get the Berachos
of this Parsha,
Rachamim Pauli
