Rabbi Winston – Parshas Vayaishev, and Chanukah

Yosef had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, 

[which made] them hate him even more. 

(Bereishis 37:5)

DREAMS ARE A fascinating topic in and of themselves, but particularly so after seeing the significant role they have played in Jewish history. True, Ya’akov’s dream was really a prophecy, but being a prophet, could he have not learned the same things while conscious? Why did he have to see them in a dream specifically?

This week’s parsha starts off with dreams, and the story revolves around them. Clearly they are also prophecy, at least that is the way Yosef and Ya’akov looked at them. His brothers looked at them more as wild fantasies, at least the first one. The fact that their hatred of Yosef turned to jealousy may be an indication that they were beginning to suspect the Yosef’s night visions were more than just mere dreams.

The Talmud, recorded thousands of years later, long after the close of prophecy, also did not make light of dreams. On the contrary, it spends a couple of folio pages on the topic, even providing some of the more “common” interpretations. It does say that all dreams usually contain some aspect of nonsense, but the rest, according to the Talmud, is certainly interpretable. 

Most of us don’t remember our dreams in the morning, and the ones we do usually fade away after a few hours. I’m always amazed how I can wake up with a full memory of a dream, and within a short time, have a difficult time recalling much of it. Days later, I have forgotten it altogether, as if it was “written” in disappearing ink.

Last night I looked up online if dreaming also occurs in non-REM sleep. Lately I have found that I can drift off and within seconds have some kind of dream. Even more interesting is that I can be aware that it is only a dream, because I am still caught between the two realities. This is weird and fascinating stuff.

What is also interesting is how, after so many years and advancements in brain technology, we still don’t know for sure why we dream. Theories abound, but one thing is for certain. Dreams are like manuscripts that got torn up, thrown into the waste basket, and then reassembled without any care taken to know which pieces belong to which manuscript. 

It’s just so surreal how characters end up in plots that have nothing to do with them in real life. A few nights ago a neighbor of mine was in my dream, stuttering (he has no stutter) and bashful (he is not bashful at all), asking to use my washing machine. He certainly doesn’t need MY washing machine. Go figure.

People who lose loved ones speak about “visitations” during dreams, or at least “dream” of having them. A couple times, my father was in my dream, and I seemed to be aware that he had passed away. In one dream, he himself even told me that he could not do something for me because he was no longer alive. The brain can be VERY creative, even while asleep, perhaps ESPECIALLY while asleep.

The Ramchal explains what happens to a person while they sleep. Their levels of soul loosen up, and the upper levels are able to ascend to higher levels of spiritual reality, even meeting up with souls of those who have died. Kabbalah even teaches that it is possible for a person’s soul to learn Torah in the upper realms while asleep. 

Since a person’s levels of soul always remain connected, the nighttime experiences of the upper levels are communicated to the lower levels, and might be the reason for some dreams. It might also be the reason for deja vu, since past certain levels, time no longer exists as we know it, and the soul can see the future as well.

It’s a fascinating topic for sure. There may be several reasons why God made us with an ability/need to dream. I personally think one of them is to remind us that life is not just one level of consciousness, but many. Why is this important to recall? Because when we don’t, as we see in this week’s parsha, we can misread reality, and that can be, and usually is, disastrous. 

Spiritually this is true. There are five levels of consciousness, and there are different ways to access them, if you know how, if you are qualified, and most important of all, if you are worthy. These levels actually correspond to our five levels of soul, the upper four of which a person will have difficult accessing on lower spiritual levels, greatly limiting their vision. 

It’s like five people on five levels of an apartment building. Each floor faces the same direction and has the same sized window. But the view of the person on the second level will include more than the view of the person at ground level, as will be the case each floor up. The higher up you are, the more the view will incorporate, and therefore, the more accurate a description of reality it will be. 

That was certainly the case with Yosef and his brothers. It seems that his viewpoint was different from theirs, higher up. In 22 years, they would find out just how much higher up, when Divine Providence would force them to that higher level through a series of upsetting events. This  is a lesson to take to heart, because the same thing can be true about all of us. 

And, if you want to understand Chanukah on a more sophisticated level, then you should read my my book, “Once Revealed, Twice Concealed.” The PDF is available through my site, and the softcover and Kindle versions are purchasable through Amazon. There are things about Chanukah you would never have dreamed of, but SHOULD know.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

Issue #10: Chanukah

What was Esther’s strength in being able to stand up to Haman? Haman came from Amalek, and Amalek came from Eisav, whose spiritual merit was that he honored his father. This is why, we are told, Ya’akov Avinu was afraid of Eisav in last week’s parsha. For the 22 years that Ya’akov was away from home, he was unable to honor his father and mother, while Eisav did. Ya’akov was concerned that maybe it would give him the spiritual edge at the time of their confrontation.

Esther, on the other hand, had been an orphan. Parentless, she had no obligation to honor her parents, and therefore she never sinned in this mitzvah. Thus Esther was able to stand up to Haman, whose descendant had the merit of performing the mitzvah.

Nice vort, eh?

Are you kidding? There are so many questions that not only COULD be asked here, but MUST be asked here. This vort is like the one Rebi Akiva told his students to wake them up: What was Esther’s merit to be queen over 127 provinces? The fact that Sarah lived 127 perfect years.

Really? 

What’s the CONNECTION?

WHAT’S the connection?

God. 

God?

Yes, God.

Why more here than anywhere else?

It’s not. It’s just that holidays like Purim and Chanukah which emphasize this point, that history doesn’t have to always makes sense to us, as long as it makes sense to God, is often the case. We like to believe that history can never be wackier than we can fathom, but the truth is, it can. 

Well, wackier to US. It is perfectly logical to God, and would be to us as well if we could see history as He does. This is in essence what God told Moshe Rabbeinu after his vision of Rebi Akiva’s cruel death, which he questioned (Menachos 29b). God told him, Kabbalah explains, that his answer lay in realms too high for him to fathom, so he would have to remain with his question for the time being, and just have FAITH. 

What would Moshe Rabbeinu have said had he lived to see the world today? What would he have asked God about the way people live and what they get away with? At least Nebuchadnetzar, as evil as he was, still believed in God. Today, even “decent” people don’t. 

For the Jew who had jumped ship and “gone with the flow”, the world is no big deal and he experiences everything as just par for the course. But, for the Jew who has remained faithful to the Torah way of life, history appears quite off-kilter. As Rebi Yehoshua ben Levi’s son told him, this is a world in which up is down and vice-versa (Pesachim 50a). 

However, when we light the Menorah, we open a spiritual portal through which we can glance at the world of God, in which up is up and down is down. We are reminded that though the history does not make sense to us, it does to God Who will, when the time is right, sort it all out. 

In the meantime, it is our job to do what we can to right the wrongs, and to remember that no matter how out of control history seems to be, God always has a handle on it. And, every once in a while He shines a light through the darkness to tell us this, so that we can remain faithful and hopeful. 

Rabbi Kahana – Vayeishev: Ya’akovism vs. Aisavism

BS”D 

Parashat Vayishlach-Vayaishev 5779

Rabbi Nachman Kahana

Ya’akovism vs. Aisavism

The central theme of these two parshiot is JEWISH IDENTITY – Ya’akovism vs. Aisavism, or to put it plainly: as with the practice of medicine where wellness is defined as the absence of sickness; in Judaism, Ya’akovism is defined as the absence of Aisavism. And just as a minor illness excludes the sufferer from the status of wellness, even an infinitesimal dose of Aisavism excludes a Jew from the distinctive, unique, sacred, aristocratic status of Ya’akovism.

In parashat Vayishlach, Ya’akov Aveinu returns home triumphantly, as Chazal say: “spiritually, physically and materially whole”. But a dark cloud hovers as he learns that waiting to greet him in Eretz Yisrael is his brother Aisav, accompanied by 400 “armed to the teeth” cohorts.

Ya’akov prepares for the fateful meeting, not only of two alienated brothers, but the collision of two ways of life, both of which are destined to influence humanity until the end of time.

Ya’akov is gripped with fear. He devises a three-pronged strategy: to appease Aisav with gifts, to pray, and to prepare for battle. And just to make sure, if these should fail, Ya’akov divides his loved ones and material possessions into two camps, so that in the event Aisav destroys one, the other will have an opportunity to survive.

Ya’akov is desperate. On this day, his destiny, and that of the Jewish nation hang in the balance; tomorrow it will be resolved in the life and death struggle between him and his brother.

In view of Ya’akov’s pessimism, we cannot escape the seemingly unexplainable change of heart on the part of Ya’akov. At the height of the drama, just before Ya’akov is about to meet his brother, he unites the two camps into one. The Torah even relates by name the order in which the family stood at the approach of Aisav: Bilhah and Zilpah with their children first, Leah and her children second, with Yosef and Rachel last.

How did his fear dissipate?

The answer is in the mysterious episode that separates the opening pesukim describing Ya’akov’s trepidations and the perilous meeting with Aisav – the all-night wrestling match between Ya’akov and the angel.

The mystery lies not only with a man physically fighting an angel, but the pasuk itself is contradictory. In chapter 32:25, the Torah says: “And Ya’akov remained alone – and a man began wrestling with him until daylight”. Now, if Ya’akov was “alone”, how did he wrestle with a man?

I submit that Ya’akov was indeed alone; the only man who was present was Ya’akov himself. 

Ya’akov was wrestling and struggling with himself – with a desperate spiritual dilemma: “HaShem promised that He would bring me home safely, so why am I terrified at the very thought of meeting my brother? What can Aisav do to me or to my family in light of HaShem’s promise? But the fact is my heart is filled with terror. Does this mean that I do not believe in HaShem’s promise? So who am I – a believing Jew who does not relate to the so-called realities of life but to HaShem the Master of all things; or am I so superficial that I am unable to overcome the tests that HaShem places in my path?”

All night Ya’akov struggles to define his spirituality, of which Aisav might also be a part, for they are twins in body but perhaps also in soul. Ya’akov agonizes with the greatest struggle that has ever crossed his path: “Is there still a part of Aisav within me, or did I succeed in exorcising it?” Ya’akov agonizes in this struggle during the night of his life, when the truth is imperceptible. But at the first rays of morning light, the light of clarity, Ya’akov resolves his perplexing spiritual dilemma, declaring, “I am a totally believing Jew. Not one iota of Aisav is within me. No more compromise. No gifts for Aisav. No more division into two camps. Rather reliance on the promise that HaShem chose me and my descendants for all time.”

Ya’akov returns to his family and merges the two camps into one, fully confident in his inner strength which he now projects to the family, and all are prepared to face the antagonist of all that is holy to Am Yisrael.

Ya’akov identifies himself as “Ya’akov” and “Yisrael”.

Regarding parashat Vayeshev, many quills have been broken and much ink spilled in attempts to explain why Yosef’s brothers wished to distance him from the family.

The rationale appearing in Rashi is that the brothers’ hatred stemmed from Yosef’s having revealed to their father that they had violated the prohibition against dismembering an animal while it is still alive. But this is highly problematic, for this act is forbidden even to the gentile descendants of Noah!

I submit: HaShem chose us, the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov from all the nations. But unlike the other nations whose cultures evolved in stages, with individuals integrating as families, families as tribes and tribes as nations, the Jewish People received our entire divine way of life in one moment at Mount Sinai. But what was the status of the Jewish “family” prior to HaShem’s revelation at Mount Sinai? Were they Jews like us in every sense of the word, or were they entirely non-Jews, or perhaps something else? In other words: were they Ya’akov or Aisav, or perhaps a little of both?

This question stood at the heart of the argument that erupted between Yosef and his brothers.

One of the seven Noachide laws is the prohibition against dismembering an organ or flesh from a living animal – אבר מן החי- “Ever Min HeChai”, literally, “a limb from the living”.

This commandment differs from the other Torah laws in that the Torah is stricter with the gentile than with a Jew in determining an animal’s moment of death. For Jews cutting the majority of the trachea and esophagus (or one of the two in the case of a kosher fowl), constitutes death of the animal permitting one to begin dismembering it. For non-Jews, however, an animal is considered dead only when its death throes entirely cease.

The dispute between Yosef and his brothers focused on the question of their religious/national status before receiving of the Torah, finding practical expression in how the moment of death that renders an animal to be dismembered.

The brothers argued that they were Jews -Ya’akov in every regard, and they would customarily cut limbs from animals immediately after cutting the trachea and esophagus, without waiting for the animal to come to rest. Yosef agreed that they were Jews in every sense, but only outside the Land of Israel. Inside the Land, they were obligated to abide by all the strictness applying to Jews and to non-Jews. Thus, according to Yosef’s approach regarding the Land of Israel, removing limbs from an animal when it is still moving constituted a violation of Ever Min HeChai.

What led Yosef to this conclusion was his mother Rachel’s death immediately upon her entrance into the Land. Rachel and Leah were forbidden to marry one husband since they were sisters. Yet Ya’akov, as a Jew, had converted them, and the law is that a convert is like a newborn, such that the family connection between the sisters had ceased. When Yosef saw that his mother had died immediately upon entering the land, he concluded that their conversion, with all of its ramifications, was binding only outside the Land. In the Land of Israel, however, they were bound by all the strictness applying to Jews and to non-Jews. It thus turned out that Rachel and Leah were still considered sisters according to the laws applying to non-Jews. That was why Rachel was taken away from Ya’akov.

Yosef’s halachic position maintained that his father should have divorced Leah before they entered the Land, thereby saving Rachel from death.

In Parashat Vayechi, when close to his death, Ya’akov revealed to Yosef that his conclusion based on Rachel’s death that the strictness of both Jews and non-Jews applied to the family in Eretz Yisrael was erroneous. Your mother Rachel died and was buried there because fifteen hundred years later, with the destruction of the First Temple, those setting out for the exile would pass by way of Efrat, and Rachel would emerge from her grave to weep and pray for her children.

Ya’akov rejects the notion that he and his children are anything less than total “Ya’akov,” without a trace of Aisav.

Two parshiot of uncompromising Jewish identity.

Conclusion: There are many opportunities in life when one is called upon to define and clarify his role as a Jew. For us in Eretz Yisrael there is no room for choice – we eat, drink, breath and live in the eternal shadow of our forefathers. We are not jew-ISH, we are Jews!

In contrast, the most conscious jew in galut who wants to be a “Ya’akov” cannot let go of the Aisavism in his soul.

In the matter of Ya’akov vs. Aisav it matters not if one is a leading rabbinic figure or an assimilated Jew, both are not Ya’akovs because they choose to live with Aisav. With the difference between the rabbis and the assimilated camp being the quantitative degree of Aisavism they choose to bring into their lives.

The intermarried Jew identifies totally with Aisav, whereas the “ben torah” in galut is Ya’akov prior to that significant night when he fought with the Aisavism in him to become absolute Ya’akov.

In current times…

An example of what I mean is transpiring at this very moment in the State of Connecticut where Agudat Yisrael is holding its 97th yearly conference in an exclusive hotel and enjoying the pleasures that an Aisavistic culture can provide. Leading Chareidi rabbinic figures are there. What will they answer in the real world where absolute truth reigns?

Shabbat Shalom,

Nachman Kahana

Copyright © 5779/2018 

Remembering Pre–War Climate and How it Resembles Today

AGUDAS YISRAEL: the beginning

(Agudat Yisra’el; Aguda[h]; Union of Israel) is a political movement of Orthodox Jewry, founded at a conference in Kattowitz (Upper Silesia; today Katowice, Poland) in May 1912. Subsequently, branches of the movement were established in most countries of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in the United States and pre-state Israel. It was in interwar Eastern Europe, though, that Agudas Yisroel reached the pinnacle of its political achievement and institutional development. Hasidic rebbes in Poland and yeshiva heads in Lithuania legitimized the movement religiously, and their followers formed the bulk of its constituency.



Members of a hakhsharah (training farm that prepared young Jews for settlement in Palestine) affiliated with Agudas Yisroel, Mosty Wielkie, Poland (now Velikiye Mosty, Ukr.), 1930s. The Hebrew sign reads: “Kibbutz Hakhsharah of Agudas Yisroel in Poland, named after Maharam of Lublin [Rabbi Me’ir ben Gedalyah], Mosty Wielkie.” (YIVO)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS MOVEMENT TO SETTLE IN ISRAEL? WHY IS IT NOT STILL PART OF THE AGUDAH AGENDA? 

TODAY THEY ARE ENTRENCHED IN GOLUS AMERICA

Agudah Convention – November 22-25, 2018 

Theme:  Forward Moving into the Future

SESSION:  ANTI-SEMITISM REARS ITS UGLY HEAD... AGAIN: HALACHIC AND HASHKAFIC PERSPECTIVE

Some prophetic comments from the Opening Segment of this Session (Program):
(these are pulled from the speakers comments, because they reflect “Today’s World”)

“Too many people trying to claim ‘Victim’”
“Sensationalize Improprieties: Racism, Sexism, and even Antisemitism”
“Perhaps things are being exaggerated”
“Victimization is being weaponized …”
“Oftentimes the World wasn’t even aware of what was going on [before/during the War]”
“Antisemitism is Alive and Well r”l Very Real in Europe and in America.

To this I wish to express that we are hearing the same attitudes that were voiced before WWII. Pittsburgh was the “shot heard round the world”, and now we have violence and attacks constantly in the news. “We Don’t Want You Here!” shouted at Jews. Is anyone listening? Do you hear the voices from Shamayim, warning? This happens at the end of each Golus as it winds down. We are now in our last Golus. Do the Jews in America really want it to end like the others? Why aren’t more Jews waking up and making plans? Why wait for the attempt at Rescue? Bring your possessions with you now, before you will have to leave them behind.

Each Golus has the same pattern:  From expulsion to rescue, settlement, prosperity, tragedy and finally dispersal and expulsion. Wikipedia and the Jewish Diaspora.

SESSION:  ARE WE SUFFERING FROM A CONNECTION TO HASHEM DEFICIT?

Speaker:  "Emunah is the basis and foundation of Yiddishkeit” (Program)

I will do my best to explain the following,
to address the gravity of the above topic:

To this I wish to recommend listening to Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi ybl’c who speaks from a Seminar held with the religious community in Boro Park/Monsey. He speaks about Yidden expressing a “fracture in their connection to Hashem”, a “confusion of basic understanding in Rambam’s 13 Ikkarim. Listen The Coming Hard Times

In his Shiurim, the Rabbi has spoken about frum children who are distancing themselves from their parents, family, community, out of desperation because they feel and think they no longer connect to yiddishkeit. chv”s  Rabbi Mizrachi eloquently explains how these frum children are growing up with questions, and they are dismissed (to put it mildly) by their parents and instructors, which leads to frustration, doubt and disconnect.

Rabbi Mizrachi says this is the complete opposite of what they should to tole; these children are intelligent and bright thinking; they want to know more, more deeply, in order to increase their attachment to Hashem. Telling them that “that's what my father did, and what his father did, this is what we do” is not the proper approach for the children of this generation. Rabbi Mizrachi says so much more on this topic that is superbly relevant and ‘emesdig’ of the highest spirituality. 

The 2018 Agudah Theme is actually Prophecy; its time to truly move into the future:  The future is Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Mizrachi on Different Souls – Continued Current Events

Various Soul Murderers vs Soul Savers 

 Current Events

Rabbi Mizrachi continues delving into the warnings of current events that are accelerating in the world, not just in Eretz Yisrael, and mostly in Chu”l. One could surmise that the “heat” is increasing on our enemies, a clear sign of progress into this final Golus and the impending Geula.

There is a video of hundreds of US Marines landing in the Arctic. Are they preparing for a possible war? Or is this an offense maneuver to prevent any movements toward war? [if you are interested: https://youtu.be/T2eSzw8cOUc]

Rabbi Mizrachi – ALERT! THE COMING HARD TIMES

ALERT

Get Ready For The Coming Hard Times -  Current Events, Genetic Interference, Cloning 

and Parshas Vayeishev

NIBIRU SYSTEM's EFFECTS ON EARTH

THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE EXTREME events from around the world


Apocalyptic weather caused by Planet X NOT Human Activity – Physicist Report 450


Planet X Objects are Destroyers with Low Gravitational Influence

Weird Clouds Over Jerusalem

WEIRD CHEMTRAIL ‘CLOUDS' 

“They” are now chemtrailing our beautiful Israeli skies. (I took these photos from my porch)  The disastrous clouds of chemicals will not be good for our farmers, and us, as we eat the produce that will be altered.

They tell us we have a *Sun Simulator, a Moon Simulator, now the skies are being artificially seeded with chemicals.


What are Chemtrails: What are Chemtrails and How Are They Harming Our Food and Water? Read article at thetruthaboutcancer. Since aluminum has an affinity for water, all life forms attract these oxides. 

This causes contamination of even organic fruits, vegetables, and livestock if they’re exposed to the open air, because plants readily absorb aluminum salts from the soil into their vascular systems. Everything absorbs aluminum salts and it’s in the air.

What else: Chemtrails are geo-engineered aerosols that are loaded with toxic chemicals, including but not limited to: barium, strontium 90, aluminum, cadmium, zinc, viruses and “chaff.” Chaff looks like snow but it’s actually Mylar fibers (like in fiberglass) coated with aluminum, desiccated blood cells, plastic, and paper. Polymer chemist Dr. R. Michael Castle has studied atmospheric polymers for years, and he has identified microscopic polymers comprised of genetically-engineered fungal forms mutated with viruses, which are now part of the air we breathe. 

*Fake sun truth bomb NASA creates sun simulator now orbiting the Earth 
(NASA sun simulator patent #3’239’660).



**Moon Simulator :  https://youtu.be/UdgdcQVsPCs (scary video)

French Hypocrisy and Hostile Sounds of War

BATTLEFIELD PARIS 

Police bombarded with fireworks fight back with tear gas as mass riots turn Paris into warzone. British tourists were caught up in violence on the Champs Elysee yesterday, when a huge crowd gathered to call for President Emmanuel Macron to quit

NATIONALISM IS A BETRAYAL OF PATRIOTISM

French President Emmanuel Macron Seems to Rebuke President Trump in 

World War I Commemoration Speech

Trump and dozens of his global counterparts gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris to mark 100 years since the nightmares of World War I ended, a conclusion brought about partly by the entry of the United States into the bitter, nationalism-fueled conflict. But decades later, as living memories fade of the trenches and the poison gas, nationalism is on the rise. It's been fueled by Trump himself, who has proudly identified himself as a nationalist as he advances an "America First" agenda. time

"IT WAS GERMANY IN WORLD WARS ONE AND TWO"

US president fumes at French leader's statement that US is a threat to Europe, saying 'it was Germany in World Wars One and Two’. timesofisrael

IS MASHIACH WAITING TO ENTER?

Iran’s Supreme Leader belittles Israel on Twitter, claims it is “weaker” than it has been in the past. [Iran will go down with the ship of Europe]

MK Kahlon: “'Netanyahu's coalition is unstable, snap elections are coming ... current government unlikely to survive past this week's 'Cultural Loyalty Law' vote.”

COULD THIS BE THE 'UNLIKELY WAR' THAT LEADS TO THE BIG ONE?

Russia Attacks, Seizes 3 Ukrainian Navy Vessels.

Russia fired on two Ukrainian naval ships and rammed a third vessel in the Black Sea Sunday, seizing the ships, claiming they illegally entered its territorial waters. voa news  Ukrainian officials say at least six sailors were wounded and denies doing anything wrong - accusing Russia of engaging in military aggression. Black Sea standoff intensifies tensions between Russia, Ukraine washingtonpost

What is the relationship between the Ukraine and Israel? See israel.mfa.gov. Is Russia trying to stop this relationship? Is this a message to Netanyahu?

Russia warns US 

against deploying new missiles to Europe foxnews

US (Haley) Calls Russian Seizure of Ukrainian Ships 'Arrogant Act’
At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, Haley described the seizure of the vessels as "an arrogant act that the international community must condemn."

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN TALKS WITH SEVERAL AFRICAN NATIONS

Nations Will Come To Israel To Save Crops and Feed Peoples

Israel is working to promote diplomatic relations with Bahrain, an Israeli official said on Sunday night.  Meanwhile on Sunday, Channel 10 News journalist Barak Ravid reported that the Israeli government is in talks with several African nations in a bid to improve relations, one of those nations being Sudan.

"As a leader of an African country, an important African country, a majority of whose population is Muslim, you are coming to Israel to renew our friendship and our relationship. I think it is a testament of what is going to happen with other such countries in Africa as well, and I believe that you are paving the way for many others,” added Netanyahu. arutzsheva

[The Breadbasket Of The World. In the future many nations will travel to Eretz Yisrael in the hopes that Israeli technology can help their countries to feed their people]

Effects of the *Grand Solar Minimum

Modern agriculture is at risk due to cyclical changes in our sun's output that drive climate change on our planet. This page tracks crop losses to the Grand Solar Minimum: hail, storms, flooding, drought, early/late frosts...

Canadian national TV highlights a story about the potato crop failures and dwindling global supplies, echoing parts of Ice Age Farmer’s “Spudpocalypse: Worst Potato Harvest Ever” — you tube video: https://youtu.be/YeXyACg6ZGc .

Potato growers suffered major losses, and a lot of onions and carrots were never pulled from the ground this fall. And some farmers are still out combining their corn and sunflowers over snow-covered fields. But, by and large, cereal crops and most vegetables fared well despite a near-drought summer followed by a cold, wet fall. The hardest hit were potato growers who couldn’t harvest eight per cent of their crop.

The German association of fruit, vegetable and potato processing industry (BOGK) confirmed their press release statement from July this year, now the German potato harvest is completed and it has become clear that the expected low yield due to the drought this summer has become a reality. With only 8.7 million tons of potatoes, this yield reached a historical all-time low level.

The total potato harvest in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France in 2018 will be at least 20 percent lower than last year, according to the latest estimates of the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG). The harvest for continental Europe will end up significantly below 20 million tonnes. The estimated potato production is only based on continental Europe.

Wisconsin’s potato growers are fighting to finish the harvest with cold and wet field conditions. Mark Finnessy with Okray Family Farms tells Brownfield,

If the volume of apples is satisfactory throughout the country (62,000 tons collected, more than the national target of 57,000 tons), their commercial potential is another matter. 5 to 10% of the apples harvested in French-speaking Switzerland do not reach the standards required in terms of diameter to be marketed. The cause: the lack of water during the summer.

South Australians are being urged to support local growers by overlooking small hail marks and enjoying apples and pears with a few spots and dots as part of the Hailstorm Heroes campaign launched this week. In October 2017, a severe hailstorm hit the Adelaide Hills and South East

The production of organic bananas has decreased due to the cold, and this drop has become bigger in recent months as the temperature decreased by up to 16 degrees Celsius in the coastal area, said the president of the Technical Board of Organic Banana, Marcia Herrera Reto.

A major hailstorm has hit fruit production in Chile’s central and southern regions, and although damage assessments are still being made, it seems that there have been significant losses for numerous crops including cherries.

A mold on corn has caused the deaths of some livestock in Dickinson County.
A mycotoxin called fumonisin has been causing adverse health and death loss in swine and horses in north-central Kansas over the past several weeks. Several reports have come from the areas of northern Dickinson county, southern Clay County and eastern Ottawa County, according to a news release from the K-State Research and Extension Service.

USA - Re/insurance will cover almost a quarter of $17bn Florence losses. Economic losses from Florence were driven by a combination of both direct and indirect damages, with losses to businesses, housing and agriculture driving approximately 80% of the total loss estimate, according to the report. The impact on businesses and non-profits in North Carolina is currently estimated at around $5.7 billion, with over 3,800 properties incurring water damage and more than 23,000 incurring wind damages.

BREAKING: WordPress Censors Climate Truth – Catastrophic Loss in Ontario/Kashmir – Stocks Declining.  by Ice Age Farmer | Nov 15, 2018 | Podcast
WordPress has quietly begun removing blogs speaking about the Grand Solar Minimum. This heralds a new era of absolute censorship of climate truth. Christian shares news of ongoing catastrophic crop losses, highly diseased crops in Ontario, and devastated apple orchards in Kashmir, India. As we collectively literally chew through our food stocks, we must each prepare, and start growing our own food. Start today. iceagefarmer


_________________________________

*What is the Grand Solar Minimum? an extended period during which solar activity (sunspots, solar flares) diminishes, resulting in drastic climatic and geophysical changes to all planets our system. These include increased cosmic rays, seismic activity, and volcanism; the latter often results in a global reduction in temperatures (see "the year without a summer”).

The Year Without Summer:
Darkest Skies in 100 Years * No Summer for Iceland * Hail Destroys Crops
Iceland’s meteorologists–some requiring anonymity–speak of a “Year Without a Summer” there, as well as the darkest June in 100 years. As galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) increase, so will cloud cover. This complicates growing, and further drops temperatures. ALSO: slew of reports about major destruction of crops by hail storms. iceagefarmer

It’s Not Big Brother . . .

. . . It’s GOOGLE (and the NSA)

Google Reveals Plans to Monitor Our Moods, Our Movements, and Our Children’s Behavior in our Homes

Patents recently issued to Google provide a window into their development activities. While it’s no guarantee of a future product, it is a sure indication of what’s of interest to them. What we’ve given up in privacy to Google, Facebook, and others thus far is minuscule compared to what is coming if these companies get their way.

These patents tell us that Google is developing smart-home products that are capable of eavesdropping on us throughout our home in order to learn more about us and better target us with advertising. It goes much further than the current Google Home speaker that’s promoted to answer our questions and provide useful information, and the Google-owned Nest thermostat that measures environmental conditions in our home. What the patents describe are sensors and cameras mounted in every room to follow us and analyze what we’re doing throughout our home.

One patent, No. 10,114,351, reads, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, a smart-home environment may be provided with smart-device environment policies that use smart-devices to monitor activities within a smart-device environment, report on these activities, and/or provide smart-device control based upon these activities.”

It goes on to describe an example in the usual patent legalese. But it’s worth providing here the exact description for you to see, in particular, the last sentence:

By way of example, the high-power processor 20 and the low-power processor 22 may detect when a location (e.g., a house or room) is occupied (i.e., includes a presence of a human), up to and including whether it is occupied by a specific person or is occupied by a specific number of people (e.g., relative to one or more thresholds). In one embodiment, this detection can occur, e.g., by analyzing microphone signals, detecting user movements (e.g., in front of a device), detecting openings and closings of doors or garage doors, detecting wireless signals, detecting an internet protocol (IP) address of a received signal, detecting operation of one or more devices within a time window, or the like. Moreover, the high-power processor 20 and the low-power processor 22 may include image recognition technology to identify particular occupants or objects.

But there's even more. According to The Atlantic:

A second patent proposes a smart-home system that would help run the household, using sensors and cameras to restrict kids’ behavior. Parents could program a device to note if it overhears 'foul language' from children, scan internet usage for mature or objectionable content, or use 'occupancy sensors' to determine if certain areas of the house are accessed while they’re gone— for example, the liquor cabinet. The system could be set to 'change a smart lighting system color to red and flash the lights' as a warning to children or even power off lights and devices if they’re grounded.

Read the rest of this startling article at PJMedia

Social Behavior Report Card?

Beijing to Judge Every Resident on Behavior by End of 2020

Bloomberg News, November 21, 2018

China capital plans ‘social credit’ system by end of 2020

Citizens with poor scores will be ‘unable to move’ a step

China’s plan to judge each of its 1.3 billion people based on their social behavior is moving a step closer to reality, with Beijing set to adopt a lifelong points program by 2021 that assigns personalized ratings for each resident.

Those with better so-called social credit will get “green channel” benefits while those who violate laws will find life more difficult.

The final version of China’s national social credit system remains uncertain. But as rules forcing social networks and internet providers to remove anonymity get increasingly enforced and facial recognition systems become more popular with policing bodies, authorities are likely to find everyone from internet dissenters to train-fare skippers easier to catch -- and punish -- than ever before. Read entire article at above link.

Google has a somewhat different strategy It’s Not Big Brother . . .

Uninvited, more than one million Han Chinese people have reportedly moved into the homes of Uighur Muslim families to report on whether they display Islamic or unpatriotic beliefs.

Sent to homes in Xinjiang province by the Chinese government, American anthropologist Darren Byler said they were tasked with watching for signs that their hosts’ attachment to Islam might be “extreme”. The informants, who describe themselves as "relatives" of the families they are staying with, are said to have received specific instructions on how to get them to let their guard down.

China blacklists millions from flights amid 'social credit’ system. As devout Muslims would refuse cigarettes and alcohol. this is seen as one way of finding out whether they were extreme. independent uk

“Had a Uighur host just greeted a neighbour in Arabic with the words ‘Assalamu Alaykum’? That would need to go in the notebook,” said Dr Byler, in research published by Asia Society's Centre on US-China Relations. “Was that a copy of the Quran in the home? Was anyone praying on Friday or fasting during Ramadan? Was a little sister’s dress too long or a little brother’s beard irregular?”

As many as a million Uighurs are thought to have been rounded up and placed in "re-education’ centres", in what China claims is a clampdown on religious extremism.

Rabbi Mizrachi: How To Act When Under Attack By Your Enemies

Parshas Vayishlach – When Under Attack

Parshas Vayishlach – Looking at a Malach

LOOKING AT A MALACH

By Roy S. Neuberger

“Vayishlach … Yaakov sent angels ahead of him to Esav….” (Beraishis 32:4)

When our children were young, I would stand and watch the school bus leave each morning and say over these words, “Hamalach ha goail osi mi kol ra …May the malach who saved me from all evil bless the [children]….” (Beraishis 48:16) I asked the malachim to guard them, today and every day. (I still do it, although school bus days have passed.) Every Friday night I try to make “Shalom Aleichem” as real as possible; I do believe that angels enter our home.

Our Avos taught us that we need these malachim. We need shmira. We need heavenly protection.

Recently, my wife and I passed a minor traffic accident. The occupants of one car were gathered around the other car, yelling, jumping up and down, until one of them started banging the side of the second car, very close to the driver’s face. It was ugly. I called “911.”

We need the Heavenly 911 to protect us in this darkening world.

You may remember that, last week, I quoted President Harry S. Truman’s words to the late Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz, explaining the reason he officially recognized the State of Israel in 1948 despite the fact that, in his words, it was “against the better interests of the United States!” His reason was astounding. President Truman told Rabbi Lorincz that he placed his hope in “you Jews and your Torah” as the only way to protect the world against “wild mankind!”

A few weeks ago, I was driving on a highway way out in Eastern Long Island. I ran over a pothole and ruined a tire. As I waited on the shoulder for roadside assistance, a car pulled up behind me. Then I saw a smiling face, topped with a yarmulke, looking in the passenger window. 

“On these roads,” he told me, “the only people driving black Toyotas are Yidden! After I passed you, I got off at the next exit, turned back and came around again. I am a member of Chaveirim. Do you need your tire changed?” 

I want you to know that I felt like crying. One can feel so vulnerable in this world. And then a Holy Yid comes along, and you feel that you are looking at a malach. 

Chazal tell us that the way to protect ourselves during Chevlai Moshiach is to occupy ourselves with Torah and gemilus chassadim. (Sanhedrin 98b) It is so dangerous out there, but if we act toward each other like angels, then I am sure Hashem will send angels to watch over us.

I am upset that, in the circumstances, I forgot to take a picture of this Holy Jew changing the tire. Nonetheless, I am quite sure that his picture is emblazoned across Shomayim. When Hashem sees such Holy Yidden showing love for their brothers, I believe that His feelings, kaveochel, must be aroused. This is how Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov acted, and it is in their merit that Hashem “recalls the kindnesses of the Avos and brings a Redeemer to their children’s children ….” May we greet him soon in our days!

*          *          *          *

Roy Neuberger, author and public speaker, can be reached at roy@2020vision.co.il.

© Copyright 2018 by Roy S. Neuberger

Rabbi Kahana: Remember, Do Not Forget!

BS”D 

Parashat Va’yishlach 5779

Rabbi Nachman Kahana

In parashat Beshalach (Shemot 17) we read that Amalek attacked the Jews immediately after leaving Egypt:

(ח) ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל ברפידם:

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

Two questions:

Amalek resided in the area of today’s southern Jordan and in the Negev; how did they come to be so far west in the Sinai Peninsula?

What was their hurry to wage war on the Jews as soon as we left Egypt?

The Torah (Devarim 25,17-19) establishes the mitzva of remembering the atrocities that Amalek perpetrated on the Jewish people:

(יז) זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים:

(יח) אשר קרך בדרך ויזנב בך כל הנחשלים אחריך ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלהים:

(יט) והיה בהניח ה’  א-להיך לך מכל איביך מסביב בארץ אשר ה’  א-להיך נתן לך נחלה לרשתה תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים לא תשכח: פ

17 Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt.

18 When you were weary and worn, they met you on and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.

19 When HaShem will give you respite from all the enemies around you in the land He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

A question: Why is there a mitzva to remember and destroy Amalek, the mitzva should be to destroy Amalek?

In last week’s parasha article, I quoted the Midrash that when it became known to Esav that Ya’akov had left for Charan, he dispatched his son Eliphaz (the father of Amalek) to murder Ya’akov. Eliphaz caught up with Ya’akov and was about to fulfill his father’s request when Ya’akov suggested that he take all of Ya’akov’s possessions, and in accordance with the reality of the time that “a destitute person is considered as dead,” Eliphaz would be credited with murdering Ya’akov. Eliphaz accepted Ya’akov’s offer.

It appears to me that there is more to their conversation than the simple statement that a poor person is as if he were dead. I suggest that the Midrash left out the essential element in Ya’akov’s discussion with Eliphaz. Ya’akov reminded Eliphaz that there is a family tradition that HaShem informed the patriarch Avraham that his descendants will be slaves and treated without pity in a foreign land for 400 years.

Ya’akov explained to Eliphaz that he should consider very carefully the implications of Ya’akov’s demise, because as long as Ya’akov is alive and will beget children the curse of foreign slavery will be upon Ya’akov’s descendants, but if Ya’akov will no longer be then the ones who will have to suffer the anguish of slavery for hundreds of years will be your (Eliphaz) children.

Eliphaz did not murder Ya’akov but went to report to Esav what had happened. Esav is fraught with anger when he learns that Ya’akov is still alive. Then Eliphaz points out to Esav that upon Ya’akov’s death the curse of slavery would fall on Esav’s own family.

Esav agrees that Ya’akov and the Jewish nation remain alive, but only until they serve out the years of slavery. At which time the descendants of Esav will murder the Jews. It then became an obsession in the family of Esav to remember and not forget that Ya’akov had “stolen” the birthright from Esav, so that when the Jewish nation will become free Amalek will pounce upon the descendants of Ya’akov in order to act on the memory engraved in the psyche of all of Esav’s descendants – to murder the Jews.

Amalek wasted no time when they learned that the Jews had left Egypt and made their way to the Sinai Peninsula.

Esav swore that his descendants would forever remember what Ya’akov had done even if it takes to the end of days. Esav’s family mantra was “remember! do not forget what Ya’akov had done to our family”.

The memories of Esav’s family was based on a fallacy; Ya’akov did not steal the birthright; Esav willingly renounced and abdicated his spiritual responsibilities. In order to offset the libelous memories of Esav, the Torah commands Ya’akov’s descendants to likewise remember what Amalek did to us, so when the opportunity will arise, we would be prepared to defend ourselves and live. Esav perpetuates his false memory and advances its murderous implications. Hence the Torah’s mitzva that we too remember and never forget the hate in the heart of Esav’s descendants and be ever prepared to defend ourselves.

World War II memorial “Davidster” (Star of David) made by Dick Stins. Placed at the Marktstraat at the 12th of October 1967. The text at the side is in Dutch and Hebrew: Remember what Amalek has done to you…don’t forget (DEUT : 25.17.19′). The Marktstraat used to be the place of the former Jewish neighbourhood and synagogue. After a renovation of the street it was restored in 2007.

Do Not Forget

Now if one should ask: are the murderous memories of Esav still lingering today?

Answer: The next time you see a cross on a church or worn by a “believer,” stop and think for a moment what that symbol is saying to the Christian mind. The cross is the crucifixion, and its message – remember! do not forget what the children of Ya’akov did to the “savior”.

The memory inherent in the cross has sustained the hatred toward Jews for 2000 years. Esav and his grandson Amalek are very much alive, and will be so until the time when we will activate our “remember”:

17 Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt.

18 When you were weary and worn, they met you on and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.

19 When HaShem will give you respite from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

And in the words of the prophet Ovadya in this week’s haftara:

(יז) ובהר ציון תהיה פליטה והיה קדש וירשו בית יעקב את מורשיהם:

(יח) והיה בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה ובית עשו לקש ודלקו בהם ואכלום ולא יהיה שריד לבית עשו כי ה’  דבר:

(יט) וירשו הנגב את הר עשו והשפלה את פלשתים וירשו את שדה אפרים ואת שדה שמרון ובנימן את הגלעד:

(כ) וגלת החל הזה לבני ישראל אשר כנענים עד צרפת וגלת ירושלם אשר בספרד ירשו את ערי הנגב:

(כא) ועלו מושעים בהר ציון לשפט את הר עשו והיתה לה’  המלוכה:

On Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy,

and the house of Ya’akov will possess his inheritance.

Ya’akov will be a fire and Yosef a flame; Esav will be stubble,

and they will set him on fire and destroy him.

There will be no survivors from Esav.”

HaShem has spoken.

Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion

to govern the mountains of Esav.

And the kingdom will be of HaShem.

Shabbat Shalom,

Nachman Kahana